Star Flowers

 

You don’t have to pay close attention to notice I generally have half a dozen projects going at once. In addition to the tops I’m actively working on at any given moment, there are also many more sitting “on the back burner.” I start with the intention of seeing it through without major interruptions, but then life happens. I run out of a particular print and can’t find a substitute. My pattern is less well-written than I’d thought, and everything goes on hold until I find a solution. Or (this happens way more often than you’d think) the prints I found so charming at the store are suddenly irritating. Often, just setting a quilt aside a few weeks (or months, or years) sorts everything out. I started this in 2017. I liked the flower blocks, but wasn’t sure I could do the curved border justice. Five years later, I realize I don’t WANT a curved border. Problem solved.

Four Cherry Trees

 

Our house is less than a six-hour drive from Las Vegas, and we have visited "Sin City" many times. But until this year, we never knew the famous Las Vegas Boulevard – The Strip – isn’t actually inside the city limits of Las Vegas. On average, more than 41 million people visit Las Vegas every year. That number was reduced by more than half in 2020. The hotels, casinos, restaurants, shows and resorts are still gradually working their way back to pre-pandemic levels. The first thing you see as you enter the Las Vegas valley from the north is The Stratosphere. At 1,149 feet, this observation tower/entertainment complex is the tallest free-standing structure west of the Mississippi. When gambling was made legal here in 1931, the rest of the country was outraged and threatened to revoke Nevada’s statehood. (That never happened.) Today, there are forms of legalized gambling in forty-eight of the fifty states.

Lynx

 

Honey never spoils. It’s low in water and high in sugar, so bacteria can’t grow. Honey can go cloudy or become crystalized when stored, but warming restores it. I recently inherited some lovely buckwheat honey. I’ll use some of it for this:

 

Slow Cooker Salsa Verde Pork

 

4-5 pounds pork tenderloin

1 cup salsa verde

1/3 cup lime juice

1/4 cup honey

1 tablespoon oil

1 tablespoon EACH chili, garlic, and onion powders

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon EACH dried oregano, smoked paprika, cumin

1/2 teaspoon chipotle chile powder

 

Dump salsa, honey and lime in slow cooker. Rinse pork and pat dry. Mix seasonings together and rub pork. Sear pork in oil on all sides until lightly browned. Transfer to slow cooker and spoon salsa verde sauce over pork. Cook on low 8 hours. Shred pork and add back to slow cooker. Continue cooking about half an hour. Makes great tacos, burritos, or fajitas.

Cherry Tree

 

Hoover Dam was dedicated by FDR in 1935. (Roosevelt, a democrat, called it Boulder Dam, though congressional bills during construction named it for our 31st president, a republican.) Since then, the Hoover Dam has appeared in dozens of books, movies and TV shows. In Rick Riordan’s novel The Titan's Curse, demigods meet a future oracle of Delphi and battle an army of the undead at the dam. It’s destroyed by earthquakes in Superman (1978) and San Andreas (2015). In Fools Rush In (1997) Matthew Perry and Salma Hayek become engaged, and later become parents and divorcees atop the same dam. In the first Transformers movie (2007), Hoover Dam is the site of a government conspiracy involving Megatron and the All Spark. The 2008 History Channel series Life After People suggests Hoover Dam will probably still be running and supplying Vegas with power a year after we’re gone – until an infestation of quagga mussels inevitably takes it down.

Double Cross

 

In 2013, art historian Dario Del Buffalo was signing copies of his newest book in a New York store. He overheard a young man say, “What a beautiful book! Oh, Helen, look! That’s your mosaic!” Dario chased after the couple, who confirmed the mosaic pictured in his book was a table top in Helen’s home. The mosaic in question had begun life the year 40CE as part of a dance floor on one of Emperor Caligula’s pleasure barges. After spending millennia underwater, the mosaic was rediscovered in 1920 when Mussolini drained Lake Nemi. It was housed in a museum along with other remains of the barges, and was thought to be destroyed in a fire during WWII. Instead, it had been spirited away by the Nazis, along with so many other works of art. An Italian official with a reputation of finding Nazi-pilfered art sold the mosaic to Helen, who then used it as a coffee table 40 years.

