Teal Barbara Frietchie Star

 

Ask a Stupid Question Day generally falls on September 28. In years when the 28th falls on a weekend, the holiday is moved to the last school day in September. As the saying goes, the only stupid question is the one you didn’t ask. With that in mind, here are several questions that should keep you busy Googling:

What people gave us Dutch clocks?

Which German city produces Dresden china?

Which country does India ink come from?

In what year is George Orwell’s 1984 set?

How long did the One Hundred Years War last?

Where was Kentucky Fried Chicken first sold?

What type of animal is a Bombay duck?

What’s the main ingredient in mock turtle soup?

Where did Chinese checkers originate?

What ethnicity are the Pennsylvania Dutch?

The Colorado desert is in which state?

Rhino horn is made of what substance?

What’s the chief metal in the Olympic gold medal?

Twenty-Eight Potted Cacti

 

“Be patient with yourself. Perfection comes not in this life, but in the next life. Don't demand things that are unreasonable, but demand of yourself improvement. As you let the Lord help you through that, He will make the difference.”

“Each day is a day of decision, and our decisions determine our destiny.”

“God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, but we are not. Each day, ours is the challenge to access the power of the Atonement so that we can truly change, become more Christlike, and qualify for the gift of exaltation and live eternally with God, Jesus Christ, and our families. For these powers, privileges, and gospel gifts, thanks be to God!”

“When we love somebody, we show it by doing something nice. So, learn to serve: find a need and fulfill a need. Surprise people with a good deed they hadn't planned on. We have that opportunity at home, at school, and at church.” – Russell M. Nelson (1924-2025)

Diagonal Bat

 

The fourth Saturday in September is Breakfast in Bed Day. It sounds like a great day to celebrate. You have a lovely lie-in while someone else putters quietly in the kitchen. Then that someone brings you something delightful on a tray, like fluffy pancakes with real maple syrup, eggs Benedict, sausage and biscuits, or a bowl of fresh melon chunks. Breakfast in bed isn’t really a thing at my house. Mornings start early here, because that’s when the cat decides they do. She begins by batting at my nose, first with claws in and later with claws out. I hide under the covers, but she pulls them off. I launch her off the bed, but she just comes back. So, I open her can of cat food, then I make the pancakes/eggs/sausage/melon for everyone else. And no, they don’t get their breakfast in bed, either. Because I’m also the one who washes the sheets. 

Snowman

 

Johnny Appleseed – John Chapman – was born on this date in 1774. I grew up imagining him walking barefoot through the New England wilderness, wearing a pot on his head and throwing apple seeds on the ground wherever he went. I suppose most of what I thought I knew about this unusual pioneer came from the Disney animated short The Legend of Johnny Appleseed (1948). The real John Chapman was a nurseryman. He pulled seeds from cider mill waste and used it to plant nurseries. He’d build fences around these nurseries to protect them from cows, deer, etc. Then he’d leave them in the care of local farmers who’d sell the trees to neighbors. In this way, he introduced apple trees to Pennsylvania, Ontario, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. While the cartoon mentions fun ways to eat apples – applesauce, tarts, pie, dumplings, cakes and fritters – John’s apples would have been tiny, tart and rock-hard: suitable only for cider.

Twenty-Seven Potted Cacti

 

When WWII began, Eugene Lazowski was finishing his medical studies in preparation to become a doctor. He was drafted into the Polish army, but the army collapsed after a few weeks. Eventually, Eugene joined the resistance. Meanwhile, his friend and colleague Stanislaw Matulewicz discovered injecting patients with dead typhus cells would cause them to test positive for typhus without giving them any symptoms or disease. Eugene decided to use this discovery to save Polish Jews who were about to be sent to concentration camps. He knew the Germans were deathly afraid of communicable disease. He didn’t inject the Jews with typhus; the Germans would have simply shot them and moved on. He created a false epidemic by injecting Poles in neighboring suburbs. The Germans considered the whole village infected, and quarantined them all. Eugene Lazowski is credited with saving the lives of over 8,000 Jews by making the Germans believe all their neighbors were sick.

