Dackel Princess

Chippies!

Lately it seems that when I go out with the dogs into my yard I am surrounded by nature. Now I am not a big fan of chipmunks, but today I turned scanning the yard, and there he was, sitting quietly in my lilac bush. This is a late in the season lilac, so it has not blossomed yet.

So anyway, there he sat, completely still. He watched me, and I watched him. I knew if I ran to get my regular camera, I would miss the shot, so I took my cell phone from my belt clip, and set up the shot. He never even blinked. Just sat there completely still, hoping the dogs wouldn’t see him.

I walked slowly, closer and closer and I was able to get about 3 feet from him, before he scurried down and dove under our screen porch.

Now this little bugger better not eat my garden when I plant it! Last year we had two fat chipmunks that lived in our stone wall, and wiped out my garden a couple of times!

I have been enjoying all of the critters that have found their way into my yard this year. It brings an easy smile to my face.

Life is good!

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. It’s National Bike Week…do you own a bicycle? When did you last ride a bike?

I do own a bike, but I live in a really hilly area and I’ve never been able to adapt. When we lived in Florida I tried to ride 5 times a week. In fact, I had a basket on my bike and I would take Shubi (my first dachshund) with me and ride all around. It was wonderful!

The last time I rode a bike was a few years ago at the gym. It was a stationary bike, and while biking I watched the TV.

2. What’s something you learned in school that wasn’t part of the curriculum?

School wasn’t a great place for me and I was not always happy there. I met my first husband when I was 15 in school. I suppose that I learned about love. Not real grown up love, but first, puppy love.

3. What’s a food you’ve never tried, but want to try? What’s a food you’ve tried and will never try again?

Real Soba and Udon Noodles. They look wonderful and after seeing Anthony Bourdain go to Japan eat them after he watched the making of the noodles, I want some!

Let’s see, a food I’ve tried and never will eat again…tripe. All I can say is yuck.

4. Have you been more demanding on yourself lately or less? Why? Do you think that’s a good trend?

I’ve started to be a bit more demanding of myself. When I started to feel depressed I found I was sitting around doing nothing. Now I am working with my plants, cleaning the motor coach and keeping up with the laundry. Busy, busy, busy! But oh so good!

5. Who is your favorite book, movie, or TV show villain?

Favorite Book and Movie villain is Professor Snape from Harry Potter. TV show villain, Red John from the Mentalist!

6. How concerned are you about identity theft?

Pretty concerned. I do what I can to protect my privacy.

7. I saw this last question on Dawn’s blog a couple of week’s ago and asked if I could share. Everybody hop over and say hi, but first answer this…would you rather have an ordinary home in an extraordinary place or an extraordinary home in an ordinary place?

I will answer this way. I would rather have any home anywhere that my loved ones are. Houses are simply sticks, stones and empty shells. It’s a family that makes it a spectacular home!

8. Insert your own random thought here.

We had a visit from some people we met recently. I do not know these people well at all. The woman is elderly and frail, but when we sat down to talk she took my hand and spoke softly to me, telling me about my life.

She would be the first to say she is not psychic, but as she read my palm she was so accurate that the hair on my neck stood up. I listened with rapt attention as she went from one thing to the next.

Once she had gone I came to the computer and wrote down everything she said.

My question to you all is this…do you believe in psychics, mediums, etc.? Have you ever had a psychic reading?

Our Boy Fritz

There are the days in the life of your dog, where you celebrate all the little things in their life. For us, with Fritz, it was when we got his first baby picture.

We just fell in love with his little face and his fluffy white fur. I remember we could hardly wait to go and get him when he was eight weeks old.

Hubby flew out to Oregon then, and brought back our little bundle. He seemed to do well on the trip to his new home, riding in first class.

I remember when they reached us and I got my first chance to hold him. It was a milestone in his little life and mine.

I taught him to do his business outside. We went to class so Fritz could learn all about being a well mannered dog. He did so well graduating at the top of his class.

