Welcome to a potpourri of fun! On this page you’ll find the latest comics by Jari Thymian, a motivational quote, a crossword puzzle contest, and whatever else we decide to throw in here. Be sure to check back for the latest!

• Crossword Puzzle
• Earth Corner – With Pat Walsh
• Every Day Should be Earth Day – Editorial by Laura Brewer
• Madi’s Kitchen
• Mixed Bag – Comics by Jari
• Fun with Vixie
• Quotes & Riddles

Quotes & Riddles

Riddle Answer

Crossword Puzzle
Classic Cars

Raton loves its classic cars and there are a lot of cool ones cruising our town! This crossword includes some of the more notable classics dating back to the 1930s!

Prior week’s completed crossword puzzle

Mixed Bag – This week’s Comic by Jari

To see all of the previous comics by Jari visit the Mixed Bag – Comics by Jari page.

April 23, 2024 – How to Make a Mud Pie

Earth Corner – With Pat Walsh

Everything We Have Comes From the Earth

Posted April 6, 2024 – By Pat Walsh

I remember casually saying this to some Raton Intermediate School students a few years ago. A boy rushed across the room to grab a stapler. “Even this?” he said. Yes, I replied. The plastic body came from petroleum. The staples came from metal mined from the earth. He picked up a few more items, and each time I answered, “Yes.”

Look around you. Your home. Your possessions. Your clothes. Your food. It all comes from our home planet. Earth Day is Monday, April 22. But maybe we should rename those 24 hours as “Earth’s Day.”

Just as on Mother’s Day we honor what moms do for us, maybe “Earth’s Day” could spark gratitude for all our planet provides and encourage us to give little gifts in return.

What little gifts, you say? Here are some suggestions:

–If you have a clothesline, hang out your clothes and let the sun and wind dry them instead of your electric dryer. For me it’s a restful and sunny habit!

–Rather than turn on your car engine from the house, wait until you get in your vehicle. Modern cars need very little time to “warm up.” Cold outside? Put on an extra jacket instead of running a vacant car to heat the interior.

–Check your fridge for food that needs to be eaten soon. Reducing food waste ranks third out of 100 solutions for reversing human-caused climate change, according to the non-profit Project Drawdown.

–If you need something new, consider spending a bit more for a better quality and preferably U.S.-made item that will last longer. Fewer purchases, fewer things in the dumpster.

This idea of being good to the earth appears in many belief systems. Scientist Katharine Hayhoe, a Christian and climate ambassador for the World Evangelical Alliance, writes, “What is more Christian than to be good stewards of the planet…?”

The U.N. Environment Program’s website Religions and Environmental Protection notes that in Judaism, tradition holds that “the land and environment are properties of God, and it is the duty of humankind to take care of it.” UNEP then cites similar beliefs in religions worldwide.

Botanist and author Robin Wall Kimmerer writes about her childhood camping trips in New York’s Adirondack Mountains. Kimmerer, an enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, said her father greeted each morning by pouring fresh coffee onto the ground as an offering.

Kimmerer writes that such offerings “say ‘Here we are,’” and afterward she hears “the land murmuring to itself, ‘Ohh, here are the ones who know how to say thank you.’”

Perhaps we can practice how to say thank you for our beautiful corner of the earth.

For more information:

• https://drawdown.org
• Saving Us: A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World, by Katharine Hayhoe.
• Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants, by Robin Wall Kimmerer.

Every Day Should be Earth Day – Editorial by Laura Brewer

Every day should be Earth Day, but officially we celebrate in the U.S. on Monday, April 22, 2024. Below is a graphic of some of the things one can do to help our Earth.

Madi’s Kitchen

Madi’s Kitchen is a delightful addition to our Potpourri page. Each week our young chef will provide a recipe that she has developed that has been tested on her friends and family. Read Madi’s Bio on the About Us page.

Posted April 23, 2024 – Pecan Shortbread

I love rainy afternoons; that’s the perfect time to read a good book and cuddle under a blanket. On a not-quite-warm-yet spring afternoon, a sweet treat hits just right. The toasty New Mexican pecans make this shortbread a solid choice for hot chocolate dunking, but it also goes well with a warm mug of tea!

