The Tree

The tree invited admiration with arms outstretched, standing tall.  It was the fullest, most abundant tree we had ever seen.  Fragrant hints whispered throughout our home.  Even though the Balsam Century’s post was our front living room, every nook and corner was aware of the presence of the tree.  Each ornament, twinkling, shining, placed with care amidst the branches and needles seemed to represent the blessings of our year.  Safely kept, nestled securely in its arms.  My joy this holiday was overflowing.

The call came on a usual day at a usual time.  The ring gave no hint of the news it would bear.  Grandmother had fallen, again.  At 89 years of age with a worsening case of dementia, surgery was not an option to address the bleeding on her brain.  Life was slipping from her fragile body.

A distance of one thousand miles separated us.  I was left without the comfort of holding her hand and so sought solace in the many cherished memories of my dear grandmother.

Summers spent poolside with brown sack lunches, gentile reminders to show kindness to delicate pool animal floats, and strict drip inspections before being allowed inside the century old Victorian styled home.  Autumn brought school and tenured wisdom from my school teacher grandmother, “Be diligent and obedient.”  Winter was a wonderland of sweet treats, a Christmas tree in every room, toy trains tooting around each one, and family.  Spring bloomed full of Cherry Blossom trees lining the streets and homemade Chinese food cooked in a wok.  Like the seasons, Grandmother was boundless with creative imagination.

Strolling through my thoughts, I began to realize the shaping influence my grandmother had in my life.  With grace and resolve she always did what was right.  Grandmother, although poised with dignity, never lost an opportunity to break out in song, tell a joke badly, or laugh good naturedly at herself.  She worked hard and achieved excellence in whatever she set her mind to.  But above all, Grandmother loved completely and forgave freely.

My gaze once again falls on the tree.  The fullness of its presence, the reach of its arms, the treasures filling the branches, the frailness of its life fading, and I am filled with gratitude for the tree represents the beautiful blessing of my dear Grandmother Dot.

Copyright©MMXVI by Audrey Boyette, All Rights Reserved.

Fire the Cook-you have Purple Carrot Now.

This is two servings of Drunkin' Noodles. I put them both on the plate for the photo and then moved 1/2 to save for lunch tomorrow.

I signed up for Purple Carrot two weeks and and received the meals Tuesday and cooked my first one yesterday.  The instructions and photos were very easy to follow. But reading them first would have done me a world of good.  Because when the oil in the pan grew hot- I had to hunt for the screen cover that keeps the oil at bay and not piercing my skin.

The Chinese Broccoli was delicious and of course I had never had it before--so it was a new experience I was thrilled to indulge in. I also learned how to cook rice noodles. Which is a great benefit to this service. 

The packaging was excellent.  Each meal is packaged to itself--and everything including the 1/2 teaspoon of brown sugar was packed neatly and organized.  Its similar tohaving a chemistry set except with food.  After using the small bottle of soy sauce (low sodium)   I cleaned the plastic container out and filled it with my hand moisture eliminating the need for a large bottle in my car. 

It's truly a wonderful service that I have discovered and I look forward to using this more and more. It takes the hassle of shopping and preparing food for yourself---it does everything for you except to cook.---and that's the easy part.  Personally, if I could make this meal---anyone can.

If you are ready for a veggie food service that is easy to use (in ordering and cooking) please use this code for your 25 dollars off.  Fall25 .

Enjoy it--I certainly did.

Purple Carrot Came

This is the first meal I'm going to make from the Purple Carrot inaugural package.  I received a $25 dollar coupon and used it for the 48 dollar initial fee which gets you 3 meals each for 2 people--so six meals in all. Its all veggies and some are veggies I have never heard of. 

I'm not really a cook--actually if I had a maid, a cook and of course 1 million in the bank--my life would be perfect.

But for now I will try this veggie meal and let you know how I liked this meal.  It involves using the stove and tofu which are two things I usually dont use.  LOL

Our mayor is just like a little Trump---he lies and so does she.

My city-New Britain, CT has been suffering from the results of a drought since last year--but we were not told about this drought until this summer.  She knew about it last year--and never told anyone. Maybe if she knew how to run a city instead of just hiking up taxes every year we would be in better shape now. 

Our Mayor is in negotiations to sell our water to Tilcon so they can use it for drilling and then they will build a new res for us.  Really?  why cant they just build one for themselves and leave NB out of it.  We have the best water--in fact NB is noted for three things--our water, our museums and our parks. 

According to our local paper--Under the proposal, Tilcon would mine 131 acres of mostly Class I and Class II protected watershed land owned by the city but located off Woodford Avenue in Plainville for up to 40 years before returning the parcel to New Britain as a reservoir that could potentially increase the city’s water yield by 160,000 gallons per day.

The plan would include Tilcon paying New Britain for mineral rights to the land, but the city would retain ownership of the property. The financial terms of the mineral rights deal have not been made public. Under a similar proposal that failed in 2008, the city would have received $15 million.

As part of the current proposal, Tilcon would also donate open space — 95 acres to New Britain, 187 acres to Plainville and 75 acres to Southington — and create a 1,000-foot buffer zone around the quarry to protect neighbors from Tilcon’s blasting.

Class I and Class II watershed lands are “highly protected” water recharge areas that hold and filter water that enters a reservoir, said Margaret Miner, the executive director of the Rivers Alliance of Connecticut. In order to be considered Class I and Class II protected land, the areas must also be owned by a water company, or in this case, the New Britain Water Department, Miner said.

The legislature must vote to approve a change of use for the land in order for Tilcon to mine the property. Opponents are concerned that if the proposal is approved by the General Assembly, Class I and Class II watersheds would be imperiled throughout the state.

Now, the flip side of this is that Tilcon will also pay for our Mayor to run for Governor in 2018 if she passes this.  This last line is a rumor about her.  But, she has ambition just like the rest of us--except the rest of us wouldn't ruin NB's water to do it.