Author: Dackel Princess

The Week Ahead

This week will be slightly crazy for me. I have appointments nearly every day, and aside from getting my hair done, most of the appointments are not for pleasure. Ah well, they’re all necessary,  and at least one of the appointments requires a long drive across the state, along a beautiful route. So, I guess that’s something.

After having short hair now for 2 months, I have decided to keep it this way. I like the ease of styling it, and at this point in my life, I’m sort of done with long curly hair and happy to have it short and cute!

It’s funny, when I was babysitting Savannah, she asked me if I was going to grow my hair out. I told her no, I was going to cut it again. “Oh Oma, you should have your hair long like me!” As much as I would like to please Savi, Oma has reached the point of wanting things to just be easy.

I blanched and froze 10 pounds of zucchini and summer squash, and 5 pounds of green beans. And today, with a little help from Hubby, I will be making Bread and Butter pickles. All of this will taste great in January! But, oh Lord, this is a lot of work.

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Happy Birthday, Melodie!!!

Today is my sister, Melodie’s Birthday. I am so lucky, because she is not just my sister, but my best friend too. We love our cell phones because even though we live far apart, we talk every day, at least once but sometimes more.

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She is not only a wonderful sister, but a great wife and mother and grandmother.

 

Melodie Birthday from Dackel Princess Maribeth on Vimeo.

Melodie’s Birthday

 

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Love you so much, Mel! Happy Birthday!!!

Friday Five

Yesterday I was over for a check-up with my neurosurgeon. I’ve been having a few problems, and I was glad for the chance to go in and start the process of discovery.

  1. I’ve had a discomfort, that has slowly turned into pain when I swallow. In seven months I have been unable to wear a turtleneck or anything that fits closely to my neck.
  2. They found that the plate in my neck has moved. Thus accounting for the above symptoms.
  3. I had a thorough neurological evaluation during the exam, and they found a loss of sensation on the left side in my fingers, arms, etc. I’ve been having pain there too.
  4. The x-rays show, a few suspicious areas. And the P.A. I was seeing told me he wanted to talk to my surgeon and get back to me. But I had an odd feeling, as he walked me out, he kept telling me to be very careful, no heavy lifting, no dog walking, just to lay low. He said he would talk to me on Friday.
  5. I was half way home when my cell phone rang. It was the P.A. and he had already spoken to my surgeon, who wants the MRI done quickly and then he wants to see me after. So the P.A. told me the secretary would call on Friday with my appointment.

So I am trying to lay low, and stay calm, but I admit to being frightened by the prospect of more surgery. Oh well, I guess until I know, there is nothing I can do, but wait. I have never been a good wait-er!

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. Pokemon Go…your thoughts? Are you playing? Do you even know what it is?

I do know what it is, but I simply haven’t got the time. After all, I can hardly keep up with Words With Friends! LOL 🙂

2. What was something you collected as a child? Do you still have that collection? If you’re a parent what’s something your own children collected? Have you ever camped out, stood in a crazy long queue, or paid a ridiculous sum for a ‘collectible’?

I collected Barbie Dolls. I had a little suitcase with all my dolls. I loved Barbie! Then one summer, my sister sponsored a young girl from Ireland. So, I gave them to her. There are times I wish I had kept them, but I still feel what I did was right.

3. “Collect moments, not things”…tell us about a moment you’ve added to your collection this summer.

I am trying to collect as many moments as I can with Quinn and Savannah. They both are growing and changing so much, so quickly. I wish we lived closer and I could see them more often.

4. What’s something collecting dust in your home right now? Any plans to do something about it?

I’m actually doing pretty well on that front. I did a big clothes clean out recently and donated to St. Vincent, and now I need to slowly work through a few more piles of things.

5. A favorite song relating to time?

Time in a Bottle by Jim Croce.

6. What’s been your most frightening or your most interesting encounter with wildlife?

Many years back now, I was walking one of the dackels outside after dark. All of a sudden I heard and saw a small black object running toward us. I grabbed up the dachshund and started to run, and when I reached the lighted portion of the yard I realized it was our neighbors Schipperke Dog! Kodiak. He was a sweet boy and really liked me and the dackels and Fritz. But that night, he scared me to death!

7. On July 20, 1969 Apollo 11 Commander Neil Armstrong set his foot down on the moon. If you could travel to the moon would you go? Why or why not?

Years ago, I might have, but I am well grounded now with my daughter, my grandchildren and of course my dear Hubby! No, earth is home, happily so!

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I’m taking my post from yesterday in to my Weight Watchers class to read. I sent it to my leader today and she loved it. So…wish me luck!

Cookie Madness!

Like all American girls, I grew up enjoying cookies, but my favorite cookie was always Oreos. In fact, they were my sister’s favorite too, and as she was older, and had babysitting jobs, she would buy a package and hide it in her underwear drawer.

Well, I was your normal, curious, baby sister (5 and a half years younger), and I would go in and “borrow” her cookies. To this day, I get teased unmercifully about this habit.

In my twenties, I wasn’t a cookie girl. In fact, I wasn’t a big sweets eater at all. That was until I met “Chip”.

