Dackel Princess

Happy New Year!

Looking back, New Year’s Eve, 1988 was a very special night. It was the start of my 31 years with Jack. We had a layover with Pan Am at the Parker House in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. We got our First Night pins and off we went to enjoy the celebration. The weather was cold but dry, and everything was wonderful that night. We were young, in love and looking forward to our April wedding.

This New Year’s Eve, we will be at home, enjoying each other and the lead up to midnight. I hope to make it, but my recent track record has not been good.

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New Year’s Eve found Jack and I going off to run errands and do a good grocery shopping. For some reason, Jack decided it was a good time to shop for food he will need while I am gone. I leave in just 17 days!

We bought what I will need to make him a big pot of Lentil Soup. One of his favorites. We bought Hungry Man Frozen Meals, Soups, and even frozen Breakfasts. He will be fine in my absence.

While we were at the Deli getting some cold cuts and a hunk of Liverwurst, I asked the girl for 2 inches of the liverwurst just cut solid with a knife. I use the liverwurst to give Anneliese her daily pill, and I simply scoop out what I need each morning.

The woman came back and showed me the piece. I kid you not, it was just one inch! I said, “I’m sorry, that will not do. I need a two-inch hunk. Could you please just slice it with a knife?”

Well, if you guessed that she never got it right and argued with me about the size of the slice, you would be right! I mean really, it can’t be that hard!

I finally gave up and left Jack to deal with it! I was simply not going to allow this woman to ruin my cheery disposition!

I had a few items I wanted to get for my trip and so I went off to get those. Some instant decaf coffee, Splenda packets, and some cheese and crackers and peanut butter crackers to have in my bag and our room if anyone needs a little snack.

I also went to a Verizon Store to buy a new Screen Protector. I was joking around that it should be a warranty item. Shockingly, it is! For the life of the phone! So the young man cleaned my screen and installed it for me. The only key is, you must have the cracked protector with you! I did because I wanted to show him what a good protector it had been. I was in luck all the way around!

One other very lucky thing was we stopped at my favorite store, Talbots, and I bought a couple of shirts, a pair of pants, and a new turtleneck shirt. Some of this will be for my trip. The deals were awesome!

When we got home, we got the groceries put away, walked the dogs, and now we will quietly ring in the new year. I bought a nice bottle of bubbly and I plan to make a Charcuterie Tray for our celebration as well as Shrimp Cocktail.

It was yummy and I served this with toast rounds and warmed pita bread.

As you celebrate with your family and friends, I wish you all a very Happy and Healthy New Year! May you know great love and happiness in the months ahead.

Maribeth

New Year’s Eve

I woke in the night thinking about 2019 and how wonderful the New Year will be. I have positive thoughts about the New Year and will work my hardest to make it the best yet.

A couple of years ago my cousin, Janet, had a little talk with me about thinking positively. She told me that sometimes I dwelled in the darkness and I needed to learn how to see the world differently.

In life, there are plenty of sad/bad/unhappy things. But if you look for the good and happy things each day, you would find you were living a much happier life.

She was right. I start and end each day with happy thoughts in my mind. I try to look for the positive in each situation and go forward. Yes, always go forward.

There was a lot of work along the way. It is not easy to simply change how one perceives the world around them. Especially when you’ve been a darkness dweller for a long time.

So, in the New Year, 2019 (Can you believe it’s going to be 2019 tomorrow?) my plan is to keep dwelling in the land of the light, looking for the good in this crazy world of ours!

Happy New Year!
Love to all,
Maribeth

Lazy Days

Saturday was a lazy day for me. Although I slept in a bit, I still woke to feel somewhat run down. I am thinking that it’s the remains of the abscessed tooth that took the spark out of my soul.

I did do a few little things, like to start preparing the things to pack for my trip. Can you tell that I am excited about this?

Yesterday my daughter sent me a message and picture. She had ordered these for Christmas, but they arrived a little late.

I am thinking that perhaps my daughter is excited about the trip too! I know that both Nana Mary and me (Oma) certainly are.

I decided that when I showered today I needed some company. I took both Arnie and Anneliese in with me and got them all shampooed up. Jack was ready with towels when I was done rinsing them, and both of them smell April Fresh tonight and both are soft as can be! They really needed that bath!

Later in the afternoon, I started the long process of stripping their coats. I’ve taken off a ton of their undercoats, and yet there is still more to do!

