St. Patrick's Day Deconstructed

      St. Patrick' Day?  I’ve seen a few.  I remember a few too. In my youth the date was synonymous with green beer, party till dawn, Dance the jig until you fall from exhaustion. It was gaiety, wildness, the North’s answer to Mardi Gras.  Although, I recall, I did spend one St. Patrick’s Day in New Orleans.  I remember that one, It was fun. 

      St. Patrick’s Day slowly dwindled to date nights with limited celebration.  When the boys came along it became green decorations in my home.  As the boys grew it became the annual corned beef and cabbage dinner.  Although it was many years before my husband and sons would eat the cabbage, I persevered.  After the boys disappeared to college, Gary and I would have the meal at home or if we were travelling we would stop at the local eatery to enjoy someone else’s recipe.  Then it happened.  When I thought we could not get any further from my original crazy St Paddy’s day festivities, this year we are celebrating by having corned beef on rye. Really?  

  

However, this year my eldest had a wonderful experience.  Dan and Liz were part of the St. Patrick’s Day that is Chicago.  If you are a St. Patrick’s Day aficionado you have to see the Chicago River turn green at least once in your life.  It is Chicago at its finest.

Deb’s Corned Beef and Cabbage dinner

2 cuts of corned beef, flat cut, lean
10 small red potatoes, more if you have lots of potato lovers to feed.  Clean well and remove some of the skin before adding them to the pot.
1 head of Cabbage,  regular or savoy (If no one likes cabbage, try the savoy) Cut into quarters going through the core to keep each wedge intact.
½ jar of McCormick Pickling spice
6-10 cloved of garlic peels and cut in half

1.      Put both cuts of meat in a very large pot with the spices and bring to a boil.  Lower heat and simmer for 2 1/2 hours
2.      Add potatoes and boil until tender when poked with a fork.  About 20-30 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain in colander.
3.      Remove corned beef, cover to keep warm
4.      Add Cabbage to the boiling water and cook until done.
5.      Melt a bunch of butter and pour over both the cabbage and the potatoes.  The corned beef should be ready for slicing. 

  Enjoy!  And Happy St. Patrick's Day!

 

hummingbird 3/6/14

My picture from my last watercolor class.  Can't wait until the next class starts!  In the mean time I think I will just keep on painting.

3/4/2014 Carnival Gal

Carnival Gal  Watercolor on Arches 140 lb paper

So there I was on Fat Tuesday thinking to myself " Self, it's time to celebrate Carnival!"  And I thought, well... my drinking and Salsa days are long gone but the spirit still thrives.  So I made this picture.  I worked on it all day and had fun doing it!

Portrait

Liv

I saw a Photo...

 

The Herd at Dawn

A Christmas Note

Merry Christmas From the Lund’s

So, it's that time of year for the Christmas letter, only this year I am not writing one to be sent off in cards.  As a matter of fact, I have sent very few cards.  Times change and I am changing with them.  At least I am trying to.

Gary's and my story remains pretty much the same from year to year.  We are both fairly healthy, Gary is still enjoying his retirement and I still love my work as a RN Supervisor for CNS Hospice.  We took a few fun vacations this year.  We visited the beautiful state of South Carolina last spring.  Gary and I are such history buffs, it turned out to be the perfect vacation for us.  And of course there were a few camping trips to Wisconsin and Michigan.  As you can see from above, I started working on watercolors and enjoy creating.

We thought it was going to be just us and the cats, but we are not alone!.  Thom has moved back in to attend Northern Illinois University.  Seems he really does like working for the Dupage County Forest Preserve most of all and is studying geography which is applicable to land management or some such thing.  He has been working with the forest preserve for the last 4-5 years and hopes to continue the summer seasonal position while he attends school.  In the mean time he has picked up a job at a local coffee house.  So we have coffee!

Dan has finished up an internship at the Gerald Ford Presidential Library and Museum for his master's at EIU in Public History Administration.  He has landed 2 jobs, since full time positions are hard to come by these days.  One is as the Collections Manger for the Elmhurst Historical Society and Museum and the other is with History IT which is a company that sets up online archival collections for various businesses, museums, libraries and the like.  He is home but cannot wait to save up a little money and move into his own place.

As for everyone else in our extended family, my brother Clyde and his wife Cathy are doing well.  Their son Andrew is at Marquette working towards a degree in some branch of the medical community. He plans on going on to study at the post graduate level. My cousins Lisa, Holly and Lindsay and their husbands are busy raising their children.  I saw my Aunt Elaine this summer when she came to Chicago to visit her daughter Candace.  We plan on another trip to Holtville, Ca this year in February to see her.

So that's about all for this year.  As Gary always says, the years fly by.  I have become acutely aware of time as I grow older.  There are not enough minutes in the day or days in the year to do all that I want to do in my life.  But life is good.. And with God's help and guidance we will, you will, all of us will, continue to have many, very Merry Christmases and Very Happy New Years.

Deb

More Watercolors

Tommy

Two Boys and Cat Winslow Homer  Reproduction