Social Butterfly

This is block thirteen in a series that was meant to end at a dozen. I learned about the Sewing Sewcial online shop hop a few days before it ended. I quickly ordered all twelve block kits – each from a different shop – and waited for them to arrive. Some came in a day or two; others took nearly two weeks. The kits from Cotton Patch Quilt Shop in Florida and Cozy Creative Corner in California were incomplete. For some reason, Inspired to Sew in Iowa sent – and charged for – two identical blocks. Luckily, I’d also ordered a boo-boo kit (a fat eighth of each of the unique batiks designed specifically for this shop hop). I’ll use the rest of the boo-boo kit to set the twelve blocks into a throw quilt. I was looking at the pieces of the spare kit and realized they could be rearranged into one of my favorite blocks. Maybe the throw quilt needs a matching pillow.

Sixteen Log Cabins

“By virtue of the Restoration of His gospel, we can be filled with the light of our Savior. However, that light is not meant for you and me alone. Jesus Christ has called upon us to ‘let your light so shine before this people, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.’ I have come to love the phrase ‘that they may see.’ It is an earnest invitation from the Lord to be more intentional about helping others see the path and thereby come unto Christ. The Lord’s invitation to let our light so shine is not just about randomly waving a beam of light and making the world generally brighter. It is about focusing our light so others may see the way to Christ. It is gathering Israel on this side of the veil - helping others see the next step forward in making and keeping sacred covenants with God.” - Bonnie H. Cordon

Bahamas

A friend took her kids shopping for swimsuits last week. The dressing rooms were closed, so she wasn’t able to make sure they fit before buying them. She got them home, discovered they didn’t fit, and tried to return them. She was told the store wouldn’t be accepting returns “until six weeks after the pandemic is over.” As if somehow there will be an announcement: “Okay, folks, it’s finished. Go on with your lives.” A lovely thought, but that’s not what will happen. The return to what we think of as normal will be gradual, and many things will never be the same again. It would be so nice to feel safe returning to church, to the shopping center, and to the cinema. That’s not going to happen any time soon. But when this is all really “over,” I’ll miss how quiet and peaceful the streets have been, and I’ll wish the air could go back to being this clean.

Nine Log Cabins

When I was a girl, several of my friends kept diaries or journals. They’d hide these like their dearest treasures, often under lock and key. They would have been outraged if anyone read their most private thoughts. Today so many people blog. They’re still writing very personal stuff, but now they get mad if no one bothers to read it. In the grand scheme of things, I know what I write doesn’t reach a huge audience. Maybe that’s not a bad thing. Fewer readers just means fewer people who will become offended or lash out. I’ve made nearly 2800 entries here, over nine and a half years; far longer than I’ve kept any ink-and-paper journal. I’m clearly enjoying this, or I would have quit years ago. I enjoy scrolling back through previous entries and reminiscing. I really enjoy people – many of whom I’ve never met and probably never will – who read an entry and found it in some way helpful.

St. Kitts

One of my sons’ elementary school teachers retired in the late 80’s and relocated to St. Kitts. We corresponded for some time after the move. She wrote about the beautiful scenery and the delightful children there. Until I started getting mail from her, I’d never even heard of this place. St. Kitts and Nevis are a federation on the leeward side of the West Indies. Together, they are the smallest nation in the Americas, both by population and by surface area. Just over 51 thousand people live there. About 90 percent of them consider themselves black or mulatto. Three percent are East Indian, and only one percent white. Their official language is English. The islands’ Pre-Columbian names were Liamuiga (fertile land) and Oualie (land of beautiful waters). St. Kitts is a nickname for Christopher Columbus (the first European here in 1493) and Nevis was so named because its low-lying clouds reminded sailors of snow.

