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~Self~
Ah yes. The many faces of Maribeth!
Category: My Life
The Family Bed
I’d decided that with Anneliese in heat it was easier to keep her close so that she wouldn’t chew up her little pants. So far, this has worked very well. She is a little doll in bed, curling up by my stomach, and cuddling me.
Of course the tough part is that Arnie was alone and he really hated that. So we’ve been trying to get him to sleep with us too. Now this isn’t so easy. Arnie likes to stretch out and is bold enough that he will try to push you out of bed.
So half way through the night he would be unceremoniously dumped back in his crate. That was, until last night. The boy finally settled down and slept well.
Thus giving us a “three dog night“.
Greta sleeps comfortably by Hubby’s feet, and in the morning comes up for a cuddle with us both. Fritz sleeps by the door, forever on guard. Yes, it really is amazing how our little family huddles together now in slumber.
Of course in another few days we will have to put Arnie back in his crate until Anneliese finishes off her heat. I’ll miss the little guy then. But for now, it’s nice having him with us.
I am just thankful that my bed dogs are dachshunds and not St. Bernards!
A Date & A Flood!!!
I was going to write about the lovely Art Exhibit we went to, and I will do that tomorrow when I have time to think, scan some pictures in, and write. Tonight I am exhausted, and….dealing with a disaster.
After we finished up at the Museum, we stopped to buy a new orchard ladder and we noticed the traffic was getting bad. It’s Memorial Day Weekend here, and that means that today people in Boston were leaving work early to drive north!
As we listened to the radio they kept reporting that no one is traveling because of the high fuel prices, but all I can say is HA! It was bumper to bumper all the way from Boston to Concord, New Hampshire. I hate traffic. I get nervous in traffic, so we kept going in hopes of getting past it.
We got to Concord and Hubby was feeling hungry and so we stopped so we could eat, and as we sat there enjoying the peace of our meal my cell phone rang.
Emily: “Ah, there is a big problem. But the dogs are all okay and the house is fine.”
Me: Okay, so what’s up?”
Emily: “Anneliese is in heat, and it got all over my friends jeans and we washed them in the washer, and the door wasn’t closed all the way and it leaked all over the laundry room!!! I am sooooo sorry!!!!!”
Me: “Okay, you need to get everything off the floor and put it in the garage. And we’ll deal with it when we get home. Just mop up what you can.”
Emily: I am so sorry!!! I didn’t mean this to happen!”
Me: It’s okay. We’ll be home soon.”
I could tell that Emily was upset, and I made a game plan before we even arrived. I was pleased to see that the flood wasn’t nearly as bad as it could have been. The girls had handled themselves really well and done a good job cleaning up and had even gotten a fan going to help dry up the laundry room.I’m washing the clothes and towels that need it and lets face it, that old carpet well, it actually looks better now!
Anneliese looks adorable in her pants, and is being a sweetie, and tomorrow I will work on writing a more complete account of our visit to the “El Greco to Velazquez: Art during the Reign of Philip III” exhibit.
A Good Day
When I hopped out of bed this morning and hit the shower, I stood before my mirror and said to myself, “So, what do you think will happen at Weight Watchers today?” I looked, shrugged my shoulders and said, “Who knows”.
I went off to the meeting with a coffee in one hand and the high fiber muffins that I have been enjoying, in the other. (Anyone who wants the recipe, email me privately.) I stepped on the scale and I had lost 1.6 pounds!!! I am now just about 15 pounds from my goal weight.
I was so surprised, not because I had not adhered to the diet, but because, well, I just didn’t expect anything, so “something” was a bit of a reward!
The rest of the day was pretty fun. I got to work on the new computer and got it all set up. I am really enjoying it. The computer is fast, the keys feel wonderful under my fingers, and, here is the part that will astound you…..my old laptop’s screen quit working!!! Yep. Two days after the new machine arrived, the old laptop just fried itself up. I was fortunate to have gotten everything off of the machine before it died!
All in all, it was a good day!
Okay Here are The Pictures!!!
Midnight blue! Ooooooooo!
It’s Here!!!
It’s Here!!!
Yes, the new laptop arrived at 4:15 yesterday afternoon! I ripped took the box from the DHL delivery man’s hands and carefully carried it into our home. My hands shook as I tore carefully opened the box! I took out all the wrapping and there it was, my midnight blue, Inspiron, loaded with Windows XP and all sorts of other goodies!!!
I quickly plugged her in (I’m still trying to think of a good name for her, but for now we are calling her Dackel) and turned her on. Oh sweet mother of God! The happiness I felt was almost more than I could take.
It was…..beautiful!!!
I spend last night getting my browser and email program installed, as well as moving over my bookmarks and address books. I left the major portion of my work (installing programs, etc) to do today. I had it all planned.
Get up, go food shopping. Stop and get potting soil and pots for my plants. Come home, make lunch eat, re-pot plants and then spend the rest of the day programming happily.
It didn’t exactly go as planned, as I have yet to figure out how to grocery shop in under an hour. Too much reading!
The plants got re-potted, the groceries got put away, and at about 3 PM I sat down (finally!) to work on personalizing my new laptop.
I’m still working on getting it all just right, give me a few more days and it will be 100% mine!!!
This & That On A Spring Weekend
We knew it had to end. This spell of beautiful weather that we have had. It’s not that it is cold (or snowing!) just gray and raining. However, that’s alright because the rain will help the plants I have outside to grow.
Most of my day has consisted of running up and down the stairs doing the laundry and then folding and putting the clothes away. I think all this stair climbing must be good for me, right?
