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~Bad Hair~
I thought a lot about this one and decided to put in a few of me and of Greta. Lord knows we have a lot of bad hair days between us!
My short, little, messy, pony tail a year ago.
Anneliese, and me with a wet head!
This is the worst haircut I have ever had! It was so short I felt like a boy! That was 2 1/2 years ago. Thankfully, hair grows!
Once again, Miss Messy Greta!
I gave Fritz his spring bath on Thursday. This requires great skill, a lot of water and the ability to show no fear while in the shower with my big white boy.
Fritz hates baths with a passion that is truly unparalleled. I had to literally drag him into our bathroom, and then drag him into our walk in shower. I’d stripped down naked, because any hope of staying dry during this process was futile, and I set out about 6 towels to help dry him off after the big event.
I use Dove bar soap on him, as he tends to have slightly dry skin, and also the white of the soap helps to brighten his coat. I soaped and sudsed, and rubbed and soaped some more. Then it was time for the real fun….the final rinsing.
If you have never rinsed a German Shepherd in a shower, then you don’t know the real fun that I had. I had to pick up his front feet and hold them so I could get his belly, neck and ears all rinsed.
I’d expected Hubby to help, but the phone had rung just as I was going in, and so I was on my own. You should have seen the hair coming out of that boy! I kept freeing up the drain and it would just fill up again.
Finally he was rinsed and I kept bringing the towels into the shower and drying him off until he was finally fairly dry.
I let him out of the shower and allowed him tio sit in the kitchen in the sun and finish the drying process. Soon Hubby brought him outside for his annual stripping of the coat.
As you can see, Fritz loses quite a bit of fur in the spring, and this is just a small part of it. We used to brush him inside and then we noticed that everything would be covered with white fur, so we decided to de-fur him outside. One day we noticed birds flying in and picking up the fur to line their nests with. So if anyone in New Hampshire sees a fur lined nest, well, you’ll know where the fur came from!
The twins were here modeling their new dresses! They looked so adorable that I just had to take their picture.
That’s Sarah on the left and Kimmie on the right. We really enjoy those two!
Friday finds Hubby and I doing errands. Groceries, registering the cars and cholesterol checks. Oh joy! I’m hoping that my work on the Weight Watchers diet plan will have brought down my cholesterol level.
And speaking of Weight Watchers, I have now lost 31.4 pounds! I’m back in size 10/12 and feeling good! Yay!
Have a great weekend everyone!!!
Just when I despaired that there were no good movies out there to watch, our Parks and Recreation Department ran their first in a series of movies tonight. Hubby is on the committee so he encouraged me and our neighbor to come down for the film. The movie was a British movie called “Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont“. It starred Joan Plowwright as a woman in her last years of life. She was a master bringing Mrs Palfrey to life. You come to love her almost as soon as she is on the screen.
I sat there watching the movie and I felt the love and longing that this woman felt for her husband. I could see in my life how I love my own husband, and like Mrs Palfrey, how no one could ever take the place of my beloved.
The movie is a gentle reminder to live life to the fullest, to love those we have, deeply and to never take for granted those people in our life that make us feel loved, and whom we love.
If you have not seen it, take a trip to the video store, or rent it from Netflix. It is worth the time you will spend watching this beautiful story unfold. You will truly be enriched!
Life is never dull around here, that’s for sure. Today found me trying to get a few things done before another 12 inches of snow falls. (Yes, more snow in my already overloaded back yard!)
I started with the help of Sarah, who arrived shortly after breakfast, and assisted me in getting a batch of Weight Watchers spaghetti sauce going on the stove. Hubby was off skiing today, as he is sure to be out snow blowing tomorrow after the storm.
While Sarah and I worked, the dogs played and I stopped briefly to capture a few pictures. Like this one of Arnie as he played!
Once the sauce was simmering, I made a nice warm fire in the hearth. There is something about snowy weather that just forces me to build a fire and then sit back and enjoy it. Sarah loved it too!
After a while Hubby returned from the slopes of Cannon Mountain, and we made him lunch, and he told us about his morning skiing.
