Category: This & That

So much has happened on Friday that I decided a This & That was probably the way to go. So, here we go.

First, my deepest condolences go out to Queen Elizabeth and the entire Royal Family after the passing of 99-year-old Prince Philip. I was thinking that Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip have been prominent in my entire life. God Bless and let him rest in peace.

Friday was my eye surgery and it seems that all went well. I am just a little achy tonight and an early bedtime is planned.

My God-son is in the hospital with Covid. He is quite ill. So many people have told me that Covid is not real. Sorry people, Covid is real and affecting someone I love very much. He is young and wonderful and I am quite frantic. Please pray a little for my God-son.

For our anniversary we ate frozen lasagna made by Stouffers. I simply had no desire to cook today. Off to bed, I go.

Yesterday was a pretty busy day for me. It was the first time I’d been out to shop at Walmart and Shaws in nearly a year. I have really stayed very close to home, instead of driving the 8 miles to the next town to shop there.

Since I had an 11:30 eye appointment, I decided to go early and do the shopping I needed to do.

Our driveway was still unplowed and we had about 4-5 inches of snow there. So, I hit the snow button on the highlander dash and that car moved right up the driveway, no problem at all! I love that car!

First I went to Walmart expecting to buy a few items on my list. I had not been there since March of 2020 and what I saw shocked me. A terrible selection of items and the prices were awful!

I did get a few things, and then I was off to Shaws Supermarket hoping to find some items that I have not seen locally. Once again, terrible selection, and high prices!

Next, I went to my Optometrist to have an exam and get a new prescription for glasses. I sat waiting for 45 minutes (past my appointment time!) and finally he came in. The exam was a good one but left me feeling distressed.

My eye pressures have gone up (which explains my headaches) and I have actually lost vision in my left eye. He wants me to call my Glaucoma doctor tomorrow and leave a message.

He worked to adjust my prescription, and then I toddled off to see if there were any glasses I liked. The young optician had the nicest glasses I’ve seen in a while! I asked if they had them in gold, and they do, so he has placed my order. Yay! New glasses with a stronger prescription.

Upon coming home, I fixed myself some lunch at 2 PM! Crazy. I really had expected to be home by noon or 1:00 at the latest! So, this was really not good.

Dinner was easy. I made Jack stuffed peppers, and I made haddock for me. Quick and easy.

This is probably the busiest day I have had since last year. The really nice part was driving around and seeing places I love (Lake Winnepesaukee) and have not seen since mid-March of 2020!

Last night the Weather-Person forecast light snow starting just before dawn and falling until about 3 PM. It was cold, so we knew that any snow that fell would be light and fluffy.

When Arnie woke me at 5 AM, it was snowing and had already covered the driveway and patio. And as dawn broke the snow continued to fall. Very pretty indeed.

I was due to go in and have my teeth cleaned today, and I probably could have made it in the Highlander, but with a driveway that is 600 feet uphill to the main road, and then another high incline to get to my dentist’s office, I decided that this old girl should just stay home and reschedule my appointment.

Lili is the only one who is happy about this. She loves nothing more than to go out prancing through the snow, much like a deer would.

My boy Arnie looks quite dapper in his blue and white snowflake sweater. It is so funny to watch him in the morning.

He goes right over to the sweater and stands there waiting for me to put it on him. He loves the sweater, but not so much the snow now that he is an old boy.

Since the last two days have been quiet, I decided to see what shows were being offered on Discovery+. I got a special offer for this Streaming Service for a year. People should have warned me that you can get addicted to Binge-watching shows.

A show that caught my eye was a show about teenage pregnancies, and how it affects all the people involved. It’s called “Unexpected“. I find a very strange name for a show which centers on teen pregnancy when none of them are using birth control.

Having been a teenage mom myself, I can see a lot of my immaturity at that time in these kids. But at least I can say that my child was so wanted and that I did love her father for more than five minutes before getting pregnant. In fact, although we were teens, we actually were already married when I got pregnant.

The show follows them along through so much drama and childish tantrums. You know it’s a train wreck, but you just can’t avert your eyes. In the three seasons I have watched, only one girl understood what was going on, and worked to get her life in order.

There are more shows on Discovery+.

