We Were Swinging!

I promise that tonight's blog is going to be short, after yesterday's long saga.

This morning, our good friends, Charlie and Ellen Cooper came over to the rescue ranch, with a friend, who was thinking about adopting one of our dogs. It didn't take the nice man long, to find his new forever friend. He picked Roxie! We were thrilled, but she was so excited that she wouldn't quit jumping up and down, and running around in circles! Something that Tony and I haven't done since we first started dating each other.

This was Roxie's third time to get adopted. Our dear friend Bob, adopted her first, but his dog, Blue, didn't think she was as cute as Bob did. Then Roxie got adopted to a nice young couple, but that didn't last long, because the young woman got pregnant and they no longer wanted her. And, I'm not kidding! So, I'm hoping, as it is so often said, 'that the third time is the charm,' that Roxanne has charmed her way into her final forever home.

This afternoon, Tone and I went to Kerrville to pick up Bogie. Before we went to Hoegemeyer's, we stopped by the Salvation Army hoping to find a few golf clubs, and some used golf balls, and we hit pay dirt! I found three Ben Hogan woods!

Ben Hogan was, and is still one of Fort Worth's pride and joy golfers! The day before, when we had asked Will what kind of clubs to buy, he suggested that we get eight and nine irons, and putters, so we did. Then when we went over to the next isle, we found golf ball heaven! We bought forty of them at twenty-five cents each! When we checked out, our bill for our new found sport was only thirty-two dollars and thirty-seven cents!

After we picked up Bogie, we came back to the ranch, and dropped off one happy cat, at The Pro Shop. Then we came home, so I could paint 'his and her' golf balls. I painted Tony's balls blue, and mine, of course, are pink, then I sprayed them with a protective clear varnish. We were ready to tee off for the very first time!


This evening, after it had cooled off some, we jumped into Trigger and went over to The Pro Shop! Will thought my Ben Hogan clubs were awesome and he teased us about our painted golf balls. Then we took off to the main flat. Will gave T. and me a few golfing tips, and then we were swinging!

Will was the best. He hit the targets about ninety percent of the time. Tony came in second. He hit the targets about fifty percent of the time. As for me, I missed every other ball, and I hit the ground so many times, my arm is sore. I'm thinking golf might not be my cup of tee.

Y'all have a great evening!

Happy 58th Birthday, Nita! I'm Right Behind You!

Today has been a really great day, because Mercury is no longer in retrograde, and it is Nita's, my favorite sister-in-law, fifty-eighth birthday! Happy Birthday Nita! I love you, Tony loves you, heck everybody loves you, especially Ronnie! I hope you have the best birthday ever!

This morning I overslept, but thanks to my furry old friends, I was only behind schedule by fifteen minutes. After Tony had done his outside chores, and I had walked six miles with Leslie Sansone, Will called from the Lodge. "Nancy, when do y'all want me to catch Bogie? He's here right now."

Bogie is a big handsome cat, that showed up at the Lodge several months ago, but nobody was able to catch him, because The Friedmans kept running him off. About a month ago, while Kinky was on the road, Will took it upon himself to make friends with Bogie. He began feeding him regularly, when The Friedmans were not around. At first, Bogie would hiss at Will, like he was going to attack him, but over time, Bogie learned to trust Will and they became good friends.

Bogie would follow Will all around the ranch, and soon he was coming into The Pro Shop, to visit with Will. Before Kinky took off for his two week European Tour, he asked Brian Kanof if he would consider adopting Bogie. After I had had several back and forth phone calls with Brian, we made a plan.

Brian told me that in three weeks, when he returns from El Paso, he will come by the ranch to adopt Bogie. I told him that we would get him neutered and given all shots, so Bogie would be ready to go when he got here. So, this morning when Will called about Bogie, I told him that we would be over there in twenty minutes with a crate.

When Tony and I arrived at the Lodge, we were greeted by The Friedmans. After petting them and a short visit, we locked them inside the Lodge, so Will could catch Bogie. In no time flat, Bogie was following Will and Tony into the annex aka The Pro Shop, where Will lives when he is dog sitting The Friedmans for Kinky. Here is a short video clip of Will crating Bogie for us. 'Trapper Will'.

After Tony loaded up Bogie, Buttermilk took us to Hoegemeyer's Animal Clinic. Here is a picture of Tony unloading Bogie.

After dropping off Bogie, we went to Randy and Lisa's Save Inn restaurant for an early lunch. Our lunch was delicious, as always, then Buttermilk took us back to the ranch.

After returning fourteen phone calls, I took what was left of the spinach quiche, that I had made for Rick and Leisa's breakfast yesterday, grabbed my camera, and then went outside to Layla's pen. To my surprise, Layla loved my quiche more than Leisa and Rick had! I took little pieces and dropped them closer and closer to me, and near the end of Layla's brunch, she was eating within two feet of me! After consuming her tasty meal, Layla walked around the pen a bit, and then she went and laid down. Here are a couple of pictures that I took of this beautiful dog!


After Layla laid down, I sat down on the ground, about ten feet away from her, and talked to her. Then Tony showed up, because he wanted to work with her, too, so I went back to the trailer.

"Nance," Tone said, when he returned to the trailer, wearing a big smile on his face. "She licked my hand. Layla licked my hand!" Needless to say, that made our day! Then I called Nita to wish her a happy birthday.

"Happy 58th Birthday, Nita!" I said. "I'm right behind you!"

"Thanks, Nance," Nita replied.

"Can you believe that we are this old?"

"No, I can't."

"Then go look in the mirror!" I said. "I hope that you are having a great birthday, and Tone and I will see you in few weeks at the family reunion. I am thrilled that..."

Y'all have a great evening!

Rick Was Wrong, Wrong, Wrong!

Continued from yesterday...

We all went into Layla's pen, after Tony and Rick had carried Layla's crate into the pen. Sam opened the crate's door and Layla just laid there, with her head up—staring at us. Her eyes were still glassy, and she was still groggy. Sam reached inside the crate and began rubbing and petting Layla, trying to reassure her that she was going to be okay. Layla was relaxed, but she didn't move.

Then Sam began trying to get her to eat hot dogs, but Layla was not interested. After about fifteen minutes, Sam stood back, and Layla walked out of her crate and began sniffing her new digs. As she checked things out, we tossed little pieces of hot dogs near her. It took about five minutes of us doing this, before she picked one up and ate it! As we watched and talked softly to her, she slowly began searching for more of the tasty treats, scattered all around her pen.

Twenty minutes later, after Layla had found all of her treats, we began tossing her more treats, but this time we would throw one to one side of the pen, and then after she had gone to eat it, we would make sure that she was watching us, and then we would toss another piece to the opposite side of her pen. We took turns doing this for over fifteen minutes. "Sam, Layla is going to be just fine," I declared. "Her tail is not tucked up between her legs, and that is a great sign! I bet we can turn her around within a few days using hot dogs." Everyone agreed with me.

Ten minutes later, we left Layla's pen to let her rest, because the drug was definitely starting to wear off. Sam left about an hour later, because she needed to get back to Johnson City. The rest of the afternoon, Rick went down to Layla's pen, several times, to talk to her and to give her a few more treats. When Rick returned from his last visit down to her pen, he told us that Layla didn't seem scared of him, and he predicted that she was going to be just fine in no time at all!

Sunday morning, after Rick and Tony returned from the Old Timer, we ate breakfast, and then Rick cleaned the dog pens, while Tone fed the dogs. When their chores were completed, Rick went to Layla's pen to spend some time with her. When he finally got back to the trailer, he told us that Layla came real close to letting him pet her, but he didn't, because he didn't want to scare her. He wanted to wait until he was positive, that she wanted to be petted.

Late Sunday afternoon, Leisa's children, Stephen and Jessica and her husband Josh, came out to the rescue ranch to visit Leisa, and to see our ranch. They were delightful young people, and we really enjoyed meeting them! While Leisa visited with her family, Rick, Tony and I went into Outer Space to visit. At one point during our conversation, we started talking about our Plumeria plants. Then Rick complimented me on my two Plumeria plants, which were sitting on the table inside Outer Space.

"Well, thank you, Rick," I said. "That little one is from the seed, that Leisa gave to me, back in June, when y'all were here for the event."

"What?" Rick said. "You've got to be kidding me! I can't believe it!"

"Believe what?" I asked.

