After many years using my old page skin, a lovely lady named Emily helped me design this new page. I wanted fonts that were deep and easy to read, as you all know my vision is poor, and I wanted bright spring colors that were also soothing! I am thrilled.
Thank you so much, Emily!!!
So what do you think of the new and improved Dackel Princess?
Tuesday morning we all slept in! I mention this because lately I have been awake by 6 or 6:30 each morning. However, today the dogs and Hubby all were feeling sleepy and no one wanted to get up.
I did move about quarter to 8 and Anneliese leapt onto me with glee! I was covered with kisses by the happiest pup ever. Arnie joined in, greeting the day with pleasure, and Greta lay between Hubby and me putting up with the frivolity. The next thing we knew, Fritz jumped up to join in the celebration of a new day! Both Hubby and I laughed. We are very lucky to have this pack of dogs!
I immediately asked Hubby who had won the ice dancing the night before. The darned skating runs so late that I end up going to sleep about half way through it. I really love the skating and I wish the time was such that I could watch the whole thing. My favorite couple, Meryl Davis and Charlie White won the silver medal! I am so happy for them!!!
Of course none of us see the whole of anything, except maybe Curling and Hockey. We get those completely and at decent times. I have been less than thrilled with NBC’s coverage because they don’t show things live, like the skiing, or ski jumping, when they could. They also do not show us the “minor” players in these events.
You know, if I made it to the Olympics in any sport, I would hope that the world would see me. Think about it. These kids practice 7 days a week, for years and years and years. Don’t they deserve their moment of glory as much as the medal winners do?
I can tell you that I have watched a ton of Curling. Do I understand it at all? Not really. Hubby does. His parents came from Canada and apparently has played and watched the sport over the years enough to tell what the heck they are doing. I do know one thing…there was a girl from Denmark on the Women’s Curling team and she looked really tough. I wouldn’t want to meet her in a dark ally.
Best moments, Lindsey Vonn winning gold and Bode Miller winning his medals, all three of them! And of course Meryl and Charlie! What are your favorite moments?
Today I was late in making my bed. Okay, it was 4 o’clock in the afternoon, but heck, I had a bad migraine and didn’t get around to it until then. Anyway, it was then that I saw the tell tale signs. Yes, Greta is now in heat!
Greta in her special panties!
I had suspected that it would happen soon, as she has been really showing major signs of PMS all week. Add to that the fact that Arnie has been more interested in her than is really legal for a mother and son, and it all was adding up!
On June 28 we will breed Greta and Bernie and around the 1st of September Greta should be having her litter of babies. Ah yes, the pitter patter of more little dackel feet!
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Today I finally got the paper work from Germany that I needed to register the puppies with the AKC! Yippee!!! There was this long snafu due to a language barrier, but today my friend and the Breed Warden for my German Dackel Club helped me out and we got it all taken care of. I should have their papers here next week and then I will fill out each document and submit them to register the litter witht their names.
Our Breed Warden should be coming up to tattoo the puppies in the next two weeks as well. Their right ear will be tattooed with my kennel number and their puppy number. All my pups have green tattoos as Greta came with a green one and I have carried on the tradition.
Today was a great day here in New Hapshire. Lovely! So the pups spent most of the day outside. Sometimes running me around the yard and sometimes in their pen. All in all, a good day!
Just a little note to say that it’s my 4th blogaversary. I’d almost forgotten, what with all the excitement of the puppies! Four years. Wow, that went by fast! I started off wondering if anyone would ever read anything I wrote, and now I have made so many new friends, I am very grateful that I listened to my cousin, Janet and started “The Dackel Princess”.
Cheers!!!
Nobless Oblige
The Nobless Oblige Award
Details of Noblesse Award:
The recipient of this award is recognized for the following:
– The Blogger manifests exemplary attitude, respecting the nuances that pervade amongst different cultures and beliefs.
– Their Blog contents inspire; strives to encourage, and offers solutions
– There is a clear purpose at the Blog; one that fosters a better understanding on Social, Political, Economic, the Arts, Cultures, Sciences and Beliefs
– The Blog is refreshing and creative
– The Blogger promotes friendship and positive thinking.
