Dackel Princess

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. What’s on your September calendar? Anything fun?

Yes. We’ll be doing a road trip to Dayton, Ohio to go to an Army Aviators Reunion. We have found a nice house/doggy sitter, who will live here full time while we are off. I feel lucky because many people have to go off to work, and she will be working on her college degree from our home.

Anyway, the trip and the Reunion should be a lot of fun. We plan to stop at The Christmas Story House in Cleveland. I can hardly wait.

2. You might be described as a natural born _____________________?

Cook. I love to cook and I seldom have any real disasters. But….to be honest, every once in a while, I can cook up a real dud!

3. September is National Courtesy Month…what one act of courtesy would you most like to see more of in your home, town, or the world at large?

I would like the first words out of peoples mouths to be kind words. It seems now a days the first words are nothing but hate and criticism.

4. Eager beaver, chicken out, clam up, or let the cat out of the bag…of the phrases listed, which one have you related to most recently?

Eager Beaver. I have been enjoying the company of my daughter, granddaughter, and friends. I am so eager to be out and about!

5. What’s your movie theatre snack protocol? Do you chow down on snacks during the previews or wait until the movie begins? Do you buy snacks or refuse to pay those kind of prices? What’s the last movie you saw in a theatre? How many thumbs up would you give it?

Gone Girl. That was the last movie we went out to see. I did not think it was all that great.

6. Henry Ford is quoted as saying, “Nobody can think straight who does not work. Idleness warps the mind.” Agree or disagree? Why?

I think you need to keep active both in the mind and body, if you are going to stay young.

7. What’s the last job you completed or task you performed where you had to ‘work like a dog’ until it was finished?

I made a gallon of homemade Chili from my own garden tomatoes, and a gallon of spaghetti sauce, also from my own fresh tomatoes. Between all the chopping and simmering and then getting ready for the freezer, I worked like a dog all day long!

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I’m still on cloud nine after watching Savannah yesterday. I cannot explain how wonderful it is to be a grandmother. I just love it!

Savannah & The Tea Party

Monday was a totally awesome day. I drove down to my daughter’s house early, to take care of Savannah, due to a day of teacher’s conferences.

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I packed my tea set, and things to make tea sandwiches, and cookies to bake with Savannah. From the moment I told her what we’d be doing, until after we had our party, were we non-stop doing food preparation.

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The best, was when she climbed up on a chair, and helped me with everything, from cutting out the cookies into little hearts, to using the cookie cutters to cut the sandwiches into various shapes and sizes.

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Soon we were able to sit down at the table and share our little tea party! What a wonderful time for Oma and her girl!

Our first attempt at a tea party was a great success!

End Of The Summer

The past weekend, the last in August, was simply perfect. The temperature was warm, and sunny with just a light breeze.

My town had an Artisan’s Craft Fair, and it was simply the best. My cousins, Janet and Dave were here on Sunday, and we three walked all over town, enjoying each and every Artisans booth. In fact they had the cutest necklaces with miniature maps under glass. And with the maps were something special about that place.

For instance, I bought two. The first is a map of Germany, and the small charm was a beer stein! It is amazing.

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The second one I got was of Barbados. That one came with a pair of leaping dolphins. Both these places hold a special place in my heart. 20150830_204005

We also had our end of the year, Lobster Party, complete with steamers and corn on the cob. Oh goodness!

It was amazingly good!

The picture is courtesy of my cousin, Janet!

The dogs really enjoyed it too. You see after we are done with the Lobster, I get the tamale, the eggs and all the wonderful juices, and allow the dackels and Lili to slurp and eat away!

I can definitely say that by the end, we all were stuffed!

The Mail, The Fair & Parking Places

Another day spent making jam, and spaghetti sauce. It kept me busy, but once again, in a very good way!

I also left here about 11:00 in the morning to go to the Post Office. Usually it’s a five minute round trip. Today, they were having a Street Fair and Main Street was closed to through Traffic.

So I drove the back roads to park near the Post Office, but not on Main Street. I thought I was good to go, except the Police had closed that street off to parking! And there was a police cruiser with a policeman in it, so leaving my car for even a second, was not an option.

