Sophie's Story

           We have come to the end of another year and some of us will be celebrating the end of this year and the beginning of a new one. Yesterday brought another ending for me and our family, my mother passed away.          Mom and I had a complicated relationship starting in junior high. I was the strange middle child, bookish, shy and socially inept. The only thing I did that pleased her was to make the honor roll consistently.           She hoped that I would go to a liberal arts private college and become a professional writer or become an interpreter. I was of a more practical bent and chose a career that paid well and would allow me to be help people. For many years she made sure to let me know that she did not approve of my career in "the sciences" even though she knew I liked it and was good at it.          That is not what I want to write about though. She was a real...

         It’s Christmas morning. Willow is napping on her pillow. Barnaby is chasing a ball or plotting some sort of mischief. I’m am sitting on the couch in my traditional Christmas pajamas looking at the few decorations I managed to put up this year.       We almost didn’t get a tree this year. Between work schedules and a nasty respiratory virus that hung  on for weeks, we went tree shopping a few days before Christmas Eve. We’ve been getting smaller trees lately so we can set them on a small coffee table. Our hope was that the cats would be unable to drink the tree water, since we’ve learned that is dangerous for the cats.       A few months ago, I had an idea for our tree this year. I thought we should get a Norfolk Island pine. I had one before as a house plant and really liked the look of it. I am pretty sure I can keep one alive. Since it was going to be in a pot, we would not have to worry about cats drinking tree wate...

                     Around the block from our house is a house on the historical register. We've met the the people who live there a few times. They are nice people  as are all the people that live on our block. We've talked in their yard and in our yard. We've never been inside the house. That changed today.                    We had an invitation from them to come and visit last week but were unable to do so. Today we got another invitation to drop by. We had a lot of things we wanted to get done, but we decided this would be the best time for a visit. I put together a plate of cookies and we walked over.                     We were met at the door by Sandy who ushered us into the kitchen. The kitchen was small, neat and clean with a little drop leaf table and two chairs set in the middle. We hung up our co...

           This weekend is cookie baking weekend. Baking cookies to put on plates that we give to people is one of the few things about this season that I enjoy. The reason why I like it so much is because it involves baking, something I have always enjoyed and it means I have to stay home always a bonus for an introvert.          I've been baking holiday treats since I was in junior high. Back then I had a long list of things I would make. Cookies, bars, and mini marshmallows covered in chocolate and coated with coconut. A few times I attempted fudge. I had one really good batch. The rest turned out a bit grainy so I stopped.          Now I make cookies. Last year I made cream cheese mints burning out out my hand mixer in the process. I think I'll pass on those this year. While the selection of cookies may change once thing stays the same. I always make cut out sugar cookies using my grandmother's recipe. T...

            I was told by my mother that my eyes would stabilize after age 40, it's one of the many lies she told me over my life. My eyes have never stabilized and get worse every year. This means that every year, I have to get new glasses. I dislike shopping for glasses as much as I do shopping for clothes. It's a chore to have to pick out new frames yearly. Also somewhat wasteful.          I used to have two sets of frames that I liked and would alternate between the frames. This helped to save money. It would also ensure that I would have a frames that would fit my face. I have a small face, no bridge on my nose and a very heavy prescription.           For some reason that I can't explain, I can't get this done anymore. This means that every year, I have to buy new frames again. I've found a place where I can get frames that are more affordable. The problem is that they don't have a good select...

           Over the years I've noticed that that Thanksgiving is slowly being erased. I started noticing it many years ago when the Christmas music started playing the day after Halloween. To this day hearing the Peanuts theme and It's a Marshmallow World make me want to curl up in a ball and rock back and forth.           I've noticed that Thanksgiving decorations are no longer being displayed. I can understand some of this. Pilgrim and Native American pictures that used to pop up around Thanksgiving time could be considered offensive given the nation's history with Indigenous people. There are plenty of other decorations that would be just fine. Pumpkins, cornucopias and harvest style decorations would certainly be appropriate and not offensive.          Black Friday started creeping up. At first it was the Friday after Thanksgiving. Then it was very early in the morning of the Friday after Thanksgivi...

           This week C and I had our yearly optometrist appointments. There are several things I need to take with me to this appointment. I need my glasses case, my contact case, contact solution and my wallet. I have a large purse that I use to carry all these things.          We went to the appointment and got our new eyeglass and contact lens prescriptions. After the appointment, I took my wallet and eyeglass case out of my purse and put them in the glove box inside the car. We had other errands to run and I didn't want to carry the purse with me. I wouldn't need my wallet or glasses and felt they would be safer locked in the glove box as opposed to being in the purse which would be in the trunk.          We had some lunch and then ran our errands. When we got home, we took the things we bought out of the car into the house. I grabbed my wallet and glasses along with a few other items. I went to the trun...

