I was walking down the street one day...Does anybody know what time it is? Does anybody care?

Too much coffee this morning. Val was talking to me from her desk on the other side of the cube wall, then all of the sudden I looked up and she was right there getting ready to do an Irish jig for me. Well, let me tell you, I sure let out a yelp! In fact, that's exactly what it sounded like too. Sounded like someone stepped on a dogs tail. It was good for an office chuckle, and I'm pretty sure it woke a few people up too.

The weather changed a little this week. Finally got some rain yesterday and it cooled down quite a bit. Weather quote from Val, "Chile today, Hot tamale!"

Bumble Bees are awesome!

Word(s) of the day: ÉIRE LAND LUACHARMA'N


Happy St. Patrick's Day! I accidentally wore green today. I have some really old memory of a highschool teacher who was Irish telling us that green is not really the official color of the Irish, that it really is red. I haven't been able to find anything to support this yet. In fact I see more support for the colour blue, so maybe my memory is slightly faulty on this one. Here is a quote from an Irish FAQ:

"A major misconception is the association of St. Patrick with the colour green. The confusion arises from the phrase "the wearing of the green," which means to wear a shamrock. St. Patrick used the three-leaved plant to explain the Trinity of the Christian religion.

Actually blue is the colour associated with St. Patrick. "St. Patrick's blue" can be seen on ancient Irish flags."

I find this very interesting. Don't know where I pulled red from, but the more I think of it, I think it has something to do with red hair. Yes, yes, next year I will wear blue for this day.

The National Flag is a tricolour of green, white and orange. The green represents the older Gaelic and Anglo-Norman element in the population, the orange the Protestant supporters of William of Orange, while the white represents a lasting peace between the two traditions. First flown as an emblem of the Young Ireland movement of 1848, the flag did not come into popular use until after the 1916 Rising.

The National Anthem of Ireland is "Amhrán Na bhFiann" (The Soldier's Song) written in 1907 by Peadar Kearney and Patrick Heeney. It was formally adopted as the national anthem in 1926.

The National Day of Ireland is St. Patrick's Day, celebrated by Irish communities all over the world on 17th March.

The Constitution of Ireland is Bunreacht na hÉireann, the basic law of the State. Adopted by referendum in 1937 it defines Ireland as a sovereign, independent and democratic state. It sets out the administrative structure of the Government and states that all powers of the Government derive under God from the people. It defines the structure and principles of legal and social policy to guide the Oireachtas (Parliament). The rights of every citizen are also enshrined in the constitution.

Lexie log: Although her communication skills are developing quickly she still is most expert at repetition. I don't mean mimicking, she is also excellent at that. I mean that when she wants something, she repeats the word over and over and over and over. She uses the questioning pitch or intonation to show this is a request. She also uses the sign language word for "ouch" or "pain", touching the tips of the two pointer fingers, every time she says the word. Somehow, maybe she found it easier at the time, she substituted the sign for "more" with the sign for "pain". The sign for more is:

Close to pain, but touch only the tips of the pointer fingers is quicker and easier for her. She really means to say that she wants something, and it happens to be something she has had before and wants, "more". Last night I started reinforcing the correct sign for more and she is picking it up. The most popular requests can be heard almost without fail all on a daily basis. They are: "Shower? Bubbles? Milk? Cookie? Burger?" Lexie: "Shower? Shower? Shower? Shower? Shower? Shower?" Mommy: "Later. In a little while, honey. Not just yet. We have to wait a while princess. Later. Later. " That's a typical evening five minute conversation.

Today I am grateful for Frank and Lexie, sign language, words, shamrock, telling the official colour of the Irish story over and over to my co-workers, scissors, and fluffy white clouds.