Spools

 

Socks really can disappear in the wash. Tiny socks – no-shows, toddler socks, baby booties – can be sucked into the wastewater hose or blown past the dryer filter, where they either cause a blockage or float away. Socks can be ripped from clotheslines (remember those?) and lost forever. But it’s more likely your missing socks are simply misplaced. They can become parted from mates while you separate lights from darks. They might cling to the drum and join a subsequent load. Static may attach them to bedsheets, and you’ll find them next time you remake beds. Or they never made it into the wash in the first place. They’re hiding behind a dresser or radiator, waiting for you to deep clean. How can you avoid sock loss? There’s strength in numbers: buy and use sock clips or do loads with nothing but socks. Better yet, buy matching socks in bulk! You’ll still lose socks, but you won’t care.

Four Album Blocks

 

The Seven Rules of a Happy Life

One: Let it go. Try not to let a bad yesterday ruin a good day today.

Two: Ignore the critics and live your own life.

Three: Give it time. You’d be surprise at how many things are healed by time alone.

Four: Never compare yourself to anyone else. Make it your goal to top the person you were yesterday.

Five: Remain calm. Everything happens in its own season. Wishing for things to come sooner or go faster only leads to frustration.

Six: It's all on you. You define your own happiness, and you’re responsible for bringing it on.

Seven: Remember to smile. Life is short; yours and everyone else’s. Enjoy it while you can.

Starlight

 

“What great things does the Lord want you to accomplish? In His Church and kingdom, there are many opportunities to serve and minister to others as the Savior did. He wants you to be part of His great work. Never will the plan of happiness become more real to you than when you are helping others to live it. In building my own faith, these words of Alma were life-changing: ‘Blessed are they who humble themselves without being compelled to be humble.’ Let us humbly put ourselves in a position where Jesus can lift us, lead us, and make the most of our abilities. I testify that the plan of happiness works. It was created by your Heavenly Father, who loves you. It works because Jesus Christ overcame sin and death through His Atonement. Come unto Him, follow Him, and 'immediately shall the great plan of redemption be brought about unto you.'" – Elder Adrián Ochoa

Blue Nine-Patch

 

I’d been whining for weeks that nobody does potlucks anymore. And then I was actually invited to one. It was a cast party picnic in the park before closing night of The Drowsy Chaperone, but the orchestra and stage hands were also invited. (That never, ever happens.) I thought long and hard about what to share. I knew no one would bring anything hot, or homemade. (I was right. At least eight people brought bags of chips.) So, I made this:

 

Slow Cooker BBQ Baked Beans

 

3 pounds ground beef

1 pound bacon, chopped

1 cup onion, chopped

3 16-ounce cans baked beans

16-ounce can dark kidney beans, drained

16-ounce can lima beans, drained

1 cup ketchup

1/2 cup brown sugar

3 teaspoons liquid smoke

3 tablespoons vinegar

 

Brown and drain beef and bacon. Dump into slow cooker with remaining ingredients. Cover and cook on low 5 hours. Great as a side dish or main course.

Twenty Log Cabins

 

I don’t know why, during a record-breaking heatwave in the UK, York city council bans shorts on their binmen. There was mention of health and safety concerns, and the fact that shorts might subject waste collection crews to scratches and cuts on their unprotected legs. But that hardly seems a legitimate reason to force men working hard outdoors in temperatures as high as 40C (104F) to wear long, heavy trousers. Humans can be clever, creative creatures; even the ones who empty rubbish bins for a living. Lee Moran and his fellow York binmen complained about the policy, but they got nowhere. Lee decided he was more at risk of heat stroke than he was of seriously skinning his shins, so he started showing up for work in a kilt. If you happen to be in York, he’s hard to miss. His gloves, knee-high socks, shirt and kilt are all bright orange. With reflective safety strips.

Card Trick

 

I usually double this recipe to bring to a potluck picnic, but potlucks seem to be another casualty of COVID. Last week I cut the recipe in half for the three of us. I used cheddar we’d brought home from The Creamery in Beaver – so sharp it crumbled when I tried to cut it in cubes. It looked a little odd, but still tasted wonderful.

 

Classic Pea Salad

 

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 cup mayo

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons cider vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

4 cups frozen peas, thawed (Fresh peas, cooked and chilled, are even better!)

