Monday, November 30, 2009

Hallmark Rules!

Last night after posting my blog, Tony and I watched the Hallmark's Hall of Fame movie, A Dog Named Christmas! Every time that I watch a Hallmark movie, I always declare it to be my new favorite movie, but last night's movie was by far the best one that I have ever seen! It touched my heart, and I wished that I had recorded it. It made me happy, sad, and made me cry. It pulled all of my heartstrings. I truly loved it.

This morning I could not quit thinking about the movie, as I did my end of the month, endless paperwork, while Tony did his chores outside, and then put fresh hay in all of the dog's houses outside.

I made spaghetti for lunch today, that was okay, and all that T. and I talked about was how much we loved, A Dog Named Christmas and wondering how we could get a copy of it. 

This afternoon Tone and I had to make a trip to Medina, so I could go to the post office. When we returned to the trailer, I had one new message, that made my day! "Hello Cousin Nancy, this is Tom Plaster, from Kansas City. I don't know if you remember me..."

Of course, I remembered Tom! He is the drummer for the Kansas City Symphony, and he and his wife sent Tone and me a 'care package' a few years, ago, which included the great book, Illusions by Richard Bach, the author of Jonathan Livingston Seagull! I loved reading Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah, and I plan to reread it during the upcoming holiday season. 

"Cousin Nancy," Tom continued, in his message. "I'm retired now, and my wife and I want to send you and Tony a copy of Hallmark's A Dog Named Christmas. It was on last night, and I think that you would love it since it is about animal rescue..."

I got goose bumps! I am so excited that Tom and his wife are sending me that movie, and I cannot wait to watch it again! Tom said that you can purchase a copy of the movie at Hallmark Cards, so if you missed watching the movie, I highly recommend that you go to your nearest Hallmark store, as soon as possible, and buy a copy. You and your family will love it! I promise.

Kinky left the ranch early this morning. He called me from the road around nine o'clock this morning, before I started walking six miles with Leslie, and I cannot wait for him to get back, so he can watch A Dog Named Christmas! Hallmark Rules!

Y'all have a great evening!

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Black Friday Weekend!

Today not a lot happened. I walked six miles, and after lunch, after hearing our weather report, Tony and I decided to go to Kerrville to get supplies, so we wouldn't have to go during the bad weather, forecasted for Monday and Tuesday.

We really did not want to go to Walmart, because of the holiday crowds, but when we arrived at Walmart, we were shocked, because the parking lot was only half full. When we went inside, it was not crowded at all. I was glad that the store wasn't packed with people, which made our shopping faster and much easier.

While we were standing in line, and the woman checking out in front of us told the cashier, "This Christmas is so depressing for me. My husband lost his job, and he has been out of work since September. Thank goodness my children are grown and understand..." I felt so sad for her. I sure that hope our economy gets better for all of us sooner than later. 

Kinky called while we were putting up our groceries. He invited us to come over for a visit. Tony didn't go because he had some farming to take care of. 

Kinky and I had a nice visit in the kitchen, while he cooked up some spaghetti. He offered me some, but I didn't want any because I'm trying not to gain any holiday weight. And, I must say that I was very impressed with Kinky's culinary skills. They have really improved! 

The rest of our day was quiet and uneventful. I hope that everyone had a great holiday weekend.

Y'all have a great evening!

Saturday, November 28, 2009

The Utopia Mutts!

Today has been a great day, even though it was pretty quiet out here. This morning I walked six miles with Leslie, and then later this afternoon, Kinky and I went on a fun thirty minute hike with The Friedmans.

Around three o'clock, our good friends, and dog walking volunteers, Jan and Todd, came out and walked some of our dogs! Thank you, Jan and Todd! We love it, and I know our dogs did, too!

Late this afternoon, I watched the Disney movie, Beverly Hills Chihuahua, and I loved it! I thought it sounded like a silly movie, but it sent out a great message to children about dogs, and the voice overs of Drew Barrymore and George Lopez were fantastic!

Y'all have a great evening!

Friday, November 27, 2009

Ricky Bobby!

This afternoon, Tony and I went to Kerrville, because we needed to get a few groceries—ten items to be exact. I was excited, because it would be my first time to right my wrong, and go through the long checkout line!

