On The Rocks! or I'm On my way!

Today has been great, but yesterday after I wrote and posted it on my blog—things went south really fast! And not in a good way.

I was still sitting at my desk when suddenly Little Debbie, Henry Standing Bear and Big Al(ice) all started barking non-stop. So, I looked out the  front window to see if someone had pulled up to our gate.

No one was parked outside our gate. Then I followed the dog's stares and about 3-4 feet away from them there was this big snake, that had come through the front yard fence and it was having a stare down with the dogs.

I wanted to holler for Tony, but he was at the Old Timer, in Medina. I also wanted to faint, but  I knew I couldn't, because I needed to get our dogs inside The Cabin—fast!

So I skipped outside to the front porch and grabbed The Girls and then I yelled at Henry and told him to get inside.

With the dogs safely inside The Cabin, still barking, I grabbed my camera so I could take a picture of the snake intruder, so I could show it to Tony, because I was pretty sure that it was a rattle snake. Here's that picture. The snake is on the rocks, between and the terra-cotta pot the small two-toned pot. (It is not a very good picture.)

When I checked the picture I knew that I needed to get closer to it, so I went back outside and zoomed-in and got this picture of that big, fat, terrifying snake.

Then I skipped back inside and knew that I needed to call Tony, at the Old Timer. After I Googled the phone number I punched in the numbers.

Sweet Debbie, the owner of the famous Old Timer answered, and said, "Hello Nancy"

"Is Tony there?"

"Yes he is. Let me get him for you. Hold on."

Seconds later, Tony said, "Hello."

"Tony, there is a gigantic rattle snake in our front yard!"

"I'm on my way." Click.

As soon as I heard the click, I went back to the front window and saw the snake exiting the front yard through the fence. But because of all of the rain we've been having—the grass was tall and I could not see where it went.

It seemed like hours passed before Tony finally got home, but actually it was only about twelve minutes. When he got out of Trigger, he asked, "Where is it? Did you hear the rattler?" 

After I explained to him about it disappearing in the grass and that I wasn't sure about hearing the rattles, because a neighbor was mowing nearby. "I heard something, but because I was so scared I am not sure what I heard. But I took pictures."

We went to my computer and I showed him the pictures. Tony thought it was a hognose snake, but he wasn't 100% sure what it was, because of my camera skills. So, I called Ronnie and sent him the pictures.

"Nance, I think that is a hognose snake," Ronnie said. "They are good snakes. They kill rattlers. Hey, Nita just told me that hognose snakes are real fat, too. How fat was it?"

"Probably about 5-6 inches round," I guessed. "Doesn't Joel know a lot about snakes?"

"Yes, Joel is a snake expert. I'll send him the picture and get back to you..."

Then to pass the time I sent Carol, Mari and Fourth the pictures asking them to help us identify the snake.

Then Ronnie called me back. "Joel just texted me. It is definitely a hognose snake. And I just sent you a screen shot of his reply...."

As soon as we adios-ed each other I checked my e-mail. This is what Ronnie sent me.

I was so relieved after reading Joel's reply, I immediately went back to the picture of the snake and enlarged it big time and if you look closely at the snake you can actually see his tail and it had no rattlers.

So, I quickly sent Carol, Mari and Fourth another e-mail to let them know it was a hognose snake and not a rattler.

Later in the evening I checked my e-mail, again. Here is Mari's reply:

"VERY jealous of your hognose because of the light, pretty coloring! The ones around here are dark and bland in color. Of course I've only seen one and it was years and years ago. I pressured it until it played dead so I could lift it up on a pitchfork and relocate it from where it was inside a dog run!

Mari"

And here is Fourth's reply:

"Yep, hognose……"

Then Carol called me and she told me that she has just seen two hognose snakes in the past couple of days, on her ranch, and then we quickly changed the subject and talked about happier things to get our minds off of snakes.

