The Dackel Princess

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. How do you typically react in a sudden, extreme, pressure-filled crisis? Would we want you nearby in an emergency?

I am absolutely great in a crisis, but it is after that I fall apart! Yes, you would want me.

2. Caramel apple-caramel sundae-caramel corn-caramel macchiato…of the four, which carmel treat would you choose?

I had to look up the Caramel Macchiato! I guess the Sundae because I have to be careful with my dentistry.

3. Is there such a thing as destiny? Explain.

I guess. I mean, sometimes I look at all that has happened in my life, and I wonder…is this all chance…or destiny?

4. What’s your favorite piece of furniture? I’m referring to something currently in your possession as opposed to something on your wish list.

Believe it or not, my big old slightly ragged chair and a half recliner. It’s ten years old and although I need a new one, I do so love this chair!

5. Wednesday night marks the start of the 2011 Baseball World Series. Did you know? Do you care? Will you be watching? Ever been to a professional baseball game? If you’re not an American do you find the title ‘World Series’ annoying or amusing?

If the Red Sox were playing I would know and care…but they aren’t so I don’t know and I do not care…next!

6. A sound that takes me back to my childhood is when I hear the ice cream truck going up and down the streets in the summer. I just loved orange cream-sickles!.

7. On average, once you’ve linked your hodgepodge post to mine how many other participant blogs do you visit? Do you ever come back to the Hodgepodge later in the day or even the day after to read posts?

I try to go to four or five, but Wednesday is my busy day. I promise today I will make a few more!

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I’m feeling a little tired today as Hubby kept me up in the night with his coughing. I almost woke him up to go in the guest room and sleep (the dackels and I own the bed), but he didn’t seem bothered by the cough. Tonight he better be quieter or off to the guest room he goes!

Why Don’t Dogs Go Hoarse?

After lunch on Monday I needed to run a number of errands. You know, Bank, Post Office, Town Hall, Pharmacy, Grocery Store, etc. So, seeing as Anneliese is still in heat and Hubby was working on the last lawn mowing of the year, I decided to take Anneliese with me.

First we stopped at the Post Office. While I went in, Anneliese barked and barked and barked. I was inside waiting for a package and I could hear her out there.

Next I stopped at book store. I need to get a magnifying sheet for my books. I had to walk from the parking lot about 40 feet to the store and then into the shop and I could still still hear her.

Next I drove to the Town Hall. My report was due and I needed to leave it there. I crossed the road, and went into the brick building and bark, bark, bark!

I came back, all the while listening to her bark, but here’s the kicker. As soon as I got into the car each time, she stopped barking and rode quite nicely.

I went to the Pharmacy and Grocery Store, and bark away she did! Barking like she was a Great Dane and not a 16 pound dachshund!

Our last stop was The Bank! There was no barking at all! Why you might ask? Well, because as soon as we pulled up, the nice lady sent out two doggy cookies for her.

Anneliese may be loud…but not stupid!

We arrived home shortly after that and it made me wonder, with all that barking…why don’t dogs go hoarse?

What I Did This Past Weekend

Our host is Gattina. Come join us and tell us what YOU did this past weekend! After all, you never know when you will need an alibi!

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The weekend was a good one, as far as being productive. Laundry was done, cooking was done, cleaning was done and I can actually say that last night when I went to bed I was really exhausted. I dropped onto the bed, careful not to smoosh a dackel, and when my head hit my pillow, I was gone!

And that was just on Saturday!

On Sunday I finished my report (5 full pages Eeeeek!), and then set about cooking a Sauer Braten, red cabbage and then an apple crisp for dinner.

I did try to read my book without a magnifier, but alas, I will have to go out tomorrow and buy one of the full page readers. I can tell that I will really enjoy this book. Already the prologue has me!

Autumn winds are blowing and it is cool and gray. Yes, I think that we have past through summer and are well on our way to naked trees!

We watched “Sabrina” last night with Audrey Hepburn! What a splendid movie, and she was so beautiful! We’ve been watching a lot of old movies lately due to the fact that there is very little on TV that we actually enjoy! Most of it is crap! What do you think of the new shows?

Progress

I decided on Saturday to get things done here at home. Laundry, washing bathrooms and changing sheets. You know, the whole enchilada!

So after breakfast, which was one of my best creations, I pulled on my jeans, and a tank top and apron, and away I went. I got all the laundry in the basement and started that, tore the sheets off the bed, and remade it with wonderful soft, clean, sheets. I dusted and when I went back to change the laundry, Hubby had already done that.