I drove all around, and finally, after finding the entire town parked up, I found an empty space. Well, not empty, exactly, but the car was just about to pull out and I waited.

Still it was a good 1/2 mile to the Post Office, and all of it was up hill! I didn’t care because Saturday was a really beautiful day! Sunny, warm (not hot), and dry.

The walk was pleasant and on my way back to the car, I walked through the fair and checked it out. Tomorrow, my cousins are coming so we can go to the fair.

Oh yes, this great journey to get the mail produced one add from Princess Cruises. Worst of all, it was for cruises I am not really interested in.

Oh well, at least I got out on a lovely day!

Greta The Badger Dog!

Poor Lili lost her red ball last week. After a heavy rain, the ball went into the gully and down the drain pipe. Every day Lili went out and looked into the pipe for her ball.

Sadly she had not found it. Until….Greta was outside with Hubby and she was over by the drain and she climbed into the drain and found the ball!!! She came running out with the ball firmly in her teeth!

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Big little dog

Ah yes, my little badger-dog, Greta!

The Friday Five

It’s been a busy week for me. Now that my hand has healed I can once again do housework, wash dishes and cook without gloves. Oh joy! Here are five things happening in my life.

I had a disaster batch of Heavenly Peach Jam. I mean this stuff is so thick, it breaks your toast. At first Hubby wanted to throw it away, but I went online (from whence cometh all intrinsic answers to every problem), and discovered that if you open the jar, put the jelly into a heavy pot. Add a small amount of water and bring to a boil, the jam will become more pliable, and then put the jam in a clean jar, cover and put into the fridge. I tried this, and it worked. Still giving my cousin some, as she likes to use this as a glaze on her pork roast.
I went through the entire week installing all my information on Internet Explorer. I have used Firefox forever, but recently, it started to freeze up, a lot. After 5 days of using IE, I am back to Firefox. Neither one is perfect, but Firefox has most of what I need.
I think I have found a couple of house sitters for the dogs. One lives on our street and he will be great for the short times, like when we go to Mandy’s house for the day. The other is a graduate student, who will be good for all day and overnights, you know, the longer trips. This is so important, as I want to travel a bit more with Hubby this year!
I finally got the ladder in and while Hubby steadied it, climbed up and cleaned all around the skylight. It was a good thing to do, as after a while, it really needed a good scrubbing!
I’m babysitting for Savannah on Monday! Yay! Call me one thrilled Oma!

The Sadness

I was watching TV this morning, when there was a news alert: Two reporters in Roanoke, Virginia, had been shot and killed while doing a live interview on the early morning news. A reporter, Alison Parker, 24, and a cameraman, Adam Ward, 27, were the victims.

They were not sure who could have done such a heinous thing, at first, but then a somewhat blurry picture was released of the gunman.

I said to Hubby, that the picture was good enough, that people would be able to make his face out, and know who he was.

In less than an hour, they knew who it was. A former, disgruntled employee, that had been fired nearly two years ago. From all accounts, he was difficult to get along with and was a disruptive presence at the TV station, which led to his dismissal.

And then, for two years he waited. He waited and he planned and obtained a gun and illegal bullets, and planned again. The biggest question now is, how did he know they were doing the live interview at this shopping area at 6:45 AM on Wednesday?

I guess it doesn’t really matter now. We cannot bring back those two wonderful, young, lives. And the shooter is dead, having taken his own life, once he felt that he had finally been the center of attention on the TV and the Internet.

Yes, this very sick man, filmed himself shooting these innocent people and then posted it to Facebook. They got it down pretty quickly, but the segment is out there.

I told Hubby that what bothers me, is that this man was criminally insane, and should have been in a mental health facility long ago. However, the USA, in all their progressiveness, no longer does anything for the truly mentally ill.

Men and women like this man, are out these and will commit terrible crimes against humanity just because our country is failing to protect our communities from criminally insane people.

What Hubby wants to know is, how this TV station could have hired such a troubled man, who had been released from 6 other stations before being let go by this one.

