Dackel Princess

Skiing

It was a cold and damp day as I made my way to Waterville Valley ski resort. In the past, I have always thought of Waterville as my home mountain. I know the area, I know the people who work there and I know the lodge. It’s always been a home away from home.

Today marked the return of the Dackel to the slopes, after a two year absence. I must tell you that my stomach hurt like it did when I was in 8th grade and was anticipating a math test!

We woke up at 6:30 and quickly dressed and headed out. I’d made a weight watcher breakfast sandwich and some coffee to go and off we went.

We arrived just in time to hear the start bell ring, announcing the beginning of another ski day. Hubby and I put on our gear, and then went out, got in line and off we went.

Up, up, up to the very top of the mountain. It was beautiful up there and Hubby had me stop and pose for a picture.

He took two and then something happened. Yes, folks. I broke the camera! I knew it was going to happen sometime, as I am always making this joke about it, and today….the old camera just died. Later, I was able to get the pictures off of it, but since it is so old and a real pain anyway, I do not think I will even worry about getting it fixed.

We skied down the first time and I was tight, and tentative and really afraid. On the way up Hubby and I had been talking and I realized that Hubby is the “kiss of death” for his skiing companions. First me with my knee, then George with his shoulder, and Carole with her fractured pelvis and now Dino with his broken arm! Yes, I thought twice about the man who I was sitting next to me on the ski lift!

I did make it down, but comfort was not to be found. I felt frustrated and as gawky as I did the first day I wore braces as a kid.

The second run I saw a woman who was an adaptive skier. She was in a ski chair. She lifted herself onto the ski lift, and then just let go and had fun all the way down. I really admired her.

My second run I loosened up a bit, but Hubby recognized the fear and he asked if I wanted to stop for a little sugar free hot cocoa. Oh yeah, he is the man of my dreams!

We came back after our break and skied two more runs. At this point I swear that there were several hundred elementary school kids skiing the slopes going 100 miles an hour and scaring the daylights out of this old woman! So I told Hubby I was done for the day. I told him to go ahead and keep skiing, but I think he recognized exhaustion and knew I would need direction to our table at the inn and then eventually the car.

We came home in time for lunch and then a nice, long, hot, soak in the bathtub. I’d still be there, but we threatened to run out of hot water.

I skied. I stayed upright. I survived!

OK, Here I Go!!!

It’s been almost two years since my skiing accident.

Today I decided to breakout the ski boots, ski parka, skis and helmet and get myself ready to get back on the mountain.

So I put on my boots today and wore them all around the house to help my legs, once again, adjust to them. It was strange to have them on. You know I’ve lost a lot of weight since the last time I skied, so I am thinking (hoping) I will have a much easier time moving around.

I’m pretty nervous about all of this. I think part of me would like to stay in bed and hide and never go out again, but then I think of how beautiful it is and how much I enjoy the scenery and I think in the long run I would really miss it.

So I am putting on my big girl ski gear and heading for Waterville Valley. Keep your fingers crossed!!!

The Day After…What A Turkey!

While we were on our cruise we had a cabin steward named, Dennis. Each day Dennis came and cleaned our cabin, made the bed, tidied up, and emptied our trash. In the evenings he came and turned the beds down and put chocolate on our pillows.

All I can say after 5 days back in the real world is: I should have left my laundry on the ship and packed Dennis in my suitcase and brought him home!

Today I started the long process of going through our stuff and getting things back in order.

Now I wasn’t really into doing that, in fact the first hour or so of the morning I sat drinking coffee, watching the snow fall,

and viewing “What Not To Wear” on TLC-TV. Then guilt began to plague me and I got dressed and actually started to put things away.

Do you know how many catalogs came in the mail at the end of November? I had 15 catalogs that came while we were gone, plus all of the magazines that we subscribe to.

After a while I decided that I wanted to make soup with the turkey broth that I’d made yesterday. I thought long and hard about making a healthy soup, so this eventually led me to go out to the grocery store to pick up some fresh carrots and escarole.

While I was out running errands it continued to snow. When I got home, I enjoyed the first of the season snowfall which had collected on our patio table.

Nov. 29 a005

The soup began simmering on the stove when my cell phone rang. It was my cousin telling me that my Uncle is not well and will be in the hospital longer then we had first thought. I am so worried about him!

Then the phone rang again and it was Hubby telling me that his skiing partner had fallen and injured his shoulder. (He did, in fact, break his upper arm!)

By the end of the day the temperatures had dipped and black ice is on our driveway. No worries. We have no where to go, and are safe and snug for the night.

Tonight I plan to do nothing more than veg out watching the TV and perhaps read some more of my book.

