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THE NOURISH LETTER www.OctoberKitchen.com | 860-533-0588 | 309 Green Rd., Manchester, CT 06042 This is our way of saying that you are important to us and we truly value your business. Please feel free to pass this newsletter on to your friends and neighbors. ENJOY! THE IMMORTAL ONE
DECEMBER 2018
Meet the Team Behind Your Meals
Remembering the 9 Lives of Jewel A few weeks ago, we said goodbye to our beloved cat, Jewel. She was 18 years old and had been part of our family since my daughter was a little girl.
of her head and ears. We couldn’t figure out what was going on until she brought us a baby mouse. We came to find out that she had been running
One of my earliest memories is of my childhood cats. My mom has been known to have up to five cats at once, each of them well-loved and spoiled. When I got married, my wife and I had pet cats for most of our marriage and our daughter got her first cat when she was 6 years old. After our neighbor’s cat had kittens, Audriana (Augee) came home from “Uncle” Fred’s with the runtiest runt of the litter, which she happily named Jewel. This cat grew up to be a beautiful tortie and she was my daughter’s pet from day one. As soon as Augee sat down, Jewel would be right in her lap. Each night, Jewel crawled under the covers with her and Augee always woke up with the cat still
around in the crawl space. There was a tiny crack in the foundation and mice had gotten in. Jewel was down there trying to take care of the problem. We sealed up the hole and that quickly remedied her weird, feline-pattern baldness.
“Every time Audriana came home, Jewel would be glued to her side.”
She was a real special cat, always eager to run around and play. Even after she
came down with kidney disease years ago, she wasn’t willing to give up the ghost just yet. That’s how she came to be called the “Immortal One.” Each fall, when Audriana went away to school, we told Jewel she just needed to last until winter break so Augee could see her again. And then we’d ask her to make it until summer vacation. She always did. Every time Audriana came
sleeping next to her. For the longest time, we had two cats, Daniel and Jewel. Daniel was a big Maine coon cat. He had the run of the house, with Jewel playing second fiddle, but after Daniel passed away, Jewel had something of a renaissance. She went from hiding in the basement to being on your lap, dying for affection all the time. Jewel was a good mouser, too. Once, we noticed she was losing fur on the top
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How One Man Saved Hundreds of Animals HURRICANE HERO TONY ALSUP
turned into Noah’s Ark last year, to save animals in Texas and Florida as Hurricane Harvey pounded the Gulf Coast. When he finished there, his mission shifted to helping animals in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria ravaged the island. It’s said that character is defined by the way someone acts when no one is watching. Many people heard of Alsup’s bravery after the devastation of Florence, but as news stories turned to sports, politics and business, America slowly moved on. Victims of the hurricane who lacked supplies received less national attention, but more than a month later, Alsup’s commitment to the cause was as strong as ever. Living out of the back of the bus for weeks, he drove pets out of the persistent flooding and convoyed shipments of desperately needed supplies to the coastal Carolina towns. You can follow Tony’s commitment on Facebook. He’s not asking for money or fame; he’s just a person with a heart to serve, using social media to promote awareness about those who desperately need our help. If you’re wondering what drives such a person, you can find it written at the bottom of every update he posts: “Love y’all, mean it.”
In the wake of destruction, it’s easy to focus on self- preservation. After all, fight-or-flight instincts are hard-wired into our brains so that
we can survive dangerous situations. But while fear drives the actions of many in times of chaos, there are a few who find greater strength in compassion. Tony Alsup considered the potential devastation of Hurricane Florence as he sat comfortably in his home in Greeneville, Tennessee. Rather than sit back and watch, the truck driver by trade packed up an out-of-commission school bus he’d bought and set off to South Carolina with one goal in mind: to save as many animals as possible. Stopping by every shelter he found along the coast, Alsup rescued over 60 cats and dogs in both North and South Carolina and took them to Foley, Alabama. The heroic efforts of Alsup saved the lives of many animals, but it wasn’t the first time he’d rushed into danger for a good cause. He’d originally purchased the school bus, which he
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A SURPRISING SPICE
What You Didn’t Know About Ginger
dietary supplements to be “a fairly low-risk and effective treatment for nausea and vomiting associated with pregnancy.” Packed With Nutrients Ginger boasts a great selection of important vitamins and minerals. In 100 grams of fresh ginger, you get 3.57 grams of protein, 1.15 grams of iron, 33 milligrams of potassium and 7.7 milligrams of vitamin C. There are also notable amounts of other nutrients, including vitamin B6, magnesium and zinc.
