Sophie's Story

     After several months of frustration, a few strong discussions with C and two hearing tests, I have had to face a fact. I am losing my hearing. The cause for this is unknown. It might be nerve damage. It could be Covid related auditory nerve damage. It has also been suggested that it could also be be a tumour in the auditory canal. At this point the cause isn't really important. The hearing loss isn't reversible. The only thing that can be done is to get hearing aids.    I've rebelled at this thought. I didn't want hearing aids. I really didn't think they would help. A lot of the trouble I have hearing is due to constant ringing in my ears and hearing aids will not correct that. All they do is amplify the sounds in the range of the ringing so I can hear them better. I didn't want them because they would cause my hearing be become gradually worse.    The truth was I didn't want them because I was ashamed. People my age don't need hearing aids unless t

     Christmas has come to our house once again. This year looks a lot different than last year. Our beloved Scamp is not posing under the Christmas tree. Instead our two new kittens are racing around, playing with their toys pausing to eat, drink or rest a little on their cat trees. There is no snow on the ground. Its been raining for the last few days and we may have hit a record high temperature yesterday.    We have a small tree on an old TV stand so that the kittens will not drink the tree water. The lights on the tree are a new set of LED lights that switch from coloured to all white. Our brightly coloured string of chaser lights doesn't work anymore. There is a large rug on the wood floor that wasn't there last year.     We do have familiar decorations on the tree including once that I got from my parents recently. It is a tree shaped ornament made of Styrofoam that I decorated in kindergarten or first grade. I made cookies as I usually do and C delivered plates of them

   For most of the month C and I have been in discussions about the Christmas tree. We were worried about the the kittens drinking the tree water. We were also worried about two rambunctious kittens knocking over the tree. For weeks we vacillated between a real tree and an artificial one. I wanted a real tree as I believed they are less able to be tipped and because I don't like artificial trees. On the other hand, I did understand that having an artificial tree would remove the danger of tree water although I do think the tipping issue would be worse.    We compromised by deciding to get a real tree, but a smaller one. We could put netting around the trunk the block the kittens from drinking the water.     When we went shopping for a tree, the selection was pretty picked over. That's not unusual, we don't put a tree up until a week or so before Christmas. Most of the tree were either too big or too expensive. I finally suggested we look at a large chain hardware store. The

     This weekend is the weekend where I get to do the one and possibly only thing I enjoy about the Christmas season. I get to make treats. Every year I have several kinds of treats that I make. This year I'm going to do a few different things.     I'm not making apple cider cookies anymore. This is partly because the mix is hard to find and partly because I don't think anyone really likes them. Instead I'm going to make ginger cookies. The scent of those cookies baking will make a really nice scent in the house. I also like the idea of changing up cookies now and again. I found a recipe for chocolate crinkle cookies. It s a chocolate cookie dough coated in powder sugar and baked. The result looks really nice. If they turn out I may also try adding peppermint to the dough for another batch.    This year I'm also going to attempt a little candy making. I was thinking of making buttermints, the little pastel candies that used to be found at weddings next to the mixed

     Hi! My name is Barnaby. I live here with Sophie and C and Willow. My middle name is Cosimo. It's a silly sounding middle name. Sophie wanted it to be my first name, but I don't look Italian. Barnaby fits much better since I was born in a barn.    Many of my siblings are going to be barn cats. They are tough and strong and like to hunt. I didn't really want to be a barn cat. I like to cuddle and purr. A nice lady said she would help me to find a home where I would be well cared for. I had to have some surgery and a shot before I could could go to a new home. Not long after that happened the lady told me she wanted me to meet some people who were looking for a kitten to love. I would have a sister to play with. She took me to her house where I met the people. There was a woman with dark curly hair. She looked tired. The lady handed me to the woman with the dark hair and I curled up and purred. I liked being held by her. There was a tall man with her and he held me too. T

