Twenty-five Patchwork Punkins

October 31st can be a frightening time for anyone, but it is especially dangerous for pets. With so much candy on hand, the temptation can be too much for our furry friends. Chocolate (especially dark chocolate and baker's chocolate) is toxic for cats and dogs, and so are sugar-free candies and gum. Jack-o-lanterns and dried corn aren’t poisonous, but they can cause serious and expensive digestive issues if your pet eats them. You may be in the habit of letting your cat roam the neighborhood or keeping your dog in the yard, but now is not the time. Until the festivities are over, keep your four-legged friends in secure crates in an interior room – well away from the scary front door. Most kids love to play dress up, but most pets do not. Never force Fluffy or Fido into a Halloween costume. If they do like wearing it, keep a close eye on them until the costume comes off. Have a happy (and safe) Halloween!

Nine Log Cabins

Monday, October 7, someone living in Carnegie, Pennsylvania discovered a tiny dog living under his shed. It was a toy fox terrier, shivering, hungry, and in desperate need of a manicure. He took the dog (If she’s under eight pounds, can you even call her a dog?) to a local Humane Animal Rescue where they were able to find and read a microchip. Her name is Dutchess, and she’s been missing for twelve of her fourteen years. Her owner, Katheryn Strang, was at work February 28, 2007 when her then eleven-year-old son accidentally left a door open and Dutchess went on walkabout. In Orlando, Florida. It’s hard to imagine a pup living on its own twelve years, much less traveling over 1,000 miles on three-inch legs. Friday the 11th Katheryn drove those 1,000 miles for a tearful reunion. Katheryn doesn't know how many years Dutchess has left, but she doesn't care. She just wants to spend them together.

Twenty Patchwork Punkins

There are nine more Tuesdays left in 2019, which means tonight is our 44^th movie night this year. Most of our favorites so far (this should surprise no one) have been Disney creations: Dumbo, Aladdin, Toy Story 4, The Lion King, and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil. There were some terrific super hero flicks: Avengers: End Game, Captain Marvel, Spider-Man: Far from Home, and my favorite guilty pleasure: Shazam! We found the final installment of How to Train Your Dragon very satisfying. Heather and I loved Downton Abbey, and John didn’t hate it as much as he expected. Yesterday and The Upside were both excellent, but Stan & Ollie takes first place. Seriously, if you haven’t seen it yet, do. We’ve got exactly nine more to look forward to: Harriet, Midway, Ford vs Ferrari, Frozen 2, It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, Dark Waters, Jumanji: The Next Level, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and Little Women.

Four Log Cabin Blocks

“When our friend Bilbo Baggins felt the call to adventure stir within him, he decided to get a good night’s rest, enjoy a hearty breakfast, and start out first thing in the morning. When Bilbo awoke, he noticed his house was a mess, and he was almost distracted from his noble plan. But then his friend Gandalf came and asked, ‘Whenever are you going to come?’ And so, the very normal and unremarkable hobbit found himself darting out his front door to the path of adventure so quickly that he forgot his hat, walking stick, and pocket handkerchief. He even left his second breakfast unfinished. If you and I have felt the stirrings to join the great adventure of living and sharing what our loving Heavenly Father prepared for us a long time ago, I assure you, today is the day to follow God’s Son and our Savior on His path of service and discipleship.” – Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Fifteen Patchwork Punkins

October 16 in the predawn darkness, Utah Highway Patrol trooper Ruben Correa pulled an unconscious driver from his car seconds before the northbound FrontRunner train smashed into it. I don’t know if I could risk my life the way he did to save someone else in peril. But I’m very glad there are people in the world who can and do. Clearly, Officer Correa is a hero. Riley Nelson, the operator of the FrontRunner that day, was five minutes late getting started because several people had called in sick. He hit the emergency brake when he saw headlights on the track – 21 seconds before impact – so the train was going 30 mph instead of 79 when it hit. Nelson acknowledged Correa’s heroism, but also credited divine intervention. “Every morning, I pray to Heavenly Father and ask that He protect me and all those around and on my train. This morning, I know He did, and I thank Him for that.”

