Dackel Princess

Man & Dogs

This morning, as I sipped my first cup of coffee, I noticed Greta, sitting quietly in the front window. She looked so beautiful and sweet that I quickly snapped these two pictures.

And I called her name and she looked over at me.

Now isn’t she a beauty?

(Even if she is slightly pudgy!)

My day was spent canning. I made two batches of my Heavenly Peach Jam (19 jars!), as well as peeling, scooping and chopping cucumbers for Moonglow Pickles. That alone (the cucumbers) took me two hours!

I was feeling rather tired and frankly, I would have enjoyed going out for dinner, but both Hubby and I were too tired to even do that, so I made a less than wonderful dinner, which gave me heartburn, and the day finally ended.

Saturday I will can 6 jars of Moonglow Pickles, and perhaps do a little laundry. There is no news on Anneliese at this moment, but I hope there will be soon!

The dogs are all feeling very clingy right now. Here Arnie, Anneliese and Fritz are with Hubby.

Aug 6 007

Greta was in my lap!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

I’ve always lived by the motto of “don’t ask, don’t tell”, when it comes to the subject of my weight. Hubby has always sort of respected the limits of this, knowing that there are certain things that a man simply doesn’t ask a woman, like her real age, her real weight and her real hair color.

This morning, Hubby came into our bedroom while I was getting dressed. I was trying to zip up a pair of jean shorts, and although I could get the zipper up, I was unable to breathe. So I (literally) peeled them off and put on another pair of shorts, all the while, Hubby stood watching me.

“It won’t be long until these fit me again” I said optimistically.

And that’s when he did it. He asked that fateful question.

“How much do you weigh now, anyway?”

I answered him honestly, after all, I got weighed in yesterday at Weight Watchers and I know exactly how much I weigh, and there was no fudging the truth! Well, that’s when he actually started to make a few choice remarks about my weight. Like, about how I must have eaten a lot of good German food and enjoyed plenty of beers when I went to Germany.

Gentlemen, I am telling you now, this is truly dangerous territory.

I turned and asked him if he was the “fat police”!

One thing about Hubby, he’s really bright. He smiled and winked and left our bedroom before I could throw a shoe at him!

I’m glad I’m back on my weight loss plan, because the above situation could have a turned out differently. You could be reading about the justifiable homicide of a husband who asked his wife about her weight, as he was prying a double fudge brownie out of her hands when she snapped!

Now that really would be a tragedy, wouldn’t it?

Friday Fil-Ins

And…here we go!

1. Life is _good_.

2. _Always_ keep going.

3. My last text message (or IM) ended in these three words: _Thanks. Sure is_.

4. _Lobster_ is what I’m thinking about for dinner sometime soon.

5. On the 1st day of August _my garden doth overflow with vegetables!_

6. _The dogs are always_ lively and energetic.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to _watching the new “Say Yes To The Dress”_, tomorrow my plans include _pickles, pickles, pickles_ and Sunday, I want to _hopefully be playing with a puppy_!

Friday Fil-Ins are brought to you by my cousin Janet.
Come on and join in the fun!

Peaches, Pickles & Puppies

Wednesday, when I arrived home from Weight Watchers, Hubby handed me a peach. A peach from our very own Reliance Peach Tree. I bit into it, and the juice drizzled down my chin! Yes folks, it’s peach season here in New Hampshire!

We have a bumper crop and Hubby has already sold 35 pounds of peaches, with another 45 pounds ready to go tomorrow! I’m planning to make 2 batches of my Heavenly Peach Jam, but the rest will be given to neighbors and sold to the local farm stands.

I have another big batch of cucumbers and plan to make pickles again this weekend. I’m not sure which kind I’ll make. Moonglow or Bread & Butter. Probably the Moonglow.

Anneliese is uncomfortable, and I think she is ready to have this baby and be done with it! She sleeps a lot, and also tries to stretch out to give her belly and the baby some room.

Her constant companion these days is her brother, Arnie. He seems to sense that she is with puppy, and he snuggles up in an attempt to make her feel good.

Since her temperature is still normal I’m guessing it will be another couple of days. Last time her temperature dropped to 97 degrees and 36 hours later the puppies were born. So, I will keep taking her temperature (much to her dismay), and let you all know when it drops!

The Eye…Again!

I went in on Tuesday and saw my Retinal Surgeon. My retina is still in place, but I have quite a bit of vitreous gel in my eye causing these crazy symptoms. Great, I thought, no problem there, but my doctor cautioned me that we are not out of the woods yet and we must monitor the eye carefully.You see the vitreous gel can actually pull at and cause a retinal detachment!

I need to report any new symptoms, as a blow to the head or shaking of the head can, in fact, cause a retinal detachment. No heavy lifting or strenuous behavior either. I go back to see him in four weeks, or sooner if things get worse.

