Sophie's Story

           We were eating breakfast last week when both of us noticed a strange smell in the kitchen. It was that warm plastic/electrical smell that always bodes trouble. After some wandering around, we confirmed that the smell was coming  from the microwave. The smoke coming out of the vent after I heated a cup of tea confirmed our suspicions.           After checking the plug to make make sure there were no sparks, C prudently unplugged it. Our plans for the next day had changed. We were going to go microwave shopping.          I use the term shopping loosely because we weren't really going to go to different stores. There is one locally owned appliance store down the street and that's where we went. We have bought things from them before. We prefer to patronize the smaller businesses when we can. It may cost slightly more but the customer service is better. If we have a problem with our purchase...

                Mom's memorial service took place yesterday. A small group of us gathered to pray and give thanks for having Mom in our lives. It was a good service as would have been expected from my siblings who planned it. There was a lot of singing which I found amusing as Mom in her younger years didn't like music. It was only when she got older that she enjoyed listening to songs and singing although she would admit she didn't sing very well.               I did the first reading which was a compromise. My brother immediately vetoed the two choices I made. While I didn't really think the psalm he chose was the best one, I was not willing to fight with him about it. We'd had way too much contention in our family over the years and I decided I wasn't going to be the source of any more.               The minister gave a good sermon using information my siblings...

           It's cold outside, the thermometer on our furnace thermostat says it's -13 degrees. It's been cold like this for the past several days. You'd never know it by looking outside. The sun is shining and I think the wind is pretty minimal. Most people don't like weather like this. I don't mind it at all.          I went to college in North Dakota. It was a long time ago, but I remember a lot of below zero days there. I also remember it being windy most of the time. I learned to wear warm clothes especially a scarf if I had to be outside. I also learned  to shortcut through buildings as much as possible to get to my classes. As long as I was dressed properly, I knew I'd be all right. As long as I had what I needed I didn't need to be scared of weather like this.          There is another reason why I'm not bothered cold weather. It's a godsend for introverts like me. Most people don't want to go ou...

           A few years ago a friend gave me a two pound cake of chunky yarn for my birthday.  It is lovely yarn with shades of purple and lavender running to white and then a pale green. The problem was I had no idea what to do with it. It was too much yarn for some projects and not enough yarn for other projects. It sat in the bag it came in for months while I waited for inspiration.           One day scrolling aimlessly though patterns, I found the right one. It was a blanket. This was perfect because, in this case, size does not matter. The stitch pattern was easy and would look good with the varied colours in the yarn. The only thing I needed was the correct size and type of needles.           I wanted to make the blanket a size in between the choices offered in the pattern so I deliberately cast on the wrong number of stitches. It took me while to figure out the pattern as I wasn't follow...

           I think several of my friends are either hurt, puzzled or upset with me. I've had several offers to talk and got some really good chocolate and bouquets of flowers. I enjoy the flowers and the chocolate, but haven't taken up anyone on the offer to talk. This really baffles some people because I lost my Mom, the woman who gave birth to me and the person who took care of me when I was younger. The fact that I'm not devastated is something they don't understand.          What most of the people in my life don't know is that my mother had Alzheimer's Disease. Most people know what that is. It means that someone who has it loses their memory. What they may not understand is that it is degenerative. That's a fancy way for saying that a person with this condition is going to get worse. The decline may be slow or fast, but it is a decline and nothing is going to stop it. (Although there are a few drugs with more on the horizon th...

           The snow is falling softly outside. I am nice and warm inside with a fresh cup of tea.  The brisket is in the crockpot. C and the cats are sleeping.           Normally I would be going around the house taking down the old calendars and putting new ones up. Between work and and all the other things going on during the holidays, we never got around to buying new ones. I had already decided to stop buying page a day calendars. There aren't any new ones that interest me.          I haven't even written down the things I want to do in the new year yet. The time that I would have spent on this task was devoted to writing my mom's obituary and answering condolence messages. I'm honestly not sure if I want to write a "resolution list" this year. Last year I did pretty good starting out and then all the good habits that I wanted to get into fell by the wayside.  The planner I bought to track...