Dackel Princess

The Friday Five

It was an amazing week, another that seemed to rush by. I found myself driving here and there, getting a lot done. So here goes!

Anneliese had her Eye Exam and right now her eyes are stable. I need to keep up the drops and keep an eye on her, but hopefully, we are through the worst of it. She will never be perfect, but at least she is out of imminent danger.
My Repairman, Barry is here fixing my dishwasher! Yahoo! I have managed to do the dishes, but I admit that last night I’d had enough of the cooking and then cleaning it all up.
So. last night I got a takeout menu online for the local Chinse Restaurant and we ordered meals for each of us. A night off.
I fear I was being punished for being so lazy because we got the worst Chinese food that either of us had ever had. And things only got more annoying. When Jack went to pick it up it was almost $15.00 more than we had figured. It turns out that they had added pork fried rice to the order, and not just changed the option. (You know Pork Fried Rice, Fried Rice or White Rice?) S0 we had fried rice in the take out box and an extra box of pork fried rice. The good thing about being married to a thrifty Scotsman is that he wouldn’t accept the order! The woman eventually admitted her error and Jack came home with the meal. However, it was awful!
Tomorrow Savannah will be in another play. My darling girl just loves acting in plays.

I am going down for the midday performance and then will head right back home. I’ve been so worried about Jack and I don’t want to leave him for too long.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Things I Think About.

I saw a sneaker on the side of the road. I wondered…where is the other one? Is there a man or woman walking around with only one sneaker?
Why do people enter the roadway in front of you, and then slow down? I wondered at this today when I had no car behind me and yet a young man roared in front of me from a side road and then slowed down to a snail’s pace?
Why do Wild Turkeys always seem to gather near the edge of roads? Are they trying to get hit?
Why do Tornados seem to head for and hit Mobile Home Parks?
How does dust settle on my tables, shelves etc, mere moments after I dust them?
My “Crow Proof” bird feeder isn’t exactly crow proof.

Those little buggers fly up, grab some suet, fall off and go right back and try again. It’s provided Jack and me with endless moments of entertainment!
My little Downey Woodpecker comes by to visit each day.

By this, I mean he actually comes to feed when I am standing outside or seated at our little patio table. He almost seems to know me and trust me. I just love this!
There is a Fox in our neighborhood. We’re all a bit nervous. The last fox taken into custody was Rabid. So we’re watching the pooches carefully.
I finally got tired of seeing Arnie’s ears all but dragging on the ground! So I picked him up and gave his ears a good trim!

I still need to work the stripping comb on him. He has such a thick and luxurious coat, that needs thinning and stripping, that is for sure.
What am I making for dinner tonight? After such a long day I would hate to cook a big meal, knowing I still have no dishwasher and will need to wash, dry and put away all the dishes I make! Ugh!
I need to get paid more. Besides doing the cooking, dishes, cleaning, and laundry, I have another title…Nurse! Jack fell again today and cut himself in three places. After cleaning the wounds, I bandaged them up. Yup, add Nurse to my job description!
I’m struggling with WW. There I have said it! I try and I get through breakfast and I’m doing well and then at 10 o’clock I want to eat. Ugh! I will not give up.
And lastly, today I saw a company moving one of those huge water tanks. You know, the ones you see in towns up on stilts? Anyway, the flatbed truck had it strapped down, and it took up two entire lanes. Four State Police vehicles with lights were guiding the way as well as two outriding company trucks. I have never seen anything that large on a public highway! I was driving and I couldn’t take a picture. But here is a water-tank very close to what I saw on the flatbed.

The cone-shaped top was not there, just the large cylindrical capsule. It got off the road in Rochester. I wish I could have followed it for a while.

In Memoriam September 11, 2001

I think we all can tell you where we were, and what we were doing on that fateful day, in September.

September 11, 2001

It was a beautiful day here in New Hampshire. Sunny, bright, clear with blue skies. I was taking a shower getting ready for a dental appointment, while Jack was working on shingling the house. It was a day like any other here.
Hubby had the TV in our bedroom pointed out the window so he could listen to the morning news.

Suddenly, I felt a hand on my arm and Jack told me I had to get out of the shower now, something was happening. I was a little dazed and confused. I shut the water in the shower off and grabbed my towel.

Jack and I sat in our family room watching Fox News, ABC, and CNN. A plane had hit one of the Twin Towers at the World Trade Center in downtown New York City. Jack, as a former Airline Pilot knew immediately, that it was no accident.

While we watched, suddenly another plane came in and hit the other Tower!
We were both in shock. We listened to reports. No one was saying terrorism, not at first. But both Jack and I knew.

I look at this picture, and I know that none of those innocent people got out alive. That thought brings me to tears each time I see it.

We watched the Tower’s come down, one and then the other. We knew people had died. We just didn’t know how many.

At 12:30 I drove to my dental appointment. There was not another car on the road. Not one. I got to my dental appointment and found that I was the only patient that hadn’t canceled that day.

