Dackel Princess

Sunsets & Stuff

Monday was kind of a crazy day. Not that I was really busy, but that I got bogged down doing things like laundry, changing sheets and general household stuff. Mundane crap, but it must be done.

I watched quite a bit of the Wimbledon Tennis and I have really been enjoying that. Direct TV has a sports package that we subscribe to and so we get all the matches. I love this!

The sunsets here have been amazing the last few nights. Bright pinks, red, and oranges!

I hope you are having a great week, Everyone!

The Fourth On The Fifth

Sunday was such a nice day. At least once we got to Mandy and Matt’s house. The way it started, at our home, left me wondering if the day was, in fact, jinxed! Let me start at the beginning.

Saturday night was the 4th of July here in America. That means LOTS of fireworks. And this year it seemed every one had them, and the noise started at about 7 PM and went well into the night.

All I can say about that is…poor Lili. The sweetie is terrified of the noises and I feared she would have a complete breakdown!

By this morning I had hoped she would be feeling better, but she was not. She was following me, right under my feet. I was attempting to get ready to go to the party when she got under my feet, between my knees and I fell both forward and back, hitting the floor very hard.

I was furious! And upset, and everything hurt!

But poor Lili was just terrified, and came to me for comfort. The end result was not what she expected, or me for that matter!

Then we packed the car, got Lili settled in her room, with fresh water, her favorite toy and a brand new bone.

We had the air conditioning set, and curtains drawn, as our weather forecast was for very hot weather.

After a short drive down, we arrived just in time to watch Mandy and Savi swimming, and Matt finishing up mowing the lawn.

We quickly changed into our suits and I went right in. I love to play in the pool with Savi!

Hubby!

Matt’s parent’s arrived, then our cousins, Janet and Dave. The party members were complete!

We drank wine, ate nuts and pop corn and suddenly it seemed lunch was ready. Hot dogs, hamburgers, stuffed eggs, potato salad, fruit salad and a wonderful mango/bean/quinoa salsa. Mandy also made cupcakes and cake

Cheeseburgers

Mango,bean and quinoa salsa

Everything was great. The company even better, and even though the afternoon raced by, it was a relaxed and wonderful one.

Fruit salad

Janet floating and sipping and Dave living the good life!

We started home a little earlier than normal, because we were worried about LIli. And I am glad we did. I think every man, woman, and child in New Hampshire is shooting off fireworks once again tonight. Poor Lili has found a dark tight space in the hallway and is hiding.

But it was a wonderful day, and I managed to stay off the floor and out of trouble for the rest of the day. I even sceduled in a hot bath to soak my slightly aching body.

Life, my friends, is so very good!!!

Our 4th

I went out to the store early and decided to splurge and get Lobster for Hubby and I for our celebration for the 4th of July.

I didn’t tell Hubby, and I waited until he went out to work on the fruit trees before getting it all ready.

Lobster, boiled Calfornia New Potatoes and Corn on the Cob! A perfect holiday meal. I even went one step further and bought champagne to toast to our country’s Independence!

Aside from all that, the day was quiet, and I worked on getting the eggs ready for tomorrow. Mandy is having a cookout, and I am bringing deviled eggs. Those and some fancy nuts, and my own bread and butter pickles!

I love it when holidays get stretched over a few days!

Sweet!

Last night was something very special. I was babysitting my granddaughter, Savannah, and when the time came to go to bed, she was reluctant to go to bed in her room.

“Can I sleep with you, Oma?” she asked.

Sure. After getting our nightgowns on, we went up to the guest room, and I read three stories. One was very funny, because it was about Mr. & Mrs. Birdie who find an egg in their nest and feel they must adopt it. After weeks of keeping it warm, their baby birdie is born, and it is an allagator! It’s a sweet story, and fortunately the allagator is a friendly one!

Soon it was time for lights out, and all we had was the glimmer of light from the hallway. Savi played silouettes against the wall with her hands, and then she finally settled in, and slowly, but surely, her breathing became light and regular, as she drifted off to sleep.

I lay on my side, watching her sweet face. Her long eye lashes gently brushed her cheeks. Her lips were puckered like a cupie doll. Her hands lay on her chest and I noticed the little dimples across her hands.

I think I must be the luckiest Oma on the face of the earth!

Great Day

So Thursday was a great day. The weather was perfect for a lovely drive to my daughter’s house. I stopped at a grocery store and picked up a few things, and got to their place at lunch time. We girls had Lobster and Matt had a steak. Then we all put on our swimsuits and went into the pool.

Savannah had on her life jacket swimsuit and today she worked with Daddy and Mommy and she learned to kick her feet and move through the water! She was in the pool for two hours and she was working so hard.

Mandy and Matt left for some time out and Savi and I played dolls, ate dinner and then it got very quiet. Seems Miss Savannah climbed up on the sofa and fell asleep. She is such a sweetheart.

I head home after breakfast and will stop for a few things along the way.

TGIF!!!!

TBT: Arnie & Anneliese Age 3 Months

Here they are, my babies, Arnie in the front and Anneliese in the back. Just 3 months old. They’re Greta’s babies, so we have had them since the moment they took their first breaths. I cannot tell you how special that is.

Viruses

All was going very well, with my learning about my Smart Phone, when I thought I would add a program to my laptop to go between the two devices.

That’s when the problems began.

I suddenly had windows popping up and downloading things and I tried to X out these boxes but nothing was working. Even Norton Antivirus couldn’t deal with it.

In my terror, I shut down the computer, and called my computer guru, Brad. I got his answering machine and tried to explain. I am certain I was incoherent with the worry!