Like I said earlier, today has been great, because this morning before going to work next door I was thinking about the hognose snake being a good snake or at least trying to talk myself into believing it. 

So after I made a little prayer request to the snake gods asking them to please stay out of our yard and to please stay away from our dogs—I now believe that seeing that harmless, scary-looking hognose snake was actually a good omen for me. To let me know that he will keep our dogs safe. And that is how I am ending this story on a good note. Also because it is thundering outside and I need to unplug.

An after thought: Wouldn't you just hate for someone to call you a hognose? It is a horrible name. So, now I have some sympathy for hognose snakes.

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

P.S. When Tony and I got back home from working—we mowed down the tall grass!

Back-Up Bag!

Today has been great. This morning after I did my new habit and jumped off the bed the exact same time our dogs jumped off with me—The Cabin was cold. In fact, it was 59 degrees inside. BRRRR!

FYI: At night during the winter months we always turn off the electric heaters before going to bed, because that is what my parents always used to do when I was growing up. And it is obvious that I am a creature of habit(s) and that is why we do it.

Anyway, Tony had the electric heater on in the big room, but the wood burning stove was not burning any wood. So while my coffee brewed, I tossed in a few small logs, but nothing happened quick enough for me.

So, I went to get a little fire-starter brick to help me get a blazing fire going and that is when I realized that we were almost out of fire-starters and I didn't want to waste one, on the hot coals.

Then one of my wilderness survival skills hit me like a brick—use Fritos! Yes, all survivalists know to carry a sack of Fritos with them when they embark on the unknown.

Us survivalist don't use Fritos to just snack on. And we don't drop Fritos behind us to leave trail-markers, like Hansel & Gretel did, by leaving bread crumbs behind them so they could follow them to get back home.

Which I think is sort of stupid on Hansel & Gretel's part, because everybody knows that wild animals will find the food and eat it and that will lead them to you—so they can eat you, too—for dessert.

No, us real survivalists use Fritos as fire starters and Fritos, unlike bean dip, have saved many lives out in the wilderness. And they worked like magic for me, this morning. And all I can say is, "Thank goodness Tony didn't eat all of the Fritos last night."

And to prove my point, here is a picture of our half-full bag of Fritos.

So while Tony was taking a shower, I grabbed the bag and tossed a handful of Fritos into the wood burning stove and this happened instantly as the Frito-lifesavers caught on fire.

And two minutes later I took this picture as the big room began to quickly warm up, because of the Frito-magic. And all I could think of was, "We're not going to freeze to death today." And needless to say our dogs were thrilled about it too, and I know if they could have they would have voted me—Most Likely To Survive! And that Frito-Lay would want to become one of my sponsors." 

Early this afternoon Tony and I went to Medina to empty out two storage units, because we knew that it would save us money. And since I've recently become a firm believer in minimalism—it felt good to lighten our load.

But before we went to the storage units to work, we stopped at the famous Old Timer for two reasons:

     1. To put some gas in Trigger (Our 2006 Ford F-150)

     2. So I could buy an emergency, back-up bag of Fritos. (Just in case Tony decided to eat the rest of the bag.)  

An hour or so later, before leaving Medina with a ton of stuff in the back of our trucks, I stopped at the Post Office to sign for and pick up a package—from Germany.

When we got back home we emptied the pickups and crammed all of our "valuable" stuff, inside the barn. Then I came inside and took this picture of our Fritos back-up bag. 

And this is a picture of Sweet Gaby's (She lives in Germany.) package that she sent to us.

And this is what Gaby sent to us!

And the good news is—because Gaby sent us these super-delicious treats to enjoy, Tony totally forgot about snacking on those leftover/save-your-life Fritos—thank goodness. And I shall always be grateful to dear Gaby for caring so much about us. "Thank you, Gaby! We miss you and we LOVE you more!"

As I finish writing this post tonight, I want to show you this great quote that is discreetly printed, near the bottom of the box of treats that Gaby sent to us.