After my daughter passed away, a well meaning neighbor, who owned a bakery, would bring over to our house, breads and cookies twice a week. I’ve always loved bread, but when I met her “Chocolate Chip”, having a small waistline was over!

I started eating “Chip” after breakfast, for a pick-me-up snack. Maybe one or two with tea in the afternoon. Then something happened. I started to feel really good after eating each cookie. It was so warm, soothing, and made the pain of my loss just a little more bareable.

Soon I was eating “Chip” for breakfast, a few more at lunch. And I was lost to the world of ooey-gooey chocolate chip wonderfulness.

You know how a package of cookies will give you a serving size of 2 cookies? Well, before I knew it, a serving size was like a pound of cookies.

Soon “Chip” brought friends home. Girl Scout Thin Mints became a favorite. A serving size was supposed to be 3 cookies. But heck a serving size soon became an entire sleeve.

I became a slave to chocolate goodness, to make me feel better. Store bought, bakery bought, it mattered not. As long as three of the ingredients were flour and chocolate and sugar, I was good. In a pinch I would accept cookie with no chocolate, but that was not my cookie of choice. Let’s face it, chocolate is God’s way of saying he loves us, right?

Soon, nothing fit me and I found myself in Sears, buying size 18 pants, to wear right then and there. Not bad, I thought. I still look okay.

Then one day, someone took a picture of me and I saw this woman I did not recognize. She looked as though she was related to the Pillsbury Dough Boy! Only there were smears of chocolate around her mouth!

I needed bigger clothes and since my wallet was empty (from buying cookies), I knew I had to do something, and do it fast!

I am a Chocolate, Cookie-A-Holic!

And that my friends, is how I came to be a member of Weight Watchers.

Friday Five

This was a slightly odd week for me all around. I found I had so much to do and not always a lot of time to get it done. So here we go, a wrap up for the week of July 11-15, 2016.

  1. We are still in the midst of a muggy, sticky, heat wave. Hubby and I have taken turns watering the garden and the patio pots, but some days, the poor plants really looked wilted.
  2. Weight Watchers was really good this week. I feel like  I have clicked into place and it seems easier to follow the plan. I have currently lost 13 pounds and I am feeling strong in my determination.
  3. Lili had her yearly Veterinarian visit, and it wasn’t nearly as horrible as I thought. She weighs 72 pounds, and is in very good health, despite having yeast infections in both ears. We will work on putting drops in her ears and hopefully get that under control. Then we need to figure out what she is allergic to.
  4. Anneliese was with us because my poor baby girl is having terrible skin problems. Her problems are also allergy, but not food related. She is probably allergic to grass, or pollen or something like that. She got a shot of Prednisone, and a prescription of antibiotics.
  5. I am off to see my grands today and to babysit. This is my favorite thing to do. My grandchildren are so special to me, and I feel so blessed to have them in my life.

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Have a wonderful weekend, everyone, and enjoy summer up here in the north! While our friends down under in Australia are freezing!

TBT: Katie In A Tree

We had gone to Rose Farm to pick apples and press cider, back in the summer of 1984. My sister and her family were with us. Before any of us knew it, Katie had climbed way up in the apple tree and we quickly took a picture.

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In later years I came to live at Rose Farm. By then I was divorced from my former husband, and had married Hubby, who was the owner of the farm. I loved it there. Acre upon acre of beautiful apple trees.

This & That

The weekend came and went incredibly fast. In fact, I am finding that the year 2016 to be going along far too fast. But most pleasantly so.

On Friday my cousin Janet, and her husband Dave, called at the last minute and asked if we were up for Lobster Fest 2016? Well, I will tell you one thing…I am always up for New England boiled Lobsters.

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They arrived in the afternoon, and Janet and I did some shopping up town. As it was Friday, and I live in a town well known for a tourist destination in the summer, the traffic was terrible. In fact, while we were in one shop, the fire whistle blew and police and rescue squads arrived. I saw a young policeman directing traffic around the accident.

My friend in the shop said that the police had answered another call a half hour before, in the same place. It was sheer madness, I tell you!

When we left the shop we headed down the road toward the traffic lights. As we pulled up next to the police car, I looked and saw the officer was very sad. I knew he had already responded to two traffic accidents and I could see the stress. I rolled my window down and said to him, “Officer. Thank you so much for your service to our community. Thank you for taking care of us.” He looked at me and he smiled. I hope to God I made him feel appreciated.  After the assassinations of the police officers in Dallas, I felt a kind word would be appreciated.

The Lobsters and Steamers were remarkably good, as was the fresh corn on the cob. I also made my grapenut pudding to serve as a little dessert.

It was so nice and relaxed and we all had a great time. Unfortunately, all too soon they had to hit the road to drive home.

Hubby and I finally purchased an Amazon Fire Stick, so we can stream various things on our smart TV. We used to be able to stream everything, but recently we got a notice from Amazon that they no longer supported our “Old TV”. We bought it in 2011.

So on Saturday we started at the very beginning of the show “Homeland”, with Clare Danes. She is remarkable, as are the other cast members. After two episodes, Hubby and I are hooked!

I hope you all had a great weekend. Enjoy it. Before you know, summer will be over!