        I had lunch with Dana, my friend/sister this week. It was the first time I've seen her her since my birthday. Earlier in the fall she went to England. Partly in jest I asked her to find a teacup for me. For some reason I think it's cool to drink tea from a cup that comes from a country know for tea drinking. I was expecting a plain stoneware cup, nothing fancy.    When we met for lunch she gave me the cup she had found for me. Inside the box was the most beautiful teacup I have ever seen. It was white with a lavender and gold design of flowers and leaves. It came with a lid that had a gold face on it. It was so far beyond what I had expected that I was stunned. Dana told me that she had been all over the place in various kitchen stores looking for a tea cup and couldn't find one. I she said she finally went to Harrods (I think) and found the teacup that was in the box before me. It has monetary value in that it's a limited edition cup that could increase in valu

      Most of you who have read this column know that there are times when I have trouble finding something to write about. A lot of the time I have a few ideas but none of them can generate enough words to be a full blown column. That's where the random assorted stuff comes in. Today is going to be a few random thoughts not in any certain order.    In a few hours the workers are coming to install a new garage door. It will be a steel door unlike our current wood one and it will match some of the trim on our house. It's going to make things look so much better.  Once it is installed, the only things that will need to be done are to paint the front door and some of the trim around the windows. The house will look much better after that.    Anyone who owns a house knows that home improvements are never done. We need to reseal the driveway sometime soon. We would also like to paint inside. The downstairs family room first followed by my bathroom, the living and dining rooms, the k

     C and I usually have a date day or at least part of a date day once a week. It's a time where we spend time with each other doing something fun or maybe simply having lunch out. Since Thursday was Thanksgiving and neither of us felt like eating out, we decided to go out for a hot chocolate.   Right before we left C had an idea. We should get our hot chocolate and also share a peppermint shake from Chick-fil-A. He said the the combination of the hot chocolate and the cool peppermint shake would be really good. I thought it was overkill, but agreed to do it.    After dropping a loaf of bread off at a friend's house we went through the drive through to get the hot chocolate. When I have a choice I usually get dark chocolate. It's not quite as sweet and has lots of flavour. C always gets milk chocolate. Then we went to Chick-fil-A. C went inside and picked up our preordered shake. It was topped with whipped cream and a cherry. I asked C if he wanted to cherry. He said no s

     The turkey breast is in the crockpot. The dressing and cranberries are finished. C and I have sent Thanksgiving greetings to all those we know. The kitchen is mostly clean. C is listening to a football game and I have time to write.    As usual I'd like to write about the things for which I'm grateful. These are not in any particular order.     I'm grateful that I had the opportunity to be in a leadership position in Relief Society. I had some experiences that I would not have had and got to serve with two women that I didn't know well. I have learned a few things. I wish I could say that I developed some hidden leadership skills, but I can't. I spent a year and a half doing something that I have no talent and little ability to do. I only wish that there had been some joy in that journey. When I was a girl I took dance classes. I was much bigger than the other girls, totally uncoordinated and not as limber. I loved to dance though so my inabilities didn't b

     I did it again.       C and I decided that when we got home from Door County we would start actively looking for another cat so Willow wouldn't be alone. We thought another kitten would be a good idea.     Jenna, who works at my store, was/is working with rescue groups and other people to find homes for several litters of kittens that had been born on a farm several miles away. One of my techs knew I was looking for another kitten and put me in contact with Jenna.     I told Jenna we were looking for an orange male cat. however I cared more about having a cat with a friendly personality who is good with other animals. I also wanted a kitten close to Willow's age. She showed me a picture of  a cute orange and white kitten. She told me he was a sweet kitten who was starving for attention. That caught my ear. I asked for a chance to meet the him.     It took a couple of weeks, there were several things that got in the way. Eventually I got to meet him. He was a bit unkept and

     C and I went walking in the Big Mall this week. We walked though the entrance hallway and toward the rotunda near Barnes and Noble where they have performances of various types. It was blocked off because they were putting up two tall light filled Christmas trees.     I pulled out my phone to look at the date. I was right, it was early November. I'm sure a small wisp of steam escaped from my left ear.     Anyone who knows me at all knows that I have a special dislike for Christmas decorations before Thanksgiving. I don't mind people putting up their Christmas lights early because these things are best done when the weather is good. Since good weather days can be sparse this time of year, I give those people a pass.     There are two reasons why I dislike the fact that Christmas has overtaken  the latter part of the year.    Reason one: I firmly believe that Thanksgiving is a holiday that should be celebrated. We can take one day out of the 365 days of the year to be gratef

