Silent Night

 

I bought this kit three years ago, intending not to use it. I thought the starry light and dark blues would be the perfect foil for that year’s yellow state fair challenge fabric, but they were out of print. The only way I could buy them was in this panel kit. I never even bought the pattern. I just took what I wanted to make the challenge quilt (which pleased me but not the judges) and shelved the rest. For three years! Boredom is a wonderful thing. I’ve been bored enough this year to turn my efforts to projects that might otherwise never have happened. I pulled out the plundered kit and wondered if there was enough of the two blues left to make SOMETHING. I wondered if I was clever enough to make it without a pattern. The finished top isn’t EXACTLY like the original, but I like it. And there’s even enough leftover for another small quilt! Happy New Year!

Empire House

 

“Tonight, I want to tell you the story of an empty stocking. Once upon a midnight clear, there was a child's cry. A blazing star hung over a stable and wise men came with gifts. We haven't forgotten that night down the centuries. We celebrate with stars on Christmas trees, the sound of bells, and with gifts. Especially with gifts. You give me a book; I give you a tie. Aunt Martha’s always wanted an orange squeezer and Uncle Henry can do with a new pipe. We forget nobody, adult or child. All the stockings are filled, all that is, except one. We’ve even forgotten to hang it up: the stocking for the child born in a manger. It’s his birthday we're celebrating. Don't let’s ever forget that. Let’s ask ourselves what He would wish for most. Then, let each put in his share: loving kindness, warm hearts, a stretched-out hand of tolerance. All the shining gifts that make peace on earth.” – The Bishop’s Wife

Twenty-four Flying Geese

 

Maurice Hilleman almost became a Montana chicken farmer, because he had no money to attend college. His older brother and other family members, recognizing a talent worth nurturing, provided some of his tuition; the rest came from scolarships. He graduated first in his class at Montana State University and later received a doctorate in microbiology from the University of Chicago. In a career spanning four decades, Dr. Hilleman created 40 vaccines, including eight of the fourteen routinely given to Americans: the shots for measles, mumps, hepatitis A and B, chickenpox, meningitis, pneumococcus and HIB. Hilleman was by all accounts a difficult man to work with. He swore like a sailor and ran his lab like a military unit. But he was also unfailingly humble. Not one of his 40 vaccines was named for him. You’ve probably never heard his name before. But chances are you and I are both alive today because of his tireless work.

Picture Window

 

“During this unprecedented year, when virtually every person in the world has suffered the effects of a global pandemic, there is nothing more important we can do this Christmas than to rivet our focus on the Savior and on the gift of what His life really means to each of us. Our loving Heavenly Father so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. The Son of God then promised us that whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. What unspeakable, incomparable gifts from the Father and the Son! I thank God for the gift of His Beloved Son. And I thank our Lord Jesus Christ for His incomparable sacrifice and mission. At His first coming, Jesus came almost in secret. But at His Second Coming, the Lord’s glory shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.” – President Russell M. Nelson

Nine Pinwheels

 

We met on a Sunday in May; it was either the 14th or the 21st. I’d just come home from college for the summer, and my mom introduced us at church. In the space of about two weeks, we went roller skating, to a rock concert, and a birthday picnic in the park. Then he left for summer semester at BYU, and I thought I’d seen the last of John. But he called a couple of times from the road, and sent letters – sometimes three or four a week. We were engaged on October 7 and married 82 days later. Monday will be our 42nd wedding anniversary, but we're celebrating a few days later. We've rented a theater for a social-distanced, mask-wearing family screening of Wonder Woman 1984. Because we’re really hoping to be able to celebrate our 43rd anniversary together next year. 