           When my parents moved into the senior apartment complex where they live, there were many activities that they could participate in. There were get togethers, Happy Hour once a week, religious type programs, a chorus and diamond art class.           For those of you who don't know, diamond art is like painting by numbers except you use small resin beads called drills. The canvas is preprinted with symbols or numbers and is sticky so the drills adhere to the canvas. It's a good way to relax and do something creative without having to actually be creative. The finished project turns out somewhat shimmery and depending on the design can also look dimensional.          Mom was doing "bead class" as she called it, when I discovered that I had a diamond art kit given to me by a tech I used to work with. It was a large design maybe 24 by 18 inches. It was a picture of a grey cat with a blue butterfly...

           Several years ago someone told me about edible landscaping. This is where edible plants are used instead of decorative plants in landscaping. An example would be planting berry bushes or fruit trees. As much as I'd like to do this, I'm not sure I'm good enough with plants to be able to make this work. I do believe in growing at least a few things we can eat so I'm trying things in out garden.           One of my most successful trials of food plants have been carrots.  Last year we had open space in our garden where the lemon balm plants used to be. My Dad suggested growing carrots. Dad has been a fairly successful gardener in the past so I did what he said. I bought some carrots seeds and planted them.          I read information on growing carrots and learned that once the seeds are planted it's important to water them daily. Every day I watered the seeds until the ground was moist. On...

           Now that we are back home and have re-established our routine with the cats, Barnaby has discovered a new "toy". The word is in quotation marks because it isn't really something to play with. However, one thing I have discovered in my many years of living with cats is that everything is one of two categories: food or toys.          I discovered this new interest a day or two after we got home. I was in the bathroom washing my hands when Barnaby jumped on the counter. He watched the water coming out of the faucet with great interest. I turned the water down to a thin trickle to see what he would do. He continued to watch it for a little bit and then started to bat at the stream with his paw. I let him do this for a few minutes and then turned the faucet off.          I started turning on the water for him anytime I was in the bathroom. Pretty soon it became obvious that this was a mistake. Now he e...

           Three years ago we "ate" dinner at a restaurant in Door County that we like a lot. It is on the fancy side and has an English manor theme. I use the word ate in quotations because looking back at the column I wrote at the time, all we had were bread and salad. We were there for an hour and a half and never got our entrees even though tables around us had and the place wasn't overly busy. It was the worst experience I had ever had at a restaurant. We decided we were not going back there again.               After three years of driving past it, we decided it might be time to try it again since another restaurant we do like had no open reservation times. We made the reservation and it was confirmed. As before we chose and early time, right after the restaurant opened for dinner hoping that it would be less busy.          I was a little nervous when we drove up to the restaurant a few ...

           We are back in Door County as usual for us at this time of year. We've made this trip over 20 times and have been staying in the same place and same room for the last three years. I don't mind this. If I know that the room and the bed are somewhat familiar, it's easier for me to go to sleep.          I wanted to do some different things. Maybe take the ferry to Washington Island and bike around it. See the big lavender farm that is there even if there isn't anything growing this time of year. We could go to the Cana Island Lighthouse. We haven't seen it in over a decade. Eat at a new place, do something, anything different than we've done the last 21 years.          Much to my frustration, C prefers to do what we have done every year. For some reason, he doesn't feel adventurous when we come here. I can understand this somewhat. It's comforting to know that the restaurant has something you like on...

           I know that in the past I've voiced frustration over the dependence we now have on technology. When I first started working, we had fax machines, our insurance claims were transmitted in real time over phone lines and we filled prescriptions from pieces of paper brought in my customers or phoned in by nurses. Now we transmit claims over the internet, our phones are internet and the prescriptions for the most part are transmitted via....wait for it... the internet. When the internet connection goes down, we are severely crippled.             There are times where I'm grateful for the technology we have. Here are a few of those times.          I have several websites where I can bypass the password. A message comes to my phone. I answer yes to the message. The I get a six digit code which I enter in and then I'm logged in. I don't have to try to remember any one of the 15 or so passwords I...

           I like being a pharmacist. I like the fact that I'm helping people. (Although there are a couple members among my in-laws who believe this is not true.) Interacting with my customers is something I enjoy. I'm amused by this because I'm also a introvert and more than a little shy. Introverts usually don't take public facing jobs like that. I've been a pharmacist for a bit over 30 years now. While I may not have always liked where I worked, I always liked what I was doing.          Having said that there are a few things about my job that I don't like. Mostly this involves dealing with insurance companies. As I work for an independent pharmacy, we don't have a corporate office to take care of certain tasks centrally. This means that certain tasks must be shared among the staff.  One of the insurers that we deal with requires us to revalidate our information every three years.           The...

           It's vaccine season. The vaccines we ordered arrived a couple weeks ago. We ordered more needle tips and gathered the rest of the supplies that we need. My manager printed out the forms and information sheets as well as appointment pages. The room where we give shots was clean and tidied up. We were ready.           We do shots by appointment to help manage our workflow and because not all the staff are certified vaccinators. It also helps us to be able to get paperwork and billing done ahead of time so that the appointment goes smoothly. Our first appointment day was last Tuesday and the schedule was full.          I don't believe that getting a vaccine should be a painful and bad experience. I like to talk to people during the process of getting the vaccine to distract them from getting the shot. as a result I have had some pleasant experiences. I hope that they have too.    ...

