Dackel Princess

Numbers

this morning and they were talking about age. You know, if you are honest about your age, or your weight and the numbers that define us.

You all know that in November I will be turning 52 years old. I’ve never been uncomfortable talking about my age. In fact, I’m quite proud that I even survived my twenties, so arriving in my 50’s two years ago, felt good. I feel young inside my head, even if various parts of my body are now heading south, or totally rusting up and falling off.

They asked people on the street how old they were and I was amazed at how many people didn’t want to answer. Am I the only person on the face of the earth that feels pride at being their age? Do you tell the truth about your age, fudge the numbers or simply not answer?

Now weight is a totally different thing. I shall be 129 pounds until the day I die. No matter the hour, day or year.

(And the fact that I haven’t weighed 129 pounds since I was 26 years old won’t stop me either! Just look at my drivers license! 129 pounds!)

Of course, back in my head again, I am 129 pounds, and my body resembles the firm and toned body I had when I was 16 and doing gymnastics! Even my 28 year old body wasn’t too bad, although not quite as good.

I’d just like to think that when I do die and hopefully go to Heaven that slim and perky body will be restored.

One can hope…

What I Did This Weekend

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

My weekend was actually quite full. On Friday I was on my way home from my cousin’s home after caring for her overnight. I was tired and a bit on the cranky side, but when I arrived and was greeted by my very own four doggies, I felt a lot better. Oh yes, and Hubby was also glad to see me!

Saturday I worked around the house, cleaning and doing some computer work before I showered and got ready to go to Mandy’s house for dinner.

My daughter lives about an hour south of us in a town next to where Hubby and I lived when we were first married. The roads are familiar and it was nice to drive down.

Mandy made the most delicious spinach lasagna and garlic toast! I brought a garden salad and her boyfriend’s mother brought a fruit salad. We all sat on their deck drinking wine and beer, and talking in the cool Autumn sunshine.

Time with my daughter is always too short, and before I knew it, we had to leave to come home.

Sunday was Dackel Dog Bath Day! All three of them were put in the shower and washed from the tops of their heads to the tips of their tails! Fritz was off with Hubby, and escaped being bathed again!

I’ve started making “chow-chow” relish. It’s a tomato recipe that calls for you to do half one day, let it sit overnight and then do the rest the next day. I sure hope this relish comes out well. I will keep you posted.

The week ahead is another busy one for me. Tuesday, and Wednesday I have meetings, but Thursday may find me on the road again.

Have a great week, everyone!

Daughters & Memories

Saturday was a great day. I got to spend some time, relaxing and enjoying my daughter, Mandy and her boyfriend, M. M’s parent’s also came by and we sat around talking and joking and Mandy made a delicious spinach lasagna!

The weather was beautiful and we all sat out on her balcony, in the slightly crisp air. Yes sir, it felt like Autumn!

My daughter lives in the town next to where Hubby and I lived when we first were married. Before that Hubby lived in that town, and I lived one town over and so going back is always a trip down memory lane.

This part of New Hampshire has grown like crazy. The strip malls are everywhere and along one road, where there wasn’t one stop light when I first moved there nearly 30 years ago, there are now stop lights every 500 to a 1000 feet! Or so it seems.

And yet there were roads and corners and trees and homes that have remained the same, so that in many ways it felt like we were driving home.

Of course, by the end of the evening, we got into our car and headed back to our real home an hour north, and when we returned we were greeted by 4 happy doggies!

Family & Dogs

I was off to the great state of Massachusetts to see and take care of my cousin, Janet. She really is doing better than she was, but her recovery will be a long one. Her surgery was on her back, and she has a 4 inch incision. She is on massive amounts of antibiotics, and at this point, needs lots of rest.

On Thursday night I did cook my, “World Famous Chicken”

It was a big hit, and made Janet smile. So, it was totally worth all the work making it and then cleaning it up! As I said yesterday, I need someone who likes to wash dishes after I cook because I tend to use every pot and pan in the kitchen!

