The Toilet That Will Change The World!

Yesterday Tony and I went to Kerrville to run a few errands. Our first stop was at the Next Generation Produce to buy more produce and drink their juices. I drank a shot of Tumeric with ginger and lemon and then I chased it down with their delicious Pear Bear, while Tony drank their Dr. Oz.

After we made ourselves healthier we went to the Home Depot, a few blocks down Sidney Baker Street aka Highway 16, so I could purchase some paint for The Mother Ship, my latest used RV, because for several weeks I've been trying to decided what color to paint it.

It took me about fifteen minutes to find the exact colors I wanted and while the nice, courteous man was getting my paint ready, Tony showed up at the paint counter, because he had probably had been looking at the toilet seats again, just to make sure that his new wooden one was the very best choice.

When the smiling employee removed one of my gallons of paint from the shaker, he said, "Okay, here's your black paint."

I was kind of shocked, because I had not chosen black. "I'm sorry, but I didn't pick black. It must be someone else's paint," I said. Then the man and Tony started chuckling.

"Nance, he's teasing you," Tony said, followed by another laugh. Then I looked at the smiling man's face and then at Tony's and started to blush. Then I laughed and took off to go look at paintbrushes.

They had all kinds of paintbrushes on display, from cheap to very expensive and when I finally chose the one, high above my head, I tried to remove it, but it wouldn't budge. "Here, let me help you with that, ma'am," this nice, good-looking, old cowboy, with a handlebar moustache, said to me. I scooted over and then he reached up and removed it and handed it to me. "Here you are. This is a nice paintbrush. What you planning on painting?"

"The Mother Ship," I said, which made him raise his furry, gray eyebrows and then turn his head sideways. "It's an old RV that I'm renovating," I quickly explained, as the bowlegged cowboy turned and walked away.

Last night I didn't write anything, because I was watching these super cool television shows on Tiny Houses, on one of those do it yourself networks. I was fascinated by some of the tiny house plans and designs and totally shocked about how expensive they were, because I know that it doesn't cost $80,000 to $100,000 to build something that small.

So after watching several, informative, tiny house shows I went Online to check out prices of composting vs. state-of-the-art toilets and Fagor Portable Induction Cooktops, etc. and I learned a lot, knowing that I could build a tiny house for under $25,000.00 easily, with Tony's help, of course. Then I went to bed and dreamed about installing the DryFlush state-of-the-art toilet, that will change the world inside the Mother Ship, even though the toilet in there works fine.

Today has been great, even though it has been damp and drizzling outside for most of the day. This morning, after doing the outside chores with Tony, I spent most of my day doing paperwork and returning phone calls—not what you would call real thrilling, but that is what it is.

And as I finish writing this tonight, I am looking forward to tomorrow, because it is supposed to be a beautiful, much warmer, sunshiny day. Which hopefully means that after we do our morning chores outside I will get to start painting The Mother Ship! And y'all are never going to guess what COLORS I am going to paint it.

Y'all have a great evening!

Tree House!

The last few days have been great, but nothing exciting has happened out here, probably because they have been gray, drizzling days and all I wanted to do was stay warm inside The Cabin.

This past Friday morning after Tony and I did our chores outside, we decided to work on B.B. King's pen, because an old cedar tree had fallen down, on the top of his dog house and instantly converted it to a tree house, inside B.B. King's pen. Because Tony will not let me go near a chainsaw, he cut up the timber and fallen branches while I tried to remove most of his cuttings, from the dog pen. This is what we still have left to do to finish the job.

By the time our dear friends Kris & Jim arrived, both of our backs were killing us, so we called it a day for tree removal work and instead we had a fun visit with Kris and The Mineral Man, before going to lunch with them, at La Fours, in Kerrville. (I only had a cup of their delicious seafood gumbo, because I was still full from juicing earlier.)

When we got back to the ranch, we laughed when we saw B.B. King walking up and down one of the nearly downed cedars, so I grabbed my camera and took this picture of him. Then I took this picture of Mr. King to use on our website.

This afternoon Tony and I went to Kerrville. Our first stop, at the crack of noon, was at the Next Generation Produce, because we wanted to drink their Bear Pear juice and I needed to buy some more organic fruits and vegetables. 

