Ink Magazine - June 2018

June May 2018

Complimentary

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Vol 14 Issue 151 2018

A guide to finer living in Connecticut & abroad.

THE SMARTER CHOICE FOR

Less Invasive, More Effective Robot-assisted Weight Loss Surgery middlesexhospital.org/newyou

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Features

JUNE 2018

Columns, Reviews, Events

ISSUE CONTENTS

Cardinal Points

Cannibals, Snowy Egrets, St. Augustine

StoneRidge

pg. 24

Music Mirth & Mojo The 40th Annual Daffodil Festival Recap

The “Over the Hill” Gang and Very Vibrant Community

The Cheesemonger

pg. 10

On The Vine

Have Cheese, Will Travel

pg. 58 pg. 68

Portugal

pg. 74

Life On Sugar Farm to Bake: Utilizing local ingredients

June Events

pg. 76 pg. 81

Upcoming events in Connecticut

Lyme Art Association “Goes to Rehab.”

pg. 18

Mitchell Farm Equine Retirement “Greater love hath no horse.” pg. 28

Killustrate It Of Cars, Guns, and Each Other: A Most Unusual Love Story

pg. 38

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Advertising:

Jeffery Lilly- founder/publisher

Contact us to receive our media kit complete with detailed advertising information including ad rates, demographics, and distribution in your area.

Louis Comfort Tiffany

Stephanie Sittnick - publisher/sales/design

Following the iridescent trail across Connecticut

Carolyn Battisa - editorial

pg. 48

Caryn B. Davis - editorial/photography

Susan Cornell - editorial

Charmagne Eckert - editorial Mark Seth Lender - Cardinal Points Nancy LaMar-Rodgers - editorial

Myanmar Hop on an Irrawaddy River Expedition

pg. 65

Barbara Malinsky - editorial Rona Mann - editorial Paul Partica - The Cheesemonger A. Vincent Scarano - photography

Please direct your advertising inquiries and questions to: Stephanie Sittnick - Director of Advertising advertising@ink-pub.com - 860-227-8199 Cheryl Powell - Greater Connecticut cheryl@ink-pub.com - 860-608-5749 Rona Mann - Greater Connecticut six07co@att.net - 401-539-7762 Jacki Hornish - Litchfield jacki@inkct - 860-488-0393 Jeffery Lilly - Publisher/Founder submissions@ink-pub.com - 860-581-0026

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The “Over the Hill” Gang The Very Vibrant Community at StoneRidge

by RONA MANN No, it’s not a misprint, and you did indeed read it correctly.

There is a stigma attached to the phrase “over the hill” that’s dead wrong when it applies to people of “a certain age.” Think about it.

All our lives the real struggle is climbing up that hill. We go to school, are pressured to get good grades and graduate so that we can go to yet another school and work even harder to get the highest grade point average, so we can get a degree that will lead to a job, so we can write resumes to get a better job and compete for a better position for the next 40 years. Whew! And all the time we’re worrying about being replaced, about the company merging, going belly-up or going public.

When it comes right down to it, it’s really all about money...to buy a car, to rent an apartment, to furnish the apartment, to have a family, to buy

a house, to send the kids to school, to take a vacation, buy a second car, get a bigger house, strengthen IRAs and KEOUGHS and SEPS and CDs in order to save for retirement when finally, blessedly, we’ve reached the top and go over the hill.

“Over the hill,” therefore, should not be a derogatory term, but the ultimate compliment because now you’ve made it; and now it’s time to relax or play or learn a new skill or do whatever you want to do because you finally ended the climb; and now it’s your time to blissfully slide.

Meet the “Over the Hill Gang” at StoneRidge Monroe, Martha, Dick Nourie, Dick Clarke, Lua, Eve, Mary(and her therapy dog, Fenna, a real resident favorite), Stan, and Emmy - some of the most interesting folks you’ll ever encounter.

They, and about 300 more of their closest

friends, make up the very vibrant town square that is StoneRidge, the beautiful, fun, active, and contemporary senior independent living community in Mystic. Tucked away on a quiet road, but right in the heart of restaurants, shopping, galleries, the Seaport, the highway, and everything else that’s happening, StoneRidge is not “the” home; it is THEIR home, and it can be YOUR home as well.

Only 14 years old, StoneRidge is a four-level facility incorporating independent living (and boy, are these residents ever independent...just ask them!), assisted living, memory care, and a nursing and rehab facility. Best of all, StoneRidge offers its community a Life Care Promise, which according to Executive Director, Kathleen Dess, ensures that “everyone here is taken care of for life. Even if you outlive your

12 Monroe Dickinson chimes in. “She suffered from dementia, and this was the perfect place for both of us. She found excellent care in the Cottages, while I continued to live independently and could see her every day.”

resources, you will continue to live and thrive at StoneRidge.”

When prospective residents initially visit StoneRidge the most important part of their visit is not the tour, a delicious made from scratch meal in the dining room, or seeing the wide variety of activities - it is the opportunity to mingle with the people who live here and love it here. “They are our Marketing Committee,” says Dess proudly. Here are the highly talented residents from varied geographical and career backgrounds, who cannot wait to show new people their community. “There’s a real chemistry here,” says Dick Nourie when asked what attracted him to StoneRidge.

“I came here from Maryland with my wife,”

Photo by Stephanie Sittnick

Martha Nourie loves that “you can get to any part of the campus without going outside. It’s all connected. That’s a big plus in winter.”

When asked what the biggest resistance was in taking the plunge, they all said nearly in unison, the “I’m not ready yet” excuse. Their laughter resonated as Lua and Dick Clarke said, “waiting is not better. The earlier you come to StoneRidge, the sooner you make new friends, get comfortable, and realize you should have done it years ago. Everyone here says that.”

Michael Langlois, Director of Community Life Services, keeps the place

Photo by Stephanie Sittnick

humming as Activities Director, plus beer and wine maker, plus head cheerleader for not just the educational and cultural pursuits, but the people who love to participate in them. “We have classes, crafts, speakers, musicians, cocktail parties, outside field trips, and beer and wine making with our own label.”

Little wonder the residents hold Michael and the rest of the staff in the highest regard.

Kathleen Dess says, “We hire for heart here.

Yes, we can train just about anyone for a specific job, but you can’t train their heart. They have to have it within them, and those are the kind of people we hire.”

It’s more than appreciated by the StoneRidge community who have created and actively maintain a scholarship fund for the staff and their children. “Those who are interested fill out applications, the committee interviews them, and then we make the awards,” says Monroe proudly. Because StoneRidge is a no-tipping facility the residents also maintain an Employee Appreciation Fund so that at holiday time everyone is given a “bonus” by the people they serve all year long. “It’s not based on their job, but on how long they’ve been here.” Longevity seems to be the norm because the staff, whom the residents hold in the highest regard, enjoy working here. It’s become a

13 one else from the crowd interjects, “and you have your friends here to support you!”

All agree that making the move to come to StoneRidge – combating the “I’m not ready yet” syndrome – is the toughest.

“But living here is very easy,” smiles Emmy.

And now they’re off: to the writing group, the bridge tournament, library, computers, beer making, the finance committee, the pool, and anything else they care to do. These crazy-wonderful, intelligent, and driven members who have earned the right to be StoneRidge’s Over the Hill Gang.

sort of partnership between staff and residents, and it works.

Regardless of people’s interests and needs, StoneRidge seems to fit the bill because it is individualized, not compartmentalized. Stan adds that Emmy, who has “mobility issues,” finds her greatest joy in the indoor saltwater pool, regulated to 86 degrees. Salt water does not irritate the eyes nor lungs as chlorination can, and the benefit of the warm salt water relaxes and rejuvenates stiff and aching bones and muscles.

Seeing is believing, so schedule a visit to StoneRidge by calling (860) 536-9700.

186 Jerry Browne Road, Mystic www.stoneridgelcs.com

The doors are always open at StoneRidge, and many of the residents also enjoy being active in the southeastern Connecticut community outside those doors. “You don’t just sit in a rocker here...unless you really want to,” Eve announces, and everyone agrees. They also agree that it’s hard to communicate the strength of community they have among themselves, yet are always willing to offer support and peace of mind to those residents who may be in need.

Dess maintains that while residents live independently, “medical help is there if they need it, 24/7. We always have a nurse onsite,” and some-

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Lyme Art Association Goes to Rehab

By Susan E. Cornell / Photos by A. Vincent Scarano

D

o you recall the DeLorean time machine, the automobile-based time travel device that helped maverick scientist Doc Brown gain insights into history and the future in Back to the Future? With the DeLorean in reverse, in 1914 Old Lyme Doc would find the American Impressionist painters forming an association and dreaming of building their own gallery to exhibit their work. If he put the car in forward by a century or so, he’d likely find that same association and building, thanks to a present day complete and extreme makeover project.

