More Nuts! or Sea Salt!

Yesterday and today have been great until late this afternoon Tony and I ran out of those delicious sugarless chocolate chip wafers that I made the other day, because these low carb, chocolate treats are so delicious and they melt in your mouth.

Actually they also melt in your hand, once you remove them from the refrigerator. So I am referring to this concoction as a Fast Snack, because if you don't eat a piece of it really fast—they start getting soft and melting so fast that your fingers will be covered in dark, delicious, chocolate goo.

But oh no—I am not complaining about this tasty treat, because they instantly squelch your craving for sugar or sugary snacks and they are low in carbs, as long as you don't pig-out on them, which in our case has been very tempting to say the least.

In fact, this Fast Snack is so tempting that we had to make a fast dash, to the big H-E-B, in Kerrville, so we won't be craving sugar, as in cookies, pies, cakes, ice cream, candy, etc.

Anyway, this recipe has many variations to it that I've found on the Internet, but because I am not good at following recipes, because I always want to put my own spin on it—this is my Cousin Nancy Fast Snack recipe.

This recipe is so quick and simple anyone can make it. My version of it is I've added sliced, blanched almonds, because as we all know we all need more nuts in our lives. I mean a daily serving of nuts.

So here is my recipe, with pictures and I hope that you will try it, even though it can become so addictive that it will make you drive 20 miles, to the grocery store, when you don't want to go anywhere, because you'd rather stay home and take a nap with your dogs.

Ingredients:

1 - 9 oz. bag of Lily's Dark Chocolate Chips

1/2 Tsp. of Adams Vanilla Extract

4 - Tbs. of Coconut Oil

1/4 Cup of Blanched, Sliced Almonds

Directions:

Mix all of the ingredients together and melt the chips, using a double-broiler.

But if you live in Texas right now—just put the pan, out on the sidewalk, for a few minutes, but keep an eye out for fire ants. Or better yet, place the mixing bowl, on top of your truck, make loud noises and wave your arms around to scare the birds away. 

And Please Note: If you choose to do my truck method—you will have burned some extra calories, so then you can eat even more! This is my preferred method.

Pour the mixture into a shallow baking pan and then dust with Sea Salt.

Place the pan in the freezer for about 20-25 minutes. Then remove the pan and using a blunt knife (They are the only kind that Tony will allow me to use.) Break into bite-sized pieces and store them in a safe place inside the refrigerator, so Tony (Your kids, spouse, etc.) will not be able to find them. 

Speaking of finding things or not finding things, in the refrigerator, have any of y'all ever noticed that men, in particular, can look inside a refrigerator for hours, to get you something and they never seem to be able to find it without your help?

Anyway, Tony does this all of the time to me, so I know that my Fast Snacks are safe, until he gives up and finally asks me to get him a fast snack. 

And that is about it for tonight, because I plan to spend the rest of the evening writing on my third novella. Unless, of course, I start craving sugar sooner than later.

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

As Seen On TV! or Paint It Black!

Today has been great, but before I write another word I need to clear up something. In case you were wondering about me wanting to give sweet Liz my bread machine if her husband, Jim, decides to claim my red crock pot as his. Sadly, the reason that I'm not doing it is not out of kindness as it should be. I'm doing it for my mental health, because there is absolutely no space available, in the kitchen and I have no where else to put the dang thing. And with all of that said I've just had another light bulb go off in my head. (Don't worry. This happens to me all of the time.)

Anyway, giving away my bread machine could be the start of something really big, because we simply have too much stuff, since we are downsizing.

Heck, I could anonymously give away all kinds of stuff that we don't have room for by secretly leaving them, at friends gates or near their front doors. It would be helpful to me and also a lot of fun. So starting tomorrow morning I will add a new pile to my list of what to do with all of our stuff.

Up until now I've had only three piles when sorting and putting away our stuff.
     1. Keepers
     2. Goes To Good Will
     3. Trash it
And now I can add:
     4. Secret Give Aways To Friends

Late this morning Tony and I went to Kerrville. Our first stop was at the Post Office drive-thru, so I could mail out a few things. Our second stop was at Walmart, so we could buy Tony some new underwear and a dozen white, wire coat hangers for me. Our third stop was at the big H-E-B, so we could buy some more pork ribs to cook in my Instant Pot. (Remember, I told Tone that it was his Valentines gift to me?) And our last stop was at Home Depot so we could buy some more imported Swedish Pine, so we could stain it today and put it up, on his walls tomorrow, so it will look like a log cabin room, too.

