My Life – Page 122 – The Dackel Princess

No Joke, It’s April 1st

It was an odd day today. I woke feeling like doing nothing more than pulling the covers up and hiding in my bed, but I got up and dressed and headed to the hospital for blood work. They took six tubes of blood, and then put a simple band-aid on me and out I went.

Since this was a fasting test, I couldn’t eat or drink before it, so immediately after the test, I stopped at Dunkin’ Donuts and got a tall coffee to warm the cockles of my heart! It was delicious!

By the time I reached my Weight Watchers meeting, and prepared to weigh in, I noticed that my arm was still bleeding and running down my arm! Thankfully, I still had another band-aid in my purse so I was able to clean up and re-band-aid my arm.

After that I weighed in and I had lost one half a pound! This is good because slow and steady wins the race. I stayed for most of the meeting and then left a few minutes early because of a bad migraine.

The rest of the day was spent sort of in a fog. Head aching, dogs barking (Always good for a headache! Ha!), and rain falling.

Oh yes, and by the way, I LOVE the new coffee maker. It makes great coffee, full bodied and nice and hot! Best of all, it stays hot for me as long as I want and the coffee remains just as delicious as it was when it was first brewed! I’ve got my fingers crossed that this will remain the case for a very long time.

My Crazy World

For those of you who know me, or have been reading Dackel Princess for a while, you will know that I have terrible luck with coffee makers. I have had them stop working and go in for service repair, and then after they are out of warranty, they have literally died and gone to coffee maker heaven. In the last 5 years I have had three coffee makers.

This last one, a K**** was the worst. I hated the machine and it hated me. I would carefully measure and put the coffee on while I walked the dogs, only to come back and find coffee all over my counter tops and running down onto the floor. But the fact that I am a cheapskate kept me using that horrible machine.

Then on Saturday morning I woke with a migraine. I turned on the coffee maker and NOTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now I am not at all unhappy, as I keep a cheapo spare machine for emergencies. I was actually glad that the K**** machine bit the dust because now, now I could go out and buy a new one, with no guilt!

So off Hubby and I went today to buy a new machine. We’d been doing all sorts of research online to see what the best coffee maker was, and what we found was that most of the models out there are pure crap. Made to last just past their warranty and then give it up!

So we looked for a machine that would keep our coffee hot for at least 4 hours. Well that just cuts down the models to a bare minimum! You see, we can’t be trusted in this world, and so most machines turn off after 2 hours, PERIOD!

We finally found one that will brew a strong cup of coffee, and then keep it warm for four hours! Plus it is this cool black/bronzed color. It is a C********.

I will report on the quality of the coffee tomorrow, but it is up and set and ready to go in the morning. Oh, I hope this will solve my coffee woes, at least for a little while.

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We also stopped at a local dress shop and I actually bought a dress. A cute little number. You see I looked in my closet and realized that I didn’t own a dress! So when I got this great coupon in the mail, I decided to go off and find something.

So the day ended with torrential rains, and wet dogs and me happily putting my new dress in the closet!

Arnie, Anneliese & Lilacs

When the day ends and I am getting ready for bed, I often look to see if my boyfriend has arrived. He is small, and dark with big brown eyes, which he flashes at me in such a way that he melts my heart! I’m not sure if Hubby is jealous of him or not, but I am thinking he is. What do you think?

This is his “come hither” look!

I must admit that between Arnie and the girls, I am well snuggled and well loved in bed each night. I woke briefly in the night last night and the two girls had my back and my belly and Arnie was near my feet, under the covers!

We’ve been having a cold snap the last few days, which means that Hubby has gotten out to ski again. Sadly, the forecast is for heavy rain the next three days, so I think that his skiing might be over for the year.

I hope we have some warmer weather soon, because my lilacs are starting to bud. I just want warm weather now to bring them out.

A lilac bud today.

This is the earliest I can remember them being out.