Echoes

 

"Christmas is a necessity. There has to be at least one day of the year to remind us that we’re here for something else besides ourselves." ― Eric Sevareid

"Christmas is a time when everybody wants his past forgotten and his present remembered." – Phyllis Diller

“One can never have enough socks. Another Christmas has come and gone and I didn’t get a single pair. People will insist on giving me books.” – Albus Dumbledore

"Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmastime." – Laura Ingalls Wilder

"Unless we make Christmas an occasion to share our blessings, all the snow in Alaska won't make it 'white'." – Bing Crosby

"My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others. Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that?" – Bob Hope

Christmas Memories

 

When Robert Kirby was a boy, he began to question the existence of Santa Claus. Asking his parents brought less than satisfying results, so he decided to launch his own investigation: “Christmas Eve 1963 I put a sheet of cardboard on the darkened stairs leading into the house. Since we had no chimney, I reasoned Santa would have to step on the cardboard when he came into the house. He would leave evidence in the form of boot prints. Our parents crammed us in bed at 9 p.m. and turned out the lights. I was just dozing off when the silence of the house was shattered. Someone had stepped on the cardboard in the darkness, surfing it to the bottom of the stairs and into a pile of shovels and lawn chairs. Proof! Santa was not only real, but he also was clumsy and cursed like a sailor. I told all my friends. Nobody believed me.”

Four Crystal Stars

 

Tomorrow night, Heather will take the last of two dozen Lindor truffles out of its drawer in her cardboard advent calendar. She’ll open one of the presents under the tree – a pair of pajamas that she’ll wear while waiting for Santa to come. Before that, we’ll share a dinner of fettucine alfredo or penne pesto while we watch White Christmas. We’ll walk the dogs, because finding an accident on the carpet isn’t how I like to spend Christmas morning. But at precisely 6:00 tomorrow evening, the three of us will step outside and ring bells: cowbells, handbells, jingle bells, triangles, and a one-room schoolhouse bell that could wake the dead. You’re all invited to join us at 6:00 p.m. wherever you happen to be. If you don’t have any bells, you can always clang a couple of pots together, or sing a Christmas carol. Because now more than ever, we all need a little something to lift our spirits.

Eighteen Flying Geese

 

Mother Christmas

 

"Where art thou, Mother Christmas?

I only wish I knew

Why Father should get all the praise

And no one mentions you.

 

I'll bet you buy the presents

And wrap them large and small

While all the time that rotten swine

Pretends he's done it all.

 

So, Hail to Mother Christmas

Who shoulders all the work!

And down with Father Christmas,

That unmitigated jerk!"

-          Roald Dahl 1988

Chevrons

 

"Let us make Christmas real. It isn’t just tinsel and ribbon, unless we have made it so in our lives. Christmas is the spirit of giving without a thought of getting. It is happiness because we see joy in people. It is forgetting self and finding time for others. It is discarding the meaningless and stressing the true values. It is peace because we have found peace in the Savior’s teachings. It is the time we realize most deeply that the more love is expended, the more there is of it for others." - President Thomas S. Monson, from "Christmas is Love"

Four Pinwheels

 

Yuzu is a citrus fruit native to East Asia. It’s a rare find in the western world; I’ve seen it for sale in England (at an outrageous price) but not in the US. It’s illegal to import fresh yuzu, though I’m told it’s cultivated domestically. (You can probably find it in California. Everything grows in California.) I’ve never eaten yuzu, but I once tasted an overpriced bonbon with a yuzu-flavored center. It had very lemony-limey-grapefruity vibes. Yuzu has an important place in the winter solstice celebrations in Toji, Japan. This weekend, Japanese will toss yuzu into their bath water to refresh body and soul, to ward off illness, and to soothe dry skin. Some alert zookeeper in Japan once noticed capybaras (huge rodents imported from South America) also like a hot yuzu bath. So, the caged creatures in Japan will enjoy a citrusy soak this weekend as well. I’ll have to be satisfied with a lemon bath bomb.

