Cap'n Bob & the Damsel

Holidays

Mise Èireannach

The title is Gaelic for “I Am Irish.” While that assertion is partially correct, both the wife and I are descendants of Scots, Irish, Welsh and English for the most part with traces of Native American and other (mostly) European ancestors. With all that disclosure out of the way, we will identify as Irish this week when we celebrate the cross-quarter feast of Beltane, about halfway between spring equinox and summer solstice.

Modern cultures that recognize Beltane typically celebrate on May Day (01 May), but the actual cross-quarter doesn’t occur until the fifth of May which is coincident with “Cinco de Mayo,” but since we have no Hispanic ancestry that we could find, we’re going with the Celtic celebration. However, due to our busy and crowded schedule as retirees, we have to postpone the festivities until the weekend (of May 07/08). Weekends are when we usually celebrate midweek holidays.

So, we will celebrate Beltane by having a traditional Irish dinner entrée of Shepherd’s Pie. Damsel found a simple recipe for “upside-down” shepherd’s pie, so we will be preparing it that way. We may also indulge in an Irish Cocktail at that time.

Sunday the 8th is, of course, Mother’s Day. Most of us retirees will wish our heavenly Mom’s a happy day in Heaven. Our Sunday meal will be Grilled Tri-Tip roast with braised cabbage and asparagus.

Cheers and Happy Cinco de Beltane to all the Mothers and Others out there.

05 May 2022 by Ancestors Culture Holidays Notions Retirement

St. Patrick’s Day 2022

Cheers and Happy St Patrick’s Day! Damsel and I enjoyed traditional Corned Beef and Cabbage Dinner and a nice Irish Cocktail this afternoon.

It’s a spring-like day with high of 78 and forecast low of 51 overnight. We’re having a little wind out of the west with peak gusts up to 20 mph and mostly 5-10 mph in between gusts. There is no precipitation forecast until maybe a trace next week. This is normally a pretty dry time of year. In the past 30 years it rained 5 out of 30 times on this date.

Technically, Equinox hasn’t come yet (still 3 days off) but according to the solar ephemeris, our days are now showing over 12 hours of sun above the horizon. Sunrise is at 06:38, transit is at 12:39 and sundown is at 18:40 for our long/lat. That’s just a shade over 12 hours.

A word about progress of restoring our Stars and Stripes Theme: Shamefully, I haven’t done much to troubleshoot the theme other than to remove some offensive code that needs to be overhauled for the functions removed. Life gets in the way, and we seem to gravitate to doing chores around the house and RV rather than work on the blog themes. Maybe over the summer we can get some things done with the old theme restoration – if we’re not on the road, that is.

17 Mar 2022 by Arizona Food & Dining Holidays Notions

2022 – Happy New Year!

Wishing you a very happy and prosperous New Year in 2022! We don’t have a lot of news to report for the past year and, at our ages, that’s a good thing, I expect. In the coming year, we are hoping to resume some travel in the big RV which has been sitting for way too long. Meanwhile, we’re biding our time until the traveling weather gets here, hopefully sooner than later.

31 Dec 2021 by Holidays Notions

Christmas 2021

Image credit Wallpapers Access.

Christmas is here and we wish you a very Merry Christmas!

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. —Luke 2:4-5

While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. —Luke 2:6-7

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” —Luke 2:10-12

May the Joy of Christmas be in your hearts in this Holy Time.

24 Dec 2021 by Holidays Religion

Happy Thanksgiving 2021

“Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the LORD is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.” —Psalm 100:4-5

Thanksgiving 2021

Well, here we are once again entering the Holiday season with the first big eating day upon us. Damsel and I will be celebrating with a fairly standard Thanksgiving Dinner consisting of (subject to last-minute changes): Smoked Turkey Breast with Cranberry Sauce, Collard Greens, Andouille and Cornbread Stuffing, and Mashed Fauxtatoes.

The Fauxtatoes are actually Mashed Cauliflower and the Cornbread, similarly, is a Keto Diet friendly mix of low carb items. The Cranberry Sauce is sugar free (mostly) and the gravy is made with almond flour and low carb ingredients. All of this while keeping an eye on the sodium content. Nonetheless, our experience is that Thanksgiving Dinner will be just as delicious as anybody could want.

We hope that you all will have a very Happy Thanksgiving Day! Now, excuse me – I have to get the turkey breast ready for the smoker.

25 Nov 2021 by Food & Dining Holidays

Labor Day 2021

Cardinal in Mesquite Tree

While the image above has nothing to do with it being a holiday, it reminds us of the constant array of natural wildlife that we observe here in our little corner of the Sonoran Desert. This is a male of the species Cardinalis Cardinalis or Northern Cardinal perched in our mesquite tree on the little hill behind our RV Drive. Click on the image to enlarge.

Back to the Labor Day topic – The holiday supposedly honors the work done by labor unions to improve life in America. Personally, I believe Americans in the workplace determined to do a good job, regardless of their affiliation with a union, are responsible for the success of our nation. During my careers in Aerospace, Electronics, Aviation and the Navy, we have observed good productivity regardless of the presence of a union in the workplace. Actually, my experience with unions has shown that productivity is decreased by some of their rigid rules in the workplace. YMMV.

goa-brace-feedback.jpgChanging the subject, have you made your comments in opposition to the ATF’s unconstitutional proposed rules for Pistol Stabilizing Braces? The Puppet in Chief’s flunkies have proposed to change the definition of sporting pistols with braces to “Short Barreled Rifles.” The rule, if adopted, would make up to 40,000,000 owners of Pistols to register them and pay the $200 NFA tax. Please go to this GOA website and make your comment in opposition to the rule. Note that while many are not affected by this rule change, that the ATF will likely continue down the path of making legal rifles and pistols similarly NFA items. This and the previously issued NPRM about homebuilt firearms cannot become enforceable. Just do it. The GOA site makes it a simple two minute job to oppose this unconstitutional rule. The QR Code at the right takes you to the GOA link.

In other news, I have been diagnosed with an inguinal hernia. I will be having that surgically repaired in a few days, so your thoughts and prayers are appreciated.

Meanwhile, the Labor Day festivities here will be including Grilled Tri-Tip Steaks while Damsel is providing the Baked Beans and ‘Tater Salad on the side. We hope you enjoy your holiday as much as we will enjoy ours.

05 Sep 2021 by Arizona Critters Gun Grabbers Holidays Notions

Independence Day – July 4, 2021

This is an awesome video on the origin of our National Anthem . . .

The video tells the story of Francis Scott Key as he witnessed the bombardment of Fort McHenry from British ships in the Chesapeake. I have to tell you I got a lump in my throat a couple of times while watching this one. Key, of course wrote the words to the Anthem. The tune was taken from an old English-originated folk march.

Happy Independence Day – we’re celebrating at home with some simple grilled tenderloin (Filet Mignon) steaks and a nice salad. No fireworks because dogs. We hope everyone enjoys the celebration on this extended weekend.

Hat tip to Braden at Langley Outdoors Academy for showing this video to us a few weeks ago.

03 Jul 2021 by Holidays Notions Patriotism

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