"Eating is a need, enjoyment is an art." So I guess you could say—that makes me an artist.

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

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!

The Wonderful Wolfmuellers!

Saturday we had a cold front blow in and I totally loved it, because Tony and I built a fire in the wooden stove—making The Cabin so cozy. And here is a picture of Henry Standing Bear and Belle Starr-Simons relaxing or better said—sleeping and snoring.

I'm so glad that the cold front blew in, because it is probably going to be the last time for us to get to use the wood burning stove until Fall arrives.

Today has been great. This morning Tony and I went to visit Carol and we did a lot of laughing as always.  

After adios-ing Carol we took off to go visit Tony's brother Sam and his sweet wife Stacie. But first we made an intentional, fun pit stop, at the famous Old Timer, which is and always will be The official Heartbeat (Or The Pulse) of Medina, Texas—where everybody knows your name and the latest on what's going on, in Medina. 

I love The Old Timer so much, because it has the best vibes and you can always count on being greeted by Debbie Martin or her friendly, upbeat employees. 

Anyway, I could not wait to see all of the new changes/renovations that sweet Debbie has made to The Old Timer. And get this—when we pulled up, at The Old Timer and got out of Roy (our 2012 Dodge Ram truck) Debbie actually came outside and waved for us to come inside.

When we walked inside the store, Debbie and Melinda greeted us and after hugs and howdies I looked around and I loved what I saw. So I said, "Debbie, I love what you've done to your store. I mean, I have always loved the way it looked inside, but now you've outdone yourself....In fact, I am going to blog about this...."

Then I walked around and started taking pictures of the awesome-looking store, as Tony sat down at a table and visited with Melinda and Debbie. I loved the way Debbie had rearranged the store, with the longer, wider isles and her knack for decorating. And here are a just a few of the pictures that I took.

This is the Old Timer's Wall or as I like to call it— The Wall of Fame and Tony is such a morning regular there, he gets to keep his very own coffee mug, on the shelf, beside the big window.

And when I was at the back of The Old Timer, I took this picture of Debbie talking to Tony, but it is hard to see her, because The Old Timer is so big inside. Anyway, that is Debbie standing in front of the counter and Tony with his back to me, sitting on a bench.

Tone and I had a nice visit with Sam & Stacie and after we adios-ed them my day just kept getting better and better.

When we got back home, Carlton was flashing, on top of my desk. So I pushed his button to hear the message and then I punched in the number to return the call. "Hi Sandy! We just got back home and we would absolutely love for you & Jon to come see us...."

About forty-five minutes later, the wonderful Wolfmuellers arrived and we could not wait to show Sandy & Jon all that we've done to, the inside, of The Cabin, our water catchment system and Tony's keyhole garden area that he is still working on. 

Omg, Sandy & Jon made me feel so great. They loved our finished front porch, the painted red door and "the mud room" that we built last weekend, which is immediately on your left, as you enter The Cabin. They thought our kitchen was too cute and they assured me that they thought that there was no reason whatsoever for me not to have my electric stove, because of the microwave, counter top oven and my Instant Pot. 

When Tony and I started to brag about how much we love our Instant Pot, they laughed, and Sandy said, "Jon's sister Joan just got an Instant Pot and her twin, Jean, wants to get one, too. But I told Jean to just wait awhile, because Joan will probably use hers once and then give it to her...." 

After we gave Jon & Sandy a tour outside, showing them our water harvesting system and Tony's keyhole gardens we returned to the front porch and had a fun visit. And during our conversation I asked them if they had ever eaten, at the Wild Ass Hey Barn. "Yes, we've been there and we love it, too," Sandy said.

"There food there is so delicious," Jon added. And then they told us about the restaurant's super-cool deck, that overlooks the Guadalupe River. "Their Friday Night Catfish Dinner is fabulous, and it is also open Mic night, so you get to listen to some really good music while enjoying the best fried catfish...." 

