8 Seconds! or A Concert To Be Remembered!

Today has been incredibly great. This afternoon when Tony and I arrived at 2:00, at the Cailloux Theater, to meet Kinky and be his and Ray's guests for the Ray Price concert, some people were outside with a beautiful longhorn bull and letting people get their pictures taken sitting on top of their pet bull, Casino.

Brian Black, Clint Black's brother and the owner of the popular Longhorn Saloon, in Bandera, came up and greeted us and before we knew it—Tony and I became professional bull riders and we both rode Casino for over 8 seconds! Here is a picture of me, sitting in the saddle on Casino, with Brian Black standing to the left watching us, while I hammed it up with our dear friend and popular DJ—Big G (Gordon Ames).

Here's Tony on Casino.

And here's Kinky posing next to Casino and Russell, the owner of Casino.

OMG! The Ray Price Concert was absolutely fantastic and was one of the greatest concerts that I have ever been to and that includes seeing the greats like: the Grateful Dead, Willie, Merle, Dwight, Hornsby, Ruthie Foster, Muddy Waters, Ray Wylie, Chuck Berry, Stevie Ray Vaughn and also going to more than 50 live Austin City Limits tapings, when I once lived in Austin, in another life time. 

Ray's voice was as strong, pure and beautiful as it has ever been and his band was tighter-than-a-drum, along with the Kerrville Symphony strings section, that also accompanied him. In all—it gave me non-stop goose bumps and an event that I will treasure for the rest of my life and will never ever forget.  

Kinky called me just a few minutes ago, on his way back to the ranch and like Tony and me, he thought it was one of the greatest concerts that he has ever attended too. We talked for over three minutes about how great Ray was and all of the standing ovations that he got and how much the crowd loved him. "Kink, Tony and I loved it and we will never be able to thank you and Ray enough for letting us be your guests. I can't believe that Ray is 86 years old and is still going strong, after just doing Chemo. It was a concert to never be forgotten and..." 

Y'all have a great evening! And God Bless Ray Price, because he is a living legend, a true Texas treasure and he is absolutely priceless!

All You Need Is Love!

Today has been great. This afternoon around 1:30, we went outside to greet Bonnie, the nice, young woman who had brought us Roscoe, last Saturday, because she could no longer keep her beloved dog, because she was going through a divorce. And we had a pleasant surprise.

We already knew that Bonnie was coming out to pick Roscoe up, but we didn't know that her two beautiful children had drawn us "thank you" pictures, for taking in Roscoe. As her cute kids handed us their beautiful pictures, for us to keep, Bonnie thanked us over and over again for helping her with Roscoe. "Last Saturday when I left here, without Roscoe, I was brokenhearted and I cried all of the way home and all of the night. We love Roscoe so much and we will never forget your kindness..." Bonnie's daughter drew the first one and her son drew the second picture. And Tony and I love them.

Then Bonnie went to her car to get something. "I have a present for you, Nancy. I know that you love the Beatles, so I made this especially for you. I hope you like it."

When I took her gift out of the pretty pink sack I looked at it and said, "I don't like it—I love it! Thank you, so much, Bonnie! I'm going to hang this up in our big room..." Then Tony and I jumped into Kermit and they got in her truck to follow us down to Roscoe's and Daisy's pen.

Talk about one excited, happy dog, Roscoe was barking and jumping up and down, with his tail wagging wildly because he could hardly wait to be reunited with his loving family, so Tony quickly leashed him up and came out of the pen so the kids could hug their beloved seven-year-old dog and he could kiss them back. It was very touching to watch. Before they loaded up Roscoe in the backseat I took this picture that to me—says it all.

After Bonnie hugged us and thanked us again Bonnie and her sweet children got into her truck and drove away with their precious cargo and that's when I teared up for a second.

When we returned to The Cabin I immediately hung up Bonnie's present in the perfect spot, right beneath The Holstee Manifesto poster. Thank you so much, Bonnie!

Then Tony and I grabbed our cameras and jumped into Buttermilk and took off, so we could go meet Eileen, in the Kerrville park, next to the Guadalupe River, to enjoy the free ReMax sponsored—"The New Buddy Holly Band" concert. And to say the least, "It was a blast from the past and we loved The New Buddy Holly Band's music. They were so awesome and talented. 

And I can't believe that just a few weeks ago, I met Chris Huber out here, who plays Buddy Holly, in the band and that he was actually sitting in The Cabin here, playing my guitar, that Ronnie made for me." Chris is second from the right—playing the Fender.

Kinky called me earlier this evening, while he was leaving the San Antone airport, to tell me that he would be back at the ranch within the hour and I cannot wait until tomorrow morning comes, so I can go over to the Lodge to give him our 1st dozen of The Golden Girl's colorful eggs and to also tell him about Roscoe and his beautiful family reunion and to remember—all you need is love.

Y'all have a great evening!

Hen Party! or Brownie Bribery!

Today has been great. This morning Eileen, one of our super Fab 4 volunteers, came out this morning and the first thing that she did was try to bribe Tony to keep her off of probation, with a 3/4 full pan of her delicious brownies and it is a good thing that she did.

After T. accepted her bribe the three of us went down to the pigpen to show Eileen the Egg Palace and its new occupants—The Golden Girls. After we had introduced her to Dorothy, Rose, Sophia and Blanche Tone bragged, "We got one green egg yesterday and three eggs this morning!"

"I want a chickens and a chicken house just like this one," Eileen stated. "I mean Egg Palace. This is so cool..."

"Then you should throw a Hen Party! Pick a morning or afternoon and invite the volunteers, Aaron and us to come over and we could build you one in a just a few hours!" I said. "They aren't hard to build and Aaron, Tony and I have learned from the mistakes that we made, so yours will be much faster and easier to build..."

"We've got all of the tools that you will need, too." Tony added. "And if we don't—Aaron will." And in less than two minutes, after T. and I had finally quit talking her into it—Eileen was all excited about throwing a Hen Party and collecting her own eggs. 


