Gail!

Yesterday when Tony and I went to Kerrville to replace our broken water transfer pump that we use with our water collection system, we ran into our dear friend Tom. (FYI: He and his family are in my daily prayer's Kerr County region.)

Anyway, many years ago Tom was forced to surrender their young, female Dalmatian to us and I renamed her Annie Oakley. So when we were visiting with Tom he mentioned that he had recently talked to Gail, the sweet woman who had ended up adopting Annie from us. But that was all that I could remember.

After our fun visit with Tom, we exchanged the broken pump for a new one, because it was still under its one year warranty—thank goodness. Then we headed back home.

On our way back to Big Foot Ranch, Tony and I talked about Annie Oakley, but we could not remember her getting adopted to Gail. But I did remember that the sweet woman (Gail) who adopted Annie from us, at the very last minute before her departure, she decided to also adopt Annie's sweet roommate—George Clooney. (Over the years we had rescued several George Clooneys, at the rescue ranch, and most of them were Black Labs.) I guess because I love George Clooney and because I love Labs of any color.

And please note that this George Clooney was not our semi-famous water diving George. That Eileen and all of us loved—even though he pulled Suzanne into the creek and got her soaking wet with him.

So when we got back home I decided to search for Annie Oakley's story. First, I checked my photos, but came up empty. I would have searched my rescue ranch records, but they are safely packed away, in a box—probably somewhere in the barn.

Not wanting to give up on Annie's story, I then Googled Annie Oakley/rescue ranch/Cousin Nancy and within a few minutes I found Annie's adoption story written on October 12, 2012 by Judith Pannebaker, for the Bandera County Courier titled How Jed Clamped Became Jethro Tull , and also on my blog, dated September 15, 2012!

On that September 15th Saturday Blog post titled: Jake Spoon! or Have Y'all Died! I had a blast re-reading/reliving it. It was entertaining and pretty funny too, even if I do say so. And I could not believe that much time had passed by so quickly.

After reading Judith's fun article and then my Blog post—I remembered it all like it was yesterday, but you must read my post Jake Spoon! or Have Y'all Died! for all of those details. And I have to admit that re-reading Sandy Wolfmueller's hilarious phone message—made me laugh out loud and just writing about it just made me laugh out loud, again.

Then I found another one of my Blog posts dated September 21st titled Goldie Hawn & Jed Clampett which has pictures of Annie Oakley enjoying her new home with Gail and George. And after reading it and looking at the pictures—it made my heart soar, because Tom told us that both dogs are still loving Gail and their lives.

And that is about it for tonight. Life is good—thank goodness and for people like Gail. (So, I'll add her name in my Kerr County region, too.)

P.S. Today has been great, too.

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

Still Have Cedar Fever and I Will Write More Tomorrow!

Our Future Looks Bright!

Today has sort of been great, because I still have Cedar Fever, but not as bad as it was yesterday. Okay, now I am done complaining.

Anyway, because I've been somewhat under the weather as they say, life as I know it has not been all that exciting around here. Which is good and sad.

It is kind of sad, because the last few days have been so uneventful they have been beyond boring and I've spent most of my time in my pajamas. But on the other hand uneventful can be good too, because  I've spent most of time in my pajamas.

This afternoon my good friend Mari sent me these two e-mails and the first one she sent made me green with envy, because I want this super-cool sidecar. And the only thing that I would change about it is the color.

If it were my sidecar I would paint the VW body maroon and the top white.

The other e-mail Mari sent to me made me laugh out loud. But before you get to see that e-mail, I want to tell you that Tony and I are very lucky people, because we have so many friends. I don't want to sound like I'm bragging, but I am, because it is so true.

Seriously, every night and sometimes during the day I pray. At night when I first go to bed, I usually fall to sleep, before I can finish my nightly prayers.

The reason that I usually fall to sleep before I am able to finish my prayers, is because I ask God to please bless everyone that Tony and I know—including their families. 

I am guessing that Tony and I probably have at least 100 - 200 friends that I try to say prayers for every night and it is not easy, because I am more forgetful nowadays.

But last year I developed a new strategy to make saying my prayers much easier and more efficient. 

Originally, I alphabetized everyone that I said prayers for and their family and if your first name comes before the P's trust me you can bet that you were in my nightly prayers, before I fell asleep with Henry Standing Bear snoring in my face. 

And in the morning long before I started doing my new habit ("Today is going to be a great day!" Clap my hands together loudly and then jump out of bed.) I would feel horrible wondering if I forgot the Q's - Z's.

That bugged me a lot and I felt it was unfair, so I then I tried doing the alphabet backwards, which I am not good at and I soon realized that I was in the Alpha state—snoring, long before I even got to the V's or the U's. So the rest of my friends and family got screwed too, so to speak.