Now I didn’t mind him changing the sheets and putting them in the dryer, but an hour later when I went back and he’d tossed my light clothing into the dryer, I blew a gasket! Ladies, you will all know that there are certain clothes that you DO NOT PUT IN THE DRYER!

Well, words were exchanged, and I am not sure who won that war of the words…perhaps it was a draw. However, if he wants to help with the laundry that’s fine, but he has to learn the rules!

The late afternoon found me making a rotisserie chicken, baked white sweet potatoes (if you have never had them, find them) and spinach and corn.

While all that was cooking I sat down to write this blasted report, and actually it went far better than I had hoped.

Finally, in the mail today I got a new book. It’s called “From Lark Rise to Candleford…The Trilogy” I could not get it in large print, but I plan to go to the local book store tomorrow and get a page magnifier. Then I will sit back, and read this gentle book and enjoy!

Ahhhhhhh!

Broken Tooth

I finally got in to see my dentist on Friday. This was good and bad. Good in that I do not need a root canal, the tooth involved has already been root canal-ed, but bad in that the crown broke and now I need a new crown! So that money I thought I had is now going to go into replacing a tooth. Shoot!

I must say that the ache was all in my head. I know, ha-ha, but seriously, there was no reason for me to have a toothache, and yet, I am crazy enough to think that the silly tooth hurt!

So, the first week in November I will be getting a new tooth…again! This tooth is, after all 14 years old, so I guess it has done it’s work.

Now all this got me wondering…is this what happens as we age? Things slide south, break off or turn gray!

I’m just not a fan of aging!

Friday Fill-Ins

And…here we go!

1. It’s easy “And in the end….the Love you take….is equal to the love you make...”

2. You will always be my darling.

3. Once upon a time, when I was a small girl, I thought everything was sunshine and roses. I would like to believe that now, but when I am realistic, I know it isn’t.

4. I have a toothache and I can hardly wait for my dental appointment at 1:15 pm … the end.

5. What is the answer to the age old question…what comes after this life. Some of us believe in heaven and hell, others believe there is nothing. I believe in God, heaven and a place where I can eat all the chocolate in the world and not gain weight!

6. Pick me up sooner than later.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to watching a movie and having Mexican night, Tacos, tomorrow my plans include roasting a chicken, and starting the long project of laundry and Sunday, I want to cook Sauer Braten, red cabbage and mashed potato!

Thursday Thirteen

Scav Sat

I’d been browsing through the computer looking for a nice pot roast recipe, and I found one that looked easy enough. I peeled and chopped the vegetables, and then started everything in the best item I ever bought on sale…a heavy duty dutch oven!

Julia Child always said that one must have a Le Creuset Dutch Oven. It’s for making pot roasts, BOEUF BOURGUIGNON, or a delectable slow cooked chicken, and many more recipes.

I broke a tooth on Tuesday, and so first thing on Wednesday morning I called to go in and see my dentist. He’s all booked up until Friday, unless it was an emergency, then I could go in. Something tells me that an exchange of cash would have had to occur in order for me to have gotten an earlier appointment. So, here I sit waiting for the rest of my back left molar to disintegrate!

So here is a quick 13 things on my mind.

I hate my teeth. If you have small kids or are a challenged floss-er, then get with it and pay attention to your dental hygiene. I had almost no care as a kid, and so this is the result.
Now that the fall weather is upon us, spice it up with a soup or stew. I have several recipes in my Cooking Section.
I finally got my laundry done today! Yay! All will be well until Saturday, when I change the sheets again and a whole new weeks worth of laundry will be done.
I ordered the book, “From Lark Rise to Candleford, The Trilogy”. It seems that the story is semi auto-biographical, so it should be a good read.
Anneliese is still in heat. It has not been fun around here right now.
Hubby and I went to see the movie “The Ides or March”. He liked it a bit more than me, but it was a solid story.
I picked 4 more eggplant today! Guess what is for lunch tomorrow.
This weeks Pan Am was actually a good one. I wonder, will this show take off? I know bad pun, but I couldn’t resist!
My mother is very ill. At her age I do not see her getting well again. I will be seeing her in November. But if the call comes, I will go down to my sister’s home and go over to see her. (4 hour drive)
Thursday will have to be grocery shopping day. I’m starting to run out of things.
I do have a report to write. It’s another 5 pager.
Mandy and Matt set the date. May 26th in St. Lucia!
Now I need to finish my diet and find a wonderful gown.

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. Have you ever been ‘asked’ to report for jury duty? Were you chosen to serve? If not, were you happy or disappointed?

