My Life – Page 146 – The Dackel Princess

Thursday Thirteen #75

Thirteen things that I love that start with the letter G

1. Greta! Yes, my girl Greta has brought so much sunshine into my life.

2. Gardening. I love to have my vegetable garden each summer. In fact I’m already starting my seeds to be replanted in the garden at the end of May.

3. Grands. I love having Grand Nephews and Grand Nieces. It’s so wonderful to see the next generation coming along!

4. Grandparents. I was so lucky to have a set of really wonderful grandparents. With out them, I’m not sure I would be the person I am.

5. Gingerbread. Oh boy, do I love gingerbread! Yum!

6. Goonies. One of my favorite movies. I just love the kids in it, especially Chunk!

7. Garlic. Mmmmmmmm. I love the sweet taste of garlic!

8. Grill. I love to grill foods outside in the summer. I am very partial to using charcoal in the grill to do this. The taste is great!

9. Girls. I was so happy that when I had children I had two girls! It was so much fun dressing them up and playing barbie dolls with them!

10. George. The name of my most favorite Uncle. He taught me to swim and dive and bowl, and never made me feel like a silly kid. When I married Hubby Uncle George walked me down the isle.

11. Gardenia. Probably my favorite flower. The scent is lovely and the flower itself is so fragile.

12. Grass. I love the feel of grass between my toes in the middle of the summer. Green and fresh!

13. Gift. Well, there are all sorts of gifts aren’t there? The gift of love, of friendship, of time of food or just your usual birthday or Christmas gift. I love the gift of love the best.

With the fan fixed and the laptop no longer threatening to burst into flames, I went down to the shop today and brought her home. It’s a sad thing, you know. I’d had such high hopes for her back when she arrived. The excitement I felt, the happiness, and now I know that her time with me can be counted in mere months.

My computer Guru got her together enough that I can use her, but she will never be together enough again for me to bring anywhere and use on the road. However this does buy me some time to search for a new machine.

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It was another beautiful day here in New Hampshire, with temperatures in the upper 50’s and lots and lots of melting! Hubby went for his 55th day of skiing, and had fairly good conditions as well as beautiful views!

I re-potted my basil plant and decided that my first planting of Eggplants did not germinate, so I’m off tomorrow to get another packet of seeds to sow. In another 10 days I will start the rest of my vegetable seeds for the garden. Oh how good it will be to have fresh vegetables from my own garden!

Ah yes, spring has finally come to New Hampshire and I sure am ready for it!

This and That

My laptop is in the shop again and the news isn’t good. This time the problems are not anything covered by my warranty, so we took it to my local shop. His guess-ta-mate is that it may cost as much as $400.00 to fix.

Now I may not be the brightest bulb in the lamp, but I am thinking that I have already put a lot of money into this silly machine, and I’m not sure I want to put any more into it, considering that with this machines known problems, next week it could suffer a bout of chicken pox or worse yet, the bubonic plague!

So I am looking, and thinking…..

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In other news, we went out today to have Hubby refitted for ski boots. He has recently purchased new skis

and now finds a problem with his old (18 year old) boots. Much has changed with Hubby’s legs since his double knee replacements and so I’m pushing him to go out and just do it!

I am thinking Anneliese could be close to going into heat. She is starting to have episodes of PMS, and this leads me to believe that it may be close at hand. Her victim today was poor Arnie. Now my boy Arnie has to be the sweetest boy on the face of the earth so when she gets after him I have to wonder!

Since I am now sequestered in the office with our main desktop computer, I decided to scan in this very old picture. I was all of 19 years old and this is Mandy in my arms. It’s always been a favorite of mine, so I thought I’d share it with you!

I’ve also been playing with the macro lens on my camera and I came up with this picture

of one of the roses from our anniversary bouquet. I just loved the color of that flower!

As always you can click to enlarge these pictures. Also congratulations and thank-you to Ted in NY for being my 47,000 reader!!! And thank-you to all for visiting me each day!!!

Girl’s Day

On Saturday I drove down to the closest “big city” to us. Mandy drove up and we met at a local bookstore well known for their double cappuccino’s! After Mandy arrived, we got our coffees and then got into my car and headed over to the Mall. We stopped first at Applebees and had lunch and then the shopping commenced!

