Povey Prattle

  I had to buy a new Computer.  All well and good except that I could not use the Camera for my Thursday ZOOM conference. I did my best to remedy the problem, but to no avail. So I used my iPad for the Zoom meeting.  All well and good . The conference was well worth while. I spent some time this Friday morning to check the Camera settings. Nothing worked well until I realised that the problem was not technological It was Povelogical!  I had  neglected to remove the sticky tape which covered the computer lens. DUH

Some of us had a Facebook conversation about the mystical texts of William Blake and how they feed our souls. That conversation led me to think about the mystic Poet Christopher Smart His words were  used by the amazing Benjamin Britten in his " Rejoice in the Lamb".  I heard this oh so many years ago at All Saints' Church, Worcester, MA.  What a joy! https://youtu.be/2JoTLDRhcH4   Christopher Smart's "We Sing of God" is one of my favourite mystical texts.    It  is in the Episcopal Hymnal 1982.   1 We sing of God, the mighty source of all things; the stupendous force on which all strength depends; from whose right arm, beneath whose eyes, all period, power, and enterprise commences, reigns, and ends.  2 Tell them I AM, the Lord God said, to Moses while on earth in dread and smitten to the heart, at once, above, beneath, around, all nature without voice or sound replied, O Lord, thou art.  3 Glorious the sun in mid career; glor...

  To Life!  Tevia got it right! I do not care for the obituaries  which speak of a "battle  against cancer".  ( N.B  "Cancer always wins")  The "battle against Cancer"  this Earthmonk Essay (via my friend Susan Rife)  gets it right. Earthmonk 6d    ·  “If you’re reading this, this fu$king brain cancer probably got me. But let me be crystal clear while I’m able: I did not ”lose a battle” against cancer. This is a ridiculous, steamy pile of horse shit that society has dumped on cancer patients. Western medicine, and Western culture, especially, is so uncomfortable talking about death that instead it created this “battle” analogy that basically shames people who die from cancer. News flash: None of us gets out alive from this rodeo called life. There is no shame in dying from cancer – or any serious illness. And it doesn’t need to be a battle. It’s a transition that each of us will go through.  I was asked by a s...

Last Sunday my friend Barbara F.-C. noted a hint of autumnal air in semi-tropical Sarasota, FL. I agree with Barbara,  inasmuch as early morning temps. of  68f count as delightfully cool in this neck of the woods. My first walk of today with the famous Mr. Z was at 5:00 a.m.  We took advantage of the coolish air. By 6:25 we were "down by the Bay" at Sarasota's Bayfront Park for a stroll in bone-chilling  (tee-hee) temps. Then it was off to Arlington Park, a natural oasis in the heart of the City.  A.P. has a  nice half mile circular walkway which encompasses  unspoiled shrubs, ferns, grasses and trees -  a splendid home for insects, worms, nesting birds, beautiful cardinals, squirrels,  unafraid rabbits; wetlands, and a natural lake.   Z. and I love it there. Hear are some early morning (6:50 a.m.) photo's from today. The Lake and Fountain - one of my favourite spots. Lake and Fountain 2 A late blooming flower - on a thin ...

  Outside of a toys and games store at Sarasota's UTC

  Dec 4th 2017  The day when my beloved Zion was picked up as stray in Lafayette, LA.   I will never know why he was a stray -  a bit underweight, with a slight body wound.  Who would ever abandon such a treasure? Given my lachrymose tendencies  I sometimes get weepy as I think of my darling boy as he wandered the streets of   Lafayette.  Was he afraid? Why had he been abandoned? I rejoice  that he was moved from the Lafayette Shelter to the Humane Society of Sarasota; and once his heart worm condition had been successfully treated, he came to be my best pal in January 2018. Who should be so lucky? Many dogs get squeamish at the sounds of Vacuum cleaners. It's believed that the cleaners emit sounds which humans cannot hear. Zion isn't bothered by the vacc but he runs and hides when I use a dry mop. God forbid that his Lafayette owner "disciplined" him with a dry mop. Mops aside, Mr. Z is loved and cherished in hi...

https://youtu.be/Kn1r_9AJiF8

I frequently drive on 17th St. in  Sarasota. It's less than half a mile from my home, as the crow flies. I had passed this building on 17th St some hundreds of times.  It was the Cornerstone Baptist Church, and it was clearly on its last legs, if the number of cars in the parking lot on Sunday were any indication . Then it was gone.  The Church died (or moved).  The Church  and the land behind it were purchased by the All Star Children's Foundation. It was  bought the site, lock, stock and barrel: (who knew that the Baptists owned five acres of undeveloped land behind their Church!).  Then a new Foundation began to build. The All Star Children's Foundation building, a new venture  on 17th St. SRQ The new buildings were unoccupied for about a year because of Covid. Now they are moving towards full occupancy. But what is the All Star Foundation  about?    It has an impressive programme! See this: An ...

                                                    The Container                              Cooked Meatballs and Brats Brats and Meatballs covered with Heinz brand Baked Beans, which can often be found in the International Foods semi aisle at your local Supermarket.                Surpliced with Mashed Potato avec Cauliflower.                              Broiled  for a bit in the Oven                                 Plated and eaten.                           All gone!