Turn the clock back again to 1914. Some of the world’s most famous artists were summering in Old Lyme, staying at Florence Griswold’s house, inspiring one another, and exhibiting their paintings of bucolic southern Connecticut. These American Impressionists needed a gallery so they pooled their resources and built what is today the Lyme Art Association building. The land belonged to Miss Florence, who sold the site to the artists for the sum of one dollar.

One of the most famous architects of the time, Charles A. Platt, donated his services and designed the building. Platt also designed the Freer Art Gallery in Washington, DC and the Lyman Allyn Museum in New London, and was an artist and member of the Lyme Art Association.

The plans for the gallery called for perfect lighting and architectural compatibility with the other buildings in the New England village of Old Lyme. In its review of the opening exhibition, the New York Times praised the gallery as, “an embodiment of art in harmony with its natural surroundings.”

Turn the clock forward and, after all these decades, the landmark gallery still had the same old shingles, the same old trim, the same millwork, and the same windows literally rotting and falling apart. It was time for This Old Gallery to get the love and attention it deserves.

Restoring this building is important for so many reasons. Today the Lyme Art Association continues its commitment to advance the cause of representational fine art, while maintaining and preserving its historic building and galleries. It is a vibrant art center and gallery where professional and developing artists mount major exhibitions year-round – open to the public and free of charge. The Association

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20 also has a robust schedule of art classes, workshops and lectures. The landmark means a great deal to artists, those who appreciate art and, of course, the community.

The Lyme Art Association is far more than a “fixer upper,” it is a valuable asset and centerpiece for Old Lyme’s historic district.

rotting and deteriorating exterior trim; repair of cracked foundation elements; replacement of interior lay lights; upgrade or replacement of outdated HVAC, electrical, plumbing, secu-

Then came Phase II, the Master Plan, a clear and concise narrative explaining needs for the coming decades as well as the Association’s important role as a caretaker of a landmark work of architecture.

Explained the Association’s Development Director Gary Parrington, “Before we were comfortable starting the renovation and the restoration work, we felt is was imperative to step back, take a breath, and look at the long view for how do we use the space, how will we want to use the space, will we want to expand, will we want to put in an additional gallery, more offices. We took the time to put together a Master Plan so we could completely understand how to anticipate what the Lyme Art Association might look like in five years, in 20 years, for the

But makeovers take money, and so the Lyme Art Association’s Second Century Capital Campaign launched to bring the historic building back to life.

This multiphase campaign is also a multiyear campaign which started in 2013 with Phase I, the Condition Assessment Study. The Association commissioned Centerbrook Architects to conduct a top to bottom, inside and outside, comprehensive assessment of the building and property.

Their team of architects and engineers evaluated the property and identified critical areas to be addressed in order to halt further deterioration and to plot out a repair, restoration, and renovation plan. The short of it: replacement of the original cedar shingles; restoration of

LAA artists Circa 1925

rity, insulation and wall systems; installation of ADA safety code compliance entrances and points of egress; etc. The long of it: a 177page report including a prioritized list of work projects, preliminary cost estimates, a timeline – the works.

Lyme Art Association 1921

next generation.”

Satisfied that the players understood (a) the condition of the building including all the things one can’t see, and (b) how they viewed the future, they were able to prioritize the steps.

21 we get this done right.

The gallery is not only on the National Register of Historic Places but we are also in the Historic District in Old Lyme. We didn’t dare change the appearance,” Parrington said.

Before

After

A committee of volunteers led by Carrie Walters, Capital Campaign Chair, Board Member, and the “go-to person” for the exterior restoration, set out to identify the most important projects to start. Those were the exterior skin – the shingles and the millwork and redoing the pathway that leads to the front door, to make it safer and more accessible. Those projects, all totaled, came to nearly $400,000! Long gone are the days when anything cost “one dollar.”

Exterior repair and renovation, aka Phase III, kicked off in 2016 but not with $400K in the piggy bank.

“It is somewhat daring for a nonprofit to begin the capital work without all the capital money in hand but this just couldn’t wait so we moved forward,” said Parrington.

Sapia Builders Corp. of Old Lyme is the contractor for the project.

Walters said the work required examining every detail of the building, down to the size of each shingle and how much each shingle is shown.

This is what’s called an in-kind project, meaning everything that is replaced is done exactly the way it had been originally, she explained.

“It is an iconic structure so it’s very important

Kathy Simmons, Lyme Art Association President, said, “We’re going to recognize the donors who made it possible – members and non-members alike, these people are excited about the project and excited about the historic restoration of a property vital to the culture of Old Lyme.“ She added, “The Lyme Art Association building is an integral part of Old Lyme’s historic district and stands as a reminder of Old Lyme’s important place in the history of American art.

Every day I am inspired by the thought that as we repair and restore the exterior of this grand, historic building, we honor Old Lyme’s place in the history of American art.”

large as this one,” she said.

Like Simmons, Walters said, “We absolutely need a party. We need to celebrate the finish of this.” And maybe that DeLorean will pull up the driveway.

Visit them on the web at: https://lymeartassociation.org

After the restoration is over, Simmons said, “We’re going to have a party!”

Still on the punch list for this spring and summer: a new walkway to the front door, leveling the property, rehabilitating and painting two sets of double doors, landscaping, and new lighting across the front of the building and along the new walkway.

Before

The whole enchilada is expected to wrap up this summer. “If it doesn’t you may never see me again,” Walters quipped. “Really, it’s close and just a matter of finessing some aspects.”

“We’ve had very few major issues that were tough to deal with. Not everyone can say that about a restoration as After

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24 there is no shelter: Feed me.

FEED ME! Baby birds, half-grown, relentless as a heartbeat, care about nothing else.

Cannibals Snowy Egrets, St. Augustine Photos and editorial Š Mark Seth Lender In the spikey shelter of the tall palms, in the cup where the massive fronds join the scaly ancient trunks, snowy egrets nest. Winged predators cannot maneuver here, cannot stoop, or sweep, through the bone-breaking jangle. Nor snake nor mongoose come creeping from the swamp below where alligators provide their own Draconian protection. Snowies who raise their young in this complicated space crisscrossed by shadows, enclosed by the fingered husks of leaf and branch are safe. Except, for that constant, from which

A snowy egret lands, pure white, the gossamer breeding plumage of her elaborate tail, the skin at the base of her bill and the ring around her sun-colored eyes rose madder.

She perches just above her nest, one leg dangling, the other holding on as if trying to collect herself; they will not give her that chance. All the young who can see her stare up at her, holding her in their gaze. All the mouths point towards her, her brood and the ones in the nests that surround her. This even though she will only feed the two who own her. The others all know it but she has returned, their parents have not; they consume her with their eyes. Which makes it an impractical look, one of envy more than hope focused on her the way a lens focuses the light of the sun. Burning.

Ravenous. That is their constant. The two that are hers and all the others. They would eat her alive.

As if somehow they know, this growing time will end, and it ends in either flight, or death.

So much can go wrong.

The single-mindedness of the fledglings therefore rational. If monstrous: Their feet chartreuse their beaks black as ebony their naked wings barred by the bone colored shafts of feathers yet to unfurl, and a pinkish light casts through the flesh between. There is a rag of down and quills about their heads and throats. The strange gray-blue eyes wide and staring.

Sauvage!

There is no other word for them.

There is no other choice for her but to give in to them.

And their necks snake out; their clapping bills reach out; they bite, entrapping their mother by her beak pulling wrestling side to side and finally down.

FEED me FEED me FEED ME! Everything in her crop is for them. None of it for her. She pours her catch into the purple gape of their mouths‌.

And is spent.

And when there are three in the nest all the more so. And when there are four?

This is what she and her mate are born to: To do the Impossible.

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Field Note: I wonder if birds connect matting with parturition.

Mating displays, ritualized and elaborate, are substantially recapitulated after the nest is built and the eggs are laid, this every time the partners change places on the nest. Egrets (every species I’ve had occasion to observe) call to each other when one of them returns, and they touch beaks, and sometimes entwine their necks and rub against each other. This continues through the time that the eggs hatch, but rapidly diminishes in complexity and elaboration as the young birds are fed and prosper and mature, until the only part of the greeting that remains is the vocalization. And sometimes not even that. I’ve always had the feeling that once those little mouths open, there isn’t time for the all of the niceties. Why should it be different for birds than it is for us? What young couple with a matched pair of two year olds has time for a love life?

There is perhaps a more practical reason for the lack.

It presents as a disconnect or partial amnesia between love and its consequence. If the birds (or for that matter human beings) were fully cognizant and

could make a rational assessment of what the rituals of love will lead to… they might defer. To the extent that none of us might be here.

