The Dackel Princess

The Friday Five ~ December 2nd

Here we are, December 2nd! Just a few more weeks until Christmas and then we bid 2022 adieu. So here we go. Our first Friday Five of December 2022!

I saw the most lovely Christmas Cactus at the grocery store. It was so beautiful that I had to bring it home.
Currently, all the buds are opening and I am enjoying it even more!
Heidi has this new game. She likes to sit close to my laptop computer and touch the screen with her nose, thus throwing off whatever I am writing about. Heidi is a little imp!
Tomorrow I will begin doing my Christmas cards. I’m not doing a letter, I will just write small personal notes inside each one. As it is, I am sending out fewer and fewer.
I have decorated for Christmas in a small way. I used to go the whole hog, but now I have a small tree and some decorations.
Lastly, I bet I will work all weekend on the cards, laundry, and some cooking. Jack has said I can cook anything, just not turkey!

3 AM ~ Really?

There are some things you absolutely must do with both a light and your glasses on. And so it was at 3:00 this morning after I had been outside walking the dogs.

At 3 AM I am really still in sleepy land. However, my darling Lili, who has been very nervous this week, woke both Heidi and me. I pulled myself out of my cozy nest of blankets and got on my coat, hat and gloves, and off we went so both dogs could commune with nature.

I flipped on the lights and the three of us ventured out in the thirty-degree, snowy, windy, weather. The first thing I noticed was that my lighter winter coat simply was not cutting it and I was freezing. Even my hat and gloves were not keeping me very warm. So as I stood there waiting I was urging them to hurry up.

When we came in, I rushed to give them each a little cookie, and then I raced back to my blankets. I’d hoped to fall right back to sleep, but then I heard noises from the kitchen and knew I needed to check it all out.

In the pale glow of the night lite, I saw two forms that worried me. With no glasses on and no strong light, the blobs resembled dead mice. I live in the country and at this time of year, a field mouse or two will try to gain entry to escape the cold. But there was no way I was touching anything without bright lights and glasses and gloves.

As I returned to the scene of the crime in the kitchen wearing glasses, and gloves and turning on the lights, I noticed immediately that both blobs were clusters of dried leaves that had blown into the house when I went out and then came back in. I laughed, picked it all up, and returned to my blankets.

All I wanted at this point was to go back to sleep, but Heidi and Lili wanted to play and Heidi was racing back and forth playing with Lili. So, I turned on my laptop, the morning news and here I sit at 4:23 AM writing about the mice that weren’t!

Today I will need to go out and get the mail, and it is my hope to start writing my Christmas cards.

And let me just say that as I close this at 4:30 AM, both dogs have gone back to sleep and it is once again quiet. It’s my hope that I can get back to sleep too!

The Friday Five ~ November 25th

This week was a very busy one. I worked all day and fell asleep early in the evening and managed a few naps too. In the end, the turkey was wonderful and it made all the prep work worth it. So, here goes.

Monday I drove home from my daughter’s home. I’d gone down on Sunday to watch, “The Wizard of Oz” starring my two grandchildren! This was six-year-old Quinn’s first play. He played Toto and can I just say nothing is cuter than a six-year-old in a puppy suit?
He did a great job and I felt so very proud of him!
Savi had several parts with solos. She played the Coroner who declares the Wicked Witch of the East dead!
She has a beautiful voice and I was so proud of her. She has been acting in plays since she was about 5 years old.
I had a chance to visit with my daughter and Matt’s Mom before and after the play, and both Heidi and I enjoyed spending the night. Monday morning we were up early, said goodbye to the kids as they left on the bus, and on the way home I stopped for last-minute groceries and gas.
Then the work began. I cooked all day Tuesday, and Wednesday, thinking that this would make Thursday easier. I was like a cat on a hot tin roof. By the evening, after two sets of dishes, I collapsed in my chair. Just around nine o’clock, Jack wanted dinner. I swear I wanted to scream. I made him soup and a sandwich. I then walked the two doggy girls and went to sleep.
There was sadness for us this Thanksgiving. The day before I was watching our local news when I saw our old farmhouse.
(It was the cover on the New Hampshire calendar in 1993)

I quickly turned up the volume and listened to the story. There was a fatal shooting there. It was later on that I learned that the man who purchased the Farm from us was the victim. He lived there alone as his family has passed away. We don’t know all the particulars yet, but it appears that the perpetrator was looking for a car and guns. Sadly the 83-year-old man trusted someone he should not have.

