Nine Arrowheads

I was almost ten when he was born. All that distance between our ages meant he was more of a burden to me than a playmate. I’m sure there were times he hated being bossed around by his big sister even more than I hated tending him. It seemed like he was always in need of having his hands washed or his nose wiped. His knees were always skinned and there were always disgusting things in his pockets. Somehow, while I wasn’t looking, he grew up. Suddenly he’s this smart, responsible, hard-working fellow with a lovely house; the kind of guy who owns jet skis, supports his football team, and takes vacations to Hawaii. He’s a devoted husband and a terrific dad. And he’s fifty today. Lest he get swell-headed about all that, he should remember: to his big sister he’ll always be a snot-nosed little brat. Happy birthday, Ron!

Three Trees

I love clam chowder, but don’t know how to make the New England variety without wheat flour. If you have a reliable recipe that uses a different thickener, I’d love to hear about it.

Manhattan Style Clam Chowder

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

7 cloves garlic, minced

Pinch crushed red pepper

1/4 cup tomato paste

3 sprigs parsley

3 sprigs thyme

1 bay leaf

1 red potato, diced

5 cups clam juice (five 8-ounce bottles)

One 28-ounce can diced tomatoes

1-1/2 cups baby clams, drained (four 6-1/2 ounce cans)

Salt and pepper to taste

Gently saute onion, celery, garlic, and red pepper in oil about 8 minutes. Stir in tomato paste. Tie herbs together with a bit of string and add to pot with tomatoes, potatoes and clam juice. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer, covered, until potatoes are tender. Remove herbs, add clams, salt and pepper, and serve hot.

Another Arrowhead

Here’s good news and bad news. The good news is Spangler Candy Company (You probably know their candy canes, marshmallow circus peanuts and Dum-Dums) bought some of the brands from the New England Confectionary Company after it was shuttered last July. Spangler promises to return NECCO wafers and conversation hearts (sweethearts) to the marketplace as soon as possible. Now the bad news: there’s no way that’s going to happen in time for Valentine’s Day this year. Chances are when you go looking for the perfect sweets for your sweetie, you won’t find any little candy hearts that say, “Be Mine” “Miss You” or “Puppy Love.” If you do find them (they're still available online), you can be certain those candies are at least a year old. My advice? Get your significant other a box of chocolates or flowers instead. Because outdated candy can be hard as a rock. The last thing you want to give your loved one is a broken tooth.

One Lone Tree

“We can escape the consequences of both sin and stupidity—our own or that of others—in whatever form they may come to us in the course of daily living. If we give our heart to God, if we love the Lord Jesus Christ, if we do the best we can to live the gospel, then tomorrow—and every other day—is ultimately going to be magnificent, even if we don’t always recognize it as such. Why? Because our Heavenly Father wants it to be! He wants to bless us. A rewarding, abundant, and eternal life is the very object of His merciful plan for His children! It is a plan predicated on the truth that all things work together for good to them that love God. So keep loving. Keep trying. Keep trusting. Keep believing. Keep growing. Heaven is cheering you on today, tomorrow, and forever.” – Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

Little Pig

With only a few lapses (an ice cream cone and a pretzel), I’ve gone without wheat since New Year’s Day. I’m happy (and sad) to report I’m almost completely pain free. This probably means you can expect more recipes like this from me in the future.

Gluten-Free Chex Mix

3 cups Corn Chex

3 cups Rice Chex

3 cups Cheerios

1 cup mixed nuts

1 cup bite-size gluten-free pretzels

1 cup gluten-free bite-size bagel chips

6 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 1/2 teaspoons seasoning salt

3/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

In large microwavable bowl, mix cereals, nuts, pretzels and bagel chips; set aside. In small microwavable bowl, microwave butter uncovered on High about 40 seconds or until melted. Stir in seasonings. Pour over cereal mixture; stir until evenly coated. Microwave uncovered on High 5 to 6 minutes, thoroughly stirring every 2 minutes. Spread on paper towels to cool. Store in airtight container.

Four Arrowhead Blocks

Saw my teacher on a Saturday! I can’t believe it’s true!