        I've been slowly working though the book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks  by Rebecca Skloot. The book was on a list of medical subject books being read by a book club I'd heard of. Since I'm looking for way to crawl out of my comfort zone, I decided to check it out.    Henriette Lacks was an African American woman who was diagnosed with  cervical cancer in 1951. It was a very aggressive type cancer. The book describes the treatment for those cancers which by today's standards is pretty barbaric and hard to read. They used radium to literally burn the tumor away. During the treatment one of the doctors took a tissue sample of her tumour and the healthy tissue surrounding it although she had not given permission for him to do so. The cells were cultured in a lab and it was found that unlike the cells from other tissue cultures they not only did not die, but grew. Because of this,  the cells were grown for wide use among researchers who were looking for human

     Anyone who knows me at all knows that I truly dislike shopping for clothes. I like shopping for books, yarn, cat stuff, things for the house groceries and just about anything else. Buying clothes is so frustrating that on those rare occasions when I find something I really like, I try to buy several of them in different colours so I won't have to buy that item for a long time. The other thing I do is wear something until it almost falls apart.    My trusty black church skirt developed a small tear in the back. Thanks to Covid and being a woman of a certain age, my other skirts fit tighter than they used to. My beloved navy blue pea coat is starting to look worn. C has decreed that it is too worn and that I need a new coat.    I prefer skirts that hit below the knee, I was looking for a winter weight material and something that is in a classic style. I want something I can wear for many years. I'd like another pea coat, but was willing to get something else if I saw somethi

     As much as I like our trips to door County, I'm always happy to come home. Eventually I get tired of restaurant food and being unable to sleep well in the hotel bed. I have had enough soaks in the Jacuzzi tub and I want to be able to do my Scripture study in a comfortable seat as opposed to either sitting in the dark or sitting on the floor near the bathroom. (If I turn on the lights it wakes up C.) I also miss Willow.    We always make the trip back a part of our vacation. We have two cheese factories we stop at to restock our cheese supply. There is a tavern in DePere that has good hamburgers, we stop there for lunch. We bought some chocolate at another shop in DePere. We didn't take our usual stroll at a park near the Fox River due to the rain.    We got home earlier that usual. I was able to unpack all my stuff  and put it away. C had to return something to someone and picked up some Asian food for dinner. I got all my stuff ready for the next day because I had to work

      There are three state parks that we walk around while we are here in Door County. Peninsula State Park, Whitefish Dunes and Newport State Park. Of the three Whitefish Dunes is my favourite.    This is kind of strange because we haven't spent much time at Whitefish Dunes.  We spend most of our time walking the in the wooded areas of Peninsula State Park.    I love the trees in the forest. Unlike many women,the forest is my happy place. There is something about being around trees and the animals that live among them that soothes and grounds me.    When you add the water around the forest it's even better.     Whitefish Dunes has a beautiful beach of light coloured sand with the water of Lake Michigan covering it. To me it doesn't look like a beach in Wisconsin.  I can imagine sunbathers and swimmers flocking to that beach in the summer,  One year when it was warmer I took my shoes and socks off and walked in the sand and let the water run over my feet. It felt really go

        We are settled into our hotel after the drive to Door County. This is the twentieth trip we have made across Wisconsin to our favourite spot. This past week was hectic trying to get things done and get packed. As usual, I was scheduled to work most of the week which didn't leave me much time to pack or help with other chores. Friends were going to care for Willow so we had to move her litter box upstairs so they wouldn't have to go to the basement and make sure she had enough food and treats.     Eventually everything got done. C loaded the car and and we headed out. The new to us car we are driving does not have as much room as our old Jetta. C managed to get our suitcases in the trunk along with all the other things that we bring along. I gave Willow a kiss goodbye on her nose and we headed out.    It was misting as we drove east headed for the Wisconsin border. The sky was grey. It was just like our first trip. The rain continued the entire way just like the first ti

