Throw Back Thursday – Page 2 – The Dackel Princess

TBT: My Dackels

Here is a picture taken back in 2007 of Greta and her 5 month old puppies, Arnie and Anneliese, as they looked out the window at our lake. Please note that on April 23, 2007, the lake was already free of ice, and the trees had the first leaves on them. Currently, our lake is still iced in, and our trees are bare. We are also due for snow!

But back in 2007, Spring had arrived and the window was wide open allowing the warm, fresh air to come into our house!

The dogs shown are left to right, Arnie, Anneliese, and Greta

TBT: Savannah & Me!

Looking back it’s hard to believe that it has been almost six years since Savannah was born! I recall that day so clearly and remember the very first time I help her in my arms!

Time flies and and Savannah is all grown up and even more beautiful than she was on the day she was born! And I am still crazy in love with my granddaughter!

Being an Oma is the very best thing in the entire world!

TBT: My Girls At Surf Drive Beach

Here is a picture taken about 1980 at Surf Drive Beach. Those two sweet girls are my daughters, Katie, age 2 and Mandy age 4. I loved taking them there when we visited Falmouth. Whatever the season, Surf Drive Beach holds so may memories for me.

TBT: Baby Greta

These pictures are from the first year of Greta’s life in the USA. In many ways I was like a little kid and I dressed her up in funny costumes. Here she is in her raincoat! (She didn’t like it!)

Her sun visor for those sunny days! This one she actually did like and allowed me not only to put it on, but she actually wore it a while!

And the last picture is of her at about 10 months old. She had a beautiful full beard and wonderful eye brows. It was very funny, we were at a camp ground and I was walking her and a little girl came riding up on her bike, and she stopped to pat Greta. Then she smiled and looked up at me and said, “I like your dogs bangs!” Even all these years later, that makes me smile and laugh.

The Best Gift ~ Amanda Mae

This weeks Throw Back Thursday, is all about my best Christmas Present ever! My daughter Amanda Mae! She was born 5 days before Christmas, and I cannot recall a better present!

Amanda, just minutes old.

A few years later, here we are together!

And now my girl has a family of her own. I love you, my darling daughter! You still are, the best gift ever!

TBT: Cape Cod Memories

Last weekend, I went to Cape Cod for my 40th High School Reunion. I knew it would be a lot of fun, and it was. Seeing my old classmates and sharing memories was so wonderful!

However, I asked my sister and my cousin to join me for a long weekend. Falmouth was our place and we all just enjoyed hanging at the beach, going out to eat the wonderful seafood, and playing silly computer games back in our room. One game was where we held the cell phone to our forehead and the other two people would try to get us to say the word on the phone’s screen. Oh my gosh, that was so much fun!

We also went to the beach, we went shopping when it rained and all in all, we just enjoyed being together.

In fact we liked it so much, we plan to do this again next year, but also do it in the Spring.

Here is a short montage of our pictures, (Melodie, Janet and I all contributed) titled, “Cousin’s Weekend“.

TBT: Life

It’s funny. Recently I was asked about happiness. Did I find it easier to be happy now that I am, ahem, “in my middle years”?

I answered quickly, that I was happy and I didn’t think too much about it at the time, but in the last few days, while doing mindless housework jobs, I’ve had moments of great clarity.

I looked up into the bright blue skies today, and felt such peace in my heart. So many wonderful things are happening around me. Some days I sit back and just feel the love and the happiness. Reveling in it.

In my youth I tended to feel anxious, and not always happy. I tended to look back, to regret so much. I always worried about every little thing.

In my middle years I live each day and enjoy the heck out of it. Seeing my daughter and her two children living their lives, seeing their happiness, it just doesn’t get much better.

Jack and I are settled. We know each other so well, and share our life, as we have for the last 30 years. He is still the first person I want to talk to in the morning, and the last person I want to talk to at night. After all these years I still enjoy sharing life with this man.

My doggies are wonderful, and bring so much enjoyment to my days. In fact Lili is becoming so much better, that I believe one day she will be as easy to be with as the dackels are.

All this thought about happiness, made me think of this song, a favorite from long ago. Kick back and enjoy.

TBT: Baby Shubi

Our darling Shubi, our first wire-haired dachshund, was born in Landshut, Germany. She was the light of my life and although she has been gone ten years, I still miss her very much. Here is a picture that was taken the day we brought her home from the breeders.

And here she is with Jack during her later years.

Shubi only lived 10 years, due to a terrible illness called Granulomatous meningoencephalitis (GME) which is an inflammatory disease of the central nervous system. We treated her with chemotherapy pills and prednisone, until we knew it was time to stop.

But she sure was a special dog and we enjoyed each and every day that we shared with her!

TBT: Bernie & Greta

Yesterday I had lunch with a dear friend, Barbie. We met in a sort of strange way. I was looking for a German boyfriend for Greta back in 2006. I had been calling around asking for a German registered boy, with a good rating, and low and behold, the perfect suitor lived just down the road in Concord, NH.

I remember calling Barbie the first time, and arranging a date to bring Greta down, so they could look her over. We brought Greta in and the two dogs eyed each other, and then began to play around. We knew it would be a good match. We just had to get Greta rated by a German judge before the breeding.

After the first meeting we signed up for an NATC Show.(North American Teckel Club. A branch of the DTK the Deutscher Teckelklub) A German Judge would come, to rate the dogs. Jack and I were a little nervous, as we drove Greta to the event. She could have cared less. Bernie already had his rating, but Barbie was there as well, with Bernie. And the breeder of Bernie was there with Bernie’s sister.

The event was so much fun, and at the end of the day, Bernie’s sister won the Best Dog in Show and Greta came in Second. She was thrilled, as their casual prizes were stuffed toys!

Now Bernie is gone, and Greta is in her dotage. Two of their children reside here with us, and we just adore Arnie and Anneliese. How lucky we are!

Anyway, yesterday, Barbie and I sat and talked and talked and reminisced about our two dogs and the 10 puppies that they had together. Two beautiful litters of sweet, perfect, puppies!

Barbie now lives in another state and we don’t get to see each other. However, she was up here judging an Earth Dog Show and we were lucky enough to get together. I hope we can get together again soon!

TBT: Christmas 1961

A picture of my family for that years Christmas card. I imagine that Dad set up his camera to take the picture. There I am at three years old being held by my Dad, Melodie is in the front, then my Mom and brother Richard. These events were pretty stressful for us all. These were back in the days of “film” and taking an entire 36 pictures hoping to get one good one! It is so nice to have these pictures now. There are not too many of the five of us together.