Blundering our way towards Self-Sufficiency!?
December 20, 2025
 I finally sorted through some of the pictures that were sent to us from a wedding we had here not long ago. Really great shots and I think you'll agree! Gino is always the first to kiss the pretty girls (well...to tell you the truth, he's really not that selective!)
While we've had all sorts of great weddings here, we think this bride and groom did a terrific job of utilizing all the simple, rustic charm our place offers. And, the photo studio, Dapper Images, did an A-MAZ-ING job of capturing the day!
Animal and I were married by the Justice of the Peace at the San Francisco Courthouse and our children were all boys, so weddings have never been much of a topic of conversation around here. At least until our two oldest sons got hitched : ).... then were were talkin' all about it, of course!
But I have occasionally wondered why people would want one of the most memorable days of their life to be a stuffy affair with people dressed in fancy clothes they're mostly uncomfortable wearing and eating snobby food that doesn't even fill them up!
Even though it doesn't get much more casual than a courthouse, if I were doing it all over again, I think I'd trade in the Courthouse and pick a funny, casual place like this to start my new beginning!
I'd probably wish for a bigger bathroom though!
Chuckles is a Lady's Man just like Gino!
Not sure if Gino's goin' for another kiss or just wants to eat the flowers! YUMMMMM! I think she limited her intake of champagne so she didn't spin herself off the giant rock!
Love IS Sweet...and so are new beginnings!
Posted by Annabelle.
December 12, 2025
We've found that there are good reasons to try very hard to not be late with breakfast or dinner around here.
Because it's CHEAPER!
This is not the first bed that has succumbed to our slightly bored and rather hungry pack of dogs!
Seriously, what is so fun about this??? We've even told them that each time they do this they are not getting some expensive Sleep Number mattress or something of the sort! Dammit! And because this was early morning and Animal and I were deep in blissful sleep, ... Continue reading...
Posted by Annabelle.
November 28, 2025
Alan the 'Wolfman' with our boy Blue We have many guests come for both short and long-term stays at our interesting little 'ranch' here outside of Southern California's 'wine country'. We've met people from all over, which is really fun because when you're 'holed' up in the country sometimes you feel, well, let's just say 'Over Worked and Under Paid"! Not that I'd want to go back to living in New York City or my traveling days, but some fresh conversation bringing intriguing experiences lets...
Posted by Annabelle. Posted In : Renter's Follies
October 24, 2025
Not right now please...I am Man and I am Building My Wall.
And
because I am doing it all myself and I plan to have it finished by
sundown, I don't have time for interruptions for silly things like photo
ops!
The intense workload, enormous concentration and Manly Labor is almost over whelming!
Why does Dad keep acting like we aren't even here?
He just keeps mumbling to himself and we're the ones doing all the hard work!
A sandwich sounds pretty good right now. Also, I'm feeling a bit faint an...
Continue reading...
Posted by Annabelle. Posted In : Then & Now-Building our House
October 22, 2025
I keep promising myself and those of you who have any interest in our craziness that I would post the pictures we had of our 'House Building Antics'! At that time I didn't even know what a 'Blog' was, or, as a matter of fact, if they even existed back in 2005! I'm sure we would've attempted to take better pictures for your viewing pleasure had we known our future held this marvelous blogging adventure! So, I will apologize again for this but I'm sure you'll get the idea of what was going o... Continue reading...
Posted by Annabelle.
October 17, 2025
What's this here? A mystery creature arriving at dusk?
The sly and wily chauffeur seems to have a mischievous smirk upon his familiar face.
Eegads! Me thinks this be a two-headed Beast!?
An escape as quick as the wind! (Especially for the lousy photographer.)
Uum, Hi...uh, I have the Cute Face and my sister here has the Nice Butt!
What? One, two, three...Three! How'd three of these fit in there?! Wow! Three Mini-Mee's!
Well...Helloooo Ladies...Just take a good look at this Hunk o' Man-Goat!
Y...
Continue reading...
Posted by Annabelle.
September 28, 2025
Whatcha got there Mama?
Is that Warm, Healthy, Yummy Banana Bread I've been Smellin?! Ooooh, YES it IS!!!!
I KNOW HOW MUCH YOU LOVE ME MAMA! AND HOW GOOD I AM...SO CAN YA HURRY UP A BIT BEFORE...
AWWW, RATS! BEFORE HOLLY GETS HERE!!!!
HOLLY'S NEVER GOOD!! SHE'S JUST BOSSY AND PRETENDS TO BE GOOD SO YOU'LL LIKE HER!
SEE!! I TOLD YOU! STOLEN RIGHT OUTA YOUR HAND AND MY MOUTH! AAARGH HOLLY!!!!
Continue reading...
Posted by Annabelle. Posted In : Animal Critters
August 23, 2025
I've just been a weee too busy to do much 'Rambling' lately, as you can probably tell by the lack of attention my RAMBLINGS OF A COUNTRY GAL page has been getting recently. I say it's probably a good breather since we all know sometimes I can go on and on and on and, well, on and on....SO, I decided to drop in this blog in CRAZY COUNTRY LIFE.. cuz I'm feelin' pretty crazy right now!But just in case you ever wondered what a busy day out here means I thought I'd give y'all a little example. N... Continue reading...
