Happy 61st Birthday, Patty K.!

This morning it rained, and we had a pretty bad electrical storm, that made us unplug everything, so Tony and I went over to the Lodge to visit with Ben and Will. While we were talking about the storm, I grabbed the pool rack, and started pulling all of the balls out of the pool table pockets. "Ben, you want to play a game of pool with me?" I asked. Will, Tony and Ben sort of chuckled.

"Sure Nance," Ben said, as he racked up the balls. "You go first, and break up the balls."

I didn't want to break up the balls, because I'm not good at doing that, and I also didn't want to hear Tone's standard comment that he makes every time that I break up the balls—'You shoot like a girl.' 

As Will lit up his cigar, I took the first shot. I completely missed the racked up balls, and my cue ball went to the back pocket and fell into it! The guys started laughing. "Game over, you lost, Nance," Tone said. "You shoot like..."

"What?" I asked, intentionally cutting off Tone's remark. Then they took turns explaining the rules of the game to me, as Tony and Ben played a game. It was sad, The Medina Bulldog lost. Will was next, and in no time flat, he lost to Ben, too. Ben was on a roll, so to speak.

When Ben jokingly bragged about being the best, The Medina Bulldog challenged him to one more game.  Five minutes later, The Medina Bulldog beat Ben! "Come on, Nance," Tone said. "We've got to go home. It has quit raining, and I've got work to do."

While T. and Ben worked outside, I returned phone calls and caught up with my paperwork. Then I fixed lunch for Ben, Will, Tony and me. We had my homemade beans and cornbread, and it was really good.

After lunch, I worked on my book. Around two o'clock, we took off for Kerrville to get groceries, and to go to Wolfmueller's Books, so I could drop off a much improved, edited version of my book, for Sheryl Eddins to edit for me. 

When we pulled up in front of Sandy and Jon's bookstore, I did a double take, and so did P & P, who were walking out of Wolfmuellers! "Tone, it's Patty and Peggy!" I jumped out of Buttermilk! "Hi Patty and Peggy," I said, as I hugged them. "It is so good to see y'all! I was just telling Tone, twenty minutes ago, that you were coming up for a visit from Florida! I can't believe this! Y'all look great!" 

When I finally quit talking, Patty said, "Cousin Nancy, today is my 61st birthday, and I flew in yesterday to be with Dad and Peggy!"

"Happy Birthday, Patty! Good grief, you sure don't look like you're sixty-one! You look like a forty-something..." As the four of us visited outside Wolfmuellers, Sandy and Jon waved to us from inside. Before saying goodbyes to P & P, Patty told me that she and Peggy were coming out to the rescue ranch tomorrow morning for a visit! I can't wait to see them!

When T. and I walked inside the bookstore, we were greeted by Mary Jo, Sandy, Jon and Donna Schloss! We had a fun visit with them. I showed Donna and Mary Jo, my nearly finished book, and I told them that they were both mentioned in it, and they seemed thrilled! Then this man walked in the bookstore and started talking to Jon, at the checkout counter.

Sandy waved at me, and whispered, "that's Tom! Have you met him?"

"Tom Wells?" I whispered back. Sandy nodded her head, yes. I then walked over to Tom and stuck out my hand. As we shook hands, I said, "Tom Wells, I am Cousin Nancy and I am so mad at you. I read your book, Strange Seasons: Summer, and I loved it, and I couldn't put it down! It was fantastic! But when I found out that I was going to have to wait for you to finish the next sequel, I was sick. You are one great writer!"

Tom thanked me, and then he told me that he is nearly finished writing the next sequel. Here's a picture of Tom's fiction novel.

Before leaving Wolfmueller's I purchased this gardening book for Tony."Here Tone. This an early Christmas present from me. Enjoy."

Y'all have a great evening!

Thank You, Sandy! I Love It!

Today has been fantastic!

This morning, around ten o'clock, I called my sister, Cindy, to wish her a happy birthday. After wishing her a happy sixty-three, we visited. "So, what are you and Ray going to do for your birthday?" I asked.

Cindy started laughing. "Not much, Nance. My back went out on me, last Saturday. I've missed work for three days, and it has never been this bad."

"How'd it happen?"

"I'm not sure. I went to the doctor Monday. He asked me what I had done the week before. I told him I had walked the dogs everyday, gone to Curves, played tennis, and vacuumed the house. Then I told him that I thought it was because I had vacuumed." We both started laughing. "Ray and I bought a new vacuum cleaner and I hate it. Some friends had recommended it and we bought one, and I really hate it. It has two modes. The first mode makes the vacuuming hard to push and feels like it weighs a ton. And, the second mode makes it lighter, but you have to wrestle with it constantly..."

"Sounds like it really sucks."

