Holiday Lane Table Runner

 

My new neighbor has a cottonwood tree in his back garden. It’s not entirely his fault. It was there before he moved in. But the last two residents ignored their yard; this one is watering like mad. All that extra water has made his trees – especially the drought-tolerant cottonwood – grow like weeds. For the past two weeks, the tree has been “snowing” in my back garden. Two small dogs and every stray breeze keep carrying it into the house. I’ve been dusting and vacuuming, but I just can’t keep up. The bad news is this cottonwood fluff is extremely flammable. It’s sort of like Mother Nature is dousing us with kerosene just in time for fireworks season. The good news is the trees really only dump fluff for about two weeks, so we should be nearly done for this year. And cottonwood only lives about fifty years. So, we’ll only have to go through this forty-four more times!

Hope of Hartford

 

The first king-size quilt I made was a sampler called “Sea to Shining Sea.” It has seven rows and seven columns of 12” blocks, one for almost every state in the union. It’s been in use nearly the whole time since I finished it in 2007. A well-cared for quilt can last generations, but a quilt on a bed where people sleep and recuperate from illness, and where pets and grandchildren play doesn’t fare so well. I’ve thought for a while I may need to retire it. I found a likely candidate for replacement among the block-of-the-month kits at Stitchin’ Heaven in Quitman, Texas. It’s a sampler, but also a medallion quilt designed by Pam Buda of Heartspun Quilts called “Forevermore.” I didn’t realize until the first package arrived that most of the blocks would be an eye-straining 3” finished. It’ll be more of a challenge than I’d bargained for, but I’m looking forward to the journey.

One Dozen Houses

 

“Our eternal perspective not only enlarges our understanding of those who are continuing their journey beyond mortality but our understanding of those who are earlier in their journey and just now entering mortality. Each person who comes to earth is a unique son or daughter of God. Our personal journey did not begin at birth. Before we were born, we were together in a world of preparation where we received our first lessons in the world of spirits. Jehovah told Jeremiah, “Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee.” For us, there is no question that spirit daughters and sons of God are on their own personal journeys coming to earth to receive a body and experience mortality.” – Elder Neil L. Andersen

Three-Inch Sawtooth Star

 Today is National Forgiveness Day. Typically, we see forgiveness as something that applies to only someone else; someone who has wronged or hurt us in some way. But when you really think about it, you’ll probably agree the person who has hurt you the most is yourself. Forgiving others is vital to a balanced and happy life. So is asking for forgiveness when you realize you’ve wronged someone else. But I think it’s just as important to let go of feelings of resentment and regret over things you’ve done that you shouldn’t have (or didn’t do that you should have) that hurt yourself. Today’s a good day to look at the mess you’ve made and remind yourself that you’ve grown since you made it – whether it was a decade ago, a year ago or yesterday. Do your best to clean up the mess, and move on.

Six Trees

 

I know we’re in the middle of a drought, but I won’t apologize for watering my postage-stamp lawn. I picnic and play with my dogs and my grandchildren on the grass in my backyard, and even total strangers cross the front lawn to use my tree swing. (I never dreamed my swing was this popular. Aren’t doorbell cameras wonderful?) Beyond that, having grass to the east and west helps keep reflected sun’s rays from overheating my house. I’ve heard some communities are paying people to rip out their lawns. It sounds tempting until you consider replacing grass with gravel, wood chips or bare dirt can nearly double your cooling bill. Cultivating trees, shrubbery, flower and vegetable gardens, swimming pools, fountains and even lawns doesn’t “waste” water. Instead, it increases the ambient humidity, which increases the likelihood that it will rain.  

