Dackel Princess

Walking into Wonderful

Today I was determined that I would get out and walk. I need to do this to strengthen my knee and to work my body. Also, the puppies need to get used to walking on a leash and so today, after purchasing two harnesses for them, I put on my baseball hat and snapped the leashes on the dogs and off we went. Just the three of us.

The pups were eager to walk up the driveway, but as I reached the top I looked over at the small house where my 83 year old neighbor lives. She is a widow, with a great love of dogs, and until recently she was caring for her Newfoundland, named Gus, (I call him the Goofy Newfie!) and a mixed mutt, named Bella. She was recently in the hospital and her grandchildren have taken the dogs and have been caring for them.

The dogs are still gone as she is bedridden and unable to care for them. As I got close to her house I turned and went and knocked on her door. I heard a small, feeble “come in”. And we did.

I cannot begin to tell you how thrilled she was with the two puppies. She patted them, and kissed them and Mr. Lovable, Arnie was the sweetest of all. For me, the best part was seeing her strained face turn bright with pleasure at having a visit with some furry friends.

I plan to go back again each day. They will grow to love her and she really needs this special kind of puppy therapy.

I saw this on the web, it says it all.

Author Unknown.

A man’s dog stands by him in prosperity and poverty, in health and sickness. He will sleep on the cold ground, when the wintry winds blow and the snow drives fiercely, if only he can be near his master’s side. He will kiss the hand that has no food to offer, he will lick the wounds and sores that come in encounter with the roughness of the world. He guards the sleep of a pauper as if he were a prince. When all other friends desert… he remains.

Thursday Thirteen #44

Thirteen Favorite Summertime Loves

1. Potato Salad. I love the kind made with hard boiled eggs. Yum!
2. Chips. I used to like plain, and then I started liking the Salt & Vinegar. Now I love the Honey Barbecue.
3. Hot-dogs in a roll. Topped with relish and mustard.
4. Hamburgers. Sometimes with cheese, sometimes not. But always with relish and ketchup.
5. My cousin’s mango/black bean salsa. This is a new one to my list, but boy is it good!
6. Barbecued ribs. Cooked slowly on the grill with a nice smooth barbecue sauce.
7. Grilled eggplant. Oh my heaven. What a delicious thing!
8. Fruit salad. You name it fruit wise, toss it in and I am in heaven. (well everything but pineapple. I’m allergic to that)
9. Grilled chicken breasts. Hubby is getting good at cooking those.
10. Marshmallows. Browned lightly over the coals of the fire.
11. Must always use charcoal. I love the flavor.
12. Going swimming when it is 90 degrees F. Then coming back to the house and cooking out.
13. Sharing these days with family and friends.

Remembering

In recent days there has been quite a controversy about the release of the pictures of Princess Diana in her car after the accident. One news show gave you all the key words to use in Google to find them. Did I follow the link and go and look? Yes I did.

Why?

I asked myself this question as I stared at the photo. Because in my minds eye I could see myself.
You see 22 years ago today I was involved in a terrible car accident. I have written about it here. It’s a time of my life that I no longer dwell on (not too much anyway) but it is always with me.

Usually on June 13th I write about my feelings of loss for Katie and I tell you all about how wonderful she was (and she was) and how much I miss her (which I really do). All of this is true, and to a certain extent it is even more painful as the years have gone by. I think of the times I would have had, if she had lived. I think of what she would be like as a grown woman. Yes, the feelings inside of me can overwhelm at times.

As I put together this montage of her pictures I noted with great sadness that there are no more new pictures of Katie. And Amanda and I have grown and changed over the last 22 years. Life has gone on for us, but sadly, not for her.

The music in this montage is sort of interesting. You see one day I drove to pick Katie up at kindergarten and when she saw the car she started jumping up and down waving at me. I can still see that when I hear this song. The lyrics, which many people have never heard, can be found in the extended entry.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I chose to live in the present now. I allow myself two days a year (the anniversary of the accident and Katie’s birthday) to remember, to grieve and to wallow a bit, but it is hard.