This morning the Visiting Nurse came back again to give Janet her antibiotic infusion. Once again, Wolf got all freaked out! Poor guy. I sat him down next to me and tried to calm him.

Eventually he started to relax and respond positively to my calming kisses and snuggles.

I stayed until early afternoon when Janet’s friend Lauren arrived. She was going to stay until Dave got home from work. Then he will be with her all weekend.

Saturday I am off to see my daughter and her boyfriend and I have a dog sitter coming to take care of the pups. Am I the only one you know who gets a baby sitter for their dogs? Just call me a loving dog Mommy!

Hold Tight!

I’m down at my cousin’s home showering her with a lot of TLC! I made her favorite meal of Roasted Chicken, green beans, butternut squash and mashed potatoes, and everyone ate like crazy. In fact, Janet’s boyfriend went back for seconds! I was glad I spent the time to make this dinner!

The ride down here from my home went well, and was pretty uneventful. I made it in record time and really never broke the speed limit.

Janet’s dogs were thrilled to see me, and naturally very happy that I took them out for walks. However, poor Wolf really suffers when Janet’s home Nurse comes in to change her dressings and administer her medication.

Today I thought Wolf might have a seizure he was panting and shaking so hard. I sat with him wrapped in my arms so he couldn’t see what was happening and he stayed there for a very long time. I was glad to be able to calm him.

Max, Me and Wolf.

After fixing the great meal, it was time for the great cleanup! I’m starting to think that Julia Child had the right idea. Be the great cook, and then let someone else do the dishes!

Later on Thursday I will head home to Hubby, my four dogs and the Great State of New Hampshire!

Weight Watchers, Dresses & Glasses

Wednesday I was running all day long, and here I am at 9 pm, just sitting down to write. Total craziness!

I had Weight Watchers, and did okay. I mean, I stayed the same, so that’s okay. I stayed as long as I could, and then I headed out because I wanted to find a new dress for the Reunion we will be attending in October.

I tried on many dresses and it is amazing how different styles make you look either too fat or just right. After I tried on 6 dresses, I finally found one I like, and at $39.00 I cannot complain at the price. It’s a solid black dress with an A-line skirt. Very pretty. I look very slender!

Then I was off to get my eyes examined and that went okay and I picked out new glasses.

I like these and so I ordered the new ones. They should be here in two weeks.

Our friends from Florida arrived this afternoon for the night. We went to dinner at Canoe and now we are sitting chatting.

Today I will be going to my cousin’s house to take care of her. She is finally home and now it’s time for the TLC! (Tender Loving Care!)

Random Dozen

1. Do you do garage sales? If so, tell me about one great find. If not, tell me why not.

No I don’t. My house is full and really, I should have a yard sale or two. Maybe a dozen!

2. Name the last thing you fixed.

The nightlight in my bathroom. I did it in the dark in the middle of the night.

3. Name your A) Favorite item of makeup OR B) Favorite tool

Favorite tool are pliers! I love my pliers!

4. Which room in your home needs organizing more than any other?

My dining room. Mostly it is a catch all room because we eat in the kitchen. I really need to get in there, organize, cull and clean.

5. Which room could use re-decorating?

The familyroom/kitchen. It’s an open format room and desperately needs painting, new rugs, and new furniture.

6. Share something unique about your town.

I could name some of the events that we have, the the restaurants that we have, but you know what makes my town truly special? The people! I love the people in my town. They have been there for me with a smile or a hug. Yes, for better or worse, I love the people in my little town!

7. If you could send a one-sentence message to your great-grandchild, what would it be?

Always remember, I love you!

8. Do you Facebook?

Oh yeah, big time.

9. Describe your favorite shoes.

Simple slip on black shoes. They are so comfortable.

10. Do you listen to more talk radio or more music radio? What kind of station is it?

I love talk radio, but I am not in the car very much. Usually I listen to the TV while I’m doing stuff. If I am listening to music on my MP3 player it’s easy listening rock type.