And if Hubby is very lucky I may turn down the bed and put chocolate on his pillow!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving. A day usually set aside for gorging on vast amounts of turkey, potatoes, stuffing and gravy, not to mention pies! Oh and I do love pie. In fact I think I like pie more than almost any other dessert, well except chocolate!

But I digress.

Hubby and I were up as usual and we worked together to get old Tom Turkey stuffed with the chestnut stuffing I had put together the night before. I could tell that this was going to be good.

While we finished up the preparation of the turkey, Hubby peeled and sliced the apples for our sugar-free apple pie. I put them both in the oven and after an hour the pie was done, I basted the turkey and sat down to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade.

My comment to Macy’s: Cut the stage show and give us a good old fashioned parade!

Switching channels, I found a marathon showing of the series “House” on USA TV. Since we like that show, we left it on all day. I think I like it even more now.

The turkey was basted, the potatoes boiled, as well as the pearl onions, peas, butternut squash and gravy.

At 2 PM I lit the candles, and we sat down to our Thanksgiving Dinner.

Now before you think I went off the deep end here is what I ate:

2 ounces of turkey,

1/3 cup mashed potatoes

1/3 cup butternut squash

1/3 cup stuffing

1/3 cup peas

1/4 cup gravy

1/8 cup cranberry relish

and dessert was a small slice of the sugar-free apple pie!

All in all, I think I did well. The funny part was realizing that I was really full after eating this limited amount of food. I was shocked! I thought that I would be left feeling hungry, but that was not the case.

I did part one of the clean up, turned on the dishwasher and then came into the family-room and curled up on the sofa with Arnie and Anneliese and fell asleep. Whoever said that turkey makes you sleep was 100% accurate! I slept like a baby!

Part two of the clean up is done, Hubby and I are satiated as only a good New England Thanksgiving can provide, and I’m feeling happy that I didn’t blow the whole diet thing with a meal that could have been larger, if I hadn’t been aware of what I was doing.

I hope you and yours had a wonderful day whether you celebrated Thanksgiving here in the USA or just another average day in your own country!

Answers To Questions

Forgive me Bloggers, for I have sinned. I gained one pound at Weight Watchers this week! I knew I had to have gained something. After all the goodies I ate on the trip. I mean how could I turn down freshly baked dinner rolls with sunflower seeds? Or an appetizer of shredded crab, shrimp and scallops with a cream sauce? Or perhaps the baby lamb chops, lobster tails, prime rib, or eggplant Parmesan?

I probably would have done better if I had pushed away the chocolate cake, tiramisu, baked Alaska with extra fudge sauce, and the rum raisin ice cream made with dark, delicious, real rum!

I did try to avoid this gain by walking everywhere and taking the stairs when I could. In fact, poor Hubby was breathless at times as I was zipping up and down the stairs.

With 15 flights of stairs to walk, you’d have thought I would have at least broken even in the weight department, but no such luck!

Now, yesterday a few of you asked me questions and so I decided that I would end today’s post with answers to these questions.

Is there a particular reason you stayed home to do chores whilst your hubby got to go skiing? Seems a tad sexist to me!! …..Not really, it’s early in the ski season and I am not the die hard skier that Hubby is. He really loves the rough early skiing, and I simply don’t. Trust me, I was much happier at home doing chores!
Musical dogs, huh? How long does “in-heat” last? …..A typical heat will last three weeks. It just seems like forever!!!
Did you give up skiing? I remember your accident… How did the WW’s meeting go?? …….No, I haven’t given up, although I admit to being a little nervous. I haven’t skied since the accident . I plan to ski this this year….. As you can see from the entry above, WW was not as great as I’d hoped! ;~)
oh man, you’ve sure got your hands full with those dogs! ……I sure do!!!
Of course the easy answer to the cooking problem is just to stay on a cruise permanently! ……Now there’s the answer to it all! I like how you think, Loth!!!

Snow, Rain, Cooking & WW

It was back to reality today here in New Hampshire. While Hubby was up early to go and tackle a mountain skiing, I stayed home with the dogs, doing laundry, putting things away and trying to keep Arnie and Greta apart.

I finally decided to put Arnie in his crate at the other end of the house and close the door, so I could have some peace. At noon I put Greta in the guest room and let him out for a few hours then switched them again in the late afternoon. Currently Arnie is out again, but shortly he will be put to bed for the night and Greta will come back out.

We’ve had heavy rain here at the house, while in the mountains where Hubby was skiing they had several inches of snow. He came home shortly after noon with sore legs, and a big smile on his face!

I’m having the hardest time getting back into this whole cooking routine. Last night the pork chops were tough as shoe leather. Tonight, the rice wasn’t quite done. Maybe by Thursday, which is our Thanksgiving, I can pull it all together and make a really good meal.

