Dackel Princess

25 Things About Me

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
My Grandmother Mary and My Aunt Betty.

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
Today. What can I say, I a weeper!

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
Nope.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?
Roast beef sliced thinly.

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
Yes.
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
I’d like to think so.

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM?
Unfortunately yes.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?
Nope!

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
NEVER! Read my lips, NEVER!

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?
Honey Nut Cheerios.

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
No, unless I have to.

12. FAVORITE SOUND(S).
Children laughing as they play at the beach

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?
Ben and Jerry’s Cherry Garcia

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?
Their eyes.

15. RED OR PINK?
Depends. Lately red

16. WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?
My hips!

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?
Katie

18. FAVORITE PIECE OF JEWELRY?
Engagement ring. It was my grandmothers.

19. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?
I raise great dogs!

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
Tennis

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
Sky blue

23. FAVORITE SMELLS?
Lilacs, campfires, baking bread, bacon cooking, coffee

24. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?
Beatles, by far!

25. FAVORITE FOODS?
Dark chocolate!

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. What’s something you’re never too young or too old to enjoy?

Ice Cream! My earliest memories of happiness are those of trips to Dairy Queen, or Friendlies for ice cream. Even now, when I splurge and have an ice cream, it brings a smile to my face!

2. Share one happy memory from your high school years.

I met my first husband there. He made me feel so special and happy and loved. We went on to marry and have two beautiful children of our own. But it all started in High School.

3. A nationwide strike of fast food employees took place in the U. S. last week…they’re calling for higher wages and the right to unionize? Your thoughts?

Be careful. Illegal and Legal Immigrants will gladly come in and work those jobs. Use your fast food job as a stepping stone to a better job. But if you “demand” higher payment and you “unionize”, you may find no job left for you at the end of the day!

4. September is National Honey Month…what’s a favorite dish you make or eat that calls for honey?

Baklava! It is so good, and my neighbor, who is Greek, makes the very best!

5. If you notice someone with a tag sticking out, a button unbuttoned, a shirt on inside-out, or some leftover lunch stuck between their teeth do you say something or do you keep quiet?

It depends on well I know the person. If it was my sister, cousin, or husband, or even a close friend, I’d mention it right off, but quietly.

6. What movie always makes you cry? Or at least makes you feel like crying?

“The Notebook”. I only recently saw it for the first time. I’ve watched it again a few times since and I cry like a baby.

7. ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb’ was written in May of 1830, and published in Juvenile Miscellany in September of that same year. Now for the fun part…create your own four line rhyme using that same tune.

Greta had two babes,
whose fur was rough as hers
now all are cuddled in a pile
and the snoring sounds like purrs!

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Hubby took me out yesterday so I could buy a dress for my mother’s Memorial Service this weekend.

I’m not happy I have gained weight this year. I have so many poor excuses. My mother’s illness, my own cancer. Well, they all stacked up and I gained weight. After finding a nice dress, he found a pair of pretty dress slacks and top for me to wear as well. And he made me feel pretty and not so bad about the weight gain. I’ll get back to Weight watchers when I can, but right now, I need to heal my soul.

The Face In The Mirror

Imagine one morning you wake up and find you no longer look like yourself. Imagine you look into the mirror, and you see some sort of space creature looking back. One your husband likens to a Klingon! What would you think? How would you feel?

I was told it would heal, and that I would be as good as new in no time. In fact 6 weeks later when I had the flap revision on my face, as I drifted off to sleep, the bad previous surgeon said, “When you wake up, you will be pretty once again.”

Imagine my horror when I woke in recovery and asked for a mirror and saw this face staring back at me!

This was hardly what I expected and I found both the results and the discomfort I felt unacceptable. Especially when I was told that it didn’t hurt! Ah, excuse me?

I suppose I could have gone back to the original bad surgeon, but thank goodness I was encouraged to go to Boston where I met the good surgeon, who is slowly giving me a face I can live with.

After the first surgery I had with Dr. P. in July.