1/3 cup diced red onion

3/4 cup cubed sharp cheddar (roughly the size of peas)

8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

 

Whisk together sour cream, mayo, sugar, vinegar and seasonings in a large bowl. Add remaining ingredients; gently stir to coat. Refrigerate at least an hour before serving.

Strawberry Ice Cream Cone

 

In 1925, Howard Deering Johnson borrowed $2000 to open a pharmacy in Quincy, Massachusetts. He repaid the loan quickly, primarily because of the popularity of the soda fountain he’d installed in the drugstore. The ice cream he sold there was higher in butterfat, and people noticed. When Howard opened his first restaurant, 28 flavors of his ice cream were included on the menu. By World War II, there were 200 Howard Johnson’s restaurants in the US, identifiable by their orange roofs, cupolas, and weather vanes. HoJo’s provoked an international incident in 1957, when the restaurant in Dover, Delaware refused to serve Ghana’s minister of finance. President Eisenhower had to issue a public apology. The last standing Howard Johnson’s closed this spring in Lake George, New York. Today is Iconic American Restaurants Day. You can’t celebrate with a dish of Howard Johnson’s ice cream, but there are still plenty of other iconic American eateries out there.

Pork and Beans

 

When I posted this recipe nine years ago, it had a couple of errors. They would have been easy to fix then, but it’s a lot harder to edit something from that far back. Instead, I’ll put this here, without typos. (I hope.)

 

Calabacitas

 

1 tablespoon canola oil

4 cups zucchini, coarsely chopped

1 1/2 cups corn

1/2 cup onion, diced

1 large clove garlic, minced

1 to 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (depending on how hot you like it)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 small can diced tomato (don’t drain)

2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)

 

Lightly sauté onion in oil in a large skillet until it begins to become clear. Add zucchini and corn, stirring another 5 minutes so that the zucchini just begins to soften. Add the garlic and cumin and stir, being careful not to burn the garlic. Finally add the tomato with its juice, the salt and the cilantro. Simmer on medium heat uncovered for about 5 minutes.

Hot Cross Buns

 

“I have been continually assured that keeping the covenants we make with God allows us to draw upon the Savior’s power, which strengthens us in our inevitable trials, provides protection from the adversary’s influence, and prepares us for eternal glory. Life’s experiences can range from humorous to heart-wrenching, from grim to glorious. Each experience helps us understand more about our Father’s encompassing love and our capacity to change through the Savior’s gift of grace. Keeping our covenants allows the Savior’s power to cleanse us as we learn through experience—whether it is a minor misjudgment or a major failing. Our Redeemer is there to catch us when we fall if we turn to Him.” – Jean B. Bingham

Sixteen Log Cabins

 

Sumerians looked to the heavens when they created their time system – the same system we use today. Have you ever wondered why we divide hours into sixty minutes and minutes into sixty seconds? Why don’t we use multiples of ten or twelve? It’s basically because the Sumerians didn’t operate on a decimal (base-10) or duodecimal (base-12) system. What they used is called an exagesimal (base-60) system. For the ancient Sumerians who first divided the movements of the heavens (including our Earth) into countable intervals, sixty was the perfect number. The number sixty can be reached by multiplying two and thirty, three and twenty, four and fifteen, and five and twelve. Ancient Sumerian astronomers believed there should be 360 ​​days in a year: exactly six times sixty. The Sumerian Empire thrived between 4100 and 1750 BCE, before being displaced by the Babylonians. But they’ve left their mark on the world’s culture for over 5000 years.

Quatrefoil

 

Maude Adams was born in Salt Lake in 1872. Her father died when she was young, but Maude’s mother was an actress. Maude made her stage debut at two months, playing in The Lost Baby at the Salt Lake Theatre. By the time she was twenty, Maude had performed in nearly thirty productions in Salt Lake, San Francisco and New York. Maude was the first American to portray Peter Pan. She soon became the country’s most famous actress, earning more than a million dollars a year. Adoring fans made pilgrimages to her birthplace, two blocks south of Trolley Square. Maude retired from the limelight in 1918, after a severe case of influenza. In the 1920’s she worked with General Electric to patent more powerful stage lighting. Her lights eventually became the industry standard. Maude inspired the character of Elise McKenna in the novel Bid Time Return and its film adaptation, Somewhere in Time.

