Dackel Princess

Homecoming

I started Saturday saying good-bye to my dearest Uschi, and her husband, Volker!

The trip home was definitely eventful. I got a good seat out of Berlin, and I reconnected with a pretty woman who works as the security check person at the Berlin Airport. She was working again and remembered Anneliese and me from last year. Anyway I chatted with her while I waited and then was boarded before most of the other passengers onto the flight in Business Class. This was great because I had a chance to settle Anneliese before the other passengers came on board.

I settled into my seat, and once we were airborne, I put my feet up and used pillows to prop them up more, so that they could rest. It did not do much good, as my feet and legs swelled more and more and by the time I reached JFK in New York I could hardly walk.

I made it through Customs okay, (they did spend a lot of time going through Anneliese’s documents, I think because her coloring stated her as: wild-boar!) and then I tried to get to the earlier flight to Boston but missed it by 5 minutes!

I called Hubby and we were busy trying to decide what to do, when I learned that my regular flight from JFK (set to depart at 7 pm) to Boston was delayed due to a mechanical problem. So we decided I should take a taxi cab to LaGuadia Airport across town and fly up on the shuttle. So, off I went to get a cab.

Luckily I got a good cab driver this time, and I made it over to the other airport quickly. Anneliese and I checked in and also got good seats up to Boston. The weather was rainy and the flight a bit bumpy, but we arrived 2 hours earlier than I would have with the JFK flight. When we landed I asked if the JFK flight was still delayed. They told me then that the flight had been canceled! How lucky I was to go over to LaGuadia and get the shuttle flight to Boston!

Hubby picked us up in the cold rain and brought us home. Oh how wonderful it is to be home.

We arrived home about 9:45 pm and we had a light supper. Emily arrived for the night and we visited with her until 11 PM and then we all went to bed. I slept well, although I woke with painful feet and had to walk around the bedroom a while and use the heating pad on my feet for a while. But mostly I slept well, and didn’t fully wake until 5:45 this morning, so I think I am getting on schedule.

My garden did pretty well in my absence, but I will need to do some work on it tomorrow. My pea plants need to have string, strung and I want to plant some extra squash in the garden as a few plants are not thriving the way I’d like.

Emily left us at 11 AM Sunday morning.

The rest of the day I caught up on the laundry and cooked a few meals for Hubby. It was a nice, relaxing day. A very good recovery day!

Have a great Monday Everyone!

Twenty-Five Years

Today it has been 25 years since my car accident. 25 years since my daughter Katie passed from this world. Yet, in so many ways it is like she was just with me yesterday.

It’s an odd feeling, you know. To have someone you love so very much taken from you so early in their life. It is a difficult thing. For many years I fought with myself because, despite the fact that Katie had passed, I had somehow managed to go on.

Many people said that they would never be able to live if they lost their child. That statement simply cut me to the bone in the early days. I truly wondered if I had done something wrong in having survived at all.

I struggled and wept. I isolated myself and truly was tortured by the horror of that day. I prayed for a miracle. I begged for a miracle and none came.

Or maybe it did. You see. Eventually I began to allow my faith to comfort me. When I was able to do that, I was able to let go and leave Katie to rest in peace.

Katie was a wonderful little girl. She had a mostly cheery disposition, loved her mother, father, sister and life. She was kind, and gentle and thoughtful in ways one doesn’t expect a six year old to be.

She had a great sense of humor, a good imagination, and not too much got her down.

Yes, it has been twenty-five years since my little girl left me and today I am grieving. I did not get to watch her grow up. I didn’t get to see her go on her first date, to her prom, or graduate from High School. There will be no college, or wedding, and I will never hold her baby in my arms.

However, I have said it before and I will believe it until the day that I go to meet the good Lord above, Love Never Dies!

So rest in peace my dearest daughter. One day we will be reunited and the time we will share will be endless.

Katie from Dackel Princess Maribeth on Vimeo.

If tears could build a stairway,

And memories were a lane,

I would walk right up to Heaven

To bring you home again.

No farewell’s were spoken,

No time for goodbye,

You were gone before I knew it,

And only God knows why.

My heart still aches in sadness,

And secret tears will flow,

What is meant to me to lose you,

No one will ever know.

Author Unknown

Last Day

Today was the last day for me in Berlin. We took the S-Bahn into Potsdamer Platz and enjoyed the afternoon. My feet were aching before we even opened the door to leave, so we knew that a lot of walking was not in order. Some, yes, but a lot, no.

