Hug A Viking!

Today has been great, again. This morning our good friends, Ellen and Charlie Cooper came over for a visit and to give me two new cacti! "This one is called Resurrection Plant," Charlie said, as Tony and I admired it. "It is an amazing desert plant. It looks brown and dead, but it isn't. When it rains or you water it—it will change colors and turn green within forty-five minutes and stay that way until it uses up the water and then it turns brown and dead looking until it gets water."

"This one is called a Hairy Cactus," Charlie continued.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because it looks like hair and feels like hair. Touch it."  

I touched it and sure enough it felt like human hair. "It feels like and looks like my hair," I said, "but, there's more of it." As we visited in Outer Space we talked about our love and mutual respect for cactus, the airplane that they just sold, Northern New Mexico, etc., but when Charlie and Ellen started telling us some of their hilarious stories about their long ago adventures in Mexico, in the early eighties, we couldn't quit laughing and we hated to see them leave. 

Around eleven o'clock the phone rang—it was Rick, "The Friendly Lighthouse Keeper." He called to tell me that some dear friends of his had called him to tell him that they were staying in Bandera for the weekend and they really wanted to come out to see our rescue ranch and he wanted to know if that was okay. "Yes, Rick, tell them to come on out. We're open and I would love to meet them." Then I went outside and helped Tony clean pens.

When I had just finished cleaning all of the dog pens on the east side and was leaving Wolf's and Cookie's pen Rick's friends arrived. "Hi, I'm Nancy. Welcome to the rescue ranch."

"Are you Cousin Nancy?" 

"Yes."

I'm Anne-Lise and this is my husband Fin. Rick has told us so much about the rescue ranch."

"Is that with one or two "N"s?" I asked.

"It is Finn with two "N"s," Finn answered. Then we went into Outer Space for a visit. 

After we talked about our great friend Rick, I said, "I love y'all's accents. Where are y'all from?"

"We are from Norway," Anne-Lise said, "but we have lived in Texas for over thirty-four years."

"I'm Scotch, Irish and Norwegian," I said. "Small world." As we were talking about our love for music a car pulled up to the trailer and a woman, that I thought I recognized, got out. "Hi!" I half-hollered. "Come on up. We're in here." When she came into Outer Space I said, "Hi, I'm Nancy and this is Anne-Lise and her husband Finn. They are from Norway."

"Remember me?" She said. "I was at your book signing in Medina the other day." Then I remembered and shook my head up and down, because I did remember and then she started speaking to Finn and Anne-Lise in Norwegian and I didn't have a clue as to what they were saying to each other! Come to find out Barbara's mother was from Norway, so we talked about their love of Norway. Then we talked about their RV's and their travels across the U.S., etc. and then before you knew it—we were good friends with much in common when Tony walked into Outer Space and joined the fun. 

"Nancy," Barbara said. "I came out today to meet Jill. After you had told us her sad story at the library I told my husband that I might be coming home with a dog and he was fine with it. Can I see her?" 

Three minutes later all of us left Outer Space and were walking down the front porch steps to the gate when I said, "I want to show y'all my RV before we go see Jill. I named it the Space Ship because..." As I told them the story they walked around inside it in amazement. In other words—they loved it and could not believe what we had done to it. Then Barbara and I walked down to Jill's pen as T. and the former Vikings lingered.

When we went into Jill's pen Jill went and hid inside her doghouse, but she let Barbara pet her and pull her out of it and she calmly sat on Barbara's lap for twenty minutes as Barbara talked softly to her and stroked her. By the time Finn, Anne-Lise and Tone arrived at Jill's pen to watch. Barbara told me that she wants to work with Jill and take her home and give her a try, but she couldn't do it today because she and her husband were going out of town for a few days. She said that when she gets back, she will call us and come out and get Jill. We were all thrilled for little Jill once again.

Ten minutes later as Tony and I walked everyone to their cars I said, "I am going to blog about today officially being Norway Day at the rescue ranch, but I don't know what the title should be."

"Call it, The Vikings Are Coming!" Barbara suggested. Everyone laughed.

"Or, Vikings Reunite or Hug A Viking!" I joked. Then the Vikings hugged me and left.

This evening at six-thirty the dogs started barking outside to let us know that something or someone was here, so Tony went outside to check it out. Two minutes later I went outside to check on Tone.

A nice neighbor or ours was standing outside our front yard by the gate, talking to T., as she held a precious little, female Chihuahua in her arms that she had rescued off of the highway between Bandera and Medina and wanted to know if we could help her and we said yes, but not until Jill was picked up. Thirty minutes later after discussing what to do, Tony put some Advantage drops on the dog to rid her of any fleas or ticks, then the woman told us that she could take her home and keep her there until Jill goes to Barbara's home and I told her that I would take a picture of the lost little dog and make posters for Tony to post around town when he goes to the Old Timer in the morning. "Maybe her owners have already posted a "Lost" poster in town," I said, trying to be positive. Then I went and got my camera and took these sad pictures of her wishing she was home with her family. Please call me if anyone knows who this little lady belongs to and please say prayers for her that she finds her home.

I have got to go make some "Found" posters for Tony to post tomorrow morning for Jane Dog. And my new birthday wish is to get this sweet, little dog back home on my birthday.

Y'all have a great evening!