Three-Inch Crossed X

 

Chicora is a tiny borough in Butler County, Pennsylvania. Its claim to fame is that on this day in 1938, a meteorite fell. Witnesses spoke of an enormous fireball trailing black smoke. When it exploded, the blast shattered windows for miles. At first, people were afraid it was an accident at the powder magazine in West Winfield, twelve miles away. The force was compared to the Halifax explosion in 1917. As Chicora was a rural community, casualties were low. Some contemporary newspapers reported a cow was struck and hurt, and others say the cow was killed. The general consensus was if the event had happened in nearby Pittsburgh, there would have been few survivors. The meteorite is estimated at 450 tons, but only a few small pieces (a total of about 10 ounces) were ever found. These have become part of the collections at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh and The Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. 

Nine Houses

 

Dormice look like regular mice, except their eyes are a bit larger and their tails are furrier. Their name comes from a French word meaning “sleepy.” Most people are only familiar with the species because of the drowsy character from Alice in Wonderland. Hazel dormice are native to the British Isles, and in Lewis Carrol’s day they were a common sight. Their home is the shrub layer of the woodland. In many places, this habitat has either been stripped out, or trees have been allowed to overgrow so the underbrush dies out. Once widespread, the tiny mammals have disappeared from 17 English counties. An effort is underway to rectify the situation. Through a collaboration between wildlife charity groups, the University of Cumbria and several English zoos, a thousand captive-bred dormice have recently been released in carefully selected locations. They’ve even been provided with special handmade wooden nesting boxes, courtesy of prisoners incarcerated in Doncaster and Humber.

Three-Inch Anvil

 

Autumn in 1982 was chilly and damp in these parts; winter was the same. The heavy snowpack was slow to melt next spring, until sudden warm temperatures brought all that melted snow down at once. The result was massive flooding. City Creek, which ran mostly under Salt Lake City, broke free and was channeled down State Street. Bishops called off church meetings so their congregations could fill sandbags. The Great Salt Lake rose, swallowing highways, railroads and businesses. The state spent $60 million building huge pumps to spew the excess water out to the west desert. By the time the pumps were operational, the lake had already begun to recede. They only ran between the spring of 1987 and the summer of 1989. In the more than three decades since then, those big pumps have sat high and dry, rusting away. It’s something to think about the next time you feel doing ANYTHING must be better than doing nothing.

Four Trees

 

“An essential part of loving our enemies is to render unto Caesar by keeping the laws of our various countries. Though Jesus’s teachings were revolutionary, He did not teach revolution or lawbreaking. He taught a better way. And our article of faith, written by the Prophet Joseph Smith after the early Saints had suffered severe persecution from Missouri officials, declares, ‘We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law’ This does not mean that we agree with all that is done with the force of law. It means that we obey the current law and use peaceful means to change it. It also means that we peacefully accept the results of elections. We will not participate in the violence threatened by those disappointed with the outcome. In a democratic society we always have the opportunity and the duty to persist peacefully until the next election.” – President Dallin H. Oaks

Summer Picnic

 

The Navy Seals call it “Hell Week.” It’s six days of cold, wet, brutally difficult training on fewer than four hours of sleep per night. At the end of it, you’re either very committed to staying the course, or very committed to running in the opposite direction. Stage productions have a “Hell Week,” too. It’s the last few days of dress and tech rehearsals and the first few days of performances with live audiences. Tonight’s the end of Hell Week for “The Little Mermaid” at Murray amphitheater. While I can definitely relate to the Navy Seals’ sleep deprivation, the cold and wet part of their training sounds like a dream. We’ve had temperatures in and around the 100’s every day this week. It’s not so bad in the orchestra pit, and the audience is mostly wearing shorts. But I pity the poor actors dancing about in mermaid tails. And Ursula! I wouldn’t wear Ursula's rig for all the tea in China.

Four Houses

 

If you leave Murray Park by the north gate, you can’t help but notice the low red brick building across Vine Street. The windows and doors are boarded up, but the white letters spelling SUPERETTE are as plain as if they’d just been hung there. This used to be a mom-and-pop shop; a place to grab a sandwich, to snag a pocketful of penny candy, or to stock up on picnic supplies. The mom and pop in this case were Bill and Shirley Crocker, who bought the five-year-old building in 1958. Bill and Shirley ran the Superette and raised their two sons and two daughters in the attached home behind it. While Bill served as superintendent of Murray parks and recreation, Shirley managed the little store on her own. After they closed the Superette in 1983, it became a garage where Bill restored classic cars. Bill Crocker passed away October 9, 2016, a month before his 87th birthday.