About eleven miles or halfway to Kerrville, some kind of sports car got behind us, and started riding our bumper. It made Tone mad, because we were driving the speed limit, and the rude driver was so close to us, if we had to suddenly brake because of a deer, T. and I would probably be spending tonight in the hospital.

When I looked back, I could see that the young man was talking on his cell phone. When Highway 16 finally turned into two lanes, the guy passed us going at least fifteen miles over the speed limit. "I hope a cop catches him," Tony said.

When we reached the first signal light, we pulled up beside the car and we laughed about his speeding, and catching him at the light. When the light turned green, he floored his car and took off. 

At the next signal light, Buttermilk pulled up beside him, again, and we laughed about it, again! When the light turned green, the guy took off like he had been shot out of a cannon!

When we reached the signal light, in front of the Albertson's entrance, we were now one car in front of him. Tony and I loved it!

At the light at the bridge, we pulled up beside him, but we lost him when the light turned green, because he took a left. "He must be in a hurry to go to the Black Friday sales at the mall," I joked.

When we arrived at H.E.B., we were glad to see the parking lot half full. In less than ten minutes, we had our ten items in our grocery cart, and I am proud to say that we didn't check out at the ten items or less line! I am now halfway redeemed!

On our way home, as we were leaving the outskirts of Kerrville, T. started laughing, and he said, "I can't believe this, Nance! That same car is behind us, again!" I turned around to see, and sure enough that guy was riding Buttermilk's bumper, again! 

"He must be a wannabe Ricky Bobby," I said. "like in the movie, Talladega Nights. Please slow down to fifty miles an hour and let him eat our dust." Tony slowed down, and Ricky Bobby stayed behind us for about three minutes, and then he finally turned off of the highway.

When we got home, after putting up our groceries, we went over to the Lodge to visit with Kinky. We had a fun visit with him, then we came back home.

When we got back home, I returned several phone calls. The last call I made, made my day! I spoke to Bob, who lives in Florida, who loves our rescue ranch, and he is thinking about adopting Clark Kent! He told me that he reads my blog, and he thought Uncle Leonard was adorable, and when he flies out here in a couple of months, if we still have Clark, he thinks that he wants to adopt him! I love it!

Y'all have a great evening!

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Our First Thanksgiving Dinner In Outer Space Was A Blast!

Yesterday morning, David called to tell me that Uncle Leonard is one fantastic dog, but unfortunately, they were not going to be able to adopt him. David told me that Uncle Leonard is house trained, great with cats, didn't mess with the trash in the trash can, and he got along great with their dog, Tala. The reason that they couldn't keep him was because Uncle Leonard didn't like Beckham, their pig. He said when Uncle Leonard saw Beckham, he went berserk! He was trying to tear through the fence to get to him, and they couldn't take the chance of Beckham getting hurt, because they love him so much. David and Desiree were sick about having to return Uncle Leonard to us, because they really liked him, and thought he was a super dog. I totally understood, and thanked them for giving him a vacation.

Forty-five minutes later, they arrived with Clark Kent aka Uncle Leonard. When we put Clark back into his old pen with Princess the two started playing immediately! Clark didn't seem depressed at all about coming back to the rescue ranch, and we were all thrilled! We had a nice visit with Desiree and David, but they didn't stay long enough, because they needed to get back to the Trail's End Guest House, because they had guests to feed.

This morning, Tone and I got up early, to start cooking our rescue ranch dogs their Thanksgiving dinner! Here's a picture of some of the groceries on the drain board. I didn't have room for the eggs or the stuffing in the picture. And, please note the bottle of wine in the background was not included in our dog's dinner.

By seven o'clock we were cooking! The oven was full of vegetables cooking, and the stove top's four burners were  all in use. At nine-thirty, Tone and I started cracking eggs into the three buckets. We put eighteen eggs into each bucket. Then we added the three jars of minced garlic to the buckets, next came the three large bags of cheddar cheese, and then we poured in two giant sacks of stuffing into each bucket. Then Lisa arrived! Yeah!

Lisa helped us put five pounds of ground turkey into each bucket, and then Tony Showed Lisa how to use the 'Big Drill.'


Little did Lisa know, that Tony was fixin' to put her to work! When Lisa's drill lesson ended, Tony poured in the twenty pounds of steaming hot vegetables.

When Lisa and Tony were nearly done mixing up the ingredients in the buckets, Kinky and Frank arrived, ready to help us feed the dogs their Thanksgiving dinner. Here's a picture of Kinky heading off to feed our dogs.

