21st Birthday

Leiny was 21 last weekend (thank you to everyone who wished her well after her accident, it was such a shock, I was so relieved to see her healing very well and so determined to make sure that spending quality time with family and friends was a priority). This post is the result of all that determination.

I spent two evenings making a birthday book for her, with lots of photos of her growing up, everyone who attended the party signed the book. Mr. Margie made a birthday trunk and we filled it with 21 presents including a sewing machine, Cath Kidston goodies, and links for the Love links bracelet Mel bought her as a birthday gift.




We set up an old army tent in the yard and prepared for the seventy family and friends who were going to celebrate with us. Red and silver were Leiny's chosen colours and cucumber and smoked salmon sandwiches (with the crusts cut off) were on the table as starters when the guests arrived. Everyone was invited to take a drink and browse Leiny's gallery of art.





Fresh flowers, candles and plenty of good will and help from friends and cousins (not forgetting the V slicer) preparing food (potatoe salad, coleslaw, pasta salads, watermelon and feta salad, chicken skewers, fresh prawns, cheddar cheese and lots of green salad), helped make the night a great success.



Leiny cut her cake of chocolate, fresh cream and strawberries.





By two o clock in the morning the 'party animals' had progressed to dancing the macarena and inventing new dance moves too



Soon after that the guitar came out




and before long a singsong was underway




At four am everyone was on the way to bed after a 12 hour marathon party fest.




Next morning we (the fantastic eleven) were all up at nine and had the tent emptied, removed and all the recycling, washing and sweeping finished, just in time for the post party party.

I am looking forward to catching up with all my blog freinds and replying to your lovely comments over the weekend.

Bike Accident, Shopping and Award

Leiny was involved in a minor accident on thursday last, on her way to college she was in a collision with a car, she has bruises and sore muscles, her bike is totally broken. We were all shocked and then so happy it was not any worse.



To cheer her up we went shopping with Ana yesterday to Cath Kidston in Kildare Village checking out gift ideas for Leiny's birthday at the end of the month.




There are plenty of bargains to be had and so much choice, I got a mug and tea towel for tea break in work.




Vale at Les Cotrions kindly added me in her list of awarded for the Your Blog is Fabulous Award, thank you very much Vale, she has made some really pretty looking candles (and fantastic smelling I suspect) and recently she made amazing chocolate covered lemon and orange candied peels. In accepting the award I must choose people to award and reveal things I am addicted to.

The Award goes to:
Deborah at My Mom's Work, she completed a fabulous St. Brigid's Sweater and has brought Seamus O Gnome to life.
Elly at My Everyday Things, her scrapping is so inventive and inspiring, I love the fabulous red and white work she does
Michele at the fabulous Cowboys and Custard who has worked so hard on the most incredible cards and badges
Jojo Caramel at Jojo Caramel fabulous artist designer and great photographer
Louise at The Whispering Poppies vintage lace and ribbons that are really fabulous
Abbie at The Vintage Moth a fabulous resource blog I have just discovered
Lulu at Coastal Sisters who is so creative and inspiring, her pretty jewelry is fabulous
Sharon at Manamoon a blog full of love, ideas, and fabulousness

I am addicted to blogging (I love to visit all my blog friends,leave and receive comments and have a browse around new blogs)

Snow Fever

When I woke up yesterday morning, the garden was covered in a blanket of snow, that really soft snow that squeaks underfoot. It is a number of years since we had snow that stayed longer than an hour.



A walk down the driveway confirmed that the roads were covered in snow too and that I would not be going to work anytime soon. The roads had not been gritted (those machines dont get too much use here).



Mr. Margie took a drive up the Wicklow mountains today and enjoyed a walk in deep snow.



The drifts were deeper in some places and the sky remains full of snow clouds.

St. Brigid's Day (La Fheile Bhride)

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Brigid of Kildare (she has many names and has been claimed by both christian and pagan groups), and the first day of spring.



A traditional craft is still utilised to make the Brigid's Cross from rushes, it is hung in the home to keep the house fire free for the year.



This morning in true celebratory fashion, with a clear blue sky and bright sunshine Leiny and I fed the chickens (Brigid is the patron saint of babies; blacksmiths; boatmen; cattle; chicken farmers; children whose parents are not married; dairymaids; dairy workers; fugitives; infants; Ireland; Kildare; Leinster; mariners; midwives; milk maids; newborn babies; nuns; poets; poultry farmers; poultry raisers; printing presses; sailors; scholars; travellers; watermen)and collected the eggs.




I whisked up the eggs to make an omelette 'a la margie' for breakfast,



with fresh basil and mozzarella chesse topping.



Leiny then set about baking something nice for afternoon tea





A dozen carrot cake buns




By lunch the snow clouds were on the horizon and we are already planning tomorrow Candlemas day, the feast of light.




Saint Brigid

Lady Gilbert

'MlD dewy pastures girdled with blue air,
Where ruddy kine the limpid waters drink,
Through violet-purpled woods of green Kildare,
'Neath rainbow skies, by tinkling rivulet's brink,
O Brigid, young, thy tender, snow-white feet
In days of old on breezy morns and eves
Wandered through labyrinths of sun and shade,
Thy face so innocent-sweet
Shining with love that neither joys nor grieves
Save as the angels, meek and holy maid !


With white fire in thy hand that burned no man,
But cleansed and warmed where'er its ray might call,
Nor ever wasted low, or needed fan,
Thou walk'dst at eve among the oak-trees tall.
There thou didst chant thy vespers, while each star
Grew brighter listening through the leafy screen.
Then ceased the song-bird all his love-notes soft,
His music near or far,
Hushing his passion 'mid the sombre green
To let thy peaceful whispers float aloft.

And still from heavenly choirs thou steal'st by night
To tell sweet Aves in the woods unseen,
To tend the shrine-lamps with thy flambeau white
And set thy tender footprints in the green.
Thus sing our birds with holy note and pure,
As though the loves of angels were their theme;
Thus burn to throbbing flame our sacred fires
With heats that still endure ;
Thence hath our daffodil its golden gleam,
From thy dear mindfulness that never tires !

LADY GILBERT (ROSA MULHOLLAND)

A Popular and gifted Irish poetess and novelist of the day, born in Belfast. She published one volume of delicate verse (vagrant Verses, 1886); all her other writings, which are numerous, being stories. In 1891 she married Mr. (afterwards Sir J. T.) Gilbert, the noted Irish archaeologist.

A sincere Thank You to Vale at Les Cotrions for the Award she passed to me last week. I will consider who I will pass it to this week and put it on my next post.