We ordered our delicious juices and while I was shopping around the cool store, Tony also ordered a shot of their Tumeric, ginger and lime juice, without me knowing it and he drank it before I returned to get my Bear Pear juice. When he told me about drinking a shot of that powerful juice, I ordered one too, after I had read about its many healing benefits, while sipping my Bear Pear juice.

Then we went to the big H-E-B store, on Main Street, so we could get groceries—mainly fruits and vegetables and then we came back home.

This afternoon it was still gray and drizzling, not my favorite kind of day, because I am a sunshine person and I need a lot of it. Anyway, around 4:00, the sun came out! I was thrilled about the sunshine and asked Tony to go outside with me so I could try to take some better pictures of Hazel and Katee Sackoff for our website.

When we got outside, we decided that I would try to get pictures of Hazel, while he tried to take a good picture of Katee, in Springsteen's pen, because we weren't sure how long the sunshine would last. And I am glad that we did, because it got cloudy twenty minutes later and it has stayed that way. Here's my best picture of Hazel, who never changes her expression. She is about four-years-old and here's Tone's picture of sweet Katee who is only about one year old and is medium-sized. (And her face looks just like Tony's Belle.)

When we came back inside The Cabin I cooked dinner for Tony and me using two new delicious vegan recipes. I cooked Drew's delicious Indian (Meatless) Cutlets recipe that tastes just like meat and believe it or not the main ingredients are: walnuts, bread crumbs, eggs and cottage cheese. Yes, I know that doesn't sound delicious, but it was and Tony ate two cutlets and he is or was a meat and potatoes only kind of a man. Here's a picture of his cutlets before he devoured them.

I also fixed us yams, which he has always disliked. I found this easy to make vegan recipe, on the Internet, with these main ingredients: yams, chili powder, butter and a small amount of brown sugar. Omg! It was totally delicious and Tony took second helpings of it! And when he handed me his empty plate to clean, he said, "That's the first time that I have ever liked yams. You need to fix us yams, like these, more often. I can't believe I love yams now and..." And that is about it for tonight, because we're going to watch the Cowboys game.

Y'all have a great evening!

The Mother Ship!

Yesterday and today have been great, but it has been pretty uneventful when it comes to exciting rescue ranch news. So I guess the only exciting news that I have is Tony and I did not get blown away, after going to bed Monday night, after eating those delicious sweet & sour beans that I had cooked.

Tuesday morning Tony and I did our daily chores early and we were back inside The Cabin by 8:30 and that's when we made and drank our Mean Green juice. After that I spent an hour doing some paperwork and then I decided to "take a brisk, four mile stroll down memory lane" with Leslie Sansone, in the big room.

It's been quite a long time since I have exercised with Leslie's fabulous DVD and it was a lot of fun. And I did work up a sweat, probably because of the beans that I ate the day before, because let's just say that I was "making noise" every time that I had to do the knee lifts and it scared Little Debbie.

After my "windy workout" I cooked us a healthy delicious lunch. I cooked a zucchini frittata using onions, garlic, spinach, zucchini, tomato, celery, jalapeno and cheese.Then I spread my new Cousin Nancy Serrano Pepper salsa, all over the top of it and served it with a very small portion of our leftover sweet & sour beans.

Yesterday was a beautiful day outside, so after lunch I cleaned up our dishes and then I went outside, with my iPod & Bose dock, in hand, to do some decorating and work on the Mother Ship. First, I hung up a painting of Kinky, that a fan had painted of him, that he had given to me, along with my framed pictures of Willie Nelson wearing a Geezinslaw Brothers t-shirt that my late husband and I had designed, and my autographed picture of Ben Crenshaw, wearing a golf shirt that I had embroidered for him, when he won the Masters, in 1995.

Then I hung up My Cow Patty Tea picture, that I designed, above the stove top. Before Kinky, Tony and I started the rescue ranch, I actually started a short-lived, but fun business called Cow Patty Tea Company. My girlfriend Lindy, in Utopia, let me come over to her cattle ranch and collect old, dried up cow patties, because I had come up with a plant fertilizer recipe using a bucket of 5 gallons of water and two cow patties. My concoction actually sold like hot cakes and Kinky even bought several bottles from me and he used it on his plants. Anyway, that is another funny story for another day.

After working on the Mother Ship, I went over to the Lodge to visit with Kinky and Bob and to bring them our leftover frittata and sweet & sour beans. Needless to say, they loved it, ate it all and didn't blow up when Kinky lit his cigar.

