Author: Dackel Princess

Friday Five

It’s Friday again. Here is my Friday Five.

  1. I am off to Mandy’s house to see her and Quinn.

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    When Savannah was born I drove down frequently to bond with her, and I am trying to do the same with Quinn. Those early months are so important.

  2. Tomorrow is our 28th wedding anniversary. Be sure to check back to see a short montage of our 28 years together.
  3. I am worried about Greta. She is having a few health issues, that I am worried about. I called my Vet yesterday, and she will go in on Monday for a full blood and urine panel.
  4. Did you ever find something at Job Lots and not been able to find it again? Well, we found a wonderful New England Clam Chowder and unfortunately when we went back to get more they were all out. We spoke to the manager, and he told us that if we still had a can, to bring it in and he would scan it and see if there were any more in our area. We did, and he found 5 of them for us, and they will be in on Saturday! In case you are wondering the brand, it is Bookbinders New England Clam Chowder.
  5. We have been out to eat the last two days, and on Saturday we will be out again. Nice, I know, but here is the problem. When I eat a large meal at lunch, I don’t want to eat at dinner. Hubby, on the other hand, always wants to eat proper meals.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

TBT: Greta’s First Litter

December 5, 2006. Greta, pregnant with her first litter of pups. She was HUGE! A few days later on December 10, 2006, she gave birth to one boy (Arnie) and four girls (Anja, Anita, Angelicka and Anneliese).

big belly

Here she is with her babies right after her delivery. Greta was an incredible mother to the 10 pups she gave birth to, before I retired her.

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And here she is with baby Anneliese.

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Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. What does retirement mean to you? Are you planning for it, not thinking about it, looking forward to it, or dreading it?

Hubby’s been retired now for almost 18 years. The first two years were tough. Being married to a pilot, I had my own life going on, and suddenly he was home, wanting me to cook three meals a day and sort of cater to him. This took a lot of adapting to.

Now I miss him terribly when we are apart. We do almost everything together, and yes, I am still cooking all his meals.

2. It’s International Guitar Month…do you play? Does anyone in your family play? What’s a song you especially like to hear played on the guitar or a favorite song featuring the guitar?

I don’t play, but my cousin, Dave plays beautifully, and his grandson, Isaiah is learning to play!

3. What’s your comfort food?

What isn’t? I guess chocolate in almost any shape or form. Although, home made bread warm from the oven, with real butter does it for me too!

4. What’s one activity or area of your life where you absolutely never procrastinate?

Is there one? Well, going to see my grandchildren. Never procrastinate. Life is too short. I spend as much time as I can with my darlings! How blessed am I, to be the Oma of two happy, healthy, and beautiful grandchildren!

Grandchildren

 

5. Who does the grocery shopping in your house? Does your local store bag the groceries for you or is it a do-it-yourself kind of place? Do you like someone packing your groceries?

 

We both do. Hubby is great picking out meats and vegetables. I am great at all the isle stuff. I am almost to the point where I want to pack my own, because I have had grocery baggers squash my bread, load the bags to 50 pounds(!) and put my tomatoes in a bag under my canned goods!

 

6. What’s the coolest thing you’ve seen in nature?

 

The birth of Anneliese’s first litter, back in 2009. Everything went perfectly and four beautiful pups came into this world!

 

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April 30 Anneliese and her children 

 

7. Share a favorite quote about home.

 

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8. Insert your own random thought here.

Mother Nature was pretty screwed up yesterday and we had snow falling almost all day. In the end only a couple inches fell, but now we will have to go through mud season all over again!

Greta Is An Old Lady Now

A while back I noticed that at night, Greta was having a problem with minor leaking incontinence. I called my Vet to ask if I could do anything. She told me about some pills to use to help strengthen her sphincter.

Greta

I went and got a prescription from her and came home and gave Greta her first dose. A few hours later, I thought I might lose my dog.

Greta began to cry and to pace back and forth. She could not sit still, and her cries became louder and more pathetic. I tried to hold her to comfort her, but nothing I did helped. I got no sleep that night as I was too busy praying for my little dog to be okay.

In the morning, I read all I could about Proin and found out that this is really a nasty medication, that is no longer available for people (Dexatrim) and many pet owners wrote in about the ill effects on their pets.

I swear by all that is holy, I will not give Greta another one of these tablets! I got out her old seasonal (estrus) panties and a Kotex pad and I put these on her at night. I put a plastic sheet under her doggy bed, and she now lies in her bed, on my bed and everyone is happy.

The Medical Reports Are In

Yesterday I had my yearly skin check with my Dermatologist. I stripped down naked, and was scanned top to toe and got a clean bill of health! No cancer, not even a questionable area. See you in a year!

Then I went over to the Medical Center for my next appointment, but stopped to grab some lunch beforehand. This was a full Glaucoma screening, and I had about half an hour before hand to eat.

I splurged. I had one fabulous slice of Sbaro cheese pizza. It has been forever since I have had pizza. I think the last time was when Mandy had Pizza for Savi’s 2nd birthday. Note to self. Pizza is good in small amounts.

While I ate I texted with my cousin, Janet and called Hubby to check in. It was a nice long relaxing lunch. I know, 30 minutes doesn’t seem long, but when you are alone, 30 minutes is plenty of time.

So, after I went up stairs to meet the Glaucoma Specialist. First I had a series of three tests. The most tedious being the visual field. Oh my goodness, that was so boring, and although the technician said I did well, I will tell you, my brain felt fried by the end.