I lived there for several years after marrying Jack. I loved it there. The home was very old but had such character. It was built in the early 1800s this was really historical and quaint.

So, sadly this man has died, but thankfully police captured the culprit very quickly.

Today is make the soup day and clean out my pantry. I also watched “It’s a Wonderful Life” which is a reminder to me that as tough as life gets it is always wonderful.

Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce

Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce

The quick and easy way!

1 Can Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce
Orange Jell-o
Seedless Orange
Orange Juice
Orange Zest

In a saucepan, add the entire can of whole-berry cranberry sauce. Slice the orange, and use only the pulp sections of the orange. (peel away any white flesh.) Chop up and add to the cranberry sauce. Cut up the orange peel and run it in your food processor to make zest. Add 1 – 2 tbs to saucepan. Add approximately 1/8 – 1/4 cup of orange juice. Add one packet of sugar-free orange jello gelatin to the saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook for about 2-3 minutes, and then pour into a serving dish. Cover and chill.

Friday Five ~ Birthday Memories!

This week sped by and so here goes all the details.

The first snow of the season fell. It was about three inches, and now, on Friday, most of the snow is gone. But it is still cold and feels like winter.
Our roofers have been here each day, but on Wednesday when it was raining/snowing.
My birthday started with a Doe and her two Fawns presenting themselves just before dawn. They simply stood silhouetted in the early morning light. I was there watching them, watching me and it was such a peaceful moment. I don’t have a camera that could have done justice to that picture, so it is stored in my memory.
Lili and Heidi are bothered by all the noise. I’ve been cuddling with Heidi today after she had sort of a doggy nervous breakdown. She had two accidents and just couldn’t settle down. Today Lili is quite the worse for wear as the loud noises overhead scare her so much. I had them out and a stack of shingles hit the roof and Lili started to bolt. Thankfully I called her and she stopped, turned, and came back.
For my birthday dinner, we went to George’s Seafood. We both had the fried Whole Belly Clams.
My dinner.

They were so good! My only problem is driving at night and we also had snow flurries. But we made it home. Turning 64 wasn’t so bad after all.

Happy Birthday To Me!

Well, here I am. Today is my 64th Birthday. I recall various family members reaching this grand old age, and here I am not feeling all that old!

My family.

The next generation! Mandy, Matt, Savannah, Quinn, Lili, and Heidi!

I’m happily a Mom, an Oma, and a wife, and I am owned by a little bit of a doggy named Heidi and a big doggy named Lili.

So how does it feel to be 64? Funny actually. I have things figured out, mostly, I know what I like and what I don’t, and naptime is so welcome.

I stop and watch with wonder all the animals and birds that fill my yard. How lucky I am to see them eating apples, catching a field mouse, or munching leaves.

Life sure has been interesting over the last 64 years! I could write volumes where I recount each moment, but suffice it to say, it has never been boring.

Here is a short video I made a few years back. I watched it and thought about how much I still enjoy it.

Here’s to number 64. Let’s see what we can do to get to number 65!

The Friday Five ~ November 11th

The week sped by and suddenly it was Thursday night. So as we listen to continual episodes of Law & Order, I sat down to write.

1. 1. 1. Well, I was busy doing the dishes on Thursday and heard the telltale noises of a dog retching. I stopped what I was doing and ran toward the sound. There was poor Lili throwing up on my bedroom rug! Ugh! I tried to hurry her outside, but she only made it to the family room, where she threw up again on another carpet!
  2. Get a dog they said it will be fun they said!
  
  3. 45 minutes later, I cleaned up the carpets and floor and settled poor Lili.
  