Port and Starboard

 

The only appliance left behind by this home’s previous owners (that we used) was the dishwasher. We replaced the broken silverware basket shortly after moving in, and then the wheels on the upper rack. A year after that, the door hinge snapped, and we needed to call in a repairman. Then, it simply refused to drain after washing a load of dishes. The repairman said it was a clogged filter, but it wasn’t. So, we ordered a new dishwasher, which took seven+ weeks to arrive. Seven weeks of washing every dish by hand taught me a lot. I learned one dishwasher load is roughly three sink loads of dishes, and the dishwasher uses far less water. I learned you’re a lot more likely to break glass tumblers and ceramic platters when you’re washing by hand. I learned dinner guests disappear when you fill the sink with soapy water. I learned cooking is lots less fun if it means washing up later. 

Pink Barbara Frietchie Star

 

We’ve grown eggplant (aubergine) in our garden before, but they’ve never been as successful as this year’s crop. Here’s how we’re dealing with it:

 

Eggplant Parmesan

 

 

1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs

2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

1 cup grated Parmesan, divided

Salt and pepper to taste

2 medium eggplants, sliced into 1/2"-thick rounds

3 large eggs

4 cups marinara

2 cups shredded mozzarella

1/3 cup thinly sliced basil

 

Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment and coat with cooking spray. In a shallow bowl, whisk panko, seasoning, 1/2 cup Parmesan, salt and pepper. In another shallow bowl, whisk eggs with 2 tablespoons water. Dip slices in egg, then coat with breadcrumb mixture. Arrange on baking sheets. Bake at 425F 35 minutes. In a baking dish, layer coated slices with marinara. Top with mozarella and remaining Parmesan. Bake another 17 minutes, then serve hot with a crusty bread.

Six Cactus Flowers

 

“How can God have a fulness of joy when some of His children suffer? The answer lies in God’s perfect perspective and His perfect plan. He sees us from the beginning to our glorious potential future. He provided a way, through His Son, Jesus Christ, for all of us to overcome the pains, suffering, sins, guilt, and loneliness of our mortality. God has provided for us the way and the choice. Those who’ve experienced joy through discipleship might help us better understand this concept. Perhaps you’ve heard the phrase we are only as happy as our most unhappy child. I’ve seen this doesn’t need to be the case. My 94-year-old mother has over 200 living descendants. At any given point, at least one of the 200 will be unhappy. If this statement were true, my mother would be in a perpetual state of unhappiness, which she isn’t. Those who know her know how joyful she is.” – Elder John A. McCune

Flag Day with Green Border

 

“Fellow senators, friends, colleagues, allies, adversaries, I stand before you this morning with a heavy heart. I stand this morning with a difficult message. I believe we’re in crisis. The distance between what’s said and what’s known to be true has become an abyss. Of all the things at risk, the loss of an objective reality is perhaps the most dangerous. The death of truth is the ultimate victory of evil. When truth leaves us, when we let it slip away, when it’s ripped from our hands, we become vulnerable to the appetite of whatever monster screams loudest. This chamber’s hold on the truth was finally lost on the Ghorman plaza. What took place yesterday, what happened yesterday on Ghorman was unprovoked genocide. Yes, genocide. That truth has been exiled from this chamber. And the monster screaming the loudest, the monster we helped create, the monster who will come for us all soon enough, is Emperor Palpatine.” – Mon Mothma, Andor

Five Tiny Pinwheels

 

30-year-old Candelaria Rivas Ramos had seen other people run ultramarathons and take home prizes. And she thought she might give it a try. She had no experience, no running coach, and no professional equipment. All she had was pure determination and raw talent. Candelaria and her husband live a 14-hour walk from Guachochi, where the race was held. So, she walked with her husband the fourteen hours to get there, wearing a traditional Rarámuri dress and handmade huarache sandals. Then she ran the entire 63-kilometer (just over 39 miles) course in the same sandals and skirt. Candelaria crossed the finish line in 7 hours and 34 minutes, the first in the women’s category. She dedicated the win to her family, and took home a prize of 7,000 Mexican pesos ($370). And then, I suppose, she and her husband spent the next fourteen hours walking back home.

