Where there is no imagination there is no horror. ~Sr. Arthur Conan Doyle

October 10, 2012

It is that time of year–the bewitching time. There are plenty of pumpkins to carve and pumpkin seeds to toast. This year we got it right. The trick? Boil the seeds in salted water first, and then toast them in the oven.

Ingredients
One medium-sized pumpkin
Salt
Olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut open the pumpkin and use a strong metal spoon to scoop out the insides. Separate the seeds from the stringy core. Rinse the seeds.

2. In a small saucepan, add the seeds to water, about 2 cups of water to every half cup of seeds. Add a half tablespoon of salt for every cup of water (more if you like your seeds saltier). Bring to a boil. Let simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and drain.

3. Spread about a tablespoon of olive oil over the bottom of a roasting pan. Spread the seeds out over the roasting pan, all in one layer. Bake on the top rack until the seeds begin to brown, 10-20 minutes. When browned to your satisfaction, remove from the oven and let the pan cool on a rack. Let the seeds cool all the way down before eating.

Happy Halloween!

Friday Evening, October 5, 2012- Jupiter Christian High School and Oxbridge Academy

It is Friday night and this may not be a scene from the critically acclaimed TV series, Friday Night Lights but the same story lines exist.  It is the story of a town and its football team. The trials and tribulations of football players, friends, family and coaching staff are relived across the football field in every high school when they play on Friday night. My eye is on player 24–new school and third game of the season.

Friday, September 28, 2012

How did it get so late so soon?

It’s night before it’s afternoon.

December is here before it’s June.

My goodness how the time has flewn.

How did it get so late so soon?

– Dr. Seuss

Jupiter, FL  (September 23, 2012)

Jupiter, FL  September 9, 2012

It is big and dark and fear starts to set in.  Then it becomes clear it is a manatee swimming and coming up for air.  Half a manatee’s day is spent sleeping in the water, surfacing for air at intervals. Manatees can measure up to 13 feet long and weigh as much as 1,300 pounds.  They have paddle-like flippers with a herbivore appetite.  The name manatí comes from the pre-Columbian people of the Caribbean.  It means breast.  The last tally in Florida of the species is 5,000. 

For the most part, manatees do not have any natural predators in the wild.  Even though they share the same habitats as sharks and alligators, they do not compete for the same food source. Man is their number one predator–the commercial and recreational vessel.

Juno Pier  (Sunday, September 2, 2012)

(Palm Beach Drum Circle, Jupiter FL)

If you enjoy the flow arts like fire-performing, hooping, poi-spinning and the rhythmic sound of a drum, attend a local drum circle. This was on the Blue Moon at the beach and included drum, dance & flow art performances, spiritual chanting with gentle drumming. It was under a beautiful sky and you jam with great percussionists in the area.

“The drum circle offers equality because there is no head or tail. It includes people of all ages. The main objective is to share rhythm and get in tune with each other and themselves. To form a group consciousness. To entrain and resonate. By entrainment, I mean that a new voice, a collective voice, emerges from the group as they drum together. ”

Mickey Hart, Grateful Dead Drummer, testimony before the U.S. Special Committee on Aging

Sunday, August 24, 2012   Before the Storm

This year we celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Summer Soiree–our family reunion. We gathered once again to relive and create new memories, share favorite foods, imbibe and strengthen our relationships. Our Summer Soiree is more than a picnic. It is a time for us to value education and achievement, recognize our elders, strengthen our identity, and display our talent in bodysurfing, volleyball, Bananagrams, crazy bridge, poker, potato sack racing, surf fishing and more.

Together again–we share close quarters for a weekend or more with those we love. We establish ties broken by time, distance and life’s busy schedule. Our extended kinship awakens heartfelt sentiments and a deep sense of belonging which instills pride. And despite the heartaches and headaches, our family is there to overcome adversity, provide comfort, share victories and a helping hand when we fall.
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Team Schwarzenbek remains Undefeated.