More Prattle from Povey

My birthday of course!                           My second birthday cake.  You can't blow out sparklers.                          I was at a cookout party with my friends Donna and Ashley.   The debut of my new Tee Shirt.  I wore it when I took Z to the Groomers.  The staff were tickled pink!  The Photo' was taken a bit later at D and A's home. Another birthday gift. Your best friends know your favourite meats.  When I eat out at Sarasota's excellent Siam Gul f restaurant I always order Duck Breast as the meat in a Thai Salad, or in a Thai Curry.  It is always cooked to perfection, with juicy meat and crispy skin.

There is a bible verse which says:   They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace. (Jeremiah 6:14) That verse has been in my mind with reference to the COVID 19 Pandemic.   I take it out of context to say "They have said 'the pandemic is over' 'the pandemic is over" when the pandemic is not over". A case in point 1.   A friend of mine was admitted to the hospital last Thursday 26th May.  He's had the two Moderna vaccinations, plus one booster shot. Due to his general weakness he has not left his home in years, except for medical appointments .  But he has acquired  a COVID infection whilst  in the Hospital!    Despite all the scrupulous protocols hospitals can be breeding grounds for infections. A case in point 2.  via the Centers for Disease Control we read this in our local newspaper.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is once again recommending that ...

  We couldn't get together on "The Day" so I was the guest of my friend Ashley for a birthday celebration today. We went to Siegfried's German Restaurant on Fruitville Rd, Sarasota -  which was my choice.  The food was good, but not great.  My yardstick for GREAT restaurants is "meLANge" on Main Street, Sarasota. Brigham Young who led the Latter Day Saints  (Mormons) from Independence, Missouri on their long trek west after the murder of Joseph Smith, is supposed to have exclaimed "This is the Place" when they reached what is now Salt Lake City. When I drive to (or past) meLANge I say or think "This is the place!", Ashley is thoughtful and creative.  Her birthday gift for me is a Tee Shirt, but not any old Tee Shirt. Yes, that is the true Zion. Ash sent a photo' of my beloved "Mr Z." to an outfit in New York where it was transferred to the shirt. WHAT FUN! As we walk out I will be identified as "Zion's Human!" ...

  Broccoli and Cheese. Some for me and some to share .

  Whether or not you live in Sarasota or Manatee Counties in Florida; or if you live in Florida; or if you live anywhere in the U.S.A.; or even if you live in any other English language Countries you will recognise the problem. "How in a world, where computerisation rules the roost, do you communicate with big businesses  by 'phone?" In some cases you'll be expected to hang on the line to make your connection for many minutes or even hours;  all the while listening to mindless muzak. Better businesses have a good plan.  If ya press a given key they will call you when an agent is available. Rotten businesses  will not as much help by even  posting a 'phone number. Instead you will be asked to choose from a variety of on-line options. FPL  (Florida Power and Light) falls into this category.   I have a minor dispute with FPL about a bill.  "D'ya think that I could talk about this with a person?  NOT A CHANCE. I spent more tha...

MY BIRTHDAY.   I call it my "Me Day".  I love it.  One year I was able to have celebrations for eight consecutive days, and why not!  In the Church business we call that an Octave. Today  (May 26th) was my 78th.    It was wonderful to get greetings via Face Book from friends who apart from Face Book would not have known that it was my "me day".  I love it. It's been a quiet celebration.  No big parties - thank goodness. I was to have had dinner with my bff.  That's been postponed until Saturday because of a crisis in her family today. Of course I have also received some old fashioned birthday cards. When and if they arrive early I save them,  and open them on the day itself. Not a few have had Canine themes.  My favourite was from my brother Martyn and his wife Wendy in the U.K.    It made me grin!

  I try so hard not to do business with Amazon and Wal-Mart.  My concerns about their labour policies and monopolistic practices out weigh their convenience factors. I've needed to get a new egg poaching pan having destroyed my old one by leaving it on the heat long after the eggs were done. The retail "go to" sources for kitchen ware are scarce.  Of course there is Target which has  pots and pans for any and all bits of kitchen ware - any and all except for egg poaching pans. Sarasota has "Sur la Table" and "Williams-Sonoma".   They are above and beyond my budget. And then there is "Bed, Bath, and Beyond"  - what an odd name:-  what is in the "beyond"? It turns out that egg poaching pads are. I ordered one at 3:00 p.m. on Monday last.  It was delivered via "Door Dash" at 6:40 p.m.  That's faster than the big-bad  A+a+on. A couple of caveats.  1.  I live just about four miles from the local "B-B and B" Store....