Thirty minutes or three empty buckets later, our dogs had gobbled up their hot meals! They ate all of their vegetables and cleaned their bowls clean, and their tails were wagging wildly! I wish that everyone could come help us cook for our dogs, because it is so heartwarming. I truly love it, and I guarantee that you would love it, too.

After a fun visit with Kinky, he and Frank took off for the Lodge. Lisa, who we had invited last week, to eat dinner with us today, had to go back to Kerrville. Before she left she told us that she would be back at two for our Thanksgiving meal.

At two o'clock, Lisa returned to the ranch to eat our Thanksgiving dinner with us! She is so sweet! She brought me a beautiful bouquet of flowers! Here they are in my newly recycled 'flower pot!'

Our first Thanksgiving dinner in Outer Space was a blast! Thanks to H.E.B.'s smoked turkey, our meal was delicious, and was filled with non-stop laughter! This has been the best Thanksgiving Day that we have ever had!

Y'all have a great evening!

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Uncle Leonard!

This morning after feeding our dogs, and Lucky, I checked my e-mail. I had one spam, and a note from D&D! They wrote that Uncle Leonard is doing good so far at the Trail's End Guest House, and that they will keep me updated with daily reports! Tony, Kinky and I have our fingers crossed for that great little dog, with a twelve inch inseam! We love you, Uncle Leonard!

After breakfast, I walked six miles with Leslie, while Tony did his chores outside. Then Tone, who I have now nicknamed, Mr. Blue Jeans, did some farm work on Facebook, while I plowed through some paperwork on the kitchen table.

This afternoon, I realized that I needed to go to H.E.B. in Kerrville, because I needed to get a few more things for our Thanksgiving dinner, and I also wanted to buy a new coffee pot, thanks to our part-time poltergeist. 

While Tony and Buttermilk waited outside for me in the parking lot, I race walked through H.E.B., and that was not an easy task, since everyone in Kerrville was there. I was determined to only get ten items, so I could check out faster, but unfortunately that didn't happen. The twenty-nine dollar, Mr. Coffee, pushed the number up to eleven! 

When I saw that all of the checkout lines were backed up two to three carts, I did what everyone in the store would do—I cheated, and got into the ten items or less line. While the friendly clerk, checked out the two carts in front of me, I starting feeling guilty, and wondering if I would not get into heaven, because of Mr. Coffee.

When it was my turn to get checked out, I was relieved that no one was standing in line behind me, waiting to get checked out! While the clerk scanned my items, I quickly started filling out my check, to help speed things up. When she told me how much it would be, I filled in the amount and handed her my check, and then I lied. "Gosh, I thought I had ten items, not eleven. I'm sorry."

"It's no big deal," The young woman said, with a smile on her face. "No one is behind you. It's okay. Don't worry about it."

Well, I worried about it all of the way to Buttermilk, and then I confessed to Tony, as he loaded up the groceries. He thought it was funny, even though I didn't play by the rules and had lied.

On our way home, I figured out a way to right my wrong at H.E.B.! The next two times that I have ten items or less in my grocery cart, I will intentionally not use the ten items or less checkout lane! Hopefully, that will right my wrong doing. 

When we got home we put up the ten turkey day groceries. Then I filled Perky, the percolator, up with water, and put some fresh cut flowers, that had been item number six on my H.E.B. grocery receipt, into it. Then I took this picture of Perky, the flower pot, next to Mr. Coffee.

A few minutes later, Kinky called and invited us to come over to the Lodge. Tone didn't want to go, because he had some Facebook farming to do, so Buttermilk took me over the river and through the woods to Kinky's.

He and I had a nice visit in his kitchen, then we moved our conversation into his office, then we went outside to play with The Friedmans. "Nance, let's go for a short walk with The Friedmans," Kinky suggested. We took off.

Twenty minutes later, as we were walking up to the Lodge, we saw Frank standing outside. After greetings, Frank wanted to know if we wanted to go on a short walk with him. Kinky and I looked at each other, "Sure," Kinky and I said, in two part harmony. We took off, again.

Thirty minutes later, after climbing a steep cliff, that could have killed me, if I had fallen, the three of us returned safely to the Lodge with The Friedmans. As we stood outside by Buttermilk, and caught our breaths, Frank invited Kinky and me to go on another hike with him. "Sorry Frank, I've got to get home," I said.