We started fairly late, so when we arrived we went right to lunch. Volker and I both had wonderful Wiener Schnitzel,

and Uschi had Zander, a type of Pike Fish.

It was all very delicious, and we enjoyed the wonderful meal! However after that Uschi and I insisted we walk to burn off all the calories. I’m afraid I would have had to walk to the USA and back to burn up all the calories I consumed, but I did mention a hasty return to Weight Watchers on Wednesday.

Me with a Lego giraffe!

Uschi and I with our Healthy strawberry Sundays!

Volker with his berry delight treat!

We walked around Potsdamer Platz shopping area, and I got several cute camisole tops and a few presents for people back home. We even stopped for the requisite gelato and fruit!

I love Berlin!

Soon my feet were really barking at me so we decided to head home. We got here just before dinner time and once we got the dogs settled, we went over to our friend, Sybille’s house for “girls night”. Oh what fun it was to enjoy some time with just the girls! Thank you again, Sybille!

We arrived home and I finished my packing, walked Anneliese, and now I am preparing for bed. After all, tomorrow I get up very early, fly all day long, and get home very late! I will be awake nearly 24 hours upon my arrival.

Hubby, get my bed ready! I’m coming home!

Shrek Feet

Okay, I know I have pretty ugly feet. I accepted this long ago. With feet, there is not much you can do about it either. Just cover them up and hope that no one asks to see them, and that your partner doesn’t break off the relationship when he or she does!

Why am I bringing up feet right now, when all my thoughts should be surrounding Anneliese and our trip to Germany?

I woke up yesterday morning with “Shrek Feet”!

See the similarities?

It has been unmercifully hot here in Berlin. Last night when I went to bed it was nearly 90 degrees just in my room and not much cooler outside! So, yesterday morning when I woke up and my two feet looked like meatloaves, I was more than a little concerned.

I decided I needed water. I drank and drank, but noticed that the liquid was just staying put. Uschi and I went to the Apotheke and spoke to the Pharmacist who gave me an all natural fluid pill. Eventually I should get rid of the fluid. (and so far they seem to be working)

We came back home, I drank a ton of liquid and took my pill. Then we both sat with our feet up and watched TV.

Even Anneliese came out for a while. Uschi’s dog Noah, went outside under the sprinkler, so until he dried off, he was kept out of the house. Anneliese didn’t mind that at all!

In fact on this trip, Anneliese has made herself right at home. She loves her Uncle Volker and her Auntie Uschi, and considers their furniture, her furniture!

Yesterday we also went to a discount shoe store and bought a pair of sandals for the trip home. I still cannot get my puffy feet into my shoes, so velcro sandals to the rescue!

On my last day here, we are going in to Potsdamer Platz. It is a wonderful area to shop around, and most of it is well shaded. I am taking Uschi and Volker out for a meal today and Potsdmer Platz has many nice restaurants there. If Uschi’s and my feet hold up, we may walk around the Tiergarten and enjoy the sights. If our feet give out, we will have Volker drive us back home.

It is hard to believe that my time in Berlin is at an end. I so enjoy spending time with Uschi and her family, and going to the beautiful places in this country! Germany will always be my second home!

Friday Fill-Ins

And…here we go!

1. Cool water_ feels great.
2. The solution is always stay true to yourself_.
3. _Sometimes I can’t fall asleep.
4. How about _just a little more vacation.
5. _Gelato is something I highly recommend!
6. Imagine _lots of dackel puppies_.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to _my last night talking with Uschi, tomorrow my plans include _flying to JFK and then Boston and then seeing Hubby, Fritz, Greta and Arnie!_ and Sunday, I want to _recover from my travels_!

Posted by Janet at 8:50 PM

The Zoo

Yesterday we went to the Tierpark in Berlin.

It was very hot, but the weather was dry, and the Tierpark gave us wonderful shaded paths and a gentle breeze, so mostly we were very comfortable.

The Bears at the entrance to the Tierpark!

Uschi had injured her foot, which required her to have cortisone injections in it! She was still in a lot of pain, so she stayed home to rest it, and I went off to meet with Bernie at the Zoo.

As we walked in there was a great pond area with large, friendly pelicans. I have seen pelicans before, when we lived in Florida, but these guys were huge!!!

I do admit to being a little leery when I approached this guy. He seemed to be the Pelican in charge, and I worried he might come after me.

But soon he was smiling at me and all was well.

My Aussie friend, Bernie under a statue of a Kangaroo!

