Four Floating Pinwheels

 

One of the world’s most secure diamond vaults was beaten by a man who rented an office upstairs. Leonardo Notarbartolo moved into the Antwerp Diamond Center and posed as a gem importer for three years. He became friends with the center’s staff, learned the building’s routine, and mapped every layer of security. Then, in February 2003, Leonardo and his small team bypassed sensors, drilled into the vault, and made off with over 100 million dollars in diamonds, gold and jewelry. On their way out of the city, they dumped a bag of rubbish in the woods. A local landowner found and reported it: a video tape, a half-eaten salami sandwich, and crumpled paper. The trash led police straight to Leonardo and his allies; three years of planning foiled by a bag of garbage. Leonardo served ten years in jail, his friends half as long. Most of the haul was never recovered.

Pink Butterfly

 

My ballot arrived in the mail yesterday, and within hours I’d filled it out. I’d made up my mind who and what I was voting for, so it didn’t take long. There are three ballot drop-boxes near my home (the library, the senior center, and City Hall) and I’ll deposit mine in one of them today. I could have just returned my ballot to the mailbox for the postman to pick up. The League of Women Voters recommends mailing ballots back at least a week before Election Day, and I’m way ahead of their deadline. I’m so glad mail-in voting is an option. I remember an election day when we waited in line for hours – with hungry, bored kids in tow – to cast our votes in person. I got my flu shot last week, and won’t be fully protected for another week or so. Now is not the time to cue up with several dozen sniffling, coughing strangers.

Halloween Kitty

 

You may have heard the saying, “Don’t buy a pig in a poke,” and you may know it means “buyer beware.” But do you know why? In Middle English, a poke was a bag or sack. If you bought a piglet in a sack without first inspecting it, the animal inside might be something you wouldn’t serve for dinner. Like, for instance, a cat. But not all cultures consider pets off the menu. Restaurants in Vietnam openly advertise canine and feline meat, though vendors must disclose their sources. So, it’s surprising that this month in Ho Chi Minh City, twelve men were arrested and charged with the theft of over 2,700 family pets. They’d operate between dusk and dawn, trapping and trafficking cats in residential neighborhoods. I keep my cat indoors at night, so she doesn’t become roadkill. I guess in some places, cats should be kept indoors so they don’t become dinner.

Four Rail Fences

 

Chicken Soup in a Pumpkin

 

1 large pumpkin (big enough to fit a whole chicken!)

1 whole chicken

Shredded cabbage

Sliced carrots

Sliced mushrooms

Sliced onions

Crushed garlic cloves

Fresh rosemary, sage & thyme

1 chicken stock cube

Salt & pepper

Olive oil

 

Cut the top off pumpkin to create a lid. Scoop out seeds, leaving flesh intact. Add cabbage, carrots, mushrooms, onions and garlic. Nestle the whole chicken inside and add the fresh herbs, stock cube, salt and pepper. Place lid back on, rub outside with olive oil and carefully transfer to oven on baking sheet. Roast at 350F 4 hours, until the chicken is cooked and vegetables are tender. No water needed! As everything cooks, chicken, vegetables and pumpkin release juices, creating a natural broth. Carefully remove the chicken; shred meat and return it to the soup. Ladle into bowls with some of the pumpkin flesh and enjoy!

Twenty Friendship Stars

 

“As we reflect on the great things the Lord has already done and remember His goodness and mercy, we are better positioned to grasp the bigger picture and to rely on His promises to us. We can trust Him.” – Elder Dale G. Renlund

“As covenant followers of Jesus Christ, we minister with compassion to whomever God places in our path. We do it because that’s what the Savior did. And we’ve made a covenant to follow Him.” – President Timothy L. Farnes

“No time or effort is ever wasted in reading the Book of Mormon. Not for you, not for your children, not for your family, not for anyone.” – Elder Jeremiah J. Morgan

“We can learn to live in spiritual lift. And when we sink, our gentle Savior is there to lift us up as we turn to Him. Jesus Christ loves to lift.” – Elder Patrick Kearon

Fifty Butterflies

 

“Do not take life too seriously. You will never get out of it alive.” – Elbert Hubbard

“I’m sick of following my dreams, man. I’m just going to ask where they’re going and hook up with ’em later.” – Mitch Hedberg

“Before you marry a person, you should first make them use a computer with slow internet to see who they really are.” – Will Ferrell

“Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?” – George Carlin

“A pessimist is a person who has had to listen to too many optimists.” – Don Marquis

“The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.” – Alber Einstein

“If you want your children to listen, try talking softly to someone else.” – Ann Landers

“A bank is a place that will lend you money if you can prove that you don’t need it.” – Bob Hope

Floating Pinwheel

 

It’s the largest human-made excavation; the world’s deepest open-pit mine. You can see it from all over the Salt Lake Valley, and when you fly in or out of Salt Lake Airport, it’s impossible to miss. People have been digging copper ore here since 1848. I’ve heard it called Bingham Canyon Mine, and Kennecott Copper Pit. It’s owned by the Rio Tinto Group now, and the British/Australian Corporation intends to keep it running through 2038, maybe longer. But they won’t just abandon the mine when they’re done. They mean to restore and rehabilitate much of this area. In fact, they’ve already been doing so for decades now. One example is the East Waste Rock Reclamation project. They’re reshaping millions of cubic yards of dumped rock, covering it with topsoil and planting native grasses and shrubs for storm erosion management. The pit itself is simply too big to fill in, but the end plan involves stabilizing and securing what’s left.