Dackel Princess

My Hobby!

I am really happy these days. What is contributing to my happiness? Well, this year I decided to take on two projects. These projects are for my daughter, Mandy, and for Gail, who has been my best friend since I was 13 years old. This year, I am crocheting them both afghans.

It all started out last fall when I decided to make Savannah an afghan for her Christmas gift. While I worked each day I found that the arthritis in my hands disappeared. As did the cramping I got in my fingers. The more I crocheted, the better my hands felt.

So at Christmas I mentioned this to Mandy and she said she would love an afghan from me. So I had her select the yarn and I started to work on it once the yarn arrived. It is beautiful!

Each afternoon and then in the evening, while watching the TV, I crochet. I’m happily loving this!

Something else came to light too. Because I am working on these afghans, I am not on my computer as much. And that feels really good. My mindless internet browsing is limited to the morning to answer my email from overnight, and then at about 8 PM when I check my email for the last time. Oh yes, and at 5 PM I sit and write to you all. Some could say that was mindless, but really I do try to engage my brain when I write. Although at times I go back and read what I’ve written and wonder if I’ve had too much wine while writing! Which is funny because I haven’t been drinking while I’ve been sick!

Mandy’s afghan is made from the softest, sort of bulky yarn. I’m using a chunky stitch and a large hook and so it’s also a little on the lacy side. Not too much, so it will hold up in her kid friendly home. It is so very pretty.

The one I am going to make for Gail is a ripple afghan with her favorite colors. Both beautiful, but both different. That will be so much fun.

After that, well I have a few things in mind. One thing is I would like to learn a variety of stitches. I am amazed at the number of stitches there are in crocheting. So, I want to learn more.

It’s kind of funny how I fell into a hobby I gave up a long time ago, and how very much I am enjoying it after all these years.

The Lovely Lili

I have to tell you all about our wonderful Lili. Lili will be turning four years old March 17th. Yes, she is a St. Patrick’s Day girl! At nearly four, she is a real beauty, and we have found, she is smart as a whip. And we didn’t even know this!

During this cold, cold, winter, when we have had snow and ice and sleet and rain, the dackels still need to go out and do their thing, and Jack will snow-blow a path for them, around the house, as well as in the back yard. Greta and Arnie pretty much stay in the back yard, but every once in a while Anneliese either takes too long, or runs around the house to the garage.

It’s a difficult thing because it’s been below zero and I do not want the dackels to freeze out there, but having a fever, I am not always up to running out to bring them back. Although I have done this a time or two.

What we discovered is that Lili has a special gift. She is a herding dog! If you command her, “Lili go get Anneliese!” She will run out the door, follow the path and herd Anneliese (or Arnie or Greta) back to the house to come in.

Not only does she do this on command, but if she cannot find the dackel in question on her first pass, she will keep circling until she either finds the dackel in question, or we call her in.

This morning it was Anneliese. She had gone around the house and then she came up the stairs shortly after I let Lili out to go get ’em. Well Lili was frantic to find the little dog. She ran the path twice before I could get her attention and get her in.

The first thing she did was go over to Anneliese and sniff her to make sure all was well. And this really amazed me.

Lili really is an incredible dog and she loves it when you give her jobs to do. Do you think I can teach her to do the dishes?

My Darling Greta

My girl Greta is quite an amazing pup. I remember when we drove with Uschi to Rheden, German to pick her up at The Vom Geestmoor Kennels. When we arrived we were greeted by a whole bunch of wire-haired dackel puppies and several Mama pups. The owner met us at the gate and invited us in for coffee and cakes. As we sat enjoying our coffee, the owner left us with his wife and then came back with a squirming little bundle. My darling Greta!

Later when we left, I feared she might be sad to leave her brothers and sisters and her Mama, but she never looked back. She was a girl on the go!

We spent several days with Uschi and Volker before flying back to the USA with Greta. Every time we went out to explore a new place we brought baby Greta with us. She was all for new experiences and meeting new people.

In the airport in Frankfurt, and old woman stopped me to admire the puppy and asked her name. “Oh, her name is Greta!” I said proudly. “Oh, like the famous actress, Greta Garbo!” she exclaimed, and patted Greta again. And the nickname stuck! I often call out the door, “Miss Garbo! Paging Miss Garbo!” And Greta comes running.

Greta was always up for anything. She hiked and swam and ran so fast, one was amazed that those short little legs could move at such a fast pace. She loved to play in the snow, or run around the yard playing with her red ball. (She knew the red ball from any other color and she knew that the red ball was hers!)