I saw her buying groceries, like normal people do!

She reached for bread and turned around, and then she caught my eye.

She gave a smile and said, “Hello.” I thought that I would die!

“Oh, hi…hello, Miss Appleton,” I mumbled like a fool.

I guess I thought that teacher types spend all their time at school.

To make the situation worse, my mom was at my side.

So many rows of jars and cans. So little room to hide.

Oh please, I thought, don’t tell my mom what I did yesterday!

I closed my eyes and held my breath and hoped she’d go away.

Some people think it’s fine to let our teachers walk about.

But when it comes to Saturdays, they shouldn’t let them out!

- Dave Crawley

Mexicali Rose

I’ve made this block three different times. The first was the winter of 2010-2011, when it was part of the eighth Patchwork Party. Mexicali Rose came from ThimbleCreek Quilt Shop of Concord, California – one of many lovely quilt stores that no longer exist. I made the second block in December 2013, while we were packing for a Disney Cruise to Cozumel and the Cayman Islands. Both those blocks became parts of different sampler quilt tops that were hand quilted and given to hospital volunteers or employees. This third block was designed to be part of another sampler quilt called Secret Garden. Marti Michell designed Secret Garden as a Block-of-the-Month in corals, teals and spring green in 2012. It’s back this year in leaf green, geranium, pink and black. I don’t know if this will be another hospital quilt. I don’t even know if I’ll use the setting plan provided. But it’ll be fun to find out.

Sixteen Patience Nine-Patches

Several friends report having insomnia, especially at this time of year. It occurs to me the thing that’s robbing their sleep might be a matter of light. If you live at the 40th parallel or higher, it’s a given that you’re not getting enough sunlight during winter days. Cloudy, foggy or smoggy days can make it even worse. A few hours of bright light during the day – natural or artificial – can improve the length and quality of your sleep at night. Another thing that can mess up your circadian rhythm is too much light after sundown; especially the blue light from cell phone, tablet, TV and computer screens. The simple answer is to shut down your electronics two hours before bedtime to give your body a chance to produce melatonin. If you can’t imagine doing that, consider downloading an app that blocks blue light or wearing glasses that filter the blue light out.

Thor's Battle Axe

Dr. Marc Mitchell and his colleague Dr. David Wartinger were intrigued when they started hearing from patients claiming to have passed kidney stones after riding the Magic Kingdom’s Big Thunder Mountain Railroad – so intrigued they decided to test the ride themselves. Surmising that cow and pig kidneys would be inappropriate for a family theme park, they 3-D printed artificial kidneys, loaded them with actual urine and kidney stones, stuffed them into backpacks and headed to the park. They subjected the backpacks (and themselves) to over 60 rides, letting cast members seat them whither they would, and then crunched numbers. They determined that riding near the front of the train had a passage rate of 17%, but the back of the train resulted in a passed stone 64% of the time. Then they tested other more intense rides and determined that free falls, corkscrews, and higher speeds didn’t dislodge stones. Apparently a little shake, rattle and roll is all it takes.

Arrowhead Variation

“Words do matter. They lodge in our cells and in our souls. Dr. Maya Angelou, poet laureate, even believes words lodge in the walls of our homes. If words lodge in the cells—souls—and walls, we need words—and tones that accompany those words—which build and maintain the temples of our bodies and the temples of our homes. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland spoke of a hopeful, encouraging, peaceful word in October 1996 general conference. Do you remember that word? It was repentance. He said: ‘The very beauty of the word repentance is the promise of escaping old problems and old habits and old sorrows and old sins. It is among the most hopeful and encouraging—and yes, most peaceful—words in the gospel vocabulary’” – Wendy Watson Nelson

Stepping Stones

Last June as we were finishing off the 2018 Utah Shop Hop I found a set of four wool dryer balls at Quilter’s Attic in Bountiful. I’ve used them nearly every day since then, so it’s been roughly eight months since I’ve bought dryer sheets. Dryer balls soften clothes without chemicals, so they’re great for babies and people with allergies or sensitive skin. They shorten dryer time, so they’re better for the environment and should save on utilities and dryer repairs. The package doesn’t warn you they’ll hide in pant legs, sleeves, pillowcases and fitted sheets. They’re close to the size and shape of tennis balls, so my dogs are convinced they’re really pet toys. They work much better with cotton fabrics than with synthetics. Most of my laundry load is cotton or cotton blends, and I hang the remainder out to dry. I wish I was this happy with all my purchases.

