Nine Shoemaker's Puzzles

“Remember the words of Nephi. ‘I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do. Nevertheless,’ he said, ‘I went forth.’ And so must we. We must be confident in our first promptings. Sometimes we rationalize; we wonder if we are feeling a spiritual impression or if it is just our own thoughts. When we begin to second-guess, even third-guess, our feelings—and we all have—we are dismissing the Spirit; we are questioning divine counsel. The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that if you will listen to the first promptings, you will get it right nine times out of ten. Now a caution: don’t expect fireworks because you responded to the Holy Ghost. Remember, you are about the work of the still, small voice.” – Elder Ronald A. Rasband

Staff of Life

Graham and Meg Hemmings had an old piano in their house for 33 years before they very generously donated it to a Bishop’s Castle Community College in Shropshire in central England. Last year the school sent the instrument to piano technician Martin Backhouse so it could be cleaned, repaired and tuned. That’s when they came to light: eight hand-stitched cloth pouches containing 913 gold sovereigns and half-sovereigns from the 1800’s and early 1900’s. Typically when treasure is discovered, the proceeds are split between property owner and finder; in this case, the school and the tuner. There was an exhaustive search for the original owner of the piano, but none was ever found. My guess is the musical Silas Marner passed away long ago without telling his heirs what he’d hidden under the keys. By now, even his heirs have probably gone to their final reward. 

Four Shoemaker's Puzzles

After the American civil war ended, Mexico fought with the US over the annexation of Texas. Instead of winning Texas back Mexico lost most of present-day California, Utah, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico. A decade later Mexico was involved in its own civil war to decide how much influence the Catholic Church should have over the country. War is such expensive business. In 1861 Mexico announced it could no longer repay its foreign debt. France sent an army to repossess. May 5, 1862 the French attacked two forts near Puebla. Though they were poorly equipped and outnumbered two to one, the Mexicans won the battle. They eventually lost the war and the French held Mexico until 1867 – which may explain why Mexico doesn’t really celebrate Cinco de Mayo. It’s a bigger deal in the parts of the US that used to be Mexico. Who doesn’t love a good David and Goliath story?

Nine No Room at the Inn Blocks

As far as I can tell it all started in 1993 with Armenian-American artist Nina Katchadourian. She called her project “Sorted Books.” She would start with a library – public or private – and collect books with titles that in some way caught her eye. These she arranged vertically with the spines facing forward sandwiched between backward-facing books. She then photographed and shared the result. Today it’s an artform called “Book Spine Poetry.” Book spines are stacked horizontally so the titles can be read top to bottom, their combination forming some new meaning. Sometimes they create a haiku; occasionally they rhyme. Like most poetry, they may startle, amuse, set a mood or provoke thought. One of my favorites (wish I’d thought of it) is, “My Dad is Big and Strong, BUT...I Am a Tyrannosaurus.” Here are two from my own shelves:

Shoemaker's Puzzle

We’ve known them both nearly two decades. I think the first musical we did together was "My Fair Lady" in September 1998, when the twins played matching housemaids. They were pretty, talented, and fun to be with – the kind of girls everyone wanted to call their friends. Today Jamie is a personal trainer and Melissa is a massage therapist. They still have the infectious enthusiasm for life that drew people to them when they were teenagers. Jamie, always the more competitive, now holds the Guiness World Record for catching the most bridal bouquets. It’s a bigger accomplishment than you might think. First you must be invited to fifty weddings. Then you’ve gotta beat a host of other ambitious brides’ maids to the punch, fifty times. Finally, you have to coax documentation – photos, video and witness statements – out of all those brides. But Jamie never quit. “You can do anything if you know your end goal,” she says.

Barn Stars Quilt

Once, many years ago, I made catsup from scratch. I peeled, seeded and cored a bushel of home-grown tomatoes, added seasonings and simmered, stirring, FOREVER. The result was delicious, but I never made it again. I  might this year, with a few shortcuts:

Tomato Catsup

9 pounds Roma tomatoes

3 onions, chopped

2 bell peppers, seeded and chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

2 cloves fresh garlic

1 cup cider vinegar

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon salt

1 teaspoon paprika

2 teaspoons allspice

1 teaspoon whole cloves

1 teaspoon peppercorns

1 cinnamon stick

Purée  all vegetables in blender, add to slow cooker. Stir in vinegar, mustard, sugar, salt and paprika. Tie remaining spices in cheesecloth, toss in slow cooker. Cover and cook eight hours on low. Transfer to stock pot and simmer until thickened. Remove spice bag and pour into glass or plastic containers. Keeps several weeks refrigerated or several months frozen.

Indigoes Around

“How many times have I asked the heavens, ‘Carest thou not that I perish?’ or ‘How canst thou lie asleep?’ Perhaps the Savior could have just answered the question. That He cares. That the boat won’t sink. But instead, he arose and said unto the sea, ‘Peace, be still.’ And there was a great calm. The disciples wanted to know if the Savior cared. The Savior gave them peace in the storm. When I’ve asked, ‘How come I have to deal with this particular situation in my life?’ I don’t usually get the answer I expect. And I probably wouldn’t appreciate it if I did. If God answered all my questions with a spoken-word answer, it probably wouldn’t always reach me or suffice my need. The facts of the matter aren’t always what I need, even though it’s what I think I want. Instead, there is a great calm. The answer is simply peace.” – Liz Stitt