Pumpkin Stuff

So, okay...you're getting ready to carve your Hallowe'en pumpkin.

And you clear out the pumpkin 'guts'...and throw them away, right?

Hey...got any idea of what you're missing by doing that?

I have just been enjoying some roasted pumpkin seeds, and I'd like to share with you how to do it.

Buy a pumpkin. So simple, right?

Preferably, buy a smaller, SUGAR pumpkin.

In my neighborhood here in Chicago, as a matter of fact...right outside my window...there's a pumpkin lot, which used to be run by GEORGE, but now is run by AARON.

I purchased two small pumpkins from Aaron. One I turned into a PRINCESS PUMPKIN, for a friend's 4 year-old daughter, Madi.

Oh, and right, I spent some time making Madi's little gift into a PRINCESS PUMPKIN, because Madi likes to be a princess on Hallowe'en.

The other pumpkin, I baked, by cutting it in half, scooping the 'seeds'n'guts' into a bowl, placing the halves into a cookie sheet filled with water, and baking for about an hour (+-) at 375 degrees.

Baked pumpkin is like baked squash--a nice side dish for chicken and asparagus.

Butt, about the 'seeds'n'guts'--and I wonder if the MOST POWERFUL WOMAN IN THE WORLD (Michelle Obama) even thought of this:

Scoop out the seeds and excess pumpkin 'pulp'.

Spread them in a buttered (I used Land O' Lakes Butter with Olive Oil) cookie sheet like this.

I added a generous sprinkling of ALLSPICE, mixed everything, and placed it in a 275 degree oven for about an hour and a half.

I then had this:

A great snack, which if you make a lot of, I would say: refrigerate it, OK? The butter?

Ah, Autumn. I love it so!

And the ending is...just as you suspected

BELTWAY ADVENTURE

I feel compelled to post this from iowahawk.typepad.com/iowahawk/2010/10/beltway-adventure.html in its entirety...so read on.

WELCOME TO ADVENTURE! WOULD YOU LIKE INSTRUCTIONS?
>YES
YOU ARE SOMEWHERE IN BELTWAY FOREST, WHERE SOME HAVE FOUND TREASURES OF GOLD ALTHOUGH SOME HAVE ENTERED AND NEVER BEEN SEEN AGAIN. MAGIC IS SAID TO WORK IN THE FOREST. I WILL BE YOUR EYES AND HANDS. DIRECT ME WITH SIMPLE COMMANDS.

YOU ARE IN AN OVAL OFFICE. THERE IS SNOW OUTSIDE. YOU ARE BEHIND A DESK. ON DESK THERE IS A BUST OF CHURCHILL.

YOU HAVE A CONGRESS.

YOU HAVE A SENATE.

YOU HAVE A MEDIA.

YOU HAVE A TELEPROMPTER.

YOU HAVE A MILITARY.

YOU HAVE A BIG JET.

YOU HAVE $3 TRILLION OF GOLD.

YOU HAVE 82% APPROVAL HEALTH.

THERE IS 7.2% UNEMPLOYMENT IN THE FOREST.

YOU HAVE A RACE CARD.

YOU HAVE INAUGURAL PARTY LEFTOVERS.

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO?

>EAT LEFTOVERS

>RETURN BUST

YOU ARE IN AN OVAL OFFICE. YOU ARE BEHIND A DESK. ON DESK THERE IS NO BUST OF CHURCHILL. THERE ARE NO MORE LEFTOVERS. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO?

>GIVE SPEECH

YOU ARE IN AN OVAL OFFICE. YOUR APPROVAL HEALTH IS 81%. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO?

>NAME TEAM

ENTER TEAM NAMES. GIVE THEM WEAPONS AND SPECIAL POWERS SEPARATED BY COMMA. WHEN YOU ARE DONE PRESS CTL-T

>BIDEN, BRAIN
>HILLARY, RESET BUTTON
>HOLDER, LAW
>GEITHNER, GOLD
>RAHM, CURSES
>JARRETT, FASHION
>AXELROD, MUSTACHE
>SEBELIUS, HEALTH
>LAHOOD, LIGHT RAIL
>CULVER, FOOD
>CHU, AIR
>GOOLSBY, BLACK MAGICK
>GIBBS, MOUTH
>DUNN, FEMALE MOUTH

^T

DO YOU WANT CZARS?

