Povey Prattle

A four ounce fillet of Dover Sole  (broiled with a little butter on top),  with .... ......A mélange of (very) Sweet Corn, Edamame (soy) Beans, and Italian * Fava Beans. It was so very good. Who wants to live with me, and eat well? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * "Fava Beans" are what people in the U.K. (and other Commonwealth Countries)  call "Broad Beans". I ate these frequently when I was growing up, and enjoyed them. But the Trader Joe's "Italian Fava Beans" are more delicious than I could have imagined as a lad.  They have, of course, first been taken out of the pod:  (that's essential when eating broad/fava beans). That being done the  T.J's product has advantages over the Broad Beans of my youth.  First, the beans  are smaller and much more tender. Second , the tough outer skin of the shelled beans has been  removed. (I  do this when I bu...

My blessed and dear friends Jack and Pat McL are "in town" for their annual sojourn  on Longboat Key, a barrier island in the Gulf of Mexico, west of Sarasota and Manatee Counties. Jack and Pat were fabulous parishioners when I was the Rector at St. Stephen's Parish, Pittsfield, MA.  Pat worked with me as an extremely effective (lay) minister for Christian Education. The McL's retired to Wolfeborough, N.H., where I visited them more than  once, (and participated in the wedding of their younger daughter Jen - a super young woman - to Scott D). Jack and Pat were more than delighted when I retired to Sarasota, a town with which they have become familiar for (say) forty years.  (Pat's parents had retired here). Jack and Pat come down from New Hampshire to SRQ for three weeks every year.  They always stay at White Sands on Longboat Key, just fifteen miles from my home. (In Florida the "Keys" are off-shore barrier islands), http://www.whitesandsofl...

I am not always sure what my cats, Adelaide and Ada, are "up to"  when I sleep, but I know that they are "up to no good". The evidence is that they set out to destroy my home on their nocturnal prowls .  I state my case: The mat by my kitchen sink twisted into odd shapes.   Cupboard doors opened.   "Runners" removed from tables.   An overturned and damaged table lamp.    Any object on any side table batted to the floor.   And a determination to awaken me at 4:30 a.m.   If I close my bedroom door, one or the other of them will "come-a-scratching" the door  at that early hour.   If I close it, one or other of them will "yowl"  at that same time.     Last night was bad (as I discovered this morning).   I'd left a bag of "Temptations" cat treats un-zipped on a kitchen counter.  Such an irresistible temptation for Ada and Adelaide!   They managed to ...

My good friend and colleague Wes Wasdyke called me yesterday to ask if I would care to join him at a baseball game on Tuesday 17th,  (Orioles v Twins) here in SRQ. It was a kind offer, but I turned him down, because the game would have been completely wasted on me. He told me that Cindy Wasdyke had advised him not to call me, saying that "Michael hates sports". I had to tell Wes that I do not hate sports, but that I am mostly indifferent to them. I added, "sports for me are a bit like turnips.  They have their place, but I can no more be devoted to sports than I can be passionate about turnips".

There is nothing like a "less than adequate" sermon (shall we say) to set me off on to a grumbly mood . Sermon or not, I have been very grumbly today.  Hence I am a "grumbletonian". Grghhh!     1.  Why do my neighbours set out their old furniture roadside on a Sunday ,  when our Condo. Association rules mandate that such items should not be set out until Wednesday evening?  (Thursday is our trash collection day).     2.  Why do my neighbours set out plastic bags filled with raked leaves on a Saturday night when (a) the Condo. Assoc. requires that they not be set out until Wednesday evenings, and (b) the City mandates that yard waste should be contained in large paper  sacks,  (all the easier to grind and be used to make mulch).   3.   Why do some of my neighbours allow their dogs to roam free?, (against the rules).  These owners may well believe that their pets are graciously harmless....