Saturday, March 17, 2007

Erin Go Bragh!



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Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!
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There are two kinds of people - those who are Irish and those who wish they were.

My maiden name is Bagnell and my ancestry is Irish. My (not sure how many greats) grandfather, Thomas Bagnell, immigrated to Canada in the 1800's; probably during the potato famine. We believe our family may have come from here. This town even has it's own website. I've never been, but feel the pull to go "home." I'm hoping before I die, I'm able to make it.

The Bagnell family has had some noteables in the past. A couple of recent ones are members of my family. One is my cousin Larry who is the Member of Parliament (or MP) for Yukon.

Also, my dad, Eric, is a well known and respected New Brunswick photographer & filmmaker. He worked for many years with the Provincial Government as well as with the now defunct Fiddlehead Films. With them he did many documentaries and television commercials including working on a commercial for the fire department that won a North American award. He is also one of the founders of New Brunswick Filmmaker's Co-operative and he also served as president and was director of the board for 3 years. Dad, along with his friend, Charlie McLellan, did the first award winning film for them. Over the years he also supplied some film & photographs to the National Film Board of Canada. I remember when I was still living at home, we'd sometimes have an evening of screenings. Dad would pick out some films and we'd spend the night watching some really good ones, some not so good and some just downright weird. It was great fun and I always looked forward to the "Bagnell Screening Room." Through the years, he has done so much that the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick has "The Bagnell Collection" containing loads of Dad's work.
Just a side note - remember me mentioning a few times about Jim's Aunt Peggy? Well, Aunt Peggy used to work in the archiving dept. at TVO. If someone needed specific footage or a photo, then Peggy was the one who would hunt it down for them. She knew my father's name from searching out film & photographs. She'd even used some of his stuff. How neat is that? Also, when I was in high school we watched one of Dad's films in geography class. He did all of this while building a house and raising 4 kids. He still lives in the house today.
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There he is. My little darling. It's Simon himself. The one for whom the blog was named. Isn't he cute? So soft and warm and cuddly. Uh-huh. Look what he did to my lucky leprechaun!!
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That makes me resort to two of Ireland's best cure-all's.

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Did you know....(remember - I love trivia) more Guinness is sold in Canada than in Ireland! Ah, yes. The almost black beverage with it's thick foamy head. Jim says there's no need for dinner. Have a Guinness, it's like a meal in a glass.





The other famous Irish beverage that's so wonderfully smooth, creamy & tasty - Baileys!

I bought the new caramel flavour and I think I might like it better than the original! It's fabulous in coffee and how many desserts now incorporate this delicious drink into their ingredients? A lady was into the LCBO the other night buying some Baileys and told me that she found a terrific recipe on the internet for Baileys chocolate cake. There is Baileys in the cake and in the frosting! I'm trying to hunt it down! My sister adores this liqueur and I'm sure she'd like the cake.

May love and laughter light your days,
and warm your heart and home.
May good and faithful friends be yours,
wherever you may roam.
May peace and plenty bless your world
with joy that long endures.
May all life’s passing season
bring the best to you and yours!

I hope you all wear something green and enjoy the day!

For your added pleasure, I'm including some videos of wonderful Irish entertainment. Crack open that Smithwick's, pour a finger or two of Bushmills or add a dollop of Baileys to your coffee, kick back, relax and enjoy a few of my favorites.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Happy St. Pat's!! I really enjoyed reading about your family's history. I totally cracked up from your comment about people who are Irish and people who wish they were. I have known many many people who wished they were. It's kind of the same thing with Germans when the Octoberfest rolls around. I'm sympathizing with you and your lucky leprechaun. Noble's started "stealing" little items and chewing them to bits as well. I have to nip this in the bud before it gets worse! Yikes!!!

KleoPatra said...

Carrie, my mom was born on St. Patrick's Day so we're kinda like the Jewish Irishfolk at my house on that date. My dad always buys my mom green bagels! HA! Guess we're the wanna-be's you mention in this post.

Quite a family history you have there, and Simon does make out to be an angel in that photo tho we can see what a naughty boy he's been. Your lucky little leprechaun! Oh no!! We'll have to find you another one.

Here's a decadent Baileys cake recipe for ya:
http://www.toomanychefs.net/archives/001377.php

And by the way, your cousin Larry ROCKS!

"Larry Bagnell became well known throughout the Yukon Territory for being a tireless worker and a reliable advocate.

"A graduate of the University of Toronto with a Bachelor Degree in Arts and another in Science, Mr. Bagnell’s lifelong dedication to community service was recognized in 1999 with the City of Whitehorse’s Volunteer of the Year Award. This award recognized his work as President of the Yukon Chapter of the United Way, President of Yukon Learn, President of Skookum Jim Friendship Center, and as a Board Member of the Miles Canyon Historic Railway Society, the Yukon Science Institute, and the Commissioner’s Potlatch.

"Other organizations benefiting from Mr. Bagnell’s involvement include the Canadian Cancer Society, the Anti-Poverty Coalition, the Yukon Arts Center, the Heart and Stroke Fund, and the Association Franco-Yukonnaise."

Wow. Nice. Very nice.

River said...

Hi Carrie - Hope you had a happy St Paddy's :) My dh's father's family came from Clare and Mayo - also during the potato famine, but to the USA. He and his brother (2nd generation) came to Canada in the first quarter of the last century (can't remember exactly when). So I'm kinda Irish-by-association.

My beagle girls send aroooos to Simon and want leprechauns of their own.

Hugs and love!

Unknown said...

Mmmm. Smithwicks is like ice cream in a glass. It's too bad it's not vegan. Guinness I can live without (although I used to like a black velvet now and again way, way back).

Happy belated St. Pat's!

Tanya Kristine said...

my irish name is O'Casey. we dropped the O when we moved to the Americas...

saturday night we partied and wehn i got home i CRANKED my irish music for like an hour. i think my neighbors re-hate me again.

that made me laugh about Simon. they can really do no wrong. and when they do, we just laugh inside....not bad.

bazu said...

OH no, poor leprechaun!!!

Happy st. patrick's day. It was fun learning about your cool family! I'm sure one day you'll go to Ireland. Daiku sent his parents there for his dad's 60th birthday... they'd never been out of the country, but I think they quite enjoyed themselves!

Candi said...

Glad you had a nice St. Pat's Day! Interesting family history!

Simon is adorable all bundled up. Too bad the leprechaun didn't make it out alive though!

Mmm, your drinks sound great!!

Kris said...

I think it's so great that you are so into your family's history. I'm the same way with my family. Happy belated St. Pat's!

urban vegan said...

Happpy Belated St. Pat's. My middle name is Patricia--that makes me half Irish, right?

I am not a huge beer fan, but Guiness is one of the few I like.

Simon looks like he had a nice time. I think he's secretly in cahoots with Bossa Nova.

Jody from VegChic said...

Do you think Simon slowly tortured the leprechaun until he told him where the pot o gold was? It looks like he took off one hand at a time and then went for toes!

Happy belated St Pat's day. That is one crazy day/night in Boston.

High Power Rocketry said...

***Just for the readers of The House of Simon***

The solutions for the images linked here: Micro Images
Are:

1. AC insulation foam
2. A Phone Jack
3. Crushed red pepper!