>Y

ENTER CZAR NAMES SEPARATED BY COMMA. WHEN YOU ARE DONE PRESS CTL-T
>JONES, JENNINGS, HOLBROOK, CROWLEY, RATTNER, MONTGOMERY, BERSIN, HAYES, ROSS, STERN, ROSENTHAL, VOLKER, BROWNER, DUBOIS, DAVIS, FRIED, DEPARLE, KUNDRA, BLAIR, MITCHELL, FEINBERG, SUNSTEIN, HOLDREN, DEVANEY, GRATION, ALLISON, CHOPRA, BRENNAN, CARRION, CARTER, SAMORE

I'M SORRY. THAT IS AGAINST THE CONSTITUTION. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO?

>IGNORE CONSTITUTION

YOU ARE IN AN OVAL OFFICE. YOU ARE BEHIND A DESK. YOU ARE BORED. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO?

>GIVE RESET BUTTON TO RUSSIA, BUY CAR COMPANIES

HOW MANY CAR COMPANIES?

>2

THIS WILL COST $85 BILLION OF GOLD.

YOU ARE IN AN OVAL OFFICE. YOU HAVE 2 CAR COMPANIES. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO WITH THEM?

>GIVE TO UNIONS

YOU ARE IN AN OVAL OFFICE. YOUR APPROVAL HEALTH IS 67%. UNEMPLOYMENT IN THE FOREST IS 8.1% WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO?

>STIMULATE ECONOMY
HOW?

>$1 TRILLION TARP

YOU DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH GOLD FOR THAT. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO?

>BORROW GOLD

FROM?

>CHINA

WHO DO YOU WANT GOLD TO GO TO?

>BANKING AND INSURANCE FRIENDS

YOU ARE IN AN OVAL OFFICE. YOUR APPROVAL HEALTH IS 61%. UNEMPLOYMENT IN THE FOREST IS 8.3%. THE FOREST PEASANTS ARE COMPLAINING. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO?

>DEMONIZE BANKS, DEMONIZE INSURANCE, BLAME BUSH

YOU ARE IN AN OVAL OFFICE. YOUR APPROVAL HEALTH IS 61%. UNEMPLOYMENT IN THE FOREST IS 8.5% WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO?

>GIVE SPEECH

CONGRATULATIONS! YOUR SPEECH HAS WON NOBEL PEACE PRIZE. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO?

>FLY JET

WHERE?

>EUROPE

YOU ARE IN A PALACE. YOU ARE STANDING IN FRONT OF QUEEN. WHAT DO WANT TO DO?

>GIVE QUEEN IPOD

YOU ARE IN OSLO. YOU ARE IN TUXEDO. WHAT DO WANT TO DO?

>ACCEPT PEACE PRIZE

YOU ARE IN COPENHAGEN. YOU ARE IN FRONT OF COMMITTEE.

>REQUEST OLYMPICS

YOU ARE ON BIG JET. WHERE DO YOU WANT TO GO?

>MIDEAST

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO THERE?

>APOLOGY SPEECH

YOU ARE IN A PALACE. YOU ARE STANDING IN FRONT OF FAT KING. HE SMELLS BAD. HE IS WEARING BED SHEET. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO?

>BOW

YOU ARE ON BIG JET. WHERE DO YOU WANT TO GO?

>BELTWAY

YOU ARE IN AN OVAL OFFICE. YOU ARE BEHIND A DESK. ON THE DESK IS A NOBEL PEACE PRIZE. YOUR APPROVAL HEALTH IS 58%. UNEMPLOYMENT IN THE FOREST IS 8.6% WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO?

>STIMULATE ECONOMY

HOW?