Anyway, since those mind-boggling spelling B nights I started saying my prayers for my friends and family—geographically. And that worked sort of, because I would start with friends in Utopia, Austin, Germany, Medina, Norway, Terlingua, etc.

This was my best method until I decided I needed to alphabetize the locations, so I wouldn't forget anyone. Alpine was first, Austin, Australia, Austria—to (New) Zealand. And that is how I do it every night and I highly recommend this method—especially if you have insomnia.

The reason that I have told you this is because Tony and I have so many friends and most of them are much more intelligent than me on just about any subject, except when it comes to dogs, etc.

So, several weeks ago when we were visiting with our dear friends (Costa Rica) they told me about doing research on electrical and self-driving cars and the oil and gas industry. They told us that within a couple of years or sooner life as we know it will change for the better.

In this fascinating conversation about all of us will soon be driving electrical cars and charging them for free on our little solar pads and the gas and oil industry going down the tubes—they proved it. "The reason Ford, Chevy, etc. are shutting down plants right now and will start producing only one to five gas-fueled cars is because these companies see the future—solar! They are gearing up to produce electrical cars that will be affordable to everyone. This is happening right now, so do not buy any gas-fueled cars, because they are on the way out....It will end all oil and gas wars and it will help heal the Planet in so many ways. So our future looks bright!..."  

Needless to say, they proved their point over and over again, to us. And just a few days ago I was watching the nightly news and listened to this reporter saying the exact same things about electrical and self-driving cars being our new future and I can't wait. 

As I finish writing this post for tonight, I want to share Mari's other e-mail that she sent to me today that made me laugh out loud, even though I am a big Country music fan. (And I regret and apologize that I don't know where this originated from, so I can't give credit to whom it belongs.)

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

Off!

Today has been great. Last night I coughed and sneezed all night and when I finally went to bed after doing some writing I could not go to sleep, because my nose was running like a faucet even though my nose was totally stopped up.

So after about twenty minutes of feeling miserable with Cedar Fever, I got up and found my Flonase nasal spray, in the bathroom medicine cabinet. And two squirts later I went back to bed and I was soon sleeping like a baby. Problem solved.

When I woke up this morning I was still able to breathe through my nose and I was so thrilled to once again be back amongst the living.

Speaking of the living, I have a little story to tell you, but to protect the innocent I'm changing the names and the place where this happened.

Tony and I were drinking coffee and we were visiting with some of our dear friends. When there was a lull in the conversation I decided to tell our friends about last Monday when I was touched by an angel. When that kind, elderly gentleman touched my shoulder, and declared, "This will be your best year ever! I promise you that. It will be your best year ever. So Happy New Year!"

Our friends thought it was a very cool thing that had happened to me.

Then sweet Doris put her coffee cup down on the counter, and said, "I have a story similar to tell like that, but it didn't actually happen to me. It happened to my friend's friend. They had been life long friends."

"Please tell us," Tony said, as he stirred some sugar into his coffee.

"My friend's friend had been fighting cancer for years. She would go into remission and then it would reappear some place else and they would fight it. She would go back into remission and then it would reappear. It was an ongoing nightmare. Poor thing."

"Anyway, this woman was at M.D. Anderson and she was walking down the hallway when this man, a complete stranger to her, walked up to her, and said, 'Pardon me Ma'am. I don't want to bother you. But I must tell you this. It is very important that you know that cancer will not kill you.' "Then the man disappeared never to be seen again."

"And the sad thing about it all, my friend's friend died a few months later—from a Tick bite. Of all things."

As Doris was looking down and sadly shaking her head about this sad woman's plight, there was complete silence in the room. I guess, because no one knew what to say. And that was when I burst out laughing! Startling everyone.

"I'm sorry for laughing" I said. "I know it is not funny. But I can't help it. A Tick killed her! Not Cancer! The man was right!"

Well, everyone then burst out laughing, too. In fact, Doris & Susan were laughing so hard, they doubled-over and clung to the counter for support, as they tried to regain their composure. And the laughter continued for a least another minute.

After that, Doris & Susan took turns declaring they had never laughed that hard before. And Doris admitted, "I never thought of it that way."

Knowing that it was time for Tony and me to adios our friends, I said, "And just think. If that poor woman had just used Off—she could have died in a car accident or hit by a bus. Because her number was definitely up and something has to take us out."

As I finish writing this tonight, I want to close my post on a positive note. So here is one of my favorite pictures that always make me laugh.

I took this picture in my writing cabin, of "Bob" my friendly alien that sweet Kris & The Mineral Man, several years ago bought for me when they were in Roswell, New Mexico. And I've titled it: Rest In Peace!