That was all that we had planned to buy, at the Home Depot, until I saw this amazing rack, near the lumber section, in the front isle. And when I read the words "As Seen On TV" and saw that it was a Motion-Activated Solar Power LED Light, for only $12 bucks and some change—I just had to buy it. So Little Debbie will hopefully start pooping,  outside, in the front yard, instead of on our front porch or on the potty-pads we have strategically placed in The Cabin.

When we got back home, the first thing we did was unload the twenty 1"x4"s "Imported from Sweden." Seriously, I can't believe that they are from Sweden, because they are the cheapest white pine boards that you can buy at Home Depot.

After we unloaded them we stained them and our fingers too. And after we had stained them we gathered up several more Swedish 1"x4"s of different sizes and we stained them too. Just in case we run out of boards tomorrow when we do Tony's room.

Then while Tony took a brief break, I took a picture of my "As Seen On TV" Quick & Easy Outdoor Light package and then I went outside and screwed it into our front yard's gate post.

Then because the sun had finally come out from hiding, late this afternoon, Tony and I spent the next thirty minutes spray painting our front fence black to match our black gate. We used up four cans of black spray paint and now, the next time we go, to Kerrville, we must go back, to Home Depot, to buy some more spray paint so we can complete this "Paint It Black" fencing project.

And I guess that is about it for tonight, because I can't wait until it gets dark outside to see if Little Debbie will go outside and poop, in the yard, because of our newly installed, action-motivated solar light—"As Seen On TV."

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

They Stink! They Stunk!

Today has  been great. This morning before Brandon and Tony went outside to do the daily chores, I asked Tony to please go outside to cut me some of his beautiful wildflowers, because the lavender flowers, in the pretty pink vase had given up and had wilted.

A few minutes later he came back inside The Cabin and handed me a fresh-cut bouquet and I was thrilled. As I filled the vase with fresh water he said, "Be sure to put a baby aspirin in the water. It will help them last longer." Even though I have never heard of this I dropped a pink aspirin into the vase and then I added a small amount of sugar, because I've heard that sugar helps them last longer, too. Then I took this picture.

Thirty minutes later, while I walked four miles with Leslie Sansone, I had the beans, that Kris & Jim gave to me and the Jiffy Corn Muffins warming in the oven, so Brandon, Tony and me could eat them for lunch.

Right after I finished walking, my friend Kim called me about helping her find homes for her neighbor's six, eight-weeks-old yellow Labrador pups. I told her I would see what I could do.

During our delicious lunch, I told Tony and Brandon about the puppies that needed a home. "I want one," Brandon said. "And my mom, in Alabama, might want one, too." Then he and I talked about how cute all puppies are and how destructive Lab puppies can be, until they mature around two years of age. When I asked Brandon if he wanted a male or female pup, he said, "I want a male and I am going to name him R. J."

"R.J.?" I asked.

"Roy, Jr.," Brandon explained. "You've got Roy Rogers and I want mine to be exactly like Roy." He was so excited about getting a pup, I decided not to tell him that in real life, Roy Rogers, Jr. was nicknamed Dusty. Then I picked up the phone and punched in Kim's phone number.

"Kim, we can take two. One female and one male," I said and she was delighted and told me that she will deliver the pups to us on Saturday.

After lunch Tony and I jumped inside Trigger and took off, to go run errands, in Kerrville. Our first stop was at H-E-B, on Main Street. While we were filling our shopping cart with groceries, I decided to buy a blue vase just like the pink one I had purchased last week and the November issue of Texas Monthly, because I love that magazine.

Then we went to Home Depot and our last stop was at Hoegemeyer Animal Clinic, because we wanted to check on Dale Evans and to meet Christopher Columbus, the little, stray dog that a man had called me about finding, who was going to drop him off at the clinic for us.

After we saw a much healthier Dale Evans, I asked Susan if we could meet Chris and she said, "Me, too. The man never dropped him off."

"That is great news, because the nice man had told me that he has been without a dog for over six years, because when his old dog died, it broke his heart and he vowed to never get another dog.  He also told me that if he kept the little dog one more day, he just might have to keep it, because it was stealing his heart."