>$1 TRILLION RECOVERY ACT

I'M SORRY, YOU DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH GOLD FOR THAT. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO?

>BORROW FROM CHINA

I'M SORRY, CHINA DOES NOT WANT TO LEND YOU GOLD. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO?

>PRINT GOLD

WHERE DO YOU WANT GOLD TO GO TO?

>CONSTRUCTION SIGNS, WHATEVER

DO YOU WANT CONGRESS TO HELP?

>Y

YOU ARE IN AN OVAL OFFICE. YOU ARE BEHIND A DESK. YOUR APPROVAL HEALTH IS 55%. YOUR CONGRESS HAS 31% HEALTH. UNEMPLOYMENT IN THE FOREST IS 8.9% YOUR FRIEND AT HARVARD IS ARRESTED BY POLICEMAN.

>CALL POLICEMAN STUPID, PLAY RACE CARD

I'M SORRY, THAT DID NOT WORK. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO?

>BEER SUMMIT, BLAME BUSH

YOU ARE IN AN OVAL OFFICE. YOU ARE BEHIND A DESK. ON THE DESK IS A TELEPHONE AND A TV. THE TELEPHONE RINGS. IT IS COPENHAGEN. YOU DO NOT GET THE OLYMPICS FOR CHICAGO. A PEASANT ON TV FROM CHICAGO CALLS FOR TEA PARTY REVOLT. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO?

>NATIONALIZE HEALTHCARE

I'M SORRY, THIS NAME WILL NOT WORK. DO YOU WANT TO CALL IT SOMETHING DIFFERENT?

>REFORM HEALTHCARE
YOU WILL NEED A CONGRESS AND SENATE TO "REFORM HEALTHCARE" IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN.

>TELL CONGRESS TO REFORM HEALTHCARE

YOU ARE IN AN OVAL OFFICE. YOU ARE WITH GENERALS. AFGHANISTAN IS GOING BAD. IRAN IS BUILDING NUCLEAR BOMBS. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO?

>PLAY GOLF

YOU ARE IN AN OVAL OFFICE. ON THE TV ARE TOWN HALLS. AT THE TOWN HALLS ARE PEASANTS. THEY ARE YELLING AT YOUR CONGRESS. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO?

>ATTACK PEASANTS

WITH WHAT?

>MEDIA

WHAT WEAPON?

>RACE CARD

THE PEASANTS ARE NOW ANGRIER. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO?

>ATTACK PEASANTS

WITH WHAT?

>UNIONS

WHAT WEAPON?

>FISTS, NIGHTSTICKS

YOU ARE IN AN OVAL OFFICE. ON THE TV ARE YOUR CZARS. YOUR CZARS ARE PRAISING COMMUNISM. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO?

>PLAY RACE CARD, VOICE SUPPORT FOR CZARS

I'M SORRY, THIS DOES NOT WORK. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO?

>THROW CZARS UNDER BUS

CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE A SUPREME COURT VACANCY. WHO DO YOU WANT TO APPOINT?

>WISE LATINA

YOU SEEM TO BE HAVING PROBLEMS. DO YOU WANT TO SET PRIORITIES?

>Y

ENTER TOP PRIORITIES SEPARATED BY COMMAS.

>HEALTH CARE, CHILDHOOD OBESITY, ECONOMY, GAS MILEAGE, GITMO, JOBS, CONSTRUCTION SIGNS, LIGHT RAIL, MUSLIM SELF ESTEEM, GOLF HANDICAP, WAR

DO YOU NEED A CIGARETTE BREAK?

>Y

ADVENTURE WILL RESUME WHEN YOU PRESS F12

>[F12]

YOU ARE IN AN OVAL OFFICE. YOU ARE STANDING IN FRONT OF CONGRESS. ON THE DESK IS DRAFT HEALTH CARE BILL. DO YOU WANT TO READ?

>N

YOU CANNOT SIGN HEALTH CARE BILL UNTIL IT PASSES THROUGH CONGRESS RULES. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO?

