The Dackel Princess

The Weekend Wrap ~ June 14th

The weekend started in a rather dramatic fashion. And I am sure my neighbors all wondered who was getting killed in my yard. I admit to being very loud, but when you read why, I think you will understand.

There are a few things I worked diligently to teach my pups when they came to me. The first is to “Come” when I call them. The other is to “Leave it”. Both commands could save them in serious situations.

Greta and Anneliese were not particularly good at those commands, but for some reason, Arnie and Lili were star pupils!

On Friday night I was walking Lili and Arnie just before bed. Lili immediately raced up the hill and Arnie followed. I ran as quickly as I could and I could see against the stone wall was a SKUNK waddling away.

LEAVE IT, LEAVE IT, LEAVE IT!

Then I yelled: COME, COME, COME!

Well, I am happy to report that Lili and Arnie stopped, turned around, and came to me! No Skunk spray was emitted! It was amazing. I dodged a bullet! Nothing is sadder than a beautiful White German Shepherd who turns pink after being soaked with tomato juice!

Whew!

The rest of my weekend was mostly quiet. It’s what I wanted. I read, watched a few movies, and just enjoyed the beautiful weather.

Thinking About Katie

11/8/78 – 6/19/85

I had a lovely daughter, named Kathleen “Katie” Alynne. She was my youngest daughter and quite amazing. She was six and a half when she died after a car accident that occurred on June 13th. She lived until June 19th, but she never regained consciousness after the paramedics pulled her from the car. So in my mind and my heart, the 13th is the day that she left us.

People have wondered and actually said to me, that after 36 years I should be over losing her.

What I know is, you never get over losing a child. But you learn to go on and to make a new life for yourself. But on days like today, I like to remind everyone that once long ago, lived a beautiful little girl named Katie!

***************

This is so beautiful. I was crying by the second line, Written by Henry Scott Holland (27 January 1847 – 17 March 1918) was Regius Professor of Divinity at the University of Oxford.

A few years ago, an old friend was sorting through his pictures when he found this one of Katie. I’d never seen it before, and it was such a wonderful gift!

Most days I do well. I don’t dwell and I can look at her lovely face in pictures and smile. Then there are days that it hits me all over again and I am overwhelmed by grief. I don’t stay there long. Katie wouldn’t want that.

I miss you each day, Katie.

The Friday Five ~ June 11th

Another week has gone by. Somehow we survived the heat. But as this week ends, thus begins “Motorcycle Week”.

I went with Jack on Wednesday for his hand procedure. It was the non-surgical procedure to “cure” Dupuytren’s Contracture in his left hand. I did not expect what happened, (his skin tore!) and all of the blood. Now Jack has a one-inch cut at the base of his finger. Honest to goodness, if he had done this at home I would have taken him in for stitches. Now I have to dress his hand and clean it until it heals. No stitches involved.
I usually do okay with these things, but watching this done and all the blood, well, I felt a little faint. That is the first time that has ever happened. At least the bleeding has stopped and it looks a tad better.
I keep working, making tweaks on my bird suet feeders. I love feeding the birds, but we have several crows and a raven that like to fly upside down and clean out the feeders. I’m attempting to train Lili to chase them off!
I had a major update on my phone yesterday and suddenly all my pictures disappeared! I was frantic. I headed to the Verizon Store and asked what was going on? Somehow the Google Pictures had been turned on and had taken all my pictures and sent them to the cloud! And worst of all, if I reach my limit there is a fee to store them there! I already use Flickr, so once home, I turned Google pictures off! I have an SD Card in my phone with plenty of backup space.
I have no plans for this weekend. I want to watch tennis, and also maybe a movie or two.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Thursday Thirteen ~ June 10th

Things have been sort of strange lately, I thought I would use this week’s Thursday Thirteen to tell you about it.

I was driving to my Ladies Meeting today and I noticed all the Vendor Tents being put up in Weirs Beach. This Friday is the start of Motorcycle Week. This means that my little piece of Heaven will be overrun with motorcycles, campers who bring their motorcycles, and motorcoaches filled with people who are towing a trailer with motorcycles. It gets pretty noisy up here from about 10 AM until 1 or 2 in the morning. It’s not my favorite time of the year, but after being shut down for Covid, many businesses need the cash that the Bikers bring. I hope everyone stays safe!
Today I was driving home after Jack had part two of his hand surgery done, and I saw a very large turtle in the road. I put on my Emergency Flashing lights and jumped out of the car with a beach towel. I’ve been watching countless episodes of “Northwoods Law” ( A TV show about the Fish & Game Departments in both Maine & New Hampshire) on National Geographic Wild, and so I was ripe for a rescue! At that very moment, a young man stopped his motorcycle to help.
My turtle resembled this one!

