Traditional Armenian Dishes, Kyufta and Gata

 Did you know Honiton Lace  is still sold today? Visit their official website at Honiton Lace. and although it's pricey (as it should be)  you can purchase an heirloom for your own family!

Below are two example of other Honiton Lace Collars and a picture of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert on their wedding day. Her gown is made with Honiton Lace.

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert

Enjoy two Armenian traditional recipes. Preparing Armenian food is challenging and not for the faint of heart. 

Did you know that the national fruit of Armenia is the Apricot?

The first recipe is for Kyufta, a main course. Middle Eastern countries have their own take on the classic kyufta, but the Armenian version can be made with lightly spiced minced meat, and a twist  molasses and brown sugar. There are may different version. 

The second dish is an exotic desert called Gata an Armenian favorite,  Shape and size varies from region to region. It's a sweet bread-like cake egg-rich and syrupy usually served with a thick dark strong cup of surj. (coffee) Enjoy! 

INGREDIENTS for Kyufta

1 1/2              lb. ground land or beef

1                     lb. ground lamb or beef. Set aside  

2 cups             cracked wheat find ground (bulger)

1                     large onion, minced

1/2  cup          parsley, minced

1                     teaspoon salt

2                     teaspoon salt

2                     garlic cloves

1/2                  teaspoon of molasses

1/2                  teaspoon of brown sugar

1/2                  teaspoon black pepper

2                     quarts broth, beef or 2 quarts chicken

DIRECTIONS

For the outside shell, mix 1 1/2 lbs ground lamb, bulgar, onion, 1 teaspoon of salt pepper, molasses and parsley together with 1 cup water. Knead until it becomes cohesive and dough like.

Set aside and brown 1 lb lamb with a large minced onion until meat is cooked. Add parsley, salt and pepper a teaspoon of brown sugar and cool.

 
In the meantime, roll outside shell mixture into balls the size of a small egg. Use a bowl of ice water to keep mixture from sticking to your hands. Shape into cups by inserting your thumb into the ball and rotating it in your opposite hand until you form a thin shell. Keep wetting your hands in the ice water to keep shell from cracking. 

Fill shell with cooked meat mixture, about 1 tablespoon, close shell, wetting hands with ice water, and seal opening. 

Set aside on a sheet pan, continue to roll balls. Place tray in refrigerator to chill.
Boil 2 quarts of broth. Add meatballs and cook them 10 minutes or until they rise to the top 
You can serve this with plain yogurt on the side.

  
Thanks to food.com.

ENJOY!

TRADITIONAL DESERT                    GATA

Dough

16 ounces      full-fat sour cream

1                     teaspoon baking soda

1                     teaspoon baking powder

4                     cups all purpose flower

2 1/4               sticks unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1 tablespoon-sized pieces

Filling

1/ 1/2               cups all purpose flower

1 1/2                sticks of unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1 tablespoon-sized pieces. 

1 1/2                cups granulated sugar

1                      teaspoon pure vanilla extract      

 

To Finish                                  

 Egg chalaza removed (thick white part by the yolk-use the egg shell to remove it, beaten.

Dough

1.    The dough needs to be made the day or night before you assemble and bake your gata. Start by adding the baking soda and baking powder to the sour cream and mix it until thoroughly combined set aside.

2.    Add half the flour and half the butter to the bowl of a food processor (if you have a really large food processor bowl you can do it all at once, but it's best to split it up). Pulse the mixture several times until it looks sandy and contains small pea-sized bits of butter.

3.   Add half the sour cream mixture and mix until it comes together into a doughy mass. Remove the dough to a lightly flowered cutting board or work surface and repeat with the remaining flour, butter and sour cream mixture in the food processor. Add the other half of the dough to the dough already on the work surface and gently press it together to from a single dough (do not knead it, but just absorb one dough half into the other).

