Potato Toss 2016

This evening we celebrated St. Patrick's Day with our traditional trip to Ye-Ye and Nana's house, all decked out in green.  Ye-Ye had a great Irish floral arrangement on the table, and Nana had all sorts of Celtic music playing on their new stereo system.  Meanwhile, there was plenty to eat on the table, from corned beef to Irish soda bread to potatoes and of course cabbage.

Some of the potatoes were used in our annual potato toss - somewhat like the game 'cornhole,' the object is to toss a potato some distance across the yard and into a black cauldron, a 'pot of gold.'  Daddy was the winner clearly this year, getting five shots out of six, apparently feeling the 'luck of the Irish.'  Mommy and Madison scored a few times as well - we took this picture above of all the participants (except Daddy who is taking the photo).  As you can see, everyone was wearing green.  Mommy is more Welsh than anything, and obviously Madison is from half a world away.  But this week, we're all Irish!

Afterwards, there was time for dessert.  Mommy's famous potatoes were on display once more - she makes brownies, wraps them in marzipan and rolls that in cocoa powder to give it a brownish potato look.  Finally, for some of the potato ears, she uses almond slivers here and there.  The effect is great - they look just like potatoes.  Aunt Shain made a gluten-free cake with a bit shamrock on the top, and of course there were the cookies that we had made a few days earlier.

It was nice just sitting down with everyone for a few relaxing hours.  The rest of the day was spent doing a bit of work.  Daddy went down to Athens with a few others to visit someone in the hospital - we drove by a few landmarks here and there, including the spot where Daddy got hit by a bus, not to mention the dormitories and food places.

Madison did some piano, and did some video games as well. The weather outside was cooler, but it was still quite nice today.  The end result was a perfect atmosphere for fun and games tonight.

It seems obviously different without one member of our family there, still somewhat surreal.  But it was great to see everyone laughing and having a good time.  And so tonight, after a full week of blarney, it's time to take off the green and pack it up for another year.  Really, the turnaround has to be quick:  we leave St. Patrick's Day season, and bam!  We're right there in Easter season already.  Can you believe Easter is just a week away?  Blarney!