The Blogger who receives this award will need to perform the following:
– Create a post with a mention and link to the person who presented the Noblesse Oblige Award
– The Award Conditions must be displayed at the Post
– Write a short article about what the Blog has thus far achieved – preferably citing one or more older posts as support
– The Blogger must present the Noblesse Oblige Award in concurrence with the Award conditions
– Blogger must display the Award at any location at their Blog.
I was given this award by the lovely Amber Star She is a Texas Belle whom I met through Melli and we have gone back and forth enjoying each others blogs now for about a year! Thank you Amber Star!!
I now must tell yo a little bit about my blog. lol! That’s truly funny because I am not one to use just a few words. So, let’s see.
Dackel Princess began as a homage to my dackel, Shubi. She was the love of my life and had just been diagnosed with GME, an incurable illness that causes lesions on the brain. I never thought anyone but my cousin and sister would read it, but soon I had readers popping in and my happiness with writing grew.
Soon the blog became more about me than the dogs and I tried to find humor in the everyday. I still do and I hope I make you all laugh a little.
Shubi is gone now for 3 years, but the blog is still hers.
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I would like to nominate my cousin Janet, for she has encouraged me and by example helped me along the way the last four years.
Next is Tor who never loses his zest for life!
Then Gattina who must have the most positive outlook on life!
And Renny who has brought his love of his homeland, Norway to all of us who have been lucky enough to know him and his lovely wife Diane.
Today, April 9th, is the 21st Wedding Anniversary for Hubby and me. I didn’t think it was possible back then to be even more in love with Hubby, but surprisingly, I have found, after 21 years, this is very true. Love really does keep growing.
The services for my Dad went well, on Sunday. The day was warm, sunny and bright and the church filled with many people who came to pay their respects.
As I stepped up to give the Eulogy, I looked out into the congregation I saw my family, my daughter, Mandy, with M. and a woman I have known all of my life. She was born a week before me, and we went to Nursery School, Children’s Church Choir and regular school together. I also saw my cousins, and a dear friend from New York, who drove down to share the day.
I delivered my speech and tried to add some happiness to it. Most of all, I tried to deliver the speech with dignity and calm as my father would be so proud.
In fact. last night I dreamt that I was a little girl swimming in the lake with him. I kept feeling like I would sink and he held me and kept saying, “You can do it, You can do it!” And when I woke today I knew I could.
Monday morning I will drive back home to my little family in the mountains. How grateful I am to have this wonderful little family, that I call my own, to go home to.
Today I will say my final good-bye to my Dad. I am going to give this very personal Eulogy at the service.
I told myself that I wasn’t going to get up here and speak to you today. I wasn’t sure I could do this, but then I started to think of things that you all needed to know about my father, and so, while I was driving home the other day, I started to compose this in my mind.
My Dad loved music and he loved the theater. In fact he met Mom when she danced and he played the piano. He told me once he fell in love with her the day he saw her in a bright red sweater. They were 13 and 14 when they met and have been together ever since.
They married in 1948, and were married for over sixty years.
My brother Richard was their first born. Then came Melodie and last, but not least, yours truly.
I remember listening to Dad play the piano when I was a child. I thought he was the best thing in the whole entire world. When I was about 4 years old I told my friend, Tracy, that my Daddy played the piano better than Liberace. I was always so proud that he could sit down and make a piano or an organ come to life!
Every year Dad planned a trip to Ferring Pond and every year we got lost. One year we brought a can of spray paint so we could find our way out, I can’t remember if we still got lost on our way out, but the next year we got lost on our way in. Wish we had had a good GPS then. Mostly we stayed close to home at Goodwill Park, where we could barbecue and swim in the lake.
Dad also insisted that he make Strawberry pancakes at least once a year. We all loved them and no one was ever late for breakfast when they smelled them cooking. I still hold the record for most pancakes eaten at one sitting (24) but then, I was pregnant with Amanda and eating for two.
The family went to several places to dine and they became pretty special. Howard Johnsons had the best fish fry on Fridays and we always had Mrs. L. for our waitress. We also loved Dairy Queen, and a Chinese restaurant on Main Street, called “The House of Wong”. We’d all sit around the table talking about our week munching egg rolls and pork strips and drinking tea.
