I have been working with GoDaddy to get my comments section unlocked. They have supposedly fixed this, and everyone should be able to comment now. So here is a test, before I pull my account with GoDaddy and move to another Server.

Could you leave a comment on this entry, letting me know if you get through. If it kicks you off and you find you cannot comment, please write me and let me know. My email is:  dackelprincess (at) metrocast.net

I am working furiously to get the comment section fixed so I can once again hear from all of you!

Thank you!

I woke this morning at my new normal. 6:30 AM. It was cold, the dogs were stretching, and I knew I needed to jump into my clothes so I could walk Anneliese, who has started to run off in search of the awakening critters in our stone wall.

What I wanted to do, and what I did were two very different things. Greta walked down the bed ramp and headed to the door. This requires a fast response, because the girl is old and needs to be able to go out, right now!

So there I was, in my underwear and socks, running through the bedroom and kitchen to put Greta and Lili right out the door! Thank goodness I live in the middle of nowhere, so no one saw me in my socks and panties! I then ran back to the bedroom, slipped on my jeans and a shirt, and some shoes and returned to the kitchen to grab my coat and Anneliese and her leash, and off we went.

I must say that my morning coffee never tasted so good, as it did after my early morning dackel chase!

This week seemed to go rather slowly for me. I’m not sure why, I was actually pretty busy around the house, but I remember on Wednesday feeling like the week would never end!

It was a great week, and all was going well until Thursday. Then it went down hill for about three hours. Luckily, the craziness did not last, and by the time I sat down on Thursday night to write this, life had resumed at a happy, merry pace.

I can look back and laugh now, so when you read the list below, just laugh. It was a pain at the time, but I lived through it!

Now here we go!

1. It started when we decided to go out for lunch at a local Chinese restaurant near our home. We’ve eaten there for ten years and have never had a bad meal. They usually have the best tea, and I always order Sesame Shrimp with Chinese Vegetables. I order that every time I go and I love it.
2. Today when they placed the plate of food in front of me, I knew the Shrimp was bad. I could smell it! I thought I was imagining it, so I took one very small bite, and then spit it into my napkin. (In a very ladylike way!) No, it was spoilt!
3. I called the waitress over and quietly explained to her what was happening. She didn’t know what to do, but after talking with another waiter, took my plate and offered me another meal. I ordered chicken and vegetables thinking this would be good, but it was horrible. I ate the white rice, finished my tea and set about leaving. The young waitress boxed up the food I hadn’t eaten and handed it to me. I should have left it.
4. When we got home, I was carrying some groceries up the stairs along with the remains of the Chinese meal, when the container opened and spilled all over my coat, my pants, my shirt, and even got my socks! (The words of exasperation I used were not that of a lady!) I took off all my wet clothes in the laundry room and put them right in the wash! Fortunately I had clean, dry clothes right there that I could put on.
5. Tonight Jack wanted some dinner, but I just scowled. I feel so over all food! I just want a nice hot mug of my grandmother’s warm milk and honey and a small pat of butter, before I go to bed. But because I am a good wife, I cooked Jack soup and made him up a plate of food to go with it.

So that was my wicked three hours, and in a few minutes I plan to go get my pajamas on, and get that mug of milk. The pups got me up at 5 this morning, and tonight I am one tired girl! But life is good and I am smiling again!

Well, we knew it was going to happen, it was just a matter of time.

In the last 3 years Kitchen Aid has replaced our coffee maker, which was under warranty, 3 times. Each time the machine died, it was well under the one year warranty, and a new one was sent to us. This machine made good coffee, and we liked it. However, we didn’t like the fact that it would only work for 6-9 months and then it would go kaput!

The last time it died we talked it over and decided that “when” it died again, we would simply begin the hunt for a new coffee maker. The trouble is, we like a lot of coffee, and always buy a 14 cup coffee maker. Those are hard to find, at least a good one is.

Since the exchange of pots always took a little time, we went out to Walmart and got a $25.00 Black and Decker Coffee Maker. The only trouble is, it only makes 12 cups.

Now the good news is, this cheapo pot, actually makes a fairly decent cup of coffee. I told Jack that I didn’t mind making two pots of coffee if needed, but I was tired of paying big bucks for machines that died in under a year.

So for now we are drinking coffee made in the cheapo pot, and actually enjoying it. I’m not in any hurry to rush out, spend a lot of money for a pot that gives us just two more cups. Maybe we have reached a time in our lives when we don’t need all that much coffee. Or maybe we are just tired of trying to find just the right pot!

Monday was sort of a wild day. I was scheduled for an ultra sound/mammogram to follow up after a strange reading last fall. I arrived for my appointment and was greeted by the Radiologist who greeted me with, “Why are you here?”