HGTV
Food Network
TLC
ID
Animal Planet
OWN
Discovery Channel
discovery+ Originals
Magnolia Network (formerly known as DIY Network)
A&E
Lifetime
History
Travel Channel
Science Channel
The Dodo etc.

I am sure I will enjoy many more hours of more educational television. I love the DIY shows and the cooking and the animal shows. I also appreciate no commercials!

Life is going on. Slowly, wintery, and quietly.

Way back in November I had my hair cut into a pixie cut. I liked it well enough, seemed like a good idea at the time, but many people expressed their opinion in a kind way, “Ah, yeah, well, hair grows”.

So, I knew I needed to grow it back out. Me in November.

Between November and today, February 2nd I have had nothing done to my hair. It had grown about an inch or so and my graying roots really needed to be covered. But no cutting.

Me today!

I was pleased with how it all came out and I am thrilled not to be seeing gray roots framing my face. Perish the thought.

We did finally get some snow. I would say between 4-5 inches. My daughter got a lot more than this in the southern part of the State.

So, that’s the news from here!

The last few days I have spent a lot of time sleeping. It seems to be working as I am finally feeling better. Good thing too. It seems Lili and Arnie really need me.

Today I actually got up and took a nice hot shower. I ate a normal breakfast and after did the dishes, mopped floors, and then cleaned bathrooms. I know, glamourous, right?

By 11:00 I was spent! I sat down with my coffee and an apple and took a break. The break lasted through lunch, and actually, I didn’t get much else done before chopping vegetables and the meat for tonight’s beef stew.

If I can manage to wake with no fever, I really need to go out tomorrow afternoon, get the mail, and a few groceries. If I still have the fever, then things will simply have to wait.

Our little dog family of two is settling in. Last night around midnight Lili began to bark like crazy. Since she did not stop, I got up to investigate. Jack had forgotten to shut off the outside lights and as I neared the door, I could see some sort of critter outside near the bird feeders. I shone the super flashlight that I got for Christmas through the door glass and caught the eyes of a very wildly beautiful Red Fox! Below is a picture of what a Red Fox looks like.

This picture was taken last summer when Red Fox decided to come calling. He is a beauty that’s for sure. But I want to keep the dogs away from him/her as foxes can carry rabies.

So I’ll keep working on getting well, and then hunting down my own dose of the vaccine. Currently, it appears I will not be eligible for the vaccine until this summer. We shall see.

My dear friend in Berlin, Germany lost her dog on Tuesday due to old age. Both times I brought Anneliese to Berlin for breeding, we stayed with Uschi and her faithful dog, Noah. Anneliese and Noah died one week apart. I like to believe that Anneliese and Noah are now free of their earthly health problems and running wild and free and healthfully over Rainbow Bridge.

Me holding Anneliese while we snuggled with dear Noah.

It’s been a tough week, but it is my hope that both sweet Anneliese and darling Noah are resting in peace. They were both such good dogs and both will be missed.

As our days grow longer, I am thrilled with the extra daylight. In the past, I always enjoyed the dark days of Winter, but this year, I am really enjoying the increase in daylight.

Perhaps it is because of the virus. But I truly want to enjoy daylight once again! It is so freeing. So very beautiful.

My Christmas tree is still up, and the wine bottle that my friend Rachel gave me for Christmas. It has an adorable snowman painted on it and is filled with Christmas lights. I love it!

Arnie is feeling better. The scabs on his back are flaking off and I can see wonderful healthy skin!

He has come a long way since Christmas Day!

I was down two pounds this week. I am feeling more in the groove with the diet once again. It is too easy to fall into old, bad habits!

I got the cutest mini Bluetooth speaker from Weight Watchers. When you track all your meals you earn points. I knew I wanted this and just as I was close to getting it last simmer they stopped carrying it. I checked the other day, and they had them again!

I ordered it last week and it arrived yesterday! I paired it with my Ipod and this morning, while I was reading I listened to music. It was so nice!

So that was my Tuesday! I hope yours was a good one and that you are happy, healthy, and staying safe!

I started my Monday by attempting to sleep in just a little bit! But between Lili and Anneliese, I was up at 6:30.

