My Life – Page 8 – The Dackel Princess

Christmas Happenings 2020

This year, after a year of isolating and being cut off from so many of my friends and family, I prayed for one thing. I just wanted to spend Christmas Even and morning with my two grandchildren.

Well, I was blessed because I got to be with grandchildren on Christmas Eve, make cookies, play and visit and share, and then wake up on Christmas Morning and see their wide eyes as they surveyed all that Santa had brought to their home!

Stockings were opened and enjoyed! My former husband made us all breakfast and the friendship between us, his wonderful life partner, Rachel, and I made the entire event feel like life in this crazy world, we were all family! Bob’s son was also with us and his daughter was there via Zoom!

Family. Blended and working. I am ever so grateful for this!

After breakfast, we began the herculean task of opening Christmas gifts! So much fun and so much shared happiness and joy!

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Then I called Jack at home to say Merry Christmas and he told me that there was something wrong with Arnie. He wasn’t eating, or drinking, and it seemed his skin infection had returned.

Try as I might to not let this concern me too much, I was overcome and I said my goodbyes quickly, packed what I could in my car, and in almost record-breaking time I was home!

I grabbed my doggy thermometer and Arnie was feverish. He also wasn’t moving much, although I got a little tail wag with happiness upon my arrival.

I called the Emergency Clinic, which is just down the street, and brought Arnie right in. Because of Covid, I had to wait in the car, while they took him in.

Yes, bad fever and infection are on his back. (skin) He was also dehydrated and needed an IV and antibiotics. We decided he needed to be admitted for the night at least.

The next morning I went to pick him up, and although he is better, he is hardly well. I’ve been sitting with him, also doing laundry and feeding him, and making sure he is drinking.

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So, Christmas was full of blessings and a lot of love and in the end, it seemed I was right where I was supposed to be when I was supposed to be there.

Maribeth

It’s All In A Days Work

Tuesday found me excelling at my house-work. Almost as soon as I got up I was using our roof rake to take off some of the snow that was up there.

I will say this, I’ve never done roof raking before, and after three separate times outside doing this, parts of my body began to object.

So, I decided to come in and make the Seafood Lasagna, which I will cook for Jack’s Christmas Dinner.

Now I will say that I used just about every pot in my kitchen in the preparation of this lasagna! No kidding, I filled the dishwasher when I was done!

That took me two hours to do, and once this was done, I started the laundry, went to the Post Office, and then came home and had to figure out what to make for dinner. Using the leftover lasagna pasta, I made a small Italian Lasagna.

I finally finished with dinner dishes, walked the dogs, and now I am just waiting to put the last laundry load into the dryer. Then I will be done for the day.

I am quite happy with all that I got done, But I am sure in the morning, when this old body gets out of bed, I will be one hurtin’ pup!

And So It Goes…

There are times in one’s life when you are going along, and all is well, and then in a matter of a couple of hours, your body scares the daylights out of you. Such is my life, as I write on Friday night.

Late in the afternoon on Friday, I started feeling off. The following symptoms occurred.

Fever of 99.9.
Sore throat.
Stuffy.
Not feeling hungry,
Very tired.
Still achy.
I think it is just a cold, but I am taking it easy and staying quiet and warm.

So, I am going to bed and I hope I wake in the morning and I feel 100%. I’ll even take 75% at this point. I do not want to be feeling worse. Because then I’d have to think about getting a test. Our Covid numbers have been exploding in New Hampshire, and though I try to be careful, one just does not know where those crappy little germs are lurking.

A Busy Birthday!

My Birthday seems to have stretched into a nearly one-week long celebration. Not bad really. I think when you get to be over sixty you should enjoy these monumentous events as much as possible.

Of course, I had a great celebration with Mandy and family, but then, on my birthday I got up with Arnie to discover that the boy had something very wrong, which led to a bloody mess on my bed.

At first, I blamed Lili. I thought perhaps she’s played too hard with Arnie and bitten him.