           I'm starting to see pumpkin spice on the menu in bakeries and coffee shops. This is normally something I'm happy to see. I like pumpkin muffins, steamers, smoothies and scented candles. Bring on the warm spices. There's just one problem.          It's too warm out. It's  hard to get excited about pumpkin flavoured things when it's so warm out. Hot apple cider can't really be enjoyed in a t shirt and capri pants. I really want to enjoy these things, but my body still thinks it's summer outside. It's not time for these things yet. We're still running the air conditioner and ceiling fan. The only autumn type product I can really enjoy is apple cider slush from a food truck at the Arboretum,          It's not fair. One of the benefits of living in the north is knowing that summer will come to an end. I won't have to feel slightly damp all the time. I won't be kicking the covers off at three in th...

                  The broiler on our trusty stove finally gave out a couple months ago. Although we could still use three of the four burners and the oven worked apart from the broiler, I felt it was time to replace it. I had been working a lot of extra hours so there was room in the budget.          We had looked at several stores and found one that we liked. C wanted to look at the model we chose a bit more closely and do some research. I eventually got frustrated and told him we needed to get moving on it. He said he wanted to look at one more place. I told him the features I wanted and that it needed to be white to match the rest of our appliances.           Last week I got a text from C. He had found a stove and purchased it. He was looking at a local appliance store and found one with the features that we both wanted. It would be delivered on Wednesday of the next week.  ...

           Last week I wrote a column about why I celebrate my birthday. My original intent was to write a birthday version of things I've learned. That happens sometimes. I may have an idea for a column when another presents itself. Today I'm going with the topic of things I have learned birthday edition. As always these are in no particular order.          I learned that if Barnaby is brushed regularly we don't have as much hair on the floor.  You'd think I'd know this already since I've lived with cats for over 25 years. Experience has taught me that not all cats shed the same. Barnaby is a long haired cat with a soft light coat. When it comes off it tends to form dust bunnies. It also clings to any piece of cloth like iron filings to a magnet. Grooming Barnaby means less hair everywhere else. It also has the added benefit of making his already soft fur even softer. Good thing he likes to be petted.      ...

                I watched a video on You Tube a few weeks ago commenting on the actions and decisions of a celebrity business owner. The comments were about public relations and advertising mistakes along with critical remarks about sales, inventory and merchandise quality. One of the things discussed was a social media post wishing the founder of this company a happy birthday. The presenter talked about how the founder had probably wrote and published the post herself and that it was strange and inappropriate. Once the video was done, I read the comments. I sometimes enjoy reading the comments more than watching the video.          Most of the comments were about how it's really silly for grown women to making a big deal about their birthday. Several of them suggested that while it is ok to have a celebration for milestone birthdays, other birthdays should be celebrated privately if at all. If you have been reading c...

           I am aware that a golden anniversary is 50 years. However, if a golden birthday is the year when the day of your birth and age match, why can't it be the same for anniversaries? Just a thought that came to me.          There are many things I have learned over 21 years of marriage. Today I thought I'd share a few with you. These are, of course, in no specific order.          You do not know what you are getting into when you get married. You may think you know and if you've lived together you may have a pretty good idea, but until you actually take the plunge, start down the road or climb into the ship of marriage together you don't really know. You can discuss and plan and do all the things they tell you to do in the pre wedding marriage class, it's helpful but it won't cover everything that can and does come up during marriage. Hopefully you have the kind of relationship that allows you do deal ...

  I don't have pet peeves like some people. I have whole kennels of irritation. Whoopi Goldberg          Whoopi and I agree on this topic. Most of the time the pet peeves that I have stay nicely in their kennels and don't bother me much. The past few weeks it seems like the things that irritate me are around every corner. I'm grateful for the gift of self control that allows me to handle these things. I'd like to share a few of my pet peeves. Some of them of them are due to technology and one is work related. They in no particular order.          Pet Peeve number one: Responding to a message that has a question it it with a heart, thumbs up or a hundred points emoji. I don't believe that every message needs to be answered right away so I understand using an emoji of some type to let me know a message has been read. If I send a message with a question in it or something that clearly requires a response, respond. Answer the question, ...

              This past week was the last part of a stretch of six working days in a row. The reason why I can do  a stretch like that is because Sunday is the first day of the work week. That means a when I work from Thursday to Tuesday it's only three days in a row each week. Before my boss went home for the day on Tuesday, I asked her to give me my second shingles shot. I knew I had the next two days off in case I reacted badly to it which I did. (This is normal for me which I'm perversely grateful for. At least this means I have a working immune system.) Wednesday was spent feeling sick except for a few hours in the afternoon when I fortified myself with ibuprofen and a Coke Zero so C could take me out to lunch at a nearby Indian restaurant. It was delicious.               Thursday I felt better and went to visit my parents as usual. Yesterday I was back at work for one more day. I have the weekend ...