"When Leisa gave you that seed, I told her that there was no way, that little seed would turn into a Plumeria plant. I mean I swore up and down that she was crazy to think it would grow." We all started laughing. "Please don't tell Leisa that plant is from the seed she gave to you. She would never let me live that one down..." I promised him that I wouldn't tell her.

Thirty minutes later, Rick, Tone and me left Outer Space to go say goodbye to Leisa's family. As we were all hugging and shaking hands, I said, "Leisa, Rick owes you an apology, and I think he should apologize to you, in front of us and your family."

Rick turned red in the face, "Thank you, Cousin Nancy!" He quipped.

"What?" Leisa asked. And, we laughed, as Rick explained to Leisa and her family, that he had been dead wrong about the seed that Leisa had given to me.

As soon as Leisa's family drove away, Leisa said, "I want to see this plant!" We marched up the steps, and then went into Outer Space. Leisa was thrilled when she saw the little Plumeria!

Then Tony went inside the trailer and came out with my camera. "Rick, let's do a video of you admitting to Leisa that you were wrong. Leisa picked up the little plant, and Tony shot this video! (I have it posted on the sidebar, too)
Rick Was Wrong, Wrong, Wrong!

Last night, Rick and I decided to play some music. Rick played great, but I didn't. Here is a short video clip that Tony took of us.
Rick and me unplugged.

After Rick and I played every song that we knew—four to be exact, we put up our instruments. Then Kinky called. "Hi, Nance!" Kinky said. "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine, Kinky. How are you doing and where are you?"

"We're in Ireland. The tour is going great, and I am really having a good time. And, Ratso is with us now!"

"That's great! Please tell Debora, Little Jewford and Ratso that I said hello. How are your books selling?"

"They are selling great! We just have a few left. How are The Friedmans doing?..." We talked for about five minutes and then I put Rick on the phone to say hi to Kinky. After they talked, Kink and I talked a few more minutes, and then we hung up on each other."

This morning, after breakfast, Rick cleaned the dog's pens, again, while Tony fed the dogs. Then he went to check on Layla. When he came back to the trailer, he told us that she came up to the fence to greet him, and she was wagging her tail! That made my day.

Rick and Leisa left for Port Aransas around eleven-thirty, then Tone and I took off for Kerrville to pick up some supplies. Before going to H.E.B. we stopped at Wolfmueller's Books, because I wanted to buy this book that Leisa had highly recommended that I read. She told me that I would love it. The name of it is Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen.

Before leaving the bookstore, I had four books to pay for. I also bought Moosewood Cookbook, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, that Sandy highly recommended that I read, and Elmer Kelton's The Time It Never Rained.

I plan on reading these books as soon as I get mine published, which hopefully will be real soon, since Mercury in retrograde is ending tomorrow!

Before saying, "Y'all have a great evening!" I've got some great news! Shelley, the woman who adopted Henry, our wonderful yellow Lab sent me this note, along with this picture of Henry, that she has renamed Oliver!

Hey Nancy!
I'm so sorry I've not sent pictures earlier but I've been super busy! Oliver and I are having a great time together and we are totally in love! He wants nothing more than to be on my lap all the time, which is no small feat for a 76 lb lab... Haha . Anyways I attached a pic of him in the river, he loves to sit on the chair and watch the fish swim by. That day he stayed there for about 30min by himself haha. He cracks me up!
Thanks so much for saving him for me! I love him so much!
Best,
Shelley and Oliver

And my last good news for today is, Susan from Hoegemeyer's Animal Clinic, called this evening around five-thirty. She told Tony that the two cats that we rescued from Sam, had just been adopted out together to their forever home! I love it!

Y'all have a great evening! I'm exhausted after writing this long blog, but at least I am caught up!

A Pickle Of A Situation!

Rick Reichenbach and Leisa Lea are still here, and Tony and I are having so much fun with them! It is almost like we are on vacation! It is two-thirty, in the afternoon and I am going to write here and there, throughout today, for tonight's blog. First, let me tell you about what happened yesterday.

Around noon, Will Wallace and his younger brother, Wade, and his friend, Brad, came over for a visit. Earlier that morning, I had asked Will to please bring them over, so we could meet Wade and Brad. We visited for about an hour in Outer Space, but thirty minutes into our visit, the phone inside the trailer started ringing off of the wall. I stayed put, because I knew I could return the phone calls after our visit. As our phone continued to ring inside, we did a lot of laughing outside.

Around one-fifteen, after Will, Wade and Brad had left the rescue ranch, I came inside to see who had called. I was shocked when Carlton told me that I had eight new messages! I pressed the play button. "Nancy, this is Sam! I just caught the dog that we have been talking about for the last two weeks! Please call me as soon as you can!"

The second message was from Sam, too, and so were the other six messages! She was in a real pickle of a situation!

Now I am going to be kind and rewind here. Over two weeks ago, Sam my friend and dentist, up in Johnson City, had called me about the one hundred cats that they had rescued from a woman's house, who had died suddenly. Sam, along with some rescue groups out of Austin, had spayed or neutered all of the woman's cats, plus given them all of their shots and treated them for any health problems.

It turned out that all of the cats were healthy and very friendly! Not one of them was sick or feral! Sam had called asking us to take two of the last four cats. We did, and they are now at Hoegemeyer's Animal Clinic, in Kerrville, waiting to be adopted to their forever homes.

A few days after that, Sam had called me to tell me about a dog, that the woman had kept chained under her house. She told me that the dog was now running wild on the property, and no one had been able to catch her! Sam told me that on her two days off, she was going to keep trying to catch this, poor, but scared of people, dog. She asked me if we could take it, if she could catch it. My answer was yes.

Two weeks passed, and Sam kept me posted. She still hadn't been successful in catching the dog, but her friend, who was helping feed the dog, had tamed the dog down enough, that the dog would take treats out of her hand and follow her, but she would dash off if the woman tried to pet her.

Fast Forward. Sam had caught the dog, by putting a small amount of a tranquilizer into the dog's food, and now she didn't know what to do. Our plan had been for her to catch the dog, drive it down to Hoegemeyer's, so it could be spayed and given shots, and then we would pick the dog up, and bring her out here, so we could rehabilitate her. As always, nothing goes exactly as planned.

After Sam had caught the dog, she called Hoegemeyer's, but they were closed. Sam didn't want to make the dog stay in the crate over night, so she was trying to get a hold of me, to ask if she could drive the dog down to us. I immediately called Sam on her cell phone! "Sam, it's Nancy..."

"Thank goodness you called me back!" Sam said. After telling about her ordeal, she asked if she could please bring the dog to us now. I told her to come on and to drive carefully. I figured that she would get here around two-thirty.

After we hung up, Rick called. Carlton took the message, because I was outside telling Tony about Sam coming with the dog. When I came back inside, I pushed the play button on the phone, again. "Cousin Nancy, Tony! This is Rick. Leisa and I should be there around two-thirty. Call us if you need for us to pick up anything. Bye."

At two-thirty, Rick and Leisa arrived. As we were hugging each other, another truck drove into the rescue ranch. I figured that it was Sam, but I was wrong as usual. It was our friend and good neighbor, Steve. He had brought his friend, Andy, over to show him our rescue ranch.

I visited with Steve and Andy, over by the pig pen, as Tony, Leisa and Rick unpacked Leisa's pickup, and carried their stuff into my writing cabin.

Andy wanted to see our rescue ranch and meet our dogs, so I gave them a grand tour. After they had met every dog, they went into the Space Ship, then we took off for Outer Space. They loved it! And, when I invited them into our trailer, their jaws dropped! They could not believe it was a trailer!

As I was walking them to the car, Sam arrived at the rescue ranch! Tony, Rick and Leisa went to greet her. As soon as Steve and Andy drove away, I walked over to the back of Sam's SUV, where they were all admiring, Layla, in her crate. I said hello to everyone and then looked at Layla.

She was absolutely beautiful, but she still seemed to be pretty groggy. "Let's take her to her pen," Tony said. "Sam follow me in your car." Tone jumped into Kermit and took off, and Sam was right behind him. Leisa, Rick and I walked down to her pen.

To Be Continued...

Because Rick and I are fixin' to pick and grin—in Outer Space!

Y'all have a great evening!

Today Has Been Incredibly Great!

Today has been incredibly great! Our great friends, Rick and Leisa, from Port Aransas, are here! We had many nice visitors, and I cannot wait to tell y'all about our exciting rescue this afternoon! Tomorrow, I will write all about all of it.

Y'all have a great evening like us!

The Queen Of Outer Space!