And that is about it for tonight, because I am going to watch a movie. I don't know which movie I will watch on Netflix of Amazon, but you can be sure it will either be a comedy or a romance movie.

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

A Hairy Situation! or What Would Ronnie Do?

Today has been really great even though I was faced with a hairy situation. This morning while Tony was, in Medina, paying sweet Sherlyn to cut his long curls off or better said—getting his ears lowered, I was at home trying to decide whether or not if I was going to wash my hair and it was literally driving me crazy.

Now you might be thinking, "Why in the world would anybody, be on the fence, trying to decide if they should wash their hair or not?" So I am fixin' to tell you right now.

You see, we have a shallow well and it has a high content of iron and that is one of the main reasons why we are going to/ and are in the process, of getting things set-up, so we can start harvesting rainwater.

We are planning to continue to use the well water to flush our toilet(s), but we will use our collected rainwater for everything else, inside The Cabin: the shower and the sinks, etc. And I am excited about  being able to wash my hair using rainwater, because up until now since, our move, when I wash my hair—it feels like wire when I try to comb it and I am scared that it will also, in time, tint my long, gray hair—a light shade of red.

Anyway, this morning while I was trying to decide what to do, I was in the kitchen and I asked myself out loud, "What would Ronnie do?" And all six of our wonderful, loving dogs did not answer my question, but they did turn their heads and stared at me like I was crazy old lady.

So I felt stupid, because of their unanimous response to my question. And then I remembered what my sweet, smart brother, Ronnie, had told me two weekends ago, the day after Katelyn's birthday party, at the Ronderosa Ranch.

He and I were drinking coffee, in their kitchen and I had told him about our decision to collect rainwater and my concerns about me, sooner than later, becoming an elderly, fake redhead, because of the well water's high content of iron.

Ronnie laughed at me, like he has for over sixty-six years, and then he said, "Nance, your well water is hard, because of the iron. We have a good friend that spent the night here many years ago and she took a shower and washed her hair here.

We have soft water, since the drought and she was totally amazed how shiny and soft her hair felt after washing it here. Anyway, since that day Jan swears by soft water and since then she buys gallons of distilled water and she only washes her hair with soft water...."

So later this morning I realized that Ronnie, unbeknownst to him, at the time, had already answered my question, "What would Ronnie do?" So I took a shower and I purposefully did not wash my hair, because I had it tucked up, inside my white, Terlingua cap.

This afternoon after we ate lunch we went, to Kerrville, to run several errands. Our last stop was at the big H-E-B. And while Tony was outside at the pumps, filling up Roy, I was inside the store buying groceries and the last thing that I put into my shopping cart was—one gallon of distilled water, so I could wash my hair with it.

As I patiently waited in line to pay for my groceries I was so happy about buying the distilled water. In fact, I was so thrilled about it I was wearing a big smile. "Hey Nancy," a familiar voice said, and I turned around and it was our dear friend Jim aka The Mineral Man standing in line, behind me. And I immediately felt it was a sign for me, because Jim is The Mineral Man. I couldn't believe it.

Anyway, I had a fun visit with Jim, as we waited our turn to get checked out. We talked about him and Tony going fishing soon, H-E-B's Limited Edition Creamy Creations Mexican Hot Chocolate ice cream and Kris' upcoming knee surgery, etc.

When Tone and I got back home I put my gallon of distilled water, out in the sun to help warm it up and then we unloaded the groceries and put them up. Then a few minutes later Tony adios-ed me and took off for Medina, so he could see his friends at The Old Timer and then go take pictures of the Bobcats baseball game.

So with him gone, I decided it was time for me to wash my hair and I've never been so excited about washing my gray locks before. I took my camera outside with me, so I could document that I had actually bought a one dollar, gallon of distilled water to wash my hair.

Then I put a large, plastic bowl, in the kitchen sink and filled it with this precious, warmed water and I washed my hair. And I was grinning the whole time during the process.

