Dackel Princess

It’s All About…The Peaches

Sixteen pounds of peaches were peeled and chopped up, and then mixed with sugar, orange rind, orange juice, and maraschino cherries, and each four-pound batch is now resting overnight, and on Monday I will can this glorious jam!

Jack went outside this morning and picked the 16 pounds off the trees in our backyard. He brought them in and I washed them and then the two of us worked at blanching them and peeling them up.

We started just after lunch and worked until 4:45! It’s a lot of work, but I decided to make all four batches at once because the next few weeks will be really busy with other things.

This morning we took Arnie to the Recycling Center with us, while we threw out a lot of old useless stuff I have cleared from shelves and closets, and afterward, we drove him to see his human girlfriend, Rebecca at the State Liquor Store. He is always so happy to see her and she just adores our little dog-boy!

Tomorrow I will work to cook and then can the Heavenly Jam. I should get at least thirty-six half pints of this delicious jam!

Let me tell you a little bit about this Jam recipe. The recipe came from Jack’s mother, Pearl. She liked her’s a little bit softer than I like mine. I still recall the first time I had it though. It was just after Jack and I were married. She bought fresh, plain doughnuts and we dipped them into the jam. I am telling you, Heaven on Earth! I was hooked.

I asked her for the recipe and she frowned and told me that she only shared her recipes with family members! I was a new, young, bride, (and second wife) and I was crushed by her words. And unfortunately, the recipe came to me a few years later when she passed away and I inherited her recipe file.

Oh, how I wish that she and I could have been friends. Life is so short. She never did approve of our marriage, but after being together for over 30 years now, I guess Jack and I have shown all the naysayers that we actually made a good life choice.

In any case, when I was doing the prep work today I thought of Pearl and I wondered what she might think of the fact that I have carried on making one of her favorite recipes for her son? I would like to believe that she would be pleased, to know that even after all these years since her passing, we still recall her through the recipes she left.

Monday is canning day!

The Recipe for Heavenly Jam can be found HERE

Tennis Tantrums

I woke up on Saturday morning with a sore neck and shoulder. All the work I have been doing and furniture moving had taken its toll on my body. So, as I sipped my coffee and watched cooking shows on The Food Channel, I decided to take the day off from the heavy work.

Oh, I still needed to cook meals, walk dogs, and help Jack bring the lawn mower to the shop, but the real heavy work would be left for another day.

I watched the US Open Women’s Final Tennis match this afternoon, and I was truly disheartened by Serena Williams actions. I was also shocked and saddened at the New York crowd, who booed a 20-year-old woman after her first major win.

The young woman, Naomi Osaka, is the first Japanese citizen to win a Grand Slam. She is young and had always dreamed of playing Serena Williams, whom she idolized. As the game progressed a few incidents occurred and Serena was judged to be getting coaching from the stands and also broke her racket in a fit of pique and Serena screamed at the Referee!

When Serena lost in straight sets and as the announcement was made that Naomi had won, the crowd booed this winner! It was one of the worst moments I have witnessed in tennis. In fact, while they set up for the formal award ceremony the crowd booed. And young Naomi cried. It was the saddest thing ever.

During the awards, Serena asked for people to stop booing, but by then the damage had been done. Noami’s fabulous win had been stolen from her! Shame on you New York Tennis Fans! Naomi played better than Serena and she won fair and square. Grow up!

Naomi Osaka, I apologize for the rude New York audience. I wanted to jump through my TV screen and slap each and every boo-er!

Tomorrow it’s back to work around the house. Not that I really feel like it, but it must be done. Oh yes. The peaches are starting to come in. You know what this means? Time to make the Heavenly Jam!

Life Goes On…

It’s been a crazy time for me this week. I feel like I’ve been wandering around in a daze. My heart is heavy, as I try to snap out of this and get back on my feet.

My life has become quieter since Greta went to Rainbow Bridge. I can sleep in a bit more, but her presence is sorely missed.

