The Dackel Princess

Monday Musings

On Monday I figured I would bring the two grandchildren with me as I did my errands. I never thought too much about it. After all, I raised two kids who were closer in age than Savi and Quinn. So it should be a breeze with these two.

Well, mostly it was. But I worried a bit in parking lots and at the beach and at the Post Office. But, I managed with a great deal of joy in my heart. Especially at the beach. They loved that, and we are in fact going back tomorrow to swim.

I very seldom go down to Waukewan Lake Beach, (Say, like never), but it was really wonderful to be there and watch the kids swim. Tomorrow I will actually put on my swimsuit and go in too! Of all the things we did today, being at the Lake Beach made them the happiest.

I also must tell you about my darling grandson Quinn. He is three years old. And as we talked today I found out that we were having one of those conversations that any adult will lose. It goes like this.

“Quinn, be careful of Anneliese because she is pretty much blind”

“Why?”

Well because her eyes got a disease and she can’t see too well now.”

“Why?”

“Because she is very old.”

“Why?”

And so it went until I was ready to laugh!

I need to get the kids ready for bed now and then get myself in bed early too. 5 AM comes awfully early!

Pictures Say It All

I’m going to let these pictures say it all. They are having a good time and so am I!

And so are the dogs!

Grandchildren Are Great!

I think one of the greatest joys in my life is certainly my two grandchildren. With Savannah and Quinn, I get absolute, unconditional love. They bring me such joy! So when my daughter, Mandy asked if I could watch them while their Day Care/Camp was off I said yes! They will arrive in the afternoon.

Now I have planned meals and drinks and snacks and activities. I have books to read, Legos to play with, and coloring books to color. And I have every known color of Crayola Crayons.

I am thrilled with this visit and I feel like the luckiest Oma in the entire world!

The Friday Five

It was a somewhat crazy week this past week. I did get some things accomplished, but not as much as I would have liked. Still, as I sat down to write this today I realized just how quickly September is coming upon us. So as the summer winds down here is my Friday Five!

Anneliese is doing pretty well. At least she is not in pain. The doctor says she has a very dim, cloudy vision. She also will navigate better in the day as opposed to the dark night. But she is happy, has several spots around the kitchen and family room where she likes to nap and enjoy life.
After waiting part of the summer to get the upper portion of the driveway regraded, it was finally done. The next day, after a rain, a large portion of the ledge pack had washed away. I’m furious! The owner of the company that did the work is coming tonight. I hope he will fix the workers errors. I am quite upset about this!
Jack had a little fall last night and thankfully he did not hurt himself. I had gone to bed when I heard a great crash! I leaped out of bed and came into the family room to find him on the floor. He said his legs gave out when he stood up after sitting for a while. I helped him up and made sure he was okay before heading back to bed. He is okay today, just a slightly sore shoulder.
The sunset was just spectacular tonight. I was out with the dogs and snapped a few pictures.
I think I have Jack interested in Downton Abbey. That’s great because he will be interested to go to the movies with me when it arrives here in my little town!

Happenings

After WW on Wednesday (I stayed the same), I came home and did some cooking for Jack. I like to do some make ahead meals for him as it makes my fish nights easier. It’s not that he doesn’t like fish, but he doesn’t want to eat it as often as I do.

Chunky Tomato, Sausage, Meatball and Basil Sauce

On the stovetop today was a chunky sausage, basil and vegetable spaghetti sauce, and vegetable beef soup. Both came out well and half of each is frozen for last-minute meals.

I also watched three episodes of Downton Abbey, which brought me up to where my sister is with her viewing. Now we can talk and not give things away.

It’s not long now until the movie comes out!

This & That

It was incredibly hot and humid today. The kind of day that one expects thunderstorms, or should I say one hopes for them. We had many things to do today and by late afternoon I felt like a wet dishrag.

In the morning I was doing some cooking and prep work. I’m glad I did that because tonight I am too tired to cook, so we are having repurposed food!

Anneliese’s eye is doing so much better. Not that she is out of the woods, but I am thinking that some healing has taken place. She seems happier and in less pain.

By the end of the day, a migraine had found its way into my head. All I wanted was the coolness of the air conditioning and some quiet.

I found out today that I actually have two Downy Woodpeckers! They’re my favorite. Anyway, one was in the back yard and one in the front yard at the feeders! I am so lucky!

They are so small and beautiful. I could watch them for hours!

Lobster Fest 2019

Today my cousins Janet and Larry, and Janet’s husband Dave came up for our annual Lobster Fest. They stopped to pick up the Lobster, steamers and corn all fresh from the sea and the garden, on their way up here and they arrived by 10 o’clock.

I’d been cleaning and puttering all morning and I’d managed to set the table, put out the dishes and I got the pots we would need too.

The Lobsters before being cooked!

When Dave and I unpacked the loot, we worked together deciding which lobsters to cook in which pot and when and where to cook the corn and steamers. For those who do not know, Steamers are Clams.

My cousin Janet took this picture of Dave and me after we put everything we had cooked on the table!

Dave and I cook so well together. Since we had 5 pots that all needed full flame on the burners, we did a bit of juggling and in about 40 minutes (By this time it was about 12:45) we served up the luncheon. If anyone left here feeling hungry, it was their own fault.

I took this one of my plate.

We each had a two-pound Lobster, Corn on the Cob, Steamers, and Potato Salad. I never really appreciated the size of a two-pound Lobster until I found myself unable to finish mine!

Janet took this picture of her two-pound Lobster! Just look at that sucker!

