Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Roy Rogers!

Today has been a great day, again. This morning, before going outside to clean the dog pens, I checked my e-mail and my dear friend Eileen, one of the famous Fab 4 Volunteers and one of the funniest people that I know on the planet, cracked me up with her hilarious comment that she made on last nights blog and I have been laughing about it all day. Eileen wrote:

"Ronnie, Ronnie, Ronnie! Ronnie may have built you a kitchen table and Outer Space but he can't build what I'm about to give you on Friday morning when I get there to walk the dogs!!! Hint: Think pink, pretty and slim! That's all I'm gonna say! One more: Merlin's penmate! November 30, 2011 12:04 AM

So, I answered her comment:
"Hi, Eileen! I cannot wait to see you on Friday—since we will have much to TALK about on our Princess Phones that you bought for us! I'm going to call Ronnie now and tell him about it!" Then I went outside and did my chores and then I totally forgot to call Ronnie and I am blaming it on being sixty or M.I.R.
I didn't work on the Roy Rogers Wall today, because I was tired from all of the remodeling that Tony and I had done yesterday, but tomorrow I plan to "git-ur-done," as Larry The Cable Guy would say, that is right behind Ronnie's custom kitchen table that he made for me—that I love.

Early this evening—O. Henry, our great German Short Haired Pointer, found his forever home in Grand Prairie, in North Texas and we are so thrilled for him and we have our fingers crossed that it will work out for him, because we really liked Cindy and Ray! 


And that is about it for tonight, because I need to call Kinky to tell him about O. getting adopted and to tell Ronnie about Eileen getting me a precious, pink Princess Phone, so he doesn't buy me one for my writing cabin.
Y'all have a great evening and please keep praying that we get some more rain and that O. Henry works out with his new family!

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Hello, Walls! or If Walls Could Talk!

Today has been a really great day for me, but I am pretty tired right now, because of all of the remodeling that Tony and I did inside Nellybelle, our beloved 1983 trailer, that I bought on "the payment plan" for only $7,000.00 from my dear friends Bob and Helen W.,  in 1995, when I left Austin and moved to Utopia to start a new life for myself, after Jim had died.

This morning, when our chores were done outside and after I had taken care of some rescue ranch business inside, we carefully removed the tin from the kitchen walls, that we had put up in 2001, two days after the 911 attack on New York City, because I could not deal with the devastation and the lives lost and when I saw the old wall paper I took this picture of it, so I could remember it, before we started covering it with 1"x 4" pine from Sweden. And yes, the cheapest pine, at Home Depot in Kerrville, was imported from Sweden and it only cost $2.58 for an eight foot board. We bought 20 sticks of it and put it on our credit card, so it was free, until we get our bill for it and have to start paying it off on their payment plan!


Late this afternoon, I asked Tone to call Carol for me, to invite her to come over, so she would be the first to see my "Wannabe-Carol-Kitchen, because I needed to go outside to quickly spray paint, a second coat of pink, on my old spice rack, that I made over thirteen years ago.


Ten minutes later, after T. and me had rushed around putting up drills, scrap lumber, spices and returning pictures to the walls, etc., Carol arrived. When she walked inside the trailer she said, "OMG! I love it, y'all! It is so beautiful and I love the pink spice rack..." 

"We aren't finished with it yet," I said. "We still have to do the wall behind the kitchen table, that I love, that Ronnie built for me, when I was fixing to move to Utopia." And then we had a super fun visit with our dear friend, from down the road. And here are a few picts that I took earlier this evening of my "Wannabe Carol Kitchen." And I hope that you like them, as much as I love the cozy room that I am sitting in right now, typing this on Ronnie's kitchen table, that he custom made for me in thirty minutes at his and Nita's Ronderosa Ranch.



Y'all have a great evening and please keep praying for us to get some more rain! I'm fixin' to go to bed right now, because there is more Swedish pine to put up tomorrow, in my pretend log cabin that I always dreamed about having!

P.S. It looks like O. Henry, our great, German Short Haired Pointer is going to finally find his forever home tomorrow and he will spend his life in Grand Prairie, Texas. So, please keep your fingers crossed for him. Good night.

Monday, November 28, 2011

Before & After! or The Wall!

Yesterday was a great day and so was today. Yesterday I decided to remodel our kitchen, because I love Carol's awesome kitchen and I want ours to look like hers or at least get close to it. So, after taking down the tin on one wall, which we had put up over ten years ago, I went outside and started chopping 1"x4" boards and with Tony's help we finished one wall and I love the way the pine boards look, even though they aren't like the beautiful 2"x12"'s in Carol's house . Here are the before and after pictures.



Like I said earlier, today has been great, too, because our dear friend Patty, from Florida, came out to visit us before flying back to the sunshine state tomorrow. "OMG, Nancy!" Patty said, as she got out of her rental car, "I love your pink writing cabin! It is so adorable." And I had to agree with her, because it really is. Then we went inside the cabin, sat down on the couches and started catching up with each others news.

During my fun visit with her, we laughed about her latest trip, over the ocean, to Venice, to attend a week-long culinary cooking school, her fun loving Florida friends that she adores—that I wish I could meet and how life has been treating us. And when my back started aching from laughing so much, I invited her to go up to the trailer, so I could show her "The Wall" that Tony and I had put the boards on yesterday and yes, she loved it as much as I do. Then we went into Outer Space and laughed until It (my back.) hurt, but I am not whining, because visiting with Patty was worth it.

Tonight, I am going to continue reading the fabulous book, The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin, that Carol has loaned to me, because Patty is also reading it and she loves it as much as Carol does.

Before I go, I received some sad news tonight from my dear friend Garnet Sheffield, in Utopia. She wrote to tell my that our dear friend Bob W. had to put his dog Blue down today and he is heartbroken. Blue was one of the very first dogs that our rescue ranch rescued from the pound on Labor Day Weekend 1998 and he was only about three months old and Bob and Helen adopted him one week later. 

Blue was a handsome Aussie mix and he had a blue eye and he was Bob's best friend—they did everything together. And I will never forget the joy that those two gave me, whenever I saw them riding around Utopia in Bob's vintage truck, with Blue riding shotgun, in the front seat or seeing them taking long walks together. "Bob, Tony and I loved Blue and we are so sorry about his passing, but we are so thankful that y'all found each other. He was one fine dog and a lucky one to have shared his life with you and Helen. He will never be forgotten. Rest in peace, Blue—you were loved by the Best."

