my life: Healthy Kitchen Changes........Pressure Cookers Are IN!
- 02/14/12 08:02 AM
Healthy Kitchen Changes........Pressure Cookers Are IN! Years ago, when I lived in Germany, I owned a pressure cooker......heck, everybody did! We cooked everything in it as well............that braten was first browned in the frying pan and then popped into the pressure cooker for meat that fell apart. Well, we are making some serious changes in the way we eat and those changes include NO canned goods and LOTS of beans, lentils and peas. So it just made sense to purchase a new pressure cooker. After doing a little research, I turned to one of my favorite places to purchase things....Amazon.com! I … (6 comments)
my life: February - A Busy Month In This Family
- 02/10/12 04:45 AM
February is a busy month in this family! It always has been. Between birthdays, anniversaries, Valentine's day....so many dates to remember. The month starts out with a bang on the combo date of Ground Hogs Day and my brother's birthday. Then it moves along to three dates that are easy to remember since they go in order: my (now deceased) mother-in-law's birthday on the 7th, her sister's birthday (Tante Hilde) on the 17th, my son Sascha's birthday on the 27th! Pretty amazing how those dates fell in line! Add to that my (also now deceased) father's birthday on the 13th, Valentine's … (9 comments)
my life: Gone Fishin' - Sometimes You Need A Day!
- 02/07/12 07:29 AM
Gone Fishin' - Sometimes You Need A Day and today was that day! Ronnie decided that he wanted to go fishing today and since I did not have anything pressing on my list, we took off early this morning! It proved to be a nice day as it got toward noon but did not take long for the clouds to return. Seems a cold front is moving through bringing today's high down to 'only' 78 degrees. So we enjoyed a little sun for a short amount of time. Seems the fish knew that the weather was turning and that it … (9 comments)
my life: Advertising - The Key To Success
- 01/09/12 07:15 AM
Advertising is indeed the key to success! As we begin 2012 I have decided to make a few changes to my advertising beginning with my new and improved business card:
I took a photo of Clearwater Beach Florida and uploaded it to VistaPrint. I then uploaded my own photo, company logo, MLS/Realtor logo and added other information I wanted to present. Last year my business cards had palm trees with sand and surf. I think this cleaner photo looks more professional. My next move is to have perforated vinyl window graphics installed on the back window of my SUV. … (16 comments)
That is where Herbert, the father of my two children, comes from and one of several places in Germany that I lived during my 17 years there.
These photos were taken almost thirty years ago, when my father (in the red sweater in the first photo and with me in the photo above) was visiting us there. My own children, now 31 and soon to be 33, were little adorable youngsters back then.
It is amazing how rapidly time flies. Papa is … (4 comments)
my life: Charles Rutenberg Realty Welcomed In 2012
- 01/02/12 08:40 AM
Charles Rutenberg Realty welcomed in 2012 with a wonderful office luncheon. I consider myself lucky to work with such a professional group of people. John and Joann Nestor are our owners and they go out of their way to make us feel like one big family!
John Rurkowski, our on-site broker here in Clearwater, is always available and the ladies in the office (Pauline DeKeyser, JoAnn Roberts and Kristen Conover) comprise the most efficient office staff I have ever worked with!
Last Friday there was a wonderful turnout for our end-of-the-year party! It was also an opportunity to … (3 comments)
my life: Christmas - A Time For Family
- 12/27/11 02:30 AM
Christmas is a time for family and that is exactly how I spent my Christmas - with my partner Ron and with my daughter, her future hubby and my wonderful granddaughter. In addition to that, I got to skyp with my son who is spending the Christmas Holidays with his dad, step-mom and two half brothers in Germany. It was good seeing all of their smiling faces and getting to share time with them. Family is why we work as hard as we do and what makes this life so wonderful. I cannot imagine going through this life without my fantastic … (10 comments)
my life: Twas The Day Before Christmas...........And I Have To Get Another Contract Signed
- 12/24/11 12:13 AM
Twas The Day Before Christmas.....and I have to get another contract signed! That is my tune for the day. I am meeting a client at my office in an hour to give him the paperwork to take home and get signatures. He will get it back to my office on Monday. I love using electronic signatures but this couple has neither computer nor printer and they also don't have the same schedule. He is off work for the next week and they can't both be at one place for me to get signatures.......what to do? He will pick up the paperwork, take … (6 comments)
We lived in a little town just outside of Erlangen, in northern Bavaria, in a section of the country called Franken. Erlangen is a university town - I had worked on the university as a bilingual secretary in the Department of Organic Chemistry until my first child was born. I had many friends on the university and it was through them that I learned of something really wonderful that takes place in … (0 comments)
Most of the dried fruit comes from the health food store but a few things are from Publix. The dried fruits are figs, dates, pineapple, mango and papaya. This gives it a typical tropical flavor which I think is great for Florida! In Germany they use dry pears, apples, plums, raisins - so consider this Schwaebisches Schnitzbrot with a tropical flare!