After I towel dried my hair I was totally amazed how soft my hair felt and how easy it was for me to run a comb through it. And because I was so thrilled about my hair's new condition I chose to blow dry it using our Lasko floor fan, instead of letting it dry naturally, because I could not wait to see the final results.

So I opened the front door, moved the high-powered fan into position and then I stood back, in front of my saddle, and let the fan blow me away. And as I stood there for two minutes, super-fast, blow-drying my hair, Little Debbie went outside and pooped, on the front porch. And I didn't care about her doing it, because my wiry hair was now soft as silk and it was as white as it could be. So once again life is good, at the Big Foot Ranch.

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

His & My Leftovers!

Today has been great and I am on Day-2 of my juice and smoothies fast. And, I feel great. This morning, while I was fixing Tony and me our regular, healthy, delicious smoothies, he told me that he saw his older brother Sam, this morning, at The Old Timer, while he was drinking coffee. "Yesterday, the lightning hit his pole near their house and it fried all three of their TVs..."

"Oh no," I replied. Then Tony went on and told me that they have great insurance and it will take care of everything. "Well that's some good news. Now Tony, that's the reason why I am always unplugging everything, turn off the wi-fi and never talking on the phone, during a thunderstorm," I stated.

Later, after Tony had done his morning chores outside, it rained for a while, so I did a little more writing on my third novella, even though we were still unplugged.

This afternoon, I heated up Tony's leftovers and he posed for me holding the Tropsticks, but he asked me not to shoot his head, because he wasn't wearing a cap and from the look of this photo I took, it appears that I also, accidentally cut off the pink flamingo, even though you can see the pink stick legs.

After Tony had posed for me with his Tropsticks' pink flamingo, he grabbed a fork and enjoyed eating his lunch.

After I fed Tony his leftovers, I juiced four carrots, a beet, an apple and a pear and then I poured the juice mixture into Jaws.

Then I added some kale, strawberries, blueberries, peaches, cantaloupe, walnuts, almonds, cinnamon, ginger, cocoa, goji berries, chia seeds, banana and almond milk and then I let Jaws do his job.

Then I drank two full glasses of my juice/smoothie and then put my leftovers, into the refrigerator, for a snack to be enjoyed later on this evening. Of course and needless to say, it was absolutely delicious, besides being healthy and extremely nutritious.

And that's about it for tonight.

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

Her Turn To Vent!

Today has been great. I got up this morning, at 6:15, so I could be wide awake to do Big G's radio show, around 7:20.  As I drank my first cup of delicious Donut Shop coffee I looked outside. It was still dark.

The indoor/outdoor thermometer, above the kitchen sink, showed that it was 43 degrees outside and the inside temperature was 63 degrees, because we hadn't turned on the central heat. So I put on my navy blue sweatshirt to help keep me warm and then I said goodbye to Tony, as he left to go drink coffee with his friends, at the famous Old Timer, in Medina.

I had fun doing the Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch segment with Big G. After I had told him about Bonnie Raitt, a beautiful, sweet Lab mix, being his Pet of the Week and that she was approximately two-years-old and was a super dog we changed the subject.

We started talking about the weather and the recent rain that we got last Saturday. Which led us to the reason why me and my brother and sister have a huge fear of thunder and lightning storms.

"Big G, my mother was a twin and when she was only five or six-years-old, she was with her family, standing on a corner, in downtown Fort Worth. When this big 18-wheeler truck struck her and dragged her two blocks down Main Street. The doctors had to put this metal plate in her head and she and her identical twin sister had to miss an entire year of school, because of that. And when the doctors finally released my mom, from the hospital, they warned my grandparents that my mom was like a walking lighting rod, so they were to always keep her safe indoors during all electrical storms...."

A little while later, after Tony had returned home, I checked the indoor/outdoor thermometer again. It had risen to 48 degrees outside and 64 degrees inside, so I turned on the heater for the very first time this Fall.

