Kim's Doll Quilt

This quilt design came attached to the Village Squares quilt pattern – a way to use all the tiny bits of leftover fabric. It’s meant to be 7x9” finished, too small even for a Barbie doll bed. Heather was interested in Barbies for about six months altogether; long enough for me to buy her two Disney-themed dolls, Pocahontas and Esmeralda. At the time they were the only two dolls I could find who didn’t dress like streetwalkers. They even had a house: a two-story, four room plywood affair with carpet, wallpaper and plenty of furniture. I played with it more than Heather ever did. Today our dolls are much more substantial, but still Disney-themed: Dumbo, Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, and Piglet. I doubled the size of this quilt for them, in case they ever get bored with the one they’re currently using. 

Bradford's Corner

If you missed National Rocky Road Day on June second, don’t despair. You can always catch up today: National Chocolate Ice Cream Day. No one’s going to quibble if you toss in some almonds, marshmallows and chocolate chips.

Decadent Chocolate Ice Cream

1 1/3 cups milk

1 1/3 cups heavy cream

1 vanilla bean

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup cocoa

2 eggs

1 egg yolk

1 teaspoon vanilla

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Combine milk and cream in large saucepan over medium low heat. Split vanilla bean and toss in. Simmer, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. Remove from heat and discard bean. Put sugar, eggs, yolk and cocoa in mixing bowl. Beat until thick. With mixer on low, blend in 1 cup of warm milk/cream mixture. Stir chopped chocolate into saucepan, then add mixing bowl contents to saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until it resembles chocolate pudding. Cool completely before processing in ice cream freezer. 

Village Square Quilt

In our little studio we teach violin, viola, cello and piano; much from the Suzuki method. Typically, the bulk of our students are somewhere in book one. “Long, Long Ago” is in book one for each of these instruments, so it’s a rare day that I don’t hear this melody played at least once. A while back the question of who’d written it came up, and I admitted I didn’t know. The Suzuki books only cite T. H. Bayly. So I looked him up. Thomas Haynes Bayly (1797-1839) was born in Bath. He was for a short time a popular poet, composer and playwright, but “Long, Long Ago” is probably the only thing he wrote that you’ve ever heard. The most interesting tidbit I dug up was this: a century after Bayly’s death, Glenn Miller turned his sentimental tune into “Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree.” How did I hear this song daily for decades and not notice that?

Double Dash

“Recently, Wendy and I were in a meeting where the organist was poised and ready to play the opening hymn. His eyes were on the music, and his fingers were on the keys. He began pressing the keys, but there was no sound. I whispered to Wendy, ‘He has no power.’ I reasoned that something had stopped the flow of electrical power to that organ. Well, brethren, in like manner, I fear that there are too many men who have been given the authority of the priesthood but who lack priesthood power because the flow of power has been blocked by sins such as laziness, dishonesty, pride, immorality, or preoccupation with things of the world. If we will humbly present ourselves before the Lord and ask Him to teach us, He will show us how to increase our access to His power.” - President Russell M. Nelson

Four Village Squares

It’s counterintuitive, but many things are healthier and taste better (and some even last longer) if you allow them to spoil in specific ways. I’m thinking of things like sauerkraut, cheese, pickles, yogurt, green olives, buttermilk, and sourdough. In the warmest part of my kitchen there’s a ceramic bowl of Lactobacillus Sanfranciscensis (San Francisco sourdough starter) happily bubbling away. I feed it about a half cup of flour and a quarter cup of water daily, and once a week I use it to make:

Sourdough Pancakes

1 cup sourdough starter

1 egg

1/2 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon oil

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Pinch salt

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and blend well. Lightly grease large pan and bring to medium-high heat. Pour in about 1/4 cup of batter. When the whole surface is bubbly and edges are slightly dry, flip the pancake. As soon as pancake is set, remove from heat and serve. Repeat with remaining batter.

Rolling Rockets

Marty O’Connor spent the morning of August 12, 2012 playing golf. Then he caught a matinee Angels game before hanging out with friends in Newport Beach. That’s when he fell down a flight of stairs and suffered a C3/C4 compression fracture that left him paralyzed from the shoulders down. “After I got hurt,” Marty said, “I kind of thought everything was lost. I didn’t really have a future.” But he worked out at rehab centers, and began to use a wheelchair. In 2015 he enrolled at Chapman University to pursue an MBA. His mother Judy, a retired elementary school teacher, attended all his classes with him as his official note-taker. Two weeks ago, at Marty’s graduation ceremony, his mom was surprised with an honorary degree. “She’s been instrumental these past two years,” Marty said. “There’s no way I could have achieved this success without her.” 

Village Square Block

Nineteen-year-old Joey Prusak was working the till at a Dairy Queen near Minneapolis in 2013 when he noticed a blind customer drop a $20 bill. “The lady behind him saw it and picked it up really quick,” Joey reports. He asked the woman to return the money, but she refused, saying it was hers. Joey told the woman, “Ma'am, you can either return the twenty or you can leave, because I’m not going to serve someone as disrespectful as you.” After she left, Joey took twenty dollars from his own wallet and gave it to the blind man. “I was just doing what I thought was right. I did it without even really thinking about it.” Another customer was so impressed, she shared the story on the DQ website. After that Joey, an amateur racer, started getting lots of attention; including an offer to attend the Daytona 500 as Kevin Harvick’s guest.