I have great news! Today has continued to be a great day, and that's because Mercury in retrograde is on its way out! I can't wait for Tuesday to get here, because that is when I can finally say 'adios' to Mercury, 'and good riddance!'

This morning Vern and his wife, Rita, from down around Houston, came out to the rescue ranch. They have been to the rescue ranch before, and the last time that they were here—they got to go over to the Lodge and meet Kinky! After handshakes, Vern told me that they had come out to see us and the dogs, and to make a donation, before heading up to Arlington, for their great granddaughter's wedding. I thought that was strange, because they looked younger than me. Heck, everyone looks younger than me.

When Vern told us that they had spent the night in Kerrville, I couldn't wait to tell them to try the Trail's End Guest House, the next time that they came to Kerrville. "Where did y'all stay?" I asked, ready to tell them all about David and Desiree's bed & breakfast.

"We stayed at the Trail's End Guest House," Vern said. His news totally took the wind out of my sails.

"That's fantastic!" I said. "We love that place! I was fixin' to tell you all about their place. Don't you love Desiree and David Farrar?"

"They are two of the nicest people," Vern declared, as he stood next to Trigger. "We love their cabins..."

"Me, too!" I unintentionally interrupted. "And, I think David is the best chef in Kerr County, and probably a few other counties!"

"I agree!" Vern said, nodding his head. "I would love to know his recipes."

"I know," I said. "I wish that he would either do a recipe book, or better yet, give a cooking class. Have y'all had his Baklava?"

"Yes! This morning, and it was this big..." Ten minutes later, I changed the subject, because talking about David's food was really starting to make me hungry.

"Did y'all get to meet Beckham? He's their wild hog that they adopted..."

"Yes, we met Beckham, and we fell in love with him! He has a huge pen and is so friendly." I then told Beckham's story, and how we had met Desiree and David. I guess I talked too much, because twenty minutes later they drove away, but before they left, we agreed to meet for lunch or dinner at David and Desiree's restaurant, Peasants, the next time they were in Kerrville.

This afternoon, when Tony came back with our mail, he said, "There's a package for you from Fay. Do you want me to open it for you?"

"Yes, please!" I said, as I continued to wash dishes in the sink. When Tone opened the package, he burst out laughing! "What T.? Let me see!" Tony turned the shadowbox around for me to see! Then I burst out laughing, too! "I love it!"

"Nance, Fay put your head on the Queen! You're now the Queen of Outer Space! And, she wrote you a note on the back of the box. Where are you going to hang it?"

"Either in Outer Space or the Space Ship. I'm not sure," I said, as I stared at Fay's hilarious creation.


Thank you, Fay! I love it!

Around four o'clock, the dogs started barking outside. Tony went outside to see who was driving up to the trailer. A minute later, Tone stuck his head inside the trailer, but not like Fay had stuck my head on the Queen, "Nance, that couple is here, that came out last week, that want to adopt Ashley Judd. Come on out. I want you to meet them." I went outside a few minutes later, after I had sent Fay an e-mail, thanking her for the cute shadowbox.

I found Tony, Chrissy and Tim in Ashley's and Lucy's pen. As they played with Ashley and Lucy, we had a fun visit. I really liked this young couple! "Ashley Judd is one of our rescue ranch calendar girls," I said. "Isn't she beautiful! I'm not sure what month she is, but I will go back to the trailer and find out. If her month has already passed, I will cut her picture out for y'all. I'll be right back." I took off for the trailer.

Since we were out of rescue ranch calendar's, I took ours off of the wall and thumbed through it until I found Ashley. She was Miss April!

I picked up my scissors and cut her page out of the calendar. Then I went outside and gave it to Tim and Chrissy. They loved her picture and thanked me for it! Before leaving, they told us that they would be back in two weeks to officially adopt her! They said they couldn't wait to take her home! We can't wait either! It's been a great day!

Y'all have a great evening!

Walk On By!

Today has started out great! I walked six fast miles before eight o'clock, and two very nice people, Vern and Rita, showed up thirty minutes ago, and I will write about their fun visit this evening. Here's something that I want to share with you. Last night, my good friend, Mari, of the NoMads, sent me this hilarious e-mail, and it made me laugh out loud! Enjoy!

ROTFL – I saw No. 4 and thought of you and the Leslie Sansone walks right away! Mari
 
The Importance of Walking can add minutes to your life.
  1)  This enables you at 85 years old to spend an additional 5 months in a nursing home at $7000 per month. 

  2)  My grandpa started walking five miles a day when he was 60. Now he's 97 years old and we don't know where he is. 
     
  3) I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me.
    
  4) I have to walk early in the morning, before my brain figures out what I'm doing. 
     
  5)I joined a health club last year, spent about 400 bucks. Haven't lost a pound. Apparently you have to go there.
    
  6) Every time I hear the dirty word 'exercise,'  I wash my mouth out with chocolate.
          
  7) The advantage of exercising every day is so when you die, they'll say, 'Well, she looks good doesn't she.'
    
  8) If you are going to try cross-country skiing, start with a small country.
    
  9)I know I got a lot of exercise the last few years. just getting over the hill.
  
  10) We all get heavier as we get older, because there's a lot more information in our heads. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
    
     AND

  11) Every time I start thinking too much about how I look, I just find a Happy Hour and by the time I leave, I look just fine.
    
    You could run this over to your friends, But just e-mail it to them.

Will Workout!

"Nance," Tony said, this morning, after returning from Medina. "Aaron's coming in. He's quitting. You need to write him a check."

I was sad that Aaron was quitting, but not surprised. Monday morning, Aaron told us that he needed to take off early for a job interview. We knew that he needed more hours, but we just couldn't afford to give him more hours, with the way the economy is right now. Tuesday morning, Aaron told Tony that he had gotten the forty hour a week job, and it came with a lot of perks. We were happy for Aaron, but sad that he was leaving us, because he was a great employee.

When Aaron came inside the trailer, we had a nice visit, and we wished him luck with his new job. I then spent over four hours doing paperwork and answering e-mails, and then I spent thirty minutes returning phone calls. My last phone call was to my friend, Cindy, in New Mexico, because we hadn't talked in over a week.

Cindy and I had a great visit! She told me that it had snowed last night, and she was so happy out there! Before hanging up, she told me that she had sent me an e-mail with pictures of the snow, and some pictures of vegetables from her garden. I told her that I would check them out, but I forgot to.

Early this afternoon, after lunch, Buttermilk took Tony and me to Walmart to get dog food. Before we went to the pet section, we went to the exercise equipment section, because I wanted to buy a new stretch rope. I ended up getting Leslie Sanson's Five Mile Fat Burning Walk DVD, and a Gold's Gym Stretch rope, that included a DVD to show me how to use it.

When we got back home, I went over to the Lodge to give Frank a telephone message, and to say hi to The Friedmans and Will.
Will and I ended up talking for over thirty minutes about exercise and my new exercise rope.

When I came back home, I put Leslie's new walking DVD into the player to check it out. An hour later, I had walked five miles with her! I then put the Gold's Gym DVD into the player, and exercised with their good looking instructor! My arms are pretty sore.

Will then came over for a fun visit. "Will! I just finished walking five, twelve minute miles, with Leslie!" I said. "You're not going to believe this, but I've walked thirteen miles today! It's my new record! This morning I walked eight miles, and now five more!" Will seemed really impressed and he was happy for me! Will then showed Tony and me several exercises to do with my new stretch rope.

After the 'Will Workout,' I said, "Y'all, I'm thinking of posting a note on my blog, telling everyone that I am not going to post a blog, until Mercury is out of retrograde. Because of Mercury, and with Kinky being gone, my blogs have been really flat lately, because nothing exciting has been going on out here..."

"Nance," Tony said. "Your blogs have been fine, but no one has made a comment in a really long time. Maybe you should take a few days off. Then you could finish your book. You've got too much going on." Will and Tone then teased me about my blog. Then Will took off for Kerrville to pick up some groceries.

After Will left, I went online to check my e-mail. Cindy had sent me two, with pictures! I about fell out of my chair when I saw her pictures, because they were so beautiful! Cindy always takes great pictures, because she has an eye for it, and also because she studied photography at Rice. My favorite picture was the one of her vegetables from her greenhouse and her garden. It inspired me!

I wanted to do my version of her picture, so I took my iPod outside, and started carrying stuff to Outer Space. I took T.'s new zucchini from his garden, two of my Granny Smith store bought apples, Will's two bananas, and two of his red apples, etc. to set up my picture. Here's Cindy Pickard's picture, followed by mine! Cindy obviously wins hands down!


