Author: Dackel Princess

We sat down this morning with all the stuff the cruise-line sent to us concerning our trip with them to Alaska this fall. I knew we needed to do some paper work, after all, we will cross into and out of Canada and then back again, so we will need customs forms and now because of Homeland Security upgrades passports. Okay, have that.
Then they sent along a 100 + page book that tells all about the different side trips you can take off of the ship. I started reading. Mini cruises, helicopter rides, train rides, coach rides, whale watches…
Oh they all sound so wonderful. How do you chose what you want to do. Actually, it’s quite easy. You decide what you want to see and then you look at the price of the “little side trip”. Then you select the mode most affordable to you.
I think the biggest splurge we will take is a train ride in Scagway. We love railway trips and this one looks to be quite beautiful!
It also “suggests” attire for the cruise. I can see a few days of shopping coming up and a little cash spent on those. I’ve got plenty of “day wear” but no evening wear.
I’m quite excited about this trip. I’ve never done a cruise, never been to Alaska, and never done the let someone else pamper you for 8 days kind of trip. I have to wonder if I can handle this?

This morning I drove Fritz to the Vets for his teeth cleaning. I got to a stop light and I glanced at the truck in front of me. It was then that evil thoughts permeated my mind. I could see myself on a desert island alone with these two wonderful men and a spoon. Yes, it was Ben & Jerry!
As I sat there I could feel my mouth begin to water.
Images of Cherry Garcia flashed before me and I could almost taste those chunks of chocolate whipped together with the sweetness of cherries. Oh, a nice desert island, with a beach lounge chair, a tanned cabana boy named Juan rubbing suntan lotion on me, and another bringing me endless dishes of ice cream…
“HONK!”
I was brought back to the present by some jerk in a jeep who wanted me to move! I pulled my tongue back into my mouth and noticed that the Ben & Jerry truck was gone. So much for hi-jacking the truck to the nearest desert island!!!

The Poison Ivy is on the ebb. Thank the good Lord! When it started to spread on Friday I popped some strong antihistamines every 6 hours to stop it. I’d been avoiding it because unlike everyone else in the world, when the label reads, “Caution: Causes Drowsiness.” it’s just the opposite for me. These darn things rev me up and put me in hyper drive. But I could not stand the itching any longer and the spreading of the rash was getting worrisome. Thankfully, now I think I can stop taking those and just let it all dry up.

The sun is out today after a couple of gray rainy days. However the wind is up, with gusts of 20-25 miles an hour. I was out earlier with the pups and felt the warm air blowing around me. It felt good!

Shubi seems completely healed at this point. I need to go in and get some food at the Vets for her to try. It’s food specifically for dogs with liver disease. I plan to do a study myself and see what’s what.

Fritz goes in tomorrow for a teeth cleaning. This is the first shepherd I have had who doesn’t like to A) eat and B) chew bones. Thus he has all this crud on his teeth already. I keep trying to entice the boy, but he is just not interested in food stuff period!

Greta however, has no trouble chewing. I get 8 inch compressed rawhide bones and she reduces them to almost nothing in less than a day! She also insists in sleeping with her rawhides. When we go to bed, I carry her in to our room, with a rawhide bone clenched in her teeth! It is too funny!

Busy week here in the country. Monday, Fritz to the Vet, Tuesday, me to the eye doctor, Wednesday, me to the hairdresser, otherwise known as the “Fountain of Youth”!!! And Thursday, me to my other doctor. That leaves Friday for sort of vegging and doing things like laundry and stuff.

Enjoy the day!!!!

I wasn’t sure what to write today. Honestly. I’m just totally without any ideas. Then I went to my cousin’s site http://fondofelves.com and she gave me a great reminder. Recently, I had been playing around with a new photo program and did this, to a picture of Greta. I know it is strange, but I feel strange today.

I just hate Poison Ivy. It starts out with the smallest bumps, gets a bit red and then the skin swells and the itching becomes almost unbearable. At least it does for those of us who are fairly allergic. My Poison Ivy started a few days ago, when Greta, ran through the field above us, (which is loaded with it) and came into the house and wanted to cuddle. At first it didn’t look too bad, and I thought I could make it through without it spreading or getting too bad.
WRONG!
Today my arm is swollen, the rash goes from my wrist to my upper arm, and I would sincerely love to claw my flesh for relief!
Hubby says, “Oh, that doesn’t look too bad. Slap a little Calamine lotion on it, you’ll be fine.”
I glare at him as I pour the lotion on my arm, searching for some sort of relief. Greta walks by me and wags her tail and I look down at her and snarl, “You! You, did this to me!”
Dogs are just faithless beasts!

To my British Friends:
I feel so bad for what has occured in London, a city I have always loved. My thoughts are with you and your countrymen now.

Last night I was feeling tired. I didn’t want to cook dinner, but I knew we needed to eat. Being in the country means that there is no quickie take out to be had. If you want to eat, you either cook it yourself or starve.
So I went out to the kitchen and stared into the freezer. I was hoping to find something wonderful, like a meal or two whipped up by a world famous chef! No go. Just a couple of boxes of frozen clam strips, purchased, well, I can’t even remember.
So I tossed some frozen french fries on a cookie sheet and the clam strips on another and got them ready to cook. Fifteen minutes later I placed the cooked food onto two plates and put them in front of Hubby and me. Yuck! The clam strips were terrible. I mean, these suckers were really awful! I couldn’t eat them. But the fries were great. So, I ate those. The first fries I have had in a year. (swear to God! I’ve been on South Beach a year now and I haven’t had any fries)
Hubby, kindly did not mention that the dinner was total crap. I knew there was a reason I married him. Actually I think he realized that I was, truly not feeling well, to actually consider eating all of those carbs!
To reward him, I reminded him that there was still some cheesecake and strawberries left over from the other day. After he choked down his meal, and he did, poor thing, I gave him a nice big slice with oodles of strawberries! He all but inhaled this.
At breakfast this morning, he looked over at me and probably noted the pasty white skin and black smudges under my eyes, said, “Um, if it’s okay, could we maybe do something easy for dinner tonight like Tacos?” Tacos it is!
I do love this man.

I got a catalog of weird stuff today. They had the funniest T-shirts, with these great sayings on them.

“They call it PMS because Mad Cow Disease was already taken”

“I got lost in thought. It wasn’t familiar territory.”

“My life IS a reality show.”

“I missed my true calling. I don’t know what it was, but this sure ain’t it.”

“If you don’t talk to your cat about catnip, who will?”

Continue reading “LOL”

Today is a quiet day. No one is stopping by, (that I know of) and I don’t have to go anywhere. This is a good thing. I’m one of those people who needs lots and lots of quiet time. The year I lived in a city I just about died. I simply cannot take that much hustle and bustle. With city living there is always something going on, or someplace to go. One feels guilty for sitting at home, drinking a cup of tea and watching the stars.
In the country, when you mention, “oh yeah, I’m staying home today and having a quiet day”, people nod with a knowing look and think that their quiet day is coming tomorrow.
What do us country folk do on our regular days?
Well, besides work, there is hiking, and swimming or boating and fishing in the summer. In the winter, skiing, snowman making, sledding and snow shoeing.
But, even in the winter we have quiet days, where you sit in front of a warm fire and sip cocoa.
Yeah, my favorite type of day is a quiet day.