Tuesday 24 March 2009

March = 03













Are you Irish? No I am not Irish, I am Canadian. If you had to split me up into other countries for my ancestry than I would be ½ Scottish from my mother who is from Aberdeen, Scotland. ¼ French with a tad of Spanish from my grandmother on my father’s side who was from France and ¼ French Canadian from my grandfather. Calculations (½ + ¼ + ¼) = 100% Canadian.

Do you like corned beef and cabbage? I am going to put the cart before the horse. I love cabbage drowned in butter with salt and pepper. Now corn beef is another story; I’m on the fence, well no I’m not, I don’t really like it. (Okay Aries, what happened to being able to answer a question?) Well after that little dig to myself it has shored me up and so no I don’t like corned beef but I do love cabbage.

What did you do for St. Patrick’s Day? I wrote my blog post on Vegas. Went to the hospital and had my PICC cleaned. Went to my metastases group meeting where there was a cake for Sally, Irene, and I for our birthdays.

Are you happy when winter is pretty much over? Yes, I am, but I must admit that at this time I am the most afraid of walking because the snow melts so fast that the roads and walkways are treacherous with ice. Having cancer in my bones makes me doubly afraid to fall. Well I can’t leave you on that note. I sound like I am always waaagh waaagh waaagh all the way home all of the time. So yes, I am very happy that winter is pretty much over.

50 comments:

A Palmer said...

I came home late from work on St. Patrick's Day and my dear neighbor's mom had brought over a whole dinner - corned beef, cabbage, potatoes and carrots and even dessert! Made me feel like a kid again - I loved it! I've never been a big corned beef fan either Renee, but hers was just scrumptuous! My husband has a CT coming up next week, so we are praying for a good result. First one since his surgery in Jan. Thanks for asking, Renee. Healthy hugs to you, girl.

Willnnabel said...

Well here is where the "blunt" Sagittarian tells you, "I like the corned beef, but only if it's cooked with enought seasoning and tender. It is the cooked carrots I do not like." Nope never have liked cooked carrots, raw are fine, but only a few at a time. Like you I love the cabbage also, and of course the potato's. I was recently at a site, (I apologize for not remembering the name here) but they had a recipe for crock-pot corned beef cooked in apple juice. You cook your potato's, carrot's, onion, and corned beef for several hours on low. Then remove the corned beef turn the pot to high and add the cabbage for an half hour or so. Sounds good so I am going to try it.
I am glad to see you are feeling a bit better and like you I too look forward to Spring. While the snow is gone the threat is still around so I won't celebrate the end of it until say, June?
This is the part of spring I do not care for the dirty, wet, yucky part before the "green". Still just being able to see the ground gives me hope!

Anonymous said...

Dear Rene you never waaagh waaagh all the way home funny girlfriend this morning
5 more days and it's your BIRTHDAY!
Oh Renee aren't Birthdays the most wonderful, bring the Birthday's on us and we want to get old.
Hope your day is good even though the weather very wintery looking, hehe, what is with that? I just looked out the window.
Love Sally

Sarah Sullivan said...

I adore cabbage toooo! Love it - bt really like the potatoes and corn beef too. I'm not Irish - despite the last name of Sullivan (which I love by the way). Am basically English and German by heritage - otherwise - American. I spent St.Patricks day learning it's history, coloring shamrocks with my kiddos and smelling.... corn beef and cabbage all day.
Here is a huge hug for your birthday!! You are an amazing one hon!! Thank you for making me stretch myself every day!! Love you, Sarah

Anonymous said...

Ha ha ha! GREAT ending! Me too...happy winter is almost over. Me too....scared to slip on the ice (radiation has fried my bones). Me too...love cake! As for cabbage and corned beef....how about a chocolate bar instead?
Love to you
xoxoxo

Anonymous said...

I am waiting for winter to be over. I walk like a duck on the slippery ice also afraid of falling. I don't like today's weather, more slippery stuff.
I think I'll hibernate and read.
Love and blessings, Barb

Deanna said...

Hey Renee...I'm Irish by marriage...does that count? I'm very happy winter is over too...I don't live in the freezing depths of it that you do, but I'm happy just the same.

I too like cabbage with butter, salt & pepper, and don't like Corned beef...

On St. Patrick's Day, I spent the day (tatooed with Shamrocks, and wearing blinking green lights) driving my Irish Dancing daughter around Windsor and Essex County so that she could do many many dance shows...

HAPPY SPRING!

Dave King said...

My daughter-in-law is 1/2 Welsh, I/4 English and 1/4 Italian - so far as any of us know what we are, that is. I have a feeling that it's not that black and white (if I can put it that way). Good post, though.

