I’m sure that I have blogged about this before. I feel that English should be the official language of the United States. We’re living at a time when this attitude is being challenged. In the past, immigrants have come to our shores and those who successfully integrated, learned to speak English.
Choosing not to learn English forces you to depend on others for information about social services, medical assistance, shopping choices, directions on the road, or for every aspect of your life. If you don’t speak the language, you’ll need an interpreter to seek health and welfare help, to apply for citizenship, to read a bus schedule or to pay bills. You might be at the hands of people who stand to gain through your ignorance.
Not speaking English forces you to live among people who speak your native language. It isolates you and prevents you from enjoying all that the United States has to offer. While there is comfort living among family and friends, do you want them to have to handle every aspect of your life?
I feel so strongly about the issue of English as our legal language that I am willing to devote my spare time to teaching English as a second language, and teaching reading. I have a teaching certificate. It wouldn’t take me that long to re-train formally, but I can assist now through the literacy groups that are available in my area. I have several acquaintances who have done this, and I know others who are willing to teach. All it takes is a willingness on the part of our newcomers to want to learn.
I’ve been reminded of this issue by an e-mail which crossed my desk this weekend. Theodore Roosevelt had this to say on the subject, in 1907:
“In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person’s becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American…There can be NO divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn’t an American at all. We have room for but ONE flag, the American flag… We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language… and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.”
We have SO much to offer. Why limit yourself to a small portion, when you can have the whole pie? Teddy Roosevelt was right. If you choose to come to the United States, be prepared to become and American, and only an American.
Strange colors
I spent a good part of last weekend working on quilt tops. I wanted to finish up several projects. Easily 20 years ago, I took a class on the “Smoothing Iron” Quilt. I chose fabric in tan, red and navy blue for the sample that I wanted to make. I got about half of the blocks pieced and set the project aside.
I’m from the “Waste not, want not” era and it bugs me to have unfinished projects hanging over my head, so I decided to work on the “Smoothing Iron” quilt again. I changed the dimensions in mid-stream, which necessitated adding blocks to the sides of the existing rows. I still have to add borders. I hope that Elegante Mother’s sewing bee will accept this top for the church bazaar.
I’ve had four flower blocks on which EM and I have collaborated, pinned to the quilt wall. I finally decided that they needed to be sashed and bordered. Now that I have the top done, I think I need to trim the outer border. I feels as though it’s overwhelming the center.
And, I thought I had finished all but the last row of the halloween quilt, until I realized that I’d put the last piece of border on upside down. (sigh) That’s an easy problem to fix, and then I get to go to the fabric shop to look for fabric for the final border! YEA!!
I realized that I’d been working on some very unusual colors in one weekend! I took a picture yesterday so you could see what I mean:
Checking In
We’re all yet living at Chez Buffy. It’s been a busy week. I have a list of chores, and I’m still trying to wade through it. I have most of them done, but I still need to work out linens for the tables. One of them is done. I need to press the crocheted mats for the second, and see if the pink table cloth will fit the third.
Saturday morning, Dear Husband and I will be cooking up a storm. He’s making lasagna for Easter Dinner. His children consider that to be a holiday meal. He’s also going to do a Caesar salad with diced marinaded chicken. I have refrigerator rolls to bake, and I’ll help Elegante Mother make brownies. I need to boil eggs for deviled eggs, and potatoes for Hot German Potato Salad.
I think we might manage to get part of the afternoon off, and DH is treating us to dinner out.
There will be 20 people here for dinner, plus two kibitzers early in the afternoon. I’m delighted to have my family visit, and share a meal.
I hope that you all have a wonderful day, and that it’s filled with family. Happy Easter, all!
Squill
If you are not familiar with the early spring perrenial called “Squill,” please go to this link for a picture of what’s growing in my garden.
http://www.twofrog.com/images/squill28.jpg
Google Images has a number of pictures of squill, but this one is the closest to what has volunteered in my yard. It’s spread nicely over the past 15 years, and continues to move it’s way across the grove floor. The chipmunks have moved some of it to my sidewalk garden, the herb garden and the grass on the north side of the house. The leaves are a bit darker and “strappier” than grass, so you can see the contrast.
