You Won't Want to Miss RS this Sunday!

Sister Elaine S. Dalton, General YW President & me

A few weeks ago I went to the General Relief Society Meeting at the Conference Center with my sister. We had a wonderful time. Afterwards, we went to the Dodo and there we saw the General Young Women's President Sister Elaine S. Dalton with other YW leaders after the meeting. I just had to have my picture taken with her and talk to her. She was so NICE! She wanted me to tell you, and all of the young women in our ward "I love them!" She was so cute, and kept asking me what I loved about Young Women. I feel so lucky to work with the young women in our ward! :-) She's such a great example of being classy and nice.

Rachel Allen

Primary Quarterly Activity

The Primary will be having our 4th Quarter Primary Activity on

Saturday November 14th

at 10:00 AM
We will be putting together Hygiene Kits for the Humanitarian Center

This Sunday we will be passing around sign up sheets for donations.

Here is a listing of the items we will be asking for:
60 unbreakable combs (no sharp handles)

30 tubes of toothpaste (6 - 8 oz - no pumps)

60 bars of soap (3.5 - 5.0 oz each)

60 hand towels (approx. 15" x 25" - no dish or wash cloths)

We are requesting all donations by Sunday November 8th

Thank you for your support of the Primary!

We are looking forward to a great activity for the children.

Carrie Lamprecht

Ladies Night Podcast

After the second session of conference this past month KSL radio broadcast a special Ladies Night edition of Amanda Dickson's show "A Women's View."  One of the guests on this broadcast was our own Kathy Walker.  I have been waiting for the podcast to be published so that I could share the program with the ward.  I believe that Kathy, on the other hand, has been hoping I had forgotten about it.  I have finally figured out where the podcast is but haven't figured out how to embed it into the blog so I will just give you a link to the podcast page.

http://pandora.bonnint.net/audio/general_conf.rss

You can listen to all of the sessions of general conference on this page, however if you are interested in only listening to general conference I would go here instead.  Once you are on this KSL general conference page scroll down until you come to the words "October 3, 2009 KSL Ladies Night."  Click on these words and you will be given the option to save this file to your computer.  Once the file is saved you can click on the file (if you remember where you saved it to) and listen to the broadcast.  There is a summary of conference and some commercials at the beginning but you can easily skip ahead and the program starts at about the three minute mark.  Feel free to call or email me if you need assistance!

Veggie Tales

We had some special visitors in Relief Society today.  They sang very enthusiastically to remind us to remember to eat our Vegetables!

If you like to talk to tomatoes,

If a squash can makes you smile,

If you like to waltz with potatoes

Up and down the produce aisle -

Have we got a show for you!

Veggie Tales, Veggie Tales, Veggie Tales, Veggie Tales

Broccoli, Celery, Gotta be, Veggie Tales!

Lima Beans, Collard Greens,Peachy Keen, Veggie Tales!

Cauliflower, Sweet and sour, half an hour, Veggie Tales!

There's never ever ever ever ever

Been a show like Veggie Tales!

It's time for Veggie Taa-a-aa-a-aa-a-aa-a-ales!

Saving the Pumpkins

Last Sunday Sister Margaret Baker gave a wonderful five minute message about vegetables.  One of her points that has stuck with me has been about Halloween Pumpkins.  Sister Baker encouraged the sisters to carve our pumpkins the night before Halloween or the day of and then boil or bake them the next day for future use.  The idea of not throwing away my pumpkins has been percolating in my brain all week, especially now that pumpkins are only 9 cents a pound at Dan's.  However the thought of using a vegetable after it's innards have been sitting exposed to the elements just wasn't sitting well with me (I'm a wimp).  However today I came across an article on the web about using Pumpkins that has me very excited.   Click on the link to read how this article suggests scraping out all but a one inch layer of the pulp so that you have pulp to cook and a skin to carve.  There are also instructions on freezing the pulp and roasting the seeds as well as some other yummy sounding recipes.  Enjoy!