Wednesday morning is my day of reckoning! I return to Weight Watchers. I’m nervous and worried, but I tell myself that I should just not become too upset. After all, I had a wonderful time and since I have returned home I have been very careful what I have been eating. It will come off, just like it did before.

Still……

Shopping For Thanksgiving

When we arrived home last night the first thing we noticed (after our herd of happy doggies), was that we needed food. The local grocery store was closed, so I scrounged around this morning and was able to make breakfast for Hubby and myself. However, the cupboard was bare for anything that might pass for a lunch.

A new grocery shop opened in our town, so today we decided to get our food and the last things needed for Thanksgiving.

It’s just going to be Hubby and me for turkey day, but since I love Thanksgiving more than anything (I LOVE cooking it), I am more than excited that it is almost here!

In other news, Greta is at the height of her heat and driving Arnie wild/ It got so bad today that we finally had to put Arnie in a crate at the other end of the house with the door closed. We had to listen to the howling, the barking and the call of the wild for a while, but finally, thank goodness, it is quiet!

I do miss the laziness of the cruise ship. How lovely it was to wake up in the morning and have coffee and breakfast all ready for you.

We would sit next to a window and sip our coffees and enjoy the beauty all around us. Yes, I miss that ship!

Now onward to Turkey Day!

Home Again

We’re home again and after a day of traveling, which started at 5 AM, we are both really tired. The doggies were all happy to see us and of course we were happy to see them as well.

As good as it is to go away it is twice as good to come home!!

St. Thomas/St. John

St. Thomas was our last stop.

We decided that instead of touring St. Thomas we would take the ferry over to St. John for the day. What a beautiful island! We got a cab with a group of women, also from our ship and Smitty showed us the sites of this small island. Not only does this have a beautiful interior, but some of the prettiest natural beaches that I have ever seen.

Where did this last week go?

Dominica!!!

We were up quite literally with the sun. We needed to shower, dress and go upstairs for breakfast, then be down on the pier by 7:15 AM. No worries, really, the sun rose and woke me and then the wake up call came and we got into action.

Breakfast was the usual, and then we grabbed our things from the room and got down on the pier nice and early. We were on the Dominica’s Favorites tour with Mr. Gary (driver) and Cori (our guide).

First we all were a tad wet because it was raining like crazy when we got off the ship. Let’s just say I was very glad that we packed our umbrellas and rain ponchos, as today we had another day filled with rain. (Although as I write this, the sun has come out and things are drying up a bit.)

Dominica is truly an island rain forest! With the highest mountain measuring 4750 feet. They get a lot of rain here, as well as hurricanes, so the entire island is lush and green and is quite beautiful.

The roads were terrible, very narrow and at times with sheer drop offs on the side. I was glad that Mr. Gary was driving.

First stop was Morne Bruce, an old military garrison, that afforded us some splendid views of the city. While there, I met the sweetest little native doggy. I never asked his name and he never told me, but it made me miss my four dogs a great deal!

We stopped for some drinks and a bathroom break and were rewarded with singing and dancing in the classic West Indies style.

Next we drove to Trafalgar to the smaller waterfall viewing area. I’m certainly getting my exercise on this trip as we walked (yes we walked in the rain about 15 minutes both to and from a lovely waterfall.

As you can see by the pictures it was really raining quite about, and just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse we drove to the rain forest to see the waterfalls in the Trois Piton Park. It was another 15 minute hike in and out, but I wanted to see this waterfall area as it dumps into the Emerald Pool, thought to be the true “Fountain of Youth”. I did not get in, but this woman did.

And to think, she is actually 100 years old! LOL!!!

You can see how hard it was raining there. It was one of those times when even an umbrella doesn’t help!

As we walked out of the park we saw this crab just crawling along the path. I was so surprised that I quickly took this picture!

Our tour lasted from 7:45 until noontime when we were dropped off at the ship. Hubby and I came in and had some lunch and then went out to walk around the downtown area. We walked the crowded streets and poked our noses into different shops. Then I wandered around a bit more while Hubby walked uptown to a church he wanted to see.

Tonight is our second formal night. The last time I wore my cream colored Ann Taylor sheath, but tonight it is a silk Liz Claiborne top and skirt. I’ll also be wearing the new shoes that I searched high and low for.

Tomorrow (Saturday) we will be in St. Thomas for the day. We have a tour planned to St John Island, so perhaps we will poke around St. Thomas in the morning.

I simply cannot believe that the trip is nearly over! It has been such a wonderful break for me and for Hubby too. I think that turning 50 has given me a little perspective on life. More than once along the way I have not had thinks work out the way I thought they should. Instead of getting upset or obsessing with them I have created a small list of things that simply are not worth getting upset about. This has made our trip truly a restful time!

Oh yes, cruising for me is the ultimate vacation as well as the very best of birthday gifts!