Category: Life

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!

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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!

It was the most amazing day. Not only was I packing our things, (and making great progress!) but after finishing my lunch I looked out the back door and saw that two young deer had wandered into our yard and were sampling the fallen apple tree leaves.

Oh so quietly I told Hubby about this and then put the dogs in our bedroom, and got the camera to take some pictures. It was an impossibly dark day with a lot of rain, but I managed to get a couple of pictures of our young deer.

I love deer, but seeing these youngsters made me think that if they are coming into a densely populated area, then the herd is getting too large and the food sources are dwindling. Hunting season begins in a few days and this will help to thin the herd and make it possible for the strong ones to survive the winter.

These deer and the wild turkey’s that came through the other day, remind me of why I love living where I live. The wildlife always thrill me, always make me feel a part of something that is larger than me.

After an 11 hour drive we arrived home. We were greeted by four very happy dogs, who danced around the house and the yard!

The drive was actually quite nice and we only got caught once in traffic, just outside Philadelphia. Not an unusual event.

Once we got home I made a spaghetti dinner and Hubby and I were joined by our house sitter for the meal.

But….we are only home briefly as we are taking Arnie to the German Dog Show (Zuchtschau) in western Pennsylvania!!!

So forgive me if I am not able to write much, I will try to blog and send pictures of our boy. Anneliese is staying home with Greta and Fritz as she has gone into heat.

Usually I blog so regularly, but right now with all of the traveling, it sure has been difficult. I will be glad when this show is over and I can be home for a while.

You all have heard that I am a country girl. I like grass under my feet, wide open spaces and trees all around me. Oh yes, and little doggies playing at my feet. However the last few days I have driven down the east coast of the US from New Hampshire, to Washington, DC. We have seen a lot of lovely places in the states in between, but we have also gotten stuck in traffic jams and on swaying buses that have left me feeling less than my normal perky self. The places we have been, the things we have seen, make the 10 ½ hour journey here, all worth it.

We arrived at our truly glitzy hotel, complete with a sumptuous suite, only to find that they nickel and dime you for every little thing. The reason, dear reader, that you have not heard from me is that I am simply too cheap to pay $12.00 a day for Internet service for my laptop. I will, however, bite the bullet tomorrow and pay for a connection so I can access my Flickr account and put this on my blog.

We have been site seeing in DC. Having been here before we have skipped some of the usual spots, like the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Monument (my favorite) and the Washington Mall (A large grassy area around all the Federal Buildings and Monuments.

Instead we did something I have not done since I was six years old. We went on a White House tour. Although the White House is beautiful, and I was truly impressed with the artistic masterpieces, I felt badly that there is not longer a Park Service Guide to show you around, and when I asked for a child’s Guide to the White House, they refused my request! We did see Marine One take off with the President. Obviously he had heard I had come to see his place!

No sooner had we returned from that tour then we headed out to the Dulles National Air and Space Museum. All I can say about that is WOW!!!!! We toured with a Docent for three hours and saw every sort of air plane imaginable, including a Pan Am Boeing Strato Cruiser, and a Concorde! Of course we also saw early airplanes and the ones used during the first and second world wars.

Dinner was wonderful. We went to a restaurant at the top of the hotel where we feasted. Hubby had Steak that was mouth wateringly delicious, and I had Lump Crab Cakes! The view of Washington at night, as the planes flew into and out of Ronald Reagan National Airport, was really something.

Washington is a beautiful city, and the government makes sure that it is kept tidy and clean. The grass is green and mowed and there are still flowers in bloom. Thanks to all who work here, to keep our Nations Capital beautiful.

You can see I paid the fee so I could drop in and say hello. Miss you all and will write more later!!!

Early on Monday morning (Labor Day) Hubby and I joined our neighbors, Jim and Laura and we drove to a nearby restaurant where Mitt and Ann Romney were meeting people. The restaurant also has a wonderful breakfast menu, so we arrived early enough to have omelets and home fries and toast before the guests of honor arrived.

One of the really great things about living in New Hampshire is that we can go and meet the candidates. We have the first Primary in the country and so the candidates really make an effort to come here and meet people.

We were not disappointed. Mitt and his lovely wife Ann arrived just as we finished the last bites of our breakfast and suddenly the room was alive. People stood and applauded and they moved through the crowd speaking to each person and shaking their hand.

Mitt and Ann. Photo by Hubby.

They got to us and Laura snapped this picture. Hubby was telling Mitt about how he had met Henry Cabot Lodge when he was running for President back in the 1960’s and that he hoped Mitt did better than Henry had. Mitt smiled and said that he hoped so too! I was telling Ann that I had heard her speak recently about family values and that I greatly admired her.

Hubby, me (bad picture) our friend Jim, Mitt and Ann.

They are such a devoted couple, which is nice to see. As I watched them, their care for each other was evident, but never forced. I came away feeling as if I had met some truly nice people.

I have never said anything political on Dackel Princess and I won’t now, except to tell you that I am a registered Independent voter. I am hoping that at this next Presidential election people will look at the moral character of the people running for this office, as well as their ability to handle our country in this complex world.

Tonight was an interesting night. I made dinner a little late, but oh my, it was good. I made sauteed scallops, with fresh asparagus and potato salad. Just about the time that we finished eating I noticed the sky getting very dark. After a 92 degree day, it was no surprise that a thunderstorm was on its way.

I turned on the weather channel and saw we were under a severe thunder storm warning, so I went around and shut down all the high tech stuff. Computers, satellite dish, and printer.

Then as the storm grew closer, we shut off the TV and went out onto our screened in/glassed in porch where we could sit and watch the storm go by in safety and of course, completely dry.

All four dogs joined us and the puppies played while the thunder rumbled. Fritz, big, lovable sweetie that he is lay across Hubby’s foot and Greta paced around until she realized that now was her chance to get all the bones, so she returned to the family room and collected them all in my chair.

The rain fell in a heavy sheet, that lasted for some time. Our parched lawn finally being fed some delicious water from the sky! No matter how hard you try to keep it watered, in 92 degree heat, it just cooks the grass.

The storms passed and now we are in and winding down from the day. But it was a good day and it has ended in such a nice way, with a shower and cooler weather forecast for the holiday weekend.