This is actually a pretty good mall, as malls go, and Mandy, who has also been dieting and lost even more weight than me, needed some new office clothes. We started in “Coldwater Creek” where there was a “70% Sale” sign in the window! I have to say that Mandy looks adorable in clothes, and I enjoyed watching her trying on different outfits.

I hadn’t intended to buy anything, but recently I had experienced our anniversary where I literally had NOTHING to wear. I did not want to buy anything that I really liked because I know in another 6 months it won’t fit, but I decided to try on a new pair of coral colored denim jeans, and a flowery top that matched. Both fit nicely, and the jeans were a size 12 and the blouse was a medium!!!

That was all I bought, but Mandy has an office job, so she truly needed a few outfits, and luckily, she found them and at sale prices.

Dinner was at a local placed called “The Common Man”. We met up with my cousin Janet. The place was mobbed! Talk about a place where you really want to either have a reservation or perhaps eliminate from your weekend dining list. They told us it would be over 1 hour, but we could wait in the bar!!!

We sat in there and decided that we would order dinner sitting at the bar. We ordered salads and lobster corn chowder.

Janet and I talked and talked and it was so nice. I’d brought with me old pictures that I’d gotten when my sister and I were going through things from our parents home. There were great pictures of Janet’s parents, grandmother and yes, even her brother. I was so happy to be able to give them to her. We also exchanged Christmas gifts! Janet gave me

Patty Boyd’s book on her life with George Harrison and Eric Clapton, and I gave her the cutest purse, with a Johnny Depp pirate inside. I hope she liked them!

My cell phone went off twice (I’d set it to vibrate), thus giving me a short thrill and the experience of trying to talk over so many bar patrons! I’ve decided that I like the thrill, but not the talking in a crowded bar.

I got home late. A first for me, the original country mouse who is usually in pajamas by 7:30!!!

Today? Well, I’m tired, but happily so!

The Day After…

It was back to reality today after all the planning of our anniversary celebration, and then the actual enjoying of it.

Hubby went off to ski in what will probably be his last ski day of the year. Heavy rain is forecast for this weekend, and the areas are all closing on Sunday.

Meanwhile I stayed home with the fur kids doing laundry, and tidying up the house. You know, the usual stuff.

It was absolutely glorious today. Bright sunshine, warm temperatures, and blue skies. It gave me hope that spring is on it’s way. The tulip bulbs I planted last year are poking through the snow, and things are actually MELTING!!!

Greta is nearing the end of her heat and will be out of her sexy little panties by tomorrow. Then it’s just a matter of three more weeks until we find out if she is expecting or not. I have a feeling that she is, but it’s just a vague sort of feeling. (Probably just me hoping!)

I’m going to put up my feet tonight and watch some mindless TV. Tomorrow I am cooking Hubby his favorite Sauer Braten (German spiced pot roast). It’s my family’s recipe, straight from Mülheim an der Ruhr where my Papa and his family came from!

The Anniversary Dinner

Our Anniversary was full of surprises. This year I decided to become a true romantic and I had planned our “Anniversary Date” completely. When I called for reservations at The Woodshed I asked them to have a bottle of chilled champagne at our table. Hubby was pleasantly surprised and we toasted our 20 years together.

For our appetizers we ordered an artichoke dip for me, which was divine and Hubby got French Onion Soup, one of his favorite things to eat.

We talked and laughed and reminisced while we ate, looking back over the last 20 years with laughter and smiles.

Next came our tossed salads with blue cheese dressing. Crisp lettuce greens with a dressing that was equally yummy!

Then our dinners came. I must confess that this is not a meal you would find on any Weight Watchers menus! No I will probably burn in Hell for tonight’s indiscretion! LOL!!! Here is what we had:

We each had Prime Rib of Beef, with a Lobster Tail on top, a twice baked potato, mixed vegetables and horseradish. Also they served their own home-baked bread, which I did have some of, but managed to leave half of on the plate. I also did not eat all of my Prime Rib, and brought it home for a left over treat for Hubby.

As we sat drinking coffee my last surprise arrived, a small chocolate cake with butter-creme frosting and a drizzle of chocolate on the top. We each had a small piece and then we brought the rest home for the neighborhood kids.

