Wednesday, February 29, 2012

The Scouts!

Today has been a beautiful day at the rescue ranch. This morning after Tony and I did our outside chores together, I spent most of my day, inside The Cabin, doing end of the month paperwork and I am proud to say, "That I am caught up with it."

Late this afternoon Kinky called to invite me over to the Lodge, so we could visit and catch up with each others news, since he has been gone, doing his Southern Discomfort Tour, for over three weeks.

We laughed about The Friedmans camping out at The Okay Corral Camp, Winston Churchill coming over to visit us today without Kinky's permission and Tony having to return him to the Lodge, Sophie's upcoming beauty shop appointment and then after we talked a little rescue ranch business we decided to go on a hike with The Friedmans.

While Kink and I strolled, his dogs happily swam and splashed in the creek beside us. And thirty minutes later, after we had talked ourselves out, we were back at the Lodge, sitting in his rocking chairs, outside on the porch, discussing if he should go ahead and put out a few Hummingbird feeders for the early bird Scouts to find.

My vote was "Why not?" and Kinky's vote was "Undecided," even though I bet he put a few feeders out after I left to come home. And that is about it for tonight.

Y'all have a great evening!

Monday, February 27, 2012

Cloud Nine!

Today has been incredibly great and life changing for me and I am still pinching myself, even though it hurts, to make sure it's not a dream.

This morning, at 9:32, after eating breakfast with Will and saying goodbye to him, the phone rang—it was Carol, so Tony took the call. After he visited with her for a couple of minutes he said, "Nance, Carol needs to talk to you."

"Please tell her I will call her right back," I said, because Nature was calling and at my age when Nature calls—I listen. One minute later I returned Carol's call. "Hi, Carol. What's up?"

In a very serious voice Carol says, "Nancy, I want to give you Maya, if you want her..." And believe it or not I was speechless, for one of the few times in my life. "I love Maya and I know that you love her, too and..." As Carol talked, beautiful visions came into my head of Maya being my horse and me getting to ride her whenever I wanted to. "Maya is only eighteen years old and she is still full of pep. I really want to give her to you—if you want her." So I pinched myself, above the elbow and it hurt.

"Carol, OMG! Are you serious?"

"Yes. I really want to give her to you."

"Carol, I've got goose bumps right now. And yes, I would absolutely love to have Maya! I cannot believe this. Are you sure about this? She is such a wonderful horse and..."

"Yes, I really want you to have her."

"I definitely want her, but let me talk to Tony and Kinky first, to see how they feel about it and Ronnie too. I will call you back within the hour," I unintentionally lied, to the other half of our Cowgirl Sisterhood, because four minutes later I called Carol back. "Tony, Kinky and Ronnie are all for it! Carol this is a dream come true for me. I will never be able to thank you enough. You cannot imagine how happy you've made me. This is a life changing event for me and I love it!"

"Not as much as I love it, Nancy. You're going to love Maya so much and she is going to love you back even more. I am so happy about this. I love that we're keeping her in the family and from now on you are no longer a part-time or a wannabe cowgirl, because now you're an official cowgirl—horse and all..."

Before we hung up, we talked about going to the tack shop, in Fredericksburg, real soon, so Carol could help me pick out the right bridle and hopefully a beautiful, pink horse blanket for Maya, that my saddle will rest on. "Come on over this afternoon, so you can ride your horse."

I was literally on Cloud Nine when Tony and I went outside to do our morning chores. In fact, I was grinning the whole time, from ear-to-ear, as I cleaned the dog pens, dreaming of Maya being my super horse and getting to ride her whenever I wanted to.

Around 4:30, I braided my white hair, put on my pink bandana, cowboy hat and blue jean jacket and grabbed some carrots, that Maya loves to eat and then we picked up Will, over at the Lodge and then Buttermilk took us over to Carol's ranch, so I could ride my horse for the very first time and here are some great pictures that T. took of The Cowgirl Sisterhood riding their horses.

Right after I had first mounted my horse, Maya.

As we took off, Carol's smile says it all.

The Cowgirl Sisterhood Rides Again!

Maya laughing at my joke, even though Pistol didn't seem to get it.

One of the happiest days of my life—thanks to Carol!

Best Friends Always Ride Together.

After a really fun ride on our horses Carol invited Tony, Will and me to come inside her beautiful ranch house for happy hour and after taking off our muddy boots, outside on her steps, we went inside and Carol literally blew-us-out-of-our-saddles when she showed us Maya's impressive lineage papers. "She comes from some of the best, most famous King Ranch Quarter Horse breeding stock," Carol said, proudly.

As Tony, Will and I looked at Maya's papers, I pinched myself again, but on the other arm above my elbow, because I could not believe that Maya was actually my horse, with big time bragging rights. "Y'all, I am going to have some fun, name-dropping her lineage to Quarter Horse snobs," I said, as I gazed out the window at Pistol and Maya grazing together in the pasture.

And that is about it for tonight. I still cannot believe that I am now the proud owner of Maya, one amazing and awesome horse that my dear friend Carol gave to me. I am one very lucky cowgirl to have a great friend like Carol. "Thank you, Carol for being such a great friend. I will love yours and my Maya like she has never been loved before."

Y'all have a great evening! I need to go pinch myself, again.

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Breakfast At The Cabin! or Squirt Wins Again!

Today has been a lot of fun. This morning Will and Ben came over with some of Will's groceries, so Will could fix all of us his favorite breakfast.

As we sipped our coffees, Will went to work preparing our meal and at one point Ben went to the sink to help him crack up the eggs. And when their backs were facing me I joked, "Do y'all always dress alike?" Then I snapped this picture of them wearing Miles of Chocolate sweatshirts, like the ones Ben gave to Tony and me, when he gave Will's his.


After they shot back some funny remarks, which I am not going to repeat, Will showed me how to cook his breakfast. "I toast the English muffins first, then I add cheese to the bottom muffin, then I add scrambled eggs and then I top it off with thinly sliced ham, cooked in butter. It's so easy."



There was complete silence as we ate Will's delicious breakfast, but after I had cleaned my plate I said, "We've got to go to town to get groceries today and I am going to buy all of your ingredients and make this for us in the morning. This was absolutely delicious! Why don't y'all join us for breakfast tomorrow morning?"

"Thanks, Nance," Ben said, "but I can't, because I'm going back to Austin later this afternoon."

"What time do you want me over here?" Will asked.

After I had cleaned up the kitchen all of us went outside to do the chores and it was a lot of fun, because we all took turns teasing each other about this or that.

