Calico Apples

“The reality is that there are no perfect families. Every family has moments of awkwardness. Like when your parents ask you to take a ‘selfie’ of them, or when your great-aunt insists that you are still single because you are just too picky, or when your opinionated brother-in-law thinks his political view is the gospel view, or when your dad arranges a family portrait with everyone dressed like characters in his favorite movie. And you get the Chewbacca costume. Families are like that. We may share the same gene pool, but we are not the same. We have unique spirits. We are influenced in different ways by our experiences. And each of us ends up different as a result. Rather than attempting to force everyone into a mold of our own making, we can choose to celebrate these differences and appreciate them for adding richness and constant surprises to our lives.” - President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Tit for Tat

I was on the track team in high school, so I watched it happen over and over. As my teammates became curvier, they took increasingly more desperate steps to keep their anatomies under control. Some layered two or three bras. Others used duct tape. Nothing really worked. Eventually the more well-endowed dropped out. We accepted it as fact: buxom women couldn’t do sports. Luckily for all of us, three University of Vermont students during my senior year weren’t buying it. Hinda Miller, Lisa Lindahl and Polly Smith put their heads together to build a bra that would control the painful bounce. They were getting nowhere until Lisa’s husband came in wearing two jock straps slung over his chest. He was teasing, but it got them thinking. "That's what we wanted: to pull everything close to the body," said Hinda. They bought two jock straps and sewed them together. And just like that, the sports bra was born.

Gossip in the Garden

I spend one Tuesday morning each month in the company of quilters. We chat, show off our latest projects and eat. Here’s what we ate last month.

Britt’s Aloha Chicken Salad

3 romaine lettuce hearts, chopped

2 large cans mandarin oranges, drained

1 large can pineapple tidbits, drained

1 red onion, diced

1 1/2 cups tortilla strips

3/4 cup crumbled feta

3-4 cooked chicken breasts, cubed

Toasted coconut, optional

Toss all ingredients together in a large bowl or layer on a platter.  Serve with:

PINA COLADA VINAIGRETTE

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup Mr. & Mrs. T's pina colada drink mix

1/3 cup rice or apple cider vinegar

1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cup vegetable oil

In a blender combine all ingredients except the oil.  Blend well until light and frothy.  With the blender still on, slowly add oil in a steady stream.  Keep blending until dressing thickens.  

Juneau

Before he came to live at GuRuStu, a marketing firm in Tulsa, the tabby kitten lived at a local animal shelter. Before that he was a homeless stray, living in an open field. Now he’s an office kitty, charged with keeping mice and other small vermin at bay. For his first few months on the job his coworkers called him Sir Whines-a-lot, because he demanded so much attention. Then they began to notice small piles of dollar bills near the glass front door as they began their work day. "We figured people must have been using dollars to play with the kitty through the door and he snatched their money." To test their theory, they waved a bill through the crack in the door. In no time the cat had snagged it and added it to his pile. The newly renamed CASHnip kitty is famous. And all his proceeds are donated to the Tulsa Homeless Day Care Center.

Indigo Table Topper

Last Wednesday I took a walk in the neighborhood with two of my grandchildren. We were halfway around the block when we were passed by a truck towing a colorful trailer. It stopped a few houses in front of us and the driver got out. He pulled a high-pressure hose from the side of the trailer and began spraying my neighbor’s trash bin. Then he hooked the bin to a lifting device on the back of the trailer while we stood by, mesmerized. He invited my grandson to come push a button that lifted the can upside-down over the trailer, where it was thoroughly cleaned and disinfected. My granddaughter got to push the button that brought the spotless can back to the curb. Before he left, the man handed us a flyer advertising his business: “Cantastic.” He invited me to subscribe to his can cleaning service. I may take him up on it; if only for the entertainment value.

Four-Patch Dash

Clayton and Brittany Cook had just tied the knot. They were posing for some wedding photos on a bridge over a lake in Victoria Park in Kitchener, Canada. Clayton noticed something amiss in the water below. A small boy who had been playing with friends at the water’s edge had fallen in and was drowning. Without a thought for his dress shoes, his suit and tie or his yellow boutonniere, Clay ran down the bridge and jumped into the lake. He scooped up the little boy and pulled him to safety. His new bride wasn’t the least bit surprised. “That’s Clay,” she said. “It’s just the sort of thing he would instinctively do.” Then she added, “How different would everyone's day have been if we weren't in the right place at the right time?”

Feathered Star

“When I take notes at conference, I do not always write down exactly what the speaker is saying; I note the personalized direction the Spirit is giving me. What is said is not as important as what we hear and what we feel. That is why we make an effort to experience conference in a setting where the still, small voice of the Spirit can be clearly heard, felt, and understood. Oh, how we need general conference! Through conferences our faith is fortified and our testimonies deepened. And when we are converted, we strengthen each other to stand strong amid the fiery darts of these last days. The greatest blessings of general conference come to us after the conference is over. Remember the pattern recorded frequently in scripture: we gather to hear the words of the Lord, and we return to our homes to live them.” - Elder Robert D. Hales