4. Cut the dough into four equal parts. One at a time, on a lightly floured surface, use your hands to press each dough piece flat about 1/2 inch thick, then fold it together like a letter, turn 90 degrees and fold again into thirds to yield a perfect square. Use your hands to straighten the edges and make sure the corners are relatively sharp. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in an air-tight container. Repeat with the three other pieces of dough and add them to the air-tight container. Cover and refrigerate overnight. 

Filling            ("Khoreeze"):

1.    The following day, make the filling. Add the flour and the butter to the bowl of a food processor and pulse the mixture several times until it looks sandy and contains small pea-sized bits of butter. Add the sugar and vanilla and quickly pulse just a few more times to combine, but not enough to form a dough. Pour this crumble filling into a wide, flat bowl and use a large spoon to divide it into four quadrants (just draw lines). Set aside. 

Assembly

1.    Preheat the oven to 350 F with the oven rack in the center. Line three baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. 

2.     Remove dough squares from the refrigerator at a time. Lightly flour a work surface and gently  roll out of of the dough squares into a rectangle about 1 1/16th inch thick and about with dimensions of about 12-by-15 inches (doesn't have to be perfect.) Do your best to create straight edges and corners for your rectangle, and an even thickness dusting with minimal flour as necessary. Arrange the rectangle so the longest edge is facing you with the shorter edges on either side. 

3.     Add 1/4 of the filling to the rectangle and use your hands to spread it over the surface, leaving about 1-inch border at the furthest edge clear of filling, but otherwise spreading the filling from the edge to edge. Use the palms of your hands to firmly press the filling into the dough. this will make it easier to roll without the filling falling out too much. 

4.    Beginning with the edge closest to you start rolling the dough tightly. Sometimes it's easier to simply make a small fold across the length, using your dough scraper for assistance, and then continue with the rolling. When finished rolling gently press the top of the roll to help seal.

5.     Carefully move your roll to a clean piece of parchment or wax paper on your work surface. Lay it diagonally if you must so it doesn't hang off the edges. Use your rolling pin to gently flatten the roll starting at the center and moving outward, and then again starting at the center and moving outward in the opposite direction. You are not rolling it out, but just using the natural momentum of the rolling pin to flatten it so it's not rounded like a jelly roll .

6.    Brush the top and sides of the roll with the beaten egg. Use a serrated vegetable cutter (if you have one- and if not a dough scrapper will work but won't yield the pretty serrated edges to cut the dough into 1 1/14-inch slices. Very gently use a small spatula or your dough scraper to remove each piece to the prepared pans. The end pieces aren't pretty but will still be delicious for the chef, so make sure you add those to your pan as well.  

7.     When finished with the first roll, dump any extra crumbs from your parchment paper (as long as they're not eggy) back into the bowl of filling, and use your dough scraper to clean any extra crumbs from your original work surface and add those back to the bowl as well. 

8.    Repeat the process with the remaining dough squared on your clean, lightly flowered work surface (you can fold the parchment in half lengthwise and reuse it again once more, and then start fresh on dough # 3 with a clean piece).

Baking and Finishing

1.    Bake the gata one tray at a time for about 25-35 minutes, rotating the pan from front to back about halfway through baking, until the tops are dark golden brown, and the dough on the sides is no longer pasty looking, and appears to be cooked through (it may even start to look slightly golden). Remove from the oven and replace with the next pan of gata. Repeat the baking process until all pans are baked, one at a time. 

2.     Cook the gata completely before removing from the baking sheets. To store, place them either on a large baking sheet pan, or serving dish.  Cover with a large tea towel as opposed to foil or plastic wrap, which will cause the gata to soften. 

3.      You may freeze the gata in a sealed container lined with parchment or wax paper on the bottom, on top, and in between the layers. Refresh the thawed gata, if needed in a 350F oven for about 5 minutes or until they are heated through. This will help re-crisp them if they have softened (you can also use this trick if your gata softens after a few days of standard storage). The final result should be crisp on the outside, and flaky throughout. 

Thanks to mission-food.com

ENJOY!  

Poem: You never thought you'd die in the sky

 

This type of poetry is called “Animal Activist Poetry.” I speak for those who cannot speak for themselves.