This afternoon we went to Kerrville to buy groceries and then we came home, so I could cook lunch for us and that is about it for today, because tonight I am watching the Academy Awards.

P.S. Early this evening, my dear friend Rick, "The Friendly Lighthouse Keeper" in Port Aransas called me with some exciting news. "Hi, Nancy! Check your e-mail. Squirt (Leisa's cute little dog) just won the race for the third year in a row! I just sent you a press release about it..."

News Release from Rick----------------
In spite of recent hip surgery, Squirt ( racing under the psudonym of "The mighty A** Squirt") took all honors at the Port Aransas Weenie dog and small dog races for the third year in a row.

After a handy win in the small dog races TMAS boldly challenged the winner of the weenie dog races for a winner takes all match. Tension was high and much was made of the possibility of the weenie resorting to underhanded and unsportsmanlike conduct. 

The first race was disqualified as a result of TMAS being attacked and run off the track by said weenie.

Second race was close and TMAS managed to cross the finish line in spite of the aforementioned weenie biting TMAS on his mighty a**. The crowd generally agreed that when running a dog race the dog getting bit on the a** is most likely ahead of the dog doing the biting."

This is a picture of Leisa and Squirt, taken last year, after Squirt won the small dog races.


Y'all have a great evening! Squirt Rules!

Saturday, February 25, 2012

French Toast! or First Toast!

Today has been another great day. This morning before Tony and Ben went to do the chores outside, I fixed them and Will my famous easy to make French Toast, topped off with 100% Vermont Maple Syrup and they loved it, which made me feel good. In fact, Will loved my French Toast so much, he ended up having me cook him a total of six pieces and he cleaned his plate. Then Roy Rogers cleaned his plate, before I cleaned his plate.

During our fun breakfast we did a lot of teasing and laughing. We teased Will about eating all of our food. Then they teased me about my accent and what I did yesterday, before Ben made the five Redneck Wine Glasses. "Will, yesterday Nancy was trying to thinking up ways to fill the vases before I glued them to the Ball jars," Ben said. "She ended up finding this long, fake gold chain and dropped it into a vase, but she didn't like it, so when she tried to remove it from the vase, it got stuck and would not come out." Then Ben started laughing.

"It looked dumb inside the vase," I added.

"Anyway, she was shaking the vase and trying to get the chain out and when she finally got a hold of a piece of it, she jerked it out and says, "Aha! I'm a musician!" The men burst out laughing at me.

"Ben, I meant to say, "magician" as soon as I said, "musician," I said to three pairs of deaf ears. "The five vases will be ready for us to use at 5:30 this evening and I can't wait," I said, trying to change the subject. "Will, don't you just love Roy Rogers? He has stolen my heart."

"Yeah, he's a pretty cool dog." Will said, without enthusiasm, as he petted Roy on the top of his head. "Is he drooling on my leg?" Ben, T. and I started laughing. "Stop it, Roy. Go on boy. Get in your chair." Roy did nothing, but continued to drool on his pant leg, so we started laughing.

"He's real well-trained, Will. He came that way," I bragged, "but he only minds Tone and me. Roy, come on boy, let's go outside." Belle and Roy immediately went to the front door for me to let them go outside.

Before Ben and Tony went outside to do their morning chores and Will went back over to the Lodge to baby sit The Friedmans I said, "Lunch will be ready about noon, y'all. We're having pot roast, mashed potatoes and my new okra recipe that Carol gave to me and since Aaron is coming out to mow, I'm also fixin' meatloaf, so we will have plenty to eat."

After the men left The Cabin I grabbed the feng shui book, that Alfredo had sent to me and I began reading about personal Kau numbers, a compass formula which categorizes people into East and West groups for powerful feng shui applications on page 138 and after doing the calculation I discovered that I my Kau number is 2, which is a very good number to have.

For women, you take the last two digits of the year that you were born and add them together. I was born in 1951, so I added 5 + 1 = 6. Then I added 5 to the 6 = 11, then I added 1+1 together to get 2, my Kau number and then I used the men's calculation, which is different from women and found out that Tony's Kau number is 1.

For my good luck directions I am suppose to face Northeast for wealth, West for health, Northwest for love and Southwest for growth. So, during our fun lunch today, I told the guys about finding my Kau Number and then I told them how to find theirs. "Take the last two numbers of your birth year and add them together, then reduce it to a single number. Then subtract that number from 10 and that is your Kau number," I said. "My number is 2, Tony's number is 1 and Kinky's number is 2, like me. It also says that if you negotiate any kind of business deal, while putting yourself in your good feng shui position, you will have the edge over the business person who doesn't know them and..."

So, Ben and Will did their calculations to find out that Will's Kau number is 6 and Ben's Kau number is 6 too, then Will tells me that he doesn't believe in feng shui and then he explains why to my deaf ears, as Tony, Ben and Will devoured their lunch.

While I was cleaning up the lunch dishes, we started talking about the Redneck Wine Glasses that Ben made for us. "At 5:30, we need to try them out," Tony suggested.

"We should use champagne," Will said, "if y'all have any?"

"We don't have any champagne," I replied.

"Oh, yes we do, Nance," Tony chimed in. "We have a bottle in the wine cellar (our bedroom closet, because we don't have any space for it in the kitchen.) "I'll go get it." Seconds later, T. enters the kitchen with a dusty bottle of champagne that someone gave to us. After T. dusted it off the bottle, he placed it inside the refrigerator, so it would be chilled when we made our first toast, at 5:30.

When everyone went back outside to work, Roy, Mama, Belle, Toto and Abbie followed me to the bedroom and we took a short twenty minute nap with me in the middle, facing Southwest for feng shui growth. Then my dear friends Ann, visiting from New Mexico, and Carol, the other half of our Cowgirl Sisterhood, from down the road, came over to see us and we had a wonderful time visiting with them and Ben and Will.

At 5:30, we filled the Redneck Wine Glasses, that Ben had made for us, with some of Carol's fine wine or the cheap, chilled champagne or my fine boxed wine and then we made a toast, "Bottoms up!" Then the real party started.

Unfortunately, as we happily sipped our choice of spirits, as brave June, Ellen and Eileen were driving up to Big D, to cheer on their number one fan, Luna-Tick Tick Boom, at the Assassination City Roller Derby—Ben's Redneck Wine Glass broke apart, because he hadn't glued it together right. "How sad," I jokingly exclaimed, as we laughed about Ben's redneck predicament. "I guess you'll just have to drink the champagne from the jelly jar, Ben." And Ben made the best of it and he didn't seem to mind sipping the cheap champagne from the Ball jelly jar.