>CHANGE RULES, RAM THROUGH

CONGRESS SAYS THEY ARE AFRAID OF PEASANTS.

>TELL CONGRESS TO ATTACK PEASANTS

HOW?

>RACE CARD, CHOKE HOLDS

YOU ARE IN AN OVAL OFFICE. YOU ARE BEHIND A DESK. YOUR APPROVAL HEALTH IS 49%. HEALTH CARE BILL IS STALLED. YOUR CONGRESS HAS 16% HEALTH. UNEMPLOYMENT IN THE FOREST IS 9.5%. YOUR TEAM IS SHOPPING THEIR RESUMES. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO?

>ADD PAGES TO HEALTH CARE BILL

HOW MANY?

>1826

DO YOU WANT TO READ NEW HEALTH CARE BILL?

>N

HEALTH CARE BILL NOW COST $1 TRILLION. HOW WILL YOU PAY?

>PRETEND IT COSTS $0

CONGRATULATIONS! YOU NOW HAVE HEALTH CARE BILL. DO YOU WISH TO SIGN?

>Y

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO WITH HEALTH CARE BILL?

>GIVE TO PEASANTS AS XMAS GIFT

YOU ARE IN AN OVAL OFFICE. YOU ARE BEHIND A DESK. YOUR APPROVAL HEALTH IS 46%. YOU HAVE LOST 3 CONGRESSMEN TO PEASANTS IN SPECIAL ELECTION REVOLT. YOUR CONGRESS HAS 11% HEALTH. UNEMPLOYMENT IN THE FOREST IS 10.0%. WAR IS GOING BAD. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO?

>PLAY GOLF, RENAME WAR

GIVE NEW NAME TO WAR.

>OVERSEAS CONTINGENCY OPERATION

YOU ARE IN AN OVAL OFFICE. THE GOVERNOR IN ARIZONA FOREST IS THREATENING TO ENFORCE YOUR IMMIGRATION LAWS. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO?

>ATTACK ARIZONA

HOW?

>RACE CARD, HOLDER

HOLDER IS BUSY LOOKING FOR NEW YORK COURT FOR TRIAL FOR TERRORISTS. I MEAN UNDOCUMENTED GUEST DISSENTER. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO?

>PLAY GOLF

YOU ARE ON A GOLF GREEN. YOU ARE STANDING NEXT TO A GOLF CART. ON THE GOLF CART IS A SUITCASE WITH A RED PHONE. THE PHONE RINGS. IT IS CONGRESS. THEY ARE EVEN MORE SCARED OF PEASANTS, WHO ARE EVEN MORE PISSED OFF. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO?

>CALM CONGRESS

HOW?

>TELL TO WORK ON CAP AND TRADE

YOU SEEMS TO BE HAVING PROBLEMS. WOULD YOU LIKE HELP?

>Y

ENTER YOUR HELPERS SEPARATED BY COMMAS.

>MSNBC, NYT, ACORN, SEIU, MOVE ON, NETROOTS, SOROS

ARE YOU SURE?

>Y

SERIOUSLY, ARE YOU SURE?

>Y

I'M NOT TRYING TO TELL YOU HOW TO PLAY THE ADVENTURE, BUT I'M NOT SURE THAT REALLY QUALIFIES AS "HELP." ARE YOU ABSOLUTELY SURE?

>Y

OKAY, YOU'RE THE BOSS. PLEASE ENTER THE NUMBER OF PUFF PIECES YOU WANT.

>180

PLEASE ENTER THE NUMBER OF ATTACK PIECES YOU WANT.

>5276

ATTACK PIECES HAVE BACKFIRED. MEDIA IS AT 0% HEALTH. ACORN IS AT 0% HEALTH. CONGRESS IS AT 7% HEALTH. THERE ARE A LOT MORE PEASANTS OUT THERE THAN YOU THOUGHT. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO?

>BLAME BUSH

THAT DOES NOT WORK ANYMORE.

