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Barnaby's New "Toy"

           Now that we are back home and have re-established our routine with the cats, Barnaby has discovered a new "toy". The word is in quotation marks because it isn't really something to play with. However, one thing I have discovered in my many years of living with cats is that everything is one of two categories: food or toys.          I discovered this new interest a day or two after we got home. I was in the bathroom washing my hands when Barnaby jumped on the counter. He watched the water coming out of the faucet with great interest. I turned the water down to a thin trickle to see what he would do. He continued to watch it for a little bit and then started to bat at the stream with his paw. I let him do this for a few minutes and then turned the faucet off.          I started turning on the water for him anytime I was in the bathroom. Pretty soon it became obvious that this was a mistake. Now he e...
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Second chance

           Three years ago we "ate" dinner at a restaurant in Door County that we like a lot. It is on the fancy side and has an English manor theme. I use the word ate in quotations because looking back at the column I wrote at the time, all we had were bread and salad. We were there for an hour and a half and never got our entrees even though tables around us had and the place wasn't overly busy. It was the worst experience I had ever had at a restaurant. We decided we were not going back there again.               After three years of driving past it, we decided it might be time to try it again since another restaurant we do like had no open reservation times. We made the reservation and it was confirmed. As before we chose and early time, right after the restaurant opened for dinner hoping that it would be less busy.          I was a little nervous when we drove up to the restaurant a few ...
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Things Change

           We are back in Door County as usual for us at this time of year. We've made this trip over 20 times and have been staying in the same place and same room for the last three years. I don't mind this. If I know that the room and the bed are somewhat familiar, it's easier for me to go to sleep.          I wanted to do some different things. Maybe take the ferry to Washington Island and bike around it. See the big lavender farm that is there even if there isn't anything growing this time of year. We could go to the Cana Island Lighthouse. We haven't seen it in over a decade. Eat at a new place, do something, anything different than we've done the last 21 years.          Much to my frustration, C prefers to do what we have done every year. For some reason, he doesn't feel adventurous when we come here. I can understand this somewhat. It's comforting to know that the restaurant has something you like on...
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Sometimes Technology is Good

           I know that in the past I've voiced frustration over the dependence we now have on technology. When I first started working, we had fax machines, our insurance claims were transmitted in real time over phone lines and we filled prescriptions from pieces of paper brought in my customers or phoned in by nurses. Now we transmit claims over the internet, our phones are internet and the prescriptions for the most part are transmitted via....wait for it... the internet. When the internet connection goes down, we are severely crippled.             There are times where I'm grateful for the technology we have. Here are a few of those times.          I have several websites where I can bypass the password. A message comes to my phone. I answer yes to the message. The I get a six digit code which I enter in and then I'm logged in. I don't have to try to remember any one of the 15 or so passwords I...
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Frustration

           I like being a pharmacist. I like the fact that I'm helping people. (Although there are a couple members among my in-laws who believe this is not true.) Interacting with my customers is something I enjoy. I'm amused by this because I'm also a introvert and more than a little shy. Introverts usually don't take public facing jobs like that. I've been a pharmacist for a bit over 30 years now. While I may not have always liked where I worked, I always liked what I was doing.          Having said that there are a few things about my job that I don't like. Mostly this involves dealing with insurance companies. As I work for an independent pharmacy, we don't have a corporate office to take care of certain tasks centrally. This means that certain tasks must be shared among the staff.  One of the insurers that we deal with requires us to revalidate our information every three years.           The...
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Good People

           It's vaccine season. The vaccines we ordered arrived a couple weeks ago. We ordered more needle tips and gathered the rest of the supplies that we need. My manager printed out the forms and information sheets as well as appointment pages. The room where we give shots was clean and tidied up. We were ready.           We do shots by appointment to help manage our workflow and because not all the staff are certified vaccinators. It also helps us to be able to get paperwork and billing done ahead of time so that the appointment goes smoothly. Our first appointment day was last Tuesday and the schedule was full.          I don't believe that getting a vaccine should be a painful and bad experience. I like to talk to people during the process of getting the vaccine to distract them from getting the shot. as a result I have had some pleasant experiences. I hope that they have too.    ...
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It Doesn't Feel Like Pumpkin Season

           I'm starting to see pumpkin spice on the menu in bakeries and coffee shops. This is normally something I'm happy to see. I like pumpkin muffins, steamers, smoothies and scented candles. Bring on the warm spices. There's just one problem.          It's too warm out. It's  hard to get excited about pumpkin flavoured things when it's so warm out. Hot apple cider can't really be enjoyed in a t shirt and capri pants. I really want to enjoy these things, but my body still thinks it's summer outside. It's not time for these things yet. We're still running the air conditioner and ceiling fan. The only autumn type product I can really enjoy is apple cider slush from a food truck at the Arboretum,          It's not fair. One of the benefits of living in the north is knowing that summer will come to an end. I won't have to feel slightly damp all the time. I won't be kicking the covers off at three in th...
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