Farmhouse Stars

“I had a substitute teacher in the second grade that told my class when she wants something, anything at all, she prays for it, and promises something in return and she always gets it. I’m sitting at the back of the classroom, thinking my family can’t afford a bike. So I went home and I prayed for one, and promised I would recite the rosary every night in exchange. Two weeks later, I got home from school to find a brand new mustang bike with a banana seat and easy rider handlebars! My family informed me I’d won the bike in a raffle that a friend of mine had entered my name in. That type of thing has been happening ever since, and as far as I can tell, it’s just about letting the universe know what you want and working toward it while letting go of how it might come to pass.” – Jim Carrey

Sunflower

If you use sunscreen - and you should - chances are you’re doing it wrong. First, your sunscreen has probably expired. If it’s been in the medicine cabinet eighteen months, it may still be good. If it’s more than two years old, or if it’s been in the garage or the glove compartment, toss it. Second, you’re probably not wearing it regularly. If you think sunscreen is just for the beach, think again. Third, you’re not using it liberally enough, and not applying it often enough. Even if you trowel it on, when you’re swimming or sweating, you need to reapply frequently. Are you using a chemical or a physical sun block? It makes a difference. The physical kinds give immediate protection, but chemical sunscreens should be applied thirty minutes BEFORE going out. Think your clothes will protect you? Nope. Your favorite white T-shirt is probably an SPF 7. So what do I recommend? No idea. Personally, I plan to hide indoors or under a big floppy hat until at least September.

Nine Chained Stars

Josette Duran was surprised when her son started asking for an extra lunch every day. He said, “Mom, it’s for this boy at school. He sits by himself and all he eats is a fruit cup.” So the New Mexico mom packed two lunches every day. When the other boy’s mom found out, she tried to pay it back, saying, “I know it isn’t much, but I just got a job.” Josette wouldn’t accept a cent. “Just a few years ago,” she says, “We were homeless, living in my car. We were washing in public bathrooms and we didn’t have food.” Josette didn't stop there. She and the volleyball team she coaches raised more than $400, and the check went straight to the cafeteria. “We paid up all the past due accounts for all the kids that need lunch. Now no one in that school owes any lunch money to anybody, and everybody can eat,” she said.

Four X

“No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true. Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” – Steve Jobs

Four Chained Stars

“We sometimes overly associate the power of the priesthood with men in the Church. The priesthood is the power and authority of God given for the salvation and blessing of all—men, women, and children. A man may open the drapes so the warm sunlight comes into the room, but the man does not own the sun or the light or the warmth it brings. The blessings of the priesthood are infinitely greater than the one who is asked to administer the gift. To receive the blessings, power, and promises of the priesthood in this life and the next is one of the great opportunities and responsibilities of mortality. As we are worthy, the ordinances of the priesthood enrich our lives on earth and prepare us for the magnificent promises of the world ahead. The Lord said, ‘In the ordinances the power of godliness is manifest.’” – Elder Neil L. Andersen

Which Came First?

I don’t often choose novelty fabrics as they tend not to lend themselves well to the kind of piecing I prefer. The novelty prints in my stash are usually there because I bought them for a friend’s baby quilt, because they coordinate with the state fair challenge quilt fabric, or because I won them in a drawing. Most of the prints in this quilt – sunflowers, eggs, roosters, hens, baby chicks and chicken wire – fall into that last category.  I supplemented them with a few near-solids and gingham checks in agreeable colors, and followed the simple directions for a Yellow Brick Road quilt by Atkinson Designs. It saw more use when there was a full size bed in our house. These days it serves as a backdrop for backyard picnic lunches or for glorious afternoon naps under the walnut tree.

Scrappy Chained Star

Julius Hadley has lived in Texas for ninety-five years. He knows how hot it can get there. He knows that the heat can kill, and it’s especially likely to kill the elderly. So in early June, when his central air and his window AC both went out, Julius did what anyone in a life-threatening situation might do. He called 911. Officers Margolis and Weir paid Julius a visit. “It was 8:30 a.m. and his house was already 90 degrees inside,” said Officer Margolis. The two policemen made a pit stop at Home Depot to buy Julius a new window unit. The Home Depot employees kicked in $150 of their own money. Weir, Margolis, and their coworker Officer Rebrovich installed the unit that afternoon. When Julius’ story got out, a local AC company offered to replace his central air as well. “He’s a World War II veteran,” Margolis said. “In our eyes Julius is a hero.”