Saturday, April 30, 2011

I'm No Good! or Rent-A-Cow!

Today has been great. Late this morning our good friends Carol & James came over for a visit and within seconds of greeting them, those two had me laughing. When Tony drove up in Kermit we went into Outer Space.

"I finished reading The Art of Racing In The Rain and I loved it!" Carol said, as we sat down in the chairs. "And I loved the ending and it made me cry. James listened to the audiobook version and..."

"Wow. I love that book," James said, as Belle Starr-Simons jumped up on him. "It is a great book and thank you for loaning me the audio version and the ending was a total surprise and blew me away..."

After we had discussed the book Tony brags, "My Belle is a genius. Yesterday she took a doggie IQ test and she is one really smart dog. I'll prove it," he said, as he got up and walked out of Outer Space. "I'll be right back." When T. returned to Outer Space with the Doggie IQ tester that Eileen had given to us, he explained how it worked while he put treats in the holes and then slid the covers over them. "Y'all aren't going to believe this," he bragged, as he placed the IQ board on the floor and Miss B.S.-S. did nothing but stand there."Come on Belle. You know how to do this," and Belle came over, so T. could refresh her genius brain, as he showed her the hidden treats as all of us laughed. "Look! She got one!" Tone declared. "Get another one!" Once again—Belle, the pup prodigy, did nothing.

As Tony sat on the floor trying to help his dog find the treats, we laughed and tried to cheer him up. "Belle is smart," Carol said, as she chuckled. "I bet we have all known some people who could not figure it out." After agreeing with Carol, Ms. B. got interested and found the rest of her hidden treats. Yeah Belle!

Then we started talking about the cows that they are fixin' to buy, so they can use them to practice cutting them out of the herd on their awesome cutting horses and we laughed so much about the trouble that they had had trying to find four nice cows, my back started aching again. So, as you can already guess—I'm sitting on my pink sheep hide, that my good friend Mari bought for me and it seems to be working.

"This one man told us that his cows were high dollar and he would not sell them to be roped," Carol said. "I tried to explain to him that we love animals and would never rope a cow, because it is cruel, but I guess he didn't know the difference between cutting and roping events..."

During that fun hilarious conversation, James looks at me and smiles and then points his finger at me and says, "We need to find us a herd-turner and we were thinking of you."

"What's a herd-turner?" I asked.

"It's a man, who..."

"A woman," I joked.

"Okay, it's a woman who just basically sits on a horse who keeps the herd together while we cut one out," James explained. "You'd be perfect for it, Nancy." Carol, Tony and I started laughing.

"I'd love to be a herd-turner as long as it's not dangerous! I could add that to my resume!"

"But, it doesn't pay anything," Carol said, with a laugh. "Think of it as an honor or something."

"Well, I'd be honored to be a herd-turner. But I think that we should do it on a trial basis, because if it turns out that I'm not a good herd-turner—I don't want y'all to feel bad about trying to figure out how to tell me nicely that, "I'm no good." Okay?" After they agreed, I said, "Rent-a-cow. Somebody needs to start a rent-a-cow business."

As Carol & James were leaving Carol got a phone call and when she hung up the phone her face lit up and she said, "We got cows! He's delivering them this afternoon!" And then James' face lit up because of Carol's good news. Then they left and went back to the ranch, so they could get ready for "when the cows come home."

This evening T. and I went over to Lisa's house, in Kerrville, to eat dinner with her & Mark From Mississippi, Matt, Shirley & Jerry and Meghann and we had a wonderful time. The food was delicious and the conversations were fun. Thank you, Lisa & MFM for inviting us—we had a great time and we're still full!

Y'all have a great evening! (I keep pinching myself, because I can't believe that I am fixin' to be a herd turner!)

Friday, April 29, 2011

P.P.!

 What a day? This morning I overslept and missed The Royal Wedding and even though I thought it was a sign—I wasn't upset, because our DVR had recorded it.

By the time Tony returned from drinking coffee at the Old Timer, in Medina, I was caught up with my morning chores and cooking his breakfast. "Morning, T."

"Porky's dead," he said, flatly. "He was okay when I left for Medina and he must have died soon after. He was old, for a pig, Nance. I'm going to call Robert to see if he can come over with his backhoe and dig a big hole, because my back is out." As Tony talked about Porky Pig to our nice neighbor, Robert, I felt sad about Porky's passing, but was glad that he had passed peaceably. Porky Pig was a good pig.

After I had cleaned our breakfast dishes I went outside to thank Robert for helping us and found him on the giant piece of equipment digging a very wide, deep hole, as Frank and Tone stood by and watched, and Robert and Sherry's daughters played with Gilligan, our cute, little Dachshund mix.

Once Porky had been buried I took Brittany and Ashlie up to the trailer, so they could meet and play with Belle Starr-Simons. Needless to say, "Belle stole their hearts and she enjoyed playing with them."

As I was cleaning up our lunch dishes the phone rang—it was Jon Wolfmueller. "Hello, Nancy. We just found out that there is a fire up on Medina Mountain. Mary Jo just told us about it and that's all we know..." After I thanked Jon for calling to warn us about the fire I went outside and told T.

Before he left to go check out the fire on the mountain he called our neighbors / friends, Carol & James and Robert & Sherry to alert them about the fire. After Tony took off, I got on the computer to see if I could find out any news about the fire, but I found nothing, so I called the Kerrville Fire Department and was told that it was under control and that no one needed to evacuate—thank goodness. Then I called our neighbors back to update them.

Twenty minutes later, while I was outside, once again applauding, B.S.-S. for "going potty" Tone drove up in Trigger with Eileen right behind him in her red car. "The fire is small and under control," Tony said, before we greeted Eileen and then quickly filled her in on the fire-scare. Then we went into Outer Space. "This is the IQ test for dogs," Eileen said, as she handed me the box. "My sister Dean sent this to me, so I could test Callie Dean's IQ. And I think it is really cool."

"You put small treats in the holes and then slide the covers over them and see if Ms. Belle can figure out how to get the treats out by sliding the covers." I immediately went into the trailer to get my camera and some dog treats for Belle Starr-Simons' IQ experiment, and I must admit that I was a little bit nervous about how well she would do. After Eileen helped me hide the treats under the covers we set it down on the floor and waited for Belle to discover it and prove to the world that she is a genius.

After waiting for over a minute we showed Belle the treats and then we slid the covers over them and held our breaths. Nothing happened! And when Eileen and I looked at T., we could tell that he was crushed that his dog wasn't "the brightest planet in Outer Space." Then the "IQ Miracle" happened! Belle went to the doggie IQ box and started sliding the covers to retrieve her treats.

Tony was thrilled and he sort of puffed up, like a proud father, as Eileen and I cheered her on. "She's a genius," Eileen declared. "Look at her go!" After Belle had proved to us that she was a "G.P." (Genius Pup) she tried to help T. reload the IQ box for her encore performance as Hank and Toto disgustedly, stood by and watched."

B.S.-S.'s belly was so full, after her final encore IQ performance, she looked like she had eaten a small planet and that's when Eileen told us that she really needed to get home. T. and I didn't want her to leave, so we tried to talk her out of it, but it didn't work, because Eileen left ten minutes later. 

As I type this Belle-Belle is sleeping next to my chair and I need to wake her up now, so she can go outside to "go potty." Thank you, Eileen, for making my day and for making Tone's day too, by proving that his dog Belle is a "P.P." (Pup Prodigy). 

Y'all have a great evening and please pray for rain for us!

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Off Broadway! or Get Down!