Then Eileen and I talked about taking Ben Stiller and LaToya Jackson on a walk, so they could meet each other and possibly become roommates, if they got along with each other and that's when her bribe came in handy, because she accidentally let Ben escape from his pen and it took all three of us to catch him and put a leash on him.

Before Eileen, Ben and I started to walk down to get LaToya, Tony teased Eileen, "That's grounds for probation Eileen." We started laughing, even though Ben didn't find it funny.

So, in Eileen's defense I said, "No, Tone. Her brownie bribery, that you accepted, counts as a pre-payment, so she's off the hook."

"Thanks Nancy. She's right, Tony!" Eileen teased back. And then we took off to get LaToya.

During my fun walk with Eileen and "the two, new best friends" Eileen tried to talk me into going to a Crosby, Stills & Nash concert with her and her sister Dean, in August, at The Majestic Theater in San Antone and she almost had me talked into it, because I love them—especially Neil Young.

After we had put LaToya and Ben into Ben's big dog pen, we took Betty Rubble and George Clooney, who was adopted last Saturday and is getting picked up tomorrow to go to his new home. And the dogs  enjoyed it as much as we did.

Later in the day, after eating a fun lunch at the Koyote Ranch Grill, with Eileen begging me to go with them to the concert, we came back home and that's when I almost made an expensive mistake, because I had decided to go online to buy a ticket to the Crosby, Stills & Nash concert.

Not knowing where they would be seated and knowing that I would be sitting alone, I decided to splurge on myself and buy a pricier ticket for a good seat, so I could be closer to the stage to see my hero—Neil Young.

After I had filled out the billing information I was shocked at what the total price had jumped up to, because of the added on handling fees, shipping, insurance, etc., so I hesitated for a minute to think about it before clicking the "Buy Ticket" button—thank goodness.

As I thought about buying the ridiculously high $199.00 ticket price I glanced up at the top of the screen and read the words: "Crosby, Stills & Nash Concert." And that is when I realized that Neil Young's name was missing, so I clicked the "Cancel" button immediately.

Don't get me wrong. I really love Crosby, Stills & Nash's music, but I love Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's music so much more, so I have no regrets about not spending that much money and not going to the C,S&N concert, which I'm sure will be sold out and totally awesome. And I am really relieved that I don't have to go into that big city, because as you well know—I don't do big cites. And that is about it for tonight.

Y'all have a great evening!

Tony Tortilla!

Today has been a great day. This morning after we ate breakfast, Tony went outside to check on the Golden Girls to see how their first night in The Egg Palace went and when he returned to The Cabin he was grinning ear-to-ear. "Got egg?" He joked, "Dorothy laid this one and it is green." So I grabbed my camera and shot it between Tone's finger and thumb.

Then I cleaned up the kitchen and then I did some paperwork the rest of the morning, while Tony and Aaron did the outside chores. 

Around noon, thirty minutes before the meatloaf and soon-to-be mashed potatoes would be ready I decided to make another batch of delicious flour tortillas to serve with our lunch, so Aaron could try them. But that didn't happen, because when I told T. that I was going to make some he asked if he could make them instead, "It will be good practice for me, Nance, because when I cook fajitas outside, I can also make the tortillas too." 

Watching Tony following the simple directions on how to make the tortillas was fun. His method of kneading the dough made me laugh, because he really ''punched it like a man." His hands on technique for rolling the dough into twelve individual balls was even funnier to watch, because he rolled them back and forth so fast, in his hands, like he was going for the "World's Fastest Dough Ball Maker" record. Then when he lightly dusted the pastry board, that 'Erb and Karen, gave to me a few years ago, using at least a half of a cup of tortilla flour, he had the flour flying all over the kitchen, as he tried to roll the balls of dough into round, flat tortillas. And that is when things got even funnier.

For some reason T., using all of the strength that he had in him, while silently suffering from a bad ankle sprain, from yesterday—he could not make his tortillas round. And the harder he tried to make them round the harder we laughed about it, as we watched each tortilla grow longer in length. 

After Tone had cooked up his twelve odd-looking shaped tortillas in the skillet, we split a small one and his tasted exactly like my tortillas had—totally delicious, but the true test was yet to come—"Would Arron like them?" and ten minutes later we found out.

Before Tony opened the oven door, to bring out the twelve warmed, wrapped in foil tortillas, we had already told Aaron about Tony making the flour tortillas for us to eat with our lunch, but we said nothing to him about their strange appearance. 

When Aaron opened up the foil and saw the distorted looking tortillas he said, "Omg, Tony. They aren't round, man. They look really weird. Nancy, aren't they supposed to be round?" Needless to say, "Tony and I burst out laughing."

"Yes, they are supposed to be round, Aaron, but T. decided to make his look different on purpose, so they would be recognizable, sort of like a new brand, so when you saw his flour tortillas—you'd know that Tony made them and that's why we are going to call them, "Tony Tortilla." Please, just try one. They're delicious. I promise." 

Aaron reluctantly sat his plate down on the kitchen table and then he took a bite. Then he took another bite and chewed on it. "It's delicious, but I don't know if people will buy these things..." So, I shot the rest of his remaining foreign matter.

Tonight, before I go, I received some sad news from our friend Lisa, one of our great Fab 4 volunteers. Her and Chuck's beautiful, very-old dog, Cass, stepped on a rainbow and her note about Cass' passing made me tear up, because I had met their lovely dog and I knew how much Lisa and Chuck had loved and cared for her. When I told Tony about Cass he was saddened too. "Cass, you were loved and will never be forgotten. Rest In Peace."

Y'all have a great evening!

The Egg Palace!

