Happy 13th Anniversary Dackel Princess!

Thirteen years ago, I sat down at my computer and began to write this Blog. I’d been writing for nearly 18 years, but never put it into anything, until Janet, my cousin, and Megan, my friend, helped me create Dackel Princess!

I wasn’t sure how this was going to work out. would I like blogging? Would I actually have anything to say? Would anyone, besides my sister, cousin, and daughter read what I was writing?

What I learned early on, back in 2005, was that you needed to be a friendly visitor to other blogs and then people would check you out. For me, if the people weren’t interested in dogs, I lost them early on.

When I started the Blog, my first dackel, Shubi was sick with a condition called GME (Granulomatous Meningo-Encephalitis). She had gone through Chemo (which I administered at home) and was actually doing better in May of 2005. So my early entries centered on her, Fritz (our White German Shepherd), and baby Greta!

Fritz and baby Greta, December 2005

Shubi and me, 2006

Since blogging was new, I did a lot of Meme’s, wrote about things that had happened to me, and as I went forward in life, I wrote about things that were happening.

My health challenges were highlighted, my skiing attempts, and the growing of our fruit, our garden, new recipes and life on the lake.

There were German Dog Shows, and then puppies came along, and Greta’s first litter gave us Arnie and Anneliese.

Greta and her first litter of pups.

We knew Anneliese was staying, but when Arnie’s prospective buyer canceled at the last moment, we ended up keeping him too.

Anneliese and Arnie.

Thus, our life with four dogs began. When Fritz was alive, having four dogs was easy. Lili, on the other hand, has been a challenge. We keep waiting for her to grow up and settle down. Who knows, she may be one of those rare dogs that remain like a puppy their entire life.

Three more litters of puppies came along, 15 total puppies before the two girls retired. It was so much fun having the puppies around. Those were really great days!

Then something marvelous happened in 2012! My daughter, Amanda gave birth to the most wonderful baby Girl, Savannah and my entire world changed, in ways I could never have imagined!

Oma and Savannah May 31, 2012

Suddenly I was writing about my joys of watching my granddaughter grow. You know how some people lose touch with normal life and get all caught up when a baby is born? Well, that is me! She is all things girly and wonderful, and her heart is so soft and full of love. She is such a kind child and she makes my heart sing! Savannah amazed me then and at nearly six years old, she continues to amaze me!

My parent’s both died while I’ve been writing, and the Blog afforded me the opportunity to work through my grief. In fact, I think writing helps me work through so many things in my life.

Grandchild #2 arrived in 2016 and this time the baby was a BOY! I’d never had a son, so I never did do the boy thing.

Quinn and Oma March 7, 2016.

I have to say that having this all boy grandson, has been a real wonder. Quinn was destined to grow as quickly as he could, and I swear the child was born holding onto a truck, as anything with wheels has thrilled him since his eyes could focus and he could grip things! Quinn walked at seven months and he never looked back.

I watch him now and I have to remember that this little boy is just two years old, and not the older kid he resembles!

My Blog has helped me to keep my daughter Katie’s memory alive. When she passed back in 1985 one of the things that bothered me was that people would never know, never understand, how wonderful this little girl was.

And how loved and missed she is. On my Blog, I can write about her, and share my pictures of her, and my readers understand and have consoled me. It’s made the pain of this loss bearable. And I thank all my readers for being there for me.

I’ve shared my joys and my sorrows and each evening when I sit down the write the next day’s entry, I try to find things that will be relevant and will make you smile or even laugh.

Life is really good. When I look around me at all the blessings in my life, I am so glad that I am here to enjoy them. It has made writing this Blog and sharing my life with all of you, such an important part of my world.