Life In The Dackel Princess Household

I was rereading some of my recent entries on Dackel Princess and I realized that I have been slightly stressed and actually haven’t written too much about the happenings around me. It’s been more like reading CNN Headline News. Abbreviated and with no meat at all. Bad me! I need to get my fingers flying and actually use my brain for more than holding my ears apart!

Life with my dogs continues to be full of life’s ups and downs. Fritz is mending quite nicely and my hope is, that tomorrow when they remove his cast, he will not need another cast and can once again walk normally. He seems to be doing well, and is anxious to be back walking our property with my husband.

Fritz is just the best little patient ever. He has not once attempted to remove the cast, or chew on it. He lies by the back door watching Hubby outside and I can see the longing in his face to be right out there with his daddy, but he is patient, and is waiting to be completely healed.

Due to Fritz being house bound, Hubby has taken Greta along with him when he does his rounds, checking our fruit trees. Greta is fun to watch. She is built like a little tank, and has the persona of a much larger dog. She prances in such a way, that you swear you are watching a Rottweiler! Needless to say, she is having a great time!

Arnie continues to delight us both. He will come up to us when we are hugging and demand to be picked up. We then snuggle him in what we call a “family hug”! Arnie is the one of our pups who is really into public displays of affection! Need a kiss or hug? Arnie is your man!

Anneliese is very much attached to me right now. She follows me all around the house, and when I sit down she is right by my side. Her belly is getting round and I wonder when I will start to feel the babies move? She is such a loving little girl. I’ll be setting up her puppy room this week, getting everything ready for her. The other day I bought a great blanket for her bed, as I found it on a clearance rack for an amazing $3.99!

Hubby went out and picked more vegetables in our garden and brought them in. Today I peeled, and chopped 3 quarts of cucumbers to make my Moonglow Pickles with. I diced up a red pepper and a green pepper and 2 beautiful onions. Now it sits overnight and tomorrow I will cook them up and process them.

I think that pickles are the most fun I have when I preserve food. They are so easy to make, and when I open them up in the middle of winter, I am reminded of the lush green garden and the fresh cucumbers that I enjoyed from my garden. Knowing I grew them from seed, makes me feel proud and happy with the end result!

Soon the peaches will be ripe and we will be picking them and making jam. Peach Jam is rather labor intensive, but worth it in the end. Also our plums are full and plentiful this year and I want to make jam with those as well.

What do I do with all of these canned items? I give them away. Yep, you read that right. Not only do we eat them, but I give them as gifts all year long.

On Friday night I made Rock Cornish Game Hens for dinner. It was the first time EVER that I had cooked these little mini ‘chickens’! I was a bit nervous, and read about them on the Internet. I stuffed them and seasoned them and baked them. Serving them with a fresh ear of local corn and mashed potatoes for Hubby. He went crazy! He said it was one of the nicest meals that I had cooked in a while! It was good, but better than Lobster or Swordfish? I think not! Of course these mini chickens were on sale for a dollar a piece, so I was willing to take a chance in my cooking endeavors!

So, life is going along pretty well here as we await the birth of the next litter of pups. Then the fun begins! I can hardly wait!

Happy Birthday, Melodie!!!

Today is the birthday of my big sister Melodie. So while you look at a few pictures of us through the years, listen to this recording of a song she taught me. We used to sing this while we washed the dishes, when we were kids. Just start the Youtube music and go down and start the montage of Mel. I tried to do it differently, but it didn’t work out.

Happy Birthday Melodie from Dackel Princess Maribeth on Vimeo.

Happy Birthday, Sis! Love you!!!!

Dogs & More Dogs

Just a few little photographs of Anneliese on day 49 of her pregnancy! She is progressing nicely and getting rounder all the time.

July 22 012

She puts up with me posing her and snapping pictures even when she would like me to leave her alone.

July 22 013

Tonight I asked Hubby to take these for me, so I could hold her up for you all to see.

July 22 016

She has about 2 and a half weeks left, until the big day, so I plan on getting the puppy room ready early next week so she can get used to it again.

Meanwhile, Fritz is doing well. We’re keeping him quiet, and we will be taking him back on Saturday for a re-check.

July 22 008

So, all in all, Thursday was quiet and restful for us all.

Friday Fil-Ins

Friday Fill Ins

And…here we go!

1. I feel _excited about Anneliese’s puppies_.

2. _Working hard on the laundry_ to catch up.

3. Do _whatever makes you happy_.

4. _I am_ completely unique.

5. It’s hard to know how much _I love you_

6. _a good tie_ follows the suit.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to _being quiet_, tomorrow my plans include _getting some groceries_ and Sunday, I want to _get ready for a busy week. Monday is Anneliese’s ultra sound, Tuesday is my dentist appointment, Wednesday is Weight Watchers and so it goes_!

Friday Fil-Ins is sponsored by my cousin Janet. Come join the fun!

My Boy, Fritz

Tuesday wasn’t a good day for Fritz. He’d gone for a hike with his Daddy, and while they were at a friends home, Fritz not only got zapped by an electric fence that our friends have to keep their horses penned, but one of the horses stepped on his ankle. He yelped in pain, but at first seemed okay.

He had a bad night last night, and woke me whimpering. By this morning his ankle was swollen and we called our Veterinarian.