Today has been more than great. This morning after doing our outside chores we came inside and Carlton was flashing us on top of the breakfast bar, so I pushed his button and heard, "Hello, Nancy. This is Aaron. I'm leaving Baxter's place right now with four chickens for you, four chicks for Charlie and Ellen and I am taking the rooster and the other four chicks to my friend, in Bandera. I'll be there around 1:00. Bye."

To say the least, "Tony and I were thrilled! So, we went back outside to The Egg Palace, to tidy things up  before "The Golden Girls" arrived. After Tony had mounted the nesting boxes, above the ground for them to lay eggs in, he went to the barn to get some hay, but on his way back into the pigpen he stumbled and fell—holding an armful of hay in his arms. "Tony, are you okay?" I half-hollered, after hearing the loud thud.

There was silence for a few seconds, as he sat up and rubbed his ankle, "My ankle is either sprained or broken. Ouch." Then he slowly stood up, dusted himself off and then he picked up the scattered hay and limped into The Egg Palace to make the girl's beds, while I continued my landscaping (gathering and stacking rocks around the outside of the palace).

Five minutes later, the "Chicken Man cometh." "Hi, Aaron!" I said, as Tone approached him, doing his Frankenstein impersonation.

"Hey, man? What happened to your leg?" Aaron asked. After we had told him about Tony's swollen ankle, Aaron lifted a large crate out of the back of his truck and carried it into The Egg Palace. And when he carefully removed the sheet, covering the Golden Girls—we fell in love with "our girls."

As the pretty hens inspected the inside of their new digs, Tony and named them, while Aaron went back to his truck to get out Charlie and Ellen's crate of four, young chickens, so Ellen could pick them up later today. This is a picture I took of their first hen party here. Left to right are: Blanche, Rose, Sophia and Dorothy.

And this is a picture of The Egg Palace with Rose being the very first to roost on the branch inside and please note my lovely landscaping that I did around the bottom of the chicken castle.

After they had watered Charlie and Ellen's chickens, inside the crate, Aaron drove off to go deliver the remaining rooster and other four, young chickens to his friend, in Bandera. And not long after that, Ellen arrived to collect her and Charlie's "party of four." But before Ellen drove back home with her box of chickens, we had a fun visit with her, inside the pigpen. 

Late this afternoon when we came back inside The Cabin, Carlton was flashing us, so I pushed his button again, and the message we heard from the nice woman who had brought us Roscoe, this past Saturday, delighted us even more than our chickens arrival had. 

She had a friend, in Fredericksburg, who wanted to keep Roscoe for her indefinitely, until she could take him back to live with her and she said that they would be coming out on Saturday to pick him up and then she thanked us for helping her and Roscoe and then she asked us to please, "Not adopt him out, because I love Roscoe so much." 

We were so happy for Roscoe and her, Tony immediately picked up the phone and punched in the woman's phone number, so he could reassure her that we would not adopt her beautiful dog out, that we looked forward to Saturday and to tell her how happy we were for the both of them. 

And that is about it for tonight, except for one other thing that I left out—my homemade tortillas that I made, using H-E-B's Hill Country Tortilla flour, turned out perfect and were beyond delicious.

Y'all have a great evening!

Tortilla Flour!

Today has been a great day. Right before I fixed lunch for Tony, Aaron and me—we put away our tools, because we had finally finished building the new hen house. I love The Egg Palace and am so happy about it finally being ready to receive egg laying chickens. And, as soon as we get our chickens I will take a picture of it to show to y'all.

This afternoon while we were running errands, in Kerrville, we stopped by Wolfmueller's Books to visit with Sandy and Jon for a minute, and to also pick up a special book, that Sandy had just found and bought for me, the day before Levon Helm had died. The title of the book is, The Levon Helm Midnight Ramble, and it is filled with fabulous photographs taken by Paul Laraia and the foreword is by Levon Helm.

After paying them for the book and having a really fun visit with our dear friends we adios-ed them and went to H-E-B to buy our regular groceries and a special sack of Hill Country Tortilla Flour, that Elizabeth, a friend of mine had recommended to me, because she makes the best flour tortillas—in Texas.

On our way home I began reading The Levon Helm Midnight Ramble by Paul Laraia and I could not put it down long enough to backseat drive and by the time we had arrived home, I was over half-way through the book. "Omg, Tony. I love this book and you are going to love reading this book too. There are pictures of famous musician playing there, on every page with a comment they made. Like Steve Earle, Billy Bob Thornton, Phoebe Snow, Pinetop Perkins, Dr. John, Bruce Hornsby, Chris Robinson of The Black Crowes, Larry Campbell, John Sebastian, Sam Bush, Garth Hudson, Delbert McClinton, Alison Krauss, Robert Plant, John Hiatt, Sheryl Crow, Elvis Costello, Emmylou Harris, Rickie Lee Jones, etc. and it's totally amazing! And you are going to love the picture of Levon's dog—Muddy."

After we had put up our groceries I picked up the book and started reading it again and soon found that there are two pages of pictures of Kinky, Little Jewford and Washington Ratso performing at the Midnight Ramble and that Kinky wrote the blurb for the back jacket, so I called Kinky to ask him if I could come over to the Lodge.

Three minutes later, after telling Kinky about the fabulous Levon Helm book, I showed him the blurb that he had written on the back jacket, "There hasn't been this much musical talent on the same stage since Hank Williams opened for Mozart." And then I showed him the pictures of him, Little Jewford and Washington Ratso performing at the Midnight Ramble.

Then we thumbed through this awesome book. "I'll loan to you if you want to read it," I offered.

"Yes, I definitely want to read this book when I return to the ranch. I need an early wake up call in the morning, so I won't be late leaving in the morning..." Then we put the book down and went on a fun hike with The Friedmans and then I came back home.

When I finish writing this, I plan to open up my new sack of "miracle-tasting-tortilla" flour that I only have to add water to, which is sitting on the drainboard, and try to make up a batch of delicious homemade tortillas for breakfast tacos, in the morning, so please wish me luck tonight in the kitchen.

Y'all have a great evening!

