Thursday 17 March 2011

An Irish Toast



Always remember to forget

The things that made you sad;
But never forget to remember
The things that made you glad.
Always rememember to forget
The friends who proved untrue;
But never forget to remember
Those who have stuck by you.
Always forget to remember
The troubles that passed away,
But never forget to remember
The Blessings that come each day.
~Author Unknown

Here it is St Patrick's Day. I believe it must be celebrated a lot more in North America than it is over here in the UK. Over in Ireland it would be big, but not here in England. It's not even really mentioned.

As a child, back in Canada, the day would be marked with wearing at least one green article of clothing to school. You just could not show up without something green. We would have spent days colouring shamrock pictures and pictures of leprechauns in the days ahead to help to decorate the classroom walls, and learning about Irish customs and such.



For dinner we would have corned beef and cabbage, a lovely boiled dinner with tasty corned beef and cabbage, potatoes and carrots, all boiled in the same pot. I do love it, I do! In reality Irish people don't eat corned beef and cabbage, but actually boiled collar of bacon with the cabbage and vegetables. I may try to get some today so that Todd and I can enjoy it for our supper tonight.

My parents always went to a St Patrick's Dance at the club on the Armed Forces Base we lived on and would bring us home little souveniers . . . perhaps a green Leprechauns Hat, or noisemaker and these cute little pins that had crossed Irish Pipes (the smoking kind) and shamrocks on them. I remember thinking that they were very cute.



I'm having a difficult time this morning gathering my thoughts actually. My dreams last night were dogged with thoughts of my estranged son, as they are all too often lately. It clearly is really bothering me. Not much I can do about it though. I did write him a message a week or so ago now, asking him if we could not sort the whole business out and put it to rest, but he never acknowledged it in any way. It breaks my heart that he could be so cold, unfeeling and callous. It also makes me more than a little bit angry. There are people out there that have done horrible things to their children, and their children still love them. I cannot think what I have ever done to make these children of mine hate me so very much. As Todd reminds me often . . . I still have my eldest two children that communicate with me, and that is a blessing . . . but as a mum, I still mourn the three that have nothing to do with me. I cannot help it. Hopefully with time this will happen less and less . . .

I am off to get my hair cut this morning. I don't really know what I am going to have done to it, if I will go really short, or leave it somewhat long. I have more than a little grey in it now and I don't really want to colour it. Grey hair coloured always looks like grey hair coloured to me. My hair is quite long, to my waist now . . . much to long for a woman of my age I think. I usually have it pulled back in a pony tail or piled up on my head anyways, so I might as well have it chopped off! Wish me luck!

I don't really have much to show you foodwise today. We went to a local Carvery for dinner last night, where you get a Carver Meal for £3.99, which is a really good deal. That's your choice of 4 roasted meats and all the veg you can eat. You could not do that at home for £3.99! It was pretty good, but that meant I didn't actually cook any supper. I pinched this dessert here today from off the Kraft Foods site. I have made it before though, and can attest to it's scrumminess! I love rhubarb in any way, shape or form! We don't get cake mixes over here, except for maybe Devil's Food and Carrot, so I usually just make an ordinary sponge mixture to pour over top.



*Rhubarb Dump Cake*
Serves 16
Printable Recipe

Quick easy and convenient. If you like rhubarb, you will LOVE this!

1 lb. fresh rhubarb, chopped (about 4 cups)
1/2 cup sugar
1 pkg. (3 oz.) Strawberry Flavor Gelatin
1 pkg. (2-layer size) white cake mix
1 cup water
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 cup of whipping cream, whipped with a pinch of sugar and a dash of vanilla

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4.

Place the rhubarb in a glass 9 by 13 inch baking dish. Sprinkle the sugar and gelatin evenly over top. Whisk together the cake mix, water and melted butter until well blended. Pour this over the rhubarb mixture to cover.

Bake for 45 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve warm, spooned out into bowls and topped with a dollop of whipped cream.



It's Tea for One over in The English Kitchen today, with a Cupcake Cake!!