Ripples

 

If you find yourself in need of a good insult, you need look no further than The Complete Works of Shakespeare. The Bard had a barb for every occasion. In Much Ado About Nothing, you’d find: “You have such a February face, So full of frost, of storm, and cloudiness.” Shakespeare didn’t like February any more than I do. In Henry V is this gem: “Thine face is not worth sunburning.” Maybe this appeals to me because mine seems to be worth the trouble. When a servant comes to tell Macbeth the English army is coming, he fumes, “The devil damn thee black, thou cream-faced loon! Where got’st thou that goose look?” which is a colorful way of calling someone a coward. In Comedy of Errors, Menenius complains about Martius: “The tartness of his face sours ripe grapes.” But my favorite is from A Midsummer Night’s Dream: “I am sick when I do look on thee.”

Christmas Crackers

 

My annual tradition of avoiding hustle and bustle the last week before Christmas seems a little superfluous this year. I haven’t been – and won’t be – hosting any Christmas dinners or caroling parties. I’m not attending any, either. I'm in no Christmas plays or concerts, and I'm not seeing any. I’ve only agreed to play in two worship services the Sunday before Christmas. If you know me well, you’ll probably find that a bit shocking. I know I do. I wrote a family Christmas letter, but only mailed it to the few people who still send me mail. My income this year was a fraction of what I’m used to, and my gift list reflects this. But all my presents are wrapped and under the tree. The presence of family and friends – even when we can’t be together – is more important than gifts will ever be. The first Christmas was a very simple affair. It’s okay if ours is, too.

Hunter's Star

 

Mary Elizabeth Hale Woolsey was born in 1899 in Spanish Fork, Utah; one of nine children. She graduated from Brigham Young High School in Provo in 1917. Just days after graduation, Mary married Parley Woolsey. They settled in Salt Lake City, where they raised four daughters before Parley divorced her and married someone else. Mary wrote songs, but often had a hard time getting them published. “I Have a Garden” was included in “Sing with Me,’ 1969 (where her name is spelled “Maryhale Woolsey”) but is missing from “Children’s Songbook,” 1989. Mary’s most popular work, “When It’s Springtime in the Rockies,” was rejected by 14 publishers. When it was finally put in print, Mary’s name was mysteriously missing. Mary lived to the age of 70; long enough to see her most notable lyrics attributed to Gene Autry, and even to hear Donald Duck sing them (if you can call what Donald does singing) in Mickey’s Trailer in 1938. 

Eight Flying Geese

I’ve shared several recipes here over the years: recipes to feed a crowd, to use up leftovers or garden produce, to fit a particular diet, or to put food on the table on a busy day. The recipes are a reflection of whatever my focus is at the moment. Currently, I seem to be into meals that don’t require many ingredients. I get pretty excited about dishes that use ingredients I already own. Sunday, we had beef enchiladas for dinner. I browned and drained a pound of ground beef, then stirred in half a ten-ounce can of enchilada sauce. I poured the other half can into a 9x13” pan, rolled up the beef in six whole wheat tortillas and put them in the pan, too. I poured a second can over the top, sprinkled it with two cups of shredded cheddar, then baked it at 375F for 20 minutes. Just four ingredients, very little work, and my little crowd was pleased. Success!

 

Twenty-five Crackers

 

“Have you ever noticed that people can usually find whatever they are looking for? Look hard enough, and you can discover both good and bad in almost anyone and anything. People have done the same with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since its beginning. Those who look for the good will find a kind and compassionate people—a people who love the Lord and desire to serve Him and bless the lives of their fellowman. But it is also true that those who look for the bad will certainly find things that are not so ideal. We have a choice. We can seek for the bad in others. Or we can make peace and work to extend to others the understanding, fairness, and forgiveness we so desperately desire for ourselves. It is our choice; for whatever we seek, that we will certainly find.” – Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Five-inch Pinwheel Block

 I had an electric kettle when we lived in England, and loved it. Electric kettles are ubiquitous there, but a bit harder to find here in the US. Matt gave me an American model a few years ago, and I’ve used it nearly every day since then. The instructions warned not to let water sit in the kettle between use, but I’ve ignored that. The other day I noticed hard water deposits were beginning to build up inside the kettle, so I filled it with equal parts of water and white vinegar and turned it on. I let it sit about twenty minutes after boiling, then rinsed the kettle out. I washed and reinserted the little filter near the spout, and the kettle was as good as new. If you own an electric kettle, I recommend descaling every few months. The kettle will last longer and operate more efficiently. And I suspect your tea will taste better.

