Been Too Busy! After I Rest I Will Write Tomorrow Night!

I Love MEIN LEBEN, Too! or A Standing Ovation!

Today has been great and it started early this morning when I received this sweet note from our dear friend Gaby. Gaby lives in Germany and Tony and I love her and her lovely daughter Xenia.

Anyway, Gaby's e-mail made me smile and laugh out loud when I read her kind note, because like me she also loved reading my newest, most favorite book It's A Long Story: My Life written by Willie Nelson and David Ritz. Gaby wrote:

"Dear Nancy , 

How much I love reading your blog, I needn't tell you- you know already. 

The other day I had to chuckle, you wrote about reading the great book 

from Willie Nelson. Well - I just finished reading mine about 2 weeks ago. 

It's a really great, interesting book. I loved it.

For a short second I thought about sending it to you, when finished. Thinking you might love it to , but then right away I realised, this is NOT going to work - the book I have is in German......" 

   

I've spent most of my morning tying up some loose ends, because last night I made a To Do (Must Do) list of things I've been putting off, because I've been too tired or working, etc. And I am proud to announce that I am finally caught up with everything for now and it feels good.

Early this afternoon Tony and I went to Kerrville, so we could wash a load of laundry. And when we got back home I dried them on my newly improved, metal-wire, solar-dryer, that Tony recently made for me.

I don't know why I love hanging out clothes to dry and washing dishes so much. Maybe it is because it relaxes me. Or maybe because, I don't like to see dirty dishes in the sink and I love the way line-dried clothes smell and feel.

I have an update on the legs-mannequin, that we dropped off, at Wolfmueller's Books last week, so Liz & Jim could pick it up there. Actually, I should say the legs-mannequin that Tony dropped off, at Sandy & Jon's famous bookstore. Because I just went along for the ride so I could take pictures of Tony lugging it around, and so I could also have a fun visit with Jon & Sandy.

This afternoon, when I checked my e-mail, sweet Liz had sent me a note telling me that she agreed with me about last night's post and that she thinks those two, little Cracker Barrel maple syrup bottles, that I had slipped into the Levi's' front pockets are cute, too. 

In fact, a few minutes later Liz sent me another note:

"Apparently you are not the only one to stash a few of these bottles in your purse."

And Liz also included a Pinterest link  to Cracker Barrel bottles to show me just how popular these cute, little bottles are with crafters. So I guess I am not crazy after all, but then again—maybe Liz and I are both crazy.  : )

Then I looked at her picture of Jim posing with the "traveling legs "mannequin and I burst out laughing. And when I showed it to Tony he thought it was hilarious, too. 

So here's the famous Jim Cravotta holding the tiny bottles while he's getting a standing ovation, at Wolfmueller's Books. And I am sure the customers there thought it was hilarious, too.

Well that is about it for tonight, but before I finish writing this, I do want to thank Gaby for thinking of sending me her Willie book. "We love you Gaby and Xenia! And of course, we all LOVE Willie Nelson! And the next time that you come over, from Germany, for a visit—we'll make sure to take y'all to the East End Market—Booth #42, so you can meet Liz & Jim!"

Y'all have a great evening and keep on laughing!

All Shook Up!

Today has been great. Tony and I spent most the day being outside, planting seeds, plants and hanging up recently found memorabilia that has been packed away for over a year.

I was like a kid in a candy store, finding more of my stuff—that always reminds me of dear friends and family. Literally everything I found brought back fond memories of loved ones.

Anyway, I'm sure a lot of people might think that I am crazy for keeping all of these things and displaying all over The Cabin and outside The Cabin. But I don't care, because everything that is hanging on a wall or placed on bookcases, etc. bring me such joy when I see them. And that even includes everything that is on our refrigerator door, because they all have sweet stories.

And yes, I will admit that I don't spend a lot of time keeping up with the dusting of my stuff, but I don't care, because as far as I am concerned—my mind/memory, at 67 years, is just as dusty and I like that. 

I love seeing all of my stuff constantly, because it floods my memory with just how much each and every person has meant to me and why I love them.

In fact, if someone were to ask me about any object or picture displayed I could bore them to tears telling them a long, funny story about what I was doing and who I was with when I got it. So, if you ever come over here to see us—you have been warned.

