TrulyGrace

Happy Saint Padraig Day/ St. Patrick's Day 2015

And a happy Saint Padraig's Day to you!  Will grade and do some electronic administrative work before grading today.
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Also taught and met up with Debbie to go to a fundraising dinner for the American Ireland Fund celebrating the leadership of Jared Cohon and Mark Nordenberg, 2015 Chairman's Award Recipients. 
We arrived in the "neighborhood" of Oakland, replete with street signs of the vicinity, to the beat of the Burke Conroy Irish Dancers.  We also saw a caricature artist on our way to the pub/bar, which was next to the President's alcove.  We enjoyed some appetizers as we entered, as well.  After the singing of the Irish and American national anthems, we were escorted into the main dining room by the PITT drum line and the Burke Conroy School of Dance.  While in the dining room, we heard a student ensemble from the CMU School of Drama sing songs, including one from Wicked.  The associate Prime Minister of Ireland spoke.  The invocation was said by Fr. Tom Burke, from St. James parish in Sewickley.  The two award winners each spoke, after a video/slide presentation about each of them. I said a fond hello to Fr. Tom after the first course.  He was seated at the Rooney's table. 
The lines for hot food were long, so we enjoyed the chilled seafood table, with crab claws and legs, steamed mussels, and scallops.  We also sampled the Irish potato salad, with fingerling potatoes, watercress, Irish bacon, and hot mustard vinaigrette.  After the lines had subsided, we tried the calamari frites with potato aioli and other dippings, braised lamb with steel cut oatmeal grits, Irish cheddar, and sweet and sour cabbage.  I had Chef Walton's delicious bread pudding with seemingly homemade vanilla ice cream.  There were a couple of toasts (Slainte')!  I tried the donut, and snagged a chocolate chip cookie on the way to the Gaelic name artist's table (Jon Webber).  He wrote my name in Irish Gaelic, claiming Grace means "moves smoothly," not "God's grace."  Michaeala (with acute accents over the "i" and the last "a") means "who is like God."
We claimed our wraps and Debbie's car was retrieved for us, ending a wonderful evening overlooking the Ohio River and Downtown at the Heinz Field, East Club Lounge.

posted by Grace @ 3/17/2015 08:37:00 AM