Povey Prattle

Do you remember the food trends of recent years? There was the "sun-dried tomatoes" phase.  Every darn dish had to include them. Then the popular culture moved to "roasted vegetables" as the thing to eat.  (That  may be a keeper.) I must also mention kale and quinoa as trendy foods. I prefer not to mention the days of sickly-sweet cupcakes as the food du jour, but they too had their day.  The middle-class American world and her husband  were convinced that cupcakes would save civilization. (There is still a ghastly "reality" show on the "Food Channel" which has something to do with making 1,000 cupcakes). "Starbucks", that overpriced haven for the in-crowd is now pushing "frappuccinos" as the thing to drink.  Starbucks knows nothing.  We had frappes in New England long before Starbucks was a gleam in its father's eyes. And now there are "smoothies".  "Smoothies" are trending, (or were tren...

My auto insurance falls due next month. 1. I am (according to my driver's licence) a Florida "Safe Driver". 2.  I have not made a claim in years. 3. My car is nine years old, going on ten. Despite this my premium for 2015/16 is more than $100 more than it was for 2014/15. I checked this with my insurance agent A.A.A.  (American Automobile Association).  Their clerk called MetLife (my insurance company).  She was informed that this increase is because "there is a general increase in insurance rates)  More about this below at *** ------------------------------------------------------------- So, being smart, I went on-line to get a quotation from one of the Auto Insurance Companies which assure us, via their T.V. ads. that "this company will save you money". ( For U.S.A. readers , it was not the company which uses an animated Gecko to peddle its' wares. It was the one which, ( let the American reader understand ), whose name will remind ...

I wrote this on my blog a couple of days ago. On Wednesday I am to have dinner with a women I hardly know.  She is a friend of a friend of mine. She endures a lot of pain and loneliness.  Her best friend is away for the summer. She phoned me with her invitation. "Darn", I thought, "that's the last thing I want to do, have dinner with someone I hardly know".  But I accepted her invitation. "The last thing I want to do" Oh damn,  I was so wrong!  I had an utterly delightful visit with a very fine woman  (and good food to boot at the Retirement complex where she lives). The Food. Decent salad bar. Wonderful entrée  (lamb chops - four of them), with cooked but still crunchy vegetables. A delicious cookie for dessert/afters. The company and conversation. I had met this woman a couple of times, but had forgotten so much about her. She was born in Trinidad of Venezuelan parents. Spanish is her first language. The family moved to N.Y.C. ...

Thanks to my nephew Dan Povey who discovered this, I am now happy to invite you for a vacation on our estate: the Italian Island of Poveglia. Poveglia, Italy The following description will entice you. http://mentalfloss.com/article/24658/strange-geographies-happy-haunted-island-poveglia

Just a few days ago I sent the following (by Richard Rohr, a Franciscan), to some of my friends in the second or third parts of their lives. (My friend Kim H  had first posted this on Facebook) Richard  Rohr from "Falling Upward."    "Just remember this: no one can keep you from the second half of your own life except yourself.     Nothing can inhibit your second journey except your own lack of courage, patience, and imagination.     Your second journey is all yours to walk or to avoid.     My conviction is that some falling apart of the first journey is necessary for this to happen,  so do not waste a moment of time lamenting poor parenting,  lost job, failed relationship, physical handicap, gender identity, economic poverty, or even the tragedy of any kind of abuse.      Pain is part of the deal.     If you don't walk into the second ...