Early this evening sweet Carol came over for a really fun visit and Tony and I enjoyed it so much. We sat outside, on the front porch and of course we did plenty of laughing to say the least.

But sadly Little Debbie did not think it was fun at all, because I was holding her in my arms and every time that I laughed out loud—my body would shake with laughter and not allow Little Debbie to sleep peacefully. So I guess you could say, "She was all shook up, because of Carol's visit."

And that is about it for tonight, but before I sign-off, I want to share these pictures that I took of our front porch and front yard, with all of the beautiful flowers that we planted or replanted today. Because Spring has sprung at Big Foot Ranch!

Y'all have a great evening and keep on laughing!

What The Doctor Ordered!

Today has been great and so was this weekend. This morning Tony and I did yard work and then I spent most of the day doing our taxes and the good news is we are getting a refund. So being poor has its perks and it definitely pays off.  : )

About an hour ago, after finishing our taxes I felt like I was cross-eyed, but thank goodness, I wasn't. I was just mentally exhausted.

So, about an hour ago, I decided since getting our taxes done, to celebrate that event with Tony by spending a happy hour with me, out on our front porch. And it was just what the doctor ordered, because we listened to my music and we played with our five—four-leggers.

And that is about it for tonight, because I plan to relax and watch some documentaries, before going to bed.

Y'all have a great evening and keep on laughing!

It's A Long Story!

Today has been great even though I stayed up late last night again, reading IT'S  A LONG STORY: MY LIFE by Willie Nelson with David Ritz. It is a book that our dear friend Gerry Olert gave to us, when he came to visit us, on Wednesday.

Wednesday night I was so hooked on this book I stayed up until midnight reading it, because it is such a great read. It is a National Bestseller and it is now one of my my most favorite books and I give it a 5 star rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐. 

I am writing this post early, because this evening Tony and I get to work next door, helping Rob in the kitchen. And the only thing about working tonight is I will have to wait until we get back home to continue reading this fabulous book. But the good news is I can stay up late and read, because I can sleep late tomorrow morning.

Earlier today, my sweet cousin Susie, from Ft. Worth, made a comment on my March 18th blog post, suggesting that I check out these delicious, healthy recipes and by the time I finished watching the video my mouth was watering, because I cannot wait to try making these protein pancakes recipes. "Thank you, Cousin Susie!"

After watching this video, the next video was Jamie Oliver making quick and easy hummus and flatbread, so I watched it too, and now I cannot wait to go to the grocery store to buy all of these ingredients, so I can make these delicious, healthy recipes.

Last week when Tony and I met Mari at the park, she brought along Si(las), so we could meet him. Tony and I instantly fell in love with this magnificent dog. And I was sick that I had not taken a picture of him, so y'all could see what this beautiful, award-winning Redbone Coonhound looked like. 

So, sweet Mari sent me this picture of Si and I want to share it with you. Isn't he one handsome dog!

And that is about it for today, because I am going to take a short nap with our four-leggers before we get to go to work.

Y'all have a great evening and keep on laughing!

The Cowgirl Sisterhood's Traveling Pants! or In Your Face!

Omg, today has been great. Tony and I worked this morning and when we came back home sweet Henry Standing Bear had stolen the roll of toilet paper out of the bathroom and the whole house looked like Henry had a poorly planned confetti-throwing party, inside The Cabin.

While Tony and Hazel, our purple Dyson Animal vacuum cleaner, cleaned up the shredded tissues I sent Mari an e-mail to make sure we were still meeting in the park this afternoon. And sure enough we were!

Not long after Henry's festive decorations had disappeared, it was time for us to take off for Kerrville, because I wanted to leave early, so we could take my mannequin and drop it off, at Wolfmueller's Books, so Jim & Liz could pick it up.

And while Tony was out in the barn locating my mannequin I decided, as a joke, to put two of my new label-less bottles, from the Cracker Barrel, inside my 501 Levi's jean's pockets that my mannequin was still wearing.

And here are the pictures I took of the Cowgirl Sisterhood's Traveling Pants leaving Big Foot Ranch and finally arriving at Sandy & Jon's Wolfmueller's Books.

