Spring break begins

It's kind of odd to have a big chunk of time and not be traveling. (I felt kind of bad not to have made plans, though I couldn't have known, and anyway, going to visit my parents right now isn't ideal: my mom had some kind of awful stomach bug (it sounds a lot like the one I had back in November, but hers hung on far longer, and when she went to the doctor, the doctor's conclusion was it was bacterial). She's getting better but says she still doesn't have much energy for doing anything (then again: if I were up there, I could do the cooking for them both and clean the house and stuff).

I've decided to look around and see what Davis and Sulphur have in the way of interesting things. Sulphur has the Chickasaw National Recreation Area, which I've been to a lot, but I could go again. And Davis, if I remember correctly, had at least a few antique stores. That might be Wednesday.

Today, I'm running errands and I'm going to spend the afternoon either knitting or quilting.

I also am going to cook something special as it's St. Patrick's Day. I was never a fan of corned beef (even when I did not have to consider sodium), and I don't care for cabbage cooked in the "traditional Irish" way (boiled and slimy - pretty much the only way I like cabbage is either raw as a salad, or the German-style dishes that have lots of vinegar in them). But I got some lamb chops (which, arguably, are more "true Irish" than corned beef is - Corned beef is mostly an Irish-American thing) and I'm going to make champ (mashed potatoes with scallions and cream (I will use sour cream, which will take the place of salt for flavoring) and lots of butter). And I'll probably have some green vegetable (most likely salad).

I'll probably drink tea, as I never was into "renting beer" (as the joke goes - you don't buy beer, you only rent it). And anyway, the idea of the day as a day to go out and get stinking drunk and feel awful the next day never appealed to me; I'd rather cook something special and think about my ancestors (who may actually have been more British than Irish, despite where they lived) and maybe play some "Irish" music.

I have been working on a fairly-simple (but nice) arrangement of Londonderry Air (better known to some as the tune of O Danny Boy) on the piano, and it's a nice thing to have in the rotation, which is really heavily Bach otherwise.

And my favorite version of that song? Maybe not very traditional or reverent, but it's this:



That makes me giggle every time I see it. ("oh Danny Boy, oh boy, oh boy....")