Monday, March 17, 2008

Erin Go Bragh

My new antibiotics are beginning to work and I am feeling a bit better today. Hooray! Thank you for your sweet prayers and good wishes.



Here is our St. Patrick’s Day celebration this year. A banner found on sale at Jo-Ann’s welcomes visitors.



This is an Irish welcome plaque hanging by our front door. It was a gift from my Irish mother-in-law a few years ago.



Our St. Patrick’s menu tonight is from an old book found at a used bookstore, The Art of Irish Cooking by Monica Sheridan (Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1965): roast beef, potato flounces, and Irish peas.



The table is set for tonight. Our plates and goblets are onyx from Palestine. I made the napkins using St. Patrick’s Day fabric bought at Jo-Ann’s, simple hemmed squares. Little silk shamrocks found at Michael’s are sprinkled all over the table and our centerpiece is a flowering Oxalis.

For dessert, we’re having Irish Lace Cookies.



Click to enlarge and print. I purchased the recipe template from The Vintage Workshop.



My husband loves classic shortbread so I made some for him yesterday. Today I’m making batches for our neighbors which my husband will deliver after work.



Did you know the lines in shortbread pans are really not cutting lines (although it helps immensely)? They represent the rays of the sun. My shortbread pan is called British Isles and comes from Brown Bag Designs. Each segment represents an aspect of the British Isles: Scotch Thistles, Irish Celtic Knotwork, a Tudor Rose and a Welsh Dragon, along with the sun’s rays.



Oh, the music in the air!
An' the joy that's ivrywhere -
Shure, the whole blue vault of heaven is wan grand triumphal arch,
An' the earth below is gay
Wid its tender green th'-day,
Fur the whole world is Irish on the Seventeenth o' March!


~ Thomas Augustin Daly ~

19 comments:

Vonna Pfeiffer said...

Doggone it...wish I lived by you...I love shortbread too ;)

a pink-bee said...

Happy St.Patrick's Day :)
Looks like you are all set to celebrate ~ so glad you are feeling a little better :)
crystal
oxox

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY to you and your husband, June!

Your dinner sounds delicious, and I love that shortbread mold! Such interesting symbolism in it. The Irish lace cookies sound so good too, I'm saving that recipe to try someday.

Glad you're feeling a little better! Hope all your test results turn out well!

Hugs, Pat

Anonymous said...

Top o' the mornin' to ya Lassie!

June, you really go all out for these festive days and I admire you greatly for how you do this. I've just learned some very interesting things I didn't know before as well. That onyx plate is fabulous. What a gorgeous pan of shortbread too.

At least I'm wearin' the green today!

Warmly,
Diane

Piecake said...

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Very cool onyx plate and the shortbread pan is interesting too. I love things that have "meaning" in addition to being beautiful.

Rosemary said...

So glad you are doing better!!
Have a Happy St. Patty's Day!!
Rosemary

dutchcomfort said...

Happy St.Patrick’s Day! Glad you’re feeling a bit better!

Thimbleanna said...

Happy St. Patrick's Day June! I'm so glad you're starting to feel better. And I LOVE that shortbread pan -- thanks heaps for posting the link!

Anonymous said...

Love this post June, I haven't see an occassion you don't decorate for. Love that shortbread flan.

Pamela Jane said...

Happy St Patrick's Day, June! Glad you're starting to feel better, although you rise to the occasion regardless :).

Darla said...

Would those Irish peas be called "Mushy Peas"? There is an "Irish Pub" in Sonoma where we sometimes have lunch and those are on the menu. I had to try them.

Darla

Alice Regan said...

I'm so glad that you are feeling better and just in time for the festivities! How delightful everything looks. I adore the dinner plates and your napkins are so cute. Everything looks and sounds devine. Happy St. Paddy's Day!

meg said...

June, dearest~ I covet your shortbread mold :-)
So glad to hear you are feeling better- just don't overdo today, dancing a jig ;-)

Jenny said...

Happy St Patrick's Day. Glad you are feeling better and enjoyed the Cath Kidston fabrics!

* elizabeth * said...

how pretty is that pan! I'm so glad you're feeling better.

rohanknitter said...

It all looks very fun and festive!
I love your shortbread pan - that's really neat!

Shelley said...

What a lovely table you set and you keep the day beautifully.

picperfic said...

that shortbrad pan is so beautiful...and the shortbread looks delicious!

Gumbo Lily said...

Top o' the mornin' to ye Junie! Glad to hear yer doin' better.

Jody