And needless to say—people on the sidewalk and inside the bookstore stood back and thought it was hilarious watching Tony transporting the Cowgirl Sisterhood's Traveling Pants and they were all laughing as Tony marched past them as if carrying a mannequin was nothing unusual to do.

After Tony had put the mannequin back in Sandy's & Jon's office, for safe-keeping, we had a fun visit with our dear friends. Then we took off for the beautiful Louise Hays Park, so we could meet Mary and Autry, her awesome seven-year-old, award-winning, agility-trained, Australian Cattle Dog.

On our way to the park, I thanked Tony for carrying the jeans-wearing mannequin for me, so I could document the "traveling-pants" event and he mumbled something. 

So, I said, "Tony, I bet that you are the very first mannequin-toting man to ever walk down Earl Garrett Street, in broad daylight and you are probably the first to ever carry a mannequin into Wolfmueller's Books. You made history today, in Kerrville, Texas! That is so cool!" And while I continued to take pictures and feed the ducks and geese Tony started getting his camera ready, so he could take some more awesome pictures.

When Tony met Autry, a great, friendly, well-mannered dog, he said, "Autry reminds me a lot of Blue," As he and Autry became fast friends.

Mari and I talked non-stop as we strolled from bridge to bridge, as Tony and Autry walked silently with us. 

When we stopped to take a break, I started taking pictures of this magnificent dog. And when Autry came up close to the lens I took this cute picture of him, and I've titled it In Your Face!

And that is about it for today. Life is good. Thank goodness.

Y'all have a great evening and keep on laughing!

Miniskirts! or 501 Levi's!

Today has been great and a lot of fun. This morning our dear friend Gerry Olert, came to visit us.

Gerry Olert, from San Antonio, is the famous videographer who did all of awesome rescue ranch videos for us, but when I think of Gerry the first thing that always comes to mind is how much fun I had working with Gerry when he edited the Longmire-Texas Style video-spoof starring Little Debbie. Laugh out loud, I had written, starred in and produced this video—just to help make Little Debbie more famous.

Of course the making of Longmire—Texas Style would not have been so much fun without all of the help from our dear friends/dog-walking volunteers, Chet O'Keefe and Jim & Liz Cravotta. Below is one of my favorite pictures that Tony took of Gerry (far left) posing with the entire cast, at Big Jim's & Lady Liz's Grey Goose Saloon, on April 2, 2016, after the wrap party.

And this is one of my other favorite pictures that Tony took that day, of Liz & Jim, Little Debbie and me during the wrap party. And I still cannot believe that it has been almost three years ago, when we made the video.

Anyway, this morning during our fun visit with Gerry he was telling us that his & Karen's sweet, old (18+ years) cat had passed away since he had last visited us. Then he told us that he and Karen recently went to a rescue shelter and adopted the coolest kitten that already knows how to fetch and retrieve a ball. Then he pulled out his iPhone and showed us adorable pictures of Luna, the kitten that has stolen their hearts. Here is one of his beautiful pictures of Luna cat-napping on Gerry's lap.

Early this afternoon, Gerry treated us to a fun lunch, at the Cracker Barrel, in Kerrville. It is funny, but Tony and I did not order the same thing as usual, but Gerry and I did. He and I ordered a breakfast that came with a side of two pancakes, that also came with these small bottles of maple syrup. One for each of us.

I don't know why, but I fell in love with these cute, little glass bottles of syrup and I told Tony and Gerry that I loved these bottles. So when the sweet waitress returned to check on us, Gerry asked her to bring us two more bottles of maple syrup.

As we finished eating our meal, Tony and Gerry encouraged me take the four, empty, little bottles home since I loved them so much. And after we had quit laughing about it, I said, "I can't. It might be illegal and I don't want to be in prison, because of maple syrup...." 

Bottom   Line: I finally asked the friendly waitress to bring me a doggie bag. (So, I could sneak the empty bottles out of the restaurant.) While we waited for the doggie bag Gerry and Tony teased me about going to prison, etc. and I was getting more nervous about taking the emptied bottles.

