Pumpkin Patch Top

“Her husband was on his hands and knees groping wildly on the floor in search of the paw. If only he could find it before the thing outside got in. A perfect fusillade of knocks reverberated through the house, and he heard the scraping of a chair as his wife put it down in the passage against the door. He heard the creaking of the bolt as it came slowly back, and at the same moment he found the monkey's paw, and frantically breathed his third and last wish. The knocking ceased suddenly, although the echoes of it were still in the house. He heard the chair drawn back, and the door opened. A cold wind rushed up the staircase, and a long loud wail of disappointment and misery from his wife gave him the courage to run down to her side, and then to the gate beyond. The street lamp flickering opposite shone on a quiet and deserted road.” – W. W. Jacobs, The Monkey’s Paw

Patchwork Pinwheel

Tomorrow nearly half of the adults in the country will answer their doorbells and hand out candy. Most of the rest will be escorting their costumed offspring from door to door in search of sweets. The candies most in demand will be chocolates. M&Ms, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and Snickers top the list every year. Then come Skittles, Starburst and Red Vines/Twizzlers. The least favorite Halloween treats are Good and Plenty, Smarties, Tootsie Rolls, Necco wafers and candy corn. The Necco factory was recently shuttered (more about that later), so we can scratch it off our list. Candy corn would probably disappear, too, if it wasn’t such a seasonal thing. By the time they reappear next autumn, we’ll have forgotten how much we dislike them and just buy more. Comic Lewis Black claims all the candy corn ever made was produced in 1911. Since no one ever eats it, it’s just recycled. A cheerful thought for National Candy Corn Day!

Four Wonky Pumpkins

“Divine discontent comes when we compare what we are to what we have the power to become. Each of us feels a gap between where and who we are, and where and who we want to become. We yearn for greater personal capacity. We have these feelings because we are daughters and sons of God, born with the Light of Christ yet living in a fallen world. These feelings are God given and create an urgency to act. We should welcome feelings of divine discontent that call us to a higher way, while recognizing and avoiding Satan’s counterfeit—paralyzing discouragement. We can choose to walk the higher path that leads us to seek for God and His peace and grace, or we can listen to Satan, who bombards us with messages that we will never be enough: rich enough, smart enough, beautiful enough, anything enough. Our discontent can become divine—or destructive.” – Michelle D. Craig

Patchwork Triangle

We had a neighborhood chili cook-off Thursday. There were so many amazing entries, but several people commented about the one dish from last year that didn’t show up this year. I have lots of recipes I’d call crowd-pleasers, but I don’t think many would have people missing them a year later.

Cornbread Chili Casserole

1 pound lean ground beef

16 ounces thick and chunky salsa

19 ounces kidney beans, drained

15 ounces canned diced tomatoes

1 1/2 cups corn

3 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon cumin

6.5 ounce Betty Crocker cornbread/muffin mix

1/3 cup milk

Heat oven to 400F. Brown beef in a large skillet, drain. Return to skillet and add  salsa, beans, tomatoes, corn, chili powder and cumin. Heat thoroughly. Prepare cornbread mix using milk. Spoon mix around edges of greased 9x13 baking pan. Fill center with hot chili. Bake 20 minutes, until cornbread is golden brown. Serve hot with shredded cheddar, sour cream and sliced green onions.

Wonky Pumpkin

It’s easy to see why Halloween happens at the end of October. It would never fly in January or July. This time of year is just creepier. The leaves have all become crispy, so that any breath of wind makes them rattle. An eerie mist hovers over the pond and ragged wisps seep up from the storm drains. In the predawn dark, your mind plays tricks on you at this time of year. I was delivering newspapers in October years ago when a neighbor’s wet suit hanging out to dry scared the beejeebers out of me. Just last week I was walking the dogs about an hour before sunrise. As I passed by my neighbors EMPTY pickup truck, it suddenly beeped, flipped on its headlights and revved its engine. Of course it was just my neighbor warming up his cold truck by remote. But if I’d been carrying a rifle, I’d have given it both barrels.  

