One Hundred Bright Hopes

 

As I understand it, artichokes were first cultivated in the middle east, where they were valued for their leaves rather than their pulpy flower buds. We drove through the heart of artichoke country once (hah), in the autumn of 2009. At first, we had no idea what we were looking at. We traveled I-5 from San Jose to Anaheim, past acres and acres of spiky shrubs in tidy rows, each of them waving several angry purple-green fists. Nearly all commercial artichokes (99.9%) are grown in central California, amid cool, foggy summers and mild, frost-free winters. In such a mild climate – zones 9 and 10 – artichokes are perennials. It’s even possible to grow them in zones 7 and 8. Alas, I live in zone 5, maybe 4. I’ll have to content myself with a small potted artichoke in my sun room. Or, I’ll just wait a few months until the little fists go on sale. 

Twelve-Inch Daylesford

 

At 3.5 feet long and up to 88 pounds, wombats are the second largest marsupials (after red kangaroos). They look like furry couch potatoes, but can run as fast as humans. The collective noun for wombats is “wisdom.” (A wisdom of wombats, a mob of kangaroos, a paddle of platypus! Australian collective nouns are cool!) Wombats have teeth that never stop growing. That’s great, because their teeth won’t wear out. Wombats spend up to eight hours each night, grazing. They chomp away at native grasses, sedges, and roots of shrubs and trees. It takes a wombat four to six days to digest a meal. But, as they’re always eating, they’re always pooping. Here’s the most interesting thing about wombats: their poop is cube-shaped! It comes in handy when they use said poop to mark their territories. They actually stack their dung like really disgusting building blocks to tell other wombats to get off their lawns.

Ninety Bright Hopes

 

“Here is the great news of God’s plan: the very things that will make your mortal life the best it can be are exactly the same things that will make your life throughout all eternity the best it can be! Today, to assist you to qualify for the rich blessings Heavenly Father has for you, I invite you to adopt the practice of thinking celestial! Thinking celestial means being spiritually minded. We learn from the Book of Mormon prophet Jacob that to be spiritually-minded is life eternal. Mortality is a master class in learning to choose the things of greatest eternal import. Far too many people live as though this life is all there is. However, your choices today will determine three things: where you will live throughout all eternity, the kind of body with which you will be resurrected, and those with whom you will live forever. So, think celestial.” – President Russell M. Nelson

Twelve-Inch Sparkle and Shine

 

John Tyler was this country’s tenth president. He served from 1841 to 1845. He was William Henry Harrison’s V.P. when the latter died, 31 days into his presidency. John Tyler was born in 1790 and died in January, 1862 – more than 162 years ago. So, it might surprise you to learn that President John Tyler has a grandson still living. How’s this possible? John had two wives: Letitia, who bore him eight children, and then Julia, who gave birth to seven. The last, Lyon, was born in 1853 when his dad was 63. Lyon also had two wives (in succession – the Tylers weren’t bigamists) and he fathered six children. Harrison Ruffin Tyler was born in 1928, the year Steamboat Willie was released. His dad, Lyon, was 75! Harrison celebrated his 95th birthday last November. Until his brother, Lyon Gardiner Tyler, Jr. passed in 2020, there were two living descendants who could call John Tyler “grandpa.”

Eighty-One Bright Hopes

 

Last autumn I shared a Michael J. Fox quote. Here’s a bit from the same article: “Some days are more difficult than others. Because I have assets, I have access to things others don’t, I wouldn’t begin to compare my experience to a working guy who gets Parkinson’s and has to quit his job and find a new way to live. I’m really lucky. I am genuinely a happy guy. But as I came through that darkness, I had an insight about my father-in-law, who espoused gratitude and acceptance and confidence. I started to notice things I was grateful for and the way other people respond to difficulty with gratitude. I concluded gratitude makes optimism sustainable. If you don’t think you have anything to be grateful for, keep looking. Because you don’t just receive optimism. You can’t wait for things to be great and then be grateful for that. You’ve got to behave in a way that promotes that.”

Ten-Inch Daylesford Block

 

When I saw the name of today’s block, my first thought was it might have something to do with the Yorkshire Dales, an upland area of the Pennines in Northern England. But then it would have been spelled in two words, without the “Y.” So, I looked up the name. Daylesford (one word, with a “Y”) refers to a spa town in Victoria, about 70 miles northwest of Melbourne, Australia. In 1848, European settlers called this place “Wombat Flats.” But three years later gold was discovered here. There was the inevitable rush and boom, and the resulting town got a more gentrified name. Eventually, of course, the gold ran out. But there are 65 mineral springs in the area – 80 percent of Australia’s mineral springs are right here – and in the early 1900’s this was a very fashionable place to come “take the waters.” With art galleries, restaurants, gardens and B&Bs, it’s still a popular tourist destination.

