Going Green

by Stephanie Black

It’s St. Patrick’s Day, which means I’m legally entitled to wax sentimental about Ireland. I have a soft spot for the Emerald Isle, since we lived there for two years. I’ve got my Irish playlist playing on the iPod (currently playing: Lisdoonvarna, by Christy Moore) and tonight we’ll be celebrating with corned beef, potatoes, and soda bread. I really should be a little more Irish about it and serve more than one kind of potato dish. Did you know that in Ireland, you can get your curry or your Chinese food served with chips (aka French fries)? I never did try that. For dessert tonight, to my children’s delight, we’ll have our traditional St. Patrick’s Day treat of a variety of candy bars cut into little pieces so everyone can sample each kind. There’s a grocery store here that sells some of the candy we could buy in Ireland. I don’t usually buy it, since it’s expensive, but it makes a fun nostalgic treat to get a Mars Bar. Too bad they don’t sell Cadbury Roses. Oh man, I’m starting to feel really sentimental. Cadbury Roses and Jaffa Cakes and McVities Digestives—mmm, those chocolate-glazed ones—and Lilt soda and sausages and Sean's brown bread (a specialty of Superquinn, the grocery store where I did most of my shopping). Cheese and onion crisps—no, I don’t miss those. They were okay, but not my favorite, though if I had some today, I’d probably swoon over them just for sentiment’s sake. Cheese and onion is the default flavor there, as opposed to plain potato chips.

Ireland is a spectacularly beautiful country. Here are some pictures, none of which even come close to doing it justice, but hey, at least it's a taste of Irish scenery. Here's a picture from Connemara:



And more Connemara:



And Mizen Head, in County Cork:



The Burren, in County Clare--there are miles of these amazing limestone fields.



Not sure what this is--it's in County Limerick, not far from where we lived:



Clare Glen--oh wow, these pictures really don't show how beautiful these places are. You'll just have to go there.



This picture was taken from a hillside in Connemara. It was one of the most beautiful scenes I've ever seen in my life, with the sun coming through the gray sky and turning the water silver.



The Cliffs of Moher, in County Clare.



Kylemore Abbey, in Connemara.



I'd love to go back and visit Ireland. Maybe someday when we're just tripping over piles of money, we can go back. . . let's see--how many kids do we need to get clothed and fed/through college/on missions . . .