Dackel Princess

Heidi

A few months ago, when I brought Heidi home, I admit that I wondered if there was a possibility that she would be as special as my three Dackel Princess pups had been.

All three of them had distinct, strong, and individual personalities. I just wasn’t sure that this little girl could be all that the others had been.

I’d been watching Heidi since her birth via videos and pictures.

Newborn Heidi

I had felt a very strong attachment to her. One that I couldn’t exactly explain, without sounding like I was slightly daft, or losing my mind.

Meeting Heidi in person, on January 1st.

There was just something very familiar about her right from the start.

At the hotel in Nashville.

Me & Heidi

But here we are. Heidi will be six months old in another week or so and it’s like she has always been in my life.

She follows me everywhere. and stays with me when I am cooking or doing laundry or the dishes. I teasingly call her Velcro-Dog.

Heidi is unlike any pup I have ever had. Her personality is sweet and loving. She is smart and watchful, and at the same time has a hilarious sense of humor. And when I fall asleep for a nap, or at night, she finds her special little spot on my lap, curls up and we sleep. Happily, peacefully, lovingly asleep.

I am so grateful, so very happy to have this wonderful little being in my life.

Happy 34th Anniversary to Us!

Today, Jack and I celebrate 34 years of marriage. It doesn’t seem possible that it has been that long. In the grand scheme of things, 34 years is like forever in a Hollywood marriage. And at my age (63) it certainly is a large chunk of time.

In our thirty-four years of marriage, we have had 4 White German Shepherds, Rex, Max, Fritz, and Lili. Five Wire-haired Dackels, Shubi, Greta, Arnie, Anneliese, and Heidi, lived in four homes. One was a farm in Lyndeborough, NH; a very beautiful ranch home in Punta Gorda, FL; in a motorcoach here in Meredith, NH for 9 long months; while we built our current home, and lastly, this beautiful house, that Jack and I designed.

We had four children, between us. Three are living, and they have grown up to be really good people. We also have two of the most beautiful, and wonderful grandchildren on the face of the earth!

Marriage is never easy, even if you are married to your best friend. There are days you want to murder each other, but lucky for us, those days were few and far between.

Forgiveness is so important when you live with someone this long. People do stupid things, and if you can’t forgive them, then you are with the wrong person. I am the Queen of stupid things and I am married to the King of stupid things. So it’s a good thing we forgive and forget.

You will also find during a long-term marriage (or relationship) that there will be those days when your significant other just makes you crazy. Whether it’s how they are chewing their food, or even sipping their soup, you will sit there and wonder how you never noticed this before!

But then, there are those times when a little look, the warmth of a hug, or a gentle squeeze of your hand, will make you feel loved and safe. During my illness in 2017, when I felt like I was dying, I was so scared, and Jack just kept the home fires burning, cooked my meals, did the laundry, and did not allow me to believe that I was leaving this earth.

Likewise, not even six months after that, when he got the infection in his foot that led to the amputation of his toe, I made sure I was at the hospital each day. I brought him goodies to eat, stayed to speak with each doctor, and informed Jack, he wasn’t leaving me yet.

No, marriage isn’t easy, but the pros far outweigh the cons, and life would be, so lonely, without my Jack.

Even after all these years, Jack is still the first person I want to speak to in the morning, and the last person I want to speak to at night.

I made up a short montage of our life together using one of our favorite songs. I hope you enjoy it!

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Happy Anniversary Jack!

The Friday Five ~ April 8th

Well, there goes the first full week of April. I can’t believe how life is flying by. Here are this week’s Friday Five.

Our little Lake Waukewan is now ice-free. It is so wonderful to see the open water again! Soon we will see rowboats and small boats used for fishing on the Lake. Our Lake has life during all four seasons.
Lili’s ankle is better. She is not happy that we have restricted her movements. The girl really is a running, jumping, leaper!
I have had a slight cold this week, and I have tried to drink a lot of fluids and get my rest. Although truth be told, Heidi keeps me on my toes. Walks, walks and more walks.
Our fox was back this morning. Here is a picture I took last summer.

