happy st. pat's and a very special birthday

A happy St. Patrick's Day to you all, Irish or not. If you haven't ever read a history of the real St. Patrick, there's one here along with other interesting information on the celebrations of this day.

Image from here.

In addition to the normal festivities for St. Pat's, I want to tell you about an amazing lady who is celebrating her 100th birthday today. Nell has been a friend of our family for many years and was a dear, dear friend of my late grandmother who passed away in Dec. '06, just short of her 97th birthday. Nell was born in Oklahoma and has always been an energetic go-getter. She and her husband farmed for years and raised two children on the farm. She's always been a wonderful cook and for many years did a lot of the cooking in the cafeteria of a local college. Her cinnamon rolls (which she still makes from time to time) are to die for. After the death of her husband several years ago Nell lived alone in their little house in town, raising her own vegetables and beautiful flowers. When she moved into a senior citizen apartment she offered to give me some of her iris plants which now bloom in our garden. Nell is a woman of simple, sweet and strong Christian faith. She has always been an avid quilter. I'm happy to say she's still got all her wits about her, although she says she can feel the years taking their toll on her energy. I say everyone should be so fortunate to be in such good shape at 75, let alone 100! Nellie says she just feels blessed to be here. Happy, happy birthday Nell, and God bless you.