           Earlier this year I finished the 10 stitch blanket that I've been working on for a long time. It was a very relaxing project and I enjoyed working on it. Over the summer I haven't knit anything because of lack of time. Now it's fall and I have the itch to start knitting again. I also want a project to take to Door County with me.     I know that I said I wanted to knit a pair of socks, but I'm not sure now. I'd have to teach myself how to knit using a magic loop. I'm sure I could figure it out, but I'd  really like to do something easy and relaxing like that blanket was.     One project I was going to do is to crochet all the granny squares I have together to make a nice little blanket for Willow. It would be fun and relaxing, but it would be hard to take all those granny squares to Door County with me. The same is true for the sample blanket that I want to start. (although I could take a few small balls of yarn along and some stitch patterns to m

     Last week I did something I haven't done in a very long time. I got a flu shot.    I know it is pretty ridiculous some for one who gives vaccines to avoid receiving what is thought of as a very common one, but I did. The reason has to do with a preservative which is used in multidose vials of flu vaccine.  I'm allergic to the preservative so I avoided getting flu shots and had to be very careful when giving one from a multidose vial. There are preservative free versions of the vaccine that have been around for awhile, but I was still nervous. I have strange allergies. A lot of the time I don't know I'm allergic to something until I encounter it. I've had instances where I've had allergic reactions to various types of makeup and perfumes where it is difficult to figure out just what I'm allergic to. (Which is why I don't wear make up anymore.) I worried that there would be something else in a flu vaccine that would trigger a reaction.    The reason I

        When I got up today it was cloudy outside. I was pleased about that. It meant there was a good chance that it would rain. I know what the song says about rainy days and Mondays, but I wasn't down at all. In fact, I have been craving a day like this for a long time. A day where the weather forces me to stay inside and do some things that I have wanted to do.     C and I had planned to go to the Original Pancake House for breakfast. I had been there once and wanted to introduce him to it. When I was there the first time, they had Palmetto grits on the menu. I had never seen grits in a restaurant this far north. I wanted to try them.      We got there fairly early and were shown to a booth. The restaurant has an open spacious feel to it. We ordered our meal and it came much faster than we expected. We sampled the grits and found them to be perfectly cooked. We both enjoyed our meals.    The next thing we did was go to the big mall (Mall of America). After a big meal like that

   A few weeks ago I was asked to stay after a Ward Council meeting. Normally it's a meeting I don't attend, but the Relief Society president was out of town and one of my duties was to sit in for her on such meetings. I was fairly sure I knew what it was going to be about.     After the meeting I stayed behind while everyone had left. It was just me and one of the bishop's counselors. We sat in some chairs at one side of the bishop's office. He told me that I was going to be released from my calling as a Relief Society counselor. The release was going to be announced at Sacrament meeting (what the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints call their worship service.) that would take place in about 20 minutes. I'm sure I startled the counselor with my expression of joy and relief at what he told me. I'm sure he was expecting me to be upset and bewildered. Usually one knows about a release at least a few days before it happens.     I had a feeling that this was

     When I was younger, I read a book called, I'm My Mommy . It's a Sesame Street book about a young girl and her mother who exchange places for the day. I can't remember everything, but they go on an outing to the zoo. As a child I thought it was an entertaining read. It never occurred to me that something like that could actually happen.    That's what Alzheimer's disease can do.    Yesterday, my dad left for a long weekend with his siblings. They have been doing that every year since my grandparents died. They hadn't been able to get together the past few years due to Covid. Last year dad was not able to attend because mom has Alzheimer's and is unable to be alone for more than a few hours at a time and we had not been able to arrange care for her in his absence.    My siblings and I agreed to each take a turn staying with mom. Yesterday was my turn. C and I had planned to take mom to the museum to see a Charles Schultz exhibit. I remembered that she lik