“Well, Doctor, I got a certified letter from this hospital telling me I was due for this follow up after last Autumns irregular mammogram.”

“Didn’t you follow up at Dartmouth?” she asked.

“Why yes, yes I did.” I replied.

“Then why are you here?” she asked again.

“I am here because I received a Certified letter from your hospital concerning this. When I told the woman on the phone that I had been seen at Dartmouth, she said I still needed to be seen. So, here I am.” I said and smiled.

She walked out of the room and went to the Secretaries office. This is what I overheard. “Do you know how long I spend on a follow-up exam when someone has a suspicious result on a mammogram? About half and hour! This woman was seen at Dartmouth last fall and she does not need to be here now and I do not need to see her! You wasted my time!”

I never saw the lovely Radiologist after that. She sent the shaken Secretary in to dismiss me. But you know what made me a little upset? No one said, “I’m sorry to have taken up your time”.

Ah well, since I was out, I decided to go get the canned food I use for Lili and Arnie and to also pick up something easy for dinner. While I shopped, I found a copy of “The Pioneer Woman’s” new magazine! Oh joy! I love it.

As I checked out, I suddenly heard the rain begin to fall. As I got to the door and started toward my car the skies opened and in less than a minute I was soaked to the skin! I rained like this all the way home, reminding me of when I lived in Florida and we had torrential rainstorms very often. Ugh!

I finally got home only to discover that the power was out at home. And worst of all, our seldom used generator was not working. (It has since been fixed.) Fortunately, the power was restored in short order, but we had thunder, lightening and torrential rains until well after 7 in the evening.

As we ate dinner tonight I discovered something new about Lili. She likes corn on the cob. Well not the actual corn on the cob, but after I was done with my cob, I held it for her and she nibbled at the entire cob, getting every last bit! Next time we have corn I will have to get a video of her chewing the cob!

It’s hard to believe that some of the easiest and best comfort food  can be destroyed by improper cooking. I’m not talking about  burning it, but I am talking about the recipe.

Now take macaroni and cheese. That’s pretty simple. Cooked elbow pasta, a creamy, cheesy, bechamel, type sauce, and served nice and warm. Oh goodness, one could curl up with a bowl of that and just recover from anything.

The hospital’s version stirred in bread crumbs (whole wheat!) and broiled every last bit of moisture out of it! I wanted to cry.

Likewise, imagine my horror when I ordered a big chocolate chip cookie and it was made with whole wheat flour. Now no person in their right mind, while recovering from major surgery wants a  tasteless cookie like that.

I ordered hard cooked eggs and was shocked when they actually arrived in their shells! They were hard cooked, but I was too weak to open them!

I also tried for a blueberry muffin. What could they do to that? Yep, completely whole wheat, almost no blueberries, and dry as burnt toast! Ugh!

The nurses kept harping at me that I needed to eat something, over and over again, and I sure would have, if they had provided me with something, anything, that was edible!

On my last day I ordered french toast and there were four half slices of dried out wheat blandness!

I had tried almost all items and simply lost, at Hospital Food Roulette!

Life is full of ups and downs and things one has very little chance of controlling. Thinking I have pretty much everything under control surrounding the surgery next week, I was sort of thrown for a loop when I called our friends to firm up Hubby’s plans to stay with them during my hospital stay.

When G. answered the phone I knew the worst…she was sick! We spoke for a bit and she kept telling me that Hubby could stay with them even though they have fevers, and very bad coughs and colds. I thanked her, but reminded her that after spinal surgery, I really thought it would be a bad idea if I got a cough.

We hung up, and I was so upset. In fact I was at my wits end when I went to bed. But I said my prayers and gave it to God for the night.

This morning I got online first thing, and found a link from the hospital I am staying at, for a hotel that is about 1 mile away, it includes parking, breakfast, a newspaper, and free wifi. I think this an even better solution for Hubby because then he will not have to drive in and out of the city each day, nor will he be paying 20+ dollars each day for parking. Best of all, the price is right!

So after I run this by Hubby, when he wakes, I will make his reservation. I think this is a very good option.

Meanwhile, today was to be my last minute shopping day. But the dogs and I woke to SNOW! Yes again! I am so sick of this, especially since I have so much going on.

I blame Punxsutawney Phil, and Mother Nature, who both must have an extremely warped sense of humor!

The definition of insanity is having four dogs! I decided this today at 5 AM, when two of them woke me, to go outside and commune in the -2 degree (F) frosty, snow and icy darkness.

Now Greta was smart and she hurried out and came back in, because we all know that when you are low, slow, and reliable, the snow and ice get to you quickly! If it had just been her, I’d have crawled back into bed and gotten another hour or two of sleep. But no. Lili, super thick coated, and full of two year old energy, decided that 5 AM was a great time to explore the field behind our house.