  In about 1943  my mothe r gave birth to a daughter.  She was named Sylvia. Sylvia died in a matter of days; she had severe Spina Difida (sp?). My mother never forgot Sylvia. I, born in 1944,  grew up knowing that I had a sister who I'd never met. A sister gave birth to a healthy son. His name was Jack . He died at three or so months from what is called "sudden crib death".  Jack has never been forgotten. A brother and his wife lost a son named Thomas. He was born prematurely.  I happened to arrive in England on the day of his birth. I baptised him in the neo-natal department of a Bristol Hospital.  I said the prayers at his burial a week later.  He is always remembered by his Mum and Dad  (and me). A niece was carrying three children at the same time .  Two were twins, the other was not.  (These things happen).  One of the twins died before birth.   She was delivered and given a decent and proper burial....

  Pagoda Plant  (Clerodendrum Paniculatum). Cut down the ground in Autumn, up they come in Spring. Drought resistant.  Spread like crazy underground. Long and spindly branches.  Drought resistant.  Tiny blossoms - great butterfly attractors.  Also attract a small bird  (the ilk of which I know not) who peck away at the branches, eating something of which I know nothing.  The birds are so skittish that a photo' is impossible.

If you have no concept of  hand cranking a car when the battery died - believe me I've done it -  you'll find it hard to believe that "once upon a time" car windows were operated manually, not electrically. Such hard work! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- My first car was a British Ford.  I was twenty three years old, and was the first member of my immediate family to own a car.  My mother rejoiced because her oldest son soon became her personal Taxi service! I knew that I wanted a Ford.  I have no idea why, but I'd been obsessed with Ford Cars long before I could be an owner.  This was odd because BritFords were the least innovative of all the U.K. car manufactures (remember them?!).  BritFords hung on to three speed gear boxes long after four speed were common.  BritFords also had pneumatically powered windscreen/shield wipers,  A good idea until you stopped at a traffic li...

  ....  cars that could be hand-cranked.  One could hand crank a car when the battery was dead. This is a Russian designed and made LADA  with a hand crank. My first (pre owned) car was a U.K. made compact Ford which I bought in about 1967.  I can't remember if it was an Anglia; a Popular; or a Prefect. My brother Martyn has a better memory for such details. I remember that it had a three speed gear box  (Ford of Britain was very late in introducing four speed cars). I also remember that the car  could be hand-cranked to start the engine on cold mornings, or when the battery was dead. I did it more than once with a friend or relative in the car, all ready to depress the accelerator  should there be the chance of a spark. 'Twas a risky endeavor.   The hand-crank could fail, making the hand crank spin back hard, with the absolute risk that one's wrist could be broken. That never happened to me.  Phew! But I would not want to...

  Well I Never I've wondered why, when I pour 8oz of water into the Coffee Maker I get 6oz of the hot good stuff. I thought that maybe the fine ground coffee was absorbing a lot of liquid.    Didn't seem plausible. This morning I discovered what had been happening.  The reservoir was leaking.   Well I never. I thought about putting some of the  well ground metal we (used to) put into our car radiator as a temporary fix for leak/s. Instead I went to Target to get another  Mr./Mr./Ms. Coffee.

  Why are mattresses always on sale?  Why do they never have a price tag? Why are Furniture Stores always having Inventory Sales? What does "Every Thing Must Go" mean? Why is renting a car shrouded in mystery? First the good news.  It seems that car rental companies are no longer pressing customers to purchase expensive and un-necessary additional  Insurance. The "Upgrade" scam continues.  Last Friday at the Enterprise Logan Airport facility I was told that they did not have the Mitsubishi Car I had  ordered in stock. Well maybe.  "I'll check downstairs" said the Clerk "maybe we have one there".  WOT?!nge, Then he began to talk upgrades.  "NO"  - my answer was well rehearsed.  Then another Clerk asked if I'd take the Nissan Versa  which was coincidentally parked nearby.  "Only" I said "if there is no extra charge".  Their wasn't.  Back at Logan on Monday when I returned my car the Clerk told me that there...

