Sophie's Story

   The sun is out. The weather forecast is for a warm day. I have a bag of plants and seeds that I got from Dana. It's time to plant.    I believe this urge to get my hands in the dirt must be from my country roots. I've noticed that those who farm or live around those who do seem to have a strong connection to the land. As I've gotten older this desire to plant things has gotten a bit stronger.   This year I especially want to get things planted. I want something cheerful to look at and something to do outside. Especially as it looks like everything is going to be closed for most of the summer. That means no trips to the Arboretum, assuming they stay closed.   I'm not a master gardener, but I can at least plant a few things. I can't do worse than last year when I let the garden completely go to seed. There were weeds as tall as I am in the garden by the end of the summer. The only flowers the grew were the ones that came back every year.   Of course this negl

   One of the benefits of having the schedule I have right now is that I have more free time. C and I had been working on our "clean the storeroom" project all week. We had taken breaks to go for walks and a bike ride, but mostly we just worked at home. Nothing wrong with that, there is plenty to do.    Normally at this time of year, we would be boarding a plane and flying to South Carolina to enjoy the beach, the seafood and my in-laws. We had already decided not to make the trip before COVID-19 raised its ugly viral head. Yesterday both C and I felt the need to travel even just a road trip. We changed clothes, grabbed a cooler and headed for Cumberland.    We brought a cooler along because there are a few places where we like to buy food. There's a good meat market, the Italian restaurant that sells frozen food for carry out and a cheese factory that used to be run by members of my extended family. We might as well do a little shopping.   The sun shone as we drove

   Those of you who read this column may remember that I don't watch much TV. For the past few years my TV consumption has consisted of CBS Sunday Morning (which I had to quit watching this year as our ward's worship devotional starts at the same time.), Star Trek: The Next Generation, and occasional episodes of MASH and Deep Space Nine. This changed a couple weeks ago when I happened upon an episode of God Friended Me.   I had heard about the show before, but was turned off by the title. Do we really need show that feature Facebook? I didn't think so. Then I watched an episode. I liked it a lot.    The show's main character is an young African American man maned Miles. Miles is an atheist who starts getting friend requests from an account called "God". Although he thinks this is some kind of hoax being played on him, he follows along. In the process he winds up helping those he is led to sometimes in ways he does not expect. In the last episode, Miles has

   With the restrictions on gathering in place, the Small Town Toastmasters suspended meetings for awhile.   Then we got on board with the latest in technology. Now we are meeting on Zoom. The past few weeks we have not had any speakers so we have been doing meetings with only Table Topics. This worked well while we were all getting used to doing things via video instead of in person.   I decided it was time to jump out of my comfort zone and give a speech. Giving the speech was not a problem, Giving a speech on video was going to be strange. For starters it would mean that I would have to look at myself while I speak. For someone who dislikes looking at herself this is a challenge. Another issue is the fact that I would be giving a humorous speech. In a humorous speech, the speaker depends on the audience reaction to know how the speech is going. How was I going to be able to handle that? I'd find out.    I researched my favourite comedians. I looked up their birth dates and

   At last weekend's annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, President Russell M. Nelson asked all church members as well as those of any other faiths to join together in a Worldwide Day of Fasting  and Prayer. He asked those who wish to participate to "fast and pray on Good Friday, April 10, that the present pandemic may be controlled,caregivers protected, the economy strengthened, and life normalized." This is the second time he has invited church members to fast and pray for divine help during the pandemic.   Fasting is a tradition in many faiths. There are several references in the Bible to people fasting when they are seeking help from God. Members of the Church fast once a month and the money saved from the meals on that day are given to help those who are in need.   Fasting always includes prayer or some reason for the fast. This point was made clear to me one Sunday when someone was giving a talk on the subject of fasting.

    The first weekend of April is upon us. Normally this would be the time when many members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints would be making a pilgrimage to Salt Lake City, Utah to attend the Annual General Conference of the church.  The Conference Center would be packed with people who have come from everywhere to listen to talks from church leaders.    For many months members have been told to prepare for this conference which was going to be very special. This year marks the 200th anniversary of the First Vision. This is the event that started Joseph Smith on the path to becoming the first President and prophet of the Restored Church.   It is going to be memorable for another, more modern reason. Thanks to COVID-19, no one will be gathering to Salt Lake City. The Conference Center will be empty on the first weekend of April. No floral arrangements will adorn the inside. The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square will not be in their usual seats to bless attendees wi