My Life – Page 88 – The Dackel Princess

Friday Fill-Ins

1. When I was 10 years old We moved from the house I was raised in for my first ten years, on Clipper lane to a house, on Oak Street that I didn’t really like except for the purple bathroom my sister and I shared..

2. Eggplant is my favorite vegetable because the taste is so good to me!.

3. My dream pet is and probably always will be a wire-haired dachshund.

4. I hope beauty and love surrounds you.

5. If I could live anywhere in the world I’d live in a cottage by the sea, where it is never too hot and never too cold..

6. The love of God the Father, keep on shinin’ on me.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to the rehearsal dinner for the wedding, tomorrow my plans include going to the wedding and watching my nephew and his fiance have the time of their life and Sunday, I want to drive back home to New Hampshire, with no traffic!

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. Do you think the world became a more dangerous place on September 11, 2001 or did we just become more aware of the danger? How has your own life changed as a result of that day?

I think we became more aware of the danger. At least I did. I’m afraid I wore rose colored glasses much of the time. Especially after the break-up of the USSR. Having grown up during the Cold War, I always considered them the enemy. But as I sat in front of my TV set on September 11, 2001, I felt battered, bruised and as if part of me died too.

2. Did you think your parents were too strict when you were growing up? How about in hindsight?

My parent’s did the best they could. I did an awful lot to escape their notice. As I was an after thought child, neither one of them quite knew what to do with me.

3. Share one random but candid fact about yourself.

It is hard for me to get close to people, as I fear losing those I love, more than anything else.

4. Would your nearest and dearest describe you as simple or far too complicated?

Oh, way too complicated!

5. What is your favorite stadium or carnival food?

I totally love hot-dogs with mustard and relish. I also love fried dough, and kettle corn! Did I mention I am a lifetime member of Weight Watchers?

6. Tornado, hurricane, earthquake…how many of these natural disasters have you experienced? Which event do you think would be the scariest?

I was in a minor earth quake, a no-name hurricane and lived in an area with tornadoes. I say I’m afraid of all of them. I am a big chicken! I would far rather be in a blizzard than in any of those.

7. Labor Day weekend is approaching so a work related question seems appropriate. Growing up, did your parents assign you regular chores? Were you paid for doing those chores? If you’re a parent do you assign chores to your own children?

I did dishes, by hand, usually with my sister, before we had a dish washer. I did not get paid. I also did laundry for the family, and no, no payment. I did have the girls do chores and they got a small allowance.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I am on my way to Connecticut to my nephews wedding. I will also be spending time with my sister, mother, and nephews and nieces and grand nephews and nieces! What fun! I’m giving myself plenty of time for the drive as many roads are washed out, or closed due to Tropical Storm Irene.

I’m really excited about the wedding, and having sister time with Mel. Hubby is staying home with the pooches, and will keep the home fires burning until I return!

What I Did This Past Weekend

Our host is Gattina. Come join us and tell us what YOU did this past weekend! After all, you never know when you will need an alibi!

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It’s amazing how much of the weekend was spent getting ready for the Hurricane that never was. On Friday I went to the grocery store and picked up the last few things that we might need, and on Saturday I was looking forward to the calm before the storm, attending the Craft Fair.

Now I have to say, I understand why so many people stayed away, both Vendors and Tourists, but it was disappointing none the less.

Sunday the dogs let us sleep in. I was a little perplexed about it, until I got up and found that the rain was simply pouring down! In fact, the dogs did not want to go out at all! They stuck their noses by the door and ran in the opposite direction!

So I took each one of them and brought them to the door and gave them a little encouragement. They quickly ran out, did their business and ran in. Fritz, God love him, was resolute, and I was proud. The rain was coming down that hard!

We lost our power for the blink of an eye. Just enough to have me resetting clocks all around the house! However, we only had 25 mile an hour winds, and got 5.1 inches of rain. A fair amount, for sure, but nothing that damaged the fruit.