All the fruit is cut into SMALL pieces - an example of how small I mean is that I take each dried fig, cut off the stem and then … (4 comments)
my life: Conquistadora By Esmeralda Santiago - An Excellent Book
- 11/29/11 12:44 AM
Conquistadora, written by Esmeralda Santiago, is one book you can certainly put on your list of excellent books to give this holiday season. The story begins in Spain and is about a young girl, Ana Cubillas. Ana spends hours pouring over books in her grandfather's library and there she reads about a relative who, three generations earlier, had traveled to the New World with Juan Ponce de Leon. Once Ana discovers that the twin brothers Ramon and Inocente have a family sugar plantation in Puerto Rico, Ana convinces the young men that their fortune can be made there. The book is … (2 comments)
my life: Christmas Is All About Family
- 11/28/11 12:59 AM
Christmas is all about family and nothing shows it like this photo I took last Christmas of my son and daughter making German Christmas cookies together in Corinna's kitchen.
This year Sascha will be spending Christmas in Berlin, where he is in graduate school, so we will be looking at these photos and missing him!
My little granddaughter will be the only one assisting her mother in the kitchen with those Christmas cookies this year but our thoughts will also be with Sascha - he will spend part of the holidays with his father, step-mom and half brothers in … (12 comments)
my life: Have You Met Cinderella?
- 11/20/11 11:29 PM
Have you met Cinderella? I have and I had to share this little Cinderella with everyone! My precious granddaughter decided that she was going to dress up like Cinderella for Halloween - complete with special shoes, jewelery, the works. This is one Cinderella that really enjoys dressing up for the various holidays! Children and grandchildren are what give us a reason for living and I am extremely blessed to have a fantastic son and an equally fantastic daughter. That daughter is the mother of Cinderella, my Little Princess!
As we start the Thanksgiving week, it is a great time … (1 comments)
my life: Taking Property Photos With My Little Munchkin
- 10/26/11 02:46 AM
While out taking photos of properties this week I had to pick up my granddaughter since we were meeting her mother to purchase her wedding dress.......did you know that it takes over 4 months for them to get the dress in once you order it? Talk about planning in advance......
I digress......when I saw how cute my little Munchkin looked in her Halloween outfit I had to take a couple of photos with her in my property photos! I just cannot get over how TALL this little one is getting to be...........she is going to be a tall woman like … (2 comments)
It began today and will take place on a regular basis from now on. Thank you for the idea ActiveRain! It was so much fun, meeting MORE of our ActiveRain family. Above is Jeanne Gavish (that would be the stunning redhead), me (barbarajo) across from her, Silvia Dukes next to me in stripes and Cyndee Haydon in blue with the hat on. That is Steve Fingerman in the red and black pullover and Diana Lisinski next to him, turned away from the camera. Kwee Huset is next to her. Kwee … (9 comments)
my life: Just Between Us Girls!
- 09/06/11 08:55 AM
Just between us girls means just that, so all you guys that 'just had to click' will be disappointed with this one since it is about a couple of wonderful items I mix up on my own for hair and skin care. Rather than spending a fortune on pre-made hair and skin products that cost a small fortune, I make my own. It is something I started doing years ago, in Germany. Over there you can go to the pharmacy and get essential oils and dried herbs for almost any concoction that natural healers have ever used. Since I love … (9 comments)
my life: DSW For Shoes.........A Girl Has To Go Shopping !
- 08/31/11 02:13 AM
Port Charlotte was my destination yesterday and I got there about 2 hours before I was so meet my friend, so I headed to the mall. My destination was the DSW Shoe Warehouse. That used to be my favorite place to shop for shoes and since the nearest one up in my area is all the way over in North Tampa, I never go. The Tampa traffic is simply more than I want to deal with. So I spent a little over an hour in DSW Shoe Warehouse and came home with 4 new pair of shoes! That is what … (5 comments)
my life: Heading South For The Day.........Port Charlotte Here I Come
- 08/30/11 01:59 AM
I am heading south for the day.....it is going to be a day trip down to Port Charlotte to visit a dear friend of mine, Geri Milinski. I will be traveling over the Skyway Bridge, which connects Pinellas County with Manatee County here on the Gulf Coast! The last time I was down that way was 2007, when I lived there, so this trip is long overdue. Let's keep our fingers crossed and pray to the Rain Gods that I have good weather for this trip since it is a little over two hours in each direction. Naturally I will be … (11 comments)
If you have no idea where this is, it is Nuremberg Germany and this is the Pegnitz River. I have been in this very spot hundreds of times and of all the places in the world that I have seen, THIS is the one place that pulls my soul to it the most.
I don't know what it is about that top photo, but from the first time I stood there, I felt that I had been there before. This is the Heilig Geist … (6 comments)
my life: Things I Learned In Germany
- 08/23/11 09:51 AM
Things I learned in Germany.......When I moved to Germany back in 1972 I experienced something that was akin to going back in time. Not everybody had a phone, not everybody had a car - for that matter, most people did not simply turn on the hot water faucet and have hot water. I remember telling my brother when he first visited us that he would have to wait until we heated the water by putting wood into the area below the water tank and starting a fire. Then we had to wait for the water to get hot.......he thought I was … (44 comments)
Having grown up in south Tampa and lived here in Pinellas County for the last 30+ years, I know the area well! I am here to assist you in all of your real estate needs.
Give me a call today at 727-755-3292 or send an e-mail to barbarajo@barbarajo.com. Be sure to visit my web site: www.barbarajo.com
Ich spreche Deutsch!
Healthy Kitchen Changes........Pressure Cookers Are IN! Years ago, when I lived in Germany, I owned a pressure cooker......heck, everybody did! We cooked everything in it as well............that braten was first browned in the frying pan and then popped into the pressure cooker for meat that fell apart.
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