Dear Lili told me with her barking and fussing. This isn’t the best picture, but as you can see we are still in very early spring. All brown and not too much green. I think she looks like she is expecting.
Tomorrow, April 9th is our Anniversary. We used to go out for a fine meal each year, but I’m thinking that won’t happen. I am not sure exactly what we will do to celebrate. Maybe just pop a cork and have some champagne.

TBT: Grandma Honey & Papa Fred

Here is a picture of my Grandma Honey and Papa Fred. This had to be before 1968, as we are still at our Clipper Lane home. When I found this picture I had to share it.

I love this so much because they both look quite young and joyful. Papa especially is smiling happily. My guess is that they were 69 and 70 years old.

Notice how he has her by her elbow to escort her to the house.

They simply adored each other!

The Weekend Wrap ~ April 4th

Despite my best efforts to have a truly quiet weekend, it turned into a pretty crazy one.

Lili’s ankle is still bothering her, so each time she needs to go out, I have to walk her on a leash. She weighs 77 pounds and is very strong.

So imagine trying to walk her and Heidi at the same time? Heidi may only be 16 pounds, but she is very strong and tries to pull you right off your feet!

Have you ever heard an old song, and then looked for it so you could hear the entire thing, and suddenly you realize that the group was one you really enjoyed back in the day, so you go to your music app and listen to all those tunes from your youth!

That’s what happened to me today when I heard “Share The Land” by the Guess Who.

Oh my goodness! What fun this has been!!

The Guess Who.

My only observation is that some of these guys had better, thicker, and curlier hair than most women!

I am still concerned about Lili’s limping. I may give the doctor a call on Monday. I am thinking she may need to have it wrapped. Lili is not a good patient. She wants to run and jump and play, but it just wouldn’t be good for her.

This is my quiet week. I am grateful. I am not feeling 100% and need to just putter around the house instead of trying to do it all at once.

Have a great week everyone!

The Friday Five ~ April 1st

Another week is gone, and here we are April first. April Fool’s Day. This year there is very little to joke about so I’m going to pass on anything cute!

Thursday saw me heading out with Lili to go to the Vet. Now darling Lili is not a good rider. She fussed and I could almost feel her blood pressure rising as we drove along.
She has a fever, but thankfully no break around her ankle. The Vet is concerned that she could have Lyme Disease. Now, I vaccinate for this and always have, but new strains of the virus are out there. We will know in a few days if that is it. Meanwhile, she is on antibiotics and anti-inflammatories. She is very quiet and just wants to rest. Good thing.
The new hooks arrived for my bird feeders. I want to be able to hang them inside the trees making it tough for the Ravens and the Crows to raid the feeders.
I also ordered new stripping knives for Heidi. My old ones are not working well and I hope the new ones will.
There have been so many news stories lately that truly saddens me for mankind. There is no care or concern for others anymore. Somehow being rude and abusive to all others is supposed to be accepted. The old-aged Queen of England is being bullied by her grandson and his American wife. Chris Rock was slapped by Will Smith. And let’s not forget Ukraine. We just are living in a more unfriendly world and I miss kindness a great deal.
Bruce Willis, one of my all-time favorite actors has been diagnosed with Asphagia. Now if some of those I mentioned above were handling Bruce, he would be blamed for his condition and made to suffer. Instead, Bruce’s entire family has rallied around him and they are trying to make the most of the time they have left with him. Everyone from his first wife and daughters to his second wife and their daughters. So perhaps not all kindness has vanished from this earth.

What’s Happening

Wednesday found me all over the State of New Hampshire. It was stock-up cans day at the grocery, get cheap(-er) gasoline in the car, and go for my glaucoma recheck.

The best part of the day was that my glaucoma recheck went very well, My pressures remain down. I had laser surgery last summer and between that and the eye drops, I use twice a day I am doing great!