This week finds me preparing Anneliese’s documents for travel, as Arnie is showing me the first indications that Anneliese is close to going into heat. He simply will not leave her alone. I also have Library business to attend to, so that will keep me out of the house a bit.

Next weekend is Easter and I have a great menu planned for my guests, but I will tell you all about that in another post.

Springtime Colds

I woke on Monday morning with Hubby’s cold. He claims it is not his cold that I have gotten, but I know better. It’s his, I can tell!

I decided that the best course of action was no action at all. Rest, warm fluffy blankets to keep me comfortable during my feverish chills, a dackel or two sitting next to me and vast amounts of herbal tea with honey to soothe my tender throat.

That and I watched a marathon of a show I had never seen before. It’s called Amazing Wedding Cakes and it is fascinating. I watched them spin sugar to make chandelier like decorations to go on a cake, another cake was of (cake) shoe boxes and (edible) stilletos and a (cake) purse for a woman’s bridal shower, and lastly a wedding cake for a couple who are crazy for silent movies. These people are really amazingly crafty!

Listen, when you are sick you do not want to watch anything too serious on TV because it’ll just make you cry. I was talking to my sister on the phone this morning and I started crying just talking to her! Yeah, I cry when I have a cold pretty easily. Add to that this silly thing called menopause and it’s no wonder I have purchased stock in the Kleenex Corporation!

I have decided that this cold will not last longer than a couple of days. I have far too many things going on to be down and out again with a yucky cold!

Knitting, Laundry & Chili

For anyone who may be wondering, I have been working on my scarf quite a bit.

I’m now not sure that I am as crazy about the color as I was when I started, but I’ll finish it and then bestow it upon some one who loves me. I’ve actually been enjoying it and it has helped me to learn to relax. You simply cannot knit if you are bouncing off of walls. I mean, you can, but it isn’t pretty in the end.

The knitting has come to school board meetings with me, town meetings and has been keeping my hands occupied when I watch TV and just when I need to sit down and zen out. I use it as a total de-stress tool. Sometimes I pick it up and just do a row.

What do you do to de-stress when life is pulling you down?

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In other news, I managed to get 5 loads of laundry done, after ignoring it most of the week, and I made a triple batch of chili, which we will have for dinner tonight, and then I will freeze several meals worth for Hubby. You see I decided to breed Anneliese again and so when she goes into heat in May, I will be going to Germany!

I will spend time with my Uschi, and we will enjoy the sights, sounds and foods of Germany in the spring. Anneliese will spend two days with her “husband” Isegrim, and hopefully come home pregnant.

So, I have been cooking and freezing meals for my wonderful husband, so he doesn’t have to eat at McDonald’s every night.

After all, Anneliese could surprise us all and go into heat at any time.

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Monday is the big day. I am pulling down my curtains and washing them. I’m in spring mode and all of the household curtains need to be taken down, washed, dried and put back up! Then I can take a deep breath and enjoy the smell of clean!

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I watched the movie Babe today. What a precious story that is. I liked that so much more than yesterday’s movie, “Crazy Heart”. I like simple stories with characters I can relate to.

Loving Spring

This morning I woke to bright sun and another beautiful day. However, after my long walk yesterday I was literally doubled over with leg cramps last night. I tried to walk them off, but wound up using my heating pad to release the muscle spasms.

Okay, yes, I know. I am old!

I made sure the pups all played in the yard with their toy balls, got a little domestic work done, before going to see a matinee of “Crazy Heart”.

First off, we were the only people in the theater to watch the movie. I was really surprised by that! After all Jeff Bridges won the Best Actor Academy Award for his portrayal of the lead character. The nice part about being the only people in the theater? We could talk during the movie, ask to have the volume adjusted, and when I got a charlie horse in my leg I could stand and no one complained!

Anyway,

I think I am the only person on the planet that didn’t like this movie. I want to have some sympathy/empathy for the lead character, but he was a dirty, down on his luck, and not doing much to help himself, drunk and I just couldn’t like him. In fact I wanted to scream at Maggie Gyllenhaal’s character to run the other way!

