Gosh, Time Sure Does Fly!

Yesterday I was very productive. I walked six miles, washed and dried a load of laundry, made Hank another hot meal, returned several phone calls and caught up with all of my paperwork, while my pinto beans simmered in the crock pot!

At twelve-thirty I served Tony and Ben Mexican cornbread with beans and like me, they loved it! Our lunch was a lot of fun, too because Ben was here and there was much laughter! We talked about everything and at one point our conversation went something like this:

"Ben, have you seen the documentary, The Voice?" I asked. "I saw Drew at H.E.B. the other day and he told me that I had to watch it, because it was incredibly great."

"Yes, it is good."

"We were standing in the dog food isle, and he started telling me about it when this wealthy looking, older woman showed up. I thought I was in her way so I moved my cart, and apologized to her for being in her way and she tells us that it was no problem, because she was actually eavesdropping on our conversation! Then Drew and I introduced ourselves to her. Her name was Virginia. Then Drew tells us all about the video. Virginia said she was going to rent it, and I should be getting it today in the mail from Netflix and I cannot wait to watch it! Drew said it was over three hours long."

"You'll like it, Nance. It's right up your alley, about plants talking, near death experiences, water, etc." Ben said, as I washed our lunch dishes in the sink.

When the kitchen was cleaned up, I went to my laptop and looked up one of my favorite desserts, Cousin Nancy's Afternoon Delight, the recipe that requires one can of Mountain Dew, Granny apples, crescent rolls, sugar, cinnamon and pecans. "Tony will you read me the instructions for this recipe, so I can make it?" Tone sat down at the kitchen table and began telling me how to make it.

After slicing up two apples and putting them into a pan of water so they could boil for ten minutes, I sat down at the kitchen table and started laughing. "Ben, you are not going to believe what I did yesterday?" Ben and T. started laughing even though they didn't know what was so funny. "A couple of days ago, I bought one of those battery operated nail grinders for our dogs nails. They are only about ten dollars. Well, I decided to test it out on me first, before using it on our dogs." Tony and Ben laughed harder. "I unscrewed the top, put the batteries into it, pulled off my pink Justin Gypsies boots, removed my socks and tried it on my toes, even though Tony warned me not to do it because it might hurt me. Ben, it was fantastic! I love it and because it is so low powered it did not cut me or anything! Can you believe that?" Ben didn't say anything because they were laughing so hard. "I bet it is the same thing that they use at the nail salons! I think everyone should use them." Then I went and got it and showed it to Ben.

Finally, Ben quit laughing and said, "You've got to blog about this, Nance!" And, I told him that I would. Thirty minutes later we ate my dessert, then the guys went outside to work. This is what it looked like before we dug in.

While they were outside working, I washed the dishes and then I decided to frame the poster that I had found a few days ago, and had completely forgotten about. Barnes & Noble, in San Antonio, had sent it to me after my book signing, back in 2006. It is gigantic and it took me a while to frame it, but I got it done. It is now hanging on the wall in my office. Here is a picture of it, before Tony helped me hang it.

So, the reason that I didn't post a blog last night was because I watched, The Voice, and I loved it! Today I also didn't walk with Leslie because I was tired and I needed a day off.

Lunch today was fun, again, because Ben ate with us, again. First, we talked about our dogs and Ben came up with a great name for Dizzy, our new gigantic, but sweet, rescued black Lab. Her new name is Miss Moose or Moose, for short! It is perfect for her!

Tomorrow, we plan to move some dogs around, and put Nellybelle and Hank together. They have already met and seem to really like each other and all of us think it will be a great match! Hank has really turned around fast and is doing so great, I cannot believe that a week ago at this time, Tony and I were standing outside, over at the Medina Children's Home in twenty-two degree weather, trying to catch him using flour tortillas and cheese. Gosh, time sure does fly.

Y'all have a great evening!

Randy's & Lisa's Save Inn Restaurant!

