An Irish Blessing

Irish Blessing

May your joys be as bright as the morning,
And your sorrows merely be shadows that fade,
In the sunlight of love.
May you have enough happiness to keep you sweet.
Enough trials to keep you strong.
Enough sorrows to keep you human.
Enough hope to keep you happy.
Enough failure to keep you humble.
Enough success to keep you eager.
Enough friends to give you comfort.
Enough faith and courage in yourself to banish sadness.
Enough wealth to meet your needs.
And one thing more: enough determination to make each day a more wonderful day than the day before.

Grandpa's Stories

While Grandpa was growing up, his family had two dogs - a boy and a girl - they were in love. The boy, being very athletic, jumped the fence whenever he wanted to gallivant around the neighborhood, checking out what his buddies were up to, snooping the local restaurant's garbage cans, and running in the vacant lots.  He was always the adventurer, but he never failed to return to his true love.

One day, he got a bright idea. He decided to teach his true love to jump over the fence. While the family watched from the window, the boy dog barked and ran, jumping over the fence in one long stride. He barked to encourage his love to follow. She ran but stopped right before running into the fence. The boy jumped back into the yard, gave her a kiss, ran around her a couple time, encouraging her with his barks, and took another leap, again barking from the other side of the fence. She tried again, hit the fence, and fell. The boy dog jumped back in, and tried again. This continued maybe ten more times (the family had lost count), and then, to their surprise, she cleared the fence! The two dogs ran around each other barking with glee, and ran off into the sunset, never to be seen again. At least, they were together!

Recipe

Of course, it has to be:

Corned Beef and Cabbage

4 large carrots, peeled and cut into matchstick pieces
10 baby red potatoes, quartered
1 onion, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
4 cups water
1 (4 pound) corned beef brisket with spice packet
6 ounces beer (optional)
1/2 head cabbage, cut into 8 pieces

Place the carrots, potatoes, cabbage, and onion into the bottom of a slow cooker, pour in the water, and place the brisket on top of the vegetables. Pour the beer over the brisket. Sprinkle on the spices from the packet, cover, and set the cooker on low.  Cook the brisket for about 8 hours.

Be Blessed,
Aunt Janet