Y'all have a great evening and please keep praying that we get some more rain!

Our Rodney Crowell and Billy Joe Shaver Bonefit Is Being Rescheduled For A Later Date!

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Thank You, BJ Thomas! We Love You! And Thank You, Ruth Buzzi & Kent Perkins! Y'all Already Know We Love You Two!

Our rescue ranch wants to thank BJ Thomas for doing a Bonefit, last night, for us at the Old Springs Dance Hall in Salado, Texas! Kinky called to tell me that it was a great Bonefit and that everyone enjoyed meeting BJ and Ruth Buzzi and Tony and I wish that we could have been there to enjoy the show and to thank them.

And to thank BJ Thomas for doing a benefit last night for our beloved Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch, Kinky, Tony and I are dedicating a dog pen and getting a sign made to honor him and to thank our dear friends Ruth Buzzi & her husband Kent Perkins for all that they have done for our rescue ranch we are  also dedicating a pen in their names, too.

Thank you, BJ, Ruthie & Kent! We love y'all! Please come visit us when you can.

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Thanksgiving Day Part 2! or Our Little Alien Visitor!

Thanksgiving Day, around 1:30, after Tony, our personal dogs and I had eaten our delicious Thanksgiving dinner, that our friends Karen Cauthen and her husband Terry, had sent to us—we jumped into Trigger and went down the road to Carol's ranch, to see her and meet her sweet family.

When we arrived Carol took us inside to meet her family. "Mom's taking a nap right now," Carol told us. "Y'all, I want you to meet Tony and Nancy. This is my sister Carla, her husband Mike and their children Christina and Michael... After howdies we had a good visit with them and a little later when Carol's mom walked into the big room Carol introduced us to Rita.

"So, we finally get to meet Carol's legendary mother," I said. "We have heard so many great things about you and..." Ten minutes later, Tony reminded me that we needed to leave, so we wouldn't miss the  Dallas Cowboys game, so we adios-ed them and came home and watched one exciting game.

Friday was a great day, too, even though it started out bad, when Tony returned from the Old Timer and walked inside the trailer with some bad news, "I've got some bad news. On my way home a buck ran into Trigger. He was chasing a doe and I had already braked and was only going about two miles per hour when he ran into the driver's side door. It's dented and he broke off the mirror and the bad news is the buck died..."


Tony was sick about it and so was I, so there wasn't much said when we ate our breakfast. Fortunately, around 9:30, Jim showed up and a few minutes later Eileen and Kim arrived to walk our dogs for us and within minutes they had me smiling and laughing again—thank goodness.

After I had cleaned the dog pens and the volunteers had walked several happy dogs,  I had a good time visiting with Eileen and Kim and when Jim started heading over to Mr. Rogers and Miss Dee's pen to take them for a walk—the dogs from Kansas started barking in delight and began jumping up and down, because they could not wait for Jim to leash them up and take them walking. Needless to say it gave us girls goose bumps when Mr. Rogers and Miss Dee happily trotted out of their pen with Jim, with their tails held high and wagging. "I love it," Eileen said. "Jim has worked wonders with those two dogs..."

A few hours later, Buttermilk took T. and me to Hoegemeyer Animal Clinic to pick up Little Sister, the adorable little Chihuahua that we had rescued on Tuesday. And by the time we made it back to the rescue ranch with precious cargo, we had decided to get a crate and let Little Sister stay inside the trailer with us, because she was only three months old. Then we made a plan on how we were going to introduce her to our fur family.

While Tone put the crate inside the trailer, next to my chair at the kitchen table, where I do a lot of computer work, Little Sister sniffed and smelled our front yard and took care of business. Then we brought her inside and put her inside her crate and then one-by-one we brought our dogs inside to meet Little Sister and everyone liked her, but they were more than curious about the clear-see-through Victorian crown that she wore around her neck, to keep her from taking her stitches out. "Tony, I think they think she is a little alien from another planet," I said, as our dogs continued to stare and turn their heads sideways, trying to figure out what she was.

After the little alien meet and greet was over Mama came over and stared at her for awhile and then she laid down beside her crate to keep her company, so I grabbed my camera and shot them.



One hour later, after they had napped, we took off Little Sister's Victorian crown, to give her a break from wearing it and then she, Mama,Toto and us went outside to the front yard so they could play and potty and Mama, with her natural guardian instincts, followed Little Sister all around the yard as if she were her personal body guard and I thought it was so sweet, I took this picture of them on our porch.


And that wraps up Friday. Tomorrow I will write about my fun day today and about Paul and Brad, from Athens, Georgia coming out and our fun visit and about Tony and I going over to Carol's ranch early this evening for a Cowgirl Sisterhood meeting.

Y'all have a great evening and do any of y'all know someone who would like to adopt Little Sister?

Thanksgiving Was The Best Ever—Thanks To Our Wonderful Volunteers!

We had the best Thanksgiving. Thursday morning, Tony and I were up bright and early to get ready for our friends aka the best volunteers in Texas, arrival, so they could help us prepare and serve our super dogs their Thanksgiving dinner.

By dawn's early break we had all of the buckets, pans and food inside the trailer.


Then Tony went outside to clean the dog pens, while I started cooking the mixed vegetables, which filled the oven and stove top. By 8:30, Tony was back inside and everything was going as planned, which surprised me since M.I.R. (Mercury in retrograde.) was in full force and had already started messing with me.

At 9:00 our friends / volunteers arrived and after handshakes, howdies and hugs we all came inside the trailer to do The Drill


Before the volunteers got busy, under Tone's supervision, I joked, "Tony is in charge and he wants y'all to say, "Yes, sir." Then T. started giving out orders. 

"Divide the eggs up into the three buckets," and the volunteers got to cracking. "Olive oil is next. Okay, now add the cheese..." Then Tony showed them how to mix up the food with the drill, with it's long paddle while we shot him with our cameras!


And here are a few pictures that Eileen and I took of the Utopia Drill Team:

Ellen

Jonathan giving it a spin.

