Sophie's Story

       I spent part of last week watching all the pageantry surrounding the death of Queen Elizabeth II. I've always enjoyed watching the pageantry of the British monarchy.     There was one member of the Royal Family that really caught my eye, Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise otherwise known as The Princess Royal. She is the second child and only daughter of the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.    When her mother's coffin was brought into St. Giles Church to lay at rest so that those in Scotland could pay their respects, Anne along with her brothers stood vigil over their mother's coffin. It was the first time that a woman had stood vigil. She also walked next to her brother, King Charles III, in any procession where family members walked behind the coffin. This was also a first. She did these things wearing a military uniform as she holds several military titles mostly naval.    I've always liked Princess Anne. She is the sor...

     I was visiting my parents when I got a text from C. Queen Elizabeth II passed away in Scotland. I paused for a minute in disbelief. I didn't realise that she was ill or significantly more frail. She just met with the most recent Prime Minister (a woman).     Even though I live in the United States, a country that fought a war in order to be free of things like monarchy, I felt a little sad. To be honest, I liked the Queen. Even though she had no role when it came to actual governing, I liked seeing a woman in a position of power, even if it was because of birth. I was hoping that she would live to be 100 like her mother and husband.     One thing I do like about the monarchy is the ceremonial role that they play and that that role is stable. I sometimes wish we had an equivalent here. We have a President, but that changes every four to eight years and at any given time there is a portion of the population that does not support him and so...

     C and I have had a goal all summer. We want to bike the entire Cannon Valley Trail both ways. This is a distance of about 40 miles. It would be the longest ride we've done. We started calling it "The Whole Enchilada".    We have spent much of the summer training for it. We've ridden half the trail using my Runkeeper app so we would know our average speed. We've started our rides from various places on the trail so we could decide where the best place to start would be. We've talked about whether it would be best to power through or if we should plan some rest stops. We planned to take extra drinking water and some snacks with us in a small backpack.    We were getting close to ready when the accident happened with my bike. Once my bike was repaired, we decided that we would have to delay a bit. I needed to get used to my new seat and handlebar grips.     Finally we decided the day had come. Our route was planned. The snacks had been...

     It started with a sore throat, so sore that swallowing hurt. They don't happen very often, but I have had them before. No big deal. A couple ibuprofen and get on with the day. This went on for a couple of days.    Then came the fever. That was when I realised that this what not my usual very bad head cold.  We had several Covid tests in the house but they were all outdated. We opened them up to use them anyway and found out that the vial of liquid for the sample had dried up. I suppose that we could have put on our N95 masks and gone to get new tests, but we felt it was best to stay home.    I knew it was going to happen someday. I'd been vaccinated,boosted and careful. However when you work with the public, especially sick people you're going to catch something, it's just a matter of time. All of the staff at the pharmacy had it already except for me and one tech. I have to admit that I was hoping that I'd be one of the asymptomatic ones or ...

     On Friday I could feel the beginnings of it. A dry scratchy throat and a thirst that never seemed to be quenched. I don't get sick very often, so when something is about to start it's very clear.    By Saturday the laryngitis had set in. I was lucky I was working with Chrys, who was willing to answer the phones so my voice could be spared for the things I had to do. I had taken some ibuprofen to help with the inflammation in my throat and drinking as much water as I possibly could. I got through the day and went home to rest.    Sunday was a little bit worse. My throat was sore in addition to being dry and scratchy. My voice was definitely worse. The occasional coughing spells did not help. Thanks to Chrys, I managed to get through the day. My next shift was the closing shift on Monday, I was not looking forward to it.    After dinner on Sunday night I started to get cold. Things were getting worse. I was now running a fever.   ...

     Gardening can be a frustrating hobby. For most of my life I've been able to keep only extremely hardy plants alive. When we moved into our house I acquired a garden along with a wish from our next door neighbor to "do something with it". (It was a mess of out of control plants and weeds.)    Over the years I've managed to grow things in it, some years more successfully than others.  Lately I've had a desire to grow more vegetables and more kinds of vegetables. My Dad suggested we try growing carrots. Since carrots are my favourite vegetable, I thought this was an excellent idea.    There were a few problems starting out. The first one is that carrots are grown from seed. I hadn't grown anything from seed since I was a kid. I don't have any place in the house that has enough light to start things at the end of winter. When it is time to put the garden in, we buy plants from a local nursery. We got the garden in late this spring because of cold...

   A few months ago I saw the father of a woman used to know in the store. Once he figured out who I was, I asked him about Lily, her husband and children. I only remember on line from what he told me. "They are not together anymore." We chatted for a couple more minutes and then he went to check out.    I stood there for a few minutes, stunned. They are not together anymore. Lily and Rick were dating at the same time C and I were. In fact, they had been together longer. I remember going to a Toastmaster event where Lily was there and Rick couldn't attend. She put a picture of him on the table near her so that he could be there in spirit. I thought it was very cool and romantic.    I'm not sure when they got engaged, but I know that they got married in April a few months before us. C and I attended their wedding dance. They both looked happy and ready to start their new life together. Ten years later, we had dinner together to celebrate our mutual ten year ...