Now it is the evening. The snow is coming down harder and I am actually believing that we will get the forecast amount of snow. I’m just not sure where it will go, as our town is quite literally buried under all the snow. Our yard must have a good four feet in it, and around town the snow is piled so high you can hardly see to pull out in traffic. In all my 49 years, I have never seen this much snow in the parts of New England where I have lived.
The dogs just came in and collapsed by the fire and I had to snap this shot of Fritz and Anneliese.
Ah the end to another snowy day.
Today I decided that I needed to move around a little. So each time one of the dachshunds wanted to go out, I dressed up in my warmed coat, hat and gloves and took them out. They took advantage of me terribly, as they kept going to the door and barking to go out.
In the early morning hours and the early afternoon it wasn’t too bad. The sun was shining, there wasn’t too much of a breeze and I was dressed warmly. It felt good!
But as the day wore on, and the sun got quite low in the sky, it began to really cool off and a light wind began, thus making me feel very chilled each time we went out.
And of course, the puppies decided that this was the perfect time to go out and look around. I would stand there encouraging them to do their “business”, and they would look at me like I was crazy.
I actually have a lot of sympathy for the dogs. I mean, I wouldn’t want to have to go outside in the middle of the winter on such a frosty day and do my “business” on a snow bank!
However, as I stood there freezing my butt off, I began to feel less bad for them and more sorry for myself! I mean, wow, it was cold!
Hubby got a fire started in the hearth, Now it’s taking the chill out of my bones, although my feet still feel pretty numb.
The funny thing here, by Monday it is supposed to warm up and heavy rain will fall. Ah yes, this winter has been full of surprises!
We got up this morning as usual. We expected to see more snow today, and we were not disappointed. 8 more inches of the fluffy white stuff had fallen on the ground overnight, and it was still snowing. The puppies knew that the Snow Fairies had been working overtime to send them this joy and they immediately set about playing in it!
Don’t get me wrong, fresh fallen snow is a beautiful sight and almost any other year in my life you would find me reveling in it. However, this year, this year has boggled my mind. I cannot for the life of me recall another year when we have had this much snow!
All I can say is, enough is enough!
I made our breakfast (an especially hearty one for Hubby, who needed to go and clear the driveway, yet again) and then as I was clearing away the dishes, I stretched over the counter and my back went out! Eeeeek! Wow did that hurt.
I had Hubby help me down on the floor so I could do my back stretches. You see I am no stranger to these back spasms, since I have had them off and on since my car accident all those years ago.
The stretching helped, but I was still quite sore, so I filled the jacuzzi tub up with hot water and climbed in to relax my back. I soon found I had a couple of friends. Please note, this picture has gone through a filter to protect my modesty! LOL
Now here is another with no filter as I found myself relaxing and becoming less modest! LOL!.
It snowed another 2 inches, so we have probably 10 inches total right now. Hubby has been busy all day. What a guy!
Lastly, I went to Weight Watchers tonight and I lost 4.2 pounds!!! Call me happy! I worked hard all week, keeping track of my points, eating wholesome foods, and limiting the snacks in my daily life.
I am so grateful. Grateful to the program, the guidance and the people at Weight Watchers. Right now, 6 weeks into my program, I have lost a total of 17 pounds!
…For Me And My Dachshunds!
In the evening when I sit and watch TV, I find that my lap fills up rather quickly. My dachshunds believe, that this chair (my chair) is in fact their chair! Oh they let me sit in one small corner, but you can see that they completely fill up the rest.
I don’t mind sharing my chair, but their pushiness often leaves me no room at all in my own chair! You would think that a person would become upset, but it is hard to get too upset when the pups are as sweet as mine are.
In fact, I look forward to the evenings when I get to sit here and cuddle with them. It’s the part of the day when they are tired and just want to lounge around, and for me it is often a time when all I want to do is cuddle anyway.
Which one is the biggest cuddler? Well, honestly, all three are, but Anneliese (the smallest one on the left) likes to be right on my lap and probably cuddles the closest, although Arnie is a big cuddler as well.