"Remembering Isaac" - Book Review

Remembering Isaac by Ben Behunin

To begin, Ben is a good friend of our family. He is a great example of someone who works to improve the community he lives in. He is a local potter, you could have seen his work at the Farmer's Market (until this year - he retired from the market to be a soccer dad), Evergreen Framing, the Salt Lake Art Festival, and other local art shows. I was asked to share a review of his book.

It is the story of a young man (Jake) who is given the opportunity to become the local potter in a small town after the town potter (Isaac) passes away. The book teaches you who Isaac was through the people that knew him. Each chapter teaches/reminds you of the simple choices we make in life and how they affect those around us. Isaac is a man who in different ways accepted, loved, and encouraged everyone he met. Small life lessons are shared and you are touched by the thought of someone so kind. It is an uplifting, light, fun, encouraging read. You feel better having read it.

As a side note, while reading it I thought of some of my old young women - the language and story line would definitely be one youth could enjoy and learn from.

I am not the best book reviewer, so if you are interested you could get much better information on the following websites.http://www.rememberingisaac.blogspot.com/ (book website)http://www.potterboy.com/ (Ben's pottery website - you can learn more about him).

Hope you'll enjoy!

Carrie Lamprecht

(Blog poster's note: Carrie mentioned that Ben is a currently a Bishop, and regularly speaks to groups about his book, including RS meetings or book clubs. She mentioned that she would love to set it up for us if anyone is interested. - Stephanie)

Salt Lake Wilford Stake Relief Society Temple Week

November 2 through 7, 2009

We invite all to participate in a week of temple worship by:

- Increasing your understanding of the Temple.
- Working on Family History.
- Performing baptisms for the dead.
- Attending the Temple.

“Where time and circumstances permit, members
are encouraged to replace some leisure activities
with temple service. All of the ordinances which take
place in the house of the Lord become expressions of
our belief in that fundamental and basic doctrine of
the immortality of the human soul. As we redouble our
efforts and our faithfulness in going to the temple, the

Lord will bless us”

(First Presidency letter, March 11, 2003)

Ch. 43 He Was a Prophet of God: Contemporaries of J. Smith Testify of His Prophetic Mission

Eliza Roxy Snow Young, Lorenzo Hill Hatch, and Mary Alice Cannon Lambert were three of the contemporaries who testified of the prophet Joseph Smith.

Eliza R. S. Young was the second general president of the Relief Society, wrote hymns, and is buried in the Salt Lake Cemetary. She knew the prophet Joseph before crossing the plains to Utah. Of Joseph she said "In the cause of truth and righteousness--in all that would benefit his fellow man, his integrity was as firm as the pillars of Heaven. He knew that God had called him to the work, and all the powers of earth and hell combined, failed either to deter or divert him from his purpose." (played by Joann Nance)

Lorenzo Hill Hatch was a young man when he knew the Prophet Joseph. He lived in Nauvoo when he was 16, and was a builder. His original level, found in his home in Nauvoo, which has now been restored, was likely used on the Nauvoo temple. (The one Barbara Harvath brought to the lesson.) Lorenzo crossed the plains, was sent to settle Lehi, settled the 4 Corners area of the state. [He is the many great grandfather of Barbara Harvath, and the young man portraying him in the photo.]

Mary Alice Cannon Lambert emigrated to Nauvoo as a young girl from England. She first met the Prophet Joseph as she got off a river boat and landed in Nauvoo. "I knew him the instant my eyes rested upon him, and at that moment I received my testiony that he was a Prophet of God. . . . He was not pointed out to me. I knew him from all the other men, and, child that I was (I was only fourteen) I knew that I saw a Prophet of God."
Brigham Young (David Ingabretsen), the Second President of the Church: "I feel like shouting, hallelujah, all the time, when I think that I ever knew Joseph Smith, the Prophet whom the Lord raised up and ordained, and to whom he gave keys and power to build up the kingdom of God on earth and sustain it. These keys are committed to this people, and we have power to continue the work that Joseph commenced."

