We Know Who You Are And We Know What You Have Done!

Today has been a bummer, fantastic, great, unbelievable and exciting! In fact, there is so much to tell—it would fill a book, so I am going to do a 'Reader's Digest' version for y'all.

This morning, following breakfast, after cleaning up the kitchen, washing and drying a load of clothes, and doing my two-mile brisk walk—I checked my e-mail. Linda T. had written me a note, telling me that she wasn't going to make it out today, to walk our dogs—that was a real bummer! Then Todd B., from Kerrville, shows up and starts walking our dogs for us—that was fantastic!

Tony and I needed to go to Kerrville, to get some supplies, so we jumped into Buttermilk, rode around the ranch looking for Aaron and Mr. Ziffle, but couldn't find them, so we returned to the rescue ranch. Two people in two different trucks were at the ranch when we arrived, so T. and I postponed our trip to 'The Big K.!'

While Tone was outside taking care of the people, I stayed inside the trailer, returning seven phone calls and many e-mails. At eleven o'clock, Tony came back inside the trailer and said, "Let's go to Kerrville now. Aaron said that he can hold down the fort." I grabbed my purse and we took off in Buttermilk!

We listened to Harley at the Rose, 99.9 doing a live remote at a health food store in Kerrville, as we drove to Kerrville. "Nance," T. said. "Let's go see Harley and say hi before running our errands." I was fine with that.

When we arrived at 'New Life Health Foods,' Harley had drawn a huge crowd, and the store was packed, filled with people! We saw Trish, from Copies Plus, with her two adorable children, and Becky, Harley's wife was there, too—along with some of their kids. At one point, during the live broadcast, Harley invited me to do "Beat The Toaster" contest, and I said that I would.

Harley: "Welcome to New Life Health Foods! And you are?"

Me: "Cousin Nancy."

Harley: "Welcome Cousin Nancy! I am going to ask you several questions, and if you can answer them correctly before the toaster pops up the toast—you will win a prize! But, if you can't—you win a piece of toast."

Me: "I'm old Harley. Please set the dial on your toaster to—extra dark." Harley laughed.

Harley: "Ready set go! How many kids were in the Brady Bunch?" There was a long pause on my end.

Me: "Six!" I finally said! Now I know how contestants feel on those TV shows.

Harley: "You're right! What are the first names of the Beatles?" That was easy for me.

Me: "John, Paul, George and Ringo!"

Harley: "You're right, Cousin Nancy! What is the official state bird?"

Me: "The Mockingbird!" My adrenaline was pumping!

Harley: "You're right! What city is the state capitol located?"

Me: "Austin!" I answered proudly, even though the questions had been fairly easy.

Harley: "Congratulations! You beat the toaster! And you have won a case of 'Nerd' energy drinks! The number one energy drink in the country!"

Me: "Thank you, Harley!" I then started back into the crowd to join Tony.

Harley: "Wait Cousin Nancy! We need to take pictures of this!" I returned, and several people shot us all at once!

Tony and I hung out at the cool health food store for a few more minutes, and then we took off to run our errands. Then we returned to the rescue ranch around one-fifteen.

"Tony, you and Nancy are probably going to be mad at me," Aaron told us in our kitchen. "A woman showed up out here and said she was good friends with y'all. She found a little dog running loose in Kerrville and she asked me to take it. I'm sorry, but I took it. She's small, young and cute. I put her in with Hannah and K.K. The woman's name is %$#@ and I told her to call you tonight." We told him it was okay, and we are still waiting for %$#@ to call us—we know who you are, and we know what you have done—please call us!

At two-thirty, a man named Philip called. "Can I come out and adopt a dog?" I talked to him for several minutes, asking him many adoption questions, and then I told him that we would have the gate open for him, since we normally close at three o'clock.

At three forty-three—Sam, our great black Labrador got adopted to Philip and his son! Yeah, another great adoption! After they left, Tony closed our gate and returned to the trailer.

"Hello Nancy, this is Meredith, Ellen and June's friend. My husband and I are leaving Kerrville right now, and we wanted to know if we could come by and meet K.K.?"

"Sure Meredith, we will have our gate opened. Come on. K.K. is a great little dog. Y'all are gonna love her!" I knew that it would take at least thirty minutes for them to arrive, so I decided to frame my signed Riders In The Sky poster, along with our upgraded tickets—in my WalMart $7.97 poster frame. (Thanks Jude and Mari for sending me the discount framer's web addresses, but this was so cheap—I couldn't resist.) Then I went outside to the Space Ship, and proudly hung it in—The Big Room! We're talking 8'X8' if that! It looked great where I hung it! Then Buttermilk and I went down to open the gate, for Meredith and her husband. OMG! They were already here, sitting in there car, waiting for me to open up the gate for them! I was totally embarrassed! "I'm sorry the gate wasn't opened," I apologized. "Y'all drive faster than me!" They followed us into the rescue ranch.

They fell in love with K.K. the minute they saw her, but unfortunately they were not ready to adopt her, yet—because they were in the middle of remodeling their new home in Kerrville. I told them that there was also another party interested in adopting K.K., and they told me to go ahead and adopt her out—if the people were super people.

As soon as they drove away, I phoned the interested party, and we shall now see who gets our little sweetheart. Kinky will be back tomorrow and I can't wait to tell him all of our exciting news! Y'all have a great evening!

Saddle Sore And Wore!

This morning, before breakfast, I fed our dogs, cleaned the trailer, and washed a load of clothes! After breakfast with Tone, I did my brisk two mile walk, caught up with my paperwork, returned all phone calls, while our great Kerrville volunteers: June, Ellen and Jim were outside walking our dogs! I loved it and I know our dogs loved it more! Thank you Jim, June and Ellen—we love you!

At noon, I got ready to go horseback riding with my good friend Cindy, and Jeannie—Bandera's favorite cowgirl! I couldn't wait to go ride, even though the forecast today, said it was going to be ninety degrees outside! At twelve-thirty, Buttermilk and I left the rescue ranch for Bandera, so I could meet up with Cindy, and then ride with her to the park.

"Cindy! Tony is coming to video us for my blog!" I said with excitement!

"That's great!" Cindy remarked. "Nance, he is so sweet."

When we arrived at the park, Jeannie was already there, waiting on us! Yee Haw! As Jeannie unloaded her terrific horses, Tony showed up with my camera and one of his—so he could shoot us! In no time flat, we were all in our saddles and took off for our two hour ride in the beautiful Texas Hill Country!

Our trail ride was so much fun—but rather hot! When we three returned from our ride, the horses were as wore out (please note, we say wore instead of worn) as us. Ater watering down the horses, Cindy climbed off of Davy Crockett first, and began feeding him Fig Newtons, as Jeannie held Black Jack Cadillac next to a tall rock, and Tone helped me climb off of his back.

When my feet finally reached the ground, Tony remarked, "Nance, you are so bowlegged right now—you look like you've been riding a barrel!" Then he started laughing.

After a short visit with Cindy, Tony and Jeannie, a friendly Park Ranger, known as 'Shorty' came over to visit with her friend Jeannie and us. Halfway through our visit with her, she asked me, "Are you wearing pink Justin Gypsy cowgirl boots?"

"Yes," I said, excited that she knew! "And I love them!"

"Me, too!" Shorty said, wearing a smile, as she lifted up her jeans to show me her pink ones—that were just like mine! She and I had a fun conversation about how much we loved our boots, and then it was time for us to leave.

I have posted two short video clips that T. took of us today. I hope that you will enjoy watching them. And please note, on the video 'The End Of The Trail' Jeannie is talking to us about horses. So you'll know—during our ride, I had let Black Jack Cadillac get to close to Davy's rear end, and Davy didn't like it and he stopped! He was thinking about kicking BJC, but thankfully he didn't. Here is a photo of me and BJC before going on our ride. I'm pooped and truly saddle sore. Y'all have a great evening! I'm hitting the hay! Good Night!

Boy, Was I Wrong!

This morning, Buttermilk took Tony, Hannah Montana and me to Kerrville, to do The Harley Show live web cast! We arrived at The Rose around 7:35. When we went to go into the building—the door was locked! I tapped gently on the window, and five seconds later, Harley opened the door. After handshakes and hugs Harley said, "Your friend, Rick, the friendly Lighthouse keeper, has already called in this morning about y'all doing the show." Then we stepped into the studio with Harley.

