Nine Devil's Puzzles

Eleven-year-old Noah Ursrey and his eight-year-old brother Stephen were playing in the waves at Panama City Beach. When they were caught in a deadly riptide they screamed for help. Tabatha and Brittany Monroe were the first to hear them. They swam out to rescue the boys but were overpowered themselves. The same thing happened to the boys’ mom and dad, their 27-year-old cousin and 67-year-old grandmother. No lifeguards were present, and police opted to wait for a rescue boat. Dozens of people on the beach could only watch as the exhausted victims – 100 yards from shore – were swept into the Gulf of Mexico. Then someone shouted, “Form a human chain!” Hundreds of people did just that, linking arms and legs to save every one of them. Afterwards, one witness remarked, “To see people come to action to help TOTAL strangers is amazing! People who didn’t know each other went HAND IN HAND to reach them. Pause and IMAGINE that.”

Hidden Stars, Diagonal Setting

“Every woman has been endowed by God with distinctive characteristics, gifts, and talents in order that she may fulfill a specific mission in the eternal plan. The priesthood is for the benefit of all members of the Church. While women do not hold the priesthood, men have no greater claim than women upon the blessings that issue from it. The home is the basic organization to teach an individual to walk uprightly before the Lord. Compassionate service and a sensitivity to the needs of others are the principal purposes for which a woman’s program was organized. Share your talents. Each of you, single or married, regardless of age, has the opportunity to learn and grow. Expand your knowledge, both intellectual and spiritual, to the full stature of your divine potential. There is no limit to your influence for good. Share your talents, for that which we willingly share, we keep. But that which we selfishly keep, we lose.” – President Thomas S. Monson

Four Devil's Puzzles

Sure, the Greek Festival is five weeks away, but who can wait that long?

Chicken Souvlaki

1 pound chicken breast , cut into 1 inch chunks

2 tablespoons of lemon juice

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 garlic cloves , minced

1 cup plain organic greek yogurt

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup minced cucumber

1/4 cup minced fresh parsley

Combine the lemon juice, olive oil, oregano, salt, pepper and garlic, along with 1 tablespoon water, in a bowl. Add chicken and toss to coat. Marinate 1 hour. Heat a grill to medium. Thread chicken onto 4 skewers. Grill chicken 5 minutes on each side or until cooked through. Mix together yogurt, sour cream, cucumber and parsley. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot chicken with yogurt sauce.

Big Baby Star

It takes roughly nine months to produce a human. It must take me a good chunk of that time to produce a baby quilt, because it always feels like I’m struggling to pull it off at the last minute. I never seem to do my best work when I’m under a deadline, so maybe I can be forgiven for not being on top of my game where baby quilts are concerned. When I bought the pattern for this quilt I thought it would be a good way to use up eleven of the 30’s fat quarters I’d been collecting. I wish I’d remembered that since fat quarters would also be used for the binding, there would be twice as many lumpy seams at the edges of the quilt. I’m considering making two more of these – one pink and one blue – to have on hand in case of baby showers. If I do, I’m buying separate yardage for the binding.

Devil's Puzzle Block

Kumbali was born May 12, 2015 to Hatari and Khari, a pair of cheetahs at the Richmond Zoo. Kumbali was the runt of a litter of three. His siblings were thriving, but Kumbali was losing weight. So the zoo decided to hand raise him. The original plan was to reintroduce Kumbali to his family when his health was restored, but they wanted nothing to do with him. The poor cheetah cub began to show signs of anxiety. So the zoo got him a puppy: Kago, a rescued male yellow Lab mix. The practice of using dogs as companions for cheetahs has been going on for thirty years, beginning with the San Diego Zoo. It’s a relationship that would never happen in the wild, but it was exactly what the nervous cheetah needed. Kumbali and Kago are adorable together. You can follow this odd couple online at http://metrorichmondzoo.com or you can visit them in person. Bring a camera.

Bow Ties for Ethan

When we lived in England John had a coworker who was king of barbecues. This fellow had a roasting box big enough to accommodate a fully grown pig, which he procured from a local butcher. (This is completely beside the point, but if you’ve only ever lived in the United States, you probably have no idea what real pork tastes like. Pigs here are deliberately bred to have less fat and harvested early to cut costs. The result tastes a bit like dry chicken.)  When the barbecue king and his wife were expecting a little boy I made this baby quilt for them. I used a charm pack (a stack of five inch squares) of Aunt Gracie prints from American Jane line for Moda fabrics. The almost-but-not-quite white background was leftover scraps of Kona Snow. The sashing, border, backing and binding were ordered by mail from The Fat Quarter Shop, who didn’t mind shipping to an APO. 

Nine Cotton Reels

I've scarcely fired up my oven in weeks. My air conditioner is already having a tough time keeping the house cool, especially around dinner time. These days most of my cooking happens on the grill, on the range, in the microwave, or in my slow cooker.

Slow Cooker Upside-Down Cake

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 20-ounce can pineapple slices drained, reserve juice

10 maraschino cherries without stems

1 box yellow cake mix

Oil and eggs called for on cake mix box

Spray 6-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. Spread butter and brown sugar evenly in bottom. Arrange pineapple slices on brown sugar mixture. Place a cherry in center of each. Make cake batter as directed on box, substituting pineapple juice mixture for the water. Pour batter over pineapple and cherries. Cook on High heat setting 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Serve while still warm.