One thing Hubby and I noticed was that with the enforced isolation in the house, by the end of the day, we were driving each other crazy. Hubby is used to being out in the yard with the fruit trees, and I am used to time alone.

The day ended with a nice dinner, a friend calling to let us know that he is okay, and me switching pocketbooks for what seemed like the millionth time this month. After all I am three days away from my trip to see my sister and enjoy my Nephew/Godson’s wedding!

Friday Fill-Ins

And…here we go!

1. How in the world did I ever survive.

2. I looked for love and it was right in front of me.

3. Life’s full of challenges. What matters most, is how you deal with those challenges.

4. A bottle of wine, a loaf of bread, cheese, meats, and fruit make an awesome picnic lunch.

5. That was where we had the time of our lives….

6. Bermuda and Barbados, I think of as “our places“.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to getting ready for the hurricane, tomorrow my plans include putting all our lawn furniture inside and Sunday, I want to ride out the storm with Hubby and the Pups!

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. What is something that bothers you if it’s not done perfectly?

Having my bed made. I like things tucked and smoothed just so.

2. Do you think a 6th sense exists? Explain.

Yes. I just seem to know some things without being told, or without actual proof. I just know.

3. Do you say your goodbyes slowly, quickly, or not at all?

Good-byes are hard for me, so I tend to say them quickly and then go off. If you have seen the movie, “The Blind Side”, at the end, Sandra Bullocks character has to say good-bye to her adopted son Michael at college. She say good-bye and then goes and sits in the car. You can tell she looks uncomfortable. The feelings of saying good-bye, yes, they are hard for me.

4. On a scale of 1-10, with ten being hot hot hot, what level of spice do you like in your food? What’s your favorite ‘spicy’ dish?

Hot

5. What is one of your all time favorite commercial jingles?

6. Plane, train, boat or auto…your preferred method of travel?

Any of them are fine. It would depend on the reason for the trip.

7. What is something you take for granted?

I hope I don’t take anything for granted. Having lost my daughter, I no longer take for granted the members of my family. I used to. I thought that everyone would be here for their entire lifetime. Boy, was I wrong. So I hope and pray, that I am sane enough to always appreciate those I love.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

A few months ago, my comment section on the blog stopped delivering the comments to my inbox! I tinkered a bit, but noting worked. I just tried to go to my own blog and read and answer as many questions as I could when I had time. The this morning, I woke up, turned on the computer and checked my email and I had 347 messages! Some from recent posts, some from months ago! It appears that Dackel Princess is burping out comments at a rapid pace! So, if you wondered why I haven’t answered your question, it’s probably because I didn’t see it.

Summertime…..

You’ll never guess what I did on Monday? Well if you guessed that I made Plum Jam, you were right!

Hubby and I had to go down to the next town to the store where they sell canning supplies, and when we returned I made my first batch of Plum Jam. I’ll be making batch number two tomorrow.

The Plums are ripe and delicious, and so the Jam is coming out very well, but the tips of my fingers are slightly discolored from the purple plums!

Hubby and I actually had a lot of fun this morning before I got to work in the kitchen and he got to work in the yard. While we were out we stopped and had lunch at a great Chinese/Japanese restaurant. The food was great and for about 45 minutes we enjoyed each others company, while having lunch.

We also have a new tenant living in our stone wall! His name is “Chip”! “Chip” makes me and the dachshunds crazy!

I don’t worry that I will be tempted to chase “Chip”, but I sure worry that the dackels, especially Anneliese, will chase “Chip” and end up in trouble!

I’m hoping to evict him soon!

What I Did This Weekend

Our host is Gattina. Come join us and tell us what YOU did this past weekend! After all, you never know when you will need an alibi!

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It was a really busy and fun weekend, that found me working in the garden, processing jams, and clearing the garden of dead squash vines. On Saturday, we had such lovely hot weather and sunshine, that I just felt compelled to work outside in the garden.

This got me thinking about next years garden! What plants do I want to have, how many of them do I want to have and since my squash and zucchini got powdery mildew later in the season, I would like to get disease resistant seeds. What can I do to keep the tomato cut worms from decimating my plants? And where can I purchase pea fences for my pea plants to climb. Yes, next years garden is already on my mind!

