Four Friendship Stars

 

The first time Roy Sullivan was struck by lightning, he was a Virginia park ranger. The bolt burned along his right leg and blew a hole in his shoe. The second time, he was driving his truck. His eyebrows and lashes burned off, and his hair caught fire. The third time, Roy’s right shoulder was scorched in his front yard. The fourth strike happened when he was inside a ranger’s station. His hair caught fire again, and he had trouble putting the flames out. Afterwards, Roy carried water, just in case. It came in handy when he had to extinguish his hair again a year later. The sixth lightning strike happened as Roy tried to run from an oncoming storm. The seventh time, Roy was fishing. Lightning burned his head, chest and abdomen. A bear approached to steal Roy’s catch, and Roy beat him off with a stick. While his hair was on fire.

Double Churn Dash

 

Isabella Lucy Bird was a clergyman’s daughter, born in North Yorkshire in 1831. From early childhood, she suffered from a painful spinal condition, fatigue, insomnia, and depression. She was frequently bedridden. When her doctor suggested a sea voyage, her father handed her £100 and said to stay away until the money ran out. The letters she wrote as she traveled became her first book: An Englishwoman in America. Isabella visited Australia, Hawaii, the Rockies, Japan, China, Korea, Vietnam, Singapore and Malaya. Having decided her initial ventures were pointless, Isabella studied medicine and photography. As a missionary, she traveled to Tibet, Iran Kurdistan and Turkey. In Kashmir, she helped to build a hospital and dispensary. Wherever she went, she wrote about what she saw and heard and did. Her photos and stories captured a world that was quickly vanishing. When Isabella died in Edinburgh at the age of 72, she was planning another trip to China.

Fifteen X Blocks

 

“We anticipate our marriage with faith and confidence because we conscientiously prepare for the covenants we make in the house of the Lord. But even with our preparation, we of course each have weaknesses, and we realize that our lives will require more unselfishness, more repentance, and more forgiveness. Kathy and I had engraved on the paper napkins for our wedding reception these words of William Shakespeare: ‘Love is not love that alters when it alteration finds.’ In those first months as she got to know me better, I kept the leftover napkins all around our apartment. While embracing the happiness and sorrows of life’s experiences, we etch our covenants indelibly upon our souls, and we keep our eyes focused heavenward, toward the glorious destination awaiting us. We know the divine attributes we seek will not all be perfected in this life. Eternal marriage is an eternal journey.” – Elder Neil L. Andersen

Modified Friendship Star

 

Last week we were invited to a neighborhood pot luck picnic. We usually bring something fussy in a glass dish. Then we have to talk people into trying it, and we have to carry that heavy, fragile dish home again. Not this time. Instead, I bought a disposable deep aluminum lasagna pan. Into the pan went two bags of hearts of romaine lettuce. On top, I placed chopped dry salami, chopped English cucumber, bite-size provolone, small peperoni, diced red bell pepper, marinated mozzarella balls, sliced pepperoncini, and sliced red onion. John said it looked like a charcuterie board over lettuce, and it did. I covered the pan with foil and brought a 16-ounce (plastic) jar of Italian dressing to mix in when we arrived. There were zero leftovers. In fact, the salad disappeared before dinner was half over. If we’d brought disposable utensils, we could have walked home empty-handed.

Floating Star

 

Violet Constance Jessop was a stewardess in 1911 aboard the RMS Olympic: the largest civilian liner at the time. In September that year, the Olympic left Southampton and collided with the British warship HMS Hawke. The Olympic was damaged, but managed to return to port. Violet continued to work on the Olympic until April 1912 when she was transferred to her sister ship. RMS Titanic left Southampton April 10 and struck an iceberg four days later. Violet was ordered up on deck to serve as an example for passengers who didn’t understand English. She watched the ship sink from lifeboat 16. During the first world war, Violet became a nurse for the Volunteer Aid Detachment. November 1916, she was aboard the third sister ship, HMHS Britannic, when it struck a German mine and sank in 55 minutes. She narrowly escaped death when the ship’s propellers shredded her lifeboat. Violet was 83 when she died in 1971.

Sew Very Spooky!

 

I’ve participated in the Utah State Fair Quilt Challenge every year since 2007. For the first decade or so, the fabric chosen for the competition was mostly novelty prints: bonbons, strawberries, musical notes, seagulls and cartoon farm animals. Then there were several years that left more to our imaginations: a red paisley, orange chevrons, a grey plaid, teal polka-dots, tiny green leaves, and 1930’s florals. This year’s challenge is an about-face. The theme is “Spooky Hollow” and the focus fabric is covered with skulls and autumn leaves, brooms and pointed hats, crows and owls. It’s been fun to work on a Halloween-themed wall hanging, but I’m worried all this year’s challenge quilts will come out looking more or less the same. I’ve done what I could to make mine stand out. I’ve added deep purple, which isn’t in the challenge fabric. And I don’t think many quilters could top my paper-pieced moon. Wish me luck!

Dragon's Head

In 1906, the Santa Fe Railway – a subsidiary of the Atchison, Topeka & the Santa Fe – purchased a 9,000-acre plot in southern California. Their plan was to use the land to grow their own railroad ties. Their tree of choice was Eucalyptus globulus, for a few reasons. Eucalyptus can grow up to 480 feet; even taller than the redwoods. It grows extremely fast, up to 125 feet in as little as three years. And, though eucalyptus can’t handle chilly temperatures, it’s extremely drought tolerant, only needing regular watering the first year or two. So, the railway planted 3.5 million eucalyptus trees over the next eight years. Then they learned those tall, beautiful, aromatic trees made terrible railroad ties. The young wood was far too soft. They ditched the plan and created a Spanish Colonial Revival village instead. Most of the 3.5 million trees are still there. The failed railroad ties have become a fragrant urban forest.