Povey Prattle

Salmagundi  I like this word.  The wonderful St. James's Cambridge MA parishioner Anne R used it when she was the very able editor of the parish newsletter. +++ A Swedish woman,  with the improbable Nordic name of ":Randi" lives in the nearby Glen Oaks Garden Condominiums.  She is a total sweetheart and we have gentle  conversations when we meet on our walks.  In the old fashioned way I bow to her and she curtsies to me. I have not seen Randi for many months. This gives me cause for concern, and I worry lest she is sick or has passed from this life. "Trouble is" that I do not know her last name, and that she lives in a development which has five three storey buildings with a total of at least 150 units - thus making it improbable that I could track her down. I hope that she is in good health and that we will encounter each other ere long. +++ I had a lovely 'phone chat with a dear Pittsfield MA friend - (Gwen Sears) - today.  Gwen is ...

1. Arithmetic. Dear JMP Please remember that 725 - 100 = 625  (not 525). That being noted, you now know why when balancing your check/cheque book there was a $100 discrepancy. Be grateful that the error was in your favour. Yours faithfully, JMP --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Duty. I have been called for Jury service at the Sarasota FL Superior Court next Monday. In truth I welcome this opportunity for civic duty. It's better to be in a Country where trials are heard before a Jury of one's peers than to be in a land in which Judges make decisions without "lay" input. I have such mixed feelings about this: (a)  I want to do my duty  (b)  I want to have good care for my darling dog.  My usual dog-care friends cannot take care of Penne on Monday:-  R and C are dog-sitting another pooch,  R and L will be in South Carolina. My neighbou...

I am privileged to be the Chaplain at Resurrection House , a day shelter for homeless people on Sarasota FL.. There we offer laundry service, showers, clothing, some food, a medical clinic, counseling etc. Mostly we offer a place of shelter out of the heat of the day for those who have no fixed address and wander Sarasota's unfriendly streets. I am there every Wednesday morning for a simple prayer service.  It's a quiet time. I do not preach, but we try to meditate on a verse or two from Holy Scripture. Those who attend can also light a candle on the Altar Table, and pray their concerns silently or aloud. There were but four worshipers yesterday (including me). There was "Becky" (not her real name) who is a rocker.  She sits down and rocks her upper body up and down, up and down.  When she prays she recites a lot of Scripture which she knows by heart. She is especially fond of praying to "Jehovah Jireh"  (the Lord will provide). "Dawn" i...

When Republicans get whiney (every day) and lament what they call "President Obama's lack of leadership", what they mean is that they long for chest-thumping, devil take the hindmost, braggadocious and bloviating leadership of Dick Cheney's poodle , George W. "Mission Accomplished" Bush. "Shrub"   (as he was named by the late but inimical Molly Ivins) had neither the grace or smarts of his father George H.W. Bush who led a truly international coalition to kick the Iraqis out of Kuwait, but was wise enough not  to push the fight into Iraq itself. "Shrub" led us into two disastrous wars (Iraq and Afghanistan). I prefer President Obama's measured and cautious approach. ( I reserve the right to change my mind, if necessary,  after President Obama's address to the Nation later today). In the meantime my ears ache as I hear the Republicans singing "All we are saying is give peace a chance"

Just had some work done on my Hyundai. The  Power Steering flush and subsequent renewal of fluids included "Antioxidant Ingredients" The "Big Power Transmission Kit" included "Conditioners" Goodness Gracious. Was I at an Auto Repair shop, a health foods store, or a beauty parlour? My car will be fitter than I.

I like Lamb, and have done so since I was knee high to a grasshopper. I don't eat it very often because (a) it's supposed to be "not good for you", and (b) it's darned expensive.  I probably have not eaten lamb for more than a year. My taste buds were yelling at me yesterday "east some lamb, eat some lamb, eat some lamb" I knew that I could buy a leg of Lamb at Sam's Club, but I also knew that it would be expensive. Trader Joe's also has good leg of Lamb, but it too is expensive (and seasoned too much for my taste) So I took myself to my local Winn Dixie Supermarket. I hunted in vain for leg of lamb.  I hunted in even more vain for shoulder of lamb. Then, tucked away in a corner I spotted some "shoulder blade Lamb chops" on sale at a very decent price -  two good sized chops for three bucks. Shoulder blade lmb chop. Of course many good folks eschew shoulder blade chops on the grounds that they are very fatty and very ...