Spring Blossom

 

Daryl Davis is an R&B/Blues musician who played with Chuck Berry, B.B. King, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Muddy Waters. But his real claim to fame is in a quite different field. Daryl is an African-American who deliberately befriended Roger Kelly, a KKK Grand wizard. He spent years cultivating a friendship with Roger. Instead of hating Roger, Daryl listened to him. He even attended klan rallies as Roger’s guest. Eventually, Roger began listening to Daryl, too. In the end, Roger denounced the KKK, and gave Daryl his robe and hood as a token of his changed heart. Roger received robes and hoods from more than 200 former klansmen in just this way. “These individuals are, like it or not, our fellow Americans,” says Daryl. “Through understanding and patience, we can find unity. It's about transforming fear into friendship, one conversation at a time. For the sake of our future, let us start talking WITH each other.”

Six-Inch Criss-Cross

 

Pancake Spaghetti

This isn’t really a recipe; it’s more of a technique. You can use your favorite pancake recipe (I love sourdough pancakes) or any commercial pancake mix. Take a large, heavy skillet. Whether it’s non-stick or not, coat it lightly with butter or vegetable oil before putting it on the range at medium heat. (If you’re using an electric skillet, set it to 375F.) Once the pan is hot enough to send a drop of water skittering, you’re good to go. Mix your batter so it’s just thin enough to pour. Put it in a zipper bag and cut a small triangle off one corner. Swirl the batter all over the pan, as if you’re making funnel cakes without the deep fat fryer. When the batter starts to look dry, flip the “pancake.” Serve with your favorite syrup, fruit, or powdered sugar. Note: expect your first pancake to be a disappointment. Toss it and try again.

Bunny Trail

 

Last Autumn, I signed up for the Riley Blake Door Banner Kit-of-the-Month. Twelve kits will come to my house for wall-hanging sized quilts to be displayed on or near the front door. The first, which arrived four weeks ago, was for April. I’m guessing the two-month offset was to give me time to complete each small quilt. I’ve seen the twelve finished designs, and I like them all, except for the first one. April’s quilt is ALL applique. It features a big, ugly brown rabbit, an uninspired pink Easter egg, green stems and grass, and seven circles in yellow, lavender, orange, blue and teal. I assume they represent spring flowers. Worst of all, the top quarter of the quilt has “Happy Easter” spelled in heavily serifed black letters. I KNEW I could do better. Here’s my own take on Buggy Barn’s “Bunny Trail,” using all the colors from my April kit, excepting black. Maybe I’ll use the black to bind it.

Mississippi Star

 

In the summer of 1948, several people reported finding enormous three-toed footprints in the sand at Clearwater Beach, Florida. Later on, similar tracks were discovered along the shore of the Suwannee River, some 40 miles from the ocean. During that same year there were sightings of giant penguin, at least 15 feet tall. Some saw the bird at a distance, waddling along the river; others spied him floating on the water. Ivan T. Sanderson, a cryptozoologist (Terrific job title! How exactly does one become a cryptozoologist?) declared an enormous flightless bird had somehow become separated from its natural habitat. The mystery was finally solved in 1988, when Tony Signorini showed a reporter the huge three-toed iron shoes he’d worn to perpetrate the hoax. He’d kept the prank going more than ten years, with no one the wiser. And all those big bird sightings? Maybe they’re the product of several over-active imaginations. Or maybe not.

Six Rabbits

 

“Anger may be justified in some circumstances. The scriptures tell us Jesus drove moneychangers from the temple, saying, ‘My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.’ Even this was spoken more as a rebuke than an outburst of uncontrolled anger. Now, my dear brethren, I plead with you to control your tempers, put a smile upon your faces, which will erase anger; speak out with words of love and peace, appreciation, and respect. If you do this, your lives will be without regret. Your marriages and family relationships will be preserved. You will be much happier. You will do greater good. You will feel a sense of peace that will be wonderful. May the Lord bless you and inspire you to walk without anger, without bitterness of any kind, but to reach out to others with expressions of friendship, appreciation, and love.” – President Gordon B. Hinckley

Twelve-Inch Sawtooth Star

 

Mixed Berry Pretzel Dessert

 

2 1/2 cups coarsely crushed pretzels

2/3 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoon flour

2 teaspoons vanilla

3/4 cup butter, melted

8 ounces cream cheese

8 ounce extra creamy Cool Whip

1 cup powdered sugar

21 ounces blueberry pie filling

6 ounces raspberries

6 ounces blueberries

6 ounces blackberries

 

Preheat oven to 375F and coat 9×13 pan with cooking spray. In large bowl, combine crushed pretzels, brown sugar, flour, and vanilla. Melt butter; add to pretzel mixture. Stir. Spread all but 1/2 cup pretzel mixture in baking pan. Press evenly. Bake 10 minutes and let cool. Beat cream cheese 2 minutes until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar and beat until combined. Fold in Cool Whip. Spread the cheese mixture evenly over cooled crust. Spread pie filling on top of the cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle berries over pie filling. Sprinkle reserved pretzel mixture on top. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate four hours or overnight.

Cotton Candy

 

Shavarsh Karapetyan was an Armenian swimmer. In 1976, he took a sixteen-mile run around Yerevan Lake with his brother, Kamo. Suddenly, he heard a loud crash. A trolley had lost control and fallen into the water. It was 82 feet away from the shore and quickly sank to a depth of 33 feet. Shavarsh dived in after it. He kicked out the back window of the trolley, though the water was murky. Of the 92 passengers onboard, Shavarsh pulled out 46. Twenty of them survived. Because of the cold water and lacerations from glass shards he was hospitalized 45 days. He developed pneumonia and sepsis. He recovered, but damage to his lungs prevented him from continuing his career as a swimmer. In 1974, he saved passengers on a driverless bus that started rolling downhill. In 1985, he saved several people trapped in a burning building. Shavarsh is seventy now, still living in Armenia.