"Sure Frank, why not? See you in the morning, Nance. Bye," Kinky said, as I took off in Buttermilk, and they took off for another 'short' walk.

Y'all have a great evening!

Monday, November 23, 2009

More Spirits!

Our trailer is full of all kinds of 'spirits' right now! I am pretty sure that our visiting, part-time poltergeist, has returned to the trailer, because the weirdest thing happened to me this morning. 

I had just finished washing the breakfast dishes, when I decided to wash Perky, our coffee percolator, so it would be ready for the next round of coffee we make. Then I walked six miles with Leslie using my three pound weights.

After I took my shower, I caught up with my paperwork, and then I returned several phone calls. When I was nearly all talked out, I took a break sort of. I put the dried breakfast dishes back into their cupboards. Then while I was reassembling Perky, the percolator, I realized I was missing a part—the lid, to be exact! Where was the lid?

I looked all over the kitchen for that lid, but I couldn't find it. After spending over twenty minutes going through our trash, drawers, cabinets, etc. I half-hollered down the hallway, "Tone! Can you come help me, please?"

"Yes, give me five minutes," Tone softly yelled back. "I'm in the middle of harvesting my crop on Facebook."

While I waited on Tony, my new virtual future farmer of America husband, I returned e-mails. When the phone rang, I let Carlton take the call. "Cousin Nancy, this is David Farrar. I need to discuss something with you. Please call me at..."

When I heard David's message, I jumped up, and punched in David's phone number as fast as I could, because I was worried that something was wrong with Beckham, our rescued soccer playing wild hog, that they had adopted from us, for their bed and breakfast, Trail's End Guest House.

"Hi David, it's Nancy."

David and I talked for about five minutes. He told me that he and Desiree were thinking about adopting a small dog, so their dog, Tala, would have a buddy to play with. 

"David, we've got a great little guy. He is one to two years old, neutered, doesn't bark, and great with other dogs..."

"He sounds perfect," David said. "What's his name?"

"Clark Kent."

"His name is Clark Kent," David said to Desiree. "Nancy, he sounds good. When can we see him?"

"Today! Tony and I are taking him to Kerrville this afternoon, to get his shots. How about us bringing him out to y'all's place after he gets his shots?"

"That sounds perfect."

"How is Beckham doing?" I asked.

"He is awesome and doing great, and getting famous all around the world. This woman from France was staying out here, and she fell in love with him, and people are now blogging all over the world about him! He has become a wild hog icon..."

After hearing David's great news about Beck, we started talking about our mandolins and guitars, and about getting together real soon, so we could pick and grin. When our conversation ended, Tony's and mine started.

I told T. all about Perky's missing lid, and he helped me, for about ten minutes, look all over the kitchen for it, but we never found it. "Tone, I think that poltergeist is back, again, so I am going to have to smudge the trailer, now. Okay?"

"I guess," Tony said. "I hate it when you do that, because it makes the trailer stink to high heaven. I'm going outside."

As soon as Tony left the trailer, I found my sweet sage grass, that my best friend, Cindy, had given to me, and lit it. Then I opened up a window in the bathroom, so the friendly poltergeist could leave, and then I did the procedure. Five minutes later I was done smudging and nothing significant happened. 

After lunch, Buttermilk took Tony, Clark Kent and me to Hoegemeyers in Kerrville. After we dropped off Clark for his shots, T. and I went to Big Lots to buy a soccer ball for Beckham to play with. It was our Christmas present for him.

When we arrived at the Trail's End Guest House, it was all hugs and handshakes, and then we went to see Beckham! Beckham seemed happy to see us, and we visited with him for over ten minutes. He looked happy, even though he has gained another fifty pounds! He is now bigger than a Buick!

After our visit with Beck, we introduced Tala to Clark Kent, and they seemed to really like each other! Desiree and David thought he was precious, too! After the formal introductions, David suggested that we take the dogs over to their garden, which was fenced, so Clark and Tala could run and play with each other.