I’ve been called, but it was right after having eye surgery, and I had an actual medical excuse. I have not been called in many years now. I would go and if I was selected, I would try to do my duty. I fear I would be the one jurror who held out for either freedom or a very harsh sentence. I don’t tend to see much grey in life.

2. On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being very), how mechanically inclined are you? Give an example to back up your answer.

I am probably a solid 7. I can get into a house and connect all things, like phones, TV’s, surround sounds, and computers. I do not understand cars at all, and I want to learn more about computers.

3. Beets-cabbage-cauliflower-butternut squash….of the four, which is your favorite fall vegetable?

That’s easy…butternut squash! Which is a really good thing as we grew 40 of them this year! 40 big beautiful squash!!!

4. What do you recommend to overcome self-pity?

Seeing the face of a sick child or perhaps a visit to an inner city church. You see at an inner city church, you meet many people who have nothing, but their love of God, their faith. It is worth more than a rich man’s gold! Seeing that always humbles me, and makes me feel guilty for feeling sorry for myself.

5. Do you enjoy classical music?

Some. If it is live music, then absolutely, but I am not sure I could listen to a full symphony on disc. I think I would probably go to sleep.

6. October is National Book Month…what’s on your reading list this month?

Actually I am doing some Bible readings this month. I would like to get to know the psalms a bit better and have a list of the ones I want to study.

7. What is your idea of ‘cute’?

Way back, long ago I had a girlfriend in school, who I thought was so cute. She had curly brunette hair and would blush so easily. She was also very tall and felt uncomfortable about this. But I really liked her as a person, and nicknamed her “Cutes”, which she really hated, but she somehow allowed me to call her. She was just the nicest, sweetest person ever. Sadly, I never really had a chance to tell her that my calling her “Cutes” was my way of letting her know just how much she meant to me. She passed away the year we turned 50. Still, I think of all her smiles and her curls and her pretty face and I can feel cuteness all around me.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I need to clean my kitchen. Now when we built our kitchen we put in32 solid cherry cabinets. Beautiful, yes, but a pain in the rear-end to clean as well. I need to use a product like “Murphy’s Oil Soap” to wash them, but you need to wash and dry each cabinet or they get sticky. With that many cabinets, and the tops of the upper cabinets.

I know it will take me over a week of doing this project. And…I Am…NOT…Looking…forward…to…it! Alas, I must do it. To encourage myself along, I thought perhaps for every hour I work, I put 10 dollars in my piggy bank. What do you think?

Goodbye ABC TV

Do you know that ABC TV has decided that unless you are between the ages of 18-49, your opinion, your likes and dislikes of their shows, no longer matter! Now I am going to be 53 in November. That is hardly old and far from the door of death, so I would like to think that my interest in their programming might just be important.

Alas, it is not.

So, what have I done? I’ve started to watch shows on other channels that don’t just appeal to audiences my age, but celebrate middle age.

I watch just Two shows on ABC. I watch “The Middle” with Patricia Heaton and I have been watching “Pan Am” to see what that show is like. Mostly I think “Pan Am” is fluff, but I do want to give it a fair shake, due to my connections with the real Pan Am.

The other TV I watch at mostly seen on CBS. I love “NCIS“, with Mark Harmon, and I love “The Mentalist“, with Simon Baker, and “The Good Wife“, with Julianna Margulies. Oh yes, and “Mike & Molly” with Melissa McCarthy and Billy Gardell, and “The Big Bang Theory” with Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons,

I simply refuse to watch ABC or give their sponsors my support. After all at my age, I am in the prime of my life, and one more reality game show is not what I want to watch. I want good stories and good acting.

Plus, I still resent their canceling “All My Children” for this new, feckless show “The Chew” So, CBS, Satellite TV and movie channels, here I’ve come!!!

What I Did This Past Weekend

Although I planned to do so many different things, it turned out in the end that I didn’t really get a lot done.

We did go down and see Mandy and Matt to celebrate his birthday and we had a great time with them. Mandy cooked a terrific meal. My daughter is a good cook! And the time spent talking about her wedding was so much fun! I really look forward to helping her to plan the big day! I am so happy for her and for Matt!

Sunday found me hosting a dinner for family and friends. I’d decided to cook my famous crock pot pork. You can go HERE and get the recipe. In the morning I felt that my cousin must be in New Hampshire. I called her cell phone and asked if she and Dave wanted to come. They did, so I had three neighbors and my cousin and her fella, and we all just had a great time! And, the food was pretty good too!

The doggy drama continues, but we have just one more week of the intense doggy love fest and then Anneliese will be done with it for another 8 months.