He called me back a while later (the longest few hours of my life!) and is going to pick up the machine and work on it at home. Hopefully he can start it in safe mode and get rid of the viruses and get my little baby (laptop) up and running.

Meanwhile, I am using our really old desktop computer in our very hot office. But it’s something, right?

Things That Go Bump…

Our property taxes were due last week, and since I believe in leaving our money in our account until the last second, I wound up in a long line of town’s folk, also paying taxes.

Let’s face it. No one enjoys writing that check to the town. Especially when we get very little in the way of services here.

So, there I was, waiting, when an office worker in flip flops walked by and stubbed her toe on a bench. I steadied her and asked if she was okay?

She looked down and not seeing any blood determined that she was just fine. I was happy for her.

But this reminded me of an incident on our last cruise, and somehow, before I knew it, I was sharing the story with the group.

“On our last trip, I got up pretty early, and grabbed my Kindle, slipped on my sandals and went to the 24 hour buffet to have some tea and read, in the quiet of the early morning. I love it then, because no one else is there and it is absolutely silent.

After a couple of hours, I went back to our cabin to wake up Hubby, and walking in to the dark room, I went over near the sofa, and SMASH! I stubbed my index toe on the wooden sofa leg.

I did a silent scream, not wanting to wake Hubby, and then sat down quietly to look at my email. Oh my goodness, that toe hurt something fierce!

Eventually Hubby woke up and we turned on the light and oh my! That toe was a bloody mess! The nail was torn off, there was blood all over my sandal, and suddenly the pain was even worse!

I soaked it in the tub, and then doctored it up, using all the supplies I brought for such an event, because….I am always doing weird stuff like that!

I wore my sneakers after that, and protected my toe, as I hobbled around on our shore excursion, (in St. Kitts) and doused the pain liberally with Caribbean Rum!

No, I do not do pain well. If I get even a hangnail, I want a morphine drip!”

At that, the Tax Collector burst out laughing, as did a couple of tax payers in line.

It made me smile for the rest of the day. I love to make people laugh, even if I have to break a nail to do it!

The rest of the story is, that nail has not grown back. I’m afraid I shall be nail-less on that toe until my final days! Ah well, that’s one less nail to trim and paint!

Weekend Wrap-up

The weekend seemed to fly by for us. Saturday, couldn’t have been more beautiful. Pleasantly mild temperatures and bright sunshine. The kind of day that you think would be perfect if every summer day was like that!

But then on Sunday we made up for it with over an inch of rain, and dark skies. That’s okay, it saved me from having to water the garden.

Of course this type of rainy, gloomy weather, makes one feel tired and like all you want to do is curl up and take a nap.

However, that was not to be. The murderer who escaped three weeks ago was finally caught. His partner was caught and killed on Friday, and he was wounded, but take alive today.

I’m feeling relieved. I hate to think of anyone getting hurt. These two convicts had proven that they did not care one bit about anyone. So the fact that they were apprehended with no innocent blood spilt is a very good thing.

I went up to bring my neighbor her mail and newspapers, after she returned from a short trip. As we sat gabbing we turned and in the field in back of her house, we say the most beautiful Doe and her twin fawns.

(Photo courtesy of my friend, Tina!)

They were so small, it was obvious they were very young. It was so beautiful that it took my breath away.

It was also a great way to end my weekend. Being reminded of the beauty of nature, and how lucky I am to live in such a wonderful rural area.

Have a great week everyone!

Happy Birthday Mom

Today my Mom would have turned 86 years old.

She was born Rosamond Ruth Prussman, to parents Frederick and Mary.

She had a much loved older brother Robert and a cousin George, who grew up like a brother to her. In fact, until the day they passed, Mom and Uncle George really adored each other.

Mom’s brother, Robert and his wife Cynthia.

Aunt Betty, Larry, Janet and Uncle George.

She met my Dad when she was 13 and was dancing and my Dad played the piano. I asked Dad once what made him look twice at Mom and he said “It was a bright red sweater that she had! She looked so beautiful in it! I was hooked!”

A collage of their life together.

They married early on, and Dad finished getting his teaching degree. They moved to Monument Beach, Massachusetts ,

and lived in a little white cottage in the Burton-wood section, where my brother, Richard and my sister Melodie were born.

They moved to Falmouth, Massachusetts and shortly after, Mom had me.

Thanks Mom!

Mom was a stay at home Mom, and she worked hard to make our home a happy one. There were always hot meals on our table and birthday cakes, Thanksgiving Turkeys and Christmas dinners.

My parent’s were married for well over 60 years.

Mom was with him until the end. She never remarried. I think in her mind and her heart she was always Jimmie’s girl!

Mom loved all of her family. Grandchildren and great grandchildren, nieces and nephews. Her pocketbook was full of our pictures, and she would tell anyone who asked about all of her kids.

Her last days were spent, not in fear of dying, no, Mom knew Christ and she knew she would see Dad again. She just worried about Mel and me.

Me, Mel & Janet with Mom.

The last time we were together before Mom was diagnosed with Liver Cancer. It was at the wedding of my niece Jin and her husband, Ian. Mom was so happy. I almost didn’t go because of my facial surgery, but I am so glad I did now.

The last time I saw her, we sat there, with Janet and the four of us were talking quietly. I asked Mom how we would know if she was with us. She smiled and said “You will see butterflies, and that will be me.”

And you know what? We see beautiful butterflies all the time. And we smile!

Family Party June 26, 2010 027

Happy Birthday, Mom!