You never thought you’d die in the sky

When it showered her beams through your watery home.

When it made you warm and grew your little ones.

You never thought you’d die in the sky. How was that even possible?

Many times you jumped out of the water to catch a bug the sky would light blue into your eyes. 

A special place you loved that sky and the way it cleared a path to the sun.

You never thought you’d die in the sky

You loved the sky the sky loved you

you lived in the water it lived above the land

miles and miles from where you are now.

You never thought you die in the sky

Until they came with nets and boats that screamed in your ears till you went deaf.

When you were sleeping

When you were sleeping

and up into that net and into the air and slowly they strangled your body flipping and lurching in an epileptic fit a gruesome dance to put yourself back to where you can breathe.

Can’t breathe can’t breathe suffocation.

Who knew it took so long. 

And when a they threw you in a galley of ice with thousands of your friends, the last thing you saw out of the one eye that hadn’t burst was the sky.

You see little fish you died in the sky

and you’ll never know why.

But I give it to you straight. Some person decided that they wanted to take your flesh and burn it on a hot pan and then put into their mouths so they could say ummmm and then take a crap later that night.

I’m sorry dear fish you had to die in the sky, For a mouth a stomach and a couple of chews. You were much more then that and I honor you.

Dr. Michael Holosko sexual predator stripped of degree

In 2017 Dr. Michael Holosko finally paid the consequences for a decades long documented history of sexual abuse. His professorship at the world renowned School of Social work, the Pauline M. Berger institute was revoked by the University of Atlanta Georgia. 

Dr. Holosko had a 40 year career in the School of Social Work a field which is 80% women hiding in plain site, protected by the system. For years Dr. Holosko was bounced from university to university; Windsor, Australia, Hong Kong, New Zealand for years and then settled at the University of Atlanta Georgia who after uncovering and documenting and investigating a series of sexual abuse and harassment complaints has severed all ties to Dr. Holosko.

These are internal documents/ primary sources, secured form the EOO of the University of Atlanta Georgia. Like other high profile predators like Weinstein and Epstien Dr. Holosko fell because of the Me Too Movement.

On Dec, 15, 2017 the University issued this finding and sanctions against Dr. Holosko.

1. Have no contact with students- undergraduate of graduate-effective Spring 2018. This translates to no classes, no committee work, no advising and no field liaison work. No contact means no contact.
2.  In consultation with the Dean and Provost, you appointment as the Pauline M. Berger Professor is being revoked effective Spring 2018 NOT subject to appeal.
3. You remain required to attend NDAH training through UGA.

Reduction in Pay

As a result in sanction you nine-month base salary of $130,530 will be reduced for the next fiscal year due to your reduced value to the the University effective July 1 2018 will be $91,370 .

Faculty Discipline

If the aforementioned sanctions are upheld at the exhaustion of the appeal right… the University will initiate dismissal and tenure revocation procedures pursuant to Board of Regents Policy manual Section 8.3.9. Discipline and Removal of Faculty Members.

Joseph John Holosko Obituary. Write an Obituary for a Loved one for XMAS

 It occurred to me that if you are not searchable online it’s like you never existed. When my father died in 1994 my brothers refused to publish an official obituary. They did not love him. But over the years his ghost has been bugging me for something. Took me 30 years to figure it out. (I am not the brightest bulb on the block.) The most important thing to my father was to leave a memory. His mantra was, “I want to leave you something to remember me by”.

His sons tried to erase him and I won’t let that happen. You don’t have to accept an erased relative or loved one. I think that anyone who has a grandmother or great great grandfather that did not have an obituary published in a newspaper should remedy that so they are not lost. It will cost you about $150.00 to $200.00 for a small local paper. And… it can be any paper anywhere. The only thing that matters is that it has an online presence. Here's mine!