"It does. We spent a lot of money on it, and it is the worse vacuum cleaner that we have ever owned. We can't take it back, because we have used it three times."

"Give it to Adam or Tom for Christmas, and buy a new one," I suggested. "I have a Dyson Animal, that I bought a few years back, and I love it. It's lavender colored, too. It cost three or four hundred dollars, and I love it. I named it Hazel."

"I think I am just going to use the old one, that we were going to take to Good Will for now."

"Hey, I've got it! Tell Ray you want to buy a Dyson that will cost at least three or four hundred dollars, or you want to hire a maid! It will take a long time for a maid to cost you that much!" That made her laugh.

Cindy and I talked about her and Tony's back problems, those new wrap around heating, wearable belts, and my new apple juice champagne phenomenon. By the end of our conversation, I promised to send Cindy a packet of the Pasteure's Champagne Yeast today, for her birthday present, so she could make it, and serve it at her next book club meeting.

This afternoon, Tony and I went to Kerrville, so I could drop off my book at Wolfmueller's, so Sheryl could pick it up, and do the last edit for me, and to get a few supplies at H.E.B.

When we arrived at Wolfmueller's Books, Sandy and Jon greeted us at the door, and invited us to sit down for a visit. I handed Sandy my book and then sat down next to Tone. "Y'all, it is nearly finished, but I am not happy with the sub-title. I wish I could come up with a better one. I like the title, 'Meanwhile, Back At The Rescue Ranch, but I don't like the sub-title. Have y'all got any ideas?"

Sandy looked at the picture for the book cover, then she said, "How about, 'The Dog Days of Cousin Nancy?' It just popped into my head." I looked at Sandy and then my jaw dropped.

"OMG! I love it! It's perfect! Thank you, Sandy! I love it! 'Meanwhile, Back At The Rescue Ranch: The Dog Days of Cousin Nancy!' It's absolutely perfect! Can I borrow a pen?" Sandy handed me a pen. I pulled out the jacket artwork from the notebook, and then I scribbled out the old sub-title, and wrote Sandy's words in its place!"

A customer came in, and while Sandy was helping them find a book, Jon and I discussed my book, whether or not I should just use dates, or dates with a title. He liked the title, followed by the date, and I had to agree with him. Then their store filled up with tourists, so T. and I left the store, and we went to the post office, to mail Cindy her packet of yeast along with the recipe. Then we left Kerrville.

All of the way home, all I could think about was my book, and the changes that I needed to make! When we got home, at two-thirty, after returning several phone calls, I sat down at my laptop and went to work revising my book!

Around four o'clock, the phone rang—it was Ronnie. As I was typing away, Ron said, "Nance, pick up the phone. I know that you are..."

"Hi Ronnie!" I said. 

"You know it is Cindy's birthday today, don't you? Since you hadn't called me to remind me, like you usually do, I thought I would call and remind you, just in case you had forgotten."

"Thanks for calling, Ronnie. I didn't forget. I called Cindy this morning."

"Did she tell you about her back being out since Saturday? She doesn't know how she did it."

"Yes. She told me that she thought it was from vacuuming." Ronnie started laughing.

"Well, she needs to get herself a riding vac!" He said. It took me a couple of seconds, and then I started laughing!

"Ron, that's hilarious! You, or someone needs to invent a riding vac..."

"For old people!" After we finally quit laughing about that, Ronnie told me a hilarious joke about a parrot. Then we said goodbye to each other.

This evening, a few minutes past seven, I finished all of editing! Now, all I have to do is edit Sheryl's suggestions, get an ISBN number, and register my book with the Library of Congress! I am so excited!

Y'all have a great evening!

Happy 63rd Birthday, Sister Cindy!

Go Tony!

Today has been great, even though I overslept! Fortunately, I didn't miss seeing Kinky on Imus, because last night, before going to bed, I programmed our Dish DVR, to record the show.

While I fed our dogs and Lucky, I watched Kinky, Little Jewford and Washington Ratso on Imus! I thought the show was great! All three of them were funny, and they had Don Imus, his crew, and me laughing!

When Tony came home from Medina, I watched it again, so Tone could see it, as we drank our breakfast smoothies. 

After Tony had done his chores outside, and I had walked six miles, I returned several phone calls, while T. harvested some of his crops on Facebook. Tony is excited, because he has nearly caught up to Will's virtual farm! Go Tony or should I say, Grow, Tony, Grow!

I was going to fix Cousin Nancy's Asparagus Soup for lunch, but T. didn't want soup, because he was 'starving.' Because he knew we had to go to Kerrville to get supplies, Tony offered to treat me to lunch at Randy & Lisa's Save Inn restaurant—an offer that I couldn't refuse! 