Nine LeMoyne Stars

Millions of Muslims around the world observe Ramadan, a month of dawn-to-dusk fasting and nightly feasts. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints fast by skipping two consecutive meals every month. In both cases fasting is accompanied by prayer. Both fasts are intended to bring the faithful closer to God and to remind them of those less fortunate. Both fasts usually coincide with donations to the poor. Before Ramadan this spring, Bishop Fakatou of the Solihull ward in West Midlands, UK became aware the local Muslim community had no place large enough to accommodate their members. After receiving permission from his stake president, the bishop offered his chapel for nightly prayers, iftar (breaking the fast) feasts, and reading from the Quran. A grateful Muslim community responded with a generous contribution to LDS Charities. I love to see what happens when people remember their differences are less important than what they have in common.

Cozy Cottage

I’m always on the lookout for super simple meals, especially on Sundays. It doesn’t get much simpler than last week's Sunday lunch:

One-pan Pasta

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup chopped onion

6 cloves garlic, minced

14 ounces fresh tomatoes, diced

2 cups chicken or vegetable broth

1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil

8 ounces uncooked spaghetti

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Over medium heat, warm oil in your biggest frying pan or stock pot. Gently saute onions and garlic until golden brown. Add tomatoes, broth, basil and bring to a boil. Lower heat slightly and add spaghetti. Be sure spaghetti is completely immersed in liquid, even if you have to break the spaghetti to make it fit. Cover and cook until spaghetti is al dente. Serve hot, topped with Parmesan and parsley.

Four LeMoyne Stars

Late one night President Trump was visited in his dreams by the ghost of George Washington. “Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation,” said George. “It is better to be alone than in bad company.” The following night, his visitor was John Adams, who offered this advice: “To be good, and to do good, is all we have to do.” On the third night the ghost of Thomas Jefferson broke the president’s sleep. “Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal,” he said. “Nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.” This went on every night for a few weeks, until eventually Abraham Lincoln appeared. “You’ve been working very hard and deserve a break,” Abe said. “Have you considered going to the theater?”

Mountain Climbing

“Remember that men are that they might have joy. With all that Lehi faced, he still found joy. Remember when Alma was weighed down with sorrow because of the people of Ammonihah? The angel told him, ‘Blessed art thou, Alma; therefore, lift up thy head and rejoice, for thou hast been faithful in keeping the commandments of God.’ Alma learned a great truth: we can always rejoice when we keep the commandments. Remember that during the wars and challenges faced during the time of Captain Moroni, there never was a happier time among the people of Nephi. We can and should find joy when we face hard things. Jesus Christ suffered the Atonement. As a result, He says to each one of us, ‘In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ Because of Christ, we too can overcome the world.” – M. Joseph Brough

Christmas Thunder

Someone in northwest London has an fun sense of humo(u)r. They use tube station information write-and-wipe boards to disseminate PSAs like, “Never give up on someone with mental illness. When ‘I’ is replaced by ‘we,’ illness becomes wellness.” Sometimes the boards at Willesden or Kilburn stations wear quotes: “To be kind is more important than to be right. Many times, what people need is not a brilliant mind that speaks, but a special heart that listens.” – F. Scott Fitgerald. But my favorite daily thoughts are the ones that make me smile: “I spend half my life wondering if it’s too late for coffee and the other half wondering if it’s too early for alcohol.” Or “When life closes a door, just open it again. It’s a door. That’s how they work.” Or “When you wake at 6:00 and close your eyes five minutes, it’s already 6:45. When you wake at 2:30 and close your eyes five minutes, it’s 2:31.”