Today Tony drove me to Boerne so I could attend another Pet Search & Rescue Board Meeting, because I am one of the board members on Jay Pennington's 501 (c)(3) organization that helps get pets adopted from pounds and shelters and gets lost pets back to their owners. If you want to check it out go to www.kerrvillepets.com, etc.

On our way home we stopped at Next Generation Produce, so we could try their Iron Man juice and as we were getting out of Trigger, a horn honked at us—it was Sandy Wolfmueller pulling in beside us, because she wanted to buy some fresh, local farm produce. 

While Tony and I sipped our delicious, super healthy juice, we had a fun visit with Sandy and then we came home and I took a nap with our dogs, after our out-of-county trip. And that is about it for tonight, because I plan to watch another Hallmark movie.

Y'all have a great evening!

Sweet & Sour! or Blowing In The Wind!

Today, Day 10 of my raw fruit and vegetables fast, has been great, even though it has been F.M.T. (Full Moon Time). This morning Tony and I drank our Mean Green Juice, then we went outside and did our chores.

Early this afternoon we went, to Kerrville, to run a few errands. Our first stop was at the Next Generation Produce to celebrate the last day of my fast, by drinking one of their tasty, healthy juices. We were tempted to order their super delicious Pear Bear juice, but at the last minute, we decided to try their juice that has sweet potato in it. And we loved it, too.

Then we went to the big H-E-B, on Main Street, to buy more fruits and vegetables. Then we came back home, because our dear friend Garnet was coming over, at 3:00, to return Ginger to us, because Ginger, the beautiful, Alpha Boxer, had become way too aggressive with their other two dogs, especially with Bear.

Last night, Garnet had sent me the sweetest, heart wrenching note telling me how sad they were that Ginger had not worked out with their other two dogs and she told me how much they loved Ginger. They were sick about having to bring Ginger back to us and they wished that Ginger and Bear could have gotten along, but it had escalated to the point that they had to keep Ginger separated from the other two, because they feared that something really horrible might happen to Ginger or Bear the next time they got together.

I felt her tears and sadness and I replied to Garnet, telling her that I completely understood and I thanked them for giving Ginger a try and for them not to feel bad at all, "It just wasn't meant to be. Having two, big, Alpha dogs were too much for them to handle and it would be too much for me too..."

When Tony and I arrived at the rescue ranch, Tony and I decided to get things ready for Ginger's arrival, before going up to The Cabin, to unpack our groceries, so Tony parked Trigger by the barn.

As Tony was leashing up Tuesday Weld, to move her to the alley between Mandy's & Bandy's pen and B.B. King's new pen, in hopes that Tuesday and B.B. might become fast friends, Garnet arrived with Ginger.

When Garnet got out of her truck, I could tell that she had been crying. "Garnet, please don't feel bad about this. It just wasn't meant to be. I promise. Nine times out of ten when a dog gets returned to us, that dog usually gets adopted within two to three weeks to the home it was meant to be in." Garnet and I hugged each other, then she apologized and apologized to us for having to return Ginger, which was not necessary at all, so I changed the subject. "How is old Buddy doing?" I asked.

"Buddy is doing great in my daughter's family home. He is loved and he has blended in nicely and all is good there..." Then Tony leashed up Ginger and walked her over to her new pen. Ginger seemed happy to see Tony and she liked her new pen, next to the barn. In fact, she didn't seem to be upset at all about coming back to us, because she immediately started smelling the trees and checking out her dog house. And when Garnet went over to tell her goodbye, Ginger sniffed her hand and wagged her stubby tail and then trotted off to go check out the rest of her new digs. In other words, Ginger was fine.

Early this evening I went over to the Lodge to visit with Kinky and his author friend Bob, visiting him from Louisiana. Bob is the nice man who adopted Mama, our three-legged Pit Bull, back in 2007, that John K. delivered to his doorstep, in Louisiana. When Kinky, Bob, The Friedmans and I went on a short hike, Bob told us, "Mama, is still doing great, but she is starting to slow down a little...."

Just before dark-thirty Trigger returned me to the rescue ranch, so I could finish cooking a new bean recipe that I wasn't sure Tony would like. As you know, we love pinto beans and we eat a lot of them around here, but this recipe, on the back of the H-E-B package, was Sweet & Sour Great Northern Beans.

