Dackel Princess

My Little Guy, Arnie!

Arnie and I ran errands on Saturday. I needed to go to the grocery store, the Post Office, and the Liquor Store. Arnie loves to go for a ride, and at the Liquor Store he gets put on a leash and goes in.

A wonderful woman named Rebecca works there, and she adores Arnie and Arnie adores her! Today she was sitting on the floor and did not see us come in. The next thing Rebecca knew, Arnie ran up and danced around her. It was adorable!

Arnie is such good company when I go out. Sometimes I will go into a store, waving bye-bye to him, and then when I come out I see his sweet face peering out the window just waiting for me.

He sure is a special boy and I am so lucky to have him!

Lamb Paprikash

Olive Oil
1 cup sliced green pepper
1 cup sliced red pepper
2 large onions sliced
3 lbs lamb, cubed
1/4 cup flour
2 tbs sweet paprika
1 tsp hot paprika
1 tbs salt
1-14 oz can of diced tomatoes
2 cups beef broth (or a bit more if needed)
sour cream
Parsley

Heat oil, add onions and peppers and saute until soft.

Remove the onions and peppers and add a little more olive oil.
Toss lamb chunks in flour and add to pot.
Brown meat.
Add beef broth, both paprika’s, salt and return onion and peppers to the pot.
Add tomatoes, and cover, simmer on low (or in a 300-degree oven in a dutch oven) for 2 hours.
Correct seasoning and serve over mashed potatoes or noodles.
Top with sour cream and parsley. Great with a side salad and crusty bread.

The Friday Five

Well, here we are. Another week has gone by and Friday is upon us! I don’t know about you, but this week flew by for me! Perhaps because I was so busy, having accomplished a lot of Spring Cleaning (even if Spring refuses to arrive!), and a trip to Portsmouth as well. Yes, it’s a long drive down and back, but I just love Portsmouth, NH!

It is once again snowing, and as I count down the hours to the end of my week, here are 5 things that have been on my mind.

Sunday we had three inches of heavy, slushy snow, that sort of turned to ice. What a mess! The good thing about Springtime snow (and I use the term Springtime loosely), is that it melts fairly quickly. Such was the case, but not until after my beautiful white shepherd, Lili became a massive muddy mess!
The first tick of the season made its way into our house. It was just a little before their first dose of flea and tick medication (May 1st) so I decided to start the medication early and will do flea and tick medications on the 18th of each month.
I had gotten a ham a week ago and got it out only to discover it was a spiral cut ham. Ugh! I cooked it as best I could and it came out terrible. So dry. I know a lot of people like them, but this was too lean and being pre-sliced just worked against it. No more pre-sliced hams for me.
Thursday found me roasting eggplant for my lunch. I love eggplant, and roasting it up for lunch, is one of my favorite things to do.
One more week and I will be going to Cape Cod with my cousin, Janet and my sister, Melodie. I love our trips to Falmouth and our walks down Memory lane. This time we decided to go to two different restaurants. Please say a little prayer for good weather while we are there.

Janet, Mel, and me!

TBT: My Dackels

Here is a picture taken back in 2007 of Greta and her 5 month old puppies, Arnie and Anneliese, as they looked out the window at our lake. Please note that on April 23, 2007, the lake was already free of ice, and the trees had the first leaves on them. Currently, our lake is still iced in, and our trees are bare. We are also due for snow!

But back in 2007, Spring had arrived and the window was wide open allowing the warm, fresh air to come into our house!

The dogs shown are left to right, Arnie, Anneliese, and Greta

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. Three things on your spring bucket list? If you don’t have an actual list that’s fine, pretend you do.

I want to tackle our basement. It isn’t just a Spring project, but more like an All Summer project! I also want to go through my kitchen drawers and lighten the load, and actually today is clean my closet day!

2. Where do you find rest? What restores your soul? When was the last time you did whatever it was you answered here?

The Ocean calms me and restores my soul. I was down to Cape Cod last September. I will be going down in two weeks to spend a weekend and breath in the air and (hopefully the sunshine) and walk the beaches and feel the calm of the shore.

3. April is National Celery Month. Who knew? Do you like celery? What’s your favorite dish made with celery? On a veggie and dip platter which would you reach for first-carrot sticks, celery sticks, cucumbers or cherry tomatoes?

I like celery and I cook with it all the time, but I hate that it gets caught in my teeth! I LOVE carrots, so if given a choice, I would go for them on a veggie platter!

4. I read here eight things to do before 8 am to make your day less hectic-Start one load of laundry, drink water, empty the dishwasher, read your Bible, know what you’re having for dinner, get dressed, brain dump (two lists-one what you’re thankful for and one what’s weighing on your mind), and after the brain dump make your to-list for the day

How many of these are you currently doing? Which one do you think would help the most if you added it to your early morning routine?

I usually jump into my clothes, start the coffee, walk the dogs, toss in a load of laundry, and dinner was actually planned last night. (Ham)

5. Describe the view from your window.

It’s a foggy, rainy, morning, with three inches of slushy snow from yesterday’s storm on the ground. The trees are bare, and a few hungry, daredevil birds are braving the rain and keep flying by my window.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

I really need to get a few things done around the house this morning. This means, shutting off the computer and putting some music on in my bedroom and just concentrating and doing it. I’ve been so busy lately that my closet has become a slight disaster. So…. after clearing up breakfast, I am off to my room to clean the closet! Ugh! (Mission accomplished!)

