St. Patricks Day 2021

 Well last year St. Patrick's Day was a little strange.  (https://bfthsboringblog.blogspot.com/2020/03/st-patricks-day-2020-view-from-shoprite.html) It was the first "holiday" during the pandemic.  The year before my son and I had marched in the Morristown St. Patrick's Day parade with our fellow Civil War reenactment group. 


  It  had been a beautiful warm day and I thought it would be a tradition that we would keep.  I signed us up for the 2020 parade, but you can guess what eventually happened.  I had hoped that this year might be different but...

Obviously that didn't happen, but I still want to keep the St. Patrick's Day spirit alive.  So yes, I am dressed head to toe in green.  


We need to find fun and joy wherever we can.

To that end, I have a corned beef ready to cook this afternoon.  I made one last week too (because when it's on sale,you NEED to buy it) and we had an early St. Patrick's Day meal on Sunday.  It was "catered" as part of a fundraiser for the school's drama program.  (Spring musical is a revue of Broadway through the years and was just cast yesterday.  This proud mom can't wait to her son on stage again this May.  It will be a different experience as the show is on an outdoor stage in the next town over instead of in the high school auditorium and a limited amount of singers/dancers can be on the stage at one time which made doing a "regular" show impossible.)

I have also made 4 Irish soda breads as of today.  I made 2 loaves about  two weeks ago.  I wanted to get one to my parents.  I barely managed to go so.  (I have a teen boy, do I need to say more?)  I made two more this Saturday.  I had been given a pre-made kit and thought I'd make that and then my own homemade and see how the two matched up.  The kit was smaller and sweeter; I had to taste test it right away!  I wrapped the smaller one up in the cake pan with saran wrap so it was visible.  (You could see a slice or two had been taken.)  The larger loaf which I made from scratch I wrapped in foil and put it up on a shelf.  Can you guess which one my son decided to eat the next morning?  Yes, I was annoyed (more than I should be.)  But before the day was out the small loaf was completely gone and the large one was half its original size.  So needless to say I knew that it wasn't going to last until today, so...Last night I made another loaf.  Only I knew I didn't have enough buttermilk and I couldn't find any in the store yesterday so I did the substitution of a mixture of sour cream and water.  (My verdict:  it is okay in a pinch, but the real thing is much better.)  I forbid my son from eating it until this morning; and ONLY if he would wear the green t-shirt I bought for him last year.  (How I miss the days when he would happily dye his hair green and wear funny green hats.)  Somehow a St. Patrick's Day miracle happened:  the loaf was not cut into until this morning and he DID (reluctantly) wear the shirt to school.  (Along with the shamrock mask that I purchased for myself, but since I'm not going anywhere today I washed it and made him wear it to school.)

So even though it is a cold, overcast day, I'm keeping the spirit of the day alive.  (The only thing that would make it better would be a shot of whiskey or an Irish coffee with dinner tonight, but it's still Lent so I'm giving it a pass.  Maybe next year I should give myself special dispensation for St. Patrick's day.  That is IF I chose to give up alcohol for Lent again.)  The meal is planned, the green is donned and I'm listening to St. Paddy's Day Radio on Sirius XM.  It's not the ideal day, but it will do. Happy St. Patrick's Day!

"May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again,
may God hold you in the palm of His hand."


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