Povey Prattle

I have long lamented the lack of  a good coffee house in Sarasota. But acting  on a tip from a dog walking pal I was with my neighbour and friend Barbara B at PERQ (1821 Hillview St -  just around the corner from South Osprey St.) Oh my goodness, I had the best cup of coffee I've had in oh so many years.  The very fist sip delighted my palate and made me realise that the offerings from the supermarket which are my regular morning beverage are (may I say) cr-p! The menu is a wee bit arcane, but co-owner Keith Zolner talked Barbara and me through our choices. Mine (pictured above) was made with coffee grown in Guatemala.  It was exquisite! I asked Keith Zolner if PERQ used "Fair Trade" beans. No,   but PERQ buys its beans (I think by using a broker)   directly from farmers in various lands, thus ensuring that the farmers are not slaves to "Big Coffee",  but instead get a good return for their hard work. Twelve hours later I am still salivating at

.....when you are in a check out line in a the supermarket and the person at the front of the line can't get it right. I was that person today. I was trying to use the debit/credit card machine at a local market. Attempt # 1   I removed the card before the clerk/cashier had processed the button on the till which indicates that the purchase is complete.  Attempt # 2  All went well until when the screen asked me to confirm the amount I pressed "No" instead of "Yes". Attempt # 3.  I pressed all the buttons with success, but removed the card too soon. By this time I knew that I had been pegged as a decrepit old man!  But the clerk/cashier ( a smiling Mennonite/Amish young woman - I could tell by her head covering ) had evidently learned to be graciously patient - probably through listening to long and dreary sermons from decrepit old preachers - was utterly patient with me. Attempt # 4.  I took it very slowly and with a smile  Hey Presto - four

Q. What did Harry Emerson Fosdick say about (God's)   holy love? A. “God is not a cosmic bellboy for whom we can press a button to get things done.” ----------------------------------------------------------

Ice skating on Boston Common.   Gorgeous picture by Julianne T. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chilly day soup in S.W. Florida -  its was 45 f this morning - tough by our standards!  Gloves, sweats etc essential for my 5:00 a.m. walk with Zion. Pulled some home made soup out of the freezer for lunch.  I thought that it was fish stew - turned out to be split pea and ham soup  (with various and sundry other veggies). Pretty darn good!

Unless British Prime Minister opts for yet another delay, the U.K. Parliament's House of Commons will vote on Jan 15 th  2019 on her proposals for the withdrawal of the U.K. from the European Union. Her proposals are the least worst,  ( The worst being a no deal  and unilateral exit.) It is unlikely that her plan will be approved by Parliament. * Hard line Tory Brexiteers will have none of it. * Northern Ireland "Unionist" M.P.'s (Protestant to the core) oppose it because it will enshrine a soft customs border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, but a hard customs border between North Ireland and the rest of the U.K. * Scots and Welsh nationalists will have no truck with Brexit. * Many Labour Party M.P.'s will vote against it because they have always been sceptical about the E.U.  They have dreams of a socialist E.U. - highly unlikely as many member States move to the right.  The Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has offered no alternati

Just over a year ago my friend Rick P gave me a one year (2018) subscription to The New Yorker.  What a fine gift. Although I have fuss-pot tendencies I didn't have a spread sheet on which to mark the safe arrival of each weekly issue (or the two annual editions which each cover two weeks). So what a surprise when two editions arrived in my mail box on Friday   11th Jan 2019. Where the blazes have these been since July and October?  Did someone find them in a dusty corner of a sorting office, or hidden away in a mail van? I'll never know. ----------------------------------------------------------------