Thunder and Lightning

In need of a laugh? Here are a few quips from some of the funniest people on the planet:

“My definition of an intellectual is someone who can listen to the William Tell Overture without thinking of the Lone Ranger.” – Billy Connolly

“Start every day with a smile – and get it over with.” – W. C. Fields

“I don’t like country music, but I don’t mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means ‘put down.’” – Bob Newhart

“Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.” – Mark Twain

“The New England Journal of Medicine reports that 9 out of 10 doctors agree than 1 out of 10 doctors is an idiot.” – Jay Leno

“You know you’re getting old when you stoop to tie your shoelaces and wonder what else you could do while you’re down there.” – George Burns

Roses on the Vine

This top is ready to go off to the quilters, and it isn’t a moment too soon. It’s been hogging my design wall quite long enough. I loved piecing each of the blocks (I made four copies of most of them), and I had a great time designing a setting to show them all off. But once I set the blocks in rows and stitched the rows together, it grew so heavy and cumbersome. I had to pin it to death just to keep it from puckering as I added the borders. It was a major project just getting the finished top up on the wall for this photo. I’ve been working on this too long, and it’s time to move on. I know just what I want to do next: something tiny – a wall-hanging, table-topper or doll quilt. In autumn colors.

Hour Glass

“In 1876 Horatio Spafford bid farewell to his wife and four daughters as they departed on a ship to visit relatives in Europe. Some days later their ship collided with another steamship. Before it sank, Mrs. Spafford prayed with her daughters and committed them to the mercy of the Lord. She never saw her children again in mortality. Mrs. Spafford was rescued and sent this cable to her husband, ‘SAVED ALONE.’ While traveling to bring his wife home, Spafford wrote the words to this hymn:

When peace like a river, attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll;

Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say,

It is well, it is well with my soul.

While suffering the tragic loss of his children, how is it that a man can come to such an expression? Here is a stunning example of heart and mind functioning together for the wellbeing of the soul.” – Ronald Staheli

Fig Tree Steps

Yes, today’s block is exactly like yesterday’s, but with different fabrics. Two months ago, when Quilt Etc. announced their new B.O.M. series, they gave us three colorways to choose from: Christmas, Modern and Moda Fig Tree. It was an easy decision. I was in no mood for red and green in August. I’ve never been fond of the prints called “modern.” But I love everything designed by Joanne Figueroa. I’ve already made two bed-sized quilts and three baby quilts using her California Girl, Coney Island, Strawberry Fields, Hazel and Plum and Ella and Ollie. So I started making Fig Tree blocks. But now, as the days grow shorter and chillier, the red and green look so much more charming than they did. And I haven’t made a Christmas quilt in a very long time. There’s really only one thing to do. I’ll have to make two versions of each quilt block until I come up with a clear favorite.

Steps to Glory

“President Henry B. Eyring describes his artistic meditations as motivated by a feeling of love, including the love of a Creator who expects His children to become like Him—to create and to build. President Eyring’s creative works provide a ‘unique, spiritual perspective on testimony and faith.’ President Boyd K. Packer’s artwork illustrates a fundamental gospel message: God is the Creator of the heavens and the earth and all things that are in them, that all nature bears testimony of that divinely directed creation, and that there is complete harmony between nature, science, and the gospel of Jesus Christ. Alma testifies, “All things denote there is a God.” Victor Hugo celebrates the ‘miraculous relationships between beings and things; in this inexhaustible whole, from sun to aphid. All the birds that fly hold the thread of eternity in their claws. A nebula is an anthill of stars.’” – Elder Gerrit W. Gong

Evie's Ladder

If you find reading or watching the news leaves you angry, discouraged or frightened, you’re not alone. It’s actually consciously designed that way. There’s tremendous power to be had in making people angry, discouraged and frightened. I have to work a little harder to find good news, but it’s out there. Last October I shared a story about Wayne Winters, a Far West, Utah man who wore a sandwich board to try and get his wife a new kidney. The front said, “Need Kidney 4 Wife” with his phone number, and the back said, “1,000 kidneys needed in Utah/Idaho.” Lots of other people shared his story, too, and his phone started ringing off the hook – 700 to 800 calls from people offering to help. In November his wife received a kidney transplant. But Wayne isn’t ready to put away his sandwich board just yet: “We could start a kidney revolution, and that would be so great."

