The Dackel Princess

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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On Friday I tried a recipe for Hot Wings (Buffalo Wings). It was pretty good. The only thing I might do differently next time I make them is to marinate the chicken wings for an hour or two before cooking them, instead of just brushing on the hot sauce. All I can say is, YUM!

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On Saturday I re-potted my tomatoes and eggplants. The peppers were not quite ready for that, so I thought I would wait until the end of the week for that. It was fun to play in the dirt and to get those lovely plants in their new pots!

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On Sunday, we drove south to meet up with my daughter, Mandy and her boy friend and his parents to celebrate Mother’s Day. We met at The Common Man in Merrimack, NH. We had a delicious meal, served by one of the nicest and most efficient waitresses that we’ve had in a while. Hubby and I had mussels and scallops and salads and fabulous and decadent desserts. Hubby had Key Lime Pie and Mandy and I shared a chocolate chip cookie ala mode. Matt and his parents had beef meals and Matt had this wonderful (and oh so gooey) chocolate lava cake!

Mandy and Me.

Matt and his Mom.

We had a great time, and before we knew it, our meals were over and everyone needed to go their separate ways. As we left Mandy and Matt gave each mother a beautiful vase of flowers. I love the flowers, but I think I love the vase even more. It’s beautiful!

So I send a big thank you to Mandy and Matt for one of the nicest Mother’s Days ever!!!

Happy Mother’s Day

Growing up, while many of my friends were planning futures where they would become, doctors, lawyers, nurses, models, pop stars or whatever, I planned my life for one thing. I wanted, more than anything to have children. I loved children, and although for a while I was told that I might never have them (endometriosis) I proved the doctors wrong and gave birth to my first daughter 1 year and 1 day after I married her father.

Twenty-three months later, her sister, Katie was born, and I was officially the Mommy of two beautiful girls! I was happier than ever, and I love my girls like nothing I can ever describe. It’s truly awe inspiring. I look at Mandy and all I can see is the beauty in her face, her heart, her mind and her soul!

I miss my Katie. I guess I will never really recover from her loss, so early in her life, but, I look back at the times when we were all together and life was good, and I smile.

Here is a very short video montage of me and my girls.

My Mother’s Day from Dackel Princess Maribeth on Vimeo.

Spring

Friday was an amazingly beautiful spring day (if we had not had the strong winds it would have been perfect!). I watered my little baby plants in the green house, and talked to them for a while. I have never done this before, but I read a book recently, that suggested that this encourages growth. Who knows? It’s worth a try. Maybe they’ll tell me something!

I then set about getting caught up with errands. I needed to register our cars, get the mail, and pay a few bills. Nothing too big, right?

Things started off well. I got to the Post Office, and had to parallel park. Now I’m the type of person who will drive around the block over and over rather than parallel park, but I felt lucky today! I took a deep breath…PERFECT! I couldn’t believe it!

I mailed my Mother’s package, got our mail, came out and went into the Town Hall to register the cars for another year. There was only one problem…I only had one check with me! I needed two! One for the Town and one for the State! Darn!

So I drove back home, grabbed a new check book and paid to register the cars. I am here to say that if anyone asks if we should be taxed for the number of miles that we drive by Uncle Sam, please say NO! We’re already paying taxes to the State and the Town that are high enough.

Uncle Sam, stop spending so much money and instead of your big thinkers, thinking of ways to SPEND our money, maybe they could actually think how to “STOP SPENDING” and CUT our taxes!

Okay, enough preaching about that, but it must be said. The Washington Types have to understand that they represent us, and we don’t want them to keep spending the way that they have.

I’m trying a new recipe for Buffalo Wings. The Lady in the Meat Market told me how to do them from scratch, that would not be bad for my diet. So, I’m going to give it a go.

Have a wonderful Saturday Everyone!!!

Friday Fill-Ins

And…here we go!

1. NCIS is my favorite TV show (or movie) because year after year, episode after episode, they have maintained quality writing and acting.

2. Go to page 45 of the book you’re reading or of the book closest to you; go to the 6th paragraph and make a sentence out of 7 words from it: Grape skins make dye for meat stamps.

3. I am happy to have purchased my flats of tomatoes, Ischiban eggplants and green peppers today The garden is growing, Agway has good plants and good prices.