Squill is well worth adding to your gardens for contrast with crocus, and the blue would be lovely mixed in with daffodils.
Speaking of chipmunks…..the little rodents are up and around and making themselves known. I saw two of them doing the “Oh NO I WON’T….Oh yes you will” dance earlier this week. You know, they must keep their babies in the burrows until they are almost full grown. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a baby chimpmunk!
Chimpmunks and mosquitoes….two things I could really do without!
I’m the Guru!
Tomorrow, our exercise guru, Gentle Dragon, will be visiting with one of her daughters in Pennsylvania. I’ve been invited to lead exercise tomorrow morning in her place. Friday, another sub filled in, and her style is very different from GD’s. We kept up with her, but there was some grousing in the ranks.
I know that I will be welcomed and loved tomorrow, because I will be leading them in one of GD’s easier routines! *G* All I have to do is point out how much easier this one is….and I’m a shoe-in for their friendship and good will.
Actually, all these adults are self-starters. Just about all of them could lead the class should they be asked.. Two of them would just call off class and we’d all go out to breakfast, which is a lovely idea!
I’ve been meaning to revisit the routines on the days between our exercise sessions. Good intentions and a $1.25 (my how inflation has affected us!) will get you iced tea at Mickey D’s, but it won’t get that exercising done. I pulled out my cheat-sheets today, cranked up the music and did the first 30 minutes of the session. I had to go back to do the fastest cardio piece a second time, and I’ll have to review it tomorrow morning, too, but we’ll get through the session reasonably well.
My sis, Nan, gave me exercise clothes for Christmas in recognition of the invitations to sub for Gentle Dragon. The pants are black, and the top is bright orange! She wanted them to be able to find me at the front of the room! She also gave me a wardrobe of head and wrist bands, and socks to complete the outfit! At least I don’t have to worry about what to wear!
This will get me off to a healthy week, and help me get all those errands run. I’m delighted to be able to help, and equally delighted that Gentle Dragon will be back on Wednesday! *S*
Busy Week
Like most of you who visit here, I expect this week to be a busy one. We’re hosting part of my family for Easter dinner. We’ve planned the menu, and we have a rough idea of how many people will be here. I’ll set two tables, and by the end of the week, I may have to add one more small table to that. Luckily, we have room and dishes to expand on short notice. Usually seating is the most difficult aspect of a family gathering. I’ve put vanity seats and benches and office chairs, and the barrel chair in the living room into play when we’ve been surprised.
This Easter we will have only one little one with us, our almost-three-year-old granddaughter. I have to bring the plastic Easter eggs up from the basement and clean them, so we’re ready for an Easter egg hunt. Dear Husband is going to be the filler of the eggs this year. I’d also like to hang some plastic eggs from the baby redbud tree at the front of the house.
We’ve begun the lists of cleaning, and shopping. I know what linens I plan to use, and I’ll check on them early this week so that we don’t have any surprises. I’ll have to keep on top of laundry through the week, because once I press the dining room table cloth, I won’t be able to set my clean laundry there while it waits for me to find the time to fold it.
I changed quilts on the living room wall, and I really miss the much darker one. I didn’t want it to sun fade, so I returned the Stars and Stepping Stones quilt to the wall.
While it uses the same colors, and even some of the same fabrics, it has a great deal more tan in it. Once we get into summer, and the leaves are giving us some shade, the darker blocks will stand out.
I still have not gotten into the gardens. The garlic chives need to be trimmed today! I’ll have to get out there this afternoon because storms are on their way again. When I can get back into the gardens, I won’t have enough time to clean them properly, so I need to do some emergency things today.
Does anyone know how big a ham you need for 20-22 people? And would I be better off with two smaller hams? I’ll have to surf, so that I can order today.
I hope you’re all having a good weekend, and that you enjoy the coming week!
Books
Go visit Texas Trifles, and take a look at the book meme that Cowtown Pattie has published.