How often have we taken what our faces look like for granted? Oh yeah, I know that face in the mirror…Rough night last night…looking a little tired…Wow, my skin is completely clear, this never happens! lol!

My point is, it is your face, for good or bad. You know all your freckles or wrinkles or little marks that tell you, this is you.

So the last six months I have found myself with a real crisis of identity. That was until this past weekend, when my most recent surgery was unveiled when the steri-strips fell off.

It’s me again! I am back. I can look in the mirror in the morning and recognize the face I see!

The good doctor who did this, the gifted surgeon, is not just a talent, but his humanity is astounding.

Even if this is as good as it gets, I am happy. Most of all, I am grateful! I can see myself once again!

At The Fair

I am so lucky to have my cousin Janet. She is able to think of amazing things to do, and to pull me out of my sadness and get me going.

So it was this weekend.

She and her new Hubby, Dave came up and we had a wonderful cookout here with Janet’s brother Larry and his fiancee Cindy on Saturday. We had everything from stuffed eggs, to cheeseburgers to corn on the cob! Dessert was a chocolate wedding cake for the love birds!

We managed to get the cookout in before the skies opened and it poured! We watched two movies, “When Harry Met Sally” and “The Descendents”. Both really great movies.

Sunday morning we got up early and Janet, Dave and I headed north for the Lancaster, NH Fair. It’s an annual event and it is so well done, with farm animals and 4-H projects that the local kids have been working on all year.

We had decided not to over eat. So what we did was find the Fair Food we liked and then share it. It worked out perfectly. I love fried dough with butter and powdered sugar. Janet loves kettle corn, Dave loves ribs and fried scallops. All were available, and we split them three ways. Dessert was even better. A strawberry Sundae and Apple Crisp.

We went in every tent with every sort of animal. We saw goats and pigs,

and cows

and bulls. We saw miniature horses and draft horses that pull large loads. We saw horses with little friends,

and strangely beautiful ones too.

We also got there early enough to see the dressage competition.

Today was life affirming and meeting the local people and the local kids, reminded me that life does indeed go on. And that happiness is all around, if only one stops, takes the time and looks.

The Life In Our Party

Before my Mom died, I asked her, “Mom, what will you come back as, so I will know you are with me?” She thought for a moment and then smiled and said, “A Butterfly. A beautiful Butterfly”. Today, as my cousins and Hubby all gathered with me to celebrate Labor Day, Dave rushed in and called us outside. There she was…the most beautiful Monarch Butterfly! Mom always did love a party!

It’s A Toad, That’s True!

Tonight, as I was walking the dackels, I spied my little frog-man. Each year in August he comes to the house. He sits at the top of the steps to the driveway and watches the world go by.

I’ve always wondered why the dogs give it a wide berth and almost ignore it. This innocent guy is a Bufonidae – True Toads. They’re actually a fascinating breed of Toad.The species in this family have warty skin, plump bodies, short legs, and parotid glands on the side of their heads. The parotid glands secrete a poison that can repel, or even kill predators.

True toads have no teeth or breastbone. Some people think that if you touch a toad you will get warts. That is not true. Most species in this family are dull in color and live on the land. They range in size from one inch to eight inches in length.

There are over 500 species in this family and they are found all over the world, except for in Australia and its surrounding islands.

I lay on the ground, in the dark, with my camera to get these shots of what I thought was a frog, but Hubby and I looked it up and we are certain that Kermit is a Toad and not a frog.

We have one like this each year. Almost in the exact same spot. I did see one in the garden earlier this year, but that one was not as big.

So I have learned one more thing about nature in my area. What do you think of my Toad?

Vegetable & Beef Chili

1 tbs. oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 large cloves garlic minced
1 lb. hamburger
2 and 1/2 lbs chopped up tomatoes
2 tbs. chili powder (or to taste)
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup each cubed : carrots, celery, green pepper (add more if you like)
1-2 large cans kidney beans

In sauce pan heat oil, sauté garlic, onions and beef. Cook until beef is brown. Drain fat. Place in slow cooker, or large soup pot. Add remaining ingredients, except kidney beans. Simmer slowly several hours. 20 minutes before serving, add kidney beans. Serve with some grated cheddar cheese on top.