This morning, around eight o'clock, Kinky called me from the Kansas City, Missouri Airport and he told me that he had a blast last night performing at Knuckleheads. He told me that it was sold out with standing room only and he loved the crowd and the many people that he met, especially Tom & Kay and their daughter. Hearing his good news made my day.

Tonight Kinky is in Little Rock, Arkansas and he will be performing at "Juanita's" and I bet that it will sell out, too. Then tomorrow morning he is off to St. Louis, Missouri to perform at "Off Broadway" tomorrow night and like I told him this morning before hanging up, "Have fun and break-a-leg!"And I heard him chuckling, as he turned off his cell phone and ended our conversation.

Today has been a quiet day with not much happening. Early this evening Belle Starr-Simons and I went into Outer Space, so I could teach her how to get "down" on command and she did really good. I used treats to reinforce her "downs" and I think she's almost got it. Then I ended her training session on a good note with her getting down for Tony and us praising her.

Tomorrow I plan to use treats again, but on Saturday I plan to start using the tasty treats sporadically and I hope that it works because she is one smart pup. Also, tomorrow afternoon, while Kinky is flying to St. Louis,  Eileen is coming out and she is going to give Ms. B.S.-S. a fun doggy IQ test and we can't wait!

Y'all have a great evening!

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Now-Not-So-Hot!

Today has been great, as they almost always are for me. This morning when I checked my e-mail, Eileen's hilarious note to me about spotting "the alien" in Kerrtown, who landed out here two Saturdays ago, during a full moon, while I was showing Jim and Sean our dogs—made me laugh out loud.

In Eileen's report—she noted that "the alien" has cut off a few inches of her unruly hair and was seen walking near Albertsons, and was busy arguing with her imaginary friend as she....  Thanks for the update and making me laugh, Eileen.

Today T. and I went to Kerrville to have lunch with Carla and Dan. Carla is a dear, old friend of mine, that I've known for over thirty years and dearly love, because she is so sweet and has a great sense of humor.

Last week when she called me from her home in Rock Springs, about a dog, we decided to try to meet in Kerrville soon, so we could catch up with each other's news, because it has been over four years since we last saw her and her two beautiful daughters, when they came out to see us.

Lunch was a total blast and full of non-stop laughter, even though I talked way too much, as I always seem to do! Carla and I laughed so much as we traded stories about our pasts, that my back began aching, so tonight I am sitting on Mari's pink sheepskin for relief, as I write this.

Tony and I really liked Dan, too. We found him to be a very interesting, nice man—even though he only got to talk when I was chewing my food and of course—Tone said nothing, because he wasn't fast enough to get a word in edgewise—between the three of us and we teased him about it.

When the friendly waiter started removing Carla's, Dan's and Tony's empty plates, I noticed that my plate was still over halfway full of now-not-so-hot Mexican food and that's when I realized that I truly am "Cousin Nancy Parker-Simons Motor Mouth." Sorry about that Carla, Dan and Tone.

I had so much fun at lunch with them—I didn't want it to end, but it did. But before Carla and Dan took off for Walmart and Lowe's, before heading back to Rock Springs, we agreed to get together more often and meet for lunch whenever they come to Kerrville for supplies, and T. and I can't wait until we get to see them again.

Y'all have a great evening!

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Do-Make-It-Soup!

Today has been great. Ms. B.S.-S. is fully recovered from her surgery and she is now back to being her cute, young self. This morning Kinky took off for the airport to catch a plane to Kansas City, Missouri, because tomorrow evening he will be performing at "Knuckleheads" and I wish that I could be there, but as y'all well-know—I don't travel.

I spent most of my morning returning phone calls, e-mails and doing paperwork. My dear friend, Mari, of The NoMads, sent me an e-mail to tell me that she made the Quick Chicken-Noodle Soup, on page 23, and David and her loved it, but she warned me to go easy on the egg noodles, because the directions weren't clear and she used the entire 8oz. package of egg noodles instead of only half of it. So, I shot her back an e and thanked her for the heads-up. Then I went to page 23 and made a grocery list of the needed ingredients.

This afternoon T. and I had to go to Kerrville to run a few errands. Our first stop was at Wolfmueller's Books, because we wanted to say hi to Sandy and Jon, and also because I needed to get the Quick Chicken-Noodle Soup recipe ingredients, because I had forgotten to bring my grocery list.

Jon greeted us, from behind the checkout counter, when we walked into the bookstore. After howdies, Jon told us that Sandy was out buying rare books, as a friendly customer, from Alabama, paid him for a pile of books. As soon as the woman left the building I joked, "I love it, Jon. You're in here selling books as fast as Sandy is out there buying them up." Jon laughed, as another happy customer paid him for her books.

When Jon went to help a customer, I headed for the cookbook section to find a copy of the Easy Soup Recipes. When Jon walked up I was still searching for the cookbook. After I told him about Mari trying the Quick Chicken-Noodle Soup recipe and loving it and me needing to write down the ingredients—he put his hand on the cookbook and handed it to me. "Sandy and I tried that recipe, too and we really liked it, too, but be careful not to add too many noodles, because..." I burst out laughing and then I told him that Mari had also warned me about the noodles, too.

When I started to copy down the required ingredients Jon offered to make a copy of it for me, since I owned the cookbook, and then he went back into his office and seconds later he handed me a copy. Thank you, Jon!

Tony and I visited with Jon a little longer, but when my back started aching, because of laughing so much—we adios-ed him and then took off to run our errands. 

Our last stop was at H-E-B and as we pulled into the parking lot we saw Matt, so Tony drove up to him and I jumped out of Trigger and gave him a big hug. "We're sorry, about not getting to have dinner with you and your parents. Did you have a nice birthday?" Then someone tooted their horn behind us, so Matt jumped into Trigger and they took off for the gas pumps, so T. could fill up Trigger, while I went inside to pick up the soup ingredients.

Fifteen minutes later, Matt and Tony loaded up the groceries and then we visited with Matt, before dropping him off at Hastings and then we came home.

After returning a few phone calls, I pulled out a big pot and made the Quick Chicken-Noodle Soup and was careful to only add half of the egg noodles package and we loved it. Thank you, Mari and Jon for warning me about only using half of the 8oz. package of noodles! The next time that I make it I am thinking about adding a little garlic, onion, and a few peas and calling it, "Cousin Nancy's Stolen Cock-A-Noodle-Do-Make-It-Soup!"

Tonight, I plan to spend the rest of the evening doing some writing.

P.S. Mari, I wrote this tonight sitting on my pink sheepskin that you gave to me and my back is no longer aching from laughing so much, earlier today! Thank you. I love it and it really does work!

Y'all have a great evening!

Monday, April 25, 2011

Sleeping It Off!

Today has been almost great. This morning instead of fixing breakfast for Tony when he returned from the Old Timer, we took off for Kerrville, in Trigger, with precious cargo aboard—Belle Starr-Simons.

When we arrived at Hoegemeyer Animal Clinic, we were happy, because Belle had not thrown up and even better—we were on time for her appointment to have her spayed and to receive all of her adult shots! Even though Miss Belle was not happy about her doctor's appointment, we kissed her goodbye and then we went down the street to Randy's & Lisa's Save Inn Restaurant to eat one of their delicious breakfasts.

As usual T. and I ordered the exact same thing—Sinker Omelet with hash browns and a biscuit with a side of gravy and needless to say,"It was absolutely delicious and the waitress was fun to visit with while we ate."

When we got back home, the first thing I did, after T. went outside to do his morning chores, was to check my e-mail and I nearly fell out of my chair when I saw over 142 notices from Twitter—telling me that all 142 people were now following me on Twitter! I could not believe it, so I went to my Twitter page: "cousinnancy" and it was true and I was so thrilled that my dear friend Ruth Buzzi at: Ruth_A_Buzzi was also following me. Thank you, Ruthie! I loved reading your tweets.