>BLAME BANKS

THAT DOES NOT WORK ANYMORE.

>BLAME PALIN

WOULD YOU LIKE TO BUY A DISTRACTION?

>Y

I'M SORRY, THE PEASANTS ARE NOT EASILY DISTRACTED. YOU ARE IN AN OVAL OFFICE. YOU ARE BEHIND A DESK. YOU HAVE LOST RAHM. PEASANTS ARE LOSING THEIR HEALTH CARE. PEASANTS ARE MARCHING ON THE BELTWAY. THERE IS 9.6% UNEMPLOYMENT IN THE FOREST. YOUR APPROVAL HEALTH IS 42%. YOUR CONGRESS HAS 1.3% HEALTH. YOUR CONGRESS WILL NOT RETURN YOUR CALLS. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO?

>TURN LEFT

EXCUSE ME?

>TURN LEFT

WHOA. FOR A MINUTE THERE I THOUGHT YOU TYPED 'TURN LEFT'.

>I DID! TURN LEFT

UMM, ANY PARTICULAR REASON?

>ENERGIZE BASE

BY "BASE", DO YOU MEAN THAT REPULSIVE COLLECTION OF SNIDE FUCKWIT URBAN HIPSTER TWATS?

>Y

HOW?

>CAR DITCH SLURPEE JOKE

BASE ENERGY FAIL. STIMULUS FAIL. HEALTH CARE FAIL. TARP FAIL.
YOU ARE IN AN OVAL OFFICE. YOU HAVE 41% APPROVAL HEALTH. YOU HAVE NO GOLD LEFT. YOU HAVE NO CONGRESS LEFT. YOU HAVE NO MEDIA LEFT. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO?

>BLAME BUSH

I'M SORRY, THAT DOESN'T WORK ANYMORE.

>PLAY RACE CARD

I'M SORRY, THAT DOESN'T WORK ANYMORE.

>PLAY GOLF

GOLF COURSE IS CLOSED.

>TURN LEFT

DUDE.

>FAKE TURN RIGHT

ADVENTURER PLEASE, YOU'RE JUST EMBARRASING YOURSELF.

>^C

>^C

>^C

I'M SORRY, THERE IS NO ESCAPE KEY. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO?

>

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO?

>

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO?

>

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO?

>

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO?

>

*********

Obviously, Barack-INSANE-Obama, never had, and never will get a clue!

QOTD

Oscar Wilde

"This wallpaper is killing me; one of us has got to go."

Apparently, these were Wilde's last words.

Will someone tell Barky, please, that the wallpaper choice just might be his demise?

Oh, I forgot--Rahm is gone, so I guess it's up to Valerie?

I hesitated to comment at all...

...re: the Chilean thing, because I have a real diversion for death caused by greed.

I found this today:

As the last rescued Chilean miner came above ground -- after spending 69 days deep in the lower reaches of earth and surrounded by 700,000 tons of unstable rock -- the world watched in awe and tears. The men appeared remarkably healthy after their ordeal. Emotions were understandably high after the survivors completed their half-mile journey to the surface; predictably, the men's thoughts were on family and faith.

Mario Sepulveda, an ebullient man and the second to emerge from the bullet-shaped rescue tube, said, "I was with God. I was with the Devil. God and the devil were fighting over me, and God won. I always knew they would get me out. I always had faith in the professionals here in Chile and in the Great Creator."

At 56 years of age, Omar Reygadas, one of the older miners, became a great-grandfather for the fourth time while he was trapped underground, while Jimmy Sanchez, the youngest miner at age 19, has a four-month-old baby, and Richard Villarroel is due to become a father in November.

Read the rest here

*********

Faith? They had faith...in God?

In today's America, within the Obama administration, those words are ANATHEMA!

The Chileans were assisted by the US in this rescue, but Obama had nothing to do with that. HE could never be an 'engineer', or a 'physicist' or anything associated with the 'Earth'--the planet on which we alone were chosen to survive...and live our lives.