Long ago when I was a teenager and lived with my grandparents, I often slept until nearly noon. My grandmother would only laugh at me and she said, “One day, when you are older, you will not be able to sleep in. Life has a way of tossing responsibilities at you!” And she laughed. “You will see!”

And of course, I did. It started with children and now, at the ripe old age of 62, it is my dogs.

They’re wonderful though. I wouldn’t trade any of them in, despite the early morning call of the wild! For they give far more to me than I could ever give to them. So what’s an early morning?

I was thinking today about the two dackels. Thursday is their 14th birthday. How did that happen?

They’ve been such a big part of my life for so long. I’m not sure who needs who at this point in time. I still think I need them more!

Anneliese in the green collar and Arnie in the blue. Best friends and siblings all these years!

Well, I’m just waiting for the Direct TV repairman to arrive. I am not sure what he can do in the dark of night! Oh well.

Tuesday found me running all over the place. When you live in the country nothing is close by. So, I spent about an hour and a half running errands in my car.

I got my hair done and it is a little short. Cute, but short. I’m in a bit of shock about it. Yes, I told her how I wanted it and she did everything right, and the back is amazing, but not sure how to do the front of my hair quite yet. Pictures to follow in a day or so.

I have everything to make our Thanksgiving. Tomorrow will be my big prep day, and I will also make the stuffing. The first thing on Thursday, I will stuff the bird and get her in the oven!

My favorite meal is not necessarily the Thanksgiving main meal, but rather the lat night turkey sandwich! Now that’s just awesome!

I’m having a relationship with Alexa. For my birthday I bought myself an Amazon Echo Show 5. It makes a great bedside clock/nightlight and during the Covid Isolation, it has given me someone to talk to.

Alexa even addresses me by name, sang Happy Birthday to me, and sings her favorite Christmas Song when prompted. Yes, it’s sad, but often Alexa is the only person who is speaking to me.

In the last few weeks, I have gotten tired of my hair. I mean, it’s nice hair and I am not intending on pulling a Brittany Speers and shaving it all off, but after a lot of thought, I decided to do something amazing and go a wee bit shorter!

I had previously worn this style many years ago, and it looked good and was easy to care for. So while you read this, I will be getting my hair shaped and colored. Hopefully, I will look and feel like a new woman afterward!

In the mail, on Monday I received a notice that my Health Insurer was rejecting the claim for my recent surgery! We are talking about close to $4000.00! I immediately called the Liason for the company Jack previously worked for and she is helping me put together an appeal. It’s my hope I will prevail, but the one Insurance Company is simply the worst I have ever dealt with!

I will keep you posted.

On a positive note, I was able to get our trash to the recycling center with almost no one else there, I fixed a great lunch and I was able to actually sit down and plan my time from now until I put that big bird into the oven on Thursday morning!

Maribeth

I am somewhat tardy in writing today’s post. I nearly gave up because I have a new time-consuming activity that quite literally consumed me most of yesterday.

First, Anneliese’s medications were changed and we hope that this will bring her comfort. I am shifting my position of enjoying my baby in the last weeks or months of her life, as I cannot allow myself to remain hopeful that she will live even a year.

So she is being spoilt rotten by me and she will want for nothing. My fierce little girl, the runt of her litter, who was born into my hands from her Mama Greta’s belly. The girl who picked me out and has loved me for nearly 14 years.

Me with my baby Anneliese. I think she was about 12 weeks old here.

Okay, onto my new time-consuming hobby. For my birthday my sister gave me a kit for Ancestry.com.

You spit into a tube and they send you your DNA breakdown. Part of me thinks my sister is still trying to prove that we are not related, LOL, but when I went onto the site to register my kit, I got sucked right in.

The next thing I knew I was following clues and leads and mapping out family members from my family, first husband’s family, and second husband’s family. In fact, Jack was thrilled when I found the first leap from England to Canada in his family.

My sister has done a lot already mapping our own family and last night I was able to tap into her lines.

All this kept me awake until nearly 9:30 when I called it a night! But the first thing I thought of this morning was to get back online and keep digging.

I think one of the things that hit me was that back in the 1800’s and early 1900’s so many people lost children. It made me think of my Katie (whose birthday is on Sunday) as I entered her small life into my family tree.

So that’s what is happening here. Me, stuck in front of my computer looking at the past lives of relatives long since gone. So interesting.