Saturday, May 31, 2014

BYOS!

Today has been great. For our lunch, I went Online, to the Food Network, to check out some easy Portobello Mushroom recipes. There were many delicious-looking recipes to choose from and when I saw the picture of their Portobello Parmesan recipe, I decided to give that one a try.

It was absolutely delicious and basically easy for me to make! I took this picture of my Portobello Parmesan and I served it with wedges of avocado and leftover, homemade lentil soup. Tony loved the Portobello Parmesan so much, that he would not quit telling me how much he loved it. So it looks like I shall be cooking that recipe sooner than later.



After lunch we had two different sets of friendly people come out and we gave them tours of our rescue ranch, but unfortunately none of them were looking to adopt. 

Now I have three very exciting things to tell you about and I hope that y'all will check out all of the links to them that I've provided. Of course, only after you have checked out the Food Network's delicious Portobello Parmesan recipe that I made earlier today.

1. The Chet O'Keefe House Concert, that Tony and I are having for Chet, is going to happen out here, on the Summer Solstice, Saturday, June 21st, with Chet's House Concert starting at 6:30! It is by invitation only and tickets are $20.00 per person, to be collected at the gate. If you do not receive an invitation and you would like to come to Chet O'Keefe's fabulous concert please call me, at 830-589-7544 to get you and your friend's name added to our guests list. It is also going to be BYOS! Bring Your Own Stuff, such as chairs, refreshments and blankets, because it will be held outside, so our dogs can also enjoy listening to Chet's fabulous music. Tony and I will provide bottled water and Chet will provide an enjoyable evening outdoors listening to his awesome music. Please note that this is not a rescue ranch benefit. It is a House Concert with all proceeds going to Chet O'Keefe. And lastly, even though the Chet O'Keefe House Concert will be held on the longest day of the year, we promise you that it will not be as long as our recent over four hours long, Concert for Utopia. : )

2. Yesterday, Chet and I were back and forth on the phones discussing his upcoming House Concert and he told me that he decided to give blogging a try and he has just launched his blog on Google. So Tony and I immediately checked out his blog and we love it and we are looking forward to following him. You can check out Chet's new blog by clicking on this link: http://chetokeefe.blogspot.com And please leave him a comment, because us bloggers love to receive comments.

3. I love Phil Houseal and I think the world of him, as if y'all already didn't know. Like some of my other author friends: Kinky Friedman, Cary RobinsonDonna Gable Hatch and George Fischer, Phil Houseal is also one of my favorite Texas Hill Country authors. Anyway, the other day when I blogged about Phil's fifth book An Interrupted Conversationthe I forgot to tell you how you too can purchase a copy for only $9.95. Phil has an awesome web site titled: Full House. It is a very fun, informative and interesting site to visit, so please click on this link to check out my good friend Phil Houseal: http://www.fullhouseproductions.net/ And please note that mine and my author friends books can also be purchased at Amazon.com too.

Y'all have a great evening!

Thursday, May 29, 2014

Some Really Great Reads!

Today has been great, but it wasn't so great this morning. Right after I did Harley's fun radio show, a very sad, crying, woman called me, and the sad story that she told me almost made me cry, too. Back in 2005, her son adopted Molly Ivins from us, but the young man ended up asking his dad, her ex-husband, to give the dog a home, in Lousiana. The dad / ex-husband loved Molly, but he is now close to losing his battle with cancer, so now this nice woman, who called me, has Molly Ivins.

She told me that she loves Molly so much and her heart is broken, because the trailer park that she lives in, in Kerrville, told her that she must get rid of Molly, because Molly is too big. To make a long, sad story short—I told her that we would gladly take Molly back. Then she told me that she still has two friends that are considering taking Molly, but if they can't, tomorrow she will drop Molly off at Hoegemeyers for us to pick up.

Around 10:00, I went over to see Kinky and visit. During our fun visit, out on the porch, he told me that yesterday when he saw his yellow cat, that he recently rescued and named Yellowy, catch a hummingbird. Kinky quickly removed the little bird from Yellowy's mouth. "Was it dead?" I reluctantly asked, because I hate hearing sad animal stories.

"No, Nance. As soon as I removed it from his mouth, I opened up my hands and the tiny hummer flew away! I wish that you could have been here to see it."

"I do too," I said. "Wow! Sunday, Tony rescued a buzzard and yesterday you rescued a hummingbird. I love it..."

A little later when I had returned home Tony showed me a Cardinal's nest, that he had found, in our Purple Sage bush, by our front yard gate. So I grabbed my camera and took a picture, through the fence, of the almost hidden nest, with four little eggs inside it.


After lunch, while Tony went to get the mail, I checked my e-mail. Our good friends Kris & Jim had sent me note, asking me to check out their latest post, on their fun to read blog, Footloose And Kid-Free In The Hill Country. I did and I loved it. It was a really great read. So please check it out, because there is also a story about our recent Concert for Utopia.

When Tony walked inside The Cabin, with our mail, I decided to check out the Bandera County Courier, because I always enjoy reading their newspaper. When I started reading the Hill Country Happenings section I was nicely surprised when I saw my friend's face, on page 5B, because there was a fabulous article written about my dear friend and talented author, Phil Houseal's newest book An Interrupted Conversation! It was a really great read, too and I plan to buy a copy tomorrow, after I talk to Phil about his latest book. Please click on the link to read the Bandera County Courier's article: Houseal's conversation, interrupted, because it is another really great read.

Late this afternoon my dear friend Chet O'Keefe called me to talk about his upcoming House Concert, that Tony and I are having for him, at the rescue ranch. We talked about amps, dates, etc. and before we adios-ed each other he told me, "Nancy, I am almost finished reading your first book, The Road To Utopia: How Kinky, Tony & I Saved More Animals Than Noah and I love all of the stories. It is a really great read and my mom can't wait to start reading it when I'm through. Oh yeah, I also read Farewell My Subaru by Doug Fine, that you gave to me. It was funny and it was a really great read, too...."

