PRE-SPRING - GIVING THE HOUSE THAT IRISH LOOK
Here we are all the way into March! It is almost St. Pat's Day and I've had the house all decked out in it's "Irish Look" for several weeks now.This all started a few years ago when I got to share my green with a few nice house guests from Pennsylvania. They are Catholic and they love celebrating St. Patrick's Day. We got to catch up on old times in the spirit of a house-gone-green. Even the guest rooms went a little Irish.
My granddaughter loved pulling all my green shamrock necklaces out and making me wear them around the house.
She also loved collecting all the gold hiding in the pots of gold I had laying around in two different places.
She now understands that my kitchen window is where the rainbow ends.
That is where one pot of gold resides.
There is another one on the couch table in the living room area. It seems that someone is storing that gold all over the place. I hope they leave some of it for us after the season is over! You know our Family Tree had to get into the act. It is full of green three-leaf clovers with one little red bird perched in the middle.
We really did have fun decorating the family tree.
This little tree has turned out to be a seasonal standard for my kitchen. We keep thinking of more and more ideas to use it for.
The red bird that lasted through Christmas, then hung around for Valentine's Day still wanted to remain; so why not? You know how I love Cardinals!
It adds a little red to the trinity of clovers and the red seemed to be quite appropriate; plus it was just the little pop of color we needed to offset everything else that was going on here.
I put a few shamrocks on the laundry room doors. Anything to make doing laundry more fun works for me.
I wanted to have some other old friends over to visit with our Pennsylvania girls; so we formed a small group and ate Italian food together in an Irish House that called itself a castle. What a blend! There were Catholics and Protestants and Jews; and all of them were happy! I'll bet you won't find that combination anywhere else! It was quite the cultural affair, and we enjoyed every minute.
The house was as diverse as the group of people who gathered, happily sharing their lives and telling their stories.
It made for a very merry day.
I wanted something sweet and special to say welcome to them all and my first thought was that pretty white roses would make just such a statement. They greeted everyone with their lovely fragrance as they first came inside the door, and the white tulips on the door wreath joined in with their welcoming. I loved the contrast of the pure whites against so much green in the room.
I also filled the vase on the kitchen table with bright cheerful yellow tulips and set them inside a crystal vase on a bright green tray, which I surrounded with sugar cookies made in the shape of 3-leaf clovers with green sprinkles.
Loved seeing these smiling happy faces. There were more guest that didn't get into the photos. Wish I had a group photo of everyone that came and went that week. You have never heard such interesting stories as those that flew around the room when we all gathered together. Every person in the room seemed to have something of utmost importance on their mind.
One of our guests was known for her talents in weaving. She has some amazing looms set up in a house that is over one hundred years old! Some history was shared for sure.
Another guest who just happened to be a theologian and he filled us in on the latest books and movies that speak about all the complex issues of life.
One guest was about to take an adventurous trip to explore the new life-sized reproduction of Noah's Ark in Kentucky. Can't wait to hear about what he discovers there.
Me....I was all ears and serving Irish cookies and coffee with all that Italian food. My husband and granddaughter were helping.
You know my Mom had to do her part of the fun. She blessed us with a coconut pound cake. I am now wearing that cake; and a few other people are doing the same. It was delicious!
Seasonal decorating is just a good excuse to invite people over to celebrate all of the phases of life. Someone pointed out that although we were paying a lot of attention to St. Patrick; St. Joseph was a focus for this month too! I always say "the more Saints, the merrier!"
So much to teach my sweet little grandkids, one of which was enjoying the glory of a beautiful sunny day and making huge bubbles with her bubble wand on the back deck while all the adults socialized.
The green hats and clover necklaces added to the fun in the living room area.
So it was that we celebrated St. Patrick's Day by going green at the castle.
I hope you had a chance to do a little Irish at your castle too.
I'll just end here with a little Irish blessing for all of you:
May you always have walls for the winds,
A roof for the rain,
tea beside the fire,
laughter to cheer you,
those you love near you,
and all your heart might desire.
HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY
EVERYONE!