Jacob's Ladder

 

“We know Heavenly Father has a personal plan of happiness for each of us. Because God sent His Beloved Son for us, the miracles we need will fall on the very day necessary for His plan to be fulfilled. I testify this year we can learn more about God’s plan for us in the Old Testament. That sacred volume teaches the role of prophets in uncertain times and of God’s hand in a world that was confused and often contentious. It’s also about humble believers who faithfully looked forward to the coming of our Savior, just as we look forward to and prepare for His Second Coming—His long-prophesied, glorious return. Until that day, we may not see the design of God for all aspects of our lives. But we can remember Nephi’s response when faced with something he didn’t understand: while he didn’t know the meaning of all things, he knew that God loves His children.” – Elder Michael T. Ringwood

Christmas Tribute

 

Liz Porter's pattern for this quilt – called Hero’s Tribute – comes from QuiltingDaily.com. It calls for scraps in patriotic colors. At 56x72”, it’s an ideal size for a Quilt of Valor donation. I have lots of scraps in red, white and blue. I just wasn’t in the mood to make another patriotic quilt right now. That’s probably perverse of me. It’s been hovering around 100 degrees for weeks, and the neighbors will be setting off fireworks again tonight. All I can think of his how much I wish it was snowing. It just feels like the right time for red and green. The tiny sawtooth stars here are four inches finished. The next size up are eight, and then there are twelve-inch stars. The largest ones are sixteen inches square; the biggest sawtooth stars I’ve ever made. The plan is to donate the finished quilt to Festival of Trees in December, when I’ll probably be wishing for sunshine.

Nine Rolling Stones

 

One thing I love about Pixar movies is their premise that pets and inanimate objects around us are self-aware and interested in US. In Finding Nemo, the aquarium fish debate how Dr. Sherman should handle his next root canal. The Toy Story toys are keenly aware of Andy’s upcoming birthday, and when moving day will happen. They even know when Sid comes back from summer camp. It makes me wonder if the non-human residents at my house take a similar interest in my activities. When I sit at the sewing machine, the cat and both dogs MUST be in the room with me. The cat perches on the windowsill. Lassie curls up on any scrap of fabric I’ve dropped, and Duffy tries to squeeze between my chair and the foot pedal. If they could talk, they might say the prints I’ve chosen don’t go together. But I’m not about to take advice on color choices from dogs.

Single Blossom

 

I’m growing herbs in my kitchen window right now, though I’m thinking of switching to cherry tomatoes once the outdoor garden stops producing. My herbs are a manageable size at the moment, but before long they’ll start trying to take over. When you’re using fresh herbs in a recipe that calls for dried, you need to triple the amount. So, for this recipe, I’d add a tablespoon each of fresh oregano, basil and rosemary, and a teaspoon and a half of fresh thyme.

 

Slow Cooker Balsamic Chicken

 

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1 onion, thinly sliced

4 cloves garlic

1 teaspoon EACH dried oregano, basil and rosemary

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

2 (14.5 ounce) cans crushed tomatoes

 

Place all ingredients in slow cooker in the order listed. Cover and cook on high 4 hours or on low 8 hours. Serve over hot pasta or steamed broccoli, with shredded parmesan. 

Milky Way

 

Louis Burton Lindley Jr., a big, lanky, fifteen-year-old California ranch kid, walked into the rodeo manager's office and said, “Mister, I want to sign up for the calf-roping but my paw says I ain't allowed to. So, I can't use my right name.” The manager said, “Son, no matter what name you use, it'll be slim pickin's (meaning a small chance of prize money) out there today.” Louis said, “That's as good a name as any. Put me down as Slim Pickin's.” The manager spelled it “Pickens.” The boy won four hundred dollars that afternoon. After high school, Slim became a popular rodeo clown. He joined the Army during World War II. When the recruiter asked his profession, he misheard “rodeo” and wrote “radio.” Slim spent his entire recruitment working at a radio station in the Midwest. After that, he moved to Hollywood, where he needed no stunt double. His film career spanned four decades. 