He became Hubby’s shadow, and followed him all around, even into the woods and down to our favorite lake, where he learned to swim and fetch sticks!

Or help him with our garden.

He has been a marvelous dog, with so much warmth and sensitivity. I think, perhaps the best White Shepherd that we have ever had. Not only is he handsome, and perfect in every way, but we both fell hopelessly in love with him.

I think this is why we are both having such a hard time watching Fritz slowly descend away from us with canine dementia.

He wanders off, and we now have to watch him very carefully. Where once, he would not leave Hubby’s side, he will disappear. In the evening, when we settle in to watch TV, he used to lie on his doggy bed and sleep, waiting for me to go to bed. Now, he finds the smallest place possible and hides away in there.

But for now, we will hold him, love him and care for him, until his time comes to leave us. It is so difficult, this long good bye, but then I think back to all the wonderful memories that we have shared, and being here for Fritz in his golden years is the least we can do, for a doggy that has given us so much.

What I Did This Past Weekend

Our host is Gattina. Come join us and tell us what YOU did this past weekend! After all, you never know when you will need an alibi!

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Hi Everyone, welcome to Monday. My weekend was a good one. It’s the first time since this whole skin cancer thing began that I actually stopped thinking (negatively) about myself, and started to see the lilacs, the sunshine and yes even a wonderful Pileated Woodpecker who has taken up residence in our yard!

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This is Woody Woodpecker! A male Pileated Woodpecker!

I knew he was in our area, because I could hear his incessant tapping on the trees, but until today I had never seen him. This morning I had gone outside with Anneliese to get the paper, and I heard the tapping. I looked up and there he was!

Now these birds are pretty large. 12-15 inches in length! When they are in flight their under wings are white, despite their black tops!

I stood there, snapping pictures, and I forgot all about myself! Isn’t it amazing how when something happens to us, like cancer, or a severe trauma, often times we get so lost in ourselves that we forget about all the wonderful things happening around us.

So here I am, in my nightgown, in the back yard snapping pictures, of this marvelous creature, and suddenly I felt the world had opened back up to me!

Our lilacs are blooming and when I walk through the yard I am overwhelmed with their sweetness.

Lilacs are my favorite flower and I have them all over the edges of my yard. The sight, the smell, reminds me that there is a God in Heaven, for certainly no mere mortal could have thought up something so very splendid!

In the afternoon on Sunday I did the re-potting of the patio plants (tomatoes, eggplants and peppers), and made a venison stew.

And because I wasn’t busy enough, I also did laundry and made biscuits to go with the stew. I just told Hubby I am nearly done for the day, he just smiled and laughed. I think he is happy to see me living life again!

The Weekend

Happy Sunday Everyone! I’m having a simply delightful weekend! It all started on Saturday when I went into Walmart and found a really comfortable sunhat for $7.95!

I sort of like the way it dips down on either side of my face, and it really does fit my fat wide head. I am thinking I could even wrap a scarf around it to dress it up. Today however, it went perfectly with my pants and top.

Then Hubby and I went to lunch at our favorite Chinese/Japanese/Korean Restaurant. I usually have the Sesame Shrimp, but today I decided to have the lunch version of a Pupu Platter. Teriyaki Chicken, Chicken Fingers, Crab Rangoons and pork fried rice. Because we were having a lunch special, we also got Hot & Sour Soup and an Egg Roll. In fact there was so much food that I could only eat half my meal. The rest I brought home for Hubby’s lunch on Sunday!

After lunch we went to Lowe’s to look at garden plants, but found that they were very highly priced. So, we went off to Agway Garden Centers. There we found our tomato plants, eggplant plants, and pepper plants! Best of all, they were $1.99 for a 6-pack flat! At Lowe’s one very unhealthy plant was $3.95! So we felt pretty pleased about that.

