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I just realized how quickly St. Patrick's Day
is creeping up on us. It's only about 3 1/2 weeks
away now. I know for a fact that the day will come and go for me like
any other day and unless you're still in elementary school, a Catholic
and/or Irish it may even do the same for you. Still,
I'd like to know more about why St. Patrick's Day is celebrated,
wouldn't you?
According to
Wikipedia and
in part: "...As well as being a celebration of Irish culture, Saint
Patrick's Day is a Christian festival celebrated in the Catholic
Church, the Church of Ireland, and some other denominations. The day
almost always falls in the season of Lent, and some bishops will grant
an indult, or release, from the Friday no-meat observance when St.
Patrick's Day falls on a Friday; this is sometimes colloquially known
as a "corned-beef indult"."
"In the past, Saint Patrick's Day was
celebrated as a religious holiday. It became a public holiday in 1903,
by the Money Bank. (Ireland) Act 1903, an Act of the United Kingdom
Parliament introduced by the Irish MP James O'Mara. O'Mara later
introduced the law which required that pubs be closed on 17 March, a
provision which was repealed only in the 1970s. The first St.
Patrick's Day parade held in the Irish Free State was held in Dublin
in 1931 and was reviewed by the then Minister of Defense Desmond
Fitzgerald. Although secular celebrations now exist, the holiday
remains a religious observance in Ireland, for both the Church of
Ireland and Roman Catholic Church."
"Green ribbons and shamrocks were worn in
celebration of St Patrick's Day as early as the 17th century. He is said to have used
the shamrock, a
three-leaved plant, to explain the Holy Trinity to the pre-Christian
Irish, and the wearing and display of shamrocks and shamrock-inspired
designs have become a ubiquitous feature of the day.The phrase
"the wearing of the green", meaning to wear a shamrock on one's
clothing, derives from the song of the same name."
What's amazing to me is the great lengths some of our US cities will go to in
celebration of the day. Besides the typical parades currently held all over the
country, (World for that matter) Chicago dyes the Chicago River
green and Indianapolis also dyes its main canal green. Numerous cities
paint the traffic stripes on the parade route green and some cities
dye their fountains green. And I doubt if you could go into a bar and
not see green beer being served by the bucket loads. I'm sure this is just the tip of the
iceberg of the events on a typical St. Patrick's Day and we hope you
have a chance to enjoy some of them.
I just checked the calendar and we have some
time until Easter! It's not until April 4th this year. Whew! I really
do need a holiday break, don't you?
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Did you notice the gorgeous lampwork
pendants we're carrying now? They come to us from Lampworks 4 U and each
pendant in it's own right emits either an elegance for evening wear or
classy look for day wear. In either case, they're all a shimmering delight
and I hope the photographs are doing them justice! Each pendant comes with a
gift box, so if you wanted to give one as a gift instead of keeping it for
yourself, you'll be all set. Although, once you see one in person you'll
want to keep for yourself.
You may have even seen similar
pendants on the net, and you might have noticed that some are made by
talented artists and are totally awesome, while others are direct from
China. I reviewed a couple of pages of sites on Google and did not find any
that are being massed produced with as much bronze, gold and/or silver
content as what we're showing. I mentioned this, as I seem to remember a
friend telling me that the metallic glass is much more expensive than plain
colored glass. And as you can see for yourself, the brilliance of the
metallic glass has a depth and play of color unlike the one-dimensional
non-metallics. You can see the whole collection of these gorgeous pendants
here: Jewelry Category
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Gorgeous work of art.
Shimmering lampwork glass pendant in bronze with black and white design,
ribbon/cord necklace with stainless steel hardware. $6.99
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Shimmering lampwork glass pendant in bronze with green accents and
green ribbon/cord necklace. $6.99
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Round lampwork glass pendant in
multi-colors of blue, cranberry, yellow, lavender, green and black accents
and pale yellow ribbon/cord necklace. $6.99
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Now that we
have your jewelry in place, let's add a new purse. Actually, these are not
just purses, bags or totes; they're conversations pieces. Each one is
handmade from a skirt by USE2BE Something Else. What a clever idea and to
think our planet is being saved too. The quality of workmanship on these
bags are like what you would find in a store. Seriously! Yes, they're a
little more pricier than some of our other purses, totes and bags, but
there's a lot of elements to these bags, plus the work that goes into each
one and the uniqueness of each bag. One day you'll find these bags selling
in a famous store and you think: Coulda/woulda/shoulda if you let it pass
by you now..
See the entire collection on our pages in
Purses, Bags & Accessories.
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Casual
khaki handbag, fully lined, inside pocket, two outer pockets, 15 x 15
inches, 100% silk scarf. $25.00
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Stylish,
dark green-not turquoise-suede handbag, 11 x 14, one inside pocket,
front snap and zipper opening, fully lined. $30.00
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Carpet
bag look. Floral with black accents on plush corduroy, lined, two
outside pockets, snap closure, 17 x 11. $25.00
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Something to think about:
Those who cannot remember the past will spend
a lot of time looking for their cars in mall parking lots.
Recipe:
Spicy Tilapia With Mushrooms and Zucchini
I haven't tried this recipe yet, but it
sounds yummy and I always see the Tilapia fish at the market, but didn't
know how it should be cooked.
SERVES 2
Ingredients:
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup green bell pepper, thin slices
1 medium zucchini, thin slices
4 ounces fresh large mushrooms, thin slices
2-6 ounces tilapia fillets
Cajun seasoning
Powdered cayenne pepper
1 lime, cut in half
OPTIONAL
Olive oil or Olive oil flavored cooking spray
Marjoram (optional)
Directions
Instructions:
Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Stir-fry onion, garlic clove and
pepper until crisp-tender, then add zucchini and continue to cook for a
short time. Finally add mushrooms. Push veggies off to the side of pan.
Sprinkle one side of Tilapia with Cajun seasoning. Add olive oil or olive
oil spray then add fish to skillet. Cook about three minutes and turn.
Cut lime in half and squeeze lime juice on tilapia from one half of the
lime. Use the other half for serving if you like to squeeze it fresh on your
fish. Sprinkle cayenne pepper and Marjoram if wanted, to taste. Then cover
and continue to cook until fish is done, about another three minutes. Serve.
You can serve with Steamed Jasmine Rice.
And to once again remind you of our Name Your Price Sale....
Also, I still think our Layaway program
combined with the Name Your Price Sale
are the two greatest tools anyone could have who is looking to save money.
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