4. The best long walks are the walks I used to take along the shore at the beach.

5. Take some time to enjoy your day.

6. The dackels all need a bit of stripping and combing and nail trimming today.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to making Emeril’s Buffalo Wings, tomorrow my plans include cooking shrimp in a new way (haven’t decided yet) and repot the tomatoes, green peppers and eggplants and Sunday, I want to enjoy Mother’s Day with my daughter, Mandy, her boyfriend, M. his parents and Hubby for brunch!

Thursday Thirteen

For Hubby’s birthday on Wednesday I gave him a special gift. A lovely print of a Loon on a lake. We live overlooking a lake where Loons come each year to live, breed and raise their babies. There is nothing as special as listening to the Loons calling to each other.

Here is a picture of the print.

Then we went out to our favorite restaurant Kevin”s Cafe. They have the best seafood in the area. I love going to Kevin’s because the food is great, and Kevin and his staff are friendly and make you feel like family!

So here are my Thursday Thirteen restaurant tidbits:

It was raining and since it is still off season, we ended up having the restaurant to ourselves. This was nice as we were relaxed and could talk about anything.
We each ordered the soup, “New England Clam Chowder”. It’s creamy goodness just slid down our throats. This chowder was even better than my own mother’s (Mel, do not tell Mom this!).
We had a nice glass of wine. Hubby had white, I had a Merlot.

Then our main course came out. I had fried oysters. These came with a chipolte tarter sauce.

Hubby had the Tarragon Scallops.

Kevin, the Chef came out and we chatted with him for a while.
As I have said before, I love this restaurant because you feel at home here.
Soon it was time for dessert. We both got home made Key Lime Pie. Yum!

We were paying the bill at the cash register when I noticed a picture! OMG!
Yes, it was Julia Child and Kevin! My favorite Chef had actually met and spoken with Julia before her death!

Anyone who knows me well, knows that I love Julia Child!
We drove home, in the rain, full and happy.
When we arrived I surprised Hubby with a bottle of champagne. It was a cheap champagne that I used to buy back when we first dated, as a joke. And that was how we ended our day.

So Happy Birthday, my darling!

Happy Birthday, Hubby!!!

Today is my darling Hubby’s birthday! We’ll be celebrating with a night out on the town later on. One of our favorite restaurants is having a “soup to nuts night” and so we thought we’d go there and try that!

I have a splendid present for him that I found several months ago! I’m so excited! I was sure that I would not be able to keep my own secret about this, but I have! Now the day is here. I’ll unveil the present tomorrow!

For now, here is a montage of some of our happiest moments together and some of my favorite pictures of him!

Happy Birthday Sweetheart!

Happy Birthday Hubby!!! from Dackel Princess Maribeth on Vimeo.

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. Have you ever been served breakfast in bed? Do you enjoy that? If someone were serving you breakfast in bed this coming weekend what would you hope to see on the tray?

I have gotten breakfast in bed. When the kids were young, and then again when my retina’s detached. I love breakfast. I love eggs, pancakes, waffles, etc. My dream breakfast would be this: fresh fruit salad (assortment of melons, papaya, and sweet grapefruit), pecan waffles with real maple syrup, a soft boiled egg, orange juice and coffee!

2. What is one piece of advice you would give a new mother?

Sleep when the baby sleeps, and enjoy every moment of your baby’s life. Dishes will get done later, beds can go unmade. Just snuggle that baby and enjoy every, single, moment!

3. When was the last time you wanted to scream? Explain.

A few weeks ago, I was driving in my car and this person in front of me was driving 20 miles an hour in a 55 mile an hour zone! I couldn’t pass and I WAS GOING NUTS!!!!

4. Can you hula hoop?

I think that at this point, no. I used to do it, but now I think my Hula Hoop days are probably over. I could probably relearn it, but….do I really want to?

5. What is something people do in traffic that really bothers you?

Pick their noses! That is totally gross and I have seen it over and over! Yuck!

6. What do you do when people don’t admit they’re wrong?

It’s not important for me to have the person acknowledge that I am right. If I know I am right, then I can simply demure and allow them to “think” that they are.

