October Kitchen August 2019

October Kitchen August 2019

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 NOURISH LETTER

Meet the Team Behind Your Meals AUGUST 2019

www.OctoberKitchen.com | 860-533-0588 | 309 Green Rd., Manchester, CT 06042

Lessons in Cooking, Homecare and Human Nature THE FINE ART OF HOME ECONOMICS

This month, I want to give a belated thank you for all the well wishes and prayers for good weather at my daughter’s wedding. It worked! It was absolutely pristine — sunny and 70 degrees all day. Augee was beautiful, the ceremony was perfect and I only cried a little bit. After the wedding, the newlyweds had a nice honeymoon in Hawaii, where Bryen surprised Augee with the fact that he’d taken swimming lessons on the sly. Apparently, swimming isn’t a big thing in Ohio. They enjoyed a week of beaches and snorkeling before returning for a whirlwind tour. After Augee and Bryen got back, Ali and I drove out to Indiana to help them move into their new place. It was two days of driving for hours, unloading all their wedding gifts, moving furniture, unpacking boxes and setting up their new home. By the time we left, the house was about 80% ready. Augee and Bryen were very grateful for our help and are ready to start their new life together. Now they just have to learn the fine art of home economics. subject is near and dear to my heart. To no one’s surprise, I really enjoyed cooking and learning about nutrition, but that wasn’t all the class was about. We also learned how to balance a checkbook, manage resources, handle debt, perform home maintenance and basically do everything kids today call “Adulting 101.” In junior high and high school, I had a great home economics project, and the

A 1940’s home economics class.

Home economics classes have really fallen out of style. If schools do offer them, it’s usually an elective most kids don’t take. This is probably why so many kids end up in the “real world” without a lot of basic skills. If parents aren’t teaching their kids these skills at home and they get dropped from the school curriculum, where are they supposed to learn them? The thing I really love about home economics isn’t just that these skills are genuinely useful; there’s also so much heart in them, especially when it comes to cooking. Every Christmas, my mother-in-law and her sister, Lois, would make pasticciotti. They made them not because they were the best food in the world, but because their mother would make pasticciotti every year. They cook together and remembered her. This is what I love so much about cooking. We’re all hungry for those emotional connections of being loved, accepted and

“We’re all hungry for those emotional connections of being loved, accepted and part of a family.”

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Steve Covert’s Incredible Story Close to a Miracle

“I ended up in the hospital last year with a pretty big health scare. One of the first things I did after getting out was start eating at October Kitchen. It completely turned my life around. You usually have to pay through the nose for healthy food, but October Kitchen isn’t like that. It’s wonderful, healthy food at reasonable prices. I eat

days in the hospital, I was able to go home. Just before I left, The Bear came to talk to me one more time.

“He told me that he’d attended some of the best schools in the world and was an expert in treating diabetes. ‘I’m not saying this to be narcissistic,’ he insisted. ‘I just want you to understand that I cannot figure out, for the life of me, how you are still here. I’ve never had anyone on my table with an 800 blood sugar level and live. But here you are.’” His doctor asked permission to write a medical journal about Steve’s extraordinary case. Before going into the hospital, Steve weighed over 320 pounds, and his experience had caused him to become diabetic. But he left with a blood sugar level of 99 and a second chance at life. Steve has made several changes to improve his health, which included eating with October Kitchen. Today, Steve weighs 258 pounds and is no longer insulin-dependent. “‘My grandfather always said that when you wake up in the morning, you can be the problem, or you can be the solution ...’” Steve is living every second to the fullest. He’s spending time with his wife, stepdaughter and grandkids, driving around in his ‘76 Corvette Stingray or his 1942 Studebaker Rat Rod and sharing the many excellent sayings taught to him by his grandfather. “My grandfather always said that when you wake up in the morning, you can be the problem, or you can be the solution,” says Steve. “When it came to my health, I realized

there for lunch and dinner almost every day. The food is great and the people who work there are so nice. I love October Kitchen.”

–Steve Covert

At October Kitchen, we are blessed with the opportunity to hear some pretty amazing stories. One incredible story comes from Steve Covert, who has been dining with us since last December. One morning in late November, Steve woke up not feeling so great. He went to work but had to go home early. When his wife came home six hours later, Steve, who doesn’t drink alcohol, was slurring his words. Throughout the evening, his skin turned gray and his eyes sunk in. When he suddenly lost control of his motor functions, his wife called an ambulance. “I remember the paramedic freaking out when he took my blood sugar level,” Steve explains. “He said it was 1600. For reference, your blood coagulates at 700. The paramedic used a few choice words to the driver and the next thing I know, I’m in the hospital. I heard doctors over my head saying someone’s kidney was failing, that they weren’t going to make it and that they needed to call the next of kin. Then I realized, ‘Oh my God, they’re talking about me!’” What happened next amazed everyone in the hospital. With no time for a blood transfusion, the head doctor on the floor, who Steve said was called “The Bear,” hooked up two bags of saline solution to Steve’s arms. Then the doctor stood by him for two hours, making sure the saline solution cleaned out his body without drowning Steve’s blood cells.

I wanted to start being the solution. October Kitchen really helped with that.”