I was astonished to see how many books both she and I have read. Pattie has read 58 of a list of 100 books; I’ve read 54. I own several of the books on the list and am waiting to get to them.
There’s no rhyme or reason to this list, apparently. Just go browse and see how many of them you’ve read, and say “Hey!” to Pattie while you’re there.
Storms Coming
Today started really well, and I have high hopes for the rest of the day, despite the rain that is coming our way. The weather forecasters are uncertain whether the showers will slide in this afternoon, or this evening, but we can expect rain for several days.
Gentle Dragon, our exercise guru, is off to visit one of her daughters for a long weekend. We had a sub today who has a slightly different style. I think it disturbs her that we aren’t shouting back encouragement, so she does it for herself. She paces the exercise differently. There’s rarely a break in movement, while GD has us keep stepping between songs. There’s nothing wrong with the way the sub handled the class, nothing at all. But she isn’t Gentle Dragon.
The ladies and gentlemen in my class have become very fond of GD, but it took us a while to develop that relationship. Our sub seems to feel that she can come in and have instant relationship, and it just hasn’t worked that way. Class was full today, but I think that might have been because we were all meeting for breakfast after class, to celebrate the March birthdays. *G* (Yeah….we exercise and then we eat!)
I was up at five this morning, doing a little housework and getting ready for exercise. Elegante Mother is a little under the weather, so we let her skip exercise this morning and sleep in. She’s had a little tummy upset, which in turn has kept her from sleeping well. I think she’ll be fine tomorrow, and we’ll just pretend it isn’t raining.
I’m going to steal some time to sew today, and pay some bills. The house is clean, so there aren’t any chores calling to me. It seems like the perfect day to vege out!
Dear Husband has volunteered his talents to one of my nephews, who is working on finishing a basement fireplace. If it weren’t raining, I might have told my nephew he’d have to wait, because I have a long list of outside chores that require Dear Husband’s help. As it is, I’ll have to hope that we get a dry weekend before boating season starts, that isn’t taken up with boat preparation.
The forsythia is GORGEOUS!. We’ve left it in the arching “fountain” style, and the gold just glows against the gloomy skies. I have my youngest sister, Nan, and her husband to thank for planting it. I’d purchased it, and had delayed getting it into the ground. One visit, they simply picked up the forsythia and a shovel, and had it planted in 15 minutes! Thank you, Nan, for saving the shrub and giving me years of spring enjoyment!
So, my day is filled with average, run of the mill things, but I’m really enjoying it. I hope you all have a good weekend!
And one more thing…
The forsythia is in bloom!
And the star magnolia buds are swelling, but it looks like a lot of the buds were killed off in the three weeks of below-freezing weather we had in February. Too bad, it’s really a beautiful shrub.
Dinner Tonight
One of my favorite nieces and her son will be joining us for dinner tonight. On the way to grocery shopping today, Elegante Mother suggested that the next time my niece came to visit we should plan a different meal. It seems that we’ve done the same meal for them for the last several visits! I hadn’t realized. I’ll have to ask her what she has a taste for next time.
Tonight we’ll be having medium rare flank steak with broiled steak seasoning, lemon pepper and garlic salt, huge baking potatoes (and I’ll put out sour cream, butter, bacon bits and shredded cheddar cheese for those who want them), steamed cauliflower with browned bread crumbs and sliced green onions, roasted asparagus with Kosher salt and minced dry onion, Caesar salad, strawberries, and maybe chocolate cupcakes.
We rarely eat this way at home. Normally, I offer a much more trimmed down meal, with fewer condiments, and simpler veggies, but we seem to go all out for my niece and her boys. We’ll be hosting Easter in a couple of weeks. The preparation for tonight’s meal is similar to what we do for Easter, Of course, those who come to have Easter dinner with us will bring dishes to pass. Dear Husband and I will do all the cooking tonight. He cooks the flank steak and makes the Caesar salad. I clean the romaine, cook the cauliflower, roast the asparagus, clean and slice the strawberries, make the cupcakes, and clean the kitchen.
Hopefully, a good time will be had by all, and I’ll go back to lighter meals for the end of the week.