Erin Go Braugh!

    Today, I celebrate my Irish ancestry and heritage.  I am proud of it all the year, but this particular day, with Corned Beef in the crock, cabbage nestling it gently as it slowly simmers, potatoes on the stove, boiling with traditional seasoning, carrots in the waiting stage.... ah, 'tis a proud scion of Caledonia that I am!  My family, on both sides, arrived here in the US from Ireland, some to settle in the Deep South pre-Civil war to become land owners, and southern "aristocracy" in Alabama, (Mom's side)...... some to settle in New England, and Nova Scotia, and down into the northern Appalachian Mountain regions, to be poor farmers, and share croppers on others' lands (Dad's side.) 
    Yes, like most Americans, I am a mutt.  Native American on both sides, Dutch and English on Dad's, French on Mom's..... but, unlike my Mother and Sister, who identify, both physically and emotionally with the Native American ancestry, I "look" Dutch...short, stocky, steady.... but "identify" most emotionally with my Irish ancestors.  Perhaps this is due to my status as a Pagan, somewhat, but I really think that my following the "old religion" is perhaps something that stems in converse, and based on this strong identification with that heritage. 
     Even my RL name, which many of you know from Facebook and such already, "Kerry", is from the the old Irish tongue, from a word, "ciarda", which meant "dark eyes".  (Not true, as mine are green now, but they WERE a dark violet when I was young!)  It is also the county in Ireland that at one time held my families ancestral "seat", being descendants of ancient Irish kings (basically, strong chieftains and warriors strong enough to hold on to the lands that they owned).  County Kerry Ireland has been called in some tourist guides as the "quintessential slice of Ireland that the world expects".  I quite agree.  I've included some pics of that beautiful place that I've had the priviledge to visit twice, many years ago, with my beloved David's family (Irish on his mother's side),  and would love to go "home" to to be buried at the end of my days on this Earth, this time around. 
     In closing, I raise a cup of meade to all my friends, worldwide, on this day when MOST of you are Irish at heart too.

"Slainte!"