Wilford Woodruff (Jim Gish) "President Joseph Smith Jr arose and addressed the congregation for teh term of three hours, clothed with teh power, spirit, and image of God. He unbosomed his mind and feelings in the house of his friends. He presented many things of vast importance to the minds of the elders of Israel. Oh, that they might be written upon our hearts as with an iron pen to remain forever that we might practice then in our lives [see Job 19:23-24]."

Our fabulous technical crew (holding the level that Lorenzo Hill Hatch used in Nauvoo).

Thanks Barbara and all of her participants for this wonderful readers for such a stirring presentation of the testimonies of the Prophet Joseph Smith.

Halloween Poem

Here is a fun little "preschool" poem for Halloween. I thought it was cute...and perfect for this month, because the ghosts ate their vegetables! (I did not write it, though...)

Hungry Ghosts

Four little ghosts were hungry one day,
So they flew to a garden and munched away.
One ate cucumbers, one ate tomatoes,
One ate pumpkins, one ate potatoes.

Four little ghosts, green, red, orange and brown,
Flew that night all through the town.
They were so colorful, everyone cheered,
And the next thing you know, they all disappeared!

Remember to eat your veggies this month! I'm pretty sure that you won't turn colors...or disappear if you do!

Elder Nicholas Davis

Nicholas is now serving in Sheffield, England. He has 10 months left on his mission. We recently asked him how we should respond to people in the ward when they asked about him and this is what he said, "Tell them he's more tired and more happy than he's ever been before."

Nicholas told us that the high point in his mission came in his last area, Halifax, where he and his companion were able to teach an English family of seven (they rarely teach English people).

His mission president challenged all of the missionaries to find one young man (or woman) who will likely go out and serve a mission themselves. Almost all of his investigators are not originally from England. He teaches many people from all over the world. He teaches a lot of people from Africa.

Four of them were baptized, two of them were under eight years of age, and one teenager was still considering baptism. He also baptized Martin in Halifax whom he calls "my missionary replacement." This is what he says about life in Sheffield, "Life in Sheffield is very modern and busy, much more so than SLC. There are some really run-down areas (council areas). This is where we find most of our investigators.

This week has been great for finding new investigators. We found 13 new investigators on one half of one street in four hours. That street was golden." Thank you for all of your prayers and support for our Elder Davis. Nicholas truly does feel your prayers on his behalf.

He says, "Prayer is so real and powerful, and it is one of the most important connections we have with heaven. I love you and I love this work, now go and find someone for the missionaries to teach wherever you live!"

Address:

Elder Nicholas Davis

England Leeds Mission

Lister House,

Lister HillHorsforth,

LeedsEngland LS18 5AZUnited Kingdom

Alesa Davis

Happy Birthday to our Fall R.S. Birthdays

Happy Birthday to all of our September, October, and November Relief Society sisters!

This morning we gathered for our first quarterly Relief Society birthday breakfast. We had a lovely morning with fruit, muffins, quiche and juice - and WONDERFUL company!

We hope everyone had a great morning with us. And for those who couldn't make it, we missed you. We'll be planning our next birthday breakfast in a couple of months.

Watch for your invitation if your birthday is in December, January or Feburary. We hope you will let us spoil you for just one morning.

Carvination

Besides all of the regular stuff at Halloween, we have a tradition we have named "Carvination." We get together with my (Nanci's) side of our extended family and we have a party while we carve our pumpkins.

Every year we eat tortilla soup or my Mom's delicious homemade chili (sometimes both) and we snack and have a great time. One year someone brought stickers for pumpkins but instead we decided to wear them and take pictures of each other.

At the end of the carving, we put all of the pumpkins together, light them and take a picture of them. Afterwards we usually end the night by playing games together.

