Arrrgh!!!

I was listening to the radio this afternoon, and learned that to celebrate Mexican independence, more than twenty buildings in Chicago will be lighted with red, white and green lights.

I think I'm missing something. Did I miss a celebration for all the Germans to settled here? I know that we have nearly as many Polish people as the city of Warsaw, Poland, but I can't remember ever seeing the City light the buildings for them.

We have a large population of Chinese in Chicago, and they have interesting celebrations in Chinatown, but I've never seen the entire City decorated for the Chinese.

So, why are we celebrating Mexican Independence in Chicago? We don't celebrate for any other ethnic group. Yes, we dye the Chicago River green for St. Patrick's Day, but that's a bit different. Chicago's St. Paddy's celebration is really a Chicago political activity. If we were celebrating Irish Independence, I'd be asking the same question.

We used to talk about "diversity" in a way that indicated we were proud to be a melting pot. Most of us who live here are not Native Americans. Most of us are here because an ancestor thought there was a better life to be had here. They left their native country behind and emigrated to America, and most of them became American citizens.

Now there seems to be a trend toward diversity, with no intent to melt into one nationality. We're seeing people come to the United States who want the freedom and benefits, and opportunity to change their economic status, but they have no allegiance to the country, and frequently choose to ignore our laws.

In the nineteenth century, and the first half of the twentieth century, people who emigrated to the US most often settled at first in a neighborhood where people spoke their native language. They followed relatives who would help them settle in and find a job. Wisconsin is famous for its German population, and the western side of the state was the home to Cornish miners. New York City is famous for it's ethnic neighborhoods. Families encouraged their children to get an education, and to learn to speak English. Frequently, it was the children who drew the adults into life in America.

I don't have the sense that our Mexican immigrants wish to blend themselves into the culture of the United States.

I've re-written this section of my entry half a dozen times, trying to find a less incendiary way to phrase my concerns, and it still sounds harsh. The truth is, I feel the same about anyone who emigrates to my country. I'm concerned that the "melting pot" aspect of our country is part of what makes it strong. I'm worried that if we become a group of people who more strongly identify with previous nationalities, that we will ultimately fragment, and loose the strength for which we are known.

If you come to the United States for the good life, then you have some obligations. First, learn to speak English! Secondly, learn our laws. Third, be prepared to vote when you don't like those laws. Don't assume that you can come to us illegally and then demand a driver's license, or health care. Don't be surprised when we ask you to leave, if you've come to us illegally.

Okay....I'm going to step down now. Am I a bigot? I don't think so. Am I prejudiced? I hope not. I hope that I'm just a concerned American citizen who knows how much we have to offer those who want to be a part of our nation.

...a rather LARGE bug, lying on its back in my mudroom. I don't think it's doing the backstroke. I think it's dead. What I wonder is, did it come in on my clothes this morning when I came in from weeding and pruning, or did it come into the house in the bag of sweet corn I bought yesterday? I suppose it could have come in on my son's clothing when he returned from the Renaissance Faire yesterday. I really don't know how it came to be in my house.

I think it's a praying mantis, and it looks a lot like the one in the picture at the top of the page on the link. It's about six inches long.

I'm leaving it for Dear Husband to see when he returns from sailing tomorrow.

I know that many families spend part of the Labor Day weekend doing repairs to their home, and seeing to those things that need to be done before the house is closed up for the winter. Because Dear Husband is a sailor, we tend to put those activities off until later in October. That means that Labor Day is mine to do with as I please.

This year, it has pleased me to play with fabric. I have a wall hanging that had a design flaw. There are four baskets in the center, and stars in the corners. One of the stars was made from the same fabric pattern, but in a color that wasn't used in the rest of the quilt. Duh.....a beginner's error. I should have known better. It's bugged me since I finished the top.

Last night, I got out my trusty seam ripper, took off the outer border, and removed the star that didn't fit with the rest of the design. I was surprised at how little time it took me to take it apart.

What was even more surprising was how little time it took me to stitch the replacement in place. I've trimmed the lightest border back to one and a half inch, and I'm going to sew the original red border back in place.

Cop Car is one of four people who would understand all this babble. I could have said to you...."I played with fabric. I had a great time!" But, it seemed that it needed a little more explanation.

Tomorrow, I hope to add borders to two other wall hangings, cut out blocks for a quilt Elegante Mother is working on, and perhaps cut the borders for another of her quilts.

