Saturday, March 17

Happy St. Patrick's Day! It's said that everyone is Irish on St. Patrick's Day. As it happens, Sis and I are truly Irish on our dad's side.

We were up around 7:30 this morning, and after breakfast I did a treadmill session and resistance exercises. While I was doing this, Hubbie went to the community garden to help the Master Gardeners sell tulips, hyacinth, and other bulb plants. The sale started at 9 a.m., but Hubbie didn't remember it until 9:30. When he got there, he found that there were enough folks on board that he wasn't needed. So he came back home.

I fully expected him to be gone for a couple of hours. So when he stepped into the spare bedroom, where I was on the treadmill and deeply absorbed in my walk, as well as in the audiobook I was listening to, and announced he was back home, I was so startled that I let out a yelp and clutched my chest.

Once I was ready for the day, I started a load of laundry, and did other household things until lunchtime, when I fixed turkey bacon and tomato sandwiches for Hubbie and me.

After lunch, I accompanied Mother to our house. She helped me prepare a beef roast for supper. I bought a chuck roast this time, which was highly marbled, so she cut all the fat she could from it, then quartered onions. I browned the meat with seasonings...salt free seasoning, pepper, thyme, rosemary, and paprika...and then put it in a slow cooker with more spices, garlic, onions, carrots, and baby potatoes, and added a can of chicken broth and a can of beef broth.

Hubbie shredded a head of cabbage in the food processor, which I later cooked in a little olive oil and chicken broth, and seasonings.

While the roast cooked, Hubbie went out to work in the yard, and Mother and I went on a tour of the town to look at the flowering trees. There are some particularly lovely ones at the college, and I snapped lots of photos of them. It was a beautiful day for an outing...sunny to partly cloudy, with moderate temperature and a nice breeze.

We were gone for a couple of hours, and Mother seemed to enjoy it. Back home, she relaxed, while I downloaded pics to my computer. Hubbie continued in the yard.

Around 4:30, I cooked the cabbage, and by 5 p.m., supper was ready. It was really delicious. The beef this time was very tender, unlike the past two times, when what we bought was as tough as shoe leather.

The roast, potatoes, and cabbage served as our homage to St. Patrick's Day. After supper, I accompanied Mother back to her house.

Hubbie spent the evening watching March Madness basketball games on TV. I only half paid attention while I played on my laptop. During the game, there was an ad from a popular fast food restaurant (the one Sis works at) advertising a St. Patrick's Day mint milkshake. Looked delicious, but when I researched it online, I found that it contains a green dye that includes yellow #5.

So I decided to make shakes at home, using low-fat ice cream, fat-free milk, and a couple of Ghiradelli chocolate mint squares. Satisfied the urge.

I didn't wear green today, because I knew I wouldn't go anywhere that I'd see anyone. But I did wear green each day this week, along with a pin in the shape of a green Irish bowler hat decorated with a shamrock. All told, I think I celebrated the event to the utmost this week.