“I was out of it for almost three days,” Steve says. “I was admitted early Monday morning and came to on Wednesday afternoon. After a total of 10

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TO LEND A HAND Logan Moore is a 2-year-old from Georgia who was born with hypotonia. This syndrome impacts muscle tone and children Bighearted Workers Help a Little Boy Stand Tall

name written across the front. “I couldn’t believe they were willing to do that,” Christian said. “It took everything I had not to cry because it hasn’t been an easy road for my son. He has had a hard time doing things that would be easy for most children his age.”

with hypotonia often struggle to reach developmental milestones. Logan was having a hard time walking or standing up, so his physical therapist recommended the family get him a gait trainer. Logan’s parents, Christian and Justin Moore, didn’t know how long it would take to get a walker or if their insurance would pay for one at all. Rather than watch their son struggle for another day, Christian and Justin turned to the internet. On YouTube, they found an instructional video explaining how to build a gait trainer out of PVC pipe. The family took a trip out to the Home Depot in Cedartown, Georgia, to get the supplies. When the Moores explained their project, the Home Depot employees told them to leave the store, but it wasn’t because they didn’t want to service the family. “They started getting the parts together and told us they would put it together and would not charge us for it,” Christian told CNN. “They told us to go get ice cream and come back in an hour.”

The store manager refused to let the Moores pay for the materials or the time it took to build Logan’s walker. Jeffery Anderson, one of the employees, later wrote about the exchange on Facebook. “Everyone was crying to see Logan walk around with the biggest smile on his face and when the family tried to pay us, we said, ‘no way, this one is on us.’ Thanks to all that help and for being a blessing to this family and to this little guy.”

Sure enough, when the family returned an hour later, a bright orange walker was waiting for Logan. It even had his

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_____________________________ Write your name here and fax the completed puzzle to 860-533-0585, send it via empty delivery box or bring it to the shop and receive 10% off your next order . Limit one per customer. Expires August 31, 2019. October Kitchen

part of a family. Good, nutritional food made with care goes a long way to fulfilling that need. As a chef, I started out cooking for myself in restaurants as a creative outlet. Today, I get to cook for others. I get to hear stories about people who can’t cook for themselves anymore or people who lost 30 pounds and were able to control their diabetes because they could eat healthy again. It’s a human connection that comes through food and it has made such a difference in my life. That’s the currency of home economics. Augee has been living on her own for about eight years through undergrad and vet school, but she’s always lived in a dorm or apartment. Learning how to take care of a home with a spouse is a different ballgame. Fortunately, Augee has generations of good examples she’s learned from, including her mother and her grandmother. She’s also incredibly organized and Bryen loves to cook and work in the kitchen. There might be some bumps along the way, but I have faith that these two will learn how to run a happy, healthy home together.

Y K A B J Y V U A P Y L Q N K J B V X X R L L R H M Y M Q U M L N G P M I L T K T K K V B U Q E J Z S R L I K E L P A V R B H U O F A T R H N U Y R T F X C N B E H B E E C A S T J J F T N H R B Q B Z B P L M O J W I W S A K S R O J O O F Y H O K C A N U D E U G A T S A L F I N N E Y G T C M U K C H S J W S F S Q F U L Z T D E O Q R P J Q F Q M R S D U Y A V E I N A H P E T S O T M G M R S E V A E L F G O J Y N F G S B O I M A X U F U M U K G E U

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309 Green Rd. Manchester, CT 06042 INSIDE Home and Where the Heart Is page 1

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Have You Met Steve Covert?

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Making a Difference at The Home Depot

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Why You Should Play Pickleball

You’ve probably heard of pickleball, especially given its rising popularity in the United States and Canada, but you may be wondering what the big deal is about this relatively new fad. Pickleball is an awesome, low-impact sport that people of all ages can enjoy. It’s great exercise and great fun and it’s the perfect game for family get-togethers. Pickleball originated on Bainbridge Island, Washington, in 1965. It was the creation of three fathers — Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell and Barney McCallum — who needed to come up with something to keep the little ones entertained and out of their hair. Soon, however, it became popular among the adults and they ended up spending more time on the court than their children. “Frankly,” McCallum says, “the kids got pushed out.” Since its early days, pickleball has transformed from an ad- hoc game to a full-fledged sport, complete with official rules, equipment and leagues. Despite the more formal structure in place today, pickleball is incredibly easy to pick up and play. Investing in some paddles and balls won’t cost more than THE INCREDIBLE RISE OF PICKLEBALL A Sport for All Ages Becomes a Craze Among Older Adults

$100 and you can easily convert a tennis or badminton court for pickleball. One of the appeals of pickleball for older adults is that it is not excessively strenuous. It also doesn’t have the steep learning curve and high barrier to entry that sports like tennis or golf do. Due to the nature of a pickleball, which contains strategically placed holes similar to those of a whiffle ball, the game is much more about finesse than pure power or athleticism. While you can definitely hone your skills with practice, you’ll start having fun from day one. In addition to being a fun form of exercise, pickleball also offers older adults the chance to socialize with their peers. Leagues often lead to long-term friendships. Courts are small and each game consists of only four players, making it easy to engage in some casual conversation or playful, competitive banter between points.

If you’ve never picked up a paddle, consider joining a league or buying a set for your next family outing. You can introduce your grandkids to a fun new sport — and then school them for the bulk of an afternoon.

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