Christmas Kisses

My city has an ordinance requiring home owners to remove snow from sidewalks within 24 hours after snowfall – including corner properties. Many of my neighbors do shovel in front of their homes, but the ones who live on corners never think to clear the walks along the sides of their properties. So most of the winter pedestrians must choose between icy walkways or the middle of the road. As I see it, I have three choices: One, pester my neighbors, my HOA or the city until the situation improves. Do I really want to be THAT neighbor? Two, wait until someone else decides to become THAT neighbor, or until my neighbors recognize and solve the problem on their own. (I’ve been doing that for years, and the situation is actually getting worse.) Three, buy a nice snowblower and take care of it myself. That third choice is beginning to grow on me. Care to donate to my snowblower fund?

Twenty-Five Old Italians

Quilters are such generous people. I had this recipe years ago, then somehow lost it. A quilter friend, Sandra, was kind enough to share it again with me. She got it from another quilter, Carolyn, who got it from Emma (I don’t know if Emma quilts, but the odds are pretty high).

Emma’s (and Carolyn’s and Sandra’s and Linda’s) Cole Slaw

1 teaspoon coarse sea salt

1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground mustard

1 teaspoon celery salt

2 tablespoons white sugar

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/3 cup white vinegar

2 tablespoons chopped pimento

1/2 cup thinly sliced sweet onion

1/2 cup thinly sliced yellow bell pepper

3 cups shredded cabbage

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients in the order listed. Cover and chill well before serving.

Nine Patience Nine-Patches

“A woman should have enough money to move out and rent a place of her own even if she never wants or needs to. A woman should have a set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill, a black lace bra, one friend who always makes her laugh and one who lets her cry. A woman should have a good piece of furniture not previously owned by anyone else, eight matching plates and a recipe for a meal that will make her guests feel honored. Every woman should know how to fall in love without losing herself, how to quit a job, break up with a lover, when to try harder and when to walk away. Every woman should know how to live alone, even if she doesn’t like it. Every woman should know whom she can trust, whom she can’t, and why she shouldn’t take it personally.” – Pamela Redmond Satran

Love and Kisses

A person’s character is more likely to be revealed by pressure and distress than when things run smoothly. CEO Walt Bettinger of Charles Schwab knows this, and he uses this knowledge when screening job candidates. He takes them out to breakfast. What the prospective employees don’t know is he shows up early and asks the restaurant to deliberately mess up the order in exchange for a handsome tip. His test is meant to show how candidates deal with adversity. “Are they upset, are they frustrated, or are they understanding? Life is like that. Business is like that,” he says. Bettinger asks applicants about their greatest successes in life. “What I'm looking for is whether their view of the world revolves around others, or whether it revolves around them,” he said. “Then I’ll ask about their greatest failures in their life and see whether they own them or whether they were somebody else's fault.”

Four Patience Nine-Patches

"We look to the future with enthusiasm. We have been motivated to do better and to be better. The marvelous messages delivered from this pulpit by our General Authorities and General Officers and the music have been sublime! I urge you to study these messages, commencing this week. They express the mind and the will of the Lord for His people, today. The new home-centered, Church-supported integrated curriculum has the potential to unleash the power of families, as each family follows through conscientiously and carefully to transform their home into a sanctuary of faith. I promise that as you diligently work to remodel your home into a center of gospel learning, over time your Sabbath days will truly be a delight. Your children will be excited to learn and to live the Savior’s teachings, and the influence of the adversary in your life and in your home will decrease. Changes in your family will be dramatic and sustaining." - Russell M. Nelson