We got home in time to see the Preakness Horse race, after which I made a steak and potato salad and peas for our dinner. I mean, today was just one of those great days all around!

I saw a pair of crazy Beetles outside today doing what comes naturally, this time of year, and I looked them up, as I couldn’t ever recall seeing a Beetle like that.

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I was amazed to find out that this Beetle is actually a “Fire Fly”!

Moonrise Kingdom was playing on the movie channel, and although I did not like it when I saw it a couple of years ago, I found that this time, watching it through the eyes of a child, that I really enjoyed it. It is definitely a quirky movie, but very well done!

In the evening, Hubby and I watched another episode of “The Civil War” done by Mill Creek Productions. It was a $5.99 DVD we got at Walmart some time back and surprisingly, it is really well done, both historically and visually.

Sunday will be gardening day, as I need to re-pot the plants we bought today and get them ready for planting in the big garden, the first week of June. The patio pot tomatoes and eggplants will just go in their big pots. I’ll do 6 tomato plants and 6 eggplants. The rest of the seedlings will go into the big garden.

Today would have been my former Father In-laws birthday. He was a good man, and I really do miss him. Both he and my former Mother In-law were very good to me.

So, as I sit here in Saturday night, I am happy with how the day went.

Being Scolded By FaceBook

I went off to the hair stylists today to get my roots done. This erases the tell tale signs that I’m getting old by taking that gray and washing it away!

When I got done, I came home and went to sign into Facebook to check on everyone. What I found sort of shocked me.

I was being scolded by Facebook for being an over tag-er. They claim I tag too many people when I post pictures.

Now, in my own defense, the only time I tag people is when I am posting Savannah pictures and I never tag more than 6-7 people at a time. And then, I only tag family members.

Today I was forced to take a test where they sort of shamed me for tagging people. At the end, I was told I would be monitored and if I continue to “over tag” I will be suspended.

I’ve wondered if someone I have tagged in photo’s (so they could see Savannah right off) complained about me?

I really do not know. What I will do in the future is make an album of the pictures and then send a post separately to contact the family.

Meanwhile, Facebook really made me feel bad, and I just didn’t need that!

Usernames & Passwords!

Today when we picked up the mail, our new credit cards arrived. You know, we’ve had these cards forever, but we just got the replacement card for the next couple of years.

Anyway, this card gives us cash back on each purchase, so we put a lot of our monthly bills on this one. Great, right?

Wrong.

What we found as we signed in to change the cards information on each site was that we had to go through a long process to reestablish a password, and they want weirder and funkier passwords along with security questions that even the guys on the “Big Band Theory” wouldn’t get!

Hubby and I struggled. There was a lot of moaning, groaning and swearing! And as of right now 8:50 PM on Thursday night I have all but one done. The last one I fear I will need to call about. I just cannot seem to get in to correct it.

So am I the only one who is challenged with user names and passwords? Does this make you crazy too?

Thursday Thirteen

Wednesday was a busy day. Here’s what I was up to.

I went to Weight Watchers and I have lost 2 pounds. Now I just have to keep up the momentum!
I brought one car in to be inspected, while picking up the first one. We have one more to go. Our seldom used winter Jeep.
I deposited our tax refund check, such as it was…
Made Hubby lunch with the luscious bread I got at the King Arthur Baking Center.
I also had a sandwich. Peanut-butter and banana, my favorite!
I watered my plants and spent some time talking to them. Finally my butternut squash seeds are sprouting!
I finally have my medical records from my surgeries moving toward the doctor I will see in Boston. You do not know what I had to do to get the hospital to cough them up!
I decided that it was time to free up my computer, download my pictures to an external drive, and then get rid of extra unused stuff and do the ultimate.
Yes, I defragged!
A couple months ago we bought these pre-seasoned baby-back ribs and they were awful. Because it was a large package we’d only cooked half, which meant we still had half a pack. I knew I needed to use them!
So after I thawed them out, I rinsed off the yucky rub and sauced them, put them in my dutch oven and cooked them slowly.
Surprisingly, they came out well.
I finally have relief from my allergies. Chlortrimeton and Sudefed. I finally feel human again!