We've never heard of or eater sweet & sour beans of any kind, but let me tell you—those beans were totally delicious! In fact, Tony took a second serving of them and he told me that he loved them.

Later on tonight when we go to bed, I'll decide if I am ever going to cook that recipe again, by closely monitoring the noise level and how high our sheets rise. Sort of like that old Johnny Cash song, How High Is the Water, Mama? But ours will be, How High Is the Blanket, Tony? Or Peter, Paul & Mary's famous song, Blowing In The Wind.

P.S. I'll keep y'all posted if I don't get blown away.

Y'all have a great evening!

Next Generation!

Today has been great. I am on day three of my healthy juicing fast and several people have warned me about day three being the roughest day of the fast and if I can get past day 3—it's a piece of cake or better yet—that I'll feel great and it will be easy to finish the 10 day raw vegetables and fruits juice fast.

Day 2 was easy for me and last night Carol had sent me an email requesting that I watch this must-see,  fabulous documentary about getting healthier and juicing. So last night, I sat down in my chair which is now Roy's official chair and watched Hungry For Change, with Roy on the floor sleeping, next to "his chair" with Little Debbie and Alice, curled up, in my lap.

It was the most amazing, informative and inspiring documentary I've watched since watching Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead. Belle and Beau didn't get to watch it with us, because they were back, in Tony's office/ man cave, watching another documentary with Tone.

 When I woke up this morning I was feeling great and full of energy. So I slipped on my pink hoodie sweat shirt, because it was 64 degrees outside and then went outside and started doing my share of our morning chores.

After I fed "my dogs" the wind picked up and the temperature dropped, so I walked back to The Cabin and put on a heavy jacket and my gloves. Then I went back outside to clean "my dogs" pens. When I was nearly done cleaning up the dog pens, the temperature was fluctuating between 49 and 51 degrees and the wind was picking up and that's when Tony arrived back, at the rescue ranch. And later, after he did his chores, he told me, "It was 61 degrees outside when I left here this morning. Now, I wish that I had stayed home and done my chores early like you did..." as we drank our Mean Green juice.

This afternoon, we met our Lunch-A- Month dear friends, at Brew Dawgs Grill & Ale, in Kerrville, on 173, next door to Papa Johns and it was a lot of fun and it was filled with laughter. Even though I only drank ice water for lunch, it was not a problem for me, as everyone ate their delicious-looking meals and raved about how good their food was.

When we got back home, Carlton was flashing, on top of the breakfast bar, so I pushed his button, to listen to the six new messages. Three were rescue ranch related. And one was from Kinky, requesting an updated weather report. The other two were from Carol, requesting that I call her as soon as possible, because she had some exciting news to tell me about discovering a fabulous place that has a juice bar, in Kerrville, where we can go to for a juice lunch. "Call me, Nancy! I can't wait to tell you all about it!" Click.

Before I returned Kinky's and Carol's phone calls, Tony watched Hungry For Change, in the big room, while I made myself a delicious fruit juice for my lunch and then threw away almost everything that was inside our refrigerator and then I cleaned it, so I could replace it with fresh veggies and fruits. And the reason that Tone watched the documentary was because I had begged him to do it, all of our way home. And to say the least, "Tony loved watching the informative and inspiring documentary, too."

After I called Kink, I called Carol back. She raved non-stop about Next Generation Produce, located at 905 Sidney Baker, in Kerrville. "Nancy, the young couple are the nicest and friendliest people, and they knew the names of their returning customers and the place was packed. I checked it out on FaceBook when I got home and it has nearly 900 Likes! It is open 7 days a week from 10 - 6 PM. We've got to go there. It's a local farmer's market and their juices are incredibly delicious and you're going to love it..." Then we talked about juicing recipes, because Carol is juicing with me and it is Day 2 for her.

When our fun conversation ended I checked my e-mail. Our good friend Les, that we had seen earlier today, at lunch, had sent me an awesome dog video to watch, where this young woman performs with her incredibly talented Blue Healer, during a 2014 Philadelphia Eagles halftime show. It is a an amazing video and it was so much fun to watch. Click here, if you want to enjoy it, too. And that is about it for Day 3 (tonight).

Y'all have a great evening!