It was a lot of fun, and little Hannah was great, considering she had never done live radio or a live web cast! Near the end of the Utopia segment, I remembered to tell Harley about our two, new rescued Border Collie pups, and five Catahoula pups that a lady has, who is trying to find homes for. My last words were, "Bye Harley—we're heading over to Randy and Lisa's Save Inn for breakfast!" Which was sort of a lie.

We actually stopped off first at Hoegemeyer's Animal Clinic, to drop off precious Hannah, so she could get her nails done—then we went a few blocks down Sidney Baker, and pulled into The Save Inn's parking lot. When we entered the place, it was packed full, as always! "Hi Cousin Nancy and Tony," Lisa said. "A woman named George just called here, and she needs for you to call her." Then she hands me a slip of paper with George's phone number written on it. "Her husband heard you this morning on the radio, and I think they want to adopt one of your Border Collie pups!"

I thanked Lisa, and then Tony and I found one of the last empty tables, and sat down."Tone, I think I had better go outside and call George," I said. "Let's wait until Aaron arrives to order our breakfast. I'll be right back."

I went outside, to the front steps and punched in George's phone number. This was a first for me, because I've never talked to a woman named George—it reminded me of Johnny Cash's hit song, 'A Boy Named Sue.' which I also have on my iPod. "Hello, this is Nancy from the rescue ranch," I said. "Lisa, at The Save Inn just gave me your phone number."

"Oh Cousin Nancy, thank you so much for calling me! I'm Georgieanna. My husband heard you on The Harley Show this morning and we are very interested in adopting one of your Border Collies! When he heard you tell Harley that y'all were headed to The Save Inn—I called hoping to catch you there."

"Well Georgieanna," I said. "You caught me. Let me tell you about the puppies. We just rescued them, the other day and we just had them spayed and neutered, wormed and given all of their shots. We are planning to pick them up, at Hoegemeyers, as soon as we eat breakfast. If y'all want to go by the clinic and check them out, it would be fine with me. We should be over there in about forty minutes or so." Before hanging up, I asked her several important questions, about having a fenced yard, etc. to make sure they were good people. Then I went back inside and sat down with Tony and told him about my conversation with Georgieanna, as we waited for Aaron to arrive.

Tony picked up my cell phone and punched in Hoegemeyer's number. "Hello Susan, this is Tony. Some people might adopt one of our Border pups, and they are coming by to check them out." There was a pause. "Try to talk them into taking both." There was another pause and then Tony laughed out loud! "We'll be over there in about forty minutes. Thanks, bye." Then Tony punched in another set of numbers, "Aaron where are you, man?" There was a brief pause. "It's me Tony." And yes—another pause. "Okay, but hurry—I'm starving." Then Tone returned my phone to me. "He said he is just down the road."

"He's here, I said, as Aaron pulled into the parking lot. As soon as Aaron sat down at our table—Lisa showed up to take our orders, and then she disappeared into the kitchen. As always, our breakfast was delicious and the conversation fun!

When the three of us arrived at Hoegemeyers we went inside and said hello to Susan. We love Susan—she should get the 'Best Receptionist Award in Kerr County,' but unfortunately they don't give out awards like that. A woman who was sitting on their bench next to her beautiful baby then stands up and puts her hand out for me to shake. "Cousin Nancy—I'm Georgieanna." We shook hands. "My husband and I want to adopt the female puppy—Ginger Rogers! What do we need to do?" We talked for several minutes.

Wow! Tony and I were so impressed with Georgieanna, we didn't hesitate for a second, to tell her she could adopt our Ginger! And, she was delighted!

"We live on two acres, the fence is going up this weekend, but we want her to be an inside dog. My husband can't wait to adopt her, and I am going doggie shopping as soon as we leave here. Susan, my husband wants to pick her up after work. Will that be okay?" Susan smiled and nodded yes. "My son is going to be so thrilled!" We talked for a few more minutes, then we left Hoegemeyers with Fred Astaire. Fred rode back to the ranch with Aaron, and Hannah rode back with us. The whole twenty-two miles back to the rescue ranch, Tony and I talked about how happy we were for Ginger finding such a super home! I was on cloud nine about it! Today was going to be great, I thought! But boy, was I wrong!

After returning a few phone calls, Tony walks into the kitchen, wearing a frown. "Nance something is really wrong with my computer. Can you please help me fix it?" An hour later, after being on the phone with an Apple tech, he discovered what the problem was, and told me that Apple would ship us out some software, today, at no cost—to fix Tone's laptop! I love the people at Apple, they are absolutely the best!

My friend Leisa, of Port A. fame, just called and she thinks that she might have found a home for Fred! It's not a done deal, but we've got our fingers crossed! Here is a picture of Fred Astaire, that Tony took!

Well, It's time for Mari and me to do another two miles to complete our daily four mile walks. Y'all have a great evening! And please wish me luck tomorrow, because Cindy and I are going horseback riding again—for two hours! Black Jack Cadillac—here I come!

Mari And I Walked Four Miles Today!

First off, I want to brag about walking four miles today with Mari! Mari wasn't here to do the actual two two-miles walks with me—but she was here in spirit! We did it Mari—Yeah!

This morning, Carol, our neighbor, good friend, dog walking volunteer, who also joins Tone and me for our twenty-six hour vacations—showed up at the rescue ranch, to walk some of our dogs! When Carol arrived, I had just finished doing my/our first two mile walk, and was in the kitchen cleaning up our breakfast dishes! As soon as I was done with the kitchen, I went outside to greet Carol, as she was returning with Nash (aka Ghost Dog) and his sweet roomie—Alfie—who Carol had named!

Alfie and Nash were happy to see me, and their furry tails wagged, as Carol and I petted and loved on them! After Carol returned them to their pen, we loved on the dogs some more and then left their pen. Then we got to visiting!

After rehashing our fun trip to Port A., we had a fun visit—talking about our Vita-Mix machine, smoothies, exercise, building, decorating and friends! It was a fun visit and filled with laughter! Around one o'clock, Carol left and we left, too—headed for Kerrville to run some errands—our cupboards were bare!

This afternoon, Kinky called and I told him this joke—that Fay had e-mailed me. "Kinky, there is this blonde who gets a waitressing job at a truck stop. Her first customer that she waits on said, 'I'll have three flat tires, two headlights and two running boards.' The new waitress went back to the kitchen and told the cook, that she did not understand the man's order! He wants three flat tires, two headlights and two running boards?' The cook laughs out loud and explains, 'That means he wants three pancakes, two eggs sunny side up, and two strips of bacon.' The waitress laughs, and then grabs a bowl and fills it with beans, and takes it out to her very first truck driving customer. When she puts the bowl of beans on his table, the trucker says that he didn't order beans, and she says, 'Well, I thought while you were waiting for your breakfast—you might want to go ahead and Gas up!"

Kink chuckled—then we discussed some rescue ranch business. Y'all have a great evening!

P.S We'll see y'all tomorrow morning on The Harley Show! And Fay—thank you for the funny joke!

We're Doing The Harley Show Tomorrow!

Tomorrow morning, Tony and I will be in Kerrville, doing The Harley Show live, with one of our great dogs! I hope that all of y'all can watch it! We will get to The Rose radio station probably around 7:35, and we will do the Utopia segment at 7:45 CST. I can't wait!

We're Talkin' Four Miles!

This morning after drinking a healthy breakfast, I went over to the Lodge to discuss some business with Kinky. After we had taken care of business, he and I left the kitchen, and went outside to visit in The Friedman Family Bone Orchard. I watched Mr. Magoo come out of the doggie door, and he almost got stuck in it, because he has packed on ten extra pounds! "Kinky," I said. "Goo has really gotten fat and he really needs to go on a diet!"

"Goo did you hear what Cousin Nancy said?" Kinky said to Gooie. "Cousin Nancy said that you are fat. You're not fat."

"Nancy used to be fat," I said, talking for Goo-man.

"Yes Gooie, I know I used to be fat," I said. "But I am exercising more, and eating healthier and eating smaller amounts now and you need to do the same."

Kinky laughed and then threw Mr. Magoo's tennis ball for him to fetch.

After a nice long visit, Kinky walked me back to Buttermilk, and we talked about the upcoming photo shoot, on Monday, for the jacket cover of Kinky's latest book— "Kinky Friedman's Celebrity Pet Files!"

When I returned to the rescue ranch, I returned four phone calls, and then I grabbed my two pound weights and stretchy band for my three mile workout. Then I changed my mind—instead of three miles today, I decided to beef up my exercise routine and walk four miles today, because I have hit a plateau!

I went to the bookcase, found my Leslie Sansone two mile walk, and inserted the disc into the DVD player. In thirty minutes I had done a two mile brisk walk—using my lavender colored hand weights and stretchy band! Then I sat down at the kitchen table and took care of some more paperwork.

