Well I skipped posting for a couple of days.  My brother K came in to visit for Easter.  And we’re celebrating.  Dad (who has Alzheimer’s Disorder (AD)) is so happy to have another member of his family so close.   Last night we all went out to dinner at Milikin’s Reef in Cape Canaveral (http://www.millikensreef.com/).  We filled up on spicy tuna rolls (sushi) which by the way were delicious, before we got to the entrees and ended up carrying most of the food home as left overs. 

I came across a wonderful web site by Andrew Zuckerman.  You’ve really got to check it out.  It speaks volumes about Wisdom.   A lost art.  Here’s the URL.  http://www.wisdombook.org/

It’s a chilly day here today in Florida.  A cold front came through last night.  It’s in the 60’s today.  I know, we’re spoiled by all the sunshine.  Enjoy today for yourself!  Got to run.

Melbourne Oktoberfest

Well after a long day filled with Craft fairs and typical Saturday errands, we finished off the day by going together as a family to the local Oktoberfest.  In the Picture to the left, please see a small sampling of the drinks available to customers.  I’m told the prices of the beers were very reasonable.   

Melbourne Oktoberfest runs October 16-19 at the Wickham Park Pavilion in Melbourne. The festival includes traditional German food, imported German beers, German music, dancing, entertainment.

We went to this event last year and had a good time.  This year, it seemed more fun to me.  I don’t know if it was me or the music.  We did enjoy the musical stylings of “Jess~n~John”  The musical Duo for all Occasions of Titusville, Fl.  See picture, to Right. 

I wasn’t sure who enjoyed this band more, my 76 year old Dad or I?  Dad loved the (That’s Dad dancing in the Oktoberfest March) music and danced most of the night.  Me well, I’m not much of a dancer.  But there was a big crowd and a lot of people dancing!!   Much fun was had by all.  Especially during renditions of the Chicken  and the Ya-Ya Dances!  My favorite was the Oktoberfest March (I hope I got the name right) which was quite a work out in itself.  And every bit of it fun! 

 What kind of Oktoberfest would it be if we didn’t mention the food.  There was a plate of food  that included, a bratwurst,  knockwurst, and potato pancakes.  My dad and I ordered this, and we split it  – it was just enough food.  Each of these food is available individually or together as a meal.  

 To Learn more go to: http://www.placesaroundflorida.com/News/2008/09/16/octoberfest-florida-2008/

Alligators all around, alligators all around.

An interesting sign I ran across while taking my Dad to his doctor’s appointment.  You won’t see this sign in too many places. 

Kind of a slow day today.  Dad got up early and went to his Senior Center with few hiccups.  Dad seemed to be doing well, his memory was still impaired, but he did remember the basics. 

 A small flock of Ibis around the pond this morning.  Now that we’re in fall the birds seem to be arriving at the pond much later in the morning.  I saw a Fed Ex Truck sitting next to the pond and it seemed the driver had taken to the birds as much as I had. 

It did rain most of the day, it was a really blustery, windy day.   I made butternut squash soup for dinner.  It was delicious!!  And we had two quarts left over when we were done!!  I love butternut squash soup, it’s so good (At least I think so! ( – :)!!  Dad and I went grocery shopping in the evening, it was a good work out for Dad.   He was really tired after wards and went right to bed, after he took his meds and insulin. 

My recipe for Butternut Squash Soup is really easy.  Here it is: 

1 stick of unsalted butter
70 ounces (give or take) chicken stock
2 to 3 medium size butternut squash
1 Medium onion

Cut up Butternut Squash in to halves, and set in boiling water on stove.  When you can puncture them with a fork easily, they are done.  Remove them from the boiling water and peel off the skin. 
Cut up Medium onion and saute in the one stick of butter until onions are caramelized in a large 4 quart pot.   When the onions are done, add the chicken stock and simmer.  When the Butternut Squash is tender, cut up in to smaller squares and add to chicken stock.  Allow the squash to continue to tenderize as it cooks.  When the squash is fully cooked, take a potato masher and mash the squash in the chicken stock.  If you have a hand blender, please use this instead of the potato masher, as it will lend it self to a creamier textured soup.  Allow the soup to cool 10 minutes before serving. 

This is a really nutritious soup filled with fiber and vitamin A.  It’s perfect in Autumn when the squash is in season.  There is really nothing compared to the flavor of fresh Butternut Squash.  The recipe can be easily modified, to suit your taste.  I believe when the recipe originally came to me, it required two (2) sticks of butter.  However, I think it tastes great with just the one stick of unsalted butter.   BTW, I believe nutmeg would be an excellent addition to this recipe.  I haven’t tried it yet.  But it seems like it’d be a good fit.

Snowy Egret, Blue Heron, and Ibis oh my…

Saw the movie Ghost Town with my Dad this evening.  It was a good movie and I heartily recommend it.  It was VERY FUNNY.   I’ll give it four out of five stars. 

I also recently saw “Burn after reading”; I have nothing good to say about this movie.  I should note that I really don’t get farces for the most part, which is how this movie is described. Why did I see it?  I saw a misleading review.  From now on, I’m sticking with Reelz movie mob.  They always steer me to the good movies. 

You know, I don’t write about my daily interactions with my Dad because I’m concerned that, what I say might be demeaning to my Dad.  Let’s face it, most of the time, you’ll find me and my dad in dialog where I’m repeating myself over and over again.  And it either because of Dad’s poor hearing where he can’t hear the high tones on my voice OR because he’s forgotten what I told him just two beats ago.  All in all it can be very trying on the nerves. 

The picture below left is of a Floridian white Ibis that we see all over the place.  Florida really has the prettiest birds.  I just love looking at the birds!  We always see them in the early morning around the pond near our house.  There is always a small flock looking for breakfast.  The picture below right is of a large flock of Ibis, usually we only see numbers of 2, 3, or 4, sometimes as many as six on a daily basis.  We see a number of great blue heron or the snowy egret as well.  I’ll need to find you a picture of these birds.  The Snowy Egret is so beautiful, there are days when it takes my breath away.  I can also see two or three Osprey nest from my bedroom window.  We do have a number of Osprey in the area.   Amazing preditory birds.  Oh and lets not forget the Turkey Vultures, circling around their latest meal, thousands of miles above in the sky.  I’m sorry to see so much development going on in Florida, because you know what that’ll mean to these birds.  It’s really too bad we’re not more empowered to stop development that destroys our beautiful land. 

 Here is a good web site to view all the bird’s I mention from Florida.  http://stevesbirding.blogspot.com/2006_08_01_archive.html

Wishing you well.