After I went outside to tell Tone my exciting Twitter news I came back inside and returned phone calls, e-mails and then I started catching up with my personal pile of paperwork. Then the lights went out—literally. The ceiling fans quit moving air-filled-with-hair, the air conditioner quit humming loudly and there was no music.

"Tony!" I half-hollered, then the phone rang—it was Kinky.

"Nance, is y'all's power down? Mine is."

"Yes, Kink. It just went out and now I can't do anymore paperwork until it comes back on."

"Well, why don't you come over here for a visit?" Minutes later Kinky and I were sitting outside, on his front porch, rocking-away, in the rocking chairs, as we visited and played with The Friedmans, while thousands of beautiful Hummingbirds swarmed around us and drank from Kinky's many bird feeders. An hour later Buttermilk returned me to the rescue ranch.

Three hours later, when the power outage finally ended, T. and I jumped into Trigger and went back to Kerrville to pick up his dog—Belle Starr-Simons. When we walked inside the filled lobby at Hoegemeyer Animal Clinic Susan greeted us. "Belle is still a little bit groggy, but she is doing fine, y'all..."

When the friendly veterinarian intern walked into the lobby carrying a sleepy-looking Belle in her arms, everyone made cooing sounds, including us, because she was so cute, even though she was still a little bit out-of-it. And, when she saw Tony she wagged her tail a little.

Two miles before arriving back at the ranch—Belle—blew it—all over me. As the warm vomit soaked my clothes I said, "It's okay, Belle. Don't worry about it. You'll be okay, little one..."

As I finish writing this, Belle is in her crate—sleeping it off. I can't wait until tomorrow morning when she will be totally back to normal, and back to biting at my boots, with her sharp little baby teeth, because as you can see—she has stolen my heart, too.

Y'all have a great evening!

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Twitter Jitters!

Today has been great and I hope that yours has been too. Tony and I went over to his brother Sam & Stacie's ranch, in Medina, to have lunch with their family and it was a lot of fun.

When we got back home I tried to take a short nap with Toto, Hank and Belle Starr-Simons, but it didn't last long because Ms. Belle kept biting me on my nose or hands or toes, etc., because she did not want to take a nap, so I got up, took her outside to potty and then play, in hopes she would tire and be ready for a nap with me.

The second I put her up on the bed—she wanted to play, so I gave up on taking a nap today.

Early this evening, after I joined Twitter, Kinky called and invited me over to the Lodge for a visit and I am glad that I went over there, because Steve Rambam was over there and he gave me some very helpful tips about using Twitter and recording my audio book.

When I came home I got back on Twitter and started setting up my home page. The first thing required was for me to pick at least ten people to follow and I didn't know who to pick, because all I really wanted to follow were Ruth Buzzi and Kinky, so I thought up a few celebrity / musician names like Neil Young and Steve Martin, for example.

After coming up with ten names I set up my profile, etc. and now I am officially on Twitter. I have Twitter Jitters, because I hope that I did everything right and will have the time to tweet. If you would like to follow me on Twitter my username is:  cousinnancy    and if you would like to follow Kinky on Twitter, his page is: TheRealKinkster and I hope that you will check us out.

Tonight, in a few minutes, at eight o'clock, I am going to watch Hallmark's movie "You Lucky Dog" but before I do I am going to leave a tweet, so I can make sure I am doing it right.

Y'all have a great evening!

Friday, April 22, 2011

Kinky's eBooks!

Today has been great! After lunch Tony and I decided to give Belle Starr-Simons another chance to ride with us to Medina to get her used to riding with T., since the last two times we took her to Medina, she got car sick and threw up right before we made it home. And now I am proud to announce that Belle was the star today, because she didn't vomit! Here's a picture I took of Tony's dog paying attention to his driving—just like I do.

Today Tony and I had a nice surprise when we opened up our mail, because our dear friend Ruth Buzzi sent us the cutest autographed picture of her with Kent and her's cat, Ratzo. We loved the picture of her and they weren't kidding about Ratzo being an extra-large cat!  Ruthie wrote:

"To Cousin Nancy, Tony and Enzo,
We love the Book, (I gave them a copy of my latest book Meanwhile Back At The Rescue Ranch: The Dog Days of Cousin Nancy) The gorgeous photos by Tony and all of you!!!!
                                                                                    Ruthie, Ratzo and Kent
                                                                                                                   XXXX"

Early this evening Kinky called and asked me if I wanted to go on a hike with him and The Friedmans and ten minutes later Kinky and I were hiking up a steep hill with Sophie, Brownie and Chumley. During our fun hike we talked about his upcoming three-week-long tour and then his one month Australian tour starting in June. "Kinky, I don't see how you do it. I can't image flying anywhere—especially to big cities night-after-night..." Kinky chuckled.

"They call them "one-night-stands, Nance."" I started laughing because I thought they meant something else.

On our way back to the Lodge we talked about the exciting news that his six new ebooks are now available on his web site for the Kindle, the Nook and for Apple's iPad, iTouch and they are: A Case of Lone Star, Curse of the Missing Puppet Head, Frequent Flyer, Greenwich Killing Time, Musical Chairs and When the Cat's Away! So when I came home I immediately got online and bought all six of them! And to my surprise—they are all signed by Kinky. And in the very near future there will be more ebook titles to buy from his site and I hope that you will check it out and add them to your ebook collection.

It is now nearly eight o'clock and Kinky has just called and I need to go over to the Lodge, because I need to ask Rambam a few questions about the software he used to record Kinky—reading his books for his audiobooks, that will be available soon at www.kinkyfriedman.com, because I really need help—big time.

Y'all have a great evening!

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Happy Birthday Lori Graham!

Today is Lori Graham's birthday and Tony and I want to wish her the best birthday ever!

Happy Birthday to You. Happy Birthday to You. Happy Birthday Dear Lori. Happy Birthday to You. And many more!

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Kinky's Upcoming Tour!

Today while I was over at the Lodge visiting with Kinky we started talking about his upcoming tour and that's when I realized that I hadn't posted anything about it and before I could say anything, Kinky went into his bedroom and came out with his guitar and sang "Lady Yesterday" and to say the least "It was fantastic!"

Then we discussed his new Facebook page and then he informed me that he also was on Twitter, too!

Tonight they are predicting severe thunderstorms, so I will maybe post more. And before I say adios, Tony, Lisa & I want to wish Matt the best birthday ever! Happy Birthday, Matt! We love you!

Check it out tour at Kinky Friedman

The Springtime For Kinky Tour Of 2011
 Kinky Friedman Revisits Scenes Of His Crimes, Tours The Midwest And East Coast 

Starting April 27th in Kansas City, Kinky Friedman, author, musician, politician, beautician, and self-proclaimed Governor Of the Heart Of Texas, will be performing dates throughout the midwest and east coast, as part of his Springtime For Kinky Tour Of 2011. Often returning to places he has not visited in two decades, the Kinkster will be touring solo and promoting his most recent book,  'Heroes Of A Texas Childhood.' There will be a book signing at each venue on the tour.