When I got home we watched the TV all day. I called my family and my close friends. Just to hear their voices.

It doesn’t matter your political affiliations, or how you feel about the war. What matters is on September 11, 2001, innocent people died in New York City, In Washington, DC and in Shanksville, PA.

People like you and like me. Just because they were Americans. That was the day I learned that we are no longer safe here at home.

I also learned that when our country is attacked in such a manner, we pull together and unify.

God Bless all who lost their lives that day, to their families, who will never be the same, and all who serve this country each and every day to protect and defend us.

September 11, 2001: Basic Facts

Chronology
8:46 AM Plane crashes into the north tower of the World Trade Center.
9:03 AM Plane crashes into the south tower of the World Trade Center.
9:17 AM The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) shuts down all New York City area airports.
9:21 AM The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) halts all flights at U.S. airports. It is the first
time in history that air traffic has been halted nationwide.
9:38 AM Plane crashes into the Pentagon. Evacuation begins immediately.
9:45 AM The White House evacuates.
10:05 AM The south tower of the World Trade Center collapses.
10:10 AM A portion of the Pentagon collapses.
10:10 AM Plane crashes in Somerset County, Pennsylvania.
10:22 AM The State and Justice Departments, as well as the World Bank are evacuated.
10:28 AM The World Trade Center’s north tower collapses.
10:45 AM All federal office buildings in Washington, D.C. are evacuated.
1:44 PM Five warships and two aircraft carriers are ordered to leave the U.S. Naval Station
in Norfolk, Virginia to protect the East Coast.
4:10 PM Building 7 of the World Trade Center collapses.

The Flights
American Airlines Flight 11
From: Boston, Massachusetts (Logan Airport)
To: Los Angeles, California
Lives: 92 people on board
Crashed into North Tower of World Trade Center at 8:46 AM

United Airlines Flight 175
From: Boston, Massachusetts (Logan Airport)
To: Los Angeles, California
Lives: 65 people on board
Crashed into South Tower of the World Trade Center at 9:03 AM

American Airlines Flight 77
From: Washington, D.C. (Dulles Airport)
To: Los Angeles, CA
Lives: 64 people on board
Crashed into the Pentagon at 9:38 AM

United Airlines Flight 93
From: Newark, New Jersey
To: San Francisco, California
Lives: 44 people on board
Crashed into rural Pennsylvania (southeast of Pittsburgh)

Victims
Victims came from more than 90 countries around the world.
The following are the number of people who died at each site:

World Trade Center 2,823 (includes airline passengers)
Pentagon 125 (not including plane victims)
Flight 11 – 92 people on board
Flight 175 – 64 people on board
Flight 77 – 64 people on board
Flight 93 – 44 people on board

The initial numbers are indelible: 8:46 a.m. and 9:02 a.m, the times the Towers were hit. Time the burning towers stood: 56 minutes and 102 minutes. Time they took to fall: 12 seconds. From there, they ripple out.

Fact Sheet
U.S. Department of State
Washington, DC
August 15, 2002

Lovely

Today was beautiful. In fact, I felt like walking around our yard and I took a bunch of pictures. Lili, of course, was only too happy to pose for me.

Awww, my lovely Lili!

The tourists have all gone home. In a few weeks they will close up their camps and life in my small town will go back to a simple, quiet, normal. Oh, how I love this time of year!

I sidled up to the plum tree and grabbed a delicious succulent one, and wolfed it down. These are tiny little plums known as a Mount Royal Plum! Oh my goodness, so very good!

Tomorrow we have a man coming to see if he can fix the mess left by Sunday Paving & Sealing Company of Wolfborough, NH. These people worked on our driveway and 11 hours after they finished the driveway failed. They refuse to return our calls or to stop by. Anyone in my area thinking of using them, trust me, you do not want to do it! I will be filing a formal complaint with the Better Business Bureau!

We’re limited with time now, as in a few weeks our temperatures will drop and the ground will freeze. Oh my goodness, did I really write that? Yes, before we know it, winter will be here!

Automatic Dishwashers

After standing at the sink with my hands in flocked rubber gloves, washing dishes three times a day, I wondered what man I should be thanking for my automatic dishwasher.

Well, low and behold, when I looked up who invented the automatic dishwasher I discovered that a woman had invented this cherished device!

Josephine Garis Cochran invented the first useful dishwasher in Shelbyville, Ill., and received patent # 355,139 on December 28, 1886. Cochrane, a wealthy woman who entertained often, wanted a machine that could wash dishes faster than her servants, and without breaking them.

Thank you, Ms. Cochran!

I’m amazed that this woman not only designed the machine but with help from a mechanic built it and then marketed it to hotels and restaurants. Kitchen Aid would eventually puy her patent.

So either Tuesday or Wednesday the parts to fix my machine should be here, but in the long run It’s been interesting to learn something about a product I have used since I was in 4th grade and never knew was invented by a woman!

