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!
Monthly Archives: September 2006
Labor Day
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!
There’s a Bug…
…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.
Diversity?
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.