1/4 head of iceberg lettuce cut into a wedge
1/3 cup diced fresh tomatoes
fresh apple smoked bacon bits
1 tbs scallions sliced thin
Blue cheese broken into small pieces
Blue cheese salad dressing drizzled over the entire salad
Place lettuce on serving plate and add all ingredients in order.
Enjoy!
Ah yes, a boy and his mother.
It’s sort of funny. Arnie is up to 16 pounds while his little sister, Anneliese remains at 13. I think he will be a big boy like his grandmother Erika.
We were lucky to be able to visit the Vom Geestmoor Kennels in Rehden, Germany. We spent an afternoon with Herr Hollmann and his wife and their two daughters. I was able to see his Kennel set up, discuss with them their breeding program, and celebrate Hubby’s birthday and also Frau Hollmann’s.
The moment Greta was placed in my arms.
Meeting Greta.
It’s so amazing when these little creatures come into our lives. They bring with them their own personalities and likes and dislikes. A lick from them can change a bad day into good, and a sleeping puppy in your lap can cure the worst problem.
Yes, our animals make our lives complete in so many ways.
We knew it had to happen. One moment the puppies were with us and the next they were off on a grand adventure. Since their earliest days outside, the puppies have stayed close to home. I did not teach them how to go down stairs, only to come up so that perhaps I could delay their excursion into the great unknown a little longer. Today they ventured off. Here is their story.
Arnie and Annieliese sat in their crate in the early morning hours. Anneliese snuggled closely to her brother and whispered, “Hey Arnie, today when we go outside with Daddy, let’s see if we can slip off and go exploring.”
“Do you think that’s okay? I mean, we don’t know if there are any scary dogs or people out there.”
“Sure, it’ll be fine” whispered Anneliese, “We’ll have a little walk by ourselves and have some fun.”
“I don’t know sis, but if you go, I’ll follow.”
And he did. About 2:30 while I sat in my chair cruising around the Internet, Hubby came rushing in. “The puppies are gone!!”
Where did they go? Across the driveway. After all the question can be asked “Why did the dachshund cross the road? In this case it was to see what was on the other side!
When Hubby sounded the alarm, I jumped to my feet and raced to the door and we both headed in different directions. I was yelling their names, with promises of treats should they come back to us. We didn’t have to yell too long before the little devils showed up. Anneliese and Arnie both are very fond of food.
Once they were back in the house I gave them each a cookie and scolded them that they are not to wander off like that again.
I little while later I thought I heard Anneliese talking to Arnie.
“Hey Arnie, I’ve just figured out how to get more cookies every day!”
Once a year spring happens. In my little part of the world this means lilacs, snowball bushes, tulips, forsythia and best of all the blossoms on the fruit trees. If we’re lucky, this will be spread out over several weeks, but due to a rather wacky weather pattern this spring, we have had a two-three week period of blossoms. I actually missed the peach trees blossoming because this happened while I was recovering from my eye surgery.
In the last few days several of my favorites have finally come into their glory and I went out and snapped a few pictures.
Snowball Bush
Lilacs
Rhododendron
I also enjoy the way the grass somehow goes from dead looking brown straw to rich emerald green carpeting!
Being able to sit on the front steps of my house and enjoy these beautiful coral colored sunsets simply takes my breath away.
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Arnie and Anneliese.
Ever thought of what you would do it you had three inch legs? My three dachshunds will tell you that there are times that life can be quite a challenge. For instance, getting into a people sized bed, or perhaps a higher chair, can seem almost impossible to the “little ones”. It’s why I have now become a full convert to “doggie steps”.
These wonderful little things are the new addition to our home. We had one set when Greta was expecting the puppies (those of you who were around will recall that she did not want to use them!) but it wasn’t until we allowed Arnie and Anneliese to be free in the house that we realized that we needed a couple more sets. They love them and they use them!
I saw an ad for 2 sets, for the price of 1 set. I excitedly ordered them thinking they would arrive in a few weeks. Six weeks later they arrived.
Hubby spent a few minutes putting them together and then we set them in the family room and the bedroom, and showed the pups their new stairway heaven! (Or to human contact!) It’s amazing how something so little can mean so much to the vertically challenged!!!
It was another lovely day here in New Hampshire. Usually I’m busy and not able to go for a relaxing car ride through the countryside, but today I had an appointment with my Orthopedist, and his office is about 50 miles away. The roads are all back country roads, and at this time of year they were quite lovely.
I left the house after lunch and drove our car. I love my car. It is a Cadillac Deville and runs beautifully. It also drives fast, steers likes a dream and is comfortable to ride in. Best of all it takes regular gas and gets good mileage.
I’d brought several CD’s with me and while I drove across the state I sang with James Taylor, Sting, and Five For Fighting (in addition to others) at the top of my lungs! I don’t subject anyone to these rare outbursts of my “American Idol Want-to-be” moments. But today the planets were aligned and it just felt right.
