My Life – Page 26 – The Dackel Princess

Life

It seems that life has a way of changing quite quickly. Like the John Lennon song goes, “Before you cross the street, take my hand. Life is what happens to you while your busy making other plans.”

On Sunday we learned that my brother in-laws Aunt (the sister of his mother, who just passed) had gone to bed in her warm much loved pajamas and while sleeping peacefully in her own bed, had gone home to Heaven, to be with her husband of 60+ years, and the rest of her loved ones.

Sally was a sweet, warm, funny, kind woman. She was the blond sister to my brother in-laws brunette mother, The two of them looked very much alike facially and they both enjoyed the heck out of their families.

Sally, with her husband, Gene, and Nancy, last year.

Within a two month period, they all passed. Yet now, they are together again.

In fact all of her kids and most of the grandchildren came to Nancy’s service on Saturday. At one point friends had drifted off to go home, but the cousins all stayed behind, just a little bit longer, to reminisce and share their much loved stories of Nancy. Of course this brought in the memories of Nancy’s other brothers and sisters. And at that time, we believed that Sally would be the last, but also we thought she would be around a little longer. The plan was, to have a big family gathering this summer. Something I hope they still will do.

Anyway, after everyone left, I went back to my sister’s house, and we just sort of collapsed. Thankfully, there was plenty to eat, left over from the Memorial Luncheon, so we picked at food, watched the Olympics, until the bed called my name at 10:15 and I fell instantly asleep.

The next morning, my sister got ready to go to church. She sings in their choir each week. She asked if i would go. I was in my pajamas and didn’t feel like going. I know, bad sister!

After she left I started to feel guilty, so I told Ron I was going to get dressed and go with him. I changed, brushed my teeth, and was all set, when Ron’s phone rang, with the news about his Aunt. After his call, we headed to church, and my sister was so happy to see me, as Ron took her aside to tell her the news. And then, my sister was happy to have me there, with her, as she faced another family member, leaving us.

So the weekend was a tough one, yet filled with so much love, and also full of hope. I do believe in God. I do believe in a place where our pain and suffering is gone and we are reunited with those we have loved and lost. Heaven.

I came home and I stood looking at my husband and I reminded him that life is so short. That we need to tell each other every day how much we love each other. How much we love those of us that are near and dear to our hearts. Life goes by so quickly.

Remember, gentle readers, you are loved.

Blessings!

New Camera Shots

I am playing with the new phone like crazy. I especially love the camera. The shots are nice and crisp and clear. The camera is easy to use and so is the phone. In any case here are some pictures I’ve taken. The poor dogs keep trying to hide! But I track them down!!!

Computer Woes

After a little struggle, my computer is once again up and running. It seems that there was a virus in the Firefox program causing all sorts of weird things to happen. I’m not the fastest typist around, but when I typed and stopped and went back to read what I had written, it was depressing to find that the computer was only a quarter of the way through the sentence I had typed.

What my computer guru did was completely uninstall Firefox and all of it’s sub folders, and then we did a fresh install of the program. So far it seems to have worked and I am hopeful that we got all of the virus out. I really do not want to have to have the hard drive wiped.

So, most of my day has been spent setting up Firefox, installing my bookmarks and then making sure that all the passwords were up to date. And about passwords, all I can say is EEEEEK! I have so many, that I can no longer keep up. I have a locked file in a different place where I keep them all. But my goodness, it can be confusing. Especially now where many sites want you to change your password frequently and then not use any password that you might ever have used with them! Oh my!

But the machine is now almost completely programmed, at least with the important stuff, so I can sit back once again, and crochet!

My Weekend

On Sunday I woke up to discover that 8 inches of snow had fallen overnight. Now we were supposed to only have 2-3 inches, so 8 inches was a real surprise! I felt bad for Jack, who would have to go out with the snow-blower to clear our drive. I decided to spoil Jack with three nice meals during the day. I admit breakfast, and lunch were nice, but ordinary.

