Gathering Basket House

Balsamic Roasted Vegetables

1 zucchini, cut in quarters, then thickly sliced

1 yellow squash, cut in quarters, then thickly sliced

3 cups broccoli florets

1 coarsely chopped red onion

1 each red, orange and yellow bell pepper, cut into 1 inch chunks

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/2 teaspoon each coarse salt and fresh ground pepper

Mix oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Toss mixture with vegetables. Bake at 400F for 10 to 15 minutes or until tender and a bit charred on the edges. Serves six as a side dish.

Ring Around the Rosie

The nursery rhymes I remember best are also songs. I sang them countless times to entertain and calm my restless babies. Among them are Hot Cross Buns, Rock-a-bye Baby, Jack and Jill, Baa Baa Black Sheep, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and the Alphabet Song (yes, I’m aware these last three are actually the same tune). Many of these simple songs were the same ones I taught my children to play when they were old enough for lessons on the recorder, piano or violin. I played games like Ring Around the Rosie and London Bridge when I was very small. I taught these games to my own children as soon as the youngest was walking. It may be time to teach my grandchildren. This year the Block-of-the-Month classes at Quilts Etc. are learning about nursery rhymes as we make two dozen 10” five-patch blocks in red-and-white or 1930’s pastels. Today’s block is the first of this series.

Pinwheel Square

“I recently met a dear new friend. She testified that after she had received her temple endowment, she felt strengthened with the power to resist temptations she had previously struggled with. As we keep our covenants, we also receive courage and strength to help us bear one another’s burdens. A heartbroken sister had a son who was experiencing a difficult mortal challenge. Because of her faith in her Relief Society sisters as covenant keepers, she courageously invited them to fast and pray for her son. Another sister expressed how she wished she had asked for similar prayers from her sisters. Years before, her own son was struggling. She wished she had invited them to help her family bear this burden. The Savior said, ‘By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.’” – Linda K. Burton

Prairie Queen

Fourteen-year-old Ahmed Mohamed wanted to impress his engineering teacher, so he brought a homemade clock to school. His English teacher was less than enthusiastic when the project started beeping in her classroom. She mistook the device for a bomb. Mohamed was handcuffed, fingerprinted and detained. The chief of police defended this response, saying, “We live in an age when you can’t take things like this to school.” The list of things that aren’t welcome at school is impressive. Schools won’t tolerate anything that looks like a weapon. Last year a seven-year-old was suspended for biting his Pop Tart into the shape of a gun. Hand sanitizer isn’t welcome because of the alcoholic content. In the 90’s schoolkids had Tamagotchis in their pockets and their moms brought cupcakes to class on their birthdays. Today all electronic toys are contraband, as are homemade treats. Don’t even think about packing a PB and J for lunch: there are just too many peanut allergies.

Dewey's Victory

Richard Rowland Kirkland joined the Confederate Army shortly after the Civil War began, though he was not yet eighteen. He saw action at Bull Run, Savage's Station, Maryland Heights and Antietam. December 13, 1862, Kirkland's unit encountered Union forces near Fredericksburg, Virginia. The fighting subsided when darkness fell, and walking wounded made their way to a field hospital during the night. The next morning revealed that over 8,000 Union soldiers still lay on the field. Many were still alive and too badly hurt to move. Soldiers on both sides heard their cries, but didn’t dare to help lest they should also be shot. Kirkland got permission to go to their aid. He gathered all the canteens he could carry, filled them, and hurried out onto the battlefield. He ran back and forth with water and blankets until he had helped every last man. Kirkland’s errand of mercy took at least 90 minutes, but during that entire time, not a single shot was fired.

Four Tiny Economy Blocks

It was Jeremy and Shelly Cawley’s first baby, and they hoped for natural childbirth. But complications arose late in the pregnancy. Shelly developed a clot in her leg which her doctor treated with blood thinners. Then she was diagnosed with preeclampsia. Shelly was told the safest option for her and the baby was a C-section. Little Rylan was delivered safely, but Shelly’s condition deteriorated rapidly. The new mother’s lungs filled with fluid and she slipped into a coma. In a desperate move, her surgical team laid Rylan on her dying mother’s chest. Her tiny cry prompted a spike in Shelly’s vital signs. “We knew somewhere in there, she was hearing her baby,” said one of the nurses, “It gave her a reason to fight.” A week later Shelly awoke from her coma. Last week Jeremy and Shelly celebrated Rylan’s first birthday. When she’s a little older, they plan to tell her about the day she saved her mother’s life.