The good news is, I do not need surgery on my knee! Yay for me! The bad news is, the doctor looked at me and told me that I must lose 25 pounds (he actually was being kind) and exercise to strengthen the knee. Because of some damage to that knee I will need to be careful when I ski again using a knee brace, but for now I should be fine.
I returned to my car feeling happy and ready for ski season to begin. (Not really, but it sounds good! Ha!) I called Hubby and relayed the good news and headed back east. There was a bit more traffic on my return drive, but not even that could dampen my happiness at having had this wonderful drive.
Several things kept my mind busy today. This is good. My grandmother used to say “Maribeth, as long as you keep your mind busy, it won’t stop working”. Well Gram needn’t have worried. If anything, my brain tends to function overtime!
I woke with the concern that the pedigrees from Germany won’t arrive before the Zuchtschau next fall. A Zuchtschau is a German dog show. I brought Greta last year for her rating. You can read about it here and here.
Greta received the highest rating of excellent, and I was so proud. Now I will bring her babies and see how they do before the German judge. I am hoping that they will do as well as Greta. Oh, I am nervous already!
Anyway back to their German pedigrees. The dogs have already gotten their AKC pedigrees and registration numbers and now I await their German, (DTK) pedigrees. So I called our German breed warden and asked her what would happen if they did not arrive? She said not to worry she would email Germany and ask specifically to have them taken care of.
End of concern #1.
Then I was worried because as I was putting laundry away I turned to go out of the room and tripped over Arnie. I caught him with my sneaker and he squealed and made me feel terrible. I picked him up quickly and held him tight until he had forgotten his ills. However, the guilt was terrible for me!
Pretty much the end of concern #2, although I still feel bad.
It was a great day weather wise, so we had the puppies out a lot. They played in the back yard and had such fun, that was until they ran around the side of the house and I had to chase after them! I managed to chase them back and all was well.
End of problem #3.
The day seemed to pick up then. I made nice salads with barbecued chicken on top for lunch, drove out to get the mail and pick up some repaired feet for the snow blower for Hubby, and came home and played with the puppies again.
The day is ending, the sun setting and I’m hoping I won’t be so worried when I wake up tomorrow. I know in the long run of life, everything takes care of itself. It’s just that I often have difficulty of letting go…..and letting God handle things.
First, before I write about our day, I must share that this is my 1000th entry on Dackel Princess. I have shared the good, the bad and I hope the funny with you, dear Reader’s. I also hope to share 1000 more. Although some of you might not appreciate that! Hihi!!
Monday was a holiday here in America. Memorial Day. A day set aside to remember all the men and women who have given their lives in military service to our country. It’s a solemn day with parades and prayers. It is also the unofficial start to the summer.
Most families gather for a traditional barbecue. This year we invited my cousin Janet and her Dad, my Uncle George, and our friend Michelle. Emily also came over and joined us for dinner.
The day had dawned bright and sunny. The weather forecasters once again had blown their prediction of gloom and doom for the holiday. We had perfect weather here. 80 degrees, with a light wind and blue skies!
Janet, Uncle George and Michelle arrive about 12:15 and we set out a multitude of appetizers. Shrimp cocktail, chips and dips and Hummus. We sat around the table drinking, eating and laughing.
The two Emilys arrived to play with the pups and to see what we were up to. We really enjoy when the girls stop by and they enjoy playing with the pups!
We began to prepare for our cookout, which would consist of barbecued steak and chicken, corn on the cob, a tossed garden salad and a bean and mango salsa.
Hubby had started the grill and worked hard to cook the chicken and steak to perfection! I can report quite happily that he did a splendid job!
After dinner Janet and Michelle took her dogs for a walk while I cleaned up the kitchen and made some coffee to go with the cakes that Michelle brought with her. When they returned we sat down sipping our coffees and nibbling on the cake.
The day is done now and the doggies are asleep. Hubby and I are watching a Red Sox baseball game.
Yes folks, my 1000th post. It’s been easy to write. We relaxed, we enjoyed and we laughed. Another good day.
Sunday was planting day here at the Dackel Princess House. Emily, the “Puppy Nanny”, came over to watch the dogs while Hubby and I planted the garden. This year I feel I have healthier plants (which I started from seed) and just about the correct number of plants for the size of the garden that we are working.
Hubby and I are a great team. He raked the dirt into hills and I planted my seedlings. I think this years garden is laid out even better and will be easier to maintain. It took us about one hour and thirty minutes to do this, but that really wasn’t too bad. I think all of our advance work on the garden helped to make today go quite smoothly.
It was nice and cool, and overcast. This made it ideal for working outside. Tonight neither one of us has a sunburn.
Once we were done planting, Hubby stood and hand watered the plants. We are due for rain tonight, and actually that would be a very good thing.
After our gardening we had lunch and then headed to the store to stock up on food for the holiday on Monday. My cousin Janet is coming up with my Uncle George, and our friend Michelle.
Last night while sitting watching television, I realized that all three of the dachshunds had crawled into the chair with me. I whispered to Hubby to grab the camera and take a picture.
This is how we end most days. Fritz stretched out by the fire place, Hubby sitting in his chair and me with my three dachshunds cuddling in my chair!