President's Letter

"Announced by all the trumpets of the sky,
Arrives the snow, and, driving o'er the fields,
Seems nowhere to alight: the withered air
Hides hills and woods, the river, and the heaven,
And veils the farm-house at the garden's end.
The sled and traveler stopped, the courier's feet
Delayed, all friends shut out, and housemates sit
Around the radiant fireplace, enclosed
In a tumultuous privacy of storm."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

I hope that this holiday season afforded you all an opportunity to sit by the fires as the winds howled ‘round the house corners and the snow swirled in bursts and flurries. What a fine opportunity it was to reminisce about the year past and plan garden beds for this new, promising year.

For me, it was also a chance to remember with thanks all of you who add such sparkle and glitter to our Club. Your willing participation, your hard work, your cheerful natures, your positive approaches add strength to our efforts and, clearly, further our beliefs and our mission: to create interest in and to promote knowledge of gardening, preservation, and civic work.

I reflected upon that festive December morning…

• Lucy Elliot, Judi Freudenburg, Lisa Lovejoy and their committee members filled the Edgerton Carriage House with greens and berries and ornaments, enabling us all to create charming holiday arrangements which were so deeply appreciated by those who received them. As Ingrid Parri of Yale New Haven Hospital said, “[Your arrangement] is being enjoyed by all who enter at the front lobby of the Children's Hospital. We so appreciate your thoughtfulness!”
• Vicki Arkins and Debby Moore organized and displayed a tantalizing array of goodies on the Ways and Means table. The wreaths, the foods, the plants, the bulbs, the ornaments, the sachets…they were all irresistible and our treasury is enjoying the proceeds.
• Rosita Murphy, with help from Isabel Caride, Elaine Anderson, and the December cookie and sandwich team plied us with wine and scrumptious treats – truly from soup to nuts. What a delicious start to the holidays!
• SilknSounds entertained us with uplifting music, blending their close harmonies with such splendid synchronization and beauty.

What fun we had!

Now, we look ahead to a January when committees will meet and workshops will be held. I hope that you will take this time to think about friends who might be interested in joining our Club. Susan Wildridge is organizing our membership committee and would be happy to send you an application form and help you brainstorm about ‘seconders’. Remember that eligibility is open to anyone who is a resident of Greater New Haven and who has an interest in gardening, flower design, civic horticulture, conservation, and preservation. [Please check our blog for the dates for our annual prospective members’ wine & cheese party and for membership application deadlines!]

Betsy Hartmayer continues to search for delicious recipes for our soon-to-be-published cookbook. Was there something that you made over the holidays that should or could be included? We are hoping that EVERY MEMBER will contribute 3 recipes so that we will reach our goal of 300. Directions for adding recipes on-line are provided below!

The CT Federated Garden Clubs Show will be held from February 24-27 in Hartford. The theme this year is ‘Capture the Magic’. What possibilities that suggests! I hope that many of you will consider entering… the deadline for registration is February 1.

Finally, I look forward to seeing you all at our next general meeting on February 7^th when we will hear all about ‘Environmental Challenges of the 21^st Century’. Until then, please take some time to “sit
around the radiant fireplace” and type up some recipes.

Best,

Carol

January, 2011

P.S.
I thought that I would mention that if you would like more information about that remarkable singing group, I have included the link to their website: www.silknsounds.org. There you can see and hear the whole group perform, learn about their upcoming events and find information for ordering a "singing telegram" quartet. What could be more fun?

P.P.S. Instructions for accessing the Cookbook website:

1. Click the hyperlink: www.typensave.com or simply type it into your Browser window

2. Click “Login” on the right hand side of the screen

3. Enter your name as “Contributor”

4. Group Login is “lavender” (no quotation marks – just the word – all lower case)

5. Enter the Contributor Password: 2eghd

6. Click “Add Recipe”

7. Type in ingredients and recipe instructions, check spelling, preview the finished recipe and hit “Save”. All the recipes will be proofread.

If you have any problems accessing or navigating the website, just give Betsy a call and she will walk you through the process.