My Life – Page 114 – The Dackel Princess

Getting My Coffee Grounds Read!

I went to a Greek Festival today and while I was there I had the most delicious Greek Coffee! I sipped it slowly and when I was done, my cup was tipped and circled three times and then the woman read my coffee grounds.

She said “If you were pregnant I would see you having triplets! I see three babies!” I told her my dog was pregnant and she said that it could be that my dog is going to have three babies! Oh I hope she is right!

How many do you see?

Meanwhile, Arnie made himself comfortable in Hubby’s arms. Arnie is so affectionate and extremely demonstrative. I hope Anneliese has three puppies just like her brother!

Happy Sunday everyone!

The Start To A Good Weekend!

I started Friday with a shower. For me, and for Greta and Arnie. Somehow the two of them had gotten into something sticky and needed a shower. Anneliese is being quiet these days and thus, her coat is nice and clean. Besides, I didn’t want to stress her with a bath. Once I was done, I got out and Hubby and I toweled the two pups dry.

Isn’t Arnie cute?

Anneliese slept most of the day. She was uncomfortable and stretched as much as she could each time she lay down.

Next on my list of things to get done was to make the Moonglow Pickles. So after following the recipe, I got the pot of cucumbers on the stove and the jars sterilizing in a pot of boiling water.

I made 6 more jars of the Moonglow Pickles!

Tonight Anneliese just seems tired. You know, by this time next week we could have her baby all delivered.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Random Thoughts Sunday

I was walking around today with a gazillion thoughts running through my head. So instead of sitting down and trying to arrange all these thoughts into one coherent blog post I decided to just bullet it and let it all out.

I had two and a half pounds of very ripe tomatoes, so I found a recipe and made a basil and tomato sauce with turkey/Italian sausage meatballs. I’m not sure how it will taste, but it sure smells good.
Overnight I swear someone pumped up Anneliese’s belly! I sure will be happy later on when they scan her and we can see how many bambinos she has in there!
I ran into a friend in the grocery store and we got to talking about Weight Watchers. I was telling her that I have finally come to terms with my place in the weight loss world. Yes, I am a successful loser, but…I have come to realize that I am nothing special. It’s not like I am going to wake up and not have a weight problem. For ever and ever, I will have to be a diligent member of Weight Watchers, or I will return to my previously unmentioned weight. But you know, that’s okay. At least I have the tools to take care of myself.
Anneliese is slowing down. She sleeps an awful lot now and wants small meals now, not the larger ones that she wanted before. I sure wonder how many puppies she has in there!
Fritz is doing well, although he is still limping a bit. I told Hubby that Fritz needs to rest a bit more so when he goes out to check the fruit trees he walks Fritz and then tells him to lie down. Needless to say, Fritz is very happy to be out with his Daddy again!

I have found that I really do not want to iron today. I have thought up three good reasons. Want to hear them? 1. My head aches. 2. My back aches. 3. The dogs got me up at 6 AM and I’m tired! Good enough for me, so once again, the ironing is being put off!

Later

Okay, I did the ironing! Why? 1. Guilt. 2. I knew I needed to get it done today because we both needed the clothes! 3. Juno was on USA and I could watch and iron at the same time.
The spaghetti sauce I made from scratch came out really well. I was shocked! Using the fresh basil made it taste even better and I grated a tiny bit of Romano cheese on the top! Fabulous! I will post the recipe.
I love using our fresh vegetables to make meals. I feel quite pleased, especially when I have grown the produce from seed. Just call me Farmer Dackel!
I’m dreading Tuesday morning when I go in to get my old filling redone. As I have previously stated, I am a Denta-phobe and so any trip to the Dentist makes me really nervous.
I’ve been outside with Anneliese every couple of hours. It’s a funny thing when all of a sudden she just seems REALLY pregnant! Was it just yesterday that I was wondering about her baby-belly?

Happy Monday Everyone!

My Boy, Fritz

Tuesday wasn’t a good day for Fritz. He’d gone for a hike with his Daddy, and while they were at a friends home, Fritz not only got zapped by an electric fence that our friends have to keep their horses penned, but one of the horses stepped on his ankle. He yelped in pain, but at first seemed okay.

He had a bad night last night, and woke me whimpering. By this morning his ankle was swollen and we called our Veterinarian.

After Weight Watchers (I lost 1.2 pounds!) I drove home, picked up Hubby and Fritz and we drove to the Vet’s. They examined him, x-rayed him and although they did not find any break, they decided that casting the ankle and leg area was the best treatment. They also gave him a shot of “happy juice” that has kept him quiet all day long.

We drove him home and he was VERY quiet all day. Not necessarily sleepy, just silent and still, which is totally unlike him!

They’ve delayed Anneliese’s next appointment until Monday, as I am busy with Fritz and my sinus infection. So the next few days I will keep Fritz and myself quiet so we can both recover.

And We’re Back

Just after midnight my “host” got me up and running. In fact things seem to be running much better now than they have in a while, so perhaps this problem was a long time coming. Who knows! Thank’s to Bernie for posting in my absence, so you would all know what had happened!

While I was down and out, I missed you all terribly, and all I could think of was the great stuff I had in my head to share. Like how Anneliese’s belly is getting rounder, how we finally had a thunder storm that watered my yard, and how I made more pickles today! 8 jars!

First Anneliese. I cannot believe how each day, it’s almost like we blow her belly up just a little bit. Even Arnie likes keeping an eye on his little (and ever growing), sister!

She really is something to behold and I smile every time I look at her!

