My daughter, Amanda has her birthday today. She is such an amazing woman and I am proud to be her mother.
Mandy with Savannah and Quinn back in 2016.
You see, Mandy is really a self-made woman. She had ideas about what she wanted to do in life, and she worked hard to get where she is.
Me and my girl!
Not only is she a success as a career woman, but most importantly, she is the best mother I have ever seen. She is devoted to her kids and loves them completely in such a beautiful way.
I am so lucky to have her as my daughter, and on this very special day, I just want her to know, how much she is loved!
The best Christmas gift I have ever gotten was when my daughter Amanda was born. She arrived just 5 days before Christmas. It was such a joyous first Christmas with our baby girl. Beautiful and healthy, we were truly blessed.
A year later we had the fun of sharing Christmas with our year old little girl. She was bright and energetic and running all around. She always had a smile on her face, and even now as a grown woman, she is such a warm and loving person.
I see so much of Mandy in her two children. They are bright, loving and kind little people. She and Matt are doing a great job as parents.
I am so lucky to have Mandy and her children. They all brighten my life!
On Tuesday we got more snow. Now all of the previously fallen snow had melted, so this frosting of 4+ inches is pretty, but also makes the roads slick.
The good news here is that the long-range forecast shows no snow from now until well after Christmas. Perfect! A few years back we had gotten quite a bit of snow on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. God bless Jack who drove us handily down to Mandy and Matt’s house safely. There were many cars off the road that day, but slowly we soldiered on!
So now I need to sit at the kitchen table and wrap the gifts I have. I just need a couple of boxes and I will be all set!
Tonight (Tuesday) I am feeling a little bit better. I wonder if this super antibiotic is working. I think I will know more in the morning.
I’m feeling a little hopeful tonight that I am finally on the road to recovery. My fingers are crossed!
Well, folks, I returned to the doctor because this pneumonia is not leaving me. After another full evaluation, the antibiotics were changed and I was put back on the pill for my cough. But I have to tell you, after 5 weeks I am really tired.
My only stop was at the Pharmacy to get the new prescriptions and then I came home to regroup.
While waiting for my prescriptions I wandered around the grocery store and picked up a few things. One thing was a chicken which I thought about cooking tonight (Monday) but it looks like I will be cooking it tomorrow as it is late and I have no appetite.
Despite not wanting to do much of anything, I had to wash the comforter on my bed. Anneliese wasn’t feeling well last night and well, laundry needed to be done!
I managed two loads of laundry and it is my hope that tomorrow I might get two more loads washed. Baby steps.
Just a little picture of my favorite Christmas ornament. A Chipmonk playing with a nutcracker. I am not sure why I like it so much. Just a wee bit of whimsy!
Saturday is rained here as if it were Spring. Not even the dogs wanted to be out. The early morning it rained on top of the ice and there were many car accidents on the roads around us.
Our driveway, which is never good in the winter, was no exception. Our neighbor had difficulty getting out, so Jack and I opted to have him stay in.
I’m not going out at all right now. It’s just better for me to stay in and stay warm and stay away from anyone who might be sick. Fortunately, Jack has stayed well, and so he can get groceries or mail.
So that’s what’s happening in New Hampshire! Happy Sunday everyone!
Usually, I begin writing the Friday Five lamenting on how fast time is slipping by. This week I will start by saying that I am once again in the land of the living! After 4 weeks of illness, I am on the mend thanks to antibiotics, an inhaler and a cough pill that has helped me control the cough while my lungs got rid of the congestion. So without further ado, here is this week’s Friday Five.
Before going to the doctor I was fretting about Christmas. Gifts especially. So I sat down with my laptop computer and watched the deals and sales and found just the right things for everyone. Aside from one small gift, I am done with my shopping. I have missed going out and being immersed in Christmas music, but actually I think this is much healthier for me in the long run!
During my convalescence, certain things began to nag at me. Case in point, a kitchen cabinet hinge that was broken and the door was literally hanging there. It made me crazy. So since I was cruising Amazon.com, I went looking for our cabinet door hinge. And I found it! It arrived and the cabinet hinge was replaced and now once again, works correctly! Yes, I am proud of my do-it-yourself skills!
I refuse to go out to any store shopping right now. I have never really been a germaphobe, but being so sick for so long has me cringing in terror every time I hear someone cough or sneeze! So shopping online has been my thing.
My daughter’s back yard lighted tree in the snow they got last week. I borrowed her picture! Thanks, Mandy!
I have pretty much finished writing Christmas cards and now the biggest thing on my list is to wrap all the gifts that have been arriving via USPS and UPS. Fortunately, I am a Christmas Wrapping Paper hoarder, so all I need to do is sit down and wrap!
