Crossroads

 

With 836,330 square miles, Greenland is the world’s largest island. Only about 57,000 people live there, so it’s also the least densely populated country. Only one of those people is Muslim. Wassam Azaqeer moved from Lebanon to Nuuk, Greenland’s capitol, in the early 2000’s. He opened a Lebanese restaurant here serving about 200 people a day. In spite of the harsh weather – the average temperature in Beirut is 70F; in Nuuk it can dip to minus 58F – Wassam says he doesn’t regret coming here. He doesn’t even mind practicing his religion alone, except during Ramadan. Muslims around the world observe the month of Ramadan by fasting between sunrise and sunset. The Muslim calendar is lunar, so its dates shift compared with the Gregorian calendar. When Ramadan falls during the summer, Wassam finds himself fasting up to 23 hours a day. Luckily for Wassam, next year it happens in February, when the days are eight hours long.

Flying Dutchman

 

In 1924, fourteen bison were transported to Catalina Island, 22 miles off the coast of southern California. The bison were meant to be extras in the movie, “The Vanishing American” with Richard Dix and Noah Beery. (Gary Cooper was also in this film, but he, like the bison, was just an uncredited extra.) If any scenes were filmed with the animals, they never made it into the movie. There was no room in the studio’s budget to return the bison to the mainland, so they stayed on the island. Over the years, the herd grew to over 600 – too many for the small island’s fragile ecosystem. The Catalina Island Conservancy took charge of the bison in the 1970’s. Their goal is to keep the herd at a manageable size. Some were sold at auction; others were shipped to South Dakota. The remaining bison get birth control injections. The last bison calf born on Catalina Island was in 2013.

Magenta String Block

 

“Is there anything sweeter, more pure, or more humble than a child at prayer? It is as if heaven is in the room. God and Christ are so real, but for others later on, the experience can become more superficial. As Elder Richard L. Evans quoted: ‘Many of us profess to be Christians, yet we don’t take Him seriously. We respect Him, but don’t follow Him. We quote His sayings, but don’t live by them. We admire Him, but don’t worship Him.’ How different life could be if the world esteemed Jesus above the level of a profane swearing streak from time to time. But children really do love Him, and that love can carry over into their other relationships in the playground of life. As a rule, even in their youngest years, children love so easily, they forgive so readily, they laugh so delightfully that even the coldest, hardest heart can melt.” – President Jeffrey R. Holland

Twenty LeMoyne Stars

 

Lemoyne Star

 

Starlings are one of the most common birds in America, but they’re actually a harmful and invasive species here. As the story goes, a man named Eugene Schieffelin – amateur ornithologist and Shakespeare lover – decided in 1890 to introduce all the birds the bard mentioned to this continent, beginning with the starling. It’s a quirky tale, and over the years it’s been repeated many times, by some very reputable sources. But it isn’t true. Yes, there was a New Yorker named Eugene Schieffelin, and he did import about a hundred starlings and released them in Central Park. But he was actually one of many who tried this, and there’s absolutely no evidence any of them were motivated by the works of William Shakespeare. Ecology was barely a thing in 1890; the term was only invented a decade earlier. No one imagined the aggressive, tenacious starling would outcompete many native species here and drive them to extinction.

Indigo String Block

 

Our oldest son and his wife have the same birthday. Our families were close friends for years. More than a decade ago, they decided to celebrate their shared day together, and a romance kindled. We were thrilled to add her to our tribe, and every year we sing “Happy Birthday” to them both. When you consider most people know about 600 people, and there are only 365 available birthdays (unless it’s a leap year), chances are everyone knows at least one person with the same birthday. But most people aren’t married to someone born on the same day. An Ohio couple – Scierra Blair and José Ervin – were both born August 18. They started dating a few days after Scierra turned 31 and José turned 30. August 18, 2023 was the first time they observed their birthday together. They celebrated in the maternity ward, welcoming a twin son and daughter. Now their entire family has the same birthday!