Four Log Cabins

Comic Sam Adams says, “If somebody’s dark like me, we say he’s black. If they’re light, we say white. Think about it. Those are the two blandest colors in the crayon box. Is that how we want to describe ourselves?” But color is one of the questions on the census form. So, Sam decided to find his own TRUE color. He went to a hardware store, to the paint section. He grabbed those little paint swatches and compared them to his skin. If you call him black, he won’t be offended. But his TRUE color is a shade of brown called, “chocolate indulgence.” He claims, “All you folks who’ve been told you’re white? You’re not white. You’re a shade of pink called, ‘papaya smoothie.’ Or maybe you’re ‘rose taupe.’ Find your own TRUE color. Then report it to the government. Maybe if they see we’re not just black and white, they’ll look for more important issues to solve.”

Tsunami

Today’s block is the only one in this year’s Sewing Sewcial series not named after an island or archipelago. Nearly everything I know about tsunamis came from disaster movies. Here are a few highlights: they’re also called “tidal waves.” They’re usually the result of underwater earthquakes, though some have been caused by quakes on a distant shore, by landslides or volcanoes, or by large meteors falling in the ocean. Eight of ten tsunamis occur in the Pacific “Ring of Fire.” Hawaii gets at least one per year, and a severe one hits there roughly every seven years. A tsunami isn’t a single, huge wave. It’s a series of waves, becoming successively more intense. If you’re caught in a tsunami, don’t try to swim against it. It’s safer to grab a floating object and let it carry you. And if you’re on the beach and the water suddenly recedes, resist the urge to collect seashells. Run for higher ground!

Harmony Log Cabin

“Faith is what gets me through these dark times. Having faith doesn’t mean nothing bad is going to happen. Having faith allows me to believe that there will be light again. And that light will be even brighter because I have walked through the dark. As much darkness as I have witnessed over the years, I have witnessed far more light. I have seen miracles. I have felt angels. I have known that my Heavenly Father was carrying me. None of that would have been experienced if life was easy. The future of this life may be unknown, but my faith is not. If I choose to not have faith then I choose to only walk in darkness. Because without faith, darkness is all that is left.” – Kim Olsen White

Bora Bora

I’ve spent a lifetime being confused by the terms “East Indies” and “West Indies.” Somewhere in the back of my mind, I’ve filed them as two halves of the same thing, like the Dakotas or the Carolinas. But when you look at a globe, it’s easy to see they’re really not. East Indies is a rather obsolete term for what used to be British and Dutch colonies east of the Indian subcontinent. They include places like Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Malaysia. The West Indies are more a misnomer, probably owing to the fact that when Columbus first arrived here, he thought he’d found a western trade route to India. The West Indies include the Greater Antilles, the Lesser Antilles, and the Lucayan Archipelago. I’ve read the locals don’t much like being called West Indian. They’re also not fond of the term “Caribbean,” as this name comes from an ancient group of fierce warriors – cannibals, really – who once lived there.

XOXO

These past three months, John has done nearly all our shopping. I draw up a list, and he does his best to fill it, with random results. When I asked for ground beef for a cookout, he brought back an eight-pound box of frozen patties labelled, “75% lean.” I’d never even heard of such a thing. We grilled some, and the excess grease caused quite a blaze. If I use the rest, I’ll brown it in a pan and drain it, for something like this:

Hamburger Cabbage Soup

1 pound ground beef, browned and drained

2 ribs celery, diced

1/2 cabbage, chopped

18 ounces canned tomatoes, diced

18 ounces canned kidney beans, drained and rinsed

8 ounces beef stock

4 cups water

1 teaspoon garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon paprika

Salt and pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in a large stock pot. Cover and simmer about an hour. May also be made in a slow cooker on low for four hours.

Tahiti

Lord of the Flies was William Golding’s first novel, written shortly after WWII, while he taught school. I guess it’s only natural for a school teacher to fantasize in his off hours about horrible things school boys might do and become without order and discipline to keep them civilized. But a few decades later, a real Lord of the Flies story unfolded, and it turned out rather differently. In June 1965, six boys from a Tongan boarding school stole a fishing boat to go see the world. A storm ruined their sails and rudder, and they drifted eight days without food or water. They washed ashore on an uninhabited island, where they built a signal fire, collected and stored rain water, and tended a community garden; for seventeen months! The boys sang and prayed together daily. When one of them broke his leg, they took care of him until it healed. Even after they were rescued, they remained friends for life.

