Dackel Princess

Oh, It’s Annoying!

I think sometimes you are going along, everything seems well and then there is frustration. My day began on Friday at 5:00 AM. I woke to feel a tad cold, so got up, made the coffee and checked the outside air temp. It was six degrees below zero!

I sipped my coffee, but then I had the thought that we had not had a fuel delivery in a while, so I went down to check the fuel level. Just a smidgen above Empty!

I came back up and alerted Jack to call for a delivery. Which he did. Explaining our plight.

The morning passed with my friends from the Jehovah Witnesses stopping by for a visit. They drove in with a normal car. No four wheel or all wheel drive. But it seems the driveway was fine for them. Jack and I went to get the mail, and I noted the driveway was so much better at the top then it had been. Good, I thought. The oil truck won’t have any trouble.

Then later in the afternoon, I went out to get some Mozzarella Cheese and I went right up the drive, no problem. So, imagine my confusion and disbelief when I got back home and Jack told me that the Oil Company had called and the driver had refused to deliver because our driveway was unsafe!

Now we usually catch the tank before it is this low, but heck we have had below zero temps all week and it just sucked up the oil! However, that being said, really, today the driveway was good. Not only could I get up the top of the drive with no problem at all, but the lower 3/4 of the drive where it is paved is completely clear!

Between Jack and I, we were able to relate our anger at this outright lie. At first, we were told that for an additional fee they could deliver tomorrow. Ha! We have used this company for 20 years. We told them if they tried to pull a fast one like that with us, we would bring our business to another company. We must have gotten the point across because they will deliver on Saturday morning, with no additional charge.

However, I am really annoyed. I have seen our driveway much worse in the winter and the driver never had a problem. So this is not sitting well with me at all.

As a child I recall the Oil Trucks having chains around their tires making deliveries in the snow. So, come on. This is 2019, not 1960 and people here in New England should know how to drive in snowy roads. And in the case of our drive on a small portion has snow on it! The rest is dry and clear!

Yes, yes. I am truly annoyed by this.

It is my hope they actually get here tomorrow and deliver fuel before we run out!

The Friday Five

Here we are, the first weekend in March and tomorrow night we will turn the clocks ahead one hour and “Spring Forward”! Ah yes, the first signs that Spring is on its way even if the weather isn’t cooperating.

So, here is this week’s Friday Five!

I found out my hairstylist had a cancellation on Thursday morning. I immediately sent a text to secure the appointment! It’s funny because I had stopped in to see her on Wednesday so we could plan what we were going to do with my hair.
I had gotten up on Wednesday and decided to go to WW. My hair was a wild bedhead mass of curls, and I was not feeling ‘the pretty’, so to speak. However, so many people commented about my lovely long locks, I began to doubt my decision to go short.
So, I came home and talked to Jack about it and he told me he likes my long hair. Maybe it’s the shape?
I decided to wash my hair on Wednesday night to get all of the product out of it. Then it was all set for my Thursday appointment.
And here we are! The new hairstyle! So what do you think?

Happy Birthday, Darling Quinn!

My sweet grandson turns three years old today. It’s amazing how quickly time has gone. I certainly remember before Quinn was born, but somehow it feels like he has always been with us.

Quinn is quite the little man now. So grown up and interested in everything. He is also amazingly interesting. At three he carries on long conversations that make perfect sense.

He loves life, building things, making noises for his cars and airplanes and is so very much a boy! I smile just watching him!

So here is a short montage of the best pictures of Quinn from birth, until last week. Oh yes, and the song? Well, who knew back in 1968 when I first heard this song, that one day I would have a grandson with the same name!

Happy Birthday, Quinni!

The Wednesday Medley!

We’re joining Terri at Your Friend From Florida

NATIONAL OREO COOKIE DAY
Be ready to observe by having your glass of milk handy as it is National Oreo Cookie Day. This day is recognized across the nation each year on March 6th.
The Oreo sandwich cookie is made up of two chocolate disks containing a sweet cream filling and is loved by millions. Since the introduction, the Oreo cookie has become the best-selling cookie in the United States.
The National Biscuit Company (today known as Nabisco) first developed and produced the “Oreo Biscuit” in 1912 at its Chelsea factory in New York City. Today, the block on which the factory was located is known as “Oreo Way”.
The name “Oreo” was first trademarked on March 14, 1912.
The first Oreo cookies in the United States sold for 25 cents a pound in clear glass topped novelty cans.
In 1912, the Oreo Biscuit was renamed to “Oreo Sandwich”.
In 1948, the Oreo Sandwich was renamed to “Oreo Creme Sandwich”.
William A. Turnier developed the modern-day Oreo design in 1952 to include the Nabisco logo.
Nabisco’s principal food scientist, Sam Porcello, developed the modern Oreo cookie filling.
HOW TO OBSERVE:
Grab a glass of milk and a handful of Oreos to enjoy and use #NationalOreoCookieDay to post on social media.

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1. Are you able to pass by a plate of cookies and not take one or are you a bit of a ‘Cookie Monster’?

