It’s All In A Day’s Work

Ever have one of those days where you wake up and are full of energy?

I know, I don’t have them very often either, but today I felt really good and really motivated! I fixed Hubby’s breakfast early, and before my second cup of coffee, I had stripped the bed, and started the laundry. I also began putting things away. Now this is truly a miracle. Quite often I will be looking at something, and a puppy will whine near the door and I drop what I am doing and rush out the door. When I return I completely forget what it is I have been doing or was holding and it sits in the exact same spot for…a while.

Today I was clearing shelves, putting magazines in the used bin, and I even got down and cleaned the fire place for the summer. By noon I’d gotten so much done that I was actually scaring myself.

Was I sick?

Now before you all think I am a total slob, let me tell you that I like to think of myself as a comfortably neat housekeeper. My home is always clean, but often has that lived in look.

The afternoon was so beautiful that I decided that this was a good time to re-pot my tomato plants. I grow my tomatoes in the green house. I grow them in large pots. So today I took the foot tall plants and put them in new pots with nice rich soil.

I sat down on the patio watching the puppies play with Greta and Fritz and drank a tall lemon water. They were still full of energy and racing around the back yard. It was about that time that I began to wind down, but dinner was still ahead of me.

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Anneliese, Greta and Arnie in front of the Gala apple tree in our yard. That is our neighbor’s home in the background.

I tried a new recipe for Haddock (quite good actually) and then once the dishes were done and the puppies walked again, I found myself in a hot shower rinsing away all the dirt from my day.

I’ve got my dachshund pajamas on, the remote control all to myself because Hubby is at a meeting, and the makings of a beautiful sunset across the lake in the next hour to enjoy. What a great way to end this day.

See? I was right. The sunset was beautiful!
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Turning The Garden

I decided to finish “turning the garden” myself today. I figured it was a bright sunny day, not too hot and I felt good.

How wrong I was about to become.

You see “turning the garden” does not mean that I have decided to switch ends for planting or anything really easy like that. “turning the garden” means using a pitch fork, stomping on it to get the forks in about 6 inched then lifting the wedge of dirt (and rocks) and turning it over. The first few stomps were actually pretty good. I felt strong, you know, like, “I am woman, hear me roar?”. But by the end of the first row I realized why I prefer to be known as the gentler sex. This is tough work.

Now I did not want Hubby to see me give up. He does enough around here, mowing the lawn, spraying the fruit trees and all, that I certainly don’t want him suggesting that he switch off one of those jobs with me. We all remember a year ago when he was laid up with his bad knees and I was doing all his work. Not a pretty sight!

I worked for 2 full hours. I did do the smart thing and stopped twice to down copious amounts of water. I also threw the ball for Fritz and checked on the dachshunds. Then I headed straight back to work. I was determined.

I have to tell you that you would be amazed at the size of the rocks I was pulling out of the ground.

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When I think of the men and women who made homesteads here in the early 1800’s and had to do all this work like I am doing it right now, by hand, I have a real appreciation for what they did. I have a little garden, these people probably had a garden 5 times the size of the one I have. And if it didn’t do well, they were mighty hungry.

So the garden soil is “turned” and we raked it too, so now this weekend we will plant a row of corn and then, the last day of May I’ll be planting my seedlings.

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My helper, Arnie.

Meanwhile, I can be found in a hot bath soaking away my aches.

Yep, I am woman, hear me croak!

Getting There

This morning I had appointments with two different doctors, whose offices are 10 miles apart. The first appointment was for 10:15 the second was for 11:45. I was not at all stressed because I believed that I would have plenty of time to drive the lovely country roads of New Hampshire from point A to point B.

I arrived at Doctor #1’s building right on time. The first problem I noted was that the elevator was broken, and his office is on the 5th floor! I climbed the stairs, huffing and puffing, but made it to his office before hyperventilating! I collapsed in a chair and sat waiting. Finally 15 minutes after my appointment he called my name. The appointment went smoothly, except I kept worrying that I would be late for the next appointment, so I had a lot of trouble thinking (not one of my strong points). I am so glad that I’d written all my questions down in advance

When the appointment was over, I raced down the stairs. The fact that I had 20 minutes to get down the stairs, get to my car, and drive the 10 miles to the other office seemed to light a fire under me. You see, there is also construction on the one road that goes between point A and point B!

I drove faster than usual (I am a granny driver) and made it to Doctor #2’s office, arriving right on time! I checked in and sat down. I waited and waited and waited. Doctor #2 was a half an hour late.

