Dackel Princess

Houston, We Have A Problem!

Monday, I just never should have ventured out of bed. It seems I was doomed from the moment I stood up and whacked my toe on the foot of the bed, to a minute ago, when I walked into a door, thus giving myself a concussion! Yes, it has not been my day! What other wonderful things have occurred?

Well, there are the garden spikes that I inadvertently broke off in the ground that needed to be remade, and then I went down to change the laundry and the tub was still full of water and the machine wouldn’t spin the water out or finish the cycle.

What was in the wash? A nice light load of summer clothing, which would easily be rinsed and dried? NOOOOOOO! A heavy winter blanket that was now sopping wet and still a bit soapy!

I went into Hubby’s work shop and stood there and said,

“Houston, we’ve got a problem!“.

Hero that he is, he came and tried to get the machine to work. Nada. So we lifted the blanket out of the machine and put it in the sink to rinse and then wring out. Hubby was doing the wringing and asked me to get the user guide for the machine.

So, I ran up stairs and grabbed the guide and headed back to the cellar and literally ran into the cellar door hitting the side of my head with a hard thwack! I swear I saw stars!

Hubby wrung the blanket out well enough to place it in the dryer and I came up to call the repairman to come and fix my machine. It’s 11 years old and never had a problem before this. I hope it is not a catastrophic problem. I just can’t afford that right now. Please let it be simply a belt.

I climbed the stairs and sat down in my chair and my head started to spin. It was at that moment that I realized that only I could open a door into my own head and actually injure myself!

Tonight we are having leftovers for dinner. No stove-top cooking for me! I’m afraid to get near a flame!

What I Did This Weekend

Our host is Gattina. Come join us and tell us what YOU did this past weekend!

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Sunday was a very typical Autumn Sunday. I worked out in the garden, pulling up the wire fence, and the last few plants that remained in there. The only plants still there are three large brussel sprout plants that are near to producing little mini sprouts!

Hubby worked on more wood, chopping and stacking it, with help from Fritz, of course, and later in the day we worked together putting away the last of the window air conditioners. They are large and cumbersome, and at one point I gouged my arm. Nothing too bad, no stitches required!

Dirty windows have been plaguing me too. I managed to get the windows in our kitchen and family room cleaned up and looking great. For about two seconds…until Fritz and the dackels went right back to rubbing their noses on them. Ah yes, doggy art, on my windows to the world!

Speaking of doggy art, I pulled out my old camera the other day to use the super zoom lens and today I kind of played around with it. Arnie and Anneliese were my models.

Here is Anneliese, all curled up in her little bed. Occasionally she lets Greta or Arnie sleep in it, but most of the time, it is hers, alone!

And here is Arnie. We call him Mister Arnie Man.

I’d like to learn to use all the settings on this camera, as it has all the bells and whistles. I’ve been using my smaller pocket Cannon camera, and love the simplicity, but find I can’t get all the shots I want and I think perhaps switching to my Olympus SP-560UZ-18X for a while, might give me the pictures I’m looking for.

Happy Monday, Everyone!

A Saturday Wrap Up

Today was one of those beautiful autumn days. Bright colors, cloudy skies with just a tease of blue coming through, and a breeze that will not quit. Our yard is not that beautiful, but when you look across the lake there are still really pretty leaves. They were protected from all this wind and therefor remain on the trees.

Hubby was chopping wood and stacking it for the winter, when he called me outside, to witness evidence of an intruder from last night.

It was a BIG pile of BEAR POOP, complete with leaves and berries in it!

I was so excited to see it. You know, you hear about things like this, but to actually see physical evidence right in front of your eyes…well I was excited!!!

Then I turned to Hubby and told him, “Now you understand why I don’t want the dogs out after dark, by themselves!”

Hubby cleaned it up, and then went back to chopping and stacking wood, while I started working on our supper.

I’d gotten a great piece of meat the other day and cut it into chunks to make “JULIA’S BOEUF BOURGUIGNON”. This recipe is a great one, but VERY labor intensive. However, this will last us for at least three meals, so in many ways, it is very economical!

Anneliese is feeling completely well and back to her old self. The last couple of days I have watched with pleasure, as she runs and jumps and tackles Arnie, and even plays with Greta. Mostly, she is playing with Arnie and that is what makes me the happiest, as they have such a wonderful relationship and have had this since birth.

I’ve been able to relax a lot, do a load or two of laundry and read my book. It’s been a such a nice day!

