My Life – Page 161 – The Dackel Princess

News From The Sick House

It’s been quiet here at the Dackel Princess House. Hubby and I are still under the weather with this stomach flu, and I ascertained today that this is not one of the 24 hour types but more like a week. I’m prepared to go the distance, as I don’t have a lot of choice in the matter.

Meanwhile the dogs have been wonderful. The puppies have actually been asking to go out and when I pass out on the sofa to sleep, they tend to climb up and go to sleep with me. I swear that their TLC is what is getting me through all of this.

I personally want to thank Coca Cola and Ginger Ale for keeping us hydrated, and Campbell’s Chicken Noodle Soup for at least sitting well in my tummy.

I’m actually due to go have my hair done tomorrow, and if I am feeling better, I will. If not I will postpone the appointment for a week.

I have heard from 2 of my puppy buyers and the other babies are doing great. I am so pleased to know that the babies have all gone to such good homes.

The Rain Came Tumbling Down And Other Things

Our big snow storm of Sunday night, turned into rain while I slept. 3 or 4 or 5 inches of rain! It has washed away all of the snow and created giant puddles in our yard. Puddles so deep that Anneliese and Arnie hate to go outside as the rain water touches their bellies!

I was listening to the news and heard that a mud slide had happened in the southern part of the state, very near my daughter’s condo. My daughter’s home is on a HILL! I called her to make sure she was fine and also her home. She is, and so is her home, although there will be a detour for her to use to get home for a while.

Meanwhile, it rained here all day. The wind blew, the rains poured down and each time I took Anneliese and Arnie out I got soaked. I actually changed my clothes three times before finally giving up on staying dry.

My flu returned and I started to run a fever just as Hubby’s fever broke. I have warned him to stay away from me so we do not keep passing this thing back and forth. We did have a little appetite tonight and had french toast for dinner. (**A short note here, we never eat breakfast for dinner. It’s against Hubby’s religion or something, so this was a first. Me? I could eat breakfast at every meal. I LOVE breakfast!**)

Our little Anneliese is feeling the pains of being the smallest member of our family. I’m not letting her dwell on it and I am encouraging her to see herself as a big dog!

Of course she will, always be, my little baby girl!

Nor’easters, Stomach Flu’s And Pups

Okay, so Hubby and I are just about dead this weekend. Apparently the flu shot we got in October didn’t cover the stomach flu that has spread across New England. Since I am the one without a raging fever, I was sent to the store for the important items like Coca Cola, Ginger Ale, chicken broth, beef broth, bread for cinnamon toast and saltine crackers.

We both have lived on Pepto Bismol tablets and as I also have the incredible good luck of having a migraine, I have been taking Tylenol. I’ve got to tell you that I truly have had better days.

To top off all this “wonderfulness”, we are in the middle of a classic New England Nor’easter! Yes, the snow is coming down heavily, and sticking and well, just making a terrible mess! Nothing like a big snow storm to make you feel good when you have the flu!

This is the great State of New Hampshire. The blue you can see on this radar image is SNOW! The darker the blue the heavier the snow.

My own back yard.

Just when I had given up hope of feeling at all well today, Fritz and the puppies started playing and I was able to snap a few good pictures. You can see how much he loves the puppies and how much they love him.

Anneliese, Fritz and Arnie

Anneliese and Fritz

Arnie, Fritz and Anneliese

Arnie,Anneliese and Fritz

So now I will crawl under a blanket and try to stay warm and get well.

Wish me luck.

Cars, Cookies And Fortunes

We had to go and get our car at the dealership where we bought it today, after it took a week for them to troubleshoot the problem. Don’t get me wrong here. I think they did amazingly well fixing this electrical problem. After all, in today’s cars, everything is electric and just because a wire goes here or there doesn’t mean it actually gets it’s power directly from the battery. It may go through a few other places before it actually goes to the battery.

