Luck of the...Welsh?

Like a lot of Americans, I'm my own melting pot. My dad is mostly Bohemian, Slavic, and maybe German and my mom has Basque, Irish, and the smidge of Cherokee (my 5-greats grandmother). So I always thought I had some entitlement to St. Patrick's Day because of my "heritage" (and also because I missed being born on St. Patrick's Day by two hours and nine minutes). A few years ago, a distant relative put together a detailed family tree of my mom's mom's side (where the Irish is), and it turns out...we're Welsh, not Irish, going back to the Ootens of Wales in the 1640s. Did my ancestors think being Irish was cooler than being Welsh?

But Happy St. Patrick's Day, anyway! If I were done with Tempting II, and it were 30 degrees warmer, I could avoid being pinched wearing it:

I'm about half done with the body (9 out of 16 inches). I have to say, I'm not a huge fan of the 1x1 rib. Moving back and forth between knit and purl is not the fastest way I knit. But it's nice mindless knitting right now, and I'm excited to wear the top. Someday. When the snow is melted. But I'm not putting on a buckle--I just don't think I'm trendy enough to pull that off, so I'm going to add a couple of buttonholes and use buttons instead.

Writing: Chapter three is finished! I'm onto Chapter Four. I have over 15,000 words, and I am on page 50, a page count that is starting to make me feel like I really, really am writing a book.

Reading: Same.

Cooking: I'm still waffling over book club menu. Mexican is fun, but it's more fun when it's warm and we can have the porch door open and drink margaritas. I always enjoy cooking Italian, or Mediterranean.

In a "Happy Birthday from the Wisconsin DMV" I have to go get my license renewed IN PERSON before tomorrow or I have to pay them a $5 late fee. Since I object to the $24 the renewal is already costing...off I go! I may still be in line tomorrow, so if I don't post, that's why.