      Hi     My name is Willow. I'm pretty sure I'm not supposed to be doing this but I'm trapped in the room. I decided to hide behind this big screen that Sophie stared at while she types. I thought that she was just taking a short break, but she closed the door. Eventually she'll come back when she realizes that she locked me in here.    While I'm waiting I thought that I'd introduce myself.    I'm a grey tabby cat, That means I have stripes. My stripes are really cool looking. I have a white chest, belly and paws. I have ears that are kind of large. Sophie says my eyes are a green/ blue grey. I'm not sure if she is right. I am sure that I'm cute and have soft fur. I spend a lot of time keeping my fur clean.     This is a good place to live. I have a cat tree, a cool looking thing that I can scratch and hide in and a ton of really nice toys. Even better I have a lot of room to run. I like to run. There is a downstairs area that I can run in as wel

     Today is my birthday and it's been a good day so far. The sun is shining.      Willow and I shared a morning cuddle session. She's getting so big. I'm trying to teach her how to balance on my shoulder so I can get things done and still have her with me. She's doing all right, but insists on sitting up on my shoulder which isn't the most stable position.    I got a happy birthday text from Mickey who has known me longer than anyone. It occurred to me that we have been friends for over 50 years. That makes me happy.    C went off to play pickleball and I did a restorative yoga class. We went biking yesterday and really pushed it. The class felt good. I had to work around Willow who decided to take a quick nap on my yoga mat.    I baked a hummingbird cake for my birthday cake last night. I put it into a Bundt pan instead of making a traditional layer cake. It turned out well. I put some cream cheese glaze over it this morning and I am pleased with it. I'm goin

     Normally I don't write about serious topics for weekend columns. Weekends should be a break from the what goes on the rest of the week. However, I've been stewing over something for a couple of weeks and it's time of me to get it out of my head.    Someone I know posted on Facebook that anyone who does not support and vote for the same conservative leaders he favours should leave the country. His opinion was that people who do not support and elect the group that he likes do not love this country, are not true patriots and need to live someone else.     I wanted badly to comment on his post. I wanted to tell him that I was born here, raised here and have made a good life here. I cannot in good conscience support the people he chooses and I am not going to leave. My uncles and my father-in-law fought in a war to prevent this kind of authoritarian thinking. I didn't because I know that doing this would only start something that I didn't want to start.    To me wh

     C and I celebrated our 19th wedding anniversary yesterday. Two days after the actual date. Like many couples I had to work because I didn't block the day off. It wasn't the first time I had worked on our anniversary.    I married late in life because I saw no reason to get married. I wasn't beautiful and had a very demanding career. I just didn't think there was a man in the world who would want a short, stout, bookish, cat loving woman who was devoted to being a good pharmacist. Marriage was for attractive girls who wanted to have children.    Then I met C. He didn't mind that I was bookish, stout and had a family that consisted of two cats. He was just fine with me and my career. We fell in love and decided to get married.    I thought I knew what I was getting myself into I think most people who get married think they know what they are getting into, but I don't think it is possible to really know until after the celebrating is over and you are left to b

     One of the surprises that I got when we bought the house that we live in was discovering that the property contained a small raised garden. I found this out the day we moved in when a neighbor came up to me and said, "I hope you are going to do something with this garden." The garden had been designed by a master gardener who lived in the house when it was first built.. The young men who bought the house had let it go.    My parents had a large garden at the house I grew up in. They planted lettuce, carrots, tomatoes and other vegetables.  Sometimes my Dad would try to grow strawberries. Once he grew raspberries. There was a flower garden and Dad grew roses around the foundation in the front yard. As children part of our job was to help tend these gardens. I didn't mind. I especially liked helping to tend the roses and picking the flowers that grew. I even had a small patch where I could grow a flower called a four o'clock. I don't remember what they looked l

     Hopefully everyone has a period of time in their lives where they are happy. Things are going well and life is very good.    I'm having one of those times right now. Life is good here in Minnesota.     Our new flooring is all that we hoped for. It looks like a wood floor to me even though I know that it's actually vinyl. It so much easier to keep clean and the smelly old carpet is gone. We're debating on doing some painting before we move furniture and the TV back into place. We realized that we have a nice carpet that will look good on the floor and give it some warmth. It will be so nice to enjoy the space and perhaps to have visitors.    Last weekend we went to a festival in Red Wing. Small town festivals are always fun for me. There was music, food from local restaurants and a lot of people and dog watching. They had craft booths down by the river. One of the big ships that cruise down the river was docked at the park. I've seen those boats on TV. They don'