After Weight Watchers (I lost 1.2 pounds!) I drove home, picked up Hubby and Fritz and we drove to the Vet’s. They examined him, x-rayed him and although they did not find any break, they decided that casting the ankle and leg area was the best treatment. They also gave him a shot of “happy juice” that has kept him quiet all day long.

We drove him home and he was VERY quiet all day. Not necessarily sleepy, just silent and still, which is totally unlike him!

July 21 002

They’ve delayed Anneliese’s next appointment until Monday, as I am busy with Fritz and my sinus infection. So the next few days I will keep Fritz and myself quiet so we can both recover.

She is Growing

My days have been starting earlier and earlier, as little Mama to be, Anneliese gets me up to go outside into the wilds of my back yard. After a little coffee, we usually chat on Skype with a friend of ours down in Australia named Bernie. Anneliese will tuck herself next to me and listen to the conversation and even watch the screen. Today I was able to get a picture of her as she listened to the conversation.

July 20 002

Anneliese is just about 3 weeks from her due date. I can’t believe how big she has gotten! She is hungry, but wants to eat smaller, more frequent meals, and she sleeps an awful lot. I also get her outside too, so she can stretch her little legs! Then we come back inside and she climbs up onto the couch and falls asleep.

July 20 004

I love watching her, seeing her ever expanding waistline! I swear each day she grows more and more.

July 20 007

On Thursday we will bring her in for her next ultrasound. I hope then we can see the babies a little more clearly and perhaps get an idea of how many she has in there.

Meanwhile I am pondering names for this litter. This is my D litter so all the names must begin with D and must be good German names. Here are a few I found. Let me know which ones you like, or if you have any others I should consider.

Boys

  • David
  • Detlev
  • Dieter
  • Dietreich
  • Dirk
  • Dolf
  • Dylan

Girls

  • Dagmar
  • Danjana
  • Danica
  • Dania
  • Daniela
  • Danja
  • Dina
  • Dora

And We’re Back

Just after midnight my “host” got me up and running. In fact things seem to be running much better now than they have in a while, so perhaps this problem was a long time coming. Who knows! Thank’s to Bernie for posting in my absence, so you would all know what had happened!

While I was down and out, I missed you all terribly, and all I could think of was the great stuff I had in my head to share. Like how Anneliese’s belly is getting rounder, how we finally had a thunder storm that watered my yard, and how I made more pickles today! 8 jars!

First Anneliese. I cannot believe how each day, it’s almost like we blow her belly up just a little bit. Even Arnie likes keeping an eye on his little (and ever growing), sister!

July 19 001

She really is something to behold and I smile every time I look at her!

July 19 003

Towards the end of the day we had terrible thunder storm and then the sun came out and there it was. A beautiful rainbow. We don’t get them here very often.

July 19 004

That was right outside my back door. Too bad I couldn’t find the pot of gold! Then it would truly have been perfect!

I’m hoping that the pickles came out well. I think they did, but we shall see. Today I will be attempting to blanch and freeze summer squash and zucchini. I’ve never done that before, and since I have an abundance of squash right now, I thought I would give it a try.

It’s also my day to go and get my teeth cleaned and have my 6 month check-up! I’m a total Denta-Phobe, so please say a few prayers for me!

Once again, I want to thank Bernie for posting during the great “Blog Out” up here in the Northeast. Next time I see you Bernie, we will have Schnitzel and Beer, on me!

One Sick Server

It’s amazing the difference a day makes. Yesterday I wasn’t feeling too well, and today (Monday) Dackel Princess is down and out, at least for some of us. Now here is the funny part. I cannot access the blog, or the entry part, yet my friend, Bernie in Australia can log in as easy as pie! Go figure!

Guest Poster’s note: I am MORE than happy to assist my friend in her time of need… I charge, a fairly nominal fee of Schnitzel and a Stein of beer though…

He has been nice enough to offer to assist me in posting this, so you all will not think I fell off the face of the earth. That is, if you can read the blog!

In the last couple of weeks I have had a little trouble with my “Host”. In fact I am thinking that perhaps I need a new host so that this type of stuff doesn’t keep happening. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Once things are back up and running, I will write and let you all know. In the meantime, thanks for checking in and hopefully there will be some positive news soon!

I Wish You Enough

Sept. 7 012

• I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how gray the day may appear.
• I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more.
• I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.
• I wish you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger.
• I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.
• I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.

• I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final goodbye.

Author Unknown

Sunday Headaches

Sunday was sort of a lost day for me. Oh, it started out alright, but by lunchtime I was overcome with a migraine headache, complete with sensitivity to light and sound! Which is just what you want to have on a bright sunny day with 4 dogs in the house!

Once the British Open ended on cable, I shut off the TV, got the blinders I’d recently gotten on my trip to Germany, and put those on, and curled up in the fetal position in my chair. Praying for relief.

BullDogHeadache2

Anneliese came over and snuggled with me, as if comforting me. She even kissed the side of my head a few times.

I took some medication for the pain and by 4:30 I was able to stand it enough to sit up and think about the last bit of work for today. Dinner. It’ll be a simple meal of corn on the cob, baked potatoes and grilled steak. Then I am done.

Although I get headaches, they aren’t usually this bad. I’m looking forward to waking up tomorrow and having this blasted thing gone!