Author: Dackel Princess

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Things I Love About The Summer

1. Warmer temperatures. Although this over 90 stuff is for the birds.
2. Being able to watch the dogs play outside in the green grass.
3. The beautiful sunsets we have here.
4. Being able to drive anywhere and not have to worry about the snow.
5. Barbecuing!
6. My garden and eating fresh vegetables!
7. Listening to the children play at the town beach below us.
8. Strawberries, blueberries, watermelon and corn!
9. More sunny days and fewer cloudy days.
10. The lushness of the trees.
11. Flowers. I love flowers!
12. Watching the fruit grow on our trees.
13. Summer visitors!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!





I’m not one of those people who does the heat well. I have friends who love it. In fact they love it so much they have moved, lock, stock and barrel, to Arizona and New Mexico. Me? I don’t like it when it gets over 80. I just don’t like it. I feel tired and stressed and yes, sweaty. And you all know how I feel about sweating, as I have written about it often enough.
Monday was the sort of day that one looks back on and says, “Yep, I got through that one, but it wasn’t pretty!”

I had a 9:30 doctor’s appointment. I got in and he checked me out and sent me to the lab for a gazillion blood tests. I walked down and found a gazillion people waiting to have their blood drawn. I waited for a while, but there were 12 people ahead of me and only 45 minutes that I could wait. You do the math. It just wasn’t going to happen.

I decided to go back after I brought Greta to the Vets. She was going today to have her teeth counted. Okay, I know you are all sitting there thinking I am obsessive compulsive about my dog, but I want to assure you that I am not. You see when Greta goes in front of the German judge in the fall he will check all her teeth and if she does not have them all, I will not be able to register her babies with the Deutscher Teckel Klub. The German version of the AKC. The good news is, not only does she have all of her teeth, but she has a perfect bite! (No she did not bite the Vet in order to prove this!)



Once I was done I dropped Greta off, and went back to get my blood drawn. I walked in just as the woman was leaving on her lunch hour. I was told to come back after 1 o’clock. Again I went home. I was starting to feel like I was meeting myself going up and down our driveway!

The garden continues to mass produce both summer squash and pickling cucumbers. I am amazed at all the food we have. My plan for next year is diversity. I have too few varieties of things. Next year. More!

It’s now 5 PM and 97 degrees. I went out to pick the days vegetables and came back in and I am soaked. I have to wonder how much longer we will have this incredible heat!
Stay cool everyone!

The Dogs Paddle!!!

Yesterday we took the dogs swimming. Fritz is a natural. He will swim out to chase a stick, and he looks so relaxed, that his effortless strokes leaves you amazed at his talent! I was watching him as he swam back to shore and I swear I could see him smiling!


Greta is our biggest surprise. The first year we had her, she hated the water. I despaired that she would ever get used to it. Then last summer we were at the lake playing fetch with Fritz and Shubi, when Greta just jumped in and started to chase the stick as well.
Last night Greta was swimming with delight. Seeing as she is so small, she really has to work at swimming the dog paddle, but she is so happy and just loves to swim that it makes watching her a pleasure.

I would throw Fritz’s stick first and off he would go. Greta would start after Fritz’s stick making the cutest noises of excitement, and I would toss in her stick.
At one point I had tossed her stick and she ignored it. I thought maybe she hadn’t seen it, but she swam right over to Fritz and took the stick out of his mouth!
Even when this girl is in over her head she runs the show!
The funniest thing is, people notice Fritz and not Greta. He is large, white and beautiful and one boy asked if he was a wolf? Once I assured him that Fritz wasn’t a wolf, then he wanted to pat him.
Another person was surprised that Fritz was a German Shepherd and asked if he was a full blooded one. I smiled and said yes. It’s always amazing to me that people still don’t know that there are white shepherds!
Greta doesn’t mind that Fritz was getting all the attention. She is very secure in the fact that she is the most beautiful dog, the most talented dog on the beach.
They both came home after their swims and happily collapsed.

The Kids Are Back

The children are back and have been down several times to play with the dogs. It’s so wonderful to see the dogs playing so happily with the kids. Matina especially, is so good with them. She would do well in a junior handlers program, showing dogs.



Hubby and I barbecued out on Friday night. We prepared the shish kebabs again, but this time we made up a few all vegetable skewars. Fresh summer squash and zuchini from my garden, red onion and a cut up eggplant. I had marinated the entire lot on the Kebab marinade, and I am here to report that it was extremely yummy! Especially the eggplant. In fact the eggplant was so good that I have decided to plant some in our garden next year.
The recipe for the kebab marinade can be found under my cooking section.