Sixteen Old Italian Blocks

While we enjoyed Mary Poppins Returns on the big screen last week it occurred to me that nearly every song in the new movie has a twin in the old one. In Spoonful of Sugar and Can You Imagine That? the nanny teaches her proteges a new perspective can make a dull job fun. Jolly Holiday and Royal Doulton Music Hall encourage the children to immerse themselves in art. Supercalifragilistic and A Cover Is Not a Book are tongue twisters to tackle timidity. In I Love to Laugh and Turning Turtle, we’re introduced to relations who have trouble with gravity. Chim Chim Cheree/Step in Time and Trip a Little Light Fantastic each have a platoon of dancing blue-collar workers. Let’s Go Fly a Kite and Nowhere to Go But Up prove that side by side is the best way to fly. I’m not complaining that the new movie is derivative. I actually believe imitation’s the sincerest form of flattery.

Patience Nine-Patch

What were you doing thirteen years ago this month? We were living in a different city (we’ve moved three times since then). I was playing in a handbell choir and juggling school schedules. Aside from that, my January 2006 calendar looks a lot like this year’s. I read news of NASA's New Horizons spacecraft and thought, “Cool,” before completely forgetting about it. But this month, exactly thirteen years later, New Horizons has been sending back some amazing images. Ultima Thule, the farthest object from Earth we’ve ever recorded, is a contact binary: the result of two icy heavenly bodies that are stuck together. Picture a twenty-one mile tall snowman in space and you’ll get the idea. The name Ultima Thule means “the highest attainable degree.” It orbits our sun at a distance of four billion miles.  New Horizons’ radio signals traveling at the speed of light take over 6 hours to reach Earth from there. Cool!

Dreamy

In Deuteronomy 14 (in the King James version) we read, “For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself.” The phrase also appears in 1 Peter 2: “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” We tend to use the word “peculiar” to mean weird or quirky, but in this case it means set apart, called or chosen by God. Members of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have often referred to themselves as a “peculiar people,” as have the Quakers and certain members of the Wesleyan Church. January 10 is Peculiar People Day, but I’m not sure which definition applies here – consecrated or bizarre. You could try being both, and cover all bases.

Reverse Spinning Wheel

Flourless Chocolate Torte

1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter or margarine, cut into small pieces, plus more for pan

12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

6 large eggs at room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

Pinch of kosher salt

Unsweetened cocoa powder, for dusting

Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter bottom and sides of 9-inch springform pan. Combine chocolate and butter in heatproof bowl. Place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (don’t let bowl touch water) and stir until melted and combined. Let cool slightly. Combine eggs, sugar and salt in mixing bowl. Beat on medium-high until thick; 5 to 8 minutes. Gently fold half the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture until combined; gently fold in remainder. Pour batter into pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with only a few crumbs, 35 to 45 minutes. Cool completely. Remove the springform ring and transfer to platter; dust with cocoa powder.

Four Barn-Door Holes

Winter isn’t my favorite season. I don’t ski or skate, and I detest snowmobiles. I’ve never gone ice fishing, but I suspect I wouldn’t like it. I hate driving in winter weather and I’m not a fan of shoveling snow. One of the things I dislike most about this time of year is I’m cooped up in the house with so many smelly things: dirt laundry, the cat’s litter box, yesterday’s tuna casserole, a bad onion or potato the bottom of the bin. Frequent cleaning helps. So does a nice potpourri in the slow cooker. Throw in an orange peel, a cut-up apple, two cinnamon sticks, a tablespoon of whole cloves, a tablespoon each of vanilla extract and almond extract and a few cups of water. Cover and set on low. By the time you’re done cleaning the kitty litter, taking out the trash and folding the laundry, the whole house will smell wonderful.