Hubby liked the movie and felt it was a great character study. He also felt the movie is not for every one. He liked the music.

Yes, Jeff Bridges was good, but heck, I liked him better in “The Fabulous Baker Boys” or “Fearless” better than I did in this. But….no one asks me.

I thought Maggie Gyllenhaal looked very beautiful. Someone said recently that she has trouble getting good parts because she is not beautiful enough. I do not find this to be the case, and I like her acting as well. She was wonderful in “World Trade Center” a true story movie she made a few years back. If you have not seen it, watch it. That movie reminded me of how good Americans can be during a crisis like that.

We came home to wild dogs, who wanted to play outside. Hubby took them out and I made some tea.

The ice is nearly gone from our small lake and I will not be surprised if they declare ice out on the Big Lake today or tomorrow, which would break all records!

Sunday will be a catch-up day. I need to do laundry and some more cooking and perhaps even do something wildly crazy, like dust!

A Walk In The Springtime

It was a perfectly beautiful day. So perfect that I decided to take Anneliese and go for my first walk of the Spring. About 10 o’clock I put on her cute little harness, snapped on the leash and we headed out. I wanted to go to the Post Office and the docks down on the big lake. After that, I was open to almost anything.

Up the driveway we went until we ran into our neighbor, Frank. He is a 92 year old man who served during World War II. He is the most positive, happiest and fit man that I know, for his age. I tease him all the time and call him my boyfriend! Anneliese and I gave him hugs and kisses and off we went.

We stopped at the Post Office and got the mail. I had a plastic bag to put it in, but in the future I really need to use my back-pack. Those silly plastic bags really cut into you after a while.

So off we walked to the big lake. It was beautiful. The lake temperature is up to 39 degrees (F), so we should have ice-out almost anytime.

As you can see around the dock area it is clear of ice.

Anneliese is such a big girl and she handles herself so well. She does not know she is a small dog and when a Greyhound passed her by, she barked like she was going to eat him! The poor thing just shook! The Greyhound, not Anneliese!

I spoke to her a lot and then I remembered that I needed to get sworn in at the Town Hall as a Library Trustee for the next three years. I turned back and walked to the Town Hall and went in. I took my Oath of Office with Anneliese as my witness. (The Tax Collector was also my witness.) Then we started our walk home.

Anneliese was so good and when I spoke to her about our walk she stopped and turned back and looked at me with love in her eyes. Or is that annoyance that I am photographing her again?

Eventually after about three miles of walking, we got to our driveway and started down hill. It was so beautiful that I stopped and took a few pictures.

As you can see our little lake is nearly ice free. Truly amazing. Usually it is late in April when this occurs.

I think Spring is here!

Flashback Friday!

I actually posted a great post (I think) last night for today. Then when I was trying to correct a link I erased it all! How I could do that is simply beyond me! In any case I am trying to redo it although I know the prose will not be nearly as good.

I’ve decided to start having my very own Meme on Fridays. It will be called Friday Flashback. I’m trying to create a link back, but please be patient. I know very little about writing actual HTML code, but I am trying to learn.

Okay, the first picture is of my brother, my sister, Mel in the middle, striking a pose. and little squirt me, playing the kazoo. Mel and Dickie were best friends growing up. They were just 2 years apart in age and had so much in common. I was 5 years younger and quite a pain in the neck! Sadly, my brother passed away at the young age of 26 from cancer.

The next picture was taken when I was 15. I had all four Wisdom Teeth removed as well as part of my jaw bone. Back then they actually hospitalized you. I was swollen like a chipmunk, and totally spaced out on pain-killers!

This is my High School graduation picture. I was not yet 17 years old. I loved that dress as it was a mini, mini, mini skirt. I definitely don’t wear them that short now!