Kaleidoscope

There’s a Post-It note on the meatloaf recipe in my Betty Crocker Cookbook that says, “Don’t make this. You’ll be sorry.” I did and I was. The result was tough, grey and tasteless. I like the recipe on the Lipton Onion Soup box, but this is MUCH better:

6 ounces croutons, crushed

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon thyme

1/2 minced onion

1 minced carrot

3 crushed garlic cloves

1/2 red bell pepper, minced

1 1/2 pounds ground beef

1 beaten egg

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and gently mix. Press into loaf pan, then unmold onto cookie sheet. Bake at 325F for 10 minutes. Brush with a mixture of 1/2 catsup, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 tablespoon honey and a dash of hot sauce. Continue baking 1 hour.

Broken Windows

I’ve really enjoyed working with these prints: Roses on the Vine, designed by Marti Michell for Maywood Studios. Whenever I’ve shared a photo of one of the blocks I’ve made with them here or on Facebook, they’ve attracted lots of positive attention. For instance, within 48 hours of posting a photo of this particular block, it was shared two dozen times, “liked” 800 times, and received seventy nice compliments, in several different languages. Later on this week, this block and forty-one of its friends will become part of a quilt top on its way to the volunteer quilters at Intermountain Medical Center. Then sometime next year the finished quilt will be given to a hospital employee, a volunteer, or someone at the Heritage Center. A friend once asked if I regret giving so many quilts away. I don't. I like to take a cue from the autumn leaves: letting go can be a beautiful thing.

Cat's Cradle

Septuagenarian Kyle Peterson of Great Falls, Montana adores Bobby, his yellow tabby. Bobby’s vet put him on a special diet, so Kyle made sure Bobby only got the food that was good for him. When Bobby went missing, Kyle kept buying Bobby’s special cat food and leaving it in bowls outside, in case Bobby came home on his own. He never gave up hope, not for a year and a half. Then last month an ASPCA worker scanned Bobby’s microchip and Kyle’s name and number came up – near Reno, Nevada. And last weekend a friend of the family who works for Delta Airlines escorted Bobby on his flight home to Montana. Bobby is the only one who knows how he traveled nearly a thousand miles in eighteen months, and Bobby isn’t talking. But some cats will go to great lengths to avoid their “special” diets.

Sixteen Log Cabins

Ben and Jackee Belnap are U of U football fans. They’d been saving their cash for season tickets: $1060 in seven hundred-dollar bills and a short stack of twenties in an envelope. But last weekend the envelope went missing. They’d searched the whole house; it was just gone. Ben was outside rifling through the dumpster when Jackee called out that she’d found the money. In the shredder bin. Their two-year-old son Leo had fed the bills through the paper shredder. As it happens, the US Bureau of Engraving and Printing has an office that deals with mangled money. They told the Belnaps to put the shredded bills in Ziploc bags and mail them off. They’ll get their cash returned in a year or two. Tragedy plus time can equal comedy. I’m pretty sure if it had been MY toddler who did this, I wouldn’t be laughing for a long, long time.

Mishmash

“Great Relief Society presidents find ways to let those who need care help in the care of others. They create opportunities for sisters to endure trials well as they care for each other in the pure love of Christ. That may include gentle urging of the tired giver of care to rest and accept the help of others. The sisters make that possible by being slow to judge those going through trials. Most people carrying heavy loads begin to doubt themselves and their own worth. We lighten their loads as we are patient with their weaknesses and celebrate whatever goodness we can see in them. The Lord does that. And we could follow His example—He is the greatest nurturer of all.” -  President Henry B. Eyring

Nine Log Cabins

October 6, 1889 Thomas Edison showed the first motion picture filmed in the United States. Monkeyshines Number 1 was an experimental short (only a few seconds long) made as an internal test for a new cylinder-form Kinetiscope camera system. It was shot by William K. L. Dickson and William Heise, Edison lab workers. Monkeyshines features a blurry figure in white (either John Ott or G. Sacco Albanese) against a darker background, making broad gestures with his arms. Edison and his colleagues would go on to shoot other subjects: a woman dancing, athletes showing their prowess, a man getting a shave, blacksmiths hammering, a pair of boxers sparring, and a mustachioed man sneezing. You can find many of these early works on YouTube. Wouldn’t Edison be surprised to know how much time we spend watching moving pictures today? Or that most of us regularly shoot and share videos with our phones?