Joseph John Holosko 

                                                                    

 Joseph John Holosko b: April 20th 1916,- Miss. Ontario April 3, 1994/ 78yrs. Joe moved to Roundhill, Alb. Parents: John Holosko/Francis Kryshk from Ukraine/ Poland. Raised in Drumheller/sister Stella Staley and brother Emil. His father was a coal miner, & mother (a suffragette) worked at the Hudson Bay Co. Joe was a great violinist & composer, trained by G. Garbovitsky of Cal. Symphony. Went to Teacher’s College during the great depression. In WWII- Aeronautical Engineer. May 5, 1947, m. Mary Klochko- she struggled with mental illness. Worked as a sales engineer for Xerox Co. At 55 yrs, Joe got his B.A. He volunteered (18 yrs) conductor/ Mathew Popowich Choir. Joe was a Renaissance man, a life-long student. He loved the Ontario Science Center. Favorite mags; Popular Science, Popular Mechanics, Prevention. Favorite T.V.; Wild Wild World of Animals, Three’s Company. Loved sauerkraut perogies and short ribs. Survived by the only daughter he raised, Karina Ann-Francis Holosko, the apple of his baby blue eyes — 3 sons. Joe will be remembered for his sacrifice, kindness, curiously, love of animals, and learning. For 20 yrs Joe played Santa for hundreds of children. . At night, he loved to find the Big Dipper in the stars and make shadow puppets to entertain his daughter when she couldn’t sleep. In the day, he’d  look up to the sky and find shapes in the clouds.

Joseph Holosko, Camille, Allyssa Paulk

Book Review: A Pandemic Nurse's Diary.

 

If you think you know all about COVID, think again. This first responder’s must-read diary is a nonfiction piece, a rare account of a warrior on the front line, written by Nurse T, a critical care professional with 20 years of hospital duty, and Timothy Sheard, a retired nurse of 40 years. It is a timely, chilling, intimate journey through the diabolical horror of the COVID 19 pandemic, from March 25, 2020, to August 15, 2020, in a New York Hospital. It works as a powerful linear piece with a sense of urgency written in first-person as told by Nurse T. You are going to experience many OMG moments listening to the hospital staff make unbelievable discoveries about this virus based solely on their observations! You will enjoy the illustrations! The cover is a generic version of how the nurses looked as they fought this pandemic together.

The chapters read like flash-fiction-zip and are rhythmically consistent, largely due to the no-nonsense style and the strength of the narrators’ voice. Too often, diary entries are disjointed with navel picking meanderings and details that no one cares about. You won’t find that here. Promise. It is action-driven, in the present tense, and fast-paced in real-time, like a movie. Big plus, you can enter this book at any point and be caught up in the drama. I read it in one afternoon because I couldn’t put it down and look forward to re-reading it again. I came away inspired, horrified, and in awe of the hospital community.

Although Nurse T is our witness and guide, there is very little of her personality in this book. It could be because she is afraid of professional retaliation, and those details would give her away. On the other hand, what really matters is happening moment by moment, and in this COVID pressure-cooker, personal reflections just have to wait. But I would have liked to get to know Nurse T a bit more to increase my empathy for her.

It’s a brave piece about PSTD in the making on American soil, in our hospitals with people we see every day. But unlike soldiers at war who are protected by the government, the hospital staff in our communities were not. That hit me hard. As the pandemic started to spread, I figured that hospitals had everything under control. They were saving people, they knew stuff. Now I know that is simply not true, and I feel helpless.

“We are shooting in the bloody dark!” a doctor yells as another patient dies. Yet through the dark, Nurse T finds a level of heroism, courage, and compassion akin to that of a soldier in battle, which she uses to fight the suffering COVID-19 brings. And if that’s not bad enough, the hospital is plagued by an ineffective bureaucratic system stretched to the limits, barely able to pay staff, pathetic in their attempt to protect her and her colleagues either physically or emotionally. I felt like I was looking through Nurse T’s eyes in the ICU at the chaos; the blood pressure machines, the constant monitoring of oxygen levels, and the endless flatliners, then taking a split second to wolf down a piece of pizza or open a gift bag from the Red Cross. Nurses, doctors, and housekeepers were all profoundly shaken, helpless, and confused by this mysterious, deadly virus that caused a fury of suffering and confusion. The first responders who walked among the dead and the dying were simply not prepared. Add a political public healthcare disinformation campaign that suggested people drink bleach, and you have a perfect storm.

