How lucky can you get!

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all the Irishmen—and the honorary Irishmen—who celebrate the holiday!

Every year when this date rolls around, I'm happy my once-a-month blog post here falls on the 17th because it allows me to share with y'all on St. Patrick's Day.

In past years, I've talked about food, luck, corned beef and cabbage, my Harlequin American Romance featuring an Irish heroine (Kerry Anne MacBride and the rest of her wild and crazy clan in Family Matters), and...well...more food.

Food and writing are pretty much my favorite topics.  J

March 17th allows me to toss in my thoughts about luck, too.

I am lucky...to celebrate a holiday that carries on the traditions of my family.  To share part of this fabulous day with you.  And to have a career I love.

I can't tell you being an author is the most fun job I've ever had, because it involves a lot of work, sweat, and tears. 

The work stems from trying to bring the ideas in my head to life on the page and not lose anything along the way.

 

The sweat comes from waiting to see how my editor reacts to those ideas.  J 

And the tears—oh, the tears! They're the best part of the job. 

Sad tears when I learn what has happened to my characters in the past and when things go wrong in their lives now.  Frustrated tears when the hardheaded hero and heroine can't see beyond their conflict to realize they belong together.  Uncontrollable tears when one or the other of them—or a character who plays an important role in their lives—gets hit with a heartbreaking dose of reality.  And the best tears of all, the ones that flow when the hero and heroine have finally reached their happy-ever-after.

No wonder I say I'm so lucky!

And as if that's not wonderful enough, I must add that I'm married to my all-time favorite hero, which means I'm also lucky in love.  J

How about you?  Irish or honorary Irish, what makes you a lucky person today?

All my best to you,   

Barbara

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Barbara White Daille

Latest release: Honorable Rancher

http://www.barbarawhitedaille.com

http://www.facebook.com/barbarawhitedaille

https://twitter.com/BarbaraWDaille

What's Cooking for St. Patrick's Day?

Are you Irish today? (smile) On March 17th, everyone's entitled to celebrate this grand holiday.

My family's a good part Irish, and when I was growing up, St. Patrick's Day was always a special holiday in our house.

The highlight of the day was gathering everyone together for our big dinner. Of course, you know what we ate. Corned beef. Cabbage. Carrots. And potatoes.

I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.

There are various recipes, but the simplest is this:


Put corned beef (3-4 pounds) in a pot, toss in a couple of bay leaves*, and cover all with water.

Bring water to a boil.

Cover pot and lower heat to a simmer for about 3 hours, or until corned beef is fork-tender.

Remove beef from pot and reserve on a platter, covering beef with foil for 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, to the water in pot, add a head of cabbage, quartered; carrots and potatoes (about 5-6 medium of each), peeled and cut into pieces.

Cover and simmer for approximately 20 minutes, or until cooked to your liking.

Slice the beef and dish up the vegetables.

* After cooking, discard bay leaves. Do not eat.


And you're done.

See? It's so easy, anyone—Irish or not—can enjoy this traditional dinner. I hope you will. (smile)

And I'd love to hear if your family celebrates with this or any other special foods or traditions.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

All my best to you,

Barbara

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Barbara White Daille
http://www.barbarawhitedaille.com/
http://www.facebook.com/barbarawhitedaille
https://twitter.com/BarbaraWDaille