Oh my, I am an oreo cookie monster, for sure! In fact, here is a true story.

My sister is 5 1/2 years older than me. She babysat and had money of her own and would buy herself a package of Oreo’s and keep them hidden in her dresser. Well, there is not much you can keep hidden from a little sister!

The Cookie Monster age 7!

I discovered them, and I’m afraid my little girl mind just can’t have one, and this caused me to raid them too much! I was discovered and I do not even recall what happened to me back then, but my punishment has been incredible teasing over the years!

2. Tell us about your favorite cookie. Have your tastes changed since you were a kid?

My favorite cookie is the Snickerdoodle. It’s a sugar cookie rolled in cinnamon sugar and baked. OMG! The best cookie ever!

Snickerdoodle Recipe.

3. Enquiring minds want to know if you are a dunker and, if so, do you dunk in milk, coffee, or tea?

I am not a dunker! Why ruin a perfect cookie!

4. It is that time of year and they are selling them on every corner and in front of every store! Do you buy Girl Scout cookies and if you do, which is your favorite?

I used to buy Thin Mints. But I stopped. It’s just like the Oreo’s and a serving size to me is an entire sleeve!

5. Raw cookie dough. Yay or Nay?

Not really. I so enjoy the cooked cookie!

6. Please tell us something random about your week!!

Funny this is all about cookies. I was thinking about making oatmeal cookies. I still might. Tomorrow is Quinn’s third birthday and Saturday is his party. I must get wrapping paper for his present and a little card. Maybe I will make a card for him. There’s an idea!

Victoria

Before I start, there are **spoilers** from the last episode of Season 3 of Masterpiece Theater’s “Victoria“. So, if you are watching it on your DVR stop reading and come back later.

Okay. There was so much going on with the International Expedition, Victoria’s rotten sister, and of course the Long-Suffering Duchess Sophie, who was locked up by her vicious husband and threatened with an Insane Asylum because he discovered her having an affair with a lowly footman.

How would they wrap it all up for Season 3?

As for the rotten sister, looks like Feodora will be hitting the road, now that Albert finally saw through her, and in many ways I am glad. The actress is too good at her part and had me totally disliking her! Ha!

Duchess Sophie knew the Queen would come to her rescue. Their conversation where the Queen basically told Sophie she knew that Sophie’s husband did not appreciate her, made her rescue of Sophie expected. I loved it when the Queen put it to Sophie’s husband and demanded Sophie appear at the Expedition.

What we do not know, is will Sophie run off with her handsome footman, or will she stay in service to the Queen who rescued her, and be available to her own young son.

Albert and Victoria are getting along so much better than they did in Season 2, and I am thinking that they have rekindled their love. What does this mean? Well, probably more children. Had Albert lived, they more than likely would have had a dozen children!

I am enjoying the costumes, the scenery and the rather soap-opera-ish telling of Queen Victoria’s life.

The acting is marvelous, and the casting is quite good. In Season 1, I wasn’t sure that Albert was well cast, but he has grown on me.

Jenna Coleman is perhaps too beautiful to be playing Queen Victoria, but she is a wonderful actress and has made Victoria her own.

Tom Hughes as Albert does a good job. As I said above, he has grown on me.

So now Season 3 has ended. Hopefully, there will be a Season 4! But for now, you can watch Season 1-3 on Amazon Prime. If you are into Historical Shows, this is a good one to get into.

A New Hairstyle!

I’ve become a bit unhappy with growing out my hair. Call it the 60-ness, but honestly, I dislike having to work hard to style my hair every day, or risk looking like a mad-woman!

I love the color, and my hair is actually is fairly good shape, but after 14 years of having curly-curls hair, I’m ready for a style that I can blowdry quickly and go!

I’ve narrowed it down to four styles that I like. The only thing I will ask my stylist to do is to leave as much length in the back as she can to help hide my scar.

(By the way, Quinn saw my scar the other day and said it was railroad tracks! Then he asked if he had them too! I mean, so sweet and beyond cute!)

Here are the four styles and I ask that you please leave your vote in the comment section.

So there we are. Four styles that are soft and easy. What do you think? Please leave your vote in the comment section.

This & That on a Sunday Morning

Do any of you have Amazon Prime? Not just for deliveries of your packages from Amazon, but for watching videos?

Well, we do and I seem to go for long periods where I don’t watch any content at all, and then there are times, like this weekend, where I have used it a lot.

Not only is great for binge-watching some shows, but it also has documentaries, biographies, and both old and new movies. I can also plug in Youtube and watch music videos.

Yesterday was one of those days. I was bored to tears in the afternoon with nothing on the tube. I watched an Amazon Prime video on The Duke and Duchess of Windsor, a comedy routine by Jeanne Robertson, a very funny lady from North Carolina, and then while preparing dinner I put on Youtube and watched/listened to Queen at Wembley Stadium. I love it!

I have a few other things bookmarked to watch later, including more of “Victoria” from PBS, which is also available.

I did watch one series on the satellite. “The Disappearance of Maura Murray ” was on the Oxygen TV Station, and it was extremely well done.