Autumn Leaf

 

Doctor M. Edwards Walker, M.D. was born in Oswego, New York in 1832. After receiving a medical degree in Syracuse Medical College, Dr. Walker served as a surgeon at a temporary hospital in Washington, D.C. at the beginning of the American Civil War. Subsequently, Dr. Walker was hired by Union Forces and assigned to the Army of the Cumberland and later the 52nd Ohio Infantry. Dr. Walker was an abolitionist, a prohibitionist, a suffragist, a prisoner of war, and a recipient of the Medal of Honor, the United States government's highest and most prestigious military decoration. And she was a woman. Doctor Mary Edwards Walker was the first female surgeon in the U.S. Army and the only female Medal of Honor recipient. She grew up in a very progressive home, with parents who encouraged all their children to help with farm work and housework, and to get a good education. 

Twin Star

 

“As sons and daughters of a loving Father in Heaven, we have the power within us to change. The scriptures are full of examples of men and women who changed. Saul, a Pharisee and active persecutor of the early Christian church, became Paul, an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. Alma was a priest in the court of wicked King Noah. He heard the words of Abinadi, fully repented, and became one of the great missionaries of the Book of Mormon. His son Alma spent his youth seeking to destroy the Church. He was among the very vilest of sinners until he had a change of heart and became a powerful missionary in his own right. Moses was adopted into Pharaoh’s family and raised in luxury as an Egyptian prince. But when he came to understand who he really was and learned of his divine destiny, he changed and became the great lawgiving prophet of the Old Testament.” – Elder Kevin S. Hamilton

Monterrey Medallion Quilt

 

Summertime is made for salads, and lately I’ve been craving this one. I used to double this recipe and bring it to pot-luck dinners, but I don’t seem to pot-luck much anymore.

 

Shrimp Macaroni Salad

 

8 ounces elbow macaroni

4 ribs celery finely chopped

1/2 bell pepper, seeded and diced

1/2 small onion, diced

2 cups small cooked salad shrimp

1 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons sour cream

2 teaspoons white vinegar

1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

3/4 teaspoon celery seed

1/4 teaspoon ground mustard

Salt and pepper to taste

 

Cook macaroni according to package instructions. Rinse with cool water; drain. Add celery, pepper, onion, and shrimp and stir to combine. In a separate bowl, whisk together mayo, sour cream, vinegar, sugar, and seasonings. Pour dressing over macaroni mixture and stir well. Cover and refrigerate at least an hour (overnight is even better).

Cat's Cradle

 

I’ve been thinking about how women are portrayed in works of fiction – especially movies. Specifically, I’m thinking about the Bechdel test as a way to measure how we’re represented. Essentially, there are three criteria: One, there must be at least two female characters. (Occasionally, you’ll see the requirement that they have names.) Two, they must talk to each other. Three, they must talk about something other than a man. It seems simple, until you try to find a movie that actually passes the test. The Adam Project doesn’t. Neither do Secrets of Dumbledore, Lightyear, Morbius or Uncharted. It reminds me of something Virginia Woolf once said: “Strange to think the great women of fiction were not only seen BY the other sex, but seen only IN RELATION to the other sex. And how small a part of a woman's life is that?” It’s why so many female characters (if they show up at all) are so lacking in depth.  

Sundial Block

 

We love fresh corn at Independence Day cookouts, but it’s complicated. July 4, local cornstalks are still growing. The ears for sale took days to get here, and were probably picked in June. The best corn was picked TODAY. John surprised me with a dozen ears he’d bought July 2, thinking we could eat them two days later. It was thoughtful, but they were already well past their prime. I froze them, to use in recipes like this:

 

Slow-Cooker Summer Corn Chowder

 

1/4 cup diced bell pepper

1 tablespoon lemon juice

32 ounces frozen corn, divided

1 pound potatoes, diced

2 1/2 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon thyme

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup cream

2 tablespoons butter

 

Place peppers, lemon juice and 1/2 cup corn in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate until dinnertime. Dump remaining ingredients in slow cooker. Cover and cook on low about 8 hours. Garnish with pepper/lemon/corn.