Chimney Sweep

 

This isn’t really a quilting blog. It’s pictures of what I’ve been doing (yeah, they’re usually quilt blocks) and some words about whatever’s on my mind. It’s seldom ABOUT quilting. But this week I found a foolproof way to make a ten-inch (finished) Chimney Sweep. Chimney Sweep is based on 4-patch symmetry, so 8”, 6”, and 12” blocks are fairly simple. 10”, not so much. Worse, many of Chimney Sweep patterns leave you with a block whose outside edges are cut on the diagonal. So later, when you’re joining blocks together, there’s lots of cursing going on. This pattern avoids that.

Background

(2) 2-1/2" squares, each cut diagonally once = (4) triangles

(3) 4" squares, each cut diagonally twice = (12) triangles

(1) 2-1/4" X 5-3/4" rectangle

(2) 2-1/4" squares

Red

(2) 2-1/4" X 5-3/4" rectangles

(2) 2-1/4" squares

(6) 2-1/4" X 4" rectangles

Crown Jewel

 

Queen Victoria (1819-1901) had nine children: five girls and four boys. There were seventeen years between the birth of her eldest and her youngest. She hoped her offspring would come to dominate the courts of Europe, and she raised her children accordingly. At the same time, she hated having to endure the pain of childbirth. When she was expecting her eighth child, Victoria made a bold and controversial decision: she would be anesthetized for the birth. The queen faced widespread criticism for this, from doctors who worried chloroform might be dangerous for her and the baby to clergy who insisted reducing a woman’s pain in childbirth was contrary to the bible. (There are actually several verses interpreted to mean women are meant to suffer.) I guess if you’re queen, you don’t have to listen to anyone. Victoria slept through Prince Leopold’s birth. She was so pleased with the results, chloroform was also used when Princess Beatrice was born.

Big Dipper

 

In 1977, Rupert Holmes had a hit song called Escape. (Most everyone called it The Piña Colada Song.) It was about a man bored with his relationship. In the personals column (people read newspapers back then), he finds an ad that catches his eye. He arranges to meet the girl, only to find she’s the lady he was bored with. The song played non-stop on radio stations, then in elevators and grocery stores. After that, it turned up in movies and TV shows. There was no escaping Escape. I hated that song – it’s so unrealistic. And besides, what kind of happy ending can you expect when you’re both so willing to cheat on each other? Then I read about a Bosnian couple who, bored with one another, started sneaking off to online chat rooms. They each found someone they liked, and when they decided to meet IRL, discovered they’d been cheating on each other, with each other. They're divorced now.

Green String Block

 

“Reverence for the sacred fosters genuine gratitude, expands true happiness, leads our minds to revelation, and brings greater joy to our lives.” – Ulisses Soares

“You can come to Christ with confidence in His loving kindness and receive all His gifts of joy, peace, hope, light, truth, revelation, knowledge, and wisdom – with your head held high, arms outstretched, and hands open ready to receive.” – Patrick Kearon

“When we say yes to serving, we say yes to Jesus Christ. And when we say yes to Christ, we are saying yes to the most abundant life possible.” – Steven D. Shumway

“Joseph did not pray merely to know what was right. Rather, he prayed to know what was right So he could do what was right.” – David A. Bednar

“Ultimately, how we live may be the best, most genuine form of worship. Showing our devotion means emulating the Father and the Son – cultivating their attributes and character in ourselves.” – D. Todd Christofferson

April Door Banner

 

We were told in general conference we should pay as much attention to the last days of Christ’s ministry as we do to His birth. With this in mind, here’s a timeline:

Sunday – Christ enters Jerusalem on a donkey, fulfilling prophecy. People greet Him as their king, laying palm leaves in his path and shouting, “Hosannah.”

Monday – Christ drives money changers from the temple and heals the lame and blind.

Tuesday – Christ teaches in the temple and on the Mount of Olives. Judas agrees to betray Jesus for 30 silver coins.

Thursday – Christ and his disciples share the Passover meal. In Gethsemane, Christ suffers for our sins and is arrested.

Friday – Christ is condemned to die and is crucified. His body is laid in a tomb.

Saturday – A large stone seals Christ’s tomb; guards are posted outside.

Sunday – An angel rolls the stone away. The risen Christ visits His disciples and tells them to teach and baptize. 

