So Life Is Good!

This past week has been one great week for Tony and me and I am totally amazed how it all happened, because it just proves, once again, to me that wishes do come true. And finally now I can tell y'all how the stars lined up for my wish to come true.

As I look back, I realize that the first star lined up, a week ago Sunday, when Tony and I were, over at Carol's ranch, having fun visiting with her and her sweet sister Carla and their dear friends Julie and Sugar. We were sitting out on the deck and talking about life and all kinds of things.

Some where in our conversation, one of them (not Tony) mentioned food trucks, and I immediately said, "Omg, I love food trucks so much. I wish I had a food truck...." And after I had quit blabbing like a babbling brook out of its bank, I made a mental note about saying that and then I got back into the conversation which was now about Willie Nelson's beautiful, new song Something You Get Through. Which is now one of my most favorite songs.

That Sunday night I decided to re-watch the great movie Chef starring Jon Favreau and it is one of my all-time favorite movies. Jon Favreau wrote it, directed it, produced it and he also starred in it. And ever since I watched that uplifting movie, several years ago—I've wanted a food truck.

Monday morning, while drinking my first cup of coffee, I Googled Airstream trailers, on Craig's List and the first picture to pop up almost made me fall out of my chair, because it showed this older Airstream and the caption above it read: "Top 10 Food Trucks" by Southern Living magazine.

And that is when I realized that Tony and I could maybe convert our vintage, 1977 Airstream and possibly turn it into a food truck, instead of using it as an Airbnb. 

My mind was racing, so then I started looking at food trucks for sale on Craig's list and to my surprise there are many affordable food trucks for sale.

I bet by now you are thinking that I bought a food truck, but you are wrong. So please continue reading.

Late Tuesday morning Tony and I went to Bandera and it takes us thirty-minutes to get there, so that is when I decided to talk to Tony about food trucks, because I knew I had a captive audience, when he wasn't tuning me out.

Anyway when we drove through Medina, I noticed that Debbie Martin's food truck was not open for business as usual. Debbie is our dear friend who owns and operates The Old Timer, which is famous and should be declared an historical landmark, because it is "the pulse" of Medina. And not because Tony goes there every morning to drink coffee with his friends. 

When I asked Tony about why the food truck was closed he told me that two days before Debbie's employees had quit running it, because they were moving.... So, I said, "Tony, on our way back I want to stop and talk to Debbie about her food truck and watch out! Someone is crossing the road...."

Long story short—On our way back home Tony and I stopped, at The Old Timer.

And I talked to Debbie about her food truck. And we talked for over an hour and we came up with a plan that suits us both. And that's when the wheels were set in motion—the sky is the limit!

So Friday morning, I went Online and started taking this eight hour course to get my Texas Food Safety Manager Certification that is required. The Online course was fabulous, but totally exhausting and because of taking notes, etc. I spent Saturday, Sunday and Monday, over 18 hours in total time studying, so I could pass the exam. 

And my backache, many sleepless hours and the pinched nerve, in my neck, was all worth it, because Tuesday morning, I nervously took the exam and I passed it with flying colors! And Carol was the first person I called to tell about passing the course. 

Then Tony and I went to Kerrville to pick up a refill of Roy's arthritis pills. But before we did that Tony and I went to Wolfmueller's Books to tell our good friends Sandy & Jon about what Tony and I are fixin' to do. And yes, they thought it was cool and were thrilled for us, too.

Then we went down their alley, jaywalked across Main Street, to Little Joe Restaurant, to celebrate me passing the exam and us getting to work part-time, in Debbie's food truck—The Old Timer's Rusty Dawg: Weenie Wagon. Because it is a win-win situation for Debbie and us.

And Tony and I did not order the exact same thing to eat, but we did order what we ate the last time we were there. "Margarita, I'll have the #1," I said. And Tony ordered their #5 Carne Guisada. And of course it was totally delicious. And we both drank their mouth-watering, homemade lemonade.

And since then, Tony and I have been regulars at, The Old Timer, discussing details and what all is involved with us running Debbie's Rusty Dawg. Here is a picture of the food truck.

There is still much to do, before we start serving food, hopefully by next week and of course, Tony still has to take his Texas Food Handlers course, so he can be certified to work in the kitchen with me. And the only thing bad (kind of funny) about all of our exciting news is—Tony has to wear a beard cover and he is not real thrilled about it. So life is good and dreams really do come true.

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

I Am A Major Fan Of Jon Favreau!

Today has been great and so was yesterday, because Burma called me to give me an update on Katee Sackhoff. She told me that they added a middle name for Katee and her new name is Katee-Sioux Sackhoff, because Randy is a Sioux. She also told me that Katee-Sioux has stolen their hearts and she is one super dog and all of their dogs love Katee. And here's a picture  she took of Katee-Sioux.

Last night I watched the movie Burnt, another movie about life, chefs and cooking. It was good, but still my top two favorite movies about cooking are still Julie & Julia and Chef, starring Jon Favreau, because they both inspired me to try new recipes.

The movie, Julie & Julia, and my dear friend Cindy inspired me to make Julia Child's delicious Chicken and Mushrooms with Cream Sauce, that I serve with oven roasted asparagus, as Julia Child suggests, in her cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking. And I am so glad that I did, because it is now both Tony's and my favorite dish.

I am a major fan of Jon Favreau, because he is a multi-talented Libra and a genius, because he wrote, starred in, directed and co-produced the fabulous movie, Chef. That our good friend and actor, Jay Pennington, got to be an extra in—playing a cowboy. 

I really love the movie Chef, because it is such a fun movie to watch. The cast of actors starring in this movie could not have been better selected for their roles. Anyway, last week, because of this delightful movie, I tried making Choi's signature Mojo Pork Cubano sandwiches, from the film, and it was totally delicious, too. And here's a link to this incredibly delicious recipe.

So last night, after watching Burnt, I went into our bedroom to get something and I caught Henry Standing Bear doing another one of his down-unders. So I grabbed my camera and seconds later, I snapped this funny picture of him, just before Little Debbie and I watched him crawl out from underneath the dresser.

After I took Henry's picture, I started Googling Egg Benedict recipes, because a few days ago, Cindy had suggested that I try making Julia Child's Hollandaise Sauce, found on page 79, in her cookbook. 

So this morning for Tony's breakfast, I surprised him and made Julia's delicious Hollandaise Sauce recipe and served him my version of eggs benedict: which is a half of a buttered muffin, topped with Canadian bacon, a fried egg (Yes, I know it is supposed to be poached, but Tony doesn't like poached eggs.) with Julia's easy to make, delicious Hollandaise Sauce. And needless to say, "He loved that, too."

In just a few hours from now, Tony and I will be taking Henry Standing Bear to his final Clicker-Training class, in Kerrville. So I am going to finish writing this and post it, because I need to go cook us lunch and then do some Clicker-Training homework with Henry.

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