On the other hand, as an observer, one has to be very careful not to disturb birds during the incubation period. Birds will defend a nest with eggs. Some species will go so far as to put themselves in harm’s way to lead a predator in another direction.

However, they will far more readily abandon eggs than young. Once the babies hatch, and the process of raising the fledglings commences the bond is durable and profound.

Parenting runs deep in all of us.

Mark Seth Lender is a producer for wildlife content at Living on Earth ( LOE.org ), the only program on US Public Radio exclusively dedicated to wildlife and environmental reporting.

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Mitchell Farm Equine Retirement “Greater love hath no horse.”

By Anne W. Semmes / Photos by Winter Caplanson

S

et within the rolling and pristine farmland of Salem, Connecticut is a low profile, high quality retirement home for beloved horses, Mitchell Farm Equine Retirement (MFER).

There are 27 horses currently in residence, with dozens more on the wait list, that have all earned their rest. They have come from as far south as South Carolina, as far west as Ohio, and from many a Connecticut backyard. They’re Dressage Grand Prix veterans, Thoroughbred racers, hunters, and jumpers. But a good number are well worn riding horses and ponies, with the occasional miniature companion. Their stalls sport their names, female in the main, with the odd gelding - no stallions please. Spare these mares breeding time. Most are in their late 20’s with a life expectancy in the early 30’s.

Doolittle, founder and executive director of MFER. She has a choice of 13 pastures. But if a summer day is too hot, they’re “in for the day and out for the night.”

At 8:30 PM there’s a night check before bedtime. “That’s the time you can pick up on any health issues,” says Dee, “and see to those horses hankering for a third meal.”

Horses don’t close their eyes when they sleep. “They sleep very soundly, usually standing up,” says Dee. “Horses feel very secure here and really relax.

They live longer here – especially the show horses.”

Hank Horn (Husband/Volunteer Facilities Manager), Dee Doolittle (Founder/Executive Director), Melissa MacDonald ( Barn Manager)

Every morning their day starts at 7 AM when the volunteers arrive. There’s a half hour of evaluating their health issues, then feeding time, then pasture time. “We turn them out in social groups of two to four,” says Dee

The afternoon brings a new shift of volunteers to bring the retirees in for their 4 o’clock feed.

They return to mucked stalls, notes Dee, with “their feed buckets cleaned and refurbished.”

In the 13 years of MFER Dee Doolittle has provided sanctuary to as many as 86 beloved horses.

“Affordable alternatives for older, un-rideable horses are practically non-existent,” she confirms, “with the worst outcome being having them shipped under inhumane conditions to Mexico or Canada for slaughter.”

Dee had earlier volunteered for a now defunct Salem-based rescue network that helped horses who were at risk or abandoned. Seeing the need, she learned of the 50-acre horseboarding Mitchell Farm on land protected by

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the Connecticut Farm Land Trust. She was impressed with the Farm’s 18th century barn, all chestnut post and beam, that once hosted dairy cows. She could lay solar panels on its roof to supply those necessary cooling fans for her horses. “We leased the property from the Salem Valley Corporation,” she says.” We’re really protected here.”

stipend pledge of $600 for six years residency.

“We do our best to be affordable to as many as possible,” says Dee, “and still offer sanctuary to those in need.” To that end, Dee is working with SCORE towards a scholarship fund in 2019.

“I miss them terribly!” Alice shares. “When I wasn’t working, I spent much of my free time riding, doing barn chores, and caring for them.

Being with them was peaceful.

When I’d groom them I could tell them stories of the day – good and challenging ones. I’d always feel better afterwards.”

Luckily Dee has a handy partner, husband Hank Horn. “He keeps everything looking nice,” she says, including that summer blaze of sunflowers that Hank sells off for the benefit of the horses.

But it is Dee’s big heart for horses and her empathy for those who have bonded with them that creates the hum about Mitchell Farm. “We not only provide a safe and comfortable retirement alternative for aged and infirm horses,” Dee says, “we provide peace of mind for the humans who love them.

“For this peace of mind owners are willing to pay the cost of their horses’ retirement.

(Prospective owners alert: horses are “a bit more expensive to keep for their size and their vet bills,” notes Dee). There’s an upfront onetime fee donation of $1500, plus a monthly

chestnut and dressage-trained horse, Rye, while being gazed at a bit forlornly by Rye’s white coated sidekick, Magic, a miniature.

The two were longtime soulmates on Alice’s small farm.

Letting go of a much loved horse is a challenge for most owners. “Their horses can’t do winters; they’re arthritic, they’re no longer rideable,” says Dee. That letting go difficulty was seen during a visit to Mitchell Farm. Alice Arden of West Suffield was standing by the stall of her recently retired

Seeking out a retirement home, she’d rejected farms where her “boys” would be “turned out 24/7 in a big herd. “I wanted for them to have a clean stall to come to, a space that was theirs. And I wanted a certain amount of daily care and interaction with people safe, clean, and well managed.”

She found all the above at Mitchell Farm. “Talking with Dee and the barn manager, Melissa about the general routine, feeding, turnout, and care – like vet, dentist and farrier - I felt confident my horses would get what they needed and have watchful eyes over them.”

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Pam Platz, an eight year veteran volunteer, has those watchful eyes. She is one of approximately 34 volunteers at MFER. Pam’s bonding with the retirees began while working at High Hopes Therapeutic Riding in Old Lyme with two horses - Poncho and Filly. “I was Poncho's barn buddy and followed him here, and I have stayed ever since.”

What keeps Pam coming back to MFER she says is, “Dee and Hank, other volunteers, horses, exercise, the fresh air, and the beautiful scenery;” and she adds, “the dedication it takes to care for senior horses.” That care includes dealing with her emotions when she learns a horse has to be put down.

“Owners sometimes wish to be present for euthanasia,” says Dee, “but never for burial.” “We bury them way back in the back field,” she relates, except in 2014, when it was too cold. “We had to cremate them,” albeit with “a respectful handling of the carcass.” Dee is “honored to be an advocate for every horse through end of life decisions and euthanasia,” she says, but has chosen not to witness burials.

Dr. Mary Ann Pudimat is a Salem-based

anesthesiologist who serves as president of MFER’s board of directors. From Mitchell Farm’s inception she has “walked the walk” with her three hunter-jumper horses – Phoebe, Sporty, and Max, first as boarders,

“Our horses easily adjusted to life at Mitchell Farm,” she says, “but that is primarily due to Dee’s extremely careful introduction of each horse as it arrives on the farm. Her attention to detail of the horse’s personality and needs always pays off with a happy and well-adjusted horse.

This level of care is extended to every horse at the farm.”

The secret of the success of Mitchell Farm says Mary Ann is “Dee and her ability to pass her vision on to an army of dedicated volunteers and staff. Without her tireless efforts to excel in an underserved area of equine care, Mitchell Farm would never have continued in such a steadfast fashion.”

then as retirees, and she was there with them at their end. A frequent volunteer, she was present at the farm with a group of UCONN student volunteers when Phoebe and Sporty were put down. But she keeps her memories of them fresh.

“When this Farm came across my path,” Dee says, “I knew this was the perfect use for it. Its beautiful, peaceful pastures and strong ancient barn offer a place for these horses to live out their lives. Or maybe it was a moment of insanity...it's the hardest thing I've ever done in my life but the most rewarding. I'm sure my husband Hank feels the same. It is sanctuary for us as well.”

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Of Cars, Guns, and Each Other: A Most Unusual Love Story

By Caryn B. Davis (with some photos by Caryn B. Davis) This is a love story about two people who love antique guns, cars, art, history, and each other.

It’s the story of Kristin HaddadSchimetschek, an artist and pin striper who owns and operates Killustrate It and her husband Dean Schimetschek, vice president of Jeremiah Johnson Trading & Dean’s Speed Shop.

Kristin has been obsessed with art and cars her entire life.

Shadowing her grandfather who had a construction business, she spent many hours around Mack trucks, in body shops, and riding around in the rumble seat of his 1936 Chevy, just one of many cars he collected.

“I love that smell of grease and gasoline.

Whenever I go into a garage I feel so alive,” she says.

Her grandmother, while not into cars as much

as her husband, preferred putting oil on canvas, rather than inside an engine.

“My grandma was always painting, and I was always nagging her to go up to the studio,” she says.

Burt). Kristin’s father informed the caller of the mix up, but mentioned his daughter did pin striping, and Kristin got the job. Shortly after, she did meet the real Robert Ives who then became her mentor.

“Robert said to me, “You stole my job, but I am going to teach you everything I know and give you my clients when I die,” she said.

Well, Robert is still kicking, and Kristin has since built her own client list, now working with many garages that recommend her to their customers. Clients can also stop by the shop she shares with her husband’s business in Haddam.

