Wearing Green on St. Patrick's Day... Living the Tradition

Wednesday Morning I half spaced it while choosing something to wear, leaning towards something teal or blue until realizing that day had a dress code: Green.  Something green had to be worn, and blue or teal doesn't count.   Funny enough I used to have a lot of green in my wardrobe, but instead I opted for my favorite yet tired Mickey shirt in olive green.  It still count's, right?  No leprechaun was going to pinch me while wearing that color tone, correct?

For good measure I threw on three Irish bracelets. One of the bracelets my Mom made with jade from a Santa Barbara bead store off State Street (we spent a bit of time in that store, and I was so excited to have found jade beads).  The other two bracelets are from Ireland, amethyst and connemara marble.  How perfect is it that Ireland has a marble exclusive to its island, and it just so happens to be green?

Beautiful shades of green, too.

It's funny how we all have traditions we can't help but celebrate.  Not wearing green on St. Patrick's Day feels sacrilege.

One of my favorite St. Patrick's Day memories was in Kindergarten.  Our teacher made it VERY clear that we were to wear green, and if we didn't wear green we would get pinched by leprechauns.  I believed it!!  And some of the kids did get pinched, only by the other kids.  When we entered the classroom that day our teacher, Mrs. Franklin, made it magical.  Irish lore was everywhere, and throughout the room were trails of tiny green foot pints where the leprechauns had scurried about.  I was thrilled to not have been pinched.  And every year since I've worn green.

While choosing something to wear last Wednesday I mused how I had completely forgotten to grab my Gryffindor sweater on Halloween.   These last several years I've worn that Hogwarts symbol, because I sorta look like I've made an effort for the holiday, though I'm technically just being lazy and un-festive.  This year I literally spaced it, even though I had door duty.  With the pandemic not many kids came to the door, but dang it the kids that did was going to get candy!!

So traditions die hard, and wearing green on St. Paddy's Day will live on.

P.S. The Mickey on the shirt is my spirit animal.

PPS. I Didn't get pinched. :P

 

References:

Before Green, This Was the Color of St. Patrick's Day, News 10

St. Patrick's Day, National Geographic for Kids

Why We Wear Green on St. Patrick's Day, Readers Digest

In Which I Attempt A Bob Ross Painting and My Baby Niece Decides She Likes It A Little Too Much

For St. Patrick's day my whole family got together to do a Bob Ross painting party.  Some of my siblings have already done one, and their pictures of the event looked so much fun we all wanted to try.

I grew up watching Bob Ross on PBS.  He's so calming!  But I've never tried painting before, well, beyond a watercolor project in High School art class, but beyond that I haven't painted at all, especially with oils.

Bob Ross makes it look so easy.  How would it be for a novice like myself?

Getting the materials in place.

All the dark colors look the same on the plate.

It was a guessing game figuring out what color I wanted.

Lindsay's masterpiece.

My Mom had a hard time because she's more of a methodical painter. She takes her time.  Painting with Bob Ross is like doing Nanowrimo (national novel writing month).  You can't think about what you're painting.  You've just got to go with it.  Be in the moment.  Put paint on the canvas and see where it takes you.

My masterpiece.

Not half bad for a first-timer! :0)

Then a funny thing happened.

My baby niece decided she liked my painting, so much so she sat on it, missing all the other paintings.

When I found out I laugh/cried.

Her foot prints we did with the paint she got from my painting turned out rather nice.

 

 And on a completely different note I found out what happened with the Doctor.  He just disappeared  one day from the garage.  It turns out he's been hanging out at my brother's work.  That stare though.  Still weirds me out a little, like he's seeing through me, or I just didn't something wrong.

 

At the End of a Rainbow

 

 (Photo Source Info)

I can honestly say I've been at the end of a rainbow.  On Facebook, August 9, 2010, I wrote: A few days ago on the way home from SLC (Salt Lake City) I suddenly found myself at the end of a Rainbow (it was touching the white of my car and extended to the mountain), and no, I didn't find a pot of Gold.  Childhood myth debunked."

I didn't find any skittles either.

Somewhere I once read that it's impossible to be at the end of a rainbow, something to do with light physics. 

It was lightly raining coming home in the passenger seat that day; the sun was bright and clear.  My Mom was driving, and we first noticed a vivid rainbow light up at the base of the mountain, colors sharp.  It was hard not to stare. 

We had just rounded the the Point of the Mountain, as we locals call it (the point where I-15 bends around the mountain, separating Salt Lake Valley from Utah Valley), around the Lehi area when we first noticed the rainbow.  A couple miles later the rainbow contined to grow, moving with us, still touching the mountain, and then all of a sudden the miraculous happened.  The hood of our white car was shining with a beautiful mix of colors.  My Mom and I were in shock.  From our car to the mountain there was a perfect, full arch rainbow.

It's one of those memories I will never forget.  As a child my family would hop in the car during a rainstorm, driving around orange fields in Central California.  All that space, hours of driving, and we could never find ourselves at the end of the rainbow.  Then in August, 2010, the Rainbow came to us without even trying.  Maybe that's why there was no Gold.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  May you find yourself at the end of a  Rainbow :0)