We give guns to our soldiers, bullets, boots, protective gear, you name it, but to Nurse T and her colleagues? Nothing. They received used gowns and sweaty surgical masks, still they showed up to face an enemy no one knew anything about. How many of us could do that when there is a COVID bomb going off around us?

As Nurse T rushes from room to room intubating patients, she wears the same PPE as the day before. When her patients get delirious and panic because they feel like they’re suffocating, she straps them down so they cannot rip the tube out of their bodies and go into cardiac arrest. When they are animated in terror and fear, fentanyl — the primary opiate infusion used to sedate them is running low, morphine is gone, and Ativan desperately short.

Nurse T is stunningly frank. She and her colleagues are emotionally numb, their nerves are shattered, they can’t sleep or eat, are developing PSTD, breaking down, and terrified they might bring the virus home to their families. You’d think that would be enough to quit, but that option never crosses her mind. Not even once. In fact, the energy in the hospital is not one of defeat but of warrior-like determination for life, and that is reflected in the intimate moments in this diary with not only the dying, but the dead. I was struck by the entry in which the staff still had the compassion to clean the body of a loved one who had passed, gently rub Vaseline on the eyelids to keep them shut, wrap them in clean sheets and call their family. Touches like these helped me understand the soul of the caretaker.

At the end of this book, there is an interactive self-help section. There are healing meditations and writing therapy exercises that deal with sorrow, anger, loneliness, vanquishing painful feelings, and the most important, guilt. I did all of them, and they helped. Although I am not a health professional, I learned that COVID affected me in ways that I still don’t understand. Adding them was a compassionate choice with the optic to heal…the theme of the book.

The surgical realism in this book has one clear message. Nursing is a calling, not just a job. And Nurse T is one of many of our urban warriors, and we are blessed to have them.

As the patient cried out for help, the caregiver manages a grin, a smile behind the mask, and lays a gentle hand upon the suffering. The bond is strong. It cannot be broken. Not even Death can sever it. (A Pandemic Nurses Diary)

BUY HERE

 

Bring Back Closure

 We’ve all been there… dumped by someone we love. Without closure, you’re in a never-ending cycle of a whole lot of hurt. This type of emotional pain is enough to affect how we function, think, and relate to others. Add the physical pain, feels like someone hit you in the stomach. Combine that with an ache in your chest that cannot be wished away and it’s like you lost an arm and are walking about in shock. Did I get that right?

The pain of love lost is a horrible thing. But I have noticed that in the computer age in which we live, being dumped has turned into a traumatic and abusive experience purposely designed and socially encouraged to deny closure. Working as a Tarot Card reader, I’ve come across many people who are traumatized by “break up abuse.” The people who call me suffer from an intensity I have never experienced and for much too long. When I started to think about why I thought about the abuse, I felt when a BBF denied me closure. I had no idea how vicious and painful computer age breaks-ups could be until it happened to me. People use technology to surgically cut someone out of their life like they have died. Break-up abuse causes PST for a lifetime. It doesn’t have to be that way.

Photo by Karina Holosko

Not only do people break up with email and text messages, but they also lock one another out of social media accounts and block phone numbers like the other person is a diseased lunatic. The purpose is to plunge a dagger deep into another’s heart and twist it so painfully that their intended will never go anywhere near them again. 

There is no respect for giving closure; which acknowledges another’s pain, the part you played in it, and help them to heal. It’s the last gift we can give to our friend and/or lover.