This is me with my sister Mel. In our twenties we looked very much alike. I don’t think we look so much alike now. We always joke that we are really twins separated by 5 years!

Lastly, is a picture of Amanda at about four and a half years old. She was the flower girl in a wedding. She did a great job and I was very proud. I have always loved Mandy in dresses and flowers in her hair!

So Fridays will now be my Flashback Fridays. I will be scanning in pictures and then telling you the story behind them. Hopefully next time I won’t erase what I have written!

Sundays

Yesterday I wrote that I’d hoped that my cousin’s picture of me and her dogs came out. I spoke to her today and she forwarded it on to me this afternoon. As you can see, Max and Wolf love their Auntie Maribeth!

You probably can’t tell, but I’m a real dog lover!

I woke at about 1:50 AM Sunday morning. I knew that at 2 AM the time changed and we were due to leap forward an hour. Now, my bedside clock is a satellite clock and I wondered if it would reset itself at 2 AM. I truly wish I were not so inquisitive because I lay there watching the clock until 1:59……3:00 AM!!! I was very impressed and fell back to sleep smiling.

It rained all day on Sunday and yet I needed to go out to the store, because after buying out the grocery shop the other day, I realized I had forgotten celery! Now how could I have done that? So off I went, in the rain to get a bunch.

I drove down town because I wanted to see if the Bob house was still on the ice, had been removed, or fallen through the thin ice. If you guessed that it had fallen through then you would be correct. All that showed was the very top of it that was somehow floating. Our town will need to dredge that area out before The Mount Washington Cruise Ship can come into the town docks.

Hubby still has a cold and I feel like I either have hay fever or a small cold as my nose is pretty stuffy! A feeling I do not like.

I take the dackels in for their yearly shots today. They love the ride over and it’s always nice to see my Vets.

Have a good Monday, everyone!!!

Girls Day!

Saturday was girls day! I met up with my daughter, Mandy and my cousin Janet for a luncheon date and some serious girl chatting! I arrived first at my cousin’s condo and the two of us talked and I snuggled with her two dogs. I got this picture of her Shiba Inu, Wolf.

Wolf and I have a thing going. He loves me and I love him and his soft fur. Janet warned me about how much he sheds, and I was amazed at how much fur he left on my slacks! But I didn’t care. He was really sweet with me. So was Janet’s other dog, Max. Unfortunately I didn’t get a picture of him. I hope the one of me with the two dogs that Janet took comes out!

Janet took us to a Great restaurant in Lowell called “Life Alive”.

I had “The Innocent”, a fusion of delectably nutritious flavorings forming a savory sauce for steamed sweet corn, shredded carrots, broccoli and tamari roasted almonds all served over light and protein rich quinoa and short grain brown rice.

Mandy had the same but added some cashews, apples and carrots.

And Janet had “The Goddess”, a nurturing blend of smoked tofu, short grain brown rice, steamed carrots, beets, broccoli, and dark greens surrounded by our zesty Ginger Nama Shoyu dressing.

I also decided to order some tea. I was glancing over their teas when Something caught my eye.

Yerba Mate was recently written about on my friend Betty’s Blog, A Glimpse Into Midlife! Just two days ago she had written about this tea, so I knew I had to try it. It was wonderful and I really enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing the information about Yerba Mate, Betty!!

We ate our lunches and talked the entire time, we sipped our teas and enjoyed each others company. I really think we need to have these “Girls Days” more often. It was so much fun! Here I am with Mandy at the restaurant.

After lunch we went back to Janet’s and had some coffee and dessert. All too soon it was time to say goodbye, and head home. I hugged Mandy and Janet and said my good-byes.

The ride home was something else! It was pouring rain and windy. I drove slowly and carefully, and I made it home in good time. However at one point the wind picked up and blew the car all over the place. It was just a bit scary!

Now I am sitting here with all three dachshunds asleep around me and Fritz at my feet. I am so happy to have such a loving family and loving pets too!