On our drive back home, I thumbed through the Texas Monthly magazine and I was nicely surprised when I turned to page 284, to discover that they had included the beautiful, one page Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch advertisement, that they had designed for us several years ago. So, I want to thank the great folks at Texas Monthly, once again, for helping us get the word out.

When we got home Tony and I put up the groceries. Then I grabbed the scissors and went outside to cut some pretty, yellow flowers, so I could put them in my new blue vase. When I returned to The Cabin, I filled the new vase with water, dropped in a baby aspirin and added a little sugar. Then I put the flowers into the vase and put it on the table, next to my banjo. Then I took this picture of it.

When Tony came into big room I said, "Tony, look at my new vase with the yellow flowers that I just cut. Tony looked and then he chuckled. "What's so funny?"

"Those flowers stink. They are called Cowpen Daises. Go smell them." I went over and smelled the pretty flowers and sure enough, I did not like what I smelled—they stunk.

It has been a few hours since I first put the stinking cowpen daisies into the blue vase and after much thought, I've decided to go ahead and keep them, until they wilt, because they do look pretty and they just can't help how they smell. 

Early this evening, my dear friend Carol called me as soon as she got off of work and she was all excited. She is officially retired, but last week she decided to interview for a job at Pedernales Cellars, in Stonewall, because she has always thought it would be fun to work at a vineyard. 

Today was Carol's first day working, at Pedernales Cellars and when she called me, the first thing that she said to me was, "Nancy, I love working with the people at Pedernales Cellars. They are so nice and I love my new job. And I have something really big to tell you!"

"What? Is it good news?"

"It's great news and you're not going to believe this."

"Tell me."

"Today while I was working, my boss came out of the office and she asked me, "Do you know Walter and Cheryl?" I told her "Yes, I do. They are new friends of mine and they are two of the nicest people on the planet." Then I asked her, "Why?"

"Nancy she told me that Walter had just called her and he told her about me being a dear friend of theirs and because of me, they have signed up and joined our wine club."

"Carol, that is way too cool. I love Cheryl and Walter and their sweet gesture does not surprise me, because they are great people."

"I know. Me too. When my boss told me that, I said, "Oh my goodness. They are so sweet to do that for me. Last Sunday, when I last saw them, I told them about starting my new job here and about how excited I was to work for y'all." "Nancy, instead of buying bottles, Cheryl and Walter purchased cases of wine to be delivered to them! Can you believe that?"

"Yes, I can. I am so happy for you."I said. "Can I blog about this?"

"Yes, please do, because I love Pedernales Cellars and Cheryl and Walter. Nancy, I need to get Cheryl and Walter's phone number and address, so I can call them and personally thank them for joining our Pedernales Wine Club today, on my first day of work. I know that they are going to love the wine, too, because it is made with 100% Texas grapes and their wines have won all kinds of major awards in California and Texas..."

Carol and I talked for a few more minutes, before she told me that the sun was shining directly into her eyes and that she needed to get off of the phone. I am so happy for Carol that she loves her new job and I need to end this, so I can e-mail her Cheryl and Walter's address. And that is about it for tonight.

Y'all have a great evening!

Oh, Jackie O!

Today has been great and so much fun. Early this morning while Tony and I were finishing up our morning chores our super friends/volunteers: Jim, Kris & Jim, The Mineral Man and Eileen walked our dogs for us.

While our dogs were being walked down to the creek, a nice man and his family came out to look at our dogs, because the one that they had adopted from us ten years ago had passed away from old age. When I walked up to greet him, he was telling Tony that he liked George, but had been hoping that we had a smaller dog, because he and his wife had three young daughters. "How many dogs do you have now?" I asked.

"None. We only want one dog for our girls to play with."

"Then you've got to meet Jackie Kennedy Onassis!..." After I had told him about she needing to be placed in a one dog home, because she is an alpha dog and how sweet she was, we went over to her pen so he could meet her, but she wasn't there.

"Jim and Kris are walking her and Daisy right now," Tony explained. So, I jumped on Kermit and took off to go find Kris and Jim. When I saw them down by the creek I asked Jim, "Can I borrow Kris and Jackie, because we have someone interested in adopting Jackie?"

"Take off and good luck," Jim said, as Kris and Jackie got into Kermit with me. When we returned to the rescue ranch the man and his family smiled when they first saw her and then she stole their hearts. Then he told us that he wanted to adopt her and if she was too much for their little girls, they would bring her back and give George a try. A few minutes later, after he had signed Jackie's adoption form, it only took Jackie three attempts to jump up into the backseat of their big pickup.