Bjornik said...

I'm half Filipino, half Malay, and half Chinese. That makes me 1 1/2 persons! Nah, just kidding. Harhar!:P

Glad that winter's finally over. For your safety and my half-naked body. I'm already in Europe by the way. Goodnight Renee!

xoxo
Björnik

Cheryl Cato said...

Renee, winter is pretty much over here also ha, ha! We really don't have winter compared to your winters. Occasionally we get an Alberta Clipper that zooms through our state & right on out into the Gulf of Mexico. Zip... it's here & it's gone. We may have 85 degrees in the morning and when one comes through we may drop 20 degrees rapidly and then have a slow settling in of cold air (down in the 20 degree range at night) for a couple of days... then it's back to the 60s and mild temperatures.

Now for corned beef & cabbage...I love it! It's one of my favorite things about St. Pat's Day. The G-man & I picked out some corned beef which I threw into an iron pot, covered with spices & water & cooked for 3+ hours. G-man said, "Meat boiled is never any good!" Wrong oh doubtful one... it was fabulous. At 2 1/4 hours I added potatoes & red onions, at 2 1/2 hours I added chopped cabbage. It was beautiful & oh so delicious. The meat was as tender as I've ever eaten. I should have taken a photo of it!

I've got some Irish (paternal grandmother) in my background which is where my extremely curly hair comes from (the Hillis hair), Welsh (paternal grandfather), English (maternal grandmother), and German (maternal grandfather)... making me an all-American mishmash!

I have found that I love going into Canada. I've only been in two areas which are pretty different (Toronto several times and British Columbia to Vancouver & Victoria). I don't think Gerald has been to Toronto, but maybe we'll get there one day. Gerald wants to go to Calgary & Lake Louise... he's been there & wants me to see it.

Well, I got carried away, eh? How did all this come out of corned beef & cabbage?

The demolition goes on in my kitchen... harder than they expected (refer to my blog), so I'm trying to keep clear.

Stay safe ... no falling down for you, dear Renee.
Hugs,
Lizzy

studio lolo said...

This image is stunning, the sky especially. I can feel the promise of spring in this photo yet the chill of winter hanging on.

I was born in Canada to two Canadian parents. My paternal Grandfather, Lawrence Vincent Porter was born in Edinborough, Scotland. I'm his namesake. He was an artist through and through.
My paternal Grandmother was born in Montreal although I always thought she was born in England. Maybe it was her name, Maude Gumbly! Thank God I wasn't HER namesake :)
I think there's a little Dutch thrown in my mix as well as Native American. I have one sister who laughs her ass off at that one! She thinks it's my vivid imagination that dreamt that one up. I think my mother said it in one of her alcohol stupors. Anyway, I'd love to be part Native American. I believe my tribal name would be 'Raven' something or other.

So, Miss Winnipeg, here we have yet another connection with our Scottish ancestry. We already had the Canadian thing going on ;)
Perhaps I'm a long lost sister.

I hope Spring arrives for you soon.
xoxoxo
Lolo

Snowbrush said...

My birthday was in March too--March 1.

I too am glad that winter is almost over. Not that it's very cold here, but it is awfully rainy.

I lived in Minneapolis for two winters, and it was as close to real cold as I have ever been, and I did not like it, no I didn't.

Anonymous said...

I really really love a prairie sky and think it is something that is unfortunately taken for granted ... the sky in your picture is fantastic, mmm cabbage, i was wishing the other day i knew how to get in any spirit and have fun like irish people seem do and i am happy winter is almost over but on the same hand i love nothing more than being snowed in! xoxo see you in a bit.

Tessa said...

There y'go, girl! The Aries/Aquarian connection whoops it's way into town again - I love cabbage too, sauteed quickly in a little chili infused olive oil, dusted with salt and pepper and a squeeze of lemon.

Thanks you - big smooch - for my pomegranate dream interpretation. So spot on about my sister and me.

And, Madame Soothsayer, that is exactly how my Geminis and I interact. You leave me agog...

Poetic Dreams said...

Funny ya should mention whether ya were Irish. I did a picture called Irish Eyes! I'll have to post her for ya to see. I was happy with how she turned out. I hope ya day is beautiful hun. Ya deserve nothing but Beauty in ya day.
Biggest Hugs~

Anonymous said...

Dixie Tricks here:

Okay, gotta call Sh.t, we are having a snow storm out here in the booneys of Brandon, walking is extremely scary and I don't have cancer, but I am really terrified of falling. I don't like to drive in this weather alone, I want it to stop so that I can make my more frequent drives to the Peg. I am a baby. Dam!

