“May you bring light to the home
Warmth to the heart
Joy to the soul
And love to the lives you touch”
Irish Blessing for newborn Emmy and big Sister Lyla
It is rare that we get to eat a classic St. Patrick’s Day feast of corned beef and cabbage, green-mashed potatoes and carrots, but thanks to our son-in-law Kyle’s mom Kim and Al Chien, Cecile and I were invited to join them, our daughter Michelle, granddaughter Lyla and, our newest granddaughter, sweet Emmeline (Emmy) last evening.
After catching up on our day, we enjoyed some drinks. Green beer, as it turns out has nothing to do with the original celebrations of St. Patrick’s Day. But drinking does, and so we did. As I approached Kyle at the kitchen counter, he offered me a beer. It was not just “a” beer, but a blend of beers. Blending Guinness dark beer with a Harp Lager beer has a long celebrated history. Kyle poured half of my glass with Harp Lager. Then, like an alchemist took a spoon, turned it upside down, and held it over the liquid surface and slowly poured the rich, creamy, dark Guinness Draught, the king of Irish beers over the back of a spoon. If done correctly, it will sit atop the other beer and you can see a clear boundary between the two. The reason this works is that Guinness isn’t as dense (not heavy) as some believe as Harp Lager beer.
Then, we helped ourselves to a buffet of lean, moist and delicious corned beef, green-mashed, roasted rainbow carrots, cabbage and, fresh-bake sourdough bread. For dessert, Kim (Lollie) with Lyla’s help made a colorful, rich layer cake that contained cream cheese, whipped cream and chocolate filling.
The grandmothers, Cecile (Nonnie) and Kim (Lollie) bonded with Emmy who currently has blue eyes and is making smiley faces. There is nothing like a newborn to warm the heart and soul of the family, and of course Lyla always entertains and is showing increased affection to her baby sister.