I'm Burning Up!

Yesterday and today have been great days.

Saturday, while Tony, Aaron and I were eating lunch, inside The Cabin, the dogs started barking outside, so T. excused himself from the table and went outside to see what was going on and a few minutes later, while Aaron and I were eating H-E-B's delicious Pineapple Sherbet for dessert—Tone walks inside and says, "George Clooney just got adopted....but they can't pick him up until later this week." So, I quickly prepared George's adoption papers and they signed on the dotted line and made a donation.

Later that afternoon, while the three of us worked inside the pigpen, on our soon-to-be hen house, "The Egg Palace," a woman drove in with a dog sitting in her front seat, so Tony took off to greet her. And ten minutes later, Tony came over to us and told us that the woman was real upset. She was going through a divorce and she no longer could keep her/their dog. "What do you think we should do, Nance?" Tony asked. "He's a seven-year-old Chocolate Lab and he reminds me a lot of Roy Rogers."

"Let's take him," I said. "We just got George adopted and tomorrow a man and his wife are supposed to be coming out to possibly adopt Lois Lane..." When T. took off to go tell the distressed woman that we could take her dog, Roscoe, Aaron and I went back to hanging up the big roll of chicken wire and then hammering in the staples, so our chickens, which we haven't gotten yet, will be safe at night.

As I banged my thumb with a hammer, for the umpteenth time, (The thumb next to my cut index finger, which is  almost totally healed)—Aaron laughed at me as Tony took off in Kermit, with the woman and Roscoe following close behind him, in her car.

Ten minutes later, T. drove up and while the three of us finished putting up the chicken wire, he told us about what a nice dog Roscoe was and how brokenhearted Roscoe was. So, after putting up the tools, we went down to see him and I instantly fell in love with him and then I stood back and took this picture of him relaxing in his and Daisy's pen.

Yesterday evening, while Tony was watering our flowers and vegetables inside The Okay Corral I took these pictures of a Hummingbird feeding and some of our flowers in the garden, after Tony had watered them.

This afternoon, after lunch, when the dogs started barking outside, we went outside to greet the couple who had made an appointment to come out today, after they had gone to church. As we visited with Stacey and Brent about what kind of dog they were wanting to adopt, to be their seven-year-old dog's companion, they told us they wanted a dog about seven-years-old, so T. and I told them about several older dogs that we had and Roscoe's story. Then we gave the nice couple a tour of the rescue ranch, so they could meet our super dogs.

They really liked Roscoe and he liked them back, but when they met Gracie Allen—she smiled at them and stole their hearts. "Gracie is a wonderful dog and she's a smiler, when she gets excited..." 

When I had finally finished telling them about Gracie being a fine dog, they looked at each other and said, "We want her. She'd be perfect for B.J. and she's the same size as he is." 

Ten minutes later, after doing Gracie's adoption paperwork, I took this picture of Gracie with her new family and then we waved farewell to Stacey, Brent and one smiling, happy dog, sitting in the backseat of their car, anxious to leave this place forever, to go to her new loving home and to be B.J's running buddy.

Around 3:15, Tony adios-ed me and them jumped into Trigger and took off for the Home Depot, in Kerrville, but he didn't make it far. "Nance, pick up the phone. Trigger broke down and..."

"Hi, Tony. Where are y'all?"

"I'm pulled off to the side of the road, at the bottom of the pass on the Kerrville side. Come and get me now, because it is ninety degrees outside and I'm burning up." 

Seven miles later or fifteen minutes later, I pulled off of the road to rescue Tone and Trigger. Then Aaron, coming from Kerrville, pulls up to help us. "I called Aaron right after I called you," he explained, to me. Then he and Aaron checked out the engine to discover Trigger had blown some kind of a gasket, so they went to work.

One hour later, we were back home safely and talking about calling Jimmy Dixon of Dixon Automotive, because we know that Jimmy is the greatest mechanic in Texas, so we could get him to send out a tow truck in the morning, to haul Trigger to his garage and fix him, in Hondo. Then I pushed Carlton's button to listen to three new messages.

The first message was from Kinky, letting us know that he was back at the ranch and thanking us for baby sitting The Friedmans. The second message was from Aaron wanting to make sure that we were back home safely and the third message was the best one of all three. "Nancy and Tony, this is Stacey and I was calling to let you know that Gracie and B.J. have hit it off beautifully and they are now laying side-by-side in the fenced yard. We love her and so does B.J. and..."

Y'all have a great evening!

Happy Birthday Lori Graham!

Today is Lori Graham's birthday and Tony and I want to wish one of our favorite NoMads—the best birthday ever.

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

The One Night Sand Saga! or Send Sand!

Tony and I had a super fun, "One Night Sand," on the private island in Port Aransas, with our dear friends Sandy & Jon Wolfmueller and Rick & Leisa. And not to brag—our laughter-filled, mini-adventure lasted for a full twenty-two hours and a couple of minutes, which explains why I missed our dogs so much.

Monday evening, Ben arrived at the ranch, so he could baby-sit our dogs and the rescue ranch for us and we had a fun visit with him, in The Okay Corral, before we had to adios him, so we could pack our bags and then go to bed early. 

Tuesday morning, Sandy & Jon picked us up, bright and early, at 6:45, which was before sunrise out here and our four-hour trip was a blast, because Tony rode shotgun, in the passenger front seat, while in the backseat Sandy relaxed and tried to keep me from worrying about how fast we were traveling and it worked, even though we got lost once, for a few miles.

When we arrived safely in Port A., around 11:00, we decided to stretch-our-legs and eat lunch at Fin's restaurant first, before calling Rick to come pick us up at the marina.

One hour later, after eating a delicious lunch—our fun party officially began on the privately owned island where Rick, "The Friendly Lighthouse Keeper" lives.

