Sunshine Star

“Most Americans claim the pursuit of happiness among their inalienable rights, as set forth by their Founding Fathers. This concept was not introduced by them, however, as early philosophers like Aristotle, Plato, Socrates, Locke, Aquinas, and Mill opined that happiness is the most fundamental of all human searches. In Tolstoy’s book War and Peace, the Russian writer had his character Pierre Bezúkhov learn ‘that man is created for happiness, that happiness is within him, in the satisfaction of simple human needs, and that all unhappiness arises not from privation but from superfluity.’ Often, we find ourselves striving for the superfluity. We are not content with what we have and think that happiness comes from having more or acquiring more or being more. We look for happiness but go in the wrong direction to find it. The Savior of the world taught us to seek that inner peace which taps the innate happiness in our souls.” – President James E. Faust

Three Cottages

This may come as a shock to some quilters, but it’s possible to own too much fabric. If you come home from shopping and discover that there’s no room for the lovely new cotton prints you just bought, it might be time for a purge. Sure, you could rush off to Ikea or The Container Store for a new storage solution, but you’re really only postponing the inevitable. Sooner or later everyone needs to go through their stash and decide what stays and what goes. As you look at each piece, ask yourself, “Do I actually have plans for this?” “Am I as happy with this today as the day I bought it?” “Will this work well with other prints I own?” “Might this be useful in a number of different projects?” and most importantly, “Do I really love it?” If the answer is no to too many of these, add the piece to a bag or box to be donated.

Flag Day

David Ayres is forty-two years old, a kidney transplant survivor, and a Zamboni driver at the Toronto Maple Leaf’s practice rink. He’d even occasionally practiced with the hockey team, and he’d signed up as an emergency backup goal tender for their home games. He never imagined – never in his wildest dreams – that he’d end up on the ice during an actual game, but that’s exactly what happened February 22. Both of the Carolina Hurricanes’ goalies were injured, and David suited up. He let in the first two shots he faced but saved the next eight and earned an unlikely victory for the visiting team. Emergency goal tender is an unpaid position (they usually earn free meals and tickets for nights they’re on call), but the Hurricanes have offered David the proceeds from sales of T-shirts bearing his name. David says a portion of that will go to the Kidney Foundation.

Chloe's Cottage

Starting a new project is always exciting. But sometimes it’s hard to keep that enthusiasm going. Unforeseen difficulties can arise that make it hard to finish. Occasionally we’re stopped by our own mistakes; we read instructions wrong, we make a bad cut, or seams must be ripped out. Often, the blockage is caused by monotony rather than frustration. I have a UFO (unfinished fabric object) in my closet that should have been completed years ago. It has three prints: light grey, medium grey and dark grey tone-on-tone. What was I thinking? I asked several quilting friends what they do when a project stalls. One powers through. She rewards herself with a new kit when she finishes an old one. Another puts her project in “time out.” She stuffs the fabric, instructions and notes on what went wrong together in a sack. If a year goes by with no progress, the sack gets donated. A third friend stores orphan blocks for later use in charity quilts.

The First Three Borders

According to a recent Gallup poll, most Americans visit the library twice as often as they visit the cinema. Most reported ten library trips in 2019, compared to five movie outings. On average, they claimed to have attended five sporting events, four musical or live theatre performances, and 3.7 visits to national parks. Museum visits and casino trips were tied at 2.5, theme park outings were 1.5, and zoos were dead last at .9. I can’t think of a single sporting event we saw in 2019. We didn’t set foot in a casino, though we did stop in Vegas. We saw ten musical/theatrical performances, and that doesn’t count the ones we ourselves performed. We took one Disneyland vacation, but it lasted three days. We have (and use) memberships at the zoo, the aquarium and several museums. But we’re at the library and the movie theater almost every single week. Maybe it’s time to schedule a national park trip.

Magic

About halfway between Leicester and Norwich as the crow flies (because of course there are no straight roads anywhere in England) lies the tiny town of Wisbech. There, along the River Nene, is a little road which is also called Nene. On this road are a Chinese takeaway and an insurance agency, with a narrow alleyway between that leads to a pub car park. Above this alleyway is a tiny room that was probably once connected – a long time ago – to one of the first-floor flats above either the restaurant or the insurance office. This 129-square foot “flat” has two windows, but no door and no stairs. It was recently sold at auction for a single pound. It’s part of a terrace of old buildings that are believed to have been built as shops or granaries in the sixteenth century. So, what’s in the tiny room? No one knows. But whatever it is, it’s likely been there a long, long time.  

House with Flag

“When you climb up a ladder, you must begin at the bottom, and ascend step by step, until you arrive at the top; and so it is with the principles of the gospel—you must begin with the first, and go on until you learn all the principles of exaltation. But it will be a great while after you have passed through the veil before you will have learned them. It is not all to be comprehended in this world; it will be a great work to learn our salvation and exaltation even beyond the grave. When we understand the character of God, and know how to come to Him, He begins to unfold the heavens to us, and to tell us all about it. When we are ready to come to Him, He is ready to come to us.” – Joseph Smith, Jr.