And that is about it for tonight, because I am going outside to mow down some beautiful, tall, green grass.

Y'all have a great evening reading!

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

We're Still Here!

Today has been great, but because I am really tired tonight, I just wanted to let everyone know that we're still here and that we thankfully didn't get blown away by a tornado last night. So tomorrow I will write more.

Y'all have a great evening!

Monday, May 26, 2014

A Noisy Night!

Memorial Day has been great and I hope that yours has been too. Since last night we have received another 5 inches of much needed rain and because of all of the thunderstorms—it was a noisy night. Mama and I were the only ones that didn't sleep well last night, because we're both scared of lightning. Anyway, thank goodness for all of the rain.

After Tony and I did our chores outside we jumped into Kermit to check out Wallace Creek, named after Tony's famous relative, Big Foot Wallace. I took this very short video of the creek once again flowing over the dam and the road to Kinky's Lodge, so I won't forget this wonderfully wet Memorial Day. Just click: over the dam and the road to Kinky's Lodge to view it. And I also took this picture, too.



This afternoon, while Tony and Karon supervised the kids from the children's home walking our dogs, I decided to decorate our new, used, hanging pots & pan flower basket. I hung horseshoes, my little flying pig, Christmas ornaments that Cheryl and Walter gave to me, etc. on it and I love how it looks. And in the future I plan to keep on adding things that have good vibes and remind me of my dear friends and family. (I made the oval sign above the new hanging flower basket and it reads: Many People Have Eaten Here. Few Have Died.)


And that's about it for tonight, because once again, we are under a tornado watch with possible flooding and expecting to get more rain. I love the rain part, but not the rest. So once again, because of another tornado watch, I'll either write more tomorrow or I'll never write again. Happy Memorial Night!

Y'all have a great evening!

Sunday, May 25, 2014

What A Great Story!

Today has been great. This morning when Mama and I got out of bed it was raining hard outside, along with thunder and flashes of lightning. After I had unplugged everything I drank a cup of coffee, while cooking Mama a small stack of medicinal pancakes. (I smash up her pain pill, using the backside of a spoon and then I  mix it into the pancake batter.)

Later in the morning, I cooked Tony and I a frittata. I used sausage, onion, garlic, spinach and eggs and topped it off with salsa. Then I whipped up smoothies using, one banana, strawberries, blueberries, cantaloupe, peaches, pineapple, chia seeds, almonds, almond milk and power greens.

Our breakfast was so delicious, after I had cleaned up the kitchen, I called Kinky to ask if he was interested in eating the frittata for breakfast. Five minutes later, Tony and I were sitting in Kinky's kitchen watching him eat the leftover frittata. Needless to say, "Kinky and Tony love my frittatas."

We had a fun visit with Kinky and before we left to come home, I suggested, "Why don't we burn the dump this morning? Since it has been raining all morning." Both Tony and Kinky liked my idea. Before we adios-ed each other, I said, "We're going to go get the kerosene and matches and go to the dump now."

(It's funny to me how some times ideas will just pop into our heads for a reason, and my idea to burn the dump this morning definitely had a very important reason.)

After Tony and I fetched the kerosene and matches, Kermit took us over to the dump. As we pulled up to the dump, I pointed my finger at a buzzard that was not moving, hanging upside down from a branch on a small tree. I said, "Omg, Tony! Is that a buzzard?!"

"Yes," Tony said, as we jumped out of Kermit. As Tony took off to go check out the buzzard, he said, "Stay here."

"Do you think it's dead?" I asked. Then I watched Tony touch the non-moving, upside down buzzard. The weak buzzard flapped one wing. Then Tony pulled out his pocketknife and cut whatever had caught the buzzards claw.

The big bird fell, with a thud, about two feet to the ground and it was lying on its back and not moving. Then Tony using his boot, gently nudged the buzzard over to get to its feet. Then this awesome bird flapped both wings and flew away!

I was so happy for Tony helping free that poor buzzard, from a wad of fishing line, that somehow had wound up in the little tree and it was all that I could talk about as we set the dump on fire.

Ten minutes hadn't passed by when Kinky and The Friedmans showed up, at the dump, to help us. Before Kinky could park and climb out of Mr. Green Jeans, I had already told him about Tony rescuing and saving the buzzard's life. "Kinky, that is the first buzzard that we've ever rescued..."

Kinky thought it was great news and he thanked Tony for helping rescue the lucky bird. Then Kinky told us a story about a friend of his, in Kerrville, that several years ago found an injured owl, in his yard and took it to a vet clinic. "Fortunately, the veterinarian saved the owl's injured wing and the man and his wife helped rehabilitate the owl, at their home, for a couple of months. And when it had healed they released the owl back into the wild," Kinky said.

"Oh, that's wonderful!" I said, as I pitched a handful of trash into the burning dump.

"I'm not finished," Kinky said. "A year later, on the same day that they had rescued the crippled owl, the couple was sitting inside their house and they heard this loud commotion outside, so they ran outside to see what it was. He told me that there were over twenty owls, up in the trees, in their backyard hooting loudly. They believe that the owl, they had helped, had brought his owl friends over, to thank the couple for saving his life and setting him free."

"That is so cool!" I said. "What a great story...." Ten minutes later, Kinky, Tony and I had finished picking up all of the trash, around the dump, and I hate to say it, but The Friedmans weren't much help. Winston had gone off hunting and Sophie had jumped back inside Mr. Green Jeans, because it had started to rain, again.

Earlier this evening I made a note in my journal about Tony saving the buzzard and I hope that buzzard that Tony saved will return next year, with his buzzard friends, to thank Tony for saving his life. And that is about it for tonight.

