Well, today the buggy and I finally took to the streets, and unbelievably, it was the first time the car went any further than the driveway for two months to the day, since the pavement was mercifully devoid of slick glare ice, snow and icebergs at the end of the driveway. The car’s odometer has registered 2,648 since January 16th, and for sure, travelling up and down the driveway wasn’t boosting the mileage any. I have been going shopping with my neighbor and friend Marge the past six weeks to pick up a bag or two of groceries, mainly produce for me and greens for Buddy. I try not to shop on a Sunday but I think I beat the church crowd for the most part, and an added bonus … I racked up 2½ miles getting the groceries today. Most folks were shopping for staples for their St. Paddy’s Day feast tomorrow. While I was picking up greens for the lettuce-loving Buddy pictured above, I noticed large bags of taters being slung into shopping carts and the thumping of huge heads of cabbage so that they might pass muster in the crockpot or in a big pot on the stove. In the meat department, I saw many a corned beef brisket being perused and sized up. Now, I will be an Irish lass tomorrow as well, but with my cooking deficiencies that I’ve mentioned in the past, it will be a simple but festive St. Paddy’s Day fare: corned beef and Swiss on rye and a side order of coleslaw and green pistachio pudding. I’ll don a green t-shirt and probably croon “Danny Boy” off key. I’m sorry but I don’t know any Irish jigs, and I don’t plan to find any pots of gold but I shall be Irish in spirit nonetheless. Many blessings to you for St. Patrick’s Day. I am sharing my favorite Irish blessing:

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.