Like many folk tales, the story of “The Gingerbread Man” has a few plot holes. To start, how is a cookie able to run so fast? It sounds like your typical fairy-tale magic, but think about this: For centuries, ginger has been used to treat a variety of health problems, from arthritis to nausea. More recent scientific studies suggest there’s something to these old remedies. When you consider the health benefits of ginger, if any cookie was going to run off, gingerbread is a pretty reasonable candidate. Fight Inflammation A study from the University of Miami showed that ginger has impressive anti-inflammatory properties and can help reduce pain. When researchers enlisted the help of 247 patients with osteoarthritis of the knee, they found that patients who took ginger reported less pain and stiffness in their knee joints 40 percent more often than the patients who took a placebo. The study’s lead author, Dr. Roy Altman, said the results showed that “ginger affects certain inflammatory processes at a cellular level.” Treat Nausea Feeling a little motion sickness after your ride on a horse- drawn sleigh? Grate a few tablespoons of ginger into some tea to calm your stomach! A data review published in the journal Annals of Pharmacotherapy found ginger
Ginger is a pretty impressive spice, but we wouldn’t
call gingerbread cookies healthy.
There’s a fair amount of sugar and butter in the recipe that you don’t want to go overboard on. That said, with all the
health benefits of ginger, it’s no wonder that fox wanted to eat the gingerbread man at the end of the story!
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Jewel every morning at breakfast, letting her know the Immortal One was still kicking. Then the day came when Jewel stopped eating and started to walk around hunched over, like she was in pain. Augee and her fiancé are both veterinarians, and when I called them up, they gave me their professional opinion: Jewel had entered the final stages of her life and it was time to say goodbye. It is never an easy decision to put a family pet to sleep. After all the years together, they really become part of the family. Now it’s not the same at the house without Jewel underfoot. She did a number on our furniture over the years, but she was a sweet cat. I’m not sure we’ll be getting another one. Jewel is a tough act to follow.
home, Jewel would be glued to her side. For years, Jewel wasn’t ready to call it quits. She had a big heart, just like our old dog Bingo, and she wanted to spend more time with us. But when Augee came to visit last fall, she knew it was probably going to be the last time she’d see her cat. Augee and I send daily Snapchat messages, and I sent her a video of
Rest in peace, Immortal One. Thank you for all those long years we spent together.
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The Immortal Jewel
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Hurricane Pet Hero Join the Alliance!
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The Health Benefits of a Holiday Favorite
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from the heart and it’s a bad sign if someone insists there’s a deadline for giving. As the Better Business Bureau says, “Responsible organizations will welcome your gift tomorrow as much as they do today.” Only Give to Reputable Charities. Do some research before donating to charities. Look up any prospective charity on Charity Navigator at CharityNavigator.org. This service flags “high concern” organizations suspected of fraud and ranks how reliable established charities are. Even legitimate organizations can be misleading about how they spend their donations. A good rule of thumb is to avoid organizations that spend more than 25 percent of donations on salaries or administrative costs. There are many amazing charities and organizations that do good work. Stay vigilant to make sure you are bringing joy to the world and not falling for a criminal looking to make a quick buck.
what you need to do to ensure your donations aren’t lining the pockets of criminals. Never Give by Phone or Email. Charities regularly reach out to past and potential donors through traditional mail, email, phone calls or text messages. This means fraudsters will mimic their approach with less noble intentions. Because it’s impossible to determine who is on the other end of a call or email, you should never hand over your credit card information to strangers. If you really are speaking to a representative from a legitimate charity, they will direct you to a secure avenue where you can give without worry. Feeling Pressured? Walk Away. A lot of charities set goals they want to reach before the new year, but even groups that are hoping to raise a certain amount of money know better than to pressure donors into giving. Donations should always come
DONATING TO SCAMMERS How to Spot Fraud This Holiday Season During the season of giving, charities receive a much-needed rush of donations as people open their hearts to others. Unfortunately, criminals are all too willing to abuse this goodwill. According to a report from the Justice Department, Americans over the age of 60 lose over $3 billion a year to scams and fraudsters. As charity scams reach their peak, here’s
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