Greek Chain

 

Tips for Seniors:

Talk to yourself. Sometimes you need expert advice.

“In Style” are the clothes that still fit.

You don’t need anger management. You need people to stop making you mad.

Your people skills are fine. It’s your tolerance for idiots that needs work.

The biggest lie you tell yourself is, “I don’t need to write that down. I’ll remember it.”

“On time” is when you get there.

Even duct tape can’t fix stupid – but it does muffle the sound.

It would be great if we hop in the dryer for ten minutes, then come out wrinkle-free and three sizes smaller?

Have you noticed how much older people your age are?

Growing old should have taken longer.

Aging has slowed you down, but it hasn’t shut you up.

If you haven’t learned to act your age yet, you don’t have to.

“One more for the road” means going to the bathroom before you leave the house. – Audrey Miller

Sixteen Crackers

 

I bought these prints (or most of them) in a kit called Cracker Crumbs. It’s part of the eighth installment of Kim Diehl’s “Simple Whatnots” series. It was meant to become a 20” finished quilt with every color of the rainbow. I’ve been known to change a pattern when something about it bothers me. But I almost never object to the name, until now. Cracker is a traditional quilt block, but it has nothing to do with those crisp biscuits you eat with your soup; the crackers that leave crumbs. Instead, it takes its name from the party favor that pulls apart with a bang, spilling confetti, a paper hat and other treats. When this quilt is finished, I’ll call it Christmas Cracker, in honor of the tradition I hope my family can observe together next year. I’ll use all the reds, creams and greens that came with the kit, and save the oranges, golds and browns for another day.  

Envelope Block

 

Chicken Tikka Masala

3-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled

4 cloves garlic

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon red chili powder

1/2 teaspoon garam masala

1 teaspoon tomato paste

1 teaspoon vinegar or lemon juice

1 cup plain yogurt, plus more for garnish

1 cup oil

1 pound chicken breast, boneless and cut in small pieces

Mint leaves, for garnish

 

In a blender on high speed add the ginger and garlic: blend until you have a paste. In a large bowl combine the paste with the remaining ingredients. Add chicken and mix until evenly coated. Let marinate in the refrigerator overnight. Grill chicken over medium-high heat until it is fully cooked and tender. You could also bake the chicken in a 350 degrees oven. Spread the chicken and remaining marinade evenly in a baking pan. Cover with foil and bake for 30 to 40 minutes. Serve with mint or yogurt.

Two Flying Geese

 

While you’re browsing the Internet, the Internet is pretty busy browsing you. It notices what you seem to prefer (even if you seem to prefer getting really angry) and gives you more of the same. That’s why I go to great lengths to find stories that are uplifting. If you look for it, you can find happy news from all over the world. And every now and then, you’ll find good news from your own back yard. Utah Department of Transportation recently completed a wildlife overpass in Parley’s Canyon. It’s designed to let deer, porcupines, cougars, etc. cross the road without danger to themselves or motorists. There are even boulders and logs placed at intervals, so smaller mammals can cross without becoming someone’s lunch. Utah State University placed cameras to monitor the bridge and reports a wide variety of wildlife is already making use of the new structure. Good news!

