Dackel Princess

Friday Fill-Ins

And…here we go!

1. Do they have bright skies and sunshine at my vacation destination?.

2. I saw Mandy when she was first born and; it was as if I’d been loving her all my life!.

3. That was a wonderful wedding I went to last weekend. Both the bride and groom looked so beautiful and handsome and happy!.

4. A new mattress seemed so comfortable.

5. As I said, weddings are wonderful. Now we plan Mandy and Matt’s..

6. I’m ready for a new hair style to add some new twist to my life.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to making my tomato and eggplant casserole (stay tuned for recipe), tomorrow my plans include organizing my Library documents and reading a little and Sunday, I want to work in the garden clearing it and turning the soil!

Thank Goodness It’s Friday

It’s been a long week and I am tired. Still! I plan to do quiet things over the course of the weekend, like read, or perhaps try a new recipe, and write to a few people that I haven’t heard from in a while.

If I get up the energy, I want to clean my garden of all the plants in it, with the exception of the eggplants, and butternut squash, which for some odd reason, are still growing.

I also need to go through a bunch of paperwork for the Library, so I am prepared for our meeting on Tuesday. And trust me, there is a l lot of paper work to go through.

Perhaps somewhere in there, I can sneak in a nice walk, and a soak in the tub. That is total spoiling of me time!

What do you have planned for this weekend?

Thursday Thirteen

This weeks Thursday Thirteen will be a miscellaneous group of thoughts. I’ve been so busy lately that there is so much to write about.

The drive to my sister’s home was a long one. It usually takes me 4 hours, but I had to add another half an hour due to a road closure after Tropical Storm Irene blew through. I’d figured this would be the case, but still, what a long trip!
I got to see my grandniece practice for baseball, and both of my grandnephews practice their football. They are all three really good and I enjoyed watching them!
My brother in-law and sister remember how much I love eggplant pizza and they ordered one for dinner while I was there! Oh, it was so good.
I am totally an eggplant fiend! I love it every way it is cooked and served. I guess we all have things like that which we love, for no apparent reason. For me, it is eggplant!
I’ve made up a new recipe for eggplant and tomato casserole. OMG! It is so delicious! When I make it this week, I will have Hubby photograph me doing this, then include the recipe.
Our gasoline here in New Hampshire (at least where I am) is $3.46 a gallon. South of here the gas was selling for $3.79 a gallon. Needless to say, I tried to only buy gas at home.
I went shopping with my sister and help her to find a totally adorable top! She wasn’t sure about it, but it looked as if it were made for her! What do you think?

I ate pretty much what I wanted during my trip. My sister was great at providing salads, and her daughter, Jinny (pictured above), makes a great salad. Now it is time to get back on the plan.
One morning I got up and picked up coffee for my mother and me and then got breakfasts at Friendly’s to bring to her apartment. She really enjoyed that.
The Rehearsal Dinner was also a lot of fun. I got to meet Karan’s family, and we all ate and joked and enjoyed watching the young couple. (Note to self: Don’t keep eating delicious Italian food like that!)
My sister had her hair done at a salon for the wedding. I figured I could arrange mine, but I am becoming increasingly frustrated with it. I am totally ready for a shorter layering of my hair, so it is easier to do. I spent well over an hour with a curling iron, and it still looked lousy!
The wedding was so beautiful, and I got all misty from the show of love. The atmosphere was so happy and watching the bride and groom dance the night away, thrilled me beyond words.

The next day, I drove home, and made it in better time. When I walked in the door I was met by Hubby and the four dogs! They were all thrilled to see me and showered me with love and kisses!

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. What is one piece of advice you would give a ‘just turning’ 21- year old adult?

Decide on the things that will make you proudest to tell your grandchildren about, and then pursue that in your life. I will enjoy telling my grandchildren about my love of growing things and then learning to cook and preserve them.

2. Besides cooler weather (or warmer weather, depending on your hemisphere) what is one thing you are looking forward to this fall?

Colored leaves, Thanksgiving and my birthday. I really love this time of the year. Cool, crisp weather and back to cooking stews and warm soothing soups!

3. What sound lulls you to sleep?

Now don’t laugh…my air conditioner. I sleep the very best in the summer, when I have that wonderful, white noise from the air conditioner!

4. September is National Preparedness Month…does your family have an emergency ‘kit’ and/or disaster plan in place?

Not really, but I do know where everything is in case we have a disaster, and Hubby and I have decided where to go in case of a tornado. We don’t have them very often, but they do occur in New England from time to time.

5. How has your blog changed since you started blogging? Or has it?

I used to write more about the dogs, and now I think it is about my life in New Hampshire. I hope that my readers don’t mind too much.

6. What’s something you’ve recently learned to do on the computer?

Edit pictures. It’s an ever evolving thing I enjoy and am learning more about it. What fun!

7. Is a picture worth a thousand words? Elaborate.

I don’t think I need to. The newlyweds sealing their vows with a kiss!

Pure love!

8. Insert your own random here.

I had the chance to spend 5 days with my other family. My sister, and her kids and grand-kids. I also visited with my mother and Melodie’s mother in-law. I also met my nephew’s new in-laws and they are such great people! One of the brides sisters in a lot like me and I enjoyed the chance to get to know her a bit, as well as talk to everyone. I feel my nephew has found his soul-mate. I was so happy to spend time with my grand-niece and nephews and to see them in their day to day life. Each one of them is so precious to our family.