So, when we decided to leave Gerry and Tony took off first and as I was walking past the table, next to our table, this friendly-looking, old man wearing a Vietnam Veteran cap, probably about my age, had this long white beard that looked like he was a member of ZZ-Top~~waved for me to stop. So I did, and he looked up and said, "If the Feds were in here they would arrest you—"

Omg, I thought "I'm busted!" And I thought that I was going to faint, but I didn't, because Tony was gone and wouldn't be able to catch me from falling. Then this friendly man smiled, and said, "For laughing too much." Then he and I started laughing.

As soon as all of us were outside and I felt safe, I told Gerry and Tony about the man stopping me and telling me that I should be arrested and they burst out laughing. Then Gerry joked, "We left you behind, because we didn't want to be accessories to the crime."

And after we had quit laughing, I said, "At first what he said to me really did scare me. And I was immediately thinking, they are going to call the police and tell them, "We've got a sticky situation over here. This old woman..." 

After our fun lunch, Gerry followed us over to the East End Market, because he wanted to see Jim & Liz's fabulous booth (#42). And as the three of us were walking into this super-cool store—Jim Cravotta came walking out and after howdies, handshakes and hugs, Jim said, "Liz is inside and I'll be right back. I''ve got to get a wrench. Go say howdy to Liz." So we did. And then we had a great time visiting with Liz & Jim and checking out all of their fabulous stuff they have for sale.

Here are just a few pictures that I took of their treasures and antiques that I wanted to buy.

This is a working spinning wheel that I wanted, but because Mama (my perfect Great Pyrenees) is dead I passed, because Henry's, Roy's, Beau's, Little Debbie's and Big Al(ice)'s hair is too short. 

This is a Mary Quant romper, in beautiful condition, that Liz bought and wore—back in the 60's. For those younger than me who may not know who Mary Quant was, here is a link to Mary Quant to find out more about her. (Taken from Wikipedia: "The miniskirt, described as one of the defining fashions of the 1960s,^[19] is one of the garments most widely associated with Quant. While she is often cited as the inventor of the style...")

Unfortunately, I never owned an original Mary Quant miniskirt or romper, but back then I wore miniskirts all of the time. In fact, I even got sent home from high school one day, because the Principal told me that my miniskirt was too short. And before Mom came to pick me up, I tried to explain to him, "It's not too short. I'm short. It's just an illusion..." But neither him or mom bought it, so I had to go home and change miniskirts, before returning to my French class that I was flunking, because of my Texas accent.

And here is an assorted collection of 1920 magazines that totally fascinated me.

Before adios-ing Liz & Jim, I told them that I was going to donate my mannequin legs, for Jim's project. "I want you to have it, but I want you to know that Tony and I put a pair of my 501 Levi's on it, so it will be dressed. But we never could put a pair of my old, pink, Justin Gypsy cowgirl boots on it. And before we left our friends we decided that Tony and I would meet Liz & Jim, at Wolfmueller's Books, to give them the mannequin legs. And Jim joked, "That's the perfect drop-off place. And I'm sure that Sandy & Jon will love that!" And we were still laughing when we walked out of the store and adios-ed Gerry.

Before coming home, we swung by So Fast Printing, my favorite and Kerrville's favorite print shop, so I could pick up a few pictures, that I had e-mailed to Rose and had asked her to print for me on card stock. Because I am planning on framing and hanging them in my writing cabin. Then we came home. Here are the four pictures that I plan to frame and hang tonight.

Then I took this picture of the doggie bag and the four empty bottles. Then I put them into the sink to soak, so I can hopefully remove the labels. And now I am wondering why I even took those stupid, tiny bottles, because I am not even sure what I will use them for.

Y'all have a great evening and keep on laughing!

A Chick Thing! or A Nose For These Things!

Sunday and today have been great. Sunday morning after talking to Carol about eating a plant-based diet I asked her to send me a few of her favorite recipes. Then Tony and I went to Kerrville to wash a load of clothes and to buy a few more groceries, because I did not have all of the ingredients needed to make Carol's recipe.

So while our clothes were doing their thing, inside a Speed Queen washer, a half a block away—Tony and I were at H-E-B filling our cart with healthy ingredients, fruits and vegetables, etc.

When we could not find a chick peas anywhere in the store, I said, "Dang it, I wish I could call Carol, because she would know where they are or at least, she could tell me what to substitute it with." And five seconds later, Carol turned onto our isle pushing a cart, and said, "Hi!..."