She had the most beautiful red curls and dancing green eyes and a little voice that made one think of Leprechauns. She wasn’t perfect, but she was special and sweet and she was my daughter.

The accident forever changed me, and Amanda, but from the ashes of our previous lives, like a Phoenix, we have risen to make a good, happy life in the present.

But you just never forget that time, those events…

…or that wonderful little girl.

Kathleen Alynne

Continue reading “Remembering”

Do Dogs Get Cramps?

I wonder. Do dogs get cramps when they have their periods? Greta sure looks like she is having them, doesn’t she?

I was making the bed this morning and I noticed a couple of tiny blood drops on the comforter. I hadn’t really expected her to go into heat just yet. But 6 months from the day of her delivery here we are.

She’s got her little fashion panties on and now she is just laying around doing nothing but chewing on her rawhide bone. I’m convinced she is feeling under the whether.

Anneliese seems to understand her mother’s pain, as she has been snuggling up to her all day. Isn’t it nice to have a sympathetic daughter?

Yep, I’m convinced. Dogs definitely get cramps!

What We Did On Sunday

It was a busy day here in Dackel Princess Land. As our cupboards were nearly bare, we needed to go grocery shopping. I also wanted to get paint for the puppy room and in the end I got Hubby a new lawn mower for Father’s Day which is next week.

It was a pretty day and nice for our trip south to the shopping area. As I have mentioned before, we live in the country and aside from one very high priced grocery store, there isn’t much around.

The shopping took a few hours and then we returned and drove the car up and around the side of the house so we could avoid the 14 steps up to the inside of our house. Fourteen steps! What a pain. But I have no one to blame for that one but myself, as I drew the plans for the house. In fact, I remember saying, “Oh that will be good. The stairs will keep my legs in shape”.

What an insane thing to think! How about the reality of grocery shopping and having to make a dozen trips up and down the stairs? Sheesh!

Anyway, we drove the station wagon around to the back of the house where it would be an easy job to unload the car.

We worked putting the groceries away, and Jackie arrived to play with the puppies. I love when the kids come over, so I let the dogs out for a run with her and her friend, Cameron.

Jackie

After a bit, the girls left and we let the pups run around the yard a little more. Hubby was putting his new lawn mower together and I was trying to get a few pictures.

Hubby with his new mower

Anneliese

It’s wonderful to see the puppies grow and play. They’re 6 months old now! So grown up. Arnie weighs a whopping 17 pounds and Anneliese is a lightweight at 14 pounds. One thing is for sure, they are both beautiful and sweet babies!

Sunday night is the “Soprano”s” finale. Will they kill Tony or not? Will Carm save Tony’s life, or AJ? Will they go into witness protection? One thing is for sure, it’s got the world talking!

Grrrrrrrr…….

It is Bike Week here in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire. One can step outside and hear the low grumble of Harley engines in the distance. Yesterday I was sitting at my desk when I heard a biker revving his engine at the beach down below us. The puppies, of course, have never heard a Harley engine before, so when they heard this great rumble they stopped their play and became alert, fearing the unknown.

Arnie

Anneliese

Soon the biker in question finished his revving and off he drove, the sound of his engine growing dimmer as the time passed.

The puppies have been having trouble when they go out to doing their business because they hear the drone of the engines in what is usually a quite and tranquil spot. The drone starts early in the morning and continues all through the day and past the time when we all go to bed.

Last night Arnie was feeling a bit unsettled while I was watching the TV. He tried

sleeping,

but could hear the rumble and so he woke up, looking very unhappy.

The traffic is a nightmare, and forget about going out for dinner for the next week, as all the restaurants are totally full all day and all night long. However I try not to complain because our area merchants really need this 10 day period of time to fatten their coffers for yet another season. I remember how our favorite restaurant served only about a dozen patrons on Valentines day this year due to a heavy snow storm. So, Bike Week helps them to stay open at times like that.

I’ve tried to tell the puppies not to worry, and to relax, but right now they just know that the grumbling monster is out there and they want me to protect them from it.