While Tala and Clark did their sniff-a-thon, David said, "OMG! Clark looks just like my Uncle Leonard! He's a low rider, just like you described him on Harley's show last week—short and stocky. My Uncle Leonard was so short, his inseam was only twelve inches! He was a great man. A traveling salesman, but he hated traveling, so he used to take me and my brothers with him, when we were out of school, to travel with him. We'd go to Rockport with him, and he would drop us off at the beach to fish, while he did business in town. Seriously, Clark looks just like him! Then David started laughing, as we watched Tala and Clark playing with each other.

"David, maybe he is your Uncle Leonard, reincarnated," I said. "Who knows. It's possible." Everyone started laughing.

When we left the Trail's End Guest House, we were minus one passenger—Clark Kent.

Desiree and David have decided to try him out for a few days to see how he works out with their cats. I've got my fingers crossed for that super short, sweet, stocky dog, with a twelve inch inseam, and I hope this might turn out to be his forever home, and they change his name to Uncle Leonard! I wish that I had met Uncle Leonard, he sounds like a great man, because I would love to introduce him to our friendly poltergeist who is still hanging around out here!

Y'all have a great evening!

Sunday, November 22, 2009

I Love Paul McCartney!

Yesterday morning, our good friends, P&P, aka Patty K. and Peggy R., came out to see us! As soon as they got out of their car after hugs, it was non-stop laughter! They brought Tony and me some of Patty's chocolate birthday cake, and it was delicious! The girls also brought us two boxes of fine wine, which is now sitting in our (closet) wine cellar chilling. I can't help but laugh, because right now, T. and I have an over abundance of boxed 'spirits' out here. I guess you could say Tony and I are going through a 'spiritual thing,' or we have been receiving gifts 'to enlighten us.'

As always Peggy and Patty didn't stay long enough, but it is probably a good thing that they left when they did, because my back was starting to hurt, because of so much laughing! 

Early Saturday evening, Kinky arrived back at the ranch! Ben, Tony and I went over to the Lodge to see him, so we could catch up with each other's news. We had a fun visit.

This morning I got up early and walked six miles, because we had a dog coming in. At eleven o'clock, Marlin, a six month old wannabe Labrador, arrived! He is precious, sweet and I want him, but I can't because we have four assisted living dogs, two eight year old dogs, and Lucky the cat. 

I spent nearly twenty minutes with him, in his pen, trying to capture a great picture of Marlin, but he was too fast for me. Here is the only descent picture that I got of him. Tomorrow I plan to shoot him until I get a better picture to post on utopiarescue.com.

After lunch, Buttermilk took us to Kerrville, so we could buy our dogs, and our Thanksgiving dinners. We figured that by going today, we would beat the crowd, but we were wrong! I think everyone had the same idea we had, because H.E.B. was packed full of holiday dinner shoppers.

We used two carts to shop. Tony's cart was reserved for our dog's Thanksgiving dinner, and I pushed the cart for T.'s and my turkey day dinner. We decided it was best to stay together to shop, because Tony had forgotten to bring his cell phone, so Tony chased me around the grocery store, and he only rear ended me once. He told me it was accident, as he laughed his head off on isle three.

It took us over forty minutes to fill our baskets on wheels. Tony's basket was more expensive than mine, because he purchased four and a half dozen of eggs, two large jars of minced garlic, fifteen pounds of ground turkey, five huge bags of stuffing, four giant bags of mixed vegetables, three bags of cheddar cheese, six cans of Alpo prime cuts, three large bottles of olive oil, and large sack of dog food—for our rescue dog's Thursday cooked dinner. I guess because of the economy, this year's dog dinner cost more than it ever has—$150.22, but it is well worth it, seeing those dog's tails wagging wildly with excitement, and knowing that they will get second servings, too!

When we got back to the rescue ranch, after unloading all of the grocery bags in the barn, we came inside the trailer to find that we had just missed a call from our good friend, and dog walking volunteer, Lisa. Tony called her back immediately, because she wanted to bring some friends out, who wanted to adopt one of our dogs.

Forty-five minutes later, Tone and I were outside, giving Lisa's friends a tour of the rescue ranch, so they could meet all of our super dogs. Thirty minutes later, I was inside the trailer filling out Paul McCartney's adoption papers! I love Paul McCartney, and I was so happy for him! Today was finally his day to get adopted!

Yesterday and today have been great! And you know—all you need is love.

P.S. Happy Birthday, Brian!

Y'all have a great evening!

Happy Birthday, Brian Alstott!

Friday, November 20, 2009

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!


Wednesday, November 18, 2009

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!