Eastertime

My Irish Beginnings

Remember this picture that I posted here a few weeks ago? The one of my great grandmother Margaret (Maggie) Duggan?

I promised I would begin to tell you the story of sweet Maggie..all the way from her roots in Ireland!

Note: This story is told thanks to the hard work and curiosity of my cousin Laura who has done extensive research into the Duggan family history (thanks, Laura!).
Much of the information here was told to Laura's mother, my Aunt Peg, in long talks with her mother, Laura, and her grandmother, Maggie Duggan McGuirk.

My Great-Grandmother Maggie/Part 1: The Early Years in Ireland

During the famine years in Ireland (around 1840) great poverty and strict English penal laws existed. Farms were owned by English land owners who exacted taxes as well as a share of the profits from crops grown by Irish tenants who farmed the land.
A tenant was allowed to keep a small portion of the crops to feed his family and a thatched cottage to live in while he worked the land.
Many stories are told that on their infrequent trips to Ireland for horseback riding vacations , the landowners would take paths that would take them directly through these family gardens.


Poverty and unemployment were everywhere and tax rates (based on family size) were very high.
In the early 1850's James Duggan met and married Margaret (Peggy)Fitzmaurice in a small town in the western part of Ireland called Claremorris in County Mayo.
James and Peggy were my great-great-grandparents.

James and Peggy became tenant farmers on a small farm located just outside of town.
They went on to have a number of children--Ann in 1851, Mary in 1856, Liam in 1859, James in 1861, Margaret (Maggie) in 1864, as well as others not recorded who probably died in infancy.

Maggie's house was a one room thatched cottage with one large room used for most purposes.
The cottage contained a loft overhead where the family slept.
The cottage did not have a bathroom, just an outhouse adjacent to the home.

Note: In the picture below, my Aunt Peg is standing in front of the Duggan cottage which they discovered on a trip to Claremorris, Ireland in 1984.

The kitchen contained a long wooden table and benches, a huge fireplace for cooking and baking, and was heated with a peat fire.
Peat is a source of fuel created from decayed vegetable matter. In Ireland peat is also in bogs which a family member would harvest and cut the peat into bricks called turf that would be used to heat the family home.Ireland contains more bog, relatively speaking, than any other country in Europe, other than Finland.
Children had daily chores which included milking the cows, feeding the chickens, and tending the crops. They were very poor, but it was a happy home.
Saturday nights were for gathering with neighbors where singing, listening to an accordion or fiddler play, or Irish step dancing took place.

Coming soon: Part 2: The Famine and Immigration

Goodbye, my friend

We said goodbye forever to a dear friend of mine today.

A friend who lived life to the fullest.

A friend who defined the meaning of unconditional love.

A friend who had the most beautiful smile.

A friend that was always ready for fun.

A friend that (frequently) put us to shame with her commitment to a healthy life.

Goodbye, dear Peg.
We love you and will miss you forever.

My favorite purchase from my trip

This post has not one photo of a person. You may be bored, but second to my human loves is my love of cooking and esp. cute dishes, mugs, plates, serving bowls, salad bowls, etc etc.
You put me in a Home Goods store and I would gladly get locked in for the night.
I talked about this adorable kitchen store in Naperville that I found on our LAST DAY there. Completely unfair that it was the last day, but probably better for my wallet.
I did buy some practical things (parchment paper, silpat mat), but also could not resist some impulse purchases.


Like, how cute are these cupcake papers?
And these? I just might be using these pretty soon.....


But my favorite?


These adorable, tiny little bowls and spoons. Above, I put them next to a normal size bowl so you can see how miniature they really are.


Can't you just see them filled with sprinkles or mini-M&M's for a ice cream sundae party?


Or maybe a selection of little dips?

Or, just to look pretty on my shelf?

What made me happy this past week....

This one home for Spring Break:


Seeing how happy this purchase (new flat screen TV-thank you Costco rebate!) made the 2 boys in the house..esp during March Madness.