While we sat on the porch, of the Main House, relaxing and watching the ships coming and going, the beautiful dolphins playing in their wake, we took turns telling hilarious stories and because I was laughing so much—my back began to ache a little, but I didn't care, because it was well worth it—we were having FUN—until a few minutes later, when a couple of brightly, orange-colored helicopters and a matching orange-colored boat started doing fly-bys and boating-bys near the beautiful island! "What in the heck are they doing?" I jokingly asked Rick, before starting to laugh. "I feel like I am starring in a Mash rerun." Everyone started laughing, as we watched one of the choppers hovering above the boat.

"Oh, that's just the Coast Guard, Nance," Rick replied. "Every Tuesday afternoon they come out here and do their practice maneuvers. It's really no big deal. They'll go away soon enough..." And sure enough a few minutes later, just as Rick had predicted—they went away. Here is a picture that Tone took of them.

That evening, Leisa cooked us a delicious, fresh Flounder dinner and I know that I ate more than I should have, but I didn't really care, because I was on island time and I was having the best-of-times with some of our best friends—and to me— that is what life should be all about. 

Around 10:00, before we all said good night to each other before going to bed, because we are old and can't party like we used to, I promised Sandy that I would get up early to catch the sunrise with her and Jon and that I would also climb up to the top of the lighthouse with them and I am proud to say that I kept both of my promises to them.

The climb up the steep, narrow, winding stairs to reach the top of the lighthouse was more than exciting for me, because I had been a little nervous about doing it, but I am so glad that I made myself do it, because we could see for miles and miles.

Watching the sunrise slowly, above the ocean was one of the prettiest sunrises that I have ever witnessed. Here are two great photos that T. took of Sandy & Jon standing outside, on the lighthouse deck, with me standing inside, because I was too scared to come outside with them and here is a picture of that spectacular sunrise that I shall never ever forget.

Then we ate a delicious breakfast at Rick's house, on the island and then we jumped into the Boston Whaler, with all of our luggage, so Rick could take us back to Port Aransas, so we could go drink some coffee with our dear friend John Kemmerly, before we headed back to The Hill Country. I love this picture, that Tony took, of Leisa's adorable dog, Squirt—jumping up on Rick's motorcycle seat.

I am so glad that we got to see John! Catching up with his latest news, while drinking coffee, at the coolest Internet cafe, in Port A. was so much fun, because we love John and it has been way too long, since the four-of-us last saw our dear friend, who was once a former employee of both Wolfmueller's Books and our rescue ranch.

When we arrived safely, back home, we gave Sandy & Jon a brick of Miles of Chocolate, that Ben had brought down for them and after hugs they adios-ed Ben, Tony and me and then they took off to go home, in Kerrville.

After hugging and kissing all of our sweeter-than-sweet dogs, that were even more happier than me to be back home with them I made Ben, Tony and me some coffee.

While we drank coffee and visited with Ben I started scrubbing on my soon-to-be-pretty sea shells, that Tony and I had picked up on the island's beach. As I was telling Ben all about our super-fun vacation and thanking him for baby-sitting for us, I accidentally re-injured my cut index finger using the scrubber, because I can no longer multi-task anymore and I should have known better. 

As I laughed about not being able to talk and work at the same time, I tried to bandage up my finger, without the use of a real Band Aid and that's when Ben made a suggestion, "Nance, you should have brought back some island sand, too, so you could fill it first into the jar then fill with the shells—to remind you of y'all's fun trip to Port Aransas."

"Oh, my gosh, I should have. That's a great idea, Ben. I'll call them tomorrow and ask them to "Send Sand." And that's about it for tonight.

Y'all have a great evening!

Happy Birthday, Matt B.!

Tony and I want to be among the very first to wish our dear friend, Matt B. the happiest birthday that he has ever had, because we love him so much. So, even though I can't sing worth a darn, but Tone can, we want to sing to our dear friend the Happy Birthday Song, so here goes Matthew...

Happy Birthday to You. Happy Birthday to You. Happy Birthday Dear Matt. Happy Birthday to You Dear Matt. And please have many more, because we love you so much!

Matt, we hope this is one great day for you and we hope to see you, your friends, Lisa & Mississippi Mark, and Gail and Paul sooner than later. You take care. Because We LOVE YOU and miss you!

Godspeed!

Sorry, not tonight, y'all. This evening, after hearing the very sad news, from Tony, about the two music icons: Dick Clark's and Levon Helm's passing has been pretty upsetting to me, as I know it has been to the rest of the world. Godspeed Dick and Levon. Thank y'all for making my world a better place than you found it.

One Night Sand!

Today has been great until three hours ago, because my index finger that I had cut on Monday, opened up and began to bleed, when I was cleaning some pretty seashells that I am going to put into a jar, that Tony and I collected very early this morning at the Lighthouse, in Port Aransas, before Sandy, Jon, Tony and I returned home from our super fun, One Night Sand," vacation with Leisa and Rick.

There is so much to tell about our really fun trip with our dear friends, but tonight's blog posting is going to have to be made short, because we are out of Band Aids and the ridiculous-looking, homemade (trailer made) goofy bandage that I made for my finger is so big, it is really messing up my typing. (Like adding extra letters to almost every letter that I attempt to type using my left hand.)

So tomorrow morning, after doing our chores outside and returning over 17 non-urgent phone calls and answering a couple of dozen e-mails that I missed, while enjoying myself on that beautiful private island—I plan to write more about our latest, fun-filled, hilarious adventure to the Coast.

But before I sign off tonight, to rest my re-injured, guitar pickin' index finger, I want to show you a great picture that Jon Wolfmueller took of Sandy and me, when we made it up to the top of the lighthouse, standing next to the light, right before the sun came up behind us, this morning, because I truly love this picture of Sandy, one of my favorite people in the world and also because it doesn't show all of my wrinkles or my waistline. Thank you, Jon!

Y'all have a great evening!

Truly Uneventful!

