going green

not environmentally per se.  More irishy.   So, we have weird traditions in this world.  I've been thinking lately how strange it is that every year we do the same traditional things for holidays - wear green, hunt for hidden eggs, cut down trees and put them in our living rooms - and it's sort of funny right?  We don't know why we do them but we did them when we were kids and everyone else is doing them - so we just do them.  And some people are really holiday people that go all out.  You know them - they are the one's that buy matching outfits for their whole family for every holiday and have a different set of dishes and hand towels for each one too.  And then there are people like ... well, my sister - who is the ultimate holiday minimalist and cuts every possible corner to make holidays simple and easy so she can stay pleasant she said.   It's sort of interesting to me to think how holidays evolve into something everyone does (well, not everyone but ya know).  And  I was trying to explain St. Patrick's Day to my kids and started laughing and just thought - what a random holiday.  you wear green or you get pinched and there are little fairy like guys called leprechauns that like pots of gold???  weird.
 So, on St. Patrick's Day after reading Green Eggs and Ham - I told the kids we could eat green eggs too if we called to the leprechaun to come.  He could turn our eggs green but we can't see him because if we see him then he looses his magic (improvising).  Then we went and hid with our ears pressed against the door listening for him.  Luke said "I think I hear him"  And when we were sure he was gone, we came out and sure enough - our eggs were green. It was all so exciting.  So, I have to say - holidays do give parents a little help in making some magic and fun for kids.  Halloween costumes and trick-or-treating, Santa, the Easter bunny, Fireworks on the 4th and whatever else.  Anyway - I decided I like all the meaningless magical nonsense.  Why not.  And that was a really long tangent to say - there was a holiday named St. Patrick's and we were alive on that day and this was us...

St. Patrick's Day 2013

a grainy picture of green sunday us -- in all shades

 angry leprechauns?

green eggs and ham

 we even saw bishop daddy for about an hour before he had to leave again

and ate reuben sandwiches  (equip with the traditional corned beef and sauerkraut) with the quarter irish Bate family

ok well, good night.
and ps - remember when people used to blog?  I miss those days.  Facebook killed the blogging world.  So, I'm sort of mad at it and have been slow to join the crowd.  I still like blogging.  But not that word - blog.  blog.  blogging.  blah!  you know what had a cool name?  myspace.  don't you think?  like your own little space in this world wide web internet madness.  That is a cooler name than facebook.
pps - i just realized i'm posting this on april fool's day.  now that is a cool holiday in all it's randomness huh?  I just read that one of it's origins was from 1392 because in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, Chaucer wrote about a March 32 where the vain rooster Chauntecleer is tricked by a fox.   And it was actually a typo! Scholars say that there was a copying error and he meant 32 days after April which would be May 2.  Anyway, we celebrate April Fool's day on April 1st or March 32nd. :)  Good old Chaucer.
ppps - i sure am tangenty tonight.  ok, good night.