Note: You can add more or less depending on how thick you would like your sauce. If it gets too thin you can always add a bit of tomato paste to thicken it up. Have fun and play with the recipe.

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen things I did today!

I went back to Weight Watchers. Don’t ask, don’t tell right now.
I went shopping for doggy biscuits and found the little ones the beasts love.
Talked to my sister a few times as we both were missing Mom and our talks with her.
After a discussion about what to do with Mom’s china, we came up with the best idea.
Her china pattern has a soft pink rose in the center of the plate. It’s a gorgeous pattern.
The dishes will go to Savannah Rose when she gets married. I’ll hold on to them until then.
I had a ton of tomatoes from our garden and since I have already made spaghetti sauce (a ton) I decided to make chili.
I made eleven meals worth! It’s now in the deep freeze for the winter.
Despite the fact that we have no oven, we had meatloaf for dinner.
It was a mini meatloaf that I cooked in the toaster-oven.
Hubby has been picking fruit left and right. Plums and peaches and the first apples of the season!
Looks like I will get my hearts desire and have a cookout this weekend.
Just simple cookout fare. Hamburgers, hot-dogs and chicken. Cooked on the grill and served up with salads and my very own pickles!

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. Labor Day weekend (in the US of A) is approaching…what’s something you’ve labored over this year?

I just laughed! 2013 will be remembered as one of the most difficult years of my life. Having had cancer, all the surgeries and then the cancer illness of my mother, and her passing have left me feeling completely wiped out!

The biggest blessing in my life this year has been my daughter and granddaughter. Their love has gotten me through all of this.

2. What is one word to describe your ‘job’ or career?

Nurturer.

3. What was your worst or least favorite job ever? Why?

I think it was selling shoes. I did that one summer as a young teen, and all I can say is that people can be very strange when trying on shoes!

4. How do you measure contentment?

I think it is when you can sit back, close your eyes, and all feels so right with the world that you just reflexively smile!

5. Pickles-like or dislike? What is something you eat that requires a pickle? Dill, bread and butter, sweet gherkins…what’s your favorite kind of pickle?

Love pickles and enjoy making my own. My bread and butter, sweet mixed have all come out well, but I am still working on my dill!

6. In your current house-town-state, what is it you like living close to?

I live close to lakes, mountains and nature! I am so blessed.

7. What is one thing on your ‘want-to-do’ list before summer draws to an official close?

I want to have a cook-out! With hot-dogs, hamburgers, chicken, potato salad, pickles and a happy group.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

We ordered our stove yesterday and it arrives on Thursday. But…the gas company can’t come until September 3rd! So, unless I can saute it, or nuke it, we will go without!

Well, This Is It For Now

Hubby and I got up at zero dark thirty and headed for Boston on Monday. At first all was well, and surprisingly, the traffic was moving right along and then, at the border of New Hampshire and Massachusetts, the traffic stopped dead!

My heart sank! Hubby was relentless and careful, but I was a nervous wreck! Do you know how crazy people drive early in the morning on their way to work!

A few exits in to Massachusetts things opened up a bit and we were sailing along. I breathed a sigh of relief, believing that we would make my appointment.

We took out turn off of Route 93 onto Storrow Drive and BAM! The traffic came to a complete stop!

Holy crap!

We began to plan what we would do if we reached the point of just making the appointment. I’d jump from the car, run to his office and Hubby would join me after parked the car.

But for some reason, we actually made it! Yay us! And then, the doctor was running late! I just had to laugh!

He took out the stitches, and he’s not sure yet if I will need more surgery or not. I’m still quite swollen and bruised. So, I go back in a month and I will find out then.

Meanwhile, here I am.

What do you think?