Two Dozen Potted Cacti

 

It’s been my privilege so serve as organist in nearly every congregation I’ve lived in since my teens. Some chapels had organs and some didn’t. Some met in grand buildings dedicated to the Lord; others were in secular spaces that filled different purposes on weekdays. I remember asking my bishopric (now I think of it, it was probably a branch presidency) for permission to sing Silent Night with the congregation accompanied only by an acoustic guitar, the way the hymn was originally heard. I was shut down pretty hard. The counselor was in his sixties (he may have been younger than I am now). He said whenever he heard a guitar (pronounced GEE-tar), he knew he was listening to Satan’s music. Such a thing was inappropriate in a worship service. Today we sing hymns I never dreamed I’d hear in an LDS chapel - sometimes with guitar. Maybe someday, we’ll have trumpets and cymbals there. Like in the Old Testament.

Chain and Bar

 

We tried this recipe two weeks ago, using home-grown Roma tomatoes instead of the canned variety. It meant blanching and peeling each one, but was so totally worth the work. We used the finished product for marinara, Bolognese, and Hawaiian pizza. There are enough tomatoes for a repeat performance. Maybe this time we’ll manage to freeze some.

 

Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce

 

1 yellow onion, diced

4 large cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

2 28-ounce cans tomatoes

6 ounces tomato paste

1 tablespoon dried basil

1 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

4 tablespoons butter

Salt and pepper to taste

 

Place all ingredients in slow cooker. Cover and cook on low 8 hours, or on high 4 hours. Process with an immersion blender until desired consistency. Use immediately, or refrigerate for up to four days. 

Barbara Frietchie Star

 

Last month, Sir Paul McCartney surprised his alma mater, the Liverpool Institute for the Performing Arts. The school’s most famous pupil slipped inside unannounced, wearing a navy jacket and his trademark round sunglasses. He asked to see his old music classroom – a room he hadn’t set foot inside in more than sixty years. The school’s staff handed him a weathered report card, showing Sir Paul’s music teacher’s evaluation: “lacks application” and “struggles to progress.” The man who went on to write and perform some of the greatest songs in history laughed. “Blimey! I failed music! Not bad for a failure, eh?” When asked if his classmate, John Lennon, had fared any better in the same subject, Sir Paul said he had not. I suppose, if I ever feel I’m doing less than my best as a teacher, I can remember that over six decades ago, someone had half the Beatles in his music class without knowing it.

One Dozen Barrel Cacti

 

“In October 2024, President Russell M. Nelson said: ‘I urge you to study the speakers’ messages. Use them as a litmus test of what is true and what is not during the next six months.’ These invitations can be added to prophetic invitations we have received throughout our lifetimes, including and especially those we have received in recent years. We may feel or think these invitations are another thing we need to add to our to-do lists, simply because we were invited or asked to do it. But could there be more to it? Pondering over this and all the invitations we had received, I recalled something that I learned and decided long ago. I am trying to do these things which are essential to me because I love Him; I love our Savior. This is the real and most powerful reason why I do what I do.” – Elder Ricardo P. Giménez

Striped Bat

Heather and I volunteer at the hospital in Murray every Friday. For at least a year on our way there and back, we’d pass a house with a 20-foot skeleton. They were popular Halloween decorations a few years ago, and this family decided to keep it up year-round. (It’s a small house. Maybe they didn’t have the storage space.) Occasionally, the skeleton would be dressed to fit the season: a Santa hat, an American flag, etc. Last summer it wore a lei, coconut shells and a grass skirt. Then, when October came back around, the hula outfit disappeared. (Heather was deeply offended. A naked skeleton!) Last spring, a heavy wind blew the skull off and it stood there, headless, a few weeks. Finally, the whole skeleton just vanished. At times I think about leaving a note in their mailbox, asking them to replace the skeleton. I won’t do it, but I do think about it.

Tiny Pinwheel

 

Bison attacks are fairly rare. They happen once or twice a year, generally to Yellowstone tourists who think the 2,000-pound malcontents won’t mind posing for selfies. So, when Kayleigh Davis was attacked by a bison she was trying to avoid, Deseret News reporters wanted to hear her story. Kayleigh was on a date with Kyler Bourgeous. They planned to run the trails on Antelope Island and then watch the sunset. She’d seen the animal up ahead and had moved off the trail to give it space. But some bikers startled it and it charged, goring Kayleigh’s leg and breaking it. Kyler told her to play dead until the bison lost interest. He knew what to do because he’d been attacked in the same spot a few months before. Kyler had suffered a collapsed lung and broken ribs. Dating red flags: (1) Your date wants to take you RUNNING. (2) The last time he was here, he was HOSPITALIZED. 

