Sophie's Story

           C and I have been doing a little shopping for new cat tree. Barnaby and Willow liked to chew on things as kittens and have chewed on the cat trees we have now. I can put towels and blankets over the trees to cover the chewed parts, but we wanted something taller with places for them to climb. Some of the trees we looked at had things the cats could play with.           Last week while shopping at Costco we found one. It was tall, sturdy and had several levels for the cats to sit. There was also a little cat condo that they could use to hide in or nap. It was the right price so we bought it.          The box with the pieces was too heavy for either of us to lift. C decided we would open the box in the garage and carry the pieces into the house. We put them in the music room. They stayed there for a week.               I must admit, I'm always nervous abo...

                     YouTube is a wonderful invention.  While I was eating lunch on Monday, I watched a live stream video of a funeral. The funeral was for the daughter of my cousin Miri who lost her battle with cancer at age 36. I haven't seen Miri in over 20 years and I never met her daughter but we are family and I've covenanted to mourn  with those that mourn. Even if they don't know I'm doing so.           From the obituary and the homily given at the funeral, Amber seemed like an interesting person. She liked to climb things from mountains to trees, she played several instruments and she loved horses. Her hobbies included blacksmithing, leatherwork and sketching. Where would anyone learn blacksmithing anyway?  From the comments I read she was funny, kind and adventurous.           On the front row of the church to the right of the silver casket dra...

           This past week I worked 40 hours because part of my duties are to cover vacations and time off requests. I like this arrangement because it benefits everyone. Working part time allows me to get housework done, spend more time with C and our cats and visit my parents regularly and help them when needed. It's good for the pharmacy because I know our computer system, our customers, the area doctors and the tech staff. There is no need to bring in a relief pharmacist and all the expenses that hiring from an outside agency incurs.          Many times when I cover a vacation the schedule is one eight hour day with alternating 12 hour days. I don't mind working 12 hours once in awhile. When I worked full time I worked one a week. This was the first time that I can remember where I worked every day of the week like a normal person.           I enjoyed it. It was good to be able to come in and know wh...

                          Yesterday was sunny and warm. A good day for the first long ride of the year.  We put the bikes on the back of the car and headed for our favourite trail.          We decided it would be good to take it slow and enjoy the scenery. Since the trees and not fully leafed out we saw flowers growing along the trail. We saw birds and rabbits. While many of the small stream beds were dry, the Cannon River was flowing on one side of the trail. In a few weeks the river would be full of people tubing and canoeing.          We stopped once for a water break. I watched the birds fly around in the trees. It felt good to be outside. We rode through the fields that were ready for planting. The grass on the side of the trail was neatly cut. The last time we had ridden it was a couple of feet high.          We ate lunch at a c...

           One of my favourite roles in a Toastmaster meeting is Table Topics Master. To help members practice speaking without preparation, the TTM gives random questions to those attending the meeting. The member then has to fashion a 30 second to two minute answer.  It's a helpful skill to have, especially when job hunting. I like being the TTM because I enjoy asking good questions and weaving in why I asked. This is helpful when we have no speeches as it takes a bit of pressure off members to do multiple questions.          One of the questions I posed at yesterday's meeting is, "What two things don't go together?"           The answer was celery and peanut butter and eggs and ketchup with an explanation as to why. It was a fun answer and made me think of a recent trip to a restaurant.          Last week we went to a bar and grill about 30 minutes away from where we liv...