This morning at eleven o'clock, while Lisa and Matt walked our dogs, Buttermilk took Tone and me to Kerrville, so we could meet our friend, Sheryl Eddins, for lunch at Randy's & Lisa's Save Inn restaurant!

Sheryl, a professional copy editor, is helping me edit my book for no charge, and I'm pretty sure she is already secretly regretting it, because I seem to throw commas down on a page about every two seconds or every other breath. I was never good in English and didn't understand much of it—especially the comma part.

The same teacher I had in Fort Worth, who taught me to make the 'H' silent when pronouncing words like Houston and herb, which sound like Uston, and erb, when I pronounce them, also taught me about commas. Her comma rule went something like this: "Always put a comma down every time that there is a pause in your breath, when you are reading your sentence out loud." I did as I was told and held my breath and passed her English course. All I can say is thank goodness I am not a smoker! Can you imagine how many more commas I'd be using in my sentences!

Looking back now, I am wondering if she used a fake teaching certificate or something, to teach us kids poor English at South Hills Elementary School. She was from Russia. Unfortunately by now, it is too late to find out, because she was pretty old back then, probably about my age now, and I am pretty sure she must be dead by now or comma-tose in Uston, Texas in some nursing home.

Our lunch with Sheryl was a lot of fun and our meals were delicious! Tone didn't talk much, because Sheryl and I discussed my book and her suggested edits. During our meal Lisa walked in and sat down at the table next to us with her and Randy's two precious grand kids. "Hi Lisa!" I said. "Are those Trisha's and Rodney's kids?"

"Yes!" Lisa proudly said, wearing a big smile. "Trish was busy at Copies Plus, so I took them for a few hours."

"They sure are cute," I said, as T. and Sheryl agreed with me.

After our fun lunch at Randy's & Lisa's Save Inn restaurant with Sheryl, we went to Wolfmueller's Books so I could purchase another copy of my book to give to Matt, our great dog walking volunteer. Sandy and Mary Jo were holding down the fort and they were busy helping customers, so we didn't stay long.

Our next stop was at H.E.B. so we could buy our dogs their Christmas dinner. We bought six boxes of cornbread stuffing, four giant bags of shredded Colby Jack cheese, two (h)uge bottles of olive oil, five dozen eggs, three jars of minced garlic, nineteen pounds of ground turkey, ten pounds of mixed vegetables and one hundred and fifty flour tortillas for the daily quesadillas. It cost $131.30.

This afternoon our good friend Carol came over to see us! It's been a while since we have seen her, and we had a fun time catching up with each other's news! And, it looks like I am fixin' to go horseback riding with Carol pretty soon and I can't wait!

Y'all have a great evening!

Cooking With Cousin Nancy!

This morning, I got up early and walked six miles with Leslie Sansone. Ten minutes later, I called The Rose 99.9, to do The Harley Show. Harley's Pet of the Week was Princess, the sweet thirty-five pound dog, that came back to us last month. I had a fun time talking to Harley, and I think the show went really well. 

In fact, I know it went really well, because at nine-thirty this morning, a nice woman from Kerrville called me, and I think she wants to adopt Princess, this Saturday, for her grandson! Before our phone conversation ended, she told me that she was interested in Princess, Clark Kent and Scooby Doo! I can't wait for Saturday!

While Tony and Ben were outside doing their chores, and Lisa and John were walking our dogs, I wrestled with which recipe to cook for lunch. I finally decided to make the 'Broccoli Mushroom Noodle Casserole,' then Kinky called me from Fort Worth.

He and I talked for about two minutes, then Kinky said, "...I'll be back at the ranch on Saturday. Hold on, Nance. Someone wants to talk to you." 

"Hello, Cousin Nancy! I love you and Tony, and I hope that the two of you are doing great!" OMG! It was Ruth Buzzi! "You and Tony need to come up here, and spend a couple of days with Kent and me, at our ranch." 