Hubby helped me with the jam and we made 19 half pint jars on Friday and 19 half pint jars on Sunday! When my cousin Janet was here on Sunday I sent her and Dave off with a little stash of home made canned goodies!

Hubby and I watched “From Lark Rise to Candleford” on Saturday, and I always feel so enriched after that show. It’s a show with a beautiful message. It is very sad that the show has been canceled in it’s native England. I will miss it.

I watched a few chick-flicks while I was working on making the jam. “The Time Traveler’s Wife”, “Life As We Know It”, as well as a morning of “Say Yes To The Dress”. Those shows were all about how to buy a wedding dress, and Randy gave his rules for shopping, including how to be a good Mother to your shopping daughter. One terrible mother chose her Mother of the Bride dress, and it MATCHED the brides, except it was a bright peacock blue! No one could believe it!!!

So that brings me to Sunday night, where I am sitting in my old recliner enjoying the quiet around me. What a great (if not busy) weekend!

Busy? Yes!

Saturday found Hubby and I continuing our busy pace. After breakfast, we worked out in the garden. Sadly, I worked pulling the dead vines of some of my summer squash and zucchini, while Hubby picked tomatoes. We had Fritz outside with us while we worked, as he is the most trust worthy of dogs! The other three like to roam around, and since I worry, I get nothing done. So, while I work, they are safely inside.

When the work was done, they ran all around the yard, hither and yon, and had a marvelous time! They really are good pups. It’s just me, being a worry wart.

In the afternoon after our lunch we began working on the peaches! Dip in boiling water for 25 seconds, Toss in a cold water bath. Peel off skins. Hubby does that. Then I take the peach, cut it in half and pit the fruit, after which I chop up and toss in the pot. We do this until we have 4 pounds of peaches done.

Then I mash peaches; place in large sauce pan. Add sugar; mix thoroughly. Peel orange; cut rind of 1 orange into very thin slices (or use food processor). Squeeze juice from both oranges; remove seeds. Add orange rind and orange juice to peach mixture. Add cherries. Let rest overnight. Tomorrow will be cooking day!

By the time we got our dishes cleaned up, I was beat, but somehow made dinner and got that cleaned up too.

Saturday is nearly over now, and a new day will dawn, and along with it, two more batches of Heavenly Jam to be cooked up and canned. Life is good in our orchard right now.

A Long Day Cookin’

Friday was a big cooking day. In the morning I finished off the two batches of Heavenly Peach Jam, and then put them all up in jars, where they will keep over the winter. Each batch takes about two hours to cook down and process, and so call me exhausted, when I finally was done at one in the afternoon!

I wanted to sweep and wash my kitchen floor, and I did actually ,manage to get this done, before it was time to start cutting vegetables for dinner. I made my favorite grilled summer squash, zucchini and sweet onion! Oh good, how delicious that is.

I made a rotisserie chicken, baked potatoes, and tomatoes with basil and mozzarella. My neighbor came down and we enjoyed a really pleasant meal.

The garden is nearly done for the season. We do have plenty of tomatoes, but the squash growing season is nearly over. I had my last eggplant tonight and probably my last zucchini too. Sad, but what can you do?

I ended my day by taking a long hot shower. I did not want it to end, but right now I know that each long shower will effect our oil bill.

Have a good weekend everyone!

Friday Fill-Ins

And…here we go!

1. It’s fun to kick back and go on a shopping spree, even if you only buy a few things.

2. Heavenly Peach Jam is easy to make.

3. I like to be in a warm place, sipping a cold drink with my sweetie.

4. What Katie’s life would have been like, I will never know!

5. Something I’m very much excited about is Amanda’s engagement, and upcoming wedding! Let the planning begin.

6. The five hours I spent cooking in my kitchen today was well worth it.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to having my neighbor over for dinner, tomorrow my plans include making another batch or two of Heavenly Peach Jam and Sunday, I want to do nothing!