It's probably not a really big difference from what most people may do, but we make a huge party of ours and we named it! Carvination is great! We look forward to it every year!!

-Christensen Family

Crusty Crawlers (Halloween Treats)

The Wolf Den (8 year olds) in our Ward made these treats for Pack Meeting tonight. With just a little bit of help, Thomas was pretty much able to make these all by himself. He had a great time making them, and the boys and families had a fabulous time eating them!

1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate)

1 cup peanut butter chips

3 cups chow mein noodles

3/4 cups toffee bits (optional - but quite tasty)

18 maraschino cherries, quartered, well drained (I used red hot candies)

Place chocolate and peanut butter chips in saucepan and melt over low heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Using rubber spatula, add noodles, stirring gently until completely coated. Using table spoon, drop mixture into small mounds onto waxed paper. Sprinkle with toffee bits. Pressing down gently to adhere. Place cherries or red hots onto to mounds to form "eyes". Allow to cool completely. Makes about 2 dozen "crawlers". I placed the pan of crawlers in the fridge and they firmed up in about 30 minutes.

Hardy Haunts

Traditions have always been an important part of our Hardy family. Some of our favorite haunts for October:

We start off our Halloween celebration by making a trip to my brother's garden. He grows the most fantastic and humongous pumpkins. Our kids enjoy trekking through Uncle Rob's pumpkin patch to select that oh so perfect jack-o'-lantern!
For Family Home Evening, we love to go Red Butte's Garden After Dark. This is an outdoor, kid-friendly romp through Red Butte Garden at night. To celebrate Halloween they have story telling, crafts, hot cider, caramel apples, pumpkins, and fantastic light displays.

On Halloween night before we go for Tricks or Treats, I serve up a nice hot soup in pumpkin shaped bread bowls. The kids love eating the bowls! You can make them homemade (recipe can be found at theidearoom.blogspot.com) or purchase them at Great Harvest Bread. This year I'll be serving my sure to please Sweet Sweet Chili.

Happy Haunting!

Sue Hardy

Halloween Traditions

Most of my favorite Halloween traditions are just too much work and a lot of money.

First there is the pumpkin carving.

Messy messy work. 

I have to dig out the safety knives from where ever I buried them last year and then end up running out to buy new ones before I actually find the ones I hid last year.

Then there is the pumpkin guts.  Yuck.

Then there is the treat eating making.

This is always a messily-delicious-dangerous adventure.

And then there is the costume making.

But look how cute they are!

 How could I NOT spend hundreds of dollars (well maybe only 10 or 20) and hours and hours slaving over the sewing machine to make these punks happy.  Okay so half of the makings for costumes I've "made" since the twins were born came from D.I.  It's a great place to shop for Halloween. 

Well except for the year when JoAnn Nance took my fabric from me and came back with two darling bunny costumes. Or the year that Stephanie Skolmolski showed up at my door with two darling clown costumes that we used two years in a row.  Well and the Kimono Stephanie gave us that was also used twice.  Other than that I've slaved over the sewing machine for the past 21 years making these punk look cute.  The first year of being a mom doesn't count because I put Jeremiah in his Chinese PJ's and stuck a hat on his head, but he was still pretty cute.

And when all is said and done it is worth the joy on the kids faces and the memories we have made are priceless.

 
 

That said my favorite Halloween traditon which requires very little work for me is watching the grade school Halloween parade.  My babies have outgrown the parade now but I think I might be able to manage to walk down to the school this year and sneak a peek just for fun.

I'm not sure if it will be the same without my own punks in the parade. . .

But the other kids are usually pretty cute too.

Especially when they are this age. . .

or better yet, not even old enough to be in the parade.

Couldn't you just eat him up?!

What are your favorite traditions?

What Do You Call It When Pigs Fly?

Swine Flu.

