Sophie's Story

           A quick check the the VP of Education confirmed what I had already guessed. As of May 1, I have been a member of Small Town Toastmasters for 25 years. I may possibly be the first person in the history of the club to reach that milestone.          In honor of that achievement, I thought I'd share a few memories and things from the last two and a half decades.          Few people know that this was not my first time in Toastmasters. My first club was in Albert Lea. I discovered it through a woman who was a few years ahead of me in high school. The club met in a law office conference room and consisted of lawyers, legal secretaries and a court reporter. I was the only person not employed in the legal profession. The only memory I have of that club was the time meeting coincided with the announcement of the verdict in the O.J. Simpson trial. A TV was rolled into our meeting room and the lawyers watche...

            For me, one of the best days of the week is Thursday. That is the day I go over to visit my Dad.           My siblings and I decided it would be a good idea if my sister and I visited our parents every week. (My brother lives further away and was travelling for his job so we excused him.) Since Thursday was the day I had off most often, it became my regular visiting day.          The routine we had when Mom died naturally altered.  At first it felt strange not going up to memory care to say hi to her and to help her eat lunch if she wanted to eat. We had an hour or so of extra time with nothing to fill it.           At first we spent it talking. I would make myself a cup of tea and we'd visit until it was time to make lunch. Sometimes the conversation would get teary if we talked about Mom. My brother gave Dad a copy of the picture we used in her obitu...

             Several weeks ago C and I went to see an exhibit at the history museum. It was an exhibit that showcased her life starting from her childhood and following her through her life and career.  I was interested in seeing the exhibit because I always enjoy learning more about the lives of women who do things. The exhibit was very good. I also liked the exhibit of cookbooks put out by churches and other groups for fundraising purposes.           The exhibit showed the kitchen where she recorded her first shows. You could open up doors and cupboards and little little bits of trivia related to the show. One of the things that struck me was that she seemed to be very down to earth. It also showed how she and her husband, Paul, worked together on her cookbooks and her show. They had a wonderful partnership that was really nice to see.          Several days ago The French Chef, Julia Child's...

                  One of the things I'm grateful for is that I grew up in a time before computers and the internet. I was fortunate to have avoided the pitfalls caused by social media and the trend of videotaping things so your mistakes and bad times can never be forgotten.           I'm especially grateful for YouTube. That site has been one of the most useful sites I know.           I started watching things on YouTube back during the pandemic. Washington National Cathedral had a short morning prayer program every weekday morning. The organists at the Tabernacle in Salt Lake City would give an online recital once a week called Piping Up. Since I like pipe organ music I tuned in faithfully.          From there I started branching out. I liked to watch videos about history, fashion and the United Kingdom's Royal Family. I found an Orthodox Jewish doctor ...

           Coming home after the end of a 12 hour shift on Friday the 13th, C and I were sideswiped on the interstate. Our car spun into the oncoming traffic before C was able to guide the car onto the side of the road. Stunned and in shock we sat there for several minutes before we were able to call a tow truck and highway patrol. The driver of another car had seen the accident and called highway patrol too, but wasn't able to get the license plate number of the car that hit us and then sped away. Thankfully we were not hit during the spin or as we sat at the side of the road. We are pretty sure the car that hit us was speeding and most likely didn't have it's headlights on.          It wasn't safe for us to get out of the car to see how badly it was damaged. When the tow truck arrived we were able to get out. I went to look at the car. It was better than I expected. The back fender was damaged along with a side panel and a bit of ...

           On Sunday I decided to spend part of my day cooking. There were a few things that I wanted to make to prepare for the coming week. All of them were things that I had not made before. I enjoy trying out new recipes. Today I'd like to share how my food turned out.          The first thing I made was white bean soup. I've always wanted to try making a bean soup with dry beans. Most of the recipes I found required ham which I don't eat. I try one recipe many years ago. It turned out very bland and I threw it away. This one had lots of spices in it. I thought it would be worth a try. I had everything except celery and a bay leaf. I left the celery out as C doesn't like it. An online search told me that I could use sage in place of the bay leaf. Knowing that C likes sage, I put some in the soup.           I decided that it would be best to let the soup cook in the crockpot on low. As the day went o...