Taft and Abby. Cousins! Abby is the daughter of my nephew, Mike and Taft is the son of my nephew, Tim. Below is Tim’s other son, Luke!

Thunder……

Monday, it was back to real life. I’m home, and Hubby and I worked hard making tomato sauce. This sauce we will can and put up on the shelf for use in things like lasagna, or perhaps my new eggplant casserole recipe. Which, after making it three times, I have finally gotten down to a science. The next time I make it, I will have Hubby take pictures to share with you all. This is a super healthy, very easy recipe.

I went to bed very early on Sunday night, as I was exhausted from my travels. The dackels came with me, and curled their little bodies into mine and soon I was fast asleep. I slept well, as I felt my body relaxing in it’s own bed, when suddenly, about 4:30 AM I heard terrible thunder, and since it was so close, I figured it was nearby. I got up, shut down all our computer systems, the satellite system and unplugged the TV. Then I was walking back to our bedroom when I saw at least three bolts of lightening hit the lake in front of our house!

I returned to bed, and snuggled again with the dogs and Hubby and then…crash…boom…thunder…and Fritz was suddenly in bed with us too! Now I know we have a king sized bed, but suddenly, it was very crowded! I tried to get him down and since we now had 75 pound Fritz in the bed, Hubby woke. He was calm and spoke to Fritz with such tenderness, that I nearly started to cry. It was that sweet.

Eventually, he did get him off the bed, and we all settled down and slept until 8:30. However, the day has been filled with rain and humidity and storms.

But, as I sat here thinking of all the places I would like to be, being at home sure is a great place, even if I am sometimes overcome with the dackels and Fritz, for their love is irreplaceable!

What I Did This Past Weedend

Seldom have I been able to feel so much a part of a wedding. Certainly I have gone to many over the years, but this wedding made me feel so very included.

The wedding was for my nephew/Godson, Michael and his bride Karan. They met a couple of years ago and she has become a loving member of the family. Especially, she has become a very caring and loving step-mom to Mike’s daughter, Abby, who you learned about in last Thursday Thirteen.

Anyway, I drove to Connecticut and helped in small ways to get ready for the wedding. I did help with driving and I did Mel’s make-up, and then I was valued just for being part of the family.

The wedding took place at a country club and it was a beautiful setting.

I never cry at weddings, but I got very misty at this one. Perhaps it is because I could feel the love and happiness between these two people.

Mike, Abby and Karan!

Mike and Karan cutting the wedding cake.

My cousin Janet, my mother and me.

Melodie and me.

mel and mb

The reception was wonderful, pictures were taken and food was eaten! They planned things so nicely! Now it is back to real life, but I keep flipping through the pictures, looking at all of those happy faces!

Left to right, Ian, boyfriend of my niece, Jin (next to him) Abby, my grandnephews Taft and Luke, and their Dad, my nephew Tim. Back row, Left to right, Ron, (father of the groom) Mike (my nephew), Karan, Melodie, my sister, Maria, (my nephew Tim’s wife).

A Little Video To Tempt You!

Here is a very short video of the bride and groom dancing their first dance.

The Dance from Dackel Princess Maribeth on Vimeo.

Love & Marriage!

Here I am on the eve of my nephews wedding to the most wonderful girl. Mike and Karan make an amazing couple and share a great love. She is a good mother to his daughter and has already become a great and much loved member of our family.

For me, Mike’s Aunt and Godmother, it makes me so happy to see him with someone who loves him so much, and whom he loves so much!

It was so nice to spend the time with them, and with my sister and her husband of nearly 40 years! They’re still kids themselves!

Well, here we are, and it’s now Saturday and later today Mike and Karan will exchange their vows. How wonderful to be part of something so beautiful!

Friday Fill-Ins

1. When I was 10 years old We moved from the house I was raised in for my first ten years, on Clipper lane to a house, on Oak Street that I didn’t really like except for the purple bathroom my sister and I shared..

2. Eggplant is my favorite vegetable because the taste is so good to me!.

3. My dream pet is and probably always will be a wire-haired dachshund.

4. I hope beauty and love surrounds you.

5. If I could live anywhere in the world I’d live in a cottage by the sea, where it is never too hot and never too cold..

6. The love of God the Father, keep on shinin’ on me.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to the rehearsal dinner for the wedding, tomorrow my plans include going to the wedding and watching my nephew and his fiance have the time of their life and Sunday, I want to drive back home to New Hampshire, with no traffic!

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Things About Abby

Family Party June 26, 2010 082

1. Abby Elizabeth was born in Connecticut on March 25, 2003.

2. Abby’s brother weighed more than she did at birth. He weighed 9 lbs 12 oz.

3. Abby has been playing softball for 4 years.

4. She plays all the different positions in her baseball team

5. Her favorite dinner is spaghetti with tomato sauce and cheese.

6. Her favorite dessert is fudge bars.

7. Her favorite subject in school is science!

8. She has blond hair and bright blue eyes!

9. Abby loves to swim and jump into the pool.

10. She also loves to boogie board.

11. She also loves the computer.

12. She has two cats and a dog and fish as pets.

13. She will be a flower girl on Saturday in her Daddy’s wedding to her new Step Mom!