Kristin attended the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and studied design and illustration. But it wasn’t until years later that she figured out how to merge her love for art and cars. Her father worked at a motorcycle shop called Burt Ives & Sons. One day, a call came in from a person looking for a “Robert Ives,” a pin striper. (They had confused Robert with

Kristin paints from templates she’s created or free hand, depending upon the client and what they need. Often they describe what they are looking for in terms of a name, a look, a time period, typeface, or character, and she does the rest.

“If someone comes to me with a little shadow of an idea, I can usually help,” she says.

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Her expertise is in pin striping and painting on cars, trucks, motorcycles, choppers, bulldozers, backhoes, hot rods, and bicycles basically anything with wheels - but she has

been asked to adorn leather jackets, shovels, mailboxes, drinking glasses, pitchers, walls, shoes, guns, backdrops, and signs that are either whimsical or promotional. She also does logos and lettering.

Dean is an avid collector of vintage automobiles, race cars, antique guns and knives, and western and war memorabilia. It’s a passion his wife shares along with his father Greg, who started Jeremiah Johnson Trading.

While Kirstin’s business is primarily word of mouth, she does attend cars shows where she will do pin striping and painting on the spot. At one particular show Kristin spied her future husband walking across the lawn; and impulsively and very uncharacteristically, shouted out the car window, “James Dean I am going to marry you some day!” which he ignored.

“My father has always collected, which got me into it. When I was little we’d go to all these shops and gun shows. We are both electricians by trade, but we got out of it; and by chance, we were selling things off from our collections and it snowballed into a business because we saw we could make money doing it,” Dean explains.

Exactly one month later, and at her mother’s urging to circulate, she found him on a dating site. “One of the first things I asked her was what her favorite old car was...she said, ‘a ‘57 Chevy.’ “I have one I drive regularly,” says Dean, although he picked her up for their first date in his 1959 Ford. And as a wedding gift, Dean gave his bride a 1931 Chrysler touring car.

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The shop Dean and Kristin share is chock full of early sporting guns, revolvers, shot guns, Winchesters, Colts, and more. Dean researches the firearm’s history and provenance and is often successful in uncovering its prior owners.

“We have a Colt that was attributed to Buffalo Bill. It was one he carried when he was a pony express rider,” say Dean. “We also have some Civil War guns and confederate muskets that were identified to the soldiers. We found out what battles they fought in and where it went. We have the nicest Winchester ever from 1873. It’s fully engraved and gold and nickel-plated.”

Dean appreciates all antique guns, but if you ask him what his favorite is, he’ll tell you it’s the Punt Gun, used in the early 1800s for shooting water fowl. The meat was supplied to commercial venues such as restaurants and hotels.

residence, coveted by everyone who passed it.

“Everyone was trying to get that car. I often asked the guy if he would sell it, but he just never would for any amount. We kind of gave up on it, and he eventually passed away,” says Dean. “One day we got a call about a Corvette hard top for sale, and it was on the same road and turned out to be the same house. We met with his partner and told him our history with the car; and he liked our story and sold it to us a year later. He just wanted someone who appreciated it.”

Another car in the shop is a 1931 Ford Model A roadster that was once owned by Bob Bishel, a friend of Frank Maratta’s who ran Connecticut’s only drag way. It was lost for 40 years and migrated up to Maine, but by total luck they found it on craigslist and bought it, even though it had no engine.

While decoy ducks, guns, buckskins, and knives adorn the shop’s walls and shelves; the floor holds three vintage cars that Dean, Greg, and Kristin are in the process of restoring, although they have more than twenty. All have a story, of course. For example, the 1968 Shelby Mustang, of which only 318 were made, sat under a tarp since 1974 at a private

“We heard about a guy in Salem who had an old raised flat head motor from the Connecticut drag way. I ran into him at a show and asked him about it. It turned out to be the original engine,” says Dean who eventually purchased it. What are the odds?

Kristin and Dean just purchased a 1762 house they are in the process of restoring. Doing their due diligence that have learned it was originally built by a Revolutionary War sergeant who had once lived nearby. They are thrilled to be able to bring back to the town

this bit of local history that may otherwise have been forgotten.

And it’s in this spirit that they want to open an American history museum with a section dedicated to Connecticut’s drag way nostalgia.

“Maybe we will have a famous drag car every month on display that somebody ships from somewhere,” says Kristin.

If anyone can do it, these two certainly can.

For more info log onto jeremiahjohnsontrading.com and killustrateit.com.

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Paintings by Anne Gaffey Exclusively in Connecticut at the Bee and Thistle 100 Lyme St | Old Lyme, CT 06371 RECEPTION:

JULY 12TH | 5:30 – 7:30 PM 860.912.0829 • info@annegaffey.com Connecticut • Massachusetts annegaffey.com

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Following the iridescent trail of Louis Comfort Tiffany - across Connecticut

By Anne W. Semmes

That innovative master of glass, versatile artist Louis Comfort Tiffany with his lifelong passion to capture and celebrate beauty - especially the beauty of nature -

is having a renaissance across the landscape he loved.

Today, a century and more after his heyday in the Gilded Age, Tiffany’s work is being restored, re-appreciated, and rescued. There continues to be rescues of his art tucked away in churches, public buildings, and private homes vulnerable to demolition and redevelopment. Stories abound of losses due to redecoration and to fire. The greatest loss to fire, luckily after Tiffany’s lifetime, was his grand country estate, Laurelton Hall, overlooking Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island.

To see the extraordinary diversity of Tiffany’s creations that range from his luminous stained

glass windows to his imaginative Favrile (French for handmade) art glass, mosaics, enamels, and design drawings for his stainedglass, there is the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Neustadt Collection of Tiffany Glass at the Queens Museum, and now the New York Historical Society with its glorious new gallery of Tiffany’s iconic lampshades.

But, attention lovers of exquisite art: there’s an intriguing Tiffany art trail across the New England landscape, especially in Connecticut, where one can cozy up to the elegant imprint of Louis Comfort Tiffany. Louis was New York born into that famous Tiffany & Co. family; but his family’s roots were in rural northeastern Connecticut in Killingly. Further south in Norwich, Louis would marry Mary Woodbridge Goddard in 1872. In 1891, after his wife’s untimely death, Louis would design a dozen or more stained-glass windows for the church’s sanctuary in time for a daughter’s wedding.

Today, after a 2012 restoration of those windows, worshipers and visitors alike can marvel at the sunlit display of Tiffany’s blue and gold windows.

It is pure luck that Yale University’s 30-foot wide Tiffany “Education” window survives. The fivepanel window portrays angelic personifications

Facing page: Detail of Yale University’s Chittenden Memorial Window: “Education” Photo by Michael Marsland Above: Louis Comfort Tiffany, Oil on canvas.

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Above: Yale University’s Chittenden Memorial Window: “Education” portrays angelic personifications Art, Science, Religion, and Music. Photo by Michael Marsland

of Art, Science, Religion, and Music. Known as the Chittenden Memorial Window, it was installed in 1890 in the University’s then library and is now seen in all its glory in a classroom in Linsly-Chittenden Hall..

Yale graduate and decorative arts expert, the late Robert Koch is credited with reviving interest in Tiffany’s Art Nouveau glasswork designs in the 1960’s and 1970’s.

Koch’s first biography of “Louis Comfort Tiffany, Rebel in Glass” was published in 1964.

His antique browsing found an unidentified and “dilapidated” stained glass panel that proved a rare early work of Tiffany’s that he donated to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Thanks to Koch’s efforts while serving as art professor at New Haven’s Southern Connecticut State University he brought the donation of two of Tiffany’s finest stainedglass windows created in the 1890’s to the SCSU Buley Library.

The first, known as the Trowbridge Memorial Window, is a landscape entitled “Water Brooks Window.” Its image of a cascading brook through woods is drenched with color and truly illustrates Tiffany’s mastery of stained-glass. A second Trowbridge Memorial Window celebrates the ship, “Hector” that brought the earliest colonists to New Haven in 1638. To realize this stunning window Tiffany would lay in five layers of glass.

That New Haven early colonial history Tiffany addressed again inside the city’s earliest Center Church set on the New Haven Green. His sizeable stainedglass window over the altar features the church’s founder and co-founder of the Colony of New Haven, British Rev. John Davenport preaching his first sermon to the Puritans.

New Haven’s Southern Connecticut State University’s “Hector” that celebrates the ship that brought the earliest colonists to New Haven in 1638. Photo by Isabel Chenoweth, University Photographer, SCSU.

partnership of Associated Artists of three other members of the Aesthetic Movement Candace Wheeler, Lockwood DeForest and Samuel Coleman. The same year the four were decorating the state rooms of the U.S. President Chester Arthur’s White House, they were enhancing the Hartford home of Mark Twain. The house has been newly restored to display the exotic design motifs in its interiors that Tiffany embraced from his travels to India and Morocco. One Tiffany detail was a specific Twain request: please place a Tiffany leaded window over Twain’s fireplace – he wished to see the snow fall to the fire!

