TulipGirl

This has been a long week. A very long week.

And somehow in the midst of the craziness, Hubby and I marked our 14th anniversary! And considering we met 18 years ago, our lives have been mingled longer than they have not. I’m looking forward to a long, relaxing weekend together.

Hubby had to rescue me at 9:30 pm on our anniversary — I had locked my keys in the van. Today I forgot my phone at home. I’ve been a tad absentminded.

The boys have been on a Shakespeare kick. I’m not yet sure what instigated their interest, even though the past year we have been integrating some of the Bard into our schooling. (We’ve read more of Charles Lamb that we have the actual plays and poetry.) Tonight we’re watching Ian McKellen as King Lear. Amy (who loves books) suggested In Search of Shakespeare. I haven’t found a place to watch it online, so maybe we’ll order it. . . The boys are trying to organize the neighborhood kids into a play. I love delight-led learning!

This morning read Barlow’s take on Cash for Clunkers. I tend to agree — it seems to be wasteful, and substituting one form of pollution and inefficiency for another.

On a happier note, Roadfood.com seems to be a great resource for finding yummy local food whether at home or when traveling.

Similarly, Eating Like an Immigrant is very inspirational! This is the first post of a series — I can’t wait to read the rest over at MbG. Food blogging is one of those things that prods me to enjoy cooking again, even when I have to cook. We’ve been making easy bread this week, thanks to ThatMom’s links to online resources for Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. I have a loaf rising now, and plan on trying whole wheat this weekend.

We have treats and cooking planned for this weekend, much of it for the church picnic. Jalepeno Hummus and tortilla chips, brownies, Mrs. E’s Mac and Cheese, regular hummus and veggies, something else which I’m blanking on right now. . .

I’m hoping to go to Chicago (along with the two younger boys!) in a few weeks to see my parents. Very excited about it.

It will be too late for the Michigan Ave Arts Fest — but doesn’t that look like fun? I found out about that from a friend’s link on facebook. Finding some neat (and sad) links from friends lately. . . Like Embracing the Least of These, about orphans in Africa. Or, this cool project that uses Google Maps to vividly illustrate the crisis in Darfur.

I’ve been listening to Steve Brown’s lectures on Grace in the Church, thanks to Camille. It’s been relaxing during this busy week.

But I need to take a break from it, and finish up this semester’s courses. I’ve been taking Financial Management in the Public Sector (ugh!) and Nonprofit Administration. They’ve both had their challenges as well as provided opportunities to learn. I’ve stressed out over them more than I needed to, as well. Still trying to find the right rhythm in school. My fall classes? Nonprofit Organizations and Nonprofit Financial Management. I’ve already ordered my books. (I *heart* the free shipping from Amazon Prime!)

Hubby starts teaching in a few weeks (if you are local, take his American History class!) The boys were going to have a “short” summer break, but with their hard work work all July, we’ve decided to start when the local public schools start — August 24th. I need to do quite a bit of planning.

On the upside, I finished a project I really wanted to do this July. I sorted all the kids books and school books by type, and have them stacked and organized. You know the boxes with lids which contain reams of paper? They are perfect for books. Thanks to Bob, our local printer, and the office supply store, we had plenty. Now I just need to work on the boys’ schedules — we’re trying to finish up US History since 1865 using Ambleside as a guide (Term 3 of Year 5, Term 1 of Year 6 — adapted to each of the boys).

That will give the boys time to join the YCS group in campaigning for Dan Quiggle. We like Dan a lot, and he has great Reagan stories from his internship. I’m glad the boys get to see the local side of politics in an off-year election.

So, that’s the rambling on we’ve been doing around here. . .

It is no secret that we at TulipGirl are fond of Ronald Wilson Reagan. A few months ago the older boys and I were able to attend a workshop that included a man who had interned with Reagan after he left the White House.  His stories just made me adore Reagan even more.

“President Reagan received a letter from a sick child. Quiggle says Reagan went straight to his office to call him.”

“To hear him make that call from outside his office. ‘Is Johnny there?… This is Ronny Reagan… No, it really is.’ He finally got this child on the phone. I remember him saying, ‘I got your letter and we’re praying for you and we can beat this thing but we have to be a team and stay strong.’ This is who he was every single day. There were no cameras, no press releases. True leadership is what happens when the cameras are off, and I got to see that everyday.”

“This is who he was every single day. There were no cameras, no press releases. True leadership is what happens when the cameras are off. . .”