It is now 6:48 and as I was wrapping this post up—Kinky just called me. "Nance, in case you didn't know already, several counties, including Bandera and Kerr, are under a tornado watch until 10:00 and more thunderstorms are coming, too...." Then it thundered loudly outside.

I thought about hanging up the phone, so I wouldn't get electrocuted, but then I decided to be brave and say something, "Thanks for letting me know, because God hates trailers. I'll either see you tomorrow or I'll never see you again." Then Kinky and I both started laughing.

Y'all have a great evening!

Saturday, May 24, 2014

A Can Of Pick-Up-Sticks!

Today has been great, but we had some excitement early this morning. While Tony was in Medina, drinking coffee with his friends, at The Old Timer, Tom Landry and Grace Kelly decided to go on an adventure, so once again—they dug out and took off for higher ground.

An hour later, while we did our outside chores, Tony and I were repeatedly hollering for Landry and Grace to please come home. And right before we finished feeding the dogs and cleaning their pens, the dogs outside got all excited and started barking towards the tall bluff, behind our rescue ranch, because Tom and Grace were finally coming around the mountain, to eat their brunch.

It took us about three minutes to finally catch and leash up the pair of hole diggers, but there was just one problem—Landry had gotten himself porcupine-ed. Yes, he had quills all over his face and he looked like someone had dropped a can of pick-up-sticks on his head, but none the less, Tommy Boy was sure proud to show them off to all of our dogs, because none of our dogs like porcupines.

As soon as we had them back inside there pen, Tony said, "I am going to go call Susan, at Hoegemeyers and take Landry in, to get the quills removed..." Five minutes later, Tony and Tom took off for Kerrville, in Buttermilk.

While Tone was gone to town I decided to make Lentil soup for our lunch. Three minutes into my soup making, while I was adding some carrots to the soup pot, Mama ran out the front door—barking. Then Belle, Roy and Beau ran outside for backup, too, because Mama has taught them how to open the front door to go outside. It was obvious to me that we had visitors, so I turned off the stove top and went outside to greet whoever was here.

It was our nice neighbors just wanting to say, "Howdy," and asking me if I could please give their friends a tour of our rescue ranch, because they love our rescue ranch so much. I had a lot of fun giving them the tour, because I got to visit with our friendly neighbors and also meet their nice friends.

Forty minutes later, after we adios-ed each other, I came back inside, to finish making the lentil soup and twenty minutes later, Tony walked inside The Cabin and said, "They said that Landry is going to be fine and we can pick him up tomorrow. I'm starving. What's for lunch?"

Not to brag, but to brag, "Tony ate two servings of my homemade lentil soup and he loved it." And that is about it for tonight, because I am fixin' to watch a movie.

Y'all have a great evening and keep grinning!

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Check Out Chet!

Today has been more than great. In fact, it has been absolutely fantastic, because late this morning, Kinky's, Tony's and my dear friend, Chet O'Keefe, called me from Washington state! We must have talked for over twenty minutes, first catching up with each others good news and then discussing his exciting, upcoming, In House Concert, that Tony and I had invited him do, at the rescue ranch.

Ever since Tony and I discovered Chet's fabulous music and fell in love with it, back in September, we've wanted to do a Chet O'Keefe In House Concert out here. It is going to be a Kinky, Tony and Nancy production, for Chet. We're going to keep it simple, too, because the three of us are not great at hosting parties. The tickets will cost $20.00 cash or credit card, at the gate, with all of the concert proceeds going to Chet.

It will be an outside concert, with people bringing their own chairs / blankets and refreshments and we will furnish water. We have not set the date yet, but it more than likely is going to happen in June. And as soon as we have planned it all out, I will keep y'all posted, because we want everyone to come out to meet Chet O'Keefe and enjoy his concert.

As you know, Chet performed at our Concert for Utopia, in April, and everyone after the concert told us that they had wished that Chet had played longer. In fact, everyone was so impressed with Chet's incredibly great music, during the Intermission, Chet sold out all of his CD's in less than ten minutes and he had a big pile of them, too!

If you didn't get to go to our concert and want to check out Chet's awesome music, our good friend Gerry Olert, who videoed our rescue ranch concert for us, posted this video of Chet O'Keefe singing one of our favorite songs, The Talking Kerrville Blues, on Youtube. Click Here to check out Chet performing his song.

Early this evening I went over to visit with Kinky. We spent over an hour sitting, on his front porch, with The Friedmans, talking about the upcoming Chet O'Keefe In House (outdoor) Concert, at the rescue ranch and I am not sure who is more excited about it happening. And before Kinky and I adios-ed each other and I came back home, Kinky told me that if he is not out of town, he would love to be the MC for Chet's In House Concert! And that is why today has been absolutely fantastic.

Y'all have a great evening!

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

This Made Me Think Of You. I Love It!

Today has been great. This morning after Tony and I did our chores outside, I was feeling a little blue, until I read an e-mail sent from Carol. This is what she wrote: "This made me think of you. I love it!" and when I looked at the picture that she sent to me—I loved it, too. And it immediately lifted my spirits, because I decided to make one immediately.


As soon as I had written Carol back to thank her for sending the picture to me, I went outside to look for that old rake that had once belonged to my parents, many years ago. It took me a little over ten minutes to find it, down by the barn.

Three minutes later, Tony came outside and cut off the rake's handle. Then we came back inside The Cabin, so I could figure out where I wanted to hang it. There were three possible places for it to hang and after holding it up to the walls to see how it would look, I decided to remove a Roy & Dale's picture and hang it there. And it made Tony and me laugh, when we took it down and saw the outline of the frame.



