Povey Prattle

  Perhaps you see Beet Soup.  Good guess of course. But there's nairy a Beet in sight. It's Sweet Potato Soup - made with Purple Sweet Potatoes from Trader Joes, and other vendors.  They have a more wine-like flavour than the usual sweet potatoes. Pretty darn good I say! Here is the recipe: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/sweet-potato-soup-recipe-1909626 It's hard to go wrong with Ginger,  Cinnamon, and Nutmeg; and Whole Cream instead of Milk. SOUP BLISS

  Of course you know this scene all too well.  A book comes in a small box which you leave on the floor; and the cat becomes a box squatter. You have a huge box which had contained a Cat Tower.  Your moggie disdains the Glorious Tower in favour of the the Common Place Box. You think:  1. Cats are perverse. 2. Cats are mystical.  3. Cats are delightfully amusing. 4 Cats have an interesting box fetish  Stuff and Nonsense.  1. Firstly what  you need to know is that all cats are chipped by Brinks soon after birth.  They are programmed to protect your spare boxes against all enemies domestic and foreign.   They know that one day, sooner or later, you will need that box. When you have an urgent need to send  a boxed parcel by USPS, UPS, Fed-Ex or DHL you will bless the Universe for the Feline Box Defenders par Excellence  2.  Secondly  ( and this is a   closely guarded secret) cats have a deep ...

A cheerful song for the New Year.  "One more step along the world I go"    Words and Music by Sydney Carter of "Lord of the Dance fame". One More Step Along The Way I Go One More Step Along The World I Go From The Old Things To The New Keep Me Travelling Along With You. And It’s From The Old I Travel To The New, Keep Me Travelling Along With You Round The Corner Of The World, I Turn More And More About The World, I Learn And The New Things That I See, You’ll Be Looking At Along With Me. And It’s From The Old I Travel To The New, Keep Me Travelling Along With You As I Travel Through The Bad And Good, Keep Me Travelling The Way I Should Where I See No Way To Go You’ll Be Telling Me The Way I Know. And It’s From The Old I Travel To The New, Keep Me Travelling Along With You Give Me Courage When The World Is Rough Keep Me Loving Though The World Is Tough Leap And Sing In All I Do Keep Me Travelling Along With You. And It’s From The Old I Travel To The New, Keep Me Trave...

  Hoppin' John Traditional New Year's Day food. First known in the low country of South Carolina, most likely as a winter staple for enslaved Africans, using rice, black eyed peas and salt pork;  practically all that was available in the American South during winter. Hoppin' John became a popular dish throughout the south. It was often eaten with sides of collard or turnip greens, and corn bread. It's supposed to bring good luck in the coming year. That doesn't work. Luck notwithstanding I make it every year, partly because it is traditional; but mostly because I like it. My version cooks the collards in the mix, and  **   since   it's hard to get good corn bread I add corn to the pot. Mine includes the meat from smoked pork chops.  I was out of wild rice or brown rice so I used the white stuff (which wasn't a major error, except that it made the entire dish a bit gluey). **  The finest corn bread I ever ate was home made by my friend J...

  The Union Flag flying upside down. (This is thought by some to be a sign of distress). Flag not withstanding my native country has left the cooperation of the European Union, and opted for independence and the status of a minor player in European affairs  - a mere offshore island so to speak.  ** I am angry because the leadership of the Tory Party (Cameron, May, Johnson) has been little short of disastrous these past four years. You shouldn't  make policy on the basis of populist  speeches. They did. My grief   is rooted in the belief that cooperation and interdependence are always good in themselves; and are vital for the future of the planet. My cynical side believes that both the U.S.A, and the U.K. has Governments and Leaders who are all in favour of cooperation, just so long as they are in charge.   (A legacy of  their Colonialist and Imperialist histories?) ( e.g. The U.K. leaves the European Union; the U.S.A. quits the Pa...

I recently posted this lovely link about a herding dog in Canada.  It is almost mesmerizing.   https://m.facebook.com/watch/?v=306256827373668&_rdr The video was made at a farm where herding dogs are trained. Don't we all love herding dogs, and hold them in awe. Do you know that there are herding dogs in the Bible? Many years ago I heard a sermon on Psalm 23. The preacher noted that in the Psalm  the Lord is the Shepherd  who leads the sheep.  "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He leadeth me beside the still waters. But the preacher noted that there are herding dogs in this Psalm.  They have names! One is called Goodness .  The other is Mercy. "Surely Goodness and Mercy  shall follow me all the days of my life" Goodness and Mercy are the herding dogs who enable us to follow the Shepherd!

  2:00 a.m. today.  Half awake, or half asleep? Two words came into my mind. "Usque Bethlehem" Then a third. "Transeamus". Transeamus Usque Bethlehem I know not why the first three words of a German Christmas song would surface in my sleep.   I began to hum some of the tune.  Of course I had to find the song when I woke up. It's a jolly tune, unlike the funeral dirge-like tune for "While shepherds watch their flock by night". In Transeamus Usque Bethlehem we can imagine the shepherds dancing their way from the field to the manger. Here are a couple of versions.   https://youtu.be/MEfKotYv4nk I love the way that two of the girls have a smile fest! https://youtu.be/kVxPNZiimRk A very plucky orchestra. Transeamus usque Bethlehem Et videamus hoc verbum quod factum est. Mariam et Joseph et Infantem positum in praesepio. Transeamus, audiamus multitudinem Militiae coelestis laudantium Deum, Mariam et Joseph et Infantem Positum in praesepio. Gloria, Gloria in ...

  From my friends Jack and Donna Chrisman's Creche Using his iPad to message the good news.