Nine Old Italian Blocks

“The Apostle Paul taught the Corinthians about some of the many different spiritual gifts available, such as faith or healing. He instructed them to ‘covet earnestly the best gifts.’ It might be hard to wrap your brain around the idea that coveting can be a good thing, but in this case it can be. We’re instructed to look at some of the spiritual gifts we see in others and ask God to bless us with that same gift. Our hope in doing so should be to better serve others and build God’s kingdom. There are so many gifts—many more than you’ll find in the scriptures. Patience is a spiritual gift. So is optimism and courage and being a peacemaker. Elder Larry R. Lawrence taught: ‘I sometimes visualize a large storehouse up in heaven, completely filled with spiritual gifts, available to all Saints who have the faith to ask for them. Unfortunately, not too many are asking, so the storehouse is always overstocked.’” – David Dickson

Hole in the Barn Door

I have a confession to make. If I’m making a big batch, I don’t wash potatoes by hand. I don’t take a scrub brush to each and every individual Idaho russet before popping them in the oven. Who has that kind of time? I let my dishwasher do the dirty work for me. I empty the dishwasher and fill it with unwashed spuds. I let the full cycle run, then I prick the potatoes, rub them with olive oil and salt, then bake at 400F for an hour. I’ve heard there are lots things you can COOK in the dishwasher, such as poached salmon, lasagna, soft-boiled eggs, even barbecued ribs. I’m told since these foods are all hermetically sealed in foil, you can actually wash dishes at the same time, detergent and all. I may someday be brave enough to try using my dishwasher to cook, but NOT with dishes and detergent. Nope. Not going there.

Four Old Italians

I’ve always been a sucker for a good story. Thirteen months ago I read about a homeless veteran giving up his last $20 to rescue a young woman who ran out of gas in a dodgy part of Philadelphia. I couldn’t wait to share how she repaid his help with a GoFundMe account. Donations flew in, proving I’m not the only one who loves a good tale. Then in September we learned the veteran, the woman and her boyfriend were fighting over how the money should be spent. Now it appears the whole thing was a scam. The three of them cooked up a lie about a down-on-his-luck good Samaritan to pull at peoples’ heart strings and yank open their wallets. The only good thing about this fairy tale is it has a happy ending, for the donors at least. All the money - $400,000 – has been returned.

Four Nine-Patch Blocks

Oatmeal Meatloaf

 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef (We’ve also used turkey)

 3/4 cup uncooked oatmeal

 3/4 cup minced onion

 1/2 cup catsup

 1 egg, lightly beaten

 1 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce (If you’re out, you can always use soy sauce)

 2 cloves minced garlic

 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt

 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

  

Heat oven to 350F. Combine all ingredients in large bowl; mix lightly but thoroughly. Use a bread pan to shape meatloaf; unmold onto a cookie sheet or broiler pan. Bake 50 to 55 minutes or until meatloaf is no longer pink in center and juices show no pink color. Let stand 5 minutes before slicing. Cover and refrigerate leftovers promptly and use within 2 days, or wrap airtight and freeze up to 3 months. I’m told leftovers make wonderful meatloaf sandwiches, but we never seem to have any.

Old Italian Block

I’ve been dealing with an uncooperative knee for months now. I’m not sure if it’s RA, an injury that’s taking a LONG time to heal, or something else. I’ve tried KT tape, RICE, NSAIDs and turmeric. Several friends have recommended avoiding wheat to reduce the pain and stiffness. That sounds less unpleasant (and less expensive) than seeing a doctor, so I’ll try it a week or two and see what happens. I’ve looked through my weekly menus from 2018 and was surprised to see many meals I cook are already wheat-free. I think the key word here is “cook.” When you eat out or use convenience foods from the store, you’ll find there’s almost always wheat used as a filler or thickening agent. When you prepare foods from scratch at home, you control exactly what goes into everything you make. It’s more work, of course, but if it means walking pain-free again, totally worth it.

Nine-Patch Block

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky, The flying cloud, the frosty light. 

The year is dying in the night; Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.

The year is dying in the night; Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.

Ring out the old; ring in the new. Ring, happy bells, across the snow.

The year is going; let him go. Ring out the false; ring in the true.

The year is going; let him go. Ring out the false; ring in the true.

Ring in the valiant men and free, The larger heart, the kindlier hand. 

Ring out the darkness of the land; Ring in the Christ that is to be.

Ring out the darkness of the land; Ring in the Christ that is to be.

  

-          Alfred Lord Tennyson