More Prattle from Povey

 

  Some will remember that when I bought a new iPhone last December I *through my own fault* lost all the contact info and photo's on my old 'phone, 'Twas frustrating. I took my old bones to a Verizon Store (on University Parkway, Sarasota) to ( as they say in the U.K. ) get it sorted. Get it sorted they did.  Thanks to Eduardo and his patient attention (and because I could supply a couple of passwords) all that had been lost was recovered from the Cloud in about forty minutes. ¡Ole! Eduardo

  They didn't show up.  He sobbed bitterly all the way home 

    Redeemer receives $250,000 gift (headline in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune)

  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malt_loaf#History It was a special treat when I grew up. It's chewy and utterly delicious when eaten "as is", or when spread with good butter; cream cheese; or jam. Oh lucky me.  I've found an American distributor.  I've been scoffing it down, remembering that taste is a powerful source of memory. There are variants in some Scandinavian Countries.

  This notebook has been taking its rest on a shelf in my bedroom for lo these many years. It dates to 2008 when it was given to me at a Credo Conference in Boynton Beach FL Credo is a child of the Church Pension Fund. It provides professional development conferences for active and retired Clerics.  Mine was for retirees. We covered topics such as physical health, mental health, finances, spiritual life &c I don't remember the details but I know that I found it to be worthwhile. I also remember that 2008 was the year of the great financial crisis. In an idle moment I browsed the note book to find that I had taken it to three of my great international trips; and taken notes. Back came wonderful memories of Ecuador, Australia and Vietnam; and terrific people.  Unfortunately none of the trips were dated. I fulfilled a plan to visit five major continents -  Europe, North America, South America, Australia and Asia I'd been to the Lebanon which is geographically in Asi...

  Chili with Beans,   PLUS leftover    potatoes and leeks which I had boiled then blended. The spuds added a creamy texture.

  So I did

  Jello/Jelly made to the instructions on the packet; then mixed with evaporated or condensed milk. My oldest sister Maureen recalls that the Povey kids ate this in our youth.  It was a cheap and cheerful dessert. Working class people in the U.K. do not eat desserts . They eat afters . I made some today with condensed milk and added blackberries as a tasty garnish. Such a sweet treat with next to no nutritional value. Who cares!

 

  ACE/DG hardware store 17th St, Sarasota. I needed no more than a roll of masking tape.  Alas I had but $4 in my pocket.  The tape cost $5  As I wandered out, I told the young staff man who had directed me to the right aisle that I did not have enough cash. "How much are you short?" he asked.   I told him.  He pulled a dollar bill out of his pocket without hesitation and thrust it into my hand. I asked him his name.  It is Angel.  I said "do you know what your name means?   He replied, "do you know what it means?'  Touche! (It means "messenger"), Then we conferred a bit more, agreeing that in the bible angels do not have wings. Only Cherubim and Seraphim have them.  They are awesome and scary beings. As I cashed out, I called Angel back.  "You need" I said, "to know that my name is Michael.  Michael is an Archangel" H e  got the humour! " Shop Locally"    It's one of my mantras.  I eschew the...

  In the morning I was with the Sarasota Orchestra for their open rehearsal of Ravel's Bolero. After a brief visit to my home to attends to Cooper's needs I was off to Sarasota's Temple Emman-u-el for their monthly Lunch with the Rabbis:- Fellowship, Food and a Programme. Peter Yarrows's death had been announced and we spent some time reflecting on his legacy  (the great and the sordid). Then we had a sing-a-long with Peter Paul and Mary on the big screen. What fun!  One hundred or so over seventies going back to their twenties. A woman near me was grooving with glee.  As we were leaving the building I offered her a compliment " You are an unreconstructed Hippie". She accepted it as a compliment.   Her friends agreed with me" Do sing along with us!  Blowing in the Wind https://youtu.be/9Osbub_iTZg