Post Script: It’s now after dark here in New Hampshire. Arnie just had to go out to do his business. So I put him on the leash, got the flashlight and out we went. The wind was blowing, and the beam of light from my flashlight hit something that was moving, and my heart skipped a beat!

It was a tree branch blowing around! I am such a sissy!

Autumn

It’s Autumn. This year the colors were late in coming, and then they were lovely…for about three days. Now the wind is blowing and the rain is falling and our Autumn is over, almost before it began. Here is a picture from last year to show you how pretty it usually is.

Friday Fill-Ins

So…here we go!

1. Wow, it’s raining hard.

2. Autumn is beautiful.

3. My favorite way to start a day is with lots of coffee.

4. He cleared out the last plants in the garden and he walked in the door holding a pumpkin.

5. I look out my window and see wet, windy, weather.

6. Sleep is what I’ve been thinking about lately.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to sitting quietly and reading, tomorrow my plans include sitting quietly and reading and Sunday, I want to sit quietly and read!

(I’m not feeling too well and think I need a weekend off.)

A Flash From The Past

This morning I decided I would learn how to scan a slide with my super scanning machine. After all, when we bought the scanner a year ago, it was with the plan to scan in some of our old slides. Hubby has a ton and so do I. In fact, when my parents gave up their home years ago, I became the keeper of the slides.

I went to pick up the slides and in the box was a zip lock bag with a couple of slides in it. I guess that Dad must have had them out for some reason. Anyway, I kept them in the drawer of my desk hoping one day to scan them in.

Today was that day!

The smallest child in the group is me. I was 8 years old, and I was playing Gretel in the Sound of Music. I remember that this was a lot of fun for me. I sang and danced and luckily, all of the adults were very nice and made the project a great experience.

It’s funny looking back and seeing myself so confident and calm. I wasn’t at all nervous, and I performed like I’d been doing it all my life. It was only later in my life that I started to feel shy.

This is probably one of my favorite pictures of my sister and me. I was joking with her that this was the last time that she was taller than me! I loved Melodie in that dress and my own dress, the chocolate brown one, was one of my all time favorites!

How exciting it is to be able to scan in these old slides. They’re like old friends.

People & Places

I wanted to share this short montage of our reunion.

Our Reunion, Columbus, Georgia from Dackel Princess Maribeth on Vimeo.

The wonderful people and beautiful places we visited in Columbus, Georgia!

Random Dozen

1. Is there a word which you initially mispronounced? Were the circumstances in which you made the faux pas embarrassing? By the way, that’s not “foax pass.” (I know you know that. Just jokin’ with ya.)

Oh gosh I mispronounce words all the time. I have a slight stutter and this can be a problem when my mouth gets going faster than my head can think of words. I usually make a joke and keep going.

2. How do you feel about the use of texting shortcuts and trends? (ex: “I’ve got ur notes. Get them 2 u 2morow.”)

Anything that keeps me from getting carpal “thumb-all” syndrome (lol) is a good thing!

3. Tell me about your high school senior picture. Please feel free to post.

Well, I think I look okay, but see how straight my hair is? Can anyone figure this out?

5. Share a high school or college homecoming memory.

I won the Queen of the Rainbow Girls Ball when I was a sophomore in high school.

6. Linda at Mocha with Linda wants to know: “Do you prefer sunrises or sunsets?”

Sunsets.

7. Lea at Cici’s Corner asks, “What is something you have not done that you desire to do?”

Travel more.

8. Carol at Wanderings of an Elusive Mind ponders, “If you could come back [in another life] as an animal, which would it be?”

A pampered cat. I could sleep all day and lie in the sunshine and be stroked by my loving owner.

9. Joyce from The Other Side of the Pond is curious: “Where were you 10 years ago?” Please feel free to elaborate more than just your physical location.

We were in the process of building this house! What a job that was!

10. When you are proven to be correct in any contentious discussion, do you gloat?

No, usually I’ll wink, smile and go on.

11. What is your favorite food which includes the ingredient “caramel?”

I’ve never been big on caramel, but perhaps a candy bar.

12. From my 17 year-old daughter to you: “If you could be part of any fictional family, which family would you choose and why?” (She’s so cute. And clever.)

I sort of loved the Von Trapp Family in the Sound of Music. The adventure, but the real love they all shared in the movie.

The Reunion: Part Two

Friday found us heading to Warm Springs, Georgia, for a tour of The Little White House. This was where Franklin Roosevelt went to enjoy the warm mineral springs, as a treatment for his polio damaged legs. In his last days, he was there vacationing and having his picture painted when he succumbed to a massive stroke. In some ways I can’t think of a nicer place to be when I leave this world.

