July 2010 – The Dackel Princess

The Start To A Good Weekend!

I started Friday with a shower. For me, and for Greta and Arnie. Somehow the two of them had gotten into something sticky and needed a shower. Anneliese is being quiet these days and thus, her coat is nice and clean. Besides, I didn’t want to stress her with a bath. Once I was done, I got out and Hubby and I toweled the two pups dry.

Isn’t Arnie cute?

Anneliese slept most of the day. She was uncomfortable and stretched as much as she could each time she lay down.

Next on my list of things to get done was to make the Moonglow Pickles. So after following the recipe, I got the pot of cucumbers on the stove and the jars sterilizing in a pot of boiling water.

I made 6 more jars of the Moonglow Pickles!

Tonight Anneliese just seems tired. You know, by this time next week we could have her baby all delivered.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Friday Fil-Ins

And…here we go!

1. I’m going _To live, laugh, and love____.

2. _I’m more quiet than I am bold_ adventurous and daring.

3. Perhaps today you can make it a point _to smile and make someone’s day bright_.

4. _Show me some_ true adventurer’s spirit.

5. Compassion is _not always easily found._

6. _Never give up_ no matter how difficult.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to _watching a new episode of “Say Yes To The Dress” (I know, I’m addicted to this silly show!)_, tomorrow my plans include _Gardening and I Was supposed to work for a friend, but haven’t heard yet. I also want to go to the Greek Festival_ and Sunday, I want to _Do some serious cooking and putting up of vegetables from the garden_!

Friday Fil-Ins are brought to you by my cousin Janet. Come on and join in the fun!

Our Thursday!

Today, Hubby and I went on a shopping trip to stock up on groceries. I wanted to do this because next week I will not leave Anneliese at all. We were able to stock up on dog food, and I picked up a container of Puppy Formula too. Just in case.

It was a nice day to be out and about shopping. The sun was shining, and it was pleasantly hot. Hubby and I actually went out to lunch, as well, and we talked. Interesting. You know sometimes I think we get so busy with everyday life that we aren’t as talkative as we should be. Today, we talked and that was so nice.

Before we left Hubby brought in such a load of cucumbers that I could not believe it. I knew I needed to make the Moonglow Pickles! So, I started to peel them and chop them up and soon, Hubby stood next to me helping me to peel and chop. It helped to make the entire process go much faster.

Friday we will cook and then can (bottle) the pickles. Janet, you simply must come soon so I can give you a good sampling of your pickles!

Anneliese is very tired and quiet these days. She is resting up for the big event. She sleeps either on the sofa or on my lap most of the time and if I am in the kitchen, then she sleeps by my feet out there.

Oh, I am so looking forward to the birth of this puppy!

The Garden

Even though it was a very hot day, gardens must be tended. So, between Hubby and I we managed to do a fair bit of weeding. While buried deep in the garden I discovered this:

I really had to go foraging for the zucchini, because anyone who knows zucchini, knows that they like to hide, and grow to be the size of a baseball bat! Thankfully, I found this one in time!

As you can see, I really had to go into the middle of the garden to get this baby. But it was worth it. I now have three big zucchinis that I plan to make into zucchini boats which I will then freeze for later consumption. I mean, how many zucchinis can you eat before you fall over in a dead faint?

I’m expecting the tomatoes will be coming in very soon. We’ve been eating the potted tomato plant fruit for a while, but the ones that I planted in the garden are just starting to bear fruit. And yes tomatoes are fruit, even though we think of them as vegetables!

Soon our peaches will be coming in and then I will be busy making Peach Jam, and doing some canning. We’ve got a great crop this year, so I think that Hubby will be selling them to the Farm Stand once again.

I love it when we harvest things. There really is a sense of accomplishment that is hard to describe.

Meanwhile, Anneliese is still getting bigger. My hope is that on Monday we can find that she has, perhaps a twin in there. Wouldn’t that be nice.

One can hope.

Happy Birthday, Fritz!

Today was Mr. Fritz’s 7th Birthday! Can you believe that? It seems just the other day that Hubby flew out to Portland, Oregon and brought home our 8 week old bundle of fluffy white puppy fur!

Fritz Birthday from Dackel Princess Maribeth on Vimeo.

We’ve always felt blessed to have Fritz. He is simply, the very best White German Shepherd that we have ever had! It’s hard to believe that he is 7 years old.

One

Well, it looks like after all that traveling to Germany, and finding just the right husband for Anneliese, she has just ONE baby inside of her. I’m disappointed and worried about Anneliese because a big baby can be difficult for a mom to deliver, and can require a cesarean.

The ultrasound showed the puppy moving. I could see a little paw swimming, and a heart beating. That part made me want to cry with happiness! However, we could only find one puppy on the ultrasound, so we opted for the x-ray.

I’ve outlined (roughly) the baby so you can see how big it is and about where it is. It is still swimming around and my hope is that it will stay headed in the right direction and that Anneliese can deliver “Moose Puppy” without assistance.

Well, I guess we cannot get exactly what we want in life. I will just be happy if both Anneliese and her ONE baby come through the birth in one piece and healthy.

