Dackel Princess

TBT: Queen Of The Ball

Long ago and far away, in a place called Massachusetts, I was growing up. At the time I belonged to The Rainbow Girls, and although I never did as well as my sister did in the organization (she went all through the chairs and became Worthy Advisor), I did hold several offices, and I sang. Yes, yours truly, who is quite nervous about singing in front of people actually used to sing for large groups at our local organization as well as get loaned out to other chapters.

The year I was 15, I was the only girl going to the Rainbow Ball in Boston from our Chapter in Falmouth. Thus I was entered into the Pageant to see who would be crowned Queen of the Ball.

When I arrived, I was given the entry number of 13. Yup, 13. I remember thinking that I sure was sunk now, as 13 was an unlucky number.

My date that night was my ex-husband, and as we danced he joke about it a little, trying to get me to relax. I did and I recall there being a lot of fun and laughter that night.

My sister had attended this Ball in the past but had not won. So, I knew that I didn’t stand a chance. Melodie is delicate and beautiful and everything a fairy princess should be.

The evening wore on and I danced in the beautiful yellow gown that my mother had made for me, and I talked to my date and laughed and had a great time.

After all, I wasn’t going to win!

Eventually, we were all called to line up with our dates and promenade around the dance floor. A person would come up and tap your card and you would go to sit down.

Well, we walked and walked and walked, and other girls were removed from the line-up. Then there were probably three of us left. They called the second runner-up, then the first runner-up and then that left me!

I was escorted by my date to the dais where I was crowned the 1973 Queen of the Rainbow Girls Ball!

Looking back I still cannot believe that I won. My escort always claimed it was because he was my date that night.

Whatever the case, it was the first time in my young life that I truly felt pretty.

And for one night I truly was, Queen of the Ball, just like Cinderella!

The Wednesday Medley

We’re joining Terri at Your Friend From Florida

1. With the holidays coming, what is your most essential appliance to help you prepare for the celebrations?

The oven, of course. So much of what I do is done by cooking or baking in the oven.

2. What is your favorite (clean) word?

Well, the one I say a lot (too much) is “you know“? (I know that’s two, but I say it far too much!) The word I believe is my favorite is “Love“.

3. Are you a good judge of character?

I try to be, but what I do is bring people home to meet my dachshunds. They are the best judges of character. If they don’t like someone, I head the other way.

I do have a certain moral code I live by and I would expect anyone I have a long-term relationship to share those values.

4. What is the last thing you took a picture of? Can you share it with us?

I took this picture so I could show my sister and cousin a necklace I bought at the Christmas Bazaar. It was on a jewelry table and I got it for $1.00! It is blown glass, actually quite heavy and I love it!

5. Tomorrow, November 15, is Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day. How do you intend to celebrate?

Hmmmm. I guess I will clean out the fridge! lol! Actually, we are going out to lunch with our neighbor. We seem to be doing lunch a lot lately. That’s fine with me!

6. Tell us something random about your week!

Well, today seven of us from our WW Class will be going out for lunch. Two of us are celebrating our sixtieth birthdays, and so we chose the Wednesday in the middle to celebrate them both! Isn’t that a nice thing?

The Birthday Cards are building up. I am waiting to open them until Saturday the actual day of my birth!

Counting My Blessings

After a couple of busy weeks, today I stayed home and did laundry, cleaned, washed and vacuumed the house, and generally did homemaker stuff. It is not something I enjoy, but I really do appreciate a clean house.

We also moved the last of the patio furniture into the screened porch for the winter. They are forecasting wet weather tomorrow, they are just not sure what kind. We are on a weather line. It will be wet, we are just unsure if it will be snow or rain or ice.

I get my stitches out this morning and I hope to get the results of the biopsy as well. I did get the results of my cholesterol level and I am still borderline. I sure hope that my good cholesterol levels (which are high) will keep my doctor from wanting to put me on cholesterol-lowering drugs. I have such bad reactions to things.

My daughter sent me some new pictures of the kids. You know, every day I feel blessed to be their Oma. They are such loving children!

My darling, Savannah. She is six and a half now!

Darling Quinn is two and a half!

Everytime I see those beautiful faces, I break into smiles!

I have to report in on Anneliese. When we saw the Canine Ophlathmologist, he told us that the eye drops might work, or they might not. It was a 50/50 thing. Well after almost a week, I am here to tell you that Anneliese’s eye is looking better! She will never be completely cured, but this appears to have stopped the progression of the problem! Yay!

Another Great Day

Sunday was Veterans Day. Many places offered free meals for Veterans. Naturally, Jack wanted his meal, so off we went at lunchtime for a nice meal.

Jack had a wonderful piece of roasted pork tenderloin with a balsamic glaze, and I opted for a burger. The food was really good and we enjoyed being out and about.

Jack also decided that today would be a good day to take me shopping for my birthday gift. There is a women’s store nearby that I love. Talbot’s. I just love their clothes.