Tonight has been so much fun. It was great seeing Ann and I am so glad that she and Carol got to finally meet each other. After Ann left around 6:30 to go back to her brother's ranch. Tony and I had a great visit with Carol. We laughed so much my back started aching immediately. And when Carol left to go back to her beautiful ranch, around 7:30—I immediately grabbed Mari's pretty, pink-dyed sheepskin, from my office and as I finish typing this—my back is starting to feel much better. Thank you, Mari.

Y'all have a great evening! Luna-Tick Tick Boom Rules! I hope her team wins.

Friday, February 24, 2012

The Redneck Wine Glass!

Today has been a total blast, thanks to my dear friends aka "The Greatest Volunteers in Texas" and Ben Welch.

Since February 10th, Eileen's birthday and Carol's birthday on Valentine's Day, all of us have been trying to have an outdoor cookout, in The Okay Corral, to celebrate their birthdays, but due to bad weather, etc. we haven't been able to celebrate Eileen's and Carol's birthday until today.

I was inside The Cabin drinking coffee and catching up with Ben's latest news when Jim, Ellen, Lisa, Eileen and Dottie showed up, so Ben and I went outside to greet them and so I could give Eileen her belated birthday present from Tone and me—a Redneck Wine Glass. But as soon as we gave her our gift, which she loved, she gave me a pink sweatshirt, some beautiful pink tulips and a copy of the Valentine's Day The Kerrville Daily Times, which was printed on pink paper, because a dear friend of Kinky's and mine had written something sweet about us, for the special Valentine's Day section and I loved reading it. Here is a picture that Lisa took of me reading the paper, with the Tulips behind me on the steps.


After thanking Eileen for the lovely, pink flowers, the pretty pink sweatshirt and the baby pink colored newspaper it was my turn to give all of them a personal present—"What Would Ronnie Do?" refrigerator magnets, which made all of them laugh, while they promised me that they would put them on their fridges. Then I invited everyone up to The Cabin to see our latest remodeling and that is when the birthdays party commenced.

When we came inside the trailer Lisa gave me two bottles of fine wine, from Cosco, for the birthday party, even though she, Ellen and Dottie were twisting off the caps of their cold beers, while Eileen topped-off her Redneck Wine Glass with some Bud Light.

While Jim walked our dogs and Tony and Ben tended to the outdoor grill and began cooking the food that everyone had brought, we had a really fun visit inside The Cabin and when I showed Ellen my new feng shui book and the beautiful card, that Alfredo had made for me, she started reading it and started making comments on some of the more simple feng shui rules. "It says here that sleeping with your feet pointing towards the door is known as the death position."

"Omg!" I said. "Our bed is pointing towards the door! Y'all come look at the beautiful, cedar bed that Tony made for us when we got married. I think we're in the death position! " Everyone ran to our bedroom to check it out. "Ellen, this is scary."

"Let me read on, Nancy," Ellen said, calmly. "Y'all's bed is so beautiful..." When we returned to the kitchen/big room, Eileen and Dottie excused themselves and went outside to greet June and Carol, while Ellen speed-read about the placement of our deadly bed placement. 

Two minutes later, after Ellen had read out loud to me and figured out that our bed placement was just fine—thank goodness—we went outside to join the party. While Ben and Tone cooked up the hamburgers Eileen took me aside. "Nancy, you have got to do this for me. It will be so hilarious. Before you print the next 100 "What Would Ronnie Do?" magnets, I think you should rat your hair up into a big beehive or else wear a flip, wear some dark red lipstick and have Tony shoot you talking on your pink Princess Phone and..." I laughed so hard, my back instantly started hurting.

"I will do it, but I don't know about ratting my hair." Here is a great picture of Birthday Girl Eileen that Lisa took and shared with me.


Lunch, inside the writing cabin, with everyone, was filled with non-stop laughter and teasing and Lisa's homemade Cosco chocolate cake was to die for. And there is so much more to write about this super fun birthdays party today, but I need to wind this up, so I can go to bed soon, but I want to thank June, Ellen, Eileen, Lisa, Jim, Carol, Dottie, from New York, Ben and Tony for making my day great, even though my back is still aching.

When the super fun party ended, after I had cleaned up a few dishes, because we had used paper plates, etc., Ben, T. and me started talking about how to make The Redneck Wine Glass that we had given to Eileen. 

A few minutes later, Tony looks up from his computer and says, "I just found out how to make them on YouTube." And after we had watched the short, informative video, we told Ben that we had some errands to run in Kerrville and that we would bring back the special glue needed, some small Ball canning jars with lids and some cheap candle holders, from a dollar store.

At 5:00, when we returned to the rescue ranch we put Ben to work in the kitchen, making Redneck Wine Glasses for us, him and our friends, because he was better at gluing the jar to the candle holder.


After Ben had created five Redneck Wine Glasses for us, I was disappointed to discover that the recommended drying time for the special glue to bond with the candle holders was 24 hours, but we laughed it off, as I carefully placed them on a shelf to dry, after removing the new Vermont Jug of 100% Maple Syrup, because tomorrow morning we are having Ben and Will, who is now baby sitting The Friedmans, over for a French toast breakfast. Please note the fifth Redneck Wine Glass is not visible, because it is directly behind one of the glasses.


And as I finish writing this evening, I want to share the beautiful Tulips that Eileen gave to me today. "I love them, Eileen! Thank you, so much."


Y'all have a great evening!

Happy Birthday David Villanueva!

Today is David Villanueva's birthday and I want to be one of the first to wish him a Happy Birthday! And since I have now had one singing lesson, at Club Ed, I want to sing him the Happy Birthday song.

Happy Birthday to You. Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday Dear David. Happy Birthday to You. And many more with Mari, my dear friend, of The NoMads...

I hope this is the best birthday ever for you and please tell Mari to give you a hug from me and a handshake from Tony.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Alfredo!

Like yesterday, today has been great too. Yesterday morning after we did our morning chores outside, we cleaned up, because we needed to go to Kerrville to run a few errands.

On our way to 16, I said, "Tony, please check the mail before we head to Kerrville, because there is a chance that my box will arrive with Sophie's business cards, mugs, scratch pads and t-shirts I designed. They are not due to arrive until tomorrow, but they might have come early."