Y'all have a great evening!

Are You Having Fun?

I got up around six o'clock this morning and it was fifty-seven degrees outside, just like it was yesterday morning! I loved it! After enduring the hottest and driest summer on record ever, with at least fifty-six consecutive days of over a hundred degrees, I thought I had died and gone to heaven, when I stepped out onto the porch to watch the rain!

Fortunately, this time the rain was not accompanied with thunder, and a free light show. After Tony and I drank our breakfasts, we decided to turn on the central heat, because it was sixty-nine degrees inside the trailer. At one point, near the finish of my eighth mile, I realized that this is the very first time that we have ever had to turn on the heater in September.

This afternoon, Tony and I went to Bandera to do some banking, and when we got back home, Kinky called. "How are you doing, Nance?" Kinky asked.

"I'm fine. Tonight I am watching It's A Wonderful Life, and then work on my Bucket List.

"That's one of my favorite movies," Kinky said.

"Where are you?"

"I'm in London."

"What time is it there?"

"Nearly eight o'clock in the evening."

"Are you having fun?"

"Yes," Kinky said. We then talked about The Friedmans, the rain, and a few other things.

Overall, it's been a very quiet day today, and there's not much else to tell.

Y'all have a great evening!

Twiddling Time!

This morning when I woke up, it was raining! While I was feeding the fur family, it began thundering and lightning! So, as usual, I unplugged everything inside the trailer, so in case lightning struck the Nellybelle, we wouldn't lose any of our electronic must haves. I wanted to call Ronnie, up in Dripping Springs, to see if they were getting any of the much needed rain, but I couldn't because I won't talk on the phone during storms. So, I twiddled my thumbs, and waited for Tony to come home.

While twiddling, it occurred to me, that if lightning were to actually strike our trailer, we'd lose all of our electronics anyway, because the lightning would cause Beano, our propane tank, that is only twenty feet away from our backdoor—to explode! Which would then cause the Nellybelle, my beloved 1983 Fleetwood, to either catch on fire, or roll down the hill, and then fall off of the steep cliff, into the creek below and be washed away.

Visualizing all of this happening, kinda depressed me. It was not a pretty sight. Then I realized that Mercury in retrograde was the cause of my latest weird thoughts, and semi-depressed mood. So I did something about it.

First, I lit a little brick of my new pinion pine incense. When the sweet scented smoke began streaming out of the little adobe chimney, I plugged in my Himalayan Salt lamp, that I purchased from Gibson's, years ago. I was starting to feel a little bit better, then lightning struck about four miles away, and it lit up the sky!

I needed my music, to help calm me down. So, I pulled my iTouch out of my purse, then I removed my 80 gig iPod, from the Bose iDock, and set them down on the kitchen table, right next to each other. I had to decide which one I wanted more, in case a power surge should destroy it.

It took me over three minutes to decide. I kept going back and forth. It was a hard decision for me to make, but I finally decided it would be the 80 Gig I'd sacrifice, if I had to. I felt guilty for having to pick favorites, because I love them both. Then, for a second, I thought about sacrificing Tony's 35 Gig iPod instead, and that's when T. walked inside the trailer. "Morning Nance," Tony said. "Looks like we've gotten over an inch of rain." Then lightning stuck again outside!

"Tone, I have decided to sacrifice my 80 Gig to lightning, because I really need to listen to my music. We have three Bose, and I am also willing to lose one of them, too," I said. Tony smiled, and then he gave me a big bear hug.

"Nance, you don't have to sacrifice anything," T. said. He then picked up my Bose iDock off of the entertainment center, then he started laughing! "Have you forgotten that this one is a portable, and it runs on batteries, too?" Then he removed the power cord, inserted my 80 Gig, and pushed the play button. I had music, and I felt like a fool!

The electrical storms finally moved out by ten o'clock, and that's when I walked eight fast miles with Leslie Sansone and her friends. I did the extra two miles to help reduce my stress.

Y'all have a great evening!

Eight More Days!

This morning, when Tony came back from Medina, he said, "Nance, Fourth was really excited about you giving him a signed copy of your book! He wanted to pay for it, but I told him, that you wanted to give it to him."

"That's great, Tony. I am glad he liked it."

"He told me that he was going to take it home, for Linda to read today, before going to work."

"Did you have to wake Kinky up, or was he already up?"

"I called him at five-thirty, and had to wake him up."

After we drank our breakfast smoothies, I walked six fast miles, while Tone was outside feeding the dogs and cleaning their pens with Aaron.

Kinky called me from Austin, around ten-thirty. He, Debora and Little Jewford are flying out around four o'clock, for Europe. He told me that he enjoyed the Bandera induction, and he asked me to please visit The Friedmans at least once a day, even though Will is baby sitting them. I told him that I would.

Around two o'clock, Carol came over with her friend, James, for a visit. James volunteers at a rescue shelter up near Dallas, and he wanted to see our rescue ranch, and Carol wanted us to meet him. As soon as they arrived, Carol handed me a bag of her delicious, homemade healthy cookies, and then we went into Outer Space and had a really fun visit! As always, there was much laughing.

After they left, Kinky called me from the airport. "Nance, how are you doing?"

"I'm fine, I guess," I said. "Why?"

"You sounded down earlier, and I wanted to make sure that you're okay. I was a little down earlier, too. Do you think it is because Mercury is in retrograde?"

"I know it's because Mercury is in retrograde, and we've got eight more days of this kind of crazy stuff. I'm fine, Kinky, honest. I talked to Jon Wolfmueller earlier, and he told me that Mercury has been playing havoc on them today, too. He told me that
their Internet kept going down on them, which it never does, and their computer was playing head games with them, too. It must be affecting everyone today. Oh, here's some good news. We have just rescued another dog that's from..." Our conversation ended on a happy note.

Y'all have a great evening!

Puff The Magic Dragon!

As I write this, it is eight o'clock, Sunday night. Tony and I just got back from Bandera. Earlier this evening, Kinky was inducted into the Bandera Music Hall of Fame! Kinky was great, as always! He spoke and he sang to the crowd, and then he signed copies of his new book, Heroes Of A Texas Childhood, along with our good friend, Copper Love, who did the beautiful artwork for the book. And, the good news is—his book was selling like hotcakes! Here is a picture of Will, Kinky, Copper and Frank, taking a short break.

The event was really fun. Tone and I saw, and got to visit with our friends: Liz and Jim Cravotta, Pam and Steve Boynton, Grace and Dick Atwood, Linda Buckalew, Danny Hatfield and Dylan Ferrero, to name just a few! To put it in nutshell—we had a wonderful time!

Kinky told me this morning that he is going to be on Imus, on October 7th, to kick off Don's first week on the Fox Business channel! Imus is no longer on RFD. Tomorrow morning, T. is giving Kinky a wake up call real early, so Kinky can take off to Austin, to catch a plane for his European Tour! He is going to be gone for over two weeks, and we are really going to miss him.

I apologize for not writing yesterday, but I was a little bit too busy, but I am going to try to catch you up, now. For starters, I walked six fast miles. Around eleven o'clock, the pinion pine incense that I had ordered from New Mexico arrived! I love that stuff, so I ordered two boxes, because it is my favorite scent. Here is picture that I just took of the boxes beside my little smokin' adobe house, on my drain board.

Todd and Jan came out yesterday morning to walk our dogs! Tony and I love these two nice people. During a dog walking break, I invited Jan and Todd into my writing cabin, so I could show them my new guitar amp, and to get Todd to play my guitar. He is one very talented guitar player!

As soon as Todd picked up my custom made guitar, that my brother, Ronnie, made for me years ago, that is signed by Billy Joe Shaver and Willie Nelson, Tony, Jan and I sat back, and enjoyed his great concert! He was amazing, and he could play any song. It was a real treat for me, and Todd has inspired me to keep on practicing, even though it hurts my fingers so much right now. But, I know in time, the pain will go away, and hopefully I will be playing better than I ever have. Hopefully.

After Todd's great performance, they went back to dog walking, and I came in the trailer, to find out the sad news, that Mary Travers had stepped on a rainbow. I loved Peter, Paul and Mary. In fact, when I was in the sixth grade, the first songs that I learned to play on my first guitar, which was a fifteen dollar, Montgomery Wards Deluxe, were Where Have All The Flowers Gone, If I Had A Hammer, Michael Rowed The Boat Ashore and Puff The Magic Dragon. Ronnie and I would sit for hours, in our bedrooms, strumming our guitars together and singing those songs.

