Yellow Windy Days

Your immune system is meant to protect you from disease. But if you have an autoimmune disease, your immune system attacks healthy cells by mistake. Diabetes, lupus, RA and MS are just a few names on a long list of autoimmune diseases. Kayla Montgomery was diagnosed with MS four years ago, at age fourteen. Her symptoms for the time being are managed with medication. But when her temperature rises, as it does whenever she runs, her immune system attacks her nerves and she loses sensation in her legs. She can run very fast without feeling pain, but she’s unable to come to a safe stop at the end of a race. So her track coach has to meet her at the finish line and catch her to keep her from falling. “If I’m not able to run at some point down the road,” she says, “At least I can look back and know I gave it my all.”

Garden Furrows

This quilt top isn’t quite as scrappy as it looks. The cream-colored background and tight little nosegay block centers are cut from the same cloth: Bouquet Gallery by South Sea Imports. A few of the other prints - medium green stripe, medium green leaves, medium pink leaves and a medium yellow – came from that same line. They were in a kit featuring King’s Crown and Snowball blocks. It might have been fun to make, but the finished product would be so . . . medium. So I fussy-cut the background to make it seem lighter than it was and supplemented the pastels with stronger values. The darker pinks, greens and yellows are from Marti Michell’s Wild Rose line, and the lavender strips are from Lilac Parade by Buggy Barn. Forty-two log cabin blocks (you see 30 here) went together in a flash. It was just an experiment, but I’m rather pleased at how it turned out.

Sunrise Tea Cozy

Three quarters of a century ago Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Kelley ran a dance studio where they taught the “waltz clog.” The steps were too difficult for their youngest pupils, so Clarence and George H. Sanders wrote a simple song with pantomime-like movements anyone could master. (No, not THAT George H. Sanders. The voice of Shere Khan was George Henry Sanders, the songwriter was George Harold Sanders.) “The Teapot Song” and its accompanying dance were very popular; and not just with small children. In 1941 it became a big band hit. Performed by Ronnie Kemper with the Horace Heidt Orchestra, the record sold over a million copies. The tune was even used in Lipton Tea commercials. Better known as “I’m a Little Teapot,” the song has several different versions of lyrics. I’ve searched in vain for the one I grew up with. I remember it being a sort of mash-up with “Polly Put the Kettle On.”

Four Baskets

Last month I prepared a lesson on personal hygiene for a class of young women. The lesson turned out to be more a discussion about the sorts of things you wouldn’t do without. It reminded me of the day twenty-eight years ago when Heather had to take Life Flight from the Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls to Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City. Her doctors said I could ride with her if I could grab a few essentials from home and be back in a flash. I stuffed my toothbrush, a hairbrush, a clean change of underwear and a pair of socks in my purse. Nearly two decades later, when we spent an unplanned extra night at Walt Disney World and our checked luggage flew home without us, those were the very things we wished we’d thought to put in our carry-on bags. What sort of things would YOU not like to be without?

Red Windy Days

A man observed a woman out shopping with her three-year-old daughter. The girl asked for cookies and her mother said, "No." When she began to whine the mother said, "Ellen, we’re half done with the shopping; don't be upset. It won't be long." When they reached the candy aisle the little girl began to shout for candy. When she was told she couldn't have any, she began to cry. The mother said, "Don’t cry, Ellen. Two more aisles and we'll be checking out." The girl wanted gum at the checkout and threw a tantrum when her mother didn’t buy any. The mother said, "Ellen, we'll be through this checkout stand in five minutes, and then you can go home and have a nice nap." In the parking lot the man stopped the woman to compliment her. "I couldn't help noticing how patient you were with little Ellen." The mother broke in, "My girl's name is Tammy. I'm Ellen."

Concord Basket

"Why Should We Love God? God the Eternal Father did not give that first great commandment because He needs us to love Him. His power and glory are not diminished should we disregard, deny, or even defile His name. His influence and dominion extend through time and space independent of our acceptance, approval, or admiration. No, God does not need us to love Him. But oh, how we need to love God! For what we love determines what we seek. What we seek determines what we think and do. What we think and do determines who we are—and who we will become. We are created in the image of our heavenly parents; we are God’s spirit children. Therefore, we have a vast capacity for love—it is part of our spiritual heritage. What and how we love not only defines us as individuals; it also defines us as a church. Love is the defining characteristic of a disciple of Christ." - Dieter F. Uchtdorf