11. How far would you travel for a really good (favorite) meal?

I’ve gone all the way down to the coast of my state, 70 miles, and I’ve also gone to another country, Germany! lol!

12. If you were totally honest with yourself (and us) what should you probably be doing right now instead of blogging?

Ironing and doing laundry. And I’ll get to that, I promise!

Living Love

My cousin Janet has been quite ill. In fact she was in the hospital and had to have emergency surgery. She scared the heck out of me! In fact, I think she scared a lot of us that love her.

However, her surgery went well, and she is recovering better than I would have, (I get a splinter and want a morphine drip!) and she will be going home soon. I’ll be leaving Hubby overnight and going down to cook her a meal full of comfort food, and to shower a little tender loving care on her.

You know, I have thought a lot about life recently. How we should really relax and enjoy the good times, maybe appreciate them more, because life is full of those difficult times, the ones that we somehow struggle through, but the ones that challenge our emotions, nonetheless.

Janet’s surgery reminded me that I need to pay better attention to the good things in life. That I need to love my family and friends consistently and let them know.

I think I am going to go and hug Hubby now! I’m feel just a tad emotional!

What I Did This Weekend

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

This was the weekend of cooking! I seem to have spent more time in the kitchen than I usually do. Why is that, you might ask? Well, when I am nervous I cook and my cousin Janet was operated so I was a wreck. Happily, Janet is doing well, and later this week she should be well enough to go home, and then I will go down and help her out.n in an emergency on Saturday morning.

Okay, so here I go with what I did.

Friday I cooked, literally all day long. As you can tell from the previous post, it was literally mnon-stop from morning until the night!

Saturday was a nice day. I didn’t cook too much but I was preparing for our guests and the barbecue we had with our friends. That was so nice and relaxing, that even the dogs had a great time.

On Sunday, Hubby came in with another half a bushel of Macintosh apples and we cored them and cooked them up and made apple sauce.

I also discovered that I can download Kindle books to my computer! This is fabulous because it will mean that I can download books and enlarge the font! Yay!

Happy Monday, everyone!

Short Order Cook

It started with me cooking Hubby breakfast on Friday morning. I asked what he wanted and quickly whipped it up for him. I tidied the kitchen and then began the process of getting some cooking done.

Serious cooking.

Saturday we had friends over for a barbecue, and I needed to get the ribs set so that they could marinate. I was able to get that done pretty quickly, before I tackled the potato salad.

I tossed 5 pounds of potatoes in to boil with a half dozen eggs, and while that all cooked, I chopped the onion, celery for the potato salad as well as peppers and garlic that I needed for the Chili that I was also making.

Chili, you ask? Yes, Since I had all the juice from the tomatoes and I am literally inundated with Spaghetti Sauce, I decided to make a double batch of chili.

Once the vegetables were chopped and the potatoes were cooked, I set them aside to cool. Meanwhile, I started the Chili by sauteing all the vegetables and adding the ground meat. I browned that, added the tomato sauce and spices and set it on a low heat to cook.

I then made the potato salad and no sooner had I gotten all that put together, than it was lunch! I made Hubby a couple of hot-dogs with relish, onions and mustard and chips. Ate a quick lunch myself before working to clean up everything.

I was just finishing up the Chili in the mid afternoon when Hubby suggested that we make apple sauce! So we sliced and cored half a bushel of apples and cooked them down. We put them through the Foley Mill to remove any seeds and skin, and then added a tad of sugar and cinnamon. Yum! I froze eight quarts of sauce and put one container in the fridge.

Then Hubby wanted dinner. That was easy, he got Chili! I literally cooked the entire day on Friday, and I do not plan to cook much at all now over the weekend! Just a few little things. Like grill the ribs, and boil water for the corn on the cob.

I must share with you though, that my freezers are nearly full with all sorts of fruits and vegetables from the garden. Makes me feel kind of proud.

Saturday’s dinner went off without a hitch and we are all happily full tonight. Thanks to my pre-cooking, I was able to enjoy my guests and the food as well!