We sat out on the patio and ate our dinner. It was so quiet and peaceful and a pleasant way to spend a Friday night. Even the dogs were good little pups.
I had written an entire post about some of my pet peeves. In the blink of an eye Pfft! It was gone. I take this to mean that the Blogging Fairy didn’t approve of the subject matter.

So on this hot, humid and hazy Sunday I plan to do what all intelligent people do. Not a whole lot. I’ll read the Sunday newspaper, maybe go for a quick swim and most of all, enjoy the air conditioners, God Bless them!

It’s Just Not Right

Okay, I have been on my diet for three days. Three full days! So how come I am not 10 pounds lighter already? It seems to me that all the struggle, all the work preparing these vegetable laden and healthy meals, would also aid in my weight loss. How come when you eat wildly, you gain weight overnight, but when you are good and eat in a dieter’s fashion, then you don’t lose the same way?
It’s just not right!
Today I actually got up and did some of that horrible stuff I have mentioned before.
I exercised!
I am not what you would call lazy, but I just hate to sweat and when you exercise you sweat. Yuck. However, today I decided to brave the gawkers and go to the town beach to swim.
I put on my swim suit, the one I bought because is holds my tummy in, my boobs up and doesn’t make my bottom look like the back end of a “wide load” truck! In other words, it hides things pretty well.
I went down with my neighbor and her family and paddled around and around and around for almost an hour. No sweating there, right?
I knew that all this “work” had to have paid off with a big weight loss.
I rushed home and ran into the house and jumped on the scale. No change!
Oh, of course, I needed to take off the bathing suit. It’s wet and probably weighs ten pounds, right? So I started to take off the suit. The spandex that I loved so much an hour ago, was now like sprayed on latex that would not budge. I shimmied and shook and I sucked in my stomach. No go. About the time I was thinking I would have to either sleep in this thing or have Hubby cut me out of it, I found that rolling it down, worked.
By the time I got the stupid thing off, I forgot about weighing myself and just dressed in my shorts and left the room.
It’s just not right.

Thursday Thirteen, Greta



1. When I wake up each morning, Greta is under the covers lying on her back with her feet stuck up in the air.

2. Greta can hardly wait for Hubby to wake up each morning. When he finally does she races over to him and squeals with delight!

3. She will chase Fritz around the house, just for the fun of it. But they are friends.

4. Her favorite place to sit is on the back of the sofa, where she can look out the window and watch the world go by. Should a cat creep into our yard or a person walk down the street, all heck breaks lose!
5. She doesn’t know she is a small dog and will go up the drive and bark at the Newfoundland Dog in the next yard.


6. She talks to you with all sorts of tones in her voice, and will keep it up until you pay attention to her.
7. She loves to curl up on my chest and tuck her head under my chin.


8. She claims all rawhide bones in the house are hers and will run Fritz off, growling and barking, from any bone he gets near!


9. She steals my seat and when I try to sit down she pushes me with her back legs. She tries to win this one, but never does!


10. She loves children. Most especially Matina, who arrives tomorrow.


11. She will jump up in Hubby’s chair and wag her tail wildly waiting for him to sit down with her.
12. She watches me, out of the corner of her eye, when I eat my meals. I know she is just waiting for me to drop anything so she can steal it!
13. Her nick name is Greta Garbo, and she actually will come if you yell, “MIss Garbo!” Yes, Greta just knows she is a star!!!


Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!





A Funny Little Girl


Greta is a funny little girl. She loves to be outside, but her nose gets her into a lot of trouble. As soon as she smells something interesting off she goes. Under a bush, over a stone wall, into the tall grass, we never know. Greta is like a two year old child. You must constantly be watching her, lest she slip away.
I’ve been talking to Hubby about that darn fence again. I have a feeling this is a talk we will have over and over and over. I think I have valid reasons to put up a white picket fence, but Hubby is still not convinced. Even when he comes into the house as he did today to ask for help when he “lost” her.
Me: “I think that a fence is a good idea.”
Hubby: “It’s fine, we don’t need a fence.”
Me: “What about my poison ivy?”
Hubby: “You’re the one who wants to sleep with your dog.”
Me: “What about when Greta runs off?”
Him: “Well, that’s your fault too. You should train her.”
Me: “If I win the Lottery, I’m putting up that fence!”
Him: “Over my dead body!”
Me: “That can be arranged.”
Until then, I will continue to campaign for the fence, and I will watch Greta like a hawk. How can a pup with the face of an Angel, be such a sneak?