  4. Heidi was worried about her big sister and slept next to her.
  
  5. Lastly, this weekend the Christmas Fairs return to my little area. I will be going to two of them. I have missed them. Crafts, Christmas music, and neighbors. And a slice of normality returning.

Days Are Numbered

Katie was born on Wednesday, November 8, 1978, at 5:30 in the morning. She was our second daughter, who came into our life with tiny red curls and blue-green eyes. She was a happy baby, and even when she had to have her feet broken as a corrective measure, she was still happy.

She loved her family, and she loved all animals. Her heart was a big one.

She enjoyed climbing trees, dancing, playing with Barbie dolls, and dressing up. One year her father made her and her sister a Barbie doll house and Mandy and Katie just loved it.

We went to County Fairs and rode on Merry-go-Rounds and ate popcorn and ice cream.

When asked by an old lady where she had gotten her red curls, Katie smiled and told her “One day Mommy was cutting my Daddy’s beard and it fell on my head and started to grow!”

She had a wicked good laugh and loved to sing everything from songs she heard on the radio, to songs she made up in her head.

I didn’t know that I would only have 2415 days, or 6 years, 7 months, and 11 days with her.

Had I known, I would have laughed more and appreciated every single hour of every single day.

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

The accident happened. I’m grateful that I do not recall too much of it. I am also grateful that even though Katie never woke up from the coma she was in, at least we were able to hold her and kiss her before she passed away.

This year she would have been forty-four years old. She might have had a family of her very own.

Instead, from June 19, 1985, when she passed away until November eighth, 2022, I look back and see that she has been gone from us for 13,657 days, or 37 years, 4 months, 21 days. When I saw that I felt quite overwhelmed.

Most days I do well. But some days I am not sure how I have managed to cope.

We all miss you, Katie. I wish you were still with us. You were and still are greatly loved.

Kathleen Alynne

The Friday Five ~ November 4th

I woke this morning and realized it was Friday and I had not written a Friday Five. More than likely this is because this week I have been crazy busy. So here I am in the early morning hours of Friday writing.

Although I did not want to, on Wednesday I spent the day going into a larger town with a cheaper grocery store, food warehouse, and gas.
It was a good trip, and I was able to stock up on canned goods and jarred sauces, jellies, and gravies.
We have had the most beautiful weather this week. Sunny and warm and although the leaves are now off the trees when the skies are this blue it almost feels like Spring!
I had my hair done on Tuesday, and that felt great, although the Eczema is currently bad on my scalp. It is both itchy and painful.
Lastly, Heidi had her hair done and it came out so well. She still has a lot of her puppy fur, but we’re working to bring her coat into a full grown-up coat.
We are lucky to have found Christi, who knows how to strip a wire-haired coat!

Have a great weekend, wherever you may be! It is supposed to be a very nice one!

The Friday Five ~ October 28th

This week was rather unsettling for me. I was faced with some things that brought the dire circumstances our country is in, into my very little world. So here we go.

We got the bill for having a new pump installed into our well. $3400.00! Yes, you read that right. I almost fainted when I saw the bill. All they did was open the cap, pull out the pump, replace it and then close the cap and it was done. They tell me the biggest problem is the near-daily increases in pump prices. In my next life, I am coming back as a plumber!
I stopped out at the local grocery store to buy supplies and I happened to notice that several items had increased in price. Jack’s coffee cake is up $2.26 in price. It is now $6.25. A year ago it was $3.99. His cookies have increased by $3.00! The cookies went from $3.99 and it is now $6.99. And the bakery bread at the store has gone up a dollar. I was shocked that in less than two weeks prices have skyrocketed.
This means I will be driving 25 miles or so to another store that has better prices. It is a bit of a trek, but I simply cannot afford the prices at our local store.
I have not had any more run-ins with the bear. We know he is out there, but not coming close to the house. But I have to tell you, I take one dog out at a time, and I use my super flashlight and talk loudly to the dogs.
Heidi brings joy to every day of my life. She is so good-natured and a real cuddler. I am so lucky!

Have a great weekend and enjoy the last days of this warm Autumn!

Heidi age one year!