Dackel Princess

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. Do you like your name? Were you named after someone? If you have children how did you settle on their names?

I didn’t like my name when I was younger and went by a variety of names. It wasn’t until I married Hubby#2 that I started to love the way he said my name.

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I think I was named after my grandmother Mary and my Aunt Betty (Elizabeth). Or at least I like to believe this, so please family members don’t enlighten me if I am wrong.

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Hubby #1 and I wanted classic names for our kids. Amanda was beautiful and classic. Mandy was also #1 on the charts. My second child was actually going to be named Jessica for a while, but she had that great red hair and green eyes so Kathleen, a great Irish name was classic and perfect for her.

2. How do you define success?

In life? I would define success by the ability to love those around you and to do things for others selflessly.

3. Wheel of Fortune or Jeopardy?

Both. But if I had to only watch one, Jeopardy. I’d get tired of watching Vanna looking so thin and trim in her gowns.

4. If you could own any single object that you don’t have now, what would that object be?

I learned a long time ago that “things” mean nothing in life. However, I would like a better cell phone.

5. What is something that inspires you?

When I see people around me who are challenged and yet, they don’t give up. In fact, they are out there leading the way in the community!

6. Meatloaf-yea or nay? If its a yay how do you make yours?

Meatloaf…YAY! You can go HERE for one of my recipes.

7. Which is more admirable-the ability to organize and be methodical or the ability to adapt and make do?

The ability to adapt and make do. I suppose that is because I have had many experiences in life where you just have to fly by the seat of your pants. Like living in a country where I did not speak the language, and yet still needed to cook and find things in the market.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Please keep praying for Joanne.

Your prayers from around the world are working. Her husband and her two young daughters, also need your prayers. You can click on the picture of Joanne for updates and I urge you to go back and read her blog writings. She is a wonderful, gifted, loving, woman.

A Funny Thing Happened

Hubby and I went out the other day in search of a new snow shovel. Hubby likes steel snow shovels, for one very obvious reason, they do not break easily. However, we are getting a bit irritated because everyone is carrying the new fad in snow shovels…plastic.

Hubby wasn’t happy at all, and he searched the entire shop, dragging me all over this do-it-yourself warehouse, as though in this search, he could make a steel shovel instantly appear!

I finally gave up, stopped following him, and just stood near the front door, checking out the seeds for my garden. I decided I need to make a list of what to buy, so I can go back (without Hubby, I think) and buy my seeds.

Finally, Hubby decided that there was no perfect shovel, and we left. We walked out to the car, talking about this “dream shovel”, and when we got into the car, Hubby mentioned that his radar detector was on dim mode, which he didn’t like and could I change it back to bright.

Not a problem. I had the instructions, so why not?

I took the radar detector down, which proved to be a real challenge and I was trying to figure out the buttons, and apparently I pressed too many buttons too many times because the next thing I knew, the radar detector asks me…”Are You Sober Enough To Drive?”

I have never heard a radar detector ask that question before! And it didn’t just ask me that once, but over and over and over again! In my defense I finally shut the bloody thing off so it would stop asking me this question! (I was, after all completely sober, just mechanically challenged!)

I plugged it back in and then carefully did the correct button pressing, and fixed the dim/bright problem, but when I was trying to put the detector back, I bumped the City Mode and thus we had another problem. I spent the remainder of our trip home trying to fix that. I couldn’t.

The silly instructions were so small, I could barely read them anyway, and my frustration level was very high. So, I handed the instructions to Hubby when we were home, and said, “You do it!” and walked away.

Give me a pot and a chicken or a roast and I will cook you a meal, car things are not my bag! Still, looking back now at the entire event, I have to laugh. It was pretty funny!

On Monday Hubby went to another shop, and although he did not find his dream shovel, he did find this one.

It’s good enough for now, and yes, it is partly plastic.

But, for now, it works.

Joanne

In my sidebar you will see a widget about another blogger named Joanne. She is a young wife, mother, and writer, who suffered a serious stroke on January 11, 2011. Her condition is serious and we are asking everyone to pray for her.

You can click on her button and go over to read updates, but I also urge you to go back in her blog and read Joanne’s posts. She is a wonderful, happy, loving, giving, woman. Her writing will make you smile and laugh and look inward.

Currently, she is in a drug induced coma to help her brain to rest. Let us all take a moment to pray for a miracle recovery and return to her family and friends.

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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It was an off weekend for me, this past weekend. I did a fair amount of cooking, which also means cleaning up, and with getting my hands wet so much, all of a sudden the skin just started to crack.

Yes. I am old.

To help, I have purchased several pairs of rubber gloves to protect my hands while I am cooking/cleaning and chopping food. It is amazing to me just how wet your hands get when you are in the kitchen.

I never did get my Christmas boxes up in the attic, however, I resolve to do that on Monday, no matter what I do!

I did some laundry, played with the dogs in the snow (yes we had more), and even went to see a movie, “The Fighter”.

All I will say about “The Fighter” is this, Christian Bale is fantastic. I simply cannot believe what a fabulous actor he is!

He WAS Ricky! They announce the Oscar nominations on January 25th. I hope he is among them.

Oh jeeze, I just heard that The Golden Globe went to Christian Bale, for “The Fighter.” for Best Supporting Actor! I told you he was phenomenal!

The week ahead finds me expecting more snow, going to several meetings, and getting my teeth cleaned. All important things.

Have a great week everyone!

