Och, Aye

A tea towel tacked onto my front door greets the guests.  

Ceud Mile Failte means 'A Hundred Thousand Welcomes' in Gaelic.

For the past thirteen Januarys, our family has gotten together with the McClements' to celebrate our Scottish ancestry and the birth of Robert Burns.  Actually, it is just a thinly veiled disguise for an excuse to eat rich foods, drink heavily, laugh lots, and to recite terrible poetry with an even worse brogue.

Bruce's delicious Scotch Eggs

We take turns hosting this yearly event and 2011 brought the Burns Supper to our place.  The menu is a potluck affair with dishes supplied by both families.  Bruce's Scotch Eggs are a highly anticipated appetizer.  Just think of it: hard-boiled eggs covered in seasoned sausage meat fried in oil.  Now THAT is my kind of food!

Candles and tartan for Robbie Burns

The 'farin' (meat in Gaelic) is always a prime rib roast accompanied by mashed potatoes, gravy, Yorkshire pudding, turnip puff, salad, some kind of vegetable, and the venerable haggis.  Now I didn't grow up eating haggis but as a result of these dinners I have grown to like it.  I like it a lot.

"O Chieftan o' the puddin' race"

Each gathering brings new and different activities.  In years past, the McClements girls would entertain us with their highland dancing, or the Sotham kids would play the piano.  One year we all had to tell Scottish jokes.  Another year we had a piper come to adorn our ears with tunes from his bagpipe.  

You can see what a good dancer I am

To aid with digestion, we occasionally leaped up from the dinner table to dance a little fling.

Good friends, good times

The evening often ends with a brisk walk around the block so that we have room in our stomachs to stuff dessert into upon our return.  

Thank you everyone for making this beloved tradition so highly enjoyable, not to mention artery-hardening and liver scleroserizing.