Please say a little prayer for both Anneliese and her baby. It will probably be fine, but I am a nervous mommy/grand-mommy.

I take Anneliese back in on Monday and we will have another ultra-sound and if needed an x-ray. We need to make sure that all is set for Anneliese and her big event. After all, the end of next week is her due date! August 5th!

So keep your fingers crossed that the baby puppy isn’t too big and that Anneliese is able to deliver it naturally and safely for both of them!

Meanwhile, tomorrow I will work getting the puppy room ready for our BIG little puppy! I cannot believe that it is almost time for “Moose Puppy” to arrive!

Random Thoughts Sunday

I was walking around today with a gazillion thoughts running through my head. So instead of sitting down and trying to arrange all these thoughts into one coherent blog post I decided to just bullet it and let it all out.

I had two and a half pounds of very ripe tomatoes, so I found a recipe and made a basil and tomato sauce with turkey/Italian sausage meatballs. I’m not sure how it will taste, but it sure smells good.
Overnight I swear someone pumped up Anneliese’s belly! I sure will be happy later on when they scan her and we can see how many bambinos she has in there!
I ran into a friend in the grocery store and we got to talking about Weight Watchers. I was telling her that I have finally come to terms with my place in the weight loss world. Yes, I am a successful loser, but…I have come to realize that I am nothing special. It’s not like I am going to wake up and not have a weight problem. For ever and ever, I will have to be a diligent member of Weight Watchers, or I will return to my previously unmentioned weight. But you know, that’s okay. At least I have the tools to take care of myself.
Anneliese is slowing down. She sleeps an awful lot now and wants small meals now, not the larger ones that she wanted before. I sure wonder how many puppies she has in there!
Fritz is doing well, although he is still limping a bit. I told Hubby that Fritz needs to rest a bit more so when he goes out to check the fruit trees he walks Fritz and then tells him to lie down. Needless to say, Fritz is very happy to be out with his Daddy again!

I have found that I really do not want to iron today. I have thought up three good reasons. Want to hear them? 1. My head aches. 2. My back aches. 3. The dogs got me up at 6 AM and I’m tired! Good enough for me, so once again, the ironing is being put off!

Later

Okay, I did the ironing! Why? 1. Guilt. 2. I knew I needed to get it done today because we both needed the clothes! 3. Juno was on USA and I could watch and iron at the same time.
The spaghetti sauce I made from scratch came out really well. I was shocked! Using the fresh basil made it taste even better and I grated a tiny bit of Romano cheese on the top! Fabulous! I will post the recipe.
I love using our fresh vegetables to make meals. I feel quite pleased, especially when I have grown the produce from seed. Just call me Farmer Dackel!
I’m dreading Tuesday morning when I go in to get my old filling redone. As I have previously stated, I am a Denta-phobe and so any trip to the Dentist makes me really nervous.
I’ve been outside with Anneliese every couple of hours. It’s a funny thing when all of a sudden she just seems REALLY pregnant! Was it just yesterday that I was wondering about her baby-belly?

Happy Monday Everyone!

Tomato and Basil Sauce

Tomato and Basil Sauce

Ingredients:

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
5-8 garlic cloves, sliced very thin
1 large onion diced
2 lbs. fresh, ripe plum tomatoes, cored, seeded and thinly sliced (or use 3 cups of canned, whole tomatoes, with their juice, coarsely chopped)
salt to taste (I used none)
3 Italian Turkey Sausages
2 cups warm water
1 small can tomato paste
1 tsp Italian Seasoning
1/4 – 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, torn by hand into small pieces
pinch of red pepper flakes

Directions:

Put all but 1 TB of olive oil and all the garlic and onions in a large heavy pot, over a medium-high heat and cook until the garlic begins to sizzle, but doesn’t brown.
Add the tomatoes and cook over a medium-high heat until the tomatoes have reduced and separated from the oil. This will be about 15 minutes depending upon your pot size. Season with salt.
Meanwhile, take the sausage out of the casings and roll into small meatballs, tossing them right into the pot.
Mix warm water with 1 small can tomato paste in a large measuring cup until smooth, add the Italian Seasoning and mix well, add to pot. Stir carefully until meatballs are separated.
Set on lowest heat and allow to simmer for an hour or so, covered.
Rinse fresh Basil leaves and then tear and add to sauce, mixing well. Let this cook another hour on the lowest heat possible, covered.
While the sauce is cooking bring 4 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot, add 1 tbs of salt, and drop in the pasta all at once, stirring until the pasta is submerged. If you have a smaller pot, you can use less than 4 quarts of water, but you must constantly stir the pasta for one minute.
I also cooked a spaghetti squash. Cut in half, clean out the seeds, place in a roasting pan, full of water and bake at 375° (F) for 45 minutes. Remove from water, cool slightly and then using a fork, comb strings of squash to look like spaghetti.
When the pasta is cooked al dente, drain and top with the sauce in the skillet, adding the remaining tablespoon of olive oil.
Serve at once with fresh grated Parmesan or Romano cheese.