Obama seems to know no god but himself...same thing with his wifey, who can break State and Federal voting laws, and get away with it because she is so 'FASHIONABLE'! PUKING NOW!

FFFUUUUGGGGLLLLYYY 'Electioneer', isn't she?

Why does someone not arrest her for her State and Federal CRIME?

Too-Pay, or not Too-Pay--that is the question!

Even if you haven't been watching the Harry Reid/Sharon Angle stuff from Nevada, have you ever noticed this very weird thing about Harry Reid's HAIR?

Oh, BTW, in case you are some sort of uninformed person, Senator Harry Reid is the current 'Leader of the US Senate'...and professes to be a Mormon. BFD, I say. I'm more curious about Harry's HAIR.

Is it real...or Memorex? And, why does he keep changing the side to part this so-called HAIR?

Look at these (all recent) photos, and try to figure Harry's OBSESSION with his HAIR:

Too-pay? Not Too-pay? Left? Right?

Harry Reid seems to not know. I would NOT vote for him...just because he does not understand what it is to be an American.

QOTD

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in 1890

"Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself
but talent instantly recognizes genius."

Two things you need to know about hypocrites!

From Politico:

If I were Politico, I'd consider getting a new headline writer!

Then, there's this, about the woman who considers herself "MOM-IN-CHIEF"!

Cheeseburger and fries--just what her extreme boo-tay needed, RIGHT! No wonder her dresses never fit properly!

And she was a LAWYER? In ILLINOIS?

FIRST LADY CAMPAIGNED INSIDE POLLING PLACE

From Drudge:

First lady Michelle Obama appears to have violated Illinois law -- when she engaged in political discussion at a polling place!

The drama began after Mrs. Obama stopped off at the Martin Luther King Center on the south side of Chicago to cast an early vote.

After finishing at the machine, Obama went back to the desk and handed in her voting key. She let voters including electrician Dennis Campbell, 56, take some photos.

"She was telling me how important it was to vote to keep her husband's agenda going," Campbell said.

According to the pool reporter at the scene, the conversation took place IN the voting center not far from the booths.

Illinois state law -- Sec. 17-29 (a) -- states: "No judge of election, pollwatcher, or other person shall, at any primary or election, do any electioneering or soliciting of votes or engage in any political discussion within any polling place, within 100 feet of any polling place."

WHITE HOUSE DEFENDS ELECTIONEERING

When questioned about the brazen nature of Mrs. Obama's campaigning, press secretary Robert Gibbs defended the action.

"I don't think it would be much to imagine, the First Lady might support her husband's agenda," Gibbs smiled.

Developing...

*********

Soooo, because Michelle is married to Barky, she will be allowed to break the law?

Anyone present, who possessed any iota of COMMON SENSE and may have witnessed this exchange, should be arrested for 'aiding and abetting'. Mrs. Obama, a former lawyer who was apparently forced to surrender her law license some 16 years ago, should and MUST be brought up on charges of 'electioneering'--PERIOD!

Columbus Day

Columbus Day closings

Monday is Columbus Day, a federal holiday. The following public services will be affected:

Schools: Chicago's public schools will be closed. Most parochial and suburban schools also will be closed.

Government offices: Federal, county and city offices will be closed.

Postal service: No regular mail delivery, but express mail will be delivered.

Courts: Federal, state and county courts will be closed, except for Cook County Central Bond Court.

Banks: Most will be closed.

Transit: CTA, Pace and Metra will run on weekday schedules.

This is the atrium of what remains of what is known as the Casa di Cristoforo Colombo (The House of Christopher Columbus) in Genova, Italy. I took this shot on my first visit to Italy in 1982.

This is what it looks like today, via Google Maps:

Personally, I prefer my shot, and I felt very privileged to be on the same spot where Columbus lived and walked and dreamed--centuries ago. A few short blocks away was, I guess you'd call it a 'market street', where, in 1982, banners announced 900 years of markets on that street.

For more on Christopher Columbus, read this at American Thinker:

"Christopher Columbus: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly"