Dackel Princess

November Arrives Like A Freight Train!

I woke to the sounds of high winds blowing around my house. It resembles a freight train at times when our wind is blowing full force out of the north-west. Not only was the wind blowing, but at 5:30 am our temperature was just 22 degrees (F). So it was very cold!

I stumbled to the kitchen, turned on the coffee maker, and let the dogs outside. As soon as they came in (and they returned very quickly due to the cold!) I jumped into the shower and then into my thermal-lined clothes.

I got my coffee and then watched multiple episodes of The Dog Whisperer. It’s one of my favorite shows. In fact, I’ve been working with Lili training her to do simple polite things, like sit down when she comes in to await her cookie. The dog is smarter than I am.

I made meals, went out to get our mail, only to find I had four packages at the Post Office! I knew they were coming, but all at once? That is something I did not expect!

Tuesday I get my stitches out. I can hardly wait. In the last two days, the site has swollen and been very sore. So I am happy the doctor will be removing the stitches and hopefully, I will get some relief from that.

Tuesday is also election day and so once I am done at the doctor’s office I will swing home and pick up Jack and we will go and vote.

I repositioned my bird feeders today, as with this type of cold weather, the ground will be freezing soon, so I wanted to make sure they were in the correct spots for the winter. We are good to go!

I will leave you with this little joke I ran across. Please pardon the salty language, but this is exactly what my two dachshunds are thinking right now.

Enjoy the day and for those of you who are in the USA, be sure to go out and vote!

The Weekend Wrap

Well, I was sitting here writing this entry and I went to add the header and the footer for my piece. I added the header and saved it and what should I see when the little tab stops spinning? Nothing! My computer ate my entry. I am unsure why, but it is gone! So, after lunch, I will try to write something else. Rewriting it all, just wouldn’t be the same.

Okay, so I think I will do a bullet list instead of a normal entry. I’m still so frustrated that the other entry just vanished!

I woke in the night as I could hear a dog getting sick in the family room. Choke, choke, choke, Barf! I decided to stay in bed and deal with it in the morning.
It was Anneliese who’d gotten sick. She is not doing well. Her 14th birthday is December 10th and I sure hope she will make that and maybe have more time with her as well. I will baby her.
Just when I was happy to have gotten all the laundry done, I had to wash up Lili’s bed as that was where Anneliese had gotten sick. Ugh!
Our clocks went back last night. Most of our clocks self adjust, but the microwave, stove, coffee maker, and family room clock all needed to be reset. Done!
I really have been enjoying my Alexa Echo 5. It’s the perfect bedside clock/radio/information box. I listen to music, ask Alexa questions, and get the time and temperature. Very handy!
Our leaves are falling fast and soon they will be all on the ground. Between the clocks falling back, the fact that it gets dark so early, and that it is so cold, I’m feeling a wee bit on the grim side.
Still, I wish you all a very Happy Monday and also have a great week ahead!

Maribeth

Life In The Time Of Covid

Life in the time of Covid. It’s odd you know. As our numbers start to climb, I’ve gone back into only going out when I absolutely have to. Today was one of those days. So I planned it out. Grocery, Post Office, home.

Many people are opting to stay home too. We had a dusting of snow in the morning, so many people just figured, what the heck and stayed in. I was able to get a few things I needed at the grocery store and then I was off to the Post Office.

I had a lot of mail. A lot! But what concerned me most was a letter from my insurance company. Basically, they said that if this was “Cosmetic” they will not cover it. Lucky for me they found one large tumor and two small ones! That should make them happy.

I truly detest my Insurance Company. They have never been there to help me. In fact, I have had the stress of practically begging for them to cover my care, despite the fact that I am covered. Very soon I will be looking for a new primary provider and I can tell my current provider to take a flying leap!

I must insert here that I love my current secondary insurer. They are so good and I never have a worry.

In the afternoon, I did a few little things, but not too much. For whatever reason, I was feeling tired.

I called my sister and my friend, Gail and we had great visits. That’s one thing I love about my cell phone! I can call and talk and talk and it costs nothing.

Dinner was once again leftovers, thus making my day end easily. Now we are both sitting here watching “Air Disasters” and sort of killing time until I go to bed.

The Friday Five October 30th

This week is finally over. I’m glad. It was a somewhat tense week, but it is done and I made it through. So here’s what’s happening.

We all know Monday was my surgery. It went so well! I am so fortunate to have found Dr. S. and that he got me in so quickly. Looking back on my surgery, I have to say that I am pleased the doctor did such a great job and that he was really interested in my tumors!
I’ve managed to keep myself fairly quiet all week, which has helped with the healing process. Luckily, I never did get a black eye, just a headache between my eyes, like I’d been kicked by a horse. All manageable with Tylenol and Motrin.
I used to be scared of so many things. I was not brave at all. But here I am nearly 62, and I am one very brave woman! I feel very strong!!!
My dogs have been a great source of comfort to me. They are on my lap. or snuggled next to me, or on my feet (Lili loves to sleep on my feet or near them when she can). How lucky I am!
My stitches come out on Tuesday and I am excited about that too! I was looking at my face this morning and I realized that with my tumors gone, and the eyebrow fixed my face is once again balanced!

So that’s it for this week. We are now Past-Peak with our Autumn Leaf colors and now rain and cold seem to have set in. It’s my hope that wherever you are, you can find warmth, happiness, and good health!

TBT: Thirteen Year Old Me

This was taken on the first day of eighth grade. I vaguely remember that dress. The hair? Oh yeah, I wanted to be Karen Carpenter so bad! That is why you can see the long hair and heavy bangs!

I loved the eighth grade. We were the oldest class in the school. Mostly, we had great teachers with the exception of just a couple.

My Dad taught at this school. So for the three years, I was in the Intermediate School, I not only had Dad as my music teacher, but I also rode to school with him every day and he made my lunch. Two slices of white bread, spread with margarine, two slices of American cheese. An apple and money for a carton of milk. God bless Dad. He had no imagination for packing our lunches, but every day, when we came down to the breakfast he made, there was our bag lunch.

At one time, everyone in town had our Dad as their music teacher. His teaching of square dancing is still legendary!

Here I am as my sister’s Maid of Honor when I was 13 years old. My mother made all the bridesmaids dresses and I remember feeling quite lovely wearing this. The bow? Not so much, but everything else was perfect.

Day #1 Post-Op

Day one post-op found me doing very well. I kind of felt like I’d been kicked in the head by a horse, but really, the ache was far less than it was on surgery day.

The swelling has begun, and a bruise is forming under the eye and around the incision itself. But I am so lucky. Dr. S. is amazing, gentle, kind, and gifted. I felt so taken care of and valued as his patient.

And a big thank-you to all the nurses who cared for me in pre-op, surgery, and post-op. The women were incredible and they prepared me and then made sure I was okay all the way along.

Also, thanks to Pandora and their 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s station. One nurse asked if I liked the music and I said “Absolutely! It makes me think of being in High School.” All but one of us in the OR were close to my age. But one young nurse needed to be educated with “good” music! LOL

I am also loving my hair-cut. I was a little unsure if I should have gotten it cut so short, but I’m really liking this. It’s very easy and soft.

So the worst is over and now I put myself into healing mode. I am all for that!

All Went Well

My day started far too early as I was feeling nervous. Would they find this problem? Could they fix it?

Well, It rained the entire way, which meant a weird trip down and then a mad dash to the door of the Surgery Center when I arrived.

My doctor ran late with his patient before me, but eventually, I got in and then Dr. S. took 2 hours to remove 2 Neuromas and a whole lot of scar tissue.

A Neuroma is a growth or tumor of nerve tissue. Neuromas tend to be benign (i.e. not cancerous); many nerve tumors, including those that are commonly malignant, are nowadays referred to by other terms.

Neuromas can arise from different types of nervous tissue, including the nerve fibers and their myelin sheath, as in the case of genuine neoplasms (growths) like ganglioneuromas and neurinomas.

My doctor was rather excited about the surgery, as my case was somewhat unusual. I asked to see the tumors afterward, and even I was amazed at what I saw.

It was all done under local anesthetic, so I drove myself home, and by the time I arrived, the Novacaine had worn off and I was starting to feel a giant ouchie.

It’s only 8:30 on Monday night, but I am ready for bed. I am so thankful to have this behind me.

The Weekend Wrap October 26th

Well, I’d hoped to get all the household items done by Friday, but unfortunately, I did not, and in the end, I spent both Saturday and Sunday doing things around the house.

I did have fun cooking on Saturday night when I made lo-calorie Chicken Fajitas! It was so much fun rolling up the chicken and onions and peppers and then sloppily eating them! The best part was knowing that they were low points on my Weight Watcher plan!

On Sunday I woke and it was ~~fah-reez-ing~~ freezing!

So when I hopped quickly out of bed I grabbed my new legging set and put those on. The best thing about this new set is that they are fleece-lined! So soft, snuggly, and cozy!

It never really warmed up today, despite the bright sunshine, but I was warm and comfy all day long.

Dinner tonight will be an easy fix and will also give us leftovers for a few days. I have my clothes laid out for tomorrow and have set Alexa to get me up early enough to take a nice hot shower!

By the way, I asked Alexa once again what the current weather was in my town. “Partly cloudy” was her response. I came back quickly, “Alexa, you lie! ” at this time she informed me that “Alexa never lies!” Ha, Ha! She sure does. At least about the weather.

Have a great week everyone and I will report on Tuesday about how I made out with my surgery!

A Shubi Story

I’ve been thinking so much about my very first wire-haired dachshund named, Shubi. She was a remarkable pup and she traveled with me everywhere.

The beginning of her life started in Bavaria, and then after we “adopted” her she came home with us to Florida. As Jack was still flying then, I would bring Shubi and we would fly to Europe and meet him.

Shubi learned early on, to be quiet on an airplane. She knew to lie under a table at the European restaurants we went to, and most of all, she learned to be at peace, as long as she was with her Mommy and Daddy.

During one of our trips, we were heading to Northern Italy, but as it was getting late, we stopped at a Gasthaus in Austria. As we checked in, the owner told us to put Shubi in our room and he would make us a meal.

Now Shubi wasn’t happy about being left in this strange room, but as we left she sat down and was resigned to her plight.

We had a very nice hot meal and then headed back to our room. As we opened the door, there was Shubi sitting on a tabletop next to the door. The shocking thing was, the table was 3 feet off the floor, with no chair or any other way for Shubi to have gotten on top of it!

To this very day, I do not know, how one with such little legs, was able to get up on that table.

Yet, there she was. Sitting on top of that table waiting for us! The look of loving reproach was on her little face, but once I fed her and walked her she was just fine.

Shubi was an amazing girl, and I will miss her all of my days. The photo below was taken as I walked through a lovely forest in Bavaria with my friend, Otto. He and his wife had Shubi’s brother. And at my side is Miss Shubi. Always she was with me.

The Friday Five October 23rd

Thursday found me attempting to get a handle on all the house-keeping stuff before my surgery on Monday. I was crazy busy, and here I will list it all, so you can see that perhaps I should have slowed down. Thursday’s activities are why I plan to do very little this weekend.

I got up on Thursday early. I immediately stripped my bed and started the laundry. I did six loads of laundry, hung out some of it, and folded and actually put away all of it, and remade the beds! Yes, this found me running up and downstairs and back and forth in our home all day long.
I decided to make Eggplant Parmesan, and in the middle of removing the cooked eggplant, Jack put a can of soup on the counter. I was reaching for a pot for his soup when I brushed my index finger on the cookie sheet that had just come out of the 450 degrees Fahrenheit oven and burnt it!I mean, really burnt it! I iced it down and after a bit put some burn creme on it. Ugh!
We took the last Air-Conditioner out of the Office window. This was going so well until the rain-water began running all over my shoes, down my legs, and soaked me. Worst of all, in the end, Jack lost his grip on the air conditioner and I was left to finish placing it. Oh, my aching back!
I poached boneless, skinless chicken thighs for the dachshunds. Since they both are getting older, I like to spoil them a little. They love it and occasionally Lili gets a bit too!
Tonight I am doing an easy dinner. Leftovers for Jack and of course, the Eggplant Parmesan for me. I already know that bedtime will be early tonight.