Tuesday it just rained and rained. All I could think of was how happy I was that this wasn’t snow! There are very few mounds of snow left in our town. Most of them are gone, and I thought I saw some green returning to my lawn. At least, where the moles have not ruined it!
You should see our front lawn! It appears that the moles had a field day under the snow this winter, as the burrowed through the ground!
Oh I detest moles. They are gross and ugly and there really isn’t much to recommend them.
(picture courtesy of Wikipedia)
The only thing I ever saw that made me appreciate them actually happened about 8 years ago. My first dackel, Shubi had been very ill. I was treating her with chemotherapy and I questioned if I was making a good decision, as she didn’t seem to be enjoying life.
One day, I let Shubi out in the back yard and she was sniffing around. The next thing I knew she was tossing a mole up in the air and catching it in her teeth. There was a spring in her step and happiness in her face. Yep, that awful mole was making her happy.
Aside from that, I really do not like them a bit. They really are terrible destructive pests, and ugly too!
1. What reveals more about a woman-her refrigerator or her purse?
Purse. It’s where I keep my pictures, medication for an emergency headache, keys, cell phone, date book, Tide Pen, regular ink pen, pad of paper, etc. Yes, my life is in that purse!
2. When was the last time you went to the zoo? Where? What’s your favorite zoo animal?
My favorite animals are the elephants. Below is a picture of a baby elephant in the herd. All the other Mommies watched after the baby while it played in the water. I am not sure who took this shot. It probably was my friend, Bernie.
Last summer I went to the Zoo in Berlin with my friend, Bernie. It was a really hot day in Germany, which explains the two beers I imbibed while viewing the animals.
3. What social issue fires you up?
Currently, the way Washington and the President are spending money. I fear that my daughter or any grandchildren I may have, will not know the America I grew up in. As it is, everyone’s taxes have gone sky high, while our dollar is in the basement!
4. Are you a coupon clipper? If so, are you extreme?
I used to coupon clip like crazy. Now, not so much. Since joining Weight Watchers three years ago, I have been eating mostly fresh foods, and there are very few coupons for that.
5. What is one of your favorite souvenirs brought back from your travels?
Let’s see. Part of the Berlin wall that Hubby and I chizzled right after they wall fell.Also a poster of Germany, that we had placed on poster-board and is hanging in our hallway. But the best Souvenir? Shubi!
The photo above was the first time I held her in my arms. Shubi was born in Landshut on a farm, and when I saw her for the first time she was in the kitchen of Frau Lanzinger. It was love at first sight for us both.
Soon it was time to take her back to the USA. Here we are in the old Munich Airport waiting to go. Shubi loved to travel and went back to Germany three times to visit her brother, who lived with our friends.Just this past year, her brother Toni passed away. Sadly, Shubi left us back in 2006.
I hadn’t planned on getting my very first Dackel during that trip. We’d gone over to see our friends in Bavaria, and drove to Landshut and there she was!
6. Lemon meringue or key lime?
Key Lime for sure!
7. What is the most beautiful word you know in any language?
LOVE!
8. Insert your own random thought here.
Joanneis home!!! Now the real work, the real challenges begin. Joanne will need all of our love, our prayers and our support, as she fights back to regain her life. Please stop on over at her blog and leave her a message of encouragement and love. Joanne and her family are such wonderful people and continue to need our support!
And lastly, today is my step-daughter’s birthday. Happy Birthday, Jessica! Love you!
Isn’t it amazing how an animal can change your life? One, single, little animal changed mine. It was something I never expected at all. And yet…
Years ago, back in 1994, Hubby and I went to Germany to visit with friends. They lived very close to Munich, in a small village called Aufkirchen. Hubby wanted me to meet his friends there and we arranged a nice visit.
Lucie and Otto had a little dog. His name was Shubi. I’d never really seen a dog like him before, but it was love at first sight!
I’d always loved dogs, always had them, but Shubi was different. It was the very first time that I’d ever seen a wire-haired dachshund. I wanted one of my own, but Hubby complained that we already had a dog (and we did, a White Shepherd named, Max!) and didn’t need two dogs. I was disappointed, but agreed, all the while thinking that one day I would have my dackel!
A year passed and we learned that Otto was ill with cancer and so we planned a trip to see him and his family. We came at the beginning of February and when we arrived we learned that little Shubi had been hit by a car and killed.
My heart broke, as I walked through the silent house. At breakfast the next morning I said, “You know, it’s too quiet here. We should get wire-haired pups together!” Then Hubby and I went out to the shop to buy a few things that we needed. I think that was when I forgot to pack socks for Hubby.
We returned and Otto had found an ad in the newspaper for Rauhhaardackel (wire-haired) Puppies. He had called and arranged for us to go and look at them.
So off we drove to Landshut, Germany. That is where I met, and fell head over heels in love with a little girl puppy that I named Shubi!
She was small and sweet and lively. She brightened my days, just being in it. The picture above was taken in Landshut, where I found my dearest girl.
Our friends took her brother, Toni and the two were able to get together several times over the years. Shubi always remember the house in Aufkirchen and brother and sister always remembered each other.
Shubi was the wind beneath the wings of Max as he grew old and eventually passed from this life. And when we brough Fritz home as a puppy, Shubi became a Mommy to him.
Thus explaining why Fritz believes he is a dachshund. After all, his Mama, Shubi taught him all about being a dog.
Eventually Shubi began to grow old herself and sometimes even she needed a rest during a long hike.
Her health began to fail, and three years ago, she went to Rainbow Bridge. That was terrible day. I thought I would never feel for a dog the way I felt for her.
I started to breed dogs, and all the while I bred I thought that perhaps, I was breeding that one special dog for someone. It’s an amazing thing to see and feel.
Then just the other day, I was sitting in my chair and Anneliese came up and snuggled up against my face and looked at me with such love and I realized that here she is, my very own special dog.
I love all my dogs, you know, and until the other day I didn’t realize that this special bonding had happened. With Shubi it was instant. With Anneliese, it has come over time.
So who knows, perhaps one of the babies in her belly will be someones special Puppy! I certainly would like to believe so.
