Sophie's Story

        Helen, one of the long time members of the Small Town Toastmasters club, had been in poor health for much of the past year. I know that it was heart related and I think had something to do with an autoimmune disorder which was a recent diagnosis. She was being treated at the Mayo Clinic and had been in and out of the hospital there. The last time she was at a meeting she said that she was still weak, but felt like she was turning a corner.    So it was a surprise when I heard that she had gone back to Rochester. Then Marette, another Toastmaster, stepped by my pharmacy to tell me that Helen was home and in hospice. I knew what that meant. Nearly everyone knows what that means. Everything that could be done for Helen had been nothing and nothing was working. Helen and her family had decided it was time to allow nature to take its course.    I sent as message to Sandra, our club president. Marette had told her already. We decided to send Helen a card. Sandra wanted to do somethin

        It's 2:51 PM. Santa is somewhere in Africa right now. Yule Log is not on yet. I'm not due anyplace for about three hours. I have just had a nice chocolate chip cookie. Time to write a column    I spent the morning at my parents' house. They've just moved to a senior apartment about 15 minutes away from where I live. I try to visit them once a week as does my sister. Due to a falling out that happened about 16 years ago my sibs and I had not seen or spoken to each other until earlier this year. Now that our parents are getting older and needing help, we are tentatively starting to work together. It's awkward, but we are all trying.    I think some healing is starting to take place. Slow healing, but healing nonetheless. That's all right. These things take time. I'm not sure if my siblings and I will continue to have a relationship with each other once our parents are no longer around, but I don't care. We are patching things up now and that's

     Christmas Eve is seven days from today and I'm not ready. I have one present I need to buy. I have a scarf I need to finish and ship. I've baked cookies but haven't made a plate to give to anyone, yet. I have little presents for my coworkers and am now wondering if I got enough. I realized that said presents need to be packaged somehow. I'm not sure if I have little gift bags or anything appropriate.   We're getting the tree today. Hopefully we can get it decorated tonight because tomorrow I work all day.    I'm really not ready. Did I mention I haven't sent out any Christmas cards either?    We've been invited out for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I'm supposed to bring a dessert to Christmas Day dinner. I have  no idea what I'm going to bring. When we have Christmas dinner at home my dessert is Christmas cookies. I don't think that will work for a dinner with friends. I'm not sure if I'm going to squeeze in a little Yule Log

      The last time I got my eyes checked, I got the unwelcome news that my prescription has changed. Again. This is one thing I dislike about having vision that needs correction. Almost every year from the time I started needing glasses, my prescription has changed.    This means that almost every year, I need to pick out a new pair of frames. I hate picking out new frames. It's almost as bad as clothes shopping.   For many years,  I made things a little easier by choosing two different sets of frames and alternating between them. That way I didn't have to choose a new pair. It saved a little money and a lot of aggravation. For the past two years, I've needed bifocals. I get progressive bifocals which are easier for me to deal with. That also means that I can't use the frames that I used to because they are just too small. The "sweet spot", the area that I need to look through most of the time at work would be too small.    Last year I found the perfect frame

           After returning from visiting my parents in their new apartment, C said, "Let's go to Red Wing." It was later in the afternoon but still nice outside. We had gone walking on our usual path for the last week. Both of us wanted a change.    We put on our coats and walking shoes and drove to Red Wing. In the summer and fall it's a pretty drive. The leaves are off the trees so it is not so picturesque. I brought a book along that I read out loud during the drive. One we got into town we found a place to park.   We walked away from the downtown area passing several stores with gaily decorated windows that beckoned you to go inside and shop. We headed up a small hill. There were four churches within a two block area. I noticed a plaque on one of the churches. I like reading plaques because many times you can learn things. I learned that Hamline University is the oldest university in the state of Minnesota. Founded in 1854, it was originally located in Red Wing. T

     A few nights ago the movie "An Affair to Remember" was on TV. It was close to the beginning of the movie. Since there was nothing better to watch and C had never seen the movie, we watched it. I had seen the movie many times. In fact I had been obsessed with it thanks to another movie, "Sleepless in Seattle", many years ago. (I also had a small temporary crush on Cary Grant.) It was an interesting experience to watch it again after so many years.     If you haven't seen the movie and want to see it, I recommend you stop reading now. Some of what I'm going to write about will give away pieces of the plot. If that kind of thing doesn't bother you, keep reading.    The movie is about a man and a woman (Nickie and Terry) who fall in love during a cruise from Europe to New York.  Both are involved with other people who have been providing them financial support. They agree to give each other six months to break off their current relationships and start n

