Dackel Princess

Allergies & Memories

It’s that time of year that I really have a hard time with. It’s allergy season! Everything has leafed out, and the flowers are blooming, and even the mold and fungus is ripe with pollen. I find I am so very stuffed up, with itching eyes and a dripping nose.

Saturday morning I wanted to get out and weed the garden. I hated to do this because I knew it would cause me to start sneezing, especially since Hubby was mowing the lawn. I spent an hour there, and sure enough, the nose got stopped up, and now I cannot breathe.

I have taken antihistamines, and some Motrin for the headache, but so far nothing has worked! I’ll tell you quite honestly, I really hate allergies!

The garden is starting to come along. The weeding has helped, and in a bit I will need to go out and water it again. In this heat wave we are having, I find I am watering the garden 3 times a day, but the plants are looking better and I may just get some vegetables out of the garden this year.

The potted plants appear to be doing better. They’ve all grown marvelously and all but one of the plants have vegetables growing. My eggplants are especially prolific this year.

Sunday night is more of the USA Olympic Trials, with more gymnastics. I love that. It got me thinking about watching Olga Korbut. She was so perfect and full of life. Take a moment to watch this video of her at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich.

Yes. Dear Olga Korbut, you inspired little girls everywhere, including me!

Thoughts

My car is finally home and running well. I love this car, as it is comfortable, easy to drive and has a great CD/Satellite Radio in it! Oh yes, I rock and roll in that car!

We are coming up on a long holiday weekend. Actually, next Wednesday will be July 4th, which is America’s Independence Day! Needless to say, we have a lot of people driving up into the Lakes Region of New Hampshire, so the traffic was horrendous!

I don’t mind much. Actually, I am in for the weekend. I don’t need to drive anywhere. My big plans for the weekend include, laundry and weeding the garden! Doesn’t that sound exciting!

Mandy posted some new pictures of Savannah. Isn’t she just a doll? I can hardly wait to get down and see her and Mandy again!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Friday Fill-Ins

1. So I finally got my car back today! It is all fixed and the bill wasn’t too bad.!
2. On the other hand, It would have been better if my car had not needed such extensive work, which took nearly a month.
3. There is a new Weight Watchers ice cream bar that I tried tonight. It’s a double chocolate bar! Oh be still my heart!.
4. Dark Chocolate cake with butter cream frosting and chocolate chunk ice cream is my favorite birthday dessert.
5. What represents happiness to me: Savannah, and the rest of my family.
6. As Dave (my cousin’s SO) says, the early bird gets the fish?.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to getting my hair done, tomorrow my plans include attempting to stay cool and Sunday, I want to touch base with my friend and schedule lunch out next week.!

Thursday Thirteen

Thursday Thirteen Thoughts

I lost three and a half pound this week at Weight Watchers! Yay for me!
I could sort of tell, because my jeans were not skin tight.
I’ve been trying to watch what I eat, and weigh and measure everything.
I’ve also been eating more fruit and vegetables.
I still do not have my car back from the mechanic.
He brought the computer to GM and my computer broke theirs!
Needless to say, my mechanic will be happy when my car is out of his lot! Me too!
Yesterday some local boys threw rocks at the ducks in our lake.
Unfortunately they got one of the ducklings.

Our neighbor and Hubby rescued the duckling and brought it up the hill to her garage.
We got out Anneliese’s paddling pool and built a nest.

On Wednesday the duckling was brought to a rehab center all should be well now.
Why do kids do such stupid and harmful things?

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. What do the words ‘freedom’ and ‘liberty’ mean to you? Does your mind go more in the direction of not being persecuted or discriminated against or does it head in the direction of doing what you please?

Probably the former. Free from persecution and discrimination. After all, every society must a a base of moral conduct (rules) or they will cease to exist!

2. Nathan’s sponsors a hot dog eating contest every 4th of July. Last year over 40,000 people attended the event and almost 2 million watched it on TV. The winner ate over 60 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes. How do you like your hot dogs?

Grilled in the summer, on a toasted roll, with spicy mustard and green pickle relish!

3. If you were going to enter an eating contest what would be on the menu?

Chocolate!

4. Do you run your house more as a dictatorship or a democracy?

You seem to think I run the house! LOL! I think that Hubby and I run a basic democracy.

5. Where was your favorite summer place when you were a kid?

Surf Drive Beach, in Falmouth Massachusetts. This is where I grew up and the beach was a five minute walk from our home.

6. Do you have a guest room? Would you want to stay there?

Yes. And yes. In fact, when we built our home we actually lived in that room, as it was the first one completed!

7. Next Wednesday America celebrates her independence. Do you have any special plans for the 4th of July? If you live outside the USA when and how does your country celebrate its own patriotic holiday?

Oh, I think Hubby and I will probably grill outside some steak? Chicken? Not sure of the main coarse, but grill something. It just isn’t the 4th unless we are grilling.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

The summer has begun and here in New Hampshire, this usually means tourists, traffic and a slow down in getting in and out of shops. So far this year, I have found less traffic, and fewer people are coming up to the lakes. At least our area. I sure hope our area merchants will have a good year so that they survive and do not go out of business. Most especially, the “Mom and Pop” owned businesses.

I’m Just A Lemon

Yesterday my throat began to really hurt. Not just hurt, but I started having trouble talking and swallowing. My first thought was that I’d just seen Savannah and I’d hoped I didn’t get her sick.