I thought it was another one of those minor miracles that happen to me a lot, at H-E-B, or maybe it was a sign—that chick peas or a chick-thing. Anyway, I gasped and asked my dear friend, "Do you know where the chick peas are? We've looked up and down these isles and we can't find them anywhere. I've never eaten a chick pea, so I don't even know what they look like..."

And moments later, Tony was pushing our grocery cart, at breakneck speed, as we followed Carol to the designated chick pea place. I knew that I only needed to buy one can, but because we had such a difficult time trying to find the darn things—we put two cans into our plant-based food cart. Then we had a fun visit with Carol, picked up our wet clothes and came home.

When we got home Tony carried in the groceries as I began hanging up our clothes on our solar-dryer (clothes line).

I had just hung up four pairs of our 501 Levis, when Tony came out to help me hang up the rest of the laundry. And right when I started to hang up a pair of sweat pants the clothes line (rope) went like this ~~ and then the rope broke and our clothes fell to the ground. But luckily they landed on the grass and not the dirt.

"Well, this sucks," Tony said, as he tried to lift up the rope, with our clothes still attached to it.

"No, its a sign, Tony," I said.

"No, its not. The rope has rotted and that's why it broke." Then the end of the rope that he was holding broke and our clothes went down for the second time. "See, its rotten."

"Tony, its a sign that you need to string up wire—instead of using rope," I said. And a few minutes later, I had a newly improved metal-solar dryer.

Now fast forward to early this afternoon...

Tony and I went to Kerrville today, so we could meet Hans & Marita, under the bridge in the park, because last week when they came out to visit us, Hans had left his vest on our couch.

Normally, that would not have been a problem, but because they were flying back to Norway, on Wednesday, we wanted to get it back to him and also have one last, fun visit with them before they return in September. Bottom   Line: We fed the ducks, geese and the squirrels and had a wonderful visit.

When we got back home I told Tony that I was going to make us a healthy lunch using a recipe that Carol had e-mailed to me. When I started putting all of these needed ingredients for the recipe on the kitchen island—Tony left and went into his man-cave and closed the door.

And all of this was on the island when I finished: mushrooms, carrots, celery, green lentils, Thyme, tomato paste, dijon mustard, ketchup, liquid aminos (natural soy sauce), Worchestershire sauce, oats, almonds, coconut sugar, salt & pepper and apple cider vinegar.

While the lentils were cooking I made the glaze and set it aside. Then I sautéed the vegetables and I was busy for about thirty minutes adding this and doing that.

And about an hour later, I pulled this mouth-watering, totally delicious Mushroom Lentil Loaf out of the oven. And Henry who has a nose for these things that come out of the oven, got up and came over to try to beg for a bite.

Tony and I loved this recipe and the next time I make it I am sure it will not take me near as long, because I am always slower the first time I make a new recipe.

Anyway, Carol found this awesome Mushroom Lentil Loaf recipe on Pumpkin and Peanut Butter  and I am absolutely thrilled about getting this new recipe and I hope that you will try it, because it is not only delicious—its so healthy! And we have so much of it leftover tonight, we are going to make "meat" loaf sandwiches tomorrow.

Y'all have a great evening and keep on laughing!

Silas!

Thursday and today have been great, but they have flown by like a whirlwind. Tony and I worked yesterday morning and it was a lot of fun working with Rob, in the kitchen.

Oh my gosh, Rob can cook anything and I stay in constant awe of his kitchen/culinary skills and the guests that stay at the beautiful Escondido Resort love his delicious meals so much that they are always begging him for his mouth-watering recipes. And unbeknownst to Rob, I am secretly hoping to steal some of his recipes even though he tells me the ingredients.

But my problem is when Rob gives me the ingredients he uses they seem to always go in one ear and out the other, before I can go home and write them down. And I blame this on being sixty-seven-years old instead of just being stupid. But who knows?

All I know is that the guests staying at Escondido are always taking pictures of his beautiful appetizers and entrees, before they clean their plates. In fact, when we are serving the guests Rob's to-die-for breakfasts and dinners—because of the camera flashes the dining room lights up and reminds me of being at a rock concert.