     Thanks to the severe storm that swept through Hudson, the location of our  Toastmaster's summer party had to be changed. Two trees had fallen at Maha's house. One on part of the house and another on the deck. Her house was all right, but her gardens and deck were a mess and she didn't want to host a party until she had cleaned things up. Tosia offered to host it at her house. She would make pulled beef sandwiches and everyone could bring sides, desserts and appetizers. She also said that anyone wanting to take a dip in the pool should bring a suit and towel.    I was tempted. I like to swim and I like pools. The challenge was that I hadn't worn a swimsuit in front of people I knew since I was in high school. The only times I put on a swimsuit are we are on vacation and I want to sit in the hot tub or swim in the hotel pool. Tosia said that she had two pool rules. The first was no peeing in the pool. The second was no body shaming including self body shaming. I wasn

   Yesterday was Willow's first visit to the vet. I was a little nervous about how it would go. For the past 20 plus years I have had to deal with cats that hated going to the vet. One of them to the point that we needed to give him drugs to calm him down so he could be handled.    The first hurdle to taking a cat to the vet is to get them into their carrier. That was not a problem. Fortunately Willow does not hide under furniture much so it was no challenge to pick her up and put her into the carrier with a few toys.    We put the carrier into the back seat of the car and pulled out of the driveway. Willow started to mew and cry. She's not very big so she's not very loud. C and I talked to her and reassured her as we drove. Fortunately the vet office is not far away.    The vet clinic changed it's drop off policy since we were there last. Up until now we needed to call the clinic and let them know we had arrived. They would take information by phone and then let us kno

     C and I had been talking about replacing the carpet downstairs for several years.  I was never a fan of carpet anywhere in a house. Also years of soiling by Scamp and other issues had left the carpet with a nasty smell that could never be completely eliminated. We finally decided that this would be a good time to get it done. Once cleaned up and organized it would make a great family room. Our basement is dug a bit deeper than normal so it is nice and cool during the summer. In the winter an electric heater shaped like a wood stove keeps the room very comfortable.    What first peaked our interest in replacing the carpet was an ad from a flooring company that kept appearing in the email. The company offered 50% off new flooring and installation. C met with them and he discovered something. In the small print toward the bottom of the ad was a disclaimer. Offer not available in Minnesota or Tennessee. We got a quote for them anyway. C went to work finding another company.    He foun

   One of the things C and I enjoyed every July for several years was the Mideast festival sponsored by a nearby church.  There would be music, demonstrations of ethnic dances, and of course food. There was a market where clothing, jewelry and other small items were sold. They also had a bake sale with flat bread, Faranee bread (not sure why but I like it a lot), all kinds of pastries and homemade jams and jellies.    There was also information about the Antiochian Orthodox church that hosts the festival. They held tour of the sanctuary where they hold their worship services. Someone would explain the worship practices they have and the reasons why they do things that way.     Then Covid hit. The festival was no longer held although for the last two years they would have an online bake sale and would sell food for people to pick up and eat at home. C and I missed it, especially the food. It wouldn't be the same eating it in our home.    A couple weeks ago when we were driving aroun

             Sometimes things happen pretty quickly. You don't always get the option of a contemplation before you have to make a big decision. When that happens you make the best choice you can and then deal with the results.    C and I had something like that happen late last week. Over the weekend we had been asked to kittensit. We had a wonderful time with Wren who kept us entertained. We loved having her visit. It was going to be very hard waiting until the fall to adopt cats.    Last Thursday, Nena came back from her trip and picked up Wren. C and I were sad to see her go.     Then it happened. Nena sent C a message on Friday asking if we would like to take Wren. C and I were both floored. This was not something we had expected. I wondered if Nena had misunderstood a message I had sent. She told me that she had a three year old cat. I responded that if the two cats didn't get along we would take Wren. My intention was to give her an option in case she needed to rehome Wre