Corn Beef and Cabbage, I love a good ruban (no thousand island sauce please.)

Have a lovely day Renee.

Love you
Colette

Rebecca E. Parsons/Cre8Tiva said...

me too...i posted to my blog on st. paddy's day...i am irish and french...my dusghter's name is casey (my grandmother's maiden name) so i have green in me...blessings, rebecca

Rosaria Williams said...

Renee,

You must have had corned beef sandwiches, the way you get in one of those New York delis. I hope you enjoyed these.

Ces Adorio said...

Do you like oak trees?
Do you like acorns?
Would you like it if someone drew an oak tree for you?
Would you prefer a
live oak
Willow oak
Shummard oak
turkey oak
white oak
etc.etc.

I think a live oak is better and I love its symbolism. Do you know that the Angel oak is 1600 years old in South Carolina?

Would you rather have an acorn splitting up and a lovely Renee coming out of it?

What color was you hair when you were six years old?

Cheryl Cato said...

That photo is so beautiful! I forgot to mention it earlier.

Michelle said...

I like corned beef AND cabbage.....

and you :)

Happy Spring!

xxx

Ronnie said...

Thanks for the solidly good advice you gave me yesterday.
Take care of that self of yours. Cabbage lovers with butter unite!

A Cuban In London said...

I have learnt to love cabbage and now love it. As to corned beef, I am partial to it, very much :-). Many thanks.

Greetings from London.

Daria said...

Firstly ... I love the picture.

No I am not Irish ... I am Ukrainian ... 100%, I'm told.

I love cabbage and I like corned beef the odd time.

I can't remember what I did on St Patrick's day ... likely not much.

I'm happy winter is pretty much over but I'm afraid of summer as I have not energy to do any yard work ... namely, flowers and such. Not sure how we'll handle that.

I sure like your idea of having questions ....

Daria said...

Oh yes, thanks for posting ... 'chemo' encouraging comments on my blog.

Not many people know what Taxotere is like.

Unknown said...

Awww there was me away and I missed your Birthday - so first things first BELATED HAPPY BIRTHDAY....XXX

Corned beef I love, family hates so I rarely buy it...
Cabbage I love but Stuart can't stand the smell so I don't buy that either. I have the cabbage if it is on a menu when we go out.
I love pickled red cabbage and I do buy that...mmmm thinking about it has my taste buds going.

Think of you everyday, even wanted to e mail you when I was away at the weekend but the day was so packed that I just didn't get a chance to go online, just collapsed in to bed at the end of the day so that I would be ready for the next day x Love ya, big hugs xxxx

Linda Sue said...

But do you have cravings for Haggis?? And urine soaked wool?
Aye, lassie, you're a Scot!
I hope you are feeling Ok. Spring is just around the corner or so it is said...

nollyposh said...

ooooh the old pic flush day (i remember it well)... Happiest of HaPPy Birthday's to you chickie x
(Ps) Cabbage is fab, but i went vegan when i got sick & have had great benefit X:-) so, so much for the corned beef (Which i used to like)

linda cardina said...

hi renee, neat post..my mom is %100italian and my dad was%100 hungarian. i love cabbage. my mom makes my favorite hungarian dinner called haluski. it's cabbage sauteed in butter and then tossed with home made noodles(2"x2" squares) seasoned with salt and coarse black pepper. mmmmmgood. i'm getting hungry now!

btw it's almost your brthday! u can waah waah waah if you want to...right?!

hope u are well! always thinking about u. ((((hugs)))))linda

Rosaria Williams said...

You started something again. On St. Patrick's day we're all Irish for the day. I'm 100% Italian/American; Italian by birth, American by adoption.

Delwyn said...

Hello Renee, My great grandfather was an architect from Scotland, but I am 100% New Zealand stock- naturalized Australian.

I love cabbage too , but raw shredded with coriander (that's something else to you which has just flown out of my head), cucumber and a light sweet chilli dressing topped with a sprinkle of crunchy noodles or peanuts.

Anonymous said...

In Auttralia itis merely yet another reason to go to the pub - wearing silly out size green hats and making a jerk of yourself.

I love an irish beer, but you can leave the colcannon.

kj said...

this canadian french italian girl shares your anticipation for winter-begone and understands your fear of falling; although, renee, it seems quite a few of your visitors and friends have already fallen for you, myself included.

xo
:)

pinkglitterfae said...

dear Renee, winter is almost over, and just think how wonderful it will feel to have the sun warming your body :-)

sending blessings your way
xoxo betty

Every Photo Tells A Story said...