Then I watched Little Debbie run across the big room, over to the kitchen vent, so she could vent, next to Roy.

And moments later, Belle joined them.

Then Big Al(ice) showed up.

About five minutes after that, Beau was outside and he started barking at squirrel, so Roy and Belle immediately got up and raced to the front door and let themselves go outside. Leaving just Little Debbie and Al(ice). 

Then when Tony walked back into the kitchen to make a cup of coffee, Little Debbie took off to go greet him. And Big Al(ice) didn't seem to mind at all, because I guess she thought it was finally her turn to vent. Before Tony and I went outside to do the morning chores. And the funny thing about it when we went outside—it was warmer outside than it was inside The Cabin.

Y'all have a great evening!

Just Push The Button!

Today has been great. This morning I got a phone call from the nice couple that adopted Judy Collins, yesterday. Yes, Judy Collins was the mystery adoption dog that I wrote about last night. Here's a picture of her when we rescued her.

The husband told me that they are in love with Judy and that she is getting along great with their older dogs and cats. He told me that she was fitting in beautifully. And last night she slept on their bed with them and the rest of their furry family. So needless to say, "Their news made my day great." Here is the picture I took yesterday, with Judy and her new, super loving family.

This morning we had an appointment to take Aggie to Dr. Lindstrom's, Bandera County Veterinary Clinic in Medina, because she needed to get her shots. Aggie is a sweet dog, but sometimes she has some fear-biting issues, because we believe that the woman who threw her over our fence, never socialized her or had anything to do with her.

Anyway, when it was time for us to take Aggie in for her shots, Tony had already put a large crate for her, in the backseat of Trigger. "Tony, Aggie is probably going to be nervous from the get-go. She rides great in cars and we don't need the crate, because it will just make her more nervous." So Tony reluctantly removed the crate.

When it was time to load Aggie into the truck, she amazed Tony, because she immediately jumped into the backseat and sat down. Then we took off for Medina.

On our way there, I suggested to Tony that he drop me off at The Old Timer, so I could buy Aggie two Jimmy Dean micro-wave egg, cheese and sausage biscuits, to give to her, as a reward, after she gets her shots. So, Tony dropped me off at The Old Timer and went on down the road to the vet clinic.

When I went into the famous store, I greeted, Melinda, the cashier and then I told her that I needed to buy two Jimmy Dean micro-wave egg, cheese and sausage biscuits, to give to our dog Aggie, after she sees the vet. The friendly woman smiled and then she told me where to go find them.

She gave great directions to the back of the store and a minute later, I was back, at the counter, asking her where their micro-wave oven was. And once again she gave me great directions to the front corner of the store.

Then I made a complete fool out of myself, because I haven't owned or operated a micro-wave oven in over ten years, since I discovered that they can be harmful to our health for many reasons. And if my memory serves me correctly, I think we gave our last micro-wave oven to either Ben or to Kinky.

As the nice cashier is checking out a customer, I tried to open the micro-wave oven's door, but I could not get the door to open. "I'm sorry," I said. "Can you tell me how to open the door?" Then I laughed and quickly explained to her and the man that I am old and it's been years since I've used a micro-wave oven.

"Just push the button, at the bottom, on the right side. It's hard to see, because the panel is black." So I pushed the button and the door immediately swung open. Then I start looking for the micro-wave instructions, on the frozen Jimmy Dean micro-wave egg, cheese and sausage biscuits packages. "I'd just micro-wave them for about a minute," Melinda suggested.

One minute later, I paid for Aggie's breakfast treats and then Melinda put them inside a plastic bag for me to carry, because they were still very hot. "By the time you walk down to Lindstrom's clinic they should be cooled off enough for your dog to eat."

As I was walking down the street, nearing the hardware store, a truck slowed down behind me and I heard a man ask, "Can I give you a ride, young lady? Are you lost?" Then I heard him laughing.