Toto helping us.

Kim, the squad leader, showing us how the South Africans do it.

Jo applying her Waco technique.

Toto, right in the middle of it.

And, Lisa winding it up.

Then they divided up the gourmet dinner into five buckets while Ellen and I shoved 48 warmed rolls into an H-E-B thermal tote bag and then we went outside and served our dogs their annual Thanksgiving Dinner.

Lisa serving Princess and Merlin.

Eileen and Lisa visiting with Lois Lane.

Lois Lane taking Lisa for a walk.

Chuck & Lisa and Lynn & Carol

Carol and me.

The way-too-cool sisters, Jo, Ellen and June.

Jo, her son Jonathan and me.

Kim out of Africa.

Eileen, Tony, me and Lisa.

On behalf of Kinky, Tony, our dogs and me, we want to thank these wonderful, dedicated volunteers for making this the best Thanksgiving ever!

Y'all have a great evening and please keep praying that we get some more rain, because it is working! We got over one inch of rain last night!

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Grinning Ear-T0-Ear! or The Cowgirl Sisterhood Rides Again!

Today has been another great day for me. This morning after Tony and I did our morning chores outside, I went over to the Lodge to visit with Kinky and his sweet sister Marcie and I really enjoyed it. Then Trigger brought Marcie and me over to the rescue ranch, so I could show off my pink cabin to her and needless to say, "Marcie fell in love with it, just like everyone else has, which makes me feel so good, because I LOVE it so much.

After returning Marce back over to the Lodge I came inside the trailer to check my e-mail and blog for comments and when I read what Eileen, my dear friend commented on my blog I was literally dancing in delight, on Cloud Nine, in my pretty, pink cowboy boots. This is what Eileen wrote:

"Ronnie's guitar, Ronnie's chicken recipe, Ronnie's this, Ronnie's that ... when will it ever stop? Never, you say! OK! You and I will be the proud, new owners of two Pink Princess Phones within a matter of days, Nancy! Just thought that would make you smile!"

After I had quit dancing, because I was so thrilled about getting a Pink Princess Phone from Eileen for my cute cabin, I posted this comment:

"OMG! Eileen, you are way too sweet! And I am grinning ear-to-ear! I can't wait to put your Pink Princess phone in my cabin, because then it will be complete! Thank you, so very much!" Then I went outside to tell Tone my exciting news.


When I returned to the trailer, Carlton was flashing nervously on the breakfast bar, so I pushed his button and he said, "You have one new message."


"Hello Nancy and Tony, this is Carol. I think it is time for The Cowgirl Sisterhood to ride again, so I want to treat y'all to lunch today, if it is not too late. Call me."


Forty minutes later, The Cowgirl Sisterhood "plus one" were sitting at a table, laughing at our latest tales to tell, at the famous, super cool Camp Verde Store for lunch and I had a total blast and so did Tony. And before we adios-ed each other and left to come back home, Tony shot The Cowgirl Sisterhood standing across the street with this camel.



And that is about it for tonight, because Hazel is fixin' to come out of the closet to help me clean up the dog hair and mud inside the trailer, because tomorrow morning our great volunteers are coming out to help us prepare and serve our beautiful, rescue ranch dogs their annual Thanksgiving Dinner—compliments of Lisa and Chuck Williams and I can't wait to see them.


Y'all have a great evening and I hope that your Thanksgiving Day is more than happy, because I know ours will be—thanks to our wonderful volunteers!

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

M.I.R.!

First off, the reason that I didn't write last night was because I could not quit reading the book that Kent's sweet wife Joan, the amazing woman that used to run around naked in Africa's forests, asked Ellen to give to me, last Friday.

Yesterday, around 4:00, after I had taken care of all of my rescue ranch business and was badly needing a break from it all, Mama and I went outside to the cabin, so I could relax and play my guitar.

For over two hours, while Mama snored peaceably, on the newly reupholstered couch, I happily played my guitar until my fingers were killing me. After packing up my guitar, but still wanting to stay in the cabin, I decided to start reading Joan's book that she gave to me, Why Is God Laughing? by Deepak Chopra and because I found it to be very interesting, Mama and I didn't come home until eight o'clock and I didn't put the book down until I had finished reading it and then I went straight to bed. Thank you, Joan—I loved the book and we can't wait for another fun visit with you and Kent!


Today has turned out to be one hilarious day. This morning while Tony did his and my chores outside—I stayed inside and with the help of Hazel, we deep cleaned Nellybelle, again, because our super volunteers will be here, early Thanksgiving morning, to help us cook and serve our dogs their annual Thanksgiving Dinner and I wanted our trailer to look like T. and I don't live here. But before Hazel and I went to work, I prepared Ronnie's delicious chicken recipe and then I put it in the oven to bake for one hour and forty-five minutes, so it would be ready in time for our lunch.

Before Tone and I ate our lunch, we rescued Little Sister, a darling, three-month-old Chihuahua pup that had been dumped at our friend's ranch front gate and then we had an unexpected fun time with some visitors, from Fredericksburg, who wanted to see our rescue ranch before going to Lost Maples State Park, to take some pictures.

The minute that we met Eve and Stephen K. Morris—we liked them, so I gave them a tour of our rescue ranch. And by the time the tour was over, I invited them to go into Outer Space with us, so Stephen could play my awesome guitar, that Ronnie made for me, so we could hear some of his music and it was totally fantastic.

After the first song he sang, Eve accompanied him on vocals on his second song and Tony and I were mesmerized by his/their beautiful music, so Tone then gave them a tour of his hallway photography gallery, that Hazel and I had just cleaned, thank goodness, because they were also into photography.


While they admired T.'s pictures, in the hall, with Mama sniffing their butts, I secretly signed a quick note to them on my second book, Meanwhile Back At The Rescue Ranch: The Dog Days Of Cousin Nancy, because I wanted to give them a copy and I was sick that I was out of my first book, because I wanted to give it to them, too.

Before Eve and Stephen left, I invited them into my cabin, so they could see how cool it was and that is when Tony and I found out that Stephen K. Morris has a new CD coming out real soon and we can't wait to buy it, because he is so talented!  So, please check out Stephen K. Morris, from Fredericksburg, because he is on Facebook and fixin' to become really famous—like Jim Keaveny is going to be.