I ditto what Sally wrote. You never "waaagh waaagh waaagh!" But, perhaps I discovered you AFTER the "waaagh." :) And, I LOVE cabbage and potatoes and corned beef (or with ham.) Boil it all together with just a pinch of salt and pepper, and I'm in ecstasy!!

You're an Aries AND part Scottish AND a tad of Spanish?? Wow, that's an explosive combination in the temper department:) But, I could be wrong.

xoxoxoxo
Nancy

GlorV1 said...

I love cabbage. In fact I won a local cooking contes with my Cabbage A La Spanish. It's just basically cabbage, onions, monterey jack cheese, and yellow chili's. You spoon it over white rice. WaLA. Have a great day tomorrow. Take care.

Ces Adorio said...

I love it when a woman swears. I think it is very sexy. As long as she is not directing the swear at me, oh who cares. You can swear all you want. Hahaha! Did you have short hair or long hair? Were you girly or a tomboy? Inquiring minds want to know. I can afford to pay for postage stamps. I am not poor yet. I stopped buying black suits last week, only colored ones. Hahaha!

Quite frankly I don't think I can f--- with your head for I won't have the courage to come back here and visit.

Bella Sinclair said...

Did you have bangs when you were six?

Do you part your hair on the left, right, or middle?

What is your favorite color?

I'm sorry, honey, I do love corned beef. Yummmmmm.

My husband and I went to college together in upstate New York where it felt like winter lasted from October through April. I, being a CA child, slipped a LOT on icy patches. Eventually, my husband (then boyfriend) refused to walk next to me, because he was tired of me dragging him down with me. :)

studio lolo said...

Creepy? You? I love that you laughed at the alcohol stupor!! I laughed all through my childhood so I could get through it.

I forgot to touch on the corned beef and cabbageness of your post. I love cabbage with butter and tons of pepper! I have never, ever liked corned beef even as a carnivore. I've gone back to being a semi-carnivore...just nothing red. (Except salmon, my favorite! But it doesn't moo.)

I love the aborigine in you. That's what drew me to your blog ;)
I'll be looking into those benefits btw!

Thanks for the sister acceptance.
Beyond ditto!

love you, Ms. W ;)
xoxoxo
lolo

Ces Adorio said...

Oh I think Bella just wrote a very short sweet love story on your blog! falling together on ice. Aww!

Bella Sinclair said...

meow meow, baby!

Hahaha, that is really funny! Yes, we are moving back to the states in June. To Arizona. Listen, if you want anything from Japan before I leave, just say the word. It's yours. Sumo wrestlers not included.

And no, we did not grow up together. That sent me into a fit of giggles. I only met them recently through Illustration Friday, but I absolutely adore them. And we ALL adore you to itty bitty pieces.

xoxo

kj said...

renee, where is my comment? did blogger eat it? hmmpf!

i won't risk being redundant but if you tell me it never arrived, i'll say it again!
xo & :)

Bella Sinclair said...

HAHAHA! Girl, you are a riot. If you EVER need someone to circle with and then go chow down or take a nap, I'm there!

Bella Sinclair said...

Make sure you check under the covers for me. And thank you for changing your pants, dear.

rochambeau said...

Hi Renee,
I am arranging for a special imaginary excursion. A time for the Pink Queen to come to see you for a visit. She doesn't much prefer cabbage with butter, but if you could kindly give her a cream puff or two she would be much obliged.

Thinking of you!
Sending healing thoughts your way!!
xox
Constance

Ces Adorio said...

What is Bella up to? She is talking about sleeping with you and then you have to change your pants? Huh?!

Ces Adorio said...

What?! I am confused (as I am these days). Hey you should be in bed. I have to areason for stying up!

Ces Adorio said...

By the way, I draw in black and white ink, would you be disappointed?

studio lolo said...

hey sis, have you noticed that all of these comments have a slight Scottish accent?

Bloody odd I say. I mean wot? Read em' then will ya? I shit you not.

Where's me ale?

and ey, here's your quote about being aboriginal...

"I am convinced that I am part aboriginal too, but my family tried to get it on the french side and they say that we are not. There are lots of benefits in Canada to having a native heritage."

Got to get me some shuteye now luv so be a good lass and shake me knickers in the morning.
Right then. Night-o.

xoxoxoxo
Lolo

Emerald Arts said...

I bloody hate winter, except when I'm snow skiing, at least then it has a use. Although our winter isn't really a winter... probably comparable to your early autumn :P But I hate having to wear so many clothes rather than my frilly silly dancing clothes ;P

-Emmeline