After lunch, I took care of some more paperwork, returned seven new phone calls, and answered many e-mails. Then I inserted the two mile walking video, again, and walked another two miles! I did four miles today! And, I have now decided to start walking four miles everyday, from here on out! Wish me luck!

Today has been pretty uneventful, except for my workouts. Y'all have a great evening!

Dan Wallace—Southern Rock!

Today I received an e-mail, from my friend Dan Wallace, up in Wilmington, Ohio. He is one very talented singer, songwriter, and musician. He wrote to me to tell me that he has signed up with AWM Records, and great things are happening for him in the music world! I am so happy for Dan! I have added him to my favorite links on the sidebar and I hope that you will check out his site, and listenen to him sing, "Gear Jammer." It is a great song!

We Wish Mari's husband, David V.—A Happy 62nd Birthday!

Mari's good looking, and lucky husband, David, to have Mari for his wife, is sixty-two years old today—even though he and Mari could both pass for forty-somethings! Personally, I think that they are lying about their age—sorta like me telling people that I am seventy years old, and people telling me that I look great for being seventy!

Anyway, those two are definitely doing something right, and I am still waiting to know what their fountain of youth secret is! Mari write me! And David, you have a Happy Birthday!

Finger Food—Not!

This morning, after doing my indoor walking video, we rescued two adorable, three month old wannabe Border Collie pups! One is a male and the other is a female. I've named them Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers! I haven't taken pictures of them yet, but I'll guarantee you—they are precious!

This afternoon, Tony and I met Kinky for lunch in Kerrville. We ate Mexican food, and it wasn't at that orange colored restaurant, with half of their sign still on the ground, leaning up against their building. The part that is still attached to the building reads: Mexican R and the rest of the sign, on the ground reads: estaurant. No we didn't eat there—we ate at Conchitas, down the street from Wolfmuellers Books—thank goodness!

The owner greeted Kinky, by name, as we entered her small establishment, as did their friendly waitress. Kinky and Tony knew exactly what they wanted, but I didn't know what to order, so I ordered a plate of guacamole nachos, to share with the men—a big mistake!

Tony and Kink were served their dinners first, and then came my heaping platter of smoking nachos, covered in black beans, melted cheese, guacamole, sour cream and pico de gallo—it looked delicious, but there was one small problem or should I say one major problem—my two front teeth, which by orders from my great dentist—Dr. Sam, up in Fredericksburg—I am still not allowed to bite down into anything!

As Kinky and Tone began eating their lunch—I started laughing! "I feel like an idiot for ordering nachos," I stated. "I can't eat these nachos, because of my teeth."

T. and Kinky started laughing at my predicament. "Just break off a little piece at a time," Tony suggested.

I laughed, then looked around the room, realizing that we were the only customers there, so I took his advice! Laugh out loud—I picked up a nacho, broke off a small piece and placed it in my mouth—muy delicious, but mucho messy! My fingers were covered in black beans, stringy cheese, sour cream and guacamole! After three nachos, my paper napkin was running out of space for me to wipe off my fingers!

So, on my fourth nacho, I decided to try using my fork to eat those tasty nachos, instead of using my fingers to shove it down my pie hole. I knew I looked like a stupid tourist from Mars, trying to eat nachos using a fork—because nobody in Texas ever does that—trust me! And I am also pretty sure that the sweet, young waitress, and her friendly boss, were both laughing at me using a fork, because every time that I looked over at them standing behind the counter—they were laughing—but I can't prove that!

Kinky and T. finished their Mexican dinners first, and Tone helped me finish off my nachos—using his fingers! After we left Conchitas, we walked over to Wolfmueller's Books for a visit, but Jon and Sandy were swamped with customers, so we took off in different directions.

This evening I have spent over an hour, trying to find a poster frame, so I can frame my beautiful, signed—Riders In The Sky poster! Guess what—there are no 14"x24" frames—under $200.00! If any of y'all know where I can find one that's affordable—PLEASE LET ME KNOW! Y'all have a great evening!

West Side Story!

Friday afternoon, my good friend, from California, Jim C. came out to see us, and he wanted us to meet, Maureen, his lovely girlfriend! I haven't seen Jim since 2002, so after hugs, introductions and handshakes—we went looking for his sign!

I know Jim's birthday is in January, and I think he is a Capricorn or an Aquarius, but it didn't matter Friday, because we were looking for his other sign—the one that was made for him—when he sponsored one of our dog pens, a few years back! "Jim, I just saw it the other day, but can't remember which pen it is hung on, so let's go find it!"

As Maureen, Jim and I went from one pen to another, I introduced our dogs to them. After we had checked out all of the pens on the east side I said, "I am almost positive that it is hanging on a pen on the west side—so we went west.

After introducing them to nearly all of our dogs on the other side, I was puzzled, because I knew I had just seen it the other day. When we reached the barn, where Tony and Aaron were working, I asked them if they had seen Jim's sign, "It says, Jim's Corral, with four dogs leaning on a wood fence, visiting." They shook their heads—no.

I was starting to feel really embarrassed about not finding Jim's sign, so I suggested that we check out the west side, one more time, because as usual, I had been talking too much the first time, and had not been paying enough attention to the signs. Thank goodness they were up for it!

As the three of us retraced our steps, I tried not to talk so much—and that's not easy for me—it's a Libra deal! Anyway, after checking out the west side, for the second time, I was totally frusterated, because Jim's sign wasn't there! "Y'all, if you don't mind hiking a little further, I want to check out the first pen's fence line, on the west side, when you enter the rescue ranch. It has got be there." So we took off to inspect the gate entrance's fence line.

After passing two or three signs—we found it! "Here it is, Jim!" I said with excitement, and using comedian Bill Engvall's words, I said— "Here's your sign!" Jim was delighted to have finally found it! Then the cameras came out.

After taking pictures with Jim and then with Maureen, I offered to give them a tour of the Space Ship, and then take them into Outer Space with Tony and me, so we headed north. When we reached the Space Ship, I entered first, followed by Jim and Maureen. They seemed real impressed with it, and thought it was pretty cool, too! Then we left my spacecraft, and went into Outer Space for a fun visit—with Tony and our four old dogs.

At one point during the conversation, Jim asked about Lucky. "Lucky is thirteen years old. Let's go into the trailer, so y'all can see him." Maureen and Jim followed my lead.

As soon as were inside the trailer, I called out for Lucky. Then I saw him come running out of the hallway—headed straight for Jim—then Lucky sat down next to Jim and licked his hand! "I have never seen Lucky do that with a stranger. Can you believe that Tone? Lucky just kissed a stranger!"

"Cats love Jim," Maureen said, as we watched Jim smiling, and continued to pet our cat. "In fact, all animals love Jim."

"I can believe that, Maureen," I said. "I'm serious—Lucky does not like strangers at all. This is a first!" Some how the conversation went to music, so I cranked up my iPod, and played them some Dylan, Dwight and Grateful Dawg, as we told funny tales about our youth, and the crazy things that we did back then. I was having a blast! And I loved it when Maureen said, "I love the Grateful Dead! I'm still a big fan of theirs, and I went to many of their concerts."

"I'm a Dead Head, too!" I said. Then Kinky called, and invited all of us to come over to the Lodge for a visit.

Kermit, took Jim, Maureen and me over to the Lodge, and Tony followed us in Trigger. We had a great visit with Kink. When it was time for Jim and Maureen to leave, so they could get back to San Antone, Kinky walked us outside to Kermit.

Before we boarded the green machine—Kinky asked us to help him name a couple of pictures for a future project. We stood out in his parking lot for over fifteen minutes, coming up with some hilarious lines for his various pictures! In fact, Jim came up with one—that made us all burst out laughing! Kinky really loved his line, and he was still laughing as we departed!

Kermit then took us over the river and through the woods, and back to the rescue ranch, where we hugged and said our goodbyes to Jim C. and Maureen. Their visit was so much fun! I wish that they lived closer to us and so does Lucky. Y'all have a great evening!

A Quarter Till Five!

To Be Continued—Now Continued!

Here is a picture of us Tuesday evening, visiting with each other out on the porch, which I have fondly named ‘The Port A. Posse!’

Around ten o’clock Tuesday night, we were all pretty tired, and decided to call it a night, and we went our separate ways—to bed.

Wednesday morning, I woke up, before the sun was up—badly missing my dogs and our three-legged cat. I quietly crawled out of bed, went to my purse, found my cell phone, and then turned it on, so I could see what time it was. Just as my cell phone chimed its greeting to me, Tony said, “What are you doing, Nance?”