Yesterday after we got to work next door Tony and I came home, but we didn't stay long, because we were meeting Mari and Si, at the Louise Hays Park, at 1:30, so I could feed the ducks and geese. And we could go for a fun walk.

Mari normally brings Tex along when we go on our  talkative-walks, but this time she was bringing Si, her rescued Redbone Coonhound, to get him ready for an upcoming dog walk-a-thon.

Now don't tell Roy Rogers or Henry Standing Bear or Little Debbie or Big Al(ice) or Beau Bridges, but I instantly fell in love with Silas aka Si.

Si was so cool, because he was so well-behaved and he loved meeting all of the kids and other dogs in the park. Si is huge, too. In fact, he is as big as Henry or he might be even bigger. Bottom  Line: I am now a big fan of Redbone Coonhounds.

After our enjoyable stroll and before we adios-ed Mari and Si, Mari gave us a sack of her freshly baked raspberry shortbread cookies and they are absolutely delicious.

Last night Tony and I got to work with Rob  again, in the kitchen and yes, it was fun as it always is. But when we came back home we were tired and went to bed early. And I am proud to say that yesterday I did so much walking at work and at the park I set a new personal steps record!

This morning Tony and I got to work with Rob again, in the kitchen. And of course we enjoyed it and the guests would not quit raving about how delicious Rob's breakfast was. And once again, Rob gave me the ingredients and they went in one ear and out the other.

Early this afternoon Tony and I went to the big H-E-B, in Kerrville, to stock up on some groceries and then we came home.  While I was cooking us lunch—Tony was chopping firewood outside and after we ate we both took naps. And when I woke up I was hugging Henry and we were sleeping like spoons and Little Debbie and Big Al(ice) were snuggling next to my knees. 

And that is about it for tonight, because I am going to write for a few hours before going to bed. And I am planning on spending all day tomorrow writing, because I am so close to finishing my third novella.

Y'all have a great evening and keep on laughing!

The Net!

Today has been great. This morning when Tony and I were fixin' to go out the door, so we could go to Kerrville to run a few errands, Carol called and left us a message telling us that there were some abandoned baby sheep (lambs) next door and that she had called and that she had left a message, at Escondida Resort, to see if they were missing any lambs.

So, Tony quickly called next door and left a message too, then he and I took off for the Medina Highpoint Resort to see if we could catch the babies.

And right after we arrived at the Medina Highpoint Resort, the nice woman told us where we could find the lost lambs. So, we took off again, to the far side of the resort, next door to Carol's ranch.

And with the help of the great staff, at the Medina Highpoint Resort and Sarah, Duane, Harold and another man—the little rodeo began. And here are a few pictures of all of us trying to catch the Dynamic-Duo.

With little success, Tony and Duane came over to Big Foot Ranch (our place) and they came back with Tony's huge "elephant-catching-net" to see if it would help. And the good news is Tony caught one of them with the net. Below is a picture that I took of Duane holding a baby and trying to talk the other one into letting Tony catch it.

And here is Tony, with his net, getting into position to capture the other baby lamb.

And the good news is he caught it. 

So, we took them back to the Escondida Resort and reunited them with their mama. And then Tony and I took off for Kerrville. Life is good.

Y'all have a great evening and keep on laughing!

Fast Cats!

The last couple of days have been great. Tony and I got to work Friday and Saturday nights and when we weren't working or sleeping we were at the dog show in Kerrville having a total blast.

Our dear friend Mari and several of her friends showed dogs and on Saturday and Sunday their dogs and hundreds of other dogs competed at Fast Cats. Where the dogs chase this fast-moving lure (furry looking thing) 100 yards and they are timed and they compete against each others time and themselves. And we were amazed how much fun these dogs were having chasing the lure.

So, because of the time change and because Tony and I have just finished mowing and weed-eating the yards—we are pooped. So, I am just going to show you some of the fabulous (1500+) pictures Tony took of these dogs in action and doing what they love.

And that is about it for tonight, because Tony and I are fixin' to enjoy a happy hour to celebrate another wedding anniversary that we both forgot, again. DOGS RULE!!!!!!!!

Y'all have a great evening and keep on laughing!