     I text my Dad nearly every day. Over the years we have developed our own words for different things. One of them is Domestic Chore Day. That is what we call any day that is spent doing household chores like laundry or cleaning.     One of the downsides of working a lot of hours is that my few days off tend to be domestic chore days. Today is one of those days. What I'd like to do is go out and shop for a new pair of running/walking shoes and maybe grab a pumpkin steamer. Then go home and read or knit.    That isn't how today is going to go. It's not a real good idea to shop on the weekend after Thanksgiving. Since I spent yesterday ordering new contact lenses and picking out a pair of glasses, I'm doing laundry today. C was kind enough to take care of two days worth of dishes. The only dishes I had to wash were the bowls I used making pumpkin bread.     I don't mind washing dishes or doing laundry. In fact I enjoy doing both things. While I'm washing dishes

     The turkey breast is in the crockpot. I have a nice selection of music playing on the stereo. I've finished the washing the dishes (for now). C is doing a bit of house cleaning before he starts preparing the dressing I made from the cornbread I made this morning. Scamp has been tended to and is lying on the chaise. I've sent and received many holiday greetings via text. I have a cup of tea and it is time to write.    Usually, I write about all the things that I'm grateful for. In fact, I post a list of them on Facebook. What is bothering me is that it is a list of things. Items. Suff. I am grateful for the many things that make my life easier and more beautiful, but gratitude should be more than counting our things and being happy about how much and what we have.     What are some non-material things for which I am grateful?    A few, well more than a few years ago, my friend Carol's husband was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. They moved to a northern subur

        C took me out to dinner after work. We got to the restaurant and it was decorated in red and green. Pictures of Santa and elves were all over the place. This isn't the first time I have noticed this. In my own store, Christmas decorations are slowly being hung. Evergreen wreaths and pine boughs in small pots are being offered for sale. There's a tree made of cases of soda inside the store, one of the first things to see when you come in.    Something is missing.    At this time of year there used to be pictures of turkeys, horns of plenty, and pilgrim hats, Now I can understand that some of this may have been deemed offensive, but I can't for the life of me figure out why a holiday that is important enough to warrant decorations and a day off (for many people) is being totally ignored and slowly erased.    Can someone explain to me why we are neglecting the one day that we have to celebrate gratitude? A holiday that is marked not by the giving of material things but

     Hi ! This is Skamp!     Mom had had a hard week so I am giving her the day off from writing.      I have really good humans. They take good care of me. I get groomed every morning. I get to have yogurt and some baby food every morning. I'm not sure if the baby food is considered a treat since Sophie hides medicine in it. I guess the yogurt isn't a treat either since it is healthy, but healthy things can be treats, can't they?    A few years ago I asked for a tree in a pot. At Christmas the humans bring a big tree into the house and decorate it. I like to lie under it and chew on it. I like to drink the water that it sits in. The humans put things on it for me to bat around if I wish to exercise.  I wanted a tree in the house all year around since I don't go outside too much. Also the trees outside are too big.    I'm happy to say that the humans have brought a small tree into the house. It doesn't look like a tree. It looks more like a tall bush. It has bra

     The week didn't start well. While changing a light over the stove, C saw a flash. The clock on the microwave was gone and the inside light didn't come on when the door was opened. C checked all the things he could check. It seemed our trusty microwave had bit the dust. When I looked inside the microwave, I saw a sticker that said it had been manufactured in 2000. Twenty-one years is a good run for any appliance. Time to replace.    The challenge is that it is a brand that is no longer made. C would have to try to figure out the closest thing to what we have and arrange for its purchase and installation. I worried that it might be wired in. That would complicate matters, we would need and electrician to install the microwave. I told C that he should do whatever he thought was best.    I was having a stressful time at work. I am the main immunizer at work. We had many appointments for vaccines from people who had to be vaccinated in order to comply with vaccine mandates. Mos