I've been pondering for about six years how to finish a quilt I started for one of my nieces. If I don't get this quilt finished soon, she'll be able to use it for her children! So, that's rising to the top of my "Must Do!' stack. And, I need a morning to finish a quilt I started for my granddaughter.

Maybe it's a good thing that weeds don't grow during the winter. I need all the time I can get to finish these projects!

My mother cracked me up yesterday. I was driving her as we ran errands and she told me a pun.

When Dear Husband is away, we seem to make it a point to stand in for him telling puns. He's addicted to the simplest puns, and I prefer the long drawn out stories with the goofy punchlines. At any rate, when he is away, we feel obligated to fill in the missing puns.

EM was reading a mystery. The book wasn't particularly humorous, but it had a paragraph that hit her funny bone. Apparently, one of the characters owned three goats. The goats were named Shirley, Goodness and Mercy.

Those of you who are Christians get the pun. For the rest of you, the names are taken from this phrase "Surely, goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord," which comes from the 23rd Psalm.

Perhaps you had to be there, but I thought it was funny!

I think it's safe to say that Fall is upon us. We haven't had the scent of burning leaves, or the crispness of an early morning yet, but you can see the changes just starting in the plants.

Our road has fields of soybeans on either side of it to the east. About a week ago, I noticed the very first signs of change of color in the field. It was subtle, but yesterday it had become more pronounced. Those particular fields must have had enough rain to make it through the summer. The plants were vigorous, so I think this is most likely not a response to drought, but rather, the end of the growing cycle. The field is mottled with dark green, and shades of lemon yellow to tan sprinkled throughout.

We have a tree that lines several of our streets. I don't know what tree it is, but it looks like it could be related to aspens. These trees are beginning to drop their leaves. Last week the dead leaves were dancing across the road as the wind from the coming cool front moved in. Tomorrow, they'll be glued to the ground from the rain.

We have black walnut trees that line the eastern edge of the property. The walnuts have begun to drop. I suppose you really need to wear a helmet to walk near them! *G* The leaves have been on the ground for several weeks. They are the first sign of impending weather changes, to me.

It's raining today. Should I count that as another sign? We haven't had the burning drought we had last year, but I suspect we are behind in precipitation. EVERYTHING says "AAAAhhhhhhhh" when we get the least bit of rain.

I'm ready for cooler weather, but I can't help wondering where the entire year has gone. Elegante Mother is correct when she says that the older you get, the faster the time flies.

I love to collect dried plants for fall decorations. I've been keeping my eye on several plants that are growing along the edge of the road, or the bean fields. I need to wait a bit to go harvest them.

There's a stand of milk weed at the edge of the field to the east of us. Once the pods split open, the plant can be cut and dried. They provide wonderful interest for a dried arrangement. My mother and I have spray painted milk weed pods gold to use in Christmas arrangements and package decorations, but they are beautiful in their natural colors.

Teasle is an invasive weed that gows in great clumps in our area. It has a wonderful, prickly head at the top of a tall stalk. You can make very dramatic arrangements with them. If you can harvest enough, you could bundle them together, rather the way you would make a bundle of corn stalks. (Check out the teasle in the basket at this site.) But, you have to be sure to use heavy leather gloves when you work with them, because sharp spines cover their stems.

There's a plant that we used to call "Indian Tobacco," when I was a child. It's real name is "Curly Dock." When it dries, it has a deep brown, seedy look, that contrasts the form of the other weeds, and adds more color to the arrangement.

I tend to suppliment what I find along the road with dried botannicals from places like Michael's and Hobby Lobby. One of my favorites is the dried lily pod.
You can see a wreath that uses the dark brown pods at this site.

It's almost time to harvest. I have several five gallon buckets in the garage, and as I harvest, I'll stand the plants in the buckets to finish drying. Before Thanksgiving, I'll create bouquets, tie them with twine, and then add raffia or a wide ribbon. Mother Nature sure gives us some lovely decorations.

Every now and then I'll hear something on the news that makes me want to take to my soap box. Tonight, I heard about a young man who finished a four year degree in physics and math at the University of Virginia in just one year. That's an amazing feat. Even when you take into consideration that he finished half his requirements through Advanced Placement courses in high school, he still completed approximately 60 semester hours in one year. The maximum course load when I was in school (way back in the dark ages), was 21 semester hours a semester, with a lighter load of 10-12 hours in the summer.