When the Relief Society President called to check on us this past Wednesday she awarded me the honor of being the first family in the ward with the Swine Flu. Wow, thanks. That is an honor we could have done without.

I kept thinking how I could write this funny post about our awful experience, but I just don't have it in me. I'm physically and emotional tired, but wanted to share and hopefully inspire you to get a flu shot, or get ready and stocked for a week with an unwanted guest.

Last Saturday when we were in Bear Lake for Conference weekend, Adam developed an awful cough. By evening he was throwing up and by the next morning my body was trying to do the same (luckily I do have amazing anti-vomit skills). We packed up as quickly as we could and left the cabin while expressing our deepest apologies to all our loved ones that were now potentially infected.

We raced back home as my fever, coughs, chills, and body aches came on in waves. By Monday morning Shem was sick too. I kept Kate home, anticipating her mild cough escalating in the coming hours.On Tuesday Adam was begging to see the doctor so he could get better. Our pediatrician saw him that afternoon and said, "That is the flu." While he didn't test for N1H1, he was confident enough he said we wouldn't need N1H1 vaccinations, just seasonal flu shots. He prescribed Tamiflu for Kate and Mason to shorten the course of their illnesses. ($110 - ouch)

That night after Kate and Mason had thrown up, Shem gave us all blessings. The Spirit was especially strong when he blessed Adam to begin healing from that moment forward. That night everyone slept...finally.

On Wednesday Kate, Adam, and Mason's fevers broke and the throwing up had officially stopped. However, the night before in an illness-induced stupor Shem had flushed about 8 paper towels down the toilet. At the time is seemed the most logical place to put them after cleaning up throw up in the bathroom.After a visit from a masked Roto-Rooter worker (we insisted on the mask) and a $255 check our drains were again in working order. Now if only our bodies...

That night my visiting teachers brought us Chicken Noodle soup and it started to look like we were really going to be okay.

On Thursday the kids were regaining their strength and getting hyper, Shem and I were completely exhausted, and Colin was starting to fun a fever. I took him to the KidsCare where the doctor gave him a prescription for Tamiflu. Before filling it I called the pharmacy to confirm they had some in stock. When I asked if Tamiflu is safe for infants the pharmacist said it had not been tested for children under 1. I called the pediatrician back and she apologized saying she had misread Colin's age and I should NOT give him Tamiflu.

Colin still has a mild fever and the rest of us are coughing and will probably continue to do so for another week. Kate and Adam are no longer contagious and will head back to school tomorrow. Here are the most important things I learned this week...

1. N1H1 is extremely contagious.
2. Tamiflu is really expensive, but it works really well. It is not for babies.
3. Don't flush paper towels.
4. Vaporizers and VapoRub help ease night time coughs.
5. Dye-free fever medication is much better than the pink kind (especially if you manage to spill most of the bottle on yourself and your baby in the middle of the night).
6. The power of the Priesthood is amazing.
Thanks for all the love and prayers, and especially for the love and support we got from our ward family.

Tobi Bishop

Things to Look Forward To

- Tuesday, October 13, 7 pm, Stake Auxiliary Leadership Meeting, Stake Center.

- Thursday, October 15, 4-6 pm, Ward Temple Day. Join GV1 for a sponsored dinner at the temple at 6pm. Call Karen Corey for rides.

- Saturday, October 17, 8-9 am - Quarterly Relief Society Birthday Breakfast - Come celebrate your birthday with friends. Breakfast is on us! At Stephanie Pugsley's home, 1933 Claybourne (for September, October & November birthdays). Watch for your invitation for more information.

- Friday, October 30, 6 pm, Grandview 1st Ward Annual Halloween Party & Chili Cook-off - bring food by 5:45. Come in costume (or not), enjoy a fabulous evening of fun for the whole family!

- November 10, 7 pm, Joint Grandview Wards R.S. Meeting, Sister Chieko Okazaki will be speaking to us. We hope you will put it on your calendars and plan on attending.

