American Press Travel News-July 15th,-Bob and Barb at Goose Holler’ Farm and Ranch–Well, we are self-quarantined, or sequestered, or hunkered-down. Never in our life, have we ever thought, that we would be in-hiding from something we cannot see with the naked eye! So here we are, waiting for what we think we know, what the future could hold for us, and everyone else in America, and the world, are waiting for. We hope its a real vaccine that is easily available for everyone, quickly! In the mean time, what we all have to do is keep our “cool”, not let our cheese slip off the sandwich! There are several ways to keep the bulb in the socket, for light at the end of the tunnel: Number 1– Stay in touch with your loved ones and friends. Reaching out for sociality now is vital for the human psyche. 2-Stay away from the constant TV news channels that pump info on statistics and fear. 3-Pickup on an existing hobby, or acquire one. Go hobbies.com for ideas, and also do a home improvement project or two. 4-Eat and drink well! And if married, or sharing your hideout with a friend, still find alone-time, too!

If you have a pet, feel blessed! Why? Getting out of yourself, and caring for a pet is a therapy, all on its own. If you don’t have one, get one! Dogs are best, cats are great too! A dog is empathetic, and note; spelled backwards, dog spells G-D! With a dog you have to bend to feed, and pickup after it. Smile, and look into the eyes of an entity that will not judge you, love is always real. A dog is always faithful to the love it is shown! And remember;  Exercise is a key component in staying healthy. Everything is connected from head to toes. Not seeing to the whole body by forgetting to care for any part of it, will effect the whole body!

Just finished clipping thorny brush away from the fence that blocked my view of feeding bass. Got my juices flowing, as I just sat back down to my monster, flip-top, laptop. No it just has a 17-screen, but I feel like I’ve got to feed the monster every few hours-I’m a writer, eh? A few thoughts: Great exercise, a full-set of clothes, after a towel-bath, and here I am again!

I love to do exercise that allows me to look back and see exactly what I accomplished with my sweat-equity. I used to actually go to a health club. I lifted weights, pulled cables with iron attached, and rode a bike to nowhere. Yes, I got sweat equity, but always felt that I was being totally self-serving-just stretching muscles, pumping heart, etc. I guess, before my farm, that’s what I needed to do as a food and travel writer. Got to burn those amazing home-made desserts off somehow! Oh, and while I was out there along the fence-line, the blackberries were black. So, I stuffed my mouth with mostly sweet, vitamin C.

The take-away from all of the above is: Keep moving, don’t despair, stay healthy, drink, drink, drink–water, mostly and try and keep more smiles on your face than frowns.