A Beautiful Thing ~ Life!

I was thinking about how very blessed I am in this world. I have wonderful people that I love, and who love me in return. I walk outside and I see the beauty of nature, even in February, in the frozen North. It makes me glad when Spring arrives and brings with it the beauty of Summer. Look around. What makes you smile? What brings joy into your life? What makes you laugh with glee?

I think so often we get caught up with all the crap in life, and forget the beauty. Look around! See all that you have in your life that makes it worthwhile! It’s there. One has only to look.

If you are having trouble finding a happy place, watch this video and it will remind you of all there is to be happy about. All the wonder in life!

The Friday Five

I seem to be list oriented this week, as we start the month of February. The first Friday of February, can you believe it?

I returned to Weight Watchers on Wednesday and here are my thoughts on getting back to taking care of my eating and my health.

  1. I returned to Class after nearly a year hiatus. Not because I wanted to be, but because 2017 was a tough health year for me I had lost quite a bit of weight, mostly because I could not eat.
  2. It was more than wonderful to see my old friends in Class. I got so many hugs, and so much love. If that isn’t encouraging, I don’t know what is. My main goal now is to finish losing the extra weight and to learn to make healthier choices!
  3. I stayed after class to learn about Weight Watchers new program. It sounds very good, but I have to tell you that my head is still swimming with all the information!
  4. I started out on Thursday morning, trying to make sense of this program. After lunch I felt a bit overwhelmed and also hungry. Now here is the deal, I had eaten a wonderful breakfast, and I spent time making a good lunch. There was no reason I should have been hungry, except you say “diet” to me and suddenly my mind thinks I’m starving!
  5. I’ve still got 19 points to use today, so I guess I will try to plan a normal dinner. I think chicken fajitas. I have steak fajitas for Jack. If I am lucky and this works well, by my birthday in November I will be at my goal weight.

Thursday Thirteen

The Me Edition!

1. I was Born on November 17th in Massachusetts.

2. I weighed 9 pounds and 1 ounce, and I was 23 inches long. My mother swears that this nearly killed her, as she was barely 5 feet tall!

3. I was my sisters first baby! She was five and a half years old, and she was so happy to have a little sister. Truth be told, I am lucky to have her!

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Melodie and her baby, little sister, Maribeth.

4. My appendix ruptured just before my fourth birthday. I wasn’t scared at all. I did not like the Ether, but I did get twice the gifts for my birthday that year! One I remember quite well was “Digger The Dog”. This may explain my love for long dogs! In my life I have almost always had a dog. And at this point, I think I always will.

5. I was the youngest child to perform in our community theaters version of The King and I. What I remember the most is showering after the shows and watching the make-up and the spray in black hair color wash down the drain.

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That’s me, the third from the left right out in front.

6. I remember JFK’s assassination because I was home from school with tonsillitis. I was lying on the sofa with my pillow and blanket and Mom was watching her soap operas, when the news came on. Mom was so upset and at 5 years old, I wasn’t really sure what was happening, but I knew it wasn’t good.

7. When I was 8, I won the much coveted role as Gretl in the community theaters version of “The Sound of Music”. I had memorized all the music from the record, and I loved singing it. I recall a large tryout, and then the announcement was made. I was Gretl in the first cast. In fact, after the play debuted, I was even mentioned in the review of the play. Not bad for a little kid.

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8. I loved growing up near the beach and spent a lot of time down there. Actually my whole family loved being therre, with the exception of my father, who burned very quickly, so he almost never went with us.

9. My cousin, Janet and I rode our bikes all over Falmouth. When they came down to Falmouth from Billerica, Uncle George always brought their bikes and off we went. One day we rode all the way to the Bourne Bridge and then rode over. Oh my goodness! It was so windy, that I admit to walking the bike back over on the way back! But Janet and I sure had a great time riding everywhere on our bikes!

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Me and my much loved cousin and best friend, Janet!

