Grandma's Choice

When the restaurants closed to walk-in business, our eating out routine changed to curb-side pickup Tuesdays and Saturdays. The dining room is always the same. The server, busboy and dishwasher are always me. So it's easy to compare just the food. Noodles & Company forgot to put cheese in my mac and cheese. By the time we noticed, it was too late to fix it. The bacon cheeseburger salad from Black Bear Diner was missing bacon. In fact, it was nearly all lettuce. Our order from Rumbi Grill was thirty minutes late, and stone cold. Good Wood didn’t have what we wanted to order, but the rack of ribs they DID have was awesome. Our side dishes from Oak Wood Fire Kitchen came with name tags: “Hello, I’m SALAD (or SOUP). Nice to meet you.” Olive Garden sent enough food to last half the week. (The ducks loved the bread sticks.) And everything from Cheesecake Factory was heavenly. What should we try next week?

The Baldwin

Several friends report they’re dealing with stress and anxiety by baking. It reminds me of something Thoreau said – that wood warms you twice: once when you’re splitting it, and once while it’s burning. Home baked goods are comfort foods. A hot gooey cookie with a cold glass of milk, a warm piece of apple pie with vanilla ice cream, or a slice of pizza fresh from the oven can go a long way towards making you feel better. But the act of baking can be therapeutic as well. If you’ve ever rolled out pie crust or gingerbread cookie dough, or kneaded dough for dinner rolls or a loaf of whole wheat bread, you probably know what I’m talking about. Plus it's fun to include the kids, and the aroma fills the whole house. It’s said there are no atheists in foxholes. I suspect there are also no ketogenic dieters in quarantine. Or, at least, there shouldn’t be.

Card Trick

Like many kids his age, Will Brown looked forward to getting his driver’s license as soon as he reached his sixteenth birthday. That milestone has been delayed for a time, as the Utah Division of Motor Vehicles has announced there will be no more driver’s tests (for regular licenses, at least) until “an unknown date.” But Will is clearly not the kind of guy who lets little setbacks get him down. He looked for something he could do to celebrate turning sixteen. When he discovered that sixteen-year-olds can donate blood (with their parents’ permission), he scheduled an appointment. Then he talked every one of his eligible family members into doing the same. Eighty percent of the local blood supply comes from blood drives, and those have all but dried up – like new driver’s licenses – as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. If you’re not feeling unwell, you really should consider giving blood.

Twenty-five Courthouse Steps

“With constant prayer, a determination to keep our covenants, and the gift of the Holy Ghost, we navigate our way through life. When personal difficulty, doubt, or discouragement darken our path, or when world conditions beyond our control lead us to wonder about the future, the spiritually defining memories from our book of life are like luminous stones that help brighten the road ahead, assuring us that God knows us, loves us, and has sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to help us return home. And when someone sets their defining memories aside and is lost or confused, we turn them toward the Savior as we share our faith and memories with them, helping them rediscover those precious spiritual moments they once treasured.” - Elder Neil L. Andersen

Washington Sidewalk

We live in confusing times. We’re told to stay at home, unless we’re “essential.” Masks are useless, but don’t go anywhere without one. Gloves are also useless, unless they’re not. The virus can stay active on different surfaces for hours or days or maybe not. It might be airborne, unless it isn’t. Watching the news causes depression and anxiety; check regularly for updates. There’s a test shortage: sick humans can’t get tested, but a tiger in the Bronx zoo can. There’s no treatment for this, except maybe there is. It’s important to eat well and exercise to stay healthy. But grocery stores are breeding grounds for disease, the gyms are all closed, and you should really avoid city parks. Make a 2-week shopping list so you don’t have to go to the store as often. But the store will be out of half the items on your list. I’m tired just thinking about it. Wait. Is that a symptom?

Sixteen Courthouse Steps

While re-watching Hugh Grant in “About a Boy” the other day, I noticed a quote that hadn’t meant much to me before now: “I find the key is to think of a day as units of time, each unit consisting of no more than thirty minutes. Full hours can be a little bit intimidating and most activities take about half an hour. Taking a bath: one unit, watching "Countdown:" one unit, web-based research: two units, exercising: three units, having my hair carefully disheveled: four units. It's amazing how the day fills up, and I often wonder, to be absolutely honest, if I'd ever have time for a job; how do people cram them in?” Okay, until they reopen all the beauty salons and barber shops, you’re stuck with carefully disheveling your own hair. But other than that, this list still works. What will you be doing with all your units today?