"Looks like they arrived, Nance," Tone said, as he handed me a box, from the online printing company. "Here, let me open it for you." When T. opened up the box I was thrilled to see; Carol's and my Cowgirl Sisterhood t-shirts, our Cowgirl Sisterhood mugs, our Cowgirl Sisterhood scratch pads, Tony's photography business cards and Sophie Friedman's business cards.

"I can't wait to give these to Carol for her birthday. If her car is there, please pull up to her gate so I can call her, to see if we come over." Minutes later, we were inside Carol's ranch house giving Carol our late birthday presents. And she loved all of it. Here are pictures of our matching mugs.



After a fun visit with Carol, I gave Carol one of my "What Would Ronnie Do?" magnets to put on her refrigerator and then we adios-ed each other and T. and I headed to Kerrville.

Our last stop after running our errands was at Wolfmueller's Book, so I could give Sandy & Jon one of my free "What Would Ronnie Do?" magnets, but they were gone for the day, so we left it with Mary Jo, who was holding down the fort for them. Then we came back home.

Before Carol came over for a really fun happy hour, we spent over an hour outside killing Thistle and it is now looking like we are finally winning the Thistle War at last.

This morning after we had fed the dogs and cleaned their pens, we spent another hour attacking the rest of the Thistle. Then we came inside and ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch.

After lunch Tony went to get our mail and it was filled with surprises. My new friend Alfredo, from Von Ormy, Texas, sent me a present, along with a beautiful card that he had made especially for me. I love  the book he sent, Lillian Too's smart feng shui for the home; 188 brilliant ways to work with what you've got and I plan to save the card. Thank you, Alfredo!


My next surprise was our Hidden Springs Maple LLC, 1/2 gallon of 100% Pure Vermont Maple Syrup, that Tony's friend Peggy, turned us on to before Christmas, arrived today! It is Vermont Grade A Dark Amber and is absolutely the best tasting maple syrup on this planet and it comes from Putney, Vermont USA! 

I ordered it online last week and was not expecting to receive it until next week, so tomorrow morning I will be cooking Tony, Cousin Nancy's French Toast for breakfast instead of eggs and he can't wait. We love it so much we just put it up on the shelf next to Carol's and my bottle of Cowgirl Sisterhood wine.


This evening as I finish writing this Roy is resting on his quilt, Mama is sleeping on our bed with Abbie, Belle Starr-Simons is watching television with Tony in his office and little Toto is sleeping next to my feet, under the kitchen table, passing gas. 


I just took this picture from our front porch and now I am going to go into Outer Space with Tony and our fur-family to enjoy happy hour.


Y'all have a great evening!

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Send Me A Stamp!

Today has been great and this evening has been exciting. This afternoon when Tony went to get our mail, down on 16, I had my fingers crossed that the customized magnets, that I had ordered, would be in today's mail and sure enough they were.

When I slowly opened up the package with the 25 free magnets inside (I only had to pay the postage for.) I held my breath in hopes I would love them and when I saw them I burst out laughing. "Tony, they are perfect! Look." Tone, not knowing what I had designed for the free magnets took a look and he instantly laughed out loud.

"Those are hilarious, Nance. Can I have a few?"

"Sure. I can't wait to give them out to Eileen, June, Ellen, Lisa and Ben. If this doesn't make them laugh—nothing will. I can't wait to see the expression on Eileen's face when I give her one. In fact, have your camera ready when I give it to her. I'm also going to give one to Jon & Sandy, Will, Ronnie, Cindy, 'Erb & Karen, Don & Gerri, Fay and Carol."

"I know Fourth & Lynda and Aaron would also want one and what about Leisa & Rick, Mari and The NoMads, Kevin at Water Street Cafe, Randy & Lisa at The Save Inn, Carol and Calvin at CAL-Bob'S Smoke Shack, Maribeth, Kinky and..." After T. had named off twenty more people, my heart sank like a boat with a hole in the bottom of it. "Then there's John, his mom Mary, Pete & Kelly, Karin & Air Gun, Lorri & Jeff and..."

"Tony, stop it, because now I am depressed, because I don't have enough magnets."

"Just order some more free magnets, Nance."

"Okay. I think I'll order one hundred of them. Hopefully, that should be enough, but the postage is going to kill me. One hundred times a $ .45 stamp is $45.00. Maybe I should call Ronnie and ask him if he thinks I should ask everyone to please send me a stamp or a postage paid self-addressed envelope."

Late this afternoon, while I was outside attacking the Thistle, Princess decided to dig out of her & Marlin's pen and she caused all kinds of havoc, for over an hour.

When she got out, she started running from pen to pen, upsetting the dogs, so Tony jumped into Kermit and took off to go catch her, so I continued killing the Thistle, but after forty-five minutes of them chasing Princess all over Echo Hill Ranch, I decided to help him, because I had run out of Round Up, so I jumped into Buttermilk and we took off.

T. and Kermit and Buttermilk and I drove all over Kinky's ranch looking for her and every time that we tried to catch her, she'd take off. I finally caught her when she returned to the rescue ranch. I saw her down at Camp Okay Corral teasing The Friedmans, so I walked down there and as I was introducing her to some angry Friedmans, who did not like her, I slipped a leash over her head, before she knew what had happened. "I've got her, Tone!" I half-hollered at him, because he was walking behind the pigpen looking for her.

When Tony walked up to take her leash from me he said, "Sorry, Princess. The partys over. Come on, girl..."

It was nearly dark-thirty when we came back inside The Cabin. "Tone, I don't know what to write about tonight. Things have been pretty slow around here lately and I have been way too busy..." He started laughing at me.

"Write about your refrigerator magnets. They're pretty funny." So, I grabbed my camera and shot one of the magnets.


Y'all have a great evening! (Please note: I made up that number, so please do not call it—it's not Ron's)

Monday, February 20, 2012

Southern Discomfort!

Today has been great, but I am pooped, because I deep cleaned The Cabin, while washing and drying six loads of laundry of our dogs blankets and quilts and doggie beds and then I helped Tony and Aaron finish Tony's Photography Hallway, which now looks absolutely beautiful.

This evening Kinky called to check on The Friedmans at Camp Okay Corral and Tone and me. Kink is in Birmingham, Alabama where he is going to perform tonight and he sounded great and told me that his Southern Discomfort Tour has been a real pleasure for him. And that is about it for tonight, because I plan to go to bed early.

Y'all have a great evening!

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Tony's Photography Hallway!

Yesterday and today have been great. Yesterday after Tony and I did our morning chores outside, we started remodeling Tony's Photography Hallway.

