Brandon’ s Top Shelf: A Car Show and Steak Fry Honoring The Memory of Brandon M Austin

A photo of Brandon M Austin in front of a car

Brandon Michael Austin

On May 20th, a car, truck and bike show and steak fry will take place in Wakefield, RI.

Vehicle shows are not exactly a rarity in Rhode Island, as many of them take place all over the state each and every year. Some frequent them, others avoid them, and some simply go to one and think they have seen them all. No matter how you feel about them, this is an event you shouldn’t miss.

This show is unlike most, because the story behind it is as beautiful as the cars themselves.

Less than 3 years ago, on July 16th of 2014, a truly extraordinary individual was tragically taken from this world.

13  year old Brandon Michael Austin of South Kingstown was as caring and passionate as a boy could be. He was a lover of animals, a good friend to many, and a bringer of happiness to all around him. His sense of humor brought laughter, his passion for art brought inspiration, and his very existence brought  joy to the community.

Brandon was a truly beautiful soul.

After his passing, The Brandon Michael Austin Memorial Fund  was founded to honor his memory.

The fund has benefited the local community by establishing useful programs based on Brandon’s hobbies in life. His love for animals led the fund to create the “Paws for Reading” program at a local animal shelter, his interest in Legos inspired the “Legos for Learning: Brandon’s Buddies” program, and his love for art/sculpture is remembered through the supplementing of a local elementary school’s budget and children’s art show. The even offer scholarships based on community service, which was something important to Brandon.

Now, the fund aims to remember Brandons love of cars. The funds website states that “Brandon was quite the collector of classic cars, muscle cars, trucks, etc. He had shelves all around his room. And as he added to his collection, the BEST ones, his favorite ones, would take pride of place on the top shelf.”

With support of many local businesses and community members,  they have planned a vehicle  show and steak fry unlike any other. There will be raffles, face painting, a basketball shoot out with the URI men’s basketball team, and much more. Admission is FREE, and all other proceeds from the event will go towards the foundation and the many wonderful things it does for the community.

If you are interested in having a day of  fun for the whole family, and contributing to a great cause at the same time, this car show and steak fry is something you don’t want to miss.

To learn more about this event and/or about the The Brandon Michael Austin Memorial Fund, please click the links below to visit their event page on facebook and their website.

Brandon’s Top Shelf Facebook event page

thebrandonaustinmemorialfund.org/events/

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Spending time with horses can make teenagers less stressed, study reveals.

Horsing around can make teenagers less stressed out, new research has revealed. 

A study found that children who spend time with horses or riding have lower levels of stress hormones, according to measurements taken from their saliva. 

Researchers looked at 130 teenagers taking part in an after school horsemanship course that lasted 12 weeks.

Teenagers who spend time with horses have lower levels of stress hormones in their bodies. 

They spent 90 minutes a week learning about horses: how to care for, groom, handle, and ride the animals. Each teenager gave six samples of saliva over a two day period before and after the 12 week program.Researchers analysed the levels of the stress hormone cortisol in the samples.

The results, published in the American Psychological Association’s Human-Animal Interaction Bulletin, revealed that children who spent time with horses had ‘significantly’ lower stress levels than a control group. 

Dr Patricia Pendry, from Washington State University, said: ‘We found that children who had participated in the 12-week program had significantly lower stress hormone levels throughout the day and in the afternoon, compared to children in the waitlisted group. 

‘We get excited about that because we know that higher base levels of cortisol – particularly in the afternoon – are considered a potential risk factor for the development of psychopathology.’

Researchers hope that the study could be a first step in finding ways to prevent teenagers developing mental health problems. Previous studies have already found that interacting with dogs, horses and cats can be good for children as it improves their self-esteem. However, the idea of horses reducing stress in adolescents has never before been studied. 

Dr Pendry said she hopes that horsemanship could be used as a form of therapy for people who have psychological problems. 

“We were coming at this from a prevention perspective,’ said Dr Pendry. “We are especially interested in optimising healthy stress hormone production in young adolescents, because we know from other research that healthy stress hormone patterns may protect against the development of physical and mental health problems. The beauty of studying stress hormones is that they can be sampled quite noninvasively and conveniently by sampling saliva in naturalistic settings as individuals go about their regular day”.

-article by Emma Innes

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Recipes for success: How to add lavender into your diet

Our Culinary Lavender Buds

At first, the concept of using culinary lavender in your cooking may seem strange and daunting. If you never have cooked or made a recipe with edible flowers before, you may think the concept bizarre, or simply have no clue where and how to use it. Fear not. Adding lavender to your cooking is both healthy and simple.

Lavender  gives off a calming energy that has been used to relieve stress for thousands of years. This makes it the perfect ingredient for any food or drink you want to help relax you. But that isn’t the limit of where it can be used. It’s great taste makes a fantastic addition to any dish, and we encourage you to experiment.

The addition of lavender will help any culinary creation succeed.

We here at Beachwood have done some experimenting of our own using our Beachwood Culinary Lavender Buds and have come up with a few recipes that you are sure to love.

These recipes are sure to satisfy your stomach, as well as your soul.