Did you know, pecans are one of the few native grown nuts we can buy commercially today in the United States, and the only native nut we can grow here in New Mexico? While Georgia is the top producer of pecans in the US–which is kind of funny since pecans aren’t native to Georgia–New Mexico is a very respectable second place when it comes to pecan producing states. Most pecans in New Mexico are grown in the southeast part of the state, and every single pecan produced has the potential to grow into a tree over 100 feet tall that can live for centuries! That’s because each one is also a seed. As a seed, every nut also has different genetics, so there are tons of different varieties of pecans. Some have thicker shells, and some have thinner shells. Some need less water or grow faster in the heat. They all taste different too! 

So, when you try to make this shortbread, maybe try a few different varieties of pecans out–you never know which one you will like best! Shortbread is a great basic biscuit; since it doesn’t have many strong flavors, its buttery texture is the star taste! This makes it great for adding toppings, like pecans or a drizzle of chocolate. They’re easy–the hardest part is waiting for the log to cool so you can get on to the baking part! You can also substitute coconut oil for the butter, in a one-to-one ratio, to make this recipe a vegan hit! 

Pecan Shortbread Cookies

• 3/4 cup pecans coarsely chopped, toasted
• 10 tbsp unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1/2 cup confectioners’ (powdered) sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon cloves
• 2 tablespoons water or enough to make dough combine
• Toast chopped pecans on a baking sheet until browned.

In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter and confectioners’ sugar, vanilla and salt at medium until fluffy.

Whisk spices and flour together in a bowl. 

Add flour mixture in and beat on low until almost combined then scrape the bowl down and mix in the toasted pecans. If the dough is crumbling, add water, starting with a tablespoon at a time. Usually two is about correct, but it may be more or less depending on a lot of factors! 

• Roll dough into a log then wrap in parchment paper.
• Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Add parchment paper to baking sheets.
• Preheat to 350F. Cut log into ½ inch thick rounds.
• Transfer to baking sheet. Space with 1 inch between.
• Bake for 10 minutes. Rotate baking sheets in the oven. Bake for another 10 minutes or until golden brown.
• Move to a wire sheet to cool.

Fun with Vixie

Published April 14, 2024

My Experiences with Film Prize Jr.

By Vixie Zorra

Last 4th of July, I learned about El Raton Media Works’ Film Prize Jr., which is an annual competition where kids in middle and high school across the state write, storyboard, and direct their own films. On April 5, 6, and 7, there was be a Red Carpet in Albuquerque where all of the students’ films was be showcased and shown live on YouTube. There were a variety of film mediums, including live-action, stop-motion, and animation. The films are usually about 5-10 minutes with a full character and story arc.

Wanting to become a filmmaker someday, I was ecstatic to join what was, I thought, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It took some trial and error before I decided what film I wanted to make. It switched between doing a film about a girl going through domestic abuse to a futuristic, cyberpunk film before settling on a storyline I loved about a boy (who was secretly the Phoenix reincarnated) who was chased out of his Utah home and found by the United States military. Looking back, I am SOOO glad I didn’t go through with it. We were all exhausted when we filmed a much simpler film in one day, that we couldn’t even imagine what War of the Phoenix would’ve been like. That, and the fact that Phoenix was becoming less and less like the storyline that I had loved so much.

Out of the whole thing, I would say that the hardest part for me was the storyboarding. I never realized until I was trying to do it that I couldn’t figure out what I wanted. I feel that I was too indecisive when it came to how I wanted the camera shots, where I wanted the characters to look, and how I could do it well without showing any violence or stunts. Other than that, I had a blast being in front of the camera and filming Doubt Defiers, a simpler film that shows two young girls trying to make their dreams come true despite no one believing in them. I would highly recommend the Film Prize to any young person out there interested in filmmaking.

The Doubt Defiers film was entered into the 2024 NM Film Prize Junior Film Festival held Friday, April 6, 2024. The awards ceremony was held Saturday, April 7, 2024. I’ll provide more information on my experience in future editions of Fun with Vixie!

Photos courtesy Ann Theis, El Raton Media Works

Riddle Answer – He is playing Monopoly

Completed Scramble from March 24, 2024 And Down the Stretch They Come!