10. I was a pretty good student until I reached High School. I seemed to lose it then, and although I graduated just fine, I wish I could go back and really work hard to get the grades I know I could have gotten!

11. I sort of played the flute. Okay before you ask, how I sort of played the flute, I will tell you. I had a mild case of dyslexia, which made it impossible for me to learn to read music. But I loved music. What happened was, for me a sort of miracle! Once I heard the music once I could either play it on the flute (or sing it in the choir). But to this day, the ability to read music eludes me.

12. I love to cook. Okay, that is no surprise to most of you, but what you may not know, is that way back when I was married to my first husband, I was a terrible cook. I could barely boil water! I once actually made meatloaf and put chunks of hotdog in it! I shudder now, but well, I guess you have to start somewhere. By the time I married Jack, I had a better idea of what I was doing, and no one was forced to eat experimental cooking that involved ground beef and hotdogs!

13. I think being an Oma (grandmother) is the best thing in the entire world! When I learned that Mandy was expecting Savannah I cried with happiness, and each day since Savannah’s arrival has been filled with joy. And then we were so blessed with the arrival of Quinn, and I cannot remember what life was like before them! They bring smiles to me each day of my life. And I know that it just doesn’t get any better than this.

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My daughter, Mandy, Matt and their beautiful children, Savannah and Quinn! My loves, my life!

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. Speaking of endings….at your wit’s end, at loose ends, a dead end, burn the candle at both ends, all’s well that end’s well, or no end in sight…which ‘end’ phrase might best be applied to your life lately? Explain.  

All’s well that ends well! After pretty much being sick for October and January with the flu (yes, twice, two different strains) I am happy to report a return to health! So, all’s well that ends well.

2. What was a must have accessory when you were growing up? Did you own one? If so tell us what you remember about it.

For me the biggest “accessory” in my life was my bike. I pedaled all over Falmouth growing up, and my bike was my way to get around until I bought my first car. From a very young age (back in the day when you let your kids out after breakfast and they didn’t come home until dinner), my bike helped me to see the world! Or at least my part of Falmouth!

3. Something that made you smile yesterday?

My new slip cover arrived for my old sofa. We thought we might get a new sofa, but since this sofa is Lili’s bed, we thought maybe we would wait a while. Anyway, I ordered the slip cover and now it is on the sofa and it looks great! When I looked up the last time I ordered a cover for the sofa, it was 9 years ago. That cover didn’t owe us a thing!

4. January 30th is National Croissant Day. Do you like croissants? Sweet or savory? We’re having chicken salad for lunch…would you rather have yours served on a croissant, a wrap, a bagel, bread, or a roll of some sort?

Oh I love croissants! I will have to run out and buy two and make lunch with them! I like sweet croissants best, but lets face it, any croissant is a good croissant!

5. Sum up your January in fifteen words or less.

Bitterly cold, icy weather, turning to more moderate temperatures at the end.

6.  Insert your own random thought here.

The three amigo cousins are going off again! I just made reservations for Mel, Janet and I to go stay in Falmouth for a weekend in April. It’s a great time for us to go, reminisce, and spend some quality time together, just us three!!! I can hardly wait!!!

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Janet, Melodie and Me!

And The Lyrics Are…

I was reading Facebook today, when I saw a poster that said, “Remember a time before you could look up lyrics on the Internet, and you went around singing the most horrendous versions of your favorite songs?”

Oh, I do, I do! I also remember recording a song off the radio on a reel to reel tape machine, and then play and stop and play and stop, in order to get the lyrics written down. And even then I know I bungled more than a few song lyrics!

I do like being able to find lyrics just by entering a few words in a search engine. It just makes it so easy, and I look like a real star when singing in the grocery store.


Recently, I heard a song that had been redone by another artist doing the vocals. Oh it was one of my favorite songs back in the day. It was called “The Final – Old & Wise” by The Alan Parsons Project back in 1982.

Old & Wise is a rather melancholy song about growing old and getting toward the end of your time on earth. I remember when it was popular back in 1982 we bought the Album it was on. After my daughter passed away, I listened to it often. I was in a bad place.