One good thing about shopping at Amazon is that I have gotten credits to use in the Music Download store. Can we all say Christmas Carols? I have been able to find my favorite songs by Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, and The Carpenters. And a few others as well. And because of these credits, the music has been free! Merry Christmas to me!
So gentle readers, I hope this weekend finds you enjoying the season and having a warm and wonderful time!
On Wednesday I woke up feeling a little better! Thank you antibiotics! After breakfast, I grabbed a box in the attic and brought it down. Inside was our completely decorated and lit Christmas tree from last year. It’s only a small one, but the glowing lights make me feel happy!
I have an artificial wreath for the front door and that went up too. I won’t be doing a lot of decorating, but at least I have a few things up.
It’s nice to be feeling better, finally, and to see the beautiful lights from my tree.
Well, on Monday I was so ill that I broke down and drove myself to the doctor. Since I am worried about passing this along to Jack, I left him at home and drove myself.
The doctor did a full exam and Xrays and pronounced me a bit crazy to have stayed home sick for 4 weeks before getting in to see him.
The diagnosis is that although he’s sure it probably started as the flu, I now have Pneumonia. Yes, and a pretty bad case of it.
I was chastised and sent home with three prescriptions. An antibiotic, a pill for the cough, and an inhaler.
I was so exhausted after my trip out, that I came home and went almost immediately to bed.
I can tell all the medications are trying to work, but I am wiped out and coughing up a lung or two.
So, I will keep warm, keep drinking my tea and hopefully, I will be on my feet again soon. Meanwhile, almost all my Christmas shopping has been done online! I am really happy about that!
Thirteen years ago, in the early morning hours, Greta went into labor. I was so excited to welcome her first litter of puppies, and I sat with her as she began the long journey to motherhood.
A few hours later, Arnie, Anneliese and three of their sisters made their debut.
This was the start of something neither Jack or I had ever experienced. Having two pups, brother and sister, from the moment of their birth, for their entire life.
It’s pretty amazing. Watching these two grow and emerge as two sweet, yet very different pups.
We knew we were keeping Anneliese. I loved the look of her and felt that she would carry on the Dackel Princess line, in her time. She had a great nose (scent wise), and such personality and spunk!
Arnie, who is so sweet, loving and laid back. Here he is at a month old. A handsome boy then and now.
Arnie was actually sold to a woman from New York State. On the day she was due to pick him up, she called and canceled as her life was falling apart. She explained it all to me on the phone. I listened and gently told her she needed this dog. But she said no.
Arnie was 12 weeks old and I was really crazy about him. So was Jack and so was our young neighbor Emily. He was due to leave on that Saturday and by Monday morning we knew that Arnie was staying with us.
Here they are the first year of their life together. Best friends always.
Below is a short montage of their life together, with us. I feel so blessed to have had these two pups in my life every single day of their life. In many ways, although Greta was their biological Mom, I have been their forever Mom all these years. And now that Greta has passed away, her children help me to not miss her too much.
They both are one of my life’s greatest blessings. The years of faithful love and companionship are truly priceless.
Recently, I read a story a man had written where he fussed and fumed about his father never buying him any good Christmas gift. Well, I shook my head in disbelief.
You see, my Dad was a really busy man. He taught school 5 days a week, he taught piano after school to so many of the kids I went to school with. He also played the organ at the local Congregational Church, was the director of the Senior and Junior Choirs and also directed the Handbell Choir. Each year Dad directed a Christmas Carol sing on our town’s Village Green. Not to mention playing the organ for many weddings and funerals.
So each year Dad would go down to the local Pharmacy or 7/11 Grocery Store, whichever was open on Christmas morning and did his Christmas Shopping for us.
Here I am, at the age of 12, on Christmas Morning with the gifts that Dad got for me. Notecards, a horoscope book, hat and gloves, a little kitty and two dolls.
I wish I could sit down with that man who complained and tell him how lucky I feel that my Dad went out before I woke on Christmas to get these things for me. He did it every year. Sometimes I got life-saver candies, sometimes some Christmas candy. Sometimes chapsticks. Sometimes a teen magazine. But he shopped on his own and bought these things for me all by himself.
My Dad did the very best he could, all on his own, and I feel like I was pretty lucky!
Mom did the big shopping. And it was pretty good too. Mom also cooked the best Christmas breakfasts and Christmas dinners. She was a traditional Mum.
But all in all, looking back now, I think I was pretty blessed all around. I didn’t have to have my Dad buy me the world to show me that he loved me. His Christmas Day shopping sprees mean more to me now than he will ever know.
Mandy with Savannah and Quinn back in 2016.
Me and my girl!
