Sophie's Story

           Willow turns three years old today. Most mornings she walks onto my lap and tilts her head to get a scratch before settling down for a quick nap or cuddle session. This morning after she settled into my lap, I reflected on how she came to live with us.          Three years ago, in July, a woman from church needed someone to take care of a kitten she recently adopted. Because the kitten was so small, it meant the kitten would need to stay in the home of whoever was caring for her. The woman and her family were going on a trip over the Independence Day weekend. She had planned to pick up the kitten after her trip, but the family she was adopting from wanted the kitten in her new home before the holiday. Someone put her in contact with me as someone who might be able to help.          We had just lost our beloved Scamp a little more than a month before. For the first time in 25 years I had no cat to ...

           In the interests of fair disclosure, I have absolutely no ideas to write about today. All I have are a series of small things that alone aren't enough to write about. I hope you will enjoy this hodge podge of topics.          Lately C has had a craving for beans. When he was growing up he ate pinto beans and cornbread. In the south, it's cooked with fatback. It think fatback is like bacon with a lot of fat and very little meat. It was salty which flavoured the beans. I've tried several times to cook beans all unsuccessful. I finally decided to try again. Since I'm never organized enough to do an overnight soak with the beans, I used a quicker method. After sorting and rinsing the beans, I put them in a pot of water to boil. I let them boil for ten minutes. Then I turned the heat off and let them set for an hour in the water. When the hour was over I drained the beans, rinsed them and rinsed out the pot. I put them back in...

           Yesterday we went for our first bike ride of the season on the Cannon Valley Trail. We got there later than usual because we wanted it to warm up a little bit before we rode.          We had planned to start out in Red Wing and bike to the midpoint at Welch. Due to construction on the trail we were not able to do this. We had to start at Welch and bike toward Cannon Falls. It wasn't going to be a problem.          We got to Welch and unloaded out bikes. My job is to tie on our trail passes and put our water bottles and other things in their proper places while C puts the bike rack in the trunk. C brought out our helmets. I put on my helmet and instantly knew there was a problem. I had my hair tied back as usual and it was up too high. I removed the elastic hair tie and retied my hair lower. I think I got a piece of the scarf I had tied around my hair. Also the knot from the scarf was in the wrong ...

           At the end of last year's riding season, C fell off his bike. It happened when the front wheel of his bike tapped the back wheel of mine tipping him off the edge of the trail into the grass. It was scary for me as I didn't know in the moment what had happened. I was scared he had a stoke or other serious medical issue.  Fortunately he was able to get back up with assistance and ride the last mile to the car. His bike had some minor damage and a few days later his shoulder started to ache. Nothing was broken and it healed slowly over the winter.          We are not sure why it happened. C never rides behind me and never directly behind me. That is a rule that we have. How he managed to be directly behind me is something he has pondered for weeks. It's still a mystery.          C decided, because of this accident, that we are going to get helmets and wear them when we ride. Until now we hadn't ...

           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...