Saint George Killing the Dragon, 1434/35, by Martorell
Saint George, 1472, by Carlo Crivelli
Raphael, 1505-1506
Until next time, take care...Hugs Chrissy xx
Hello everyone and a Happy Easter to you all. Did you go on a Easter Egg Hunt today? I have one planned tomorrow, my two eldest grandees are coming to stay for a few days and a little party and Easter egg hunt is planned weather permitting. The weather here is very dull and chilly at the moment, so fingers crossed...
Flowers show their colours as they greet the sun..
Lambs frolic beside they mother on the warm, dry grass..
One of the first flowers to welcome spring..
Birds will prepare to have their young..
Skyies will soon be blue with fluffy white clouds..
Flowers dance under the sun-rays..
A proud rabbit greets spring with hope..
Butterflies will dance from flower to flower..
A Squirriel basks in the sun after his winter slumber..
The sea and beach calls to me, Spring is here
Mom And Me:
Best friends forever mom and me picking flowers and climbing trees. A shoulder to cry on secrets to share, Warm hearts and hands that really care. ~ Author Unknown ~
Enjoy your day.
Until next time, take care...Hugs Chrissy xx
Being the daughter of a true Irish man today holds a special meaning for me, although now-a-days I usually spend this day quitely at home. Sadly my father is no longer alive but I remember many a St. Patrick's Day when my father returned home singing an Irish tune. Along with the songs my father had the 'Gift of the Blarney' for he would try and charm my mother after he had returned home late and in a very merry state..lol...
Speaking of 'the blarney', how many of you have kissed The Blarney Stone? I never have but would love to visit Blarney one day. However, judging by where the Blarney Stone is positioned I will be content with just visiting the castle....To be able to kiss the Blarney Stone itself you would require a very loyal and trustworthy companion, for he would have to hold your ankles while you lean back and downwards to grasp the iron rails, and if you're lucky be able to kiss the stone. Being only 5ft 3in with short legs I doubt even in my younger days I would have been able to achieve this difficult feat..lol..
View of the Blarney Stone from the ground ~ Photograph by Srleffler ~
The Blarney Stone is set within the castle of Blarney village, a few miles from the small City of Cork, Ireland. The castle seen today was built in 1446 after a fire destroyed the original building, which was built two centuries before.... 
Blarney Castle ~ Photograph by Urban Hafner ~
The origin of the stone is shrouded in mystery but legend says that it was a magical stone from the beginning.... There are many explanations for the Stone's origin, many of a biblical nature. It is also said that the Stone was possibly removed from Ireland and taken to Scotland and then returned to Ireland in 1314. The theory behind this statement is that the Stone was originally half of The Stone of Scone and was presented to Cormac McCarthy by Robert the Bruce in recognition of his support in The Battle of Bannockburn. McCarthy then installed the Stone in Blarney Castle, where it became known as The Blarney Stone. However, others say that it was the Lia Fail, a magical stone on which the kings of Ireland were crowned....Regardless of the why's and whatfor's, there is no disguising the fact that The Blarney Stone has a magical air about it....
‘’Ti s there’s the stone that whoever kisses
He never misses to grow eloquent;
Tis he may clamber to a lady’s chamber,
Or become a member of Parliament.
A noble spouter he’ll sure turn out, or
An out and outer to be let alone;
Don’t try to hinder him, or to bewilder him,
For he is pilgrim from the Blarney Stone’’
~ Francis Sylvester Mahony ~
The custom of kissing the Blarney Stone also has many theories for why it began and for how long it has been practiced. Why should kissing the stone give you ‘the Gift of the Gab’? One local legend claims that an old woman, saved from drowning by a king of Munster, rewarded him with a spell, that if he would kiss the stone on the castle’s top he would gain a speech that would win all to him....
What is known however is when the word Blarney became part of the English language. It is claimed that on a visit by Queen Elizabeth 1 to Cormac Teige McCarthy, Lord of Blarney, she requested an oath of loyalty to retain occupancy of land. McCarthy apparently responded with ‘subtle diplomacy’ and the Queen proclaimed that he was giving her ‘a lot of blarney’, meaning ‘to placate with soft talk or to deceive without offending’....
The custom of ‘Kissing the Blarney Stone’ is known throughout the world, a stone on a castle’s parapet not that dissimilar to other stones in the area. A stone that is said ‘to endow whoever kisses it with the eternal gift of eloquence’ (solabharthact) – ‘The Gift of the Gab’.
Many of us have never seen the stone and most likely never will, yet we use the expression in our everyday lives and believe in its magic. That can’t be a bad thing in this day and age....
Hope you enjoyed your day, until next time take care...Hugs Chrissy xx
Hello everyone, thanks for dropping by and hope you enjoyed International Women's Day, which has been celebrated every year on March 8 since 1909. When you look back in history we women were a gutsy lot. Not only in examples of strength and leadship but in many ways. As a woman who is proud to be a member of 'The Fairer Sex' I thought I would mention some of the women who left their mark in a world dominated men....
Cleopatra VII Philopator (Late 69 BC – August 12, 30 BC) was the last pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. Cleopatra and Julius Caesar. Painting by Jean-Léon Gérôme
Boudica (d. AD 60 or 61) was queen of the British Iceni tribe who led an uprising against the occupying forces of the Roman Empire. Boadicea Haranguing the Britons by John Opie
Joan of Arc, nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans" (1412 – 30 May 1431), is a national heroineof France and a Roman Catholic saint. Joan at the coronation of Charles VII, by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres in 1854
Mary Wollstonecraft (27 April 1759 – 10 September 1797) was an eighteenth-century British writer, philosopher, and advocate of women's rights. Mary Wollstonecraft by John Opie (c. 1797)
Catherine II, also known as Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia, was the most renowned and the longest-ruling female leader of Russia, reigning from 9 July 1762 until her death on 17 November 1796. Catherine II by Fyodor Rokotov
Jane Austen (16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature.
Harriet Beecher Stowe (June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American abolitionist and author. Her novel Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852) was a depiction of life for African-Americans under slavery.
Clarissa Harlowe "Clara" Barton (December 25, 1821 – April 12, 1912) was a pioneer American teacher, patent clerk, nurse, and humanitarian. She is best remembered for organizing the American Red Cross.
Christina Georgina Rossetti (5 December 1830 – 29 December 1894) was an English poet who wrote a variety of romantic, devotional, and children's poems. She is best known for her long poem Goblin Market, her love poem Remember, and for the words of the Christmas carol In the Bleak Midwinter.
Louisa May Alcott (November 29, 1832 – March 6, 1888) was a seamstress, governess, abolitionist, feminist, nurse and American novelist. She is best known for the novel Little Women and its sequels Little Men and Jo's Boys. Little Women was set in the Alcott family home.
Elizabeth Forbes: 'The Half Holiday, Alec home from school'. Elizabeth Adela Forbes (1859–1912) was a Canadian painter who was primarily active in England (I could not find a picture of Elizabeth Forbes so I showed an example of her work)
