Ohio Star

 

It was first displayed in New York’s Museum of Modern Art in 1945, but it’s been hanging in Dusseldorf since 1980. It’s repeatedly called a painting, but it’s actually a white canvas with strips of adhesive tape in red, yellow and royal blue. It seems a stretch of the imagination to call it a work of art. It was constructed by Dutch artist Piet Mondrian in 1941; a bit of neoplasticism called “New York City 1.” The colorful strips are irregularly placed, some running horizontally and others vertically. There are slightly more strips near the bottom than the top, giving the illusion of darkness below. Recently, a curator discovered these horizontal strips belong at the top of the canvas. New York City 1 has been hanging upside-down three-quarters of a century. The gallery says it will continue to hang that way, as the glue backing the adhesive strips is fragile. Flipping it right-side up would be its undoing.

Duck and Ducklings

 

I’m not a huge fan of spicy food, but I do like lots of flavor. If I’m eating curry, pad Thai, piri-piri, Korean barbecue or enchiladas and my nose isn’t running, something’s gone wrong. I chose medium chilies for this recipe. You’re free to choose whatever level of heat suits you.

 

Green Chili Mac and Cheese

 

8 ounces elbow macaroni

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons flour

2 cups milk

8 ounces Monterey Jack, shredded

2 4-ounce cans diced green chiles (mild, medium or hot), drained

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes

 

Cook macaroni according to package directions; drain. While pasta cooks, melt butter in saucepot. Add flour and cook over medium heat, stirring, about 2 minutes. Whisk in milk. Continue to cook and stir until mixture begins to simmer. Remove from heat and stir in the cheese. Add remaining ingredients to sauce. Combine cooked and drained pasta with sauce; serve hot.

Arbor Windows

 

Percy Spencer carried peanut clusters in his pocket, primarily to share with chipmunks. One day Percy found the cluster he’d pocketed had melted – something unlikely to be caused by a warm day or even his own body heat. Percy was an employee of Raytheon, one of the country’s leading producers of magnetrons. He wondered if the energy that ruined his snack had come from an active magnetron. He experimented with a raw egg, which exploded and left him literally with egg on his face. Next came a bowl of un-popped popcorn. Sure enough, the corn popped when placed near a working magnetron. Percy’s discovery led to the invention of the microwave oven. Today, it's hard to imagine a kitchen without one. Percy Spencer was a clever fellow. But I think if I’d found something powerful enough to melt peanut clusters, pop corn and blow up eggs, my first thought would be how to prevent it from cooking me. 

Vintage Stars

 

Three-quarters of this fabric came from a Lori Holt “Baked with Love” quilt kit. The other twenty-five percent is scraps from a Lori Holt Prim fat quarter bundle and a Lori Holt Mad for Plaid jelly roll. The design is completely my own, and it’s the product of serendipity. I knew I wanted to make a log cabin quilt. It’s usually the direction I steer when I have lots of long, skinny strips to use up. I wanted to incorporate sawtooth stars as well. Initially, I stuck stars inside the log cabins, but didn’t like the result. I moved the stars to the cornerstones BETWEEN the log cabins, and everything seemed to fall into place. In a day or two, this top will go to Stitching Hearts Worldwide, where some generous and talented person(s) will quilt and bind it, and it will go to a refugee or homeless person. I hope they love it as much as I do.

Churn Dash

 

Caswell-Massey was an apothecary shop in Newport, Rhode Island in the early 1750’s – the first personal care product company in the New World. It was founded by Dr. William Hunter, a Scottish anatomist and surgeon. In addition to medicinal essential oils, Dr. Hunter concocted and sold hygiene products and cosmetics. Dr. Hunter’s Castille soap kept Lewis and Clark clean during their 1803-1806 expedition. Hunter twenty distinctly different colognes, giving each his name and a sequential number. “Dr. Hunter's Cologne Number Six” was a personal favorite of George Washington’s. Our first president sent a bottle to the French aristocrat Marquis de Lafayette, in gratitude for his enormous help during the American Revolutionary War. Caswell-Massey is still in business today; its headquarters still in Newport, Rhode Island. Dr. Hunter's Cologne Number Six is still in production, and has been worn by John Quincy Adams, John F. Kennedy, George Gershwin, John Denver, and countless others. 

Barn Cat

 

“President Gordon B. Hinckley taught the lives of our people must be the symbol of our faith. These considerations bring me to what may be the most important of all scriptural references to the cross. It has nothing to do with pendants or jewelry, with steeples or signposts. It has to do with the rock-ribbed integrity and stiff moral backbone Christians should bring to the call Jesus has given His disciples. In every land and age, He has said to us all, ‘If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.’ This speaks of the crosses we bear rather than the ones we wear. To be a follower of Jesus Christ, one must sometimes carry a burden and go where sacrifice is required and suffering is inevitable. A true Christian cannot follow the Master only in those matters with which he or she agrees. No. We follow Him everywhere.” – Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

Air Castle

 

“What do you do if your child wants to quit a sport? Imagine your child comes back from practice and saying, ‘I hate karate! It’s too hard! I don’t want to do this anymore!’ Tell them: ‘Okay, you can quit. But not today.’ Then explain, ‘We all have bad days when we want to quit. When something feels hard, our brains and bodies resist because they want us to be comfortable. If we quit on a bad day, we’ll never become great at anything. We might regret it later. Here’s the deal: you CAN quit on a good day. If you have a successful day and you still want to quit, let’s talk.’ This approach normalizes struggle (building resilience) and honors your child’s choice if they want to try something different. We all have days when it’s just too hard. To build resilience, adopt this mantra: ‘Never quit on a bad day.’” – Nastia Liukin, Olympic Gold Medalist