Crimson String Block

 

One of our neighbors had a cottonwood, probably planted in the 70’s, when all the houses here were built. Whoever planted it put it inches from their driveway. As it grew, it would have shaded their driveway every morning, and probably gave birds a nice perch so they could turn their car into a Jackson Pollack painting. By the time we arrived, the trunk was several feet in diameter, destroying the driveway and blocking access to their garage. Next Friday is Arbor Day: a day to plant trees and remember their benefits. To observe the holiday, our Subaru dealer gave us a four-foot-tall American Hornbeam. Its trunk is narrower than a #2 pencil, but it could be 30’ tall someday. So, we need to put some serious thought into where we plant it. Hornbeams need water, well-drained soil, and space. Lots of space. I’m still not sure where we’ll put it, but it isn’t going next to the driveway.

Chickadee

HOW TO WRITE GOOD:

1.    Avoid alliteration always.

2.    Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.

3.    The passive voice is to be avoided.

4.    Avoid cliches like the plague. They are so old hat.

5.    It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.

6.    Writers should never generalize.

Seven: BE CONSISTANT.

8.    Don’t use more words than are absolutely necessary. It’s highly superfluous.

9.    Be more or less specific.

10.    Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.

-          Source Unknown

Cat in the Corner

 

In 1921, a young Inuit mother named Ada Blackjack was looking for work. She desperately needed money to care for her sick son, Bennett. Some explorers offered her a job as seamstress on an Arctic expedition. The team planned to claim remote Wrangel Island for Canada. Ada was the only woman in the group. She didn’t know how to hunt or survive in the wild, but she could sew and cook. Winter hit hard. Food ran out. The men left to get help, leaving Ada behind with a sick teammate and a cat. When the man died, Ada and the cat were alone, 700 miles from the nearest settlement, for two years – the sole survivors of the expedition. Eventually, a rescue party arrived and Ada was reunited with her son, who lived. “I consider my mother to be one of the most loving mothers in this world and one of the greatest heroines in the history of Arctic exploration,” he said.

Jack in the Box

 

Frank and Ethel Mars were famous for their chocolate candy, but they were also accomplished horse breeders. In the early 1930s, they started the Milky Way Farm, with over 1,000 acres of pasture for horses, cattle and sheep. One of the Mars family’s thoroughbreds, Gallahadion, won the Kentucky Derby in 1940. The most beloved thoroughbred on the farm was Snickers – more of a family pet than a racehorse. Shortly before the Mars Candy Company released a new peanut/nougat/caramel chocolate bar, Snickers died. The Mars family decided to honor their equine friend by giving their new confectionary treat the same name. The Snickers bar would go on to become one of the best-selling candy bars in history. If you live in the UK, you probably know this candy by a different name: the Marathon Bar. That’s because Mars was afraid the American name would sound too much like knickers – the British slang for underwear.

Chartreuse String Block

 

“Is there anything sweeter, more pure, more humble, than a child at prayer? It’s as if heaven is in the room.” – Jeffrey R. Holland

“As you bind up the wounds of those in need, the Lord’s power will sustain you. His arms will be outstretched with yours to succor and bless the children of our Heavenly Father.” – Henry B. Eyring

“I am forever grateful that holders of the Aaronic priesthood, with its powers, ordinances and duties, do bless all of us through the keys of the very ministering of angels and of the gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins.” – Steven J. Lund

“We are to use the gifts we have been given – time, talents and blessings – to serve Heavenly Father’s children, especially the most vulnerable and needy.” – Dale G. Renlund

“Seeking the Lord’s mercy is one of the most powerful ways to feel the witness of the Holy Ghost.” – James A. Rasband

Tied with a Bow

Douglas Corrigan was born in Galveston in 1907, the son of a construction engineer and a school teacher. He dropped out of school to work in construction. Douglas took flying lessons at age eighteen. In 1938 he flew from Long Beach to New York. His flight plan had him returning to Long Beach, but instead, he continued on to Ireland, earning the nickname “Wrong Way Corrigan.” He’d been denied permission to fly to Ireland, and Douglas insisted his transatlantic stunt was the result of a navigational error. In 1941, H.R. Knickerbocker wrote: “You may say Corrigan’s flight couldn’t be compared with Lindbergh’s. In a way, his was the more audacious of the two. Lindbergh had the best plane money could buy. Corrigan had nothing but his own ambition. His plane was a wretched looking jalopy. The engine hood was a mass of patches. The door behind which Corrigan crouched for twenty-eight hours was fastened together with baling wire.”