Seventy-Two Bright Hopes

 

Heinz has been using the slogan “57 varieties” since 1896. It was always meant to convey the idea that Heinz makes and sells a lot of different items. But it never actually stood for a specific number of them. Henry J. Heinz claimed he got the idea for the slogan from a billboard for a shoe store he saw once that advertised 21 styles of shoes. Heinz chose the number “5” because he’d always felt that was a lucky number. The “7” he said was his wife’s lucky number. Fifty-seven was by no means an exaggeration. At least four years before the slogan was adopted, the Heinz company was already selling more than sixty different products. Many of them were condiments, like jellies and jams, pickles, relish, mustard and horseradish. But there were also tomato juice, baked beans, and several kinds of canned soup. By the early 21st century, the company was marketing more than 5,700 products.

Twelve-Inch Vintage Delight

 

When Ron Howard was sixteen, he bought his first car. It was 1970, and he appeared in several TV shows that year. He probably could have purchased a shiny red Corvette. Instead, he bought a new white Volkswagen Beetle. Ron Howard was earning more than his dad when he was only eight years old. He credits his father – actor Rance Howard – for teaching him to be sensible about money, even when he was in his teens. Ron kept the car for about six years, then he sold it. A few years ago, Ron’s brother-in-law happened upon the same car in Redding, California. Its new owner had been using the Beetle to deliver eggs. It still wore a sticker from USC, Ron Howard’s alma mater. His brother-in-law bought the car, replaced the engine, and shipped it back to him. “That was the car I courted my wife in,” the actor/director/producer said. “It’s actually the only car I’ve ever loved.”

Sixty-Four Bright Hopes

 

“The reward for keeping covenants with God is heavenly power—power that strengthens us to withstand our trials, temptations, and heartaches better. This power eases our way. Those who live the higher laws of Jesus Christ have access to His higher power. Keeping covenants actually makes life easier! Each person who makes covenants in baptismal fonts and in temples—and keeps them—has increased access to the power of Jesus Christ. My dear brothers and sisters, do you want to be happy? Stay on the covenant path. Your life will be easier, happier, and filled with joy. Our Savior is inviting us, ‘Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.’ He is the living Christ. He carries our burdens and makes our life easier.” – Elder Yoon Hwan Choi

Ten-Inch Sparkle and Shine

 

Piri-piri Chicken

6 to 12 fresh African bird’s eye chilies
1 tablespoon garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons lemon juice

Roast chilies in a 350 degree oven 10 minutes, cool completely. If you want a milder sauce, remove seeds. Chop chilies. Place with remaining ingredients in a saucepan and simmer 2 to 3 minutes. Allow mixture to cool, then puree in a blender until smooth. Cover and store in refrigerator for up to a month. Shake before using. Marinate chicken in half the sauce in a Ziploc bag for 1 hour. Barbecue over medium heat while basting with remaining sauce. Makes 2 to 4 servings.

Fifty-Six Bright Hopes

 

In 1909, R. E. Morrison, Joseph Simpson, and J. E. Davis, purchased land at the southwest edge of Utah lake. They planned to divide it and sell it as peach orchards. They gave their project the name Mosida, from the first two letters of their last names. Promoters from Denver quickly bought them out. As there are no streams in the area, they installed pumps and dug irrigation ditches. They built a boarding house to accommodate 250 workers, who then cleared and plowed the land and planted 50,000 fruit trees. By 1912, there was a hotel, private homes, a store, a post office, and a school. There was even a ferry to carry people to and from Provo. But life in Mosida-by-the-Lake wasn’t a bowl of cherries. The soil wasn’t rich enough for fruit trees. When the lake receded, the pumps didn’t work. Then the ferry caught fire. Today, all that lives there are alfalfa and dairy cows. 

Ten-Inch Vintage Delight

 

15 October, 1986

 

Mr. Chuck Berry

c/o Mr. Nick Miranda

12825 Four Winds Farm Drive

St. Louis, MO 63131

 

Dear Chuck Berry,

 

When they tell your music will live forever, you can usually be sure they’re exaggerating. But Johnny B. Goode is on the Voyager Interstellar records attached to NASA’s Voyager spacecraft - - now two billion light years from Earth and bound for the stars. These records will last a billion years or more.

Happy 60th birthday, with our admiration for the music you have given this world.

Go, Johnny, go.

 

Ann Druyan

Carl Sagan

Cornell University

Ithaca, New York

On behalf of the

Voyager Interstellar

Record Committee

Forty-Nine Bright Hopes

 

The Arrow and the Song

I shot an arrow into the air,

It fell to earth, I knew not where;

For, so swiftly it flew, the sight

Could not follow it in its flight.

 

I breathed a song into the air,

It fell to earth, I knew not where;

For who has sight so keen and strong,

That it can follow the flight of song?