The Me I Want To Be

In the last few years I have really thought a lot about my relationships. I wondered how the world would view me after extensive facial surgery. Would people see the scars? What would they think? I was really bothered by how I looked until recently.

You see, when I walked in the door of my daughter’s home, two wonderful children came running toward me, with their arms outstretched calling my name, quite happily!

Oma!

It dawned on me then, that they do not see my scars. They see my heart. They only know me as I am today, and their unconditional love is such a gift.

I am my own worst critic. I get close to my mirror and I see every stitch mark, every scar, and for the longest time I felt like I was not myself at all. I did not feel pretty, I did not feel happy and I was so critical about myself.

Why do we do that? Why do we judge our book (face) by the lines, or scars, or imperfections that we see there? Does it make a difference as to what is in our hearts?

My grandmother told me once, when I was a young and somewhat conceited teen, that I may be beautiful now (age 15) but that as one grew older, and went through life, if you were not a good, kind, person in your heart, it would show on the outside. Goodness and kindness lie within.

So this face I have now, although not the one I had at the age of 15, is just fine. My daughter and grandchildren love me, and they know my kind heart and my great love for them.

As I have wandered through my life these last few years I have tried to concentrate on being the best me I can be. I have stopped staring in the mirror, and when I do my hair or make-up, I try to embrace the woman I find in the mirror. She has worked so hard to repair her soul after falling down, so many times.

Be kind, be loving, and stretch out your arms to those you love. In the end, life is so very good!

The Magic Of Grandchildren

My weekend with the kids really was great. I love being their Oma and spending time getting to know them more and more. We read, we played, and we snuggled and watched a few kid shows.

Savannah ran a fever on Saturday and so she was a lot quieter than usual. And the sweetest thing happened while she was curled up on the sofa with her blanket. Quinn cuddled up next to her in the afternoon, both Saturday and Sunday, and fell asleep. He napped for about an hour each time happily nestled up to his sister.

Savi is a great big sister, and she really loves Quinn. And he in turn loves her too. Their affection for each other, makes my heart swell.

Of course, they play too hard sometimes, and they accidentally get too rough, but then they apologize and life goes on.

It pulled at my heart strings to leave them yesterday afternoon. I just love being with them, watching them, listening to them chatter with each other. My heart belongs to them, and it always will!

I always knew my relationship with my own Grandmother was special, but I never understood how deeply one can love their grandchildren until now.

What a blessing these two wonderful children are to me.

I am so very lucky!

A Cat & Mouse Story

Ok, I admit it. I do not like mice! So last night, when I opened the door to let the cat in out of the rain, you can imagine my horror when Bear came running in to the house carrying a mouse! He then preceded to drop it, I am guessing to play with it, alive and kicking, and as I stood there, momentarily frozen, I started to scream!

It was not a pretty scream. In fact I sounded quite shrill. I glanced over at my two grandchildren sitting together on the sofa, and both were laughing like crazy! Apparently they found Oma’s screaming at a mouse really funny!

Now, I will admit, my fear of mice is great and I was terrified!

The cat followed the mouse into the kids playroom and I tried to steel myself and go in and catch that thing. I even called Jack to ask what to do! Simple, he said, close the door and leave the cat inside with the mouse.

Simple he says, but that still meant dealing with a decapitated creature in the end.

I paced back and forth, until Bear meowed at the door to get out. Then I slowly opened the door and peeked inside. Sure enough, there it lay. Gone to another world.

After I disposed of the body, I came back in the house, and sat down with the kids. My heart was still racing!

I settled Quinn and came back down to Savi. I looked at her and told her I needed a hug! She smiled and threw her arms around me!

All I can say is, I am so glad it’s over!

And yes, I know I am a chicken!

Oh yes, I don’t like snakes either!

Off To See My Loves

See these two beautiful children? Well by the time you read this I will be on my way to have a fun playtime with my two lovies! My bags are packed and so is the car. I have all sorts of plans for a thrilling time and I am happy to go.

You know I am not just head over heels in love with my grandchildren, I really like them too. Both are really good kids and both are sweet and loving.

So think of me, and I will be posting pictures as soon as I can. I hope I can get a bunch of really good ones.

The Friday Five

Another week has come and gone and today will find me getting ready for my overnight with the kids. I am so excited to have some real quality play time with them as well as snuggles and smiles!

So as the week ends, here are the five things I am thinking about.

Today I am making mini sized blueberry muffins to bring down for the kids. I have the cutest kid size muffin pan to make them!
Jack hasn’t been feeling too well the last few days, so I want to go through the fridge and make sure he has a few things to eat while I am gone.
I’m still having trouble with the comment section of the blog. It looks like I will have to contact GoDaddy again later today and see if I can get this working. It is a real irritant. My cousin Janet and her husband think I have blocked them from commenting, 😉 which is not the case, it’s just the stupid GoDaddy Server! I will keep you all posted!
Still crocheting up a storm, and will bring that with me overnight on Saturday. Once the kids are settled it gives me a couple of hours to work on the afghan.
Still no word from my doctor regarding the biopsy. I will feel so much better when it comes back and it is negative.