April 27 - Kansas City, Missouri    Knuckleheads     2715 Rochester 
Kansas City, MO   
816-483-1456

April 28 - Little Rock, Arkansas    
Juanita's  1300 Main Street 
Little Rock, AR   
870-866-8575


April 29 - St. Louis, Missouri   Off Broadway   3509 Lemp Avenue
 St. Louis, MO
  314-498-6989


April 30 - Oklahoma City, Oklahoma  The Blue Door 
   2805 N. McKinley   Oklahoma City, OK     
405-524-0738 


May 1 - Newport, Kentucky  Southgate House    24 East Third Street  Newport, KY (Cincinnati)      
859-431-2201


May 2 - Nashville, Tennessee    3rd And Lindsley   
813 Third Avenue
 Nashville, TN
  615-259-9891


May 3 - Cleveland, Ohio  Wilbert's    812 Huron Road  
Cleveland, OH    
216-902-4663


May 4 - Toronto, Ontario     Fundraiser for Koffler Centre Of the Arts
Venue:  TBA
www.kofflerarts.org    
Toronto, Ontario


May 5 - Milwaukee, Wisconsin    Shank Hall 
  1434 North Farwell Avenue  
Milwaukee, WI    
414-276-7288


May 7 - Berwyn, Illinois
    Fitzgerald's   6615 Roosevelt Road    
Berwyn, IL (Chicago)   
708-788-2118


May 8 - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania  
World Cafe Live 
    3025 Walnut St. Philadelphia, PA
    215-222-1400


May 9 - New York, NY  
 Highline Theater     431 West 16th St.    
New York, NY     
212-414-5994


May 10 - Easton, Maryland     Avalon Theater      
40 E. Dover Street    
Easton, MD     
410-822-7299


May 13 - Alexandria, VA,   
Birchmere  3701 Mount Vernon Ave.   Alexandria, VA (Washington, DC)
   703-549-7500


May 14 - Woodstock, NY   
Levon Helm's Midnight Ramble    160 Plochmann Lane Woodstock, NY
May 15 - Ringwood, NJ   
Live @ Drews - House Concert 

    Ringwood, NJ  973-907-4635


May 16 - Piermont, NY   
The Turning Point    468 Piermont Ave.   Piermont  NY
  845-359-1089


Y'all have a great evening!

Happy Birthday Matt! We Love You!

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Death By Chocolate!

Yesterday, Tony and I arrived at Wolfmueller's Books around one o'clock, because we were going to meet our dear friend Mari, of the NoMads, there, because she wanted to give me something that she had bought for me on one of her many road trips.

When we arrived at "The Coolest Bookstore in Texas" we were greeted by Mary Jo. After she told us that Sandy and Jon had left the building, we started visiting with Mary Jo and I am so glad that we did, because Mary Jo enlightened me about the aliens that showed up out here this past Saturday, while Tony was gone and I was trying to show Jim and Sean our dogs, before they decided to adopt Chloe.

"She's known as the %$#$@# and has been banned from Albertsons and the Super S and most of the stores in town, because she is so crazy acting," Mary Jo said. She's never come in here, but I've seen her dancing wildly up and down the streets and..." Then Mari comes walking into the bookstore—lugging a big, black, filled garbage bag behind her.

After greetings Mari opens up the bag and pulls out a big, furry, pink thing and then hands it to me and says, "Its a sheepskin and for your back. David uses one and it really helps. When we were buying his and I saw this pink one—I had to get it for you, so you won't blame me for laughing too much when we get together, and causing your back to ache." We all started laughing.

"Mari, I love it!" I said, as I showed it off to Mary Jo and Tone. "Thank you so much. I can't wait to use it..." Then Mari reaches into another sack and hands me a book, How To Raise a Jewish Dog: The Rabbis of the Boca Raton Theological Seminary as told to Ellis Weiner & Barbara Davilman.

"This book is for you and I hope that after you read it you will pass it on to Kinky, because I'm sure he will get a big kick out of reading it. It's a clever, hilarious book and was so much fun to read and the pictures in it are really cute, too..."

After I thanked Mari for it, as I was thumbing through it and said, "Mari, can Tony and I treat you to lunch?" Mari smiled. "Mary Jo just told us about a restaurant right around the corner on Water Street that has great tasting sandwiches, salads and soups. How does that sound?"

Five minutes later we were sitting in the Water Street Cafe reading their menu and then we placed our orders. I ordered a cup of Broccoli & Cheese soup and a Chicken Salad Plate, Mari ordered a hot Pizza Panini sandwich and T. ordered the Chicken Salad Plate with a cup of fruit on the side.

As we ate our delicious meals we laughed so much that I was wishing that I had brought the pink sheepskin along with me, because yes, my back started aching, but because I was having so much fun—I kept it a secret and just ate and laughed.

We talked about everything under the sun and then we started talking about our favorite movies. When Mari started talking about how much she loved the movie, "The Black Stallion" starring Mickey Rooney I totally agreed with her. "I actually met the Black Stallion, Mari, and I knew him fairly well," I admitted. "Right after that movie came out I was working at the Fort Worth Fat Stock Show, as a secretary, and the owners of the Black Stallion had him at the stock show. I spent every lunch break sitting inside the Black Stallions barn and visited with him and got to know his trainer and handler. It was so awesome." And Mari agreed with me.

"My second favorite movie is, "Lady Hawke with that beautiful Friesian black stallion in the cathedral scene," Mari said. "Didn't you just love it, too! I looked at her and shook my head sideways.

"I'm sorry, but I've never heard of it." Then Mari starts telling us about it starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Matthew Broderick and the storyline and how much she knew that I would love it and then she told me that she would loan me her copy of it. Then the friendly waitress came to our table and asked us if we wanted desserts.

Even though I seldom rarely eat desserts, but because I was enjoying our fun lunch I said, "Let's eat desserts y'all. I'll have Death By Chocolate, please." Then Mari copies my order and then T. ordered a chocolate chip cookie.

"OMG!" I said, after taking my first bite of the dark cake. "This Death By Chocolate cake is the best that I have ever eaten! Can you believe it, Mari?" Mari nodded her head yes in agreement. Then I looked over at Tone and he looked so disappointed that he hadn't ordered the cake, too, as he nibbled away on his cookie. So, I took one more delicious bite of my cake and then I offered the rest to him, not because I'm a nice person, but because I was so full. His eyes immediately lit up and then he dug into the cake and ate it all. But he never thanked me for it, until I had reminded him of it—on our way home. "You're welcome Tone."

As soon as we got home, after putting Belle Starr-Simons outside to go potty, I put my beautiful, pink sheepskin in my chair and then sat down on it and my back pain rapidly went away. Thank you, Mari!

And the reason that I did not write a blog last night was because I watched, "Lady Hawke" instead—thanks to Netflix. And I loved the movie—especially the horse.

This morning I went over to the Lodge to visit with Kinky since he has been gone since last Wednesday and we had a fun visit. Before leaving his Lodge I told him about making my Cousin Nancy's Nopalitos Salad for lunch today and that I really wanted him to try it.

"Is it really your recipe?" Kinky asked, not sounding real excited.

"No. I stole it from Sandy and it is absolutely delicious."

"Okay, then bring me some and I'll try it. It is Sandy's recipe, right?" As Trigger took me back over to the rescue ranch I wondered why Kinky had been so concerned about whose recipe it was.

At eleven-forty-five the verdict came in on my cactus salad. Kinky loved Cousin Nancy's Nopalitos Salad! Thank you, very much.

P.S. Today after telling Eileen the full story about about my first encounter of the weird kind with %$#$@#, she sent me an e-mail and told me that she knew who %$#$@# was, because she too had had a close encounter with her, when %$#$@# suddenly jumped out into the street acting like a wild, crazy woman, causing Eileen to have to slam on her brakes to prevent her from running over her. And all that I can say about it, is its Full Moon Time.

FYI: I just received this comment on my blog from Sean and Jim and it has just made my day! Thank y'all!

