Three Ice Pops

 

My grandpa has been gone fifty-one years this month. When he died, he was a year older than I am now. One thing I remember about him was his odd way of resting. He’d squat all the way down with his feet flat on the ground. I wanted to be exactly like him. I tried to imitate his squat many times. I could balance a moment or two on the balls of my feet, but I always keeled over. My heels refused to reach the floor. Even when I mastered cartwheels and handstands, I couldn’t manage this. We always assumed Grandpa could do deep squats because his legs were so thin and long. But lots of shorter people can manage it. It’s why it’s sometimes called the “Slavic squat” or the “Asian squat.” These days my knees, hips, and belly prevent me from even trying. But I always wonder if I just didn’t persist hard enough.

Ten-Inch Glisten Block

 

There are a hand full of recipes I use so often I know them by heart. I make this one at least twice a month.

 

Banana Bread

 

6 tablespoons butter, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 to 3 overripe bananas

3 eggs

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg

 

Line loaf pan with parchment, coat with cooking spray. Cream together sugar and butter. Add buttermilk, bananas, and eggs; stir until thoroughly mixed. In a separate bowl, combine remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour dry ingredients into wet ones; stir until combined. Mixture will be lumpy. At this point, you may add walnuts. Pour into prepared pan and bake at 350 one hour. Bread will be done when a knife in the center comes out clean. Cool about 20 minutes before removing from pan. Cool completely before cutting.

Ice Pop

 

On the eighteenth of April 1930, absolutely nothing of any importance happened. At least, according to the British Broadcasting Service, there was nothing newsworthy to report. It was the start of the regularly scheduled radio news broadcast at 8:45 p.m. Listeners all over the British Isles tuned in and heard, “Good Evening. Today is Good Friday. There is no news.” This unexpected announcement was followed by fifteen solid minutes of pre-recorded piano music. Then at 9:00 p.m. the radio station resumed its broadcast of Wagner’s opera Parsifal. I don’t know if anyone was annoyed there weren’t any news stories to follow, but I do know no one switched stations. I know this because the BBC had a nationwide monopoly on radio news until 1972. I’m guessing the listening audience was surprised, but not genuinely distressed. After all, no news is good news.

Woven Together

 

Sears began as a mail-order catalog company in 1892. In 1925, they began incorporating brick-and-mortar stores into their operations. But the company was always known for its catalog. You could find anything you needed in the Sears catalog, from farm equipment to ladies’ dresses. From 1902 to 1942, you could even purchase a kit to build your own house. There was always a Sears catalog in our home when my siblings and I were growing up – thick enough to use as a booster seat. We’d thumb through the glossy pages, debating what we should ask Santa to bring Christmas morning (though why we thought Santa ordered from Sears is a mystery). In 1973, their headquarters moved to what was the world’s tallest building – the Sears Tower. Maybe the altitude went to their heads. In 1993, Sears decided to ditch the catalog, saying mail ordering was ancient history. In less than a year, Jeff Bezos founded Amazon.

Three Ice Cream Cones

 

Musician Dave Carroll and his band were flying from Halifax to Omaha, to play a show in 2008. The band was getting ready to change planes in Chicago when they noticed United baggage handlers tossing luggage, including their very expensive guitars. When they arrived in Nebraska, sure enough, Dave’s $3,500 Taylor guitar was badly damaged. After nine months of wrangling with United’s customer service, their response was, “Hun, you signed the waiver.”  Dave thought, “If I were a lawyer, I’d sue.” Instead, he created a song and a music video. He reached out to friends in the music business for help, and found virtually every musician who travels had similar experiences. “United Breaks Guitars” very quickly went viral. United stock plummeted. The airline was forced to offer Dave compensation for his guitar. Dave still flies United. He says, “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.”

Star-Crossed

 

“God hears every prayer we offer and responds to each of them according to the path He has outlined for our perfection. I recognize that at roughly the same time so many were praying for the restoration of my health, an equal number – including me – were praying for the restoration of my wife’s health. I testify that both of those prayers were heard and answered by a divinely compassionate Heavenly Father, even if the prayers for Pat were not answered the way I asked. It is for reasons known only to God why prayers are answered differently than we hope. But I promise you they are heard and they are answered according to His unfailing love and cosmic timetable.” – Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

Ice Cream Cone

 

I’ve never heard of anyone who didn’t like ice cream. But everyone, it seems, prefers some flavors of ice cream over others. In the U.S., vanilla is the most popular flavor. Chocolate runs a close second. After that, it’s cookies and cream (which is really just Oreo cookies crumbled into vanilla ice cream). Number four is strawberry. Five is chocolate chip (again, just vanilla ice cream with chocolate chips mixed in). Six is butter pecan (I have no idea why butter pecan is not number one.) and seven is chocolate chip cookie dough. (Alright. That’s just chocolate chips and cookie dough in vanilla ice cream!) Mint chocolate chip and caramel are numbers eight and nine. Neapolitan is number ten, even though it’s three flavors, not one. After that come rocky road, peanut butter chocolate, coffee, pistachio and cherry. I plan to keep my ice cream maker busy this summer, churning out these flavors and many more!