March 13th is very special for several reasons this year!
The first reason is that today is
Cuisine Kathleen’s 4th Annual
“St. Patrick’s Day Blog Crawl”
One of the very BEST annual blog parties ever &
I am thrilled to be able to participate again this year.
“Is maith liom ceol Gaelach”
translation:
If you’d like to listen to some of my favorite
Irish music while you scroll through the photos,
just start this youtube video for a
beautiful rendition of
“When Irish Eyes Are Smiling”
We’ve got Celtic accents all over The Gazebo House.
Our table has been set with Kelly Green since
shortly after Valentines Day!
(you can tell by all the snow outside)
cabbage leaf salad plates have been in use for weeks,
mixed with Gibson’s white bowls, when needed.
The gentle curved edges echo each other a wee bit.
Ms. C. says “?? a wee bit?? Nana Rett, you talk funny!”
This beautifully textured pitcher was a gift from my
sweet step-son & his wife.
Sadly, there aren’t any markings to identify its origin.
We drink tea several times a day,
so my GREEN teapot & Irish shamrock tea cozy
are getting a good workout this month.
Dollar Store stemware rests on some
Free Standing Lace (FSL) coasters that I
made with my embroidery machine.
I have more designs, like this one:
to show you later in the week
with a few tips, too.
Since cabbage is always on sale in March,
I made StoneGable’s Cabbage Soup last week &
we loved it… it is much better than my old recipe.
Thanks, Yvonne, for sharing it.
I’m SOOO glad you’ve come back to blogging!
♥♥♥♥♥♥
The recipe can be found HERE.
We topped it with croutons but I’m sure cheese would be good, too.
(look for the recipe later)
ANYTHING GREEN goes this month!!
In one corner of the kitchen counter,
I gathered all my Belleek pieces.
Some were gifts from dear sweet friends &
others I purchased from an Irish shop
in Venice, FL where we lived for almost 10 years.
Did you notice my a little Leprechaun thimble?
He’s not Belleek, but he sure is cute !!
mixed in with my
white ironstone & milk glass.
mix so easily with different holiday colors.
just ONE of their darling GREEN & white polka-dot dishes?
I’ll probably kick myself for not getting more but
seriously, how many casserole dishes do I need?
its rightful place of honor.
Darina Allen is the QUEEN of Irish cooking!
I hope NBC’s TODAY show has her on again this year.
I found this subway art
print online at eighteen25′s blog.
There is still time for YOU to print one
…just go HERE
Ms. C. helped me make this dress for her doll
who joined us at the dining room table for Sunday brunch.
We had sandwiches & salad, topped with delicious
Irish Cheddar Cheese.
When we were in Ireland a few years ago,
I asked one of the serving girls what kind
of cheese was on the buffet…it was SOOO GOOD!
She looked at me like I was daft & said
“Cheddar”, with a lilt, as if it was very obvious.
I had never tasted cheddar as delicious as that before.
This KerryGold brand is as close to that
freshly made, local flavor that I have been able to find.
Today is also Marty’s (A Stroll Thru Life)
Spring Cloche Party!
Every year, I use my Chantilly Tiara GREEN glass
dishes for St. Patrick’s Day in the dining room.
They were made by the Indiana glass company in the 1980s & are considered “Reproduction Depression” glass,
not truly from the Depression era.
& to foster a love of all things Irish in her heart.
I tell her about my grandmother’s mother,who followed her one true love over to America,
(during the potato famine in the mid 18oo’s)
where they married & had 5 children,
the youngest being my
grandmother, Mary Elizabeth.
I kept the centerpiece playful, for Ms. C’s benefit. I noticed that I seem to have developed a love for reticulated edges! Its fun to change the ribbons in accordance with whatever holiday we’re celebrating. I’m sure you’ll see these with red/white & blue ribbons, soon. Since the depression glass is so delicate, I used my mother’s William. A. Rogers ONEIDA Silverplate. The pattern is Wildwood /Always from 1958. It is lightweight & very feminine in appearance. The Celtic Knot napkin rings pick up both the silver of the flatware & the gold of the coins. It didn’t take Ms. C. very long to discover that there was CHOCOLATE inside them! I found these pretty vintage sherbert glasses at an antique store in Copley, OH several years ago. Of course, I had to put some GREEN M&M’s on the table in a pretty milk glass container that looks like its quilted. On the side table, where cups & dessert are located, I have a cloche’ with some of my fathers sheet music (he had a BEAUTIFUL tenor voice) 
and several shamrocks &
my Mom’s 4-leaf clover suncatcher.
(They aren’t the same, ya’ know…
you shouldn’t call a 4-leaf clover a “shamrock”)
St. Patrick was said to have used the shamrock,
or the 3 leafed clover to teach the
Holy Trinity, & explain the Father, Son & Holy Ghost,
were 3 parts of one whole.
By now, the music should be over.
If you’d like to hear more, click below to hear a song
that I remember my Mother singing as she stood at the kitchen sink.
She was always singing Irish tunes, after all, her maiden name was
Peggy O’Neil! Honest, it was!!
“…Many years ago, my Mother sang a song to me,
In a voice so sweet and low.
Just a little ditty,
In her good old Irish way,
And I’d give the world
if she were here
To sing to me today”
Desserts are served on an antique, round Americana cut glass 9″ cake pedestal. May good luck pursue you each morning and night.” The BEST reason that today is so special is because it is my sweetheart’s birthday! photo from our 25th Wedding Anniversary (2-14-2012) Sláinte! (Gaelic for “Health!”)
“May your pockets be heavy & your heart be light, 
Pronunciation: Slaw-in-tche
I am so grateful that you are still around
to keep me company by the fire,
to share some Irish coffee or
in my case, tea
You are the SWEETEST man I’ve ever met
and I am so grateful to still have you
to keep me company by the fire.
Thank you, everybody for visiting The Gazebo House today.
Come celebrate the holiday with all the other
party goers at Cuisine Kathleen’s
as well as Marty’s
Table Top Tuesday Spring Cloche Party
Susan’s BNOTP Tablescape Thursday
The Tablescaper’s Seasonal Sunday
&
Michael Lee’s Foodie Friday
Also, ***Our friend Patricia at Butter Yum, needs your vote to win a scholarship to a foodie conference. Please hop over and vote for her!
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