Green Log Cabin

Parmesan-Crusted Chicken

4 chicken breasts

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/5 tablespoons garlic powder

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Fresh ground black pepper

Dash cayenne

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Marinate chicken about 20 minutes in baking dish with oil, garlic powder, lemon juice, peppers and salt. Preheat oven to 400F. Top chicken with cheese; bake 30 to 40 minutes or until the meat is done. Serve hot with lemon wedges or hot sauce. Makes 4 servings.

A Dozen Patchwork Punkins

Four years ago, when he was in middle school, Dylan Ence visited Patamban Michoacan, Mexico with his family. They saw children living in poverty and struggling to get an education. While there, his family purchased and donated sporting goods for the local school’s physical education classes. Dylan noticed many students were staying at the school over the holiday weekend. He learned children would walk to school and stay for months to be sure they could get to classes. That’s when Dylan decided to donate a bus. “Why can’t I do that?” he said, “Shoot for something big, and maybe make a change.” He purchased a used school bus from Minnesota and drove it back to Utah, where family and friends are filling it with backpacks, school supplies, clothing and other donations. Soon Dylan’s family and another family will take the bus to Mexico. “It’s been a long project of small donations,” he says. “It just jumped to a bigger one.”

Red Log Cabin

My college roommates and I walked to campus past a house with apple trees growing in the parking strip. We pocketed the dropped fruit, cut out the worms and bruises, and ate the remaining chunks with the cheapest peanut butter we could find. (My husband says this is why I can’t stand peanut butter. He may have a point.) Like many students, we had a kitchen well-stocked with ramen noodles that seldom saw anything from the meat, dairy or produce aisles. We once lived an entire month off a huge bag of rice. The other girls ate well Fridays and Saturdays, when they could get guys to pay for their dinners. But those were the nights I earned a little money playing in rock and country bands. The other day I read an article about creative ways colleges are dealing with food insecurity among students, and it brought back so many memories. Maybe there should be more apple trees on campuses.

Nine Punkins

“We often think of peace as the absence of war, that if powerful countries would reduce their weapon arsenals, we could have peace. But if we look deeply into the weapons, we see our own minds - our own prejudices, fears and ignorance. Even if we transport all the bombs to the moon, the roots of war and the roots of bombs are still there, in our hearts and minds, and sooner or later we will make new bombs. To work for peace is to uproot war from ourselves and from the hearts of men and women. To prepare for war, to give millions of men and women the opportunity to practice killing day and night in their hearts, is to plant millions of seeds of violence, anger, frustration, and fear that will be passed on for generations to come.” - Thich Nhat Hanh

Double Pinwheel

“Cheetahs are sleek, alluring, and captivating creatures. A cheetah’s yellowish-tan to greyish-white coat with black spots acts as a beautiful disguise that makes these animals almost invisible as they stalk their prey in the African grasslands. In a similar way, spiritually dangerous ideas and actions frequently can appear to be attractive, desirable, or pleasurable. Thus, in our contemporary world, each of us needs to be aware of beguiling bad that pretends to be good. As Isaiah warned, ‘Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!’ In a paradoxical period when violating the sanctity of human life is heralded as a right and chaos is described as liberty, how blessed we are to live in this latter-day dispensation when restored gospel light can shine brightly in our lives and help us to discern the adversary’s dark deceptions and distractions.” - Elder David A. Bednar

Four Punkins

We had a hummingbird feeder up all summer, but as far as I know we only ever had one bird using it. He visited nearly every day, just as the sun was coming up and again right around sunset. The light was never good enough to get a clear picture, but I suspect he was a black-chinned hummingbird. Then a couple of weeks ago I suddenly realized he was gone. The level of liquid in the feeder wasn’t dropping anymore, and I couldn’t remember the last time I opened my back door to see him there. I don’t know why it never occurred to me before, but of course hummingbirds don’t stick around through the winter. They don’t congregate in noisy gaggles like the Canada geese are right now. They don’t traverse the sky in the shape of a V, but they still have to make the trip to Mexico when the weather becomes inhospitable.

