Since St. Patrick's Day is just a few days away, the Belleek Castle located in County Mayo, Ireland, is featured over at The Tea Room. And so is Parian china, also known as Belleek porcelain. Here is a photograph of one of the Belleek pieces I have from my mother's collection: a stunning harp with a shamrock design.
To read more about the Belleek Castle and Belleek porcelain, visit The Tea Room this week.
In so many ways I feel as though Spring has already arrived. We've pushed forward the hands on our clocks an hour and so begins Daylight Savings Time so the sun is brighter longer. It is still cold where I live, and the first of the month was pretty stormy hearkening back to that old adage, "March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb."
The Spring Equinox is still another week away, but I'm enjoying the new season already. And I must say that I am so happy Easter is in April this year! Last year, Easter fell on a Sunday in mid-March, which was way too early in my humble opinion. I still want the Easter decor around in April and I'm glad that will be the case this year. Being surrounded by Mother Nature's newborns is a wonderful reminder of life's cycles. And in case that's not quite enough to lift our spirits, there is always chocolate.
Be sure to visit Melissa over at The Inspired Room to see how she and others are living a beautiful life.
Photo Credit: Martha Stewart
St. Patrick's Day is still several days away, but this was a quick quiz to take. Plus, by the time most read this post, I'll have changed the decor at Seasons for All from blue to green. I was going to wait until the spring equinox, but since daylight savings time begins so early this year, so will the green.
| Your Shamrock Says You Are Alert |
 Sometimes you find thinking creatively to be a challenge. You prefer to deal with the facts at hand. You don't really consider yourself a lucky person. In your view, people create their own luck. You are traditional, easy going, and appreciative of the simple things in life. |
How is it that it's already time to "spring forward?" I know Daylight Savings Time used to begin the first Sunday in April and that the date was moved up a few weeks, but this year it crept up on me. It is still winter after all. That said, as much as I love to turn the clocks back in the fall, I love turning them forward in the spring early March. As the days get shorter and darker, we gain an hour; most choose to catch up on sleep during those bonus 60 minutes. When the days get longer and brighter, we lose an hour. But since energy seems to stream from daylight directly into our well-being, the trade is even.
On weekdays during the fall and winter, I often don't see my own town in the light of day. I leave for work well before sunrise and arrive home long after sunset. I'll now be able to again enjoy natural lighting well into the evening hours, the cost of utilities will drop, and any subtle symptoms of seasonal affect disorder, in me or in others, will dissolve into the sunlight.
Daylight savings time alternates with standard time, and toggling between the two helps us achieve the balance and order we strive to have in our daily lives. It is also sign that spring, that beautiful season, is nearly here!
To see how others are living a beautiful life this week, visit Melissa at The Inspired Room.
I've been pretty good about blogging every single day since last summer. I have themes of the week, like art on Wednesdays, celebrating on Fridays, and quotes to consider in silence on Sundays. Once in a while I'll throw in a puzzle or quiz because they're fun, or a video from YouTube showing music I enjoy.
I keep the little calendar on the top of the right column of the page to see the numbers change to bold font once there is a post for that date. It would bother me if one or more of those numbers were not in bold. But I wonder if anyone else would notice -- the calendar or that I had missed a day.
I am so looking forward to the flowers of spring. Until they arrive, here's a fun jigsaw puzzle of a cheerful daffodil. Just click in the image to play.