Life is good, at the end of the day when we all get together and just enjoy the love!
I was hobbling around the kitchen today sweeping up the floor and washing counter tops and cleaning the coffee maker, when the dogs began to bark like crazy! I glanced outside on the patio and saw the DHL man carrying a computer box. Yes, my laptop was home once again.
This time I was not excited, my hands did not shake with anticipation, I simply signed for the box, closed the door and brought it into the kitchen. I cut the tape and opened the box. On top was a slip of paper telling me that it took them 10 hours to repair my machine and also replace my power chord. All on Warranty.
I plugged the machine in and held my breath for a split second before the battery charging light came on, indicating that the machine was plugged in to A/C power.
Now I got excited!
I called Hubby on his cell phone and told him all about it. He was also pleased. He said I should make sure that everything was working before letting the service man from “The Company” know that all was well.
So after lunch I added back in my browser and email program, put back a few of my files and found that all was well.
Ah, the feel of these keys working under my fingers is so calming. Here I sit, in my chair with all the dachshunds next to me, Hubby sitting in his chair, with his laptop, and all is right with my world. Does it get any better than this?
Now I can keep my foot up while I write my blog, visit the blogging neighborhood, and write my email.
The ordeal is over and my computer is home!
Ah………
It was cleaning day here at the Dackel Princess house, and the vacuum came out to clean up all that white dog fur that Fritz so generously shares with us. It’s always a fun time. Anneliese and Greta run back and fourth chasing the vacuum wand, Fritz retreats to another room and Arnie hides under a bed.
Hubby was observing this and laughed wryly, “I see that the girls are the domesticated ones!” I giggled too, because this was all too true.
I’m doing well on my diet. No cheating or even the feeling that I need to cheat. It’s still an adjustment, and I find myself reading the dictionary of points to see what I can eat without totally blowing my points for the day. All in all, Weight Watchers is easy. Remind me of all this cheerfulness on Thursday when I weigh in for the third time. I know I can’t keep losing weight the way I have and I am trying to get ready for a week when I stay the same or *gasp* gain a little!
It’s freezing cold here right now. When we got out of bed this morning it was about -2 (F). I know, not too bad, but I do like it just a wee bit warmer!
Congratulations to our New England Patriots Football team for winning their division championship on Sunday! Now Tom Brady and his fellow teammates will be going to The Super Bowl in two weeks. They’ll be playing against The New York Giants.
Lastly, tonight we are grieving the loss of our dear friend, Miller. He was a longtime friend of Hubby’s and mine. He was an usher at our wedding, lived on our farm with us, which enabled me to travel with Hubby. Miller would tend to our animals back then and keep the house going.
He was a true gentleman, and I will always remember his quiet ways. He helped me bury my cat and rescued me from a mouse. (Farms are notorious for mice and ours was no exception.) He loved our white shepherds (this was before I discovered dachshunds) and I am hoping that when he reached Heaven, our two old shepherds, Rex and Max were there to greet him.
I could recount many more wonderful stories of this dear man, but for now I will say…
God-bye dear friend.
Many of you know we live in New Hampshire. The state where the first Primary for President is held every four years. Yes, we are first and proud of it! Some of the other States here in the USA think they should be first, but come on guys, we’ve been first, forever and it’s just poor sportsmanship to change that now.
On the other hand I want to tell you what life has been like the last week here in our New Hampshire home.
The phone rings at least 4 times a day with polls. Tonight, the night of the election they are computerized polls, but in the last few weeks we have been polled by Rasmussen, the Gallop Pole, ABC, NBC and our local ABC affiliate. We’ve been called by all the top candidates organizations and given long lists of questions to answer.
Many people hang up the phone, but most of the time Hubby and I will answer the questions. After all when your State is first in the nation for a Primary, you have certain obligations.
Just for fun we watched the movie “Primary Colors” the other day. The acting is great and it will show you what these people are willing to do to get elected! Scary!
Anyway, we voted today and by 8 o’clock tonight it will all be over…for another 4 years anyway.
Thanks for the memories!!!