As Jack finished his breakfast he went to get dressed and said, “Maribeth, someone plowed our driveway!” We both were surprised, as I had been out around 8 o’clock and the driveway was un-plowed. An hour later, it was done. I guess by the snow-plowing fairy! Whoever it was, I thank them, with all my heart!

During the day I had felt tired once again, and I lay down on the sofa. The next thing I knew, Jack said, “Are you awake?” I groaned a little as I began to wake. “It’s five o’clock” he said.

What? How could this be? I just lay down at 3:15 for a little nap. Now it was 5:00 and time for the dogs to eat!

I realized that yesterday I slept for an hour in the afternoon and today over an hour and a half, and I am filled up in my sinuses again. Ugh! At least I still have my medication for that, which I started on Sunday night.

Later in the afternoon I made a dinner that was really good! I made Brussel sprouts sauteed with onions, garlic and bacon, pork chops sauteed with fresh rosemary and thyme, and in a country gravy, and mashed herbed potatoes, served with our own apple sauce.

Jack was delighted and I admit, it was easily enjoyed. I just love it when a meal comes together like this.

So that wraps up my somewhat sleep filled weekend. I hope you all had a nice weekend and enjoyed yourselves.

-Things I’ve Done Or Not Done-

-Things I’ve Done Or Not Done-

Fired a gun – Yes and I wasn’t a bad shot.
Gone on a blind date – No. I haven’t had time to do that.I got married at 17 the first time and 29 the second time. I’ve pretty much been spoken for all my life!
Watched someone give birth – Yes. Me. Twice!
Watched someone die – Sadly, yes.
Visited Canada – Yes. Hubby’s family are mostly Canadian.
Visited Hawaii – No and I really want to go!
Visited Las Vegas – No and don’t really want to.
Visited Asia – Not yet, but really want to.
Visited Africa – Not yet.
Visited Florida – Not just visited, but lived there for 6 years.
Visited Mexico – Yes, but Mexico and I are enemies. All three times I got very ill.
Visited Australia – Not yet, but one day!
Seen the Grand Canyon in person – Yes! And it was amazing!
Flown in a helicopter – Yes. Not sure I liked it.
Flown an airplane – Never flown an airplane, but did have the chance to fly in the cockpit when Hubby was helping to ferry a plane to Germany. If I had known how fabulous it was to do, I would have paid more attention in my math and science classes!
Served on a jury – Well sort of. I was selected for two jury’s, but both cases were plea bargained before the jury heard the case.
Visited L.A – Yes, briefly.
Been to New York City – Yes, but not a big fan.
Cried yourself to sleep – Yes.
Recently colored with pencils- No, but I’ve been looking at the adults coloring books.
Sang karaoke – Not really.
Paid for a meal with coins only – When I was very little I went to see my Grandma Elsie. She always saved coins in a tea cup for us to have for spending money when we came up. I got my money (all coins) and we went to Woolworths to shop. Grandma decided to stop there and have lunch at the counter. When we finished she went to get her wallet and realized she had left it at home. She asked me to let her have the money, and she would pay me back when she got home. I did. As we walked back home she tried her best to make me promise not to tell Papa Sam. Being the rotten six year old I was, as soon as he walked in the door that night I told him all about the adventure and how I had save the day!
Made prank phone calls – No. Phones were a different thing back in the day. I think I had more respect for them
Laughed so much you cried – Yes.
Caught a snowflake on your tongue – I live in the White Mountain Region of New Hampshire. We can have literally several feet of snow in our winters. One of my favorite things to do is to go outside, listen to the quiet and catch snow flakes!
Had children – Yes, two beautiful daughters.
Had a pet – Oh yes. Let’s see: Smokey (cat) Baby, Lorelei, (dogs), Terry-Ho, Daisy, (cats), Rex, Max, Fritz, Lili, (white German shepherds), Shubi, Greta, Arnie, Anneliese, (dackels) .
Been skinny dipping – Yes. But who with and when, I am not telling!
Rapelled down a building / cliff – When I saw this question I laughed. Knowing me to be one disaster away from death, I do not think I will ever want to do this!
Been downhill skiing – Yes, Not very good at it though.
Been water skiing – Yes, years ago.
Been camping in a tent – No. I am not the roughing it type.
Driven a motorcycle – No. Let’s just say I have a healthy respect for them.
Jumped out of a plane – LOL…no.
Gone to a drive-in movie – Yes, and that was so much fun, back in the day!
Done something that could have killed you – Yes, but I survived and will never be that stupid again.
Done something that you will regret for the rest of your life – People who know me, know I regret only one day of my life. The day my daughter died. And that day I didn’t do anything, but was rather a victim.
Rode an elephant – Yes, and perhaps that is why I love elephants so much!
Rode a camel – Yes, I did that too.
Eaten just cookies or cake or ice cream for dinner – Sure. Long, long, ago, in a galaxy, far, far, away!
Been on TV – Not really.
Been in newspapers – Yes a number of times. Most notably, when I appeared as a child in the Sound of Music.
Stolen any traffic signs – Nope!
Been in a car accident – Yes. And it haunts me to this day.
Stayed in Hospital – Yes. Unfortunately, many times.
Donated blood – Yes.
Had to pay a fine in the past 12 months – No, I’ve lived a clean life.
Gotten a piercing – Just my ears.
Gotten a tattoo – Ah, no.
Driven a standard car – Oh yeah, piece of cake.
Ever owned your dream car – Yes. Still have it.
Been Married – Twice.
Been divorced – Yes, once.