“I’m trying to find out what time it is? I am wide awake, and really missing our dogs and Lucky. Sorry I woke you up.”

“It’s a quarter till five,” Tony announced. “I miss them, too. I’m wide awake, too. Go ahead and flip on the lights.” I did, while thinking—Garmina can’t do that—Ha! Then I went into the kitchen and started the coffee pot, that Carol had pre-made, the night before, for all of us.

I showered first and got dressed, and then Tony took his turn in the shower and dressed, while it was still dark outside, I downloaded my many pictures and video clips, while sipping Carol’s delicious Costa Rican coffee, at the long dinner table—while listening to my iPod on our iDock.

By eight o’clock, Carol appeared—all smiles and laughing! We visited a while, and then Tony took off to go fish with John down at the dock, while Carol and I visited with Rick and Leisa, as they prepared breakfast for us—which was totally delicious!

After our delicious meal, the guys fished a little while longer, and then they gave up—the fish were simply not biting!

Leisa needed to go to Port A, so she could get ready to go to work, so while Captain Rick was gone island hopping, John and Carol decided to climb up to the top of the Lighthouse! Unfortunately, I didn’t get any good shots of them, when they made it to the top, but when they came down—I did! Carol’s remarks were hilarious—check it out on Cousin Nancy’s Video Clips.

Around eleven o’clock, we reluctantly loaded up our luggage, because we were having so much fun and didn’t want to leave the island, even though we had to! Captain Rick chauffered us over to the Port Aransas island.

After we had unloaded the Boston Whaler, Rick wanted to show us the bar where Leisa works—The Salty Dog, and he offered to take Carol for a spin on his pretty Vespa! John jumped into Silver and we took off for the Salty Dog!


When we arrived at the bar, I said—“Leisa, I love the Salty Dog! I can actually see in here! It is clean and a great bar!” We hung out at the bar and looked around for about ten minutes, and then it was time for the three of us to get on — ‘The Road to Utopia!’

We left Port A around twelve-thirty, and our trip back to Medina was as much fun as it had been going down—even though Garmina kept interrupting us! She may be really smart with directions and all, but she can also be really rude! I loved it—when Tony, at one point—told her to shut up! I loved it—it made my vacation!

Y’all have a great evening! And a special thank you goes to our good friends at Port A.—Rick and Leisa, John, and Pete and Kelly—I love y’all and thank you, so much—for such a great time!

P.S. I can’t wait to tell you about our fun visit today with our good friends, Jim C. and his pretty girlfriend Maureen—from California! Good night and have some sweet dreams!

The War Of The iPods!

Our trip officially started at 6:30, when we picked up Carol at her ranch. When Silver pulled up to her house, I said to Tony, “I sure hope she doesn’t pack like us—there’s hardly any more room left in the back. I hope that we don’t have to rent a trailer!”

Tony agreed with me, and then we were really relieved when Carol came out of her house— with two very small bags! Tony got out of the SUV to open up the hatch, so Carol could stowaway her tiny ‘Must Have Collection,’ in the back with our pile of ‘Never Leave Home Without It Necessities!’

When Carol jumped inside the backseat, she was already laughing, because her two great, giant dogs, wanted to go with her, and they had tried to jump into the back, but couldn’t because it was too full—with Tone’s and my gigantic stack of NLHWIN! Carol’s laughter set the mood for our Tuesday-Wednesday Vacation!

During our four and a half hour drive, the three of us talked a lot, but we laughed more, as Garmina, Tony’s new Garmin GPS—that I had named—kept interrupting us! “Tone,” I said.” Garmina is more of a backseat driver than me! I love...”

Then Garmina interrupted me, and said, “In point five miles turn left.”

When we reached the ferry, to hop over, to our first island—Port Aransas, we laughed in amazement, as Garmina showed us on the ferry— floating in the water, and remarked, “In point two miles exit ferry.” Tony obeyed her—I was jealous!

When we reached the boathouse, Rick and John were there to greet us, in a matter of minutes! After introductions, hugs and handshakes Tony and I held our breaths as he opened up the rear hatch with our NLHWIN! Rick was great about it, he pulled out his cell phone and said, “Let me call a barge to bring your stuff over to the island.” We all laughed! And with the help of John and Rick, the Boston Whaler was loaded in ten minutes or less! Then the four of us took off for our next island!

Once we were out of the harbor, Rick cranked the excelarator— and we took off like a rocket—flying through the waves! Carol, John and I sat on the backseat, and laughed the whole way to the island with the Lighthouse!

Leisa, Rick’s better three-quarters, met us at the dock to greet us! After introductions and hugs, Rick took off to get a giant cart, so we could load Carol’s small collection and T.’s and my titanic necessities!

The party began after Rick had called Kinky, and I had talked to Kink, after we had unloaded our stuff! Tony and John wanted to fish, so we all gathered down on the dock, and visited while the fish escaped being caught! After an hour of ‘no-bites,’ Rick wanted to show us the Ark, where he is a volunteer, that rescues injured seaturtles, dolphins, birds etc.! Here is a picture of T.'s fish, Rick and Carol and John and Leisa, with Leisa's new rescued dog—Squirt!



The Ark was really impressive! Rick gave us the Grand Tour, and we saw all kinds of turtles and birds in recovery—soon to be released back into the ocean or the air. After that, we walked over to The Flats, a favorite local bar, and drank a beer. Then we went back to the boat and boarded up. Here is a picture of a boat that’s name made me laugh out loud!

Once again, we slowly went through the harbor, and then Rick cranked the Boston Whaler and we laughed our heads off, as John and I held our caps in hand, and Tone held on tight to his cap and rail. I made a video clip of it, and it is posted on the sidebar ‘Cousin Nancy’s Favorite Videos.’

When we returned to the island, I grabbed our portable iDock, my iPods and the music began to flow, as Leisa and Rick prepared dinner for us! And, that’s when ‘The Battle of the iPods’ commenced!

After playing some Dylan, Dwight and The Grateful Dawg songs, T. decided that it was his turn, while I was in the kitchen visiting with Leisa! Suddenly, Hank Williams is singing—what? Tony then began playing his music—one song after another! It was good, but not as good as mine was!

So, when he went to the restroom, I switched iPods and began playing my music again, which made me happy! When Tony returned to the living room—he was wearing a frown on his face. No fish, and now no music from his iPod. To avoid a disaster, after playing a few more songs, I put T.’s iPod back on the dock. And, that is when Rick, Captain Rick—took off to go pick up Kelly and Pete and bring them back to the island! There is a video clip, I took of them arriving on the island, with Pete’s dog, Thelma, on the sidebar.

We had a great time visiting with Kelly and Pete, but they couldn’t stay for dinner, because Pete had to get back to Port A—so he could rehearse with the band that he is in—Alias Hart & Jones. Unfortunately, Captain Rick had to return them to Port A—too soon!

Leisa and Captain Rick served us up one fine dinner! We’re talking delicious baked Tofu, which was to die for, Tuna steaks and the best rice pilaf that I have ever eaten! Leisa gave me the recipe for her baked Tofu, and I cannot wait to make some—I loved it and sorta pigged out on it!

After dinner and a few drinks—Rick serenaded us with his mandolin, which we all enjoyed, and then he persuaded me to play guitar—big mistake on his part! I didn’t play very well, like I always do, but it was fun!

Y’all have a great evening!

To Be Continued...(Because Rick just called me and he is going to bed real soon.)

We're Back! We had A Five Star Vacation! We're Talkin' Gilligan's Island With A~Twist!

Tony, Carol and I had the best Tuesday-Wednesday Vacation ever—and we're talking The Guiness Book of World Records here! The three of us had so much fun—thanks to the the friendliest Light House Keeper on the planet— Rick, along with his better half—Leisa, who is the best cook in all of Port A., and John Kemmerly, who the three of us unsuccessfully tried to bribe, to come back to work for us, and our dear friends Pete and Kelly—who we totally adore, that made a special trip, out to the island, to see us—compliments of Captain Rick! I love all of these people—they're the best!

I have so much to tell you about our island hopping adventures, but I am now pretty wore-out, (i know that it should be spelled worn-out, but in Texas—we say wore-out, because of the heat) due to having too much fun and me having to help back-seat drive Tone back to Medina, along with his GPS—Garmina!

I know for a fact, that I have lost five more pounds from laughing, climbing steep stairs, playing guitar with Rick, and getting in and out of a boat—not custom made for old, gray haired, height deprived women like me!