Nine Cracker Blocks

 

“President John Taylor warned us, ‘If you do not magnify your callings, God will hold you responsible for those whom you might have saved had you done your duty.’ And who of us can afford to be responsible for the delay of eternal life of a human soul? If great joy is the reward of saving one soul, then how terrible must be the remorse of those whose timid efforts have allowed a child of God to go unwarned or unaided so that he has to wait till a dependable servant of God comes along. The old adage is ever true: ‘Do your duty, that is best; leave unto the Lord the rest.’ Most service given by priesthood holders is accomplished quietly, without fanfare. A friendly smile, a warm handclasp, a sincere testimony of truth can literally lift lives, change human nature, and save precious souls.” – President Thomas S. Monson

Eccentric Star

 

Every year Heather tries to watch a steady diet of Halloween movies in October and Christmas movies in December. She usually succeeds, even though it means screening a few duds like Spooky Buddies and Call Me Claus. She’d like to do the same with November, but there just aren’t enough Thanksgiving movies out there to fill a month. Off the top of her head, she can only think of A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and Free Birds. I’m going to pretend I’m eleven months ahead of the game (and not a month too late). Here’s my list for next year: Miracle on 34th Street (1947 and 1994), Tower Heist, You’ve Got Mail, Sweet November, Paul Blart: Mall Cop, Chicken Run, Home for the Holidays, Addams Family Values, Hannah and Her Sisters, and Grumpy Old Men. It’s only two weeks’ worth, and there are a few Heather won’t like. But if I’ve gotta watch Spooky Buddies and Call Me Claus, she owes me.

Crystal Star

When the Bank of England put Jane Austen’s picture on a £10 note, it was accompanied by a quote from Pride and Prejudice: "I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading!" It’s a lovely sentiment, but I suspect whoever selected it never read the novel. This particular line was spoken by the antagonist Caroline Bingley, and she meant exactly the opposite. She went on to say, “How much sooner one tires of anything than of a book!” and “When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library.” And it is very clear to even the densest reader that she's lying through her teeth. If the Bank of England wanted a more appropriate Austen quote, they should have asked her many fans. I’d have chosen one from Sense and Sensibility: “It isn’t what we say or think that defines us, but what we do.”

Four Cracker Blocks

I miss Moda Frivol quilt kits. They were a dozen tins, each containing 42 7” cotton squares and a pattern to turn those squares into a small quilt. I collected and pieced all twelve in 2015-2016. I gave Kindred and Vintage to my mother as quilt tops, and she finished them both. Heart went to my hairdresser. She’s also a quilter and appreciates the work that went into it. Bread ‘n Butter hangs in Heather’s bedroom, and Heritage is always on the dining room table. The rest take turns adorning the wall above the piano. I’ve often wished Moda Fabrics would revisit the idea, or that I could find another Frivol kit on eBay or some far-flung online quilt shop to buy and make again. Alas, they sold out years ago. Still, I’ve kept my twelve tins and their original patterns. Maybe I should use the patterns to remake these twelve quilts with prints from my own stash.

The House Next Door

 

If you’ve lived in upstate New York, you know to avoid the woods during deer season. Novice “city folk” hunters will shoot at anything. Farmers paint “cow” on their livestock in day-glow orange, and they still get shot. Gary and Debbie Morgan of Troy left their 16-month-old white golden retriever Meadow with a friend near Delhi a few days before the deer hunt started. The last thing they wanted to hear was that she’d gone missing. They offered a $500 reward, and several volunteers braved the bullets to help search. But Meadow was still missing ten days later. That’s when Brian James - hiking guide and drone pilot - joined the hunt. He surmised a white pooch would be more visible before snowfall, and she’d be easier to spot from the air. He was right on both counts. Meadow wouldn’t follow him out of the woods, so Brian had to carry her back. But neither of them got shot.

Broken Dishes

 

An old man calls his son and says, "Listen, your mother and I are getting divorced. Forty-five years of misery is enough." "Dad, what are you talking about?" the son screams. “We can't stand the sight of each other any longer,” the dad says. "I'm sick of her face, and I'm sick of talking about this, so call your sister and tell her," and he hangs up. Now, the son is worried. He calls his sister. She says, "Like heck they’re getting divorced!" She calls their father immediately. "You’re not getting divorced! Don't do another thing. The two of us are flying home tomorrow to talk about this. Until then, don't call a lawyer, don't file a paper. DO YOU HEAR ME?” She hangs up the phone. The old man turns to his wife and says, "It worked. They’re both coming home for Christmas and they’re paying for their own airfare.”