Tue - 17 Mar/15

Happy St. Patrick's Day! A record hot one here today!

May the "Luck of the Irish" be with you! This is the day on which everyone is "Irish".

March 17th is the traditional day of the death of St. Patrick, the patron Saint of Ireland.

One of the longest-running and largest St Patrick's Day parades in North America occurs each year in Montreal, QC (Canada) whose city flag includes a Shamrock in its lower-right quadrant. The annual celebration has been organised by the United Irish Societies of Montreal since 1929; however, it has been celebrated in Montreal as far back as 1759 by Irish soldiers in the Montreal Garrison following the British conquest of New France.

St Patrick's Day, while not a legal holiday (except in Suffolk County, MA) in the United States, is nonetheless widely recognised and observed throughout the country as a celebration of Irish and Irish American culture. Celebrations include prominent displays of the colour green, eating and drinking, religious observances, and numerous parades. The holiday has been celebrated on the North American continent since the late eighteenth century.

The White House "North Fountain" has been dyed green for St. Patrick's Day since 2009. Major parades take place in almost 3 dozen of the USA's largest cities.

In America over 10% of it citizens claim Irish heritage. Many Irish immigrants originally settled in Savannah, GA, Charleston, SC, Memphis, TN and New Orleans, LA in the Southern USA. Is is said that word got back to Ireland regarding the warm , humid climate so the next "wave of Irish" settled in the Northern USA in Boston, MA, New York, NY, Philadelphia, PA, Detroit, MI and Chicago, IL.

We have had the pleasure ( I use the term loosely) of being in Savannah, GA, New Orleans, LA, and Memphis, TN on this day. I assure you, they do celebrate! We have had "Green Beer" at "Silky O'Sullivan's Pub" on Beale St in Memphis, TN; marched along with the parade in New Orleans, LA and stood "shoulder to shoulder" with 400,000 revellers on the wharf in Savannah. GA. Needless to say these are experiences we will always remember.

I will end my "Irish" bit with a favourite blessing.

This is also a day of celebration for our best friends, Helene and Ron, who celebrate their wedding anniversary on this day - and they are not even Irish (grin). Charlotte phoned this morning to send our best wishes. It was good to hear things are warming up in Canada - even if it was only 1 degree above freezing.

Tuesday iis a day we usually reserve for "going someplace". There are no crafts or activities that we participate in on Tuesday making it easier. (As long I we get back in time for my NCIS night on TV).

I spent a bit of time planning our route to today's destinations. Whenever possible I try to stay off the really busy roads to maximize our driving enjoyment. Charlotte used that time to try her new Facial Sauna. She was quit happy with it's performance.

Our first stop was at the Yalaha (German) Bakery (in Yalaha, FL) for lunch. They were very busy. All the regular parking was taken and the overflow in the field was beginning to fill up.

There was live music on the patio. This is usually reserved for Saturday afternoons - might have been because it was St. Paddy's Day?

They have a great selection of pastries and breads as well as a Deli for great sandwiches.

They were even busier in the Deli. It took about 20 minutes for our order to be prepared.

The patio was almost full. We decided to eat inside which was also air conditioned.

They are meticulous about making their sandwiches and have a sign requesting patience. It was worth the wait. We shared a German Salami on Crusty Roll w/Sweet German Mustard, Tomato, Lettuce, Onion and Swiss Cheese. I'm glad we decided to share. We could not have each eaten a full sandwich. If we had ordered that way we would have had no room for dessert and that would have been a sin,

Dessert was also a shared selection: Black Forest Cake (what else!). Sinfully Good! (Shucks - we sinned anyway - grin).

Stage Two of today's mission was to go to Beasley Mfg. Inc. in Center Hill, FL.

They specialize in fabrics for outdoor projects. They are open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Tue., Wed., and Thu. at their facility at 59 S. Maryland Ave. On Monday they are at the Webster Flea Market (B Shed #66-70).

If you need RV sunscreens, windshield covers, patio covers, awning extensions or pet screening this is the place to go. They have a wide selection of materials and the necessary grommets, snaps, etc. to complete any project.

We arrived here due to "Word-of-Mouth" advertising. This is the best kind as it is usually always accurate. We were referred to this facility by Charlotte's fellow crafters who come quite often. Something we will most certainly do, as well.

The folks here are super friendly and offer excellent help and advice. The prices are beyond reasonable. Soon we had several pieces in various colours and were on our way back to the RV.

We retraced our route back to OMS. Today, despite being in the mid-80's F, was quite enjoyable with the top off the Del Sol as the humidity was lower than during the rainy week that just passed. This gave us a double dose of the orange blossom aroma as we passed the groves. Charlotte couldn't help but exclaim; "It smell so good!"

Sadly, the aroma isn't as prevalent as when we first came to this area (especially around Clermont, FL). Many of the groves (including the present site of OMS) have been converted to other uses; mainly gated communities and golf courses.

We did make a stop on the return. Charlotte made a quick trip into JO-ANN's to pick up a few spools of matching (Polyester) thread for sewing the new material.

At the park we went to check the mail. Another "You've Got Mail" card was in our P.O. Box. I stopped at the Main Office to pick up the package. It was the Olfa and Fiskars Rotary Cutter blades that I had ordered for Charlotte,

While I did this Charlotte went to the Main Club House to sign up for Wednesday's craft session. (Note: That is the Club House; but that is not Charlotte).

I doing the blog early and the occasional whiffs of Charlotte making chicken stir for supper is killing me. It smells so good!

That's one way to shorten the blog. I'm going for supper!