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. May is National Blood Pressure Month…what sends yours soaring, either literally or figuratively? What calms you down? When did you last have your bp checked?

Since I have incedibly low blood pressure, not much makes it go higher, even when I am upset. However, I totally get angry when someone is careless in their own life, and it could affect me. A good example of this was yesterday. I was driving my car down to the mechanics and I was waiting to pull out into traffic. I waited, timing my entrance into traffic and then just as I started to pull out the man in the right lane turned left onto my road without using his directional signal. The bad part was that coming toward me was a large truck, pulling a tractor. I came very close to losing the car vs truck battle. It really scared me!

2. You just found $1-what do you spend it on? How about 10$ 100?

Lately I’ve been saving for a rainy day. Even a dollar can ad up to something wonderful!

3. Mandatory labeling of genetically engineered (GE) food has been proposed, but not enacted in the US. How much attention do you give food labels before you buy? Are you in favor of labeling if it means an increase in food prices? Is this an issue you’ve been following and feel strongly about, or is this the first you’ve heard of the controversy?

I am pleased with calories, fiber, and ingredients. I don’t mind too much about the whole GE thing. After all many seeds are genetically engineered so that crops last longer and for me, my curbit vegetables don’t die from disease.

4. May 15th marks the birth-date of Frank Baum, author of The Wizard of Oz. At this point in time, are you more in need of brains, courage, heart, or a trip back home? Explain.

I think I need both courage and heart. The last few months of my life has left me feeling frail and in need of both those things.

5. “There’s no place like home” is an oft repeated line from Baum’s book. When was the last time you felt the truth of that statement?

After my surgeries. Especially the second one. I just wanted to come home and be here. And I have hidden here quite a bit.

6. Steak…yes please or no thank you? What cut do you prefer and how do you like yours cooked? Sauce or no sauce? Besides your own kitchen, where’s a place you like to go to get a great steak?

Steak, yes. Love steak. Matt made steak tips last weekend on the grill and they were fabulous. Since I would rather cook than go out for a steak, I can’t really say. I did have a great Prime Rib at the wedding we went to last month. I like mine rare, very rare!

7. When was the last time you were in a genuine hurry?

We were on the way to the hospital for my second surgery and I was a wreck. We were late, late, late, and I was already nervous!

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I went to the King Arthur Four Museum, gift shop and cafe on Tuesday. It was terrific!

This picture I borrowed from their web site.

They had all sorts of baking and cooking items and an area where you could watch them bake their own bread!

It was so exciting to watch, as long ago in a galaxy far, far away, I used to bake all my own bread! And I used King Arthur Flour!We lunched, and talked and then went to a gift shop that specialized in children’s gifts!

Allergy season is upon us and this is the worst I can remember. I’ve been sneezing, coughing and sniffling all day. I want rain. A good long, hard, rain to wash down the pollen count!

Monday’s Happenings!

Monday found me trying to catch up with stuff around the house, as well as begin my ultimate plans of selling our pick-up truck and motor coach. The pick-up truck was a breeze. It’s sold and will be picked up on Monday.

However, the same deal gave me a rather insulting lowball offer on the motor coach, so now I am planning to advertize on a web site and Craigs List. Perhaps Ebay as well.

Since Hubby’s stroke a few years back, we have not used the motor coach and it is time to get it….gone.

When we were in there today I noticed a few things need to be done. I need to vacuum and wash done things, and also remove all of our stuff and have clean, clear shelves.

I want it ready so that if someone buys it, they can take it the same day if they want to. So cleaning of the motor coach comes very soon.

Meanwhile, I made a quick dinner of meatloaf and mashed potatoes and carrots. Easy.

Tuesday I am off to The King Arthur Museum! I shall report in tomorrow!