Now as I approach my 60th birthday, (later this year!), I think that this song is beautiful in a very different way. It’s the affirmation that you have loved and cared and been loved. It’s such a wonderful song.

The newer version was still done by The Alan Parsons Project, in Antwerp, Belgium in October 1990. But with David Paton singing the lead . Wow it was so good! Here it is, so listen and enjoy!



The Lyrics to Old & Wise

As far as my eyes can see
There are shadows approaching me
And to those I left behind
I wanted you to know
You’ve always shared my deepest thoughts
You follow where I go[CHORUS]
And oh when I’m old and wise
Bitter words mean little to me
Autumn winds will blow right through me
And someday in the mist of time
When they asked me if I knew you
I’d smile and say you were a friend of mine
And the sadness would be lifted from my eyes
Oh when I’m old and wiseAs far as my eyes can see
There are shadows surrounding me
And to those I leave behind
I want you all to know
You’ve always shared my darkest hours
I’ll miss you when I go

[CHORUS]
And oh, when I’m old and wise
Heavy words that tossed and blew me
Like autumn winds will blow right through me
And someday in the mist of time
When they ask you if you knew me
Remember that you were a friend of mine
As the final curtain falls before my eyes
Oh when I’m old and wise

As far as my eyes can see


Anyway, back in the day, I had done the lyric writing by listening and writing down what I heard. I thought I had it right back then, but fast forward to now and I looked up the lyrics and I messed up a few. Close though.

Anyway, today’s kids have no idea what it was like, back in the day, before computers, cell phones and search engines that instantly gave you the lyrics. We actually had to work for them!

Surf Drive

I grew up in Falmouth, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod. My house was literally a five minute walk to the beach. Surf Drive Beach. And from the time I was born, Surf Drive Beach was the place I wanted to be. And it still is.

Mom was really great about bring us to the beach. In the mornings during the summer, Mom would make sandwiches, pack a basket with drinks, chips and cookies, and away we would go to the beach. From the time we could walk, we had swimming lessons. Mom would sit on her beach chair, reading the latest novel, and we would spend the day swimming.

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Surf Drive Beach in 1966

Now don’t get me wrong. Not every day in the summer on Cape Cod is beautiful, sunny and hot. In fact there were many foggy days, where our lips turned blue while we swam in the somewhat cool ocean. But it didn’t matter, because Surf Drive Beach was my free space. The place I could most feel alive and wild and wonderful.

Even now, fifty-nine years down the road, Surf Drive Beach still warms my heart and soul. I can walk out onto the jetties and my soul re-energizes! The sound of the ocean soothes my soul.

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Me enjoying Surf Drive Beach in September 2017

I think I will always feel this way. Surf Drive Beach will always be home, no matter where I live or how old I get.

This & That

Our weather warmed up just enough today, so that we had some major melting. This is a very good thing, as the dackels have been having a rough time walking around on the ice. In fact, both Greta and Anneliese slipped around so much, that their hind ends are bothering them.

Greta handles it somewhat better. I guess because she has been dealing with arthritis longer. But Anneliese took a bad slip yesterday and began to act as if she was close to death. She lay absolutely still in her bed, and then was up all night last night.

Today she was shivering like crazy, so I put on her little sweater and she settled right down. She has remained quiet, but tonight she ate a normal dinner and is starting to act like herself. Yes, ice is the enemy of all little dackel dogs!

Lili has been helping Jack with the breaking up of ice. But the last two days when Jack has gone into the basement for something, Lili has followed him and gotten stuck in the basement. Thankfully, we now know that we must look down there when we lose Lili!

I actually got out today to go to the store. We needed a few things and so I went to the grocery store to get them. It was so nice!

And news came today that Mandy and Matt are taking the kids to Disney in April! How wonderful for them. I know that Savannah is going to go crazy and I think that Quinn will also enjoy it, although at 2 years old, he may not remember much of it. That’s okay, it just means that another trip will be planned in the future.