After eating Ronnie's delicious lunch, we picked up our mail and I instantly became semi-depressed, because I have been summoned for jury duty, in Kerrville, on December 6th, because December is the busiest time of the year for me and I don't like judging people, which is a little odd, because Libras are supposed to be great at being Judges.

After we dropped Little Sister off at Hoegemeyer's, to get her shots, etc. we went straight over to Wolfmueller's Books, to see our great friends Sandy and Jon, because we have missed them and I needed to be cheered up. And during our fun visit with them, they teased me about having to do jury time. "Well, I'm blaming it on M.I.R. (Mercury in retrograde.), I declared, "Mercury goes in retrograde in two days through December 14th and..."

This evening at 5:50 the phone rang—it was Sandy, "Nancy, you're not going to believe this. We just got home and guess what?"

"What?"

"I've got jury duty on December 6th, too," then Sandy and I burst out laughing.

"....Well, I am going to dress real sloppy and wear a sweatshirt, but the good news is we can do lunch together and...."

Y'all have a great evening and please keep praying that we get some more rain and Happy Birthday, Woody!

Happy Birthday Woody!

Today is Woody's, our great friend's birthday and Tony and I, Denise & Mark and Tater Catfish want to be the first to wish you a Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to You. Happy Birthday to You. Happy Birthday Dear Woody. Happy Birthday to You. And many more.

Woody, we hope that your birthday is the best ever and we send you our love and best wishes to you and Rose and Gabriella. We love you! Y'all come see us when you can.

Sunday, November 20, 2011

What Would Ronnie Do? Part 2! or What Tony Did!

After the sun had hid itself behind the mountain and it was totally dark outside, we were still inside my cabin, laughing and listening to my music until we were scared-to-death by a loud knock on the door!
To Be Continued...

Then the door opened slowly. "Hi, guys," Ben said, as he and his sweet dog Valerie walked inside the cabin.

"Hi, Ben," I said, come on in and sit down on the couch. I thought you left for Austin earlier this afternoon." Then he told us that he had to take Penny to Hoegemeyer Animal Clinic, because she wasn't feeling well and since the doctor wanted to keep her overnight for observation—he came back to the ranch to spend the night, so he could pick her up Saturday morning. 

Then we spent the rest of the evening laughing and coming up with hilarious ideas about a secret project that Carol and I are really excited about doing, that only Tony and Ben know about. And my lips are sealed about it, so please don't ask, because I have sworn to secrecy and I don't want to hurt any one's feelings.

Saturday morning, while Tony fed the dogs and Ben did my morning chores for me, I framed my faster-piece "What Would Ronnie Do?" painting and then I went to my cabin and hung it up on a wall. 

A little while later Ben and T. came inside the trailer, so Ben could call Hoegemeyer's to check on Penny and after he talked to Dr. Rydberg, Ben told us that she had an infection and should be just fine, in a few more days, once the antibiotics kicks in, thank goodness. 

Today has been a quiet day around here and other than the Cowboys winning in an exciting over time playoff and Tony secretly carving me a new sign, out in the barn, while I thought he was out taking pictures, because that is what he had told me he was going to do and that's about it for now. Except, I do want to wish our dear friends Patty and Max another happy birthday wish and hope that their birthdays were the best ever and to also thank Tone for my new sign—I love it! Now I am going to sit down to watch the movie, Limitless, that Ben highly recommended we watch.


Y'all have a great evening and please keep praying that we get some more rain!

Happy Birthday Patty Kearns!

Today is also our dear friend Patty Kearns Birthday! We love Patty because she is so sweet and has the greatest sense of humor and keeps us laughing. So, Tony, Sandy & Jon Wolfmueller and I want to wish her the best birthday ever!

Happy Birthday to You. Happy Birthday to You. Happy Birthday Dear Patty. Happy Birthday to You! And many more! We love you, Patty! And we look forward to seeing you during the holiday season!

Happy Birthday Max Swafford!

Today is our good friend Max Swafford's birthday and Tony, Marilyn and I want to be the first to wish him the best birthday ever!

Happy Birthday to You. Happy Birthday to You. Happy Birthday Dear Max. Happy Birthday to You! And many more! We love you, Max!

Saturday, November 19, 2011

What Would Ronnie Do?

Yesterday was a total blast for me and it started early, when our fabulous volunteers: June, Ellen, Eileen, (Lisa, couldn't make it because she was out of town.), Jim, Roy and Della came out and walked our dogs for us and our dogs loved it. We are so lucky to have these great, dedicated volunteers helping us out here, because when they come out they make our dogs so happy and they also keep Tony and me laughing with their fun-loving, humorous stories and teasing.

For example, during a break yesterday, while I was showing-off my pretty, pink, newly redecorated writing cabin to June, Ellen and Eileen, which they adored, of course, I was telling them about my road trip to Ron and Nita's, last Saturday and how much fun that I had with them and then I started bragging about my brother Ronnie being a fabulous cook and his two delicious recipes that he gave to me and having cooked Ronnie's bread and chicken recipes for Ben and Tony's lunch, the day before and how much they had loved it. Then I laughed out loud and said, "While we ate lunch yesterday Ben and Tony started teasing me about how much I idolized my older brother, saying things like: "Ronnie made it! He's the best! The guitars he makes sound better than Martins. Ronnie told me, etc." So, after they had stopped kidding me about Ronnie, I told T. and Ben, "Y'all are just jealous of Ronnie."

Eileen, Ellen and June started laughing and teasing me repeating the same Ronnie things that Tony and Ben had said. When we were finally done laughing about my super brother being my hero, which he really is, of course, Eileen and I started talking about having had and not having Princess telephones when we were young and by the time that hilarious discussion ended, we decided that she needed a pink Princess telephone and I needed a pink Princess telephone for my cozy cabin. Then we left the cabin, so they could go walk some dogs, before they met Ben, Tony and me at Koyote for a late lunch.