First we removed all of his beautiful pictures from the walls, set up the chop saw on the front porch. Then we put Belle Starr-Simons in the backyard with Roy Rogers, so she would not eat a wire and electrocute herself, while we were working.

Then stick after stick we covered the trailer's cardboard thin walls and today we after putting up more cheap, Swedish Pine boards and we are nearly finished with our remodel and hopefully we should have it finished by tomorrow afternoon. And that is about it for tonight.

P.S. I forgot to mention that I did go to my singing lesson without Carol and I had a blast, even though I was off key most of the time. La-la-la-la-la...

Y'all have a great evening!

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Happy Birthday Sandy Wolfmueller!

Today is our dear friend, Sandy Wolfmueller's, birthday and Tony and I want to be among the first to wish her a happy birthday.

Happy Birthday to You. Happy Birthday to You. Happy Birthday Dear Sandy. Happy Birthday to YOU! And many more...

We hope you have the best birthday ever, because we love you!

Friday, February 17, 2012

Club Ed! or Half of The Cowgirl Sisterhood!

Today has been great, but I've spent much of the day getting nervous about my first, "Learn To Sing Better in 6 Hours Or Less, lesson, that Carol signed us up for, at Club Ed.

In December, when Carol had asked me to do it with her, I said, "Okay," because I had two thoughts. One, it would be fun doing it with Carol and two—I know I can't sing worth a darn, but maybe I'd learn something.

Since Carol signed us up for the singing course we've talked about our singing lessons often and we have had many laughs about trying to sing and then getting embarrassed and laughing so much at ourselves—we'd be asked to leave the class and to never come back.

Well, as of February 6th, when we were over at her ranch, Carol says to me, "I don't know what to do. Something's come up and I really want to go to it, but I won't go unless you promise me that you'll take the first singing class without me. I promise you, I will take the next two classes with you."

Even though I promised Carol that I would do it without her, I'm now having second thoughts about doing it, because it will just be me there, bringing innocent strangers to tears with my awful singing or else them laughing at me. So, tonight my big question for me, the other half of the Cowgirl Sisterhood, is; "To be there or not to be there?"

Y'all, it is raining cats and dogs right now and our Direct TV just lost its signal, so I need to end this, so I can quickly call Ronnie and ask him what he thinks I should do, before I unplug everything.

Y'all have a great evening!

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Mari's Pretty, Pink Sheepskin!

Today has been great. This afternoon Tony and I went to Hoegemeyer's Animal Clinic to drop off Underdog, so he could be groomed and then we went to the Home Depot to purchase a lawn mower and some more Round Up, to get rid of the Thistle invasion, that we are fighting. We also bought some more 1" X 4" cheap Swedish Pine, that Ronnie calls "sticks," since he is a home builder, because we are fixin' to put the sticks up in our hallway, so it will make Tony's Hallway Photography Gallery look much nicer. Which we will probably do tomorrow afternoon.

When we got home we unloaded the inexpensive Swedish lumber in Outer Space, to protect it from the predicted 3" of rain that we are supposed to get tonight and tomorrow and then we grabbed our new Round Up jugs and began attacking the unwanted Thistle.

The Thistle War lasted for several hours and when we had finally won the battle my back was threatening to go out on me, but I ignored it, because I wanted to do a little mowing, with our new push mower, because it has been over a year and a half since we've had to use a mower, because of the drought.

So tonight, as I type this, I am sitting on Mari's pretty, pink sheepskin in hopes that my back will not go out on me. And that is about it for tonight, because I am fixin' to go online to create some business cards for a friend's birthday.

Y'all have a great evening!

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

A Life Changing Event!

Today has been great. Today, around noon, I had a life changing event and I am expecting to have several more in the next fourteen days and I cannot wait. And it has nothing to do with me painting our front door red.

A few weeks ago, while I was outside visiting with June, Eileen, Lisa and Ellen, our Fab 4 volunteers, Ellen handed me a really cute business card that she had designed, for her and June's newly purchased Shoestring Ranch, just down the road from us. As we admired her business card I asked her where she had gotten them made and she told me the web address. "You get 250 free business cards and all you have to do is pay for the shipping." And her words have changed my life for the good and have made me a happier, creative woman.

On that fateful day, when we had returned from running errands in Kerrville, I sat down at my laptop, on the kitchen table and typed in the address that Ellen had told me and I could not believe how cool it was! Within minutes I had designed two funny business cards for me, for free, except for paying for the shipping and I was thrilled knowing that in fourteen days or less I would receive them.

A few days later, Tony asked me if I could design him a business card about his photography and he was more excited than me, when I showed him what I had designed for him. "Just think," I said. "In fourteen days or less they will be here!"

When Tony left the kitchen to go back to his office, I went back online and did a little more creating, so to speak, because I was hooked on designing free magnets, sticky note pads, mugs, t-shirts, etc. and it was free except for the shipping, even though the mugs and t-shirts costs were half-off the regular price.

Then a few days later, I couldn't resist designing cute business cards for Sophie, Kinky's dog, the love of his life, because I knew it would make him laugh about her having her own business cards.

And that is why I am on Cloud Nine tonight, because my first, two sets of business cards arrived today, a day earlier than expected and they look awesome. In fact, when Tony saw them he laughed out loud, then he asked me if he could have a few to give away to his friends tomorrow, at the Old Timer.

Tonight, I am going to try to resist creating another funny, free business cards by watching a movie. And I owe all of this new found joy to Ellen. Thank you, Ellen, because as you well know, if it is free—it's for me! And I love it.

P.S. Today we picked up Cosmo Topper and Dale Evans from Hoegemeyer Animal Clinic and they seem pretty happy to be here. Cosmo is now LuLu's new roommate and Dale Evans is happily sharing a pen with Dr. John.

Y'all have a great evening!

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Happy Birthday Carol Vail!

Today is my dear friend, Carol Vail's birthday and Tony and I want to be among the first to wish her the best birthday ever!

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

We love you, Carol! See you soon.

P.S. Please tell Jim, Lawler, Lorri and Jeff we send them our best.

Monday, February 13, 2012

Fighting The War Against Aging!

 Last night I really enjoyed watching The Grammys. I was so thrilled for Adele and I loved the touching tributes made to Whitney Houston, so this morning before Tony came home from the Old Timer, I went on iTunes and purchased several of her songs. My favorite song of hers is from the movie, The Body Guard, I Will Always Love You.

Today has been great. This morning after we did our chores outside, the clouds cleared out and the temperature rapidly climbed up to seventy-three degrees, in other words—it's been a beautiful day.