Somehow I could forgive him. You see, he is leaving his practice to work as an Emergency Room doctor, so he can spend more time with his children and wife. He’s been a wonderful general practitioner for us and we have enjoyed him not just as a doctor, but as a friend. We talked a lot about his life, his wife and kids, and what is truly valuable in life in general. When I left him we hugged and I told him that, should he ever start his own practice, I would be his first patient. Both Hubby and I really admire this young doctor.

When I got home Greta was waiting for me in the driveway. I walked up the steps and saw Hubby working on weeding the lawn. Fritz was playing with a ball, and then I saw two little puppies by the stone wall. I put my hands over my head and yelled, “Arnie, Arnie!!” And he came running full speed toward me. Then I called to Anneliese and she also came running! What a greeting.

Hubby and I worked turning the soil in the garden this afternoon and got about half way through. Besides growing fruit and vegetables here in New Hampshire, we grow a lot of rocks! More seem to surface every year. I hope to get the rest of the garden turned tomorrow and then do the corn planting this weekend. The vegetables will be transplanted on the last day of May.

The sun was shining all day, not a drop of rain. All is right in my world!

Sunday, Rain & Sun

Sunday was an odd day. It started with gray skies and hinted at some rain. Within an hour or two of our getting up the skies opened and we had torrential rain. In fact our rain gauge showed we got an inch of the wet stuff over the course of the day.

With the refrigerator nearly empty we decided to spend time stocking up. Now those of you that work during the week and shop on weekends know what it is like in the grocery stores on Saturday or Sunday. What a zoo! Frenzied parents, screaming exhausted children and shelves that don’t stay stocked very long.

I had my list, and we got in and got out of the stores as quickly as we could, but still it took us over two hours to get our errands done. As we drove back home, the rain stopped and when we pulled in I ran up the stairs and took the two puppies right out.

You see, in the last few days we have started to use the crate at night and during the day when we leave the house. We are finding that their house training is progressing much faster and the puppies actually let me sleep later in the morning.

Once we had some lunch and put the food away, we took all four dogs outside and let them run. Despite the gray skies it was a bit brighter and so I grabbed my camera for these pictures.

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The back of our house.

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Anneliese near our little stream.

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Anneliese and Arnie playing near the Gala Apple tree.

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Fritz in his favorite place.

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Hubby pruning the grape arbor.

We watched the Boston Red Sox beat the Atlanta Braves 6-3, had scallops for dinner and noticed that the long absent sun started to shine. Could this be the beginning of some nice weather for us? I’ve got my fingers crossed.

Arizona

In the second year of our marriage, we lost our White German Shepherd, Rex, when he passed away at age 10 1/2. We did some researching and located a new puppy out in Arizona. As I had never been to Arizona, we planned a trip around the state to see all the highlights, the Grand Canyon, the meteor crater at Winslow, Oak Creek Canyon, Flagstaff, Sedona, and Montezuma’s Castle, cliff dwellings from a long extinct tribe.

Two days before we left I heard the cats fighting at the foot of our bed and I jumped up and when I came down I landed incorrectly on my foot and broke it! Hubby was not at all happy because this certainly would make the trip difficult. But here is what happened.

Upon arriving in Manchester to take our flight out, a Porter met us at the curb and wheeled me to the gate. I was pre-boarded and given a nice crate to rest my foot on. Everyone was so nice.

When we arrived in Phoenix, I was met with a wheel chair, and wheeled to the car rental company. The car rental agency gave us a handicapped placard for our car, giving us the best spots in all of Arizona to park. At each state park we were met with a wheel chair and smiles. What a great way to go.

We traveled down to Tucson to pick up our puppy and the woman who raised the pup asked if we had seen Tombstone? Since we hadn’t, she offered to keep our new puppy, Max, for us so we could visit this famous town.

Tombstone is a real western town. With a saloon and of course the OK Corral, we found the town, really interesting. At a saloon there was a photographer who took pictures in period dress. I wanted to have our picture taken in costume. Hubby said that was fine, as long as he got to be a gun slinger!

WILDWEST

It was so much fun to do and I love the picture of Hubby and I. It still hangs in our office.

We also went to Boot Hill Cemetery where Hubby saw a headstone, “Here lies Lester Moore, four slugs from a .44, no Les, no more!” Yes, that still cracks up Hubby!

Once we got done posing, we headed back and picked up our boy Max and flew home. Max was a dear big boy (128 pounds fully grown!) for nearly 13 years. In many ways that picture of Hubby and I reminds me of Max when he was a puppy.

