Sixteen Ovens

 

“To those who have separated themselves from the Church, I say, my dear friends, there is yet a place for you here. Come and add your talents, gifts, and energies to ours. We will all become better as a result. Some might ask, “But what about my doubts?” It’s natural to have questions—the acorn of honest inquiry has often sprouted and matured into a great oak of understanding. There are few members of the Church who, at one time or another, have not wrestled with serious or sensitive questions. One of the purposes of the Church is to nurture and cultivate the seed of faith—even in the sometimes sandy soil of doubt and uncertainty. Faith is to hope for things which are not seen but which are true. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters—my dear friends—please, first doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith.” – Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Autumn Leaf

 

Chicken Noodle Soup is the ultimate comfort food; the one thing everyone craves when they’re sick or when it’s cold and nasty outside. This one will make your whole house smell wonderful ALL DAY LONG.

 

Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle

 

1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts

1 onion, chopped

3 carrots, coarsely chopped

2 ribs celery, sliced

1 teaspoon thyme

1 teaspoon rosemary

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 bay leaf

10 cups chicken broth

8 ounces egg noodles

 

Dump all ingredients except noodles into slow cooker. (Don’t you just love recipes that say “dump”?) Cover and cook on low 8 hours. Remove chicken and shred. Discard bay leaf. Return chicken to slow cooker and add egg noodles. Continue cooking until al dente, 20 to 30 minutes. Serve hot with fresh-from-the-oven dinner rolls or buttermilk biscuits.

Tulips in a Vase

 

I grew up watching horror movies Saturday afternoons. Back then, you couldn’t just watch what you wanted when you wanted. You had to first find it on TV Guide, and then make sure your chores were done in time. When I was a kid, horror movies weren’t Stephen King or Michael Myers. They were Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee: Dr. Frankenstein and Count Dracula. Cushing and Lee made two dozen movies together, and they became the best of friends. They frequently went to the cinema together. At one point, they were laughing so hard at Looney Tunes cartoons, they had to be asked to leave. George Lucas wrote the part of Grand Moff Tarkin in the original Star Wars movie for Peter Cushing. Christopher Lee didn’t appear as Count Dooku in Attack of the Clones until after Cushing’s death. But somehow it makes me smile to think of Tarkin and Dooku enjoying Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck.

Blue Patience 9-Patch

 

When John and I were married, we received several unexpected wedding gifts. There were three toaster ovens. My mom’s friend gave us an industrial-sized tub of Vaseline. (She’s probably still laughing.) One of John’s relatives gave us hand-made gifts: a sock monkey, a clown doll made of yo-yos, and an Afghan crocheted from hundreds of scraps of yarn. There was a set of days-of-the-week embroidered dish towels: Monday was washday, ironing was Tuesday. Wednesday was for mending, etc. I actually used the dish towels until I wore them out. To this day I mourn their loss. The yo-yo clown fell apart, and I didn’t know how to fix it. We re-gifted the toaster ovens. They quickly became presents at other weddings. It took us a decade to use up the Vaseline, but it was a genuine life saver. Diaper rash is a much bigger deal when you only use cloth diapers. I still treasure the sock monkey and the Afghan. 

Ravenchase

 

When I first heard about this, I thought it was a hoax. I did a bit of searching, and it’s true. During World War II, Steinway & Sons air-dropped pianos near the front line with huge parachutes and instructions on how to tune them. (Rolling an upright four feet across the room detunes it; a drop from 14,000 feet is bound to be much worse.) The project was called Victory Vertical or G.I. Steinway, and the pianos were meant to provide a bit of relaxation for the American troops and a boost to their morale. The pianos were painted olive, blue, and gray. By the end of the war, Steinway & Sons had provided about 5,000 pianos to the U.S. military around the world. The Steinway family had four sons in the service at the time. I’m thinking if they really wanted to help with the war effort, they might have dropped pianos on the enemy line. No parachutes necessary. 

Red Patience 9-Patch

 

I’ve been experimenting lately with slow cooker meals. We tried this one last week. I’d call it a success, though it was a bit more work than I usually associate with my Crock-Pot.

 

Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches

 

1 pound chuck or pot roast

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion, sliced

1 10.5 ounce can beef broth or French onion soup

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 bell pepper, sliced

4 slices provolone

4 hoagie buns

 

Salt and pepper beef to taste. Brown all sides in oil. Deglaze pan with soup. Add both to slow cooker with onion, soy sauce, and garlic. Cook on low 8 hours. An hour before dinner, shred beef and return to slow cooker. Add peppers. Open and toast buns. Load with meat/pepper/onion mixture and top with cheese. Broil until bubbly and golden-brown. We had ours with butternut squash and green beans, but it might have been nice with chips and a green salad.

Thirteen Irish Chains

 

“We realized adding six words to our name would not be ideal for the media, but, as President Nelson foretold, ‘responsible media will be sympathetic in responding to our request.’ Thank you for extending to us the same consideration given cultural, athletic, political, or community organizations by using our preferred name. There will be a few who, hoping to diminish the seriousness of our mission, will continue to call us ‘the Mormon Church.’ With courtesy, we again ask the fair-minded of the media to honor our desire to be called by our name of nearly 200 years. The name of the Church is not negotiable. Let us go forward in faith. When we willingly follow the counsel of the Lord as revealed through His living prophet, especially if it runs counter to our initial thinking, requiring humility and sacrifice, the Lord blesses us with additional spiritual power and sends His angels to support us and stand by us.” – Elder Neil L. Andersen