He received the Man of Year award from the State of Massachusetts, for bringing music into the town of Falmouth, and he was The Falmouth Theatre Guild’s first musical director. Dad also organized a community Carole Sing each December on the Falmouth Green. We’d stand out in the cold snow, among the Christmas displays and lights and sing caroles. What a wonderful memory that is for me.
When I was 4, Mel was 9 and Dickie was 11 we all were in “The King and I”. Dad did the music for it, and Mom did the make-up.
A few years later the Theater Guild did The Sound of Music, and Mel, Mom and I were in the cast and once again, Dad did the music.
Music was part of life in our family.
Every day I was in middle school and High School Dad got up and made me breakfast. He made lunches too. His masterpiece was the American cheese sandwich! Eventually, I learned to make my own sandwich, simply because I didn’t think I could eat another Cheese Sandwich! Now I eat them for comfort.
After listening to me grumble and growl about going to school, he drove me over and delivered me to school. Oh to have your own father as a teacher! Groan! But when the chips were down, Dad was, just down the hall.
My Dad was a really great teacher. More days than I can tell you, he arrived home to our house feeling tired but he made a real difference to the students he taught.
“In my not-very-happy memories of Falmouth public schools, Mr. S. was one of the few teachers to whose classes we could actually look forward. I often wonder how he could maintain his indefatigable good spirits. Thanks for those precious moments of sanity in a hostile world.”
In middle school he directed Gilbert and Sullivan plays for the 6th, 7th and 8th graders. Now think about it. Most kids that age thought this was so un-cool, and yet, these same kids were the ones trying out to be cast in these same plays. The music and the costumes brought so much happiness to the kids.
Maribeth,
I love your father to this day for the self esteem he helped me build. In the 7th grade his chorus class put on the musical The Mikado. When it came to the lead (the Mikado himself) I thought that I would have no chance… My memory of this goes … I didn’t even raise my hand when the question was asked “who wants to play the Mikado?” But somehow he picked ME!! To this day I still sing those songs with glee. Mr. S., I want to personally thank you for helping me to become the person that I am today…” “From every kind of man obedience I expect… I’m the emperor of Japan and I’m his daughter in law elect!!!”
Thank you Thank you Thank you!!! God bless you and keep you. I will always remember The Mikado… and the very kind man who gave me the lead.
With warmest memories,
Thomas R.”
“the tie…the glasses…the black suit…and that funny walk…the determination and commitment… remember when we were in 7th/8th grade and he turned the study hall into square dancing with Mr. D. with the two fingers missing from being in the coast guard in the 2nd world war…all because Mister S.couldn’t stand to see all that kid potential going to being bored in a windowless auditorium…for an hour…and that turned into a elective class and got square dancing in the schools…yeah, the Mister S. we all knew was an old softy…a kind hearted grown-up with a mission of music and kids…kids and music…at every opportunity…what a gift to the world…an inspiration…how one person can make such a huge impact on the life of a town…and though not many rock stars came out of the crop…look how much richer we all are because we had to spend all that time with…Mr. S….the old softy…Mr. Compassion…not a bad role model…I’d give him an A… but then I may have become an old softy too…
wonder where I learned that…”
Another one of Dad’s students wrote me and said:
“Wow, Maribeth.
I don’t know what to say – so here it is, from the heart.
Dear Mr. Jim S.,
You are one of the kindest, gentlest and most caring souls I have ever had the pleasure to know.
You always had a smile – even on those not so good days.
I may not have been a “memorable” drummer back in the intermediate school, but you made a big impression on me.
Your fervor and enthusiasm for music transformed me from a passive “I’ll play the drums to make noise” music student into some one who felt your passion and became a percussionist!
You injected me with such a passion for music that I continued throughout the rest of my school years in Falmouth as a percussionist. (Orchestra, band and marching band)
I continued to play throughout my 20’s , jamming with friends on Martha’s Vineyard.
And every time I pick up a set of drum sticks I think of you.
I still play today – although now it’s the Air-Drums.
Throughout you career your passion inspired many music enthusiasts.
I will cherish forever my memories of you as my music mentor.
My life has been enriched by having you a part of it.
Peace unto you my friend.
–Mike N.