Tomorrow I plan to do a little laundry and start putting away the Christmas wrapping paper and Christmas Cards until next year. I’ll leave the tree up for another week and then it will be put to bed for another year!

Screens

I was in the Post Office on Friday when I was bumped into. I had my phone out to give the Clerk a claim number. Bump! The phone went flying onto the marble floor! The Otterbox was fine and so was the phone. The only casualty was the protective tempered glass screen! Whew! I will be ordering a new one!

Although I am not too happy about the broken screen protector, I am also happy about it. You see, it worked! It was a wee bit pricey when I bought it a year and a half ago, but I wanted to ensure that the phone was protected. The Otterbox does a great job, but they no longer provide screen protectors the way they used to. I bought this diectly from Verizon, and it did what they said that it would!

The Friday Five

With all the wonders of Christmas Week, I hardly know where to begin. Since I did a Christmas Recap, I will leave that be, and go on to a few other things happening around here.

Just before Christmas, my tooth began to ache. It was on the upper right side and it was really painful!
Naturally, everyone was closed for Christmas, until today, Thursday, when my Dentist returned. He examined me, but he was not sure what was going on. So, he sent me to the Endodontist.
Thankfully there was a cancellation and so on Thursday I went in and after a detailed exam, I had a Root Canal on my upper right Canine Tooth. As I write the Novocaine is just wearing off and it is sore. I hope not too sore!
My Disney Bands arrived! Now I have something, oh so wonderful to look forward to! In three weeks I will be in Florida with Mandy, Matt, and the kids and their other Grandmother, Nana Mary! What fun we will have!
Amanda gave me the greatest set of Luggage ever! Today I took all the little things that I have gotten to take on the trip and the Disney Bands and put those aside with my carry-on.
I am so excited! Isn’t it beautiful!
Another great gift (from my sister, Mel) I got was a dachshund and doggy sleep dress.
It is the neatest thing ever. It is so soft and cuddly without being overly warm I simply love it!

So that’s what’s happening here. I’m so happy the tooth is taken care of and now I can concentrate on getting ready for my trip!

Have a great weekend, Everyone!

Sugar

The day after Christmas found me standing in the kitchen again, asking the age old question…”What’s to eat?”

Why am I back on the prowl? Well, after just one day of breaking training (my diet) my body responded by craving sugar once again! Pitiful really, but it just proves that sugar is like a drug to me and I best keep away from it!

So, I went back to my regular, no sugar eating plan today, and I am determined to stay this way. Sugar-free if you will!

Now, I did enjoy my Stollen on Christmas, delicious as it was, and because of the bad tooth, I did use a little Rum, medicinally. That tooth, whichever one it is, was surely bothering me!

I received a phone call this morning from my dentist’s secretary. I’d left a message on their machine on Christmas Eve, and she called me to find out what the problem was. She immediately made an appointment for me to see him in the morning. Thank you so much, Sandra!

The Insurance Adjuster came by to see our roof. Have I mentioned that in the windstorm last week, the cap on part of the roof blew off? Well, yes, and thankfully we had waterproofing done until after the first of the year when repairs will be made.

Both Jack and I went to get the mail, my new Real ID License arrived (15 days after I applied), and then we both took naps. We’re still tired, but at least our little naps helped some.

So as the day after Christmas comes to a close, I need to plan a few low carb meals and think of how we can celebrate New Year’s Eve without me breaking training.

Christmas 2018

For me, Christmas preparations begin the day after Christmas each year. I start looking around for little things to buy for the next Christmas celebration.

Sometimes I actually make it until the next Christmas, but quite often I give these little gifts to the person during the year, when they need a little boost.

This year I was all done shopping a month before the actual day. Which was good because Jack kept imploring me to STOP with the credit card! LOL!

Christmas Day dawned bright, and we actually made it out of here on schedule and arrived 15 minutes before we planned. Christmas 2018’s drive was so much easier than Christmas 2017, as it was beautiful and clear, instead of snowy and stormy!

I always feel like a little kid when we are driving down. “Are we there yet?” And so it was with this drive as we headed to the controlled chaos of Christmas morning!

The kids had opened their stockings (the size of Big Foots!) but everything else they had waited to open with us. We piled in, unloaded the presents (That took three trips) and then settled in for Mimosas! (I was happy about this, as I have a very painful tooth that will need attention tomorrow!)