Before Tiffany became besotted with working with glass he was using his considerable artistic skills as an interior designer in the 1870’s in a New Haven’s Southern Connecticut State University’s two Tiffany memorial windows” “Water Brooks,” depicting Psalm 42. Photo by: Isabel Chenoweth, University Photographer, SCSU.

Alfred Mitchells “Mouth of Thames”

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Church of Christ Congregational Norfolk Battell Chapel

Church of Christ Congregational, Norfolk Battell Chapel

The Mark Twain House & Museum, Hartford, Connecticut. Photo by John Groo.

New London’s St. James Episcopal Church has a wealth of five Tiffany windows, including the “Holy Family” window that is dedicated to Captain Lyman Allyn for whom the Lyman Allyn Art Museum is named.

Pequot chapel angel detail

The Lyman Allyn Art Museum’s purchase of Tiffany’s “Come Unto Me” window from New London’s All Souls Universalist Church was the kick off for a 1000-foot Tiffany gallery to open in October. Photos courtesy of Robert Baldwin.

“The Annunciation Shepherd window” New London’s St. James Episcopal Church

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“One of these windows of the Holy Family is dedicated to Captain Lyman Allyn.” It seems the wealth of the whaling industry of New London that profited whaling Captain Lyman Allyn not only brought the Lyman Allyn name to Quigley’s museum but a wealth of Tiffany’s memorial windows to St. James. The church claims to have “the largest collection of Tiffany windows in one building in all of New England.”

Sam Quigley, the director of New London’s Lyman Allyn Museum,

But it’s in coastal New London that Louis Comfort Tiffany’s footprint is writ large.

“Because of his frequent visiting here there’s a high density of Tiffany work in and around the area,” says Sam Quigley, the director of New London’s Lyman Allyn Museum.

That realization, along with a bit of serendipity, inspired the enterprising Quigley to create a new permanent exhibition dedicated to the work of Louis Comfort Tiffany and his connection to New London.

Notable is their Mansfield Memorial Window of two WWI Airmen, representing two friends and sons of vacationing New Yorkers who volunteered for air service in their teens and made the final sacrifice.

Another elegant window is of three saints – the Lawrence Memorial Window.

Tiffany may have been influenced toward working with stained-glass by a family member. Early in Louis’ career, his sister Annie’s brother-in-law, Donald Mitchell, well steeped in the decorative arts and aware of Tiffany’s passion for color and portraying

Pequot chapel angel detail

Quigley’s relatively small, but esteemed Museum with its impressive columned façade, sits high overlooking the city, adjacent to Connecticut College, not far from Mitchell College.

Quigley cites the Pequot Chapel, with its nearness to Mitchell College as having two sizeable Tiffany stained glass windows.

Those two radiant angel windows Tiffany brought to the Chapel in 1895.

Near the Chapel was the Pequot House, a favored inn for summering New Yorkers, including Tiffany. But it’s in downtown New London says Quigley that there’s a bonanza of Tiffany windows, in the 18th century St. James Episcopal Church.

“There are five Tiffany windows in the St.

Tiffany Floriform Vase

windows look upon neglected or dingy areas or courts, where the equipment with rich designs would be a perpetual delight.”

A Tiffany descendant, Julia Tiffany Hartman, in her new pocket size biography of her ancestor, spells out Tiffany’s glassmaking magic. “He developed an iridescent surface by oxidizing heavy metals. This effect suggested organic

Tiffany’s dragonfly lamp, a new acquisition by the Lyman Allyn Art Museum

nature, had spoken of uses for painted and stained glass. He found the medium, according to Tiffany biographer Koch, to be “full of suggestion to those living in cities whose rear

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Louis Comfort Tiffany

at a fortuitous time in 2014 when an outstanding Tiffany window long overseeing the congregations of New London’s All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church came up for sale. The church was moving to new quarters.

“This is a beautiful six foot by six foot window of the Christ figure with his arms outstretched, in a composition called “Come Unto Me,” relates Quigley. “We decided that we would acquire this to preserve it for the people of New London who could then see it in a public setting. We would make a special exhibition around it.”

“Holy Family” window detail

and naturalistic impressions. His love of plants and nature encouraged him to find novel solutions in leaded-glass windows and a new copper foil method of joining pieces together…he would have his glass house make sheets of glass that had several colors running through them, then find the perfect area and orientation to express the petal of a tulip or the leaf.”

“His color genius,” Hartman continues, “was manifested in thousands of windows, vases, and lamps.” She then quotes the glass master, “I have always striven to fix beauty in wood, stone, glass, or pottery, in oil or watercolor by using whatever seemed fittest for the expression of beauty. That has been my creed.”

Sam Quigley’s arrival as new director of the Lyman Allyn Museum surely came Lawrence Memorial Window of St. Sebastian, St. Joseph, and St. Francis.

New London’s St. James Episcopal Church

Quigley’s Museum already had a small collection of Tiffany items, 22 vases, jewelry, and ceramics. But the purchase of the “Come Unto Me” was a game changer. “In late 2016,” Quigley adds, “we acquired two stained-glass windows, one by Tiffany from the Palmer Mausoleum in the New London’s Cedar Grove Cemetery.” Finding no heirs of the windows, the Museum was able to arrange a 25-year renewable long term loan with the cemetery to display the windows for the general public of New London.

Quigley described what will be the Museum’s 1000-foot Tiffany gallery to open in October.

In a planned darkened space he says, their three acquired stained glass windows (Tiffany’s “Come Unto Me,” and the two Palmer Mausoleum windows) will be brilliantly illuminated center stage. Add to that, a photo mural of that “Holy Family” window dedicated to Captain Lyman Allyn, from St. James Episcopal Church.

“We’re hoping,” he adds, “that people will pull out Tiffany works from their own collection, on a loan or perhaps longer than that.”

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TASTE BUD FLIPPIN’ DELICIOUS

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Music, Mirth & Mojo

by Ali Kaufman

The 40th Annual Daffodil Festival ...Daff-initely a great time!

by Ali Kaufman Every April for the past 40 years the daffodils have bloomed in Meriden’s Hubbard Park; and recently retired Director of Parks, Mark Zebora has been there to make sure they get a big party just for popping up.

Back in 1988 Carter White got together with Mark and approached then Mayor Jim Pellegrino with the idea of celebrating the

50,000 guests over two days at the end of April.

Through the generous support of sponsors and a large contingency of volunteers, the festival has managed to remain a free event that offers three stages of music on both days, with fireworks displays at night. You don’t even have to pay for parking or the shuttle bus that takes you to the gate; it is open to all, and there is definitely something for everyone.

The parade kicks things off on Saturday with a stream of pageant winners, fife and drum corps, and enthusiastic flower loving residents that want to share their pride by marching or riding floats. Both days offer a plethora of family friendly choices that parents will like as much as their kids.

Beth Hart

Barnard continued in his third year to raise it with a stellar mix of local and national acts.

The side stages draw a crowd worthy of labeling them a “main” stage and have a full line up with continuous music that begins in the late morning and doesn’t finish until evening. The choices are varied - from reggae to zydeco,

Jake Kulak

return of the sunny yellow posies. The idea was well received, and the Meriden Daffodil Festival was born. An hour and a half long get- together that first year launched what has become a highly anticipated celebration of flowers, community, music, and social responsibility that now welcomes an average of

This year I was thrilled to be asked to emcee their Bandshell Stage which has hosted some incredible acts over the years. From Chuck Berry pulling up in his red Cadillac convertible, to Eric Burdon and the Animals rocking out, the bar was set high from the beginning; and newly anointed Music Coordinator, Tim Ana Popovi

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Eric Gales

rock to folk, with an emphasis on the blues.

While I tried my best to get around to the other stages to catch favorites like River City Slim & the Zydeco Hogs, my hosting duties kept me close to the Bandshell to introduce the five bands of the day which kicked off with the three piece Buttondowns. They got the crowd going with a mix of covers and 11 originals from their brand new album, Volume and Tone.

Special guests, The Sawtelles, then walked on to cheers. SemiFinalist on The Voice - Season 9, Kerri Powers Braiden Sunshine, sat in with up and coming blues phenom Jake Kulak and the Low Down. Jake the stage like moths to the flame; a personal and his band are finalists in the CT Blues favorite was her incredible rendition of “Can’t Society Band Challenge and will be vying for Find My Way Home,” also included on her their chance to represent the state in Memphis new album. Next up was Ana Popovic whose at the international challenge. Finals take guitar playing was as hot as the red leather place in Bushnell Park on June 23rd as part of pants and stilettos she slinked around the Black Eyed Sally’s stage in. Loved that Blues Fest. she played Snooky Pryor’s “How’d You More brand new Learn To Shake It music came from Like That” and Kerri Powers as she shared that she has sang songs from her a brand new album May release, coming out with Starseeds. Her origiKeb Mo in the late nals drew listeners to summer. The day

wrapped with Rich Badowski’s Blues Band playing onstage and coming out into the crowd to get up close and personal.

