Warm food, warm heart

OK, I admit it: I microwave ice cream.

It started when I had a particularly sensitive tooth. I nuked a small dish of ice cream, just enough to turn it into a pile of glop I didn't have to bite into to consume.

I never looked back.

I microwave cereal, too. Blame it on that tooth. Despite being one-fourth German, I don't like to start the day with cold food.

German breakfast, as I experienced it the first time I visited some relatives there, is apt to consist of cold cuts and cold slices of cheese. Yum.

When one of my relatives visited the U.S., he had just two complaints: how quickly "the dollars" disappear, and all that warm food Americans serve for breakfast.

Microwaved cold cuts, anyone?

St. Patrick's Day, a little early

We took all three of the small people in our lives to a St. Patrick's Day parade today. The local parade always comes early so the pipe bands from New York City can come up and do their thing, along with those bands from the community and nearby cities. Unlike past years, when we shivered in biting early-March winds, today was graced with sunshine and temperatures that hovered near the 40-degree mark.

The best part about being in the presence of very young children is that no matter what passes by -- fire trucks, bagpipes, marching cops and firefighters -- they're enthralled. Well, at least for awhile. Before long they were equally enthralled with stomping on the popcorn they'd spilled on the sidewalk. This was quickly followed by short-lived attempts to pick up and eat what they hadn't stomped on. Lesson of the day: Never eat ANYTHING you've dropped on a city sidewalk.

The down side of being in the presence of very young children is that there endurance isn't equal to your own. Within an hour of our arrival, it was clearly time to head for the car.

For what it's worth, the wee ones got a taste of bagpipes and big crowds. We'll try to stay a little longer next year.