Author: Dackel Princess

I finished reading “Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince“. I think it is the best of the series of books JK Rowling has written. Although I must admit I loved the first and second books a great deal. All that innocence and wonder that Harry, Hermione and Ron had at being new Wizards. But Ms. Rowling has outdone herself with the development of her characters in this book and I really enjoyed it. For anyone who would like to discuss their ideas on the book leave me a post and I’ll write back and we can compare notes. I don’t want to give away anything about the book here!

My Happiness Challenge is plain and simple today. It’s the hot-dog! We had a cookout for the kids last night and I had a Ball-Park Frank with mustard and relish, cooked over a charcoal grill, and it was just the very best! Mmmmmmm! Yup! You just can’t beat a good hot-dog!

Part of doing the Happiness Challenge for Megan, has made me think about all these things in my life that I am really grateful for. Shubi is one of them. In November of 2003 she became deathly ill. Honest to God, I have never seen an animal get that sick that fast. We were in our camper in Florida with Shubi and puppy, (4 month old) Fritz. We wound up driving from Punta Gorda Florida to Orlando to a specialist who told us quite honestly, “I’m not sure we can save her, but will do all we can.”

Shubi, with baby Greta during her chemo treatments last year.

Shubi a year later, doing well, her fur color has come back some, and she is healthy!!

Continue reading “Being Grateful”

Mondays tend to be nothing type of days. But today is a good day. So the day itself, will go down in my Happiness Challenge.
I went shopping for the kids. (my neighbors grandchildren) Unfortunately they leave on Saturday to go home to Oregon. Each year I try to get some little thing for each of them, to remind them of their visit. Last year I got a book for Kamari, a truck for James and a stuffed wirehaired dachshund just like Greta for Matina. I also made a book of pictures from their summer trip.
This year I got Kamari a journal. She’s old enough now so that she can write her thoughts her dreams and her hopes. Like all young girls.
For James, who is 5, I got a Red Sox action figure. One of those indestructible sort of things. I think he will like that as he has a Red Sox shirt just like the figure does.
For my dachshund loving Matina I have gotten a Wirehaired Dachshund 2006 Calendar and a small Beanie Baby Dachshund.
It’ll be so quiet when they leave and I will miss them terribly. But today, I had fun shopping for them. I hope they get as many smiles on their faces from the things I gotthem, as the smiles they have given me over the last few weeks.

My Happiness Challenge for today:

It’s nice, once in a while, for someone to think you are a genius. Yesterday I had an idea. I thought I would make Matina and her brother James their own coloring books. I started with pictures I took of them and went into a program I have and turned them into coloring book type pictures. See:

They were so impressed and they think this is so cool. Me too! I plan to make similar books for my grandnephews and grandniece.

Yesterday we also went and picked blueberries. Oh my goodness, you would not believe how heavy the bushes are! We picked and picked and picked and hardly made a dent! I have frozen a ton, and I’ve already made a blueberry cobbler. Later today I plan to make blueberry muffins. I just love summer harvests!