The Daffodil Festival is a real gem with Hubbard Park offering much year round. Hiking to the castle, fishing in the pond, or taking a drive through during the holiday season to see the thousands of white lights that are set up, are just a few of the many reasons to mark this spot with a circle and a dot! http://daffodilfest.com

Ali Kaufman

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Travel

Next Vacation, Spin the Globe!

Hop on an Irrawaddy River Expedition in Myanmar Photos and profile by Susan E. Cornell When it comes to vacations, what’s your type?

Are you the “fly and flop” vacation type, content to get to one destination and stay there - or one who prefers a bit of expedition, and being adventure, among the first to check out a spot on the other side of the world that has long remained untouched and virtually concealed?

If your personality and sense of adventure answer to the latter description, then Myanmar (also known as Burma), will surely be your love connection. This Southeast Asian country with a population of some 53

million, bordered by Bangladesh, China, India, Laos, Thailand, the Andaman Sea, and the Bay of Bengal has left behind over 50 years of military dictatorship; and now has opened both its doors and its hearts to the rest of the world. So let others go to Disney World and Hawaii, you – with your bottomless spirit of adventure – you are going to Myanmar...and here are just a couple of dozen reasons why this may be the very best vacation of your life.

Why Go? Why not!

Monks taking selfies, Yangon

PAGODAS Myanmar is one of the most devout Buddhist countries in the world, so you will delight in exploring more pagodas than you ever thought possible. From the smallest village shrine set in the bough of an old tree, to the glory of the huge pagodas and temples of the bigger cities, your trip through Myanmar will take you on a succession of religious wonders. Don’t miss

Above: Sunrise from Ananda Temple, Bagan Facing page: Shwedagon Pagoda

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an entirely different life philosophy. So make it a point to meet these people one on one and collect some smiles along with your memories.

YOUR TOP THREE MUST-SEES Do not miss the sunrise over Bagan. Balloons over Bagan provides awe-inspiring hot air balloon flights over the temples of Bagan.

Even if you’re not “up” to flying or don’t make reservations in time, get up early to watch the sunrise sensation, capturing it on video.

The Shwedagon Pagoda. No visit is complete without a field trip to this 2,500-year-old pagoda in Yangon. This is the most impressive and sacred site for the people of Myanmar, so your trip has to include this ancient site.

Yangon’s Shwedagon Paya, Mandalay’s Mahaumini Paya, or Baga’s plain of temples.

Flip off your flip-flops (the official footwear of Myanmar) and see every type of temple imaginable – from jade to gloriously gilded to whitewashed stucco. No shoes or socks allowed...ever!

TIME TRAVEL Not only will you see ancient temples and primeval jungles, but also turn-of-the-century colonial buildings in the streets of Yangon (once Rangoon) just as they stood when the Brits ruled.

PEOPLE Consider a new way of thinking and living.

Burmese people may be poor, but they are also kind, friendly, curious about visitors, and have Facing page: Sunset at Shwedagon Pagoda Above: U Bein Bridge, the world’s longest teak footbridge spans ¾ of a mile across shallow Taungthaman Lake, creating one of Myanmar’s most photographed sites

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SPORTING EVENTS Martial arts and chinlone (also known as caneball and similar to hacky-sack) are traditional sports in Myanamar, while football is played all over the country, even in the smallest villages. In 2013 the Southeast Asian Games took place in Mandalay, representing the third time the event had been staged in Myanmar.

The sunset at U Bein Bridge. This 0.75-mile crossing spanning the Taungthaman Lake in Mandalay is believed to be the world’s oldest and longest teakwood bridge. Either walk the footbridge or take a rowboat (someone rows for you, so you can feel free to pack the bubbly in order to kick back and truly enjoy the experience).

WHEN TO GO The high season, which is naturally the best weather-wise, runs from mid-October through February. Low season, late May to late September, is also monsoon season, if you really want adventure! Value season, March through May, is hot (often higher than 100 degrees).

WHAT TO EAT AND DRINK No matter where one vacations in this world, one of the most common questions is, “What’s good to eat? And where can I find it?” In Myanmar that has to include spicy curries, rum sours made with Myanmar rum, Myanmar beer, Tea Leaf Salad (Lahpet Thoke), Ginger Pickled Salad (Jin Thoke), and Myanmar tea with sweetened condensed milk, preferably in a tea shop. The traditional breakfast dish is Mohinga which is a rice noodle and fish soup and is considered to be Myanmar’s national dish. Seafood and freshwater fish dominate the coastal cities and are a primary source of protein, so be adventurous and try what’s offered. After all, you’re not on vacation to find familiar fast food joints - this is your adventure in Myanmar!

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

Flip-flops and good walking shoes

WHERE TO STAY

Crisp $100 bills. Note: Food and souvenirs such as longyis, a sheet of cloth worn by men and women, are inexpensive so you’ll get a lot for very little.

Without a doubt, on the Irrawaddy River. A cruise on the Irrawaddy is an amazing way

BIGGEST SURPRISES Steering wheels are on the right hand side, yet one also drives on the right hand side – tricky for visibility not to mention you may get out of a bus in the middle of the road!

Solar panels for abodes which barely qualify as houses by our standards.

Clockwise from top left: A street vendor, Spices in the Ohn Ne Chaung market, Street food, The great Irrawaddy River, sometimes referred to as 'The Road to Mandalay'

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to get a low stress front-row view of working life on the river and easy access to remote villages where inhabitants have had little exposure to tourists and are as intrigued with visitors as visitors are of them.

Your cruise, which can last more than a week (there are a number of tour companies, so check them out and select the one that best fits your time and budget) will wind through the very heart of the country, visiting small villages, artisan markets, and religious edifices.

Each ship has between 5 and 30 cabins, so you’ll get to know the other passengers who are sharing this adventure with you and truly have a personalized cruise.

PRE-TRAVEL WORK

HOME-

Read Burmese Days by British writer George Orwell, who spent five years as a police officer in Burma.

See the movie “The Lady”, about the life of Aung San Suu Kyi, a retired Major General and Burmese politician.

TAKE THE PLUNGE! While your friends go to those all-inclusive resorts with non-stop food and drink and little

else, or fight the crowds and stand in interminable lines at the “happiest place on earth,” you can be the happiest adventurer in Myanmar. Although the country possesses great tourist potential, the industry has not yet been highly developed, so this means a vacation without kitschy come-ons and rehearsed tour guides. This is up close, personal, adventurous, and fun!

Being adventurous is not for the person whose idea of a vacation is making a series of checklists ahead of time, who wants every day pre-planned, wants to eat hamburgers and grilled cheese that’s “just like home,” and wants no surprises along the way.

But if you want a vacation you will remember for the rest of your life, if you truly want to meet people and embrace a culture that is vastly different from yours; and if you want to have pictures on your phone and memories in your head and heart unlike others, then consider Myanmar...so start making those plans!

Clockwise from top left: The green peafowl is one of the national animals of Burma and is seen as the symbol of the Burmese state. Children following their teacher at a Monastic School in Mingun. Marionettes remain a popular form of entertainment

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The Cheesemonger Paul Partica, The Cheese Shop, Centerbrook CT

Have Cheese, Will Travel Outdoor time is finally here. That means picnicking, sports, hiking, fishing, boating, and yes, maybe even the beach. Of course, we must be prepared so what’s our first priority in preparation for these activities?

For those of you who were not thinking food, particularly cheese, what’s wrong with you? So, what if you forgot the bait, the walking boots, the beach towels, these items are not as essential.

Suggestions for Traveling with Cheese Many folks are concerned with cheese spoiling during outdoor activities.

I have good news. With the exception of a few fresh, young cheeses, you need not worry. I know hikers who carry cheese with them for days at time without a problem. The cheese may sweat a little, or even change shape, but it remains good for the next meal. Unfortunately, the same is not true for that tuna sandwich with mayonnaise or lettuce salad.

Any time my family travels for work or pleasure, whether by car, boat, or plane, we always pack the cheese. “Have cheese, will travel” is our motto.

For successful travel with cheese, I recommend that you wrap wedges individually with cling wrap, then enclose the wrapped wedges in a plastic bag, with a twist tie for extra protection from leaking. They should fit comfortably in suitcases, carry-ons or backpacks.

Cheese is amazingly versatile with faced with fluctuating temperatures.