Today has been great, but truly uneventful. After we did our chores outside, early this morning, we worked on the chicken coop until it got too hot outside and then I spent the rest of my afternoon inside The Cabin, sitting behind my computer writing, at the kitchen table, because this afternoon I accidentally cut my index finger with an old pair of Fiskar scissors while opening up a package to me—so I wrote today instead of picking on my guitar, which has really bummed me out some, because I am so into playing my guitar, that Ronnie custom made for me.

P.S. Beau Bridges-Simons is fitting in very well with us and our fur family and I'm so thrilled that T. has added another Blue Heeler to our family. Life is good for us—knock-on-wood.

Y'all have a great evening!

Happy Birthday Nancy Doyle!

Today is our dear friend, Nancy Doyle's, birthday and Kinky, Tony, Ben and I want to be the very first of her many friends, to wish her the happiest birthday she's ever had, because we love her so much.

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

We hope that you are having a blast in Florida today, celebrating your birthday with your friends. And we wish that we could be there, too.

Three-Ringed Circus!

Today has been one fun and exciting day for us, because everything seemed to happen around the same time—1:00.

First off, we knew in advance that Sherry and Katie were bringing Beau Bridges, the 2 1/2 month old Blue Heeler, that they had rescued near College Station, to us so we could adopt him out and that Tucker, the brother of Joe King Carrasco and also a good friend of Rick, the famous Friendly Lighthouse Keeper, would also be arriving around 12:45, with his friends, to visit with Kinky and us, but what we didn't know was—who was going to get here first.

When our dogs outside started barking Tony and I went outside to go greet Sherry and Katie or Tucker and his friends, but instead we greeted Berni, a very nice, friendly woman and her ten-year-old son, Alex.

After howdies and handshakes Berni told us that they had come out, from Kerrville, to look at our dogs, because she wanted Alex to have a dog that he could play Frisbee with, etc., so we took them on a tour to meet all of our dogs and while we were walking around, I told Berni about Beau Bridges coming in, any minute, but she wasn't sure they were ready to deal with a puppy.

When they met Harley, he turned on his charm with them and was close to stealing their hearts, which thrilled us, when Sherry, Katie and Beau Bridges pulled up, so Tone went to greet the friendly, dog rescuers and Beau.

While T. visited with the women and Beau Bridges, in their car, Alex and Berni talked to me about Harley, when Tucker and his friends arrived, so it was sort of like a fun, three-ringed circus going on out here. And within twenty minutes, Bernie and Alex had adopted Harley, Tony had adopted Beau Bridges-Simons and I was over at the Lodge with Kinky, visiting with Tucker and his nice friends and Kinky was delighted about Harley getting adopted and Tony adopting B.B.-S. Here's a picture of Harley, fixin' to go home with his new family.

Around 3:00, after eating a late lunch, which wasn't very tasty, because I didn't have all of the ingredients needed for the recipe, I sat in Outer Space playing my guitar, while Tony and our fur-family played with one super smart puppy, in our front yard. And here are a few pictures that I took of our new family member, after my fingers were killing me from pickin' and grinnin' too much.

And that is about it for tonight, because I am going to go play with Beau Bridges until his sharp puppy teeth are killing my fingers.

Y'all have a great evening!

The Adventures Of Joan & Kent! or Here's It!

Today has been quiet, but let me tell you about what happened yesterday, after I did the Harley Show, which was a lot of fun.

When Tony and I had finished doing our morning chores outside I decided to walk back to The Cabin, instead of hitching a ride with T. on Kermit and I am glad that I did, because I found a large turtle trying to get inside Rufus' and Roxanne's pen, near the barn and those two dogs were pretty upset about it.

So, when Tony and Kermit approached I waved them down to stop, so Tone could help me rescue the uninvited stranger and return him back to the creek. "Get back, Nance. That thing can bite your finger off." Then Tony put his leather gloves back on and carefully picked up the turtle and put him or her into a big bucket.

As Kermit took us down to the creek Tony told me, "Around here, we call them Alligator Turtles, because of their long spiked tails..." Before the turtle found its way into the creek I snapped these pictures of Snappy.

After that, while I was fixing lunch for us, Tony went to get our mail and when he came home I had two nice surprises in store for me. The first was Maya's registration papers, from the American Quarter Horse Association, with me listed as her new, proud owner, which I plan to frame, sometime this weekend and hang on a wall in the big room.

My second surprise was a beautiful card sent to us from our dear friends, Joan & Kent.

And when I opened up the card to read it, a small sticker fell to the floor, which I didn't notice and while I read about Joan's & Kent's latest hiking adventure—Tony started laughing as he stared at their sticker they had sent and I started laughing when I read: "Kent and I have just returned from the mountains of North Carolina, where we hiked into the mountains. (Not naked though!) I found this sticker in a hiking shop and could not resist sending it to you....Love, Joan The Naked Hiker."

Then Tony showed me the hilarious sticker, because it has been a private joke between us, (And the rest of the world, who read my blog.) because since she told us about being from African and once hiking, for days in the nude—I've teased her about it. 

Then I put the sticker on our fridge, right below the, "What Would Ronnie Do?" magnet and it makes me laugh every time that I open the refrigerator door. 

Yesterday, after lunch Tony and I went to Kerrville to run a couple of errands. Our first stop was at The Salvation Army, so I could drop off some clothes and other stuff, then we went inside the store to look around and I am so glad that I did, because I found a real bargain and bought It immediately before anyone else could snatch It up.

It was standing next to some matching furniture and the price tags on the other pieces started at $250.00 a piece and up, but It's sale tag price was only $49.00 for some reason and I wasn't about to question It.

The reason I am calling it It, is because I'm not sure if it is an old dining room buffet or what, but it really doesn't matter to me, because It is now in our bedroom, being used to store our jeans and socks. Here's It standing between the stool and our closet door! And that's about It for tonight.

Y'all have a great evening!

The Scales!