X Marks the Spot

On the fourteenth of May, Daniel Jurgens took his metal detector to an open space about five miles from his New Jersey home. By the time he headed back, he’d dug up a brownie ring, a 1943 mercury dime, and a metal case with the Virgin Mary engraved on top. Inside the case was a rosary with an inscription: Diana, May 5, 1946. “I know that there's a Catholic church about three blocks from this park,” said Daniel. “I call up and I speak with the secretary.” He learned a girl named Diana Antonides received her first communion on May 5, 1946. Daniel searched online obituaries and census records, and found Diana was still living at age 81. The rosary had been a gift from her aunt, who was also her godmother.  She believes it was stolen and then hidden by a neighbor boy with a habit of taking her things. "I never thought I'd see that again," she said.

Bali

Nyepi is commemorated every Isakawarsa (Saka new year) according to the Balinese calendar. It is a Hindu celebration, mainly observed in Bali, Indonesia. While most cultures celebrate the coming of the new year with as much noise as possible, Nyepi is called the “Day of Silence.” For twenty-four hours, no one is allowed in the streets or on the beaches for any reason. Noise and light are kept to a bare minimum. The Balinese sit in their homes, in quiet self-reflection. They think about wrongs they may have done in preparation for the “Day of Forgiveness.” I’m told the idea behind it all is that any evil spirits intent on plaguing Bali on this day will find it dark, quiet and empty; seemingly uninhabited. They’ll just give up and go somewhere else. This year, the Balinese New Year fell on March 22. It occurs to me that in 2020, at least, whether we meant to or not, the entire world observed Nyepi.

The Big O

“As we celebrate this joyous occasion, the 200th anniversary of the First Vision, we should always remember the price Joseph and Hyrum Smith paid, along with so many other faithful men, women, and children, to establish the Church so you and I could enjoy the many blessings and all of these revealed truths we have today. Their faithfulness should never be forgotten. I have often wondered why Joseph and Hyrum and their families had to suffer so much. It may be that they came to know God through their suffering in ways that could not have happened without it. Through it, they reflected on Gethsemane and the cross of the Savior. As Paul said, ‘For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake.’” – President M. Russell Ballard

Aruba

When the Beach Boys released their hit song, “Kokomo” in 1988, there WAS a place called Kokomo. It was in Indiana, almost equidistant between Chicago, Illinois and Louisville, Kentucky. Somehow, Indiana doesn’t inspire thoughts of “a tropical drink melting in your hand,” or falling in love “to the rhythm of a steel drum band.” There was another Kokomo in Arkansas, and there was even one in Hawaii. While this last one seems a bit closer to the mark, the Beach Boys were singing about an island “off the Florida Keys.” That little place that “everybody needs” where you can “go and get away from it all,” only existed in John Phillips’ and Scott McKenzie’s imaginations. Aruba and the other island retreats that are mentioned in the song are all real. But it makes sense to me that if you want the  PERFECT tropical hideaway, you’ll have to dream it up.

Thimble Flag

This month’s challenge on the Kathleen Tracy's Small Quilt Lovers Facebook page is Tumbler Quilts. They’re also called Thimble Quilts, because the shape of all the pieces is similar to the profile of a finger thimble or a drinking tumbler. Kathleen recommends purchasing a 2 ½” acrylic template for cutting the wee little shapes. I browsed through photos of tiny thimble/tumbler quilts and thought, “I can do that,” and “I don’t need to buy a template.” Then I started hacking through my pile of Americana scraps. Apparently, a miniscule difference in the shape of each block makes a huge difference in the finished top. My flag turned out much longer and thinner than I’d intended. I could have added two extra stripes (one red, one cream) if I’d known. Maybe I’ll try this again, using itty bitty red, white and blue scraps from my 1930’s bins. Before I do, I should probably break down and buy that template.

