My Life – Page 110 – The Dackel Princess

What I Did This Weekend

Our host is Gattina. Come join us and tell us what YOU did this past weekend!

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Sunday was a very typical Autumn Sunday. I worked out in the garden, pulling up the wire fence, and the last few plants that remained in there. The only plants still there are three large brussel sprout plants that are near to producing little mini sprouts!

Hubby worked on more wood, chopping and stacking it, with help from Fritz, of course, and later in the day we worked together putting away the last of the window air conditioners. They are large and cumbersome, and at one point I gouged my arm. Nothing too bad, no stitches required!

Dirty windows have been plaguing me too. I managed to get the windows in our kitchen and family room cleaned up and looking great. For about two seconds…until Fritz and the dackels went right back to rubbing their noses on them. Ah yes, doggy art, on my windows to the world!

Speaking of doggy art, I pulled out my old camera the other day to use the super zoom lens and today I kind of played around with it. Arnie and Anneliese were my models.

Here is Anneliese, all curled up in her little bed. Occasionally she lets Greta or Arnie sleep in it, but most of the time, it is hers, alone!

And here is Arnie. We call him Mister Arnie Man.

I’d like to learn to use all the settings on this camera, as it has all the bells and whistles. I’ve been using my smaller pocket Cannon camera, and love the simplicity, but find I can’t get all the shots I want and I think perhaps switching to my Olympus SP-560UZ-18X for a while, might give me the pictures I’m looking for.

Happy Monday, Everyone!

A Saturday Wrap Up

Today was one of those beautiful autumn days. Bright colors, cloudy skies with just a tease of blue coming through, and a breeze that will not quit. Our yard is not that beautiful, but when you look across the lake there are still really pretty leaves. They were protected from all this wind and therefor remain on the trees.

Hubby was chopping wood and stacking it for the winter, when he called me outside, to witness evidence of an intruder from last night.

It was a BIG pile of BEAR POOP, complete with leaves and berries in it!

I was so excited to see it. You know, you hear about things like this, but to actually see physical evidence right in front of your eyes…well I was excited!!!

Then I turned to Hubby and told him, “Now you understand why I don’t want the dogs out after dark, by themselves!”

Hubby cleaned it up, and then went back to chopping and stacking wood, while I started working on our supper.

I’d gotten a great piece of meat the other day and cut it into chunks to make “JULIA’S BOEUF BOURGUIGNON”. This recipe is a great one, but VERY labor intensive. However, this will last us for at least three meals, so in many ways, it is very economical!

Anneliese is feeling completely well and back to her old self. The last couple of days I have watched with pleasure, as she runs and jumps and tackles Arnie, and even plays with Greta. Mostly, she is playing with Arnie and that is what makes me the happiest, as they have such a wonderful relationship and have had this since birth.

I’ve been able to relax a lot, do a load or two of laundry and read my book. It’s been a such a nice day!

Post Script: It’s now after dark here in New Hampshire. Arnie just had to go out to do his business. So I put him on the leash, got the flashlight and out we went. The wind was blowing, and the beam of light from my flashlight hit something that was moving, and my heart skipped a beat!

It was a tree branch blowing around! I am such a sissy!

Friday Fill-Ins

So…here we go!

1. Wow, it’s raining hard.

2. Autumn is beautiful.

3. My favorite way to start a day is with lots of coffee.

4. He cleared out the last plants in the garden and he walked in the door holding a pumpkin.

5. I look out my window and see wet, windy, weather.

6. Sleep is what I’ve been thinking about lately.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to sitting quietly and reading, tomorrow my plans include sitting quietly and reading and Sunday, I want to sit quietly and read!

(I’m not feeling too well and think I need a weekend off.)

A Flash From The Past

This morning I decided I would learn how to scan a slide with my super scanning machine. After all, when we bought the scanner a year ago, it was with the plan to scan in some of our old slides. Hubby has a ton and so do I. In fact, when my parents gave up their home years ago, I became the keeper of the slides.

I went to pick up the slides and in the box was a zip lock bag with a couple of slides in it. I guess that Dad must have had them out for some reason. Anyway, I kept them in the drawer of my desk hoping one day to scan them in.

Today was that day!

The smallest child in the group is me. I was 8 years old, and I was playing Gretel in the Sound of Music. I remember that this was a lot of fun for me. I sang and danced and luckily, all of the adults were very nice and made the project a great experience.