The Technicians were all terrific. Especially the Visual Field Tech. She was a hoot. Once these preliminary tests were done I was taken to an exam room.

Now I must say that I go to a pretty large and important Medical Center in our area. It is a teaching hospital, and all the doctors wear dress clothes with their white coats. After 16 years of being a patient there, I am used to this. In fact, I sort of like it, and it makes me feel secure. (Crazy right?)

Well my new doctor came in wearing a jersey cotton jogging suit! He seemed quite nice, but made a few sort of off color political jokes (He is Canadian) and I felt a wee bit uncomfortable.

However, on the good side of all of this, is the fact that I came through with flying colors. No Glaucoma! I think the reasons that my Retinal Surgeon wanted to rule this out was the fact that my family history is very strong. My sister has had this for over ten years, and she has had surgery on her eyes twice.

Thank you to God, that for once I don’t have something!

Friday Five

The week raced by me, as I was pretty busy and not paying attention to much. Actually I was paying attention to a few things, but somehow sitting down and writing about them just didn’t happen. So here are 5 things from my week.

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  1. The most important thing was that I got to drive down, visit with my daughter and grandson, and hold sweet Quinn in my arms. He is three weeks old now, but still curls into the fetal position, and snuggles warmly against your heart. He has the fairest of blondish/reddish hair and very light eyes. So very handsome. I held this little guy close to me and my heart grew three sizes at least! Being an Oma to two beautiful and healthy children is a dream come true for me.
  2. My daughter is looking wonderful. Quinn’s birth was tough on her, but she finally has color back in her cheeks and is feeling better. I will tell you that I admire my daughter so much. Amanda is an amazing woman!
  3. I need a root canal. I am not happy about it, (who is) but I trust my Endodontist so much, that I am not worried about it too much. Trust me, I am looking forward to the end of pain.
  4. My little old Lady Greta is having a few little health problems and I have spent more time at the Vet’s this week than I really wanted. However, I understand that this is a problem I can take care of with daily medication. Greta is my girl and I will do anything to make her life happier and healthier.
  5. Today is skin cancer screening day. I will go over, strip naked, and have my entire body checked. My Dermatologist is a lovely lady, and I have every confidence in her.

So, it’s been a busy week, and I am looking forward to a rather quiet and relaxed weekend. I have a few small projects to work on, but I also would like to enjoy some reading time and some movie time.

Whatever your weekend plans may be, I hope you have a really good time!

Easter

Easter cross flowers birds

Easter came to us over the weekend. I do not often talk about my spirituality, but I will tell you, that I am a devout Christian. I have believed in the love of Jesus Christ all my life, and I do believe that he died for us, and one day, I will dwell in the afterlife, in the house of the Lord.

John 14:2 King James Version
“In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.”

Many of the difficult times in my life, when I would have fallen by the wayside, I got through, because of my faith.

John 3:16 King James Version
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

I spent Easter, with Hubby, and the two of us spoke of life, the world, and the challenges facing us all. Most things I am powerless to change. But I can pray to God for his care for all of our world.

I hope your Easter was spent with family and with love in your hearts. Oh yes, and perhaps a little chocolate too!

Friday Five

The Hubby Edition

Time is flying by. In short order, March will be over and with the start of April, Hubby and I will celebrate 28 years of marriage. It still amazes me. Not that we have been married that long, but well, it has flown by, and it seems like just the other day that we said “I Do.”

jack Birthday

So here’s my Friday Five: The Hubby Edition.

  1. I’ve known Hubby a long time. We were friends for years, before our first marriages ended and even then, it took a while for us to date.
  2. One thing I learned from this is that friendship is so important in a long term relationship. I cannot imagine being with someone for this long, if I didn’t like them too!
  3. No matter if I am home, or traveling around the world, Hubby is the first person I want to speak with in the morning, and the last person I want to talk to at night.
  4. Hubby was there for me as a friend, when no one else was. He didn’t tell me what to do, or anything. He listened. This taught me a great lesson. There will be times in your life that being a good listener is the greatest gift you can give.
  5. With this man, I have finally understood what real love is. I thought I knew, but real love is a combination of so many things. And I have been lucky enough to find this deep and abiding love, with my Hubby.

TBT: Back In Time

Recently I heard of the plans for my High School’s 40th Reunion. Forty Years since we graduated from school!

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My High School graduation picture.

How on earth did that happen? It seems like just yesterday that we were carefree kids on Cape Cod. Going to school September through June and then the summers…the summers on the Cape growing up, were so magical.

In my youth Mom would pack a cooler with sandwiches and soda’s and we had another bag with blankets and towels,  and Mom’s latest read.

We would walk down to the beach from our house, a mere five minute walk, and stay the day. As a real little one I took swimming lessons, but God made me a fish, and before I knew it I literally lived in the water until my lips were blue and Mom would pull me out to warm up.

In my teens I worked part time at various things. Baby sitting, as a shoe store clerk, and in a stationary shop. But there was always time for my greatest love. The Ocean.

So, I was thinking about going to this year’s event. I’m not one to spend money on myself, but this is important. I want to see some of these people, and I want to visit my hometown again.

A classmate arranged for descent hotel rooms at one of the local Inns. I snagged a single room, very small, just for me. Having never done anything like this before, I plan to go and do the things I want to do.

There are walks I want to take, a specific drive I want to make and people I want to stop and see. Most of all, I want to take some time, quietly, just for me. Something I never do.