I promise to blog tomorrow, about our exciting, fun filled, eventful trip on the Island with a Lighthouse! Tomorrow, I will blog, post pictures and new video clips of our Port Aransas trip!

Y'all have a great evening! I'm going to bed!

We're Outta Here!

Tony Rocks!

This morning, after George and his camera crew came out to scout around Echo Hill Ranch, for an upcoming photo shoot, for the book jacket, of Kinky's newest book—'Kinky Friedman's Celebrity Pet Files.' Tony and I began packing for Carol's and our Tuesday—Wednesday Vacation! Talk about excited—we started really getting excited after Buttermilk, Tony and I went to Kerrville to pick up our Rent-a-SUV! The minute that I saw it, I immediately named it Silver!

After signing a few forms, I gave them my credit card, and Silver was now ours for three days and totally free—I love credit cards! After handing over Silver's reins (keys) to Tony, T. and I played Paper or Scissors, out in the parking lot, to see who would get to take Silver back to our rescue ranch! Tone won. He was a rock and I was scissors. I guess you could say—Tony Rocks!

When we arrived back at the ranch, T. was all excited! "Nance! Silver has Sirius radio with Alpine speakers! And, I loved the way that he handled on the road!" Tony and I then started packing! First, the ice chest, and then we went down to the barn, so Tony could grab some of his many fishing rods, tackle, etc. "Tony, do you know where my pink fishing rod is?" I asked. "I'll fish, if you will bait my hook, and release my fish for me?
Okay?"

Tony laughed, "Nance, it is over there in that bucket, by the chop saw. I don't know why you can't bait your own hooks and release the fish? A lot of women bait and release their own fish. I know Carol does."

The thought of actually baiting something live to a fish hook, and removing a hook from some poor unlucky fish's mouth—made me sick and gave me goose bumps. "Never mind, Tony—I won't fish," I sulked, hoping that Tony would catch my bait—and he did! Thank goodness!

"Nancy, I'll bait your hook and release whatever you catch," Tone promised. I was so happy! "Nance, you're not planning on doing a lot of fishing down there—are you?"

"Oh no Tony, I'm not," I said. "I just want to do one cast—and get a picture of me holding the rod and reel, that's all, so I can blog about fishing with you, Rick, Leisa, Pete and Kelly, and John. You know that I hate fishing. I'm planning on doing some serious writing on the porch, while y'all fish." Tony then perked up for some reason.

Y'all would absolutely laugh your heads off, if you saw how much stuff that Tony and I are taking for our overnight excursion! We're talkin' two, big overstuffed duffel bags filled with clothes, three cameras, my laptop, our portable Bose, our four iPods, five rods and reels, my three mile walking DVD, a big ice chest filled with water, spirits and some Miles of Chocolate, cheese and crackers, Tony's Garmin GPS, cowboy boots and Crocs! And yes, I will be wearing my pink Justin Gypsy ropers! I sure hope that Carol isn't bringing a lot, because we might sink the boat, before we get to that island with the lighthouse!

Y'all have a great evening—I still have a lot more packing to do! Hi-O Silver!

You NoMads Truly Know How To Rock—Country Style!

To Be Continued...

Saturday evening, Tone and I arrived at the Dietert Center, just before seven o'clock, for the Riders In The Sky concert! Mari was there to greet us, and to introduce us to some fellow NoMads! We enjoyed meeting all of them, and then Harley and Becky Belew arrived with their son, Mica—all dressed up in cowboy attire, including some really cool chaps! Then Sandy and Jon Wolfmueller arrived and we had us a fun visit with everyone!

Becky and Mica left first, to go find their seats, because Harley was going to be the M.C. for the evening. Lori, another very famous NoMad (of The Cowboy Steak House, too) showed up to check out my pink Justin Gypsy boots, along with several other great NoMads! And, I proudly showed them off! Then David, Mari's husband, arrived and Tony and I were very excited to finally get to meet him! (Don't tell Mari that I said this, even though I am sure that she already knows this—but David is one very good looking cowboy! They are truly a perfect match for each other!)

Ten minutes before the show started, another nice NoMad lady, took Tony and I to our reserved seats—row five, seats fourteen and fifteen—compliments of The NoMads! At seven-thirty, the lights dimmed and Lori walked out onto the stage, looking beautiful. She talked about The NoMads, and then made the audience laugh with some very funny remarks! Then she introduced Harley!

When Harley, Kerrville's favorite DJ, walked out onto the stage, there was a huge applause—it was magic! He was, as always, hilarious, and when he introduced the Riders In The Sky! The applause was deafening, even for me, who is already semi-deaf!

OMG! These four men were incredibly great! They sung one great song after another, along with making several hilarious remarks, that cracked the audience up—what I call true showmen! Every time that I looked over at T. he was either grinning, or laughing out loud, at everyone of their funny wisecracks! The Riders In the Sky had one polished act—we're talking one totally fined tuned show, and everyone in that sold out crowd knew it!

When the Riders sang their last song, they received one very loud, clapping, standing ovation! It gave me goose bumps! Harley then quickly came out on stage, and asked The Riders In The Sky to please come back out, and do one more song for everyone and they did!

But before they sang their last song, with the crowd roaring with applause, Lori and Mari somehow quickly went backstage and rigged up a real Texas tumble weed, that they would control backstage, if The Riders chose to sing Tumbling Tumbleweed.

When TRITS began singing, 'Tumbling Tumbleweed' their rigged tumbleweed began moving back and forth behind the men, as they sang that beautiful song! It was pretty hilarious, so near the end of their song, I asked Tone to please film it for me and he did, because the man in front of me had a huge bald head. You can watch Lori and Mari's traveling tumbleweed, a twenty-second video clip—on the sidebar under Cousin Nancy's favorite videos—thanks to Tony!

After the show ended, Tone and I visited with Mari and Lori, and our friends, Les and Denise. After the crowd had wittled down, T. and I went to the lobby to get autographs from these fine, four talented showmen! But, before we did, Tony bought me two of their CD's, a beautiful poster of TRITS and a t-shirt for more Valentine's presents!

I want to sincerely thank Mari, Lori and the fabulous NoMads for making my Valentines Day the greatest! I love all of y'all and can never thank you enough, for such a fun filled evening! You NoMads Truly Rock!

Here are some pictures that we took at the concert! When Tony shot the picture of me next to Ranger Doug, I said, "Kinky said for me to please tell you hello. Kinky, Tony and I started the Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch ten years ago, and he sends you his best."




"I know Kinky," Ranger Doug said. "Please tell him that I said hello, and that I read his books, and hope that he will run for Governor of Texas, again!"

Y'all have a great evening, and please check out The Riders In The Sky! I have added their link on my favorite links. We're talking Awesome with a capital A! I Love The Riders In The Sky!

Happy Birthday Carol Vail! We Love You!

My Best Valentine's Day Ever!

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone! Today has been the best Valentine's Day ever! When I woke up and came into the kitchen to feed my furry friends—there was another note from Tony, and a CD lying on top of my computer. The note read: "Good morning, Nance. Please be my Valentine! I made this for you last night. I love you, Tony. P.S. I'll see you in a little while.

As soon as my six dogs and cat were fed, I sat down at the kitchen table, booted up my Apple iBook G3 laptop, and inserted the CD and opened it. There was nothing on it? Hmmm...

When Tony returned from the Old Timer, in Medina, he walked inside the trailer wearing a really big smile on his face. "Well, did you like it?"

"Yes, Tone," I said. "I can always use another CD. And, I will be your Valentine."

"What? There was nothing on it? Nance, I spent over two hours making you a CD of love songs! Are you sure they aren't on there?"

"No Tony, it is a blank CD—I checked it all over, but that was awfully nice of you to have done that for me," I said, as Tony shoved the blank CD back into my computer.

"Here they are, Nance!" Tony said, with excitement. "The songs are down here at the bottom of the CD!" Then he started laughing. "Do you mean to tell me that you thought I had given you a blank CD—for your Valentines present?" Then he started laughing, again, and so did I. Then T. quotes me , "No Tony, it is a blank CD—I checked it all over!" We laughed about it throughout our breakfast!

Linda T. arrived at ten o'clock this morning to walk our dogs! While she and Aaron were out walking our dogs, I went over to the Lodge to visit with Kinky.

When I arrived at the Lodge, Kinky asked me if I had brought my beans. "No Kinky, I didn't know you wanted any."

"I just called you, Nance and left a message on your machine, to please bring me some of your homemade organic beans. I wanted some to eat for lunch." Then his phone rang.