Flag Day Top

 

September 11, 1275 an earthquake shook Great Britain, causing scores of deaths and destroying St. Michael’s Church on Glastonbury Tor. On this day in 1609, Henry Hudson arrived on Manhattan Island and met the indigenous people living there. The Dutch eventually bought the island for 60 guilders (around $1,000 in today’s money). The Mountain Meadows Massacre, in which Mormon settlers murdered 120 pioneers, occurred September 11, 1857. In 1919 on September 11, the United States Marine Corps invaded Honduras to quell an uprising that might have jeopardized our banana supply.  On this day in 2001, a series of coordinated terrorist attacks killed 2,977 people using four aircraft hijacked by 19 members of al-Qaeda. September 11, 2008, a major fire broke out on a freight train in the tunnel under the English Channel. Part of the “chunnel” would be closed for six months. On this day in 2012, the U.S. Embassy in Benghazi was attacked, resulting in four deaths.

Another Sawtooth Star

 

While working in East Berlin during the height of the cold war, Heinz Meixner met and fell in love with Margarete Thurau. They dreamed of moving to his native Austria with her mother, to marry and live happily ever after. But the Berlin wall stood in their way. Heinz rode his scooter to Checkpoint Charlie, one of the narrow exits through the wall. While a guard checked his passport, he measured the height of the bar across the opening: 95 centimeters. He then scouted car rentals until he found an Austin-Healey Sprite. After Heinz removed the windshield and let a little air out of the tires, the Sprite easily cleared 95 cm. May 5, 1956, he returned to Checkpoint Charlie with his sweetheart hiding behind the driver’s seat and his future MIL in the trunk. He flashed his passport, ducked his head, and gunned the engine. Before the guards could react, all three were safe in West Germany.

Tiny Pink Heart

 

I know summer produce like sweet corn, peaches, tomatoes, etc. are available year-round. But September is the only month when their texture and flavor don’t remind me of cardboard. This weekend, I’ll take advantage of the season and make peach pie and peach ice cream.

 

Peach Ice Cream

 

3 cups fresh peaches, peeled and sliced

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1 cup sugar, divided

1 cup milk

2 cups heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

 

In a small bowl, combine the peaches with lemon and 1/2 cup of sugar. Allow the peaches to soak 2 hours. Strain peaches, reserving juice. Gently mash peach slices. In a medium bowl, whisk together milk and remaining sugar until sugar is dissolved. Stir in cream, reserved peach juice, half the mashed peaches, and vanilla. Cover and refrigerate for 3 – 4 hours. Process in ice cream maker until nearly done; add remaining mashed peaches and continue processing another 5 minutes. Cover and freeze until set.

Half a Dozen Aloes

 

“Our Savior was willing to suffer the pain of His Atonement because He loves you. In fact, you’re ‘the joy that was set before him’ while He suffered. The invitation to repent is an expression of God’s love. Saying yes to that invitation is an expression of ours. Picture your favorite image of Christ. Now imagine Him smiling brightly with joy each time you use His gift, because He is the perfect brightness of hope. Your repentance doesn’t burden Jesus Christ; it brightens His joy! Let’s teach that! We don’t stay on the covenant path by never making a mistake. We stay on the path by repenting every day. When we’re repenting, God forgives without shaming us, comparing us to anyone else, or scolding us because this is the same thing we were repenting of last week. He’s excited every time He sees us on our knees. He delights to forgive us because to Him we are delightful!” – Tamara W. Runia

Sawtooth Star

 

Today is Read a Book Day. It’s a great day to start a new novel. If longer tomes are intimidating, here’s a list of great reads with fewer than 200 pages:

Animal Farm – George Orwell

Call of the Wild – Jack London

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Roald Dahl

Childhood's End – Arthur C. Clarke

Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde – Robert Louis Stevenson

Fahrenheit 451 – Ray Bradbury

Five People You Meet in Heaven – Mitch Albom

The Giver – Lois Lowry

Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe – C.S. Lewis

The Little Prince – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Martian Chronicles – Ray Bradbury

Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck

Old Man and the Sea – Ernest Hemingway

Picture of Dorian Gray – Oscar Wilde

The Time Machine – H.G. Wells

Turn of the Screw – Henry James

Wizard of Earthsea – Ursula K. Le Guin

Books take us to places we can reach in no other way. Open a book and get away today.

