In Celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month....

Sonia Sotomayor

Sotomayor was born in The Bronx, New York City and is of Puerto Rican descent. Her father died when she was nine, and she was raised by her mother. Sotomayor graduated with an A.B. from Princeton University in 1976 and received her J.D. from Yale Law School in 1979. She was an advocate for the hiring of Latino faculty at both schools. She worked as an assistant district attorney in New York for five years before going into private practice. She played an important role on the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, the State of New York Mortgage Agency, and the New York City Campaign Finance Board.
Sotomayor was nominated to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York by President George H. W. Bush in 1991, and her nomination was confirmed in 1992. In 1997, President Bill Clinton nominated her to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Her nomination was slowed but she was eventually confirmed in 1998.
In May 2009, President Barack Obama nominated Sotomayor for appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court to replace retired Justice David Souter. Her nomination was confirmed by the United States Senate in August 2009.

Sotomayor is the Court's 111th justice, its first Hispanic justice in the Supreme Court, and its third female justice.

October is Hispanic Heritage Month

National Hispanic Heritage Month is from Sept. 15 until October 15. This is the time to recognize the contribution of many Hispanic Americans in the United States as well as to celebrate Hispanic Heritage and culture. Sept. 15 was chosen becuase it's the begining of the celebration of the independence of several Latin American countries.
The term Hispanic is used to describe people that come from Spanish speaking countries. It was created by the US Census Bureau in 1970 to account for the many people living in the United States from Latin American countries. Hispanic is a term to describe ethinic origin and not a race.

Gathering Leaves, By Robert Frost

Gathering Leaves

Spades take up leaves

No better than spoons,

And bags full of leavesAre light as balloons.
I make a great noiseOf rustling all day

Like rabbit and deerRunning away.
But the mountains I raise

Elude my embrace,Flowing over my arms

And into my face.
I may load and unload

Again and again

Till I fill the whole shed,

And what have I then?
Next to nothing for weight,

And since they grew duller

From contact with earth,

Next to nothing for color.
Next to nothing for use.

But a crop is a crop,

And who's to say where

The harvest shall stop?

By Robert Frost

October Recipes

Dia de Muertos Bread
typical bread made around the same time that we celbrate Halloween in the US. The bread is prepared and placed on an altar along with other goodies, flowers, candles and pictures to honor our deceased loved ones who come to visit on this day.
Follow the recipe below to make this delicious Mexican Bread.

Recipe found at http://www.inside-mexico.com/cocina3.htm

Ingredients
1½ cups Flour
½ cups Sugar
1t Salt
2 Packets Dry Yeast
1t Anis Seed
½ cup Milk
½ cup Water
½ cup Butter
4 Eggs
4½ cups Flour

Instructions
Mix all dry ingredients together except the 4 1/2 cups of flour
In a small pan, heat the milk, the water, and the butter. Add the liquid mixture to the dry mixture.
Beat well.
Mix in the eggs and the first 1 1/2 cups of flour. Beat.
Little by little add in the rest of the flour.
Knead the mixture on a floured board for 10 minutes.
Put the dough in a greased bowl and allow it to rise until it has doubled in size.
Punch the dough down and reshape. On top put some strips of dough simulating bones, and a little ball (tear).
Let it rise another hour.
Bake at 350° F for about 40 minute

Glaze:
1/2 cup Sugar
1/3 cup fresh OrangeJuice
2 tablespoons grated Orange Zest

Bring to a boil for 2 minutes, then apply to bread with a pastry brush.
Sprinkle on colored sugar while glaze is still damp.

Feliz Día de Muertos!
http://www.inside-mexico.com/cocina3.htm

Welcome October!

September's Quote

“I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do.” Helen Keller