A chair was situated at the back of the store near the dressing room for him to sit on. We’d selected a bunch of clothes, and I would try them on, and then show him. It was fun and I got a whole bunch of stuff for the winter months. One sweater, in particular, I just adore. I put it on and I felt like it was made for me!

It may not look like much on the hanger, but on me, it looks great! It will look nice with black, brown or white slacks. So pretty.

Jack also bought me a bunch of new tops, another sweater, and two pairs of slacks. I am all set for the winter!

Now before you all think that I went hog wild, I must tell you that this was an Outlet Store, (everything was marked down 50%) and I had fantastic Coupons! In fact, I love Coupons and I got all of this for half of what it would have cost. So trust me when I say that this was a steal!

I’ve always been a bargain shopper/hunter. I hate to pay full price for anything, and after living with a Scotsman for 30+ years I am perhaps cheaper than he is!

This was so much fun and I think even Jack enjoyed the process.

Saturday in New Hampshire

As I write it is Saturday afternoon. I simply had to sit down and write while all the memories are fresh in my mind. It really was a wild, crazy and wonderful day!

I was up nice and early and showered and dressed and made myself a nice hot cup of coffee and breakfast. The high point here was definitely the coffee. Even though my coffee is 1/2 regular and 1/2 decaf it still warms my soul and gets me going.

As I got ready to leave the house, I lamented that it was still raining. I had to leave early to stop at Mr. A.T.M. and get some cash, and then stop over at the Hardware store and pick up the Roof Rake and Salty Paws. For those who don’t live in snowy areas, we need the roof rake to get the snow off our roof, so it doesn’t build up and cause leaks. And the Salty Paws is salt that is pet-friendly to use to melt ice. There was a good sale and Jack wanted to prepare before the first snowfall.

Then I picked up Laurie and off we went. The first stop was the Catholic Church in our town. They have one of the nicest Bazaars. I was able to purchase so many gifts for Christmas and a beautiful dried floral centerpiece.

The other thing I must note is how many friends and neighbors we saw at this event. It was marvelous! There were hugs and smiles and great happiness as we drifted from room to room and stall to stall. I felt so blessed to be living in the community.

The next Bazaar was down in the next town, at the Greek Orthodox Church. I wanted to stop in, as they have all those wonderful Greek Pastries as well as a local favorite French Canadian Pork Pie!

I love going to the Greek Church because everything is made by the Greek families that go to this church and the proceeds go to their church and their community outreach programs.

We knew that there was another Catholic Church in Laconia that was having their bazaar today, and we went there next. They also had many cute things, that I was happy to purchase for Christmas.

Again, I saw so many people that I know, and hugs were exchanged. I also met the mother of one of my dearest local friends. She is quite elderly, and it made me happy to tell her what a great job she did with her family. She was very pleased. This lady, who I know is in her eighties, was just amazingly beautiful. I hope when I reach her age I can be so very lovely.

Our fourth and last bazaar was at the Belmont High School. We went there before and enjoyed it a great deal. This year we didn’t actually buy as much, but the French Club provided lunches. Different Quiches, and also my favorite French Canadian Meat Pie. It was served with salad and a roll and was so nice. The kids had gotten together and done all the baking themselves, and everything was so good.

I must also note here that all of the kids were dressed nicely. The boys in khakis and oxford shirts, the girls in dressy tops and skirts. Call me old-fashioned, but there was something in their appearance that made me have hope for the future. I know we are not supposed to judge a book by the cover, but these kids not only looked nice but followed it all up with big smiles!

As we left the High School, the sun came out! The skies were still very cloudy, but the sun gave us hope that maybe the day’s weather would improve.

Fat chance. As we drove up the hills back to our town, we could see the snow falling across the valley and up into the mountains where the ski area “Waterville Valley” are located. It was fierce and heavy, as we watched from a distance, where the sun still shone.

Then, as we reached our small town, the sky opened and the rain began to fall again, only this time much heavier and the wind accompanied it!

We have had so much rain this Autumn that our lakes are full. As I drove Laurie back to her home, we lamented that the docks were flooded and actually had cement blocks on them, to keep them from floating off.

So that was my Saturday. Fun, some sun, snow, wind, and wonderful bazaars. Some of the reasons I love this time of year.

Roasted Potatoes, Carrots, Parsnips, and Brussel Sprouts With Bacon

This is an amazingly simple and good recipe. I made this last night for Jack and he loved it! I was quite surprised as he is not a roasted vegetable fan. Anyway, it is good, so give it a try!

Ingredients:

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 slices of bacon diced
3 medium carrots (about 1 pound), cut into 1 1/2-inch thick circles
1 1/2 cups Brussels sprouts (about 1/2 pound), halved
4 medium potatoes, cut into 1-inch thick slices
3 medium parsnips (about 1 pound), cut into 1 1/2-inch thick slices
1 tablespoon dried rosemary (I used fresh)
1 teaspoon dried thyme (I used fresh)
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Grease a large baking sheet pan with extra-virgin olive oil.
Place vegetables and bacon in the bowl and toss well with oil, herbs and salt and pepper.
Toss well, evenly coating all the vegetables with the seasonings and oil.
Add more oil if the vegetables seem dry.
Pour onto large cookie sheet.
Spread the vegetables evenly.
Place on middle rack in oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes. stirring occasionally.

