Down By The River!

Today has been great. This afternoon Tony and I met, Hans & Marita, our dear friends from Norway, for lunch at Monroe's East End Grill. To say the least the food was totally delicious and we had so much fun with our friends, as we sat out on the patio.

After lunch, because  we were having so much fun, no one wanted to adios each other yet, so I suggested that Hans & Marita follow us over to the park, so we could feed the ducks and geese and go for a stroll, from one bridge to another bridge and then back to where we had started.

I know that we could have gone to the park much faster by just crossing Water Street and walking down to the trail, but because they wanted to go to J.C. Pennies after our walk, is why I suggested that we go to where Mari and us always meet.

Anyway, on the way to Louise Hayes Park, I quickly filled up two baggies with corn, so Hans & Marita could have a bag to feed the ducks and geese, too.

First off, Marita and Hans were so impressed with the park when we arrived there, they suggested that we meet again, for a fun picnic there. We agreed to that and then the four of us took off.

Because we had not planned on going to the park today, Tony was sick that he had not brought along his camera. So, before our friends and I started hoofing-it, I loaned Tony my iPhone for a few minutes so he could take some pictures. And please note that I would have let him keep my cell phone as he waited for us, but I wanted to use it so it could count my steps.

Here are a few of the pictures he took today:

This is Hans actually shooting his beautiful wife down by the river, as she let my feathered friends eat the corn straight out of the baggie. (And just so you'll know—he was using his iPhone's camera.)

When the ducks and geese in the water saw Marita's All-You-Can-Eat Corn Buffet, they came a swimming and a waddling as fast as they could.

I've titled this photo "So Which One of You Two Called Me Ugly?"

This one I've titled "Don't Look Now. But Guess Who Is Coming To Dinner?" (The answer is King Tut.)

And Tony took this picture of all of these cool turtles sunbathing, on the sides of these beautiful, huge Cypress trees.

I had a wonderful time strolling through the park with Marita & Hans and the further we walked the more impressed our Norwegian friends were about this awesome, beautiful park.

In the parking lot, under the Sidney Baker Bridge, before adios-ing our dear, foreign friends, Marita & Hans and I pulled out our pedometers and checked how many steps we had taken on our bridge-to-bridge and back walk.

 And they were totally thrilled with their results and when they showed me their phone's pedometers to compare it to mine—we had walked the exact same distance. 

FYI: On my Apple-Health app the smaller spike is when Tony and I went shopping at the big H-E-B, before meeting up with our friends at Monroe's East End Grill.

And because Hans & Marita were so excited about discovering this great park they told us that they could not wait to meet us at the park, again. 

And that is about it for tonight, because I am tired and all I want to do is get into my pajamas, relax, drink one glass of my cheap, fine-boxed-wine and binge-watch the final episodes of Parks and Recreation. Because in a sense I've been there and done that. If you get my drift?

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

Heaven!

Today has been great and early this morning when Tony woke me, like I had asked him to, to tell me that I needed to get up, because we were going to work a few hours next door, I sat up in bed, and said, "Today is going to be a great day!" Then I clapped my hands together and after I jumped out of the bed—Henry Standing Bear ignored me and he continued to sleep on my pillow. So, I covered him with the covers, before I went to drink my first cup of coffee.

After my coffee fix, I showered first and when I came out of the bathroom—Henry was still sound asleep and snoring softly. And Little Debbie was snuggled up close to his head and she was sawing wood, too. And when we left to go next door they were both in La La Land.

This afternoon Tony and I took off for Kerrville, because we needed to do some laundry and grab some groceries and to let me walk at the park, because I really wanted to hit my daily goal of 10,000 steps, because this morning at work I had already walked close to 4,000 step!

I am having a hard time writing this right now, because I am listening to Pandora play one of my favorite songs The Hollies singing a live version of Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress and I want to dance instead of write. Gosh they are great and it is one really great song!

Okay, I just finished dancing with Henry and Little Debbie and I am back now and I wish that I was still wearing my Apple Health App pedometer, because I am sure I could have added about 1,000 more steps to it. But it doesn't matter, because I will tell you later.

While our laundry was washing in two machines, at Country Clean, Tony filled up Trigger, while I got our groceries.

When I came out of the big H-E-B, I heard a familiar woman's voice say, "Hey, Nancy!" And it was sweet Kris, so I stopped, so Kris and I could catch up with each other's news. And before she and I adios-ed each other I got to tell her my new duck joke and it made her laugh, so I promised her that when we got home that I would call her husband "The Mineral Man" and tell him the joke, too.

After we tossed our laundry into the dryers Trigger took Tony and I to my favorite park—Louise Hayes Park. And I got to feed my feathered friends, walk from the Sidney Baker Street Bridge to the Lemos Bridge and back, while Tony took more beautiful pictures. Then we came back home.

While Tone carried in the laundry and groceries I pulled out my iPhone to check to see how many steps I had taken and because I was so close to making my daily goal I slipped my iPhone back into my jean's pocket and then put up our laundry and the groceries.