We need to bring closure back to break-ups and help heal, not abuse one another. Let’s just call a spade. This “break up abuse” trend is brutal and cruel. The sick thing is that it’s meant to be. I have talked many clients off the ledge who cannot understand why their phone number has been blocked when they just want to say “hi.” And if you’ve ever felt the sting of someone taking you off their Facebook, you know what I’m talking about. If this has happened to you, you have been abused. And if this what you’ve done, that makes you an abuser. But we don’t have to be those things to move out of a relationship. Pain is unavoidable, so leave the person that you shared time and love with a band-aid instead of a knife.

I lived in the pre-computer era, and I have the privilege of spanning both worlds. I can tell you this…when it comes to break-ups, there’s a huge difference. We didn’t have email or text so breaking up that way wasn’t an option. Yes, we had landline telephones, but the social blowback for that was rough.

The way we broke up in the pre-computer age was this. Person One would call the other, and you’d meet for coffee. After that, Person One would say, “we have to talk,” and Person Two would feel that they got punched in the guy.

Person One, “I’d like to break up, but we can be friends.”

Person Two would cry, and Person One would comfort them and explain why and with whom and how it happened. And Person Two would go away crushed but with an emotional band-aid in hand because no matter how brutal, they got answers. And they know they will eventually heal. Without closure, you do not know you will heal, so the pain feels like it goes on forever. So please, if you are going to break up with someone, sit down with them, have a coffee, and tell them why. Only bad karma will come to you if you keep another’s pain in limbo. Without giving closure, that’s exactly what you’re doing.

So let’s bring closure back! Heal. And move on!

Happy Halloween!

 

Make $491,920.00 by doing nothing

 

 

WHERE DID THE MONEY GO?

When your parents were your age they owned their house and you're still renting.  You’re probably years from buying, if ever. So where did the money go? You make more money than your parents, so what’s up with that? 

I calculated over a 60-year lifespan assuming you started paying at 20 and ended at 80

Technology technology technology

 

LET’S TALK Dollars and Cents

 

Here is a snapshot of what you pay for technology-related expense

Cable           $271.00   (Decision Data 2020)

SUBTOTAL 60 yrs...$195,120  

Cell phone   $114.00 (Money savings.com/18)

SUBTOTAL 60yrs...$82,080.00

Internet       $114.00(reviews.ord March 2020)     

SUBTOTAL 60yrs.....$82,080.00

Video            $112.00  (venturebeat.com 2019)           

SUBTOTAL 60yrs.....$80,640.00

----------------------------------------------------

BIG BOX ITEMS

T.V.                      $10000.00  (one every 6 years)  

SUB TOTAL    $6000.00

 

Computers           $2000.00  (every 3 years)   

SUB TOTAL     $40,000.00

Wait for it!    Ta-Da!

That's  a TOTAL of $ 491,920

THAT’S YOUR HOUSE and that's why you don't have one! 

Cable is the biggest problem!

NEXT QUESTION:

WHERE DID THE TIME GO?

The answer is…wait for it…TECHNOLOGY.

 Follow me. The average age is 80 years old. So, let's be really ultra unrealistic and assume that starting at 20 years old  you use technology for a total of 60 years

First, I wanted to see how many years technology takes from your life. I found out that, on average people spend 4.5 hours on their phones per day.   (vox-recode). Say 5.

If we add that up over a period of 60 years, that’s

11 years off your life!!!!!!

And if you smoke, add another 10 yrs. Eat fast food and drink? Maybe you’ll make it to 50 years old!

 

Your Invited to a Halloween ZOOM Spooktacular in Delray Beach

 

A Halloween ZOOM Spooktacular 

 

October 28^{th   2019}
                            

At the Enchanted Delray Beach Library!

ABRACADABRA!

Hear ye!

Hear ye!
It's all free!
The young and old and even the wee!

From far and wide and side to side,

all are invited to hear

the scariest tales, 

 you'll bite your nails,

 yer heart will jump like purple whales!

The Enchanted Delray Library invites YOU to a special Spooktacular ZOOM  Halloween treat! 