Well, my goodness, this was a very large “Snapping Turtle“. The young man seemed to know what he was doing, as he gently lifted the turtle at the back of his shell and we walked her over to the edge of the water, which is where we suspect she was headed. While we did this, I stopped traffic and looked at the man, and said, “Well, we just did our good deed of the day!” Really. It made me so happy to do this.
I was unhappy with the coverage of the French Open Tennis. I love to watch tennis, and unfortunately, The Tennis Channel has the rights to this Grand Slam this year. Now I have The Tennis Channel on my Satellite, but now they have “Tennis Channel Plus, ” advertised on the regular channel. My problem is that they took several of the really good matches and only showed them on their premium channel! Now, not everyone can afford to spring for their “bonus” coverage. It makes the tennis coverage for the French Open for the “Elites only”! Sad. Just sad!
My daughter gave me a box of Teas from India. I enjoyed all but one of the blends. Not a fan of Tumeric Tea. But I also had Darjeeling Summer Tea. Which I really fell for. Upon discussing this with Jack, he said that Darjeeling, First Flush Tea was the very best.
I was almost out of the Summer Tea, and I looked up the grower on Amazon and ordered myself some of the Darjeeling First Flush. Oh, my goodness! It is spectacular! It is perfect! I am now truly a spoiled Tea Drinker!
My meeting on Wednesday was so full of laughter and merriment. I realized that the last year+ has been so serious. Today we just let loose and the joking and teasing felt so darn good. How lucky I am to belong to this group.
I’m amazed at the larger birds that have been in my neighborhood this year. Eagles, Hawks, and of course the pesky Crows. I do love the Eagles and Hawks. I love watching them ride the currents during these hot days.
We also have several families of Canadian Geese downtown. The chicks are still a soft yellow as they waddle around with the parents.
I was thinking about the Mod Squad today because I was watching an episode of Law & Order and Clarence Williams III was the guest star. He played Link Hayes in the Mod Squad. He was so cool and a very good actor. So I looked him up only to find out he’d passed away on June 4th of this year. Rest in Peace, and thanks for the memories!
I’ve been a wee bit on the tired side this week. I haven’t been sleeping well. Now that Jack’s hand is done, I actually have nothing on my calendar until next week when Lili goes in for her dental (teeth cleaning).
My grandson, Quinn, graduated from Pre-Kindergarten!
Quinn

Next year he will be going to all-day Kindergarten and his sister, Savannah will be in 4th grade! These two are growing up so fast!
Has anyone noticed that there is almost nothing on the TV right now worth watching? We have resorted to streaming a few programs, but honestly, TV is a bore. So I am reading. I really do enjoy a good book!
My plan for tomorrow is…laundry and shelf clearing and cleaning in the kitchen. I would like my counters to look neat!
And lastly on this crazy list is my wish that each and every one of you is having a happy and healthy day!

The Weekend Wrap ~ June 7th

It’s pretty strange, but right now, the last six months I feel like time is rushing by me! The days slip by, and look, here we are and it is June! How the heck did that happen?

On Saturday I drove down to Mandy & Matt’s house to spend time with them and my grandchildren. It was another scorcher of a day and as soon as Savannah opened her birthday presents, we all slipped into our suits and jumped in the pool.

Since my Dermatologist lectured me the last time about sun exposure, I wore my swimsuit, a rash guard, and a silly all-covering sunhat!

Yes, I look ridiculous!

I have to tell you all, swimming with Mandy, Matt, and the kids was just what I needed!

It was a lot of fun watching my two little fish! Both love to swim and play and swim some more. I was in for a while, but once I was out, I sat drying, watching them all play around. It made me smile.

I just love being with the kids. They make me laugh and smile and seeing their happy and healthy faces, well, what can I say? It makes the care that we all practiced the last year or so during the Pandemic, was worth it.

The 140-mile round trip was definitely worth it! I wish I could have stayed longer. But, not right now. Too much happening here.

Arnie is doing really well. I cannot believe how this mixture of cranberries and herbs has changed Arnie’s health. He is like a whole new dog.

Jack is going in tomorrow (Monday) for the injection into his hand. He has Dupuytren’s Contracture, and he is having an injection that will help it and in the end, give him better use of his hand.

He also needs to have his blood work done, so I’m driving him all around.

I hope wherever you are you can stay cool. Most of the US is in a heatwave. In the upper 90s, with high humidity. Ugh! But it could be worse. It could be snow and below zero temperatures, so I will take the heat!

Seven Things I Love

I stepped outside today and was overcome with the scent of lilacs. They’re all blooming in my yard. I love it. But I also love a few other bits of nature. So here goes…

1. Apple Blossoms. So delicate, fragrant, and beautiful.

2. Peach Blossoms. They fill our yard in spring on our lovely peach trees.

3. A Bee pollinating the apple trees. I always love watching this happen. It is part of the growing season.

4. A sign for every season. This sign is near my home. I always laugh when I see it!

5. A basket that was full of my garden vegetables. I grew all of those! I miss my garden.

6. Lilacs. My favorite flower is lovely and the scent cannot be mistaken for anything else. How I wish they made Lilac perfume or air fresheners.

