The Dackel Princess

Happy Tuesday

Yesterday I spent time sorting through brick-a-brack around the house. Over the years it seems that I have acquired a lot of really cute, but junky crap! I also have more vases from all the lovely flowers I have been sent. How many clear bouquet vases does one need?

So, I got some old boxes (yes, I save those too!) and started filling them with all this stuff. So far, I have four large boxes of stuff.

I want to continue this cleaning and on Thursday or Friday, bring a large load of “stuff” to our recycling center’s rehoming room. You know, one man’s junk is another man’s treasure!

Little Heidi is continuing to grow and change and I am counting the days until I fly out to get her. Her wonderful breeder is raising those little babies with love, a sense of adventure, and such care. I feel so lucky to be getting one of Gail’s babies.

Little Heidi taking a nap after playing in the yard.

With each picture, with each puppy report, my heart swells with love. I feel like the luckiest of new puppy-mommys!

My plan today is more junk thinning, and also to dig out my doggy-poop bags and get those in my suitcase. Yes, believe it or not, I have started to pack for my New Year’s Eve trip!

Happy Tuesday Everyone!

Introducing Heidi!

Before I sat down to write this post, I reworked my Header for the Blog. It was time to let Arnie rest in peace, and go forward in life.

So, here we are introducing you to the newest member of our family. This is Heidi!

Heidi is six weeks old now, and in 4 short weeks, she will be on her way home from beautiful Kentucky.

I am flying down on New Years Day to pick her up and bring her home. I can hardly wait!

I’ve been so lucky because the breeder of Heidi’s litter has kept me involved right from the start. Pictures have come often of Heidi making me feel happy once again.

When you lose your much-loved fur-babies so closely together, it just does you in. But watching her grow throughout these last weeks put a real spring in my step and a smile on my face.

So, my little dackel baby, you will be coming into a home where you will be cherished and loved beyond measure!

The Friday Five ~ Dec. 3rd

Wow, this sure was a wild week and when I woke up this morning I thought, this is Friday! How can this be? So here is whats kept me so busy.

Life has a way of laughing at me when it comes to computers. My fairly new computer has been acting sloggy, and after a recent Windows Update, I was suddenly unable to reach my network printer. I tried everything. I even had a remote visit with my Computer Guru and he couldn’t figure it out either. This was wild and new and aside from tossing the machine against the wall, further exploration needed to be done.
So, Brad came and picked up my machine to see what he could do. I’d decided to upgrade to Windows 11 and so Brad wiped the hard drive completely clean and did a fresh download with the Windows Eleven for my machine.
After getting the machine loaded and talking to his Network and Network Printer. He brought her home. We opened it up, got it onto the Network and…..the Master Computer wouldn’t talk to my laptop enough to allow it to print! Ugh!
We worked all afternoon, tinkering, and trying everything we could think before Brad figured a way around this glitch! So now, my computer is clean and running better than it ever has, and I can print! I can never that Brad enough for all his hard work!
Lastly, I received a phone call from a dear woman who was the Owner of Angelika, from Greta’s first litter.

Angelika at 3 weeks!

She was a full sibling to both Anneliese and Arnie. She was greatly loved in her forever home, and just two weeks before what would have been their 15th Birthday, Angel went to Rainbow Bridge. When I think about how wonderful that very first litter was, and how long most of them lived, and how happy they made their families, I am so proud of my Greta and her “husband” Bernie. Now all those wonderful pups are gone. The tears flowed and then I remembered that one day, we will be reunited with our beloved fur-babies.

So this is the week that was. Last night my brain just hurt from all the computer thinking, and my heart hurts from the last goodbyes.

Have a Great Weekend Everyone!

The Weekend Wrap ~ November 29th

My weekend was actually four days long. It started last Tuesday with me starting the prep work for Thanksgiving and ended with me cooking the last of the leftovers on Sunday.

I did all my prep work early so that on Thursday I just needed to cook things. But still, I must tell you, in the end, I was exhausted!

For whatever reason, our 11-pound turkey had very little meat on it. This surprised me as I had hoped to have turkey leftovers to keep me satisfied for a while. Instead, it was gone quickly, leaving me wanting more. Jack is thrilled as he is not a turkey lover.