Posted by Annabelle.
August 13, 2025
Jerry must be the busy boss-for-the-day guy in the sunglasses with his arms crossed! So glad to see for once it's not me! I'll bet most of you are a lot like us when it comes to making the best out of what we've got around here...or in life for that matter!
In case you haven't noticed the 'Fakin' it til we're Makin' it' tagline it means we just keep on tryin' to move forward, or somewhere...anything but stagnant! Resourceful? Maybe. But have you ever been driving and come to a stopl... Continue reading...
Posted by Annabelle.
July 24, 2025
The Opinions
Expressed in the Photo Below do not Necessarily Reflect Those of the
Management or the Author, Publisher, Editor, Creative Director, Cook,
Maid, Chauffeur, Accountant, Landlord, Groundskeeper, Babysitter or the Cable Guy.
If anything here offends you, I apologize, but again THIS IS NOT MY TRUCK! This truck belongs to Clifford, the unassuming young man who is pictured below standing beside his fine work of art.
I'm not sure if Clifford is blowing Dale and Daletta out of ...
Posted by Annabelle. Posted In : R Neck o' the World
July 12, 2025
BUT...WHAT IS THAT ALL OVER YOUR SWEET FACE?!
One
year, not too long ago, son number three's then girlfriend just knew we
needed to add a Christmas puppy to our pack, so along came Little Miss
Holly!Holly was soooooo adorable yet soooooo mischievous that she drove the other dogs to growl at her when she came near because she relentlessly pounced, nipped, tackled, wrestled and basically harassed them all day long!Still buds Bart 'n Holly!
Posted by Annabelle.
July 9, 2025
Posted by Annabelle.
June 13, 2025
Hello there, I'm called Killer, named for my good looks. I live in a shed in the corral with my good friend Thumper. Oh, it's a lazy day in the shed. I'm just relaxing away...but I wonder where Thumper is??
Hi, I'm Ruby and I wanna know who's that in my cubby? That ain't no chicken!
Girls! Girls! Come quick! There's something furry in our cubby!
What? A Bunny?? Hey you Big Foot Bunny, get outa my cubby!!!
Thumper! Is that you?! What're you doin' in my cubby??!!
...
Continue reading...
Posted by Annabelle.
May 30, 2026
Uh oh...Time to get Chuckles a new and LARGER soaking pool! When we first adopted Chuckles, our then 6 month old Pot Belly piggy, he was so cute and vibrantly full of piggy mischief! Shunned by the dogs, he confessed he felt like the ugly duckling, but it really didn't bother him too much, so he just tagged along anyway. Then he became a teenager and really got ostracized when he began humping anything that stood still more than 5 seconds! When we took him to get 'fixed', the nurse c... Continue reading...
Posted by Annabelle.
May 18, 2026
Poor Dottie! The vet didn't get here soon enough to give her an episiotomy!
She didn't lay another for 3 days :(
Posted by Annabelle. Posted In : Just Another Crazy Day
May 8, 2026
Well, I know you prob'ly won't believe this, but my dog ate the camera chip! Seriously, she did! Do you see that little chip?! You may have noticed her innocent-looking picture on the sidebar is labeled Busy Izzy? This is for a reason! I had pictures of the tamales I made yesterday and they're now somewhere in Izzy's digestive tract (not the tamales, but the pictures) or at least they are partially...the rest is in pieces in the trash. I never even used this excuse in school
because I d... Continue reading...
Posted by Annabelle. Posted In : Just Another Crazy Day
April 28, 2026
Jeremi with his Dad
We first met Jeremi when we had a room for rent in Janurary and he was looking for an escape from the cold east coast to finish his dissertation at Yale where he was a film student. He settled right in and spent hours upon hours on his computer typing and typing!He was also juicing and fasting, eating mostly nuts and berries. He said he needed to cleanse and this was the right time to do it. He lost about 25 pounds in the two months he was here!!All the dogs loved Jeremi... Continue reading...
Posted by Annabelle. Posted In : Renter's Follies and Guests
April 24, 2026
It was my birthday the other day. Besides it being many years beyond my need to celebrate growing older, I was reminded another reason that birthdays, mine in particular, are no good. All we did was eat! All day long we stuffed our mouths with whatever caught our attention. And in preparation for the birthday celebration (just to make sure our stomachs could handle the big day) we began by downing a couple of chili dogs for lunch the day before! Then, birthday morning, McDreamy son #2 (h... Continue reading...
Posted by Annabelle. Posted In : Just Another Crazy Day!
© 2012 California Country GaL | Annabelle | All Rights Reserved
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Hi Y'all!
I'm Annabelle, a quirky homemaker just tryin' to carve out my little piece o' sunshine in the California countryside. Botox and tofu is scarce in these parts. Besides, Mom always said "Tofu is a lot like life, you never know when it's gonna make you barf!"
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