Dackel Princess

TBT: 9 Year Old Me

Well, it was like this. I found this stray cat and brought it home. Mom wasn’t thrilled, but since rescuing animals was my thing, my Mom let it stay.

Shortly thereafter the cat had kittens. And if memory serves me, the mother didn’t make it. So we cared for the kittens and they all made it.

We kept two of them, Ebony and Endora. Ebony had missed his mama and would suckle on anything he could. I surmise these were somewhat feral cats, as I don’t recall them being particularly friendly.

But here I am with the kittens standing in front of our car. I was not yet ten years old.

I have always loved all animals.

Usually, my days begin easily. I put out the bird feeders, walk the hounds, and make the coffee. Currently, I sit down and while sipping my coffee, I am watching “Wimbledon” tennis feeds on the satellite. I just love to watch tennis. It is such a beautiful sport!

Jack got up, I made him breakfast, and then dashed out to buy bird food, groceries and get the mail. I mean this is pretty usual stuff.

Upon arriving back home, I made lunch and then decided to cut up the chicken thighs to put in my fajita marinade, as we plan on having fajitas for dinner.

I opened my cabinet and went to bring out my large glass dish and cover, as this is perfect for the job. As I lifted the glass dish it suddenly snapped and I thought I saw a shard of glass fly upwards. Then I felt like my nose was running. I touched my nose with my hand, and when I looked at my hand, it was covered in blood!

I grabbed a paper towel and raced into the bathroom! Sure enough, I had a cut just under my nose, that wasn’t too big, but was rather deep. It took me over half an hour to get the bleeding stopped. And after a bit, I realized that my cut actually hurt!

It was such a freak thing. When was the last time that something flew upwards to your face and cut it? I swear I am the only person I know who does weird stuff like this!

It’s craziness I tell you…craziness!

Once I got the bleeding under control, I went back to cutting up the chicken and marinating it in another container. Fajitas will be served at 7 PM for dinner!

Happy Heavenly Birthday, Mom

She was born Rosamond Ruth Prussman, to parents Frederick and Mary on June 28, 1929. She had a much-loved older brother, Robert, and a cousin George (who grew up like a brother). In fact, until the day they passed, they really adored each other.

Robert & Rosamond

Mom’s brother, Robert, and his wife Cynthia.

Aunt Betty, Larry, Janet, and Uncle George.

She met my Dad when she was 13 and she was dancing and my Dad played the piano. I asked Dad once what made him look twice at Mom and he said “It was a bright red sweater that she was wearing! She looked so beautiful in it! I was hooked!”

A collage of their life together.

They married early on, and Dad finished getting his teaching degree. They moved to Monument Beach, Massachusetts,

and lived in a little white cottage in the Burtonwood section, where my brother, Richard, and my sister Melodie were born.

Then they moved to Falmouth, Massachusetts, and shortly after, Mom had me.

Baby MB.

My parent’s stayed married for well over 60 years.

Mom was with him until the end of his life, and really until the end of hers too. She never remarried. I think in her mind and her heart she was always Jimmie’s girl!

Her last days were spent, not in fear of dying, no, Mom knew Jesus Christ and she knew she would see Dad again. She just worried about Mel and me and all of our cousins.

Me, Mel & Janet with Mom.

This was the last time we were together before Mom was diagnosed with Liver Cancer. It was a wedding. Mom was so happy to be with us all. I almost didn’t go because of my facial surgery, but I am so glad I did now. Seeing her so happy and sharing that day with her, left us all with wonderful memories.

The last time I saw her, at Hospice Care, Mel and I, sat there, with Janet and the four of us were talking quietly. I asked Mom how we would know if she was with us. She smiled and said, “You will see butterflies, and that will be me.” This really surprised me because she always had related to beautiful flowers in the past.

But you know what? We see beautiful butterflies all the time. And we smile!

Family Party June 26, 2010 027

Happy Birthday, Mom!

The Days Are Passing

Today has been a day full of thought. The skies remained gray and the air was warm. But after doing a quick grocery shopping, and coming home to make lunch, I found myself thinking back in time.

I remembered people I knew who I was very close to. People who helped teach me a lot about life. Life Lessons. Both are gone now, but the things we talked about, still remain in my mind.

Many years ago when I lost someone close to me, it was a terrible tragedy. They were too young to die! So much life left to live! Now, with many of my friends being over 65, 70, or 80, when I think of those losses, it is the pain of losing their friendship. But they have had full lives and mostly I think they were ready for leaving this earth.

I’m sixty-two. I look at my life and think, I will see my 70s and 80s, but hopefully I will do this in good health.

I also look back and see all the life I have lived. Places I have gone, things I have done, and the moments, special moments I have shared.

I remember my pregnancy with Amanda. It wasn’t an easy pregnancy, as I nearly lost her early on in the pregnancy. But it was meant to be, and before I knew it, I was a mother.

That was probably the happiest day of my life!

I was watching The Pioneer Woman’s daughter’s wedding this morning and I thought about my marriage to Jack.