Chicken Soup For The Soul

I was trying to decide what to cook for our dinner. It was cold and icy and I felt like something warm and savory. Since I’d cooked a rotisserie chicken the other day, I decided that the leftover chicken might make a great chicken soup.

So, I chopped up onions, celery, peppers, mushrooms, carrots and garlic. I tossed the onions, celery, peppers and garlic in about 3 tbs of flour and then added them to my cast iron Dutch Oven, which had 3 tbs of melted butter and a little olive oil in it. I sauteed them until the vegetables were tender, then I added the carrots, some chicken broth, and some salt, pepper, thyme, sage, and rosemary. Oh yes and some Bay Leaves. Have you heard all the good things that Bay Leaves can do? Apparently they have many medicinal applications. I hope this will help with the cold.

I put in about 2-3 cups of the rotisserie chicken and let that simmer along with the soup for another hour or so. The dogs were going crazy as they knew exactly what I’d put in the pot!

The scent of chicken soup cooking all afternoon was wonderful. I cooked up some egg noodles to toss in at the very end and it tasted just great when we finally sat down for our dinner. I’d made some fresh rolls and those were a nice accompaniment.

Dinner was a quick clean up and now both Jack and I are feeling relaxed and sleepy. After a perfect dinner of soup and bread, I ask, does it get any better than this?

Another Step In My Education!

Just a little Yahoo for me. After trying to figure out how to add back in the two items that the last WordPress Platform took out of my composition page, today I sat down and found the update on WordPress and downloaded it and then activated it!

Now I’m not sure how many of you use the Justify and Underline, but I sure do, and it was adding a lot of time to my compositions, when I had to put in the codes by hand!

I cannot tell you how proud I am of myself. One giant step for me, in my ability to learn another something new in how to keep my blog up to date!

The Cold

What can I say about the start to my week? Not too much except that at 2 PM I lay down and took a nap. I felt tired and chilled and worried that the cold from hell was returning. I’m still feeling lousy tonight, and since there is nothing on TV I want to watch, I think I might just turn in early tonight.

The weird thing about this cold is, you just start to feel better, and WHAM, it comes back and hits you again. Jack has mentioned that he has felt the same way.

