Monday, March 12, 2012

We're wearing green-- for the Girl Scouts and the Irish!

Happy  100th  Birthday
 to the Girl Scouts of America!

               Although I wasn't a Girl Scout, as a mother and grandmother,
           I much admire and support the organization.
           Many famous women were Girl Scouts, from business, science,
           government, and  the entertainment industry, including all our 
           female astronauts, many president's wives and daughters, and
           even some of  today's pop singers!              
                Among the alumnae  are Laura Bush, Hillary Clinton, 
            Martha Stewart,  Trish and Julie Nixon, Dr. Joyce Brothers,
           Barbara Walters, Condoleeza Rice, Katie Couric and Taylor Swift!

             Juliet  (Daisy)Gordon Low started with a troop of 18 girls
            in Savannah, Georgia, so that girls too could  experience
            nature by hiking and camping, and  do community service. 
           Now there are 3.2 million members, and 50 million alumnae .
 The mission is to:
 "build girls in 3C's, courage, confidence, and character,
 who make the world a better place".
  Nowadays the girls earn badges in technology, 
 web design, engineering and movie making. It's not just about
 selling cookies,but developing girls leadership potential.
 Girl Scouts have a strong commitment to diversity
 and pledge to serve God, country and help others. 
They have declared 2012 as "The Year Of The Girl"
For celebration events, and to learn more, visit  www.girlscouts.org 




I recently sold this cute little vintage brownie outfit.
 I imagine the buyer was making a display to celebrate
 the Girl Scouts 100th  anniversary.  Isn't it cute?
A brownie is a Girl Scout in grade2-3  here's a uniform from the 60's



Now,   I'm looking for my Claddagh earrings, 
which symbolize love, friendship and loyalty, and my green clothes!
I'm "Wearing of the green", for in a few days, we'll celebrate
   St. Patrick's Day!
 I'm reading the story of St Patrick again this year. Visit my friend at www.writersreverie.blogspot.com for his amazing life story.                 
My family will have an Irish-American meal of corned-beef and cabbage,
 a lot like a New England boiled dinner with potatoes and carrots,
and the next day, with the leftovers, I will make delicious Rueben sandwiches.
We will make Irish potatoes candies, a traditional Philadelphia confection,
 first made commercially by See's, a hundred years ago.
 Now O'Ryan is the biggest producer, selling 80,000 lbs.  a year.

The candies are not Irish and they do not contain potatoes,
 but making them is our  fun family tradition..
My kids made them in grade school,
 and we always made them at home too.
 The wonderful coconut cream is rolled in cinnamon,
 and shaped to resemble potatoes. 
  Some people think that they were first made to commemorate
 the Irish potato famine.

Here's my recipe:

Irish Potatoes Candy
Mix together 1/4 cup softened butter
4 oz. cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla
7 oz. flaked coconut
Chill for about an hour, then roll into 1 1/4 " balls.
let  dry a little while, then roll in a mixture of 1 tablespoon cinnamon 
and 1 teaspoon cocoa, shaping like small potatoes.
Store in refrigerator, but they probably won't last long!

Yummy!    I arrange them on small plates for gift-giving.



May the blessing of light be on you---
light without and light within.
 May the blessed sun shine on you
and warm your heart
till it glows like a great peat fire.


"With my hands I give you my heart, and crown it with my love"
Love, Linda

3 comments:

Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson said...

Hi Linda, yes I think that Girl Scouts are such a worthy organization. I love the Brownie outfit. What a cute display it will make. I bought my corned beef today for our green dinner with all the kids on Sunday. I will cook the main course and make dessert. They will all bring a green side dish of some kind. It's always so fun. I am going to save your recipe and try them. Thanks for sharing. I am now following you. Looking forward to getting to know you better!
Hugs,
Jann

Micupoftea said...

Claddaghs...I hope you found them and wore them this past weekend, Linda. THANKS for voting for my Teabag cookies on FB. I appreciate it so much. Happy Spring!
Shawn

Cindy said...

I was a Brownie in grade 3, I lived in a town for the first time and was able to do some of the things that town kids got to do.
Your recipe for Irish Potatoes sounds delicious, I am going to save that recipe.
So glad you came by my blog and left your comment. Good luck when I pick a name tonight! Perhaps the luck of the Irish will be with you! :)
Hugs, Cindy