I instantly knew how I wanted to decorate my parent's rusty rake, so I went into our wine cellar, our bedroom closet, and grabbed the little, furry, Fess Parker coonskin cap wine topper, that my dear friends Cheryl & Walter gave to me for my birthday, two years ago, along with a bottle of Fess Parker Wine and a set of four etched Fess Parker wine glasses. I loved their gifts and I love Cheryl & Walter and Fess Parker, so I was thrilled that I could display the wine topper and wine glasses for everyone to see.

The little coonskin cap fit perfectly on top of the rake and I was thrilled, because I know that every time that I look at my rake wine glass holder—I'll think of my wonderful, loving parents, my dearest friend Carol, for giving me the idea and inspiring me to do it and Walter & Cheryl, two of the nicest people on this planet.

While I washed and dried the four Fess Parker wine glasses, each etched with an adorable, coonskin cap, Tony hung up the rake for me. Then I hung up the once again, sparkling clean wine glasses and took this picture of my rake wine glass holder, outlined by Roy & Dale's picture, which will soon be hanging on a wall, in my office.



I am so happy about the rake and I love how it looks on the wall. It is very special to me, because I will never forget the story on how it got there and remind me of some of my favorite people that I love. "Thank you, Carol, for inspiring me and cheering me up. You definitely made my day great. Cheers!"

Y'all have a great evening!

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Independent Ice!

Tony and I had such a wonderful time this past weekend visiting with our dear friends, Larry and Dee, I literally ran out of time to write anything for my blog. Yesterday was an extremely busy day for us and I was just too tired to write last night, so now I am back in the saddle again, so to speak, and am taking the time to write.

Today has been great. At 7:20 this morning, Big G called me to do my Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch segment. It was a lot of fun and his Pet Of The Week was Rufus, a very lovable twelve-year-old dog.

After Big G and I adios-ed each other, I quickly cooked up Tony's two eggs and muffin breakfast and then I wrapped it up and put his breakfast, into the oven, to keep it warmed, at 225 degrees. Then I went outside to start doing my morning chores.

By 10:00, we had done our outside chores, I had showered and dressed and felt great about the whole day being ahead of us. So, after I started a load of clothes washing, I went down the hallway and said, "Tony, I want to go to the Medina Garden Nursery, to buy some plants from Ernesto..."

Thirty minutes later, Tony and I were at our favorite garden center, in Texas, talking to Ernesto. "Ernesto, I bought this pots & pans hanger, at the Medina Garage Sale, Saturday morning and I am going to put plants inside it and hang it up on our front porch. I need your help on what plants to use, because they will only get partial sunlight...."

One hour later, Tony and I were back home with our new plants. While I was inside cooking us a delicious frittata, for lunch, Tony was outside on the front porch putting on the needed hardware, so he could hang up my pots & pans hanger—that I bought for only fifteen dollars.


After lunch, Tony went back outside to work on Tom Landry's & Grace Kelly's pen, because Sunday morning those two dug out again. While he was outside working, I decided to decorate The Cabin with the new stuff that we bought at the town's garage sale.

First, I took a picture of the "Independent Ice Co. Let Us Serve You" ice scooper, that has a bottle opener on one end and it only cost me a dollar.



Then I hung it up, above our stove.


Then I hung up my newest flying pig (upper left hand corner) and it too, only cost me a dollar.


Then I filled up the super cool, candle holder with our pens, pencils, markers and paintbrushes and I put it on the breakfast bar, next to Carlton and it didn't cost me anything, because when I was fixin' to purchase it, Larry and Dee bought it as a gift for me and it only cost them five dollars. 


I am still not sure where I am going to mount the black, vintage Bell System telephone, made by Western Electric, that still works and comes with a turning, volume control knob, at its base. I love my Made In America phone that only cost me six dollars, that I had to pay out in quarters, from the bottom of my purse, because I ran out of paper money. 


Late this afternoon, Tony went outside and built a 25"X10", 1" X 4"pine, flower box for me. 


Then he planted our new flowers. Then I helped him hang up our newest and heaviest, hanging pots & pans, flower box, which I totally love. Thank you, Tony!


Then Carol came over for a really fun visit, in Outer Space and yes, Carol loves our new hanging pots & pans flower box. And that is about it for tonight.

Y'all have a great evening!

Friday, May 16, 2014

Now It Is Peggy Sue & Buddy Holly!

Today has been great, but I have to keep this post short tonight, because our dear friends, Larry & Dee, will be arriving soon and we cannot wait to see them. They are coming from Austin and they are going to spend the weekend with us.

This afternoon, at the Medina Highpoint Resort, us and the volunteers gave Kris a belated, surprise birthday party! And thanks to Kris' husband Jim, for secretly picking up Kris' birthday cake yesterday afternoon for us, at Creative Cakes By Sharon—we really surprised Kris!

Kris' birthday was in January, but due to weather conditions, etc. we never got around to throwing her a birthday party. Knowing how much she loves our Peggy Sue & Buddy Holly, we gave Sharon a picture of Peggy Sue and asked Sharon to have the cake read:

Happy Birthday Kris
Love,
Peggy Sue & Buddy Holly

Below is a picture that Donna Gable Hatch, the fabulous writer, author and friend, took of Kris posing with her two favorite dogs to walk. Donna took the picture below, when she came out, before our Concert For Utopia, to interview us for the fabulous story that she wrote for The Kerrville Daily Times. And all of us love this picture of Kris, Peggy Sue, the Beagle and her best friend Buddy Holly.



Here are two pictures of Kris' adorable cake featuring Ms. Peggy Sue on the side of the cake. Please note that Buddy didn't want to be on Kris' birthday cake, because he likes to fly under the radar, so to speak.



And to say the least, "Everyone loved Kris' cake made by Creative Cakes By Sharon and it was totally delicious and yes, rumor has it that Kris ate Peggy Sue." And that's about it for tonight, because I still need to quickly clean up our, old trailer before they get here, so it doesn't look like we actually live here. Wish me luck!