Should you have the opportunity to refrigerate your cheese overnight during your travels, please feel free to do so. Your cheese can stay out at room temperature all day and then chill again at night. And it does not hurt to do this more than once.

Some time ago, I read an article where someone said that bringing cheese to room temperature and then cooling it again was not advisable. I presume they have never tried it. It has worked for me for over fifty years.

Choosing your Cheese Choosing which cheeses to bring along to your outdoor event is entirely your choice, based solely on your personal taste. I always recommend choosing an assortment of cheese from different families to enjoy a nice variety of flavors. Cheeses maintain their shape better if you choose larger pieces, so consider paring down the number of cheeses you select before reducing the size of each piece.

I would never precut or cube cheese for convenience. I recommend leaving cheese as whole as possible to preserve flavor and moisture. Leftover pieces that are larger will be much more appreciated the next day.

Choosing Quantity The following guideline is based on a one-time event. Please adjust for your length of days and the amount of meals you will be eating.

A short event with other appetizers, early in the afternoon, not dinner time, no alcohol: 1-1.5 oz. cheese per person

Safe range, some other appetizers, wine will be served, close to dinner: 2-3 oz. cheese per person Long event, wine, no other appetizers, afternoon affair, before dinner: 3-4 oz. cheese per person The larger the amount of people, the smaller the amount of cheese you will need to serve per person. The opposite is also true. If you are traveling with a small group, say four guests, you would most likely want four 6-8 oz. wedges of cheese, to make your presentation look good. Whatever has not been eaten can be saved for another day.

Advance Preparation If your event will allow a pre-made tray, do not hesitate to do so. Preparing a day ahead is fine. Be sure to wrap the trays well with cling wrap. You might want to leave a runny cheese like Brie wrapped well but placed in position on the tray. You can unwrap it at the last moment. Avoid placing crackers on the tray in advance. If left with the cheese for some time, they will become soft and soggy. Add crackers just prior to serving.

It’s human nature to taste with our eyes first, so keep your selection attractive with different shapes, sizes and colors. For the best variety, choose cheeses from different families such as blues, soft-ripening, washed rinds, goudas, goat and sheep, and cheddars. Include fresh and dried fruits such as grapes, pears, dried apricots, figs and dates for interest, color and texture. Do be careful about serving nuts to guests with food allergies, however. If you are unsure, keep nuts separate from the main tray.

Accoutrements like Acacia honey, balsamic vinegars and chutneys add to the enjoyment and visual excitement of your presentation. Place them in separate serving dishes with a small spoon for self-service, since not everyone is interested in having a topping on their cheese. Aside from that, it can create a messy, unappetizing tray in very little time.

Include a separate knife for each cheese. Anyone caught using the blue cheese knife on the Brie should be cut off from the wine as punishment.

Don’t feel sorry for them; that leaves more wine for you.

Serve cheese at room temperature. Leaving cheese out for an hour before is usually sufficient. However, avoid uncovering the tray until ready for use. You want the cheeses to be at room temperature, but not dried up.

Cheese labels are always a great addition to your tray. Identifying the names of the cheeses and the type(s) of milk is helpful for guests, particularly those who can only tolerate goat or sheep milk. It might also save you from answering many questions during the event. You can find nice porcelain or slate markers for this purpose.

Paul Partica The Cheese Shop, 33 Main St, Centerbrook, CT 06409 www.cheeseshopcenterbrook.com

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T h e

P r e m i e r

R e s o u r c e

t o

t h e

C o n n e c t i c u t

A r t i s a n

INSTINCTIVELY DIFFERENT>>

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By Art LiPuma, General Manager SeaSide Wine & Spirits, Old Saybrook, CT

Portugal

Portugal is a small country that produces a vast amount of wines despite its size. The country is only 125 miles wide and 370 miles long. Also part of Portugal is the island of Maderia just South west, where the world famous fortified wine Madeia is produced. This country has been exporting wine since the 12th century including the Island of Maderia.

These wines were originally shipped to England, especially their famous Port and Maderia fortified wines. These wines added brandy as a preservative.

Believe it or not their two most successful wines from years back were a semi sweet Rosé called Lancers and another one was Mateus. Sales are still made today, although significant less.

With the new wave of Rosés, Portugal are blending more interesting grapes for their new style of Rose wine. Their wine production of red, rose, and fortified, consist of 60 % and the remaining 40% is white. By far the most popular white wine to come from Portugal is Vinho Verde. This area

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takes up a large portion of the northwestern corner. The name means “Green Wine”. Much of the wine from this area is light in body and color with good acidity including a little sprits to it. The alcohol content of this region should not exceed 11.5% in respect to the legislation of that area. Because of the freshness of these wines and lower alcohol they are made to be drunk young. The dominant grapes grown in this area are Trajadura and Loureiro.

Another white grape variety is called Alvarinho, which produces a richer full but dry wine a great accompaniment to any seafood dish.

The most important places producing red wines are Douro and Dao region producing high quality reds. The Duro region produces a big portion of port wine, however, they are producing big rich full flavor non fortified wines, and also use many of the grapes found in Port. The red grapes they grow in this region are Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz, Touriga Franca, Tinto Căo, Tinta Amarela, and Tinta Barroca.

The wines produced in this area are high quality wines. Many of these wine are on the expensive side due to the quality and the small yields that are produced but well worth it.

The other famous region for producing red wines is the Dao. This also grows many of the same red grapes as in Duro. The region has the potential to make fantastic wines but previously has fallen short.

There are 2 major producers: So Grape and Dao Sul. So Grape is one of the biggest producers of wine, with Lancers Rosé being one of their most famous wines. The reds from this area are usually bold and spicy. This makes for great wines to have with any savory barbecue meats.

This little country is worth exploring its vast and interesting wines.

Their whites go with many dishes or just on their own for a refreshing drink. The red can be bold and dry, and some can have great spicy flavors. So enjoy the fun world of Portuguese wines.

CHEERS Art LiPuma Seaside Wine & Spirits, 118 Main St, Old Saybrook, CT 06475

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By NoRa Cupcake Co.

Farm to Bake: Utilizing local ingredients We’re right on the cusp of STRAWBERRY SEASON and we here at NoRA Cupcake Company are ready to get our hands on some of that fresh and local produce. The flavor options using strawberries in our cupcakes are almost endless.

Strawberry Cheesecake, Strawberry Shortcake, White Chocolate Covered Strawberry (you get the point), but one of our all time favorites is the savory Strawberry Balsamic.

Sounds delicious, right? To make these you’ll be getting dual purpose out of your berries. We make ours with a vanilla almond cake with strawberries as the base, frost it with a marscapone frosting, and top it with a fresh strawberry half and a drizzle of balsamic reduction. The sweetness of the strawberries combined with the light fluffiness of the marscapone pairs perfectly with the tang of the balsamic. A refreshing treat to enjoy in that early summer sun.

One of the best places to pick up some fresh berries for baking is the West End Farmers’ Market of Hartford. Every year in Mid-June they throw a Strawberry Shortcake Festival with free strawberry shortcake for all attendees, live music, and local produce vendors a plenty.

Stra w b er r y S ea s o n i s s ho r t h e re i n CT, bu t i f y o u w a n t s o m e where to pick your own look no further than Rose’s Berry Farm in South Glastonbury. Nothing fresher than picking your own and bringing them straight home - they even freeze well to use later on.

There is no shortage of Farmers’ Markets here in the CT area to get the best of the best farm to table products. You can catch us this summer as a guest vendor with our Lil’ NoRA Cupcake Truck at the Coventry Regional Farmers’ Market and East Haddam Farmers’ Market. We are so lucky to have such quality farms in the area and the markets to support it.

Most markets require that food vendors incorporate a local farm’s products into their menu offerings for that day. This provides us the opportunity to make it seasonal and fresh all while supporting other local businesses.

Keep an eye out for our monthly menu on our website www.noracupcake.com to see what flavors and local ingredients we’ll be highlighting each month. Strawberry Balsamic will DEFINITELY be making it’s Savory Saturday appearance over the next few weeks.

NoRa Cupcake 700 Main Street Middletown, CT noracupcake.com

Arrowhead strings along on most Sunday afternoons. Find out about the Concerts in the Garden, First Fridays, Leifs paintings and more at

www nilssonstudio com

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June 3 - DOUG ARIOLI ON PIANO - 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm June 8 - NICK FRADIANI SR - 9:00 pm - 11:30 pm June 9 - RAHSAAN LANGLEY PROJECT - 6:00 pm - 10:00 pm June 9 - JCDC- 9:00 pm - 11:59 pm June 10 - FISHHEADS - 6:00 pm - 10:00 pm June 15 - FUSCO TRIO - 8:00 pm - 11:00 pm June 16 - ROCK BOTTOM - 6:00 pm - 10:00 pm June 17 - FOUR BARRELL BILLY - 6:00 pm - 10:00 pm June 21 - JECKYL&HYDE - 6:00 pm - 10:00 pm June 28 - SEBASTIAN & THE HITMEN - 6:00 pm - 10:00 pm June 29 - A Tribute to Neil Diamond & Billy Joel.

