Sophie's Story

        Yesterday, Mom and I did something I haven't done in a very long time. We made ravioli. (Yes, It is possible to make ravioli.) I haven't done it in a long time as it tends to be rather time consuming. Mom was getting tired of baking cookies when I came to visit and wanted to do something different.      After making a batch of chocolate chip cookies, because Mom decided she wanted them, we started on the ravioli. The first things we did was make the dough. It's actually not hard. Just mix flour, water, eggs, oil and a little salt together, knead it and viola! Pasta dough.     The next thing we did was make the filling. We used some ricotta cheese, Italian herb seasoning, a little Parmesan and mozzarella cheese. It was pretty good. We used up half of this filling and then I added some canned chicken to the other half.    After the filling was made we rolled out the dough. There are two ways you can do this. One is to use...

        This morning at Toastmasters Sandy gave a speech. The speech was about her leadership style. For this speech project, she had to take an assessment to determine her leadership style and give a speech based on that. Her style is coaching, which did not surprise me. She talked about her new job at a coffee shop in a leadership position and how her style helps her in her work. She also talked about a time where she needed to modify her style when there was an issue with a coworker. It was a good speech as all her speeches are.    The speech highlights one of my frustrations with the new Toastmasters International program. I understand they needed to update their program. I get that they wanted to put in online so it is more accessible. What I don't understand is why they had to change it from a program that fosters better communication to a program that focuses on leadership training.    Aren't there enough leadership training programs out th...

      On the days when I get my hair done, I like to go out for lunch afterward. I have a really good stylist and she always makes me look really good. Also I like talking to her so I not only look good, I feel good too. She is an absolute artist when it comes to hair and I enjoy showing off her work. Additonally I enjoy going out to lunch.       C and I have gone to several places for lunch after a hair appointment. Our favourite place is Café Latte in St. Paul. I highly recommend this place to anyone if you are in St. Paul. It's on Grand Avenue, an eclectic spot in St. Paul with many small shops and restaurants.    It's a cafeteria. The first thing that you see as you go in is the dessert case. They are known for their German chocolate and turtle cakes. They also have an array of cheesecakes, tortes, cakes and other desserts. The selections change with the  exception of the German chocolate and turtle cakes. I like their cheesecakes best....

     A few weeks ago when shopping at Lands End for a few items I cam across a table of folded up knit pants. I found a pair in my size and tried them on. They fit. I took them along with the rest of the items I planned to purchase and paid for them. I took them home, put them away and forgot about them.    Until last week.....     I found the pants folded up as I was looking for something to wear. It was a stay at home day and it was too cold in the house to wear leggings. I took them out and put them on. They looked good and more important they were comfortable. I happily wore them all day.     The next day I had to work. When I got home from work I found the pants neatly folded on top of the cedar chest at the foot of my bed. I changed out of my work clothes and into those pants. They were the perfect thing to wear.    Then it hit me. I've become my grandmother. When I was younger and spending summers with my grandparents on...

     C got a text last week from Kent, who has been our friend for a long time. Kent and Susan, his wife, were coming to Minnesota on a trip and wanted to spend a little time with us. C and I were very pleased with this on several levels. We had not seen them in a long time. We were also pleased that they wanted to make sure we had some time together. They lived here for many years and have more friends than I can possibly count.    Our meeting spot seemed an interesting one, We were to meet near a library in a nearby suburb. I was curious as to what kind of spot this might be. I knew this suburb well as we did lots of shopping there, but this spot by the library was new to me.    They day of this visit came. We were unfortunately running a little late. C turned on his GPS and we made our way to the meeting place. Traffic wasn't too bad and we made good time.    We got to the parking lot and found a spot. There were several entrances to choos...

       One element of most meetings at every Toastmaster's club is Table Topics. TT is an exercise to practice extemporaneous speaking. One member is the designated Table Topics Master. That person's job is to come up with a list of questions to ask other club members during a meeting. The member that is asked a question must speak for at least 30 second and no more than two minutes on the question given.     Most members are scared of TT, they find it intimidating and frustrating. There's no time to prepare or think through what you want to say.    I'm the oddball in that I love TT. It's my favourite part of the meeting. I wonder what will get asked and how I would handle the same question if I were asked. Not only do I like answering TT questions, I also like asking them.    I was TT Master today and was very pleased with how it went. Here are a few of the questions I asked and the inspiration behind them.    What is som...