The monkeys, as usual were hilarious. This little guy almost looks like he was smoking a cigarette!

I can assure you, however, that it was just a twig!

Another cage had several newborn monkeys in it. I think one had to be fairly young because the mother kept it to her breast the entire time.

And when another young monkey came by (perhaps her baby from last year?), she chased it away.

Since I can speak a VERY little German I decided it was a good time to practice! I used my limited skills quite a bit, and only made one grievous error, which caused the clerk to giggle, and once she corrected me and explained, I laughed too! That’s okay, I was at least attempting to speak and I think that is the most important thing!

We went to the reptile house, and saw alligators, crocodiles, and iguanas, in all their glory.

Here is a shot that Bernie took with his zoom lens. I think it came out splendidly!

Because it is the end of springtime here, there were baby animals all around the park. Oh what darling faces we saw as they clutched their Mamas! It is also springtime when the young lady mammals are in season, so we saw many areas that the boys had been separated. One elephant male, was not at all happy by this, but since the Zoo already has one toddle elephant and a newborn.

I totally understood what Papa Elephant had to be kept away, even if he did not!

We walked all around the park, stopping for cold refreshments and we even had a wonderful lunch sitting outside, in the shade. Schnitzel, pomme frites and beer! Very fine, indeed!

Those of you that know me well, already know I have a great love for elephants. I’m not sure what it is, but I love these seemingly gentle creatures. I know they can go nuts and kill a man, but when I observe them with their young, I am always amazed at their gentleness.

The mama and new baby elephant playing together in the water!

Yesterday I insisted we walk all the way to the back of the Zoo to the elephant area. There were two babies, one really a toddler and the other was just born in March. The toddler liked to play with the baby, and the two mother elephants allowed this and kept their eyes on the two. At one point the mothers took them to the pond area to swim, and carefully they allowed the two in.

The toddler didn’t stay in too long, but the wee baby wanted to swim to China, I think! I got quite concerned, as did Bernie, but the two mothers got on either side of the baby elephant and herded it back to the shoreline and then made a containment area for the little elephant.

I stood by with many families and children from the area watching this. I think we all were impressed with the gentle Mama elephants!

We had been there walking and taking copious numbers of pictures, when finally at 3:30 we decided to hop the U-Bahn and go make to Uschi’s village. We called from two stops ahead of our destination, and we got picked up by car.

When we arrived back at Uschi’s, it was time for coffee and cake. I’m not sure who started this tradition, but it is one I love and enjoy when I am over visiting!

Yes, once I get home to America I will have to go to the Weight Watcher’s confessional! And then after saying my prayers of penance, start eating salads and only salads and actually continuing to exercise. I have walked, a lot while I have been here. Even in all of this heat!

We sat down a while later to a grilled meal. Uschi made her potato salad (totally delicious!) with grilled wurst and chicken and pork!

I chose the Thuringia Bratwurst as this is something I love and cannot get in the states. Uschi is from Thuringia, and so she knows where to get the real and best Thuringia Bratwurst!

For dessert, Uschi made a creamy pudding with fruit and specks of chocolate in it!

This was also very delicious!

The evening ended about 10 o’clock when Bernie left to head back into the city. He is leaving today for Hong Kong, before he heads back home to Australia! It was wonderful to meet Bernie, and I thank him for allowing me to use many of his pictures on the blog today.

I will leave you with this picture of me horsing around. I just couldn’t help it. Since my childhood hero was Lucille Ball, I have always gone for a good sight gag! Have a great day everyone!!!

Anton

Today we are going to the Berlin Tierpark. The Tierpark is the former East German Zoo, and one of the larger Zoological Gardens in Germany. They have a large breeding program for many animals, but especially elephants. Since I love elephants, going to see them is always enjoyable.

Yesterday I spent time playing auto’s with Uschi’s grandson, Anton! He is such a sweet, loving child and so much fun to be with.

This was taken at coffee time. He had juice and cookies!

Then we went off to the large grocery store, to buy all the things we would need for the next few days. Anton joined us and that was even better!

He got to ride in the children’s toy machine’s, and this made him very happy.

Then, while Uschi prepared dinner, Anton, Volker and I played auto’s! Anton loves his cars, but he was especially nice to me and allowed me to play with them too!

Anneliese is doing well. She woke me at 5:30 this morning. While I am sitting here writing my blog, wide awake, she has gone back to sleep!

I can hear the neighbor’s as they prepare for their day at work, or their walk to the local bakery for the morning bread! Oh, what a joy that has been! Freshly baked, delicious, crusty bread!