      My friend, Ellen, is fascinated with deer. One of her happy places is Fort Snelling State Park. She and her husband, Mac, like to walk in the park and look for deer. Her favourite deer is a piebald deer. Piebald is a deer that has white patches of fur. It's a rare condition, but there is one in the park.    Another happy place is an animal farm and petting zoo about an hour away from here. Last week she asked if C and I would like to go there with them. After a communication glitch, we found ourselves in the car on the way to the farm.    C and I enjoyed the drive out there. We arrived at the farm and went into a brown building to pay our admission. We could also buy a bag of carrots or grains to feed the animals we were visiting. Ellen and Mac were there and had purchased two bags of carrots. We bought one bag and then set out.    As we left the building we were "greeted" by a pair of small sheep. Anyone who thinks that animals are stupid should think again. These

     Evie always told me that getting old was no fun. I always chuckled a little when she said this and responded that the alternative was even less fun. I knew what she meant. Her health got a little worse with each passing year and during Covid things got a lot worse.    I remembered what she said a few weeks ago when my left heel starting hurting when I got out of bed in the morning. The first 30 minutes or so out of bed would find me limping around until the pain subsided a little bit. I tried doing foot stretches before bedtime, it helped a little but did not eliminate the problem. (I'm sure it would have helped more if I was consistent about it.) Eventually the pain in the left foot was constant although it would subside to a dull ache.    When we went to Door County, I noticed that my feet didn't hurt as much. Sometimes they didn't hurt at all. What was different? I thought about it.    Then it occurred to me. Shoes. I was wearing shoes most of the time. We are out a

      It's been a great week so far here in Door County. The weather has been much warmer than most years. While this is bad news if you are a fan of fall colours, it is good news for outdoor activities. The last two days we have been hiking in the various state parks here on the peninsula.     The first park we visited was Peninsula State Park. We always enjoy a walk in the woods, but there is a new attraction in the park this year. The Eagle Tower, which was torn down five years ago, was rebuilt and is open. The new tower is a nice strong structure that has a ramp so that those who are unable to climb stairs may enjoy the view from the tower. There were many people of all ages walking the ramp or taking the stairs to enjoy the lovely view from the top of the tower.    I climbed the old tower the year I turned 40. I thought it was an adventuresome thing to so as I as have acrophobia (fear of heights). The old tower tended to sway a bit in the wind so climbing it was a scary prospe

     This weekend is the annual Fall Fest in Sister Bay. It draws a lot of people in from all over. There is food, music, craft booths and a beer tent. All the elements necessary for a festival in Wisconsin. This year is special for two reasons. The first is that it was cancelled last year due to Covid. The second is that it is the 75th anniversary of the festival.    C and I were looking forward to attending. Usually the festival is scheduled for the weekend we arrive in Door County. After we got settled in at the B&B yessterday, we drove over to Sister Bay. We walked by the craft booths and explored the food booths. We would have grabbed dinner there except that most of the booths were not open yet. The booth that sold roasted sweet corn had run out of food.     Today we left the B&B early because the parade is always on Saturday. You have to get there early so that you have a place to park and a place to watch the parade. As we approached downtown Sister Bay, C saw a small g

   It's been a long week. This week was the second second week using the new computer software. We also resumed Covid vaccinations this week. I was originally scheduled to work two days, but the my boss asked if I could work a middle shift on Wednesday and Thursday to help out. Of course I said yes. I'm always happy to help out, I could work on my packing and housework before and after my shift.    I didn't expect to be  so mentally drained after those shorter mid shifts. The new software is a little more labor intensive. I was also giving Covid vaccine to people who were upset being vaccinated. Most of them had to get the vaccine due to mandates. I'd come home from work wanting to do nothing more than eat dinner and rest. I couldn't do that, There were dishes to be washed, clothes to put away. I needed to get Scamp's food and treats organized for the new cat sitter. I had to choose what knitting projects and books I'd take with me. I needed to figure out wh

        Today is my day off. It is the only day off I have this week. Between the system conversion and our upcoming trip to Door County, my schedule is pretty crowded.        There are lots of things that I could have done today. I could have cleaned the house, done laundry, updated the checkbook and other tasks that have been put off. I wanted to go for a bike ride. I wanted to get out into the fresh air and get some heavy duty exercise.    C found a two trails near Stillwater that looked interesting. We decided to explore one of them. After breakfast, C loaded the bikes onto the car. I got our water bottles ready. We drove to Stillwater.     While driving through town we found a house with a lot of Halloween decorations out front. The entire front yard was covered. If it weren't for the fact that we wanted to get going, we would have stopped to take a picture.    We got to the downtown area and found a place to park. We had a couple of directions we could go. If we went one way,

