March Madness

Whenever there's a sale in March, it seems the operative catch phrase is "March Madness". Typically I don't find anything particularly maddening about March, especially in my tranquil woodsy area. However, madness certainly describes this week so far. We had St. Patrick's Day on Tuesday and Aruba Day on Wednesday and Mama was baking, cooking and still not done baking. 

This is why sane people don't have any holidays back to back. We celebrated St. Patrick's Day by wearing green, going to the local library's Story Time (themed), and eating corned beef and cabbage at 9 o'clock at night (I never knew it took more than two hours to simmer).  The kids are "a li'l bit Irish" like one of Son's old shirts used to say, and so we try to be as green as we possibly can. 

On March 18 it was Aruba Day, the National Day of the Flag and National Anthem. Sounds cheesy, but in Papiamento it sounds respectable. The kids are half Aruban. Son copied the Coat of Arms and I explained to him the significance of each symbol: the hill means the Hooiberg, the tallest elevation in Aruba and where people can see the land from the ocean, the gear means industry and work, the clasped hands means friendship with all countries, the aloe signifies Aruba's first source of prosperity (now it's tourism), the white cross means faith in God, the laurel leaves portray peace, and the lion symbolizes power and generosity. Son also drew the flag. I was going to prepare a local food, but it was not to be that day. I'm going to be preparing pastechis this weekend -- possibly today. We're all somewhat sick and maybe contagious, so perhaps saying home is better anyway.

This weekend Husband's jewelry store is hosting "Treasure Fest", where treasure divers will be talking about their exploits and visitors can see genuine artifacts dated hundreds of years old. Next week we're headed to Tampa with Uncle to attend a wedding, and we may stay an extra day. I've also begun work on an international cookbook.