Yesterday we picked up some leberwurst and cheese to have for breakfast. I can hardly wait!

I hope everyone is well, and enjoying the summer wherever you are!

Monday

Monday did not exactly go as I had planned.

We all woke at the correct time, Anneliese behaved the way she should have both here in Berlin, and in the car, but when we arrived at Isegrim’s home, he was just not interested in Anneliese. I mean, they played with each other, and Anneliese definitely wanted Isegrim’s affection, it’s just that he didn’t really want her.

We sat for quite a while and allowed them to play, but in the end, we left, with Anneliese feeling unfullfilled and me feeling more than a little concerned.

I tried to show him how nice Anneliese is!

I think she felt rejected afterward, as we drove home.

I know I did. Now I tell myself that perhaps she is pregnant from the one and only time that they mated. It was a good breeding, and everything went like clock-work! I’ll have to wait three weeks until I know for sure.

***************

We drove Anneliese home and dropped back, safely in her room. She was tired and warm and just wanted to take a nap. Meanwhile we decided to go out to Hercules Restaurant for Greek Gyros!

We sat down at the table and the owners brought Uzo to our seats!

Volker and I each drank one! It’s funny, because I do not like Licorice, but the Uzo tasted just fine!

I asked the waiter what beer they had on tap. “Warsteiner”! My favorite! So I ordered one of those! It was full bodied and cold and tasted wonderful!

Uschi asked if they made an alcohol free beer and they did. “Warsteiner”! So, she ordered one of those!

Soon the waiter brought out our lunches. Beautiful plates of thinly sliced meat, potatoes and salad! The real Greek Gyros!

We ate with pure delight this fabulous meal, and then we dropped Volker back at home with the dogs, and Uschi and I went out to window shop. I love to look at things, and dream…

We saw this statue in one shopping mall, and of course I like to play around, so I pretended to give him a kiss!

My day ended with Uschi and I watching “The Lake House”, which when translated into German becomes “Haus Am See”. And for those of you who live with me, or know me well, my favorite sing-a-long song is a German song called “Haus Am See”. Neither is related to the other, but it made me smile, none the less!

Today I need to catch up a bit with a few things before Uschi and I are off this afternoon. I need to do a little wash, spend some time in the garden with Anneliese, and write a few notes!

Meeting An Old Friend

I’m truly amazed when I meet someone that I have known for years online, and they turn out to be just who I have always known them to be! Such was Sunday, here in Berlin. My friend Bernie from Aussiepomm (Australia) is in Berlin on business and today was his free day, so we got together and walked around the Müggelsee and stopped there to have lunch.

The day was bright, hot and beautiful, and the three of us walked and ate, and talked and enjoyed. It was fabulous. We stopped at a great gelato shop, and had coffee in a little cafe as well, before returning to Uschi’s home where we sat for hours on the balcony talking some more.

What a pleasant time we all had, talking, laughing and joking with each other! Just how I knew it would be when two friends got together! Best of all, he got to meet Uschi and her husband as well!

The sun set quite late, as Berlin is pretty far north, and eventually Uschi and I drove Bernie to the S-Bahn to get the train back into the city.

Monday we drive back to see Herr Isegrim and complete the love match between Anneliese and her man!

The First Breeding

Saturday morning we got up, had breakfast and then prepared Anneliese for her meeting with her husband, Isegrim. The ride was a tad long, but went quite smoothly. Uschi’s husband drove us and we settled in the back seat with Anneliese and prepared her for the events to come.

It was another beautiful day here and when we reached Isegrim’s home, he was waiting for us!

I went to the door and pushed the bell and waited for the family to greet us.

Soon Steffi and her mother came out with Isegrim

and the dance of love ensued. Isegrim is quite the Romeo, and he knows exactly what to do to win over his lady love!

Then the real fun began and Steffi and I were there to assist.

It was a very good mating, and after we had a nice time chatting until the dogs were completely done.

Uschi made herself comfortable in the cool grass.

And before we knew it, they were done for the day!

It was quite amazing, as I believe that they remembered each other from last year. I know one thing, Isegrim certainly remembered me!

And Uschi!

So the first breeding is done and we will go back on Monday for the second one. It was so nice to sit with Isegrim’s family afterward and have a nice visit!

When we got back to Berlin, we were all exhausted. Everyone took a short nap, except me. I reworked some of the pictures that you have seen here.

Have a great Sunday everyone!!!