While we ate lunch there I started bragging about Ronnie being a great songwriter and musician and that he wrote a beautiful song about me when I left Austin and moved to Utopia, in 1995 and they ganged up on me and started teasing me, all over again, saying hilarious things like, Ronnie Rules! Just ask Ronnie! Don't know? Call 1-800-ASKRON, etc. Then June brought the house down when she says, in between laughs, "We're going on a vacation and it is 987.3 miles from Ronnie!"

Then they started up again, "Oh, it's only forty miles west of Ronnie, Don't leave home without knowing where Ronnie is, Love me—Love Ronnie!"

Having to make myself quit laughing, because my back was killing me, I joked, "Well, I have a great surprise for y'all. All of you are going to get to meet Ronnie, because he's going to be at the Bonefit, in December! And the last thing that I am going to say about my sweet brother is, "Whenever I am trying to solve a problem, I always ask myself, "What would Ronnie do?" And, then it was their turn to roar with laughter.

Before we all adios-ed each other to go home, Eileen says, "I have a new mission statement to make and it is; I am going to find Nancy and me pink Princess phones!" And everyone thought it was really cool, except for me, because I loved it.

After Buttermilk had safely returned Ben, Tone and me to the rescue ranch I returned a few phone calls, while they worked outside. When my daily business had been taken care of, I decided to paint a picture for my cabin, in honor of Ronnie, because it would always make me and my friends laugh every time that we saw it, because it would remind us of our little private joke and would make others wonder, "Who the heck is Ronnie?"

Twenty minutes later, I put up my acrylic paints and brushes, because my faster-piece was completed and signed by me and that is when Ben and Tony walked inside the trailer. "Y'all, come take a look at my new painting for the cabin. I've named it, What Would Ronnie Do?!" And then they burst out laughing to hide their jealousy of Ronnie.


Around 4:30, when Ben was fixin' to leave to go back home to Austin, Carol called about having a Cowgirl Sisterhood bored meeting and thirty minutes later, we were no longer bored, because we were laughing about the Ronnie jokes, inside my cute, little cabin with Tony, being our guest cowboy.

After the sun had hid itself behind the mountain and it was totally dark outside, we were still inside my cabin, laughing and listening to my music until we were scared-to-death by a loud knock on the door!
To Be Continued... (Sorry, Mari.)

Y'all have a great evening and please keep praying that we get some more rain! And please buy some tickets and go to our Bonefits, so one day you can proudly brag, "I've met Ronnie! It was on December 17, 2011 at The Springs Music Hall, in Salado, Texas and..."

Friday, November 18, 2011

Happy Birthday Cindy!

Today is my sister Cindy's birthday and Tony and I want to wish her a happy birthday, so here goes.

Happy Birthday to You. Happy Birthday to You. Happy Birthday Dear Cindy. Happy Birthday to You! And many more. We love You!

Thursday, November 17, 2011

The Silver K!

Today has been great and the reason that I did not write last night was because I was pooped, because yesterday I drove up to Johnson City to meet my sister Cindy & Ray and Ronnie for lunch, so we could visit and Ronnie and I could exchange guitars.

We had planned to meet in the bank parking lot on 290 at 12:15, but because they had arrived way too early, plans changed without me knowing it. As I slowly drove 30 mph through downtown Johnson City I unexpectedly see Cindy, Ray and Ronnie standing on a corner waving their arms wildly at me, so I quickly turn right and because I hadn't made a sharp enough turn Trigger and I nearly ran into a Texas Parks & Wildlife pickup, stopped at the stop sign.

After I sheepishly mouthed, "I'm sorry," to him, I pulled into a parking space in front of a Karate store and by the time I had turned off my music Ronnie, Cindy and Ray were standing next to Trigger's door—laughing at me and after howdies and hugs and laughing at my expert driving skills the four of us crossed the street to go eat lunch at The Silver K restaurant.

As we walked inside the Silver K, the Texas Parks & Wildlife Ranger, that I almost had a run-in with minutes before, was standing in front of us with his friend and he starts laughing and jokingly says, "There's the woman who just tried to kill me." Then all of us started laughing.

"I'm really sorry," I apologized. "I'm old. I just turned sixty-years-old and I am blaming it on that and Mercury is fixin' to go retrograde on the 23rd. And, because I am so old my friends have given me two 60th birthday parties, just in case I forgot." Then I walked past him and his friend, wondering if we should go seat ourselves and that was a mistake.

"And now she is trying to cut in line, in front of us," the the young, friendly, good-looking Ranger, with a great sense of humor, teased and everyone burst out laughing, as I walked back behind him to get back in line.

Of course, I had a blast eating lunch with my family, with the friendly Texas Parks & Wildlife Ranger and his friend, sitting at a table right next to us. And during our fun visit, after the ranger and friend had left their table, we laughed about the Texas Parks & Wildlife Ranger teasing me. "How do you know him, Nance?" one of them asked.

"I don't know him," I replied, and they all started laughing, because they thought I knew him.

I had good news when Trigger and I got home—"Missy is working out great and my husband and I want to adopt her..." the sweet vet-tech, at Hoegemeyer Animal Clinic, told me. Yeah!

Today, while Tony and Ben worked outside, I spent my day doing paperwork and around 4:00 when I was caught up and done with my work, Ben came inside so he could play his mandolin with me and not to brag (Yes, I am.) we sounded great and I totally enjoyed pickin' and grinnin' with him and I am so glad to finally have Trigger, my guitar that Ronnie custom made for me, back. And that is about it for tonight.



Y'all have a great evening and please keep praying that we get some more rain!

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Sunsweet California Prunes!

Today has been a blast! My morning started out great, because we got almost one inch of rain before I did the fun Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch radio segment with Big G (Gordon Ames) at 7:30 on The Real Deal 93.5 KOOK / 1230 KERV. So, when Tony came home from the Old Timer—I was already on Cloud 9.

This morning after we did our morning chores outside we quickly cleaned up, because we were meeting Mari and Lori, our dear friends and members of the famous dog agility club— The NoMads, for lunch at Cal-Bob's Smoke Shack at 11:15 or so we thought.

When we arrived at Cal-Bob's the parking lot was full and when we walked inside Cal-Bob's Smoke Shack, Carol and Calvin, the super friendly owners, greeted us and then came the surprise—The NoMads were there and they greeted us with, "Happy Birthday, Nancy! Come on over and sit down with us. Mari, Lori and Lynda will be here any minute..."