"Kinky, I'll go get some and be right back," I said, as I went out the kitchen door, and he went to answer his phone.

When I returned with the beans, he was off of the phone. Kinky wanted to zap them in the microwave, but I suggested a pan, and then poured them into one of his pans on his stovetop. While my beans heated up, I tried to explain to him that microwaves are dangerous, and that he should get rid of his. My words fell on his deaf ears, again.

When the beans were heated, Kinky poured them onto a plate, and we sat down at the kitchen table. "Kinky, these are my best beans, yet! I hope that you like them—they're organic, too."

"Cousin Nancy—they are delicious!" Kinky said. "Very good! You are now officially The Bean Queen!" Then he and I started laughing.

"I like that, Kinky—The Bean Queen of Medina, Texas!" After Kinky had devoured my beans, I went back over to the rescue ranch, to make lunch for Tony and me, and then Carol V. showed up to discuss our Tuesday-Wednesday Vacation plans! We invited her for lunch, but she had just eaten. We had a fun visit, and before she left Linda came in with her sack lunch and our conversation was hilarious!

Around three o'clock, Linda returned to the trailer to tell us that Opie was one very strong dog, and she thinks he caused her to pull a muscle in her leg. "From now on," I said. "Opie is a Nopie for Linda!" Before leaving, Linda gave me the cutest Valentine's card! It made me laugh out loud! It has these three pretty, women on the front posing, in Roaring Twenties outfits, with goofy hats on their heads, and the inside reads: 'There might be girls who think they're as hot as we are, but they are wrong. Happy Valentine's Day!

After Linda left, to head back to Harker Heights, I phoned Enterprise and rented a car for our Tuesday-Wednesday Vacation. Then Tony called Jon Wolfmueller, to see if he had Mari's phone number. Jon didn't, but he gave Tone her friend's phone number. Tony punched in the numbers and got Lori, who passed off the phone to Mari. Tony and Mari talked about tonight's Riders In The Sky concert, and where we should meet up with them, and then he hung up the phone.

It is now five-fifteen, and I have to get dressed for the concert! Tony and I are really looking forward to it! And, I can't wait to see Mari and The NoMads, Harley and his beautiful wife, Becky, and Jon and Sandy!
(This one's for you, Mari) To Be Continued...

Kris & Becky Are Getting Married Today!

Dear Becky and Kris!

Kinky, Tony and I, at the Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch, want to wish you a Happy Valentine’s Day and to send you our best wishes on getting married today, in Houston, Texas! Unbeknownst to y’all, your dear friends have been working behind your backs, with me, for over a month—to make this happen for you two!

So, in honor of your marriage today, Carol, Jenn, Leah, Lee, Nora, Robin, Tara, and Terri-Lei have sponsored a dog pen, at our rescue ranch, in honor and to celebrate your marriage! Congratulations!

The name they chose for your pen, at the Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch, is the “Kris & Becky Matrimonial Dog Pen!”

P.S. A sign is being painted by our artist, and we will send you a picture of it, as soon as we receive it, and will hang it on your dog pen! We wish to thank you, and your great friends: Carol, Jenn, Leah, Lee, Nora, Robin, Tara and Terri-Lei for helping us help them! We wish you a wonderful life together, and please give Jaxx a hug from Kinky, Tony, and me!

Everybody Have Fun Tonight!

Yesterday afternoon, after running a few errands, Tony and I went to Wolfmueller’s Books, to see Sandy and Jon. During our fun visit, Sandy showed us her new ‘App’ that she had added to her iPhone! It’s called ‘Doodle Kids’ and it was really cool! You touch the screen and draw whatever you want—then to erase it, you just shake your iPhone for a couple of seconds, like an Etch A Sketch, and it goes away, so you can draw something else. I loved it!

When we got home, I went to iTunes and downloaded the free App—Doodle Kids. Then I purchased a song that I had totally forgotten about, but had totally loved— 'Everybody Have Fun Tonight,” I had heard it on The Rose, after leaving Jon and Sandy’s book store.

This morning, when I got up, after feeding Lucky and the dogs, I saw a note from Tony, sitting on top of my laptop— “You’ve got mail! Love You! Tony.”

I booted up my laptop, and went directly to my e-mail, and then I opened up Tone’s e-mail to me. He had written a very sweet note to me. At the end of his love letter, he asked me to please open the attachment that he had sent with his note.

I clicked on the attachment and this is what T. had made for me—using my new App! He made this, and then took a picture of it, and then sent it to me. Y’all have a great evening! I love Tony!

I'm Okay!

I am sorry for not blogging yesterday. I had a fine day, until an old friend of mine called and told me that she had just been diagnosed with cancer. It totally upset me.

We'll Be Coming Around The Mountain!

Today, our neighbor, our dog walking volunteer and good friend, Carol V., sent me an e-mail about our adventurous trip to Port Aransas, that we’ve been planning—another twenty-four hour get-a-way for Tone and me! We have worked out the details, and unfortunately Ben can’t go with us this time—even though Rick demanded that Ben bring a brick of his and Miles delicious chocolate—Miles of Chocolate.

After a couple of e-mails back and forth to Carol, Ben, Rick, John Kemmerly and Pete and Kelly—Tony and I are taking another vacation to the coast with Carol! And, we can’t wait! We’re talking a Blast—with a capital B!

When I called Rick and told him that Ben wasn’t going to be able to make it down there, he was really disappointed, until I told him that we would bring him and Leisa some of our Miles of Chocolate stash. I don’t know who is more excited about our trip, but I can tell you this, T. has already packed his bags and fishing equipment!

After all of the arrangements were set in stone, Buttermilk, Tony and I went to Kerrville to shop for our trip—Tone bought two new pairs of Wrangler jeans at Gibson’s, while I shopped for groceries over at HEB. He is planning on wearing a new pair to “The Riders In the Sky” concert, this weekend on Valentines Day, and he is taking both pair to Port A.

On our way back home, I said, “Tony, I am going to bring my guitar, so Rick and Pete and I can maybe play some music together, out on the porch by the lighthouse. It has been over a year and a half since I’ve played, and my callouses are completely gone from my fingers, but if I start strummin’ today —maybe my fingers won’t hurt so bad.” Tony liked my idea.

When we arrived back at the rescue ranch, Kinky had called and left two messages on our answering machine. When I called Kinky back, we discussed two things—our vacation to Port Aransas, and The Friedman’s serious low supply of chewgars. “Kinky, ‘Erb has just sent me an e-mail about him sending more ‘Chewgars’ and I promise you that we will only be gone for twenty-four hours or less.”

Here are some pictures of the incredibly great guitar, that my brother, Ronnie, custom built for me, which is signed by Willie Nelson and Billy Joe Shaver! Willie signed my guitar on March 28, 2003, when Kinky took Ben, Tony and me, as his guests, to a Willie concert at The Backyard in Austin, Texas! We spent over an hour on Willie’s bus—talk about fun! And Billy Joe, signed my guitar, two year later, after visiting Tony and me and singing two love songs to us, inside our trailer, several years ago!. He fell in love with Ronnie’s guitar, too! And, the last picture—Tony took of me today—tuning up my guitar. My fingers are killing me! Y’all have a great evening!

P.S. Just a reminder—I’m doing The Harley Show in the morning! I hope that y’all can catch the show at 7:45! And tomorrow Kinky, will be doing an interview with Bob Cole on KVET, 98.8 in Austin at 8:05! (Kinky has asked T. and me to please give him another wake up call—just in case he doesn’t wake up in time.)

Not Tonight—We're Watching Westminister!

Kinky Is Doing The Imus Show—Tomorrow Morning!

Set your recorders y'all! Kinky is going to be doing the Imus Show, at 5:30 CST—6:30 EST! I can't wait!

The Post Man Only Rings Twice!

Yesterday was great! Linda T., our super dog walking volunteer, from Harker Heights, came out, and she and Aaron walked our dogs, for over five hours! I loved it, but not nearly as much as our wonderful dogs did! Thank you Linda—You Rock! And so does Aaron!

A couple of weeks ago, while visiting with Kinky, over at the Lodge, I gave him a new nickname—The Post Master General, because everyday, except for Sundays, for seven years, that we have been living over here, Kinky always calls to ask who is going to pick up the mail.

Tony usually picks up the mail everyday, and delivers it to Kinky, but on special occasions, Kinky will call to tell us to leave his mail, because he is going into Kerrville or Austin. It has become a long running joke between us, so when I was fixin’ to return to the rescue ranch, Kink asked me who was going to get the mail. “Kinky when you die—I swear, that you’re going to come back as the best Post Master General—ever!” I teased. Kinky laughed and the new nickname has stuck.