St. Lucia

“Bigotry and racism are among the deadliest social ills plaguing the world today. Unlike a team of costumed super-villains, they can’t be halted with a punch in the snoot or a zap from a ray gun. The only way to destroy them is to reveal them for the insidious evils they really are. The bigot is an unreasoning hater – one who hates blindly, fanatically, indiscriminately. If his hang-up is black men, he hates ALL black men. If some foreigner beat him to a job, he’s down on all foreigners. He hates people he’s never known with equal intensity; with equal venom. Sooner or later, we must learn to judge each other on our own merits. Sooner or later, if man is ever to be worthy of his destiny, we must fill our hearts with tolerance. Only then will we be worthy of the concept that man was created in the image of God – a God who calls us ALL His children.” – Stan Lee

Contribution

We made s’mores in early May, when we gradually began family Sunday dinners (al fresco). They were messy, and the smoke nearly drove us away. At the end of May, I served lemon cake. Fewer than half my guests tried it. In retrospect, I think it may have been too hot for cake. For Father’s Day, I’m considering making these:

Frozen S’mores

5 ounces chocolate pudding mix

2 1/2 cups cold milk

30 graham cracker halves

7 ounces marshmallow creme

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

8 ounces frozen whipped topping, thawed

Prepare pudding as directed (except you’ll use a little less milk). Chill. Line 9x13” pan with parchment. Pour in chilled pudding; smooth with spatula. Beat together cream cheese and crème; fold in topping. Spread evenly over pudding. Cover with foil and freeze at least six hours. Remove foil and layer 15 cracker halves on top. Invert and repeat layering on the pudding side. Slice into 15 3” squares and serve.

Key West

When I first heard of conch-style houses, I imagined they must be named for the large pink sea snail shells. I wondered if their floor plans spiraled inwards somehow. Newsflash: they aren’t, and they don’t. Conch-style homes are minimalist one- or two-story rectangular timber-framed dwellings, set on posts so cooling air can circulate beneath the floor. They came into use in the 19^th century; first built in Key West, Florida by Bahamian immigrants (known as Conches) with experience in boat building. Conch houses invariably have a covered porch running the length of the front of the house. If there’s a second floor, there will usually be a porch up there, too. There may be carved brackets or rafter ends on the porches, and the houses themselves will usually be pastel-colored. I never learned to scuba dive, and I’m not big on nightlife. If I ever do visit Key West, it will be primarily to see these houses in person.

Four Compass Points

“It is said that ‘to one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.’ (This is often attributed to Thomas Aquinas but it’s more likely a loose paraphrase of many things he taught. And, of course, Aquinas would have said it in 13^th century Italian.) However, we have limited understanding of the things that happen here on earth, and often we do not have answers to the question of why. Why is this happening? Why is this happening to me? What am I supposed to learn? When answers evade us, that is when the words expressed by our Savior to the Prophet Joseph Smith in Liberty Jail are completely applicable: ‘My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; and then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high.” - Elder Ricardo P. Giménez

Fiji

I’ve been reading a lot lately about the effect of the Spanish Flu pandemic on different places in the world. One of the areas that was particularly hard-hit was Fiji. In November 1918, the steamship Talune arrived in the archepelago. The colonial administrators in Suva (the capitol city) knew there was illness aboard, and had heard news from overseas about the deadly flu. Still, they allowed the Talune to dock. Steamship day was a big event in Fiji; many Fijians would have come down to the wharf to enjoy the spectacle. When several locals working on the Talune as stevedores fell ill, they were allowed to return to their villages. By the end of 1920, 8,145 Spanish flu deaths were recorded among the Fijian people – the real number is probably higher – more than five percent of the British colony. Instead of pointing fingers at the administrators, newspapers blamed the high death rate on the “backward” habits of the indigenous people.

