Sophie's Story

     Every Thursday I visit my parents. I have a set routine. After a little small talk, Mom and I make cookies, then we prepare lunch, after lunch if weather permits we take a walk and then we work on a craft project.     Now that Mom is living upstairs in the memory care section, things are a little different. There's no need to make cookies as often. Mom eats her meals in the dining area and staff comes to take her if she doesn't go by herself. Now that she eats more regularly, she doesn't eat as many cookies.  Dad also doesn't eat as many. Now we bake cookies every other week.     The big challenge is finding craft projects for her. A friend was coming over and helping her to paint pictures on canvas, but she has been unable to do so for awhile. Mom and I  worked on a paint by number picture and finished it. I had a large diamond painting kit that was given to me. It was a picture of a grey cat with a butterfly on it's nose. Sin...

      Last Wednesday was a busy day for me.  C and I got up early and went to the food shelf  (Storehouse) run by our church to volunteer. People who need food work with their bishops to transmit an order to the Storehouse. Those who live in the area come and fill their own order. Those who live out of town have their order  brought to them. Volunteers pick the items needed and package them in bins which are driven in a refrigerated truck to those outside the metro area.      I've helped at the storehouse before and am always amazed by how organized and efficient it is. The first things we do is pack the dry goods and paper products. Then we pick produce after that we pick dairy. The dry goods get packed into get packed into green bins and those things needing refrigeration are packed in blue. The bags are marked with the name of the town and a designation of who it goes to. No names are used to protect privacy.     The bins are sta...

      C and I had a Valentine's date day today. I have a 12 hour shift on the actual holiday, so celebrating  before or after work is out of the question. Over lunch I was trying to think of something to write about this week. C suggested writing about Valentine's day dates.     There were three that were very memorable for vastly different reasons. The first one was before I got married. It was the day that my boyfriend at the time served me a heart shaped jello for dessert. It had the potential to be a romantic gesture, but it was an anatomically correct heart made with a little evaporated milk and covered in cherry sauce to make it look real. I think I also received a blender as a present that year. The next two were when I was dating and engaged to C. Our first Valentine's Day dinner was at Culver's. C was a house musician and working at a coffee shop. Knowing he didn't make much money, I suggested Culver's as a place to eat. He gave me a lavender glass...

        I've been given more hours at work which has its good and bad sides. The good side is that I get to spend more time at work which is good since I like my job and my coworkers. The bad side is that there is less time to get things done around the house and less time to think of column ideas.          I was thinking of writing about Mariann Edgar Budde, and Episcopal bishop in Washington DC. I've listened to several of her sermons over the years. I even bought one of her books. Much has been said about her sermon a few weeks back at a service for unity. A lot of the comments have been focused on the remarks she addressed to the President near the end of the sermon. I have listened to the entire sermon a couple of times. I wish those quick to criticize would listen to the entire sermon before rendering judgement. That sermon could be delivered to any leader at the beginning of her/ his term. An elected official should be mindful of all t...

      After we checked out of the St James last week, we went for a stroll around town. I wanted to stop at the bakery. Red Wing has a really good one and worth a visit if you are in that part of town. I wanted to get of load of their cranberry walnut bread and maybe some kind of pastry.      As we walked toward the door, there was a large sing advertising paczki (punch-key or poonch -key). According to the internet and the sign on the bakery window, they are a fried, filled pastry of Polish origin. It was a way of using up eggs, milk, butter and sugar before the Lenten fast. They are larger than a typical Bismarck donut and made with richer dough. They are filled with fruit filling, cream, custard or chocolate. They can be frosted or dusted with powder sugar.     I'm always ready to try new things so I looked at the selection when we got inside. There were at least seven different kinds of fillings to choose from. I chose cherry, which is my favo...

     This year I wanted to do something special for C's birthday. We rarely do anything outside of a nice dinner somewhere. Sometimes I had to work on his birthday. Once I got laid off the day before his birthday. I really felt that he deserves something more.     Every time we go to Red Wing, we pass by the St. James Hotel. We've been inside a couple of times to look at exhibits that were there after Thanksgiving. We once had lunch on the patio of a restaurant inside the hotel. We always wondered what it would be like to stay there.     As a birthday present to C, I asked if he'd want to celebrate his birthday by staying at the St. James.  I had most of a week off work so it would be the perfect time. We made the reservation for a room with a whirlpool.     When the time came we packed our bag and headed to Red Wing. We were both excited for our overnight trip. When we got into Red Wing, we stopped at the confectionary for a hot chocola...