So this morning, Kinky called around 7:30, “Nance, Tone—Please call The Post Master! Thank you very much!” Ten minutes later, Kinky called again, while I was busily feeding our dogs. “Nancy, Nancy, Nancy! Tone, Tone, Tone! Please call the Post Master! I need to talk to y’all!”

As soon as I had put the last dog food bowl down, I picked up the phone and called The Post Master General—before he might go Postal on me! “Good morning, Kinky,” I said. “Sunday’s are your days off. There is no mail today. What’s going on?”

“Good morning, Nance,” Kinky said. “Mr. Magoo can no longer jump up on the bed, because it is too high for him to jump up on. I want to lower the bed, so Goo and little Perky, Brownie and Chumley can all get on the bed to sleep with me, and get off without hurting themselves. Can you and Tony come over and somehow help me lower the bed for them?”

After Aaron and Tony finished feeding the dogs and cleaning their pens—the three of us went over to the Lodge, to lower the bed, that Tony and I had custom built for Kinky, years ago, after his father, Tom, had passed away in 2002. Tony and I had made his bed out of Echo Hill Ranch cedar and we surprised him with it, on his birthday—and Kinky totally loved it!

“Tone,” Kinky suggested. “I think if you just cut the legs off of the bed...”

“No Kinky,” Tony interrupted him. “I know what to do. I’m going to remove a few boards, and then we can put the box springs on the floor and the mattress on top of it. Trust me, Goo and the dogs will be able to get on the bed. Let’s take the mattress and the box springs off of the bed.” Tony, Aaron and Kinky removed them from the bed and leaned them against the bedroom doorway.

“Look at all of Goo’s Chewgars, toys and balls—that he has hidden under the bed!” Kinky exclaimed, in amazement. “I can’t believe this!”

All of us started picking up the many balls, toys, and half-chewed Chewgars, and placed them on the no longer needed bed skirt. “What in the world is that thing?” Kinky gasped, as he pointed to a device, laying on the floor, in the middle of the bed frame.

“It looks like a muscle massager to me,” I said. “But I’m not sure about that. It probably belongs to Maribeth. I guess that she has some problem aches and pains. I don't know—this is really weird.”

“What?” Kinky asked. “A what?” Then he picked it up, to discover that it was plugged into the wall socket. He then unplugged it and put it on the bed skirt with all of the trash, while we all tried to figure out who it had belonged to.

“Ah, Kinky,” Tony said, as he lifted up a big black plastic case laying near the front of the bed. “Here’s a case for an Ouzee. I didn’t know that you owned a submachine gun, Kink?”

“What?” Kinky said. “I don’t have an Ouzee! Oh my gosh! Who would have put that under there?”

“I don’t know, but it is empty—no Ouzee here.” Tony replied. Then he tossed the empty gun case onto the bed skirt pile. Kinky then grabbed a broom and began sweeping the floor.

“Nance,” I wish that you had your camera with you—Kinky is actually working! It’s a Kodak Moment!” We all laughed.

After Aaron had removed a few screws, and a couple of boards—the three of them placed the mattress on the floor, between the bed frame, followed by the mattress. Kinky and I then quickly made up the bed. “Gooie,” Kinky hollered. “Goo come here and try out our new bed!” Then Kink layed down on his new bed and Mr. Magoo came into the bedroom, and jumped up on the new lower bed! Then he layed down next to Kinky, followed by Brown and Chum! Mission accomplished!

Before leaving, Kinky invited us to join him and Dylan for lunch at that orange colored restaurant.

“Thanks, but no thanks Kinky,” I said. “We’re trying to eat healthy. Please tell them to please fix their broken sign. Half of it is on the building, and the ‘estaurant’ part is on the ground—leaning against their building. Talk about an eyesore.” Kinky laughed!

This afternoon, as Tony and I were checking out at Home Depot, this woman cashier says, “Miles of Chocolate? My boyfriend knows Miles, the man, who makes it!”

Tony who was wearing a tan Miles of Chocolate cap says, “Yeah, Ben who is Miles business partner, works part-time for us! It is the best chocolate on the planet.”

“Last week,” she said, “I heard a woman talking about it on The Rose. I was really surprised!”

“That was me,” I said. “We brought some for Harley to try. I’m Cousin Nancy and this is Tony.” The woman was so excited—she walked us all of the way to Buttermilk!

This evening, Kinky called, “Nance, do you and Tone want to come over to play some pool?” Our answer was yes. As Tone and I left the rescue ranch, the wind was blowing over thirty miles an hour. In fact, it was blowing so hard—when we reached Willie Nelson’s pen—the dog house had blown completely over! I took these pictures of Tony putting the doghouse back together!



Before Kinky and Tony started their pool tournament, I asked Kink if I could take a picture of the new Goo-Bed. He said it was fine, so here is the picture of it. I have named it ‘The Crib!’ And Kinky loves it!

The Medina Bulldog won the first game against Kinky. The second game, The Hummingbird Man beat The Medina Bulldog. Y’all have a great evening!

P.S. I have finally found the time to improve my blog site. I’ve added some of my favorite songs and links! Please check it out! And thank you for following my blog!

Fay In Toronto—Rocks!

I have just received an exciting e-mail, from Fay, to let me know that she is now on Dwight Yoakam's web site—Fan Spotlight page! I have just checked it out, and it is really cool! Their is a picture of Kris Kristofferson, the giant dog that she adopted from us—wearing a Dwight Yoakam t-shirt, and there is also a great picture of her, too!

I have put a link to it, on the sidebar, under my favorite links! Check it out—Fay Really Rocks!

My Mug Shot!

This morning I over slept! And, to make matters even worse, I woke up with Toto, who was laying right next to my head, on the pillow—growling and barking into my ear, because I had moved! Little old, Toto only has one major flaw and that’s it—growling and barking when anyone moves in the bed! I love Toto, our little, twelve year old wannabe terrorist, I mean terrier poodle mix—that we rescued from the Kerrville pound—over ten years ago.

I grumpily jumped out of bed, looked at the clock—it was nearly seven o’clock! After getting dressed, I quickly fed our six dogs, and the cat. I then made some coffee in the percolator and plugged it into the wall, and while it made hissing and spewing sounds—I went directly to my laptop, on top of the kitchen table, and quickly went to The Harley Show!

Horrors! The Rose 99.9 web site was not broadcasting Harley! The screen read: Off Air, so I made some hissing sounds just like the percolator was! I was now truly upset, because I am so addicted to listening and watching Harley do his Harley Show—live web cast, every morning!

I thought about calling Harley, to tell him about him being off air, but I didn’t want to bother him, so instead, I took my daily baby aspirin, and poured myself a cup of organic coffee—into my favorite, beautiful turtle coffee mug. Then I began preparing the breakfast for Tony, Aaron, Ben and me. Here is my mug shot:

While I chopped, diced and cooked for four, I found myself constantly turning around, to check my laptop, to see if Harley’s show was now airing—and it wasn’t, much to my dismay. At eight o’clock, T. arrived! “Tony, Harley is off air! I am sick about it! Do you want to call him and ask him to turn on his web cam?”

“No. I know he's not web casting,’” Tony replied. “Harley was talking on the radio, about some technical difficulties and not being able to do a live web cast this morning...” I was so relieved to know that it was just a temporary techno problem, and then Tony looked at my laptop screen and said, “Harley’s on, now!” Tony quickly clicked the play button.

Tony, Ben, Aaron and me, ate our breakfast laughing, as we watched and listened to The Harley Show!

After breakfast, I cleaned up the kitchen, while the men worked outside. Then I grabbed my pretty two pound weights and lavender stretchy—band, and did my daily three mile brisk walk with Leslie Sansone!

This afternoon, I did paperwork, returned a few phone calls, and then I helped three sweet donkeys, two jennys and a neutered jack—find new homes! And no, they were not our three resident, mascot donkey’s—Roy, Gabby and our miniature donkey—Little Jewford.

After that, Kinky called and invited me over to the Lodge for a visit. We had a fun visit, then Tony and Ben came over to visit. Kinky challenged Tone to a game of pool—The Medina Bulldog - 1, The Hummingbird Man -0. I loved it!

Kinky and T. decided to shoot another game of pool. The Hummingbird Man - 1, and The Medina Bulldog - lost!

