Up All Night

 An Irish Blessing

No, I am not Irish but I have been lucky enough to have visited the beautiful Emerald Isle several times ~ by ship, by plane, by train.  And I will happily venture that way again whenever the opportunity arises.  

Why Ireland? The drama of the landscape, Irish Breakfast Tea, Belleek china, Aran Isle Sweaters, fiddles, scones, castles, Guiness, shepherd's pie, Oscar Wilde, Maeve Binchey ... 

Like all wonderful destinations there is much to see between cityscapes and countryside.  Do I ever tire of hills dotted with sheep? No! 

On one guided train tour through parts of Ireland I had the good fortune to visit a sheep farm and meet the shepherd and his herd and his dog. The shepherd had species of every sheep known to live on the island. They are indeed less than bright animals and they are scaredy-cats  ~ easy for the dogs to herd.

Blarney Castle is in the middle of the woolen mills of Blarney, County Cork. Did I kiss the Blarney Stone? No! Some will say that I already have the gift of gab. But the line up the tower was incredibly long so we chose to stroll through the gardens and glens of the castle ~ with thrilling bagpipe music in the background. 

Lush Bluebells were everywhere, but I saw no faeries. Curiously, the Poison Garden was the closest garden to the castle ... In the small village, several woolen mills were rehabed into wollen retailers, shops and pubs! Fish and chips, a guiness and a fisherman's knit sweater ~ made us the last ones back to the tour bus and our seats had been taken by a group of tourists who evidently were not familiar with motor coach etiquette. 

As long as we are talking about food and drink and I am not finished gabbing, one of the country's best offerings to mankind is Baileys Irish Cream. One nippy spring morning on tour we were treated to a Bailey's Hot Chocolate at a lone roadside attraction and inn, The Red Fox. Baileys is a staple in our house, and with a bit of experimentation and reliance on another Irish spirit - Jameson Whiskey - we enjoy home crafted Irish Cream now. And here is the recipe ~ as good as the Blarney Stone for imparting the gift of gab:

Irish Blessings in a Bottle 

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 cup half and half

1 Tbs. Vanilla Extract

1 cup Jameson's Irish Whiskey

2 Tbs. instant coffee granuels

2 Tbs choclate syrup

pour all into blender ~ blend 60 seconds

enjoy straight up, on the rocks, in hot chocolate, martinis, or ...

In the mood to try some punch art tonite, I searched for little sheep created from various sizes of scallop, circles and ovals punches. So here is my variation on that theme:

Two little ewes doing an Irish jig. I should have crafted little green bowler hats. I save scraps and recycle and reuse. The DSP is Paper Blooms from Sale-A-Bration; I have barely cut into it. The lambs wool is curly and fluffy thanks to the Ornate Garden Embossing Folder. The little fluttering butterflies are brand NEW from the Butterfly Brilliance Collection released just today! You can find it in my online store - check Shop Now.

Leaving the sentiment off till I know the recipient ~ but I am thinking grandchildren.

Let's see your take on these little guys. Go ahead, pull out your green cardstock and punches and pearls ~ make your scraps work for you. 

 

                 May the luck of the Irish be with you all month long! 

  

 

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