This young man is of Asian heritage. I don't think it's a coincidence that so many Asian students are the best students in their schools. I believe that Asian families teach their children that doing the absolute best they can in the class room is their responsibility.

I think we have made an error in letting our young people believe that socializing and extracurricular activities are the reason for attending school. Somewhere along the line in the past few decades, we have slipped away from the idea of serious study being our child's job. Instead, we spoon feed them in the class room, and try to find ways to "motivate" them to learn, and hope that they will take the bait. It's not happening. Tests used to measure the success of our teaching across the nation show the students are mastering less material every year, and I'm very concerned about the trend toward "dumbing down" subject matter.

Perhaps a decade ago, in a Chicago school, the principal announced that if the 8th graders could not pass 70% of the material on a final test in the school year, they would not be promoted to high school. There was a HUGE hue and cry. The principal was reviled, but she held her ground. Those students who were not able to pass the test arranged for summer school and retested. Oddly, they managed to learn 70% of what they had been taught over the previous 8 years, in just 8 weeks of summer school, when they buckled down and applied themselves. Most of them were allowed to pass on to high school that fall.

Some parents will cite the number of pages of homework their children bring home, and will complain about the difficulty of the subject matter for kids in third, fourth and fifth grade. I suspect that the schools are hoping to teach them as much as possible before socializing interrupts their education.

There are several ways we could change the situation. We could ditch the idea of co-ed classrooms. Separate schools for boys and for girls might be a partial solution. Or, we could give a final test for each school year. To pass to then next grade, you'd have to master 70% of the material. Or, we could ban participation in any extracurricular activity if your grades dip below a "C" or 80% of the material.

But more than that, we need to work with students at home. We need to have them sit with us at the dinner table and talk about their day at school. We need to establish study times, and study places. We need to create daily habits for them to follow: feed the dog, pick up the toys, finish today's homework. We need to give our children "jobs," and establish penalties when the jobs are not done right, or well. Not every child is going to be a genius, but every child should know from the start that they are expected to do the absolute best they can do.

There's one other thing we can do. We can limit their use of electronic toys. We can establish early on that there will only be (for example) one hour of Nintendo, or TV or DVD or telephone a day, and those things will only be allowed after homework is completed. Two days in a row of poor showing on homework, and those toys will be set aside until grades rise once more.

It's a shame that these values are considered old-fashioned. It's too bad that so many parents today have lost control of their children, and don't understand that THEY are responsible for teaching good habits, morals and ethics to their children. Schools are no longer allowed to teach ethics, morals or religion, so parents need to step up the plate, and resume their responsibilities.

I was a bit irritated to find today that the USPS produces a stamp in their Holiday Celebrations Series that celebrates two Muslim holidays.

This address from Snopes.com has more information on the stamp.

Yes, I'm prejudiced. I understand that this could be considered an olive branch to Muslims, and I understand that we should willing to allow the celebration of every religion within our borders. But....why the heck are we honoring a religion that wants to wipe the United States off the face of the Earth?

It seems to me that we are hurting ourselves by trying to be politically correct.

...have ticked me off today. You'll find two of them in entries below. The third thing had to do with the speech by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez at the United Nations.

I was sitting with Dear Husband, listening to the news tonight, and we heard clips of the speech. The first thought that came to my mind was "WHY are we buying oil from this man's country?" I mean, why support someone who is so antagonistic?

Dear Husband, who thinks more globally than I do, and who is less emotional in his responses, cut to the chase and said, if we didn't buy Venezuela's oil, they'd just sell it to China. I have no doubt he is right.

Still, I'd like to see my country spend the money that is currently being spent on war, to find or develop other forms of energy, or other resources, which will make us less dependent on oil from other countries, or even better, not dependent at all.

For the first time, I truly feel that our government has made serious errors in their choices. I believe that our present government only responds to those who have the biggest lobbies, and that their decisions are not necessarily for the good of the many. I have the sense that our foreign relations are being handled ineptly. I hope that the administration is not setting the stage for WW III.

Am I being pessimistic? Probably. As I've said many times, it's my job to worry. But, I'd like to leave a better world to my granddaughter than the one we live in now. I have a mental list growing. Global warming, e coli spreading through our food system, mad cow disease, improper farming techniques, the giving away of our jobs and manufacturing industry and research and development, the "dumbing down" of the nation, lack of decent health care for every citizen, horrendous prescription drug costs, abuse of the people by the government we elect, and even the need to update our election process.....these things all weigh on my mind. What about you? Are you bothered by these things?