Then I took a short, sleepless nap with Henry, Big Al(ice), Beau, Roy and Little Debbie. And honestly, I am so glad that I did not sleep, because just snuggling with my best friends is like heaven to me. Or better said—Nirvana.

As I finish writing this, I am proud to report that I hit my daily goal late this afternoon and that doesn't even count dancing with my dogs a while ago.

So, in one hour and 56 minutes of active time today, before I turned it off,  so I could paint a bookcase, my app shows that I burned-off 238 calories and walked 3.3 miles. And it recorded 10,890 steps! And I am thrilled.

Eric Clapton is now singing his Unplugged live version of Tears In Heaven. I love that song so much, even though it is hard to dance to, so I am going to grab my guitar and just play along with him. (Chords only.)

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

P.S. I did call Jim and tell him my duck joke and he thought it was funny, too.

Tex! or Kathy! or Quacking!

Today has been great. This morning after doing my habit, that freaked -out our dogs again, taking a shower, etc. Tony and I went next door to work for a few hours. And it was fun as always, because we love each and everyone of Escondida's friendly employees, because everyone is so nice and they all have such positive attitudes.

So when you combine a beautiful resort, similar to a Shangdi-La and then add a fabulous staff, who we now consider to good friends—it's a win, win situation for all.

Early this afternoon, Tony and I went to Kerrville, so I could meet sweet Mari and walk with her, at Louise Hayes Park, at 1:30, while Tony kindly did our laundry, at the Country Clean laundromat, while he took photo opportunities, at the park, in-between the washing and the drying cycles.

Tony and I showed up early and we were the first to arrive at Kerrville's favorite park, so I took this picture of the gorgeous Guadalupe River, before Mari and Tex arrived five minutes later at 1:25. So they were five minutes early.

Tex is Mari's adorable, six-month-old Australian Cattle Dog that she has begun training for future agility trials, that she and the NoMads compete their dogs in. 

Mari brought Tex along, to help socialize him some more, etc. and during our super fun walk-a-thon around this lovely park—I fell totally in love with this awesome pup.

Seriously, Tex is the coolest pup I've ever seen. His manners are impeccable and he was great about ignoring new distractions such as: other dogs, bicyclist racing past us and children laughing, playing and running around us.

Tex was so completely focused on Mari—I admit that I got a little jealous, because the only way for me to get anyone of our sweet, four-leggers to focus on me is when I'm eating popcorn, handing out doggie treats or doing my new morning habit. 

But actually my habit really shouldn't count, because it still freaks them out especially when I loudly clap my hands together and then jump out of bed like I was—shot out of a cannon.

After Mari, Tex and I strolled around the park for about an hour, we went and sat down on a big slab of concrete, so we could visit some more, while waiting for Tony to arrive.

When Mari started telling me this very interesting story that had happened to her last year, I had been all-ears and she had my total attention, until I saw these beautiful ducks down by the river. 

And unlike Tex, who was totally focused on Mari and was patiently sitting by her side—I didn't mean to, but I completely tuned Mari out, because I love ducks so much. And these pretty ducks made me think about Kathy. 

Tony and I loved Kathy. She was the coolest duck that I've ever known. Tony and I rescued her and Harry, in 1996, two years before Kinky, Tony and I decided to start our rescue ranch on my Rolling Thunder Ranch, in Utopia, Texas.  

Anyway, I hate to admit it, but Harry was much smarter than Kathy, his girlfriend duck. But Kathy didn't seem to care, because she spent most of her quacking-hours swimming with our dogs in my big stock tank or else sleeping around with Thunder in broad daylight for the whole world to see. FYI: Thunder was our super sweet Black Lab, that Tony and I also rescued in 1996. And here is an old picture of them sleeping it off, at Rolling Thunder Ranch.

Harry-Kathy-Thunder were a love triangle. And Harry & Kathy's love-hate relationship with Thunder is another long story. So I will write about it someday, but not now, because I need to wrap this post up for tonight.

Long story-short—I loved Kathy so much that after she died an untimely death, (she was impacted) I found this picture that I had taken of her.

And to honor this much loved and feared duck, I turned the above picture of Kathy into the one below, because Harry, all of our dogs and our two cats were all scared to death of her. (Because Kathy was a you-know-what.) And here is that picture of "Kathy— The Toughest Duck In Texas 1996 - 1999" that we've had on our refrigerator door since 1999. 

And please don't ask me, "What Would Buddha Do?" because I don't know.

So, as Mari was finishing up telling me her exciting story, I snapped back to the present and pretended to be really interested in what she was saying, even though I had no clue about what she was talking about or had been talking about. Thanks to Kathy.

So before Tony and I adios-ed our dear friend, Mari and I agreed to meet again next week, at the park. And maybe then she will re-tell me that same story again, because at our age, I'm sure that she and I will have forgotten about it anyway.

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