 

BEACHWOOD BRUNCH

Lavender Yogurt

  • 1 cup organic vanilla yogurt
  • ½ tsp crushed Beachwood Culinary Lavender buds

Crush lavender between fingers or with mortar and pestle; add to yogurt dish and mix thoroughly. Pour yogurt over fresh berries.

Lavender Omelet

  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tbsp milk
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1/8 cup cheese
  • 1 tsp Beachwood Culinary Lavender buds

Whisk eggs, milk and salt together in bowl. Melt butter in skillet; pour in egg mixture and let sit until the outside edges start to cook. Add lavender and cheese to skillet and fold eggs over. Flip omelet and let sit for another few minutes, then serve hot and enjoy!

MAIN DISHES

Grilled Salmon with Lavender

  • 2 lbs salmon
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • ½ tsp crushed Beachwood Culinary Lavender buds
  • ¼ cup white wine
  • 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp lemon juice

Place all ingredients in saucepan except salmon; heat over moderate heat, stirring at all times until reduced to 1/3. When slightly cooled, brush mixture onto salmon, saving a small amount to top with when served. Grill the salmon, basting occasionally; salmon is cooked when fish flakes.

If you’d prefer to bake, preheat oven to 350º. Cover with sauce and bake 10 minutes or until salmon is flaky.

Brenda’s Favorite Lavender Stuffing

  • 1 egg
  • 1 stick of butter
  • ½ cup milk
  • 1/8 cup sage
  • 1/8 cup thyme
  • 1/8 cup Beachwood Culinary Lavender buds
  • 1/8 cup rosemary
  • 4 cups bread crumbs
  • 12 sliced mushrooms
  • ½ an onion, diced
  • ¼ cup white wine

Preheat oven to 350º. Sauté mushrooms, onions and herbs in melted butter. Add to bowl containing mixture of egg, milk, bread crumbs and white wine – mix thoroughly. Put into Pyrex baking dish and bake in oven for 30 min; if stuffing a bird, bake for recommended amount of time based on size.

French Lavender Chicken 

[For turkeys, double the proportions of this recipe]

  • 1 chicken, duck, or turkey
  • 1 tbsp course-ground salt
  • ½ tsp course-ground pepper
  • 3 sprigs of rosemary, with stems removed
  • 1 tbsp Beachwood Culinary Lavender buds

Preheat oven to 350º. Combine spices in a small bowl and rub mixture onto the chicken skin. Cook for recommended amount of time based on size of bird. 

DESSERTS

Lynne’s Lavender Peach Cobbler

  • 4 cups of fresh peaches
  • 1 cup self-rising flour
  • 1 stick of butter
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 tsp Beachwood Culinary Lavender buds

Preheat oven to 375º. Melt butter in a Pyrex dish. Combine flour, sugar and milk in a bowl and mix well. Combine peaches and lavender in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Once butter is melted, pour batter into the Pyrex dish and add peach mixture on top. DO NOT STIR. Bake for 30 minutes.

Susan’s Lavender Lemon Bars

[Crust]

  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • ¼ cup sifted powdered sugar
  • ½ cup butter melted

[Custard]

  • 2 tbsp all purpose flour
  • ½ tsp baking powder
  • 2 eggs beaten
  • 1 cup sugar
  • Grated rind of 1 lemon
  • 3 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1/8 cup Beachwood Culinary Lavender buds
  • Powdered sugar
Crust

Preheat oven to 350º. Combine 1 cup flour and ¼ cup powdered sugar; add butter and mix well. Spoon into 9 inch square baking pan and press into pan evenly. Bake for 18-20 minutes.

Custard

Oven is already pre-heated to 350º. Combine flour and baking powder and set aside. Combine eggs, sugar, lemon rind, lemon juice and crushed lavender buds; beat well. Stir remaining dry ingredients into egg mixture and pour over baked crust. Bake for 25 min or until lightly browned and set. Sprinkle lightly with powdered sugar. Let cool and cut into small pieces. Enjoy!

Lavender Vanilla Galcée

[Makes about 6 cups]

  • Pinch of salt
  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • ½ cup granulated sugar, divided
  • 1 whole vanilla bean, halved and seeds scraped
  • 1 ½ tsps pure vanilla extract
  • 5 large egg yolks
  • 1/8 cup Beachwood Culinary Lavender buds
  1. In a medium saucepan set over medium-low heat, whisk together the milk, cream, half of the sugar, salt and the scraped vanilla bean. Bring the mixture just to a boil.
  2. While the milk/cream mixture is heating, combine the yolks and remaining sugar in a medium bowl. Using a hand mixer on low speed or whisk, beat until mixture is pale and thick.
  3. Once the milk/cream mixture has come to a slight boil, whisk about 1/3 of the hot mixture into the yolk/sugar mixture. Add another 1/3 of the mixture, and then return the combined mixture to the saucepan.  Add Lavender.  
  4. Using a wooden spoon, stir the mixture constantly over low heat until it thickens slightly and coast the back of the spoon. This mixture must NOT boil or the yolks will overcook – the process should only take a few minutes.
  5. Bring mixture to room temperature. Stir in the vanilla extract. Cover and refrigerate 1 to 2 hours, or overnight.
  6. If using an ice cream maker, pour the mixture into the frozen freezer bowl and let mix until thickened, about 20 minutes. The ice cream will have a soft, creamy texture. If a firmer consistency is desired, transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and place in freezer for about 2 hours. Remove from freezer about 15 minutes before serving.

