Povey Prattle

  On my way into my home today after shopping at Trader Joe's I stupidly carried two paper sacks of food at the same time, The stupid bit was carrying two bags (one under each arm); as a result of which I was careless, and allowed my porch door to swing back and hit the back of my hand. What a mess on this thin skinned part of the body. What a mess.  Blood all over the place as I came into my home. Then my frustration was exacerbated.   "Why oh why" I ask, must they pack bandages/band aids/plasters in packets which are as secure as the gold at Fort Knox. Don't the manufacturers understand that when you need a bandage/band aid/plaster,  you need it NOW,  not ten minutes after the wound occurred.  Ah well.  This is my grump of the day! And I need no sympathy for the bloody mess on the back of my left hand. 'Twould have been avoided had I not been in such a hurry for an activity which needed no hurry! 

You know the sweet smell, but did you know that it had a name .  My Facebook friend  Julianne T. writes this: On certain early-spring days there's a smell in the air, similar to the delightfully-named "petrichor" (the sweet smell after a rainstorm), that seems to be nature saying, "The best is yet to come!" Here is what Wikipedia has to say about petrichor. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrichor I replied to Julianne and added that though strictly speaking it is not petrichor, I so much miss the scent of Lilacs after rain, they cannot  grow in this part of Florida .  BOO!

 

  Zion and I had our gig at Brentwood on Thursday 1st April. It's the school which is reeling from a tragedy.  An eight year old girl, riding her scooter to school was killed in a road accident.  We were there (with three other canine therapy teams) to offer solace and comfort to the children -  more about that below. Brentwood is in an area called Sarasota Springs, which is physically contiguous with the City of Sarasota, but is outside of the City boundaries. ( For Sarasota friends : it is roughly east of Beneva; west of Macintosh; south of Bahia Vista and North of Webber).  For other friends it's an area which you drive by, but never through). Back to the main story! The school is very modern; situated on a quiet side street. Z and I visited a class of fifth graders,  outdoors  in a shady and grassy area. These wonderful children seemed to have no idea why we were there (why would a fifth grader know much about a third grader?) But Zion strutte...

Easter feast today with my friends Jack and Donna Chrisman; their Daughter Ashley Lloyd; and Donna's sister Barbara Caudill. Easter Eggs for my host family . Excepting the White/Oreo egg they are hollow eggs with the good stuff inside. Who would want an egg with white "chocolate" and Oreo bits? I knew that one of the family members would!  "Buttons" are small disks of milk chocolate, about the size of a nickel.  They are often the first  chocolate for small children 'cause they melt in the mouth and are not a chocking hazard. Quality Street are wrapped chocolates usually sold in boxes, but  in this case they  are inside the egg. Maltesers are the U.K. version of Whoppers (only better!).  In this case they have been made into buttons so that they won't rattle around inside the egg. The Feast Scalloped potatoes; roasted lamb  (with mint sauce, not that dreadful mint jelly which I hate with a passion! ), ham, carrots, asparagus and green bean casserole. ...

  I recently renewed my Drivers Licence on line. I thought that I had this; but unfortunately I was on a site which mimicked the real site; not the genuine article. The real FLHSMW  site caught this and notified me by mail. They had noticed that my payment was from an 'Out of State'  Credit Card. Oddly enough the  mimic site had taken monies  from my Credit card and then forwarded my  info and payment to the real site. I am not out of pocket, and after a good conversation with  FHLSMW my license will be renewed for seven years.  FHLSMW will flag the licence so that should (for instance) I should lose the licence I will not be able to replace it on line, and will have to do so in person at the Sarasota County site. A good safeguard. In the meantime I have disabled the credit card, and a new one with a new number will be issued, This will leave the mimic site with my full name and address, and drivers licence #, and not much more....

  Zion and I were back at work today at Anchin Pavilion for the first time in over a year. Anchin is part of the AVIVA Retirement Communities on N. Honore Ave, Sarasota. Anchin has a memory unit; an assisted living unit; and a skilled nursing unit.  We were able to minister in the memory and assisted living floors; but not on the skilled nursing unit. The new receptionist was a bit dubious about our visit until a staff member passed by and exclaimed "Zion is back again". I said to the receptionist "now you know that Zion is famous here.  He was convinced! Z and I met some old friends who were glad to see us one year on.  But we were saddened to learn of the deaths (not necessarily as a result of COVID) one year on.