The NoMads had totally surprised me or should I say, "Mari had really surprised me," because yesterday she had told me that she had invited The NoMads to join us, but only Lori and she would be meeting us for lunch today.

Non-stop laughter filled the air during our super fun, delicious lunch and everyone told me that they were impressed with Carol and Calvin's cooking and that they loved their smoked red pepper soup, cilantro cole slaw, potato salad and the meats that they had ordered.

Near the end of my second, 60th Birthday party, Carol served me my dessert and said, "Nancy, last month you celebrated your birthday here and now today. I want to know when your birthday is?"

"Every day!" I joked, before starting to eat my tasty dessert.

"Actually," Tony said, "we celebrate Nancy's birthday every month on the 17th. I have to, because Nancy included it in our wedding vows and..."

While Tony devoured the rest of my dessert I started opening up The NoMads' many birthday presents to me and my back is aching tonight, because I laughed too much reading their funny cards and at the hilarious gifts they gave to me.


The NoMads gave me Olay Regenerist Advanced Anti-Aging cream, Avon Banishing Cream for age spots, Poligrip Super Strong Denture Adhesive, Absorbine Veterinary Liniment Gel for sore muscles and joint pain relief for horses, Dove's Citrus Sage Energizing Body Wash, Super Colon Cleanse, Gas Relief, four Magnifying Glasses, Efferdent, 3 packages of doggie treats, an Air Horn to use when I need Tone and yes—Sunsweet California Prunes! And when I thanked them for their gifts-for-the-ancient they teased me about now having everything I would need to grow older.


So now I want to thank my dear friends Mari and Lori and the rest of The NoMads for the best, belated 60th surprise birthday party that I have ever had and I promise y'all that I will use your gifts in time. The NoMads Rule!

When Tony and I came home, as I was laying out my gifts from The NoMads for the pictures above, he asked me if he could sometimes use my magnifying glasses to look at his pictures and after I had swallowed a Sunsweet California prune I said, "Yes, and you might want to use the Absorbine, for your back and the Gas Relief for your you-know-what and if I need to use them I'll just honk my Air Horn. These prunes are delicious. Do you want to try one?"

Y'all have a great evening and thanks for praying for the much needed rain!

Monday, November 14, 2011

I've Got Yours!

Today has been great and I am writing this early, because we have a good chance for rain tonight and I've got my fingers crossed.

This afternoon Tony and I took Missy, the new, black Lab we rescued, to Hoegemeyer's Animal Clinic to get her shots, so she could go spend a few days with one of their sweet vet-techs to see if she works out with their dog.

Then we went to go see our dear friends Sandy and Jon, at Wolfmueller's Books, because we haven't seen them in a while and also because I wanted to give Sandy a recipe that Ronnie showed me how to cook, while I was up visiting him and Nita in Dripping Springs.

And, before I could tell them Ronnie's recipe, Sandy and Jon gave us the book, Chronicles of the Big Bend: A Photographic Memoir Of Life On The Border by W. D. Smithers. "We got this for y'all and you're going to love it," Sandy said. And we were thrilled to get the book, because Big Bend is now one of our favorite places to visit, thanks to Sandy and Jon, along with Port Aransas, thanks to Rick & Leisa, John and Pete & Kelly.

While I told Sandy and Jon Ronnie's simple, but delicious recipe, Tony thumbed through this interesting looking book. Then I told them about my fun road trip and we laughed and joked about me not getting lost, actually driving 70 MPH and not knowing how to put gas in Trigger. After a fun visit with them we came back home.

At 2:49, while I was outside spray painting some stuff on the front porch my brother Ronnie called, but I didn't know it, because I was listening to my music. So, while I was waiting for the paint to dry I came inside to find Carlton flashing. "Tony!" I half-hollered down his hallway photography gallery. "Do you know who called?"

"I think it was Ronnie, but I am not sure." So, I went over to Carlton and pushed his button and when I heard Ronnie's hilarious, 30 second message, (Warning, it does contain the cuss word that starts with an "H" when he was trying to sound mad, but couldn't.), I burst out laughing and ran down the hallway to go look into my office and then Tony came out of his office to check on me, because I was laughing so hard. And this is what Ronnie said and I promise that it will make you laugh out loud.

When I played his message for Tone to hear, he too burst out laughing with me and then I called my brother back and we had a good laugh about him, a few minutes earlier, deciding to play his guitar and when he opened up the case his guitar was gone and mine was there, and me accidentally, grabbing his guitar case instead of mine, because it was before the sun came up and the room was still dark and we both have the same kind of guitar cases, except mine has a Willie Nelson backstage pass sticker on it. "Ronnie, When I got home, Tony unloaded and carried my guitar straight to my office and I haven't been in my office since I got back..." And my final words to my big brother were, "Well, Ron, it looks like I'll be coming up there sometime this week to trade guitars with you and then I'll turn around and come right back home. It will be good practice for me and I'll make sure that Tony has the tank full. See you sooner than later. Love you. Bye."

Y'all have a great evening and please pray that we get some more rain!

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Got Gas! or I'm Driving!

Today has been a great day, but not as great as yesterday was, because I had a few problems driving to Ron and Nita's ranch and I am blaming that on F.M.T. (Full Moon Time).

Yesterday morning, at 11:15, while Tony loaded my guitar into Trigger he told me that he was worried about me getting lost and for me to please call him the minute that I arrived at The Ronderosa, so he wouldn't worry about me. "And Nance, don't forget to get gas in Kerrville, because there is less than a quarter of a tank."

"What kind of gas do I get? Regular, Super Regular or what?"

"Regular." Then we hugged and kissed and adios-ed each other and my two hour road trip began, with my iPod already serenading me with my music.


Getting gas at H-E-B was a joke sort of. First, I pulled into the parking lot and accidentally, ended up going down a parking lane the wrong way and some nice young man, riding in his fancy Mustang, probably paid for by his disappointed parents, angrily waved his finger at me and I am sure that you can guess which one it was, while I tried to mouthed the words, "I'm sorry," to him.