  I am a financial supporter of the Sarasota Orchestra.  It's a modest enough amount each month, but enough qualify for special events. One such was an open rehearsal which I attended today. The orchestra was rehearsing the weekend programme:- "South Korean conductor Shiyeon Sung makes her Sarasota Orchestra debut, leading a program featuring Lili Boulanger’s  D’un matin de printemps , Dvořák’s Symphony No. 6, and Ravel’s iconic  Boléro . (from the S.O. blurb)" This morning's rehearsal was for  Ravel's  Boléro,   and Boulanger's   D’un matin de printemps. (Sadly no  Dvořák!) Boléro , take it or leave it goes on and on.  I heard it twice. I noted how much of the work of the strings is by plucking not bowing. The were the Work Horses! And how instruments such as the Bassoon and the Tuba have starring roles. Shiyeon Sung has a soft voice so it was not always easy to hear her instructions. But she was getting what she wanted! I h...

  Yesterday (7th January) saw me having a follow up consultation at the offices of Sarasota Lung Associates with   Joseph Zoller., PA-C Specialties:  Physician Assistant, Certified Graduate School:  Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Science In the absence of my pulmonologist Dr. Mazalewski I was more than happy to consult with Joe (and he prefers to be called). Like Dr. M he is unhurried, and as anxious to listen as to speak. As the consultation drew to an end I asked "Are you from New England?"   There was nothing in his accent which betrayed him.  Rather it was his manner, his affect, his way of being which triggered my question. I got it right!  Joe was born and bred in Concord, New Hampshire. It was an amiable time.  As we walked together to the discharge desk Joe said "now for the check-out". I grinned and said, "I didn't realise that my condition was that grave". ---------------------------------------------------------...

  Please don't offer me Chocolate Cake, Brownies, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Chocolate Ice Cream or Mousse and the like. I cannot stomach them. This is well known and has led to the canard that I don't like chocolate. 'Tis a half truth.  As it is I don't like chocolate which is mixed into other foods. On the other hand I can eat and enjoy chocolate bars. Enjoy?  It's more like tolerate when it comes to the well-known brands such as Hershey and Cadbury. They are distinctly inferior products:  too sweet,  and lacking in cocao.  But then there are quality chocolate products from Germany, Belgium and the United States of America. The United States? For example   my friends Laurie and Patrick visited me from Massachusetts for the New Year holiday, bringing with them Taza Chocolate,  which is crafted in their home City of Somerville. It's not good. It's GREAT!  Here is a wee bit about TAZA We make perfectly unrefined, stone ground chocolate from ...

  On afternoons when I take Cooper to our local 17th Street Dog Park he will hook up with his play fight buddy Brutus. They'll go at it for as long as half an hour, with an occasional break for a drink of water. Caroline (Brutus' mother) and I take enormous pleasure as we watch their playful shenanigans.

  He likes it

These are   Fuyus, otherwise known as sweet or non-astringent persimmons, are moderately sweet, with a firm flesh.  'Tis a short season  (Sep - Dec).  Unlike many other fruits they are not available year-round. I like that.  As in the case of my favourite vegetable (Delicata Squash) it gives me  something for which I can look forward, knowing that it's "just for now" 

  This came in the mail a few days ago.  Law abiding citizen as I am, I trotted off to my Veterinarian to pay the fee and renew Cooper's licence. The staff were puzzled.  Copper and I hooked up in June 2024. Surely he did not need a new licence after six months? I turned the renewal card over.   If only I had paid attention.  The renewal was for Zion, who died in Jan 2024. Then I compounded my error.   It was clearly my ditsy day (I hope not year!).  "But" I said, "you never gave me a tag for Cooper.  Is he licenced?". The nice man rummaged through my Cooper adoption folder which I had taken with me. If only I'd been more careful, or less anxious. Yes , the Cooper tag was in the folder.

  Hoppin' John is a semi traditional American dish for New Year's Eve or New Year's Day https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoppin'_John I forgot to get the necessary ingredients in time for the Eve So I made my own cheating version for Today.  'Twas pretty darn good.

 Entirely at peace with himself and with the world.   I do not know his name