Hello Friends,

Well, here we are and the unofficial end of summer has passed. All of the kids are back in school and it's harvest time. This is the perfect time to start canning and pickling all of those wonderful fruits and vegetables that we worked so hard on all summer. I have been scanning my Irish cookbooks for some recipes to do just that, and they are on LittleShamrocks.com this month. I have not done much cooking over the summer months because I have been working on a series of articles about Irish topics that vary from Irish culture to myths and legends to travel destinations. I hope that you have found them interesting and informative.

Coming up this fall, we will have some new hearty recipes for the colder weather. I will be making some more soups and stews, casseroles and skillet dishes, and, of course, more of the ever popular cakes and desserts. I even found a few candy recipes for Irish chocolates and truffles. I have written an article on 'How to Throw an Irish Party', with sample menus, which I will add to for upcoming fall events like the World Series, Halloween and Thanksgiving.

Lou has been doing a fantastic job by adding more new affiliates to LittleShamrocks.com. ShindigZ party supplies is a great place to find all of your party needs, including Irish themed items. Lou's article, Irish Music on the Web, will give you some ideas for your party music.

Over the summer months, we have received many submissions by readers who are researching their Irish roots. A couple of them thought that they might be related to some of the Reynolds of Co. Leitrim. One man named Reynolds told us about his great-great-great-grandfather, a teacher, who emigrated to Canada during the Potato Famine, and later moved down to upstate New York. That is the same route that my Casey ancestors took, only they moved down into northern Vermont. Mr. Reynolds also told us about a DNA study that he participated in, and you could trace your family line back a thousand years. He told us that his sister has "The Reynolds Ears". They would have had to been related to Terry's ancestors somewhere along the line. There was someone looking for Sweeney and Kilkenny; and another thought that she might be a cousin to Gerry Bohan. It has been a very interesting learning experience.

Speaking of Gerry Bohan, we have received his latest issue of The Leitrim Connection. It is filled with all sorts of interesting news about events and happenings in Co. Leitrim over the summer months.

LittleShamrocks.com is growing like a weed and still ranks in the top one percent of web sites worldwide. We have had several requests by other Irish web sites that would like to link to us; and many have contacted us about building their own web site using the SiteSell method. Thank you again for all of your support. Lastly, please do take advantage of the upcoming fall foliage season; it's so beautiful, it will just make you feel great!

Until next time...

Sláinte,
Tyna