After explaining how hard it is for Tone and me to get away from here, Ruthie said, "I completely understand. Kent and I are planning to come down there, and visit with Kinky and y'all in the next couple of months..." I really enjoyed talking to Ruthie, and am really looking forward to their visit!

Ten minutes later, Tony and Ben came inside, when I was just starting to make the casserole. "I see you got a new coffee maker. Can I make some coffee?" Ben asked. 

"Yes. His name is Mr. Coffee, and I would love a cup, too," I said, as he started filling up the coffee carafe with water. 

"I thought I was going to go crazy, when y'all were gone to Port Aransas, because I couldn't find the lid for the coffee pot to make coffee," Ben said, as I was sauteing the mushrooms, garlic, onions and broccoli. "I looked everywhere for it, and then I figured that you must have accidentally thrown it out when you were cleaning the percolator." Ben and Tony started laughing!

Ben's remark surprised me, but made me smile, because he had just solved the mystery of Perky's missing lid! I didn't lose it last week, like I thought I had! I had lost it before our trip to Port A.! And, that is why T. and I couldn't find it in the trash the other day! Mystery solved.

While I was busy cooking, Ben started video taping me, without me knowing it! "Nance, you need to do a cooking show. You could call it, 'Cooking With Cousin Nancy,'" Ben said, followed by a laugh. Then he hit the play button on the video camera, and showed me cooking. I looked like an idiot! The three of us had a good laugh about it, and trust me—my cooking show will never air, because I deleted it!

The broccoli mushroom noodle casserole was delicious, and a big hit with Tony! I don't know which recipe that I am going to prepare tomorrow, but I am sure T. will love it, since it won't be beans and cornbread, again.

This afternoon, Tony and I went to the H.E.B. in Kerrville, because I needed to get one hundred flour tortillas, five large bags of grated sharp cheddar cheese, and two large jars of garlic powder, so I can fix hot garlic and cheese quesadillas for our dogs tomorrow and Saturday, because it is going to be pretty cold. The ingredients cost $46.11.

Our dogs love the hot quesadillas treats, and I love making them for them, but unbeknownst to Ben, I plan to ask him to help me make them tomorrow, after he and Tony get their chores done. If Ben can't help me, I think that I've got backup, because Lisa told me that she will help me, weather permitting.

Y'all have a great evening!

It Was No Big Deal!

It is forty degrees outside. I just turned on my salt lamp to set the mood, and Michael McDonald is singing,  I Heard It Through The Grapevine, one of my favorite all time songs. 

Four of our dogs are sound asleep in the chairs, and Toto and Thunder are curled up by my feet, snoring. I just took a sip of my boxed fine wine, and I am now ready to write. Will Hoover, my good friend, over in Hawaii, has just started singing his song, Jesus Don't Drive No Fastback Ford. God, I love that song!

Around five o'clock this morning, Mama woke me up. She wanted to 'cuddle' with me. Mama, my great, one hundred pound, rescued Great Pyrenees, only does this after Tony has gotten out of bed in the morning. Her version of 'cuddling' is to lay down on top of me and smother me with wet kisses. 

I am glad that Mama wanted to 'cuddle' this morning, because I was having a nightmare about something that actually happened to me, back in 1986, in Houston. Fortunately, because of a guardian angel, I wasn't killed. This is what happened.

My husband, Jim, and I had gone to Sugarland, Texas to visit his sister and brother-in-law, and I had taken Bear, my Great Pyrenees with me. In the afternoon, while Jim was visiting with his sister, I decided to take Bear for a walk around the neighborhood. At the time, it was an upscale neighborhood.

Fifteen or twenty minutes into our walk, I saw a pack of big dogs, down the street, approaching us. I didn't think much about it, until they came up and surrounded Bear and me, then the hair on the back of my neck stood up, as they started closing in on us, and started nipping at us! 

I remember one dog was a Newfoundland and the other was a German Shepherd, but I can't remember what the other dog breeds were. I looked around the neighborhood, but no one was outside, in their yards, to help us. I was really scared. I knew Bear would fight to protect me if he had to, but we were outnumbered.