For those not from this area, Maura Murray disappeared in 2004 after a car accident on a back road here in New Hampshire. She has never been found. This show presented all the theories behind her disappearance. The linked website will have clips and episodes of this show.

Not too much else happening today. We are expecting more snow, (UGH!) and I told Jack I would make him another pizza. Pictures to follow.

Maribeth

The Friday Five

So another week, another month has come and gone. It’s been a very mixed month for me, full of great happiness and great sadness. But that is life, right? One must go with the flow. And so it goes…

I could write a novel about the things that happened this week, but instead, I will sum it all up with the usual, Friday Five!

Well, I am still loving my new loveseat, and so is Arnie. He is right by my side almost all the time when I am sitting here. In fact, he is by my side right now. The seat is so comfortable and has helped with some of my back and neck discomfort!
I’ve been cooking a lot. Even last night after being gone all day, I came home and Jack asked for spaghetti and meatballs. He would have been happy with a jar of sauce and frozen meatballs, but that is so tasteless. So I chopped some onions and peppers and used some spices and before you knew it, a rather tasty sauce appeared on top of the spaghetti.
I spent the day on Thursday with Savi and Quinn.
We had such a wonderful day. We played on the floor, Savi and I read some of her early reader books, and we worked with her flash cards, and Quinn and I had several long conversations.

I was calling him honey, and he stopped me very sweetly and told me to call him Quinni. I nodded my head and assured him that I sure would do this! It was a wonderful day with the two children. These two, who I love with all my heart and soul.
Anneliese’s eye is not doing well. But we are stuck. If we agree to surgery, she will lose any vision she still has, plus the actual surgery only has a 50/50 chance of actually working. It would be better if we can keep her quiet, and allow more time for healing. Of course, we must watch for a problem with her eye where it may let go. We must watch and if this should happen, she will need immediate surgery and will not just lose the vision, but possibly the eye. We are praying that the ulcer heals up naturally. At 12 years old, we do not want her in pain. Most of all, we want her to have as much vision as possible for the remaining years of her life.
I had the joy of watching the documentary called “Mr. Rogers”. He was a man who worked for PBS on his own show, “Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood”.

This show was designed to teach children to love themselves, other people, and to thrive in a crazy world with gentleness and with love. My daughter, Katie, loved this show. She never missed it. Fred Rogers was a beautiful man, and he truly loved and cared about the kids in the world.

So that was my week. Welcome to March.

Maribeth

The Wednesday Medley!

We’re joining Terri at Your Friend From Florida

1. Given all that information on this 🍓National Strawberry Day🍓, do you have a favorite recipe for strawberries? Would you share it with us?

For me, there is nothing better than a good old fashioned Strawberry Shortcake! We have them often when Strawberries begin to show up in our stores and then all during the northeast’s summer harvest.

2. Some people think the smaller, northern varieties are sweeter than the larger berries that grow in the south and in California. What are your thoughts on that?

Small simple and sweet! However, I have been known to add a tablespoon of sugar to help the sweetening after I prepare them.

3. There is a Strawberry Festival right here in Plant City, Florida (next town over from Lakeland) and it is a huge event that lasts 11 days with headliner acts each day. Have you ever been to a Strawberry Festival?

Growing up on Cape Cod, each year we had a Strawberry Festival. The main course was always Lobster Rolls and Chips, and dessert was a Strawberry Shortcake with real whipped cream!

4. Strawberries are grown in every US state. Have you ever grown them in your garden?

When we had the farm they grew there against our stone wall, along with the raspberries. One had to be so careful because Poison Ivy also grew along that wall.

5. Strawberry is the only fruit that has seeds on the outside, and technically it is not a berry but rather a fruit, and would you be surprised to learn that strawberries belong to the rose family? Do you have any strawberry trivia to share with us?

I wouldn’t be surprised at all to learn that Strawberries are part of the Rose family.

Do I have any trivia, well, not trivia exactly, but a good story. I have a friend who is from Finland. Strawberries were so rare and expensive there, that only the adults ate them. As a child he watched and it bothered him a lot. As an adult, he ordered strawberries whenever he could, and never shared with anyone. He always had the most delicious smile on his face while eating them. They remain his favorite dessert!

6. Tell us something random about your week!!

Today we bring Anneliese back to the Canine Ophthalmologist. Her eye is looking so much better and I am really encouraged. We did not want to put her through the pain of surgery and the weeks of recovery, where she would have to be in a cone, and on pain medication. Prayer, good nursing by me, and good medications have worked to heal her ulcerated cornea.

When Will Winter End?

Monday dawned icy cold with snow flurries. Winter, yes! Am I tired of it? Yes. But so it goes.

I had nowhere to go on Monday, so I happily sipped my hot coffee, read my book and enjoyed sitting in my new chair.

Jack went out to test the driveway with the Highlander and while out he went and got the mail.

But the wind blew, the snow fell and outside it remained generally yucky!

As I considered what to make for dinner tonight I ran through what we had for leftovers and came up with a meal plan. Leftover ribs for Jack and some roast beef for me. Easy peasy!