When we arrived at the Save Inn, the parking lot was packed, and we took the last parking space available. As always, our lunch was delicious, and their friendly waitresses were very friendly, and all smiles! Near the end of our meal, Randy came over to our table to tell me that he had just finished reading my book, and that he loved it! His kind words made me feel great. Thank, you Randy for making my day!

After Tone and I left the Save Inn, we swung by Copies Plus, because I needed to talk to Trish about possibly needing some help with my book jacket design, because she is so talented when it comes to design. Trish  told me that she would love to help me, if I needed it. We visited for a few minutes, then we took off after some customers had come into the print shop.

After we got our supplies at Walmart, Buttermilk took us home. After returning a few phone calls, I turned on my salt lamp, cranked up my iPod, and then worked on my book. 

I downloaded some templates from the company that I am going to use to print my book, and I started putting it together! At one point, when my book went from two hundred pages, to nearly three hundred pages, I called Jon at Wolfmueller's Books, for some advice on what size my book should be and I'm glad that I did.

After getting off of the phone with him, I selected the six inch by nine inch template, and started all over, again. Three hours later, I had the dedication, the table of contents and the book loaded into the template! All I have to do now is get the ISBN number, register it with the Library of Congress and finish the cover design! I am so excited about finally almost having my book ready!

Tomorrow, I plan to take a copy over to Sheryl, so she can start editing it! I am hoping I will have my book in hand and ready to sell within the next ten days! Please wish me luck!

Brian Kanof, called me about twenty minutes ago, to give me an update on Bogie, the cat, that he adopted from us, yesterday. From Brian's report, it sounds like Bogie is really happy in El Paso, and he is getting along great with Brian's other two cats, Zelda, who he adopted from us, years ago, and Watson! Brian told me that he and Jackie may change Bogie's name to Winston Churchill. I am so glad that Bogie is doing so well, and is happy! Thank you, Brian!

As soon as I got off of the phone with Brian, the phone rang, again—it was Kinky. "Hello, Nance! How are you?"

Kinky and I talked for about five minutes. He is in Washington D.C.! We talked about Bogie, The Friedmans, the weather, my book, and the rescue ranch. Before the end of our conversation, Kinky told me that he will be back at the ranch this weekend, and that he is looking forward to spending some down time at the ranch, and I can't wait to see him!

Y'all have a great evening!

Tiny Bubbles!

This morning at nine-thirty, Brian Kanof showed up at the trailer! "I came by so y'all can say goodbye to Bogie," Brian said. Tony, Brian, and I visited for a few minutes, as we drank my delicious  breakfast smoothies. Then we went outside to Brian's SUV and said our goodbyes to one really cool cat.

At the time, Bogie was not real happy about being locked inside a large crate and moving to El Paso, so I won't tell you what I think he had to say to us. He was really hissed off at us!

I spent the rest of the day doing paperwork, and returning phone calls.

Around five o'clock, I poured Tone and me a small glass of my sparkling apple champagne, for us to sample. After one sip, we could not believe how good it was! It was sparkling, bubbly and tasted exactly like cheap champagne!

Three sips later, I put my empty glass into the sink, "Tone, let's go over to the Lodge and get Will and Frank to try this. I want to see what they think! I love it!"

"You go, Nance," T. said. "I've got to harvest some crops on Facebook."

Two minutes later, I was over at the Lodge with my plastic gallon jug of enlightened apple juice! After saying hello to The Friedmans, I went outside and found Will in the Pro Shop. "Will, you have got to try this! It is really good!"

Will leaned back a little, "I don't know Nance. Is this the stuff that you made?"

"Yes! Here try a little," I said, as I handed Will a half filled glass. Will looked a little nervous. He smelled it, and then he took a sip, and then he drank the rest of it.

"It tastes like champagne. I like it. Pour me a little more," Will said, as I filled up his small juice glass. "I bet if you used Martinelli's apple juice it would be really superb. You know they make the best apple juice. Dean Martin used to drink it..."

"Hello, Cousin Nancy and Will," Frank said, as he walked into the kitchen. "I heard you drive up, so I thought that I would come down and say hi. Is that your new apple juice concoction?"

"Yes, and I want you to sample it!" I said, as I poured some into a coffee mug. "Here." Frank took a sip, and then he drank the rest of it.

"It's good!" Frank declared. "You made this from apple juice? Please pour me a little more. This stuff is really good." The three of us visited in the kitchen for about ten minutes, and then I came home with my jug of sparkling spirits.

"Tony! They loved it!" I half-hollered, down the hallway. "I can't wait for Kinky to try it!"

P.S. Kinky will be on Imus in the morning!

Y'all have a great evening!

Up!

Today, not a whole lot happened out here, but it was a great day. Right before I was fixin' to walk with Leslie, the phone rang—it was Kinky. He called me from the Kansas City airport, to see how we were doing. 