While we were in the middle of eating lunch the phone rang—it was Kinky, so I let Carlton take his call. "Hello Nancy and Tony. Hello, hello, hello. Nance, I'm calling from Dallas. Give me a call when you can.

While Tony went to get our mail and as soon as I had cleaned up our lunch dishes, I called Kinky back. He told me that he has really been enjoying his Southern Discomfort Tour and that he was on the road, heading to Denton to do a show tonight, but I knew why he had actually called me, so as a joke, I purposefully talked to him about some ranch business and other things, just to postpone his inevitable question and why he had called, "How are The Friedmans doing at Camp Okay Corral?"

"They like it okay, Kink. They are a little muddy right now, because of the rain we got this morning. Sophie is staying in her own bunkhouse (dog house) and Chumley and Winston are sharing a bunkhouse..."

When T. returned with the mail he said, "We only got this and it is for you." Then he handed me the envelope and started laughing, because on the front of the envelope were these words, "Nancy, Are You Tired of Fighting the War Against Aging?"

"Sorry, Babe. You've got to admit it is pretty funny." And I joined him in laughter.

"Heck, Tone. I'm not tired of fighting the war against aging—I surrendered years ago. That's why we're down to just two small mirrors, above the bathroom sinks, in The Cabin."

Late this afternoon after catching up on some paperwork and returning a few phone calls I decided to do a little feng-shui-ing in The Cabin. "Tony, do you know where a paint brush is, because I am fixin' to paint our front door red?"

"There's one under the kitchen sink, I think, but why red?"

My Feng-Shui Book for Dummies, says that it opens up the door for money to come in and that's why all Chinese restaurants always have red doors." One hour later, I put the lid back on the red, half emptied, quart of paint. And as I type this tonight—I'm sitting here at the kitchen table, with Toto asleep under the table blasting away his stink-bombs, while Roy dreams of having his own king-sized bed to sleep on—while I am patiently waiting for some money to come inside the front door. I wonder how long it takes?


Tonight I plan to watch the AKC Westminster Dog Show.

Y'all have a great evening.

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Terry & Randy!

Today has been a great day. This morning while we were outside doing our chores, Paul arrived with Underdog and he is one cute Shih Tzu.

Late yesterday afternoon Mr. W. called me from the wound therapy center, in San Antonio, where he is at, "Nancy, can you or Paul come and pick up Underdog for me and board him for a few more weeks, when I finally get released?"

"Yes, we can, but I have to get a hold of Paul to see if he can pick him up and bring Underdog out here. Did Underdog do something wrong?"

"No, a couple of patients here have been complaining about him being here and...." Right after I hung up the phone with Mr. W., Paul arrived to deliver some dog food, so I went outside to tell Tony and Paul about the conversation I just had with Mr. W. While the three of us unloaded Paul's truck he and I made a plan for him to pick up Underdog in the morning and bring him out here.

Early this afternoon, Leisa and Rick, "The Friendly Lighthouse Keeper" called to let me know that they were back from Nicaragua and I am so glad they did. They had a wonderful time down there and they thoroughly enjoyed their trip, but they were glad to be back home, in Port Aransas, but not as glad as I was.

This afternoon Tony and I met the nicest couple from Midland, that have bought a ranch near us, which they plan to move to when they retire. We had a blast visiting with Terry and Randy and when we found out that we had so many things in common with them like; they rescue animals, love all animals, have five dogs like we do, love Wolfmuellers Books and Sandy and Jon, they have horses and donkeys, are photographers, etc., so we invited them to come up to The Cabin, so we could show it off and they loved it, but they loved my newly rescued dog, Roy Rogers more and who could blame them—he always steals everyone's heart.

Before Terry and Randy left, Tony showed them his Photography Hallway Gallery, which really impressed them, while I signed a copy of my second book, Meanwhile Back At The Rescue Ranch: The Dog Days of Cousin Nancy to give to them. And they promised us that the next time they are out here, they will call us, so we can get together and they are very anxious to meet Carol, because of their love of horses.

Early this evening I played my guitar for about forty-five minutes and not to brag, I played pretty good. Tonight, I plan to do some more writing on the fiction book that I am writing.

Y'all have a great evening!

Friday, February 10, 2012

Happy Birthday Eileen Gotke!

Tony and I want to be among the first people to wish our dear friend Eileen Gotke the happiest birthday ever. Besides being one of our favorite volunteers, Eileen has one of the greatest sense of humor, who keeps all of us laughing, so we want to honor her by singing happy birthday to her, even though I've not yet learned to sing.

"Happy Birthday to You. Happy Birthday to You. Happy Birthday Dear Eileen. Happy Birthday to You! And many more..." We love you!

P.S. Ronnie asked us to also wish you a happy birthday from him! Can it get any better than this!

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Randy's & Lisa's Save Inn Restaurant Rules!

Today has been a great day. This morning while Tony did the chores outside, I did the chores inside with the help of Hazel and by 11:30 The Cabin was as clean as Hazel and I could get it and Tone was finished with his chores outside.

Before we took off for Kerrville to run some errands, I called Kinky, who was with Dylan on their way to Austin, to tell him how The Friedmans were doing at Camp Okay Corral and he was pleased as punch, as I bragged about how well The Friedmans were doing at camp.

After that, I grabbed my camera and purse and then we took off for Kerrville. Our first stop was at Randy & Lisa's Save Inn Restaurant to eat lunch and while we were eating our delicious lunch our dear friend Max Swafford walked inside, so we invited him to join us. "I know Tony is eating a Chicken Fried steak, but what are you eating, Nancy? It looks good."

"It is, Max. It's their English Fish & Chips, one of their specialty plates." Then the friendly waitress, wearing a pretty, pink Save Inn Restaurant came up and asked Max what he wanted to eat.

"Hmm. I think I'll have the Chicken Fried Steak, but make it the half order, please."

We had a really fun visit with Max as he ate his half Chicken Fried Steak dinner and Tone happily devoured his peach cobbler a la mode.

After a short, but fun visit with Lisa as I paid our bill, we left The Save Inn and went to the Kerr pound, so we could rescue two dogs, because Reata and Walter Cronkite fortunately found their forever fantastic homes. After going through the pound to check out the dogs Tony and I decided to adopt a sweet male terrier and a lovable, female Lab mix, right next door to him and after we signed the dog's paperwork we took the dogs to Hoegemeyer Animal Clinic to get them spayed/neutered, shots, etc.