I did make turkey soup, but even that has gone quickly giving us one more meal if we’re lucky.

So what does this mean? It means I must start cooking dinner again after getting off easily the last few nights.

I hear from the breeder how Heidi is doing. Apparently, she is a little spitfire! I’ve seen her in videos and pictures and she is just adorable. I’m counting the days!

My little Christmas Tree is up, and a few decorations. I have started to write Christmas Cards and will be mailing my Australia cards tomorrow. So my dear Aussie friends, let me know when you get yours.

Well, it’s back to normal life again. This is a quiet week. Starting in the middle of December my life will get busy.

Have a great week!

Happy 50th Anniversary ~ Melodie & Ron!

Fifty years ago today, I stood by my sister’s side as she said her wedding vows. Melodie was marrying her soul-mate, Ron. I watched them look into each other’s eyes, and I knew their marriage would last. Here is what Mel has to say about her life with Ron and a short montage after.

“Ron and I celebrate 50 years of marriage today! We are so blessed to have each other and still be so in love! We did not have beautiful wedding photos so during the past year we dressed up and took many pictures of us at several special places! It was great fun! Once we had taken all the photos my dear sister made a wonderful slide show set to our pick of music! Thank you Maribeth for doing this for us!! We hope you all enjoy it!”

Happy 50th Anniversary!

Thursday Thirteen ~ Happy Thanksgiving!

Today is Thanksgiving Day here in the USA. A day where we stop to give thanks for all that we have. Like the Pilgrims before us, our country continues to face many challenges, but I think many of my fellow Americans would agree, we are thankful for the love of our God, our family, and our friends. So, here is a random list of 13 things I am thinking about this Thanksgiving.

1. Before I sit down to breakfast I need to bake an apple pie. Why so early? Well, I like freshly baked apple pie and the turkey we got will take about three and a half hours to cook! With one oven I am stuck baking the pie early.

2. I made the dressing yesterday, and have it chilling down. I will stuff Mr. Tom Turkey this morning and roast him slowly until he is perfectly cooked!

3. I peeled and diced the Yukon Gold Potatoes yesterday and they are soaking in a pot. Yukon Gold Potatoes make the best-mashed potatoes!

4. I also peeled and chopped up the butternut squash. And I also snapped the green beans. All is prepped.

5. I roasted the chestnuts and then shelled them. I am so happy that Julia Child wrote about the easy way to shell a chestnut. In the past, I did it all wrong and ended up with sliced-up fingers. This is easily the way, soaking them in boiling water for 20 minutes, putting a large X in the rounded part, and then placing them on a roasting pan in a 400 (F) degree oven for 25 minutes. Cool, place all the chestnuts in a dishcloth and then crunch on the kitchen shelf. They almost peel themselves! Makes a great addition to the dressing.

6. I peeled 2 dozen pearl onions. Ugh! Those will be first sauteed and then I will finish cooling them in Stock.

7. Then after I did all that preparation work for today’s dinner, I started to make dinner for last night.

8. Lili began to demand to be fed, so I broke down and fed her 10 minutes early.

9. Just about the time dinner was ready, I kind of lost my appetite. All the preparation of food, just made the food look unappealing.

10. Finally I finished all the cooking and cleaned up and got to sit down in my recliner at 7:15 last night.

11. After three such busy days, I felt exhausted! Humble as our Thanksgiving will be, we will have turkey and all the fixings.

12. It will be an early bedtime tonight!

13. To all my family and friends, here and abroad. May you enjoy the blessings of Thanksgiving. I know it is not a holiday for everyone, but I believe that the feeling of thankfulness that I feel in my heart and mind, for the ones that I love, is something shared universally.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

The Weekend Wrap ~ November 22nd

The weekend seemed to fly by and on Sunday night I realized I needed another weekend day to accomplish everything I’d wanted to get done. I did, however, get a lot done and will finish up things on Monday and Tuesday.

My little Christmas tree is now up and I love the glow of lights from the kitchen where I have it set up. Since we have an open concept home, we can see the tree from both the family room and the kitchen. There is just something about Christmas lights that make me feel peaceful.

