tobyt, "I was surprised about TH's in your town Tricia." Yeah, me too. Not often do we encounter such blantant bad behavior from a large corporation. But, it wasn't just my village. I could understand closing an underperforming location, or two. That's not what Tim Horton's did though. They closed every shop in the state simultaneously WITHOUT notifying employees or franchise owners. They ran out of the state under cover of darkness like a thief in the night. Some people had owned their franchises less than two years. I remember one couple who had recently received their franchise as a wedding present from the bride's parents. The parents ended up losing their personal residence & car when Tim Horton's fled. The couple had to sue to get the franchise refund due under the terms of their contract with TH's. TH's wouldn't even meet with the employees until local media forced the situation. Then, they agreed to employment counseling & offered franchise owners other "opportunities" in the mid-west. Nobody took them up on the "offer". Tim Horton is a poster child for poor corporate citizenship in Connecticut and it's a well earned reputation. Coffee was the problem that caused TH's financial losses in Connecticut. Their donuts, sandwiches, etc. were good. Sure, there were some that liked the coffee but too few to meet Wall Street's expectations. Repeatedly, TH's Connecticut customers asked the company for a lighter coffee blend. Repeatedly, TH's response was, "You'll get used to it!" (That's a quote from TH's, BTW...this TH versus the people of CT was a BIG hoopla for a long time.) New Englanders, as a group, are known for being shall we say, "individual thinkers". Connecticut customers were not going to be told how they will drink their coffee. So, they just went elsewhere for that morning cuppa Joe & a donut. TH's also refused to advertise locally. They also refused to help sponsor youth athletic programs, community fun runs, festivals, concerts, etc. like their competition so graciously does without complaint. And now TH has made a corporation decision to allow their empty buildings to sit without any maintenance. We have one here in Mystic. It's in a PRIME location downtown. A blight on our most prominant part of town reminding us every day of how those employees/franchise owners were treated. Good riddance to Tim Horton's. BTW, it was't just Connecticut. They also fled our little neighbor to the east, Rhode Island, for the same reasons and coordinated their stealth flight for the same night. Oh, and while I'm on a toot...they couldn't even get their geopgraphy correct. After all the local hoopla TH made an official corporate announcement of their closings in the local newspapers. They said, "We are closing our stores in Providence, Connecticut, and Rhode Island..." Geesh. /tricia

We celebrated National Ice Cream day in style. The ice cream (vanilla) was quite a hit, even though I made it every summer for years - when the kids were much younger (though without their spouses). Next Sunday they want olive oil ice cream, then I think I'll make Alton Brown's chocolate ice cream. I find that a recipe with about three cups cream/half & half makes just the right amount for everyone to have a good serving with almost nothing left, so I'm adjusting my recipes accordingly.

I don't like kidney beans, so hubby makes regular chili for himself and this Texas Chili for me. It's very hot and spicy, so I eat it over rice with a dollop of sour cream or yogurt on top. True” Texas Chili 1 cup chopped onions 2 garlic cloves minced 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 2 pounds beef round cut into ½ inch cubes** 1 ½ teaspoons salt 1 tablespoon granulated sugar 1 ½ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper 1 ½ teaspoons ground dried oregano (Mexican oregano if it’s available) 1 tablespoon ground cumin 5 tablespoons chili powder 1 ½ teaspoons red jalapeno powder (1/2 to 1 finely chopped jalapeno pepper also works) 1 15 ounce can of tomato sauce 1 tablespoon corn meal in a large skillet or Dutch oven, sauté the onions and garlic in the oil until soft. Add the beef and cook until browned. Add the salt, sugar, pepper, oregano, cumin and chili powder, jalapeno or jalapeno powder, tomato sauce and 1 ½ cups of water. Stir well and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a low simmering boil and cook, partially covered 1 hour. Remove from heat. To thicken the chili add the cornmeal and stir well to combine. Return to low heat and cook, stirring occasionally for 5 to 10 minutes. Serve with baked beans, over rice (recommended) or with Texas garlic toast on the side. Add sour cream if desired. ** 2 ½ pounds of good quality ground beef can be substituted for the beef round if desired. NOTE: This dish is VERY spicy so serving with rice, or garlic toast will temper the heat a little bit.

Does a grandpuppy count? Our only grandchild and we love, and appropriately spoil her as often as we can.