Y'all have a great evening!

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Thank You, Mari! or I've Got Your Back!

Last night I ended my post with life is good, but this evening life ain't so great, because Tony's and my backs are nearly out. It happened to Tony first. I could blame this on F.M.T. (Full Moon Time), but I can't, because I am totally convinced that back trouble is contagious—because mine nearly went out about two hours later. So, as I write this, please know that I am sitting on my pretty pink sheepskin, that my good friend Mari gave to me a few years ago. "Thank you, Mari. Tony is jealous."

Actually, it is sort of my fault for causing all of the backaches, because after lunch, I asked Tony to please help me work, on the floor, of on my new Space Ship. I love my fabulous, 1994 Shasta travel trailer and it was in great shape when I bought it, in January, but I knew that the floor needed to be replaced, so today, because it was such a beautiful day outside, I decided to get after it.

After spending over an hour chopping 2" X 4"s and then carefully duct taping them down to the trailer's metal floor, Tony came outside to inspect my work. When he saw my pink duct tape holding all of the boards in place, he laughed and then said, "Nancy, what in the world are you doing? Your brother Ronnie would laugh his head off if he knew what you were doing. You've got to screw the boards down—not tape them."

"We don't have any screws to use that are made for metal, Tony. And look, the duct tape is working just fine and it really doesn't matter, because when I put down the 3/4" sheet of plywood sub floor on top of the 2" X 4"s—I'll just screw the plywood to them. Then they will stay permanently in place. And I think Ronnie would be okay with this, but don't you dare call him." Then I went back to work and Tony went to fetch our mail.

About an hour later I had to recruit Tony's help, because I could not lift up or carry a sheet of 3/4" plywood, because everything was securely taped down and I was ready to start installing the sub floor. And that's approximately when Tony's back went out on him, but thankfully he continued helping me by measuring the floor, then cutting the plywood to size and then carefully laying it down, on top of my  strategically placed, pink duct taped covered 2" X 4"s.

When a third of the sub floor was down, but not yet screwed to the 2" X 4"s by me, I suggested that he go inside to rest his back and then I said, "I'm going to go ahead and cut and screw down the 1" X 4"s to cover the sub floor. Thanks for helping me." And thirty minutes later, I was grumbling and hobbled inside The Cabin, wearing an upside down smile on my face and told Tony, "I've got your back..."

As I finish writing this, my back is still throbbing, but I am thrilled with my Space Ship's partial new floor, because it is strong, feels sturdy and it doesn't give in to weight. So, today has been great. Life is good once again and I love duct tape, but I swear that I'm never going to tell Ronnie about my creative carpentry that thankfully worked. And I know that Tony won't tell him either, because earlier he made me promise that I will never tell anyone that he had anything to do with the floor.

Y'all have a great evening!

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Unplug Again!

Today has been great. Today is day two for Mama devouring another three egg and cheese Mama Muffin and I am thrilled and happy that her belly is full. We have gratefully received almost three inches of rain in the past 24 hours. This morning when I was doing Big G's radio show we got knocked Off-Air, because of a close encounter with lightning. We also had a really fun lunch, at El Sol de Mexico, with our famous NoMad friends, Mari and Lori, and we also ran into Jim "The Mineral Man" in the big H-E-B's parking lot. There is more to tell, but I need to unplug again, because it is raining and thundering outside. Life is good.

Y'all have a great evening!

Monday, May 12, 2014

Mama's Muffin!

Today has been great and so was Saturday and Sunday, even though there was nothing exciting to report. I am writing this early this evening, because I might have to unplug everything in a few hours, because once again, the weather experts have promised us more rain, with possible thunderstorms, tonight and tomorrow morning.

Saturday and Sunday night because I had nothing interesting to write about, I watched two movies that I have been wanting to see. Saturday night Mama, Belle and I watched August: Osage County, while Tony, Beau and Roy watched television, in Tony's office. I really enjoyed the movie, but Mama and Belle slept through most of it. Sunday night, I watched Philomena while all of our dogs slept and I loved it too.

This morning I cooked Mama pancakes, again, but because she is so old, frail and now a finicky eater, she only ate half of her stack. So, before I started writing this, I decided to try fixin' my dear old friend my version of an egg and cheese McMuffin.

While toasting up a muffin and four pair of eyes watching me, I fried up three, over-easy eggs. When I started carefully trying to stack all three eggs on top of a cheese covered, buttered muffin bun, Roy started barking at me, to let me know that he wanted to eat Mama's Muffin and that made Mama growl.

After I nicely asked Mama to quit being so grumpy, I placed the other half of her muffin, on top and then I wrapped it up in foil and put it in the oven to warm, for a few minutes. Then I asked Roy, Belle and Beau to go outside, so they wouldn't get jealous and they did.

When I removed the tall, warmed Mama Muffin, Mama began drooling and after she had let it cool down some —she gobbled up the whole thing, within seconds! So now, Mama is happy and that makes me happy.

Today, Ellen, our good friend / volunteer, who for nearly seven weeks has been fostering a mama cat and her kittens for us, sent me a picture of the two precious kittens, that still need to find forever homes, because the mama cat and the other kittens have already been adopted. So, if you are wanting to adopt a precious kitten or know of someone wanting a kitten—please call me @830-589-7544. Yesterday, Ellen took this picture of the seven-week-old cuties.


And that's about it for tonight, because Kinky just called and asked me to come over to the Lodge.

Y'all have a great evening! And if you have the time, please pray for some rain.

Friday, May 9, 2014

First, Velvet Elvis—Now Lois Lane!

Today has been great. I got up early this morning, so I could cook Mama some pancakes, because Mama loves them and it is the only thing that she will eat and it is also the only way that I can get her to take her pain pill. I crush up Mama's big pain pill using a spoon, then I mix it into the pancake batter and voila! Mama enjoys her breakfast and feeling no pain.