Cutting Corners

 

I’ve been wearing a smart watch six months now, and it’s been a learning experience. It complains when I haven’t slept well, and if I sit still for too long, it tells me to get up and move. It counts my steps and does a happy little dance when I’ve taken 10,000 during the course of the day. The problem is, it doesn’t count my steps if my left wrist isn’t swinging. If I’m pushing a wheelchair, a stroller or a shopping cart, my watch thinks I’m resting. If I’m carrying something (When am I ever NOT carrying something?) or climbing stairs with my hand on the rail, I may as well be standing still. It’s a minor miracle my watch counts an average of 10,000 steps a day. Oddly, the watch is happy when I’m playing the piano in the hospital lobby, but not when I play the organ in church. Jazz is aerobic. Hymns, not so much.

Pinwheel Sawtooth Star

 

A week or two ago, a few Facebook friends shared this list of things they expect their kids to do each day before being allowed screen time. I’ve seen lists like this before, and they seem like a good idea. For kids. But while I was reading this one, it occurred to me this might not be such a bad idea for grownups, too:

Make your bed

Have breakfast

Get dressed

Brush your teeth and hair

Read at least 20 minutes

Spend at least 20 minutes coloring or writing

Clean one room

Play outside at least half an hour

Make or build something creative

Help a family member (If you can’t think of anything, ask)

Yep. I think if I’ve done all these things, I probably deserve to chill in front of a screen for a while.

Crossroads

 

“I learned it is worth the effort to trust in God, to trust in His wisdom and mercy and in His promises. He is our Father, and without any doubt, He wants the best for us. I extend the same invitation our prophet, President Nelson, has made to all of you ‘to enlist in the youth battalion of the Lord to help gather Israel. There is nothing of greater consequence. Absolutely nothing. This gathering should mean everything to you. This is the mission for which you were sent to earth.’ We were born at this time for a divine purpose, the gathering of Israel. When we serve as fulltime missionaries, we will be challenged at times, but the Lord Himself is our great exemplar and guide in such circumstances. With His help, we can do hard things. He will be by our side and He will bless us greatly as we humbly serve Him.” – Elder Marcos A. Aidukaitis

Arkansas Crossroads Quilt

 

You’re looking at the 29th quilt top I’ve made for the Intermountain Medical Center volunteer quilters. It has 1080 two-inch (finished) pieces, cut from 1080 different prints, unless somehow I messed up and used one of them twice. This took more time to piece than most double/queen sized quilts, but I can’t remember a top that was more fun to piece. When I first started making tops for them a decade ago, there were five volunteers, painstakingly hand quilting one morning a week at the Murray Senior Recreation Center. Over the years, their numbers have dwindled down to two. Hand quilting, it seems, is becoming a lost art. It’s sad that, while piecing quilts has never been more popular, fewer and fewer people are learning to finish them by hand. It’s a cultural loss, surely, but when I ask myself if I should try hand quilting one of my tops, I answer, “Who has that kind of time?”

Aunt Dinah

 

When someone started rifling through all the mailboxes in our neighborhood, we installed a Ring doorbell/camera. The mailbox raids stopped. We never caught the culprit, but we were surprised to see how many non-human visitors we get in the wee hours of the morning, primarily to use our yard as a toilet. Most are Canada geese. Some are semi-feral cats. And a few are neighbors’ dogs, with the neighbors in tow. McKenzie Sterdivant, a young Florida resident, says her mother complained someone was doorbell ditching around 3:00 or 4:00 every morning. McKenzie checked her mom’s Ring app, and discovered the nightly visitor was a large roach. Her story raises questions. Ring doorbells emit light. Don’t roaches generally avoid light? Is a roach strong enough to ring a doorbell? And if it is, how do you make it stop? Meanwhile, I have my own question. Should I post a sign saying, “We can see you. Please bag the poop?” 