     One of the things I like best about the house we live in is that it's shaded by several large trees. This means our house tends to stay cooler in the summer. I also like having trees in the yard. I grew up in a yard with many large trees so it feels more like home.    Over the summer one of the trees started looking sick. It lost the leaves on top and slowly started losing leaves until only a tuft was left. I had hoped that this was just something having to do with the drought we have been suffering in Minnesota. It turns out that the tree has a disease. It will have to be cut down.   I understand this. Nothing lasts forever, even trees. We can't leave it standing because if it does fall down it will hit our house, the nearby power line or both. It also looks really bad to have a big, dead tree in the front yard.    The thing we now need to decide is what we are going to do. We will need to put a tree in to replace it. It's the south side of the house and there needs t

      Yesterday was 27 September. I was at work and busy, but in my few moments of downtime I had the feeling that something big had happened on this date. It was one of those events that changed all the days after it.    What was it? It wasn't an anniversary. It wasn't a birthday. It had nothing to do with a job change. The thought teased the back of my mind. What could it be?    Later that afternoon it hit me. September 27 was the day that Anne was killed in a car wreck.     Anne was the wife of Scott, who was my boss. He and I had started working together in Wisconsin. Since he and his family and I were all transplants to the town we lived in, he suggested I might want to get to know his wife. She was also a pharmacist who had taken time away from her career while their two children were small. Now that they were school age, she was working part time.    I was planning on becoming acquainted with Anne anyway. I felt it was a good idea for her to get to know me since Scott an

     I'm grateful that I was at work yesterday. I wasn't scheduled to be there but Jill wanted to take a day off and asked me to cover. Part of the reason I was grateful is because we got a shipment of Covid vaccine in. Since I'm the assistant vaccine coordinator, one of my jobs is to receive the order (it's a bit of a process). If I hadn't been there the vaccine would have been received by one of the techs but neither of them has done it before.    I also found out that the go live date for our software conversion is in two weeks. Two Weeks! I thought it was farther out. Then I realized that our conversion was to happen the first week in October and we are nearing the end of September. Yikes!     I have been working on the assigned training modules, but was told to try to do them at work. That way I would get paid for my training time. It's been pretty busy the last few weeks that I've worked. There  hasn't been much time to log in and work on training.

        I've developed an interesting and possibly bad habit. I've been watching a lot of videos on YouTube and Facebook. This is a habit I believe needs to be broken quickly because I find that too much of my time is being wasted in watching this stuff. I could be doing other things like cleaning the house, knitting something, doing laundry or at least reading a book.    I've been watching women's artistic gymnastics videos on You Tube. I started watching these videos during the Olympics.  Sunisa Lee, the gold medalist in the women's individual all around and bronze medalist on the uneven bars, grew up in a suburb near where I live. It's kind of strange to think that an Olympic medalist just graduated from the same high school my grandson attends now. People who do things like that live in California or Texas, not Minnesota.    After watching the Olympics I started watching other gymnastics videos. I watched Nadia Comaneci score a 10 on the uneven bars. This le

      Yesterday marked twenty years since planes hit the Twin Towers in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington D.C. A third plane was forced down in Pennsylvania by the passengers. Most people believe that this plane was supposed to hit the United States Capitol Building.    I saw several posts from various people asking the question, where were you on 9-11? I know where I was. I was at work. I'd just started a 12 hours shift at a pharmacy that opened the previous January. I got a call from by boss telling me what happened. The internet existed, but not like is is now. I did not have access to a TV. The brother of our technician had been killed in a car wreck the day before. My tech and her mother had been able to catch one of the last flights out of Minneapolis-St. Paul before all planes were grounded. Unable to fly back, they rented a car and drove the cremated remains of their son and brother back to Minnesota.    Every generation has one or more moments in time where you

     Today is Labor Day. It is the unofficial end to summer. Most children start school this week although some schools started last week. I always disliked Labor Day when I was a kid. School started the next day and I didn't like going to school. I didn't mind the studying and classes, but when you are a kid that gets bullied in school it's not something you look forward to. When I got into junior high and high school there was the added worry of getting lost inside the school building during class changes and potentially walking into class late. (Even after a year or two in the same school buildings I never quite lost this fear.) Also the only thing on TV was the Jerry Lewis Telethon. (This was in the years before cable TV.)    The origin of Labor Day started during the industrial revolution. Various places designated the first Monday in September as a day to recognize laborers and their contribution to the achievements in the United States.  It was common to celebrate wi