In 1964, when I was in the seventh grade, I actually got to meet Peter, Paul and Mary, at a T.C.U. concert! My girlfriend's mother took Lindie Brown and me to their concert. It was my first music concert, and it was so awesome! We sat about twenty feet from the stage and I watched in awe.

When the concert was over, Lindie and I took our albums over to the table, to get them autographed by them. Lindie and I were probably the youngest and the shortest people there, and when Mary saw us, standing there, among the towering college students, she looked at me and said, "Everyone please step back, and let these two young ladies come up to the table first." Then she gestured for Lindie and me to come up to the table! I was star struck, and my knees were shaking.

When I handed Mary my Peter, Paul and Mary album, she asked me my name and what grade I was in. After answering her questions, I told her that I played guitar, and I knew how to play many of their songs. It made her smile, and then she signed my album, and then Paul and Peter signed it, too! She had no idea of the impact that she had made on me, with her simple act of kindness. I will never forget it or her. Godspeed, Mary.

Saturday afternoon, at three o'clock, when the rescue ranch officially closed for the day, I went out to the Space Ship with my iPod and Bose Dock, and listened to Peter, Paul and Mary, for hours, as I made a few improvements to it.

It is now nearly ten o'clock, and I must go to bed. I hope the Dallas Cowboys win tonight, because Ronnie and Nita have season tickets, and they drove up to Dallas today, to watch their and my favorite team play. Go Dallas Cowboys!

Y'all have a great evening!

Love Sick And Sea Sick At The Same Time!

Today has been really great! I had a little pain, but it was the good kind, if there is such a thing as a good kind of pain.

This morning I woke up with my six dogs and Lucky sleeping in my bed! Even though I missed Tony, having my best friends sleeping close to me—started my day out with a big smile on my face. After I fed my furry kids, I walked six miles! But, I didn't do my Hammer Curls or Tricep Push Downs, because 'Tone the Tree' wasn't here for me to lean on. I guess that I will do them tomorrow.

After I had returned too many phone calls and e-mails, I called Kinky over at the Lodge, and asked him if he felt like having some company. He said, "Come on over!"

While I was over at Kinky's, he told me that his new self-published book, Heroes Of A Texas Childhood, is now available at Wolfmueller's Books, and at kinkyfriedman.com! And, they are signed by him!

If that wasn't enough good news, he then tells me that his Facebook, is going through the ceiling with friends and fans! He asked me to please invite all of you to sign up, and become one of his friends. Then Kinky asked me to shoot a game of pool with him.

The Hummingbird Man broke up the rack of balls. I sank the first ball. It was a stripe. Then The Hummingbird Man missed his shot. Then I sank my second stripe. Then The Hummingbird Man sank a solid. Then he missed his next shot. It was my turn. Then the phone rang. I waited as Kink went into his office, to answer his phone. My cue ball was less than two inches away from a stripe, which was less than two inches away from the side pocket—an easy shot! "Nance!" Kinky half-hollered. "I'm sorry, but I have got to do this interview!"

"How long will it take?" I softly hollered back, so not to wake up The Friedmans. I heard Kinky ask the interviewer how long it would take.

"Fifteen or twenty minutes, Nance," Kinky said, pretty loudly.

"I'm out of here, Kink," I declared. "I won by default, because it is your fault for doing another interview! Bye!" I put my stick up, walked outside, and found Will sitting at the picnic table. "Howdy Will. How are you doing this morning?" Thirty-five minutes later, I found out. Then I heard Kermit in the distance, heading our way. "Who do you think it is? Ben or Aaron?"

"I think it is going to be Tony," Will said. I am glad that I didn't bet money, because it was Tone! I wasn't expecting him to get back until later this afternoon. Will and I watched as Kermit crossed the river and headed up to the Lodge.

"Welcome home, T.!" I said, with excitement in my voice. "Did you win the fishing tournament?" Tony didn't look like he felt well, and he shook his head—no. "What happened?"

Tony sat down at the picnic table. "No, I didn't win. Nobody won," T. said. "Yesterday morning, Mike and I stopped in Floresville to eat breakfast. We got breakfast tacos and they had a funny taste to them, but they were okay. A couple of hours later, we got to Choke Canyon, and the winds were blowing over twenty-five miles an hour, and the lake was more like an ocean. White capping. Mike and I unpacked at the cabin, then we put his boat into the water and took off."

"Did you wear a life jacket?" I asked.

"No," Tone said. "I threw up and so did Mike. We were fighting the waves, and taking turns vomiting into the lake. We were sicker than dogs."

"That's gross, Tony!" I said.

"I know. Tell me about it," T. said, as Will and I tried not to laugh. "Mike caught one bass, and then we canceled the fishing tournament, until this morning. We woke up at five-thirty, and the winds were really gusting, so we said to 'heck' with this and came on home."

"I'm sorry, Tone," I said. Then Will and I looked at each other, and we burst out laughing. I guess you had to be there.

This afternoon, I treated Tony to lunch in Kerrville, then we went to Hill Country Music, the new music store in town, which is only two doors down from Wolfmueller's Books. Yesterday, Sandy and Jon had highly recommended them to me, when I told them that I was in the market for an amplifier for my guitar.

When we walked into the store, the vibes were great, and the two men there were very friendly and nice to us. I was really impressed with the music store! Randy Thompson, a very nice man about my age, and the owner of the store, showed me his amps, and then he let me test them out. Twenty minutes later, after picking and grinning, I wrote Randy a check, as Tone carried out my new amp, and put it in the back of Trigger.

Tony and I then stuck our heads into Wolfmueller's and told Jon that I had just purchased a new amp. He was delighted with my news, and then we headed home.

When we got back to the ranch, Tony carried my amp into my writing cabin. Then we went inside the trailer to get my iPod and Bose dock, and my guitar. Four minutes later, I was jamming with James Taylor and loving it! Tony left the cabin and then went and found Ben, and invited him to join us.

As Ben and I took turns playing my guitar, Tony took some pictures. I played my guitar for over an hour, until my fingers were begging me to quit playing. This is where I was feeling the good pain. This is a picture that Tone took of me rocking out, playing Not Fade Away!

I am planning on playing my guitar everyday for at least thirty minutes, so I can be ready to play with Rick, when he and Leisa come up next week for two days.

P.S. Rick, it's PBYOA—please bring your own amp.

Y'all have a great evening!

Will, Ben and Cousin Nancy Have Left The Building!

"I love you, Babe," Tony said, at six o'clock this morning. "I'm going to miss you." Then he gave me a hug and a kiss, and then he left the trailer—to go win a fishing tournament at Choke Canyon.

After feeding Lucky and the dogs, I called in and did the Harley Show, and he and I did a lot of laughing as usual! I just love Harley Belew. He is such a nice man, and he has a beautiful family to prove it. After doing his fun show, I started walking my six miles.

Near the end of my workout, around nine-thirty, when I only had a half of a mile to go, Aaron knocked on the front door. "Come on in, Aaron." I said. Aaron came inside carrying two very large, identical boxes.

"Nancy, FedEx just came, and I had to sign for these two boxes. One is for you, and the other is for Kinky. Where do you want me to put them?"

As I race walked big circles, around the big room and the kitchen, I said, "Right there by the bookcase is just fine. Thank you, Aaron. Who are they from?"

"General Produce, Inc. in Georgia," Aaron said. "I'll bet it's fruit." Then he left to go back to work with Ben outside.

When I was done walking with Leslie Sansone, I poured myself a cup of coffee, then I grabbed the scissors and opened up the box with my name on it. After removing the protective foam rubber, and cold packs, I found two good looking General Produce, Inc. caps, a half of a bushel of beautiful Georgia peaches, and a note from Calvin. His note read:

"Cousin Nancy and Tony, Enjoy!


I immediately called Kinky. "Morning Kink, it's Nance. FedEx was just here. They just dropped off two boxes of delicious peaches for you, and for Tone and me!"

"That's great! Who sent them?" I told Kinky about Calvin, and he remembered meeting him at the event. "Can you bring them over?"

"Nope," I said. "The box is really heavy. I'm meeting Will and Ben in Kerrville for lunch, and when we get back to the ranch, I'll get them to help me with the box..."

