Wearin’ o’ the Green

Published by

Gailann

March 17, 2017

Despite being over one-quarter Irish* I have nothing green in my closet. So, to combat this problem, last year I knit a “St Patty’s Day Cowl” (above) which had at least some green in it. Despite it being about 71º degrees on St Patrick’s Day last year, I wore it at least for a little while. This year the weather is more accommodating, being less than 50º, but… I can’t find it. It’s not in the closet, it’s not on my dining room table (where I stage my photos). Fortunately, I made another little scarf with some green in it last summer, so I’m wearing it today, along with a greenish wristband watch.

triangle-crop — The St Patty’s Day substitute

*My “true” Irish friend (who sadly passed away a couple years ago) informed me that I’m “orange Irish” because I’m not Catholic. I’ve also been told (by my mother) that I’m Scots-Irish. I don’t know if they’re the same thing, but both sound pretty WASP-ish to me. You know, that non-ethnic group White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, or in the case of the Scots-Irish, perhaps the acronym could stand for White Anglo-Saxon Presbyterian. Either way, the term fits me completely.

Apparently it’s now okay to wear orange on St. Patrick’s Day. Oh great! Another color that looks horrendous on me. And one I no longer have in my closet. Perhaps I can find a variegated yarn that has both green and orange and make something really insignificant—like a bracelet.

And one more thing, these two beautiful people, great-niece Lauren and great-nephew Matthew, are Irish! God, I LOVE America!

StPattyCowl-crop — The cowl in its completeness

6 responses to “Wearin’ o’ the Green”

Suzanne

March 18, 2017

As I understand it, and I could be wrong as it all seems quite complicated, if you’re Scots-Irish, your ancestors were from Northern Ireland. For a few generations, anyway. Before that they were imported from Scotland by the English to 1)settle Protestants supportive of King William of Orange(that’s where that color comes in) in Ireland in an attempt to control it, and 2)get the troublesome Scots out of Scotland where they occasionally did things like support rivals for the British throne and try to kick the English out of their country. And yes, Scots-Irish most definitely equals Protestant. That’s probably oversimplifying things a lot, but I haven’t delved into that chapter of history much yet. I’m working on it, though, as there’s quite a bit of Scots-Irish in my family tree, as well.

Also, HI, there, stranger! 😀

Reply
1. Gail
  
  March 21, 2017
  
  Hi there yourself, stranger! 😀
  
  I’m not surprised you have Scots-Irish blood. It’s fairly common in the Midwest. At least I think so. Wikipedia seems to separate Scots-Irish from Orange Irish, Orange Irish being Protestant in general, and Scots-Irish being Presbyterian. Poor Scotland. They just can’t seem to get their independence from England.
  
  Hopefully Spring is Springing in Iowa?
  
  Reply
  1. Suzanne
    
    March 25, 2017
    
    Slowly but surely, we’re getting spring. We had our first big thunderstorm Thursday, and a rainy weekend, but hopefully when the sun comes out, all will be glorious. 😀 Of course, last week we had eight inches of snow, but that’s Iowa for ya!
    
    Reply
Natalie J. Damschroder

March 19, 2017

I was excited when this showed up in my inbox! And then I had to leave the computer before reading it and haven’t been back online until now.

I LOVE the scarf! The cowl is nice, too, but the scarf is gorgeous.

I supposedly have Irish in my ancestry but nothing green in my closet. Plus, I saw no one all day on Friday so it didn’t even matter. LOL

Reply
1. Gail
  
  March 21, 2017
  
  Gosh, thanks! The scarf is actually very small, although I was able to wrap it around my neck (starting in front) and tie a small knot in it. It did the trick. I didn’t see a lot of green either. Maybe folks just settle for green beer. 🙂
  
  Hopefully I’ll be a little more active with the blog. But you know how inconsistent I am. I keep asking my doctor if there’s a pill for self-discipline, but he just makes a face at me. 🙂
  
  Reply
  1. Natalie J. Damschroder
    
    March 21, 2017
    
    LOL. But it’s not something you HAVE to be disciplined about, so that’s okay. I mean, keep it something you like to do, not have to do. And then it’s a little bit of surprise joy in our days when posts appear. 🙂
    
    I haven’t blogged in months. I have apparently run out of blog-worthy things to say.
    
    Reply