Soothing Soup Season

I love a good soup when the weather gets colder. It's so hearty and filling and warm. There is nothing as soothing as chicken soup when you have a cold or the flu, and a butternut cream soup is just unbelievably refreshing. And of course there is the Lobster Bisque, the Crab bisque, the Lobster and Crab Bisque...

So when Miss Kitty wanted to get some soups for her sour tummy, I was all for it. Nudging her to try different things is one of my job tasks so I thought this would be a good opportunity to implement that. Let me explain that Miss Kitty is only 63 years old, but 22 years ago she had a massive stroke that left her paralyzed on her right side and somewhat dinghy in the head. But I love her and she's a lot of fun to take care of.

She can be a little balky at times, and of course she's been spoiled rotten because of her disability. That is something I don't agree with. Yes, someone should be treated special and carefully, but they should not be encouraged to be lax, lazy and dependant. It hurts them in the long run and once indulged, it's hard to go back.

She can also make up the most outrageous lies when she doesn't want to do something. For instance, her neighbor asked her to come over sometimes, and she became insulted. She felt that the neighbor was not giving enough attention to the fact that she has a leg brace and must walk with a cane. She decided that crossing the street to her neighbor's house would endanger her. She might get kidnapped. Honest to Gosh! She has it all figured out that if she walks across the street to her neighbors she will get snatched.

I want to tell her, "Nobody would WANT you!" which would give her a laugh but I refrain.

So off we go to the grocery and I show her the Safeway Homestyle soups that come in a big quart sized plastic container, all ready to be reheated and they are delicious. She decided that the chicken and wild rice would be the one for her.

Does anybody remember the story about the Bug Lights?

The next week when we went to get groceries, Miss Kitty announced she loved the soup and was ready for more. So we went to the soup aisle and she looked carefully through each can of soup until she found the Progresso Chicken and Wild Rice in the zip-top can. (This was a big win a while ago when I convinced her that food came in pop-tops now, just like the soda she guzzles, and therefore she COULD open a can of mandarins, for instance.) She picked out 4 cans of Progresso Chicken and Wild Rice soup. Then she scooted a foot down the aisle to the Campbell Soups. And selected 4 cans of Campbell's Chicken and Wild Rice Soup. I could see this danger approaching but was powerless to stop it.

She then went to the instant soups and selected 4 cartons of... Chicken and Wild Rice soup.

I tried my best. I said, "Miss Kitty! This is a delicious soup but along about day 3 of eating it, you are going to wish you had some plain old Tomato Soup. Don't you want to get a few other flavors of soup?"

"No, because I can't get those kinds open. They are too hard."

So I let it go, because you have to pick your battles and it won't make any difference in the long run if those hundreds of cans of Chicken and Wild Rice soup sit in her pantry gathering dust, waiting for the Apocalypse. Right next to the bug lights.

As we headed for checkout with the 500 lb. shopping cart I was now pushing due to all the canned soups, she spotted the kiosk with the Safeway Homestyle soups. With Glee she raced over there (and I do mean raced! She uses a wheelchair for outings and she can go FAST.) and pointed to the Chicken and Wild Rice Soup. "That's the Kind!" she squealed, "That's the Kind I want!" Into the cart goes TWO big quart containers of Chicken and Wild Rice Soup.

When we got home there was quite a dither about putting all these canned goods away, but we managed. We had just sat down on the sofa's for a little down time when the doorbell rang. It was the lovely Mrs. Patty from next door. In her hand was a covered saucepan.

"How are you Mrs. Patty? And what's in the saucepan?"

"Why I'm just fine, thank you! I've brought Miss Kitty some soup, because she told me she had a taste for some!"

She opened the lid so we could see and smell the wonderful aroma of homemade Chicken and Wild Rice soup.