Why am I writing all of this now? Well, Greta will be 14 in a month and a half. Her eyes show signs that she probably is nearly blind. Her hearing is not good either and in a 24 hour period, Greta spends 22 of them sleeping.

It’s hard to watch your beloved companion getting old. She is still as sweet as ever, but that spunk, that “I’m up for anything” attitude that she once had is gone. The other day I took her for a ride and she actually slept on the car seat instead of standing on the armrest to look out the window. And after that when I asked if she wanted to go for a ride, she didn’t even leave her bed.

So for now, I cuddle with her all the time, day and night, and I enjoy her as much as I can. But there is a sadness in my heart and my mind, as I know that we have started the long goodbye.

The Friday Five

I woke this morning and I am actually feeling better. After being ill since just after Christmas, it made me very happy to actually feel better. So here is today’s Friday Five!

1. After not being able to breathe through my nose for weeks, I can actually breathe and not have to blow my nose every two seconds! Yay nose!

2. I can once again swallow. I have lived on liquids for a couple of weeks because swallowing has been hard. My cough is also slowing down, after weeks of gagging, hard, coughing.

3. Despite the fact that I could not eat whole foods, I have not lost any weight. Thus confirming my belief that I could survive a nuclear holocaust as long as I had some sort of liquid. Vodka perhaps?

4. Jack bought me a new rug cleaner in November for my birthday. At first I was nervous about using it, but I have to say, it is the best machine (Bissell ProHeat 2X® Revolution™ Pet Pro Carpet Cleaner/2007) I have ever owned! And the cleaning fluid, Bissell 1990 Pro Pet Urine Eliminator Upright Deep Cleaner Formula + Oxy, is magic! It has worked on old stains as well as new ones. If you have a dog or cat, trust me this works like a charm!

5. Jack is also a bit better, although not quite on par with me. I am hoping that with a few more days of rest he will be on the mend along with me.

Life Or Something Like It

In an attempt to spread only happiness and positive things in the world, I have not wanted to write too much about Jack and I and the cold from hell. And yet, after suffering with this thing for over two weeks, I decided that it was best if I explained where we have been and why when I’ve posted, they have been very short.

The thing is, we’ve been amazingly sick. There have been days we didn’t even get dressed, but rather stayed in our jammies. And one day that I quite literally did not get up out of bed. I just didn’t have the strength. A 102.3 temperature just knocked me out. I tried to keep drinking, but food was the last thing on my mind.

Jack and I sat in our recliners with our blankets and when the dogs barked to go out I would say to Jack, I’ll let them out, if you let them in, of I’ll flip ya for it.

Today I woke and my fever had broken, so I actually got into the shower and scrubbed down and then got dressed! In clothes! I still have no voice, but I can honestly say I am better. Once Jack was up, I made a full breakfast for the both of us, complete with Florida Sunshine (grapefruit from my friend, Candy) and after finishing that, we both reclined in our chairs and fell asleep.

We woke in time to eat lunch and now the sofa is calling my name, so I think I will do the next smartest thing and take another nap. It seems the only way we will kick this cold is with plenty of rest and good food.

I’ve got my fingers crossed that we are on the right road now.

This & That

The yarn arrived yesterday and I quickly sat down and attempted o start the afghan. Well, it didn’t go quite as easily as I thought it would, perhaps because it was written for an English crowd (IE Great Britain). I went to bed last night feeling very frustrated. My plan was to give it another go this morning, or as a last resort, find a new pattern Well, so far this morning, I am doing a wee bit better.

I have a new favorite show on the TV. The Incredible Dr. Pol! He is originally from the Netherlands, but after attending and graduating Veterinarian School, he followed his heart to the USA and married a woman he met when he was an exchange student.

Anyway, he has a practice that treats farm animals as well cats, dogs, rabbits and chickens! I love it. I love watching the scenery, the working farms, and also the way the Veterinarians must be creative treating these large animals.

Plus I think Dr. Pol, his wife Diane and their (grown) children and office staff and fellow Vets, are all terrific!

We are actually in the middle of a heat wave! 22 degrees Fahrenheit! (5. degrees C) I was greeted with dark puffy clouds and a snow shower!Isn’t life grand?

Our new coffee maker (The Cuisinart. 14 Cup) is wonderful. I now make consistently good coffee.

My granddaughter tried out for a community play. They are doing “Seussical the Musical” and Savannah has been cast in two parts.

She was in a play last year and really enjoys acting and singing. I think her ballet and dance classes have given her the ability to get up on stage with no fear. I am so very proud of her!

All the Christmas decorations have been put away and now I would like to go, room by room an do a deep cleaning. Windows, curtains, rugs, etc. Sort of a Spring cleaning, but in the middle of winter!

