Yellow Teapot

 

Broccoli Chickpea Salad

 

1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice

3 cups raw broccoli chopped into small florets

2 cups chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1/2 medium red onion finely chopped

1 cup crumbled feta cheese

 

Dressing

 

Zest and juice from one lemon

2 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

Optional kosher salt to taste

 

Add rice, broccoli, chick peas and onion to large bowl; toss to combine. In a smaller bowl, whisk together lemon juice, zest, oil and vinegar. Pour dressing over salad and add feta. Gently toss and serve.  

Sixteen Rail Fences

 

Oliver "Porky" Bickar came up with the idea in 1971 and spent three years gathering 70 old tires. When April 1, 1974 dawned clear, he told his wife today was the day, and she replied, "Just don't make an ass of yourself." Porky and his closest friends tied the tires into two 150-foot rope slings, then hired a helicopter to lift them to the crater at the top of Mount Edgecumbe with diesel, rags and smoke bombs. While the pilot returned for the second load, Porky painted his message in the snow. Thick black smoke was already visible across Sitka Sound before they got home. Phones rang off the hook. Porky had warned the FAA, fire department and police about his prank, but forgot the Coast Guard. A helicopter was sent to investigate, and the Coast Guard found “April Fool” written in the snow. An Alaska Airlines flight was diverted so passengers could see the fake volcanic eruption.

Two Dozen Friendship Stars

“In the Savior’s Church, it is not our political views, culture or personal interests that unite us. It is our love for God and neighbor — God’s children. It is our commitment to our covenants with Jesus Christ and to His restored gospel. We are ‘one in Christ.’” – President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

 “Always put Him first and remain faithful to the covenants you made at your baptism. Angels can minister to you. The Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost are at your side.” – Andrea Muñoz Spannaus

 “The covenants and ordinances of the Savior’s restored gospel are spiritual credentials that can open wide the heavenly windows of opportunity to receive in our lives divine purpose, direction and strength.” – Elder David A. Bednar

 “Consider how your family, friends and loved ones will be blessed to partake of the fruit that blesses you.” – Elder Gary E. Stevenson

One Dozen Rail Fences

 

Even more unlikely but true facts:

Vatican City is only 0.19 square miles; the smallest independent state in the world by both area and population. There is only one (living) pope there, which makes 5.9 popes per square mile.

There are 780 active players in Major League Baseball. The total number of players under contract are 1,471. The average capacity of an MLB stadium is well over 40,000. So, if you were to put every single MLB player in the stands of Fenway Park or Wrigley Field, they’d be a drop in the bucket.

You nose is always visible to you, but your brain simply ignores it. (I happen to know when you break your nose and it swells, your brain suddenly STOPS ignoring it. It’s very distracting.)

Humans have been performing dentistry since 7,000 BCE. There’s evidence showing people have extracted teeth and filled cavities for many thousands of years. (Filled them with what?)

Nine Floating Windmills

 

The southern ground hornbill is a native of southern Africa. It’s the largest of the hornbills, weighing between 8 and 13 pounds and almost five feet tall. It will eat fruits and seeds, but its diet is chiefly reptiles, amphibians, snails, insects, and small mammals. It uses its large beak to capture and ingest its prey, and also to clean and arrange its feathers. So, when a hornbill loses both its upper and lower beaks, it is functionally disabled. Last week at Artis Zoo in Amsterdam, a hornbill received a pair of replacement beak prosthetics, attached with titanium screws. The zoo’s veterinarian team partnered with Utrecht University's Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, UMC Utrecht, and the medical technology company Amnovis to create the world’s first dual 3D‑printed beak prosthesis. The bird began using its new set of beaks the same day as the procedure, and the following morning it was preening and feeding itself.

Turquoise Butterfly

 

To clean my toilets, I use the Scrubbing Bubbles Fresh Brush system. It’s essentially a reusable wand with a removable (and disposable) disinfectant scrubby on the end. I’ve been cleaning this way for decades, and it’s a huge improvement over the disgusting stinky wire bowl brushes that used to live in every bathroom I grew up with. Lately, I’ve felt like I was running through the disposable scrubbies faster than I should have, but I never stopped to wonder why. The other day, I was sweeping cobwebs from the hallway bathroom ceiling, and I thought to run the duster under the bathroom cabinet. I discovered eight boxes (!) of toilet scrubbies hiding under there. The boxes are exactly the right size and shape to slip into the gap when a drawer is opened. The cabinet in the master bathroom is identical, so I dusted there and found even more boxes; some half empty, some full. Mystery solved. 

Not Kitten Around

 

When Riley Blake introduced their monthly door banners, I didn’t immediately jump on board. By the time I realized I wanted to make all twelve, some of the kits had become hard to find. But I did eventually make them all. I even made a few extras to donate. I paid to have them quilted, and I bound them all. Then the twelve table top banners came out, and I knew they’d look terrific on the console in my living room. These quilts are much smaller, so it seems silly not to quilt them myself. Also, they need hanging sleeves – not my favorite thing. This October top is the last, so I’ve pieced all twelve table top banners, but I haven’t quilted or bound (or sleeved) any of them. I’d better get my act together soon, because in a few months the first of Riley Blake’s monthly table runner kits will come out.