As soon as they drove away with Jackie O, Kris and I took George out of his small pen and put him inside Jackie's old pen and he was so thrilled. First he ran around his much larger pen and then he began happily marking his new territory. When Doug, Paul's friend that came out with him to deliver free dog food, walked up we smiled and laughed at George as we watched him run, jump and play with the toys that Jackie had left behind.

Twenty minutes later Tony and I walked in Koyote Ranch's Koyote Grill to eat lunch with our  friends/volunteers and to celebrate Kris' birthday. Tony and I had a blast with our six friends and our food was delicious. And of course, I talked too much, which I can't seem to quit doing.

After we had eaten lunch Tony helped me put candles on Kris' gigantic birthday cake. While Tony lit the candles for me I said, "Yesterday, when we went to pick up Kris' birthday cake at H-E-B I nearly dropped it instantly when the baker handed it to me, because it was so heavy and it wasn't even a Pound cake. Kris, you might want to come over to this table to blow out your candles, because Tony has a bad back and we don't need it going out again." 

Before Kris blew out her twenty melting candles, that nearly caught Tone's sleeve on fire, everyone inside Koyote Grill sang The Happy Birthday song to her. Then I handed her the spatula to cut and serve her half chocolate/half white cake to us, because I am not good at cutting cakes or anything else. 

Everyone thought Kris' humongous birthday cake was delicious and after all of us had eaten a piece of it we joked about how much was still left over. "I think you should divide it up into thirds and then freeze them separately, because each piece is large enough to serve several people at your next three birthday party's," I joked.

When Tony and I got home I phoned Kinky to tell him the great news about Jackie and I asked him to please keep his fingers crossed for her. Then I told him all about Kris' fun, surprise birthday party, with her birthday cake being the size of a small state and it made him laugh. 

Just before dark-thirty Kinky invited me to come over for a short visit, because he knows that I will not drive in the dark, because I have poor night vision. While I was over at The Lodge Kink asked me to sit and listen to a song that was written and sung by, Ty Weatherford, for his upcoming CD, to be released in early spring and all I could say after listening to it was, "Oh my goodness! That is one beautiful song.

I absolutely love it. Can I listen to it again?" And that is about it for tonight. Happy Birthday Kris!

Y'all have a great evening! 

Slowly Sinking!

Today has been great. My day was made great, late this afternoon, at the big H-E-B store, in Kerrville. While  I was in the dog isle buying dog food for our fur family and Tony was outside filling up Trigger, so we could make it back home, a sweet woman said, "Hi, Cousin Nancy!"

I smiled and recognized her friendly face, but my memory would not help me remember her name. "Harley," she said, trying to help me out, since my mind had gone totally blank. "I'm Bernie and we adopted Harley from you and I've been wanting to call you for days, to talk to you about him." My heart started slowing sinking, next to the canned dog food shelves.

"Oh yes, Bernie, now I remember you and that sweet son of yours?"

"Alex. Anyway, I wanted you to know that Harley is the greatest dog that we have ever had and that he is the best thing that has ever happened to Alex. Harley is his best friend and constant companion and Harley loves to play with Alex and his friends." I began to feeling goose bumps running up and down my arms, because of her good news.

"Oh, Bernie, you have literally just made my day great and I can't thank you enough! We loved Harley and we knew that he was one very fine dog, even though he was with us for a mighty long time." Then I started to tear up a little, so I wiped my eyes dry. "We cannot thank you and Alex enough for adopting one of our old timers and giving him a wonderful, loving home." Then I had to push my cart up a few feet, so this man could get to the canned dog food. "His was a great adoption, because we especially love it when one of the old timers finally finds their forever home. I am so glad that we ran into each other, in the dog isle of all places and I cannot wait to tell Tony and Kinky this great news about Harley....Bernie, please give Harley a big hug from Tony and me and please tell him that we love him and that we are so happy for him."

"I certainly will, Nancy..." After we adios-ed each other, I hurried through the grocery store and filled up my shopping cart.

While T. was putting our groceries inside Trigger, I told him all about meeting Bernie, in the dog isle and her great Harley update. And to say the least, "It made Tony's day great, too."

Y'all have a great evening!

A Little While Later!