I shopped and shopped for a nice, special, second wedding dress. Nothing in New England, so I went to Florida to visit my friend, Benn. I drove to The Miracle Mile in Fort Lauderdale and went to a Bridal Shop there.

I found a beautiful cream-colored, lace tea-length dress there. It fit perfectly and needed no alterations. So It was packed up and I headed to Benn’s house where I proceeded to show him.

Jack, Me & Benn

He was quite nice about it, as I am sure that most men don’t get excited at the sight of a wedding dress. But Benn was kind and very brotherly to me. After all, in a few weeks, Benn would be the Best Man at our wedding.

I remember being so excited! And on the day of the wedding, I wore that lovely dress and felt like the prettiest of women.

I remember being on an airplane with my first dackel, Shubi. I was the last to board and I raced to my seat and put Shubi, in her carrier under the seat in front of me. The man sitting next to me told me to put that bag in the overhead. I told him I couldn’t, as that was my dog. He then looked at me and said, “In my country, we eat dogs!”

Me & Shubi

Yes, the memories flow, and the laughter and the tears. All my loves, all those times shared. Gone in a second. I think this is what makes me wonder about the future, however long or short it may be.

I guess the best bet is to just enjoy each and every day and love those you are with.

The Friday Five ~ June 25th

This week flew by and it was a good week. A lot of things were accomplished and I actually had one day where I almost felt like life was close to normal. So, here we go with this week’s Friday Five.

As I wrote before, I wiped my Cell Phone and did a Factory reset. That was not easy, but I did it and I learned so much. And to top it all off, my phone is working very well!
On Wednesday I met up with my lovely ladies. We had voted to go out for lunch once a month during the summer. This past Wednesday was our luncheon. Oh, what fun I had. We joked and laughed and told each other stories from our pasts. I felt so light-hearted and free. It was wonderful!
After weeks of trying to do things to keep the crows and ravens from emptying my suet feeders, I finally figured out what I could do to keep them away. I have now placed the feeders in the tree branches. The crows and ravens do not want to go into a tree to get at the suet, lest they get tangled up. Now my smaller songbirds and woodpeckers are happily back to feed!
I had a kitchen cabinet door where the top coupler that holds the door came apart. I tried just screwing it back together, but that was a no-go. So, I got out the gorilla glue and glued the pieces together. I am waiting two days for the glue to dry and seal, and then the problem should be fixed. This has happened before and this solution is a good one.
And lastly, what a horrible thing to see part of the condo complex in Florida that pancaked and fell. 51 people missing and the rest of the building totally uninhabitable. So much destruction. So many dead. Such a terrible tragedy.

So that is it for the week. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

TBT: Baby Arnie

This is our Arnie, way back in February 2006, at the age of 7 weeks old. He was a sweet and handsome boy even then!

At that time he had been sold to a woman in upstate New York. But a series of crazy events lead to her canceling her plans the day she was due to pick him up. Throughout the weekend we talked about putting an ad in the newspaper, but by Sunday night we knew, Arnie was here to stay.

One of the best decisions we ever made. Arnie has been my devoted companion for the last 14 years, our lives filled with joy and laughter. I have never regretted the decision we made. Arnie is a joy!

Old boy Arnie. My love.

Electronics & Me

I missed posting the weekend wrap due to network problems and cell phone problems. Both made me want to curl up in a ball in the corner and weep, but then I recalled what my friend Brad always said, “Give it a try! What’s the worst that could happen?”

So, I plunged in, not to be deterred by the fear of the unknown. The first thing I needed to do was get the Wifi system up and running. After going through an unplug, wait, and then reboot the entire system. It worked. And my 40 minutes of troubleshooting got the internet going.

Next on my list was to do a complete reboot of my cell phone. I like the phone, but it has acted wonky since I got it. The salesperson was so insistent that he speed load the cell phone, that many of the Apps didn’t work well.

So I read and reread how to perform this task and I sat down and wiped and reloaded my cell phone. I have it pretty much set up now but only the next few days will tell me for sure.

Today was hot and humid, much as it was when I lived in Florida. I really had trouble with that. The heat would simply exhaust me. I spent most of the time in the house with the air conditioning going. Such has been the case today!

All else is well, and it is my hope that all the electronics in this house will give me a break for a while. I am grateful, however, for all that I learned today.

The Men In My Life

Here are the five men, who shaped my life. In their own ways, they were my father or a father figure to me. They have all passed from this life to the next, but their memory and the love they gave me, lives on in my heart

My Dad. He was an amazingly talented musician and he passed along his love of music to me. Dad was devoted to our community. He played the organ at both the Congregational Church and the Catholic Church in North Falmouth.

He was the Music Director at Highfield Theater for many years. He also was a summer police officer in our town. And when we went to local parks for cook-outs, Dad was the burger-meister! He has been gone a long time now, but I still think of him often and miss his wry sense of humor.

My Uncle George. He was the father who taught me everything growing up. How to swim, how to dive, how to bowl, how to hike, how to play cards, and how to love unconditionally.

