Happy St. Patrick's Day - to One and All

When you grow up in a city (or 30 miles north of a city) that does this to the River each year you grow up loving St. Patrick's Day.

Perhaps it started as a child with the green eggs, green pancakes, green macaroni and cheese, green cottage cheese ... you get the idea. Grandma would speak in her Irish accent and Grandpa would remind us to pinch anyone not in green.

Or perhaps it was in Second Grade with Mrs. Volpe. Lon the Leprechaun was highly anticipated for weeks. We wrote him letters, he sent back letters and then, before we made it to school on St. Patrick's Day he had snuck into our classroom to leave 4 leaf clovers, golden coins, and other treats for us. He left us quite the extensive and decorative (Leprechauns have AMAZING handwriting and drawing skills!) note on the board promising a lifetime of St. Patrick's Day cheer and love. I certainly believe it and look forward to Lon's visits to my house!

Certainly the love has only continued through the years, no matter where I find myself. It's the only time of year you'll find me smiling in the kitchen. We love to go a bit overboard with the celebrations for St. Patrick's Day! How many pies do you really need? Just enough for each family, each friend, and each coworker! That's a lot of green dye and a lot of mess but A TON OF IRISH FUN! We attempt to speak like we were raised in Ireland but none of us have succeeded in mastering that accent quite yet, mine turns into a Spanish/Indian mix of sorts (dont' ask!). Some years we'll be out on the back porch in 78 degree weather, laughing at the crown created and the mess left in the kitchen. Other years I'll be laughing as the snow falls as we walk along the riverside. This year we celebrated early and will celebrate late - we sure know how to drag out a Holiday!

Wishing you were all here with me to celebrate 17 March! Happy St. Patrick's Day!