That is the type of person I want my boys to be. Heck, that is the type of person I want to be.

I see the picture of the 9 y/o boy on the left, hand on his chin, and think of my little 9 y/o — the one named for this great statesman.

This would have been Ronald Reagan’s 98th birthday.   I highly recommend reading a biography of this great leader.  My oldest son recommends the one written by Dinesh D’Souza, while I’m fond of the biography by Peggy Noonan.

And some wisdom from Reagan, that would be well-heeded by the U.S.A. now:

“The government’s view of the economy can be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.”

“The Founding Fathers knew a government can’t control the economy without controlling people. And they knew when a government sets out to do that, it must use force and coercion to achieve its purpose. So we have come to a time for choosing.”

“Coercion, after all, merely captures man. Freedom captivates him.”

“We don’t have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven’t taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much.”

“How do you tell a Communist? Well, it’s someone who reads Marx and Lenin. And how do you tell an anti-Communist? It’s someone who understands Marx and Lenin.”

“You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We will preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on earth, or we will sentence them to take the first step into a thousand years of darkness. If we fail, at least let our children and our children’s children say of us we justified our brief moment here. We did all that could be done.”

The Ronald Reagan classic, with a chuckling Gorby:

Molodyetz, Senator McCain, on the “Trust, but verify” nod to Ronald Reagan. That made me smile, along with McCain’s understanding of the nuances of Georgia, Ukraine, and NATO. (And the nuance of accurately saying Ukraine, rather than Obama’s the Ukraine.)

Yes, the focus of the debate was much broader than Eastern Europe, but I appreciated McCain’s strong statement of support for Ukraine.

What McCain said:

MCCAIN: Well, I was interested in Senator Obama’s reaction to the Russian aggression against Georgia. His first statement was, “Both sides ought to show restraint.”

Again, a little bit of naivete there. He doesn’t understand that Russia committed serious aggression against Georgia. And Russia has now become a nation fueled by petro-dollars that is basically a KGB apparatchik-run government.

I looked into Mr. Putin’s eyes, and I saw three letters, a “K,” a “G,” and a “B.” And their aggression in Georgia is not acceptable behavior.

I don’t believe we’re going to go back to the Cold War. I am sure that that will not happen. But I do believe that we need to bolster our friends and allies. And that wasn’t just about a problem between Georgia and Russia. It had everything to do with energy.

There’s a pipeline that runs from the Caspian through Georgia through Turkey. And, of course, we know that the Russians control other sources of energy into Europe, which they have used from time to time.

It’s not accidental that the presidents of Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, and Ukraine flew to Georgia, flew to Tbilisi, where I have spent significant amount of time with a great young president, Misha Saakashvili.

And they showed solidarity with them, but, also, they are very concerned about the Russian threats to regain their status of the old Russian to regain their status of the old Russian empire.

Now, I think the Russians ought to understand that we will support — we, the United States — will support the inclusion of Georgia and Ukraine in the natural process, inclusion into NATO.

We also ought to make it very clear that the Russians are in violation of their cease-fire agreement. They have stationed additional troops in Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

By the way, I went there once, and we went inside and drove in, and there was a huge poster. And this is — this is Georgian territory. And there was a huge poster of Vladimir Putin, and it said, “Vladimir Putin, our president.”

It was very clear, the Russian intentions towards Georgia. They were just waiting to seize the opportunity.

So, this is a very difficult situation. We want to work with the Russians. But we also have every right to expect the Russians to behave in a fashion and keeping with a — with a — with a country who respects international boundaries and the norms of international behavior.

And watch Ukraine. This whole thing has got a lot to do with Ukraine, Crimea, the base of the Russian fleet in Sevastopol. And the breakdown of the political process in Ukraine between Tymoshenko and Yushchenko is a very serious problem.

So watch Ukraine, and let’s make sure that we — that the Ukrainians understand that we are their friend and ally.

Happy birthday, Ronald Reagan.

“There was a time when empires were defined by land mass, subjugated peoples, and military might. But the United States is unique because we are an empire of ideals. For two hundred years we have been set apart by our faith in the ideals of democracy, of free men and free markets, and of the extraordinary possibilities that lie within seemingly ordinary men and women. We believe that no power of government is as formidable a force for good as the creativity and entrepreneurial drive of the American people.