And these are my final words of wisdom for this post —"Ticks and stones may kill you, but words can never harm you."

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

Cedar Fever!

Last night around 9:00 I started coughing and sneezing and by the time it was time for me to go to bed—my nose was running and my throat was a little sore. But other than that I felt fine.

This morning when I woke up my head was so stopped up I could not breathe through my nose and the good news is my throat was no longer sore. It was obvious to me that I had the symptoms of Cedar Fever. Because I felt fine, other than having watery eyes, runny nose, coughing and sneezing non-stop.

And basically that is how my day started. And it has been like this since I jumped out of bed this morning and scared the dogs off of the bed.

So that is about all that I am going to write tonight, because it is hard for me to type while I'm holding moist tissues in my hand, my nose is running and I'm sneezing and coughing.

I would take a selfie of the condition that I'm in, but everyone who lives or has lived in the beautiful Texas Hill Country knows that Cedar Fever look.

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

Remember! or Remember The Alamo!

Today has been great and so was last night. Yesterday evening right after I posted on my blog, our phone rang. And this is what I heard, before I could answer the phone, "Hello Cousin Nancy! This is Sasquatch. What are Tony and—" It was our dear friend Fourth. And thirty minutes later, Fourth arrived at Big Foot Ranch to spend Happy Hour with us.

Omg, Tony and I had so much fun, sitting around the kitchen island, with Fourth catching up with each others latest news. And after we had caught up with each others news we talked and laughed about everything under the sun, including some of our old favorite movies.

At one point Fourth said, "One of my all time favorite movies is? Dang it. I can't remember the name of the movie. It starred Jeff Goldblum and—"

"The Big Chill!" I said. "It is one of my favorites, too. The music was so awesome and I loved the guy who drove the Porsche and he was a drug dealer, but I can't remember his name." And Fourth also couldn't remember the actor's name. Then we started talking about something else, but now I can't remember that.

Then we decided to move our happy hour outside and sit out on the front porch and I was thrilled, because it would be the first time for us to have company in the evening and show-off our new string of solar lights that constantly changes colors (from red to green to yellow to blue and orange) or soft white.

As I was turning on the lights to show Fourth our new solar lights, I first set it to the soft white glow position, but it was so boring, because there wasn't that many lights on the string, so I then switched it to the changing colors mode and joined them at the table.

As we watched each individual light change a different color from the other lights, we talked about that old movie The Alamo, starring John Wayne and Richard Widmark. We all loved that great movie and Fourth had us laughing about some hilarious, behind the scenes things that happened on and off the set, that he and his family had witnessed when it was filmed in his hometown—Brackettville.

I could tell you some of Fourth's hilarious Alamo stories about John Wayne and the cast, but those are Fourth's great stories, which I hope one day soon he will write about and share for the world to enjoy.

Bottom    Line: We had so much fun spending the evening with Fourth and we were sad when it was time for him to leave. And my back is still aching from laughing so much at his awesome stories.

Now I must admit that earlier this evening, after I put a giant log on the fire, The Cabin was so cozy and warm I almost decided to not write a post for tonight, because I wanted to just sit around and enjoy the comforts of home. Here's a picture of my blazing fire.

But after I saw Henry Standing Bear sleeping and enjoying the comfort of my chair—I decided to go ahead and write in hopes that at some point Henry would wake up and go nap on the bed. But so far that hasn't happened, yet.

But, before I sat down to write this, I grabbed my camera and went outside, to take pictures of our 12 foot long string of solar changing lights, so I could show them to y'all. But the weirdest thing happened.

When I turned them on to change colors they started out all one color and they would all change to the next color almost at the same time instead of out of sync like they did last night. So I went ahead and took these two pictures anyway for you. And please note that the blue lights are my favorite color of all.

And I must laugh about that old saying, "You get what you pay for" because our puny, 12 foot-long, solar light string only has ten bulbs and they really don't put out that much light. 

As I finish writing this tonight, with Henry still sleeping in my chair and snoring loudly—I Googled The Alamo after Fourth went home last night. And I sent him this e-mail:

".... That drug dealer actor, in The Big Chill was William Hurt. He's a Pisces. And Kevin Costner played Alex, the dead guy in the casket. And Costner is a Capricorn..."

Y'all have a great evening and keep on laughing! (And Remember The Alamo!)

Heaven or H-E-Double Hockey Sticks! or Touched By Angels!

Today has been great. Last night I stayed up late until 12:45, so I could finish reading Christmas at Grey Sage and I loved the ending. And before I went to bed I sorted and rinsed one pound of pinto beans and left them to soak overnight.