 

Carnation String Block

 

Can you imagine driving a car without brake pads or a rear view mirror? Both of these automotive necessities were invented by women. Many innovative women have played key roles in the development of the automobile industry. Here are just a handful of examples:

Car heaters: Margaret Wilcox invented the first automotive heating system in 1893.

Windshield wipers: Mary Anderson invented the first windshield wiper in 1903.

Non-reflective glass: Katharine Blodgett, an American physicist and chemist, invented non-reflective glass in 1938.

Brake pads: Bertha Benz (wife of Karl Benz, German automotive engineer) invented brake pads in 1888.

Turn signals: Florence Lawrence invented the first mechanical turn signal in 1913.

Rear view mirrors: Elma Berger invented rear view mirrors in 1921. She called them “cop-spotters.”

GPS and Wi-Fi: Actress Hedy Lamarr was an inventor in her spare time. In 1942 she developed the technology that led to GPS and Wi-Fi. Another of her inventions was the improved traffic stoplight.

Dutchman's Puzzle

 

Ants don’t have lungs. They don’t have blood. Ants have two stomachs: one for their own sustenance, and one to store food to share with fellow ants. Most ants can't swim. But they can survive in water for surprisingly long periods. Some species form rafts to survive flooding. When ants fight, they usually fight to the death. Fossil evidence suggests there were ants during the Jurassic period, which means ants may have roamed the earth before the tyrannosaurus, triceratops, or velociraptor. Ants can be found on every continent except Antarctica, and I’ll bet there’s at least one colony there, hiding in the pantry of some research station. This time last year, I was fighting a war with sugar ants in my own pantry. They’d found a bag of dogfood and decided to move in. We reached a cease fire, but there were casualties on both sides. Now, I’m waiting to see if they’re ready to resume hostilities. 

Halo Star

 

Wednesday in the middle of National Library Week (that’s this week) is set aside for National Bookmobile Day. It was created in 2010 by three organizations: the American Library Association Office for Literacy and Outreach Services, the Association of Bookmobile and Outreach Services, and the Association for Rural and Small Libraries. Bookmobiles have been around since the early 1900’s, evolving from horse-drawn “perambulating libraries” to more modern motorized vehicles. They’ve been known by several names, including traveling library, library wagon, book wagon, book truck, library-on-wheels, and book auto service. Generally, bookmobiles serve more rural areas, where brick-and-mortar libraries make less sense. Some bookmobiles have evolved to serve nursing homes and senior centers, where patrons may have difficulty getting to a library and may need more large-print books or audio books. I couldn’t find a bookmobile in my area, but there’s one in Utah County that serves Mapleton, Genola, Goshen, Eureka, Alpine and Provo Canyon.

Dresden Plate

 

Almon Brown Strowger was an undertaker in Kansas City, Missouri in the late 1800’s. As the story goes, his business was doing poorly. Almon suspected it was because the wife of the town’s other undertaker was a telephone operator. In those days, telephones didn’t have dials. To make a call, you’d pick up the receiver and tell the operator the party you wanted, and you’d be physically connected. Almon was convinced whenever anyone asked to speak with an undertaker, they’d be connected to his competition. Complaints to the phone company were ignored, so Almon took matters into his own hands. He invented the automatic telephone exchange and the rotary dial. Almon formed the Strowger Automatic Telephone Exchange Company in 1892, with a capacity of 99 subscribers. If you were one of them, you could direct dial any of the other 98. A far cry from being able to pick up a phone and call anyone in the world!

Brown String Block

 

“In our last general conference, I spoke about prayer. I’d had a near death experience. For four weeks I was somewhere with a foot in another world. The lessons I was given there and in effect told to take back to the church were ‘Pray more than you pray.’ I thought I prayed almost all the time. But the lesson was, ‘Pray more than you pray. However much you’ve prayed, pray more. In however many places you’ve prayed, pray in more places. However many times during the day you pray, pray more times in the day.’ It started to give meaning to me – an overwhelming meaning – that it really was quite literal when God said, ‘Pray always.’ I took it to be part of the hastening of the work, the hastening of family history, missionary work, and every aspect of our work. The other lesson was to testify; to be a witness. However much you testify, testify more.” – Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

