Dackel Princess

Saturday Happenings!

Something kind of wonderful happened today, and I can’t really talk about it yet. You will hear about it in the future, but for now, just know that I smiled most of the day with a special secret.

We had a day where our temperatures were high enough to allow for some melting, and the roads were clear. Hubby did some more snow removal in key areas, and once again I watched every cooking show known to man, as I did my house work. It helps to give me ideas for new meals to cook.

For instance, Saturday night I am cooking a meatloaf, made from a recipe I found on the Food Channel. Now I hope this is a good meatloaf, because it took me well over an hour just to chop up all the vegetables that go into this meatloaf. I like to think of this as the “Everything But The Kitchen Sink Meatloaf”! I really hope it is good. If it is, I will post the link to the recipe, as it is a copy write-ed recipe.

I was flipping through TV guide when I noticed that my new favorite TV show, “From Larkrise to Candleford” is not on tonight! What? They are having fund-raising TV crap on instead! I am not happy, as now I must wait until next week for another episode.

Okay, I hope you are all sitting down. Here is the up to date latest. I actually finished all of my laundry! Ha! I knew I could do it if I just set my mind to it!

Some good friends of ours slipped away and tied the knot! The bride and groom both wore flannel shirts and jeans and life is good! Congratulations to Lou and Mary and our wishes for happiness always!

Love is grand!!!

Dackel Doctor Days

The Dackels went to the Dackel Doctor today for their yearly shots and physicals. I have been waiting for this as I have been working to reduce the weight of both Anneliese and Greta. They were weighed and examined and the three dackels weighed drastically different weights.

Greta was 23 pounds,

Arnie was 21 pounds

and Anneliese was 18 pounds.

The odd thing is that Arnie really is the biggest of the three, the longest for sure, but he has retained his youthful figure! Greta has already told me that she has had two large litters and her “youthful” days are long behind her! Anneliese is just plain perfect! She really is in great shape!

The Doctor and Office Staff were all amazed at Greta and her children. One woman had never seen a wire-haired dachshund, especially ones with such beautiful wild boar, color coats. So it was fun to show them off.

After the Dackel Doctor visit we came back home to a very lonely Fritz. It was not his day to go to the doctors, and so Fritz was “Home Alone” He seemed none the worse for wear, but boy, was he happy to see us!

Friday Fill-Ins

Friday Fill-Ins are sponsored by my cousin, Janet. Come on and join the fun!

And…here we go!

1. Bring your favorite dish and we’ll have a potluck supper.

2. I’ve been making reservations for Hubby’s College Reunion. I found a wonderful old Inn to stay at, where breakfast, bed and taxes are included in the price.

3. I am exactly where I should be. Home with Hubby and the puppers.

4. Well, you see, it all started this morning when I got out of bed and fell over a dog. After that the only place to go was up.

5. The snow will melt, the flowers will bloom and Spring will come soon!

6. But what if the snow hasn’t melted by the time I need to plant my garden!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to settling in and relaxing after having had the three dackels to the Vet for their yearly shots, tomorrow my plans include the usual weekend cleaning and then watching “From Larkrise to Candleford” and Sunday, I want to Make a big pot of coffee, read the Sunday newspaper, and maybe watch an old movie in the evening!

Thursday Thirteen

This week’s theme for me, are things that make me feel peaceful. I think it’s important to remind ourselves to do the things that make us feel at peace within our souls. So, here are some of mine.