It was a splendid celebration, made even more so by the little surprises that I’d planned for my sweetheart!!!

Happy Anniversary, Darling!!!

Twenty Years…..

….and it only gets better!!!

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I’m Getting Old!

I was fitted a couple of weeks ago for orthotics for my shoes. This is supposed to help solve my Planter Fasciitis. I waited and finally the pair made specially for my feet arrived. I was advised to go slowly while building up my time in them, and I think I have been pretty good about that, only doing a few hours a day and increasing every other day. Currently I am up to about 7 hours.

They felt wonderful the first day I had them on, but things have slowly been going downhill since. When I awaken in the night to go to the bathroom, and step down on the carpeted floor I want to scream with the pain. Even lying in bed has caused my feet to hurt. And the worst part about breaking these suckers in? My back is aching too. Today I felt it and I knew it was just going to get worse, and it has.

I just have to face the fact that I am getting older. I’m not the limber woman that I was in my twenties. I don’t just moan and groan with aches when I go to bed at night, now I am doing it in the morning too!

Hubby laughs at me because he is older than me, and yet for the most part I think he is in better shape. You know he has skied 51 days so far this year, and should be able to get a few more days in before the ski areas close.

Of course there is something to be said for getting old.

First, it beats the heck out of the alternative.

Second, You have learned from your mistakes (hopefully) and no longer do the stupid things you once did in your youth.

And lastly, you appreciate (hopefully) all you have and are smart enough to thank God, and enjoy every moment you have with your family.

Even if your back is killing you!

A Shelf Revealed

Cathy over at Planet Germany tagged me with this MEME to reveal my bookcase. It’s scary because they are truly a mess. I tend to access things often and I do not always put things back.

The bookcase near my chair in the family room.

The book I was last grabbing. Guess why.

Another book I have been reading like crazy.

We are teaching the twins (our neighbors) to read with the help of good old Dick and Jane.

And lastly, a bookshelf in our living room. The books here are old and somewhat special reads for us.

Books. I window into another world. A book. It can take you from your living room armchair to the South Seas. Books. I love them.

OK… that’s done. Now I have to nominate some other bloggers to show their shelves….

Umm… let me see… I pick…

Janet and Goofy Girl and Renny (only if you want to of course).

I suppose we should all breathe a sigh of relief it was the bookshelves this time, not the deepest depths of the kitchen cupboards…. or the dark recesses of the fridge.

Thursday Thirteen #71

Thirteen Things About Me That Start With The Letter F

1. Friends. I am blessed to have friends that I love and with whom I share my life.

2. Faith. I don’t write about it much, but my faith in God gets me through each day of my life.

3. Family. My family is not what you read about in text books, but good and bad they are mine and I love them all.

4. Fruit. Hubby and I grow a lot of fruit here at our home. Apples, Peaches, Cherries, Pears and Grapes. We also really enjoy making things with the “fruits of our labor”!

5. Feast. I love to cook and I think I am happiest when I am creating a feast to share with my friends and family.

6. Fifty. Yes, I will be fifty in November. I still can’t believe it!

7. Fireplace. I love our fireplace and enjoy having fires in it in the evening.

8. Flute. Growing up I played the flute in the school band. Sadly, my ex-husband kept my flute when we divorced. I have not played since.

9. Fragrance. My favorite fragrance is Christian Dior’s “Dune”. However, I can only wear perfume in the winter as I detest bug bites. So in the summer my perfume is “Deep Woods Off”! LOL!!

10. Foreign places. I love to travel, to meet new people, try new things. In a few more years when I am done breeding puppies I will once again travel with Hubby.

11. Free. I am so happy that I live in a country where I am free. I remember my trips into the east block countries at the height of the cold war and I could see that the lack of freedom brought so much unhappiness to people’s lives.

12. Fresh. I love fresh foods, fresh sheets on my bed and fresh flowers!

13. Fortunate. I want to end with the fact that I feel very fortunate in my life. I am loved by an incredible man, and we share a truly wonderful life together, I have a phenomenal daughter whom I love and am so proud of, as well as dear friends whom I love greatly and who love me and the most awesome dogs in the world!

Yes, I am Fortunate!

Category: My Life