New Spruce

 

In 1945, Ali Ahmed Aslam was born in a small town in what is now Pakistan. Before he was a teenager, Ali’s family moved to Glasgow. His father opened the Green Gates, Scotland’s first Indian restaurant. In 1964, Ali opened his own restaurant, the Shish Mahal. Sometime in the 1970’s, a customer complained about their chicken tikka, saying, “I’d take some sauce with that; this is a bit dry.” So, Ali whipped up a sauce using canned tomato soup, yogurt, cream, and garam masala. Chicken tikka masala is about as Indian as chop suey and fortune cookies are Chinese. But Ali wasn’t cooking for Indians. Having grown up in Great Britain, he knew exactly how to suit British palates. His recipe very quickly became Britain’s favorite curry. Ali died in 2022 at the age of 77. He is fondly remembered for his love of Glasgow, for his charity work, and for his most famous recipe.

Blue String Block

 

Take a good look at the nearest zipper. Chances are, the zipper pull is engraved with the letters YKK. YKK stands for Yoshida Kogyo Kabushikikaisha which roughly translates to Yoshida Company Limited. When Todao Yoshida was twenty, he worked for a trading company that went bankrupt. The owner gave Todao the remains of the business, which included a small concern that manufactured zippers. After visiting his zipper factory, Todao came up with several ways to improve the process. He began designing his own zipper construction machines. In 1938 Todao built a larger zipper factory in Tokyo. After WWII, YKK began producing zippers and other fasteners like snaps and buttons overseas. As the company grew, it brought every step of manufacturing in-house, including smelting brass and dyeing cloth. Today, YKK is the largest zipper manufacturer in the world. Todao Yoshida believed that no one prospers without rendering benefit to others, and his company still reflects those values. 

Whirling Pinwheel

 

There once were seven siblings from Casarsa in northern Italy: Giocondo, Frank, Rachele, Candido, Joseph, Gelindo and Valeriano. Their last name was Iacuzzi, but when two brothers emigrated to the U.S. in 1907, an immigration clerk accidentally changed their name to Jacuzzi. By 1910, all seven siblings (and other relatives) had come over from Italy. They formed a machining company, and made propellers for American aircraft in World War I. In the 40’s, Candido Jacuzzi had a son who suffered from rheumatoid arthritis. One treatment that seemed to help was a hydrotherapy tank at the Herrick Hospital in Berkeley, California. To give his son relief between hospital visits, Candido developed a portable pump that could turn any bathtub into a spa. In 1968, Roy, a third-generation Jacuzzi, invented a whirlpool bath with jets to mix air and water. I can testify these spas work better on R.A. than any pill. And the only side effect is pruney fingers.

Bowdacious

 

Having a routine is a comfort. It can help you feel in control and reduce stress. Routines are important for all of us, but especially for individuals with Down Syndrome. For Christina Cavanaugh, a young Pocatello woman with Down Syndrome, renting from the local video store has been part of her routine for more than fifteen years. Christina’s almost nonverbal, but she loves to select a film – usually a Disney – take it home to watch it, and return it. But video rental shops have all disappeared, driven out of business by streaming services. The last one, Video Stop, shut down last month. The owner, David Kraning, liquidated most of the videos, but kept the ones Christina loves most. You can find them in a quiet corner of his adjacent convenience store, K & B Kwik Stop. Christina’s mother is beyond grateful. “How can your heart not melt when you see people in the community taking care of each other?”

Mexicali Rose

 

The following ad appeared in the Atlanta Journal: "SINGLE BLACK FEMALE seeks male companionship. Ethnicity not important. I'm a very good looking girl who LOVES to play. I love long walks in the woods, riding in your pickup truck, hunting, camping and fishing trips, and cozy nights lying by the fire. Candlelight dinners will have me eating out of your hand. When you get home from work, I'll be at the door wearing only what nature gave me. Call (404) 555-XXXX and ask for Daisy." Over 1500 men called and found themselves talking to the Atlanta Humane Society about an eight-week-old Labrador Retriever.

UPDATE: The Atlanta Humane Society says they've been  getting calls about this ad nearly every week for years. Katherine Christensen, their public relations manager, says, "We never placed that ad."