Blue Belle

“This weekend I went to Dallas for the Cowboys game. They showed a shot of George and me laughing together, so people were upset. They thought, ‘Why’s a gay Hollywood liberal sitting next to a conservative Republican president?' Didn't even notice I'm holding a brand-new iPhone 11. Here’s the thing: I’m friends with George Bush. In fact, I’m friends with a lot of people who don’t share the same beliefs I have. We’re all different and I think we’ve forgotten that we’re all different. For instance, I wish people wouldn’t wear fur. I don’t like it, but I’m friends with people who wear fur, and I’m friends with people who are furry, as a matter of fact. But just because I don’t agree with someone on everything doesn’t mean I’m not gonna be friends with them. When I say be kind to one another, I don’t mean only the people that think the same way you do. I mean be kind to everyone.” – Ellen DeGeneres

Patchwork Punkin

Like many other high school marching bands, the musicians from the Forest Area High School in Michigan had practiced most of the summer to get ready for the football season. But this year Forest Area’s football season was canceled when too few athletes came out for the team. About an hour’s drive away in Maple City, Glen Lake High School had the opposite problem. They had a football team but no student band. So the Maple City athletic director and assistant principle Matthew Mattson called the Forest Area band director to invite them to play at a game in late September. "No Friday night football game is complete without a cheer team and marching band," he said. Forest Area jumped at the chance, even though it meant an hour in buses each way and playing in the rain. "It didn't take long for the two schools to connect," Mattson said. “They’re welcome back anytime.”

Southern Belle

Gavin Monroe was born with an abnormally curved spine. He grew up wearing a series of metal frames to help it grow correctly. Throughout the ordeal, he was grateful for the doctors and nurses who cared for him, “They combined kindness and competence in a way that really impressed me.” As an adult, he and his wife Alice are trying to bring that combination of care and competence to their work. Alice and Gavin grow furniture. They have a farm in Derbyshire where they nurture 250 chairs, 100 lamps and 50 tables. Instead of felling 50-year-old trees and whittling them down to useful forms, they spend six to nine years training willow saplings into desired shapes. The labor invested in organic furniture doesn’t come cheap. Chairs are £10,000, lamps range from £900 to £2,300, and tables start at £25,000. You should expect delivery in close to a decade, which may give you enough time to save up the money.

Red and Blue Shadows

The Washington Post has published the winning submissions to its yearly contest, in which readers supply alternative meanings for common words:
1. Coffee (N.), the person upon whom one coughs.
2. Flabbergasted (adj.), appalled over how much weight you have gained.
3. Abdicate (V.), to give up hope of ever having a flat stomach.
4. Esplanade (V.), to attempt an explanation while drunk.
5. Willy-nilly (Adj.), impotent.
6. Negligent (Adj.), a condition in which you absentmindedly answer the door in your nightgown.
7. Lymph (V.), to walk with a lisp.
8. Gargoyle (N.), olive-flavored mouthwash.
9. Flatulence (N.) emergency vehicle that picks you up after you’re run over by a steamroller.
10. Balderdash (N.), a rapidly receding hairline.
11. Testicle (N.), a humorous question on an exam.
12. Rectitude (N.), the dignified bearing adopted by proctologists.
13. Pokemon (N), a Rastafarian proctologist.
14. Oyster (N.), a person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddishisms.
15. Frisbeetarianism (N.), The belief that, when you die, your soul flies to the roof and stays there.

Sunlight and Shadow

“Those blessed with sight will recognize that in spite of everything else this conference tradition may offer us it will mean little or nothing unless we find Jesus at the center of it all. To grasp the vision we are seeking, the healing that He promises, the significance we somehow know is here, we must cut through the commotion – joyful as it is – and fix our attention on Him. The prayer of every speaker, the hope of all who sing, the reverence of every guest, we are all dedicated to inviting the Spirit of Him whose church this is: the living Christ, the Lamb of God, the Prince of Peace. May we strive to see Christ at the center of our lives, our faith and our service. That is where true meaning lies.” – Jeffrey R. Holland

Sixteen World's Fair Blocks

The first Oktoberfest was held in Munich October 12, 1810 as a wedding celebration for King Ludwig I (although he wouldn’t technically be king for another fifteen years) and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen. Oktoberfest is a sixteen to eighteen-day event filled with beer, food, rides, games, music and dancing. The celebrations end the first Sunday in October, which means you’ve already missed it this year. This always seems to confuse Americans. I guess the name leaves them assuming the event will run from October 1 through Halloween. It’s not to late to start planning for next year, though, when it will run from September 19 through October 4. Or 2021, when the dates are September 18 through October 3. If a trip to Munich isn’t in the budget, you could always visit one of the more local celebrations. Or, you could celebrate at home German sausage, red cabbage, spaetzle and root beer.