When I was about 7 years old I cut my toe badly at the beach and he carried me all the way home! And helped drive me to the doctor’s office for stitches. He was not a loud man, but in his quiet loving way, I just knew that I was one of his special kids. In fact, when Jack and I married, Uncle George walked me down the aisle. I miss this sweet, loving, wonderful man!

My Uncle Bob. He was fun to be with. But, he required that I act like a mini adult too. That was fine. I adored him and just wanted to spend time, quiet time, with him.

I did a lot of things with him and his wife, Auntie Cynthia. I remember being on his boat, or when they took me to their home in Quincy and to museums. And I recall my Uncle once got a monkey. Cute, but it didn’t last for long.

My Papa Fred. Another quiet man, who was quite old when I lived with him and Grandma. But he showed me something important.

What real love between a man and woman was all about. I would watch Papa and Grandma sitting on their sofa watching Lawrence Welk. Papa would hold Grandma’s feet in his lap and stroke them gently. He simply adored Grandma and had all of his life. When she died, he no longer had the will to live and passed eight months later.

My Papa Sam, my Dad’s Dad. I didn’t know him as well, but I remember him taking me to the Prudential Building in the summer to listen to the Barbershop Quartets sing.

I remember sitting on his lap and listening to him sing along. He had such a beautiful voice.

These 5 men helped to shape the woman I grew up to become. Each special in their own way, and now, each greatly missed.

Happy Father’s Day! I remember you all with love and many memories that make me smile!

You Can’t Make This Stuff Up…

On Friday I was out quite a bit in the morning. This is the last weekend of Motorcycle Week and my little bit of Heaven is jam-packed with people, mostly Bikers.

Since I had to drive Lili out to the Veterinarian and then go back to pick her up after her teeth cleaning, trust me, I saw way more driving than I wanted to be doing.

On my way out and back in the early morning, the Bikers were just up. Restaurant parking lots were packed with isle after isle of motorcycles. Most of these people were middle-aged and were riding their HOGS (Harley Davidson). Some were riding the newer fad for us Senior Citizens, a three-wheel trike so as not to fall over.

The disturbing vision I saw was a younger Biker with no helmet, who had a 5 or 6-year-old boy on the back of his bike. The child did have a helmet on but was wearing shorts and sneakers and a short sleeve shirt. He also did not fit in, tucked next to his Dad, but was positioned so he almost looked like he was flying behind the bike. I just felt like this was a tragedy waiting to happen.

The next bike passenger made me both laugh and shake my head. She was a young woman, with neat French braids. She wore no helmet, but here is a list of her clothing.

One pair of cut-off jeans shorts, that are the shortest I’ve ever seen. She was very thin, so she could get away with them at say, a cookout, but…

Next, she was wearing a tube top. This skinny little top left nothing to the imagination and I think this item might be banned in several states! I would bet one large bump would find her girls displayed for all to see! But here was the ultimate of unsafe bike-wear. On her feet, she was wearing flip-flops! Now there is a girl who would suffer severe road-rash and injury should her boyfriend have an accident driving his bike.

Honest to goodness, you can’t make this stuff up!

Meanwhile, the constant hum of motorcycles continues and tonight there will be live music less than a mile from our home. It is what it is. Once a year, loud, a boatload of cash coming into our area. After a smaller Bike Week last year due to Covid, people are really enjoying this year! And it’s good for our businesses!

PS: Lili made out very well with her dental. Her teeth were all perfect and now her teeth are clean!

The Friday Five ~ June 18th

This week was an incredibly busy one. Each day was full and I covered a lot of ground. So, here are the top things in this week’s Friday Five.

Monday was Jack’s first appointment with his new Primary Care doctor. I’m doing all the driving now, but I also wanted to go in with him for his appointment. Jack has had an infection in the toe next to the one that was amputated and I felt he needed to get on some antibiotics. I should get paid for my diagnosis. Sure enough, he was put on a strong antibiotic. And an appointment to see his Podiatrist was made. On our way home, we stopped and got gas and groceries. What a long day!
Tuesday I was trying to get some housework done and I actually did get some basics gone. But there is still more deep cleaning to do.
Wednesday we were off to the VA again to see Jack’s Podiatrist. The doctor debrided the infected area on the toe until we could see the ulcer. It is not very large, which means I got to it in time (I hope!). Jack now has to allow me to clean and dress the toe daily and finish all the antibiotics.
Thursday was another kind of crazy day. Sheets were washed and beds were made, I went to get some fresh fruit and popcorn at the grocery store which I like. The last time I shopped I got Jollytime Popcorn, and it was terrible. It was very salty and it tasted like crap! I like Orville Redenbacher’s Kettle Corn Mini Bags. It’s the best of the diet popcorns out there. I also went to get the mail at the Post Office, only to find out that I had paid my property taxes and was 5 cents short! Needless to say, I stopped and left the nickel to pay the town what I owed.
And last but not least, today Lili is going in for a dental and her shots. I know the trip out to my Veterinarian will be crazy as Lili is not a good car rider. But I also know the ride home will be nice and quiet as she will still be sleepy. Thus ending another long and busy week!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Author: Dackel Princess