Argyle Square

 

It’s hard to imagine an odder Hollywood couple than Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft. Anne was by every definition a serious actress. She won awards for her roles on stage and screen, in works like The Graduate and The Miracle Worker. Mel achieved fame for being anything but serious, with films like The Producers, Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles, and TV shows like Get Smart. Mel attended a rehearsal for the Perry Como show in 1961, and Anne was guest star. She sang a solo, and he leapt to his feet, applauding wildly. He shouted, “Anne Bancroft, I LOVE YOU!” He was surprised to learn she was a fan of his work, too. He stalked her for weeks before he worked up the courage to ask her out. They were children of immigrant parents, raised in NYC. It was a second marriage for both of them, but it was also (most likely) their last. 

Six Plain Pines

 

“Surely, when the final stitch is entered and the needle laid to rest, only the quilter can know the feeling of pride soaring within her soul. She has the contentment of knowing that long, hard journey has come to an end. She has conquered a challenge, and through her own patience and endurance, has created a loving work of art. It may live long after she has finished her walk upon this earth. Perhaps what makes a quilt so special is that pride a quilter knows – that deep in her heart she knows – some distant future generation may gaze upon her quilt, or touch its fragile threads, and still feel the love and care that she has sewn in every stitch.” – Debbie Anderson Searles

Four Extra-Large Stars

 

A woman was vacationing with her family in a small New England town. One morning, she got up early to take a long walk. After a five-mile hike, she drove to the bakery/ice cream parlor for a double-dip chocolate chip cone. There was only one other patron in the store: Paul Newman, sitting at the counter with a doughnut and coffee. The woman's heart skipped a beat as she made eye contact with those famous baby blues. The clerk filled her order and the star-struck woman left the shop, avoiding even a glance in Newman’s direction. When she reached her car, she realized she had a handful of change but her other hand was empty. Did she leave her cone in the store? Back into the shop she went. No ice cream cone was in sight. She happened to look over at Paul Newman. His face broke into a friendly grin and said, "You put it in your purse."

PInwheels

 

“Freedom for most people of the world means ‘freedom from’ the absence of malice or pain or suppression. But the freedom that God means when He deals with us goes one step further. He means ‘freedom to’—the freedom to act in the dignity of our own choice. What then does it mean to be free? Freedom means to have matured to the full knowledge of our dangerously many responsibilities as a human being. We have learned that everything we do, and even say or think, has consequences. We realize that too long we have believed that we were victims of circumstances. In the Gospel of John, 8:32, we read the following: ‘And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.’ Let us always stay close to the loving, caring hand of our Redeemer and our Savior to find safety and joy.” – Elder F. Enzio Busche

Four Plain Pines

 

July 2, 1947 Mac Brazel, a rancher near Roswell, New Mexico discovered some interesting wreckage on his property. He didn’t recognize the metal it was made of and couldn’t decide what it had been before it crashed. He contacted military authorities who investigated and removed the wreckage. The first military reports – later rescinded – referred to an Unidentified Flying Object. The official story involved a downed weather balloon, which of course led to wide speculation and claims of a massive government cover-up. It’s far from the first UFO sighting, in fact, pilot Kenneth Arnold reported seeing nine blue, glowing objects in V-formation near Mt. Rainier just nine days earlier. But the Roswell incident really sparked our collective imagination. July second is World UFO Day. How to celebrate it? I’m reminded of that quote from the end of The Thing from Another World (1951): “Watch the skies, everywhere! Keep looking. Keep watching the skies!”

Extra-Large Sawtooth Star

 

“Some years ago, I was invited to a gathering of great and good people: artists, scientists, writers and discoverers of things.  I felt at any moment they’d realize I didn’t qualify to be there, among these people who’d really done things. On my second or third night there, I was standing at the back of the hall, and I started talking to a very nice elderly gentleman about several things, including our shared first name. Then he pointed to the hall of people, and said words to the effect of, ‘I look at all these people, and think, what the heck am I doing here? They’ve made amazing things. I just went where I was sent.’ I said, ‘Yes. But you were the first man on the moon. I think that counts for something.’ And I felt a bit better. Because if Neil Armstrong felt like an imposter, maybe everyone did.” – Neil Gaiman