B E B E R E

H-a-double r-i...

Top o the mornin to you and all that!

Given that this isn't Boston, we didn't get the day off like our counterparts south of the Charles did. No pub crawls during office hours, alas. We are celebrating in our own nonIrish, nonBostonian (subtler) ways, however.

I'm actually surprised at how many folks are wearing green today - I don't have much in that color in my wardrobe, so I hennaed my hair instead. Someone gave me a "Kiss Me I'm Irish" necklace, so I'm wearing that.

Did not feel like making the usual soda bread, so made a few dozen madeleines and dyed them green. We're calling them Siobhans instead. Since Johnny's had such a sale on all the necessary ingredients, I made about a month's worth of boiled dinner, as well.

We're also rocking out to a hit parade of classic Irish Hits:

Carolan's Harp - some lovely baroque era harp music from Turlogh O'Carolan. It's interesting to hear how he took prevailing musical fashion from the continent and spun it into something charming and original as he did. (Interesting little side note - just like the old Massachusetts rule being that only blind people could be trained to tune pianos, in Ireland, apparently, blind children were trained to be harpists. I guess it was some sort of vocational education/affirmative action thing.)

Stanford Symphony I/Second Irish Rhapsody - considered the father of English Pastoralism, his work influenced the likes of Edward Elgar, Gerard Finzi, Ralph Vaughn Williams.

John Field - 15 Nocturnes - Chopin may have made the nocturne famous, but Field invented it. Though relatively short, these pieces are just so atmospheric, I usually like to turn off the lights, close my eyes and sort of float off on them. Don't think I'll try that in the office, however.