After the museum tour, we were escorted to The Bulloch House in the town of Warm Springs for a buffet luncheon. I am here to tell you all that The Bulloch House knows how to put on a real southern cooking smorgasbord! We ate until were thought we would explode! There was fried chicken, fried green tomatoes, lima beans (a favorite of mine!), corn bread, salad, cream corn, and a gingerbread cake with vanilla ice cream and caramel for desert.

Okay, so I know I have just lost the Weight Watcher of the year award!

Because we drove our own car to Warm Springs, rather than ride on the charter bus, we were able to drive back to Columbus and spend a couple of hours at the Civil War Naval Museum there. Why is there a Naval Museum so far inland? Columbus has a river, the Chattahoochee, and several ironclad ships were built there for the Confederacy. One of them sank just down river and was raised recently (what was left of it) and added to the museum. They have an excellent history of all the ironclads (Monitor, Merrimack, Etc.,) used in the Civil War, with many pictures and models.

Friday night there was a dinner and speaker at the main hotel. He was an officer serving in Afghanistan. The men enjoyed his speech, but I think that many of us, who had not served in the military found it hard to listen to. Still, I admired his bravery and his service to our country.

Saturday morning we had our general meeting, and this is where we decide on future reunion locations. Next year we will meet in Corning, NY and the following year it will be in Pittsburgh, PA.

After lunch we changed into our evening wear and returned to the main hotel for pictures. I wore my little black dress, with bling, and I had done my hair and make up, so I wasn’t looking too bad.

Hubby and I posed for pictures and then we headed back to the Infantry Museum with our friends, Jim and his wife, Gerry.

We arrived before the others in our group, which proved advantageous, as we got a full table to fill up with Hubby’s friends from the old days.

The food and service were spectacular at the Museum, and the program for the night was splendid indeed! Most of us enjoyed the steak, served with mashed potatoes and green beans, and molten lava chocolate cake for dessert!

As we sat in the Infantry Museum, having our banquet and listening to the speaker I glanced around at all those wonderful people that I have known for so many years! It has been a blessing to me to have known these fine soldiers and their spouses.

Our evening ended with our glasses raised and a toast to the good health of all.

The Reunion, Part One

I suppose there is no other way to put this, but going on vacation often is more tiring than if you stayed home and didn’t go! Of course, we saw many places and visited people that we only see once every year or two, so that makes all the hassle worthwhile.

Now that it is over I will explain the event a bit more. Hubby served in the early 1960’s in the Army. He was a fixed wing pilot on the Otter and the Caribou Aircraft. Twenty-five years ago a few of the men who flew with Hubby in Vietnam started an organization of fellowship for these men and their wives. We joined 22 years ago, and have attended as many reunions as we could.

This year the Reunion was in Columbus, Georgia. Many of the men and their families were based here at one time or another. Hubby and his former wife even owned a home here. So there was a lot of reminiscing and a lot of touring around and visiting Fort Benning.

There is also the most fabulous museum dedicated to the men and women of the Infantry, right from the Revolutionary War to the present day. On Thursday we had tickets to tour The National Infantry Museum .

Quite honestly I thought it would be totally boring and I had Hubby and our friends drive out so that we could leave early if it was as boring as I thought.

How wrong I was! What a totally wonderful museum. I felt full of pride for our country, and the men and women who have served it. The displays were authentic and tasteful and so well done.

The time flew by as we received a docent-led tour of the museum and the World War II Buildings that have been moved to a site nearby. They had housed the Army forces at Fort Benning, and included a barracks, mess hall, orderly room and supply room. There was even a church which had been lovingly restored, and is still being used for weddings and funerals.

Hubby and Jim in Mess Hall.

When our tour was finished, we hopped in our rental car with our friends, and went on base. Both Hubby and Jim had served there and we drove around, as they looked for familiar places. Sadly, the base is not what they recalled and I think we all left feeling a bit disheartened that such a fine base is being wasted.

That night we went out for “Real Bavarian Food”. About the only thing that was authentically German in the place was the beer! We all ordered a cold tall one, and enjoyed every gulp!

I found that by the end of each day, all I wanted to do was collapse into bed and go to sleep. So forgive me for not writing everything out day by day. Trust me; I was on the go from early morning until late at night.

I will try to get it all written down before I forget. This was such a special Reunion and full of so many great times.

Stay tuned for Part two, tomorrow!