2025 Utah State Fair Quilt Challenge

 

September 2006, we were enjoying the quilt displays at the state fair and noticed a couple of ladies drumming up interest for a quilt challenge. It was way out of my league. I’d pieced a few quilt tops, but never quilted or bound one by myself. And I’d certainly never designed my own quilt. A year later, I submitted the first wall hanging I’d made on my own, start to finish. It was small and lumpy, with a wonky binding. But I’d hand-embroidered an original poem on the borders. My first entry didn’t win a blue ribbon, but I was hooked. I’ve participated in the challenge every year since then. I can’t always guess what the judges will like, and I don’t always get a blue ribbon. But that’s not why I do this. I’m here to challenge myself. When I look at that first quilt and compare it to what I’m doing now, I know it’s working.

Twenty-One Potted Cacti

 

When I became a mom, I gave up working at Burger King. It was no great loss, believe me. But I did miss what little income I had. John was working to support us at the same time he was earning his degree, so it felt good to add what I could to the family budget. While caring for my newborn, I managed a complex with three dozen apartments, and I delivered newspapers. Later, when my oldest was old enough for his own paper route, I helped with stuffing, folding and bagging, and in bad weather I drove his route in my car. It was A LOT less than minimum wage, but it was something we could do together before school. Back then, at least half the neighborhood were subscribers (including two who wrote for the paper). Now, most everyone reads news online. Today, on Newspaper Carrier Day, I'm wondering what kids do for money instead.

One Dozen Bear Paws

 

A 375-pound black bear was drowning under the Tallac Bridge in South Lake Tahoe. The crowd stood helpless on the shore until Ivan Stepanov, a tourist visiting from Russia, kicked off his shoes and jumped into the water. The bear had wandered into a neighborhood where he was tranquilized by wildlife officers. Then, as officers waited for the sedative to take effect, the bear stumbled into the icy water. Now, with the tranquilizer kicking in, the bear grew too weak to stay afloat. Ivan wrapped his arms under the bear’s neck, holding its head above the water, speaking softly to keep it calm. They both reached the shore, where officers tagged the bear’s ear, checked vitals, and later released it in the Sierra Nevada wilderness. When asked why he risked his life, Ivan shrugged. “In my country,” he replied, “We say a man’s strength is measured by who he chooses to protect. Even if it has claws.”

Lost Gosling

 

When I was in my teens, my parents allowed me to pierce my ears. It happened in an earring shop, with a piercing gun and surgical steel studs. The piercing didn’t hurt much, but I went home with an awful headache. Years later, my college roommates talked me into a second set of piercings. They used two ice cubes and a darning needle. Zero stars; do not recommend. A few years after that, my firstborn taught me why new moms don’t wear hoop earrings. Fast forward a few more years: I learned about nickel allergies and had to toss more than half my jewelry box. When my daughter was a year old, I had her ears pierced. I knew she’d want to wear bling, and wouldn’t be able to keep up with the hygiene. I was wrong on both counts. These days, she never wears earrings. I’ve still got a few of mine, in case I’m ever in the mood. Happy “Pierce Your Ears” Day!

September Door Banner

 

“After years of diligent effort, our son Eli received an invitation to interview with one of his top choices for law school. He announced, ‘I was asked 10 questions. The final was, Where do you derive your moral compass? I said I strive to pattern my life from is that of Jesus Christ. I stated if all of humanity abided by the teachings of Christ in the Sermon on the Mount, the world would be a better, more peaceful place.’ The interview ended, and he thought, ‘There go my dreams. No one in secular academia wants to hear about Christ.’ Two weeks later, Eli was admitted with a scholarship. Before committing, we visited the campus. The law school looked like a castle set high on a hill overlooking a beautiful lake. As we walked through the magnificent library and stately corridors, we found carved in stone attributes from the Sermon on the Mount.” – Amy A. Wright