"Chloe has turned out to be the perfect addition to our family. She is well-behaved and mindful, but she's also playful and silly. We took her to a leash-free dog park today and she played well with every other dog there. She's such a lover-dog, wanting to nuzzle under your arm or roll around on the floor and lick everything. I told you I knew she was the one as soon as she appeared on your website and I was not mistaken. It was total kismet. Thank you for making our visit such a treat, martians notwithstanding, and for knowing, as I did, it would be love at first sight."
By Sean and Jim on Spaced-Out! or Mr.& Mrs. Jones! at 6:34 PM


Y'all have a great evening! And please pray that we get some much needed rain.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

She Stole My Nopalito Recipe! or Cowgirl (Almost) In The Sand!

Today has been great. This afternoon Tony and I went over to visit with our good friends Carol & James and he and I had a blast!

When we arrived at the ranch we spotted Carol and James waving at us from inside their new corral, that they had just recently built. After howdies and hugs the fun began. As we took turns catching up with each others news Carol surprised me and said, "Yesterday, I fixed your Cousin Nancy's Nopalito Salad and it was delicious and James loved it too. And, because it is very healthy and so easy to prepare I've stolen it from you—like you steal all of your friends recipes!" We all started laughing.

 Then James quickly quips, "It's now called, Carol's Nopalito Salad." I couldn't quit laughing about her stealing my (Sandy Wolfmueller's) cactus recipe and I was thrilled that they had tried it and loved it as much as we did. Then we took off so Carol could show us her and James latest landscaping improvements.

Our first stop was at the chicken coop where Carol showed us her soon-to-be flowering plants that they had planted and would soon be covering the entire chicken house with beautiful flowers. As we admired it I said, while trying not to drool, because I want a chicken coop, "I love it and I love chickens. I want a chicken coop so badly, because I miss not having free range chickens and eating their delicious farm eggs..."

As we walked around the yard admiring their newly planted flowerbeds we were either talking non-stop or laughing, as their beautiful hens and horses roamed freely nearby. Then they invited us into their screened-in-porch and I wish that I had said, "No," because they had me and T. laughing so hard, about their latest cutting-horse adventure in Arizona, my back started aching.

When Carol starting telling us about how well her new horse Dude had performed in their 1st calf-cutting competition together, that she won second place in and also in the money, I was rolling on the floor with laughter, as she reenacted it. "I was so nervous, but Dude wasn't. When the competition started Dude went into action and knew exactly what to do and I nearly fell off of him when he suddenly went down on his front legs and left me in the air and then he was going left and right so fast my cowboy hat turned sideways on my head as I held on..." We burst out laughing.

"It was so hilarious!" James said. "Carol and Dude were great, but her hat was literally sitting sideways on her head and then it fell off. And when Dude's front legs quickly dropped to the ground to cut out the calf, like a great cutting horse is supposed to do, Carol actually got some sand inside her boots. She and Dude were absolutely amazing and..."

After Carol finished telling us about the second calf and the third calf that she and Dude had cut out from the herd—James told us about his calf-cutting competition on his new cutting horse, Jari, which they placed fourth in, but no money. Then we went inside the house so they could show us some videos of the competitions that we had asked to see. And as I watched the exciting videos of them cutting calfs and then buffalos, I was in total awe and so impressed with Carol's and James' amazing horsemanship skills—they rode professionally and unlike many riders like me—they were with one with their horses. I loved it.

On our way home Tony and I talked about how much we loved Carol and James and how impressed we were after watching their videos and then I started laughing. "I can't believe she stole my Nopalito recipe." And we laughed about it—the rest of the way home.

Y'all have a  great evening!

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Spaced-Out! or Mr.& Mrs. Jones!

Today has been great but also a little weird, because at one point this afternoon, I felt like I was suddenly cast and co-starring in one of those scary Rod Serling Twilight Zone episodes.

This morning I walked four miles inside the trailer with Leslie Sansone and then I returned several phone calls while Tony was outside doing his morning chores.

Around noon today, T. excitedly took off for his first-paying-photo-gig, over in Pipe Creek. Mildred, a good friend of his in Medina, was having a baby shower for her daughter-in-law and she had hired Tony to come and please shoot the guests and family, for her.

After Tone left the ranch, Aaron showed up with a couple of his friends, so they could dip all of our dogs for fleas and ticks, and then treat the dog pens.

Four minutes past one o'clock Mama and Abbie started barking outside to let me know that Jim and Sean had arrived to possibly adopt one of our super dogs, but unfortunately that is also when the rest of the cast of the Twilight Zone also arrived—to my dismay.

Fortunately for me when I came outside, Aaron was busy meeting the cast, from outer space, so I happily went and greeted Jim and Sean and then suggested that we take off immediately to go look at our dogs, because of the heavy, weird vibes I was getting from the castaways.

When we reached Princess' and Marlin's pen I asked Jim to tell me what kind of dog he was looking for. After he told me that he didn't care if it was a male or female and that they had a cat I smiled and then I started telling them all about Chloe and what a great dog she was—they were interested and wanted to see her. And it was love at first sight, but they wanted to meet all of our dogs, so we took off and that's when the aliens or strangers from a strange land, caught up with us and starting asking me really dumb questions about dogs and making very odd remarks about dogs—darn it.

And that is when I said a silent prayer that Serling's reject Twilight Zone cast wouldn't abduct us and immediately take us off to a land far, far away. And I was pretty sure that Jim and Sean were probably thinking the same thing as me as they tried talking to the clueless aliens.

Fortunately, halfway through the rescue ranch tour with Jim and Sean—the spaced out people went back to their mini-craft and blasted out of here—thank goodness. Thirty minutes later after taking Chloe, then Harley and then Enzo Swift for a short walk—it was hands down—they definitely wanted to adopt Chloe! And I was more than thrilled for this super dog and so were they, but not as much as Chloe was!

After we gave her a few treats we went up to the trailer and went into Outer Space and had a really fun time visiting, before I filled out Chloe's adoption papers. After Jim signed on the dotted line to make Chloe's adoption final we went to get her, so they could take her to her new forever home. And here are a few pictures that I took of them with Chloe, one very happy dog, before going to her new home.




After Jim and Sean drove away with our / their precious cargo, I came inside the trailer and called Jimmie, the former owner of Chloe, to tell him the great news about Chloe getting adopted and he was happier than I was and he could not quit thanking Kinky, Tony and me for finding her a super home. Then he told me that  he was in the book (The Art of Racing In The Rain) where Eve... And that he loved the book and then I told him that we had rescued a big, black dog and named him Enzo and he loved it. "As soon as I finish reading this incredibly great book I am going to send it out to our friend Keith O., in California, because he can't wait to read it. Thank you so much for helping me out and finding Chloe such a great home..."

Five minutes after talking to Jimmie—T. walked inside the trailer and I told him the great news about Chloe and he was so happy for her and then I told him about my not-so-favorite-martians invasion and he had a good laugh about it. Then he showed me a couple hundred of great photos of the people that he had shot at the baby shower and then we got dressed up, so we could go to our good friend Ruth's daughter's wedding. Then we took off in Trigger.

I must say that "Stephanie and David Jones wedding was one of the best, most beautiful and fun weddings that I have ever attended," because it was a country-themed wedding. The bride and groom made for a handsome couple and Stephanie's dress was so beautiful—Kate Middleton, over in England, might ought to re-think about using Stephanie's dress designer and I am serious.

Tonight I want to end tonight's post with best wishes to Stephanie and David Jones new life together. May love always fill your hearts and may all of your dreams come true. And may the Dog of your choice bless you!

Y'all have a great evening!

Friday, April 15, 2011

I Am In Charge!