Annie's Choice

 

Bethany Mandel of the Deseret News recently wrote “The New York Times published a piece on curating friendships in a post-pandemic world. One particular section was redacted several days later. The paragraph read: ‘Depressed friends make it more likely you’ll be depressed, obese friends make it more likely you’ll be obese, and friends that smoke and drink make it more likely you’ll do the same. The reverse is also true: You’ll be more studious, kind, and enterprising if you consort with studious, kind and enterprising people.’ These statements, although blunt and perhaps callous, are backed up by research.” I feel the paragraph in question may have been removed out of fear that it would cause people to abandon friends in crisis. But I wonder if knowing this truth shouldn’t inspire us to BE better friends; to radiate positivity, industry and kindness, not only because it improves our own outlook, but also because it can benefit everyone around us.

Little Tree

 

Last month, when Avery Sanford turned 18, her estranged father decided to make her last child support payment in person. In pennies. He showed up unannounced, towing a rented landscaper’s trailer full of coins, which he dumped on his ex-wife’s lawn. He’d clearly gone to a lot of trouble to hurt, embarrass and inconvenience Avery, her mom, and her sister. After they’d cleaned up the mess, they donated all 80,000 pennies to a domestic abuse refuge called Safe Harbor. It was such a lovely gesture. But if any other ex-husbands are thinking of emulating Avery’s dad, they should know this: coins are legal tender, but no one is forced to accept them. Pennies cost more to mint than they’re worth. The only reason we still make them is because of sales tax. If businesses would include sales tax in their prices, rounded up to avoid orphan cents, we could do away with pennies altogether.

I Heart Quilting

 

Four reasons why I love to quilt:

Most of what I do – cooking, cleaning, dishes, laundry, etc. – goes completely unnoticed and is undone almost before I’ve finished. It’s such a joy to make beautiful, useful things that people appreciate, and that may even outlive me.

I like that this hobby supports small, local shops instead of huge, faceless corporations. Even the online stores I patronize are tiny, skin-of-your-teeth operations. And nearly all of them are run by women.

Quilting connects me to other artists and artisans, even the ones who died before I was born. Seeing the work of quilters generations before mine has made their lives more real to me than reading their histories ever could.

Quilters are some of the nicest people you’ll ever meet. They’re creative, supportive, and generous. Even when they’re working in direct competition, they’ll bend over backwards to teach you what they’ve learned and to offer their help.

Little House

 

"The Lord uses the weather sometimes to discipline his people for the violation of his laws. He said to the children of Israel: 'If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them; Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit' (Leviticus 26:3-4) Perhaps the day has come when we should take stock of ourselves and see if we are worthy to ask or if we have been breaking the commandments, making ourselves unworthy of receiving the blessings. The Lord gave strict commandments: 'Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord' (Leviticus 19:30.)." – President Spencer W. Kimball

July Stars Table Runner

 

Kay Andrews passed away in Logan, Utah December, 2019 at the age of 97. I never knew her, but people started sending me photos of her headstone shortly after her death. In addition to the names and dates most people leave as an epitaph, on Kay’s stone is a recipe for her fudge. At first, I wondered if some relative had asked for it and Kay had answered, “Over my dead body!” But it was actually Kay’s idea to share her recipe with everyone.

 

Kay’s Famous Fudge

 

2 squares baking chocolate

2 tablespoons butter

Melt on low heat; stir in:

1 cup milk

Bring to boil; add:

3 cups sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Pinch salt

Cook to soft ball stage. Pour onto marble slab. Beat while cooling. Eat!

