HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY and Welcome to A Magically Delicious Edition of Random Dozen

I luuuuurve Lucky Charms! It's pretty much the only sugary cereal I do like. How can you not like all that neon-colored marshmallowy goodness?! The clever advertising by General Mills has kept me convinced for years that it's magically delicious!

1. On a scale of 1-10, how superstitious are you, honestly? I'm assuming 1 is low and 10 is high? If that's the case, I'd say a ONE. I fearlessly walk under ladders, never knock on wood and don't freak out at the sight of a black cat. BUT I have just enough Irish in me to make me hesitate occasionally before I walk under that ladder.

2. Julius Caesar is quoted as saying, "I came, I saw, I conquered." Which circumstance or experience of yours does this saying best describe? My husband. I let him chase me until I caught him. LOL

3. If I peeked in on your day like a mischievous little leprechaun, at what time would I most likely find you blogging? Generally first thing in the morning or late at night but I have been known to hop on and blog IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY.

4. Re springing forward for Daylight Saving Time, is there anything you've ever been really early or really late for? Na-na-na-na-na-na, I don't have to mess with daylight saving time any more! So there.

But I'll answer the question anyway. One is rarely early for anything here. Or on time, for that matter. Late is a lifestyle embraced by the Argentines. Therefore I am not really late when I'm late, I'm merely operating on Argentine time. (Friends and family, keep this in mind when we are on furlough!)

5. What are you most looking forward to concerning Spring? This Sunday marks the first day of Fall for us in the southern hemisphere and I am looking forward to planting our winter garden. Well, Ivan planting the winter garden. It did much better than our summer garden this past year so I'm hoping history repeats itself and we are able to grow lots of yummy lettuce, green onions and other good stuff.

6. Shamrocks are the national flower of Ireland and are picked on St. Patrick's Day and worn on the lapel or shoulder. Do you wear green on St. Patty's Day? Normally yes. I forgot this morning and put on all pink. I'm seriously thinking of changing though. Since I do have a green shirt or seven.

7. One of Caesar's assassins, Casca, said, "But, for my own part, it was Greek to me," which of course means he didn't understand something. Probably his own lines in the play. Anyway, what is something that is "Greek to you," something incomprehensible or indecipherable? Spanish when spoken by those from other provinces. (I am not alone in this; an Argentine friend says the same thing!)

8. Is March behaving more like a lion or a lamb where you live? March in the southern hemisphere marks the end of summer. Nary a lion or lamb in sight.

9. "An extra yawn one morning in the springtime, an extra snooze one night in the autumn is all that we ask in return for dazzling gifts. We borrow an hour one night in April; we pay it back with golden interest five months later." -Winston Churchill. If you had one extra hour per day every day, what would you do with it? I'd like to think I'd make better use of that hour but, being real here, I'm sure it would be just more of the same.

10. Legend says that every Leprechaun has a pot of gold hidden deep in the Irish countryside. Aside from real gold or money, what material item would be in your dream pot of gold? MATERIAL. lol  Lots and lots of fabric for quilting!

11. "The best things are nearest: breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of God just before you." Robert Louis Stevenson. Look around you right now and tell us about something essential or beautiful very near you that you take for granted every day. Hmmm, I can't think of anything I take for granted. Living here I've come to appreciate pretty much everything, from the electric that powers the cooling fan... to the handiwork of my husband in the bookshelves... to the beautiful creation of God in my yard... to the refreshing taste of morning tea to...

12. Just for a bit o' fun, click here (www.blogthings.com/irishnamegenerator/) and then report your Irish name. Mine is "Zoe O'Sullivan." I love it! Hey Zoe, I'm Isobel O'Sullivan! Oh wait, no my name is really Avril Duffy! Wait, wait, it's neither of those. I'm Eva Nugent!

What a fun way to end this week's Random Dozen -- by taking a truly random quiz that gives you a completely random (and different) answer every time! I could do this all day.

At least one more time...

And now Zaira McKenna is signing off with a heartfelt Irish saying:

"May the roof above us never fall in, 

and may we friends gathered below never fall out."