Max at sunset
Max at sunset in his later years.

Just 10 More

(See Saturday Scavenger Photo below)

I have ten more entries until I reach my 1000th post. So after all this time, and after all this writing, what do I think?

I think that writing in this blog has been one of the best things I have ever done. Writing down my joys, my sorrows, my accomplishments and my failures has truly helped me grow as a person.

It’s not only when you write the post, but later when you go back and read again what you have written. I feel a little like George Bailey in “It’s A Wonderful Life”. The life you have lived may not have been perfect, but with people around you whom you love and care about, life really is pretty wonderful.

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Strong Women

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Rainy Days & Fridays

Another gray day here in New Hampshire. Hubby spent the day working on his fruit trees, while I spent the day doing the laundry. How can two people make such a mound of laundry in just one week? We also picked up my car at the garage, where it had gone to get inspected. This marks the first time I have driven without glasses! It felt good and strange all at the same time.

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Apple Blossom Buds

After lunch I felt very tired and sat down in my chair with Anneliese and Arnie and before I knew it an hour had gone by. I heard barking at the basement door and went over and there was Greta. How she got into the basement we aren’t sure, but she definitely wanted to come up!

I sat back down with Arnie and worked stripping his coat. Anneliese’s coat is beautiful and she will need very little grooming to get it in shape, but Arnie tends to be like a little raggedy man and he needs his fur stripped down. I am so lucky that he likes this and doesn’t fight me. I worked for about half an hour and already his back is looking very nice.

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Anneliese

I’d planned to make an easy dinner tonight and currently it is under way. A while back I made breaded and fried eggplant. I had a lot left over, so I put the slices in waxed paper and then a freezer bag and froze enough to make eggplant parmesan for Hubby and me. Today I took out the frozen slices and in a casserole covered the frozen slices with sauce, cheese, another layer of eggplant, etc. Now it is in the oven cooking and I’m hoping that this will work out. Doing it this way made the preparation time fast and the work easy.

My doctor has called in a prescription for antibiotics for my sinus infection. It’s a 7 day dose and then I should be right as rain. (Where did that phrase come from?)

Happy Friday everyone! Have a good weekend!

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To my stepdaughter Jessica, Happy 29th Birthday!

Rain, Eyes & Baby Teeth

Wednesday Hubby drove me to Boston to see Dr. W. for my one week post operative check up. There is one thing I must say before I tell you about the trip.

1. I was so glad Hubby was driving!

The day dawned foggy and rainy and cool. We got up had our breakfast and dressed and got ourselves ready to go. On the trip down we talked and talked, catching up with the past weeks events, arriving in the city with plenty of time to go out to lunch.

We noticed a German Restaurant nearby and decided to give it a try. It was fairly good, although we both got food poisoning, proving that it wasn’t nearly as good as we thought. It’s funny but of the three restaurants we have been to in the area, the only one we haven’t gotten food poisoning from has been the Indian restaurant. Guess where we will be eating next time?

We got in to Dr. W.’s office a tad early and her technician took me right off. He checked the eye pressure and examined my vision. Amazing how my distance vision is coming into focus in just one week! I knew it had, as coming down in the car, with no glasses I could see perfectly clearly all the leaves on the trees and the signs along the road.

Next the doctor who assisted with my surgery examined me and he was very pleased. He said the lens is sitting well and the eye was healing nicely.

Then we got to see Dr. W. She is thrilled with my eye and after hearing about my fever (I still have it) said she wants me to go in to see my regular doctor, Dr. D. to get my sinus’s checked.

I’d brought with me some Heavenly Jam, my Moonglo Pickles and Brandied Peaches and she was thrilled! She just loves my cooking and her husband loves my pickles.

We made it out of the city before “Rush Hour” and just as we got north of route 495 the skies opened, darkness fell and the winds blew. The rain fell so hard it was like a sheet of water was just being poured from the sky. There was also hail and the traffic slowed to a snails pace.

I was so happy Hubby was with me and driving!

The ride home took much longer due to the terrible weather and we were lucky to get Emily to come over after school and walk the dogs for us. The pups were happy to see us when we got in, but their needs were not as urgent as they would have been, had Emily not come over to care for them.

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Greta and Anneliese

I sat drinking some tea, and I noticed Arnie was playing with something. I got down and looked at it and then picked it up to see what on earth he had. You will never guess!

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Anneliese and Arnie

It was one of his baby teeth!

I’ll tuck it away in my book of puppy memories. It makes the end of this day, somehow sweet and puts a smile on my face.