My Life – Page 101 – The Dackel Princess

How We Spent Greta’s Birthday

For Greta’s birthday I made her a meat cake! She was not too thrilled that I held it while we sang, but eventually I blew out the candle and she devoured it!

I didn’t want you to think that she didn’t get anything, or that we gave her something unhealthy. It was the best treat and I’ll be doing this for all the other pups when their birthdays come along.

Hubby built some little steps into our snow bank, which allows the dackels to climb on top of the snow and tend to their needs. They are so adorable when using the steps, and Hubby and I really love watching them.

First he had to teach them to use them.

As you can see, Hubby is quite proud of his work, and the dackels love their own little stairway to their playground heaven!

All three dackels got baths today and so tonight we are surrounded by sweet smelling dogs! Next week when I feel slightly stronger, I will bathe Fritz, but today I just couldn’t handle him.

Lastly, for dinner I prepared zucchini boats that I had made last summer from our home grown zucchini, and then plash frozen. I poured tomato sauce that I made with our own tomatoes and canned and as a nice side dish had our own apple sauce.

It’s on nights like tonight that I know why I love my garden so much!

Thursday Thirteen

Today’s Thursday Thirteen are my current favorite TV shows. I used to be a real TV addict, but find that TV isn’t as good as it once was, so I watch a lot of cooking shows.

Okay, so here we go with my latest favorites shows on TV.

NCIS. I love the entire cast. They all work so well playing off of each other and this show has been consistently good!

NCIS

The Big Bang Theory. This is another great ensemble cast. I think the appeal is that almost everyone I know has felt awkward at one time or another. These guys are likable in their awkwardness!

“From Lark Rise to Candleford“. Y’all know how much I love that one!

larkrise

Mike and Molly. It’s a new show on CBS and it’s got to be one of the sweetest, truest little love stories out there. Love the crazy Swoozie Kurtz as the Mama. She is hysterical!

MIKE & MOLLY

What Not To Wear. Yes, I am still a devotee of the series. I am constantly amazed at the transformations and I love Ted Gibson. He is a fabulous hair stylist!

The Middle. A show about an ordinary family, in the middle of the country where almost nothing goes as it should. Patricia Heaton is great as the Mom, who struggles and just cannot seem to make it all come together.

the middle

Desperate Housewives. I’m not quite the devotee I was in their early years, but I do still watch occasionally.

desperate_housewives

Regis and Kelly! What will I do when I can’t start my day with Reeg? Their variety/talk show is just the right blend of lightness to start the day with.

Live-With-Regis-And-Kelly

Kathie Lee & Hoda! Another great pairing in the morning. It’s like sitting down with my girlfriends and having a good laugh!

Hoda Kathie Lee

All My Children. I’ve been watching the goings on in Pine Valley since I was in High School. I sure would miss it if my favorite Soap Opera got canceled.

all-my-children-

The Mentalist. A cute, and quirky escape. I love the characters and the writing is very good. Simon Baker is terrific. I had no idea he was an Australian!

The-Mentalist

Rules of Engagement. Another situation comedy that makes me laugh. I think I’m looking for laughter lately because the world is so full of depressing things.

RULES OF ENGAGEMENT

Almost any show about travel. Most especially about Alaska, Australia or Asia. I have seen some of Alaska, but I so want to go back for more of a naturalist adventure! Australia and Asia are on my Bucket List. So Travel Shows are right up there on my list!

What are you watching?

A Strange Day

Hubby and I woke to the sound of rain falling outside. We both looked at the clock, and saw that all four dogs had allowed us to sleep well past 8 o’clock! I think the reason they did, is because they had no intention of going out into the rain. We enjoyed the extra sleep, but then got up to start our day.

Actually, I enjoyed the lazy morning, and cooked a nice breakfast and lunch before preparing to go to my appointment for a mammogram.

However, between breakfast and lunch the weather took a turn here, that was a bit of a surprise. We had rain in the morning and then it began to snow!

Hubby offered to drive me to my appointment, but I said, no as I did not anticipate any problems. There were none going down, but coming home, the temperatures had dropped even further, the wind had increased and I was 3/4 of the way home when I lost control of the Jeep and skidded across the other lane of traffic and into a large snow bank!

I hate black ice!

I cannot tell you how scary it was to see the snow bank coming toward me so quickly. It brought back so many terrible memories, and then it stopped. Almost like in “The Wizard of Oz” when the house landed after being caught up in the tornado.

Immediately three men stopped and provided their help. One man had a large truck with chains, and two young men pushed and the three of them got my Jeep out of the snowbank. The man with the truck followed me home to make sure I got here okay, and then headed off with a wave.

It was above and beyond neighborly!

Hubby had come out to rescue me, but he saw me driving home and followed me. He got a fire started in the hearth and handed me a brandy to sip.

And he hugged me and let me know he was happy I was okay.