Then when I saw an empty stall to pull into to get gas I made a fool out of myself, which really was no big deal to me, because I seem to do that pretty regularly since becoming a senior citizen. First off, I almost parked too far away from the pump, but thankfully, the hose was just long enough to reach Trigger's tank. Then, when I pressed the "Regular" button—nothing happened, so I pressed the button again, but still no gas, so I walked over to the fuel cashier and told her, "Ma'am, I'm sorry to bother you, but something is wrong with that pump over there. I can't get it to give me gas."

The pleasant woman smiled at me and then she left her little glass building to go see what was the matter with my pump. "After I put the pump handle into Trigger, I pushed the regular button and nothing happened," I explained. She smiled, again.

"You have to press this button, too. Either-pay-with credit-card or pay-inside, ma'am," as she pointed to the other buttons high above the Regular button that I had pushed earlier. Feeling stupid, because I was, I started to laugh at myself.

"Thank you, for helping me. I feel so dumb. My husband Tony always puts in our gas and it has been years since I last filled up Buttermilk and when I did that—I forgot to put the gas cap back on, causing T. to have to go buy a new gas cap for her. Thanks again for helping me." And then I hit the pay-inside button and began filling up Trigger, knowing full well that the other "get gas" customers and the kind woman who had helped me, were probably laughing at me for not knowing how to put gas into a truck. But the one good thing about getting gas yesterday, is that Trigger's cap was attached to the tank, so I wasn't even capable of losing it.

An hour and a half later, I safely arrived at The Ronderosa and because I was so excited to see Nita and Ronnie and their beautiful daughters and dogs—I totally forgot to call Tony as I had promised him.

Around 4:30, after having so much fun with my family, I finally remembered to call Tone. Before calling T. I told them about forgetting to call him and they laughed and then Ronnie and Nita teased me about being old like them and because I knew that T. would also tease me about being forgetful, I picked up the phone and lied, the best that I could, and left this message on Carlton, while my family laughed quietly in the background.

"Tony, I am exhausted and am fine. I just arrived at The Ronderosa, because I got lost and ended up in San Antone, but everything is okay. I miss you, I love you and I wish you were here. Everyone says, "Hi!" See you in the morning. Bye."

One hour later, I was in their kitchen with Ron and Nita, so they could start preparing the dinner that we would eat two hours later and while we laughed and visited their phone rang and it was Tony, so Ronnie answered it and he played along with my joke and he laughed with Tone about me always getting lost and then he handed off the phone to me. "Hi, Tony!"

"Nance, I'm glad that you got there safely, but I can't believe you got lost in San Antone."

"I know." Then he started laughing.

"Tell Ron and Nita that for Christmas I'm going to buy you a GPS that you can wear 24/7, because pretty soon you will need a GPS just to find the bathroom," he teased.

Before we adios-ed each other I promised T. that I would hook up Garmina before taking off, which was another white lie, because I've memorized the directions to The Ronderosa.

After a delicious dinner filled with non-stop laughter, Ronnie took me outside to his work shop to show me the new guitar that he is making and it was beautiful, but not nearly as beautiful as the one he made for me, eight years ago. Then we returned to the house and picked up our guitars and we picked and grinned for nearly two hours and my fingers are still a little bit sore tonight as I type this.

On my early drive home this morning all that I could think about was how much fun I had had with my family and I wished that Tony had come along with me, because he too, would have had a blast.

When Trigger and I arrived back at the ranch, T. and our dogs came out to the front yard to greet us. As Tony unloaded my guitar for me from the backseat, he teased me about getting lost in San Antone, again and it made me laugh.

"I never got lost, Tony," and then he laughed as I told him about me playing a joke on him, because I knew that he would believe me about getting lost and forgetting and he would tease me. "And Tony, I never pulled Garmina out of the glove compartment this morning, because I know the way to Ronnie and Nita's! I did it and you're definitely going with me the next time and I'm driving!"

As we went outside to go do our morning chores I told him about my gas problem, yesterday and he teased me all morning about it. And that is about it for today, but before I post this I want to wish Vickie Harris a Happy Birthday and I hope today has been the best birthday that she has ever had.

Y'all have a great evening and please keep praying that we get some more rain!

Happy Birthday Vickie Harris!

Today is Vickie Harris' birthday and I want to be one of the first to wish her a happy birthday!

Happy Birthday to You. Happy Birthday to You. Happy Birthday Dear Vickie. Happy Birthday to You! And many more! Carol, Debbie, Tony and I love you!

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Road Trip!

Early this morning, while drinking some coffee, while Tony was at the Old Timer, in Medina, drinking some coffee with his friends, I was thinking about my brother Ronnie and sister Cindy, because it has been a long time since I've seen them and I've missed them, so at 8:00 this morning—I called Ronnie and invited myself to come up there to spend the night.

If you are reading this tonight, I'm at Ron and Nita's house pickin' and grinnin' and having a blast with my dear family. And I will be back at the ranch, early tomorrow morning, to help Tony do the daily chores and get back into the groove.

Y'all have a great evening and please keep praying that we get some more rain!

Friday, November 11, 2011

Stop & Go!

Today has been great. This morning while Tony and I were outside working a car drove up and this really nice couple got out. "Hi, welcome to the rescue ranch. Are you Della?" I asked.

"Yes, I am and this is my husband Roy," she said, as we shook hands. We're here to walk your dogs or do whatever you need for us to do."

"We always need dog walkers, so let's go get some dog leashes. Roy and his sweet wife first walked Rufus & Roxanne, then they took Maggie and Emmylou Harris for a walk, which turned out to be pretty funny, because Emmylou is a "squatter" and I had forgotten to tell them that.

As I finished cleaning Mr. Rogers & Miss Dee's pen, which was the last pen to clean, I looked up and saw Roy standing with Emmylou laying down next to him, happily wagging her tail, over by Annie Oakley's pen and I started laughing as I walked over to them. "I'm sorry, Roy. I forgot to tell you that Miss O. is a squatter. Come on Emmylou, get up girl..."

After several requests Emmylou finally stood up and she took about six steps with Roy and then she laid down again, happily wagging her tail and it took Roy and me about ten "stop & go's" to return her back to her pen with Maggie.