After I told him that we were doing fine, we talked about Brian Kanof coming to the ranch tonight, and getting Bogie, the cat, ready, so tomorrow morning Brian can adopt him, and take him to El Paso to live with him. Before hanging up, Kinky told me that he was headed to Philadelphia, and that he will be on Imus, Tuesday morning!

I spent most of my day working on the cover design for my book! I spent hours outside, shooting my pink boots, Buddhapug and a brick. I think I've got it, but I am going to look at the artwork in a couple of days to make sure I still like it.

This afternoon, around four-thirty, Tony and I went over to the Lodge to visit with The Friedmans, and to catch Bogie, so he could be adopted tomorrow morning. The Friedmans were doing fine. They were watching the Dallas Cowboys play poorly, so we went outside to find Bogie.

We found Bogie sitting up on the Pro Shop roof. As I coaxed him down, Tony visited with Will, from a safe distance, because Will has been sick with some kind of crud. In less than thirty-seconds, I had Bogie in my arms, and I carried him inside the Pro Shop, and then fed him. 

We asked Will to please keep Bogie inside the Pro Shop for the rest of the night, because of some possible thunderstorms later tonight, and so we could easily crate him in the morning, so Brian could then take him to his new cat friendly home. Will said he would. Then we returned to the rescue ranch to watch the Cowboys lose.

I'm fixin' to watch Up!

Y'all have a great evening!

One, Two, Three!

Today has been fun! This morning when I was four minutes away from walking six miles, the phone rang, so I let Carlton take the call. "Hello Nance! Nancy are you there? I'm at the airport..."

As I listened to Kinky, I decided to take the call. I paused Leslie, picked up the phone, and hit the speaker button, so I could walk circles around the big room, while talking to Kinky. "Hi Kinky! Where are you headed?"

"Hi Nance!" Kinky said. "I'm glad I caught you. We're headed to Kansas City in just a few minutes. How are you doing and have you seen The Friedmans?"

"I'm fine, and yes, The Friedmans are doing fine." Then I told him about rescuing Clark Kent and he thought it was super, and he was looking forward to meeting him.

"The plane's fixin' to take off. I've got to go. And remember Nance, keep on laughing. It's important. Take care. Bye." As soon as we disconnected, I pushed the play button and finished my workout with Les.

Around eleven o'clock, our good friend, Todd, showed up to walk our dogs! I am so happy that our dogs are getting so much attention, and getting walked everyday by our super volunteers! Thank you, Todd!"

While Todd was outside hiking with our dogs, I sat down at my laptop, and worked on my book, because earlier this morning when Tone came home,  I declared today off, so I could try to finish my book. 

While I was working on the design for the  jacket cover, the phone rang—it was Rick, in Port Aransas. He wanted to know if I had tried my sparkling apple cider, yet. "Not yet, Rick. I am planning on trying it out this evening." We talked for a few minutes about his secret recipe, and the 'loose lid' technique that I needed to be careful about, so Cousin Nancy's Sparkling Apple Champagne, wouldn't blow up in the fridge! I hope that I don't have to redesign the label and put a warning on it!

At one o'clock, I was so frustrated with my design, I decided I needed to take a short nap with my fur babes. Unfortunately for them, our nap didn't last long, because I had a 'ligh tbulb moment' about my book and the jacket cover design! In less than ten minutes of nap time with my buddies, I jumped out of the bed, and went to my computer. The first thing I did was to change the title, then I took off my boots, and replaced them with my pink Crocs. Then I grabbed my camera and shot my pink boots! That's all that I can tell you right now, but I am thrilled with the new title, and the new jacket design!

Around two-thirty, while I was in my office, trying to replace a black ink cartridge, so I could print out a copy of my revised book, Tony half-hollered from his office, "Nance! Come in here! Mari wants to talk to you! She's at Wolfmueller's, and she and Jon are online!"

"Mari, of The NoMads?"

"Yes!" Thirty seconds later I was in Tone's office talking and laughing with Mari and Jon, from Tony's computer! 

We talked about the funny 'pink boot' cartoons that Mari has been sending to me, and then I told Jon and Mari about the new title, and the jacket design for the book. They told me that they loved my new title, and they thought my idea for the artwork, for the book cover, sounded great! They had made my day and didn't even know it! Then I had another 'light bulb moment!'

"Y'all stay right there! I'm going to get my camera, and take a picture of y'all! I'll be right back!" I race walked into the kitchen, and grabbed my camera and then returned to T.'s office. "Okay y'all, on the count of three I am going to shoot you! One, two, three!

I love the picture of Mari and Jon, and I can't believe that technology has come so far! I would have never guessed in a million years that I could look and talk to friends twenty-two miles away! Wow!

Y'all have a great evening!