Album Block

 

John likes to crack walnuts in his den. He thinks he’s doing me a favor by catching shells in a towel, dumping them in the trash, and shaking the crumbs out in the porcelain sink. Now I’ve black stains in the sink that won’t scrub out. Walnut stains on your hands eventually fade with lemon juice. Vinegar can help remove them from clothes. Walnut stains on concrete are forever. I tried to remove them with Clorox, but it didn’t work. I checked the bottle's label: A820 24907:31CR3. The first two symbols are the manufacturing plant. “20” is the year it was made. “249” means it was bottled on the 249th day that year – September 5 – nearly two years ago. Bleach is only at full strength the first six months. It loses about 20% of its effectiveness every year. Mine doesn’t even smell like bleach anymore. The good news is I can safely dump it down the drain. And buy more bleach.

Aunt Malvernia's Chain

 

Everything I Need to Know, I Learned from Noah’s Ark

 

1. Make sure you don’t miss the boat.

2. Always remember that we are all in the same boat.

3. Plan ahead. It wasn’t raining when Noah built the Ark.

4. Stay fit. When you’re really old, someone may ask you to do something really big.

5. Don’t listen to the critics; just get on with the job that needs to be done.

6. Build your future on high ground.

7. For safety’s sake, always travel in pairs.

8. Speed isn’t always an advantage. The snails made it onboard along with the cheetahs.

9. When you’re stressed, just float a while.

10. Remember, the Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic was built by professionals.

11. No matter the storm, when you are with God, there’s always a rainbow waiting. – Source Unknown

Nine Log Cabins

 

August 16 is National Roller Coaster Day. These thrill rides have been around since the 1600’s, when Russians built high wooden ramps in the wintertime and covered them with water. The water quickly turned to ice. Passengers would climb seventy-foot ladders to the tops of the ramps and ride sleds to the bottom, where they’d coast to a stop. In the early 1800’s, a Frenchman decided to bring the “Russian Mountain” ride to Paris. Winters in France are too warm to maintain an icy surface, so his sleds ran on rollers: Roller Coasters. Coasters were all the rage in the 1920’s, but during the Great Depression and WWII, they fell out of fashion. Walt Disney ushered in a coaster revival when he built the Matterhorn Bobsled Ride – a steel roller coaster riding a steel-and-concrete mountain – in 1959. After sixty-three years, it’s still one of the most popular rides in Disneyland.

Nine Friendship Stars

 

“Pastor Aiden Wilson Tozer, a renowned writer and valiant Christian, wrote, ‘Complacency is a deadly foe of all spiritual growth.’ Wasn’t this exactly what happened to the people of Nephi after the birth of Christ? They began to be less astonished at a sign from heaven, disbelieving all they’d heard and seen. Thus did Satan blind their eyes and lead them to believe the doctrine of Christ was a foolish and vain thing. The Savior has established the way for us to avoid falling into the trap of spiritual apathy. The Savior’s invitation gives us a broader perspective, especially considering the complex world in which we live: ‘Learn of me, and listen to my words; walk in the meekness of my Spirit, and you shall have peace in me.’ As we accept the Savior’s invitation, we demonstrate our humility, our desire to be teachable, and our hope to become more like Him.” – Elder Ulisses Soares

Forty-two Assorted Pine Trees

 

MUSICAL TERMS YOU DIDN’T LEARN IN ORCHESTRA CLASS

 

Alleregretto: When you're 16 measures in and suddenly realize you've set too fast a tempo.

Angus Dei: To play with a divinely beefy tone.

Sprizzicato: An indication to string players to produce a bright and bubbly sound.

A Patella: Accompanied by knee-slapping.

Apologgiatura: A composition you regret playing.

Dill Piccolini: Extremely small woodwind which plays only sour notes.

Approximento: A musical phrase that is somewhere in the vicinity of correct pitch.

Fermantra: A note that is played over and over and over and over.

Fiddler crabs: Grumpy string players.

Flute flies: Those tiny insects that bother musicians at outdoor gigs.

Frugalhorn: A sensible, inexpensive brass instrument.

Gaul blatter: French horn player.

Gregorian Champ: Title bestowed on the monk who holds a note the longest.

Wandering Star

 

QUILTERS' RULES

The pattern is just a suggestion. Some of my favorite quilts are the result of ignoring the pattern completely.

Measure twice, cut once. This is a good rule, regardless of what you’re cutting.

Don’t bleed on the fabric. I’ve a UFO (unfinished fabric object) sitting in my closet, waiting for me to decide how to remove the results of a needle jab.