Those are the ideals that invented revolutionary technologies and a culture envied by people everywhere. This powerful sense of energy has made America synonymous for opportunity the world over. And after generations of struggle, America is the moral force that defeated communism and all those who would put the human soul itself into bondage.”

From President Ronald Reagan’s 1992 Republican Convention Address

President Ronald Reagan would have been 94 today. He’s left quite a legacy for the US, and I’ll always be thankful for him.

Our friend Erik, back-up med care for when R5 was born, shares a birthday with the Big Man. So, if you’re reading in San Angelo, Happy Birthday to you, too!

(Thanks to coyote for the birthday reminder.)

“Evil is powerless … If the good are unafraid.”

–Ronald Reagan

We’ve been watching the election news online tonight. Hosting Matters must not have been anticipating the high blogging levels on election day, because Instapundit, Vodka Pundit and Le Sabot have periodically been unavailable. I know it’s been said before, but blogging and the internet have changed forever the way politics is done.

Thankfully, the Corner has been updating frequently. This was one of my favorite posts there, because it reminded me so much of my boys.

A READER FROM NJ [KJL]

KJL My 6 year old son is a political junkie — his friend is the 2nd cousin of W, and he sleeps with a photo of The President and Mrs. Bush on his headboard.

When I left to vote this morning, he is well aware of the closeness of this race, he said “This election would be so much easier if we could just vote for Ronald Reagan. “

I just love him.

Cherries are in season! And as I mentioned to Eric, I’ve come to really love cherries since moving to Ukraine. The ones I’ve had here are so delicious and fresh!

I usually ask the ladies from whom I buy cherries whether they are bez worms. Like the Russian proverb Ronald Reagan liked to quote, when buying cherries it’s important to “trust, but verify.”

Some of our friends swear the best cherries are with worms–they are fresher, organic, and worms know the sweetest berries. It doesn’t phase me like it once did to open a cherry and flick aside the little white grub–though I can’t quite pop them into my mouth without checking, like Hubby does. However, in general, our family prefers our cherries without worms. All that to say, I bought two kilos of clean cherries the other day and made Cherry Amaretto Preserves. While they still need to sit a month to really be ready, the ones I’ve tasted so far are a bit like maraschino cherries, but better–and would be lovely over cheesecake.

Cherry Amaretto Preserves

4 pounds cherries (preferably dark sweet)
1 pound granulated sugar
3/4 cup dark rum

Prepare six 8-ounce jars.

Wash, stem and pit cherries.

In heavy saucepan, combine cherries and sugar and cook over low heat for 1 1/2 hours. Watch carefully and stir often. Remove from heat; let cool 5 minutes and stir in amaretto. Pack cherries into prepared jars. Cover and seal. Process in boiling water bath 10 minutes.

Store in cool dark place for 1 month before using.

Hubby and I have been nearly in tears laughing at the Diana Goodman’s sarcastic commentary on Bad Baby Names. We’ve had a few raised eyebrows at our kids names, so I’m not pointing any fingers. . . But really, what were these people thinking?

One of the trends that amuses me is the name-girls-after-a-president one. Like Madison, Kennedy, Reagan, Carter. Before long it’ll be McKinley, Clinton, Roosevelt, QuincyAdams, and Taft.

(via Poppins Classical Academy)

“He had this sort of “God

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I’ve been looking for this since hearing of President Reagan’s passing. Peggy Noonan’s Thanks From a Grateful Country, in honor of Ronald Reagan.

“He was dying for years and the day came and somehow it came as a blow. Not a loss but a blow. How could this be?

John Rabe echoed the same sentiments on Hubby’s blog.

And it’s true.

And I’m near tears again with memories,

“It’s not hard to imagine him now in a place where his powers have been returned to him and he’s himself again–sweet-hearted, tough, funny, optimistic and very brave. You imagine him snapping one of those little salutes as he turns to say goodbye. Today I imagine saluting right back.”

“When the Lord calls me home, whenever that may be, I will leave with the greatest love for this country of ours and eternal optimism for its future. I know that for America there will always be a bright dawn ahead.” –Ronald Reagan, 1994

Ronald Wilson Reagan, February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004

It seems that President Reagan’s health has taken a turn for the worse. He’s struggled with Alzheimer’s for so long. R5 was named in honor of Ronald Reagan, and so we’ve started talking to him about President Reagan being very ill. In our family, he will be greatly mourned.

I highly recommend Peggy Noonan’s biography of Reagan, When Character Was King. Very touching.