On Friday, I remembered the Saint Patrick's Day Parade would be the next day. Donald was still out of town so I mentioned the parade to Stella. I told her we could take MARTA and she was all for it. I felt like a real city person when we took the East-West line in to 5 points and then transferred to the North-South line to get to the parade. We had zero issues with our mass transit travels so that was nice.
She had gotten stuck in the door/flaps that open to let you in and out of the MARTA station which sent her (understandably) over the top with drama a bit. After she calmed down we walked just a ways and arrived at 10th and Peachtree. We found a spot to watch the parade which was just coming through. Perfect timing.
Not sure what sport this is, but they were playing it on the truck bed. Quite impressive.
Then the pirates showed up. One guy made eye contact with me, raised his eyebrows and immediately walked over to me and put his arm around me. Then he made eye contact with another pirate and said, "Bead Her!" So I got beads. I felt special.
And as soon as the parade was over, the cops were following right behind with traffic.
Then we petted a Neopolitan Mastiff. Another gentle giant.
I asked Stella what she wanted for lunch and she voted for a sandwich. I was ok with that, but then I saw the sign for Pho and of course wanted soup. But Stella insisted on a sandwich. Still one of her favs! So we went to Which Wich across from the Pho place. It was then that I realized what the sign said, phonetically. Ha! So I took a picture and sent it to Donald because I do stupid crap like that. And for the record, Stella decided once I started ordering that she wasn't hungry. I did get her to eat two bites of what was a really good sandwich that I ordered accidentally. I meant to order The Cuban, but someone had put The Wicked bag in with The Cuban and I grabbed it instead.
MARTA ride back to Holmes.
For school on Friday I brought I this rainbow fruit salad. The kids went nuts for it. The marshmallows went first, but then they just dove right in and only left a few pieces of strawberry, orange and pineapple. The gold coins were plastic ones we'd gotten from the St. Patty's parade the week before. Those almost caused an issue because there was one green one and everyone wanted it. So I ended up taking them away and hiding them in my pocket.
Saturday afternoon we rode around up near Lake Alatoona looking for a jon boat for us to bring down to the beach for the rivers and lakes. Stella ended up snoozing for a bit (poor thing didn't feel good) while we rode around. We never saw a single boat for sale.
A friend of Donald's from Siracusa's moved into a condo above Smyrna Market Village and was having a housewarming party Saturday afternoon/night-the same time as the St. Patrick's celebration there. Stella bounced on a bouncy house for a while and then we joined Daddy upstairs. Stella loved the Juliet-balcony and the music playing. She even did a little dancing with some of the girls.
Around 8:15 she said she wanted to sit down. She crawled up in my lap on the chaise lounge, laid her head on my chest, put her thumb in her mouth and fell asleep. And oh how I loved it. Her on my chest is my favorite place for her to be. I miss those days honestly. But I do love that I still get them from time to time. It was cool out and the doors were open so the gas fireplace was on. Yeah, the music was loud, but it wasn't obnoxious and most had trickled down and out to the lawn for the festivities. Actually, it was mostly 90's rock music on, but Rebecca (the new homeowner) walked over and put on one of John Mayer's live albums with "Slow Dancing in a Burning Room" and his cover of "Free Fallin." I was totally happy at this point. One lady was passed out on the couch behind us and a guy sat quietly next to her. In a way it was peaceful because all I could see was the fire and feel Stella's breath on me and feel her chest rise and fall against my arm.
Fleeting moments that I'm holding onto....
On Sunday, Donald prepped and prepared a Guinness Beef Stew. We subbed in Killians because the last time we used Guinness it was soooo bitter we didn't want to eat the stew. I roasted some red potatoes and cooked purple cabbage (Stella chose the color) with a bit of bacon and a splash of apple cider vinegar and it was amazing. We added leeks and carrots to the stew and it turned out fantastic. I had some ciabatta bread in the freezer which isn't Irish, but we wanted some good ole bread so I could smear butter and so Donald could sop with. I served my homemade quick dill pickles and set the table outside. It was beautiful. But then we sat down and the wind gusts made it impossible to eat with the curtains blowing everywhere. So we had to move inside. Cory joined us as he was over working on his car nextdoor.
Monday, I still had lots of fruit, so I made Stella and me an rainbow fruit yogurt bowl.
We really enjoyed the parade and I look forward to doing that again next year. Also? That stew and cabbage are definitely being served again too.
And lastly? Is it St. Paddy's Day or St. Patty's Day? I've seen both. I feel like I should know this being I'm Irish-Canadian-American. Ahh, the end to my troubles. Happy St. Paddy's Day!