Bob Dylan and Rockette were the next two lucky dogs to go for a walk with Della and her husband and while they were out walking, Lisa arrived with her ukulele. "Sorry, Nance. The other Fab 4 couldn't make it today..." While I showed her the inside of my upgraded writing cabin, Phillip arrived with his guitar, so he and Lisa could practice playing the song that they had chosen, to perform at a upcoming Master Naturalist event on Wednesday. "Hi, Phillip. Come on inside my cabin that I've recently decorated. I'm really proud of it."

"Wow," he said, as he walked around inside the cabin. "This is really cool..." Ten minutes later, after Lisa handed us the sheet music to one of my favorite Merle Haggard's songs—we were jamming, even though I was just sitting in on their session and we sounded good and during a break I took this picture of them visiting with Tony.


After Lisa and Phillip had nailed Haggard's song we played for about thirty more minutes and then we decided to rest our fingers and that's when Roy and Della knocked on the door and came inside the cabin and sat down with us. 

We talked and laughed about Emmylou being a squatter and the many dogs that they had walked and then Lisa told them that it would take a few more dog-walking visits before all of our dogs warmed up to them, because she didn't want them to feel bad about our dogs being shy with them. And after a fun visit with them they adios-ed us and then they drove away and that's when we decided to go eat lunch at Koyote and invite Carol to join us.

Five minutes later, Trigger, Tone and I followed Lisa over to Koyote Ranch, because Carol was going to meet the three of us for lunch and I had a total blast. First, we talked about Karin, our new found friend from Germany, fun visit and how much we had enjoyed meeting her and getting to know her and getting to show her around the Texas Hill Country, then we laughed about the gigantic size of Scout, Carol's lovable Black Lab's feet and many other things and all-in-all—lunch was a lot of fun. And that is about it for tonight.

Y'all have a great evening and please keep praying that we get some more rain and that Emmylou Harris quits squatting—sooner than later!

Thursday, November 10, 2011

You're Famous!

Today has been great. This morning Jim, our good friend and super dog-walking volunteer, came out to walk our dogs for us and Tony and I were thrilled, but not as much as Mr. Rogers and Miss Dee were.

While we did our outdoor chores, Jim walked Layla & Little Girl, Rufus & Roxanne and then Rocky & Lucy. When it was Miss Dee & Mr. Rogers' turn to go for Mr. Roger's 2nd walk, I was cleaning up Sparky's & Buddy's pen, which is right behind the famous, "Wichita Kansas Street Dogs" and I am so glad that I was there to watch, because when Jim approached Mr. Rogers & Miss Dee's pen they were so excited to see him they began happily jumping up in the air and barking, because they could not wait for Jim to get to their pen and take them for another joyous walk around the ranch.

When Jim walked into their pen they could not wait for him to leash them up, so they could go on a walk with him. Jim first leashed up Mr. Rogers and then he hooked his leash on the gate and then he leashed up Miss Dee and when he turned around, Mr. Rogers had already chewed his leash in half, so Jim laughingly re-leashed Mr. Rogers and before they took off I happily, half-hollered, "Jim, this is so great. Last Friday when I blogged about you being the first to walk Mr. Rogers I received so many e-mails, phone calls and comments, from all around the world, about how happy everyone was that you helped Mr. Rogers overcome his fear of leashes and everyone has asked me to please thank you for them and so did Kinky. You're famous, Jim!" Jim laughed and then he led the two dogs out of the pen.

When I had finished cleaning pens I jumped into Kermit and took off for the trailer to get my camera, because I wanted to show the many fans of Mr. Rogers, Miss Dee and Jim's, pictures of them enjoying their early morning walk together.





Y'all have a great evening and please keep praying that we get some more rain!

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Real Cowgirls Always Saddle Their Own Horse!

Yesterday was a really great day for two reasons. Reason one, was Kinky, Tony, Rambam and I met Nancy D. from Chicago, our dear, longtime friend, for a really fun lunch, in Kerrville, with her Austin friend Patty.

We laughed so much about life and I nearly choked to death, when Kinky and Rambam took turns telling us their hilarious story about Rambam actually giving Kinky the Heimlich maneuver and saving his life, in a swanky restaurant in Kerrville, many, many years ago, when Kinky had choked on some roast beef. And, the people in the crowded restaurant there kept staring at us, as we sat at a table in the back of the restaurant, because we were laughing so hard at the way Rambam and Kinky jokingly told their choking story.

After our really fun lunch, I jumped into Patty's car and Nancy jumped into Trigger with Tony and we followed them back to the rescue ranch so we could visit more. After we had caught up with each other's lives and had laughed way too much, inside the trailer, we went into Outer Space to enjoy the beautiful weather and to continue the good time that we were having.

Before we headed over to the Lodge to visit with Kinky, Tony and I showed Nancy and Patty my newly decorated writing cabin and they loved it as much as we do. "Y'all, Tony is so sweet!" I said. "Yesterday, while I was doing some paperwork inside the trailer, he snuck outside to my cabin and put new batteries in all of my non-running clocks and then he set them to the correct time for me, because I had told him that I was planning on doing it, as soon as I had the time..."

After a great visit with Kinky, The Friedmans and us, Nancy and Patty hugged all of us and then we adios-ed each other and then they took off for Austin and we took off for the rescue ranch, so we could call Carol to invite her to come over for happy hour, inside the cabin, because she had not seen how I had decorated it.

Twenty minutes later, the other half of our exclusive, two members only, Cowgirl Sisterhood said, "Nancy, I love it! It is so beautiful and it feels so cozy..." While Carol uncorked my expensive bottle ($9.95 at H-E-B) of Cowgirl Sisterhood fine red wine, she made a toast to our friendship, "As a really famous Kerrville cowgirl once said, "Real cowgirls always saddle their own horse! To us!" Then our happy hour officially began, as my music serenaded the three of us inside the wannabe pink pub.

Today has been great, even though Pilgrim was returned to us early this morning. Pilgrim was returned because he just wasn't working out with their dogs and it was fine with us, because Pilgrim was glad to see us.

This afternoon after Tony and I went over to Rambam's beautiful ranch for a fun visit with him, we went to H-E-B to pick up some groceries and then we came home and that is about it for now.

Y'all have a great evening and please keep praying that we get some more rain!