A little while later, I was sitting on a bench, outside a hamburger joint in Kerrville, waiting for Ben and Will to arrive. I played with my iTouch, checking my e-mail, the weather, and my blog. Ten minutes later, we entered the diner. Forty-five minutes later we left the building, after a delicious lunch, and a really fun conversation centered mainly on our iPhones and iTouches.

I listened to James Taylor, as Buttermilk took me back to the rescue ranch. About a mile from the ranch, I passed a car of waving people, headed in the opposite direction. I waved at the overly friendly people, as I sang along with James singing, Not Fade Away!

When I pulled up to our gate, that car pulled up beside me! I looked over to see who they were, and then I burst out laughing and then I jumped out of Buttermilk! Jon, Sandy and Kurt Wolfmueller were laughing their heads off at me! "Nancy, didn't you see us on the road waving at you?"

"I saw y'all, but I didn't!" I said. "Y'all know that I'm blind as a bat, and I just thought that y'all were some happy tourists driving around the Hill Country. Come on into the ranch."

"We can't," Sandy said. "We need to get back to Kerrville, so I can fix them dinner. We went to Bandera today, and we decided to drop by the rescue ranch to see y'all. We had a nice visit, over at the Lodge, with Kinky, and we left you a card. It's up there on your mailbox." I went over and removed their card.

I begged Sandy and Jon to please come up to the trailer, and finally, they agreed to a short visit. As soon as we walked inside the trailer, I cranked up James Taylor on my iPod, so Sandy, Jon and Kurt could hear how great that CD is! After Sandy listened to Not Fade Away, On Broadway, and Summertime Blues, she said, "I am going to buy his album on iTunes, as soon as we get home! Then the four of us went into Outer Space!

I had a really fun visit with them, but it was way too short! As they were leaving the rescue ranch, Ben and Will arrived back at the rescue ranch. After they had all said their howdies to each other, the Wolfmuellers took off for Kerrville. I walked down to the barn to ask Will and Ben to help me load up Kinky's box of peaches, in the back of Trigger.

Fifteen minutes later, the three of us were sitting in the kitchen, visiting with Kinky, as he ate a peach! He told us that it was delicious!

P.S. I am really starting to miss T.

Y'all have a great evening!

"A Man Can Never Have Enough Worms!"

This morning after walking six miles, Tony temporarily turned into a tree for me, and I did my three sets of ten reps of Push Downs! When I started to do my Hammer Curls, Tone became himself again, and then he went outside to do his chores.

I spent most of the morning catching up on paperwork, as I still continued to listen to James Taylor new CD, Covers. When I was caught up with my work, I made lunch for Tony and me.

I made spaghetti, but instead of using hamburger, I diced up two zucchini's, and then added some scallops and garlic, and then poured in my secret sauce—Ragu. T. cleaned his plate, and then I washed it.

Since Tony is going to be in a fishing tournament tomorrow and Friday, we needed to go to Walmart to get him a few things, like more lures and worms! Tony often likes to say to me, "A man can never have enough worms," which is not exactly my can of words to live by, but I believe him and I know that he means it.

Before we went there, we went to Wolfmueller's Books, because I wanted to buy a copy of my book, to give to Tone's friend, Fourth Coats, because on our way to Kerrville, Tony told me that Fourth is a big fan of mine, and he listens to me every Thursday morning, on the Harley Show, and he always talks about it the next day, at the Old Timer. In fact, T. told me that he even quotes me! I felt honored.

When we walked inside Jon and Sandy's bookstore, Jon was sitting at his desk, at the checkout counter. "Hi Cousin Nancy and Tony. How are y'all doing?"

"Hi Jon," I said. "We're doing just fine. I need to buy a copy of my book." Then I went and grabbed my book from the shelf, and paid for it. "Where's Sandy?"

Jon smiled, and then he whistled real loud for Sandy to hear! "Sandy!" Jon hollered, then he lowered his voice, "She's back there in her office. Let's go see her." The three of us went back to their office.

Sandy was in the office visiting with their long time friend, and Kurt, their son, who was visiting them from South Carolina. Sandy quickly introduced us to her friend, but I didn't catch the woman's name, because I am hard of hearing, and there was so much laughter going on. "Oh my god! You're Cousin Nancy and Tony!" The friendly woman said. "Thank y'all for what you do! I have wanted to meet y'all for so long! Years ago, y'all helped me with a little dog that I had rescued. You took it and..."

Tony and I instantly fell in love with this really nice woman! In fact, we talked and laughed for over twenty minutes with her and Kurt! She was hilarious and her stories were fantastic! She was born in Boston, but she didn't have an accent. Her father raised her to love all animals, and if a dog was sleeping in a chair, her brothers and sisters were taught not to bother it, and to go find another place to sit somewhere else. She grew up with all kinds of animals living in their home. She told us about a baby skunk, a raven, an owl, etc. that her family had rescued, that were allowed to live in their house. And, she had known Sandy and Jon since she was a baby.

"Nancy," Sandy said. "When Jon and I got married, her parents wedding gift to us, was a Golden Retriever pup, named Mint Julep! Her parents were our good friends, and the best of people..."

"Cousin Nancy," this funny lady said, holding a copy of my book in her hand. "I'm buying your book, and I want you and Tony to sign it for me." That's when I knew I was—Busted! I didn't know her name.

"I'd love to," I said. "How do you spell your name?"

"Wook," she and Sandy said, in two part harmony, "or Wookidy?" Sandy said. Then they both started laughing!

"W. O. O. K.," I asked. They nodded. So, I wrote: "For Wook, I hope you like my book. Now go home and cook! Best, Cousin Nancy." Wook read my words, and then everyone started laughing!

"Wook!" Sandy said. "Tell her your brother's and sister's names..." That's when I grabbed a pen from the counter, pulled out an old shopping list, and started writing on the back of it, as she told me their names.

"Well, there's Drinah, the oldest, Daisy, Toad, my first brother, Nidget, the fifth brother, and Charlie, the sixth brother." Then Wook tells us another funny story. "My mother was a fantastic cook, and at her funeral they actually talked about how delicious her mashed potatoes were. I'm not a very good cook, you can ask my husband, Chris. One time when two of my children were sick, I asked them what they wanted me to cook for them for lunch. One of them says, 'grilled cheese sandwiches,' and the other child, in the next bedroom hollers, 'I don't think she knows how to cook grilled cheese sandwiches!" We all started laughing!

Then Wook says, "One time I made a giant meat loaf. After I put it into the pan, I got creative! I decided to turn it into a face! I used black olives for the eyes, and onions for the teeth. Then I covered it with with tomato sauce and put it into the oven. An hour later, or so, I asked my son to pull it out of the oven. And, when he did—he screamed! It scared him to death and he said that..."

Before leaving Wolfmueller's, I invited Wook to come out sometime to the rescue ranch, for a tour and a visit, and to be sure to bring her guitar with her, so we could play some music.

When T. and I got home, after Tone had put up his new worms, I pulled my guitar out of the case, put on James Taylor singing Summertime Blues, which leads right into Not Fade Away, and I had a blast playing with him! Not to brag, but I nailed it! Now I wish that I hadn't given away my Gibson electric guitar, to a church charity, and sold my awesome acoustic amp!

I'm fixin' to go to bed, so I can do the Harley Show, in the morning!

P.S. Kinky called! He is on his way back to the ranch. He told me that the Willie deal was fantastic! And, I told him that the Kerrville Daily Times article about him was more fantastic!

Y'all have a great evening!

I Love Walter Matthau and Rosanna Dana!

Today has been painfully great, again! When I woke up this morning, I could have sworn that a Harley Davis motorcycle had run over my arms during the night, but there were no signs of skid marks or beer cans on the floor. Then I remembered what Tony had said to me, about being really sore this morning. It's weird. I never knew Tone was a psychic.

After I climbed out of our tall bed, I reluctantly went to the kitchen, because I knew I had to feed the dogs and Lucky. As they, Toto, Little Girl, Thunder and Hank, yapped at me to hurry up and feed them, I swallowed two baby aspirins. Then I chased them down with an Aleve.

As I painfully scooped up dog food, and filled their bowls, I tried to explain to them that my arms were killing me, but they didn't care! Once they were all fed, I put them outside, so they could take care of some unfinished business. Then came the dreaded hard part—I still had to feed Mama and Abbie. They are our two giant dogs, and they require several scoops of dry dog food, in their heavy, but cute, hand painted, ceramic dog dishes. After feeding them, I was the happiest girl in the U.S.A., because the Aleve had finally kicked in.