So tonight I am feeling totally wiped out and still very emotional. I think I need a good night sleep and perhaps a little distance from the event.

What I Did This Weekend

Our host is Gattina. Come join us and tell us what YOU did this past weekend! After all, you never know when you will need an alibi!

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This was a very strange weekend. I actually accomplished a lot of things, but the things I looked forward to the most, did not happen.

I did get some cleaning done, although not as much as I would have liked. I also watched a movie, but nothing that was new and earth shattering. “From Lark Rise to Candleford” was not on, and on Sunday morning we were in the dark (no power) for about an hour. Hubby went out and got our generator going, so I was able to make our breakfast and we watched TV until the power was restored.

We also did some running around getting groceries. Part one found us taking Arnie with us, and part two found us bringing Anneliese. It was so much fun traveling around with them.

We also saw our unfair fair share of rain. In the last two days we have had so much rain, and warm temperatures that the snow has melted into ponds in our yard. Amazing!

So the weekend was just your average taking care of business kinda weekend!

Saturday Happenings!

Something kind of wonderful happened today, and I can’t really talk about it yet. You will hear about it in the future, but for now, just know that I smiled most of the day with a special secret.

We had a day where our temperatures were high enough to allow for some melting, and the roads were clear. Hubby did some more snow removal in key areas, and once again I watched every cooking show known to man, as I did my house work. It helps to give me ideas for new meals to cook.

For instance, Saturday night I am cooking a meatloaf, made from a recipe I found on the Food Channel. Now I hope this is a good meatloaf, because it took me well over an hour just to chop up all the vegetables that go into this meatloaf. I like to think of this as the “Everything But The Kitchen Sink Meatloaf”! I really hope it is good. If it is, I will post the link to the recipe, as it is a copy write-ed recipe.

I was flipping through TV guide when I noticed that my new favorite TV show, “From Larkrise to Candleford” is not on tonight! What? They are having fund-raising TV crap on instead! I am not happy, as now I must wait until next week for another episode.

Okay, I hope you are all sitting down. Here is the up to date latest. I actually finished all of my laundry! Ha! I knew I could do it if I just set my mind to it!

Some good friends of ours slipped away and tied the knot! The bride and groom both wore flannel shirts and jeans and life is good! Congratulations to Lou and Mary and our wishes for happiness always!

Love is grand!!!

Friday Fill-Ins

Friday Fill-Ins are sponsored by my cousin, Janet. Come on and join the fun!

And…here we go!

1. Bring your favorite dish and we’ll have a potluck supper.

2. I’ve been making reservations for Hubby’s College Reunion. I found a wonderful old Inn to stay at, where breakfast, bed and taxes are included in the price.

3. I am exactly where I should be. Home with Hubby and the puppers.

4. Well, you see, it all started this morning when I got out of bed and fell over a dog. After that the only place to go was up.

5. The snow will melt, the flowers will bloom and Spring will come soon!

6. But what if the snow hasn’t melted by the time I need to plant my garden!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to settling in and relaxing after having had the three dackels to the Vet for their yearly shots, tomorrow my plans include the usual weekend cleaning and then watching “From Larkrise to Candleford” and Sunday, I want to Make a big pot of coffee, read the Sunday newspaper, and maybe watch an old movie in the evening!

Thursday Thirteen

This week’s theme for me, are things that make me feel peaceful. I think it’s important to remind ourselves to do the things that make us feel at peace within our souls. So, here are some of mine.

Sit down and have a nice cup of hot tea. No matter the time of year, for me, a cup of hot tea means peace.
Sing. Most of you will never hear me, because I really don’t like to sing in public, but when I am stressed I will turn the TV off, turn my play-lists on and sing at the top of my lungs.
Cook. This is probably the most dangerous outlet for me, because when I cook I eat! Eeek! However, cooking a big sumptuous meal, brings a peace to my soul, like almost nothing else.
Although I am almost loath to admit, going for a walk does help, but the walk has to be either with one dog or alone, as any more than one dog makes the walk very stressful for me, because I worry about my little friends.
Chocolate. Oh yeah. Is there any better way to feel peaceful than with some fine dark chocolate?
The smell of the ocean. It had been a long time since I had been to the ocean, and when I went out to York, Maine with my girl friend, Gail, we stepped out of the car at the Yacht Club and I smelled the air! It brought back memories of my childhood spent on the beaches of Cape Cod, where I grew up.
A muffled sleepy bark. I know that this will sound funny to people who have never slept with their dog, but there is a sound a dog will make when they are sound asleep and dreaming. It’s such a sweet sound and makes me sigh.
A fire in my hearth. Warm, and bright and snapping from the dried wood. Usually there is a sleeping dog lying in front and the overall glow just mellows me out.
A hot bath. This is another real luxury. I will fill up our tub, sometimes have a glass of wine, and lie there and breathe.
My cell phone. I know that will make people laugh, but being able to talk to my friends on the Verizon network for free, and then using my minutes to call those who don’t have cell phones (I know! Imagine that there are people who don’t have them!), to call and visit. What a great world.
Pictures. I love looking at pictures and remembering. Beautiful faces, sunny places, light the corners of my mind and soul.
A hug and kiss from my daughter. A visit with her and a talk. Now that she is all grown up, I enjoy times when we can just be around each other.
Hubby. Yeah, all he needs to do it sit in his chair, or touch my hand, or snore in bed. His presence in my life brings such peace.

