Category: Life

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!

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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.

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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!

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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!

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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.

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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!!!

Continue reading “Primary Colors”

What happens when you arrive at home? Does anyone jump to greet you? Do tails wag? Is there a significant other who smiles in a way that says, “welcome”?

I was thinking about this today. I was in the office (my laptop is in Tennessee for repair, but that’s all I know, thus I am chained to the desktop) with the dogs, when all of a sudden they jumped up and ran down the hall to the kitchen. Barking ensued and I got up to see what was happening.

As Hubby was still skiing, I knew it couldn’t be him, so I was interested to see if a squirrel had invaded our yard and caused the commotion.

Then I saw Emily coming down the hill through the snow and I knew that they were “waiting for her”! So, I opened the door and let them go to greet her.

Many people will go through their whole lives and not experience this thrill! Imagine, a little face, a wagging tail, a smile? How lucky we are when we have this.

So when Hubby came home today I greeted him with a special smile and a big hug. I am so glad that he shares my life.

I am a lucky lady!

Continue reading “Welcome”

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MESSY

This is Anneliese watching her mother swim in with her stick. Both were wet and muddy!

Hubby and his cousins covered with mud from the Avon River in Nova Scotia.

Messy, messy, messy!!!

I woke up this morning and, as I sat on the edge of my bed, the thought hit me. “Where are my glasses?” I was still half asleep, but years of near-sightedness found me in the habit of waking up and putting on my glasses so I could find my way to the bathroom. Now, since my operation in May, my distance vision is 20-20, and I no longer need glasses to see across the room.

However, without my readers I cannot see the keyboard on my laptop, the cutting board in the kitchen, or read a menu, so my little reading glasses have become a fixture on the end of my nose.

Which do I prefer? Probably the reading glasses, because I can do without them quite easily if I have to.

But this really got me thinking about habits. So many things we do each day, we do by habit.

For instance, each night as I finish up the dishes, I grind coffee beans and set up the coffee maker for the next morning. Heaven forbid that I have to think about actually making coffee first thing in the morning.

You see, once I am up and in my robe and slippers in the morning, I turn on the coffee pot and my computer, let Fritz and Greta out and then go and get the puppies. I struggle into my coat, hat and gloves (It was 14 degrees F. here this morning!), and take them out for a walk in our back yard. (I am sure this is quite a picture! LOL!) By the time we get back, the coffee is done, the computer has booted up, and my day has officially begun.

Hubby quit smoking 25 years ago. He says that it took him about 10 years until he stopped reaching in his shirt pocket for a pack of cigarettes that wasn’t there.

Fritz and Greta know that at 5 o’clock in the afternoon it’s time to have their canned food. They will hunt me down and stare until I “get it”!

But I think the funniest habit is Fritz’s. Each night at 9:30 I take all the dogs out for the last “wee-wee” of the night. When we come in Fritz wants to go straight to bed. He will walk back and forth between the family room and the bedroom staring at me. If I ignore him he will come over to me and stand right in front of me and stare very hard. What’s a girl to do?

Now you all know why I go to bed so early. I have a “creature of habit” living in my household………Fritz!