Povey Prattle

Friday 14th Dec 2012. TPA –DEN-PHX Visit for two days with my dear friend Joyce Thornburg in PHX Sunday 16th Dec 2012 PHX – TPA Stay overnight at La Quinta Inn near TPA Monday 17th Dec 2012 morning Lunch in Tampa. FL  with my beloved friends Michelle Holmes and Derrick Jackson, from Cambridge MA. They will be in the area because Derrick’s nephew will receive his Eagle Scout award. Monday 17th Dec 2012 afternoon.   To SRQ and a joyful reunion with my dog Penne. Back in touch with you on Monday evening

I am taking a wee trip away from Friday 14th December 2012 until Monday 17th December 2012. (More about this tomorrow) I planned the trip three weeks ago.  But I neglected to pay attention to a few details. 1. I forgot to suspend my newspaper delivery. 2. I forgot to suspend mail delivery. 3. I did not make arrangements for cat care. Oh my! Fear not. After 6 ½ years living at Glen Oaks Ridge, SRQ I have discovered the blessing of having good neighbours. SO....  at very short notice and after a couple of conversations 1. My neighbour  Barbara will retrieve my newspaper from my driveway on Saturday, Sunday and Monday mornings. Barbara does not subscribe to our local paper so I have told her to enjoy it for three days. 2. Another neighbour Kathy will stop by my home on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings to make a fuss of the cats, to refresh their water bowls, and to give them their evening treats.  Kathy will also retrieve my mail...

Photo's via my friend Bill Byers .  He and I see each other most mornings as I walk with my dog Penne and he walks his dog Maggie at sunrise. . Most of these photo's were taken by Bill using his   iPhone. They show the Lakes at Glen Oaks Manor where Bill lives, and Glen Oaks Ridge where I live. I enjoy the morning light and I am grateful that Bill took and shared these photo's. .

Yesterday (Dec 10th 2012) I went to the locally owned pet food etc store (Holistic for Pets in Sarasota) to buy some bags of dried food for Penne my dog and for Adelaide and Ada my cats. I choose to use locally owned stores in the hope that some of my dollars are retained in my community. At the checkout I paid for the food, and for some “poop bags”. The clerk/assistant rang up my purchases and then said “thank you for being so low maintenance”. I was not sure what she meant, so I asked “what do you mean?” “Oh” she replied, “so many of our customers are very high maintenance" (which being interpreted means “hard to please” ). To be truthful I am not always a low maintenance person.  I am often very hard to please. But I have a great respect for those who work in retail stores. They are very often underpaid and undervalued. So I do my best to be kind and gracious to retail clerks/ assistants. I encourage my readers to “shop locally” whenever possible and to be...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advance_Australia_Fair So, this is a National Anthem which never caught on. Ne’er mind about the Anthem, it’s incidental. But do mind about Australia. It’s a fabulous Country/Nation/Continent. I was there a year ago. On Dec 10th 2011 I was visiting my friends Andrew and Felicity McGowan in Melbourne. On that day I took a Ferry from Melbourne down to Williamstown. I could not resist that trip since I know of only two places called “Williamstown”:   - this  one in the Australian State of Victoria, the other one in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. More important than the two places called Williamstown is that I utterly enjoyed being in Australia. I visited the (under-rated) and gorgeous City of Adelaide. My days in Melbourne were delightful (it’s a fabulous City). And (of course) I spent some time in the “tourist trap” City of Sydney. A year later I am drenched in Australian memories. I would love to return there. Should yo...