With a Plus

The world’s most popular emoji was designed by free-lance commercial artist Harvey Ball in 1963: a yellow circle with two black dots (usually vertical ovals) representing eyes and a black arc representing a happy smile. The State Mutual Life Assurance Company had hired Harvey as part of their campaign to improve company morale. The smiley face frequently appears with the slogan, “Have a nice day.” I can remember sitting in my primary class and singing “Smiles” as the chorister held up a frown that inverted to become a smile:

If you chance to meet a frown, do not let it stay.

Quickly turn it upside down and smile that frown away.

No one likes a frowning face. Change it for a smile.

Make the world a better place by smiling all the while.

Today – the first Friday in October – is World Smile Day. It’s an excellent day to smile, and to bring a smile to someone else’s face.

Four Log Cabins

Every weekend for the past decade, Bob Williams has walked into the dollar store in Long Grove, Iowa, to buy a box of Hershey's chocolate bars. He opens the box before he leaves the store. He usually hands the first chocolate bar to the person running the cash register and one to each of the people behind him in line. Then Bob leaves the store to find other people who might be in need of a chocolate bar. Over the past ten years or so, Bob has bought and handed out roughly 6,000 Hershey’s bars. Why? “It puts smiles on their faces,” he says. “And it just makes me feel good.” A Long Grove magazine did a story about Bob’s one-man chocolate charity, and it came to the attention of The Hershey Company. Hershey’s wants to lend a hand. They say they’ll make sure Bob has “all the chocolate bars he’ll ever need.”

Another Charlotte

The theme for this year’s B.O.M. at Quilt Etc. is “The Great American Read.” Our first novel was an old favorite, Charlotte’s Web. I’m currently reading two books. The first is Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (the focus of this month’s block) and the second is Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days. These two very different books begin with mention of the same event: the year without a summer. Catastrophic volcanic eruptions in the Dutch East Indies caused New England to experience freezing temperatures in June, July and August of 1816. People thought judgement day had come. The ensuing religious furor sent young Joseph Smith to a grove to pray. That same summer the Shelleys, Lord Byron and John William Polidori were stuck in a Swiss chalet, their holiday ruined by unseasonal cold and rain. A competition to see who could write the best ghost story was suggested, and Frankenstein was born.

Log Cabin

Last week we toured the Russian Bishop’s House in Sitka. The two-story log structure has been lovingly restored so guests can see how it might have looked in the 1840’s. There are well-appointed bedrooms, a parlor, and a dining room table laden with Spode Blue Italian transfer ware. The house was built by Finnish artisans as a residence for Reverend Ivan Veniaminov, the first Russian Orthodox Bishop and Archbishop of Alaska. Over the years it also served as a school, a chapel, priests’ quarters, a community events center and an inn. Even more impressive than the house was the man it was built for. He was a skilled woodworker, a scholar, a missionary and a linguist. He devoted many years to the study of the Tlingit culture and language, because he knew he could not serve a people he didn’t understand. To put that feat into perspective, there are 27 sounds in the Tlingit language that exist nowhere else on earth.

Single Irish Chain

“Several years ago I visited the Holy Land. As we drove by a mustard plant, the director of the BYU Jerusalem Center asked if I had ever seen a mustard seed. He showed me seeds from the mustard plant. They were surprisingly small. I then remembered Jesus’s teachings: ‘Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.’ If we have faith as small as a mustard seed, the Lord can help us remove the mountains of discouragement and doubt in the tasks ahead of us as we serve with God’s children. Brothers and sisters, life can be filled with faith, joy, happiness, hope, and love when we exercise the smallest amount of real faith in Christ—even a mustard seed of faith.” – President M. Russell Ballard