 

Long, long afterward, in an oak

I found the arrow, still unbroke;

And the song, from beginning to end,

I found again in the heart of a friend.

 - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Crystal Star

 

When I was a little girl, this dish was a pot-luck dinner staple. It was so yummy, but you could pretend you weren’t indulging in comfort food. (Look, mom, I’m eating my vegetables!) I haven’t seen it in so many years – possibly because we weren’t really fooling anyone in the first place!

 

Shoepeg Corn Casserole

 

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper

1/2 cup shredded mild Cheddar cheese

1 (11 ounce) can white corn, drained

1 (14.5 ounce) can French-style green beans, drained

1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of celery soup

8 ounces sour cream

16-ounce package Ritz crackers, crushed

1/2cup butter, melted

 

Dump all but the last two ingredients in a large bowl; toss to combine. Pour into buttered 2-quart casserole. In a smaller bowl, stir together crushed crackers and melted butter. Spoon over mixture in casserole. Bake at 350F for 45 minutes. Serve hot.

Forty-Two Bright Hopes

 

“A young child, standing on a stool, was barely visible over the pulpit. Her father stood next to her, offering encouragement and assisting with soft whispers to her ear as she proudly shared, ‘I am a child of God.’ The next testimony that followed came from a young adult who began: “I wish I had someone whispering in my ear like that.” Then she had a flash of inspiration and testified, “I do have someone whispering in my ear like that—the Holy Ghost!” Many of you start your day by standing in front of a mirror. Tomorrow, this week, this year, always, pause as you look at yourself in the mirror. Think to yourself, or say aloud if you like, ‘Wow, look at me! I am awesome! I am a child of God! He knows me! He loves me! I am gifted—gifted with the Holy Ghost as my constant companion!’” – Elder Gary E. Stevenson

Tiny Four-Patch

 

There are several recipes on the Internet for copycat Café Rio Cilantro Lime Rice. I didn’t use any of them. I knew I’d have my hands full with the other dishes, and wanted to simplify where possible. The back of the Zatarain’s Cilantro Lime Rice box said it contained 3.5 servings, so I bought five boxes. Once I got them home, I decided my crew wouldn’t eat 17.5 servings, so I only opened four. I dumped the rice and seasonings into a bowl, and measured them into my rice cooker using the cup it came with. Then I added water according to the rice cooker directions, along with a little unsalted butter. I closed the lid, set the cooker to “white rice,” and turned it on. The cooker finished up while I handled everything else, then kept the rice warm until dinnertime. It was effortless, but every bit as good as if I’d chopped and stirred.

Thirty-Six Bright Hopes

 

William Mills Wrigley, Jr. was born in Philadelphia in 1861. In 1891, with only $32 to his name, William moved to Chicago and started a business selling Wrigley’s Scouring Soap. He offered a number of premiums as incentive for housewives to buy his soap. One of these was baking powder. When he realized the baking powder was actually more popular than the soap, he switched to selling baking powder. William offered two packs of chewing gum with every can of baking powder sold. Again, he discovered the premium was a bigger hit with his customers than his base product. He began to focus on the manufacture and distribution of chewing gum. In 1893, Juicy Fruit debuted. Today, Wrigley’s Gum is the world’s largest gum manufacturer. The company currently sells its products in over 180 countries and districts, operates in over fifty countries, and has twenty-one production facilities in fourteen countries.

Evergreen Tree

Café Rio Copycat Cilantro Lime Dressing

 

1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch mix

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup buttermilk

2 tomatillos, husk removed, diced

1/2 bunch fresh cilantro

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon fresh lime juice

1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped

 

Add all ingredients to blender; cover and blend until smooth. Serve as a salad dressing or a dip for vegetables. Keep covered in fridge for up to five days.

 

Thirty Bright Hopes

 

Dear Abby:

Back in 1963, your mother printed a great definition of "maturity." I clipped and saved it, and have referred to it many times. It's still relevant, and my copy has become worn and tattered. Any chance you would print it again? – Helen Rezendes, San Jose, Calif.

I'm pleased to print it again. My mother is a wise woman.

Maturity is:

The ability to stick with a job until it's finished.

The ability to do a job without being supervised.

The ability to carry money without spending it.

And the ability to bear an injustice without wanting to get even.

 Dear Abby is an American advice column founded in 1956 by Pauline Phillips under the pen name "Abigail Van Buren" and carried on today by her daughter, Jeanne Phillips, who now owns the legal rights to the pen name.