Tonight as I begin to type this, Tony's dog, Belle Starr-Simons, is sitting beside my chair trying to chew on the bottom cuff of my Levi 501s. I just corrected her by softly saying, "No Belle," so she is now barking at me—to let me know that she doesn't appreciate being reprimanded by me, because she is Tony's dog and what I have to say doesn't count in her world. Tone is her hero and to her Tony Rules.

I have to admit that Belle-Belle is a precious pup, even though T. is spoiling her rotten, which is actually okay with me, because I love her too. Even though Hank, Toto and Little Girl, our old assisted living dogs wish that she would just leave them alone and not want to play with them and some how magically disappear for good. But, unfortunately for them—that is not going to happen.

Yes, tonight I am babysitting Ms. B. so Mr. T. can take wild life pictures, on the ranch, with Frank. So since I am in charge I just gave Belle an ice cube to chew on and put her outside to "go potty" and then tear up anything that she can find in our front yard. So, I must type fast.

Today has been great, again. This morning after I walked six miles with Leslie, I cleaned up and then went outside to greet "The Best Volunteers in Texas." First, I found June happily wrestling with Rufus and Roxanne in their pen, as she put leashes on the excited dogs, who could not wait to go for a walk with her. As Rufus and Roxanne joyously criss-crossed and circled around June, tangling up their leashes, we laughed about it and I had a fun, but too short of a visit with her, because the Ruf & Rox could not wait to go walking with her.

Next I found June's eighty-nine-year-old, uncle Barney, who doesn't look a day older than me, sitting inside Ruth Buzzi's and Chuck's pen patiently grooming them and they looked fabulous and seemed to be really enjoying Barney's attention. After another fun, but short visit with him, Lisa and Eileen came walking in to return La Toya & Maggie to their pen, so I took off to go greet them and to thank them also for coming out to walk our dogs.

After howdies and hugs I showed Eileen and Lisa—Enzo Swift and they thought he was a beautiful dog and then we started talking non-stop about how much we had loved reading The Art of Racing In The Rain. By the end of our book review we had all agreed that we despised "The Twins." Then they took off to walk more dogs.

This afternoon after lunch Trigger took T. and me to Kerrville to run a few errands. After going to the Post Office we went to Wolfmueller's Books so I could pick up my two books of The Art of Racing In The Rain, that I had asked them to order for me.

When we arrived at Sandy's and Jon's bookstore Mary Jo greeted us from behind the front counter and then Jon walked up to greet us. "Hi, Tony and Nancy. Sandy isn't here right now. What are y'all up to?" After we told him that we were running errands, he said, "I've just started reading The Art of Racing In The Rain and I really like it. Especially the part about when Enzo..."

After we talked about my favorite book Tony says, "Jon, do y'all have a copy of Mapsco's The Roads of Texas?"

"There's a copy right behind you and it is their latest edition and filled with over 12,000 updates. It's the best," Jon said, as Tony turned around and plucked it from the shelf. Then we started talking about its great detailed maps.

As Tone and I were paying for our books I said, "Jon, I want to figure out how far 1,825 miles is from Medina, that I walked last year with Leslie. Like from Medina to the north, the south, the west and the east." Jon thought it would be interesting to know and he suggested that I Google it, so I did after we came home and before I started babysitting Belle. Who is right now sleeping on the floor, beside my chair with her Mr. Fluffy stuffed toy.

I discovered that walking 1,825 miles from Medina, Texas would take me North, straight up to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and beyond. It would take me 20 days and 8 hours of non-stop walking to get there and I would have walked a total of 1,501 miles. Heading due West I would have ended up in the Pacific Ocean dodging dolphins and whales, so I chose Northwest to San Francisco and it would have taken me 22 days and 15 hours of non-stop walking to get there and I would have walked a total of 1,671 miles.

If I had walked due East I would have once again found myself bobbing up and down, in the the cold Atlantic Ocean, so if I walked  Northeast to New York City it would have taken me 24 days and 23 hours to arrive, having walked the distance of 1,836 miles. And heading South to Acapulco would have taken me 19 hours and 29 minutes non-stop and only 1,122 miles. And finally, if I had walked to Miami, Florida it would have taken me 23 hours and 14 minutes—1,442 miles. And just thinking about it totally wore me out, so I took a long nap with our dogs.

Tony has just returned and Belle is thrilled to see him and so am I, because I'm now done babysitting his dog. I'm fixin' to watch a movie.

Y'all have a great evening! And thank you, Eileen, Lisa, June and Barney!

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Nopalitos!

Today has been great, even though it has been pretty quiet around here, which is exactly what I needed, so I could catch up with my paperwork, etc.

This morning at 7:45 I called Harley Belew to do the Utopia segment, sponsored by our good friends Randy & Lisa Sanders, who own the famous Save Inn Restaurant in Kerrville and Wheeler's restaurant over in Fredericksburg.

Today Harley's Pet of the Week was our beautiful, now four-months-old—Betty Rubble and I had a fun time visiting with Harley, at the Rose 99.9. Don't you just love her smile and those Betty Grable eyes.

Around ten-thirty this morning, after talking to way too many people on the phone, who wanted to bring us their dogs and a goose from Houston, I decided to take a much needed break, so I called Sandy at Wolfmueller's Books to ask her a couple of questions about her Nopalitos Salad recipe, because I was going to make it for Tony's and my lunch and I didn't want to screw it up. 

After interrogating her, I thanked her for her helpful tips. And before we adios-ed each other Sandy said, "Nancy, please call me and let me know what y'all think of it." After promising her that I would, I gathered all of the ingredients, took this picture, and then carefully prepared it as she had instructed. And Sandy's recipe was so easy and simple to prepare it only took me fifteen minutes to make her cactus salad.

Right after I took this next picture of the salad that I had prepared, T. walks inside the trailer and declared, "I'm starving, Nance. Did you fix Sandy's salad?" I nodded and pointed to the bowl and the rest is history. We loved it! It was absolutely delicious and we ate it all up!


After lunch I cleaned up the kitchen and then I called Sandy at Wolfmueller's Books. "OMG, Sandy! We loved your salad. And it's now going to be our favorite salad."

"Jon and I are eating it right now for our lunch. I'm glad that y'all liked it."

"Sandy, we didn't like it—we loved it. I was a little worried about it because Tone says he doesn't like Cilantro or onions and he cleaned his plate and took second helpings and...." After Sandy and I adios-ed each other for the second time today, I called a couple of my friends and told them that they had to try my new recipe, Cousin Nancy's Stolen Cactus Salad, and they promised that they would. And I hope that y'all will try it too. Here's my latest recipe that I stole from Sandy. Enjoy!

Cousin Nancy's Stolen Cactus Salad 

Ingredients:

1  15 oz. jar of Nopalitos (I used La Costena brand) Drain and rinse to remove the slime and then dice.

2  Tomatoes—diced

1  Can of Bush's Black Beans—drained and rinsed.

1/2  Red onion—diced

Jalapenos optional (I didn't use any nor does Sandy)

1/4 Cup or more of chopped Cilantro

Juice of 1 Lime

1  Avocado (Or packaged avocado like I used.)

Pepper to taste.

Enjoy! Eat and be merry! I can't wait to make this salad for Kinky and Ben to try, because I know that they are going to love it, too.

This afternoon Jon Wolfmueller called while I was outside, so Carlton took his call. "Hi, Nancy it's Jon. I just wanted to let you know that we have the two books that you ordered, The Art of Racing In The Rain. Next time y'all are in Kerrville come by and pick them up. Bye."

P.S. Mari, I swear that you'll love this recipe. It's the best! I love Nopalitos!

Y'all have a great evening!