Four Knaves

DEAR ABBY: Last week we had our children and grandkids over. We looked after children, cooked, waited on everyone and cleaned up while the adults sat texting on their cellphones. Spending time on the cellphone rather than socializing is rude. It says our company isn’t valued; neither we nor your children are important enough for your attention. It teaches children it isn't necessary to show gratitude when someone prepares their meal. The visit left a bitter taste. It will be a long time before we invite them to our home again. Cellphones are part of our culture, but adults still have the power to turn them off! - DISCONNECTED

DISCONNECTED: While your children sat on their fannies did you TELL them you need help, their kids need minding and their behavior is rude? Please recognize these behaviors don’t spring up overnight, and you may be partly responsible for how your children turned out. Not inviting them isn't the answer; they may not get the hint. 

Anthem

The folks at London’s Kingston University have big news: we should all stop making our beds. Dust mites, they say, thrive on humidity. Making beds traps humidity in the bedding, keeping mites happy and prolific. Dust mites are tiny beasties – less than half a millimeter long – that feast on flakes of dead skin. They wouldn’t bother us if we weren’t allergic to their poop. I’m all for reducing the number of tiny beasties in my house, but I don’t think a sloppy bed is the answer. I suspect washing sheets in hot water weekly and regularly turning the mattress is enough to discourage any dust mite colony. Years of living with toddlers and pets have taught me an unmade bed invites worse things than dust mites between the sheets. I have to wonder if Kingston UNI is just looking for attention. Surely they must know that in England, beds are damp whether they’re made or not.

Providence

“Brothers and sisters, the power by which the heavens and earth were and are created is the priesthood. Those of us who are members of the Church know that the source of this priesthood power is God Almighty and His Son, Jesus Christ. Not only is the priesthood the power by which the heavens and the earth were created, but it is also the power the Savior used in His mortal ministry to perform miracles, to bless and heal the sick, to bring the dead to life, and, as our Father’s Only Begotten Son, to endure the unbearable pain of Gethsemane and Calvary—thus fulfilling the laws of justice with mercy and providing an infinite Atonement and overcoming physical death through the Resurrection. It is the keys of this priesthood authority and resultant power that He gave to Peter, James, and John and His other Apostles to bless others and to bind in heaven that which is bound on earth.”  - Elder M. Russell Ballard

The Juggler

Stop me if you’ve heard this one: Verner Heisenberg and Erwin Schrödinger are going for a drive together. Heisenberg is behind the wheel, and he is driving well over the speed limit. Eventually, they pass a policeman and are pulled over. The policeman walks up to the car and asks Heisenberg, "Do you know how fast you were going?"

Heisenberg replies, "No, but we know exactly where we are!"

The officer looks a bit confused and says, "You were going 108 miles per hour!"

Heisenberg throws his arms in the air and cries, "Great! Now we're lost!"

The officer looks over the car and asks the two men if they have anything in the trunk.

"Just my cat," Schrödinger answers.

The cop opens the trunk and yells, "Hey! I think this cat is dead!"

Schrödinger angrily replies, "Well, of course he is, NOW!"

Hope of Hartford

Darwin Wolford was my most intimidating college professor. As a music student I took several of his classes, but it was his organ lessons that scared me most. Now and then I still have nightmares of showing up in his studio unprepared. He was very proud of having been a student of Alexander Schreiner (1901-1987), the most famous organist associated with the Salt Lake Tabernacle. Schreiner was taught by Charles Marie Widor (1844-1937), who was a student of Jacques-Nicolas Lemmens (1823-1881). Lemmens studied with Adolf Friedrich Hess (1809-1863), who had been taught by a student (his name escapes me) of Wilhelm Freidemann Bach (1710-1784). W.F. Bach, of course, was taught by his father Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750). That means there are only six generations, musically speaking, between myself and the man who wrote the Well-Tempered Clavier, the Brandenburg Concerti, and the Toccata and Fugue in D Minor. I guess that’s worth a few nightmares.

