Getting Ready for St. Patrick's Day, in a Most Link-Laden Way!

Thanks for modeling, Natalie!

 No guests, no social commitments, no plans.  I've been enjoying this weekend at home as the weather warms up, the clocks spring ahead, and things are getting done.  There was time to crochet AND update some recipes on my website.

We had this easy marinara sauce for dinner on Saturday, and the meat for this beef with scallions dish is marinating in the fridge right now for tonight.

With St. Patrick's Day just a week away, it's not too late to crochet something green to wear!  I started this scarf Friday night and finished it this morning.  Obviously I can't really call it a "pattern," but here's the how-to:

I always make reversible granny squares (turning at the start of every row), because they hold their shape better. The scarf squares are just three rounds each and there are 17 of them.  Each square took just 7 minutes to complete (yes, I timed them!).

I used a join-as-you-go method and then worked one row of granny square pattern in white all the way around them, followed by another in green.  After that was a row of half-double crochet in white, and then a final row of half-double crochet in green, worked between the white stitches.

This reversible granny square how-to is one of the first pages I ever published on my website (2005 maybe?).  It was kind of fun to revisit as I copied the text and picture over to the new page template.

Also updated (because they describe my preferred join-as-you-go-granny-square-attaching method) are the pages for the first two patterns I ever attempted to write --  the Christmas Afghan and the Diamonds Afghan.

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We have a family event happening on St. Patrick's Day, and it's going to interfere with the traditional afternoon ritual of simmering corned beef and cabbage on top of the stove.  I was afraid our tradition would be destroyed until I found this.  Yay!  Tradition preserved.

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One more cool happening this weekend?  My husband started a blog!  He's been a contractor for over 25 years, and has some funny, poignant and cautionary tales about the construction business.  I thought it was a perfect fit when he decided to combine those stories with helpful homeowner tips in a blog called "Real Construction Stories...from Beyond".

This post tells about an incident that happened in the early days of D & J Construction, but I "remember it like it was yesterday."  Just another reminder of how incredibly fast time goes by, but a touching story nonetheless.

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And finally, please visit Lisa Lynn's Creative HomeAcre Hop at her delightful and wildly informative blog, The Self Sufficient HomeAcre (love that play on words!).  I'm linking up there today for the very first time.