Kelli's Star

 

Eric Carle would have celebrated his 92nd birthday two weeks from today, but he passed away two weeks ago. He was born in Syracuse, New York. When he was six, his German mother, homesick for das Vaterland, moved the family to Stuttgart. It was an unfortunate time to live in Germany, but it may also have been a hard time to be German in New York. Eric was drafted into the German army in 1939 (My math must be wrong. Was he ten?) and taken prisoner by Soviet forces in 1947. When he finally came home, he weighed 85 pounds. Bill Martin Jr. saw Eric’s art and asked him to collaborate on a picture book. Their Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? became a best seller. The Very Hungry Caterpillar, published two years later, was voted second best loved children’s book, after Where the Wild Things Are. What I love about his books is they can be “read” by pre-readers.

Half a Dozen Chains

 

I use my big red Betty Crocker cookbook for nearly everything, with a few notable exceptions. I’ve written “never again” on the meatloaf page and on the page with strawberry-rhubarb pie. The meatloaf ends up tasteless, grey and rubbery. The pie is even worse. If you’d like a better one, try this:

 

Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie

 

3 1/2 cups rhubarb, cut into 1/2" pieces

2 cups strawberries, halved

3/4 cup sugar

4 tablespoons minute tapioca

Zest of 1 lemon or orange

Double pie crust

1 egg, beaten

 

Preheat oven to 400F. Thoroughly combine first five ingredients; let rest at least 10 minutes. Roll out bottom crust and line pie plate. Trim to 1/2" from edge. Spoon filling into bottom crust; spread evenly. Roll top crust and cover filling. Crimp edge to seal and cut slits in top to release steam. Brush with egg. Bake 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 350F. Continue baking 40-50 minutes longer, until crust is nicely browned. 

Four Squared

 

Back in February, the poster for the Riley Blake Designs Block Challenge promised sixteen block patterns, each designed by a different artist. They’ve saved my two favorites, Lori Holt and Christopher Thompson, for the very end. I share Christopher’s passion for all things blue and white, and I’ve been a fan of Lori’s work for many years. The poster also said the final quilt design would be a surprise. I look at the finished blocks and the leftover fabric, and still can’t begin to imagine how it will come together. I’ve inserted a few blocks of my own design, partly to entertain myself, and partly to give myself more options. I may substitute one or two if an original block seems out of place. I might use them to make a larger finished quilt. Or I could save them for a sampler of my own. Either way, I’m enjoying the process. And I enjoy my own blocks most of all.

Four Chain Blocks

 

Adam Gillian, a homeless man, was going through trash bins in Edmonton when he found it; a picture of a cartoon deer in a broken frame. He thought he might get a few bucks for it, so he took it to Alexander Archbold at Curiosity Inc. The antiques dealer though it was an 80’s replica worth about $80. He gave Adam $20. But while cleaning it, he discovered a certificate of authenticity from 1937. It was an original animation cel – a hand-drawn image on a celluloid sheet – from Disney’s Bambi. The piece sold on eBay for $3,700. “I knew it wasn’t right to take it all,” he said. He decided to split the profits with Adam. But how do you find a man with no address? It took some doing, but Alexander did manage to give Adam his share. “I was homeless when I was in grade seven,” Alexander said. “I helped pay my parents’ bills selling antiques on the side.”

Another Butterfly

 

“We don’t know the details of family connections in the spirit world or what may come after we are resurrected. But we do know that the prophet Elijah came as promised to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the children to the fathers. And we know that our eternal happiness depends on our doing our best to offer the same lasting happiness to as many of our kindred as we can. I feel the same desire to succeed in inviting living family members to desire to become worthy to receive and to honor the sealing ordinances of the temple. That is part of the promised gathering of Israel in the last days on both sides of the veil.” – President Henry B. Eyring