  My Condo. at Glen Oaks Ridge, Sarasota FL  is about 50/60 years old. It was built by the first class Paver Family. Mine is the end unit of a single story triplex.  I have a nice view of a large retention pond -  lots of avian life to enjoy. Given its age the kitchen is small.  Some owners have taken down two non-loadbearing walls to create more spacious space.  I could not afford such a venture; nor did I want my life disrupted for a year or more. But the kitchen needed sprucing up. Last Oct/Nov my splendid handyman repainted the tired old cabinets in a lovely grey which he and I had chosen. In late Feb and March he replaced the battered old Formica counter tops with new; in an ocean sparkling Cobalt Blue which I had chosen. The Blue and the Grey! Today the Maytag Dishwasher which I had ordered in early March was installed. I am so very well pleased with a kitchen which has been spruced up, not modernized. A great space to store food, to  cook,...

  I have often said that a Minister's most important ministry is to help enable connections .   "Pointing out the ways by which people might connect with God; with other people of faith;, and with the Creation.  I've done a lot of that connecting for many years.  For instance I stayed in touch with my third and fourth grade teacher (Miss Jean Smith) for very many years.  I would visit her every time I went home to Bristol. As an adult I could never call her Jean.  She was forever Miss Smith. So part of my excellent adventure in Massachusetts was to sustain connections.  You've already read about my tender visit with Gwen Sears -  the quintessential Deacon; as was the late Alan Rogers of St Boniface Church, Sarasota. .  Last Friday I drove from Boston Logan Airport to Northampton, MA where they live, to connect with my friends Joe and Dee. It was a horrendous journey on the Mass Pike.  I arrived at their home much later than I h...

  My visit to Massachusetts was of necessity very brief. Allegiant Air (a budget airline) has the only direct flight between SRQ and BOS. From SRQ to BOS on Fridays; from BOS to SRQ on Mondays.  I used them, knowing that they would be "no frills flights", at about 35% of the cost of a Delta Flight  and  NO CHANGING IN ATLANTA!  but with an all too brief visit  Many of you know that I was in the Greater Boston area for the special services to thank God for the splendid new Parish House complex at St James's Cambridge  But I could not pass up the chance to spend time in Western Mass. with visiting dear friends who enhanced my journey when I lived and ministered there. At the top of my list was Gwen Sears who now lives in a retirement community in Lenox, MA. I have known Gwen since 1975.  Our friendship blossomed when I was the Rector at St. Stephen's Parish, Pittsfield MA   (1984-2000) Gwen is a mother, grandmother and...

  I've made cosmetic improvements to my kitchen.  Cabinets repainted, Counters changed.  (The Blue and The Grey!). The old dishwasher had to go.  The panel at the bottom, behind which are "the works" was rusting and leaking. In March I went to my favourite local  appliance store ( I refuse to patronise Home Depot and Lowes  -  who ultimately take money out of the community, I  favour of the locals from where  money stay in the community.) The salesperson at Mullets told me that because of  supply chain issues I could not expect delivery until mid-May.   It's almost mid May.  True to her word the salesperson phoned today to say that my appliance had arrived.  The installation is slated for Wednesday next. That crummy gap will shine with stainless steel!

Many of the hymns we sing in mainline Churches are Victorian, or older.   There are a few from the early part of the Twentieth Century. Here are two from the final quarter of that Century which makes them modern(ish) ------------------------------------------------------------------- The Servant Song. Written and composed by New Zealander Richard Gillard in 1976/77.  Could be based on the scripture text "Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ". We need each other. https://youtu.be/cv7lnTcuvcU The Summons. Written by Scotsman John Bell (a member of the Iona Community) in 1987. The tune is based on a traditional Scots melody. Based on the scripture text "Jesus said "follow me". https://youtu.be/32jWTAIHXgE

  They are my favourite in the bean family. Their skins are tougher than green beans or kidney beans, so they have to be well cooked (but I still like mine al dente). They are hard to find in supermarkets so I was glad to see them at Yoder's Market on Bahia Vista St. They weren't wrapped in saran wrap such as  broccoli in my local supermarket.  Nor were they on a styrofoam tray -  (same local market) for two zucchini squashes. My beans were loose and on a wooden tray.  Ready to be picked over. Easy to buy just enough. Flavourful with a deeper taste than other beans of the same family.