It’s not a mistake, it’s an opportunity. Unless it really IS a mistake. Then, whip out the seam ripper.

Watch your bobbin. My best stitches were made after the bobbin thread ran out.

Stray threads are a fashion statement. I wear them even on days I didn’t sew.

Use the good fabric. I have friends who apologize for quilts they made before they switched to 100% cotton.

Done is better than perfect. A project can languish years for lack of perfection. But it still feels wonderful when I’ve finished it.

Four Log Cabins

 

Several of my neighbors ripped out their lawns this summer and replaced them with rock. They’re probably concerned about the drought. We all are. But I suspect they’ll eventually regret this decision. A well-maintained lawn looks nice year-round. It raises the value of your own property and that of the whole neighborhood. A healthy lawn discourages weeds. It can be walked on and played on. It’s a nice place to enjoy croquet, soccer, bocce, Frisbee, napping and picnicking. A living lawn is cool, even when the air temperature soars. It won’t reflect the sun’s heat and cause your air conditioner to work even harder. Unlike other surfaces, like concrete, asphalt, wood chips, bricks, and stone, a lawn can help clean the air. It absorbs carbon dioxide and produces oxygen. Lawns prevent erosion from water run-off, and even reduce noise pollution. Best of all – lawns don’t have to be water-hungry bluegrass. There are plenty of alternative drought-tolerant ground covers out there. 

Four Friendship Stars

 

I don’t bake much during the summer, but when I do, I like to bake things that don’t require high heat or a lot of time in the oven. This recipe calls for a store-bought crust, so it’s only in the oven about 15 minutes at 350F. Compare that to a rhubarb pie that bakes nearly an hour at 425F. Also, I prefer to bake in the morning, when it’s cooler, and to turn off the oven JUST before the baking’s done.

 

Key Lime Pie

 

Premade 10” graham cracker crust

Two 14-oz cans sweetened condensed milk

1 cup plain Greek yogurt

1 tablespoon grated lime zest

3/4 cup fresh lime juice

 

In a large bowl, whisk together the sweetened condensed milk, yogurt, lime zest, and lime juice. Pour mixture into graham cracker crust. Bake 15 minutes, until the filling is almost set. Let cool at room temperature 30 minutes, then chill thoroughly, about 3 hours. Serve topped with whipped cream and lime slices. 

Eccentric Star

 

The word Nippon means “land of the rising sun.” The people who live to the east of Korea have called themselves by this name for hundreds and hundreds of years. So, why do we call this place “Japan?” In the early 1300’s, Marco Polo called Japan “Cipangu,” which was probably similar to what the Chinese were calling it at the time. Later, Portuguese explorers would have heard Indonesians call it “Jepang” or something like that. Did no one bother to ask the people living there what they wanted to be called? “Deutschland” means “land of the people.” I’m not really sure why we don’t call them that. The Romans called this whole area “Germania,” from a Celtic (or possibly Gallic) word that means “neighbors.” Poland calls it “Niemcy,” meaning “the silent ones,” which I find more than a little creepy. Nearly everyone else calls Germany a variation of “Alemania.” I suspect that means “those guys over there who make good beer.” 

Lori's Log Cabin

 

“A mighty change of heart is not an event; it takes faith, repentance, and constant spiritual work to happen. It begins when we desire to submit our will to the Lord, and it materializes when we enter into and keep covenants with Him. That individual action has a positive effect both on us and on the people around us. In the words of President Russell M. Nelson, ‘Imagine how quickly the devastating conflicts throughout the world—and those in our individual lives—would be resolved if we all chose to follow Jesus Christ and heed His teachings.’ This action of following the Savior’s teachings leads to a mighty change of heart. When we give our hearts to God, we are rescued from the raging seas of this life, and in the process, we are refined and purified through the Atonement of Christ and become children of Christ, being spiritually born of Him.” – Elder Eduardo Gavarret

Sawtooth Patchwork

 

President Truman said, “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.” It’s a timely thought. My kitchen is cool right now, partly because I’ve an excellent air conditioner, and partly because I don’t overwork it by running my dishwasher’s heated dry cycle, or by turning on my oven any more than absolutely necessary.