As soon as Mama ate her buttermilk pancakes, I cleaned up our kitchen and then Hazel came out of the closet and removed all of the latest dog fur, that was resting on our wooden floors. After Hazel returned to the closet Tony and I went outside to do our morning chores.

Around 9:45, I went outside to go greet Jim and Ruthie, but Jim was down at the creek walking Layla and Little Girl, so he missed out. When I walked up to Tony and Ruthie, over by the barn, I said, "Tone, I need for you and Kermit to take me and this old, hippie chick up to the trailer, so we can drink a cup of coffee and visit." As I slid over to the middle and Ruthie climbed into Kermit, I said, "Ruthie, I love your tie-dyed t-shirt." Then we took off.

Two cups of coffee later, Lisa walked inside The Cabin, "Hi guys! It looks like it is fixin' to rain and the dog walking is over..." Then it thundered loudly, so I raced around the big room—unplugging everything. And ten minutes later, all of our friends / volunteers were joking and laughing inside our thirty-one-year old trailer, while Roy made his rounds, letting everyone pet him. Five minutes later, Lisa suggested, "Let's go into Outer Space."

We hadn't been in Outer Space two minutes, when we heard big rain drops start to break their fall on the tin roof, of our screened-in porch. Seconds later, the rain was coming down so hard, I thought it was hail instead of rain, and the noise from the rain was so loud, it was hard for us to talk, without half-hollering. When it started lightning and thundering real close, we all decided to move back inside The Cabin.

Thirty-five minutes or one inch of rain later, it quit raining long enough for everyone to scramble to their vehicles, so we could go up to the Medina Highpoint Resort to celebrate Lisa's birthday and to eat lunch together.

Tony and I were the last to arrive at the resort, because we had to stay behind to lock our gate. When we arrived at the Medina Highpoint Resort, everyone was standing around the table, admiring Lisa's adorable birthday cake, that Eileen had custom ordered from Creative Cakes By Sharon, in Kerrville.

Eileen, knowing that Lisa's favorite dog out here is Lois Lane, a super, sweet Pit Bull, that Lisa fondly calls Lolo, had given Sharon a picture of Lois Lane, so Sharon could creatively incorporate her image in the cake's design and the results were beyond stunning. Here is a picture of Lisa with her too cute cake, that reads:
Happy Birthday
 Lisa 
Love, Lolo

  
Here's Lois Lane


And here's Lois on Lisa's incredibly cool birthday cake.


During our fun lunch with good friends we could not stop talking about how much we all loved Lisa's  birthday cake design and that by far, Creative Cakes by Sharon is the Best Bakery in the Texas Hill Country. After we had all vowed to only get our birthday cakes from Sharon's and Keith's bakery—it was time for Lisa to cut the cake. And to say the least, "The cake was totally delicious and Lisa ate Lois!" And that is about it for today.

Y'all have a great evening!

Thursday, May 8, 2014

Velvet Elvis! or Windchimes, Clocks & Birdseed!

Yesterday and today have been great. Tony and I went to Kerrville yesterday afternoon, because we were meeting Kinky, Big G and Jay Pennington for lunch, so we could discuss Jay's pet rescue project.

When we arrived in Kerrville, we were thirty minutes early for our lunch, so I asked Tony if we could go to Creative Cakes By Sharon, because I wanted to meet Sharon and her husband Keith and check out their bakery, that Sandy & Jon had raved about.

When we turned on to Earl Garrett Street Tony let me out, by their front door and then he drove off to go find a parking spot for Buttermilk. When I walked inside Creative Cakes By Sharon, I was welcomed and greeted with smiles. Then I said, "Hi y'all. I'm Nancy, that wrote about y'all in my blog the other day and I just wanted to see your cool bakery, meet y'all and buy a couple of cupcakes." Then Tony walked inside their bakery.

After introductions and handshakes, I said, "We're good friends with your neighbors, a few doors down, Sandy & Jon Wolfmueller. Last Saturday they came out to see us and rumor has it that I didn't get all of my facts exactly right. Keith is the baker and Sharon is the creative cake decorator."

They chuckled and then Keith said, "That's true and...." Before we left the Best Bakery, in the Texas Hill Country, I purchased two Velvet Elvis cupcakes. Then we went and had a fun business lunch with our friends.

After Jay, Tony and I adios-ed Kinky and Big G, in the parking lot, Jay followed us over to Kerr County Animal Services, so we could talk to Ginny, their friendly adoption coordinator / kennel technician, about Jay's cool pet rescue project and the meeting went very well.

Then Buttermilk took us home. When we got back home the first thing Tony and I did was eat Creative Cakes by Sharon Velvet Elvis cupcakes. Oh my goodness! We loved them so much and they melted in our mouths, so now we are addicted to them. Seriously, they were the best cupcakes that we have ever eaten and I suggest that you go there as fast as you can and get one, so you'll be addicted to them too, so I won't feel guilty about craving them so much.

Today has been great. This afternoon Tony and I made a mad dash to Wild Birds Unlimited, so we could replace our Solar Water Wiggler, that Bella destroyed, when she spent two days, in my pink, writing cabin's front yard. (The reason that we made a mad dash to Kerrville was because we were promised rain with severe thunderstorms, late this afternoon, so we wanted to make sure that we would be back home when it happened.)

Tony and I always love going to Wild Birds Unlimited, on Junction Highway, because our good friend, Marguerite, works there and it is a great store and has very good vibes. When we walked inside, Marguerite greeted us and then we talked about her two old dogs and my Mama and then we talked about Enzo and Odi, her other two, great dogs, that she adopted from us in the past few years.

While Marguerite was showing Tony some super birdseed blends, I wandered over to admire their beautiful, Corinthian Bells, Made In the USA, hand-tuned windchimes, because I am always drawn to them. Because I firmly believe that you can never have enough clocks and wind chimes, as Tony believes that you can never have enough birdseed.

