St. Patrick's Day 2018

Matt, August and Kim at the Kelly house party

Nick at the Kelly house party

This St Patrick's Day the Kelly family of Boulder Creek invited our Blarney band to entertain at a gathering of some of our uncommon rural community's elite movers and shakers. Generous servings of corned beef, cabbage and potatoes plus glasses of the traditional harp-labeled beer fortified the laddies, lasses and leprechauns, one of whom was wearing a derby crowned by flashing green lights. And during the break we were made a offer we could hardly refuse: "Would the band be wanting a beverage?" Thank you, Kellys and crew for a memorable celebration.

Also to commemorate this holy Irish saint's day, Trader Joe's Market featured "Blarney Scones" on their bread shelf, Ancestry DNA offered to verify your Celtic ancestry for a reduced price (according to Ancestry DNA, mainly Slovak Nick is 2% Irish) and drunken poets everywhere were reciting the fine verses of William Butler Yeats.

William Butler Yeats (1865 - 1939)

A DRINKING SONG

Wine comes in at the mouth
And love comes in at the eye;
That's all we shall know for truth
Before we grow old and die.
I lift the glass to my mouth
I look at you, and I sigh. 

The following evening, fair colleen Sun McNamee Lundell (also known as "Mrs Future") celebrated her birthday with dozens of friends at a beach house in Aptos. In one small segment of the multi-talented festivities, August and Nick took up their instruments and played jigs and reels while Corinna danced her heart out. For the time it took to perform a few lively tunes, the three of us seemed to merge for a while into one joyous organism -- being one part of that unplanned musical threesome was one of the high points for me of this year 2018 St. Paddy's Day weekend.

Nick, August and Corinna channel the high spirit of Irish music.