Water's Edge Resort and Spa | 1525 Boston Post Road Westbrook CT 06498 Resort: 860.399.5901 watersedgeresortandspa.com June 1 - July 7 Madison SUSAN POWELL FINE ART is pleased to present David Dunlop's new solo show, "Natural Rhythms," June 1 to July 7, 2018, opening Friday, June 1, with a reception from 5 to 8pm to meet the artist. Wine and hors d'oeuvres will be served.

David Dunlop is a modern-day old master whose luminous landscapes draw from both Renaissance techniques and contemporary science.

He is an Artist, Teacher, Lecturer and Emmy Award Winning television host and writer of the PBS Series entitled, "Landscapes through Time with David Dunlop." David’s reputation as a painter who combines artistic skill, knowledge and enthusiasm, prompted the Metropolitan Museum of Art to invite him to lecture on 4000 years of landscape painting. His paintings have been shown internationally and are held in the collections of major corporations.

Susan Powell Fine Art Gallery is located at 679 Boston Post Road, Madison, near the fire station. Gallery hours are Tuesday-Saturday, 11am to 5pm, and anytime by appointment. For further information, please call (203) 318-0616, email us at susanpowellfineart@gmail.com and visit www.susanpowellfineartcom to see works in the show.

June 1 New Britain First Friday: The Christine Spero Group. New Britain Museum of American Art. Held monthly, First Friday offers a dose of something fresh and exciting to begin your weekend. With the galleries as your backdrop, First Friday gives visitors the opportunity to dance to local musicians, sample food and drinks from some of the area's best suppliers, participate in engaging activities, and shop handmade goods from various Maker's Market vendors. June’s event welcomes live music from The Christine Spero Group. New Britain Museum of American Art, 56 Lexington St., New Britain, CT 06052

June 1-24 Ivoryton A Night With Janis Joplin. From Broadway to Ivoryton, come share an evening with the Queen of Rock and Roll. Featuring such unforgettable songs as “Me and Bobby McGee,” “Piece of My Heart,” “Mercedes Benz,” “Cry Baby” and “Summertime,” A Night with Janis Joplin, is a musical journey celebrating Janis and her biggest musical influences—Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Odetta, Nina Simone and Bessie Smith. Janis Joplin was one of the biggest female rock stars of her era. In 1967, she rose to fame during an appearance at Monterey Pop Festival and she also appeared at the Woodstock festival and the Festival Express train tour. After releasing three albums, she died of a heroin overdose at the age of 27. A fourth album, Pearl, was released after her death in January 1971. Theatre Address 103 Main Street, Ivoryton, CT 06442 Box Office Phone: 860.767.7318 info@ivorytonplayhouse.org June 1 - September 16 Old Lyme "Art and the New England Farm" Drawing on the agricultural heritage of Florence Griswold’s family estate and of the Lyme region and beyond, this exhibition examines the history and character of New England’s farms in works by artists from the 19th to the 21st century. Paintings, drawings, and photographs from public and private collections trace the challenges of farming in New England, with its rocky soil, and the pastoral landscapes crafted through intense labor.

Landscapes by George Henry Durrie will receive special attention as influential representations that translated the New England farmstead into an American icon in the mid-nineteenth century.

Tue.-Sat. 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Sun. 1 p.m.-5 p.m. (860) 434-5542 florencegriswoldmuseum.org Florence Griswold Museum 96 Lyme St. Old Lyme, CT 06371 June 2 Mystic Carnaval Del Sol. Mystic Aquarium. The colors, the rhythm, the culture, the heat – it’s Carnaval del Sol at Mystic Aquarium! Celebrate summertime sun with the flair of Hispanic cultures from around the world. Crafts, dancers, demonstrations and more bring Carnaval del Sol to life. From pulsating music to electrifying acts, experience this fun kick-off to summer celebration.

Mystic Aquarium, 55 Coogan Blvd., Mystic, CT 06355 (860) 572-5955

JUNE EVENTS

Month of June - Westbrook Live Entertainment on the Water at Waters Edge Resort & Spa Please go to watersedgeresortandspa.com/events for our complete list of events.

JUNE EVENTS

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June 3 Mystic Magic of Motown Brunch. Grab your dancing shoes and join us for Magic of Motown brunch in the heart of Mystic. This family-friendly show will have your feet tapping and you'll be on the dance floor in no time. 11 a.m.-2 p.m. General admission includes full brunch buffet and Magic of Motown band performance. No reserved seating. Doors open at 11 a.m., band takes the stage at 11:30 a.m. The IRONS Restaurant & Bar at Hilton Mystic 20 Coogan Blvd. Mystic, CT 06355 (860) 572-2504 theironsmystic.com June 7 - August 29 Westbrook “Artists in the Making,” an art exhibition featuring works by students from the Barn for Artistic Youth at the Valentine H. Zahn Community Gallery at Middlesex Hospital Shoreline Medical Center. Meet the artists at a reception on Thursday, June 7 from 6 – 8 p.m. The Gallery is open during regular business hours and is located at 250 Flat Rock Place, Westbrook, CT. For more information, contact Middlesex Hospital at 860-358-6200 or zahngallery@gmail.com.

June 7 & 9 Essex First Up in June…Essex in Bloom!

On June 7, Essex will be in full bloom flower boxes and containers will be planted, village shops and galleries will be stocked with fresh summer merchandise, and restaurants will be debuting seasonal menus. Special retail offers and restaurant menu items with a floral theme will ramp up the merriment.

“While the primary goal of Essex in Bloom is to create a festive evening on Thursday, it’s also intended to provide a fitting and friendly welcome for visitors to the Friends of the Essex Library Garden Tour on Saturday, June 9, Contact: Susan Dee Public Relations, 1st Thursdays in Essex (860)227-4124 susandee90@gmail.com June 9 East Haddam Connecticut Open House Day - Brasato at Staehly Farm Winery & Tree Farm. Come take a stroll around the winery and garden center.

Sip wine among the flowers, then snack on a donut while touring the farm or get some to go!

You might be surprised by how well some hand-crafted meatballs pair with unique tomato wine! Explore local attractions like Gillette Castle State Park and Devil's Hopyard while you're in the area. 1 p.m.-5 p.m., or when sold out.

Staehly Farm & Winery 278 Town St. East Haddam, CT 06423

June 14 Chester Please join us at the Leif Nilsson Spring Street Studio & Gallery at 1 Spring Street in Chester Center for a Concert in the Garden on Thursday, June 14, 2018 7pm - 9pm with Eric Fresia. Opening for Eric will be Leif Nilsson’s band Arrownhead. On Thursday June 28 from 7-9pm we have jazz great Michelle Walker with Opius Bliss! $20 donation BYOB and picnic – Sorry no pets. GATES OPEN Half Hour before the show. For more info log onto nilssonstudio.com or call 860-526-2077.

June 14 An Evening with NEW/NOW Artist Paul Baylock. New Britain Museum of American Art An indepth discussion with NEW/NOW artist Paul Baylock, who will discuss how his upbringing in New Britain has helped define his life and artistic career.

Baylock expresses and preserves the city's rich industrial history through his vibrant paintings and sculptures, drawing imagery from vintage publications and mechanical magazines from his youth while celebrating New Britain’s present. 5:30 p.m.-7 p.m.New Britain Museum of American Art 56 Lexington St. New Britain, CT 06052 (860) 229-0257

June 23-24 Salem 6th annual outdoor show with 80+ vendors selling their wares; all things vintage, repurposed, barn finds, antiques, home decor, salvage, upcycled, artisan made & more! PURE VINTAGE BLISS! Live music, food truck fare, appraisers, vintage campers. Raffle to benefit the Salem Volunteer Fire Dept. Pet friendly (leashed) Saturday 10 to 4 Sunday 10 to 3 Salem Community Town Park, 89 Norwich Road Route 82 Salem, CT Admission $3. 12 yrs & under free. Free onsite parking This is a RAIN or SHINE event. www.thevintagemarketsalemct.com June 29 - Westbrook A Tribute to Neil Diamond & Billy Joel. Enjoy the hits of Neil Diamond & Billy Joel during this cabaretstyle dinner show performed by Anthony Edwards. Reception at 6 p.m., dinner and show at 7 p.m.Water's Edge Resort and Spa | 1525 Boston Post Road Westbrook CT 06498 Resort: 860.399.5901 watersedgeresortandspa.com