I grabbed a quick breakfast before Hubby and I drove back home arriving just before lunch. The dogs were overjoyed to see us and it was good to be home. I took a little nap after lunch, and I tried to figure out how to live with this “eye thing” having over me?

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Meanwhile, I am still having problems with my “Host”. So if you log in and can’t get on, please come back and try again later. I have been yelling wildly working with my host provider to get my blog moved over to a more reliable server, as the one that they currently have me on keeps going down…daily! How long I will put up with this madness is anyone’s guess.

Anneliese & Maribeth

Monday, I took Anneliese in for her exam at the Veterinarian’s Office. Yes, it is one pup. The pup is good size, but looks like she can deliver it okay. The head was about 1 inch across, and Anneliese’s birth canal is about 1 and 3/4 inches across so the baby should be able to pass through. She is due at the end of this week and we are all waiting. I’m taking her temperature twice a day, waiting for it to drop (this indicates the start of her labor). Hopefully it won’t happen until Thursday or Friday because…

Tuesday morning I must go in and have a surgical procedure done to my right eye. They believe that my retina is tearing away from the back of the eye again and I hope all I will need is some laser surgery and I’ll be right as can be!

You see, over the weekend I began to have some vision problems and today I called Dr. C.’s office and they arranged for me to come in today. Please wish me luck and hold a good thought for a positive outcome!

So that’s where we are today. Anneliese expecting one baby and Maribeth expecting another eye surgery!

It’s August, Already?

What Do You Think?

The first picture was 6 days before she gave birth the first time. The second picture was yesterday. Last time I gave her belly a little maternity trim, but I haven’t done that this time. I’ve just let her be. I will see what the Veterinarians say today at noon. If they suggest I do it, then I will.

Sunday, I spent the morning slicing, scooping out the center and then blanching zucchini, to make zucchini boats. I will post the recipe for them. I made 12 boats, wrapped them tightly in plastic and then put them in a Ziploc Freezer Bag.

They are now frozen and I think they will taste wonderful in January. By then, I may be ready to eat zucchini again! Right now, I am sick to death of them, and summer squash. I’ve had a bumper crop of both of them this year!

I think today I will bring a bag full of squash with me to the Vet’s Office. Then I can pass it out and share the wealth.

Happy Monday, Everyone!

Zucchini Boats

1/2 lbs. ground turkey
1/2 lbs. Sweet Italian Turkey Sausage
4 large zucchini
1 c. onion
1 cup chopped green & red peppers
1 c. rice (I like the brown rice best)
1 large jar tomato sauce
1-2 tbs Italian seasoning
1/4 c. fat free mozzarella cheese (I used regular part-skim cheese for 1 extra pt. per pepper)
1/4 tsp. garlic (I used minced garlic from a jar.

Cut Zucchini in half and scoop out the center.
Blanch zucchini halves for 5-8 minutes in boiling water.
Place zucchini shell in casserole dish.
Sauté turkey, garlic, onion and peppers until done, add cooked rice.
Mix tomato sauce with Italian Seasoning, then pour 1/2 into dish with turkey mixture.
Cook until hot.
Stuff cooked mixture into zucchini and pour remaining tomato sauce over zucchini.
Cover and bake for 45 minutes.
Uncover. Top with cheese and bake another 10-15 m. minutes or until zucchini is tender.

(For freezing, I followed all the steps except I did not top with cheese. I wrapped each boat in plastic and then put 4 boats in a Ziploc Bag.)

Getting My Coffee Grounds Read!

I went to a Greek Festival today and while I was there I had the most delicious Greek Coffee! I sipped it slowly and when I was done, my cup was tipped and circled three times and then the woman read my coffee grounds.

She said “If you were pregnant I would see you having triplets! I see three babies!” I told her my dog was pregnant and she said that it could be that my dog is going to have three babies! Oh I hope she is right!

How many do you see?

Meanwhile, Arnie made himself comfortable in Hubby’s arms. Arnie is so affectionate and extremely demonstrative. I hope Anneliese has three puppies just like her brother!

Happy Sunday everyone!

The Start To A Good Weekend!

I started Friday with a shower. For me, and for Greta and Arnie. Somehow the two of them had gotten into something sticky and needed a shower. Anneliese is being quiet these days and thus, her coat is nice and clean. Besides, I didn’t want to stress her with a bath. Once I was done, I got out and Hubby and I toweled the two pups dry.

Isn’t Arnie cute?

Anneliese slept most of the day. She was uncomfortable and stretched as much as she could each time she lay down.

Next on my list of things to get done was to make the Moonglow Pickles. So after following the recipe, I got the pot of cucumbers on the stove and the jars sterilizing in a pot of boiling water.

I made 6 more jars of the Moonglow Pickles!

Tonight Anneliese just seems tired. You know, by this time next week we could have her baby all delivered.

Have a great weekend, everyone!