Apple Crisp

Since I am still a bit under the weather with my cold I thought I would share this great recipe. Have a wonderful Monday!

Apple Crisp

8 large baking apples (MacIntosh or Cortland or both)

½ cup butter chopped into tiny pieces

½ cup Oats

½ cup flour

½ cup sugar (I used Splenda)

1/3 cup brown sugar (I used Splenda Brown Sugar)

1 tsp. cinnamon

¼ tsp. Nutmeg

¼ tsp. Ground Cloves

Peel and cut apples into slices. Place in a greased (butter or Pam sprayed) deep 9 X 11 casserole dish.

TIP: I cut up the cold butter into chunks and placed the hard butter into my food processor. I pulsed it a few times, then added the flour and pulsed a few times until it was crumbly. This was the easiest way to make this butter and flour into a crumb mixture.

In a separate bowl place the butter and flour crumb mixture to the oats.

Add sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves and mix well.

Spread evenly over the top of the apples allowing some of the mixture to settle into the apples. I sort of gently push it into the apples.

Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for about 45 minutes or until you see bubbles coming up from the apples. The butter will melt and the crumb mixture should be nice and brown on the top.

Cool slightly, serve warm with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream….

Ten below zero (Fahrenheit) again today. I can recall a time like this, where the temperatures didn’t go above freezing (32 F) for a very long time. But this whole below Zero thing, is a new dimension, and lets face it, harder to take.

Each morning I jump out of bed and immediately dress in my long underwear. Also known as my base layer of clothing. Then comes the heavy winter jeans and a heavy LL Bean turtleneck. Then I add heavy winter socks and a wonderful winter jacket my sister gave me for Christmas.

It’s funny about this jacket because when I opened the box I thought that it would be too heavy for me to wear in all my hot-flash wonder. This is not the case. It is simply the best cold weather companion jacket.

Now, I have faux fur lined Merrell shoes and a blanket and a couple of dackels by my side. And I try to stay warm, and not let the cold get me down

Stay warm, folks & have a great day!

What I’m Up To!

We had close to a foot of snow yesterday, when all was said and done. The wind, which has been close to hurricane force, took much of this snow and rearranged it in our yard. Some places are nearly bare and others have close to two feet. It simply amazes me how the wind can rearrange things.

The wind is still blowing up a storm, but at least, it’s not snowing any more. For that I am grateful!

I stayed in today. And I may stay in again tomorrow. I think I need to let the antibiotics work and I actually have several things I need to get done. I think that this will be de-Christmas day. The window candles will get put away, as will my little Christmas tree and shelf ornaments. All dearly loved, put away for another year.

I have a new crocheting project starting next week. My first project is to make an afghan for my daughter. The pattern is a good one and I think I will be able to move right along with it, because…my next project is an afghan for one of my oldest friends.

Gail and I turn sixty this year and I want to do something special. An afghan if perfect.

Now here is the best part. While I was making Savannah’s afghan, I noticed my hands began to feel better, more limber. I have a little arthritis in the fingers, but the crocheting action really helped.

Progress reports to come!

The Friday Five & 1

I woke up this morning to more snow. Now ordinarily I could care less, but I had an important doctors appointment and this rapidly falling snow was only going to make it more difficult. Here is how my day went.

I kept waiting, hoping they would call and reschedule my appointment. But they never did. In fact once I got there, the secretary told me that almost everyone had cancelled today I could have come in sooner. Grrr!
Jack and I had a quick small lunch and then we headed to the doctor’s office. The roads were terrible! This was at 1:15 PM and at that time we had probably 6-8 inches of snow.
Jack drove (thank goodness as I really flip out driving in those situations and Jack does not). Everyone was driving about 15 to 25 miles per hour, as things were brutally bad. Jack is such a great driver and I knew we would be fine.
However, there was one guy in a little sports car that was driving so fast and fishtailed his car’s rear end all over the place. I seriously thought he was going to go into a tree.
Jack just came in from digging a little path for the dachshunds. He says there is at least 10 inches now and they have forecast more snow until 4 AM on Friday. So when all is said and done we will probably have over a foot.
Oh yes, I did make it in to see my doctor. Well, actually he wasn’t there and I saw this wonderful Nurse Practitioner. Truth be told, I liked her more than I did him, and I felt that she listened to me better, as well as gave me a more thorough physical exam. Diagnosis, Bacterial Sinus Infection, which explains the high fevers, painful sinuses, and a rather gruesome multitude of other symptoms! Treatment: nasal sprays and antibiotics. Then all should be well.