Jack and Six Blocks

I’ve been told I have a good eye for color, but I don’t think I can take credit for it. I’ve taken classes on the subject, but it still seems mystical to me. I choose colors I like: it’s as simple as that. On the rare occasions I persuade myself to buy fabric I’m not in love with, it doesn’t matter how good the sale was. It always turns out to be a WOMBAT* in disguise. Sometimes, though, prints I like don’t end up liking each other. The block below is a case in point. The pattern was from this year’s Quilting Block and Pattern-a-Day Calendar, in these colors. I chose scraps from my own stash in the same fabric line. I guess there wasn’t enough contrast. Or maybe there were too many strong values involved. Like when you walk out the door in a navy shirt and black trousers.

*Waste of Money, Batting and Time.

Crazy Anne

When you’re outside it’s important to wear shoes. Until we cover the planet with wall-to-wall carpeting, it always will be. But there are several good reasons for ditching the footgear on your way in the door. The first is bacteria. Your shoes tromp through nasty stuff outside. Leaving the loafers at the door means fewer germs will get up close and personal with you. Then there are toxins like herbicides and pesticides in the grass and on the sidewalk. The EPA says up to 98% of the lead dust in your home was likely tracked in. Your floors and carpets will last longer if you wear socks or slippers on them, and you’ll spend less time and money cleaning. Just make like Mr. Rogers and swap footwear when you enter or leave the house. If you live in an upstairs apartment or condo, the folks downstairs probably already wish you’d leave the clogs and stilettoes on the doorstep. 

Corn and Beans

Black Bean and Corn Salad – for a BIG crowd!

2 cups fresh lime juice

3 cups olive oil

6 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons coarse salt

1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon ground cayenne

12 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed and drained

9 cups frozen corn

6 avocados, pitted, peeled and chopped

6 bell peppers (red or orange are pretty) seeded and chopped

12 tomatoes, seeded and chopped

3 bunches green onions, thinly sliced

2 to 3 cups chopped fresh cilantro (You may want to serve this on the side. Some people don’t like cilantro.)

Place juice, oil, garlic, salt, and cayenne in a medium bowl. Whip with wire whisk until dressing ingredients are well mixed. In a very large bowl combine beans, corn, avocado, bell pepper, tomatoes, green onions, and cilantro. Shake lime dressing, and pour it over the salad. Stir salad to coat vegetables and beans with dressing, and serve. Makes enough for 36 to 40 people.

Route 66

“King Benjamin’s sermon is one of the greatest on record: ‘For the natural man is an enemy to God and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.’ By juxtaposing these lines from Benjamin’s sermon with the Savior’s words concerning the childlikeness required to enter the celestial kingdom, we are admitted into a wondrous but demanding realm of understanding regarding developmental discipleship: ‘Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.’”- Neal A. Maxwell

Calico Puzzle

Eiler Larsen was born in Aarhus, Denmark in 1890. His father managed the city’s poorhouse, and later served as mayor. Larsen left Denmark while he was in his teens, visiting Siberia, Argentina and Chile. He attended college in Minnesota when the U.S. joined the First World War. Larsen enlisted and was wounded in France. He had dozens of odd jobs, including gardener, writer, potter, actor and fruit picker. Throughout his life he served what he called “a mission of friendliness.” He stood day after day on street corners, waving and shouting to anyone who passed. He carried a satchel filled with books and candy to hand out. He said, “Too many people driving along the highway are frowning and look unhappy. By waving, I make them smile and thousands of people have a happier day before them.” Larsen never lived in one place for very long, but Laguna, California named him the official town greeter in 1964. 

2015 State Fair Challenge Quilt

We visited the Utah State Fair yesterday to see what the judges thought of my entry and to take a look at the other challenge quilts. There was a wide range of talents on display. Some of the wall hangings were the product of experts in piecing, applique and quilting. Others were made by children beginning to learn their art. I thought there were not as many quilts in this year’s competition, but I was pleased to see a few men’s names among the entries. I won’t know until the fair is over what the judges had to say about my quilt, or even which category it was placed in. In the past I’ve had ribbons for “Best Use of Theme,” “Best Use of Color” and “Best Use of a Traditional Pattern.” The fabric for next year’s challenge is a tone-on-tone chevron print in orange; my very least favorite color. I have no idea what I’ll do with it.