Thank goodness Mercury is out of retrograde, because today has been another great day for me. I woke up early and did my morning chores and after breakfast I started walking with Leslie, while Tony was outside feeding the dogs and cleaning the pens.

After I had walked four miles and had just started the walking video over again, so I could walk two more miles when the phone rang—it was my good friend, Reverend Analea Rawson from the Unity Church in Austin. I wanted to talk to her, so I muted Leslie and decided to walk with her and her friends in silence, as I talked to Analea.

Forty-eight minutes later, I was laughing and still talking on the phone to Analea, as I finished walking four more miles. After I turned off Leslie Sansone's walking DVD, I started pulling things out of the freezer and the refrigerator and started preparing Tony's and my lunch, as Analea and I continued to talk. Twenty minutes later after we said goodbye to each other, I pulled the Mexican cornbread out of the oven and Tony and I sat down and ate chicken with beans and cornbread. T. cleaned his plate, so I guess you could say, 'it was pretty good.'

Thirty minutes later Tone loaded Kinky's old electric typewriter into the back of Buttermilk and we took off for the UPS Store in Kerrville, so I could ship it to Roger and Mary Peach in Kansas and so I could also mail Analea her silver ring back to her that she had taken off and left on the bathroom counter when she had washed her hands.

After I had paid the shipping fees, Buttermilk took us to Wolfmueller's Books. We had to park in the back of the bookstore, because they had so many customers in the store. When we walked in the back door, we saw Jon at the front counter busily checking out customers. "Where's Sandy and Mary Jo?" I asked.

"Mary Jo is off on Tuesdays and Sandy is out buying books," Jon said. After the line of book buying customers left the store we stayed and had a fun visit with Jon.

"Jon, I've got a big secret and you can tell Sandy, but no one else—especially Kinky." Jon nodded his head and then I revealed my secret, which I can't tell y'all about, yet. Hopefully, in two weeks or less it will no longer be a secret and I can tell y'all.

After we played 'I've Got A Secret' I said, "Jon, I'm doing a book signing at the Medina Library on October 14th and I am really excited about it and then we talked about that. Then we talked about Nelda and Jimmie Dunn coming to visit us from Arkansas and how excited T. and I were about it. Before leaving Kerrville's favorite bookstore, I bought two more books by Susan Wettig Albert, because I am hooked on her China Bayles mystery series. She is a fabulous writer and when I start reading one of her books—I can't seem to put them down. She's as good as Sue Grafton and Lillian Jackson Braun, and her mysteries take place in the Texas Hill Country. In other words—I love them!

After we said goodbye to Jon, Buttermilk took us to H-E-B, so Tony could buy gas and I could get groceries. Tone went to get gas after he dropped me off at the front door to save time. When I was nearly done shopping and my cart was nearly full Tony found me in the fruit and vegetable section over by the bananas. "Are you nearly done, Nance?" Tony asked, impatiently.

"Yes, and look what I just found!" I said, excitedly, as Tony looked into my cart. "It's a Fairy Tale pumpkin! Can you believe it?"

"Are you sure it's a Fairy Tale?" T. asked. After I showed him the sign on the pumpkin bin and the sticker on the bottom of the pumpkin he believed me. "I'm going to have to call Carol and let her know they have Fairy Tale pumpkins and I need to find out how she cooked it. She did it the last time for us."

"Be sure to get her pumpkin bread recipe, too," Tony said. "Her pumpkin bread was the best that I have ever eaten."

This evening around six o'clock, while I was doing some paperwork, Tony walked into the big room carrying his camera backpack and he said, "I'm going fishing. I'll be back in a little while."

A little while later—we had an unexpected fifteen-minute downpour that wouldn't quit. In fact, the rain was coming down so hard and fast it made Toto get under our bed to hide. Two minutes after the rain stopped as fast as it had came T. walked inside the trailer—soaking wet and it made me laugh when I saw him. He was drenched from cowboy hat to boots. "Did you catch anything?" I teased. Tony laughed, as Mama came running out of the bedroom—into the big room and jumped up on him and showered him with kisses.

"Yeah," he said, as he unbuttoned his wetter-than-wet shirt, "I've got over a gallon of water in my boots for you."

P.S. I want to wish Rick a Happy 64th Birthday, again and I just discovered that Susan Wettig Albert's book, A Dilly Of A Death that I bought today at Wolfmueller's is signed by her to someone named Isabelle! I love it!

Y'all have a great evening!