However, after I cleaned Arnie up and actually used the doggy clippers to remove the hair on his back (A small area mid-back) I saw what appeared to be a really bad “hot-spot”.

So I quickly showered and dressed, as I knew I would be driving Arnie out to the Vets. Which I did later in the morning.

Yes, it’s a mean “hot-spot” and he is on meds for that. I also picked up more pain medication for Anneliese to keep her comfortable.

Coming home, I bought the last things for my birthday dinner, which I cooked, and came home.

What did I cook for my dinner? Vidalia Onion Swordfish, Roasted Herbed Potatoes, and Brussell Sprout Saute. Dessert was a Strawberry and Cream Ice Cream Cake served with Champagne. All in all, not a bad meal. Definitely not diet-friendly, but what the heck, it was my birthday.

In 24 hours Arnie’s back is looking better. I think he is feeling better too. Thank goodness.

On Wednesday it was my last meeting with my ladies. It was 22 degrees with a stiff wind and snowing lightly. But we all showed up, wearing multiple layers of clothing, and stayed for nearly an hour. When I left my nose was bright red, and my fingers and toes were frozen! But I wouldn’t have missed this for the world!

So now we are back to reality here. I’m only going out when I have to, and I’m being cautious. Our Covid numbers are climbing and since it is that time of year when colds and flu abound, I figure it’s best to isolate at home.

I have everything to make a nice Thanksgiving dinner for the two of us. And I also will have my favorite thing that evening. A nice warm turkey sandwich.

It’s a strange time right now, around the world. So many people are sheltering in place. Families are divided and kept apart by this virus. Memories are not being made, and it’s just plain not fair.

But such is life. I hope and pray that soon a vaccine can be made and once again we can go about living our lives.

Happy #62 to Me!

I started my life sixty-two years ago on a cold and blustery day. I weighed 9 lbs and one ounce and my (not even 5 foot tall), mother swears I nearly killed her.

Cute, huh?

Of course, being born at noon meant that she was back in her room in time for lunch. Lunch that day was a turkey sandwich! So I didn’t wreck her day completely.

I was the youngest of three children and you know what they say, the youngest is the most spoiled.

I didn’t feel that way, of course, as there seemed to be an expectation to excel. I did try for a while and then when I hit my teens I went in the opposite direction and rebelled!

I may not always have made the best choices in my life, but somehow I made my way and I was blessed with two daughters, Mandy and Katie,

and now my grandchildren, Savannah and Quinn.

Hmmm! Sixty-two! Imagine that? I remember as a kid when my grandmother and then my mother were this age. Somehow they seemed like old ladies! I certainly don’t feel like that. There is so much left that I want to do!

We have so much fun together and these two are the light of my life! I am so very blessed!

So, Happy Birthday to me!

Milestones

I am thrilled to announce a rather big milestone for me. I started this journey for weight loss, healthful living, and being able to look into the mirror and like the person, I was seeing, back on January 1st.

It has not been easy, but I’ve been so faithful and decided that this wasn’t something I was going to do partially, but a change I will make for the rest of my life.

…Drum-roll, please…

…I have now lost…

I’m not quite done, although I am very close to my goal weight. And when I look at the grand total lost, I am so proud of myself.

I’ve been blessed with a group of 12 women. Despite Covid, we have gotten together each week and shared our journeys together. Several of these women I have known since 2008. They’re family.

A few times along the way I called one or the other of them as I was close to blowing the whole thing. They all had my back.

It is tough. Some days are harder than others, some are easier. In the end, it has all been worth it.

So today, as I celebrate 60.2 pounds gone, I wanted to share that as hard as this is if you want it enough, and believe in yourself, you can do it too!

Cooking Day

Monday was a cooking day. I made 2 meatloaves for the freezer, put some steak to marinate in fajita seasoning, and lastly, made six stuffed peppers for our dinner. I also made two small pies in my mini cast iron pans for dessert tonight.

Before you fear for my WW diet, I was careful to make everything point friendly and healthy!