It occurs not one minute later nor one second earlier but right on the dot, ready or not on October 28th at EXACTLY SEVEN O'CLOCK!  (7:00 pm)

Don't be late, or all will be lost, and goblins and ghouls will hunt you down with werewolves leading the pack. They will seek you out, find where you rest, and bring you screaming back! BOO! 

You must Register  HERE because the Spook count will be high. And we want everyone to get a front-row seat! At seven o'clock, Slightly Spooky stories will begin for kids 6 and up. There will be a 5-minute intermission, and then Super Spooky stories for Teenagers will start!

                                                                         

Let's face it Trick-or-treating is out in the time of COVID. Halloween parties are a maybe. So where did Halloween go this year? Worry not. The Delray Beach Library's got your back. This is the first of its' kind event, organized by our most bewitching librarian Isabella Rowan! 

                                                                                                                 

When is the last time you've sat in a circle in the dark of night in front of a campfire,  dry sticks crackling,  flames revealing shadows of ghosts and monsters all around?  Have you ever built a fort of sheets, and sat in the darkness with your friends and watched as someone put a flashlight under their chin, becoming a creature, a vampire? IF the answer is no, I'm quite sure you've seen enough horror movies to know campfires and sheet forts are the perfect settings to tell scary stories.    

But who could tell such a story, where do they live, what do they know? As luck would have it, there is indeed a storytelling school in Florida- with some of the greatest storytellers in all the land.  One of those storytellers  Linda "Schuyler' Ford, will be joining us for the Delray Beach ZOOM Spooktacular. Linda has been a professional storyteller for over 30 years! In fact, she has storytelling retreats that attract nurses and caregivers, and pubic speakers to learn to tell hypnotic and transformative tales. Who knew? She does parties and weddings and can brighten up even the dullest event.

                                                                                     

 The art of  Storytelling came before the computer, television, radio, books. Storytelling was the only way that man could pass down knowledge to one another. Somehow I lost sight of the art or wasn't looking for it. But like Halloween magic, it just materialized before my eyes. And as a writer, I am signing up for one of her workshops. What better way to learn to pitch a story to a producer than to attend one of Linda "Schuyler' Ford's retreats?  She is described as, "an expressive magician who uses art and words to take listener of wondrous journeys." All true. I bet she rocks a Ted Talk!

               

                                                                           

So gather the family. Here's a secret and sacred recipe for the best Halloween night ever! If you cannot do these things, you can say, sign or imagine them, and the magical effect will be the same!

1.       Sign up for the event!

2.       On the day of, put your computer in the middle of the room and build a sheet fort around it. (make sure it's plugged in)  Or if you have a tent, pitch it with your computer inside.

 

3.       That afternoon get your costumes on and make some Halloween treats or buy some cupcakes or candy. Get messy! Eat lots of sugar, act like a crazy person, and never take a nap. After your dinner of pizza, swedish fish, gummy worms, and chocolate bars run wild until 6:30.

 

4.       At exactly 6:30, get everyone in the house to form a circle, hold hands and say the magic words;

We are here to find the night,
               and give the goblins all a fright!
We'll cry and scream with all our might,
                no matter if we're wrong or right!

5.       Then, everyone must pat their stomach with their left hand; and tap their head with their right hand. Three times. Reverse.

 

6.       Put on the song, "The Monster Mash" and dance dance dance.

After you’ve danced, make a circle, hold hands and say the magic words;

I am jacked up on sugar
here I will stay.
Tomorrow will be another day!

7.       Pull-on the earlobe of the person to your right twice. (gently)                  

8.       Play the song "Let's do the Time Warp again" from the Rocky Horror picture show. Dance!

9.       Now you are ready to go into your tent. Close the lights bring a flashlight, and more candy. I do not want to see your mouth empty. Sign up to the Library and ENTER if you dare!!!!

 

But who is the enchantress that created this magical night?

This, first of its' kind event, was organized by the bewitching librarian Isabella Rowan. Here’s her story. When Isabella was 40 yrs, she found herself divorced and a single mom.  The time had come to spread her wings, but what to do? Well, she knew one thing for sure, as a daughter of two missionaries,  public service flowed through her veins. But who to serve and how?

