Dackel Princess

Fixing The Ice

This morning Hubby and I noticed that there were two snow blowing tractors on the lake in front of our house. Now I’m used to seeing Ice Houses (Bob Houses) out there for the ice fishermen, but this was something new.

These suckers are real big boys, and they probably weigh a ton! I’m always concerned about things going through the ice, but apparently it has been cold enough, long enough to really thicken the ice out there.

In any case, they are preparing the ice for the Pond Hockey Tournament that begins the first weekend in February. Hockey teams from all over the Northeast will converge on my little town and play until a champion is crowned.

It’s a lot of fun, really. Local restaurants set up small trailers and sell things like hot cocoa, fish cakes, crab cakes and of course hot dogs and sausages.

When I’ve gone I have always worn my ice guards as I do not want to fall. One year a friend of mine thought she would ice skate around. Well, it ended badly and she was in an arm cast and sling for several months. Quite honestly, if I go down with my ice treads, I am considering also bringing a ~~walker~~ ski pole.

It is one of the wonders of living in the north during the winter. New Englanders are a great group of people. We find reasons, during all four seasons to do things that celebrate being outside!

Weekend Wrap-Up

Well, let’s stow the football jerseys for another year. The Patriot’s (New England’s Football team) lost their playoff game. They will not be going to the Super Bowl. So, here in New England, we are grieving and for us, the football season is over!

I admit to some swearing and screaming, but well, the guys never called me for advice, so the loss is a loss and the season is over.

It’s now five and a half weeks since my spinal surgery. All in all, I am doing very well. I go back on Tuesday for my xrays, and after surgery exam. That’s when I learn if all was successful and I hope I will get pictures of my implant.

So life is good, I’m feeling stronger every day and before long I will be back to my old self. Perhaps even better because the neck is in order.

Happy Monday!

Learning?

So here is a picture of Lili that I put i with HTML code, and then used the HTML adjustment for pictures. So far it is working. Now, lets try another.

Here is Greta’s picture. I hope when I check it will also have been correct. She sure is a sweetie. Currently she is sitting next to me under the covers.

Me, Mandy and her sister, Ally.

(Yay, got it figured out!)

Learning WordPress

I’ve been trying to learn how to use the latest edition of WordPress for the blog. All I can say is, either I am doing it all wrong (which is totally possible) or the program is a piece of crap! (Which I am hoping because then it would be WordPress’s fault and not mine!)

My biggest problem is inserting my Flickr pictures into the posts. Previously, I could add them, center them and life was good. But now, the program takes over, and my pictures wind up with lots of entry problems.

I seem to spend a lot more time than I ever have setting up the page the way I want. Nice and neat, with my pictures nicely centered.

Does anyone else use Word Press? What’s the easiest way to add pictures from another account, like Flickr?

Here is a picture from Savannah taken last summer, that I am trying to embed, in the center of the page. Let’s just see if I can!

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On the draft page it looks correct, but on the web-site it comes out wrong. Eeeeeek!

The Friday Five

It’s been a quiet week since I came down with my first cold of the winter. I have slept a lot, gone through more tissues than I care to count and drank so much juice, I felt like I would float away. But here are 5 things that actually felt good during my recovery.

Naps. Naps are good! I took a one hour nap each day and it was just enough to make me feel a little stronger and a little better each day.
Tea. Honestly, is there anything that a good cup of tea can’t cure? I think not! I just love tea.
Kleenex plus lotion. These tissues are treated with a drop of lotion, so that my nose has stayed perfectly unchapped and not red at all! This was an accidental buy, but I will keep a box in the house all the time to have on hand for colds.
It’s been frozen and icy and I have felt no reason to go out in this weather. Best part, I do not feel like I have missed anything!
I just need to take the next few days to finish recovering from this cold, because on Tuesday I go to see my Neurosurgeon for my first post operative visit. I can hardly wait!

TBT: Arnie & Anneliese

I was looking at old puppy pictures this week, remembering when Greta had her first litter. Arnie and Anneliese were her first babies in that litter, and our relationship with them is unlike any other we have had with our dogs.