I will be honest with you all. I was in this crazy cooking mode because I wasn’t handling my feelings very well as I struggled to handle Katie’s birthday. I felt so very sad.

I imagine I could have simply sat motionless and crying all day, but I decided to be proactive and just keep working it out.

So, I was whipping around the kitchen staying busy. I only nicked my thumb once and burnt my hand slightly. All caused by being careless.

I did do one other thing. I subscribed to “Britbox” on Amazon Prime. Now I can watch a few of my old favorites like “All Creatures Great and Small” and “The Vicar of Dibley”. Both of these shows fill my heart in different ways.

I’m healing well and I think, in the end, I’m going to look okay. For this, I am eternally grateful.

No More Stitches!

Tuesday found me going in many different directions. As it was our Election Day, I dressed up warmly (It was only in the ’20s with a brisk wind) and I went and voted. Done!

Next, I went and filled up my car with gasoline, and stopped and got a container of oatmeal. I sat and had breakfast before heading into the grocery store and buying a few things. Done!

Then I was off to the doctors where I got the best news. My pathology report was back and the tumors were all benign! Yay!

My stitches were removed and I feel pretty good about things. While the doctor was cleaning the tumors and scar tissue he managed to give me a beautifully lined up eyebrow!

Please pardon the “hat-hair”. It was so very cold and windy and a hat was the only way to keep my ears warm.

I drove home and made lunch for the two of us, and then I noted that Anneliese isn’t feeling her best. I’m worried so this will mean a visit to our Veterinarian fairly soon.

We now go into the giant waiting game to find out who has won our Presidential Election. Personally, I believe our voting system needs to be reformed. There are just too many ways for people to cheat.

November Arrives Like A Freight Train!

I woke to the sounds of high winds blowing around my house. It resembles a freight train at times when our wind is blowing full force out of the north-west. Not only was the wind blowing, but at 5:30 am our temperature was just 22 degrees (F). So it was very cold!

I stumbled to the kitchen, turned on the coffee maker, and let the dogs outside. As soon as they came in (and they returned very quickly due to the cold!) I jumped into the shower and then into my thermal-lined clothes.

I got my coffee and then watched multiple episodes of The Dog Whisperer. It’s one of my favorite shows. In fact, I’ve been working with Lili training her to do simple polite things, like sit down when she comes in to await her cookie. The dog is smarter than I am.

I made meals, went out to get our mail, only to find I had four packages at the Post Office! I knew they were coming, but all at once? That is something I did not expect!

Tuesday I get my stitches out. I can hardly wait. In the last two days, the site has swollen and been very sore. So I am happy the doctor will be removing the stitches and hopefully, I will get some relief from that.

Tuesday is also election day and so once I am done at the doctor’s office I will swing home and pick up Jack and we will go and vote.

I repositioned my bird feeders today, as with this type of cold weather, the ground will be freezing soon, so I wanted to make sure they were in the correct spots for the winter. We are good to go!

I will leave you with this little joke I ran across. Please pardon the salty language, but this is exactly what my two dachshunds are thinking right now.

Enjoy the day and for those of you who are in the USA, be sure to go out and vote!

Day #1 Post-Op

Day one post-op found me doing very well. I kind of felt like I’d been kicked in the head by a horse, but really, the ache was far less than it was on surgery day.

The swelling has begun, and a bruise is forming under the eye and around the incision itself. But I am so lucky. Dr. S. is amazing, gentle, kind, and gifted. I felt so taken care of and valued as his patient.

And a big thank-you to all the nurses who cared for me in pre-op, surgery, and post-op. The women were incredible and they prepared me and then made sure I was okay all the way along.

Also, thanks to Pandora and their 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s station. One nurse asked if I liked the music and I said “Absolutely! It makes me think of being in High School.” All but one of us in the OR were close to my age. But one young nurse needed to be educated with “good” music! LOL

I am also loving my hair-cut. I was a little unsure if I should have gotten it cut so short, but I’m really liking this. It’s very easy and soft.

So the worst is over and now I put myself into healing mode. I am all for that!