Springtime in Virginia!

Need I say more?

I love spring, I really do... kachoo!

(God bless you, too!)

Irish Heritage

It's a joke around my house. One of them will smile and say, "Mom, we love you even if you're NOT Irish!"

My own heritage is mostly German. There's a little English thrown in now and then but I suppose my side of the family should celebrate Oktoberfest more than St. Patrick's Day. I married a man whose mother was born and raised in Ireland. I don't think there's a drop of German blood in his veins, though he was born in Germany.

My children grew up with an Irish grandmother who taught them about leprechuans, Crunchie candy bars and Rowntree's Fruit Pastilles. I'm a little jealous that my kids can rightfully claim St. Patrick's Day for themselves.

I am lucky enough to have had an Irish mother-in-law who loved gardenias, served real whipped cream on a fruit flan, bought me my first Flake bar and introduced me to Marks & Spencer.

I like Guinness stout, Belleek pottery, listening to the Chieftains and drinking Irish Mist. Flogging Molly makes me laugh, I chose not to kiss the Blarney Stone and I make pretty good soda bread.

So thanks, kids and husband, for sharing your Irishness with me. And thanks, Mom. Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!!

Lenten Devotions Podcast

This podcast first appeared for Advent. It features short reflections based on the daily readings for the season. There is now a series of reflections for Lent. As I scrolled through the artists list on my iPod this morning (on my way to the new Mary Chapin Carpenter album!), I was surprised to see Susan Daughtry Fawcett's name. Oh, yeah, she said she'd contributed piece for devo-to-go, it's the one for Thurs., March 8 - the Jeremiah reading. Fix yourself a cup of tea first! Then check out Susan's blog, This Passage.

Winter's Last Blast?

In a late January post I lamented that winter had not made much of an appearance here. I was concerned that spring would come and we wouldn't use our school system's 3 built in "snow days." Silly me! Since then, the school system closed for 4 snow days - actually it was sleet that froze into a very dangerous blanket of ice. Now the kids will be in school on a day they had previously been given off. Bummer.

Still, here in Virginia, we have nothing to complain about. We even got one of those picturesque snows that line every twig of a tree, every stalk of grass. It was wet snow that would occasionally avalanche from one branch to another down a tree.

I'm more comfortable now with the glimpses of spring. A wren sang beautifully Saturday morning. Soon he'll be searching for those formerly snow-laden twigs to invite a lady friend to housekeeping. Soon those growing stems of daffodils will burst with yellow blooms.

But I'm rushing the season. I've been invited to a Holy Lent. The flowers need to wait. Gotta get back into "Watch and Pray" mode!

My Friend in Episcopal News!

So Rev. Fran is quoted in an article from ENS. You can read more from Fran by linking to her "Notes From the UP Road" blog on my list.

Sacred Pastries? It's Shrove Tuesday!

My friend Progressive Pragmatist put up a post on pancakes this afternoon. She's right - convervative or liberal, progressive or orthodox, Episcopalians are eatin' pancakes today!

Some Episcopalians are running races with pancakes. Why, on earth, would we run around flipping pancakes? Apparently, a frazzled housewife in Olney, England was cooking her pancake lunch on the last day before Lent when the church bell rang, calling folks to the mid-day service of confession. Still holding her skillet, she took off running down the street to the church and the rest is history. Since that 1445 event, Olney has become famous for its pancake race. (Some 300 years later, Olney would also be the place where John Newton wrote the words for Amazing Grace.) The race inspired folks in Liberal, Kansas to try a version of their and now ladies from Olney compete with ladies from Liberal each year, racing and flipping their way down the street.

I had hoped to enjoy another pastry on Fat Tuesday this year. It's almost a sacred pastry. It's a terrific cake recipe that's been used at a church bazaar for many years. My cake wasn't quite as good as the one my friend bakes - I have some practicing to do - but it was pretty darn good! It's one of those cakes that is even better several days after baking. I was all set to share my attempt with friends today. Don't you know, I got home last night to find that the dog had taught me a lesson for leaving her alone all day by pulling my cake from the counter and finishing it off! So, I'll wait 'til after Lent for my next attempt at baking butter cake.

Great Weekend!

After several days of "all schools are closed due to weather," getting out of town to visit the daughters was terrific! One high point of the weekend was some time spent with Hannah. I'll post more about the weekend, but in the meantime, in case of insomnia, meditate on this photo!