Sit down and have a nice cup of hot tea. No matter the time of year, for me, a cup of hot tea means peace.
Sing. Most of you will never hear me, because I really don’t like to sing in public, but when I am stressed I will turn the TV off, turn my play-lists on and sing at the top of my lungs.
Cook. This is probably the most dangerous outlet for me, because when I cook I eat! Eeek! However, cooking a big sumptuous meal, brings a peace to my soul, like almost nothing else.
Although I am almost loath to admit, going for a walk does help, but the walk has to be either with one dog or alone, as any more than one dog makes the walk very stressful for me, because I worry about my little friends.
Chocolate. Oh yeah. Is there any better way to feel peaceful than with some fine dark chocolate?
The smell of the ocean. It had been a long time since I had been to the ocean, and when I went out to York, Maine with my girl friend, Gail, we stepped out of the car at the Yacht Club and I smelled the air! It brought back memories of my childhood spent on the beaches of Cape Cod, where I grew up.
A muffled sleepy bark. I know that this will sound funny to people who have never slept with their dog, but there is a sound a dog will make when they are sound asleep and dreaming. It’s such a sweet sound and makes me sigh.
A fire in my hearth. Warm, and bright and snapping from the dried wood. Usually there is a sleeping dog lying in front and the overall glow just mellows me out.
A hot bath. This is another real luxury. I will fill up our tub, sometimes have a glass of wine, and lie there and breathe.
My cell phone. I know that will make people laugh, but being able to talk to my friends on the Verizon network for free, and then using my minutes to call those who don’t have cell phones (I know! Imagine that there are people who don’t have them!), to call and visit. What a great world.
Pictures. I love looking at pictures and remembering. Beautiful faces, sunny places, light the corners of my mind and soul.
A hug and kiss from my daughter. A visit with her and a talk. Now that she is all grown up, I enjoy times when we can just be around each other.
Hubby. Yeah, all he needs to do it sit in his chair, or touch my hand, or snore in bed. His presence in my life brings such peace.

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. March 2nd is Dr. Seuss’s birthday so I’m wondering…do you like green eggs and ham? Okay-how about this instead…how do you like your eggs? Or don’t you?

I love eggs, any old way at all. I guess my favorite (if you force me to pick one) is fried with a slightly runny yolk.

2. Is March coming in like a lion or something less ferocious where you live?

Lion. So much darn snow! Really. However, they are forecasting some warmer temperatures for this weekend, so perhaps we will have a little bit of melting. Yay!

3. Do you work better or worse under pressure?

Worse. I really like things nice and calm and quiet. Then I can slowly go through things and get my work done.

4. March Madness-are you a fan? It’s college basketball in case you’re wondering. And if you’re outside the USA tell us-is there any sort of ‘madness’ taking place during March in your part of the world?

Hubby will be interested, but I think I will take that time and do some spring cleaning in other rooms in the house, with my MP3 player stuck in my ears! lol!

5. Under what circumstances do you do your best thinking?

When things are quiet and I am alone. I need the solitude, the stillness, to gather my thoughts.

6. What item of clothing from your wardrobe do you wear most often?

My junkie jeans. I love them. They are soft and fit perfectly and yet, if I spill something on them, who cares? Aside from the jeans, I love soft white cotton socks.

7. Do you use sarcasm?

Oh boy, I really try not to, but I am afraid that I allow myself to use it far more often than I should. I think I have learned to curb my tongue more now in my 50’s then I did when I was in my 20’s.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

My regular readers know that since mid January I have used this spot to keep you all posted on the progress of my blog friend, Joanne. I’ve asked for your prayers for her, since she suffered a severe stoke.

The great news is that she is doing incredibly well and hopefully will go to the long term rehab center sooner rather than later. Currently, she is in a rehab center that is for really acute care, but since she is progressing so well, she will soon be moved.

Joanne is blessed to have a wonderful family and close group of friends, as well as all of us worldwide, who have been praying for her. Joanne still has a long way to go, but Joanne’s recovery is such a testimony in itself to the power of prayer.

Monday, Monday

We woke up on Monday to round three of snow! It seems we just get paths dug for the dackels, when it snows and we have to do it all over again. This has been a bad weekend for snow and then we started the week with another storm. At least this one didn’t drop as much snow. They were forecasting 4-6 inches, but I think we only got 2 this time.

A short movie that I filmed on Monday morning.

Feb 28 Snow from Dackel Princess Maribeth on Vimeo.

Hubby arrived home after going skiing in the morning and he casually mentioned that the car slid off the road into a snow bank. He was not phased by this, in fact he was rather pleased that several people stopped to help push him out of the snow bank.

While he was off skiing I worked washing cabinets. Definitely not glamor work, but a real necessity. In fact, I found a place on the stove top hood, that was a bit neglected, so I took the time to scrub that out.

Anneliese has just about 5 or 6 days left of her heat and then she will be all over it. I can hardly wait. Last night it was a real challenge to keep Arnie and his sister apart!

