BellaOnline Forums Travel and Culture Irish Culture Winter is looming !!!

Hi All!

Winter is looming!! Do I have to be so morbid ??? Well actually, winter brings to mind some of the happiest memories. Those fresh,crisp, foggy mornings walking to school.Being allowed out to play in the street, even though it was already dark ( 6.30 pm). The stupid pranks we played around the neighborhood ( I'm planning an article on that one ---anyone interested in adding their tuppence-hal'penny worth?????).The smell of damp clothes in the classrooms, hung strategically close to the heating pipes. Football in the rain ( soccer or Gaelic)etal etal.
I'm sure many of you have even better tales. Let's share them around our "Irish Culture" family and fire up those wonderful memories.

Bobbing for apples and boxty and homemade costumes for trick-or-treat.

Grandma knit mittens for each child. In one marathon, she started with the snow and had every finger covered before the snow ended, eleven pairs of mittens in one good snowstorm. No trouble.

Long, dark nights and no street lights, only window-light miles apart, and then those lights go out. Don't be out in only moonlight. Saying prayers in case of that!

Cheers,
Mary Ellen

HI Mary Ellen!

Thanks for the input.

But my mom can beat up your granny!!!!!! LOL LOL.

Well----my mom and my Aunt Kitty, who was a polio victim at the age of two and lived with us as we were all growing up.

Between the two of them ---- every winter ---each of us --all nine !! had a new white Aran sweater to wear. Between them they clicked out those Aran sweaters for both girls and boys. The boys got extra special ones with the roll- neck. Remember those?? Tommy Makem and the Clancy Brothers made them very fashionable.
And how grateful were we ????? While we enjoyed the warmth of the sweaters, Oh how much we wanted to have a "store-bought" jumper!!!
What miserable, ungrateful kids we were!!
What I wouldn't do right now to have the two of them sitting on either side of the fire and hear the "click-clack" of those needles and be presented with a new hand-made Aran sweater each winter.