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

I Love Cactus!

Tonight instead of starting out my post as I usually do about my day, I decided for a change, to start it out like this—even though today has been great.

This afternoon Tony and I took off in Buttermilk with Enzo Swift, sitting in the backseat, to Hoegemeyers to get him a check up, his shots and to be neutered and on our way to Kerrtown I said to Enzo, "Don't be worried Enzo. Everything is okay. We are just taking you in to the doctor and we will pick you up tomorrow and bring you back home." Then T. starts laughing. "What's so funny?"

"Enzo, everything is going to be fine, good buddy, like Nance said," Tone said, as Enzo leaned forward from the backseat and licked my face, "but remember to blame her not me." Then he starts laughing again.

"Tony, that's not fair."

"I know, and that's why the dogs trust me. They think that I'm the good guy and you're Nancy Nurse, the bad one, who gets them neutered and spayed." I couldn't help but chuckle even though it wasn't fair.

After we dropped a nervous Mr. Swift off at Hoegemeyer's Animal Clinic we went to Wolfmueller's Books to say hi to Sandy and Jon. After howdies and hugs we started visiting and were talking about Kent & Ruthie's fun visit yesterday and then I asked them to please order two more copies of the book, The Art of Racing In The Rain for me and then Kinky strolls into their bookstore and then we started talking about how much we loved Garth Stein's book, as Jon hands Kinky two copies of The Art of Racing In The Rain that Kinky had ordered from them, so he could give them to his friends.

Ten minutes later, we invited Sandy and Jon to join us for lunch across the street, but they declined because they had already eaten. Then the three of us left the building and walked across the street. Right after we placed our orders Sandy walks into the restaurant and joins us, "I'll just have tea," she told the friendly waitress.

During our meal we talked about books, Kinky's upcoming East Coast and Australia tours, Sandy's new iPad-2, the weather and eating healthier. "I love cactus, but I have never eaten one," I confessed. "I've heard that they are real good for you..."

"Nancy, I have the best Nopalitos salad recipe that I need to give to you," Sandy said. "You'll love it and it's real easy to prepare!" Needless to say my eyes lit up—another recipe that I can steal! "It uses black beans, which I love, nopalitos, cilantro, red onion and I can't remember the rest of it, so I will call you tonight and give you the recipe. I was more than thrilled, as Kinky, Tony and I ate our lunch and Sandy drank her iced tea.

When we were done eating, after Tony had promised Kinky to give him an early wake up call in the morning, we crossed the street and went back to Wolfmueller's Books and visited a little longer with Jon and Sandy and then we headed home.

Early this evening Sandy called me and gave me her delicious, secret cactus salad recipe and I must confess that I have stolen it and have already renamed it, Cousin Nancy's Desert Salad and I plan to make it tomorrow for our dinner. Thank you, Sandy. Your secret is safe with me.

P.S. This morning when I was over at the Lodge I told Kinky about Gonzo and Ziggy going to be adopted today and about us rescuing Chloe and then Sebastian, who I had renamed Enzo Swift—thanks to Eileen's suggestion—he was thrilled—especially about the name change. Enzo Rules!

Y'all  have a great evening!

Monday, April 11, 2011

Welcome!

Today has been more than great!

This morning I got up real early and did my morning chores and walked four miles with Leslie Sansone, so I would be ready when our friend Jimmy, from San Antonio, arrived with his dog Chloe, that we were taking in, because he longer could keep her, due to his serious health issues.

Jimmy and Chloe arrived a little before eleven o'clock and the minute we met Chloe—we instantly fell in love with his sweet, eighteen-month-old dog, that Jimmy had rescued, a little over a year ago.

We first put Chloe in the alleyway between Maggie & LaToya and Laz's pen, in hopes that Laz would like her and get to know her through the fence, but that didn't happen, because Laz went into his doghouse and wouldn't come out. So, Tony them put Chloe in Laz's pen, so they could meet, as Jimmy visited with us and told us all about Chloe. "She's real smart and the sweetest dog. She is trained and she gets along great with dogs and cats. My vet told me that she is probably part German Shepherd and part Husky..."

Since Laz wouldn't come out of his doghouse, we decided to go up to the trailer, so we could do her paperwork, while T. stayed behind so he could keep an eye on them while he finished cleaning the rest of the dog pens.

Twenty minutes later, Tony came up to the trailer and told us, "Laz and Chloe are getting along great and have been playing non-stop..." And we were thrilled with his news. Then I asked Jimmy if he read the book, The Art of Racing In The Rain, and he told me he hadn't, so I told him a little about the book and how much Kinky, Tony, Eileen and I had enjoyed it and he seemed really interested and then I came inside the trailer, found the book and then went back outside. "Here, Jimmy," I said, as I handed him my copy of the book by Garth Stein. "I want you to have this and I promise that you will love it." After Jimmy thanked me for giving him the book, he thanked us for taking his super dog, Chloe and then he left.

After Tony and I ate lunch, he and Trigger took off for Kerrville to pick up some supplies and I stayed home, because our dear friend Patty Kearns, who is in town for a few days, was coming out for a visit. 

Ten minutes after T. left, the phone rang—it was Sherry, our sweet neighbor. "Nancy, I know that y'all are full out there, but there is this really sweet dog in town running around Medina, and I'm scared that he is going to get hit by a car. After checking around town. I found out that the he had belonged to some people and when they moved away—they deserted him. He's a Border Collie mix, about a year old and is very smart and he knows his commands. Anyway, I was..."

"We can take him, Sherry," I interrupted someone, for the second time today. Then we talked about making the arrangements to get him here.  At one-thirty Mama and Abby started barking to let me know that Patty was here, so I went outside to greet her. After howdies and hugs, we came inside the trailer and started chatting up a storm. 

A little before two o'clock, Mama and Abby started barking again, so I excused myself and went outside to the front porch to see who was here. OMG! It was Kent Perkins and his beautiful wife Ruth Buzzi! "Howdy y'all!" I half-hollered to them, as I opened the front door and asked Patty to please come outside. Then I went out the gate and it was howdies and hugs all over again. Then I introduced Patty to them and she could hardly speak, because she was in awe of Ruthie, and could not believe that she was meeting Ruthie and Kent.

"We brought you a present Cousin Nancy," Ruthie said, as Kent pulled it out of their car and handed it to me. 


"I absolutely love it! Look, Patty. Isn't it precious and look, the tail wags! Thank y'all, so much!" 

As Patty admired it and agreed with me that it was way too cute, Kent said, "The minute that we saw it, we both said, "We've got to get this. It has Cousin Nancy written all over it. And we were thinking that maybe you might want to put it out by the entrance to greet people..."

"Oh, no," I said, followed by a laugh. "I love it and I'm keeping it up here with me." Then the four of us went into Outer Space. 

The minute we sat down in the chairs, we were either laughing about this or laughing about that, because Kent and Ruthie are two hilarious people, and they had some of the most interesting and funniest stories to tell us. An hour into our more than fun visit, T. pulled up in Trigger, and then he went into Outer Space to join our fun. 

Besides laughing nearly non-stop, we talked about everything under the sun, including: Frank Sinatra, iPads, Kindles, their horses, bats, bees, birds, Belle Starr-Simons, recipes, our dogs, Florida, The Batman of Houston, Abilene, cats, Pat Paulson, tractors, art, the rescue ranch and Tony's photography, etc. So, to put it in a nutshell—I was having a blast!

Around four o'clock Patty told us that she needed to head back to Kerrtown, because tonight her father, Carlos, was going to teach her how to make his famous, delicious Mexican rice, and she needed to go to H-E-B to pick up the ingredients. 