Towards the end of the day we had terrible thunder storm and then the sun came out and there it was. A beautiful rainbow. We don’t get them here very often.

That was right outside my back door. Too bad I couldn’t find the pot of gold! Then it would truly have been perfect!

I’m hoping that the pickles came out well. I think they did, but we shall see. Today I will be attempting to blanch and freeze summer squash and zucchini. I’ve never done that before, and since I have an abundance of squash right now, I thought I would give it a try.

It’s also my day to go and get my teeth cleaned and have my 6 month check-up! I’m a total Denta-Phobe, so please say a few prayers for me!

Once again, I want to thank Bernie for posting during the great “Blog Out” up here in the Northeast. Next time I see you Bernie, we will have Schnitzel and Beer, on me!

Sunday Headaches

Sunday was sort of a lost day for me. Oh, it started out alright, but by lunchtime I was overcome with a migraine headache, complete with sensitivity to light and sound! Which is just what you want to have on a bright sunny day with 4 dogs in the house!

Once the British Open ended on cable, I shut off the TV, got the blinders I’d recently gotten on my trip to Germany, and put those on, and curled up in the fetal position in my chair. Praying for relief.

Anneliese came over and snuggled with me, as if comforting me. She even kissed the side of my head a few times.

I took some medication for the pain and by 4:30 I was able to stand it enough to sit up and think about the last bit of work for today. Dinner. It’ll be a simple meal of corn on the cob, baked potatoes and grilled steak. Then I am done.

Although I get headaches, they aren’t usually this bad. I’m looking forward to waking up tomorrow and having this blasted thing gone!

My Saturday

Saturday was a day of many jobs. The usual job or laundry and meals, the same and not so terribly exciting, and then the other jobs, which were a bit more thrilling, and so I will share them with you.

I went out for a walk with Anneliese early so she could get some good exercise. We enjoyed the walk, despite the already warm temperatures. We arrived back home and Anneliese came in and lay down on the rug and stretched out to rest!

Can you just see that big beautiful puppy belly? This picture really made me smile!

Then I took Greta and we went to the garden to do some cutting. My garden is so lush this year and extremely prolific!

The things that are growing the best are the squash and zucchini and the cucumbers. In fact, after giving away more squash today I still have enough for more than a week in the fridge. My friends had better watch out or I will bring some over!

I then stopped to cut some of my Japanese eggplant, called Ichiban. They are long and thin, but oh so sweet and delicious! Here you will see them in the basket with the summer squash and zucchini.

I decided then to make our bed with fresh sheets and a clean blanket, but while I was stripping off the old bedding, Arnie decided to help!

Then I decided that I’d better use up some of my cucumbers before they went bad! I got them out and made my first batch of Bread & Butter Pickles. I made 7 pints of wonderful pickles! Oh, how I love those!

As the day passed, Anneliese took another nap. This time stretched out on the sofa. She really is looking pregnant and happy.

You know, she is due three weeks from today!

I can hardly wait!

Birthday Celebrations

I’m sitting here writing after a lovely day. I drove south and got together with Mandy and her Grandmother to celebrate Grammy’s birthday! She turned 85 years old!

I was so happy that I had the chance to spend the time with her. You see, although she is my former mother in-law, I love her just as much as I did when I was legally her daughter in-law.

I guess some things don’t change with the signing of divorce papers. Isn’t that wonderful?

We had a three hour lunch just talking about the old days, and Mandy’s birth, and how I’ve known her since I was just 15 years old.

We shared so many of the happiest days of my life, the saddest too. But today we talked about the happy ones, like Mandy’s birth and the wonder of her grandchildren.

Love never dies, does it? I know with my first marriage, sadly, we went to different places after the accident, but the love for some of my ex-husband’s family, has stayed with me all of this time.

I am a lucky woman!

Friday Fil-Ins

And…here we go!

1. This is what life does. It lets you forever wonder at all the twists and turns until you figure out that all you really need to do it sit back and enjoy.

2. Can one truly ever appreciate the moment?

3. Upon reflection my life has not always gone along the way I thought it would, but I have been blessed in so many ways.

4. I’ve wanted to get back onto my Weight Watchers Plan for quite a long time.

5. Later, you wake up and see that all in all, life is very good!

6. Off we trekked to the far and boundless sea.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to dinner with Hubby, tomorrow my plans include laundry and Sunday, I want to do something different, just not sure what yet!!

Friday Fil-Ins provided by my cousin Janet. Come join us!

Oh, The Fun We Will Have!

You know. Having had Anneliese since the moment she was born, gives me a unique perspective into the type of dog that she is.

The most amazing thing I’d seen was when Anneliese was delivered into this world and came out squealing. I remarked to Hubby that we shouldn’t keep that one! Little did I know…

Anneliese

She would slowly start to grow on me. She would do the cutest things that made me smile. She never let the fact that she was a wee bit smaller than her brother and sisters keep her down. She would stand up for herself and play with wild abandon!

Anneliese

And she worked her whiles on me, until I started to slowly, completely, fall in love with her.

Me with Anneliese

She is three and a half years old now. We have traveled around the northeastern part of the USA, and into Canada. We’ve gone to Germany, twice. Each night she sleeps nestled up behind my knees.

Me with Anneliese

At this point in my life, I cannot imagine her not being in it. Now we have my girl facing motherhood for the second time in just a few short weeks. Once again, it will be me and my girl. We’ll handle the birthing and caring of her babies together, just like we did before.

Anneliese and her first litter

I can hardly wait to see what these puppies will be like. What they will look like. Oh, the fun we will have!

Not long now at all!