COCKTAILS

 

The Inspirited Spritzer

  • Ice
  • 1 part lemonade
  • 1 part soda water
  • ¼ tsp Beachwood Lavender buds

Crush lavender between fingers or with mortar and pestle; put in glass before pouring in mixture. Add ice.

For a refreshing cocktail, add one shot of gin.

Beachwood Bellini

  • Fresh-squeezed lemonade
  • Crushed Beachwood Culinary Lavender buds
  • Prosecco

Pre-prep: Pour fresh-squeezed lemonade into ice-cube trays and sprinkle with crushed lavender buds; let freeze.

Place a few of your lavender-lemonade cubes into a glass and add prosecco. Voila!

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I am enough.

On the days when it seems like nothing’s going right. On the days when the city outside my window is vastly louder than all other days. On the days when I feel trapped by the brick, smoke, and blaring horns. On these days I think, “maybe this is the wrong place for me… Maybe I’m not meant to be here. Maybe I made a big mistake”

On those days when the uphill battle feels too hard. The days in which I forget why I’m doing what I’m doing.

…Because on these days I’m too stuck in the doing of it.

On those days I feel like I’m not good enough. I’m not strong enough. I’m not smart enough. I’m not resilient enough.

I’m not enough.

Those days I think, “Maybe I shouldn’t have picked this battle. Maybe this is just too much, too fast, too soon. Maybe I’m not ready.”

I can remember all of the other days like this. The other days when I welcomed distraction and fought back tears of exhaustion.

So I have to stop. Take stock. Reflect. Ask myself the hard questions.

And I think “Maybe that is why I have days like today.”

When I am forced to look at who I am inside of this work.

When instead of writing about ontological methodology, I need to stop and look at my own being.

How am I in the world? How do I want to be? How do I beg the world to allow me to be?

These are the days when I have to remember.

…Remember my strength, my intuition, and my heart.

I have to remember that I made it through all of the other days leading up to this one.

…That I am smart enough, because…

How could I be where I am if I wasn’t?

That resilience is a practice of will. It’s a tug of war with your heart.

It is something learned the hard way.

And today I remind myself that although I feel all of this, it’s just too loud, it’s just too hard, how will I do it?

I have to remember,

I am enough.

 

-Ana Bess Moyer Bell, MA

Founder, Executive Director COAAST (Creating Outreach About Addiction Support Together)

www.coaast.org

https://www.facebook.com/coaastri/

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Congruence: How Horses Can Help You Connect

My time with horses has been a transformational experience.

Horses know when we are comfortable and they know when we are anxious and scared. What they don’t understand is when we act differently than we feel.

When we send those mixed signals it’s called incongruence. Incongruence also describes the wall we put up when we meet someone new and aren’t sure we trust them, but we let them in just a little bit.

We send mixed signals for many reasons. Sometimes it’s because we don’t feel safe, because we discount our own feelings, because we want to feel differently than we do, or because we want to please someone else. Anyone who’s been badly burned and struggles with trust can behave incongruently.

Horses read incongruous energy loud and clear.
Energy is not something you can see or hear or taste, but you definitely feel it.

It occupies the space between. It can draw you in or keeps you at arms length.

It’s that feeling in your group at work when things are totally flowing and moving in sync.
It’s that feeling when everything looks like it’s going fine but no one’s really working together.
In fact, you can’t put your finger on why, but you just know that you can’t relax and you don’t want to let your guard down.

You know how sometimes you get a phone call from a friend at the very moment you were picking up the phone to call her?

That’s congruence.

Authenticity is congruent.When someone’s behaviors and intentions are consistent and in alignment, they are congruent. It’s what you feel when you get a hug from your best friend and it feels so safe and secure you can relax every muscle in your body. Or it’s the hug that has space in it and you just know that something’s just not right, or even terribly wrong.

Horses are social beings just like us but they are still deeply rooted in their basic instincts of fight or flight. Watching a herd of horses with the insight and understanding of the cues sent back and forth between them allows us to watch the ways that their social structure works. When humans choose to interact with horses, we have the opportunity to join and be accepted by the herd, and to build relationships with them. This kind of joining up is a powerful experience and one that lends insight into our own understanding of ourselves and our society.

Interpersonal relationships are an art as much as a science and horses can help us to refine our skills because they are present in the moment. They take us at face value. There are no walls and there is no incongruence. It’s plain and simple. If you’re congruent, everyone is comfortable.

If you want to play with horses and learn what they can teach, contact us at Beachwood Center for Wellbeing and find out how equine assisted learning and therapy can help you overcome fear, anxiety, build self esteem, and help you develop better ways of communicating.

www.inspiritedliving.com

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