Yesterday was a quiet day around here, so when Tony took off to Medina, around 5:30, to take some pictures, I decided to get online and surf around and when I found this really cool guitar lessons site, I decided to check it out, in hopes that I could learn to play my guitar better.

Two hours later, after practicing the C and G scales on my guitar, I got offline and did some pickin' and grinnin' until my fingers were killing me or 8:00, because I wanted to watch the highly acclaimed PBS documentary, The Titanic With Len Goodman and I am glad that I did, because it was a real eye-opener for me on that historic, tragic event, 100 years ago. And, I am glad that I recorded it, because I can't wait for Tony to watch it with me.

Today has been a good day. This morning while Tone did the morning chores outside, I stayed inside with Hazel and we cleaned up The Cabin. When The Cabin finally looked like T. & I didn't live here, I took a break and went over to the Lodge to visit and to drink some coffee with Kinky.

During our fun visit, on his front porch, Kinky asked me if I wanted a cookbook, that he had written a blurb for, on the back jacket cover, that he had just received from his friend and of course, my answer was, "Yes, I do. You know I love cookbooks and..." When I came home, I gave the cookbook to T. because it was mainly about outdoor cooking.

Late this afternoon we met Kinky and our friend, the popular morning radio host, Big G, at Buzzie's BBQ, in Kerrville, for lunch, even though we had already eaten lunch at home we had a blast visiting with them and Buzzie.

Then we went to Wolfmueller's Books to talk to Sandy and Jon, for a few minutes, about our upcoming fun trip. Then we adios-ed them and went to Home Depot to buy some lumber, because in the next few days, weather permitting, we are going to build a small chicken coop, so we can have chickens again and start eating healthier, free rage eggs.

Tonight I am fixin' to go out to the Okay Corral to play the scales, over and over again on my guitar, until I can either play them by heart or my fingers are killing me, which ever comes first. And that is about it for tonight.

Y'all have a great evening!

Hair Removal!

Today has been fun. This afternoon we took off, for Kerrville, to meet Kinky for lunch and to run a few errands.

When we arrived at his friend's restaurant the parking lot was completely empty, so we drove up to the door and the sign on the door read, "Closed On Monday," so I grabbed my cell phone, out of my purse and punched in Kinky's cell phone number. "Hi, Kink. We're here and the restaurant is closed on Mondays, so where do you want to eat now?"

After telling me where he wanted to eat, we adios-ed each other and as I was putting my cell phone back into my purse a good-looking, young man, probably in his early thirties, pulled into the vacant parking lot, to my side of Buttermilk and then he waved at us to lower my window.

Since he was wearing a big grin on his face I lowered my window and smiled at him. "Are you Cousin Nancy?" he asked. Tony started chuckling.

"Yes, I am," I answered, as I began to blush. Then he chuckled and pointed his finger at me.

"I knew it was you!" The happy man said. "When I saw the rescue ranch sign on your Expedition, I just had to follow y'all, so I could put a face to your voice. I hear you all of the time on Harley's show." And that made me chuckle.

"I love Harley and I am glad that you listen to his morning show."

"Harley's great. Well, I am sorry for wasting your time, but I just had to meet you."

"Don't apologize. You just made my day and I thank you." Then we adios-ed each other and took off in different directions and T. teased me all of the way to the restaurant.

Kinky pulled into the #2, his second choice restaurant, right behind us, so after greeting each other we started walking toward the door, but we didn't make it inside, because a smiling man hollered out, "Hey, Kinky!" So, we made a detour over to the man and his friend.

While shaking hands with each other, the friendly man introduced himself and his friend to us and then Kinky introduced Tone and me to them. "Kinky, I am Molly Ivins brother and..." Then we had a fun conversation with the men, in the crowded parking lot.

And Molly's brother and friend laughed a lot, after Kink and I told them the funny story about a woman asking me to sign her "A Night With Bob Wills" program, at the Cailloux Theatre, during an intermission, and after I had signed my name she sincerely said to me, as she walked away, "I love you, Molly Ivins. Thank you so much."

After an enjoyable lunch with Kinky we went our separate ways to run our errands. And when we returned home Tony was thrilled, because his "Shed Pal," an incredible cordless pet grooming vac, that he had ordered for our dogs online, had arrived.

Tony tried it out on our dogs while Kinky, The Friedmans and I went on a fun hike and when I came back home I used it on Belle and Roy, again and they loved it as much as I did. So yes, I am endorsing the Shed Pal, that costs under $20.00, because I also used it on our (Roy's, Belle's and Abbie's) chair cushions and it was a fast and easy hair removal device. And that is about it for tonight.

Y'all have a great evening!

Plan B!

Today has been a great day, even though Tony woke me up, this morning, to tell me, "We don't have any water..." His words didn't exactly make me want to jump out of bed with joy, because that meant I could not take a shower and wash my hair, etc.

Normally, temporarily being without water would not have been any big deal, because it happens a lot, but last night I had carefully planned out my morning, because I had several tasks to do besides cleaning the dog pens outside, before we were to leave at 11:00, to go on a picnic with Ellen, Eileen and her sweet dog Callie, that Eileen adopted from us two years ago. So, I said, "I'm blaming this on Mercury in retrograde." T. laughed.

"Nance, it happened, because I forgot to turn off the watering hose, last night, in The Okay Corral..." Then Tone adios-ed me and took off to go drink some coffee with his friends, in Medina, while I drank my coffee and came up with a "Plan B" on how to get everything done before the picnic.

When Tony returned home, about an hour later, we had water within five minutes and because my Plan B had worked out so well—we were where we were supposed to be for our picnic and Tony, Belle and I were five minutes early.

The picnic was a lot of fun. As our hilarious topics of discussion flowed back and forth, Belle's new best friend, Callie, raced around playing with each other. And after we had eaten our lunch we took Callie and Belle down to the creek to let them go for a swim, but Callie didn't want to get her hair messed up, so she waded around in the shallow water, while Belle did a few laps for Tony or else to impress her new found girlfriend. Anyway, the dogs had a blast and we had a great time watching them.