Green House

In the early 70’s, there was a half-hour children’s PBS show called Hodgepodge Lodge. It was no Mr. Rogers or Sesame Street, or even Reading Rainbow. But it was an introduction to the wonders of nature. Each week the host, “Miss Jean” Worthley, would introduce a different topic, like birds, trees, aquatic animals, or stinging insects. Miss Jean was a kinder, gentler Bill Nye the Science Guy with a shoulder parrot (except she was an actual scientist). Hodgepodge Lodge is a “lost” series. Many of the master tapes on which it was recorded were erased and reused to save money, and many more were destroyed in a storage fire. The series ran before home video recording became popular, so it’s unlikely there are copies out there, saved to share with children and grandchildren. But the theme song is indelibly etched in my head: “We’re off to the forest to see Miss Jean. She lives in a house that is mostly green…”

Nine Courthouse Steps

This social distancing thing hasn’t affected me as much as most people. My job has sort of evaporated, but it was small potatoes to begin with. Its loss won’t threaten the roof over my head. I was never a social butterfly, so staying at home and cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, sewing, watching old movies, walking the dogs, puttering in the garden, and practicing the piano was already how I spent most of my days. I have RA, so if I was under a lot of stress, there are plenty of ways for my body to let me know. But I worry a lot about others who aren’t as well situated. And there are things I’ll never take for granted again: going to a restaurant or the cinema, playing the organ in church, attending a quilt class, visiting the library, walking in the mall, Sunday dinner with my family, seeing a play or a concert, and playing with my grandkids.

Twin Sisters

I’ve been folding and stitching medical grade face masks to be used by caregivers and patients in local hospitals. They’re not very pretty, and they’re not a lot of fun to make. But making them is something I can do that might help. After the first few dozen, the work has become a bit robotic. So, I’ve been watching the Hobbit movies as I go, just to break the monotony. I’ve read the book and seen the movies many times, but this time one particular scene stood out for me:

Galadriel: “Mthrandir, why the halfling?”

Gandalf: "Saruman believes it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. I found it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love. Why Bilbo Baggins? Perhaps because I am afraid, and he gives me courage."

Four Courthouse Steps

“Women wear many hats, but it is impossible and unnecessary to wear them all at once. The Spirit helps us determine which work to focus on today. The Lord’s loving influence through the Holy Ghost helps us know His priority for our progression. Heeding personal revelation leads to personal progression. We listen and act. The Lord said, ‘Ask the Father in my name in faith, believing that you shall receive, and you shall have the Holy Ghost, which manifesteth all things which are expedient.’ Our continuing role is to receive continuing revelation. As we attain a greater degree of proficiency at doing so, we can receive more power in our individual roles to minister and accomplish the work of salvation and exaltation, to truly lay aside the things of this world, and seek for the things of a better. We can then more effectively inspire our rising generation to do the same.” – Joy D. Jones

Three-inch Nine-Patch

Watched “Tangled” yesterday. This song struck a chord:

“7:00 a.m. the usual morning lineup: start on the chores and sweep 'til the floor's all clean,

Polish and wax, do laundry, and mop and shine up. Sweep again, and by then it's like 7:15.

So, I'll read a book or maybe two or three. I'll add a few new paintings to my gallery.

I'll play guitar and knit, and cook and basically wonder, ‘When will my life begin?’

Then after lunch it's puzzles and darts, and baking. Papier-mâché, a bit of ballet and chess.

Pottery and ventriloquy, candle making, then I'll stretch, maybe sketch, take a climb, sew a dress!

I'll reread the books if I have time to spare. I'll paint the walls some more, I'm sure there's room somewhere.

Then I'll brush and brush, and brush and brush my hair stuck in the same place I've always been.

And I'll keep wondering and wondering and wondering and wondering, ‘When will my life begin?’”

Courthouse Steps

Even before all the quilt shops closed to walk-in business, I was in the habit of shopping for fabric online. It’s the best way to find just a little bit more of a particular out-of-date print. So, I’ve been getting email updates from quilt shops all over the country. The most helpful so far came from Kimberly’s Fabric Stash in Pennsylvania. It listed these ten ways to stay positive:

1. Get dressed each day - no pajamas!

2. Shower and brush your teeth.

3. If you wear make-up, do. (I don’t, so I won’t.)

4. Call a friend – hearing another voice is helpful

5. Drink water and stay hydrated.

6. Turn off the news after one hour.

7. Clean out your junk drawer. (It's amazing how cheering this can be.)

8. Make a Goodwill/Salvation Army donation box.

9. Start a journal. Putting thoughts to paper relieves stress.

10. Make a prayer list. Read your scriptures.

Hope of Hartford

Paul Barton moved to Thailand for three months to teach piano at a private school. While he was there, he met Kwhan, a wildlife artist and animal lover. They fell in love, got married, and decided to stay. That was 22 years ago. These days Paul plays piano for sick, abused, retired and rescued residents of Elephant World, a Thai elephant sanctuary. He says the younger elephants appear to prefer quick, lively tunes, like ragtime. The older ones seem to respond to slower, more expressive numbers, like Beethoven’s "Moonlight Sonata" or Debussy’s "Clair de Lune." "If you want to get on friendly terms with an elephant,” Paul says, “The first time you meet you give bananas. They’ll memorize your scent and think of you as a friend the next time you’re together.” Paul knows there are inherent dangers being near such massive creatures, especially the temperamental bulls. But these are the animals that seem to love his music most.