Protected: Life

Dishes

Why is it that you get the cooking bug at the same time that your dishwasher has broken down? Now I do not mind washing a dish or two along the way, but my gosh, you should see the mounds of dishes that I have been washing!

My cousin Janet jokes with me because she actually likes washing dishes. She finds it relaxing.

For me, I could list about a dozen reasons why I really do not like to wash, dry and put away dishes, but I’m trying to remain on the positive side of things!

Today I made Italian Meatballs to go with the Spaghetti Sauce I made the other day. Jack likes meatballs with his spaghetti! Well after mixing the meat and then shaping the meatballs and using my cast iron skillet, I found I had a ton of dishes!

One thing is for sure. You are never really lonely in life. The dishes and the laundry will always be there for you. Right now the dishes sure are keeping me company!

Hopefully, the parts will arrive for my dishwasher by early in the week and my repairman, Barry can get it all fixed up!

The Friday Five

This week has flown by. The first part I was really under the weather and not doing much aside from watching tennis, but the end of the week found me incredibly productive. So here we go people, with this weeks Friday Five!

Our weather has started to dry out and cool down. Do you know what this means? Tea! Now I do drink hot tea year-round, but my goodness, when the temperatures drop there is nothing quite like a good cuppa tea! My favorite os Twinings English Breakfast Tea. There is a richness and full body flavor to it. In fact, I am drinking some now, as I put my feet up at the end of my very busy day!
Thursday morning I put together all the vegetables I’d chopped and made a splendid Spaghetti Sauce and meatloaf for Jack.The sauce really came out well, and in a while, I will put the meatloaf in to cook.
My other goal for Thursday was laundry. I am currently on my 5th load of laundry with one more to go before I quit for the day! It’s amazing how much I can get done if I use a timer to remind me to change the loads of laundry! So far things are actually washed, dried, folded and put away! Yes, I amaze even myself!
I am back to reading a little each day as well as crocheting. I’m trying to diversify how I spend my time. I fear I have been spending too much time on the computer and not enough time in the real world.
I finished watching Downton Abbey, but I am tempted to watch again, perhaps this time with Jack.
I want to catch all the little things I might have missed the first time and I think Jack would enjoy watching the entire series. He only watched the last two seasons.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Maribeth’s Marvelous Meatloaf

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Meatloaf!

Ingredients:
1 lb hamburger
1 lb ground pork
1 egg
1 tbs olive oil
½ onion finely diced
¼ cup finely diced green pepper
¼ cup finely diced red pepper.
2 tsp Cumin
2 tbs spicy mustard
3 sliced Italian bread
water
½ cup dry Italian bread crumbs. (you may need slightly more)
3 slices of bacon

First, take the 3 slices of Italian bread and place in a large bowl. Add as much water as it takes to cover them.
Meanwhile, in a saute pan using 1 tbs olive oil, saute onions, and peppers until the onions are translucent. Set aside to cool.
In a separate bowl, beat egg, Cumin, and mustard until well mixed. Set aside.

Take Italian bread and squeeze out all the water and pour all the water out of the large mixing bowl.

Add ground beef and ground pork.
Add soggy bread that you have mashed up.
Add the egg mixture
Add cooled onion and pepper mixture.
Mix thoroughly with your hands. Add the dry bread crumbs and mix well. You may need slightly more or less. Make sure mixture is well mixed and evenly mixed.
Place in large loaf pan sprayed with PAM.

Place bacon over the top lengthwise. Tuck edges down the side of the meatloaf.
Place in 350-degree oven and bake for 1 hour.
Turn heat up to 400 degrees and cook for 15 more minutes.
Remove from stove. Allow to rest for 5-10 minutes.
Carefully place on a platter. Slice into potion size as needed.
Serve with a salad, mashed potatoes, and gravy.

Makes great sandwiches the next day!

New Hair

Tuesday morning I got up, only to find my dishwasher had leaked on the floor! Eeeek! Yesterday I had noted a loose seal on the door, but I had tucked it back in place and thought nothing more about it. Tuesday I knew the seal was kaput!

So, I emptied my dishwasher and then did our breakfast dishes by hand. I also looked up our appliance repairman and put a call into him.

However, after washing up the dishes I was off. I was starting with a new hairstylist and I didn’t want to be late!

I was so excited about this, as I decided to go back to my basic real color of medium brown and forever say goodbye to being a blonde. It simply isn’t me. And quite honestly, the chemicals used were too harsh and my hair texture was getting to be like Bozo the Clowns!

Here is my before picture.

Now that is pretty sad, isn’t it? Fortunately, It didn’t last long.

After sitting in a chair for a time with stuff that looked like mud on my head, I was rinsed out and Becca began to style my hair. She listened carefully to me about what I wanted in a style, and before I knew it, she blew my hair dry with a defuser, allowing my curls to pop back into place. Between the color and the curls, I started to feel like myself once again.

Front and back.

I am feeling like a new woman and I just love what Becca has done. I have known her since she was a young girl. I know all of her family too, so this is like coming home to a family member! Becca is so talented and I look forward to our future together!