That's what I paid for gas today. During the summer I cut back my travel as much as I could. I grouped errands onto two days a week, rather than running out every day. I let the car sit as much as possible because gas was at least $3.199. I drove slower, and took my time accelerating. I did everything I could think of, short of not using the car, to cut back on our gas bills.

It pains me that the oil companies raise the costs like that during the summer. I know we are a free market society. I understand the concept of supply and demand. I suspect that I'm not the only person who cut back on their driving, and it had to have an effect on the number of gallons sold this summer. Perhaps that kept us from having $4.00 a gallon gas, or more. At least, I hope it did.

If it weren't for our exercise class, and the occasional fabric shopping trip, and going out to dinner, I believe that I could live a hermit's live. I could shop once a month (I think), and stay put at home. I'd miss the contact with people, but I'd keep in touch with my friends via phone and computer.

I was delighted to hear that Richard Branson, owner of Virgin Airlines, has pledged a BILLION dollars in alternative energy research through the end of this decade. I know that he hopes to fuel his airplane fleet with a new energy source, and that he believes that cars and trucks will be able to use it too. I also understand that he will make a lot of money off this new product. That's okay, as long as we break the hold that petroleum has over us, and we work on cleaning up the Earth.

There have to be a lot of innovative people working on this problem. Why aren't we hearing more about their work?

It was a glorious day for yard work. It's been chilly for this time of year, but mostly clear. I've been looking out the north windows in the kitchen, looking over the herb garden. There's a little pocket yard there and it looks like it hasn't been mowed for two months or so. *G* It's amazing what a little rain can do for grass!

We expect to have scattered showers from tonight thru Monday, so I started my day by assembling a brand new weed eater, and trimming around the herb garden and the North yard. In about half an hour, I'm going to try to mow the rest of the grass. It was too wet this morning to even consider mowing. If I wait to mow until next week, the grass will be too wet and ten feet high!

Dear Husband has purchased cedar timbers to re-frame part of the herb garden. It's an ongoing chore. He replaced about five of them two years ago, and six more are disintegrating and have to be replaced. I'm not sure when he hopes to do the work, but I vote for this fall! I saw dozens of things I could work on, near him, while he worked in the garden. It would be really pleasant to share a few afternoons outside.

About two weeks ago I worked like a demon, cutting back offending volunteer trees and shrubs at the front and south side of the house. I want to make a pathway for the meter readers through the front garden, so things aren't trampled. I need to get stepping stones to finish the job. I pruned back the junipers and shrubs, and cleared a path. Now I want to set stones as a walk way, and then heavily mulch around them. This is the perfect weather to get it all done.

The need to weed is abating. I'm looking at the gardens and thinking about structure and spring blooms, and spreading compost and mulch. We'll let the season ease out with mums, Victoria Blue salvia, Homestead Purple verbena, rudbeckia and Bluebeard, and work on design for next year. Oh....and it's time to rip out the poison ivy in the front garden! Little kids will think I'm the Halloween mummy if they see me dressed up to ivy hunt!

Have you ever really considered just how you use your knees?

I mean, we all would say that we walk, and we sit, and we rise, and we squat. But have you ever given any thought to the other way you use your knees?

My right knee is almost healed from the medial collateral ligament sprain that I developed June 10th. I hobbled around for nine days, and then went to see my doc, who sent me on to an Orthopedic specialist. The physician's assistant prescribed three weeks of immobilizing my knee, along with frequent treatment with ice (in my case, with a bag of peas), and Advil for pain control. About two weeks short of the three month anniversary I saw the orthopedic doc, who arranged for x-rays. He told me that this type of sprain usually takes about five months to heal. I'm on the fast track, apparently, but I'm still trying to be cautious, so that I don't have any relapses this far into my recovery.

So back to how we use our knees....

As I said, I'm trying to be cautious, but I find myself returning to old habits that can't be good. We have two drawers below the cook-top that have the type of shelf that slides out. Mine are loaded with heavy cooking bowls, and Corning ware. I find myself wanting to push those drawers in with my knee.

Across from those drawers is the dishwasher. I discovered that I close its door by turning my back to the unit, hooking my foot under the door and doing a hamstring lift to bring the door up into place.