Autumn Memories

Do you ever just let your mind wander to see where it might take you? Sometimes my mind sees fit to surprise me with a journey back through a memory. I had that pleasure this weekend where we ran into old friends. It was wonderful to catch up on years gone by, how our children have grown, and hear about things from a neighborhood more than ten years ago. It jogged an autumn memory.

Our block consisted of homes where EVERYONE knew each other. It was quite diverse: young single people renting basement apartments, widows who had lived on the street for more than 50 years, large families, and families with a few very young children like myself. Religion was not a factor on our block. We were a block family. Each fall our block party was a gathering of treats, Little Caesar's pizza, and cider. We would talk until it was too cold to endure. A block favorite was the Azimi's Pumpkin Cake. It was always gone before dinner began. Last night I made Azimi's Pumpkin Cake for a gathering at my home. Just as I remember, there are no leftovers.

Azimi's Pumpkin Cake

Cream: 2 cups sugar, 1 cup oil

Add: 4 eggs, 2 cups canned pumpkin

Mix well. then sift together and add: 2 cups flour, 1/4 t. salt, 2 t. soda, 2 t. cinnamon.

Mix well and bake in a greased and floured tube pan. (I only have a bundt pan and it works just fine.) For a light colored pan, bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours and for a dark pan, bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour. Cool in pan for 10 minutes then remove and cool completely before frosting.

Frosting: 1 stick butter, 1 8oz pkg cream cheese, 2 t. vanilla, 1 1/2 c. pwd sugar. Beat until light and fluffy.

If you use a large can of pumpkin, you'll have about 1 cup of pumpkin leftover and you would never want to waste that...so, here's how I use it. On my other "it's ok it's fall" recipe. When we lived in La Canada Flintride, California, my great friend and visiting teaching companion, Jeanne Mackay gave me this recipe. My kids beg for it. This was breakfast the next day. :o)

Jeanne Mackay's Pumpkin Muffins

1 c. pumpkin

2 eggs slightly beaten

3/4 c. sugar

1/3 c. oil

1 1/2 c. Bisquick

3 rounded t. pumpkin pie spice

Mix all ingredients until moist. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes for regular sized muffins. Yield: 12 regular sized muffins. Works well as bite-sized mini muffins. One batch is never enough.

I Love the Fall!

I LOVE this time of year! I love when it gets just cool enough that you need a sweater to go outside. I love that the leaves start changing. I love that because it's cold outside, I feel okay to just cuddle up with Henry in a blanket and watch Special Agent Oso and Thomas Train. I love having to bring hot chocolate to watch Katie and Charlie's soccer games. I love that it is football season! (Go Utes!!) I love that I actually enjoy baking now (because it feels nice to have the oven on, finally). :0) Fall is definitely my favorite time of year! As my wise mother-in-law says, "The only bad thing about Fall is that it brings Winter."

Good Books

For those who like to read.......

Two of my recent favorites include:
"These Is My Words " by Nancy Turner
"The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society" by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows.

What are your recent favorites?

Harvest Celebration

We had a great time "vegging out" Tuesday night, October 6th at our Relief Society activity! We enjoyed wonderful taste testing, cooking demonstrations from Aly Larson, Janet Severson, and Rachel Sheffield. We also learned fabulous tricks from Pam Evans how to make our homes look like we'd hired a decorator - all using veggies. Other sisters brought a wonderful array of veggies and veggie recipes for us to feast on. Thanks to Jenna Pratt, Coco Peterson, Jan Ingabretsen, and Stephanie Post.

Fruit and Vegetable Rinse (Margaret Baker)

How to:

Add 2 Tbs Baking Soda to a basin of cold water

soak produce approx. 2-5 minutes (less is better to keep produce firm)

When water turns cloudy, it is a good indication that the pesticides have been rinsed off.
Rinse produce thoroughly with cold tap water.

(Don't wash strawberries this way, they turn mushy.)