I was also thrilled to death with most of the Oscar Awards. I love Colin Firth, The Kings Speech was phenomenal, and Christian Slater Bale, well he may be one of the finest actors of our time. I do like Melissa Leo, but felt, like almost everyone else in the world, that she should not have used the F-bomb during her acceptance speech. I mean, after all, in the top four categories of Best Actors, there wasn’t any surprises now, were there.

Now we, the movie audiences of the world, can go back to our regular viewing, wondering, who might give us a stellar performance next year!

What I Did This 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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What did we do this weekend? Well, we shoveled! We had over 19 inches of snow in 36 hours and last I checked it was still going. We expect another 4 inches overnight!

It’s getting to a point where we are starting to feel buried!

As you can see the trees are just about buried underneath the snow!

Arnie is dwarfed by the snow mounds!

So I am hoping for less snow and perhaps a warmer week. No, not yet. Oh well. I will keep daydreaming and eventually it will be so.

Meanwhile, the weekend is past, and another week is ahead. Have a good one!

High School Days

I just found out that in August there will be a Reunion of my High School Graduation Class! We will meet up in the Town where I lived all during my youth, and celebrate the fact that we’ve all survived this long!

Oh, it will be fun to see everyone. It’s especially nice since I have gotten in touch with so many of my school friends, on Facebook.

This was my High School Picture.I can’t recall why I liked that dress? It was short, so that could be the reason. Actually everything tended to be a tad short on me because I am fairly tall.

I’m wondering what people will think when they see me now? Hopefully, I won’t scare anyone!

Looking back, it seemed I knew a lot of people. Our town was small, and at one point or another you sort of had a class with everyone. Especially in High School. There were many times I had music, (I was in both Chorus and Band, I played the flute) and those classes had all four grades together. I also loved gymnastics, despite my height, so I knew many people from different grades there, too.

So, I’m excited and looking forward to going back to the town where it all began!

Our Driveway & The Snow!

We knew we were due for a fair amount of snow on Friday, but nothing really ever prepares you for a foot of the white stuff, now does it? 12 inches or 30.5 centimeters! Yeah, either way, that’s a lot of snow.

Hubby went out several times to snow blow the drive and keep our driveway clear. His snow blower is good, but after a certain point, it just gets too deep for the blower to handle, so he has to go out often to keep the driveway clean.

Our driveway, as I have written before, is 500 feet downhill. It’s not a problem in the summer months, as we just zip up the drive to get to the main road, and then zip down to get to our home.

But with ice and snow, there isn’t a lot of zipping done by either of us!

A few years ago I had gone out to get the mail. It was raining when I left, even though the temperatures were very low. When I returned I was coming down the hill to our house and the tarred driveway was all BLACK ICE!

The car went into a skid and I looked to see our camper straight ahead of me. I somehow managed to steer toward the ditch on the other side of the drive, where I came to a stop, with a bit of a thud!

I didn’t have my cell phone with me, so I couldn’t call Hubby to help me, but the house was right there so I flung open the door, put my foot out and promptly fell on my backside!

Not my best moment.

Anyway, Hubby works hard to keep the drive clear of snow and ice, and I truly appreciate all of his work.

February 25, 2011 Snow from Dackel Princess Maribeth on Vimeo.

As you can see, he does work hard, and lucky for him, he has a faithful companion to keep him company!

Friday Fill-Ins

And…here we go!

1. Ooooh, I can hardly wait for spring to come around. Leaves on trees, flowers blooming, and no more snow!.

2.They are forecasting more snow tomorrow and , I can’t stand it!

3. How the heck did I end up with so many dogs! HA! I know. I love them, and just couldn’t say no.

4. Germany is one of my favorite places to visit.

5. I’m not a person who feel comfortable getting into really heavy political discussions, I’m not!

6. Chocolate. The darker the better, it has to be good.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to watching “Walk The Line” with Hubby, tomorrow my plans include taking the morning to slowly work in the office and Sunday, I want to read the Sunday papers and cook a nice roast for Hubby!

Friday Fill-Ins are sponsored by my cousin Janet. Come on and join the fun!