I will tell you that each day little Heidi is growing and becoming a propper puppy running around and getting into everything! When her name is called, she recognizes it and comes to the breeder.

I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am that little Heidi will be coming home in just about 40 days! Then a new chapter of my life will begin.

All my reservations are made, and I can hardly wait for the adventure to begin!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and that you found a little happiness, laughter, and joy.

The Friday Five ~ November 19th

This week did slip by. Mostly because I slept through it. Here is what the last week saw, and why I was so sleepy.

On Tuesday I delivered all my Christmas gifts to my daughter’s house. I’ve been shopping online since the summer, and I spent all of Sunday wrapping, and then put all the gifts in two large boxes and tucked them into my Highlander. Although I am really happy that the kids will have presents from me, I will miss them like crazy on Christmas Day.
After doing that on Tuesday I drove over to the VA to get my Moderna Booster Shot. The nurse, who I already know, was so gentle that I did not feel a thing.
But an hour later, I started to feel unwell. I was due to have physical therapy, but I had to leave and get home.
Wednesday I felt a bit better and I went about a Zoom call and a few other things. It was my Birthday and I planned a nice Charcuterie Board, Champagne, and Baked French Onion Soup. But by the time we sat down to eat I had a fever of 102° (F). I had no appetite and so the champagne was not popped, and I didn’t even have my soup! I simply did the dishes and then went to bed at 7 PM. I proceeded to sleep 13 hours.
Thursday found me still a bit under the weather. The fever was down, but I was so tired. My arm is swollen, red, and sore. I’ve been told it is a positive reaction. So it is done and over with. Now I can travel to get Heidi and not worry too much. I will still wear a mask and sanitize my hands as much as I can.

So that was the week that was. I lived to tell the tale and I know that by the time the weekend is over I will be fine and back to my old self.

I wish you all a wonderful weekend and a happy week ahead!

Thank You!

I want to take this time to thank everyone for the warm and loving Birthday wishes, yesterday!

One of my favorite sayings is this, from “It’s a Wonderful Life”.

Dear George,
Remember no man is a failure who has friends.
Thanks for the wings!
Love, Clarence.”

So, I thank you all and as I begin my 64th year, I truly feel like the luckiest woman in the world.

Birthday Girl ~ That’s Me!

Today is my 63rd birthday. Odd. How did that happen? I do not feel that old. Officially, according to Social Security, I am not old. In order to get my full retirement, I have to wait until I am 67 and a half, so you see, I am still very young!

I was born and raised on Cape Cod, in Massachusetts. I still feel that the Cape will always be my home, even if I don’t get down there too often.

I was the youngest child of three, and I guess a bit of a tom-boy. I loved playing trucks and riding my bicycle all over town. I did like Barbie Dolls and played them with my sister and cousin. But I was equally happy climbing trees and going on adventures along creeks and swamps.

I did many things alone. I would ride down to the beach and climb the jetties. I would sit and dream and lose myself in thought.

I also tried to make people laugh. At times life was hard, and I could joke around and get people smiling.

Yet, as a young woman, I seemed to lose that child-like confidence. Although many would say I was outgoing, not many knew how I worried I was inside of falling on my face and failing.

Now I am sixty-three. Golly, I have learned so much along the way. But, oh, that insecure woman still resides within, and occasionally rears her ugly head.

I find my peace with my pups. Walking them or holding them or waking to their morning face licks. Unconditional love. Given freely, by my fur babies meant so much.

Having a grown-up daughter is amazing, and watching the wonderful mother she is with her children, makes me proud. She is a self-made woman. What an amazing person she is!

My grandchildren are everything. Savannah tells me her secrets and stories, and Quinn is coming into his own. He always checks to see if I remembered his Bai water when I come down, and recently my Kindergartener made me a card all by himself. To Oma, Love, Quinn. Why? Just because.

The hugs, their smiles, watching them grow puts a smile on me like you cannot believe. How grateful I am.

So life at 63 isn’t too bad. It’s not quite what I thought it would be, but it is a good life nonetheless.

So, Happy Birthday to me!

Dear George, Remember no man is a failure who has friends. Thanks for the wings! Love, Clarence.”

Dear George,
Remember no man is a failure who has friends.
Thanks for the wings!
Love, Clarence.”