Cool Veggie Pizza (Aly Larsen)

1 package crescent roll dough

1 8 oz pkg cream cheese, softened

1 Tbsp Miracle Whip

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp dried dill weed

salt and ground pepper to taste

2 cups assorted garden veggies: like broccoli, cauliflower, cucumber, bell peppers, seeded tomatoes, green onions, mushrooms, zucchini, yellow squash, or whatever you can think of.

Preheat oven to 350. Unroll crescent dough and use a rolling pin to seal seams onto a rectangular baking pan. Bake 10-12 minutes or until light golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. In a mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, miracle whip, garlic and dill weed. Season with salt and pepper. Mix well. Spread over cooled crust. Cut veggies into desired shapes (shredded, chopped, sliced, etc...) sprinkle veggies over the top of the pizza and cut into squares. Serve and enjoy!

Stuffed Zucchini (Tonya Ence)

3 zucchini around 12 inches long

1 lb sausage

8 oz cream cheese

1 c shredded Parmesan cheese

1 cup chopped mushrooms

1/4 cup melted butter

Preheat oven to 350. Cook sausage in a frying pan. Scrub zuccs, slice lengthwise and scoop out to make a "boat". Add what you scooped to the sausage - seeds and all - along with the chopped mushrooms. When sausage is done and veggies are tender, add cheeses and stir til well mixed. Brush zuccs with melted butter on both sides and place in baking dish. Stuff with sausage mixture and bake for 20 min or until desired tenderness.

Glittered Pumpkins (Pam Evans)

Materials:

3 different sized pumpkins with stems

medium size paint brush

white glue

paper plate or newspaper

powder glitter-several colors

brown acrylic paint

Use a medium size paintbrush to spread a layer of white glue over the surface of a small pumpkin. Hold pumpkin over a paper plate or newspaper to catch excess glitter. Sprinkle powder glitter over pumpkin in several colors, covering completely. Let dry for about one hour; shake off excess glitter. Coat stem with brown acrylic paint. let dry. Pumpkins will keep for months. (But toss them for Christmas.)

Pumpkin Cachepots (Pam Evans)

Materials:

potted flowers (such as chrysanthemums)

medium pumpkins

plastic plant drainer

Plants remain in their plastic containers inside the pumpkin, no repotting is required. Cut a hole in the pumpkins' tops and scoop out the flesh. Put the plastic drainer in the pumpkin and fill pumpkins with potted flowers and display in a sunny spot. They add color to a wagon of pumpkins for a table or outside.

Gazapcho (Nancy Hansen)
3 cups Clamato juice
1/3 cup oil
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 tsp garlic salt
2 shakes Tabasco sauce
2 large avocados, diced
3 green onions
1 cup celery, diced
5 small tomatoes, diced
Mix all together and let stand in the refrigerator until chilled. Serve cold.

Veggie Dip (Coco Peterson)

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup sour cream

4 green onions

1 tsp dill weed

2-3 tsp Bon Appetit or Beaumond seasoning

Combine all ingredients, cover and let sit at room temperature 4-6 hours to let the flavors blend. Refrigerate and serve with veggies.

Vegetable and Herb Obelisk (Pam Evans)

Materials:

ruler

pencil

sharp knife

florist wire

scissors

block oasis

suitable container

vegetables and herbs of choice

Use ruler and pencil, score the cutting lines on the block oasis. Carve the block to the required shape using a sharp knife. Soak the carved oasis and secure firmly in your chosen container. Wire all vegetables by pushing a wire through from one side to the other, leaving sufficient wire projecting on both sides to allow you to pull down and out of the base to approximately 1 1/2 inches. Some vegetables are very fragile and particular care must be taken when wiring them. Having decided on the order in which you want to use the vegetables work from the bottom, pushing the wires into the oasis to position the vegetables in horizontal, rings around the shapes, decreasing the diameter toward the top. Fill the gaps between the rings of vegetables, using a different herb for each ring. This arrangement is suitable for a buffet table deco. Be creative.