Nine-Inch Sawtooth Star

 

Sweet Pork Barbacoa

 

3 pounds pork (I used tenderloin)

36 ounces Coke – NOT diet

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/8 teaspoon garlic salt (I was out, so I used onion salt)

2 cans diced green chilies

10 ounces red enchilada sauce

1 more cup brown sugar (Optional)

 

Put pork in an airtight container with 12 ounces cola and 1/4 cup brown sugar. Seal and allow to marinate a few hours or overnight. Drain marinade and place pork in slow cooker pot with 12 more ounces cola and garlic salt. Cover and cook on high 3 to 4 hours or low 6 to 8 hours. Drain pork again and shred; return to pot. Use blender to puree chilies, enchilada sauce, 12 more ounces cola, and more brown sugar (if desired). Pour into slow cooker. Cover and cook on low another 2 hours. Serve warm over rice, beans, corn tortilla chips, or with flour tortillas. Serves 16.

Twenty-five Bright Hopes

 

“‘For they that are wise and have received the truth, and have taken the Holy Spirit for their guide, and have not been deceived—verily I say unto you, they shall not be hewn down and cast into the fire, but shall abide the day.’ – Doctrine and Covenants 45:56-57. Jesus Christ makes it possible for us to ‘abide the day.’ Abiding the day does not mean adding to an ever-increasing to-do list. Think of a magnifying glass. Its sole purpose is not simply to make things appear bigger. It can also gather and focus light to make it more powerful. We need to simplify, focus our efforts, and be gatherers of the Light of Jesus Christ. We need more holy and revelatory experiences.” – Amy A. Wright

Mickey Mouse Throw Pillows

 

A few weeks ago, Heather reminded me that her birthday was coming up. I told her we could have the whole family to dinner, and asked her what she’d like. I figured I was pretty safe. She’d either pick cheeseburgers (which her dad could grill), or cheese pizza (which could be done take-and-bake). She chose Café Rio’s nachos. I looked into catering, but it was very pricey. Treating all sixteen of us at the restaurant would be even worse. So, I decided to do it all at home: I found copycat recipes online for sweet pork barbacoa, cilantro-lime rice, and Café Rio salad dressing. Just so I wouldn’t be cooking all day, I opted for store-bought beans, pico, guac, vanilla ice cream, and a cherry/chocolate tuxedo cake. If any of the recipes I found turn out well, I’ll probably post them here sometime next week. If they don’t turn out well, we’ll probably be eating them all next week.

Twenty Bright Hopes

 

In July 2017, a female arctic fox was trapped, fitted with a tracking collar, and released. Researchers at the Norwegian Polar Institute hoped her wanderings would give insight into the life of this small, sturdy creature. At first, her movements were less than remarkable. The following March, she left the Svalbard archipelago and journeyed far out onto the polar sea ice. Twenty-one days later, she arrived in Greenland. By July, she’d made her way to Ellesmere Island in Canada. The fox traveled an average of nearly 30 miles per day, over sea ice and glaciers. The scientists tracking her believe she survived primarily on “marine food resources,” including water fowl. In Canada, she may have switched to a diet of lemmings. The tracking collar stopped transmitting about four years ago, so there’s no telling where she ended up. But, as arctic foxes don’t tend to live more than four years in the wild, it may be a moot point.

Six-Inch Sawtooth Star

 

“When, in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes, I all alone beweep my outcast state, and trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries, and look upon myself and curse my fate, wishing me like to one more rich in hope, featured like him, like him with friends possessed, desiring this man’s art and that man’s scope, with what I most enjoy contented least; yet in these thoughts myself almost despising, haply I think on thee, and then my state, (Like to the lark at break of day arising from sullen earth) sings hymns at heaven’s gate; for thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings that then I scorn to change my state with kings.” – William Shakespeare

Sixteen Bright Hopes

 

“I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You're doing things you've never done before, and more importantly, you're doing SOMETHING. So that's my wish for you, and all of us, and my wish for myself. MAKE NEW MISTAKES. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody's ever made before. Don't freeze, don't stop, don't worry that it isn't good enough, or it isn't perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life. Whatever it is you're scared of doing, do it. Make your mistakes, next year and forever.” – Neil Gaiman

Ten-Inch Sawtooth Star

 

"This is the true joy in life, being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one. Being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it what I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work, the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no brief candle to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations." George Bernar Shaw

Nine Bright Hopes

 

“You may struggle to see God as a loving Father. You may look heavenward and see not the face of love and mercy but a thicket of rules through which you must wend your way. Perhaps you believe God rules in His heavens, speaks through His prophets, and loves your sister, but you secretly wonder whether He loves you. Perhaps you have felt the iron rod in your hand but not yet felt your Savior’s love to which it leads. I thought my life was about following rules and measuring up to abstract standards. I knew God loved you perfectly but didn’t feel it myself. I’m afraid I thought more about getting into heaven than being with my Heavenly Father. If you, like me, can sometimes only lip-synch but not ‘sing the song of redeeming love,’ what can we do? The answer, as President Russell M. Nelson reminds us, is always Jesus. And that is very good news.” – Elder Robert M. Daines