Then I challenged Ben to a game of pool—he reluctantly said he would do it, because they all hate playing pool with me, and they made some pretty funny remarks about my pool playing skills. Final score: Ben The Mountain Man - 1 and as usual, Cousin Nancy lost another game, again. Y’all have a great evening!

The Medina Bulldog vs. Cousin Nancy!

Late this afternoon, Tony, Ben and I went over to visit with Kinky! After a fun visit, Kinky, Ben and I decided to take the dogs for a walk, because Mr. Magoo is packing on the pounds, and he needs to lose some weight. Tony elected to stay at the Lodge with Perky.

Our walk about, with The Friedmans and the two Welch girls, Valerie and Penny, quickly turned into a vigorous hike! We're talking old horse paths, that were pretty rocky and steep! Ben led us, Kinky followed, and I brought up the rear—trying not to stumble or tip over. Thirty minutes later, after Kinky had shared some really great stories with us, we were standing on the side of a mountain, with the sun shining behind us. "Are we lost, y'all?" I asked. "I have no clue as to where we are."

Ben and Kink laughed. "No Nance," Ben said. "There's the cabin." Then he pointed to my left. I looked behind me, and sure enough—there was the cabin, about twenty feet from us. I knew exactly where we were.

When we reached the Lodge, I challenged Tony to a friendly game of pool. Sad to say, The Medina Bulldog - 1, Cousin Nancy - Zip, with a capital Z.

Ben then challenged Tony to a game—Ben The Mountain Man - 1, The Medina Bulldog - a big Zero, with a capital Z, too!

Kinky challenged Ben to shoot a game—The Hummingbird Man - 1, Ben The Mountain Man - another Zero, just like T.s!

"Okay. That now makes Kinky number one, Ben is number two, Tone is number three, and me last, of course." I declared. "It's not fair—that I always come in last." Everyone laughed, including me, but I was faking it.

"Tone," Kinky said, "how about you playing a game against The Hummingbird Man?" Tony grabbed the rack, quickly racked up the fifteen balls. The Hummingbird Man broke up the balls. Their game was really close—they were both on, and each one made some pretty cool pool shots, right up until the very end. The Medina Bulldog - 1, and The Hummingbird Man wasn't humming! T. had defeated him! I loved it! Yeah Tony!

"Nance, we need to go home, now," My good looking husband stated, as he returned his pool stick to the pool stick rack, behind the door.

"Okay Tone," I said. "We had better 'git' while you're still on top—The champion! Tony is now in first place, Kinky is in second place, Ben is now third, and as always—I'm fourth." Then we left the Lodge.

As Buttermilk, took us over the river, and through the woods to the rescue ranch, I said, "Tony I've got a great idea! Let's challenge Kinky and Ben to a rope-off? You and Ben are both good ropers, and I know that I can out rope Kinky! I know I can. It would be fun!" T. laughed, as our electronic gate opened for us to enter. Y'all have a great evening!

P.S. I want to give a couple of shout outs to Jackie and Billy Ray, over in New Orleans and to Cathie B. and Robert S. up in North Texas! Billy Ray, Harley Belew, and all Harley's Rule, and as for your wife, 'The Louisiana Ladyrider J. aka—Red, thank y'all for watching us on Harley today, and I agree with Billy Ray—Tone does look a lot like Charlie Daniels, but he can't play a fiddle like Charlie can! And, to Cathie B. and Robert S.—thanks for watching us today on Harley, too! Y'all need to come see us, the next time, that y'all are down here, visiting Judy! We could sit and visit in Outer Space, and then we could have a rope-off! And, I bet you, that Tone and I can win, too!

The Harley Show Was A Blast!

This morning, Tony and I went to Kerrville, to do the Harley Show, with Harley and K.K. (Kathleen Keen)! The show was fun! After the show, we went to The Save Inn Restaurant, and met up with Aaron and Ben! The food was delicious and the conversation was great!

When we returned to the rescue ranch, I was overwhelmed with the many e-mails and phone calls from friends, from all over the country, including Canada—who watched Harley's live web cast this morning! Tony and I were shocked at how many people had turned in for it! Thank y'all!

We have two new, great dogs—that arrived this morning! They are sisters, nearly three years old, and as sweet as they can be! Please meet Daisy (the darker one) and Lucy (the lighter one):

That Boy Can Sure Sing!

Harley's show this morning was fantastic! When Harley announced that he would be surprising his audience, somewhere between 7:30-7:40, I called the Old Timer, and asked to speak to Tony. "Hello?"

"Tony, Harley is wearing a purple dress! And, he has just announced that something big is going to be happening in his studio between 7:30 to 7:40!"

Tony laughed, and then said, "I'm heading home, now!" Fifteen minutes later, Tony stepped inside the trailer, and went immediately over to my laptop, on the kitchen table—and started laughing out loud! Then Harley surprised everyone and sang a song— 'If I Were A Girl!' I videotaped his introduction to the song, and then him singing for about a minute. His song was hilarious, but he sure can sing—he has a beautiful voice!

Tomorrow morning, around 7:30, Tony and I, and possibly Ben, will be at The Rose, 99.9 FM, doing a live web cast with Harley! I can't wait! And, I hope that y'all can watch it!

Harley's Wearing A Dress This Morning!

This morning when I got up, I went online to watch Harley. He lost a Super Bowl bet, and he is wearing a dress! It is absolutely hilarious! And, he was just talking about Kinky never being married!

We Rescued Kathleen Keen!

Yesterday, Tony and I rescued this little cutie! Her name is Kathleen, and she is adorable, friendliy, and the sweetest little eight pound dog! Please meet Kathleen!

First off, I want to thank our super volunteer, June, for coming out this morning, with her friend Jim, who has now become a dedicated volunteer dog walker! The two walked several dogs for us today—and our dogs absolutely loved it! Thank you June and Jim! We can't wait for y'all to come back out!

This afternoon around three o'clock, Tony and I went to Hoegemeyer's Animal Clinic, to pick up our latest rescue— the sweet, little, eight pound, Chihuaha mix! She is an absolute doll! We named her in honor of our friend, Kathleen Keen, Robert Earl's wife, because we ran into her at the vet clinic! We had a fun visit with her, and the staff, Dr. Rydberg and Susan, the receptionist aka their best girl Friday!

Then we left Hoegemeyer's Clinic, so we could get back to the rescue ranch, in time for Mr. Ziffel's arrival. Unfortunately, Ziffel's trial adoption didn't work out, because Terrie and Ray's other two rescued dogs—wanted no part of him—he was not welcomed. Terrie and Ray were sick about it, because they had fallen in love with our Z-man, as does everyone who meets him!

Little Kathleen Keen rode back to the rescue ranch—sitting on my lap, as she looked out the window! After Tony had fixed up her temporary puppy pen, we came inside the trailer to unpack our groceries, etc.

At five-thirty, our good friends, Terrie and Ray arrived with our Mr. Ziffel, who seemed glad to be back home! "Please don't feel bad about it not working out," I said. "I promise you, that he will go to his forever home within the next two weeks—it always happens like this. Please think of it as giving Mr. Ziffel, a great vacation from the rescue ranch."

"Nancy, we are sick about returning him," Terrie said. "In fact, our son wanted us to get rid of our other two dogs, so we could keep him!"

Today, I have posted my first video for my blog! It is not very professional, but I promise to get better, once I learn the ropes—I promise! To checkout Churchill's crowing troubles:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3619089703591550968

I hope it makes you laugh! Y'all have a great evening! We're fixin' to!

Rumor Has It!

This morning while listening and watching Harley do his radio show, he was talking about people from all over the country, who are now watching his live web cast. Then he says, "And, thanks to Cousin Nancy—I have a listener, Fay, up in Toronto, watching it regularly, too."

Harley's show was great this morning! Our friend, Lori G. ( of The NoMads and The Cowboy Steak House) was Harley's guest this morning and she was great—calm, yet very funny! In fact, several times this morning, she made me laugh out loud!

Lori was there, in Harley's studio, to talk about The NoMads upcoming, February 14th 'Rider's In The Sky' show—benefiting area animal shelters! Tony and I can't wait to see the performance, and we are going with our mutual friends, and famous NoMad, Mari B. and her husband! The Wolfmueller's are selling tickets to the event, and they are going to the evening show, too!

Tony and I are fixing to go to Kerrville to rescue a little dog—part Chihuaha and part who knows what! Rumor has it, that this Thursday morning, T. and I might be in Harley's studio, with this little cutie muttigree, doing his show! Just maybe, because of Harley's live web cast—we might get the little eight pound pooch adopted!

P.S. I have much more to report later today, so don't go away!