Chicken Soup For The Soul

I was trying to decide what to cook for our dinner. It was cold and icy and I felt like something warm and savory. Since I’d cooked a rotisserie chicken the other day, I decided that the leftover chicken might make a great chicken soup.

So, I chopped up onions, celery, peppers, mushrooms, carrots and garlic. I tossed the onions, celery, peppers and garlic in about 3 tbs of flour and then added them to my cast iron Dutch Oven, which had 3 tbs of melted butter and a little olive oil in it. I sauteed them until the vegetables were tender, then I added the carrots, some chicken broth, and some salt, pepper, thyme, sage, and rosemary. Oh yes and some Bay Leaves. Have you heard all the good things that Bay Leaves can do? Apparently they have many medicinal applications. I hope this will help with the cold.

I put in about 2-3 cups of the rotisserie chicken and let that simmer along with the soup for another hour or so. The dogs were going crazy as they knew exactly what I’d put in the pot!

The scent of chicken soup cooking all afternoon was wonderful. I cooked up some egg noodles to toss in at the very end and it tasted just great when we finally sat down for our dinner. I’d made some fresh rolls and those were a nice accompaniment.

Dinner was a quick clean up and now both Jack and I are feeling relaxed and sleepy. After a perfect dinner of soup and bread, I ask, does it get any better than this?

Another Step In My Education!

Just a little Yahoo for me. After trying to figure out how to add back in the two items that the last WordPress Platform took out of my composition page, today I sat down and found the update on WordPress and downloaded it and then activated it!

Now I’m not sure how many of you use the Justify and Underline, but I sure do, and it was adding a lot of time to my compositions, when I had to put in the codes by hand!

I cannot tell you how proud I am of myself. One giant step for me, in my ability to learn another something new in how to keep my blog up to date!

The Friday Five

This week the Friday Five will center on my feelings about keeping Dackel Princess alive. I’ve been keeping her going since 2005!  It all started out during the Blog craze, where everyone was blogging. I was feeling frustrated having no where to share my thoughts about Shubi’s illness and my cousin Janet, and our friend Megan, suggested I start a blog. I tossed out several titles, and Megan like The Dackel Princess. And in May of 2005, Dackel Princess was born. So, here is The Friday Five for January 26th, 2018!

  1. Originally I wrote about Shubi. My very first dackel.

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My darling Shubi!

She had gotten sick in 2003 and I had no outlet for my feelings, as I watched her getting sicker and sicker with a disease called GME. (Granulomatous Meningoencephalitis (GME) is an inflammatory disease of the central nervous system.) Shubi fought the disease valiantly, with monthly capsules of Chemotherapy, and high doses of Prednisone. Eventually I could see what the medications were doing to Shubi and I stopped them, and 2 years after her diagnosis, Shubi went to Rainbow Bridge.

2. When I learned Shubi was so ill and would not survive, I wrote to a friend in Germany telling her about it. She arranged for me to get a dackel from German Champions. After a phone call, where Jack used his best German, we arranged to go over in May of 2004 to get baby Greta.

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Baby Greta!

3. After Shubi’s death, we brought Greta to a German dog show where she got her rating. She was rated as Excellent! Then I found a German boy dog, who happened to live quite close to us here in New Hampshire and Greta became a mother December 10th, 2006 to five beautiful babies.

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Anneliese & Arnie when they were babies!

That was when Dackel Princess became a puppy blog. I wrote about the puppies and how they grew and of course Arnie and Anneliese stayed with me, and I wrote all about them. Anneliese’s puppies, and life amongst the hounds!

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4. But eventually I stopped breeding and then the grandchildren came and I began to write about them, my home, my love of cooking, traveling and photography.  Now I realize, that I may not be a dachshund, but because of my love for dackels, I am The Dackel Princess!

5. I’m not sure how much longer I will continue to write. I suppose as long as I have something to say. I love sharing my life, my thoughts, my recipes, with all of you. And I sure hope that you enjoy reading it.