It’s funny looking back and seeing myself so confident and calm. I wasn’t at all nervous, and I performed like I’d been doing it all my life. It was only later in my life that I started to feel shy.

This is probably one of my favorite pictures of my sister and me. I was joking with her that this was the last time that she was taller than me! I loved Melodie in that dress and my own dress, the chocolate brown one, was one of my all time favorites!

How exciting it is to be able to scan in these old slides. They’re like old friends.

Random Dozen

1. Is there a word which you initially mispronounced? Were the circumstances in which you made the faux pas embarrassing? By the way, that’s not “foax pass.” (I know you know that. Just jokin’ with ya.)

Oh gosh I mispronounce words all the time. I have a slight stutter and this can be a problem when my mouth gets going faster than my head can think of words. I usually make a joke and keep going.

2. How do you feel about the use of texting shortcuts and trends? (ex: “I’ve got ur notes. Get them 2 u 2morow.”)

Anything that keeps me from getting carpal “thumb-all” syndrome (lol) is a good thing!

3. Tell me about your high school senior picture. Please feel free to post.

Well, I think I look okay, but see how straight my hair is? Can anyone figure this out?

5. Share a high school or college homecoming memory.

I won the Queen of the Rainbow Girls Ball when I was a sophomore in high school.

6. Linda at Mocha with Linda wants to know: “Do you prefer sunrises or sunsets?”

Sunsets.

7. Lea at Cici’s Corner asks, “What is something you have not done that you desire to do?”

Travel more.

8. Carol at Wanderings of an Elusive Mind ponders, “If you could come back [in another life] as an animal, which would it be?”

A pampered cat. I could sleep all day and lie in the sunshine and be stroked by my loving owner.

9. Joyce from The Other Side of the Pond is curious: “Where were you 10 years ago?” Please feel free to elaborate more than just your physical location.

We were in the process of building this house! What a job that was!

10. When you are proven to be correct in any contentious discussion, do you gloat?

No, usually I’ll wink, smile and go on.

11. What is your favorite food which includes the ingredient “caramel?”

I’ve never been big on caramel, but perhaps a candy bar.

12. From my 17 year-old daughter to you: “If you could be part of any fictional family, which family would you choose and why?” (She’s so cute. And clever.)

I sort of loved the Von Trapp Family in the Sound of Music. The adventure, but the real love they all shared in the movie.

Too Tired

Since I am too tired for a coherent sentence to be written, I thought I would send out a couple of pictures and my top 10 list of favorite things from this Reunion.

10. Fried Green Tomatoes

9. Dressing up each day and wearing my girlie shoes!

8. Time off from my doggies, although I miss them terribly!

7. We were given a King-size suite at the motel!

6. Southern cooking!

5. Laughter

4. Friendships, old and new!

3. Sunshine

2. Blue Skies

1. Dessert!

Oh What a Morning!

I woke up in the darkness and thought immediately that it must be time to get up and go. Looking at the clock, I silently groaned! 12:30 AM! So, I moved a dackel, turned over and went back to sleep, waking only a few more times before our 5 AM alarm.

The coffee was ready and I put two frozen sandwiches in the microwave to heat, then carefully wrapped them to take in the car. We were out the door by 5:30 and I felt like we were doing extremely well. That was until the rain began to fall, and the traffic became gridlocked!

As we neared Boston, the rain only seemed to increase and the traffic got heavier, and our moods began to plummet. We attempted to take the back way into the airport and all we ended up seeing were likely scenes from the movie “The Town” as we worked our way through Charlestown! Only, there was no handsome Ben Affleck standing on a corner, just a lot of wet, exhausted workers trying to get to their jobs.

We decided to park in the Economy lot, which meant that we ended up backtracking several miles only to be parked back in Charlestown! We grabbed our suitcases, and made our way through the puddles to the shuttle bus for our ride back to the airport.

Okay, we made it in time, just a tiny bit late. We checked in, and proceeded to security, where I zipped through, as I have learned all about 3 ounce bottles, and computers in their own basket and, oh yes, my shoes came off as well. But I was easy!

Hubby, on the other hand, was given the full treatment. You see, my bionic man sets off all the bells and whistles at the airport with his titanium knees!