It sort of startled me, because it has been a very long time since I have hitchhiked. I cautiously looked over and it was our good friend Charlie teasing me. "Hi Charlie! Thanks for the offer, but I'm not hitchhiking today. I'm just going to the vet clinic..."

As soon as Dr. Lindstrom had given Aggie her shots Tony started to take her outside. "Tony here are Aggie's treats for you to give her for being such a good girl," I said. Then I joked, "And please don't eat them. They're for Aggie."

After I paid Aggie's vet bill, I went outside and climbed inside Trigger. "Nance, I've already given Aggie one of the biscuits and she loved it and she even licked the melted cheese off of my fingers. I think we should give her the last one, right after we put her back inside her pen, as another reward for being a good girl." And that's exactly what we did, too. And that's about it for tonight.

Y'all have a great evening!

Eh! Blake Shelton Has "Left The Building!"

Today has been really great and it started early this morning. While Tony was at the Old Timer, drinking coffee with his friends I went outside around 7:00 to do my part of our chores. The main reason for me doing this was to feed Miranda and Blake Shelton first, so Blake would have time to digest his breakfast, before Julie arrived, at 10:00, to pick him up, drive and deliver him safely to Fay and Ian, Friday morning, in Eerie, PA.

After I had just finished feeding "my dogs" and was about to start cleaning their pens, Tony arrived and he went to work immediately feeding "his dogs." By 9:00 all of our chores were done and I was back inside The Cabin filling up two Baggies with Blake's daily dry dog food portions, for Julie to feed to him Thursday and Friday morning. And the name of Julie's business is Breeders Select Pet Transport, in Center Point, Texas.

Julie arrived at 9:45 and after she and Blake drove away I came inside and sent this e-mail to Fay:

"Hi Fay,

Julie showed up 15 minutes early. She was a little concerned about Blake being a problem for her to load him up. When we told her that he had made 6 trips in a crate and that he had jumped up on the bumper the last time we picked him up to bring him home, she was a little relieved. Then when Tony took him to the back of her van, without any of us saying a word—Blake jumped right into the crate, with his tail wagging wildly! Julie and us were surprised and totally thrilled that he knew what to do and he did it on his own and he seemed real happy. When Julie latched his crate door closed, he lay down and was still wagging his tail. Then she gave him a hog ear treat and he was the happiest camper that we ever saw. After we had said goodbye to Blake, hugged Julie and thanked her—Blake "has left the building, at 10:00! Nancy

P.S. Here is another copy of his rabies certificate that I took with my camera because the printer went "nuts"...." 

Then a few minutes later, I received this e-mail from Fay:

"Awww! I'm so teary just reading this! I just knew he was an adventurer! He's a smart, handsome boy and will have lots of fun and a long life with us. We love him already!

Will send updates from the road!

Fay"

A few minutes later, Tony took off to go make a deposit for me, in Bandera, so I could stay home and finish doing the rest of "the first of the month" paperwork. After I was done with the paperwork I downloaded these three pictures that I took of Blake, before he jumped inside Julie's crate for his trip.

In this picture, Blake is on the left and Miranda is on the right.

This one is before Tony took Blake out of his pen for the very last time.

This is a picture of Julie's transport van and that's her standing behind the door, getting Blake's crate ready for him.

After looking at these pictures and still being on Cloud Nine about Blake's awesome adoption and him happily jumping into his crate I decided to write Fay another e-mail. Here's a portion of it:

"When you pick up Blake, on Friday, to take him to his forever home, please tell him that we love him and that we will miss him. Please occasionally say the word "Y'all" to him, so he doesn't forget that he came from Texas and remembers the Alamo. And be patient with Blake, because he is not used to hearing Canadians say the word "Eh." Thank you once again, for adopting Blake and please know how happy we are that Blake is now y'all's dog."