10 comments:

  1. Yes North America makes more of St Patrick's Day than we do, than even Ireland does..lol

    Happy New HairDo Marie, grey hair dyed can look good, but it needs keeping on top of:( I have to do mine evey three weeks. This time last year I was completley grey, but then I had a moment in a shoe shop, where every woman in there had grey hair and suddenly I felt OLD, so the "conditioner" came out again:)

    Enjoy your cabbage and bacon tonight:)

    Hugs

    Sheilagh
    xx

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  2. I haven't popped in here for a while, so sorry to hear about your kids. I have two friends who are going through the same thing, and their heartbreak is just agonizing. In each of their cases it's a question of the kid being selfish. I think this resolves with maturity but it doesn't lessen their pain knowing that after some time passes they might come back. My heart goes out to you. I hope your new hairdo perks you up, I guess the best thing you can do right now is to be nice to yourself and what better way than a sassy cut!

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  3. It must be so sad to "loose" those you so clearly love... do the older two child have contact with the others MArie.
    I am loooking forward to seeing your new hair style...I think you have such a lovely face a short style would be lovely....and I personally love silver gey hair...I have never ever tinted mine...in fact I sometime say that the only bit of me that I actually like is my hair LOL
    Have a lovely day.
    Love Sybilxx

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  4. I love my short hair. It's cut in a bob and all I have to do is wash it and blow it dry. So easy to care for. I don't like to fuss around with it. When I am troubled as you are I say the serenity prayer...it really does help. The things that I cannot fix I turn over to God as he can do a much better job of it than I can. Everyone here will be wearing a bit of green and I'll be eating my cabbage today too. I'm going to try out Colcannon which is a potato and cabbage dish and make some Irish Soda Bread. Happy St. Patrick's Day!

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  5. This day is always easy to remember since Hubby & I were married today--celebrating 11 happy years today! Enjoy your hair cut outing. I always like going to the hair dresser, it's a bit of a treat, I think, besides doing the hair good. I color, I'm not ready to go all gray yet. :o/ Oh, I must go see about that Cupcake Cake! I've not even baked a treat yet today for my Hubby--very bad... LOL! Happy Day, my friend--LOVE YOU LOTS ((BIG HUGS))

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  6. Hi,Marie -

    I am so sorry that you are estranged from some of your children. I pray that the Lord will soften their hearts. Just keep praying for them and reaching out. Over time, I believe they will turn around.

    When you get your hair cut, take a picture and share it!

    I think St. Paddy's Day is big over here because the Irish who immigrated were so far away from home and this is a chance to assert their heritage. I have two Irish lines, but am mostly Scottish.

    We are having corned beef and cabbage here. Hope it's good!

    Have a great one!
    Elizabeth

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  7. I hope your new do and hair cut gives you that lift you need today!
    Youa re not only a bit of sunshine of wisdom to me but to my own mom who is experiencing a huge heartache of a son's actions. She loves yours thoughts.
    I pray through the blessings of the atonement all will be made alright someday. I love your sweet and giving heart!

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  9. Saint Patrick's Day has never really thrilled me that much. A lot of people seem to use it as an excuse to go drinking~not really too exciting for us LDS folks, right? So we skip it completely. Once in blue moon I'll make corn beef and cabbage but I didn't this year trying to keep that Stone away!

    I hope you are enjoying your hair cut. What did you land up doing with it? I think most women over 30 look more perky with shorter hair but lots look very elegant with longer hair done up too. It guess it is your preference really. I have my hair short and I get ready for the day in a flash with the blow dryer and occasionally the lift of the curling iron. A good haircut can make my month a breeze in the hair department. I think I will be coloring my hair for a long time yet. I just prefer my hair lighter than my natural color which is a darker strawberry blond.

    About your kids, Marie...You know how I feel. They are truly missing out and hurting you terribly in the process. Can your older son shed any light for you? Never give up!

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  10. Why do my keyboard errors only jump off the page after I send a comment? Sorry!

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