I stood there waiting, while the nice young man felt my husband in places I haven’t touched since our honeymoon!

Eventually they allowed him to dress again and we proceeded to our gate. All appeared to be going well, until we heard those fateful words, “I’m sorry Ladies and Gentlemen, our flight has been delayed until 11:30 due to a mechanical problem.”

At first it appeared we would be alright. We could still make our connection in Atlanta, even with this delay. However, a short time later they announced the flight would be delayed indefinitely, then posted a 5 PM departure time, and then finally canceled the flight!

I looked at Hubby and frowned. What would we do?

End of part one.

Feelings…

People who do not have animals claim that dogs and cats have no heart, and are unable to express their feelings. They claim that dogs cannot tell time, nor can they understand when someone goes away.

I am here to tell you all that this is incorrect!

My dogs can tell time. At 4:55 PM they all know that the magic time of 5 PM is nearly here and they will get their dinners. They jump around like little children on a sugar high, until I measure the food out and place the dishes on the floor.

Today I brought out our suitcases for our trip. I put them on the bed, and then started packing clothes into them for our trip. Hubby was in the bathroom shaving, and Arnie went over to him and when Hubby spoke to him he could see that he was shaking. He handed him to me and the shaking continued, as I soothed him

I had to go to a meeting on Monday night and Fritz had that terrible “deer in the headlights” look! He knows, Suitcases+Mommy getting her purse+carkeys means that Mommy is going away. Oh, my poor boys.

Anneliese has been cuddling with me, and even Greta has been sweet to Hubby and me. It’s just amazing how much these guys know and show us what they think and feel.

I have learned, after a lifetime of pet ownership just how smart and sensitive they are. In many ways the pups show more of their hearts than most people that I know.

2301 Posts & Counting…

And What I Did This Weekend!

I’ve been blogging for over 5 years now and have finally reached 2300 plus one posts! When I saw the stats this morning, when I logged in, I smiled. There have been good times and bad times and everything in between, and you all have been here. Thank you all, from the bottom of my heart!

Our host is Gattina. Come join us and tell us what YOU did this past weekend!

Today was a beautiful fall day here in New England. It was also the end of the season, Craft Fair and Chowder Festival. There was so much to do and see that I walked around, took a bunch of pictures, just so I could share them with all of you. The man at the very beginning of the montage is here twice a year every year, and has been since I came to my town nearly 11 years ago. He and I have a thing going, and I always get his pepper jelly! The best around. This year he had a lobster/crab dip spice packet and that was so good, so I got one of those.

This year doggies were invited (I did not bring any of mine because then I wouldn’t have been able to take pictures), and so you will see some of the very cutest and nicest ones that I met! I hope you enjoy the montage.

Craft Fair & Chowderfest from Dackel Princess Maribeth on Vimeo.

I also had Hubby take this picture for Michelle. She wanted to see what my feet look like in ankle socks and my girlie-girl sandals! Well here they are!

I have the worlds worst legs and ankles, but there isn’t much I can do about that!

Have a good week everyone!

Ugh!

This always happens. I am preparing to pack for a trip for Hubby and myself. I always have packed for him, and so I feel responsible for his cases being packed correctly.

At dinner tonight he mentioned the photo album that he put together of his days in Vietnam, the faces and places that he had known. As hubby was there in the early days of the Vietnam war, the pictures are mostly of the places he saw and the men he served with. It’s a great album.

My problem? I cannot find the bloody thing! I have looked in almost every nook and cranny in our house and discovered that besides my house needing a drastic cleaning, I cannot find this album!

So where is it? We bring it to each reunion that we go to, but we have not been in a while. I have stored the album at the base of the stairs in our house for years. So, why isn’t it there now?

It’s driving me slightly insane and I keep getting up and walking around looking for this album, like it will instantly appear. As you can guess, it hasn’t.

A few minutes ago, while I was sitting here trying to relax, I started thinking. When had we seen this last? What were we doing? In the last year was there a time we had it out?

I got up. I walked through the house again, and then something began pulling me to a cupboard in our family room. I opened the doors (I had been there before too) and looked and my eyes caught the corner of the album!

THERE IT WAS!!!!!

So I can sleep in peace tonight, with no worries about the album and best of all…I found my black sandals, which I will now wear with my black and magenta skirt!

All’s well that ends well!