Compass Point

The Internet offers a freedom not found in other media. You can publish opinions for the world to see, even if they’re ill-founded, uneducated or just plain wrong. Case in point: last spring Emily Sutton – an Oklahoma weather forecaster – augmented her prediction of severe weather with a Spanish translation via Facebook Live. Richard, one of her followers, responded with, “I saw a broadcast using Mexican language. I remind one and all this is the Untied (sic) States of America. I’m offended KFOR shoved American aside for a foreign language.” The meteorologist responded by reminding him the US doesn’t have an official language, and she offered the translation in an effort to save lives. “It’s not American,” she added, “We speak English. People from Mexico don’t speak Mexican - they speak Spanish. You should try traveling and experiencing another culture to open your horizons. You’ll find we’re all humans. Be kind to each other. Don’t be a Richard.”

Kauai

Kauai is the fourth largest of the Hawaiian Islands. Its nickname is “Garden Isle” because so much of its surface is covered by tropical rain forest. Not to be confused with kawaii, the Japanese word for “adorable,” the name Kauai is thought to mean “favorite place around the neck” or possibly “harvest season.” Kauai isn’t the tourist magnet that Oahu, Maui or “the Big Island” are, but the scenery here is more familiar to people who’ve never visited. South Pacific, Jurassic Park, Jurassic Park III, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Tropic Thunder, Blue Hawaii, The Thorn Birds, Outbreak, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Donovan’s Reef, Honeymoon in Vegas, Avatar, Dinosaur, Mighty Joe Young, Fantasy Island, Castaway Cowboy, Hook, Gilligan’s Island, Lt. Robin Crusoe, U.S.N., Throw Momma from the Train, 6 Days / 7 Nights, and Fast & the Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw were all filmed here. Even Lilo and Stitch is supposed to take place on Kauai.

Four Mini Lilies

Warrnambool is a city along the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, Australia. Its biggest attractions are an adventure park, a maritime museum, a wildlife preserve, and the Warrnambool Wombat. This last one came into being about two years ago, when artist Jimmi Buscombe was commissioned to do a work in pastels. “I needed a bit of a practice, so I snuck down to the bridge at the end of my driveway.” Jimmy created a chalk trompe-l'œil hole with a wombat peering out. He didn’t ask permission as he knew rain would wash his experiment away. Only it didn’t. Jimmi tried unsuccessfully to scrub the picture off the bridge. “I was freaking out because you can get in a lot of trouble. It's essentially graffiti.” That’s when Jimmi’s neighbors told him Phil Hoy had seen the artwork, liked it, and sprayed it with a clear coat of sealant. No worries. The council doesn’t seem to mind its new piece of public art.

Seychelles

The Utah Shop Hop was supposed to run May 27 through May 30 this year. I’d been looking forward to it for months. I’d worked out the best route, road trip snacks, lunch breaks, even traveling music. It’s been postponed, of course, like everything else. It might happen in August, but I don’t know if I’ll be ready to play Russian roulette with a microbe by then. As luck would have it, I found an online shop hop called Sewing Sewcial. I browsed a dozen quilt stores from California to New York. I ordered twelve block kits with tropical names and exotic pre-cut batiks. This was the first to arrive. It’s named after an archipelago in the Indian Ocean just off the coast of east Africa. After I’ve made the other eleven blocks, I could choose one of the twelve finishing kits, or I may design my own. Either way, it’s just what I needed right now.

Mini Lily

“As the Restoration continues, I know that God will continue to reveal many great and important things pertaining to His kingdom here on earth. Dear brothers and sisters, I express my love for you. During this time of tension and uncertainty, and invoking the authority vested in me, I would like to confer upon you an apostolic blessing. I bless you with peace and increasing faith in the Lord. I bless you with a desire to repent and become a little more like Him each day. I bless you to know that the Prophet Joseph Smith is the prophet of the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ in its fullness. Should there be illness among you or your loved ones, I leave a blessing of healing, consistent with the will of the Lord. I so bless you, adding once more my expression of love for each of you, in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.” – President Russell M. Nelson