 

Slow Cooker Creamy Lemon Chicken

 

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 tablespoons butter

15 ounces chicken broth

6 tablespoons lemon juice

4 cloves garlic, crushed

Zest from one lemon

3 tablespoons diced onion

1 teaspoon fresh parsley chopped

8 ounces cream cheese

 

Place ingredients in slow cooker. Cover and cook on high 2 to 3 hours, or on low 5 to 6 hours. Half an hour before dinner, shred chicken and return to pot. Serve over hot rice or cooked pasta. Leftovers (if any) are lovely cold on a bed of lettuce or fresh spinach.

Friendship Star

 

Sometimes I catch myself saying “macaroon” when I mean “macaron.” They’re both cookies, but the first is mostly shredded coconut. The second is an egg white/almond flour sandwich with a sweet filling. I always assumed the word “possum” was just short for “opossum," but they’re two completely different animals. Opossums live in North America. They have long, white faces and rat-like tails. Possums live in Australia. They have roundish grey faces and furry tails. “Frogs” and “toads” confuse a lot of people, too. They’re both amphibians, but frogs have less warty skin and more mucus. Turtles and tortoises both have shells, but turtles are smoother and live in or near water. Tortoises have rough, ridged shells and are commonly found in the desert. Cupcakes and muffins bake in the same tins. If they have frosting and a cake-like texture, they’re cupcakes. If they’re made with wheat bran, oatmeal, cornmeal, fruits or nuts, they’re probably muffins.

Scrappy Churn Dash

 

I used to make pesto with basil, parmesan, olive oil and pine nuts in my blender. But pine nuts have become outrageously expensive. Walnuts are a good substitute, but the taste just isn’t the same. The pesto at Costco is pine nut based, and fairly affordable. But it comes in 22-ounce jars. If I’m not careful, it will spoil before it's all used up. Luckily, it doesn’t seem to mind being frozen.

 

Slow Cooker Pesto Mozzarella Chicken

 

1 1/2 pound chicken breast

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

8 ounces prepared basil pesto

1/3 cup butter

1/2 cup parmesan

1 1/2 cups mozzarella

 

Place all ingredients in slow cooker. Cover and cook on low 5 hours or on high 3 to 4 hours. Shred chicken and return to slow cooker. Continue cooking about half an hour. Serve over hot pasta. (We like penne, gemelli, or casarecce, which we also find at Costco.)

Water Mill

 

Aurora doesn’t have many lines in Sleeping Beauty (in fact, probably fewer than any Disney princess). But one really stands out for me: “They say if you dream a thing more than once, it’s bound to come true.” When everything – including Disney parks – was shut down in 2020, I repeatedly dreamed of Disneyland. In my dream, I wasn’t IN the park, but near enough to see Disney guests come and go. I was doing normal things: watching movies with Heather, feeding people, playing with grandkids. I wasn’t headed to the happiest place on earth, but I was somehow perfectly content. In May, my dream actually happened. Our direct flight to Seattle was cancelled at the last minute, but we snagged another with an hours-long layover in Orange County. I watched flicks with Heather, shared snacks, entertained grandkids, and even played a grand piano, while Disney guests came and went around me. And I was perfectly content.

Garden Charm, Revisited

 

I made this block in Civil War prints in late March of this year. The construction was fairly simple, and allowed for several swirl-pressed points to help the whole block lay flat. But the mathematics behind the block mystified me. At first glance, it almost looks like a nine-patch block; one that’s drawn on the same kind of grid as a tic-tac-toe game. But it isn’t. It’s a 10” (finished) Instead, I pulled it completely apart and tried again, this time with a white tone-on-tone background, so it will match its siblings. I still don’t understand this block. But I think I’m beginning to like it. 

Six Cherry Trees

 “Consider this profound statement from the introduction to Come, Follow Me: ‘The aim of all gospel learning and teaching is to deepen our conversion to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. The kind of gospel learning that strengthens our faith and leads to the miracle of conversion doesn’t happen all at once. It extends beyond a classroom into our hearts and homes. It requires consistent, daily efforts to understand and live the gospel. Gospel learning that leads to true conversion requires the influence of the Holy Ghost.’ That is the miracle we seek—when one person has an experience in the scriptures and that experience is blessed by the influence of the Holy Ghost. Such experiences are precious foundation stones for our conversion to the Savior. And as President Russell M. Nelson recently reminded us, spiritual foundations must be constantly reinforced. Long-lasting conversion is a lifelong process. Conversion is our goal.” – Mark L. Pace