7. The most beautiful rainbow on my lake. Yes, I took this picture myself. It was so beautiful that day.

The Friday Five ~ June 4th

This week really sped by for me. It’s not that I was too busy, but I just found that the hours of each day sped by. So, let’s look back as we come up with this week’s Friday Five.

It was the Memorial Day Holiday on Monday. We didn’t have any big plans, so we just hung out and watched “The French Open Tennis Tournament”. I love to watch tennis, even though I have never played.
Tuesday was my beauty appointment and I just have to say, I really love going and spending a couple of hours on myself.
So very relaxing!
Wednesday I met up with my friends for our weekly meeting. WW may have dropped us all up here in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire, but these 12 wonderful women bring light and hope to me every week.
We sit outside and this is our view!

We have become very good friends during the Corona Pandemic. We are so lucky to have each other.
I did something to my new cell phone and I couldn’t access my SD Card. Back to Verizon, I went. There was simply a conflict. My old cell phone had shifted material over to the new phone and some of the old programs no longer work on the newer cell phone. Jessie was nice and she got me all taken care of.
Tomorrow I will be heading down to see my grandchildren. It’s a little rough because I have to drive down and back in one day. 76 miles down and 76 miles back. In my youth, this wouldn’t have bothered me, but I do get tired. But, I can sleep on Sunday. For now, I can do the down and back in one day so I can be with my grands and daughter!

Have a wonderful weekend!

TBT: My 2nd Great Grandparents

My sister and I have been working on our family’s genealogy. It’s been fascinating seeing where we came from.

My grandmother, Grandma Honey (Mary), was very much into that stuff in her day, and I imagine her sitting in the Boston Public Library looking things up. (No computers back then!) She told me stories about her father and her father’s parents. I was always interested to hear these tales. She never knew her own grandparents, But her father had told her some of the stories and she retold them to us, her grandchildren.

Although they were long gone when I was growing up, I knew all about George Keith and Pheobe Sophia. Grandma even joked with me that I must be like her because I could be overly dramatic at times, and apparently, from the stories told, so could she.

So here are my second great-grandparents.

George Keith.

And his love wife Phoebe Sophia.

This is where part of me started. These two people are in my DNA and the stories I heard about them made me feel like a part of it all.

A Really Good Day

Well, Tuesday was one of those days that from start to finish was just one really, really, good day!

I was up early and headed out to get my hair styled. I love my hairstylist, Rebecca. She takes time to listen to what I would like and then follows through. We’ve had some grand adventures so far and today, well, she just outdid herself! I needed a slight color correction because the hair in front of my head is getting whiter. So, some creative coloring was needed. I just want to know how a sweet young thing like me can be getting all this white hair?

The hair was great and after I saw Becca I went to the grocery store and got a few things. Arnie gets his pills twice a day and he takes them with a little liverwurst. I am now a good customer at the Deli for my boy’s treat!

Then I got the mail, and our latest stimulus check arrived. Better late than never I guess, so score another good thing on my list!

But the best thing was running into my friend Brad at the Post Office. He taught me everything I know about computers, and I have not seen him since Covid hit! I’ve kept in touch via Facebook, so I knew he had gotten both his vaccines and yet, we still were masked. Anyway, I hugged this dear friend of mine and I realized how hugs are the best. I have missed them.

After making lunch, I settled down, did some laundry, and finished the potato salad. I wasn’t thrilled with my last batch, so, I tried to think about what my Mom used to do. I went slowly and methodically and in the end, the potato salad was perfect!

I got a stain out of a favorite shirt and managed to get the dogs fed on time.

A note here, Arnie started his cranberry, pumpkin seed extract, and organic licorice root. He’s been on this for two weeks and he is starting to do amazingly well!

It is wonderful to see Arnie back to his old self and running around! He also only takes the anti-inflammatory every 12 hours instead of every 6! Score one for holistic medicine!

The sun was bright and the sky was mostly cloudless. Just one of those days where it felt good to be alive!

The Weekend Wrap ~ June 1st

It was a busy weekend here in New Hampshire due to the Memorial Day Holiday. Our hotels were filled, the campsites too, and traffic was a nightmare! I went out on Sunday to get a few things and then retreated to the house to keep away from all the Tourists.

It was odd though, that so many people came up to the Lakes Region. You see, it was not the best weather here at all. It rained and was cold to the point where I actually turned on our heat last night.

I felt bad for the people who run the annual Memorial Day Craft Fair in our town. I’m sure many of the Crafters canceled. Really, it was that bad!

I am feeling better and Arnie also seems to be doing well. We started him on Cranberry Extract with pumpkin seed extract and a few other things and after almost 2 weeks he seems more comfortable. At least I pray this is true.

I am still working on learning about my new phone. I try to learn a few things each day. It’s amazing how many things change on phones in just a few years!

A lot of things going on this week for me. So there won’t be too much of a chance to lie about and be lazy. Sometimes that is very good.

Have a great week, Everyone.