     One of the things that I've discovered as I 've become older is how little it takes to make me happy.      For example, once I finish writing this column, my to-do list is done. It's all done. All the chores that I needed to do will be complete the minute I hit publish. Even though there wasn't much on the list, it did include things like sweeping the floors, mopping the kitchen, cleaning Scamp's drinking fountain and bringing my checkbook up to date. Yes, I still have a checkbook with  checks that we reconcile every month.    Yesterday I went to a bakery called Nothing Bundt Cakes. All they make is Bundt cakes of various sizes. A few years ago I signed up to get a free Bundtlet (small cake) on my birthday. I went there to pick up my  birthday Bundtlet. To me it seemed the Bundtlet was larger than it had been last year.. Even though it might actually be the same size, I'm still happy. My confetti Bundtlet was very tasty.     C and I also went for a long bik

     Today is my birthday. The sun is out. The sky is blue and it looks like it will be a wonderful day. I have a nice cup of tea to sip on.     I've already heard from my Dad, a missionary serving in Africa, a childhood friend, a new friend, and a man who I jokingly call my twin. (His birthday is the same day as mine, but one year earlier.) I have studied my Scriptures and worked out. I've even put away a few dishes that I washed last night.    Today I'm taking a friend to lunch that I haven't seen in a long time. She used to be part of my Toastmasters group, but had to stop coming to meetings as she took a job working nights. We are going to a Indian restaurant that I have been to many times before. Today, I want to step out of my comfort zone a little. I want to try something I've never tried before. Since my friend knows a lot about Indian food, I asked her to help me.     I've decided that is what I want to do today. I want today to be about experiences. I

     There is a chance that a couple who are deaf may start coming to Sacrament meeting in our ward (congregation). (Sacrament meeting is what members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints call our worship service.) As far as I know no one in the ward knows American Sign Language (ASL). Since this is the only way to communicate with them, other than writing on pieces of paper back and forth, it seems like some one should learn to sign. To me it is a way to make them feel welcome. Also I believe that it is only courtesy to try to communicate with them in the language that they speak, even if it is limited at least you are making the effort.    C found a series of videos online that are pretty good. My goal was to watch at least one video a week. Unfortunately my schedule doesn't allow for that. My progress has not been as fast as I would like, however I am determined to do better.    One thing I have discovered from the little ASL that I know is that it makes sense to m

     Today is our 17th wedding anniversary. I looked back at a picture of us from our wedding. I looked at those two people posing in a garden. I'm holding a huge bouquet of flowers and wearing a big white dress with spaghetti straps. C is wearing a handsome black suit. That wedding took over a year to plan and was one of the more stressful things I've ever done. Part of my happiness that day was due to the fact that I wouldn't have to waste another minute of my time planning a wedding.     I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Neither of us did. All we knew was that we loved each other and wanted to spend the rest of time together. We had discussed many things during our long engagement. We knew that after the ceremony we would never have to face anything alone again. We would have hard times and good times. Our adventure was about to begin.    One of the things we didn't know was that we would move four times before our fifth anniversary. We didn't know th

      I noticed it when I turned off the light by our front door. There were three paper hearts on sticks stuck into the ground near my driveway. I looked out the window at the other side and found three more paper hearts. I couldn't make out what was written on them, but I was sure they would have some kind of encouraging message on them.    This is called a "heart attack". It's when a group of women from church leave heart shaped pieces of paper in your front yard or taped to your front door. It's not the first time this has happened to me. Several years ago after a very hard and long day at work, I found a bunch of hearts taped to my front door. A group of young women had cut them out, wrote on them and put them on the door. I was puzzled about this one. I wasn't going through a hard time. There was no reason for these hearts to show up. I sent a text to the person I thought was responsible to thank her and also ask what was up.    They had put hearts on th

     Yesterday C and I went to watch a performance of a local high school band. The first part of the performance showed the band doing various fundamental marching band skills such as turning right and left, marching backwards and other moves. One of the things that caught my eye was a marching band member in a wheelchair who was pushed by another student according to commands.    At one point in the program the director invited the band members to select someone from those watching to "teach" the skills they had just demonstrated.  C, after a bit of finger pointing with a set of parents, we know bounded onto the field. He had been summoned by a trombone player whose father is a friend of C.     Part of me was relieved. I was nervous I'd get chosen and my left-right confusion would be on full display. The other part of me was irritated that C was participating. We were there to watch, not participate and the trombone player should have had her mother with her. (Another s