Likewise, in music class we all went through a “square dance” series, where even the toughest of toughs was forced to square dance. I can’t begin to tell you about the laughter and the fun that we all had. I heard from one woman who mentioned that Dad had them square dance to the song “Wipe-Out”.
Dad was also involved in helping the troubled kids in the school. You remember them. They were the ones who wore leather jackets, and smoked cigarettes, got into fights, and had their names announced over the intercom for detention.
Dad worked with these kids, talking to them, explaining the world to them, and getting them to realize how much the world had to offer. I went back to a reunion a few years ago, and several of those same people, told me how much Dad had helped them.
Dad also played the organ for the Congregational Church in Falmouth and then The Catholic Church in West Falmouth. He conducted choirs, and taught a bunch of young kids to play hand bells. He played the organ for weddings as many couples began their lives, and played the funerals as well, when those in our community passed away.
If any one needed an organist, they called Dad. Whether it was for Rainbow Girls, Eastern Star, or the Mason’s, Dad and his music were always there.
Dad loved the Lord. He prayed hard and he passed that faith and his love of Christian music onto Melodie and me. I hope, more than anything, he will be surrounded by the music he loved so much in this world, when he reaches Heaven.
I like to imagine my Dad reunited with my brother Richard, my daughter Katie and my cousin Carl. As well as Aunt George, Uncle Betty, Uncle Bob and Aunt Cynnie. And of course our grandparents. All of them.
I thank you all for coming and I want to leave you with this reading from Matthew 25: verse 23
The lord said unto him, well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will set thee over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
I want to thank Dr. Goofy Girl for being my 63,000th visitor to Dackel Princess! I happened to go over to check on my statistics and I saw that I had reached this grand number! I can’t believe I have written a post nearly every day (1705 posts) since I started this blog back in 2005, nor can I believe that I have had 63,000 visits.
There will be more fun to come on the blog this spring with the arrival of Anneliese’s puppies April 25-26th and the breeding of Greta and Bernie again this summer!
I hope to have even more fun in the garden, with our fruit trees, with Weight Watchers, and summertime in New Hampshire.
Here’s to a another 63,000 visits!!!
Thanks for coming, reading and your continued loyalty!
My Dad passed away on Thursday morning at 7:30. His battle with heart disease, leukemia and emphysema finally were over. He passed away with a nurse by his side. Somehow I think he wanted it like this. I don’t think he wanted Mom or Mel, to have to remember him in those last moments.
Today I want to share a few pictures of dad over the years. The first picture is from a newspaper article about our family back in 1966 when Dad did the music for The Sound Of Music and Mel, Mom and I were in the cast. Yes, that is me sitting next to Dad. I was 7 years old.
The next picture is Dad and me when I was about 12 or 13 years old. I was going through a chubby phase.
This is a picture taken on the one and only trip I took alone with my parents. We went to Bermuda to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. Notice that Dad always had on a tie. He wore one every day until after he retired from teaching.
This is a picture of Dad with my two girls, Katie and Mandy. Dad didn’t travel much, but he and Mom came one day to visit us in New Hampshire. It was so great to see them.
This picture was taken before I started Weight Watchers. It didn’t matter to Dad. He always loved us no matter how we looked.
And this is the last picture of all of us taken at their 60th wedding anniversary last July.
And this was the invitation to their party. We used what I thought was the nicest picture of my Dad and Mom from their wedding.
My Dad was born in Boston on January 12th 1927. He was the only child of my grandparents, Sam and Elsie.
He met my Mom when they were 13 and 14 years old. Dad was a pianist and Mom was a ballerina. She loved his smile and his musical ability and he loved her dancing and her red sweater!
They married in 1948 in Brighton, Massachusetts. My brother Richard was born in 1951, Mel in 1953 and I came along in 1958.
Dad was the music teacher for the school system we attended on Cape Cod. He also played the organ for church services and for weddings and funerals all over our home town. During the summer he worked on the desk at the local police station.
The end of his life was difficult and painful. We were all so relieved when he went to Hospice because his suffering was finally over and was no longer in pain.
As I stood by his bed on Sunday and held his hand I looked around at my sister and mother and father and realized that this was the last time the four of us would be together. The next chapter of dad’s life would be spent with my brother and daughter, Katie in Heaven.
Rest in peace, Dad. I love you.