When I saw Tony and Marguerite carrying all his different kinds of birdseed, a Solar Water Wiggler, Flying Start feeder, etc. up to the checkout counter I carefully removed a beautiful windchime, from the rack, and took it up to the counter. And when Tony saw my awesome windchime, it made him smile, because he knew that it had evened out his and my purchases.

As soon as we got back home, I took a picture of the windchime box, then Tony hung up my new windchime on the front porch and hung up the older one, in Outer Space, for me. Then he took his Wild Birds Unlimited bag, filled to the brim with birdseed and goodies, to The Okay Corral, so he could fill up his feeders, etc. and then start taking pictures of the birds.





As I finish writing this it has still not rained a drop or thundered out here and it looks like our 70% chance of rain has passed. And that is about it for tonight.

Y'all have a great evening!

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Nose Job!

Today has been great. Early this morning, after I did the Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch segment, on Big G's popular radio show—Kinky called me. "Nance, can you come over here and help me give The Friedmans their monthly flea and tick preventative?..."

Ten minutes later, after drinking a delicious cup of Green Mountain's Donut Shop Coffee, I went over to Kinky's Lodge. I was determined to get The Friedmans to take their pills, because they are very picky eaters, because Kinky has spoiled them, because he cooks them delicious meals daily.

When I arrived at the Lodge, Kinky had just cooked breakfast for them and they were not hungry. Because the pills were big and sort-of-hard for them to chew, I decided to cut the pills in half, which was hard to do, because they were as hard as rocks. Anyway, they would not take them. So Kinky suggested that we hide their pills inside a cold beef burrito, that was in his refrigerator. That didn't work either, because they ate the pieces of burrito, but constantly spit out their pills. "The Friedmans love bagels," Kinky said, followed by a chuckle. "Maybe that will work." And it didn't work either, so we gave up for the time being and decided to try later in the day, because I needed to get home, to help Tony do the morning chores.

The last dogs for me to feed were Mr. Rogers & Miss Dee and when I went into their dog pen, they walked up to greet me, with their tails wagging and that's when I noticed two porcupine quills sticking out of Miss Dee's black nose. She had been porcupine-ed, but it didn't slow down her appetite—she licked her dog bowl clean and she didn't seem to mind the two quills.

As soon as lunch was over, Tony put Miss Dee in a big crate and we took off, in Buttermilk, for Hoegemeyer Animal Clinic, for her to get a nose job and for us to pick up Judy Collins, because she had been spayed and given her shots and was ready to come back to our rescue ranch.

When we delivered Miss Dee to Hoegemeyers, Susan told us that we could pick her and Judy up in about an hour, so Tony and I went shopping. First we went to the big H-E-B, on Main Street, to get gas, mail a few letters and to buy approximately $49.00 in groceries.

Then we went over to Hastings to possibly buy a few, cheap, used movies that we haven't seen. Tony bought a scary one, that I'll never watch and I decided to get the Dallas Buyers Club starring Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner.

Then we basically went right back across the street, to Radio Shack, to see if they had a certain iPad cable that Tony needed and when we got out of Buttermilk, we saw our dear friend Mari, leaving the frame shop and getting into her car. I hollered, "Mari!"but she didn't hear me, so I sort of skipped over to her car, because she was fixin' to back out of the parking lot.

I'm glad that I skipped over, because Mari saw me and turned off her vehicle. We had a fun, but short visit and she showed me the beautiful artwork that she had just gotten framed, a charcoal done by a very talented, local artist. And before we adios-ed each other we vowed to do lunch together before June rolls around.

After we left Radio Shack, an hour had passed since we had left the clinic, so we headed back to Hoegemeyer Animal Clinic to pick up our precious cargo. Then we came back home.

Mr. Rogers was beyond thrilled when Tony put Miss Dee back into their pen. I am fixin' to call Kinky to see if he still needs my help to give The Friedmans their flea and tick preventative chewys and then I plan to relax and watch my new, used movie, that was a rental. And that is about it for tonight.

Y'all have a great evening!

P.S. Today we received a sweet note, with pictures and a donation from Jan. On November 11, 2004 she adopted Goober, a sweet Lab pup, from us. She sent this picture of Goober's first meeting with Jelli and a picture taken of them a year later. Her pictures have made my day great and I wanted y'all to see them, too. And lastly, I just talked to Kinky and yes, he was able to get The Friedmans to finally take their pills.



Saturday, May 3, 2014

The Best Little Book Signing @ The Best Little Library in Texas!

Today has been great. Tony and I got up real early and did the chores outside, then I cooked him breakfast, showered, dressed and then Tony loaded up Trigger with my books and stuff for The Best Little Book Signing @ The Best Little Library in Texas!

I love the Medina Community Library so much and I want to thank the friendly and helpful staff for all that they did, in advance, for my fun, financial pleasure, book signing. When I arrived at the library the staff greeted me and they already had everything set up, in the side room.

While they started brewing coffee and arranging the cookie plates, etc., at the back of the room, I unloaded my stuff and quickly set up my table. When Tony arrived, about twenty-five minutes after me, because he had to stay at the ranch to receive and unload some free dog food that Paul delivered, he took this picture.


There was not a very big crowd, at my book signing, but it was fine with me, because I really enjoyed talking one-on-one with the audience. Tony took this picture of me talking to the crowd and yes you are right, I am, once again, wearing my uniform that I always wear to weddings, funerals, book signings and events.


My fun book signing lasted for about an hour and a half and Tony took these two pictures of me signing books.



And that is about it for tonight, because our dear friends Sandy & Jon should be arriving any minute now for a fun evening under the stars. They are bringing pizzas for our dinner and we plan to sit outside, in The Okay Corral, so we can do some bird watching.