Dogs & Pickles

Fritz went in to the Vet’s office today to have his ankle re-checked. They removed his cast and and examined him and he appears to be doing well. They want him to be quiet, but they did not recast his leg! So that is true progress! Fritz is thrilled and he is happy to go on short walks in the yard.

After lunch I set up the kitchen to work on my Moon Glow Pickles! I had peeled, scooped out the insides and then diced the cucumbers up yesterday, added 2 chopped onions and one green pepper and one red pepper, also chopped. I soaked this in salt water overnight, and today drained it, and then set it on the stove with vinegar, cloves, mustard seed, and turmeric.

The recipe can be found HERE.

I started to slowly simmer it until it was just starting to get soft. Then I got out my sterilized pint jars and canned 6 pints. I’d only made a half batch, thus the smaller number of jars put up. However, my garden is full of baby cucumbers and soon I will make another batch!

I made our lunch and asked Hubby to take a picture of Anneliese’s ever growing belly. I’m not sure, but she looks smaller to me this time. Part of me worries that this is just a false pregnancy. I’m grateful that we go again on Monday for another ultra-sound. That should reassure me. How does she look to you?

After I see the Vets on Monday I will set up the puppy room. Then I will post pictures of that. I wonder if Anneliese will remember the room and her birthing bed once it is set up?

Sunday I need to DO MY IRONING! Oh, how I dread that job, but I have been very lax about getting that job done, and I’m afraid it has piled up. I’ll break out the ironing board and iron until it is all done. I imagine it will take me a couple of hours.

The next thing on my list is to figure out what to do with all the zucchini I have growing in my garden! Oh dear, you should see the pile of zucchini I have! I’ve been giving it away to friends and neighbors, but I have noticed them avoiding me, whenever they see me, so perhaps I need to stop ‘sharing the wealth’!

Have a wonderful Sunday everyone, and Happy Birthday to my brother in-law, Ron!

Life In The Dackel Princess Household

I was rereading some of my recent entries on Dackel Princess and I realized that I have been slightly stressed and actually haven’t written too much about the happenings around me. It’s been more like reading CNN Headline News. Abbreviated and with no meat at all. Bad me! I need to get my fingers flying and actually use my brain for more than holding my ears apart!

Life with my dogs continues to be full of life’s ups and downs. Fritz is mending quite nicely and my hope is, that tomorrow when they remove his cast, he will not need another cast and can once again walk normally. He seems to be doing well, and is anxious to be back walking our property with my husband.

Fritz is just the best little patient ever. He has not once attempted to remove the cast, or chew on it. He lies by the back door watching Hubby outside and I can see the longing in his face to be right out there with his daddy, but he is patient, and is waiting to be completely healed.

Due to Fritz being house bound, Hubby has taken Greta along with him when he does his rounds, checking our fruit trees. Greta is fun to watch. She is built like a little tank, and has the persona of a much larger dog. She prances in such a way, that you swear you are watching a Rottweiler! Needless to say, she is having a great time!

Arnie continues to delight us both. He will come up to us when we are hugging and demand to be picked up. We then snuggle him in what we call a “family hug”! Arnie is the one of our pups who is really into public displays of affection! Need a kiss or hug? Arnie is your man!

Anneliese is very much attached to me right now. She follows me all around the house, and when I sit down she is right by my side. Her belly is getting round and I wonder when I will start to feel the babies move? She is such a loving little girl. I’ll be setting up her puppy room this week, getting everything ready for her. The other day I bought a great blanket for her bed, as I found it on a clearance rack for an amazing $3.99!

Hubby went out and picked more vegetables in our garden and brought them in. Today I peeled, and chopped 3 quarts of cucumbers to make my Moonglow Pickles with. I diced up a red pepper and a green pepper and 2 beautiful onions. Now it sits overnight and tomorrow I will cook them up and process them.

I think that pickles are the most fun I have when I preserve food. They are so easy to make, and when I open them up in the middle of winter, I am reminded of the lush green garden and the fresh cucumbers that I enjoyed from my garden. Knowing I grew them from seed, makes me feel proud and happy with the end result!

Soon the peaches will be ripe and we will be picking them and making jam. Peach Jam is rather labor intensive, but worth it in the end. Also our plums are full and plentiful this year and I want to make jam with those as well.

What do I do with all of these canned items? I give them away. Yep, you read that right. Not only do we eat them, but I give them as gifts all year long.

On Friday night I made Rock Cornish Game Hens for dinner. It was the first time EVER that I had cooked these little mini ‘chickens’! I was a bit nervous, and read about them on the Internet. I stuffed them and seasoned them and baked them. Serving them with a fresh ear of local corn and mashed potatoes for Hubby. He went crazy! He said it was one of the nicest meals that I had cooked in a while! It was good, but better than Lobster or Swordfish? I think not! Of course these mini chickens were on sale for a dollar a piece, so I was willing to take a chance in my cooking endeavors!

So, life is going along pretty well here as we await the birth of the next litter of pups. Then the fun begins! I can hardly wait!