Mid-March/St. Patrick's Day odds & ends

• It is St. Patrick's Day... and I am thinking about my all-time favourite Irishman, my maternal grandfather (who was born in Minnesota, but whose paternal grandparents came from the Old Country). For years I used to send him a St. Pat's card. After he died, I continued sending cards to my mom & her brother. She's spending the month of March down south, though, so I decided there wasn't much point in sending her one this year. Feels a little strange. And sad. :(
• I am not sure what my Irish ancestors would think of us celebrating St. Patrick's Day, since they were all Protestants, and some of them staunch members of the Orange Lodge, lol. My mother has my great-great grandfather's Orange Lodge songbook and yikes, talk about politically incorrect. Happily, times change. I think most of us these days think of St. Patrick's as a celebration of all things Irish.
• Still bummed out about the impending loss of Google Reader (although I guess I have some time to find an alternative).  I was checking into Feedly, since many people have been recommending it... however, it doesn't work on Internet Explorer, which I have always used as a browser -- you have to use Firefox or your smartphone (I do not have one). :p  (A techie I am not.) The search continues. I am still extremely pissed off at Google. :p  
• It was spring break last week in Ontario... quiet in some respects, busy in others.  Dh, who works a very busy, stressful job at the best of times, was doing the work of three people, covering for fathers who were off vacationing with their families. Perhaps those of us without kids should find a week where we too can leave the office en masse and let the parents worry about how to get everything done in OUR absence. ; )
• The thought flitted through my head one morning last week that maybe I should head up to the Eaton Centre mall on my lunch hour. Then I remembered it was spring break. Needless to say, I spent my lunch hour close to my desk. ; )
• It wouldn't be spring break without at least one ride on the commuter train (generally homeward bound, in the late afternoon after a long day of work) with a group of shrieking children.  (For the record, I had two.)  
• I have seen Facebook posts from mothers who are chomping at the bit, waiting till their kids head back to school tomorrow (because they've been driving them NUTS...) ...and others from mothers who ADORE having their children with them ALL THE TIME and are mourning the arrival of Monday. Needless to say, I cannot relate, either way. I think I probably would have fallen somewhere in the middle. ; )
• Spring break aside, I was incredibly tired and listless all last week. I think it was the time change, kicking my butt. :p  I didn't sleep very well. I made up for it somewhat by sleeping 10 hours last night!
• I can't seem to shake the February blahs yet (and it's already mid-March...!). The weather has been up and down, work has been "meh." I think I need a holiday...
• Maybe it's because there has been sad news all around me. :(  About three weeks ago, a high school classmate, M.,  contacted me via Facebook. Another classmate of ours, D.,  was engaged in yet another round of a long battle against breast cancer and needed some cheering up... so M. was contacting everyone she could who might have known D., asking if they would send her a card.  I hadn't seen D. since high school, but I remembered her as a warm and friendly person, and gladly sent along a card (and M. told me she was surprised and touched to hear from me).  I am so glad I did it, as she passed away late last week. :(   (If you ever get the opportunity to do something like that, do it. You will never regret it.) (I am imagining how I would have felt if I hadn't gotten a card off to her in time...)
• Two FB friends -- one I knew in university, another a longtime online friend -- also lost their mothers within the last week or so. 
• Really, aren't we too young for this to be happening?  :(