This cool teapot that makes tea with loose tea leaves:
The cute containers the loose tea comes in:
And the heavenly glass mug to drink the tea out of:
AND this delicious snack to indulge in as a potato chip substitute:

For the love of pizza

One thing we have passed on to our 3 kids is a love of homemade pizza. We were soooo tired last night, just getting home from a weekend of moving Lyndsay and Dan into their new house, and when Taylor offered to make dinner...we could have jumped for joy..we would have, anyway, if we hadn't been so tired!

mmm-mmm. Chicken, spinach and corn with fresh mozzarella cheese.
Taylor, you are a sweetheart.

My girl is all "growed-up" (sniff!)

There are always defining moments that make you realize how quickly..in the blink of any eye, it seems, your children have become adults.

Getting their license, going to college, the first job, the first apartment, and now..it's
THE FIRST HOUSE.

My oldest girl moved into her very first house this weekend.
Bought and paid for (well, via a mortgage!) by the hard work of her
and her soon-to-be-hubby, Dan.

They are both sooooo excited.
It's a cute yellow cape, ironically located....on the CAPE!

7am Saturday found us on the road, soon crossing over the Bourne Bridge, en route to help Lyndsay and Dan with the big move.

We actually beat the truck by a few hours, so we occupied ourselves with greeting the cable guy and doing some house cleaning.


With the help of Mom and Dad, sister and brother, and a best friend...all of their possessions were moved from their apt in Boston to the new house in about 12 hrs start to finish.
.

The weather cooperated and we got everything moved in by dark.

Joe was a workhorse...helping to move them OUT of their apt in the morning, and then turning around and moving all of the stuff into their new house in the afternoon.
Lyndsay and her friend Kali set up the pantry and the kitchen....

While it took 3 guys to figure out the TV!

But soon after, the couch was moved into the room, and we finally had a place to sit and rest our weary bones.



As the final dishes were loaded into the cabinets, Dan and Lyndsay (with help from Joe) made a thank you supper for us...delicious cast iron grilled burgers, dogs, salad and roasted vegetables.
I am looking forward to many more of these :)

Congratulations, Lyndsay and Dan.
I am so proud of you both.

And so proud of your brother and sister who went above and beyond to help their sister.
Love you all.

Expanding my crafti-ness

About 6 weeks ago I saw a blurb in our local paper about a free series of classes being offered at our local library.
At first I didn't think too much about joining, but the offer was repeated several more times in the paper over the next 10 days or so.
As the days went by, the offer became more and more intriguing.

"I'll do it!" I said [to no one] one day...and called the library...

and....and....and.....got put on a waiting list for the next series.

Ugh. More time to ponder. But as the weeks went by, and I looked at new blogs and noticed lots of other people doing this...I became convinced, without a doubt positive that
I HAD TO TAKE THIS CLASS.

So, you are probably dying to know....what class was this?


Here's a hint.....


Here's another hint.....
Did you guess?



Yup....it was a knitting class!

I started my class last night...and it was full of really nice ladies clicking needles together.
Some newbies like me; some old (I mean this in the nicest way) pros.

And a lovely, patient teacher named Pam who not only helped me pick out yarn and knitting needles, but started me on my way to making this cute little spring scarf.
I think I gonna love this.

A fun ending to our trip

Our last full day (Saturday) in Naperville had lots of us trading whispered conversations...my brother Bob had been planning a surprise 40th birthday party for Erin for weeks and we were trying to keep the party that night a surprise.

"Could you", my brother asked, "plan a girls shopping trip for the afternoon?"

Gee, Bob, twist my arm. I just might be able to do that.

So off we went to gorgeous "downtown" Naperville--full of really cute restaurants and shops like Talbots, Coldwater Creek, Chico's, Barnes and Noble, etc.
Here is a google stock picture of the downtown:
We started (Mom, Sophie, Erin and I) with lunch at a great restaurant
(thanks for the treat, Erin!)
to get lots of energy for shopping :0)
My favorite stop was this great little kitchen store...I could have spent HOURS in there.
http://www.surlatable.com/home.do
After four hours, many shops, and a bit of $$$ spent, Bob texted me...it's time.
We headed home to get ready for what Erin thought was dinner reservations at her favorite Italian restaurant.

But a short time later, the surprise was sprung.

Erin's brother flew from California to wish her Happy Birthday...

And got a huge hug from his sister :0)

Yep, Paris is right...it's hard to believe her Mom is 40 with that gorgeous TAN.

A big thank you for hubby..

Happy Birthday, Erin!!!