When I walked inside Hoegemeyer's with the terrier and T. walked inside with the Lab, Susan greeted us, "Hello, Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch! Who are these beautiful dogs?"

"The terrier mix is Cosmo Topper and the Lab mix is Dale Evans," I said, which caused Susan and the people in the lobby to chuckle and to say nice things about the dogs. "We just rescued them from the pound and they need to be spayed/neutered, shots, wormed, etc." 

When Susan came out of her reception office to take the dogs from us, Cosmo Topper and Dale Evans happily wagged their tails, as she petted them and told them how lucky, beautiful and handsome they were—and she was absolutely right.

Our last stop was at Herring Printing, Kerrville's favorite print shop. When we walked inside Joe Herring greeted us and we had a fun visit with him, as he found our printing order. Then Buttermilk took us home.

Tonight I am going to play my guitar with Tony on mandolin and I can't wait!

Y'all have a great evening!

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Underdog!

Today has been a great day, even though it is F.M.T. (Full moon time) again. The first thing I did this morning when I got up at 7:00, was to give Kinky a wake up call, as he asked me to yesterday, in case he overslept, because he had an early interview to do.

"Good morning, Nance," he said, when he picked up the phone. "Thanks for calling. I've been up for over an hour.

"Good. I just got up."

"What time are y'all coming over to pick up The Friedmans?

"We'll try to be over there before nine."

"Good. Last night I told them that they are going to camp, while I'm doing my Southern Discomfort Tour and they seemed to be fine about it..."

At 8:55, Tony and I pulled up to the Lodge and were greeted as we jumped out of Buttermilk by Sophie, Winston Churchill and Kinky. "They seem excited about going to Camp Okay Corral," I said, as Sophie jumped into the backseat, followed by Winston.

"I know," Kink said, as we walked inside the Lodge to go wake up Chumley Friedman, who was snoring loudly, in the middle of Kinky's bed." After Chum had done his morning stretches, he followed us outside to go on his two-week camp out adventure.

After Kinky had picked up old Chum and put him in the front seat with me he said, "Thank y'all for baby sitting The Friedmans for me. I really do appreciate it." Then he climbed inside and kissed all three of The Friedmans.

When we had gone over the river and through the woods we drove Kinky's precious cargo to the front yard gate, of my pink colored writing cabin. "Welcome, to Camp Okay Corral," I said, as Tony unloaded The Friedmans, one by one and put them inside the cabin, so they wouldn't get out of the yard.

Once all of The Friedmans were inside the cabin and the gate was closed, Tony opened the door and all of Kinky's dogs ran outside to check out their "new digs" for the next two weeks. "They seem happy," Tony said. So, we left them to go into The Cabin, so they could go play and sniff around.

"Kinky, I just wanted to let you know that The Friedmans seem to like Camp Okay Corral," I said.

"That's great, Nance."

"But, Sophie told me to tell you that she does not appreciate having to live next door to pigs for two weeks. Chumley has already picked out the doghouse that he wants and Winston is running around the yard, peeing on every rock that he can find."

"Tell them I love them. In just a minute, I've got another short interview to do, Nance and then Dylan and I are taking off for Houston to kick-off The Southern Discomfort Tour..."

Early this afternoon, around 12:30,  I received a long awaited phone call from Mr. W., the homeless man in San Antonio, that needed to be admitted into a hospital on Christmas Eve morning, but couldn't be admitted and treated, because of Underdog, his loyal Shih-Tzu companion, that we have been boarding for him at Dr. Thompson's clinic—La Cantar Animal Hospital, in San Antonio.

"Hello, Nancy. This is Mr. W.," he said, "I am still a patient at the wound care rehabilitation center, but I have good news. I am ready to take Underdog back!"

"That is great news Mr. W.," I said. "Are they releasing you today?"

"No, I'm still not ready to be released, but the center is allowing me to have Underdog stay here with me. When can you or Paul deliver Underdog to me? I can't wait to see him."

"Let me call Paul, our super volunteer, to see when he can pick up Underdog. I will call you right back."

Then I punched in Paul's phone number and told him all about what was going on with Underdog and Mr. W., while he tried to eat his lunch in a San Antone restaurant.

"As soon as I finish lunch I'll go straight to La Cantar Animal Hospital to pick up Underdog and then take him to the rehab center. That little dog is going to be so happy to be finally reunited with his best friend."

"I know. Thank you so much, Paul," I said. "I'll call Gabby at the vet clinic to tell her what is going on and then I will call Mr. W. back to tell him. I wish I could be there when you deliver Underdog to him..."

Late this afternoon I called Paul to see how it went. "When I took Underdog into Mr. W.'s room Underdog went wild with excitement when he saw his best friend in bed. Because Underdog is so short, I had to lift him up to Mr. W.'s bed and they could not quit kissing and hugging each other. Then Mr. W. handed Underdog one of his old toys and Underdog flew off of the bed to fetch it and play with it. Thank you so much for letting me be the one to deliver Underdog to Mr. W. because for me, it's all about dogs and this has really made my day."

As I finish writing this tonight, I'm betting that Underdog and Mr. W. are the happiest that they have ever been in a long time and I want to thank the kind people who have helped us pull this off; Rita, at the Christus Santa Rosa hospital, Randy at the wound rehab center, Gabby and Dr. Thompson at La Cantar Animal Hospital and Paul Emerson for all of their help. We did it!

Y'all have a great evening!

Monday, February 6, 2012

Restless Legs Syndrome!

Today has been great, even though it was a cool, gray, stormy day until 5:00, when the clouds finally moved out and the sun brightened up the sky.

This morning after doing my chores with Tony outside, I spent most of my day sitting at the kitchen table, doing paper work and returning phone calls, in between the frequent, but short-lived thunder and lightning storms we had, because I had to keep unplugging everything in The Cabin, every time it thundered outside.

Late this afternoon, after talking to Carol about our exciting, upcoming three Saturday classes of singing lessons at Club Ed, which was filled with many jokes and laughter about us, I took some time off to treat myself to one of my most favorite things to do—I took a short, sleepless nap with Mama, Roy and Toto. And I am not sure who enjoyed it the most, but I'm pretty sure that I did.

Even though little Toto, because of his ripe old age of fifteen years has become a farting machine, Roy snores so loudly that he suppresses the warning sounds of Toto's air raids and Mama with her restless legs syndrome—there is nothing better to me than to snuggle up with my fur friends, because I love them more than life.

I know that they love me back too, even though I have been gaseous at least once or twice, snored a little to loudly a few times and have had two restless legs, in bed, that could qualify me as a champion kick-box fighter.