                    

Isabella Rowan

                

That night, she had a dream that she was a Knight, and was fighting to stop angry people from throwing books into a fire. She woke transformed into a Book Knight! From that moment on, it was her calling to protect all books; ancient and modern, good and bad, near and far, in this language and that, thin or thick, small or tall. She decided to get a Master’s degree in Library sciences and became the most skilled librarian in all the land. 

All she needed was a castle with books she could protect.  But time passed, and Isabella became sad - she was a magician with no home.                                                                                     

      

Then on one rainy day in January 2018, her rescue cat Quito purred the answer in her ear.

 Eureka! Isabella ran to the enchanted Delray Beach library (that had been around since 1913) and spoke to The Director and Queen of the castle. Karen Ronald-who knew how to spot a good witch when she saw one.  Queen Karen welcomed Isabella into the fold.  A perfect match!  In this place, Isabella had a chance to shine. Her creative gift flourished in various programs for all ages, from cooking to writing, Storytime, poetry workshops, computer training, and yoga, to name a few. Yes, indeed, if you were a person of any height and any age Isabella made sure there was a program for you. But then the unexpected happened! Darkness descended upon the land with a virus called COVID, and the people were afraid, and some got sick. No one came to the Library anymore, books got sad, and computers silently wept.  

And as things got worse, Queen Karen Reynolds got frustrated and knew she had to do something. She called a meeting for all the people in her kingdom who worked at the Library who cleaned and protected and volunteered and said,  "We must fight his darkness together. We must make a spell and help the people. We must give them books and programs and make them happy-smart again.”  

And the good witch Isabella clapped her hands with joy and exclaimed, "We can do this. We will do this. We will make the people happy-smart again                                                     

And together with the loyal staff and other Librarian Knights, they began to find ways to invite people into the Library. Today they insist on masks, gloves if you are touching the books and proper social distancing. Unfortunately, there are no in-person programs of any kind, but curbside pick-up available and you can get a virtual library card online!

 

And then a most wonderful surprise, the Library found a way to Zoom all kinds of programs. The people began to return to the Enchanted Delray Beach Library.  They wanted to be happy-smart again! 

                                                                                                                              

But as Halloween approached, it became clear to the book Knight Isabella that the dark days were not over. People could not trick-or-treat or go to parties, so she did what any good witch would do. She and the Queen of the castle wove a spooky spell, and Isabella got an idea. Poof!

 “Let's get a storyteller like Linda "Schuyler" Ford who can tell scary stories for little people, big people, and all people, and let's give them a Halloween treat they'll never forget. Let them dress up, eat their candy, run around crazed, and have a  fright!”

And that's how the Delray  Beach  Spooktacular was born. It's a free event! That's why it's so important you register because many will be attending. All spooks who register must be counted. And ghosts cannot be seen.               

Please help!!!

 

But the darkness of COVID has hurt The Enchanted Delray Beach Library, and they need your help. The castle used to host glamorous parties and book signings and Xmas events to continue to bring Spooktacular's and all their wondrous programs to the people. The Library is a 501 (c) non-profit, so you can give freely because when the dark days fade, we will all need to be happy- smart again. And right now, the smart thing to do is to support the Library with whatever you can. You can go to their website, www.delraybeachlibrary.org, and fill out a form or email the very famous Knight Kae Jonsons, the Director of Development and Communities Relations. She will guide you on your way with magical fairy dust, lots of thanks and love, and good wishes for this holiday season and beyond.  

Kae.Jonsons@delraylibrary.org

 

BOO!

 

The Library is now offering fantastic online courses and virtual library cards so you can be happy-smart again!

Delray Beach Library is located at 100 West Atlantic Ave. Delray Beach Florida 33444
And can be reached at 561 266 0194

The Library is open Mon-Sat 9-5

For more information on storytelling, please check out the Florida Storytelling Association@  flstory.com. They are hosting a Virtual Festival from Jan 28-31, which should be a lot of fun!