When vegetables are nicely browned and done to your desired texture, pull out and eat right away.

The Friday Five

Here we are. Another week has raced by. I cannot believe how quickly the month of November is going. The Christmas Bazaars are starting, and Thanksgiving is nearly here. It’s my favorite time of year! So, here are this week’s Friday Five!

1. Despite the dark, and dreary days, there is so much that is good going on. When I think of Christmas Bazaars, and cooking for Thanksgiving, My heart and soul fill up with happiness.
2. I cannot tell you how happy that I am with Anneliese’s eye exam. She has Corneal Edema, after having an injury to her left eye. Dogs cannot tell you that they hurt their eye, but apparently, she did. She is now on special drops for her eyes and we hope it will help. However, if it doesn’t this is not the type of injury to blind her quickly and at the age of 12, she is probably going to have a happily ever after with that eye.
3. Anneliese does have very healthy eyes. No cataracts, no glaucoma. Her eyes are healthy and lovely.
4. We enjoyed having her out, just Anneliese with us, yesterday. She was so cute and sweet and loving. Thursday when we went to get the mail, both she and Arnie came along. They are so good in the car.

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5. On Thursday I actually slept until 8 AM. This never happens. It felt very good! I would love to be able to stay up a little later and sleep in a little longer!

Happy 40th Birthday Katie

Many of you know that besides Mandy, I had another daughter, Katie, who was killed at the age of 6 1/2 (click the link to read that story) by an impaired driver. Most days I get along very well, however, there are certain days that I find myself missing her and longing for her. Today is one of those days.

Today Katie would have celebrated her 40th birthday.

Kathleen Alynne was born at 5:29 AM on November 8th, 1978. She was two weeks late and I had begun to feel as if I were part elephant. In the delivery room, I remember asking the nurse to clean off her head because the blood made it look red. She laughed at me (She also had red hair) and told me that this was it! My child was a redhead!

Katie was a neat kid and we all loved her. She had a wicked sense of humor, yet was also sensitive and empathetic, which was strange in one so young.

Her loss is bothering me a bit more this year probably due to the fact that I have been feeling angry that we were robbed of so much of her life.

Of course, she missed so much of her own life too. I wish she was here to meet her brother and sister, to see her niece and nephew and to be enjoying her life.

I think of what she would be like at 40 years old, where she would be in her life, and how many kids she would have. She once told me she wanted 5 children! That made me laugh. But she did love kids, so who knows.

Here is a montage of some of the pictures that I like the best. She was a real joker in front of the camera, almost always had a smile on her little face.

I know one day Katie and I will be together again, and that we will share an eternity, but for today I miss her something fierce!

Happy Birthday, Sweet Girl!

The Wednesday Medley

It’s all about – What, what, what???

What is your claim to fame?

My cooking. Most people know that I love to cook and I like to believe that most people like what I cook.

What is something you like to do the old-fashioned way?

Cook! In this day and age when people believe cooking is heating things up in a microwave, I like getting all the ingredients and making things from scratch!

What did you think you would grow out of but haven’t?

My wonder of snow. I love to go out, in the middle of a snowfall and stand and listen to the silence. There is something wonderful about the way snow muffles all sounds. It’s magical!

What is the dumbest thing you’ve done that actually turned out pretty well?

I don’t know, people would say getting married at 17 was pretty dumb, but we had two wonderful children, and I have two fabulous grandchildren, so even though the marriage didn’t work out, look at all we have! And in the end, my former husband and I are friends.

If you had to change your name, what would you change it to?

I wouldn’t. I’m sort of attached to my name now. For many years I didn’t care for my name. However, as time has gone on, my name has grown on me. It’s who I am.

What is something random you can tell us about this week?

I had my biopsy on Tuesday and there are now three small stitches in my brow. They come out on Tuesday next week. I’m a little sore tonight, but I hope by tomorrow I will be fit as a fiddle!

Coffee & Muffins

The day has arrived, and by the time most of you read this I will be down having my biopsy. Nothing to worry about, right?

I got a call earlier today and my Primary Care Doctor wants me to have my bloodwork done while I am in-house, (read: at the VA Hospital). It’s fasting bloodwork too! Ugh!

Jack was concerned about this and I told him not to worry. I went out to the store, bought a couple of muffins,

some bottled orange juice,

and a Dunkin Donuts Coffee. The coffee is bottled as well and meant to be sipped from the bottle cold.

This should get me through my appointments after the bloodwork until I can go have lunch.

On Monday I met up with my friend Laurie and had lunch. It was so nice to catch up with her. In fact, we’ve already made plans to get together Saturday to go to the Christmas Bazaars.

Life is speeding by.