Chain Block

 The first thing most people notice about you is your smile. Just like fingerprints, your teeth are uniquely your own. Because we’re more likely to visit a dentist than to be fingerprinted (and because teeth don’t decompose as fast as skin), dental records are often used to confirm identity. Teeth are a bit like icebergs: at least two-thirds of them are under your gums. That’s why it’s important to keep your teeth and gums healthy and clean. Teeth are useful for more than just chewing. They help you speak clearly and they give shape to your face. Unhealthy teeth and gums can negatively impact your overall health. 90% of systemic diseases, like diabetes and heart disease, are connected to oral health. Unless you’re missing a few, you have eight incisors, four canines, eight premolars and twelve molars. That’s thirty-two teeth! Most jaws stop growing around age 18, but wisdom teeth tend to erupt a year or two after that.

Dizzy Pinwheel

 

During their 1804-1806 expedition, Lewis and Clark encountered an animal that reminded them in some ways of a goat and in others of an antelope. But pronghorns aren’t related to either of these animals. Their closest living relatives are giraffes. Pronghorns first appeared here 30,000 years ago, when other large herbivores included mastodons and giant sloths. They’ve survived this long in part because nothing can catch them. Pronghorns are the second fastest land mammal, clocked at 61 mph. The world’s fastest, African cheetahs, can reach speeds of up to 80 mph. But unlike pronghorns, cheetahs can’t maintain their top speed for more than thirty seconds. We met several wild pronghorns while riding ATVs near Bryce Canyon earlier this week. One of the babies – only a few days old – decided to chase us through a field, just for the fun of it. It was a joy to witness his obvious pleasure and boundless energy.

Six Allison Stars

 I wrote in this space about Panguitch, Utah and “The Miracle of the Quilts” almost a decade ago (https://mombowe.blogspot.com/2011/12/indian-mats.html). I mentioned their Quilt Walk Festival, and said I was looking forward to attending. I still am. I had hoped to go last year, but of course 2020 was the year that nothing happened. It will happen this year, about a week later than it would have been convenient for me. There will be quilting retreat classes, a silent auction, a quilter’s trunk show, a fair with vendors, a Lion’s Club pancake breakfast, a guided tour of local pioneer homes, and a Dutch oven dinner show. There’s even a tractor pull, an antique transportation parade, and something called “quilt races.” I’m not sure what that last event is all about, but I’m dying to find out. Maybe this is a good time to make plans for the second week in June, 2022.

Bryce Canyon

 Ebenezer Bryce was born in Dunblane, Scotland in 1830. He trained to become a ship’s carpenter. At seventeen, he met missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was the only member of his family to join the church. Ebenezer married Mary Park in Salt Lake in 1854. They were sent to Pine Valley in southern Utah, where he designed and built the oldest LDS chapel in continuous use today. He ran a sawmill that provided lumber for the St. George temple. The Bryce family then moved to Paria Valley, where they built a ranch, a lumber road and an irrigation canal. Newcomers to the area called it “Bryce’s Canyon,” but it isn’t a canyon at all. It’s actually a collection of natural amphitheaters. Bryce himself called it “a helluva place to lose a cow.” It was designated “Bryce Canyon National Monument” in 1923, “Utah National Park” in 1924, and “Bryce Canyon National Park” in 1928.

Capitol Reef

 

Torrey, Utah is made up of about fifty families, many of whom are direct descendants of the Scandinavian and British Isle pioneers who settled in this area in the 1880s. This place was originally named Youngtown, after LDS apostle John Willard Young. For some reason the name was rejected when the town applied for a post office, and it became Torrey instead. No one really knows where this name came from, but prevailing opinion leans toward Jay L. Torrey. Torrey served in the Wyoming legislature when it created three volunteer cowboy cavalry regiments. Torrey became colonel of the second regiment, the “Rocky Mountain Riders.” Don’t feel bad if you’ve never heard of them. They never actually saw any action. The only regiment that did was the first, the “Rough Riders.” Torrey still has its original one-room, log-built school/meeting house, built in 1898. Their 1914 brick schoolhouse is also still standing. Today it serves as a posh bed and breakfast.