So this morning I slept in and I was surrounded by all five of our sweet, sleeping dogs when I woke up. It was like heaven for me until I sat up, and said, "Today is going to be a great day!" Loudly clapped my hands together and jumped out of bed. But because I had startled our dogs I think they thought they had died and gone to H-E-Double Hockey Sticks.

After they had quit barking and were trying to remember why they were barking in the first place, they faithfully followed me into the kitchen, so I could make my first cup of coffee.

The Cabin was already all warm and cozy, thanks to Tony, for earlier putting another big log on the fire, so all I had to do after drinking my first sip of coffee was to put our dogs outside, so they could go water the trees, etc.

Once I was fully awake, I remembered that the beans were waiting for me to cook them for our lunch, so while I let my second cup of coffee cool, on the kitchen island, I decided to get creative with this new pot of beans about to be pressured cook in my Instant Pot.

So I peeled and sliced two zucchinis, diced some onion and garlic, added a can of Rotel Tomatoes and added a few spices to the beans, set the time and temperature on the Instant Pot and pushed the start button.

Then I brought the dogs back inside with me and as they slept and snored on the chairs and sofa—I started writing/editing on my third novella which before my eyes is growing itself into a full length book if I am not careful.

Anyway, an hour later, the alarm on the Instant Pot chimed—the beans were done and so was I with my writing.

Well, not to brag (But to brag.) this pot of beans was incredibly delicious and it just might become my new way of cooking beans from here on out.

Tony went absolutely nuts for these beans with the zucchini and he told me that he loved them and that this was the best pot of beans that he had ever eaten and it was because of the zucchini. And I had to agree with him. So to spill the beans, so to speak, here is a picture of them along with my new Cousin Nancy's Beans With Zucchini Soup Recipe:

Soak beans overnight. Drain and Rinse. Mix All Ingredients Together:

1 lb. Pinto Beans

2 Medium sized Zucchini - peeled and chopped

7 Cups of Water

2 Beef Bouillon cubes

1 Can of Rotel Tomatoes & Green Chilies

1 TBS. Garlic - diced

1/4 Cup Onion - diced

1 TBS. Tony Chachere's Original Seasoning

1 tsp. Chicken Fajita Seasoning (Or Salt & Pepper to taste)

Cook in Instant Pot on high setting for 1 hour. 

Stove Top: Cook for 21/2 - 3 Hours

Slow Cooker: 5-6 hours.

Serve over corn bread.

🍲🍲

Last night in my post I can't believe that I forgot to tell y'all that I was literally touched by an angel Monday and it was absolutely amazing and it instantly filled my heart with love and joy. And it was so powerful when it happened to me that it is something that I will never forget, with the exception being last night.

Monday afternoon, in Kerrville at an undisclosed location, I was standing in this line when an handsome, well-dressed, gentleman, who was standing in the line, next to my line, smiled broadly at me and reached out and tapped me on my shoulder, and said, "This will be your best year ever! I promise you that. It will be your best year ever. So Happy New Year!"

The people in both lines turned to watch us and they all started smiling at us. I was sort of in shock, because when this kind man touched my shoulder I felt this intense spark of energy that shot through my entire body. And I've never felt anything like that before. And trust me—I've seen many things.

I looked into his sparkling, clear blue eyes, and said, "Well, thank you. And Happy New Year to you too, Sir. I sure hope it is."

His grin was infectious and I could feel his warmth and his good vibes emanating from his entire body and I'm sure everyone else watching us felt it, too. Then he looked hard into my eyes with his twinkling eyes, and he said, "2019 is going to be the greatest year ever! I've just turned 75 years-old and my favorite number is 7 and my wife's favorite number is 5. I love her so much and we've been married for over 50 years. And every morning the first thing that I always tell her, that I'm embarrassed to say always puts a little tear in her eye that she tries to wipe away without me noticing, is, 'You are the most beautiful woman in the entire world and I'm the luckiest man alive to have your love."

As I and several other people, tried indiscreetly to wipe away small tears forming in our eyes, he touched my should again, and he said, "You are loved and you are so blessed and never forget that!" Then the man behind the counter said, "Next?" And he walked up to the counter to take care of his business. Then the nice woman, behind the counter for my line, said, Next?" And it was now my turn.

After this beautiful, 75 year old man finished his business and had walked away, I said to the man behind the counter and the woman waiting on me, "That man is a angel." And they smiled and agreed with me. And seriously, I truly believe that he was an angel in disguise—bringing joy and love to everyone he touched, because I am living proof of that and his words were exactly what I needed to hear.

As I finish writing this tonight, Tony just came in and got himself another bowl of my delicious bean with zucchini soup, and he said, "Nance, I really do love this soup. Please don't forget how to make it."

"Don't worry, Tone. I wrote down the recipe so I won't forget it." And that is about it for tonight.

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