Y'all have a great evening!

Friday, May 2, 2014

Creative Cakes By Sharon!

Today has been great. This morning, Tony, Rick and I went outside, when the sun came up, to feed the dogs and clean their pens. Then I cooked breakfast for us and it was not Cousin Nancy's Spinach & Sausage Frittata that everyone seems to love, because I was out of the two main ingredients—spinach and sausage.

While the four of us ate breakfast, Rick told us about getting up around 3:00 and going outside to discover a gigantic raccoon trying to get into The Golden Girls' Egg Palace. And the way Rick told the story was pretty dang funny, even though I'm sure our chickens would not have laughed about it—if chickens laugh at all.

Around 10:00, when our great dog-walking volunteers showed up, Leisa and Rick were, inside my pink writing cabin, packing up their things, because they needed to get back on the road. I hung out with them and watched closely as they loaded up Leisa's Chevy pickup, because I was afraid that they might steal something. (Not really. I'm just joking and decided to write something funny and I hope that it made you laugh.)

Anyway, it was about 11:15 when Leisa and Rick pulled up to the barn and adios-ed us and the volunteers, and then they took off, leaving a trail of dust behind them, that covered all of us, because it is so dry out here and we need rain like a fish needs water.

At 11:45, all of us went up to the Medina Highpoint Resort to eat lunch together and to surprise Suzanne with a birthday party. When Tony and I arrived Suzanne was busy getting tea, on the other side of the tall counter, while Eileen quietly lit the three candles on Suzanne's adorable, custom decorated birthday cake that Eileen had ordered from Creative Cakes By Sharon, on Earl Garrett Street, in Kerrville. And when Suzanne walked around the corner, with her iced tea, all of us starting singing the Happy Birthday song to her. To say the least, "Suzanne was totally surprised and her cute birthday cake, that everyone admired, was absolutely delicious. In fact, the cake was so tasty, several of the volunteers got seconds and made comments about Sharon being the best baker, in the Texas Hill Country."

When Suzanne's fun, surprise birthday party was over, our good friends Kris & Jim, followed Tony and me back to the rescue ranch, because I needed Jim's help to program my Undepressable Press Square Credit Card Reader, because tomorrow morning, at 10:30, I'll be doing a book signing, at the Medina Community Library, which by the way, is my favorite library and is proudly known as "The Best Little Library in Texas!"

While Jim and I sat at the kitchen table, so he could program my Square Reader for me, because he is a whole lot smarter than I am, Kris sipped a cup of coffee and visited with Tony, talking about arrowheads, dogs, etc.

After I had finally retrieved my password for my super cool credit card reader, it only took Jim about three minutes to program and set up my Square reader for me, that I hopefully will get to use tomorrow, at the book signing. Then Tony and I visited with our dear friends for a while, before we adios-ed each other.

Ten minutes after they had left the building, I checked my e-mail to discover that Jan, a good friend of Tony's that also loves animals, who lives in Mountain Home, had just purchased a copy of The Cowgirl Sisterhood: The Membership Drive, Part I, so I happily signed her a copy and then I took off, in Trigger, to go mail it, at the Post Office, in Medina. And my fingers are crossed that she'll get it tomorrow.

And that is about it for today, because now I need to get everything ready for my book signing, tomorrow morning, at The Best Little Library in Texas. Wish me luck!

Y'all have a great evening!

Thursday, May 1, 2014

Time!

Today has been great and a lot of fun. This morning I got up real early, so I could wake up before doing the Harley Show. At 7:44, when I called Harley, Seth answered the phone and told me that today he was doing Harley's show, because Harley had called in sick, but he should be back on the Air tomorrow.

A few seconds later, Seth introduced me On-Air. We talked about Katie being his Pet of The Week, even though Kate Middleton actually found her fortunate, forever home a few weeks ago. Then I confessed about forgetting to remove her from our web site: utopiarescue.com, because I've been so busy since the Concert for Utopia. After we talked about our great volunteers and I had invited everyone to come out and become a dog-walking volunteer I jokingly put Seth on the spot when I asked him, "Do you have a dog?"

He laughed and then said, "Yes, we do have a dog and my wife wants to get another one..." Before we adios-ed each other I invited him and his wife to come out and adopt one of our super dogs.

Around 11:45, after Tony and I did our chores outside, we jumped inside Trigger and took off for Kerrville, to run a few errands, before Rick and Leisa treated us to lunch, in town.

During our fun lunch, Rick started teasing Leisa about her always asking people how long does it take to get from here to there, instead of asking them how many miles it is from here to there, so I sided up with Leisa. "Rick, it's like this. Pretend that I'm having a party at 1:00 and you have never been out to the rescue ranch. We're 22 miles from Kerrville, which you would assume would take 22 minutes, but because of the winding Highway 16, the traffic and the Medina Pass, it actually takes approximately 30 - 35 minutes. So, to get here on time for my party you would need to leave at 12:25 -12:30. Not 12:38, because you would be late for it and that's why I'm not inviting you to it."

After Leisa, Rick & Tony had finished laughing, Rick, always needing to get the last word in, joked, "Well Nancy, that's fine with me, because I hate parties anyway."

This afternoon, around 4:00, Karon and the sweet kids, from the Medina Children's Home came over to walk our dogs for us and our dogs loved it. And that's about it for tonight, except I want you to know that this morning, after we had told Rick & Leisa about Aggie and her fear-biting problem that we're currently working on, because she is not yet fully socialized, he grabbed a dog biscuit and gave it to her, through the fence, without her barking at him or acting vicious. "Nancy," Rick said later. "When I walked up to her pen, she calmly walked up to the fence—wagging her tail and she took the doggie treat from me. She's a cool dog and I bet she is going to be just fine in time..." And Tony and I agreed with Rick.

Y'all have a great evening!