Squares and Triangles

Last Saturday I bought everything I thought I needed for a Sunday fondue: Swiss cheese, French bread, pears and broccoli. I was sure I had fire gel to heat my fondue pot, but I was wrong. The cheese will keep until I find more fuel. I served the pears for breakfast and the broccoli with lunch. But the bread very quickly became hard as stone. I used it for garlic bread, but I could have made French toast, croutons, onion soup, or bread pudding. Or I could have made this:

Panzanella

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 small baguette, cubed

1 teaspoon salt

2 tomatoes, cubed

1 cucumber, cubed

1 bell pepper, cubed

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

20 basil leaves, chopped

3 tablespoons capers, drained

3/4 cup vinaigrette

Saute bread cubes in oil until golden brown. In a large bowl, toss bread with remaining ingredients. Serve immediately or let rest 30 minutes before serving.

Clear Skies

Our dishwasher was finally replaced last week. The new model is beautiful, quiet and efficient; well worth the ridiculous seven-week wait. I’ve learned a few things over the past couple of months: first, using paper plates and plastic flatware really only reduces the dish washing load a little. There are still all those dishes and utensils you used to prepare, to store and to serve food. In the end, all paper plates will do is fill your rubbish bin to overflowing. Second, the only things that actually taste good on paper plates are picnic foods like hot dogs and hamburgers. Everything else seems to really want china. Third, if you complain about not having a working dishwasher, you’ll hear from all of your friends who have never owned one. Fourth, the most efficient way to clear a room (even when you have fifteen dinner guests) is asking, “Who’d like to help with the dishes?”

Four Turnstiles

“This is the work of our generation, what the Apostle Paul called the dispensation of the fullness of times, when he said God would gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him. This is made possible through the atoning work of God’s Beloved Son, Jesus Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us. You have felt this, as I have, when you have experienced an increase of love as you looked at the picture of an ancestor. You have felt it in the temple when the name on a card seemed like more than a name, and you couldn’t help but sense that this person was aware of you and felt your love. God the Father wants His children home again, in families and in glory.” - President Henry B. Eyring

Four Lazy Janes

“In addition to arguing that the differences between men and women are real and important and spiritually significant, The Family: A Proclamation to the World also boldly claims that men and women are intended by divine design to be equal partners. It seems increasingly obvious to me that in our day, defending the family means rooting out our world’s misogyny. Defending the family means defending women from both the subtle and violent forms of degradation, abuse, and marginalization that riddle our world. It means taking seriously, perhaps for the first time in the history of the world, the solemn declaration that God intends men and women to be equal partners. In my view, this will be the defining moral issue of our generation.” – Adam S. Miller, author of Letters to a Young Mormon

Turnstile

Today is Australia Day, the National Day of Australia. It’s a time for Australians to celebrate their national pride and culture; an opportunity for the whole country to recognize and enjoy its accomplishments. Those of us who are not Australians might observe the day by planning a holiday in the Land Down Under. If money were no object, we might actually TAKE such a trip. The rest of us can still take a virtual vacation by watching a movie (or possibly two) set in Australia. Here are a few to consider: Mad Max, Crocodile Dundee, The Matrix, The Dish, The Man from Snowy River, Quigley Down Under, Finding Nemo, Rescuers Down Under, Babe, and (of course) Australia. If movies aren’t your thing you might whip up a pavlova or a batch of Anzac biscuits, or just cut into a nice, ripe mango. Either way, I hope you have a happy Australia Day!

Lazy Jane's Sister

Last week we finally saw The Greatest Showman. It’s been out since before Christmas, but we couldn’t get tickets until now. Critics hate this film, primarily because of its historical inaccuracies. I guess they have a point. P. T. Barnum was a dozen years older than Hugh Jackman when he founded what would become the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. He certainly wasn’t anywhere near as good looking as the star of Les Misérables and X-Men, and I’m pretty sure he wasn’t as good a singer or dancer. The real Barnum was the kind of fellow who’d hire the tallest guy he could find and parade him on stilts, wearing vertically striped silk trousers. In defense of his “humbuggery,” Barnum said that if, at the end of the day, the audience had been entertained, they’d got their money’s worth. Go see this movie. I promise you’ll find it entertaining. If you can find tickets. 

Four Green Hour Glasses

The other day we were trying to choose a film to watch together, and I was tired of Moana, Toy Story 3, and Big Hero Six. I absolutely love all three of these, but there’s only so much you can take. So I suggested Bedtime Stories. My seven-year-old grandson wanted to know how old it was. “It’s a pretty new movie. You’ll like it.” “But how old is it, really?” So I looked it up. It first aired in 2008. Apparently, ten-year-old movies are not even worth considering. We ended up watching Inside Out instead. I guess I should think twice before recommending Mulan or A Bug’s Life, both of which turn twenty this year. So do Armageddon, The Mask of Zorro, The Truman Show, and my all-time favorite, You’ve Got Mail. Guess I’ll have to watch them all by myself. Whoever said grandkids make you feel young again never met mine.