I used to use my toes to brush things to the right or left. You know....kicking a branch out of the way, or pushing one ice cube toward another on the floor, so you only have to bend once to pick them up.

I'm going to have to unlearn ALL those clever little movements. It's time to bend again, and let my knees get back to good health.

I'm happy to say that I can do about 95% of the exercises at our exercise class. That's not to say that I don't feel it the next day, but it's not the kind of pain that says, "STOP!" And, sleeping on my left side is getting easier. It may be a while until I can sleep on my right side (the damaged knee side), but I can sleep through the night now, and I consider that a major improvement.

Pay attention to how you use YOUR knees. I bet you find some habits that need to be ditched!

Do you remember a little book that was so popular a few years back that encouraged us to do random acts of kindness? I don't think we do enough of them.

I have been thinking for several years that I needed to write a note to the gardener at a house I pass three times a week on the way to exercise. Perhaps ten years ago, I realized that this gardener was very slowly creating a beautiful shade garden under a stand of pines. Each year a few more plants made their presence known until there was something blooming through out the entire growing season.

I do very little shade gardening, although I seem to have more shade now than when we moved to this house seventeen years ago. I thought it would be lovely to walk through this garden, and talk with the gardener, and learn about plants that I've never grown.

I started saying the street number to myself, and had it memorized, but I'd forget to write the note. I finally wrote the address down to nudge my memory and then lost the paper I'd written it on. Finally, I wrote the address down on one page of a small notebook I carry, and left the notebook open in my purse so I'd have to pass it each time I got something out of my purse.

This Monday morning, I saw the note, and took the time to write the briefest of notes to the gardener. I didn't beg for the chance to walk through the garden. I just told the gardener that I had been watching, and that I thought (s)he had done a marvelous job.

Last night, the gardener called, and got my answering machine. Dear Husband heard the call and told me to go listen. Although it was close to eight at night, I called, and had the most lovely conversation with the couple who live at number 1915. It turns out the gardener is a man who has lived at that house for 54 years.

We chatted about people who live in this area, and I was able to bring to his mind which house was mine by telling him that I lived across the road from one of the oldest families in our area. I know all sorts of things about this couple, and they know a few things about me. I told them about our raccoon trials, and they commiserated. This gentleman and I have more than gardening in common. We both have spouses who don't garden! *G*

We have stormy weather coming in for the next few days, but we're expecting sun by Tuesday. My gardening friend generously invited me to come see his gardens. I asked if we could postpose our visit until the clear weather next week, and we settled on late Tuesday morning. I was thrilled to be invited. I have a lot to learn from him. I think it's going to be a lovely visit.

You know, I wish I had done this SO much sooner!

Do you recall that about ten days ago I wrote a note to a nearby gardener to congratulate him on what lovely gardens he had? Well, today Elegante Mother and I got to walk through those gardens.

My gardening friend called when he received my note. He invited us to come see them first hand, so this morning I called to be sure that it was convenient. The day has been gorgeous, one of those beautiful, warm days with intense blue skies, and it was perfect for strolling through the gardens. We went to visit at 1:30, and were there for 90 minutes.

My note to my Gardening Friend (GF) came about because I had watched him create a shade garden under some pine trees over the last decade or more. I wasn't prepared to find that in addition to that splendid garden, he also had 90 varieties of roses, two kinds of raspberries (BIG beds), rhubarb, and tomatoes. And about a million other plants.

I didn't know that you could grow holly here! Or bamboo!

I saw plants I recognized, and plants I'd never seen. I saw plants that looked familiar, but the names wouldn't come to me. I discovered that there is a variety of lily in the valley that blooms pink, and found out that I'm not the only one who has trouble with beetles eating the leaves of the hollyhocks!

GF is 84. This is the first year that he's hired a lawn service, and had them edge the garden for him. I was astonished at the amount of land he has under cultivation that was 99% weed free. It seems we like the same plants and shrubs, but he's much more focused on his gardening than I am.

I asked if he gardened every day, and he shrugged a shoulder and said he got out when he felt up to it. He must put in 8 hours a day 7 days a week! His gardens are fabulous! We've been invited back to see them at their peak.

I can't begin to tell you the names of all the plants, but the variety was incredible, and GF mixes shrubs nicely with perennials and annuals.

I didn't expect to have such a pleasant afternoon as a result of writing that note, but I sure did!