She ran and she jumped and she had a splendid time, while I whistled for her to come in. After 20 long minutes, during which time, the other two dachshunds went out and did their thing and hurried in, Lili finally turned and came in.  By then, I was cold and wide awake!

So I slipped into my jeans and warm shirt, put on my bulky socks, and pulled out my heating pad. I snuggled up with two dachshunds in my chair, and turned on the TV to watch the end of a movie I have seen a million times, and start my day!

But as I sit here I cannot help but wonder how I got here. Me, and four dogs? Truly, it is insanity to have 4 dogs that all wake you up before the sun is even in the sky. And why, why do I have them? Well, perhaps because, insane or not, these guys give me so much love, that in the end, I feel blessed!

Like all American girls, I grew up enjoying cookies, but my favorite cookie was always Oreos. In fact, they were my sister’s favorite too, and as she was older, and had babysitting jobs, she would buy a package and hide it in her underwear drawer.

Well, I was your normal, curious, baby sister (5 and a half years younger), and I would go in and “borrow” her cookies. To this day, I get teased unmercifully about this habit.

In my twenties, I wasn’t a cookie girl. In fact, I wasn’t a big sweets eater at all. That was until I met “Chip”.

After my daughter passed away, a well meaning neighbor, who owned a bakery, would bring over to our house, breads and cookies twice a week. I’ve always loved bread, but when I met her “Chocolate Chip”, having a small waistline was over!

I started eating “Chip” after breakfast, for a pick-me-up snack. Maybe one or two with tea in the afternoon. Then something happened. I started to feel really good after eating each cookie. It was so warm, soothing, and made the pain of my loss just a little more bareable.

Soon I was eating “Chip” for breakfast, a few more at lunch. And I was lost to the world of ooey-gooey chocolate chip wonderfulness.

You know how a package of cookies will give you a serving size of 2 cookies? Well, before I knew it, a serving size was like a pound of cookies.

Soon “Chip” brought friends home. Girl Scout Thin Mints became a favorite. A serving size was supposed to be 3 cookies. But heck a serving size soon became an entire sleeve.

I became a slave to chocolate goodness, to make me feel better. Store bought, bakery bought, it mattered not. As long as three of the ingredients were flour and chocolate and sugar, I was good. In a pinch I would accept cookie with no chocolate, but that was not my cookie of choice. Let’s face it, chocolate is God’s way of saying he loves us, right?

Soon, nothing fit me and I found myself in Sears, buying size 18 pants, to wear right then and there. Not bad, I thought. I still look okay.

Then one day, someone took a picture of me and I saw this woman I did not recognize. She looked as though she was related to the Pillsbury Dough Boy! Only there were smears of chocolate around her mouth!

I needed bigger clothes and since my wallet was empty (from buying cookies), I knew I had to do something, and do it fast!

I am a Chocolate, Cookie-A-Holic!

And that my friends, is how I came to be a member of Weight Watchers.

This morning I woke and went to make coffee, with our back up coffeemaker, which we figure is somewhere over 30 years old. All was going well, until the water in the holding tank came pouring out the sides. I cannot tell you the swear words which were muttered, or how many dish rags I threw around trying to contain the mess! Let us just say, that this was really pulling at my New Years Resolution to “Live Life To The Fullest and Enjoy!”

Well, I poured hot water through a Melita type filter and managed to make a little coffee, but that was the moment where I decided that Monday was definitely an emergency coffee maker buying day.

The first thing Hubby did when he got up was call Kitchen Aid about our beloved and expensive coffeemaker. They were helpful and pleasant, and although our machine is on back order, we will get another new machine, free of charge and delivery fees! Yay! Again! Hope this one lasts us past the warranty!

We looked at each other and decided to go in search of a cheap pot, as well as a new home phone/answering machine. It was really my first foray out into the frozen world to shop!

We started at BJ’s Warehouse, where we found a great phone system for the house. The price was right, and it included cordless phones for the office and bedroom as well. After getting it home and hooked up, I can say that I really like it, more than I thought I would.

Then we went to Walmart and I stood there with my Smart-Phone and looked up different cheap models until we found one that seemed to fit the bill. Less than $30.00 and makes a full 12 cups. Currently, I have run a pot of water through, to make sure that all was clear, and we will make our first pot tomorrow. I promise to report!

We stopped at the Chinese Buffet and I was able to eat a few things, and it was nice to see the family who runs the restaurant. We have known them many years now, and they have been following me since my surgery. Today they were very happy to see me up and about, with no bandage!

I am now home, it is down to 7 degrees F (-13C). I am dressed in my long-underwear, and heavy bathrobe. Double socks and yet my hands and feet still feel chilled.

That is all an observation, no real complaint. You see, it’s January in New Hampshire. What else can we expect?