The first thing that we did when we got home, from our picnic, was to thank Belle for not getting carsick and throwing up on me, as she has regularly done in the past and Belle seemed happy about it too.

After I returned a few phone calls, I went down the hallway to tell Tony, "I'm going to take Roy Rogers swimming over there, because I want to find out if he can swim. Do you want to go?"

"Not really. I was thinking about taking a nap, but I will if you want me to."

When Roy and I had arrived at the creek, where we had picnicked at earlier, he was excited to be off-leash, but even more excited about my Baggie filled with sausage like doggie treats that I had taken, in case I needed to catch him.

After Roy had run around marking every place where Callie and Belle had peed, we walked down to the creek. He stepped into a shallow place, drank some of the cold, clear water, but he didn't seem real interested in going swimming, so I picked up a few twigs and flung them into the creek, in hopes that he would jump into the creek and retrieve them, but he didn't. All he seemed interested in was the contents inside the small Baggie, that I held in my hand, so I came up with another Plan B, for the day and it worked.

As I tossed one wannabe floating sausage doggie treat after another, into the water, Roy turned into a dog's version of Esther Williams—beautifully swimming all around the creek, to gobble up his delicious treats and not a one of them had the time to sink to the bottom and I was delighted, so I made a short, one minute video of him swimming around, to get his treats and I hope that you will enjoy it as much as he enjoyed it.

So, since I am hooked on Keb' Mo's music, I used his song, Life Is Beautiful, for the background music and for the title of this video. Enjoy!  Life is beautiful! (Even though my video skills are rather limited.)

Y'all have a great evening!

Do Not Open! Hacked Off!

Well, it looks like Tony's e-mail account has been hacked and we are hacked off about it. We didn't find out about it until this morning, from a friend.

When I went to my old e-mail account that was hacked a few years ago, sure enough, there were 3 e-mails from Tony, with no subject, so I opened each one and all 3 e-mails had different links to follow and of course, I did not click on the links, because who knows where they would have taken me.

So, to help Tone, who has now officially changed his e-mail address, please do not open any e-mails sent from Tony's old address, because he did not send them. I'll write more later.

Gloria Doidge!

Today has been a great Friday, even though Mercury is still in retrograde, until the 12th and it is also F.M.T. (Full Moon Time) again.

This morning before we did our morning chores, Tony helped me hang up, "The Okay Corral" sign on the newly, painted black, entrance gate to it and we love the way it looks on the gate.

While T. fed the dogs and I cleaned up their pens, The Best Volunteers In Texas, began to arrive and Jim was the first. Then a few minutes later came Ellen, Eileen, Lisa and Baxter, followed by Dottie and David and we were thrilled, but our super rescued dogs were even more excited to see them, because they knew they were going to definitely go for a fun walk and if they wanted to—a swim, in Wallace Creek.

When Tone and I had finished our chores I invited Eileen and Lisa, because they were up near the barn, to come see what we've done to improve The Okay Corral, but before we took off to go see it, Lisa gave T. and me some cutely decorated, white chocolate covered pretzels and butterscotch covered pretzels, with tiny chocolate Easter eggs, in the center of the nests and they were totally delicious. 

And then Ellen surprises me and tells me that she had gone to the Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation fundraiser, in Boerne and at their silent auction she had bought me a pink cowboy hat, worn by the late, famous Rodeo Queen Gloria Doidge and I immediately fell in love with it, but I could not thank Eileen enough, at the time, because my mouth was full of Lisa's homemade, mouth-watering, white chocolate covered pretzels. "Thank you, Eileen! I love the pretty, pink cowboy hat and I cannot wait to wear it, while riding Maya!"

I would show you a picture of Lisa's adorable Easter egg treats, but we have already devoured them and gained a pound, but I can show you the beautiful, famous cowboy hat that Eileen gave to me as a present. 

When our volunteers had walked all of our dogs we followed them over to Koyote Ranch, up the road, to eat lunch with them and Tony and I really enjoyed it, because all we did was laugh at their hilarious stories and latest, crazy antics, that they shared with us.

After lunch, Tony got on our riding lawn mower to cut the grass, so after returning a few phone calls, I went out to The Okay Corral to stain a bench and to also spray paint an old, metal chair a plum color, that was in desperate need of a new paint job.

And that is about it for today.

Y'all have a great evening!

Purple Windmill!

Today has been great. This morning before Tony and I did our chores outside, we invited Kinky to come over to see our newly improved Okay Corral and he seemed to be very impressed with what we've done to it. "Kinky, can you believe that over ten years ago—this was the Friedman dump?" Kinky chuckled.

"What y'all have done to improve this piece of the property is amazing to me. The entire rescue ranch looks beautiful and it is a very special place. I like what y'all have done to the Okay Corral too..." As he sat on top of the picnic table, I pointed out our freshly painted purple windmill and then I bragged about our new flowerbeds, the solar lighting, etc., but what Kinky seemed to like the most was the purple windmill.

Late this afternoon Tony and I went to Kerrville to run several errands. Our last stop was at Wolfmueller Books to visit with Sandy and Jon and to talk about our next upcoming trip, that we are taking with them, which by-the-way is a secret for right now. 

As Jon looked at a hand held map and Sandy looked at a map on her iPad we discussed which route to take, what time we we're leaving, etc. and there was plenty of laughter through out our fun conversation. Twenty minutes later, when my back began to ache and we had a plan—we adios-ed our dear friends and came back home. And that is about it for tonight.

P.S. After we told them about the Sparrow Hawk scaring me and flying away with a sad, little Sparrow, he looked up the hawk, in a bird book and it was definitely a Cooper's Hawk. "It says here," Jon said. "Known for ambushing small birds at bird feeders and small mammals... "

Y'all have a great evening!