I have been taking multiple vitamins and Vitamin C and eating a lot of vegetables and drinking juices. But it doesn’t seem to matter what I do, the cold hangs on.

I truly am ready to feel better. I wish I could go outside and lie in the warm sunshine and feel the heat bake this cold out of me. Maybe if I dream about it, that will be enough. Because we all know that in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire right now the temperatures are still freezing.

Oh, to be able to jump on a plane and go to Florida or even down to my favorite Caribbean Island, Barbados! I just know all I need to do is escape the cold.

A Day In The Life

I woke on Saturday morning with a hankering for savory beef stew with fresh yeast rolls. I knew it would take all day, simmering slowly in my cast iron dutch oven, to make the stew, I set about cutting vegetables and getting them pre-cooked. Then I placed it all in my dutch oven, and put it in a 275 degree (Fahrenheit) oven to cook for 4 hours.

Meanwhile, I took the yeast rolls from the freezer and set them in my heavy cast iron frying pan, to thaw and rise. It took me about an hour to do all of this, but when I stood back and surveyed the food that would be dinner, I felt a certain amount of satisfaction.

Then I was onto my next chore. A few days ago I washed our bathroom curtains. After 20 years of washings and wearings, they simply fell apart. Holy Moly! I quickly found an almost identical replacement set and sent away for those. They arrived yesterday, and the first thing I noticed when I took them out of the package was that the lower panels were too long.

I admit, part of me wanted to ignore that and just put them up as it, but when I gave that a try, it looked stupid. So, I made a plan. I measured, I ironed seams and then got out my sewing machine and finished it up. When I hung the new curtains in the bathroom, I was so proud with the way they looked.

Meanwhile, dinner is nearly ready now. My yeast rolls, fell, but I have made a nice garden salad to have with the stew. One things for sure, we will be getting our share of vitamins with dinner.

A Little Tea

Growing up in my family, a cup of tea was probably the most important thing we shared. For me, our afternoon teas started almost before any of my actual memories do.

When I was not quite four years old, my appendix ruptured and after the surgery, my mother got a call from the nurses in the Pediatric Ward. Oh goodness, Maribeth is not drinking. They’d tried to offer me everything, and I refused.

“Offer her a cup of tea with two sugars and a little milk” my mother told them. So the nurse did and apparently I perked right up. Yes, me and my tea go back a long way.

All through my youth we drank tea in the afternoons. When I got home from school, while watching “Dark Shadows”, I would have a cup of tea and a few cookies. I sort of thought every one did, right?

When I was in 6th grade I moved in with my grandparents, and that’s when the real ritual began. I would go to school each day, and when I came home, after grandma’s soap opera was over, we would have our tea, some cookies and talk. I would tell them all about my day, school, what was happening, and what I thought. And Grandma, Papa and my Mom, always listened. When my sister was there, she joined us too.

When my grandmother got too old to leave her bed, and we knew her time was drawing near, we gathered our children together and had a tea party. Right there in her bedroom. It was the last time I saw her before she passed.

I continued the tradition of tea, with my Mom, my sister, my cousin, Janet and my own children. And when my Mom died, my sister had a tea party after her Memorial Service. Complete with beautiful tea cups and cookies. Mom would have loved it!

The other day I was watching Pioneer Woman on the Food Channel. Ree and her daughter, Paige were having a tea during the show. They had so much fun making up the treats to serve with it too. Eventually Ree asks her daughter how often she thinks they should do this? And her daughter smiles and says “Every day!”.

And that was when I started to cry. I suddenly missed all those afternoon teas we shared. I missed my Grandma, my Mom, Papa. Those moments, those sweet days have gone by. Aside from my sister, daughter, Mandy and cousin Janet, the people I shared those days with have gone too.

My love of tea, and of a few cookies or small finger sandwiches goes on. It’s my link to my past. I’m so very grateful to have it..