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!