I had Hubby look down my throat and he saw white bumps and swelling and redness. Not good. Fortunately, I had an appointment scheduled with my doctor. I went in and stuck my tongue out at him and he looked. Sprayed my throat, and looked deeply.

He swabbed the throat and then told me he’d be right back. He came back in a few minutes, and said it was not strep throat, but asked what I’d been eating or drinking. Lemonade. I’ve been making my own Lemonade, and due to the heat, I’ve been drinking a ton of it!

He asked if I was using real lemon juice? Of course! He then asked about my other food allergies. Well, pineapple.

Oh no, he said. I will bet ten to one that this is an allergy. No more lemons, and I probably should avoid other citrus until this clears up. He told me to use throat spray and to take some Benedryl to help the swelling.

Oh yes, and to rest my voice. Which now that I am home from a lengthy meeting I can do.

I am just so thankful that I am not sick and I didn’t have anything to pass along to Savannah.

Nope not sick, just a lemon!

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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After enjoying time with Mandy, Matt, Savannah and my sister on Thursday and Friday, I came home and got back to real life.

I stopped on the way home and bought our groceries, and as I stood looking at the fish in the iced window, I noticed something that I seldom see in this part of New England..Blue Fish! I think it has to be my favorite fish. You see, growing up on Cape Cod, I ate Blue Fish rather frequently, but here in New Hampshire, it is not often found.

Anyway, I grabbed it up, brought it home, made baked stuffed Blue Fish with half of it for meals on Friday and froze two more rolled fillets for another meal!

Saturday found me doing the usual Saturday stuff. Cleaning, changing sheets and trying a new recipe. This one was for Weight Watchers Sweet and Sour Chicken, and it came out really well. I found the recipe on Pinterest.

Sunday I started to weed the garden, and worked at disinfecting counter tops and cooking yet another great meal. Steak, baked potatoes and asparagus.

I’m still working on the camera, and I think I am starting to understand a few things. Yay!

Anneliese has been following me all around, like a puppy dog (lol). I think she missed me while I was gone.

A Learning Curve

I have never been a good student. I simply did not like doing home work, and I always sat in the back of the class in the hopes that the teacher wouldn’t call on me.

However, now that the new camera has arrived, I feel I need to pay attention, read the manual, yes I said, “read the manual“, and then as “home work” go out and use the camera until I learn all the little bells and whistle settings.

I got a Canon 16 megapixel Powershot A-1300, and I am truly shocked by how small it is, how easy it is to hold, and how incredibly smart it is. Yes, far smarter than me. It’s been 5 years since I bought a camera and although I thought having another Canon would make the transition easy, I was sooo wrong! As I said, this camera is very smart!

This picture I took with the Digital IS setting and as you can see it did okay with the eggplant, but not my hand.

Still I wasn’t too happy, so I went back outside and tried another shot. This time with an Auto Macro setting. On an eggplant flower.

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And then my baby cherry tomatoes!

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Little by little I will need to stop, read, practice and do it again, until I learn how to use this camera to it’s full greatness!

Yes, Learning Curve!

What A Great Visit!

Thursday night we went out to a great restaurant with Mandy, Matt & Savannah, called “The Homestead”. Great food, and rustic, New Hampshire decor. A great place to cool off, and unwind after a long hot day.

Savannah slept the entire time and didn’t make a peep! What a good baby. Mel and I shared a lobster roll and an order of asparagus. I wanted to order a “bad” meal (meaning non-Weight Watchers”), but I kept talking to myself telling my somewhat chubbier self, to knock it off and eat the way I should! Best of all, I did!

After dinner, Mel and I went back to our hotel, and climbed into our freshly made, delishly soft beds, with creamy white sheets! We watched a cooking show I think it was called “Chopped” where three cooks are given various things and must create a meal. It was quite interesting.

At 10 we shut down the TV and Mel fell asleep almost instantly. I, however, was bouncing off of walls! What could be wrong with me? Then it hit me. Hot day, two large iced latte’s and two regular iced teas. I was like a kid high on candy, only my problem was the caffeine!

In the morning Mel admonished me for my snoring. I did not know that I snored. Oh well,

We dressed and went down to have the hotel supplied breakfast. What a nice, wide variety of foods! We ate what we wanted and then about that time, Mandy called to let me know that they were up and to come on over.

This is what greeted us when we got there.

While Mandy took a quick shower, Mel and I took a gazillion pictures.

I was amazed that Savannah was so patient with us.

Here she is with her Mommy and me. So very proud of my daughter.

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All too soon on Friday afternoon, it was time to go home for both Mel and me! So sad to say good bye to Mandy and Savannah. Hopefully, I’ll get back again very soon!

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Visiting Savannah, Mandy & Matt!

Usually I do Friday Fill-Ins, but my cousin in away and well, so am I. I’m visiting Mandy and Savannah and Matt and I was lucky enough to steal away my sister to have up here too. What a great time we have been having!

This is my sister Melodie, holding Savannah. She has not had the opportunity to spend time with her, so this was a real treat!

Here is Savannah with her Mommy! What a much loved child she is! Mandy really is a great Mom, and I am so proud of her!

She is doing great, is happy and healthy and we all feel so blessed. I promise there will be pictures of me with Savannah, but right now they are in Melodie’s camera! So for now I will say, more to come…