And I do. After all, Daddy doesn’t have a noisy Harley, he has a nice quiet 1981 BMW R-65! Now that is a nice quiet bike!

Saturday Scavenger Photo

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SHOES

These are my gardening/going out with the puppy/rain clogs! They are the most comfortable clogs and have served me well. Currently they are covered in grass because the lawn is newly mowed.
These little babies have been a real Godsend, because as those of you with puppies know, there are times you need to get the puppy out in a few seconds, and I can literally step into these shoes and run out the door.

Dackel Princess News

It’s a big day here in Dackel Princess Land. Today two packages arrive from Germany. The first contained all the Pedigrees for Greta’s litter of puppies. Now I can mail these to the new owners of the pups.

Long ago the AKC Pedigrees came, and I was a bit worried that the DTK pedigrees wouldn’t arrive in time for the German Dog Show, however, they did, so now I know I can show the dogs in September at the yearly Zuchtschau.

The other package almost means more to me. It is the German book of dogs, litters, breeders and kennels that the DTK publishes each year. My name is in there, along with the Dackel Princess name. When I think of how proud my Papa would be, it makes me get very emotional. Papa loved America very much, but he held onto his German heritage all of his life. I think he would be happy.

The next item of news isn’t quite as wonderful. My eye exam didn’t go quite as I had hoped. I will be seeing my Retinal Surgeon up here in New Hampshire. I have a little problem with the Vitreous Gel in my eye and this means I need to see him, pronto. You see once you have had a Retinal Detachment, the odds of it happening in your other eye actually does go up. I was able to make an appointment for Monday at 4 PM.

Hubby came in from working outside feeling under the weather. I’ve put him to bed and will try some chicken noodle soup on him in a while.

Fritz, Greta, Arnie and Anneliese are all fine. At the rate we are going, we had better get those Wills changed so that we leave it all in trust for the doggies! LOL!

Happy Friday to all and have a great weekend!

Thursday Thirteen #43

Yes folks, I’m back. After taking a few weeks off I am back to making some new Thursday Thirteen lists. Here we go. The first one back is:

The Boston Edition

1– I went to Boston yesterday.
2-Thankfully Hubby drove me. The traffic was heavy.
3– We finally found a parking spot on the second to the last level of the parking garage.
4– We went to a great Indian Restaurant called Tantric for lunch.
5– The food was fabulous!!!
6– My eyes were examined and they made a topographical map of their surface.
7– My left eye, which was operated on in August ’06 is doing great. My right eye showed a few problems.
8– Dr. W. wants me to return to my Retinal Surgeon, Dr. C. for further treatment.
9– I feel pretty nervous and scared.
10-The trip out of the city was equally as hectic.
11-We stopped to grocery shop and pick up the makings for fondue.
12-Came home, walked the dogs, Hubby mowed the lawn (It looks great!) and I put dinner together.
13-Then some mindless TV before bed.

Lunch Anyone?

Tuesday Hubby and I hosted a luncheon with friends we have had since we brought our first dachshund home 11 years ago. You see when I brought dearest Shubi home from Bavaria 11 years ago, I knew nothing about the care of dachshunds. So I went online and found a dachshund group and learned as much as I could. In the meantime, the men and women on the group became close and when the owner of the list insisted we only speak of physical ailments of our dogs, we all were thrown off her list and we started our own. We decided to call it “The Circle of Friends”.

We have been through births, deaths, marriages and all the other events in life. I’ve been lucky to meet many of the people who compile this group. Most of us have dachshunds still, but some of the group had dachshunds and lost them, and have not replaced them.

Anyway, I made French Onion Soup

a lettuce wedge salad and a pound cake for dessert.

The Lettuce Wedge Salad.

Our friend, Alice and Hubby.

After lunch we went outside for the Orchard Tour!

Of course the puppies provided a lot of comic relief.

Anneliese kissing her buddy Fritz.

Tomorrow I go for my 1 month check up for my eye. Wish me luck as I have had sort of a weird thing going on. I won’t elaborate, only to say that I am hopeful all will be well.