Happy St. Patrick's Day

I have always liked dark, thick beer. Set me up with a Guinness on tap and I'm a happy camper.

It's ironic that now I live within walking distance of two of the best pubs in Lancaster County, both with Guiness on tap, and now I can't touch beer, not a drop. Life can be funny. All you can do is laugh.

We had the pleasure yesterday of running over to Myerstown to visit with my Dad and Mom, and their new puppy. It was a visit that was overdue. And we both enjoyed catching up with my parents.

As far as Noel the new puppy is concerned, she is a furball full of energy. Writer Kevin Kling raises dachsunds, and he wrote "There is no more of a can do attitude in a can't do body than that of a weiner dog."

That pretty much sums up Noel. Noel suffered a birth defect, and the breeder brought her to the vet to have her put to sleep. The vet decided instead to perform surgery to try to correct the problem with her hind legs. The vet then thrust the puppy on my Mom, who despite her tough personna is really a big softy, and she couldn't turn the puppy down.

You would think that her kids already cause her enough headaches...lol...but she's taken on another one. But Noel is really a great puppy. As my Mom said yesterday, she's never seen a dog that smiles like this one.

And it does.

We greatly enjoyed a stop-in to the Stouch Tavern yesterday, a historic restaurant in Womelsdorf which has always prepared top-quality food. It was good to interact with the owners, both of whom are friends of my parents. And it was good to get back into the restaurant before the owners sell and retire.

I've learned, especially in the past year, that once a restaurant sells it is never the same. It happened to Josephine's, The Railroad House, and Moseby's. All of these local places were led by such outstanding people that they are impossible to replace. And someday soon Stouch's Tavern will join that list.

We're going to transfer the title and tags on Barb's new wheels this morning, her brand new 1987 Oldsmobile.

Then we need to stop in at the bank and open the business bank account for the start of business April 1.

And all week we'll be getting ready for Easter in Marietta. Eighteen family members are due in for the holiday and we're really looking forward to it. I'm not sure Freckles is looking forward to it though. He'll be spending the day hiding under an upstairs bed.

Spring can't come soon enough. The days are getting slightly warmer. But it is still slightly below freezing this morning. But the birds are showing up with more frequency, as I watched two cardinals late yesterday afternoon chase one another through the yard.

Maybe just one pint of Guinness? It is St. Patrick's Day? No. I just can't. (pout)