I cleaned the rest of my Lobster, and the rest of Jack’s Lobster and we have enough for a nice meal tomorrow. I really must be getting old if I am unable to finish my Lobster!

My homemade potato salad with eggs. A real hit today!

One really great thing about cooking the meal with Dave was that at the end of the meal, Janet washed all the cooking pots. I managed to get all the other dishes into the dishwasher, but all those pots! She made quick work of them, and she told me that she really likes washing dishes. I’m thankful. At this point in the day, I was getting pretty tired.

So Lobster Fest 2019 is over and a success! I love eating Lobster, but more than that, I love getting together with my family! Thanks, Janet, Dave, and Larry!

Around the House

On Saturday the driveway man came to add more stone and ledge pack to the upper part of the driveway. The nice man worked half the day yesterday and all day today getting the driveway just right.

The lower portion of the drive is paved, but the upper portion was not done due to frost heave possibilities and in the winter tar would ice up badly, where ledge pack (compressed dirt) gives you a better surface.

The last time we had this done was 2008. So actually the surface lasted a long time. Then, like everywhere in New Hampshire, we grew a boulder in our driveway. Below you will see Lili standing next to it. It’s amazingly huge! But as I have said before, we grow ’em big here in New Hampshire!

As you can see, that is one big rock! I also want to brag a little about Lili. As we walked up our 500-foot driveway, she was barking at a neighborhood dog (who was on a lead) I called to Lili, telling her to “Come Here” and shock up shock, she came right to my side! That is something new. How it happened I am not sure. Perhaps she finally understands what I am saying.

When I got back to the house I remembered talking about our rather dangerous wall and the drop. Below is a picture I took. Once again Lili is my model.

I’m still watching Downton Abbey and loving every minute. I was speaking to my sister today and I mentioned how much our mother would have loved this. Our grandmother too. So when I watch, I pretend they are watching with me.

The Friday Five

Well, here we are again. The end of another week! This week seemed to fly by. Between Anneliese and traveling around, it appeared I did not have enough time to get things completed as I went through the days.

But I did get many things done and so here is this weeks list of the most memorable moments.

***************

Anneliese has definitely taken up a lot of my time this week. Today she seems more comfortable. I got all her little dog bedding together and washed it all up. As soon as I put it all back together, she hopped right in!
I went to WW Class this week on Wednesday morning. I knew I had done well, but I was really surprised by the three and a half-pound weight loss! Let’s just say, Yay for me!
I found three thick cutworms on my tomato plant. Yesterday my plant was beautiful, today I noticed that the plant was severely defoliated!
After much searching there they were! Three big, fat, ugly cutworms! Tomato worms (A.K.A. cutworms) love to snack on tomatoes and tomato plants! Tomato worms, or more specifically cutworms, gobble up stems of tomato seedlings. They work mostly at night to do their damage.
Yesterday I decided to go through Jack’s closet. You see he had more shoes than Imelda Marcos, and since he can no longer wear any of them due to his toe amputation, it was time to get rid of them. We have almost new shoes that I will bring to St. Vincent to donate and then there are two bags to go to the recycling center. But it is wonderful to be able to step into his closet again!
It’s Lobster Fest this weekend! My cousin Janet, her husband Dave and my other cousin, and Janet’s brother, Larry will be coming up for our annual feast! I can hardly wait!!!

I’m still binge-watching Downton Abbey and enjoying every moment! I want to be all ready for when the movie comes out this fall. What a great show!

A Scary Event

Well, we brought Anneliese into the Canine Ophthalmologist and her right eye is actually worse than her left eye. She is in a precarious state with these Corneal Ulcers, but I will give her the ointment for her eyes and keep her as quiet as I can. And hopefully, we will have some healing.

The ride home waws rather eventful, as we had a road rage incident with a burly truck driver.

We were in a line of traffic on Route 11. The truck in front of us was bothering Jack because he couldn’t see, and all he wanted to do was pass and get by him.

Bad idea.

Finally, he started to pass and I told him not to because on the other side of the road the traffic was closing in fast, and the truck driver sped up and came on the passenger side of the car trying to almost push us into oncoming traffic.

This is an example of the truck that nearly ended our lives today!

I could see the truck driver’s angry face. I was scared and screaming. I felt I was going to die.

Somehow we made it into our lane, and disaster was averted. But the truck followed us all the way from Rochester until Alton.

A police car started following us and so at a scenic pull-off, we pulled off. That’s when the trucker pulled in, tried to block us into the pull off. The trucker jumped out of his truck and came toward our car! I told Jack not to open the window or get out of the car. I told him to drive away.

The trucker smashed his fist on the driver’s side window and windshield! (It did not break, thank God!) I was screaming again.

He followed us for a long time and I was telling Jack that if he followed us to Meredith, we needed to drive to the Police Station. But the truck did pull off.
I am feeling terrified. I am so scared this trucker will look up our plate number and find our address.

This guy was furious and a maniac!!!

I went to the New Hampshire State site and looked up the Law for this incident. It clearly stated that the truck driver was at fault. In the Law, it says, if a car starts to pass you, you are to back off and pull closer to the right side of the road to make the pass easier for the passing car.

And then to follow us and try to destroy the glass windows on our car, well, that is under the heading of road rage.

The truck was a simple yellow boxed van truck and I couldn’t make out the license plate. Oh, how I wish I had!

So by the time we got home, I was feeling pretty stressed out. I did have a chance to make dinner and clean it up before collapsing in my chair with Arnie and watching another episode of Downton Abbey.