Four Tilting Valentines

 

The average steam iron lasts about seven years. If you buy a reliable brand, empty the reservoir after use and periodically descale it, your iron might work a bit longer. If you use it daily (as I do) you can expect it to fail sooner. I’ve run through my fair share of irons. They all serve me well, and then one day they just stop heating up. Until this week. My seven-year-and-one-month-old Rowenta iron, which used to make a soft “bink” sound when it turned on and a “pop” when it turned off, suddenly began saying “bink-pop-bink-pop-bink-pop” until I unplugged it. I waited a few minutes, plugged it in again, and the same thing happened. I replaced it with an identical model, but it cost almost exactly twice what I paid for the old one. Rowentas are made in Germany, so it could be tariffs. Or inflation. Probably both.

Thirty-Five Echoes

 

When Edgar McGregor was a teenager, he joined in the Fridays for Future school strikes inspired by Greta Thunberg. He looked for ways to make a difference in his own community. In May 2019, Edgar toted a five-gallon bucket and a pair of gloves into Eaton Canyon, a popular hiking spot near his home. He figured he could single-handedly clean up the canyon in a week or two. He pulled out bottles, cans, old tires, cell phones, and cigarette lighters. After two weeks, he’d only scratched the surface. Edgar kept at it every day for nearly two years, through 117-degree summer days, snowstorms and a pandemic. Edgar, who has autism, found satisfaction in the rhythm of the work and the beauty of his surroundings. He intended to return and continue keeping the park clean on a weekly basis, but the 2025 Eaton Fire and the subsequent closure of the park may have interfered with his plans.

Ribbon Star

 

Greek Orzo Salad

 

1 1/4 cup orzo pasta

15 ounce can garbanzo beans (chickpeas)

1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved

1 1/2 cups cucumber, chopped

1/2 red onion, chopped

1/3 cup Kalamata olives, pitted

4 ounces feta, crumbled

4 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons lemon juice + lemon zest

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon Dijon

1 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

Salt and pepper to taste

 

In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice with zest, honey, Dijon and seasoning. Stir in drained garbanzo beans. Marinate at least 10 minutes. Cook orzo according to package directions. Drain and rinse under cold water; shake dry. Toss with vegetables, feta and garbanzo mixture; serve.

Tilting Heart

 

“Your proving and strengthening may not look like Moroni’s or Jacob’s or the Prophet Joseph’s. But it will come. It may come quietly, through the trials of family life. It may come through illness or disappointment or grief or loneliness. I bear witness that these moments are not evidence the Lord has abandoned you. Rather, they are evidence He loves you enough to refine and strengthen you. If we remain faithful in our service, the Lord will refine us. He will strengthen us. And one day we will look back and see that those very trials were evidence of His love. We will see that He was shaping us to be able to stand with Him in glory. As the Lord’s Apostle Paul stated at the end of his own life, ‘I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.’” - Elder Henry B. Eyring

Thirty Echoes

 

We’re warned by those who work with the homeless not to give cash to panhandlers. They say the money won’t go to food or shelter. It just fuels whatever addiction put them there in the first place. But what if you donated a lot of money – enough to really make a difference? That’s the question the documentary “Reversal of Fortune” tried to answer in 2005. They handed $100,000 to Ted Rodrigue, a man who lived under a bridge and recycled beverage containers to buy food, beer and cigarettes. His first purchases were a new bicycle and an amusement park trip. Then he rented a motel room. Ted’s family learned about his windfall and invited him to come for a visit. They encouraged him to find a job and invest his money, but he was only concerned about the NOW. Within six months, the money was all gone and Ted was back under the bridge, dumpster diving for bottles and cans.  

Four Valentines

 

Two weeks ago, Heather and I watched Lady and the Tramp as we drove to the hospital and back. At the end of the film Jock (a Scottish terrier) and Trusty (a bloodhound) chase the dogcatcher’s wagon through a thunderstorm. The horses are spooked and the wagon overturns, injuring Trusty. Jock finds his wounded friend and howls. I’ve seen the movie dozens, maybe hundreds of times. But this time I thought, “That’s dumb. Scotties don’t howl.” A day or two later, I heard an odd, melodic sound in the back garden. I opened the door and caught Lassie howling. There was an emergency vehicle passing by two blocks away, and she was singing along with the siren. I’ve since been told Lassie sometimes howls when she thinks she’s home alone. I looked it up. According to Google, some Scotties may howl when they’re excited, when they hear a high-pitched sound, or to express separation anxiety. 

Starry Bloom

 

This is not the future Saturday morning cartoons prepared me for. I really expected by this point in my life, I’d be living – or at least vacationing – on the moon. Or maybe Mars. I’d have an ultra-modern home with 360-degree views, like the space needle. I thought I’d be zipping here and there in my own personal rocket ship. And I KNEW I’d own a robot: like Rosie on the Jetsons. She’d keep my house clean and tidy, do the dishes and laundry, and maybe remind me of tomorrow’s haircut appointment. Well, I DO own a robot vacuum. It’s a tossup whether he’s working for me or I’m working for him. And maybe he's sharing my data with China. Ten-year-old me would have thought robots calling me on my phone would be cool. It isn’t. Now we have artificial intelligence eliminating human jobs, making us doubt EVERYTHING, and making the price of electricity skyrocket. Not what I signed up for.