Furry Best Friends

Sometimes I forget how lucky I am to have these wonderful dogs, who hang around me and shower me with so much love. Then one of them will do something as simple as jumping up into my lap and look, with such love, into my eyes. Then I know. I am the lucky one.

Today it was Anneliese. She’d been tearing around the house barking at chickadees, who were resting on the branches of our snowball bushes, out front. Frankly, the barking was driving me insane. Then the next thing I know, she has jumped up, and got into my lap, and was looking at me with the most beautiful eyes.

And I felt loved.

When I was out and about in town today, it was bitterly cold. Still, there in the front seat of various cars and pick-up trucks were the beloved best friends of their owners. Some wore sweaters, some didn’t. All were beyond thrilled to be out with their masters, on the Saturday morning errand run.

I came up to my car and a little dog in the next car, was wagging his tail expectantly. Right behind me was her Daddy.

“That’s a really cute baby you have there.” I remarked.

This man, a big old New Hampshire woodsman, with steel toed boots, a stocking cap and woolen plaid jacket, smiled and picked up his friend.

“She’s the best friend I got.” he said, as she licked his face.

He put his tiny mixed breed mutt back into his truck and off they went.

I stood there for a moment watching them, before jumping into the Jeep and heading home to my brood.

There is something to be said about man’s (and woman’s) best friends. Mostly, how very lucky we are to have them in our lives!

The Pack

All day on Friday, as I was puttering about the house, I noticed that Anneliese and Greta were always cuddled up, fairly closely! Okay, now what is wrong with this picture?

Since almost the moment that Greta kicked Anneliese off her teets, Anneliese has been trying to gain the upper hand in the relationship between mother and daughter.

Greta and baby Anneliese.

A few times, they’ve even gone at it with each other, and only my heavy clogs and a lot of hollering, got them apart. (Remember: Should you ever have to break up a dog fight, Do Not Do It With Your Hands!)

It’s all about position in the Dog pack in the house. We all know that Hubby is the Top Dog, (Or thinks he is!) I am the next dog in line, followed closely by Greta. After Greta is Anneliese, Arnie and at the bottom of the food chain is Fritz.

Dogs fighting with each other, is not allowed. Once the offenders are separated they are crated until they have calmed down. I think the last time they fought was a year ago, and since then, nothing.

It could be that Greta is now spayed and has no desire to maintain her position in the pack, but is happy just being a member in it.

I digress.

So, today it seemed that every time I turned around they were sleeping together, almost cuddled up! In the morning they were lying in the sun by the back door. At lunch they were curled up together on the carpet. In the evening, (as I write this) they are curled up on the sofa asleep.

This is a strange but welcome change in attitudes! Still I am leery, that the peace may be shattered at any time.

It’s Delurking Day!!!

Hi Everyone. Once a year a whole handful of Bloggers I know get together and we have a day we call De-Lurking Day.

This is a day when we ask everyone who may be reading our blogs to comment. Just say hi, guten tag, bonjour, hola, ciao, or well, you get the idea.

We all love to get comments, and more than anything we love to know from what part of the world you are commenting from.

So don’t be shy, join the fun and De-Lurk!

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Friday Fill Ins

1. Right now I need to get some extra energy to get my Christmas boxes put away.

2. Coffee is what’s in my glass/cup.

3. A copy of this letter will be sent to many people in this town.

4. An ice cream Sundae is best with a spoon.

5. The best movie I’ve seen lately is RED.

6. I’m a lucky woman to have known love, like; as a wife, sister, friend and mother. There is nothing better than love. (Wow, that sentence is not well crafted!)

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to a nice fire in the hearth, tomorrow my plans include the weekly, infamous laundry and Sunday, I want to make a beef stew in the crock pot and watch the Pats Game!

Thursday 13~Snow

I finally got my much wished for snow!

January Snow 2011 from Dackel Princess Maribeth on Vimeo.

Here are the 13 things I love about fresh snow.

1. The clean bright surface it gives my otherwise plain yard in the winter.

2. How pretty it is to watch during the day, when it is falling.

3. The way it can swirl and blow around looking so full of energy and yet so easily falling to the ground.

4. Snowmen.

5. The quiet of fresh snow. Before the plows get out, when the ground is completely covered, there is a quiet that is describable. I love that silence.

6. Rides in the Jeep after the roads have been cleared to see the beauty of the snowfall.

7. The birds that come out looking for a morsel of food.

8. The way the dogs run, hither and yon, through the snow like little kids!

9. Seeing only the heartiest of souls out at the Post Office picking up their mail today. It’s funny, but there were more than you might think.

10. Seeing neighbors help neighbors.

11. Pink cheeks after shoveling snow.

12. Watching the radar on my computer to track the storm.

13. The way Hubby and the dogs come in and curl up for naps after being outside in the snow.

Yes, I’ve now had a nice big snow fall, and all is right in my world. I’m a happy little New Englander. It’s quite funny, but my sister, who lives in an area not known for large amounts of snow, got the most snow in all of the New England area! We got considerably less, but I am still quite happy!

Happy Tenth Anniversary, Uschi

Today is the tenth anniversary of my friendship with Uschi. You can go HERE to learn how we met each other. Over the years, we have written to each other almost every day. We aren’t able to speak on the phone like many people, but then, sometimes I think we know each other better because we can write all of our thoughts down and send them off.

When we get together and start talking, it is as if we just saw each other yesterday and we chatter along like two little parakeets!

It still amazes me, that when I least expected to find a friend and sister of my soul, I found one in Uschi!

Happy 10 years to us!

Celebrating Friendship from Dackel Princess Maribeth on Vimeo.