Sophie's Story

I'm contemplating buying a Nook. For those of you who don't know what that is, a Nook is a device that allows you to read books in an electronic format. The device is sold by Barnes and Noble. (This is not an ad for them.) When I first heard about e-readers, as I think they are called, I was horrified. I don't just like books. I love them. I like turning the pages and flipping through them. I like sitting down to read one with a cat at my feet and a nice hot pot of tea. I like the type that is used and the way the ink looks on the paper. I like the the cover art and reading the little blurb on the inside front of the dust cover. You can't do that with an electronic book. I stare at a computer screen for most of the day at work. I couldn't imagine sitting down after dinner with an e-reader. I'd go blind. The glare would be awful. What is this world coming to? No way was I ever going to use one of those....things. I use desktop computer, not a laptop. I l...

This past week I took some time off. I had made plans with my friend, Patricia, to do something. She sent me several choices of possible things to do and see in the Cities. I chose a trip to an art museum. I had been to this place before about 20 years ago and remembered liking it. We decided to visit the museum and then have lunch. I was really looking forward to this. Patricia is the most cultured person I know. She grew up out east and I think even went to art school at some point in time. I thought it would be fun to wander around the museum with someone who knows about art. I was also a little scared. Patricia is the most cultured person I know. She is well read, well educated and so well put together that I sometimes feel like an ungainly calf or an unmade bed next to her. I know nothing about art. I like sculptures and paintings. I also like the kind of art that goes into decorating things like bowls, plates and teacups, the way clothing is put together and the beauty of natu...

My beloved C is celebrating a birthday this week. He won't be happy I mentioned this,but it is one of those milestone birthdays. You know what I mean. Turning 16, 20,21,25,30, 40 etc. seem to have more meaning then say, turning 38. C will be celebrating his 60th birthday this year. I plan to spoil the heck out of him. We are going to see a play one night and the other night I'm taking him out for his favourite meal, steak. In his honour this column will highlight some of the things that happened in January. I will also list a few other people who turn 60 this year. In January 1506 the first group of Swiss Guards came to the Vatican. The Swiss Guards are the men responsible for guarding the Pope. They wear colourful ceremonial uniforms and can be seen standing guard around the Vatican. King Edward VII took the throne of England following the death of his mother, Queen Victoria in January 1901. He was the great grandfather of the current Queen. The first commercia...

I am a Green Bay Packer fan. I come by it honestly, both of my parents were born and raised in Wisconsin and I spent a lot of good times there,staying on my grandparents' farm. My great-uncles all rooted for the Pack as well. I own a Packer shirt,a traditional green baseball hat,a number 12 Aaron Rodgers jersey, a Lambeau Field sweatshirt and a Green Bay football Christmas tree ornament. I also have a wine glass with the G logo etched onto it and an Acme Packers blue and gold cap which was the former name and colours of the team. I have been to Lambeau Field and have gone on the tour of the field two or three times. I've seen the Hall of Fame and eaten several good meals at Curley's Pub, a restaurant in the Lambeau Field complex. I even posed for a picture in front of the big statue of Vince Lombardi outside the building. Green Bay fans are a devoted bunch. I know that some of them practice strange customs and tend to be mocked by people. We are a loyal bunch though. ...

The crack in my 20 plus year old coffee table has now grown large enough that the corner just might fall off. I was bummed about that because I really like the table. It meant that C and I would have to buy a replacement. We went to the furniture store where a really good saleslady told us how we could get the glass replaced. It could have cost her a sale,but we decided to look anyway. After all we could also use a coffee table for the downstairs family room anyway. We decided on a wedged shaped wood table. We both agreed that we really liked the grain of the wood and that the wedge shape could open up more room in the living room. The new table also has shelving to store remotes, books and other clutter. C suggested that we rearrange the living room. When we moved in, we just put the furniture down in the room it was in in our old house without really thinking about the arrangement. I wasn't sure that I wanted to move things. Our living room looks just fine. On the othe...

My boss decided to take the first two weeks in January off. As usual he waited until the last moment to tell me probably because he knew I'd be pretty angry. That part of the month is one of the busiest in retail pharmacy as many people have insurance changes at that time and there is extra work to do. I looked at the schedule to see what relief help we would get. I recognised several names, but there was one I didn't recognize. The name was Doug Linson. On Monday I called the scheduler to express my displeasure at the timing of my boss' vacation (she's a good listener) and to ask about Doug. She really didn't know anything about him. I'd have to wait and see. It was busy on Monday. I was barely keeping up with the work load and mentally cursing the person who didn't put overlap into the schedule. At three o'clock the door opened. An unfamiliar person stepped into the pharmacy. My first thought was "Uh Oh." My second thought was to r...