I continue to clean and clear the office and linen closet, and the new mattress arrived yesterday and the base today. The bed is set up, we just are uncertain if the angle we will put it in the room. Jack wants it under the window, and I want it flush against the wall. I don’t want anyone cracking their head on the window sill.

I went out to get my hair done, and it came out quite well. I cannot believe how long it is getting. I did have her shape it for me and I mentioned that my bangs are not falling correctly. (Read that as they do not fall correctly and cover the scars on my face!) So I am not sure what she did, but they came out perfectly!

I had a Twin Bed to just give away, FREE, to anyone who wanted to come and get it. This afternoon at 5:30 our neighbor drove up and got the Twin Bed to use for her grandson. She did not know I was her neighbor when she answered my add and I didn’t know until she asked for directions that she was my neighbor! It is a small world! I feel good that this bed will be used by another generation of children. I didn’t want to just throw it away.

Saturday is laundry day, and boy, do I have a mountain of it to do! I will spend most of the day just doing the laundry, folding and putting away. Such is life!

The Friday Five

Another week has come and gone. In many ways, this was a big week. It started with me pulling everything out of my linen closet, and tearing apart our office and ended with the loss of our beloved pup, Greta. So here it is. My weekly, Friday Five.

I decided the clear out the Office of all the junk that has gathered in there over the 20 years we have been here. I was ruthless and I was throwing away all sorts of useless stuff!
Something brought me out to the linen closet and when I opened the door I thought, well, time to do this too! So everything I laid my hands on went out and on the floor!
I found rabbit ears for the TV (like those are ever going to work again!) and those were immediately tossed away! My sewing box was a total mess and I spent time organizing that! And the towels! People I had 42 bath towels in that closet! Twenty-two of them will be going to the homeless shelter.
Currently, I am 3/4 of the way through both projects. We can once again walk down the hall and actually into the office without stepping on something. I should be done this weekend!
And yes, lastly, we bid farewell to darling Greta. It seems like just yesterday we brought her home from Germany. How I will miss my girl. Rest peacefully, Greta!

The day I first met my Greta in Germany! That was a very good day!

The New Normal

I started Wednesday by going to WW Class. I did very well this week, and I feel like I am starting to actually live the plan.

It was tough to get up and actually get ready for class today. I hadn’t realized how much I’d actually been doing for Greta recently. I would carry her outside, wait for her to finish, mostly carry her back in, get her little panties on, and then try to start my day.

Today I actually just got myself ready, with no distractions, but boy, did I miss my girl! You know, she had this way of kind of, growling, talking, that no other dog I have had did. I miss that.

Arnie has been spending a lot of time under the coffee table in what I call the Man Cave. All you can see is his little face peeking out. Anneliese has been sleeping on the rug by the back door, and she has been looking for Greta. And when they aren’t doing that, they are sticking together.

Lili is confused and she also keeps patrolling the yard on the lookout for our departed darling, Greta.

It’s tough, you know. After fourteen years of having this little being in your life, to suddenly not have her just plain hurts. You go on, but it isn’t the same. Even the dynamics between the three remaining dogs has changed.

It’s the new normal.

Greta

March 9, 2004 – September 4, 2018

Greta and I, back in the day.

To My Darling Greta

When you must go,
my furry little friend,
I will be by your side.
I will hold you tenderly,
until the life has left your eyes

I see you wandering,
your eyes seem lost each day,
I watch you as you try to walk,
and tears fall on my face

The long goodbye is over
I held you in my arms
You closed your eyes and sighed at me
as you drifted off with God

I hear that Rainbow Bridge
Is a happy place to be
I hope you’re happy there
as you dance and wait for me

I will not forget you
Your fur and lovely eyes
I shall see you in my memories
As if you were alive.
—

And So It Goes…

The cleaning goes on!

I bagged 22 bath towels today to go to the Homeless Shelter. They’re all clean and in good condition. And here is what I kept…20 bath towels! I am not even sure how I fit 42 bath towels in that closet, but I did! The first load of towels to be freshened and returned to the closet are now in the wash.