This evening I plan to do some more writing on my book, even though Toto is sleeping underneath the kitchen table, in his bed—blasting away.

Y'all have a great evening! Life is a blast!

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Round Up!

Today has been great. Late this afternoon, while I was outside putting Round Up, weed killer, on some Thistle, an SUV drove into the ranch, so Tony jumped into Kermit to go greet them. Twenty minutes later, T. walks up to me and says, "Reata just got adopted to a very nice couple. David, the man who adopted Nellybelle from us, brought them out here. You're gonna like them." So, I took off for The Cabin to prepare Reata's adoption papers.

Twenty minutes later, after a fun visit with David, Ben and Tyra, who I really liked—Tyra signed off on Reata's adoption form, then I took this picture of Reata with her new family.


I immediately called Kinky when I returned to The Cabin, with the great news about Reata and he was delighted that she had found her fantastic, forever family so fast. Then Tony and I quickly cleaned up and fifteen minutes later we left here, around 4:30, to go eat an early dinner with Sandy and Jon Wolfmueller, at their house and we had a blast with our dear friends and the dinner was delicious too.

When we arrived back at the rescue ranch we had a surprise waiting for us—Princess greeted us at the gate, because she had dug out again and she was real proud of it. When I opened my door, Princess jumped inside and then kissed us all of the way back to her pen. 

Tomorrow I plan to spend my day out in The Bunkhouse, my pink writing cabin, to work some more on my book. 

I just checked out the comment that my dear friend Eileen posted on my Brisket Tacos story and I am still laughing about it, so I copied and pasted what she wrote and my response to her.

Anonymous Eileen said...

Nancy, why don't you ask Ronnie what he'd do about going to Shady Grove and Whole Food in Austin? I bet you a Sinker Omelette at Save Inn that Ronnie would go and tell you to go with us ... ask him!
February 4, 2012 8:13 PM
Delete

Blogger cousin nancy said...

Eileen, I can't quit laughing after reading what you just wrote.

First off, I swore off "food betting" a long time ago, which is another long story, even though eating a delicious Sinker Omelette with you at The Save Inn is extremely tempting.

For the sake of our great friendship, I am not going to "Ask Ronnie," because he knows how really scared I am of big cities, because he had to drive me, several times, all over Austin to my book signings.

And even though I am not going to ask my big brother what to do, I am sure he would say, "Don't do it, Nance. It's way too risky for you. Wait until they build a Whole Foods and a Shady Grove in Dripping Springs or Johnson City. And as you know and have often told me, I make the best brisket right here at The Ronderosa..." And, Eileen that is so true.

Maybe y'all could just make a video or a slideshow of y'all's next trip to Austin for me or y'all could meet me and Tone at The Save Inn and tell us all about it. : )
Y'all have a great evening!

Friday, February 3, 2012

Brisket Tacos!

Today has been a fun day. This morning June, Ellen, Jim, Eileen and Lisa, our super volunteers, came out to walk our dogs for us and when the Fab 4 were done I had a fun visit with them.

"Eileen, I'm putting you on probation," I teased.

"What for?"

"For being skinnier than all of us. You look fantastic. That's why?"

"That's not true," she argued, as she stood up and down on her toes. "Heck, if I stand up on my toes like this, two times in a row—my calves instantly become twice as big."

"Omg!" I joked. "Look, they are twice as big..."

"Ellen and I have some exciting news for y'all," June said. "This month we are going up to Dallas to watch Luna Tick Tick Boom of Assination City Roller Derby and we're making our own "Luna Tick Tick Boom" signs and t-shirts to wear."

"That sounds like a blast," I said.

"It will be and you should come with us," June said, as I immediately started shaking my head sideways, as they started laughing.

"Y'all, Nance doesn't do Dallas," Tony laughed, "or Austin, Fort Worth, San Antone or..."

"Well, she may not do Dallas, but she's definitely going with us, this Spring, to Shady Grove and Whole Foods in Austin," Eileen declared. "Even if we have to put horse blinders on her, put her down on the floor and fill her up with Ellen's— Rescue Remedy drops, that she gave to her. You're going with us, Nance. Period."

"You'll love Shady Grove's Brisket Tacos," Lisa added. "They're so delicious. And you can wear your Shady Grove t-shirt and..."

The thought of going to Austin for a day trip and being outnumbered by my dear friends made my stomach feel a little bit queasy, so I did what I had to do—change the subject immediately. "Hey, if y'all are going up to Koyote Ranch for lunch today, y'all need to try their grilled chicken salad. Carol ordered it the other day and she gave me a bite and it was fantastic. The next time that we go up there—I'm definitely going to order it." And so they took off for Koyote and enjoyed the grilled chicken salad and that is about it for tonight.

Happy Birthday, Fourth. I hope you had the best birthday ever and I hope that you and Lynda come see us soon.

Y'all have a great evening!

Happy Birthday Fourth Coates!

Today is our dear friend Fourth Coates birthday and T. and me love him and his beautiful wife Lynda, so we want to sing the Happy Birthday song to him, so here goes Fourth, please forgive me for my singing Fourth, because I have not yet taking those singing lessons with Carol this month.

"Happy Birthday to You. Happy Birthday to You. Happy Birthday Dear Fourth. Happy Birthday to You. Happy Birthday to You. And many more...."

Tone and I hope that is your best birthday ever. We love you and Lynda so much!




Happy Birthday!

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

The Cowgirl Sisterhood—Rides Again! Yee Haw!

First off, Carol and I did not ride again today, but this morning after she sent me some of her pictures that she took of us yesterday—I have spent most of my day thinking about how much I had enjoyed yesterday. So, tonight I am going to post her two pictures that she took of T. and me.




This is a priceless picture that I love, that Tony took of Carol brushing Pistol—wearing her new, huge, shiny buckle, that her dear friend Jim Simpson gave to her—that he had won on Dude before Carol had bought Dude from him last year. I think it says it all.




Kinky is finally back at the ranch and this evening he and I had a fun visit over at the Lodge. Then during our hike with The Friedmans I made Kinky burst out laughing when I told him, "Yesterday, I went over to Carol's and rode horses with her and I had a blast. But, before Tone and I went over there, I swung by the Lodge to drop off your mail and when I jumped out of Trigger wearing my cowgirl clothes—it freaked The Friedmans out and they barked at me non-stop for several minutes before they finally realized it was me. It was totally hilarious."

Y'all have a great evening!