Lassie

It was just after 7:00 a.m. Wednesday, March 18. We were in our second week of “social distancing” to avoid getting or sharing the COVID-19 virus, and no one was in a hurry to start the day. I’ve never been good at sleeping in, so I was toasting bread, poaching eggs and heating water for hot chocolate. Suddenly the floor began to shift; first shaking quickly back and forth like a pan of Jiffy Pop, then heaving up and down like a small boat on choppy seas. At first, John thought I must be trying to shake him out of bed. It was a 5.7 magnitude earthquake, the strongest in the Salt Lake valley since the pioneers’ arrival. Heather slept through it, but during one of the more significant aftershocks she poked her head out of her room and said, “Mom, whatchu doing?” I’m pretty sure it means something that they both immediately blamed me. Something not good.  

Rail Fence

Janie Kassie’s mom, Carol, is a resident in the Windsor Ridge assisted living center in Jeffersonville, Indiana. Every Saturday, Janie would take Carol out for lunch and some shopping. Last month the facility had to close its doors to visitors and volunteers to protect the health of the people who live there. Janie knew Carol wouldn’t understand about her absence, and she worried about how her mom would handle the change. Then she learned Windsor Ridge had a job opening. Janie, who already works as an office manager at a financial services firm and as an events coordinator at a nonprofit organization, now moonlights 15 to 30 hours a week as Windsor Ridge’s hospitality aide. "I deliver meals and play games with the residents. I basically do whatever they tell me to do,” Janie reports. "When the residents ask me what I do there I tell them, ‘I bring dinner and joy.’”

Hampshire Star

"We are waging an 'all hands on deck' war with COVID-19, a solemn reminder that a virus 1,000 times smaller than a grain of sand can bring entire populations and global economies to their knees. We pray for those who have lost loved ones in this modern plague, as well as for those who are currently infected or at risk. We certainly pray for those who are giving such magnificent health care. When we have conquered this - and we WILL - may we be equally committed to freeing the world from the virus of hunger, freeing neighborhoods and nations from the virus of poverty. Undergirding all of this is our relentless hope for greater devotion to the two greatest of all commandments: to love God by keeping His counsel and to love our neighbors by showing kindness and compassion, patience and forgiveness."  - Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

Jewel Box

“Sometimes fate is like a small sandstorm that keeps changing directions. You change direction but the sandstorm chases you. You turn again, but the storm adjusts. Over and over you play this out, like some ominous dance with death. Why? Because this storm isn't something that blew in from far away, something that has nothing to do with you. This storm is you. Something inside of you. All you can do is give in to it, step right inside the storm, closing your eyes and plugging up your ears so the sand doesn't get in, and walk through it, step by step. And once the storm is over you won't remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won't even be sure, in fact, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm you won't be the same person who walked in. That's what this storm's all about.” – Haruki Murakami

Framed Cardinal

I miss my piano students. I’ve no idea when I’ll be able to open my studio again. The other day one of them asked what she should be doing while waiting for her next lesson. Well, practice, obviously. Work on the songs I last assigned. Run through scales and other exercises. Revisit old favorites so they don’t become stale. Peek ahead, just a bit, to polish sight-reading skills. But there’s so much more I wanted to say: Bathe and get dressed every day, down to your shoes, even if you’ve nowhere to go. Brush your hair, even if no one will see it. Open your curtains and blinds, even though it makes your screens harder to see (that’s sort of the point). Take a walk and notice nature. Read a good book. Read five. Give yourself a manipedi. Ask Mom if she needs help with anything. Write Grandma a letter. Remind yourself that you’re amazing and you can get through this.

Windows

“Share everything. Play fair. Don't hit people. Put things back where you found them. Clean up your own mess. Don't take things that aren't yours. Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody. Wash your hands before you eat. Live a balanced life. Learn some and think some, and draw and sing and dance and play and work every day some. Take a nap in the afternoon. When you go out into the world, watch for traffic, hold hands and stick together. Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the plastic cup. The roots go down and the plant goes up, and nobody really knows why, but we are all like that. Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the plastic cup—they all die. So do we. Remember the book about Dick and Jane and the first word you learned, the biggest word of all: look.” – Robert Fulghum, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten

Blooming Love

I used to own a copy of Margot Zemach’s picture book, “It Could Always Be Worse.” It’s an old Yiddish story about a poor man who lives with his large, noisy family in a tiny house. He complains about his lot and the rabbi tells him to move his chickens into the crowded house. This, of course, doesn’t improve the situation. One by one, the rabbi has the poor man move all his farm animals out of the barn and into the house. At the story’s end, his advice is to move them all back out again. Without the livestock, the house is peaceful and the man is content. Happiness is so often a matter of perspective. This is a difficult time for all of us, physically, emotionally and financially. But we have running water, power, and even Internet access. The garbage is being collected, and goods are delivered to our doors. It could be so much worse.