When Tony came home, he teased me about my arms being sore, but he was nice enough to pick up Mama's and Abbie's dishes, and wash them and put them up for me. When T. went outside to do his chores, I walked six fast miles.

At eleven o'clock, we rescued Walter Matthau! Walter is a big, sweet black Labrador mix. My friends, Lindy and Kim brought him to us. Someone had dumped him near their ranches. Walter is approximately one year old, and he is really well trained! Here's a picture of him.

After a fun visit with Lindy and Kim, Buttermilk took Tony and me to Kerrville. A dog that we rescued last week, Rosanna Dana, was ready to come home, after undergoing heart worm treatment and getting her shots. She didn't need spaying.

When we walked inside Hoegemeyer's Animal Clinic, I saw the two cats, that we had rescued last week, from Johnson City, sitting happily in their large crate—waiting to get adopted. Here's their story.

Last week, Dr. Sam, my dentist, had called to tell me that an old woman had died in Johnson City. She left behind over one hundred cats. With the help from various shelters and concerned citizens, all of the cats were spayed or neutered, given all shots, and checked for diseases. When Sam called me, she told me that they had two cats left that needed homes. I told her we would take them, after talking to Dr. Craig Janssen, to make sure his clinic could help us adopt them out. The happy ending to this story, is that all one hundred cats were extremely tame, friendly, healthy and had all found forever homes!

After Tone and I talked to the cats, Kathy, Dr. Janssen's sweet wife, brought Rosanna Dana out to us! She is the sweetest, one year old dog, and so beautiful. Here's a picture of her:

Kinky is up in Dallas, for the Willie Nelson Bloody Mary Morning brunch tomorrow morning, but he will be back here tomorrow evening!

P.S. Today Jim and his friend, Leo, came out and walked our dogs! Thank you, Jim and Leo! Our dogs loved it and so did we!

Y'all have a great evening!

A Loaf Of Bread!

Today has been painfully great. This morning, after walking six Sansone fast miles, I decided to check my e-mail. I had over thirty! Six were spams, and the rest were from friends. Rick sent me one, telling me that he and Leisa are coming up from Port Aransas, September 26th, to visit us for two days! My friend, Sue S., wrote to tell me that she is officially leaving Austin, before the end of the month, and she will be moving to her new mini-ranch, in Harper. She wanted to give me her new soon to be address. Cindy wrote to tell me that she is totally enchanted with New Mexico, and she can't wait for Tone and me to come visit her. Linda F., from Brownsville, wrote me about a birddog, that she has rescued and will be bringing up to us soon. Then Mari, one of the most famous NoMads, wrote to tell me that she has scratched off another one of her 'things to do,' from her bucket list.

Mari wrote:
"Some of you may know that I was out of town this weekend, doing one thing from my Bucket List – attending the National Cowboy Symposium in Lubbock .

One of the sets of entertainers at the wonderful Saturday night the evening concert was the Gillette Brothers. In all of my life to that point, I had never seen anyone actually play the bones! In case you haven’t either and are curious about this very ancient instrument, I thought I’d share a link I found..."

I finished reading Mari's note, and then I immediately checked it out, and could not believe how cool it was! Here's the link to it: The Gillette Brothers!

After reading and responding to all of my e-mails, as I was leaving Yahoo, a news article about how Michelle Obama stays in such great shape, caught my eye, so I clicked to read the article. Her personal trainer, for over twelve years, said that she does Hammer Curls and Tricep Push Downs, and he gave instructions on how to do them! "Tony!" I half-hollered. "Please come in here! You've got to see this!"

Three minutes later, T. was sitting at my laptop reading the exercise instructions, while I was in the closet with Hazel, looking for my blue five pound hand weights, and my lavender stretch band! When I returned to the kitchen with equipment in hand, I said, "Tony, let's do the exercises! We can use my five pound weights!"

"I don't know, Nance," Tony said. "I'll do them with you, but I think five pound weights might be too much for you."

"Tone, I use three pound weights everyday, for over an hour! I can do five pounds." T. and I did the Hammer Curls first. We took turns and each did three sets of ten count reps! "It says we need a tree or a pole to do the Tricep Push Downs. I'll go first. You be the tree." I put my lavender stretch band around Tony's upper back, and did ten, hard reps. Then I pretended to be a tree, and Tony laughed at me, as he kept pulling me to him, each time that he did a rep—he did ten and I got a little extra walking in. Then it was my turn.

On Tony's last set of reps, on number eight, Aaron appeared at the front door, and I am sure that he was shocked, seeing Tony pulling me towards him, using a lavender band! Fortunately, Aaron didn't ask what we were doing, and we didn't tell him. After he had talked to Tone, he left the trailer and went back to work.

"That was fun Tony! I know we burned a lot of calories doing them! Let's do them every day?"

"No," Tony said. "Three times a week is plenty. I promise that your arms are going to be so sore in the morning, that you are probably going to have to ask me to lift your smoothie up to your mouth, or use a straw to drink it. You're looking good, Nance, why do you want to add these to your daily exercise routine?"

"Muffin top," I said. "I can't get rid of my muffin top. In fact, my muffin top actually looks more like a loaf of bread than a muffin."

I made chicken fajitas for lunch, and we took them over to the Lodge, to share with Kinky, Will and Frank. Everyone loved my fajitas, and they ate all of the food! During lunch, I told them about the women from the funny farm coming out on Saturday and how I had put my foot in my mouth. They all laughed, and Kinky thought it was really funny, and he suggested that I blog about it. "I already have, Kink," I said. Then I changed the subject. "My arms are really starting to ache." Then I told everyone about Tony and me doing the Hammer Curls and Tricep Push Downs.

"I told you so," Tone teased. Then we all started talking about exercise and eating healthier. Then Will abruptly gets up and leaves the Lodge! Twenty seconds later Will was back in the kitchen.

"Here Nance," Will said, holding a blue elastic rope with handles attached to it. "This is for you, if you promise that you will use it." I told him that I would. Then Will showed me how to use it!

After lunch, we went outside to the Friedman Family Bone Orchard to admire it. "Kinky," I said. "Your Morning Glorys are absolutely beautiful!"

"They're Republican Morning Glorys," Kinky said. "Our friend, U.S. Representative Lamar Smith, gave them to me. And, I agree, they are beautiful." Here is a picture that Tony took of Kinky showing off his Republican Morning Glorys! I love it!

This afternoon, because my arms were so sore, I asked Tony to please carry out our new exercise equipment, and take it into Outer Space for me, so I could take a picture of it.

Y'all have a great evening!

If Nuts Could Fly This Would Be An Airport!

It is ten after three o'clock. Linda T. and Aaron just left the ranch, after walking our dogs all day. The rescue ranch is now officially closed for today's Open House, and our time off has just begun!

I am writing this blog from my writing cabin. I am sitting at my desk, and I am listening to James Taylor's new CD. I love his new CD, and I can't seem to quit listening to it. Mamajello is stretched out, sleeping on the couch. Mama is the Great Pyrenees, that we rescued over seven years ago. She is a great friend, and she and I have a very special bond. I know that she thinks that we are soul mates, and I am sure that she would be with me all of the time, if I would let her. In other words, Mama is my friendly bodyguard, and if she had a motto, I'm sure it would be: 'Don't Mess With Nancy.'

I love my little cabin. It is a peaceful and special place for me. When I need a break from the world, or the rescue ranch, or the men, this is where I come to get recharged. Mama just came over to me, and has just laid down beside my chair. James is now singing, On Broadway.

This morning, I woke up at five o'clock sharp, and unfortunately could not fall back to sleep, so I drank a cup of coffee with Tony, and then he helped me feed the dogs and Lucky. Since my back is still partially out, I filled their food dishes, and Tony put them down on the floor for me.

This is unbelievable! Y'all are never going to believe what just happened! A few minutes ago, I heard four car doors slam almost simultaneously. Mama jumped to her feet, and barked, as I turned around to see what was going on outside. There were four women, about my age, surrounding Tony, by their car. Poor Tone.

I slowly got up from my chair, and went outside to greet the women. "Hi! I'm Cousin Nancy. Welcome to the rescue ranch." One old lady acknowledged my presence, while the other three tried to convince Tony that he had groupies! It was hilarious! Tony's face was redder than red, and the expression on his face said it all. I had to bite my lip. "Would y'all like to come into my writing cabin?" I asked.