Anyway, our battery kept going dead, despite the fact that the battery was a good battery. So we brought it in (still under warranty) and told them to keep it until they were sure that it was fixed. I also mentioned that the drivers side seat wasn’t heating up and could they perhaps fix that too? (I hate it when my bottom gets cold in the winter!) Well the electrical problem stumped them too, but true to their word a week later they called to tell us that the car was fixed. It turns out that the problem with the seat heater actually led them to the short in the electrical system. I think I must be clairvoyant!

So after we drove down in Hubby’s car, we parted so Hubby could get his license renewed and I could go grocery shopping. I stopped to get the doggies some of their favorite cookies and then proceeded to the grocery store.

It was there that my cell phone rang and it was Hubby inviting me to lunch. Sure! There is a nice Chinese restaurant in the plaza and once Hubby arrived we had a nice lunch. He had Moo Goo Gai Pan and I had Crispy Shrimp and vegetables. Then our check arrived with our fortune cookies. I love those things!

I opened mine and, well today was my lucky day! Three fortunes!

“Find Release From Your Cares And Have A Good Time”

Well, I was having a wonderful lunch with my sweetie and didn’t have to clean up after!

“You Are An Exciting And Inspiring Person”

I did help that sweet little old lady reach the yogurt she wanted on the top shelf and she was so happy and told me how nice I was (and tall!). I think my handing her the yogurt made her happy and inspired?

“Share Your Joys And Sorrows With Your Family”

Well, I had spoken to my sister and we shared our joys and sorrows with each other. So I was three for three.

Then Hubby opened his. Just one lone fortune, and it said it all.

“You Should Be Able To Undertake And Complete Anything”

And this is true, he did our taxes yesterday got completely done only to have the machine lock up and swallow all his work! So now, he will be “undertaking and completing” our taxes yet again.

And whoever said that fortune cookies were never right?

Nineteen Years

Today is our 19th wedding anniversary. I have spent countless hours trying to put into words how I feel about my loving husband. Then I stumbled across this wonderful poem by Sharon MacFadyen, and her words said everything I was feeling in my heart.

Happy Anniversary, Honey!

A Gift Of Love

Author: Sharon MacFadyen

My gift to you is my love
Given from deep within my heart
It is the best I have to offer
And its yours until this earth we depart

You have captured a part of me
A part so very fragile that I am in fear
For it is my heart I have lost
To you my love, the one I hold most dear

I chose to love you now
With all that I have and all that I am
And I pray that God follows us
To guide our steps as we cross this land

For it is with His blessings
We will live most at peace with each other
For He is the reason after all
We found one another …….. I Love You!

Fish Sticks & French Fries

Last night I made fish sticks, french fries and spinach for dinner. It was so excellent! I have to say, I really like a good fish stick. It brings back all those wonderful memories of lunchtime on Fridays during grade school. You know me, I was the kid who never complained about the lunch menu.

Sloppy Joes, meatloaf and mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese with a hot dog or that old standby, American Chop Suey! Looking back I don’t think I ever complained until my mother forced me to switch to a bag lunch. Then I was forced to eat tuna sandwiches or worse yet, a cheese sandwich. Yes, plain cheese. American cheese with no butter or mayonnaise.

So there I was with my fish sticks, with lots of tartar sauce, fries with ketchup and the vegetable portion, which I forced myself to eat because, well I’m an adult, after all, right? I was savoring each and every bite when Hubby says something about this being the worst fish and chips he’s ever had. Well, they’re not supposed to be fish and chips, mate they’re fish sticks.

Apparently Hubby doesn’t have the same attachment to his Elementary School cafeteria that I do. I swear, he actually looks at food for it’s nutritional value! Me? I get butterflies in my stomach when I so much as come near an Elementary School cafeteria and smell the wonders of my past. Even a little carton of milk brings a tear to my eye.

Oh the memories!

Lap Dogs

I’m finding that I have less and less time to write. Why? Well, it isn’t because I am running around all the time after the puppies, it’s more because they have now learned to climb the little doggy stairs I got for a very pregnant Greta a while back, and they now monopolize my lap. Why, I’m lucky if I can put my feet up in the recliner anymore.

I have to sneak in these little sessions on the computer. Like right now. I have tossed rawhide bones onto the floor, and gotten them playing together.