None of us wanted Patty to leave our party, because we were having too much fun. And, even after Kent and Ruthie and us had hugged Patty goodbye, Ruthie said, "I hope that we get to see you again." And Kent agreed with her.

Around four-thirty, Kent and Ruthie told us that wanted to go over and see Kinky and before leaving they invited us to join them for breakfast in the morning and we told them we would be there. Then Tone took this picture and we hugged and they drove away in a cloud of dust, because we badly need rain.

After Tony admired my metal dog with a wagging tail, that they had given to me, we came inside the trailer and I told him about talking to Sherry and the poor dog that had been dumped in Medina, over four days ago. 

"I'm fine with that, but Nance, where are we going to put him?" Tony asked. "We don't have any space."

"Don't worry. I know it'll all work out." Then the phone immediately rang—it was the man who had brought us the Blue Heeler and the Weimaraner.

"I have some good news. My good friend, who has ten acres, wants to adopt Ziggy and Gonzo!..." And we were thrilled for his dogs getting a home, and happy that we would now have space for the Border that should be arriving any minute now. (It is six twenty-eight as I type this and Mama and Abby just started barking to tell us that Sherry's friend, Sara is coming in with the Border mix.) I'll be right back!

6:58 P.M. Okay, I'm back.

When Tony and I jumped into Kermit to go meet Sara, I said, "Tony, Sherry told me that the dog's name is Sebastian, but I want to change it, because of all that he has been through. This morning I got an e-mail from Eileen and she suggested that we name the next male dog that we bring in—Enzo, in honor of him. (Enzo is the sweet dog, in the book The Art of Racing In The Rain.) Okay?" Tony smiled and nodded yes, as we pulled up to Sara's car, with her and Sherry's cute son Gregory, sitting in the front seat and with Enzo standing up in the backseat—happily wagging his long, black, furry tail.

After greetings Sara and Tony took Enzo out of her car and because he was nervous and so excited, and with all of our dogs barking I quickly took this picture of him, but it does not serve him justice, because he is absolutely beautiful.

Once T. put Enzo into our big puppy pen, between Bandy & Mandy and Fred & Betty, Tony fed him, showed him how to use our "Lix-It dog waterers" and then gave him a few dog treats. We visited with Greg and Sara for a few minutes and talked about Enzo and what all that he has been through. After they thanked us for helping them rescue Enzo, they too, drove away in a cloud of dust. We hope that Enzo settles quickly into his new digs tonight, before we take him to Hoegemeyers tomorrow to get him neutered and his shots.

Today has been wonderful, with some unexpected pleasant surprises and now I am going to Amazon to order another copy of Garth Stein's book, The Art of Racing In The Rain and them I'm going to kick-back and watch a movie.

P.S. Patty, thank you so much for the beautiful note cards. I love them. And, I'm sorry that I forgot and didn't take a picture of you with Kent and Ruthie.

P.S.S. 7:49 P.M. Update: Patty just e-mailed me this picture of "Daddy's Rice." It looks delicious!


Y'all have a great evening!

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Ain't Life Grand!

Yesterday, Tony and I left the rescue ranch at noon, to go to Lindy's memorial service in Utopia and we locked our gate and left Frank in charge of babysitting our dogs.

On our way over to Utopia I told T. that I wasn't going to cry, because I knew that Lindy wouldn't want it that way, because she and I had once talked about funerals years ago.

Lindy's memorial service was beautiful and the Baptist church, where it was held, was filled up and it was standing room only for over fifty people, who didn't arrive early enough to get a seat. As the organist played beautiful music, I sat between Tone and Maribeth waiting for the service to begin and then I teared up as I looked at a beautiful, large projected picture of Lindy up on a screen, in her younger days, sitting happily on her beloved horse smiling and waving, as if to say, "Ain't life grand!" And then tears of sadness filled my eyes as I thought about all of the fun times that we had shared, because whenever we were together, either on horseback or sitting in the Lost Maples Cafe or inside my trailer—all we ever did was laugh way too much about life and ourselves. In fact, we had so much fun together, I know that I could write an hilarious book about our exciting and crazy fun-filled adventures.

After Maribeth, Tony and I had paid our respects to the the family, we went outside to talk to Maribeth for just a few minutes, because we had told her before the service had started, that we needed to get back home pronto, but that's not exactly how it turned out and I am so glad that it didn't.

As it turned out T. and I had a wonderful time outside the church visiting with many of our dear old friends that we had sadly left behind, once we had moved here—over nine years ago.

An hour later after howdies and hugs, too much laughing and remembering and catching up with our friends latest good news, we reluctantly climbed into Trigger and headed back home. And all that Tone and I could talk about on our way home was how great it was to have seen all of them and how happy we were for them and what a beautiful service they had done for Lindy Lou Padgett, one of my favorite people.

Forty two miles later, we walked inside the trailer and thanked Frank for babysitting our rescue ranch and then I called Kinky. "Hi, Kinky. We just got back. What time do you want to leave?"

"Let's leave in about thirty minutes..."

Thirty minutes later, at four-thirty, we picked up Kink and headed over to Steve's Barbecue, in Buttermilk. And the minute that we arrived at his ranch—we had a total blast! It was fun meeting all of his interesting friends and eating some of the best food that we have ever eaten!

Today has been great, because this afternoon at four o'clock—Mary-Ann was adopted and has found her forever fantastic home, to a lovely family!

Y'all have a great evening!

Friday, April 8, 2011

What In The World!

Today has been great. This morning Eileen, our great dog-walking volunteer and my good friend, came out to walk our dogs, while I was inside the trailer, walking with Leslie Sansone. When I was done with my exercise video I went outside to find Eileen, so I could thank her for coming out today and to also catch up with her latest news. And to say the least, I had a blast visiting with her.

When Eileen was fixin' to leave, we saw Sharon Griswold, the talented dog whisperer and the owner of "Rover Misbehaving?" walking towards us with Annie Oakley. After I thanked Sharon for coming out to work with Annie, the three of us had a fun, but short visit, before I had to leave, so I could return an urgent phone call. So, tonight I want to thank Eileen and Sharon for all that they do for our dogs.

Last week, with the help of Kinky's good friend Kent, he finally sold his pool table that he longer wanted or used. And the cool part is—he told the buyer to make the check payable to our rescue ranch! Thank you very much, Kinky! We love you!

So this afternoon Tony and I went over to the Lodge, so T. and Frank could help Monk and Lynn, from Comanche, Texas, a very interesting and super, cool couple, disassemble their newly purchased "Kinky" pool table and take it home with them. Even though it took a couple of hours to take it apart, a fun time was had by all as we traded funny stories with non-stop laughing, so as you can guess—my back is aching a little bit tonight, but it was well worth it.

Around five-thirty, after Kinky had autographed the loaded and tied down, "Kinky" pool table, in the back of Monk's and Lynn's Ford F-150 pickup, he suggested that we extend our fun and go to Kerrville to eat dinner.

Forty minutes later Tony and I arrived at the restaurant. Five minutes later Kinky and Frank arrived and one minute later Lynn and Monk walked inside the eating establishment and the fun immediately continued, as Monk and Kinky started trading some hilarious stories about their life on the road as musicians and their famous musician friends.

I laughed so much, as did everyone else at our table, that people in the restaurant were staring at us, wondering what in the world was so funny. After dinner we went outside to the parking lot and an hour later we bid our new found-fun-friends goodbye, knowing that we would be seeing them soon!

Please note that our rescue ranch will be closing early tomorrow at noon instead of three o'clock as usual, because Tone and I are going to Lindy's memorial service in Utopia.

Y'all have a great evening!