Then literally, out of nowhere, this woman in a black Mercedes, pulled up to us, and started honking her horn, to break up the pack! As the dogs backed off, the woman screamed, "Get into my car, now!" I was scared to death!

I opened the back seat door, and Bear and I jumped inside, and then the woman took off, leaving the pack of dogs standing in the middle of the street! In less than a minute Bear and I were back at my in-law's house, and I was thanking the kind woman for coming to our rescue, as Bear and I got out of her car. She said, "It was no big deal," and then she drove away.

It was a big deal to Bear and me, and I regret that I never got her name, because as far as I am concerned—she was one of my guardian angels, and she saved our lives. 

Mama woke me up just before the woman, in my dream, showed up and rescued us.

Today, I made beans and cornbread for lunch, again. Tony teased me about it, so after cleaning up the kitchen, I grabbed my Moosewood Cookbook, to find some new recipes to try.

I found five new recipes that I wanted to try: Broccoli Mushroom Noodle Casserole, Mushroom Moussaka, Zucchini-Feta Pancakes, Stuffed Eggplant, and Spinach-Ricotta Pie!

Around one o'clock, after writing down all of the ingredients that I needed to make these delicious sounding meals, I half-hollered down the hall, "Tone, we need to go to H.E.B.!"

A hundred and forty-five dollars later, Buttermilk returned us to the rescue ranch. I'm not sure what I will fix for tomorrow's lunch, but I know it will be tasty.

Y'all have a great evening!

Ricky Bobby!

This afternoon, Tony and I went to Kerrville, because we needed to get a few groceries—ten items to be exact. I was excited, because it would be my first time to right my wrong, and go through the long checkout line!

About eleven miles or halfway to Kerrville, some kind of sports car got behind us, and started riding our bumper. It made Tone mad, because we were driving the speed limit, and the rude driver was so close to us, if we had to suddenly brake because of a deer, T. and I would probably be spending tonight in the hospital.

When I looked back, I could see that the young man was talking on his cell phone. When Highway 16 finally turned into two lanes, the guy passed us going at least fifteen miles over the speed limit. "I hope a cop catches him," Tony said.

When we reached the first signal light, we pulled up beside the car and we laughed about his speeding, and catching him at the light. When the light turned green, he floored his car and took off. 

At the next signal light, Buttermilk pulled up beside him, again, and we laughed about it, again! When the light turned green, the guy took off like he had been shot out of a cannon!

When we reached the signal light, in front of the Albertson's entrance, we were now one car in front of him. Tony and I loved it!

At the light at the bridge, we pulled up beside him, but we lost him when the light turned green, because he took a left. "He must be in a hurry to go to the Black Friday sales at the mall," I joked.

When we arrived at H.E.B., we were glad to see the parking lot half full. In less than ten minutes, we had our ten items in our grocery cart, and I am proud to say that we didn't check out at the ten items or less line! I am now halfway redeemed!

On our way home, as we were leaving the outskirts of Kerrville, T. started laughing, and he said, "I can't believe this, Nance! That same car is behind us, again!" I turned around to see, and sure enough that guy was riding Buttermilk's bumper, again! 

"He must be a wannabe Ricky Bobby," I said. "like in the movie, Talladega Nights. Please slow down to fifty miles an hour and let him eat our dust." Tony slowed down, and Ricky Bobby stayed behind us for about three minutes, and then he finally turned off of the highway.

When we got home, after putting up our groceries, we went over to the Lodge to visit with Kinky. We had a fun visit with him, then we came back home.

When we got back home, I returned several phone calls. The last call I made, made my day! I spoke to Bob, who lives in Florida, who loves our rescue ranch, and he is thinking about adopting Clark Kent! He told me that he reads my blog, and he thought Uncle Leonard was adorable, and when he flies out here in a couple of months, if we still have Clark, he thinks that he wants to adopt him! I love it!

Y'all have a great evening!