7. What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word ‘fun’?

Simple fun, is just playing with the hounds! I love playing with the dogs. Big time fun is going on a cruise. That is my ultimate fun. I even dreamed I was planning a cruise last night!

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Joanne wrote a complete entry in her blog the other day (click on her name and follow to read her post) and talks about how her rehab is going and when she is hoping to go home. Joanne is such a gift from God, and a blessing.

Happy Birthday to my Dear Hubby!!!

Thoughts

Monday was one of those days where I woke up and had boundless energy! I made all of our meals, caught up on errands I had to do around town, and still managed time to sit down and write a few letters on the computer.

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I admit to watching some of the news channels, until I really got tired, even of that. You see I’m not one of those people who is jumping around celebrating the death of Bin Laden. Not that I liked the man, but, well, here is my reason.

Back after 9/11 they showed women and men in the streets of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq all dancing with happiness that we infidels had been killed in such great numbers. There was this one woman who made hideous noises in her celebration, and I was sickened by it.

So if I felt that today, I would be no better than that woman who enjoyed the deaths of our people. No, I am not going to jump up and down and say yippee! I’m glad he is gone and cannot do any further evil, and that is that.

I feel greatly for the family’s who lost loved ones that day. Does this really bring closure to them? Not sure. Right now I pray for them.

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My seedlings continue to grow, except my butternut squash seedlings. I think they must have been duds. So on Wednesday I want to get some new seeds and plant those. I’ve only lost a week, so that is not too bad.

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Today would have been my brothers 60th birthday. He passed away from cancer when I was just 19 and he 26. It’s been a long time now. We all miss him. Happy Birthday Dickie!

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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Okay, so we all know where we were, and what we were doing on Friday morning. Wasn’t that a great wedding? One of the things I noted, when the Father of the Bride was at the alter with Kate and William, was, the expression on his face, as it was full of love for the two of them. Later, I noticed his form as he sang “God Save The Queen”. I think Kate’s Dad is wonderful, and I admire him. I do not think he would have allowed his daughter to marry for any other reason, than for love.

I know, hopeless romantic!

I loved Kate’s gown, her tiara, veil and how she presented herself. She is who she is and carried herself with pride. William appeared to be totally taken with her. What a grand beginning for their life together!

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On Saturday I tackled the laundry. I had accumulated quite a bit, towels, bed linens, etc. and I really needed to pay attention. So I did and got a lot accomplished there, including two of Hubby’s heavy winter coats. I tossed some ribs in the crock pot and then cleared out the fridge of leftovers for dinner, after which we settled in and watched two episodes of “From Lark Rise to Candleford”. That is such a wonderful show, filled with life lessons. I really do love that show!

I also watched some “William and Kate” specials on the satellite, and certainly enjoyed day-dreaming about a lovely girl finding her Prince and becoming a Princess!

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Sunday found Hubby and I giving all the dogs their Heart-worm and Flea and Tick medications, and enjoying another lovely sunny day. All of our fruit trees have tight buds, and in another week or so will start blooming. My plants in the greenhouse are pushing nicely, and I am a happy gardener!

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Hubby’s birthday is coming up this week on Wednesday, and I have plans for that too. They’re a surprise right now, but I will let you in on them later this week.

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Happy Monday Everyone!!!

And The Garden Grows

At this time of the year I really enjoy my seedlings. They’re almost as fun to watch as the puppies are when they are newly born. You see, right now I have planted my seeds for cucumbers, zucchini, summer squash, and butternut squash in our green house, and for a few days I watched, and now they have begun to poke through.

For instance, this morning a few had barely poked through the dirt in the pots.

And then I let the warmth of the sun do their work and I go back at the end of the day to check and see what miracles have occurred.

Now, I have had a garden for many years, but I still get so excited each time I go through this phase. In the morning they are barely peeking and by nightfall, they have popped through!

These are my slicing cucumbers. They really went crazy on Saturday. I love it! They won’t have seeds inside and will be good for eating. They’re also known as European Cucumbers.

This week I hope to go to the local shops that carry tomatoes, eggplant and pepper plants and buy some of those as well. I tell myself each year that I will start those in February, but I never do and it’s just easier to get them at the store.

I truly love spring, and all the new beginnings! What’s happening in your part of the world? Spring or Fall?