My heart aches for the family and friends of Alison and Adam. Their lives should not have ended doing a live interview at 6:45 in the morning.

My 4000th Post

Today is my 4000th posting on Dackel Princess! In 15 years it has been a joy for me to write each day and share my world with all of you! Thank you for reading and commenting!

1. It’s hard to believe, but next week’s Hodgepodge will find us in the month of September. What’s one thing you want, need, or hope to do still before summer officially ends?

Have our Lobster Bake with my cousins, Janet & Dave. They are coming up on Sunday and we will share a wonderful New England Lobster meal!

2. When were you last at ‘your wit’s end’?

Yesterday. It seemed no matter what I was doing, nothing was coming out right. Frustration mounted, and at one point I just broke down into tears!

3. Describe a time you were figuratively thrown into ‘the deep end’?

I think with the cancer surgery and repair afterward. I do not think anything could have prepared me for that. I felt like I was tossed into the deep end of the pool, and it was sink or swim. Fortunately, I am a strong swimmer!

4. Does the end always, ever, or never justify the means? Explain.

No. I believe in following the rules and doing things honestly. It may take longer, it may be harder, but in the end, I will be proud of my efforts.

5. What makes your hair stand on end?

A serious thunder and lightening storm. Not a fan. My cousin, Janet loves them, but they make me nervous. Imagine my scare when lightening hit the transformer outside my home in Florida! I was lying on the sofa one moment and on the floor the next!

6. I read an article on the website Eat This! Health, that listed 11 foods we can eat to help end bad moods. Basically it’s a feed your brain so you’re less anxious, grouchy and lethargic. The foods are-mussels, swiss chard, blue potatoes, grass fed beef, dark chocolate, greek yogurt, asparagus, honey, cherry tomatoes, eggs, and coconut. Which of those do you think would most help end your own bad mood? Which do you fear, if forced to eat, would put you into a bad mood?

All of the above would put me in a good mood, and since I am a lifetime member of Weight Watchers I will tell you that since I am a food-a-holic there is not much that makes me get into a bad mood. Maybe collard greens, but that is about it!

7. What project around your home, office, or life in general feels like there is ‘no end in sight’?

Painting. I need to repaint the entire interior of the house, as well as the trim on the outside. I’m thinking I will hire someone for the outside, but the inside I think I can handle!

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Me 15 years ago with my Shubi, when I started Dackel Princess.

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greta

Greta.

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Arnie..

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Anneliese

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Lili

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And me, 15 years later.

This & That

On Monday I harvested 22 Ichiban Eggplant and made a second eggplant lasagna. It came out really well, but even I get a little tired of it after a few meals!

So, I am cutting it into individual servings and putting it in the freezer for a quick mid-winter meal. I do the same when I break down and make regular lasagna.

Hubby and I watched the Stock Market open and crash this morning, making us very happy that we are in simple Money Markets right now. I feel pretty sad for people whose retirement savings has been affected.

Greta continues to be a little snuggle bug. Imagine that at the age of 11 years old! She sure has mellowed in her golden years!

Arnie and Anneliese, at the age of 8, are both at that perfect age. They love to be out, running around, and their behavior is really good. Most of all, they just adore each other. I guess that is the way it is with Litter-Mates.

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It’s been a joy to watch them grow up together!

El Jimador

I have lived in this area for 16 years, and we have yet to find a local Mexican Restaurant that was any good. That was, until last night.

When we arrived at El Jimador, the parking lot was full and as we were shown to our seat, I glanced at what people were eating. It all looked good!

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Four of us went and each of us ordered a wonderful meal. My husband started off his meal with Sopa De Pollo, a wonderful chicken soup! We all tasted it and declared it marvelous!

Between us we ordered a Taco Salad, Steak Fajitas, Chile Relleno, a Tamale, Enchilada and a Beef Burrito. The portions were more than generous, and we brought home what was leftover for our lunch tomorrow.

The décor was nice, the staff was friendly and efficient, and we can hardly wait to go back. It is so nice when you find these places right in your back yard!