It is 95 degrees here in New Hampshire as I write. The humidity is so high that my usually curly hair is just a mass of frizz! Not my best hair day by far.

I did go through the box of jumbled wires and cords. I even found a set of Rabbit Ears for the TV! Not that they would even work now, so I tossed those in the trash bin, after I showed Jack and we had a bit of a laugh.

Since the last time I went through this box (which reminded me of Christmas lights, all tangled and useless) I realized that times have changed, all the mess of wire and cords were almost completely out of date! It made the cleaning easier. Right into the bin, it went!

My darling Greta.

During the day we noted that Greta is not feeling even close to good. We’ve been having long talks. The kind that is never easy.

I was at a party over the weekend and I was in a group shot. When I saw the picture, my first thought was, “Thank God, I have returned to Weight Watchers!” In fact, I plan to print out a small picture for my wallet, in the event that I lose my mind and want to go out for foods that are not on my eating plan! Only when I have a wonderful after, will I share the before!

Did anyone else experience a break in Facebook yesterday? My account went down about 4:30 PM and was down for about an hour. Very strange, really. Facebook has never gone down like that on me.

Have a great week everyone!

Well, I Must Be Crazy!

For a few years, I had a cute collage of my family on my fridge. My problem? I am so lazy, I had not done one since Quinn’s birth, two and a half years ago. So when I got this coupon from Walgreens, I set about designing a collage of my little family.

I think it came out really well, and it makes me smile when I look at it.

Meanwhile, we’re rearranging our Office Room and adding a full-size bed. After a great deal of shopping, I finally convinced Jack that the best price was on Amazon.com. It’s been ordered and should be here on Friday!

After going through a bunch of useless ~~crap~~ items on the office shelves and filling a wastepaper basket, something distracted me and led me to our linen closet. I opened the door and started tossing things on the floor and in piles. Things to donate to the homeless shelter, throw out, or freshen and return to the linen closet.

I am not sure why I started on the closet because as I got more involved, it became apparent that this is a giant task! I must be crazy!

There is no stopping now, but there has been a serious slowdown, as my neck and shoulders can only do so much in one day. (This is my story and I am sticking to it!)

Once done, this closet will be amazingly organized and anyone can go in and find what they need easily. Best of all, after I launder the towels in there, it will smell lovely and fresh.

I did find my puppy kit. All the things I used when I was breeding the girls. Colored neck bands to distinguish each pup, my surgical sheers, and a warming block. Much of this I cannot use any longer, but the sheers and warming block I can definitely put to use.

I also found a box of wires and cords. Some I know what they are, but some, I have no idea. So while I watch the tennis today, I will be going through that box to see if there is anything to salvage. I suspect not!

Tuesday I plan a day of washing much of these sheets, towels, and tablecloths. Then carefully folding them and organizing the shelves.

After the linen closet is done, I will go back into the office and dust vacuum, and wash windows getting this room done, once and for all!

This poor room is so neglected really. Since laptops became the rage, we almost never go into the office, except for Income Tax time. Now that we will have this fixed up as a nice guest room we can entertain more if we would like.

Happy Monday to Everyone and Happy Labor Day to all in the USA!

It’s All About…

It’s all about accepting the inevitable!

My friend, Andrew over on High Riser put this on his blog on Friday. Well, it just made me laugh and laugh, and even play it twice (or more!). So I thought that on this beautiful Sunday morning, I would share this with all of you! Enjoy!

Welcome Autumn!

Good Morning and Welcome to September!

I walked outside with the dogs and the air was cool and crisp! Just the kind of weather that I like. Soon the leaves will start to turn, and in a few weeks, there will be frost on the pumpkins! Wonderful!

Many people don’t like this time of year, but it is my favorite! Look at this picture from last year. I mean, how can anyone not love the beauty of Autumn?

My beautiful Lake! How I can hardly wait for it to look like this once again!