Four Kodiak Stars

Kroger, the largest supermarket chain in the US, closed its Orange Mound location in Memphis, Tennessee in February 2018. Since then, residents in that area have had no easy way to buy food. The nearest grocer is the Kroger on Union: 30 minutes by bus or an hour and a quarter walking. The locals complained, but they weren’t able to solve the problem on their own. There just weren’t enough customers in Orange Mound to keep a Kroger open there. Eventually, Kroger came up with the perfect solution. They donated the $500,000 building that formerly housed their Orange Mound store to a competitor: Superlo Foods. Superlo reports they should have their new location up and running by the first of December. I’ve never shopped at Kroger, possibly because there aren’t any in my area. But I do know Smith’s Food and Drug is a subsidiary. Maybe I should visit Smith’s instead.

Nine World's Fair Blocks

“Don’t underestimate the power of vision and direction. These are irresistible forces, able to transform what might appear to be unconquerable obstacles into traversable pathways and expanding opportunities. Strengthen the individual. Start with yourself. Take care with yourself. Define who you are. Refine your personality. Choose your destination and articulate your Being. As the great nineteenth-century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche so brilliantly noted, ‘He whose life has a why can bear almost any how.’”

“You must determine where you are going in your life, because you cannot get there unless you move in that direction. Random wandering will not move you forward. It will instead disappoint and frustrate you and make you anxious and unhappy and hard to get along with (and then resentful, and then vengeful, and then worse).”― Jordan B. Peterson, 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos

Nine Sawtooth Stars

October 9 is Moldy Cheese Day. To celebrate, I’m raiding the deli drawer in my fridge for odd bits of cheese. I have a few slices of Swiss, some Monterey Jack, a little Gruyère, cream cheese, a bit of prästost (I looked it up. It means “priest cheese” in Swedish.) from Ikea, a little grated Parmesan and a lot of cheddar. And that’s just the cheese I know about – definitely enough to make:

Alton Brown’s Fromage Fort

1 pound left-over cheese, at room temperature

1/4 cup dry white wine

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

2 tablespoons fresh parsley leaves

1 small clove garlic

Remove any rinds from hard cheeses. Grate hard cheeses and cut others into 1/2-inch cubes. Place cheese, wine, butter, parsley, and garlic in a food processor and blend until smooth, approximately 2 minutes. Serve immediately or refrigerate for at least an hour for a firmer consistency. Store in refrigerator for up to a week.

Four World's Fair Blocks

Willoughby Bertie, the 4th Earl of Abingdon, was born in Lincolnshire in 1740. He was acquainted with Johann Christian Bach (the eighteenth of Johann Sebastian Bach’s twenty children). He was one of Joseph Haydn’s patrons, and was himself a composer. He funded the construction of the Swinford Toll Bridge, which spans the Thames to this day. But Bertie’s biggest claim to fame was a chestnut racehorse born in his stables in 1773. The earl wanted to call his young colt Potatoes, and he asked a stable boy to write the name on a feed bin. For some bizarre reason, he boy heard “Pot Eight O’s” and spelled the name out “Potoooooooo,” with eight o’s. The mistake amused the earl so much, he decided make this the horse’s official name. Maybe all those o’s were good luck. The oddly named horse won more than thirty races against some of the best racehorses in England.