I don’t mind this, really. I just miss my “thinking” time. You see when I write for Dackel Princess I sit with my laptop in my lap and think, watch TV, think some more, watch a little more TV and then put down my thoughts. Now, I have to quickly write without watching TV. Shoot. Some of my best entries have been inspired by “All My Children”, “Everybody Loves Raymond” or perhaps even “House”.

I almost just put on another video of the dogs. However, I decided not to take the easy way out and actually use my mind. I hope this was okay.

If not let me know and I’ll post the video. (It’s really cute!)

Life In A Kennel

Hubby pointed out the other day that now that we are a four dog family, things have become much like life in a kennel. Our days are falling into a pattern of up with the birds (or should I say puppies), and to sleep at dusk.

The puppies are learning how to act and they are getting more and more potty trained each day. They play almost all day and naps are going by the wayside. Shucks. I need my sleep!

Mr. Fritzi is getting used to the babies and I think he actually likes them. He will sit in front of my chair and looks quite at peace. And when they lean down and kiss his nose I think he actually likes it.

Anneliese, Arnie and Mr Fritz.

I think Hubby is enjoying them too. He will sit over on the sofa with all the dogs and talk to them, teach the smaller ones to look out the window and laugh at their antics.

Me? Well, I feel like a new mother. I’m a bit sleep deprived, I am on my feet most of the day and I am trying desperately to keep up with two toddler puppies. Wish I could diaper them, it would save me the carpet cleaning and the rushed trips out to the back yard.

But I am happy. Happy with my little dog family and Hubby. I know once the puppies are house trained, life will become so much easier. In the meantime, I will enjoy the beautiful faces and loving looks.

My Sweet Anneliese

The End Of The Day

Thursday was one of those incredibly busy days. Both Hubby and I had appointments with his knee surgeon. I wanted to have him look over my knee as well as the MRI and get his opinion.

His opinion was that he sees a tear in the meniscus. The MRI was not clear enough to tell how big of a tear, and right now he wants to give it a few more weeks so that the Medial Collateral Ligament has a chance to completely heal. Then we will assess how the meniscus is.

Hubby is the real star patient of our family. Two knee replacements and he is back to skiing and walking everywhere and basically, he is the Poster Child for knee replacement surgery.

We returned to the house to find all the doggies happy to see us, and got them all outside for a nice play session, before bringing them in. And because so many of you asked, here are a few pictures of my beautiful babies.

Leaping Lizards it’s Arnie!

And his little sister Anneliese

And now as the day ends and I sit down to watch a little TV I thought you would enjoy seeing what my chair looks like a great deal of the time.

Feeling Loved

I want to know how Carol Brady did it? How did she have 6 children and have them all grow up happy and healthy and seemingly well adjusted? Here I am with 4 dogs and I’m working pretty hard to give each of them “quality time” each day.

I noticed that Greta was a little grumpy the other day and was doing all sorts of things to get my attention. So I spent time focusing just on her. So what happens? The two puppies revert back to wee-weeing in unwanted places! All I can say is Thank God for the “Big Green Clean Machine” carpet cleaner!

Fritz is the only one not demanding a lot of attention these days and so I feel guilt ridden about that and work hard to pat and speak lovingly to him.

Today I felt so outmatched that I thought perhaps my only recourse was to hire a puppy nanny. Someone to come in and take the dogs for walks, clean up there messes, while I sit here and eat bon-bons and pat my little friends.

But no. Where’s the fun in that? Why once I get the puppies house broken, I will have that accomplishment to revel in! I’ll be in the grocery store talking to the Deli man saying stuff like, “And I house trained two puppies, at the same time and it was still winter!” He, of course, will look at me and exclaim, “Wow! I’ve only read about people like you!”

So after I’d cleaned the carpet for the second time and walked the puppies for the 10th time today, in the rain, (don’t you feel bad for me?) I sat down with both little pups and Greta in my lap and Fritz by my feet, and I was actually grateful for these four furry wonders. I felt so loved.

I know. Just call me crazy!