Then I cooked a yellow squash & zucchini casserole for Tony's and my lunch, because Tony loves it so much. And it came out of the oven when Tony walked inside The Cabin.

After lunch we went to Kerrville to run several errands. Our last stop was at the big H-E-B, on Main Street, to buy groceries. When I had filled up the basket with half of my grocery list, I heard a familiar voice half-holler, "Omg! That's Cousin Nancy! Cousin Nancy is in the store! Hi, Cousin Nancy!" Then we looked over and saw my dear friend Carol standing on the opposite side of the frozen meat freezer, laughing. So I blushed and then Tony and I started laughing too, as several people stared at us. Then we had a short visit with Carol, by the Italian Meatball section, before pushing our carts in opposite directions. Carol, had once again gotten me.

Julie and Fay decided that they are going to text each other back and forth during Blake's trip and then Fay is going to e-mail us to keep us updated on Blake's journey to Eerie and then his final destination Toronto, Canada. Here's the first update Fay has sent to me. And that's about it for tonight.

Y'all have a great evening!

Air Vents!

Today has been great and not so great for several reasons, so I've decided to tell you the not so great part first.

Yesterday, while eating lunch with our great friends/volunteers, at the Medina Highpoint's Koyote Grill, I was telling our friends about my sweet Little Debbie chewing off the corners of our pillow cases, on the bed. "Between her ruining our nice, expensive pillow cases and Tony's dog, Beau, chewing holes in our old bedspread and top sheets and then the top of our new bedspread, we just can't have anything nice....We love our dogs dearly and I guess it's the price that we must pay, because we wouldn't trade them for the world."

This morning, while it was still raining outside, I woke up to discover Little Debbie chewing a gigantic hole in the new, cheap blanket, that I had bought last week. I got it, so I could put it on top of our once pretty bedspread, in hopes that it would protect what's left of it and hide Beau's latest hole.

After I took this cute picture of Little Debbie, looking innocent, I nearly fainted, because she had obviously, during the wee hours of the morning, been busy chewing several more holes, in the cheap blanket. 

Once I had recovered from her bedlam, I took these pictures of some of her unwanted air vents that she had created. 

After drinking my first delicious cup of H-E-B Texas Pecan coffee, I removed our shredded linens and cheap blanket, filled with holes, from our bed, and washed and dried them, before Tony returned home from the Old Timer, in Medina.

While cooking Tony's breakfast I told him about Little Debbie's destruction. "...All I can say is, "Thank goodness, that blanket cost less than $25.00."

"Don't buy anymore like it," Tony replied. "She'll just tear it up like she did this one."

Before washing the breakfast dishes and cleaning up the kitchen, I put the cleaned sheets, bedspread and cheap blanket back on the bed. Then I laid out the two chewed up pillow cases corners and chewed up pillow cover's broken zipper and took this picture. And please note the large, black hole in the blanket, near the top, that Debbie had created overnight.

Then I made up the bed, hiding the chewed up corners of the pillow cases, under the bedspread and the cheap blanket. And please note the huge hole, that Beau chewed, at the top of our bedspread, awhile back.

Okay, that was the bad part and now it's time to tell you about what made my day great. Late this afternoon, Brian Molnar, Kinky's, Chet O'Keefe's and our dear musician friend, that often tours with Kinky, on the East Coast, came over to visit Tony and me!

We had a blast visiting with Brian. After we had caught up with each others latest news, I showed Brian my amp, that Chet likes a lot, and the guitar looper I recently purchased. While we were talking about his music and recent tour, I got my guitar out of its case and plugged it into the amp. Then I asked Brian to please play us some of his songs, from his latest CD.

Oh my goodness! Brian's songs were so fabulous they kept giving me goose bumps. Brian played for over forty minutes and neither Tony or I wanted him to stop. I took this picture of him just before he quit playing my guitar. Please click Brian Molnar to find out more about our good friend.

And that is about it for tonight.