True LeMoyne Star

This is one of the hardest blocks I’ve ever made. It took me most of the day to get it right, and it’s still not perfect. Most blocks take around an hour to cut, stitch and press. A few of the more difficult ones –with curved seams, odd angles or lots of tiny pieces – take as much as two hours to complete. A true LeMoyne Star features not one but eight Y-seams. Y-seam construction is necessary when three pieces of fabric come together in the shape of the letter Y. You have to start and end these seams exactly 1/4” from the end of the fabric to leave room for the next seam. Then you’re supposed to backstitch over the seam you just made so it won’t come loose; something I clearly forgot to do at least three times. There aren’t many blocks easier to do by hand than by machine. I think this may be one of them.

Four Crowns

"Being able to see ourselves clearly is essential to our spiritual growth and well-being. If our weaknesses and shortcomings remain obscured in the shadows, then the redeeming power of the Savior cannot heal them and make them strengths. Ironically, our blindness toward our human weaknesses will also make us blind to the divine potential that our Father yearns to nurture within each of us. As you hear or read the words of the ancient and modern prophets, refrain from thinking about how the words apply to someone else and ask the simple question: “Lord, is it I?” We must approach our Eternal Father with broken hearts and teachable minds. We must be willing to learn and to change. And, oh, how much we gain by committing to live the life our Heavenly Father intends for us" -  President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Rainy Day

The day is cold, and dark, and dreary;

It rains, and the wind is never weary;

The vine still clings to the mouldering wall,

But at every gust the dead leaves fall,

And the day is dark and dreary.

My life is cold, and dark, and dreary;

It rains, and the wind is never weary;

My thoughts still cling to the mouldering Past,

But the hopes of youth fall thick in the blast,

And the days are dark and dreary.

Be still, sad heart! and cease repining;

Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;

Thy fate is the common fate of all,

Into each life some rain must fall,

Some days must be dark and dreary. - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Remembering Kendra

We knew she wouldn’t be with us very long. She lived a total of 163 days, and many of those were spent either at the Portneuf Medical Center in Pocatello, Idaho where she was born or at Primary Children’s Medical Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, where she quietly left us. Most of us came to this Earth to learn and to be tested. Not Kendra. She came here to be a teacher; our teacher. During those 163 days, and in the days that have followed the prayers of her family and friends have come into sharper focus. We have hugged one another more and shared a little more. Remembering the patience, wonder and love that emanated from her small face, we’re kinder to each other and more aware of the sort of people we must be if we hope to be with her again someday. She was a tiny little thing, but she left big shoes to fill.

The Blue Knight

To my friends who like to think of themselves as liberals, I agree that liberality is a wonderful thing. I believe we were meant to be generous with our own time, means and talents. We should willingly empty our pockets whenever we pass a bell ringer at Christmastime. We should buy Girl Scout cookies and Cub Scout popcorn. We should check the “organ donor” box on our driver’s license form. We should regularly go through our cupboards and closets for items we no longer need to donate to goodwill. If we’re able, we should give blood, read to shut-ins, or serve in soup kitchens. We should offer food and clothing and shelter to the poor. Above all, these things should be done without ceremony and without compulsion. True liberality – charity – is freely and quietly given. I don’t know what to call people who want to be generous with other peoples’ taxes, but it certainly shouldn’t be “liberal.”

Kansas Car Troubles

Bill Gates once claimed, "If GM kept up with technology like the computer industry, we’d drive $25 cars and get 1,000 miles per gallon." GM responded with the following press release: "If GM developed technology like Microsoft, our cars would have the following characteristics:

For no reason whatsoever, your car would crash twice a day.

Every time they repainted the lines in the road, you’d have to buy a new car.

Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no reason. You’d have to pull over, close all the windows, shut off the car, restart it, and reopen windows before continuing.

Executing left turns would cause your car to shut down and refuse to restart until you reinstall the engine.

Apple would make a reliable solar-powered car five times as fast and twice as easy to drive; but would run on only five percent of the roads.

The airbag system would ask 'Are you sure?' before deploying.

You'd have to press the start button to turn the engine off."