Happy Windy St. Patrick's Day to You!

"May the road rise to meet you,
 May the wind be always at your back,
 May the sun shine warm upon your face,
 The rains fall soft upon your fields and,
 Until we meet again,
 May God hold you in the palm of His hand."
                            --Irish Blessing

     I thought this was an appropriate quote for this day.  We have weather warnings for 50 mph winds today.  I like to spend the days indoors anyway.  My kids started out their day in the usual St. Patrick's Day tradition of having Lucky Charms for breakfast.  (Hey, it's a holiday for me as well.) 

This is one of the first pieced quilts that I ever made.  I learned how to do needle turn applique on the vines and leaves.  I used up a lot of scraps for the pinwheels and I was happy with how it turned out.  The pattern was one of those free patterns that I got for signing up to take a quilting magazine.  McCall's Quilting Magazine is one of my favorites.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

Tonight my family will be eating corned beef sandwiches on rye bread and some hidden pear jello.  The jello salad has a beautiful light green color and makes the meal festive.  Not to mention, the family really likes it.  You can also try it with peaches instead of pears for a refreshing salad or dessert for Easter that has a pretty peachy color. 

Hidden Pear Jello Salad

1 (15 oz.) can pear halves                                 1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese

1 (3 oz.) package lime flavored gelatin            2 cups frozen whipped topping,

                                                                                    thawed

Drain pears and reserve 1 cup liquid; if needed add water to equal 1 cup.  In a saucepan over medium heat, combine liquid from pears and gelatin.  Bring to a boil and stir until gelatin is dissolved.  Remove from heat and chill until partially set.  In a large bowl, blend the cream cheese and pears until smooth.  Add gelatin mixture and whipped topping, blend until smooth.  Pour into mold or leave in bowl.  Chill for 3 hours or until firm.

I read a book called The Leper a few months ago and it was a sweet story about a man with leprosy and how he tries to save his family the grief of living with him and his disease.  I was amazed that it all turned out well in the end.  The author is Sigmund Brouwer.