Four Sawtooth Stars

“We lived before our birth. Our individual identity is stamped in us forever. In ways we don’t fully understand, our spiritual growth there in the premortal world influences who we are here. We accepted God’s plan. We knew that we would experience difficulties, pain, and sorrow upon the earth. We also knew that the Savior would come and that as we proved ourselves worthy, we would rise in the Resurrection, having glory added upon our heads for ever and ever. The proclamation on the family is direct: ‘We declare the means by which mortal life is created to be divinely appointed. We affirm the sanctity of life and of its importance in God’s eternal plan.’ Our Father’s plan encourages a husband and wife to bring children into the world and obligates us to speak in defense of the unborn.” – Elder Neil L. Andersen

World's Fair Block

Mac and Cheese for a Crowd

24 ounces elbow macaroni (or other tubular pasta) cooked and drained

1/3 cup cornstarch

3 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

3 cans (12 fl. oz. each) evaporated milk

3 cups water

6 tablespoons butter

4 cups medium cheddar, shredded

2 cup shredded Monterey Jack, shredded

A pinch paprika

Preheat oven to 375F. Butter an 11x15” or 5-quart baking dish. Combine cornstarch, salt and pepper in large saucepan. Stir in milk, water and butter. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Boil for about a minute. Remove from heat. Stir in cheeses until melted. Place macaroni into prepared dish. Pour cheese sauce over macaroni; toss to coat. (At this point I sometimes top the macaroni with bread crumbs.) Sprinkle with paprika. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until bubbly and golden. Makes about 16 servings.

Tiny Sawtooth Star

“What men and women need is encouragement. Their natural resisting powers should be strengthened, not weakened. Instead of always harping on a man’s faults, tell him of his virtues. Try to pull him out of his rut of bad habits. Hold up to him his better self, his REAL self that can dare and do and win out! The influence of a beautiful, helpful, hopeful character is contagious, and may revolutionize a whole town. People radiate what is in their minds and in their hearts. If a man feels kindly and obliging, his neighbors will feel that way, too, before long. But if he scolds and scowls and criticizes, his neighbors will return scowl for scowl, and add interest! When you look for the bad, expecting it, you will get it. When you know you will find the good, you will get that.” - Eleanor H. Porter, Pollyanna

Aunt Eliza's Star

I found this posted recently on a Facebook page for people who make ridiculously tiny quilts for fun. It made me smile, and I thought you might like to read it, too:

I’m posting this with a heavy heart. As much as I love my creating addiction, it takes up too much of my time. I am struggling to keep up with the everyday basics such as cleaning and maintaining my home, so something has to give. I will be re-homing most of my stuff. Please don’t ask any questions, as I can’t handle talking about it. Below is a list of what’s available, all free of charge. Thanks for reading and understanding.

Dustpan and broom

Sponges

Dusters

Mop and bucket

Window cleaner

Vacuum

Dishwashing liquid

Laundry detergent

Laundry baskets

Cleaning sprays

Fig Tree Sampler - with Borders

We discovered this recipe at the grocer a week and a half ago. An employee was handing out samples she’d cooked in an electric skillet, no doubt to encourage us to buy all the ingredients then and there. But, as it happened, we already had everything it called for waiting for us at home.

Italian Eggs

1/2 onion, minced

1 red bell pepper, minced

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

1 quart marinara (Ours is made without added sugar.)

6 large eggs

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan

Heat oil in large frying pan. Add onion, pepper and garlic; cook until onion is translucent. Add marinara. Bring to just bubbling, then reduce heat to a simmer. Slip eggs one at a time onto sauce. Cover and cook until whites are set and yolks are still soft. Top with Parmesan and serve immediately with toasted Italian bread.

Blue Betty

I love Halloween. I just hate the way so many people choose to observe it. I won’t be watching Haunt or It: Chapter Two this month. Instead, here’s a month’s worth of the movies I WOULD like to see:

The Blob – 1958

The Birds – 1963

Creature from the Black Lagoon – 1954

The Day the Earth Stood Still – 1951

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde – 1931

Dracula – 1931

The Fly – 1958

Forbidden Planet – 1956

Frankenstein – 1931

Gaslight – 1944

Gremlins – 1984

House of Wax – 1953

House on Haunted Hill – 1959

Invasion of the Body Snatchers – 1956

Invisible Man – 1933

King Kong – 1933

Mask of the Red Death - 1964

The Mummy – 1932

Psycho – 1960

The Raven – 1963

Rear Window – 1954

Something Wicked This Way Comes – 1983

Them! - 1954

The Thing from Another World – 1951

The Time Machine – 1960

Twilight Zone – 1983

Vertigo – 1958

Village of the Damned – 1960

War of the Worlds – 1953

Watcher in the Woods – 1980

The Wolf Man – 1941