I’m not sure if I mentioned a recent experiment I made. I have heard for a while that portabello mushroom burgers were truly yummy and at 1 point per burger, were a good source of protein with a very low point count. So when I went to the grocery store, I found them and bought a pack. (Note to self: I should have read the label!)
First, I thought they tasted pretty awful. I mean, I love portabello mushrooms, but these were just plain terrible. The real fun began a few minutes after I finished off my attempt at “veggie living”. I started feeling sick. I wasn’t sure what could be wrong. Finally I called my sister and while we were talking I was reading the packaging for the “burgers” and discovered that they are primarily soy! Now both my sister and I are sensitive to soy anything! No wonder I felt bad. No more soy burgers for this girl!
I’ve been going through my closet trying on clothes and mostly I am pleased. I am finding that I can fit nicely into my long forgotten size 10’s. It’s frustrating though because the other things that are smaller 10’s and 8’s are still incredibly tight. At least I have something to work towards!
I will have a nice donation for the local charity shop and hopefully this will help make room in my closet and dresser for some new clothes!
I’ve started reading again! I know you all are probably not impressed, but for me this is BIG! You see, after nine eye operations and a few years of resting my eyes, they have recovered enough that I am actually able to read for several hours each night! I can’t begin to tell you how wonderful it is to be reading stories again. As long as the print isn’t too fine, I am good to go!
I’ve heard that the new laptop should arrive here sometime on Tuesday! I am so excited I can hardly stand it!
And how was your weekend?
It’s A Date!
Today when I got up, (well after Hubby) I looked at him and over my coffee asked, “Want to go to the City?”
He asked what I needed and I mumbled a few things, but mostly I just wanted to go out with him on a date! Since he is still on the lookout for a few more apple trees, he agreed. He also suggested that we stop in at the New Hampshire Historical Society Museum, and of course lunch at our favorite Chinese Buffet.
So we made sure that all the dogs were walked and then we headed south in the station wagon. It was not such a pretty day today, but we chatted as Hubby drove and it was so nice just to get out.
We got grapefruit at Sam’s Club, and picked up a few other items along the way. We stopped for lunch and we really enjoyed the meal.
The museum was interesting. There were portraits of famous New Hampshire people (such as Daniel Webster and Nathaniel Hawthorne) as well as several lovely landscapes, all centering on the White Mountains and the various Notches that take you through them. There was one that was so beautiful that I actually felt like I was walking through the woods there.
Soon we looked at our watches and realized that we needed to get home for the pups. So we said our good-byes to the museum and headed north. Half way home Hubby asked if it was okay if he stopped and bought two apple trees, a MacIntosh and a Honey Crisp. I smiled and said he should go for it.
So we have two more trees added to our ever growing orchard. We now have 13 varieties of apples, 4 varieties of cherries, 3 varieties of pears, 3 varieties of plums, 3 varieties of peaches and two varieties of grapes. All in all about 36 fruit trees! Yeah, it’s really beautiful in our yard right now!
Another Wednesday In The Spring
I was up early today because after all Wednesday is Weight Watchers Day for me. I try to sleep until about 7:30, get up and shower and dress, make Hubby his breakfast, as I run out the door carrying my coffee and a piece of fruit. I mean, heaven forbid that I eat or drink anything until after I weigh in! I’ve even been known to weigh my clothes before selecting what to wear. (Insert loud laughter here, Please!)
Today I got up, went through the morning ritual, and headed to the next town for the meeting. I got there, and put my stuff down on my chair, took off my shoes and weighed in. I didn’t expect anything either way, but when she told me I’d lost another 2 pounds, I almost fell over! I have lost a total of 33 pounds!!! Yippee!!!
The meeting was fun and funny and when I left I felt happy and upbeat. I drove home along the country roads where the trees are blooming and the air is so clear that the mountains just stood out in the distance! Ah, such beauty!
When I arrived home I noticed that our own trees are blooming fast. Our peach trees are just the most beautiful trees right now with their full pink flowers and the plum trees with their dainty white ones.
A lovely Elberta Peach blossom.
Now a little further up the drive we have the Stanley Plum tree. Normally you would think about this plum as a Prune, but I make jam with it!
A huge bumble bee doing his job on the Stanley Plum tree.
The apple trees are just starting to open, and the cherry trees are past. The pear trees are not as full of blossoms as in past years, but I hope that we will have at least a few.
Since I keep my tomatoes in patio pots I am able to start them early and move them inside if the nights get too cold. You can see that they are really doing well so far.
I think I will really be happy when the garden and the trees begin to bear fruit and vegetables that we can eat. Diets are so much more fun when you can eat fresh produce!
The Wonder Of It All
It was a beautiful day today. A perfect day for a drive, and since we needed groceries and supplies, I left after breakfast for what turned into a full day of errands.
(whoever invented the scrunchie to tie back a woman’s hair is a total genius!)
I also bought soaps. We belong to a consumer club where you can buy items in bulk, and so today was stock up day. I also put gas in my car. The tank was nearly empty and when I finished pumping the gas in I had spent $60.00! This is the most I have ever spent on gasoline at one time! I nearly fainted!
When I arrived home I found Hubby and all four dogs in the back yard. They all came running down to help me unload the car and each one greeted me with such love and happiness. Yes, it felt good to come home.
Due to a great sale at the grocery store I brought home two large lobsters for our dinner. I also made boiled new potatoes and fresh corn on the cob! Oh man, that was just great!
Hubby and the dogs have all fallen asleep as I sit here and write. The end of another beautiful day. Full of sunshine and blossoming fruit trees! Yes, spring is in the air and life is good.