No one moved. It was like they were going to take Tone's lead, so he led them inside my cabin. I had my Bose cranked up, as usual, and one lady sorta started to dance to James singing Not Fade Away! I looked over at T. and accidentally let out a laugh, which my back didn't appreciate one bit. After I gave them a tour of my writing cabin, I gave Tone's senior groupies, rescue ranch bumper stickers. They seemed excited about getting them, and I was surprised that they didn't ask Tony to autograph them!

Right as James began singing Summertime Blues, I asked where they were from. "We're from the crazy farm in Kerrville!" Said the woman standing closest to T.!

I laughed out loud at her funny remark! "That's a good one!"

"Nance, they want to take a tour of the rescue ranch," Tony said. I could tell that he wanted me to give them the tour.

"Great! Tony, why don't you give these ladies a tour?" The women seemed excited, but Tone didn't. Then they followed Tony outside to take a tour.

Twenty minutes later, I heard four car doors slam. Mama barked. I looked out the window and saw their car leaving the rescue ranch. Then Tony walked inside the cabin.

"Thanks for giving them a tour, Tone," I said. "They seemed really nice."

"Nance, they were really from the crazy farm in Kerrville," Tony said. "That really large woman, told me that she was getting out next week, and she wants to come back out here, so she can work with me."

"Are you serious? Looks like you've got yourself a groupie. Were they all from the crazy farm?"

"Yes. They told me they were out on a day pass," Tony said. "That's why they didn't laugh, when you laughed about them being from the funny farm." Even though I felt horrible about putting my foot in my mouth, I couldn't help but laugh, and so did Tone!

"I'm blaming it all on Mercury in retrograde, and we still have two more weeks of this kind of stuff happening." Then I looked at the wooden plaque by the door, and started laughing, again! "If nuts could fly, this would be an airport!" I said, pointing to the sign. "How true. How true."

"I'm going to go lock the gate," Tone said. Then he left the cabin.

I am still laughing about what just happened. It is starting to thunder outside, so Mama and I need to get back to the trailer, before the rain starts falling. I can't wait to tell Kinky about this!

Y'all have a great evening!

Julia Child!

Today has been a good day. We received another quarter of an inch of rain overnight, and things are starting to turn green, at last!

This morning, I decided not to walk the walk, because my back is still hurting a little bit, so I returned e-mails and phone calls. Then I went over to the Lodge to see Will, to ask him to help me with the new weather app, for my iTouch, but he was gone. I had forgotten that he had told me yesterday, that he had to go to San Antone today, so he could be fitted for his new kilt that is being custom made for him.

As you already know, Will is a handsome golfer, and he has never been seen wearing a kilt out here. As soon as he told us about getting his custom made kilt, I teased him, and asked him if he was going to be wearing it in his golf tournaments. After Tony, Will and I stopped laughing, Will said, "No Nance. My dad is getting married soon, and he wants his sons wearing kilts at the wedding."

"That is really cool, Will! Are you going to have to shave your legs?" I asked.

"No," Will said. Then he jokingly swung his golf club at me.

Since Will was gone for the day, I returned to the rescue ranch, and took care of some more paperwork. Around twelve-thirty, I called Kinky on his cell phone. "Hi Kink..." We talked about The Friedmans, the rain and my back going out on me. Then I said, "I don't know if it is because of Mercury in retrograde, but I am feeling sorta down today."

"Nance," Kinky said. "Me, too. For some reason, I woke up mildly depressed. Nance, you've got to cheer up! That's what we both have to do. Remember, we are the only two members of 'The Undepressables Club' and we can't be depressed!" Then he started laughing. I didn't laugh, because of my back, but he did make me smile.

"Okay," I said. "I certainly don't want to get kicked out of our club. I'll be fine. Don't worry..." By the time our conversation ended, I was feeling better, smiling and lightly laughing. To further improve my mood, I cranked up my iPod, and listened to James Taylor sing the songs from his new album, 'Covers.' That album will lift any one's spirits and I will guarantee it.

Early this evening, I returned a phone call to Lisa Watson. She has the website: Hill Country Visitor Guide Online, and she wanted to know if she could put a link to us, because she loves animals and wanted to help us. Of course my answer was yes! Lisa and I had a nice visit, and by the time we said our goodbyes to each other—I had found a new friend, and I was no longer feeling depressed! I was happy!

After we got off of the phone, I went outside to my writing cabin, to take a picture of the antique table, that Cindy had given to me, before moving to New Mexico. I wanted to send her an e-mail, thanking her, again for the table, along with a picture of it.

The table that she gave to me is the one on the right, with the cobalt blue bottles on it, and with the fake fawn standing underneath it.

My good friend, Pete Hartje, down in Port Aransas, sent me the funniest quiz! I took the quiz, and was totally astounded! So I copied it! I hope that all of you will take it. It is real short, and it takes less than a minute. I hope that it astounds you, too, with its accuracy! Here's the quiz he sent to me:

WHO IS YOUR ROLE MODEL?

Be sure not to peek! You don't want to skew your answer.
Try this - it's really neat. Don’t look at the answers

1. Pick your favorite number between 1- 9

2. Multiply by 3 then

3. Add 3, then again Multiply by 3--I'll wait while you get the Calculator....

4. You'll get a 2 or 3 digit number....

5. Add the digits together

Now Scroll down...

With that number, see who your ROLE MODEL is from the list below: 

1. Mahatma Gandhi
2. Tiger Woods
3. Kinky Friedman
4. Mother Teresa
5. Bill Gates
6 . Eleanor Roosevelt
7. Bernie Madoff
8. Rosa Parks
9. Cousin Nancy
10. Julia Child

I know....I just have that effect on people. One day you too can be like me. Believe in yourself!
 
P.S. Stop picking different numbers!  I am the person you subconsciously most admire. Deal with it!

Y'all have a great evening!

Where Are You?

This morning, when Tony woke me up at six o'clock, so I could do the Harley Show, at seven-forty-five—it was raining outside! Tone then took off for Medina, to drink coffee with his friends, and I stayed in bed for fifteen minutes or so, just enjoying the company of being with my dogs and cat. Next to writing, it's one of my most favorite things to do.

When I finally climbed out of the bed, I had a really rude awakening—my back was still out! Instead of saying, "Ouch," I said a cuss word, and I'm not telling you the first letter of that word. After feeding my best friends, I went to the kitchen table, sat down, and checked my e-mails. I had twenty-six new ones.

By seven-forty, I was nearly done responding to my new e's, when the phone rang. I let Carlton take the call. "Hello, Cousin Nancy! This is Harley. Are you..."

I jumped out of my chair to pick up the phone, which was a big mistake. I felt a sharp back pain, cringed, and then picked up the phone. "Hi, Harley!"

"Hi Cousin Nancy," Harley said. "We need to do the show a little earlier this morning, because I have two guests coming into the studio. Are you ready to do it?"

"Yes, Harley. Are we on the air?" I asked.

"Yes, we are. Do you know who 'Harley's Pet of the Week" is?"

"Yes, it is Buffalo Girl, and she's one really great dog. She is nearly three years old and..." Harley and I visited for a few minutes, talking about her, as the rain continued to fall outside!

After walking six very easy, moderate miles with Les, I cleared a pile of paperwork off of my desk, as the rain made puddle after puddle outside, with the temperature being only seventy-one degrees outside! I loved it!

At two-thirty, I called Kinky on his cell phone. "Hi, Kinky, we've received over an inch of rain today!" Kink was delighted with my good news. "Where are you?" I asked.

"We're headed up to Grapevine..." After we hung up, I returned a few more e-mails and phone calls, then I took a short, twenty minute nap with my best friends.

This afternoon, when I was done with all of my rescue ranch work, I watched Oprah. Her show was fantastic! I actually teared up, when the Black Eyed Peas kicked off her twenty four year anniversary show! As those incredibly talented, three men and woman sang, I watched over twenty-thousand people, in the streets of Chicago, do a 'Flash Mob!" It was so awesome and full of love, which we all need more of!

'Flash Mob' is a new term for me. I found out that it is when several people purposefully gather, and perform at a public place. It blew Oprah away and me, too! Twenty thousand people danced and did the wave for her! You can check it out on Oprah. It was totally awesome! Then after Jennifer Hudson gave her outstanding performance, James Taylor came out on stage and he was incredible!

Before he was done singing, I had purchased his new album, "Covers," on iTunes! I am listening to it right now, and it is absolutely fabulous. In fact, as I type this, he is singing 'On Broadway!"

Y'all have a great night!