And the rest of the day to you!

For those who are not lucky enough to be Irish, that is the response to the greeting of, "Top of the mornin to you" As one who has been able to trace my roots back to where my Danish kin invaded Ireland and loved it so much they stay in County Ulster, to their movement to traditional Irish communities in the US, and then out West, I am a son of the ole Sod and my lovely wife is only the second generation in her family not born in Ireland. So, at my house today the Irish flag fluttered in the wind and tomarrow will bring about a feast of food and fun. The corned beef is thawing and I'll be making pasties and Irish Soda bread tonight. As much as I loved "boiled dinner" I have to be very sparse in my consumtion not only because of the obvious reasons, but to this day beef and I just don't get along too well together. Throw in some cabbage and much more then a bite or two and I'm not a jolly ole sort. Anyway, we have about 10 pounds of it cooking and everybody is Irish tomarrow. Enjoy the weekend.

Erin Go Bragh! My maternal grandmother was 1/2 Irish and 1/2 French so there's a wee bit 'o green in this lass. The great thing about being a mutt like me is that I get to celebrate everything. I also have corned beef and cabbage ready to go and luckily for me, have no problem with either. Others may have an issue with my consumption of cabbage, but it doesn't smell any worse coming out than it does when I'm cooking it. Have a great weekend! Connie

Well....even if it is bass-ackwards.....Top 'O the Mornin to ya Mr. Mc Dawg...or is it O' Dawg??!! Like Connie, I'm a mongrel too. My Mom was 3/4 Irish, so I've got enough 'o the Green in me to get by. Yes Sir Mr. Dawg.......that cabbage can make for some interesting trombone solos of the rectal variety, but it's worth the price to me. I have no particular trouble with beef in general, but I need to watch the quantity of corned beef I eat. As for the Irish soda bread, I haven't had any since I had the surgery, but I always loved the stuff. Anyway, a Happy and Healthy St. Pat's to you and all of the other Marchers. Mike McElroy (for today anyway)

Ken, We are just back from a weekend with friends at the beach celebrating St Paddy's day! Ocean City (MD) is one party place for the parade and related celebrating. I was a Walsh before I was a Higgins, and with a name like Maureen, what would you expect ... I'm pretty much Irish!!! I cooked corned beef (minus the cabbage) last Wednesday since I knew we would be gone for the weekend. There's a small piece left over that I think will be dinner tonight! Hope you had a wonderful and green St Patrick's Day. Hugs, Mo

I am an 3/4 Irish Lass who married a COMPLETE 100% ENGLISHER... I swear on a quiet day you can still hear the ancestors rolling in their graves LOL! We are the O'Adams clan on St. Patrick's Day! LOL bought soda bread from the bakery and had a small taste! LOVELY!!! Didn't go to the parade it was cold and threatened rain and kids were CRABBY!!! Drank guiness at home and researched The family tree LOL! made a fairy house outside with the girl and looked for leprechauns (she said I thought fer sure we'd find one this year Momma!) always next year baby girl! Erin go Bragh to ya! nic

It was a lovely evening and fun was had by all. I was up until 3:00 in the morning doing my baking, got a few hours of rest and then was up and working on prep by seven. All and all about 50 folks came by, but that isn't too bad when almost 30 of them are direct family. I received a nice gift, it was an apron that says, "Handsome, good cook & IRISH!" I was able to enjoy more corned beef then usual and had a few drinks, but hit the wall around 10:00. But most of the company had left by then so it wasn't a big deal anyway. Plus, had a few of the folks on duty stop by and patrol trucks always get people wondering what is going on, except for my immediate neighbors. We had one friend that was a bit freaked out by having a priest and on duty deputies at the party. I told her she must be full of quilt, cause it is just normal for us to our Parish priest come over and seeing on duty deputies isn't a big deal either. Sounds like most people had fun and made the most of the weekend. Wishing you all the best of weeks.