  I could not restrain myself.  I walked into Sarasota's Bookstore 1 in their new premises.   I exclaimed "This Is Gorgeous" and so it is. Bookstore 1 was founded by a retired Ohio school teacher, Georgia Court  in 2011 when the only  remaining Indy Bookstore in Sarasota went out of business. Despite COVID 19, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble,  Bookstore 1 is flourishing.  So much so that they have moved to new and more spacious premises on South Pineapple..  Woot Woot, an Indy Bookstore which is flourishing!  It's a place to do business with staff who love books! New premises outside New premises inside,  Filled with space and light, I was there to pick up a book I'd ordered:  "The Bright Ages" It's a splendid book, published in late 2021.  It effectively demonstrates that our High School Teachers in the 1950's and 60's got it wrong.  There were no Dark Ages. There will and always will be Changin...

  My local Publix Supermarket was very busy today with Mothers' Day Shoppers. As a consequence there were no queues at the Pharmacy.  I was in and out in fifteen minutes in getting my second COVID booster City life makes it easy for middle class people such as I to get such services. It is so  much more difficult in predominantly Black skinned  districts such as our Newtown  -  a food and pharmacy desert.  

  Today as I was sowing a "waist expansion" button on my pants/trousers I remembered the sock darning tool Mum had.  It was not as fancy as the one above, and it had a longer handle.  I am straining my memory to remember if we called it a mushroom, or a toadstool.  I learned to use it when I darned my own woolen socks.  I am not saying that I did it well. I suppose that these days only fervent hikers (and maybe Infantry soldiers) wear woolen socks. Perhaps firefighters too. My button sewing was a a bit tough.  I had to push the needle through two layers of cloth.  I needed one of these: In the absence of a thimble I improvised with the wooden handle of a paper knife. Speaking of thimbles  (as one does), did you ever know a person who collected them?                                   Franklin Mint Thimble Collection Did those collections ever in...

I looked at a wee note on my desk and immediately thought "that looks like some jottings from Mum". Of course it wasn't.  Mum died in 2001.  But it was her handwriting from my hand. That's rather nice. My jottings didn't scan well but you may able to make out words such as Sojourner Truth, Shay's Rebellion, Calvin C They have an American City  in common . But which one?

  I ran out of Coffee early this morning. Let me say that again:  "I ran out of Coffee this morning. Know what that means?   Coffeeholics do.  I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. I stifled my sobs.  Then I stopped at a 7-11 on my way home from  the park for COFFEE!!!! I took a couple of sips, and used the rest as drain cleaner. Now  I know why I never stop at a 7-11 for a cup of Coffee.

Most of my family members in England are traditionalists when it comes to Sunday Lunch; most often referred to as the "Sunday Roast". Be it Chicken, Lamb, Pork or Beef it is always accompanied by roasted potatoes (occasionally "jacket potatoes" - i.e. spuds baked in their skin, or jacket); two or three different vegetables, and Yorkshire Pudding with Beef. The tradition will live on.  Hail a Sunday Roast cooked by my fifteen years old honorary great niece  -  her first solo attempt. I am so very proud of her.

  From today's Guardian Newspaper.  The opening line of a  story about a business leader: "Dressed in a T-shirt and casual sweater with a tan and slicked back hair". Did the T-shirt have a tan and slicked back hair? Maybe it was the casual sweater. Or perhaps both? Is there a shortage of commas in the supply chain?

  At Home.   Roasted Cauliflower and Portobello Mushrooms.   ( Mushrooms were well drizzled with Worcestershire Sauce ) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Away. You don't have to be a Vegan or Vegetarian to enjoy this Enchilada from Trader Joe's.