I was able to stock up on Jack’s favorite soups, and canned vegetables. Now, I love fresh fruits and vegetables when I can get them, but with gas prices sky-high, and meat and poultry prices also crazy high, I needed to find ways to feed Jack and me and not go completely broke.

It was lovely and sunny, although very cold, and the drive was a pleasant one.

However, Lili’s ankle is still not better so this morning I am calling the Vet.

Heidi is doing great and she did well with Jack. I must say I had to laugh when she gave me the cold doggy shoulder when I got home!

In other Heidi happenings, she lost her last two baby-piranha teeth!

So, there is a lot to do today and after I get Lili to the Vet, the first is to clean out my pantry so I can get it all organized!

Happy Thursday!

This & That ~ March 30th

Wow! There is so much going on in the world, and even in my little corner of the world, so a “This and That” list seemed appropriate.

- Okay, the slap was heard around the world. I understand the frustration, but as I think more and more about it, I think sometimes you need to suck it up and walk away. I live every day of my life with a face that close up resembles an inner-city roadmap. It’s due to extensive cancer surgery in 2013.People have made comments that felt unkind to me, but so far I haven’t decked a single person. Walk away and choose your battles wisely.
- I went in on Monday to begin having my two front teeth crowns replaced. It is rather an arduous task and has left my mouth sore. But the end result will be good I am sure.
- Today Lili was running around the yard and my guess is she leaped from the field down onto the driveway and twisted her ankle. Tonight she is limping badly. If she is not better tomorrow I will bring her in to get it checked.
- I go to see my Glaucoma doctor tomorrow. I am six weeks late for this appointment as I was sick with the flu when I was due to go in for my last appointment and had to cancel.
- The bears are awake and starting to roam the neighborhoods. This means that I need to bring in my feeders at dusk and put them out after breakfast in the morning.
- We had to call for home heating oil today and they came and delivered 202 gallons of what I should call liquid gold. The current price for heating oil is $4.97 a gallon. So there’s $1000.00 I will never see again. But, at least we will be warm and can take hot showers.
- I got the cutest picture of Heidi today and I love it so much that I ordered a print of it to have on my mantle. I just love this girl!

5-month-old Heidi.

The Friday Five ~ March 25th

Another week has flown by. When I look back to where life was before Covid, I think we all took the ease of our lives for granted. I know I sure did. Anyways, here is this week’s Friday Five.

I had my six month blood tests run. The results could have been better, but, at the same time, they could have been worse!
It is discouraging that each time I shop, groceries are more and more expensive. Today was a first for me. A very small head of iceburg lettuce cost $2.49! I kid you not.
Tomorrrow we will be calling for a heating oil delivery. Currently it is $4. 97 a gallon. So we will have another hit to our savings account.
I need to have one of my crowns replaced. At 21 years old it is cracked. Here’s the thing. It’s a front tooth and the one next to it is also a crown. I am dreading having it done and a mismatch in color. Also that tooth is also 21 years old. It could crack any day. I don’t spend too much time dwelling on my appearance, but I love to smile and if my teeth didn’t match I would be heart sick. I am going to call my dentist tomorrow. I need to get a ballpark figure for how much it would cost to do both?
This is a catch up and rest up weekend for me because next week will be a full and busy week!

Have a great weekend everyone!

This & That March 24th

Thursday was almost a good day. It started with a meeting up with my good friends. I am so lucky to have these wonderful ladies that I love like sisters.

We joked and laughed and just had a really great time. I came out of that meeting feeling pretty good. Yay!

I had a fun time playing with Heidi, solved Wordle in the nick of time, and enjoyed a nice lunch before heading out to do errands.

I picked up the mail, went grocery shopping, and still had time before my dental appointment to bring it all home and put it away.

I was expecting good news, but what was discovered was a crack in my crown! I need a new one. Yikes! $500.00!!! At least I did not have cavities!

Well, nothing brings you down like a big break to your piggy bank!

Ugh!

But the absolute bright point in my day is that Mandy and the kids called and after a bleak afternoon, I felt very loved and cared for! I am hoping to see them at the end of the month.

Happy Thursday everyone!