Soon breakfast was done and cleaned up and we all headed to the family room to open presents!

Yes, there were an amazing number of gifts, but then there were a lot of us too. So, in the end, it all worked out.

A few months ago, Savannah mentioned to me that her American Girl Doll was lonely and had no playmates! Savi has never really asked me for anything before, so I found the doll she liked and I got it for her. I also hunted down a bunch of clothes that fit the two dolls and this was Savi’s big gift this year.

After she opened up the new doll, she picked up her other much loved American Girl Doll and held them in a tight cuddle together!

I was just thrilled. I always loved my dolls growing up, and I was happy to see Savannah also enjoying them!

Quinn kept busy opening all sorts of things. He loved the opening process so much, even when it wasn’t his gift! LOL! He was a great helper with this!

In so many ways, Quinn presented us all with the true spirit of a kids Christmas. Amazement and wonder at all he saw and experienced!

My darling Savannah was so sweet, and cuddly too and we played let’s get the selfie until we had a good one.

The table was laid with Mandy’s beautiful dishes, filled with turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, green bean casserole, carrot casserole, and butternut squash. All wonderful!

After dinner we sat around the remnants of wrapping, watching the kids play until everyone started to go their own way.

Christmas was over for another year! How was that possible. Everything went so fast!

Jack and I drove home, in almost record time. I came in, talked to my sister, made Jack a bowl of soup and then went to bed. I felt like the little kid who woke before dawn with the excitement of the day ahead of them, and then came crashing down to earth, like the older lady that I am.

It truly was a wonderful Christmas!

Maribeth

Merry Christmas

From our home to Yours,

♥ Merry Christmas! ♥ God Jul ♥ Gledelig Jul ♥
♥ Glædelig Jul ♥ Hyvää Joulua ♥ Gledileg Jol ♥
♥ Merry Christmas ♥ Feliz Navidad ♥ Joyeux Noël ♥
♥ Frohe Weihnachten ♥
♥ Vrolijk Kerstfeest ♥ Καλά Χριστούγεννα ♥
♥ Buone Natale ♥ Blithe Yule ♥ Nollaig chridheil huibh ♥
♥ Nollaig Shona Dhuit ♥ Mele Kalikimaka ♥ Mutlu Noeller ♥
♥ Maligayang Pasko ♥ Selamat Hari Natal ♥ Sawadee Pee Mai ♥

Maribeth

Christmas Eve

Can you believe it? Here we are. It’s Christmas Eve! Here in New Hampshire, our ground is nearly bare of snow and they really are not expecting any significant snow by Christmas. In fact, Christmas Day is forecast to be cold and sunny. Which is fine by me, as last year we drove through a big snowstorm to get to my daughter’s home to celebrate the big day.

I’ve always loved Christmas. The people, the fun, the food, and then something totally magical happened in my life.

I became an Oma!

Suddenly, the magic I knew when my children were little, is back and in many ways even better than before. My appreciation for all that I have in my life is so much greater than when I was young. Each person, each love, brings a smile to my face and makes me anticipate sharing Christmas Day with them.

The wonder of watching their happy faces as they open their packages fills me with sheer joy!

Today I will visit the Post Office for the last cards and packages before Christmas Day.

I will pack the car, and decide what I am wearing Christmas Day and lay it out. Our day begins early, as we breakfast and prepare for one very special day, spent with those that I love.

Have a blessed Christmas Eve!

Maribeth

Peaceful Days

I was up before dawn on Saturday and after several cups of coffee, breakfast and a quick kiss to Jack I was out of here before ten o’clock heading to the crowded back roads of New Hampshire.

Or so I thought!

I got down to Walmart quickly, and although the parking lot was jammed up, I did finally find a place to park, and the hiked into the store.

I’d happily found an even better digital watch for Savannah, and I am thrilled to death with it.

I also bought myself a regular numerical watch made by Timex (inexpensive). Now my hope is that between Savi’s digital and my normal watch, I can teach her all about telling time!

I came home, set the watch, (and my new one as well) and then wrapped the last of the gifts. I am all done. All that needs doing is to load this all into the car on Christmas Eve, so I don’t forget anything on Christmas Day!

Now I need to clean up my wrapping room and put everything away for another year.

I’m really enjoying Christmas this year. I’ve put so much thought into things, and I am happily anticipating Christmas Day.

Merry Christmas!!!