Sophie's Story

     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