Square Within a Square

We moved back from England eight years ago, in early January. One of the first things we did after arriving was to look up the local young adult special needs group. Heather had been missing her friends and was eager to reconnect with them. Her birthday was that same week, and one of the leaders – Sandi Martin – gave her a large ceramic mug with a bag of this mix. You can buy similar mixes in the store now, but we still make Cake-in-a-Cup this way: Stir together two boxes of cake mix (one of them must be angel food, and we usually choose devil’s food for the other). Store in an airtight container until you want a quick dessert for one. In a microwave-safe mug, stir together 3 tablespoons of mix and 2 tablespoons of water. Microwave for 1 minute. Serve with a scoop of ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream.

Mystery Row Quilt

“I come this evening with a plea that we stop seeking out the storms and enjoy more fully the sunlight. I’m suggesting that we accentuate the positive. I’m asking that we look a little deeper for the good, that we still our voices of insult and sarcasm, that we more generously compliment virtue and effort. I’m not suggesting our conversation be all honey. Clever expression that is sincere and honest is a skill to be sought and cultivated. What I am suggesting and asking is that we turn from the negativism that so permeates our society and look for the remarkable good in the land and times in which we live, that we speak of one another’s virtues more than we speak of one another’s faults, that optimism replace pessimism. Let our faith replace our fears. When I was a boy, my father often said to us, ‘Cynics do not contribute, skeptics do not create, doubters do not achieve.’” – President Gordon B. Hinckley

Safe at Home

Troubling or frightening news is always easy to find, and these past few weeks have been especially ominous. But even now, the news isn’t ALL bad. Sure, all your favorite sporting events have all been cancelled or postponed. But you can take a walk (or a run) in the park, or you can teach your kids to play Wiffle ball. You can’t go out to dinner, but you can learn to be a better cook. You can’t see a movie or a play, but you can immerse yourself in a good book (or three). You might be struggling with working from home or worse – you might be out of work for a time. But you’re not fighting traffic or dealing with a long commute. When this is over, we may look back on this spring as a time with far fewer car accidents and much cleaner air. As the saying goes, it’s an ill wind that blows no good.

Four Friendship Stars

Porschia, a senior toy poodle, was resting on her front porch in Whitehall, Pennsylvania on a chilly day in February. She must have looked like a tasty meal to a large hawk, who snatched her off the porch and carried her away. Her owner, Deborah Falcione, frantically searched for her lost pet, but found no trace of her. As night fell and temperatures dropped well below freezing, Deborah feared the worst. The next day she received a call from a local animal clinic with an elderly dog in their care. Deborah was skeptical. “This is a six-and-a-half-pound dog,” she said. “She’s blind, she’s deaf. She’s sixteen years old.” The hawk had dropped Porschia into a neighbor’s yard, and the neighbor had taken the little dog – shaken, but unhurt – to the vet. “I’ve no idea how she got away. How she survived it, I’ll never know. But I know one thing: By the grace of God, this dog is still alive.”

Windmills

“Parents, what we are being asked to do is not humanly possible. There is a reason we are either a working parent, a stay-at-home parent, or a part-time working parent. Working, parenting, and teaching are three different jobs that cannot be done at the same time. It’s not hard because you are doing it wrong. It’s hard because it’s too much. Do the best you can. When you have to pick, because at some point you will, choose connection. Pick playing a game over arguing about an academic assignment. Pick teaching your child to do laundry rather that feeling frustrated that they aren’t helping. Pick laughing, and snuggling, and reminding them that they are safe. If you are stressed, lower your expectations where you can and virtually reach out for social connection. We are in this together to stay well. That means mentally well, too.” – Emily W. King, PhD

Friendship Star

Spaghetti al Limone

1/4 cup olive oil

Grated zest of 1 lemon, plus 2 tablespoons juice

1 cup cream

1 pound spaghetti

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley

1 tablespoon minced fresh basil

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. While water is heating, make the sauce. Combine the olive oil and lemon zest in a large saucepan. Set the pan on low heat and cook, stirring now and again, until zest starts to sizzle gently. Stir in cream and raise heat to medium-high. Bring to a boil. Cook, stirring, until cream just begins to simmer, 3 to 5 minutes. Gradually whisk in the lemon juice. Sauce will thicken slightly. Turn off heat and cover to keep warm. Cook spaghetti until al dente. Transfer spaghetti to saucepan. Toss gently to combine. Add cheese, pepper and herbs. Serve with more Parmesan sprinkled on top.