Arnie is on the bottom with the blue collar, and Anneliese is on top to the right in the green collar. The yellow collar was Anita, and the pink was Angelika and the perky red collar was Anja. All are still living good lives, except Anja. She escaped her owner and was hit by a car the first year. Too bad. She was a sweet puppy.

Anneliese & Arnie

Anneliese Age 8 3/4

Anneliese age 9. Arnie age 9.

I Got A Cold In My Nose, Oh….

A year ago, I bought 4 boxes of tissues that were treated with lotion. I was furious because they make a real mess when you try to clean your glasses.

But today, I am so happy to have these boxes. Why? Because I woke with a really bad head cold. I must have blown my nose a gazillion times today and thanks to the Kleenex, my nose is not all raw and sore.

I really have been pretty healthy now for a bit. I have not had a cold in a long while. I really detest them though. All that nose blowing and still being stuffed up!

Ah well, I am drinking gallons of water and juice and hopefully by tomorrow I will be feeling better.

The Shower, In Pictures

My week started out quite happily. After actually pulling off the surprise baby shower with my daughter’s friends and family, I arrived back home on Sunday afternoon. I was still filled with adrenaline from all the plotting and planning, and Lili was a somewhat naughty girl Sunday night, barking and keeping me awake, so when I woke on Monday morning I was feeling really tired.

I made hubby his three meals, and did two loads of laundry, changed the sheets, and about 3 o’clock in the afternoon, while watching it snow, I just hit the exhaustion wall and wanted nothing more than to watch a movie, snuggle the dackels and cuddle under the blanket with them.

The shower was wonderful and Mandy was surprised. She’d been told she was going to a Patriot’s football party!

Matt did his part, which was getting her to Sara’s house, despite the bad weather conditions. And I was so happy because, all but one person made it to the shower! That meant so much to Mandy, and to me as well.

Here we are the mighty conspirators. We sure do love Mandy and wanted more than anything to celebrate her baby boy!

I loved how we decorated and how it all came together. We’d been planning this, since Mandy found out that her baby was a boy and all was well. There were many kids at this event and I think they had just as much fun as we did. They watched (and helped) the presents get opened, and they played and ran about, but always in a nice way. What great kids everyone has!

Now Mandy’s baby boy, has plenty of diapers, real manly sort of onesie baby outfits, and the bassinet and swing to keep him happy.

The cake was made by my sister, Melodie. Not only did it look adorable, but it was the best, moistest, chocolate cake that I have ever had! She is so skilled as a baker and a designer!

There was not one piece left at the end of the shower! I did manage to save one piece of the cake for Sara’s husband, who had been so wonderful helping us get ready for the shower! My sister also crocheted a beautiful blanket for the baby. She’s made one for Savannah, way back for her crib and now baby boy will have this beauty.

So now we all sit back and wait for the little lad to make his arrival, sometime at the end of February, or beginning of March!

Oh, Baby

Yesterday we had a Sprinkle Baby Shower for my daughter, Mandy.

The food was planned, cooked, and laid out, despite waking up to ice, rain, ice and then snow, all but one guest made the trip to Nashua for the surprise party.

We played wonderfully silly Baby Shower games, the kids played like crazy and the guys watched the Patriots Football playoff game in the man cave below.

Toward the end of the shower, most of us ladies were also cheering the game on! I love the Patriots, and really enjoy watching the playoffs.

My daughter is a bigger fan than I, and never misses a game!

The shower was so much fun as we were buying little boy things for his first year.

I am spending the night with Mandy and Matt and Savannah, as the roads are just, as we say in New England, “wicked icy”.

I called Hubby to check in and apparently it is worse further north, where I live.

I will add pictures tomorrow after I get home.

Friday Five

Another week has gone by. I’m now four weeks out of surgery, and doing pretty well. I have discovered a few new things and here is my list.

I cannot sit in a hair stylists wash chair and lean back to get my hair washed. It seems my neck doesn’t bend that way any more.
I was able to kneel in the chair and hold my head over the sink, but honestly, that was tough too.
Holding my arms over my head for more than a few minutes is painful! I’m just not there yet.
I am cooking, doing laundry and feeding the dogs again.
And the office…yes, the office will be finished next week. Then I start on the next room!