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. March 2nd is Dr. Seuss’s birthday so I’m wondering…do you like green eggs and ham? Okay-how about this instead…how do you like your eggs? Or don’t you?

I love eggs, any old way at all. I guess my favorite (if you force me to pick one) is fried with a slightly runny yolk.

2. Is March coming in like a lion or something less ferocious where you live?

Lion. So much darn snow! Really. However, they are forecasting some warmer temperatures for this weekend, so perhaps we will have a little bit of melting. Yay!

3. Do you work better or worse under pressure?

Worse. I really like things nice and calm and quiet. Then I can slowly go through things and get my work done.

4. March Madness-are you a fan? It’s college basketball in case you’re wondering. And if you’re outside the USA tell us-is there any sort of ‘madness’ taking place during March in your part of the world?

Hubby will be interested, but I think I will take that time and do some spring cleaning in other rooms in the house, with my MP3 player stuck in my ears! lol!

5. Under what circumstances do you do your best thinking?

When things are quiet and I am alone. I need the solitude, the stillness, to gather my thoughts.

6. What item of clothing from your wardrobe do you wear most often?

My junkie jeans. I love them. They are soft and fit perfectly and yet, if I spill something on them, who cares? Aside from the jeans, I love soft white cotton socks.

7. Do you use sarcasm?

Oh boy, I really try not to, but I am afraid that I allow myself to use it far more often than I should. I think I have learned to curb my tongue more now in my 50’s then I did when I was in my 20’s.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

My regular readers know that since mid January I have used this spot to keep you all posted on the progress of my blog friend, Joanne. I’ve asked for your prayers for her, since she suffered a severe stoke.

The great news is that she is doing incredibly well and hopefully will go to the long term rehab center sooner rather than later. Currently, she is in a rehab center that is for really acute care, but since she is progressing so well, she will soon be moved.

Joanne is blessed to have a wonderful family and close group of friends, as well as all of us worldwide, who have been praying for her. Joanne still has a long way to go, but Joanne’s recovery is such a testimony in itself to the power of prayer.

Monday, Monday

We woke up on Monday to round three of snow! It seems we just get paths dug for the dackels, when it snows and we have to do it all over again. This has been a bad weekend for snow and then we started the week with another storm. At least this one didn’t drop as much snow. They were forecasting 4-6 inches, but I think we only got 2 this time.

A short movie that I filmed on Monday morning.

Feb 28 Snow from Dackel Princess Maribeth on Vimeo.

Hubby arrived home after going skiing in the morning and he casually mentioned that the car slid off the road into a snow bank. He was not phased by this, in fact he was rather pleased that several people stopped to help push him out of the snow bank.

While he was off skiing I worked washing cabinets. Definitely not glamor work, but a real necessity. In fact, I found a place on the stove top hood, that was a bit neglected, so I took the time to scrub that out.

Anneliese has just about 5 or 6 days left of her heat and then she will be all over it. I can hardly wait. Last night it was a real challenge to keep Arnie and his sister apart!

I was also thrilled to death with most of the Oscar Awards. I love Colin Firth, The Kings Speech was phenomenal, and Christian Slater Bale, well he may be one of the finest actors of our time. I do like Melissa Leo, but felt, like almost everyone else in the world, that she should not have used the F-bomb during her acceptance speech. I mean, after all, in the top four categories of Best Actors, there wasn’t any surprises now, were there.

Now we, the movie audiences of the world, can go back to our regular viewing, wondering, who might give us a stellar performance next year!

High School Days

I just found out that in August there will be a Reunion of my High School Graduation Class! We will meet up in the Town where I lived all during my youth, and celebrate the fact that we’ve all survived this long!

Oh, it will be fun to see everyone. It’s especially nice since I have gotten in touch with so many of my school friends, on Facebook.

This was my High School Picture.I can’t recall why I liked that dress? It was short, so that could be the reason. Actually everything tended to be a tad short on me because I am fairly tall.

I’m wondering what people will think when they see me now? Hopefully, I won’t scare anyone!

Looking back, it seemed I knew a lot of people. Our town was small, and at one point or another you sort of had a class with everyone. Especially in High School. There were many times I had music, (I was in both Chorus and Band, I played the flute) and those classes had all four grades together. I also loved gymnastics, despite my height, so I knew many people from different grades there, too.

So, I’m excited and looking forward to going back to the town where it all began!