Dilly Beans (Janet Severson)

2 lbs. stemmed tender green beans

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 clove garlic

1 head dill or 1 1/2 tbs. dill seed

2 1/2 cups water

2 1/2 cups vinegar

1/4 cup salt

Pack beans lengthwise into hot sterile pint jars, leaving 1/4 inch headroom. Add pepper, garlic, and dill to each pint jar. Boil water, vinegar, and salt. Pour mixture over beans leaving 1/4 inch headroom. Seal the jars and process 30 minutes in a boiling water bath.

Carrot Cake (Sue Newbold)

2 cups flour

1/34 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 tsp. cloves

1/2 tsp. each salt and soda

1 jar (4 oz) baby food carrots

3/4 cup orange juice

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup canola oil

2 large eggs

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

2 cups grated carrots (3 large)

1/2 cup chopped nuts - optional

Whisk dry ingredients in medium bowl to mix. Whisk all wet ingredients well and add to dry ingredients until just blended. Grease and flour 9x13 pan. Bake at 375 for 20-23 min. Frost with cream cheese or orange frosting.

General Relief Society Meeting - Links to Talks

We hope you'll take the time to read each of these wonderful talks.

Julie B. Beck: Relief Society, A Sacred Work - http://www.lds.org/library/display/0,4945,285-1-54-32,00.html
Silvia H. Allred: Every Woman Needs Relief Society - http://www.lds.org/library/display/0,4945,285-1-54-33,00.html
Barbara Thompson: Mind the Gap - http://www.lds.org/library/display/0,4945,285-1-54-34,00.html
President Henry B. Eyring: The Enduring Legacy of Relief Society - http://www.lds.org/library/display/0,4945,285-1-54-35,00.html

Relief Society October Evening Meeting

Stuffed Peppers

As the harvest season begins to draw to a close, some of us are still picking tomatoes, squash and peppers. If you are a "pepper picker" here is a great stuffing.

STUFFED PEPPERS (GREEN, RED, YELLOW, ORANGE)

1 1/2 cups tomato juice (or V8)
1/2 cup uncooked rice
1 T chopped onion
1/2 lb. lean ground beef, uncooked
1/2 cup grated cheese (or to taste)
salt and pepper to taste
4 peppers

Place tomato juice, rice, and onion in a pan over low heat. Cover and simmer until juice is absorbed (about 20 minutes). Combine rice mixture with ground beef, cheese, salt, and pepper and fill peppers (slice off tops and seed). Place in covered casserole or pan and bake at 300 degrees for one hour.
I usually double the batch and pile it around the peppers in the pan, as my family likes more stuffing and less pepper.

Becoming Provident Providers

Barbara Harvath taught a wonderful lesson on Sunday, September 27th, on the different ways women "provide for ourselves and our families and follow the Savior's example to serve and bless others" by becoming provident providers. Elder Robert D. Hales, in April 2009 Conference laid out the following things for us to think about:

Spiritual Providence: Who is first in our hearts? Are we acting as the Savior would? (2 Nephi 9:51, Matt, 6:21)

Economic Providence: Can we afford it? Do we need it? Should we want it? (Romans 13:8, Proverbs 22:7)

Social Providence: Do we remember those in need around us always? (Proverbs 22 (vs:1,3,6,9) D&C 52:40)

Educational Providence: If the glory of God is intelligence how are we seeking his Glory? How are we enlarging the store of our knowledge? (D&C 130:18, D&C 82:18)

Moral Providence: Does virtue flow from us like living waters to those around us? Are the hearts of our loved ones safe within our hands? (Moroni 9:9, Psalms 24:4)

Physical Providence: Do we take care of our physical bodies so we can serve and provide? (D&C 89, D&C 113:8)

Proverbs 31:10-31 - Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies.