Donny & Marie! or 10,000 Miles!

Today has been great, but no thanks to M.I.R., because around 10:00 this morning we sadly discovered that our central air conditioner system was no longer working, so we called Bobby, our air conditioner man, because he is the best there is, in the Texas Hill Country.

Around noon, while Tony was getting feed, in Medina, Baxter & Bella arrived and poor Baxter wasn't real happy, because he had been carsick and thrown up, from his and his sister's trip from Mason.

Jennie and her husband Chris, who delivered B& B to us late this morning, work with a small, devoted rescue group and Jennie is also Ben Welch's sweet, older sister. The group had rescued these two precious pups, back in January, and when the nice woman, who had been fostering these siblings, husband suddenly died, she was devastated and overwhelmed with grief. So, when we heard about the group scrambling to find B& B a safe place fast—we said, "Yes, we can take them."

Baxter and his sister are two of the coolest pups. When I first met B&B, they were calm and wagging their tails, as Jennie cleaned up Baxter, before we took them to an empty pen. We stayed in the pen with them for about twenty minutes and visited and when the dogs seemed fine about their new digs, I gave Jennie and Chris a grand tour of our rescue ranch, which included The Okay Corral, my writing cabin, Outer Space and our trailer, I mean The Cabin and I really enjoyed it, because it was the first time for me to meet Ben's sister and her husband, that Ben is always bragging about. Around 1:00, after we had hugged and adios-ed each other, they took off to go back home.

Ten minutes after they had left, Tony returned to the ranch and he was sorry that he had missed seeing them. A few minutes later, when we took off, in Kermit, so T. could meet and feed B&B, he asked me what their names were and I said, "Donny and Marie Osmond. You're going to love them..." Here's Donny & Marie's pictures, that I took, after Tone had fed them and had fallen in love with them too. Girl's first and Donny's the one wearing a dog collar:

By 2:00 this afternoon, Mama, Roy, Belle, Abbie, Toto and Beau were the happiest dogs on the planet, because Bobby had replaced a capacitor and we had air conditioning! Thank you, Bobby!

Late this afternoon, my brother Ronnie called me just to chat and when I started telling him about how much I love my new, pink iPod Nano's Nike+, I said the dumbest thing, because I was so excited and Ronnie caught it immediately and he started teasing me. It all started when I mixed my words and should have said, "steps,"but instead I bragged, "Ronnie, I'm walking 10,000 miles every day!" 

Ronnie burst out laughing and half-hollered, "Nita! Nancy just told me that she is walking 10,000 miles every day!" Then I heard Nita roaring with laughter. 

Thinking fast about my dumb word mistake, I quickly shot back, "And, I'm doing it in 10 hours a day! I'm walking 1,000 miles an hour!" Then Ronnie echoed my words back to Nita and we must have laughed about it for at least two minutes. And when it was time for us to disconnect, I got Ronnie one more time, "Listen, Ron. I need to go now, because I only have an hour left to go walk off my last 1,000 miles for the day."

Y'all have a great evening!

That Old Fossil! or History Deal!

Today has been great, even though the F.M.T. (Full Moon Time) is just three days away and M.I.R. (Mercury In Retrograde) is upon us until August 8th.

I really am enjoying my tiny, pink Nano. The first thing I did, when I got out of bed this morning, was clip it on, turn it on and walk to the kitchen, to drink a cup of coffee.

By the time I had finished doing my morning chores outside, I had already walked over 4,000 steps, with only 6,000 more steps to go, to reach my daily goal of 10,000 steps-a-day.

While we were running errands, in Kerrville, this afternoon, we stopped by Wolfmueller's Books, so I could show Sandy and Jon my early birthday present, that Tone gave to me. "I love my iPod Nano," I said, as I showed it to them and they thought it was pretty cool, too.

"Maybe, I should get one," Jon said, "so I can find out how much walking I do, inside our bookstore..."

Our last stop was at H-E-B, to stock up on some groceries. When I climbed out of Buttermilk, I checked my Nike+ and wrote down how many steps I had walked, on my grocery list. "Tony, so far I've walked 5,339 steps and I can't wait to see how many I walk inside H-E-B."

When we finally returned to Buttermilk, with our bags full of groceries, I helped Tony load them up and then I checked how many steps I'd walked. "T., you're not going to believe this! The Nike+ counter is now up to 6,591 steps!" When we jumped into Buttermilk, I grabbed my pen and quickly did the math on my progress.

"How many steps did we walk inside H-E-B. today?" Tony asked, a little sarcastically, as he started up Buttermilk, because he hates to go shopping.

"1,252!" I declared, happily, as I accidentally turned off my Nano. "Dang it."

"What's wrong?" He asked, as I turned my Nano back on, as we dodged an elderly, gray-haired woman, who I thought looked about the same age as me, trying unsuccessfully to back her fancy car out from her parking space. "That old fossil shouldn't be driving..."

"She can't help it, Tony," I said, in hers and my defense, because I can't back up either. "Great, my walking stats for today have been deleted and the counter has reset itself to start at 000 steps walked. But, the good thing is, my steps today have been automatically recorded by this thing and are being stored in the 'History' deal. It's all M.I.R.'s fault and..."

Y'all have a great evening!

I'm Walking!

Today was pretty uneventful, until I clipped on my new 8G iPod Nano, that Tony bought for me yesterday, for my upcoming birthday, in October.

For weeks, since having lunch with our good friend Mari, I've wanted a Nike Fuel bracelet, because when she showed us hers and told us how it has helped motivate her to walk more, because it counts the calories burned and how many steps she walks in a day.

When we got home, I got on my computer and when I discovered how expensive the Nike Fuel bracelet was, I was disappointed, but when I discovered on Nike's site that Apple's iPod Nano comes with the Nike+ software pre-installed, that also counts steps and calories burned—I wanted it, because a Nano was so much cheaper than the Nike Fuel bracelet and it is available in pink.

Yesterday afternoon, while we were visiting with Ben, I told him about wanting to get the iPod Nano, because of the Nike+ software. "Ben, they are so cool and I want one now, but I'm trying to force myself to wait, because the next iPod Nano generation is coming out in September and the new Nano will have a camera!"

"Get one now and then give it to Tony, after you buy the one with a camera," Ben suggested.

"I'll buy you one today for your birthday," Tony offered, "but not a pink one. There's no way that I am going to carry around a pink Nano." Ben started laughing, as I then tried to talk him into getting me a pink one. An hour later, after Ben had left for Austin—we left for Kerrville to get my early 61st birthday present.

This afternoon, I decided to clip on my new Nancy Nano, to my jeans and I began walking around The Cabin and sure enough—it was counting each step and counting the calories I burned. I was so excited about it, I decided to walk four fast miles with Leslie Sansone.

Forty-five minutes later, after walking, kicking, jogging, doing side steps, knee lifts, arm lifts and dodging our three, newly adopted, confused-looking dogs, because Roy Rogers, Beau Bridges and Belle Starr-Simons have never witnessed me walking with Leslie—I had walked 3,330 steps total and had burned 164 calories! But the only thing confusing was Nike+ only showed 1.63 miles? Hmmm.

Because I have set my daily goal for the recommended 10,000 steps per day, I decided to do some dancing, while Tony went to fetch our mail on Hwy. 16. I danced 3:50 minutes to Keb' Mo's "Let Your Life Shine" and then I danced for 10.06 minutes to "Heard It Through The Grapevine" by Creedence Clearwater Revival. Then I checked my Nano. I was now up to 4,489 steps and had burned a grand total of 201 calories! And my distance was now at 2.09 miles? 

Just so you'll know, I got the pink one after all, after telling Tone, at the store, that I wasn't going to buy the next generation in September, because I really didn't need one with a camera, because I already have a nice camera, he was fine about buying me a pink one. I love my new, pink iPod Nano that T. bought for me, and it has really inspired me to walk more. I'm walking, again!

P.S. During my Nike+ research, I found out that the Nike+ app, which is low cost, is available for iPhones, iTouch and I bet it is also available for Blueberries, Androids, etc. and I highly recommend it.

Y'all have a great evening!

Green Sauce!

Today has been fun, with a little excitement added. This morning I did the Harley Show and Rufus was Harley's Pet of The Week and after we had talked about Rufus being a sweet dog, about nine-years-old, I told Harley about eating a delicious lunch, at Wheelers, yesterday, with my sister. "What did you eat?" Harley asked.

"I had a sausage," I replied.

"What kind of sausage was it?"

"I don't remember." Harley started laughing and then he jokingly mocked me.

"Hi, I'm from Fort Worth. I'll just have a sausage," he said, using a thick Texas accent. Then he and I started laughing about it and then we talked a little more.

Before 8:00, while I was fixin' breakfast, I got a call from a woman in Bandera, who had just found two dogs in her neighborhood and one of them was wearing one of our numbered Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch dog tags. When I looked up the tag number I told the woman that I would call the owner and then call her right back.

When I called the dog owner, I got her machine and left a message about her dogs being found. Then Tony, walked inside the trailer. "Tony, a woman in Bandera just found $#@! and another dog and I just called &#@, but I got her machine and I am fixin' to call the woman back and tell her that we are leaving right now to go pick up the dogs."

Then the phone rang and Tone took the call. It was &#@ returning my call. After Tony gave &#@ the woman's phone number and address, she told T. about their new dog being a digger and that's how they had gotten out. Then she thanked him and told him, she knew where they were and that she was going to go pick them up. So, we didn't have to go to Bandera after all.

Early this evening, after Ben had finished mowing outside, we came inside The Cabin, so I could show Ben how to make my latest, easy to make, healthy, low cost, stolen recipe, Cousin Nancy's Avocado & Tomatilla Sauce. "Ben, these are the ingredients and you add them into a blender in this order:

1/2 lb. of peeled Tomatillas
3 slices of Onion
1 tsp. minced Garlic
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 peeled Avocado

Then blend them at a low speed, until the texture is sort of lumpy—then serve." Then I served it with some chips, to Tony and Ben. "We put it on top of our scrambled eggs, the other morning, Ben and it was delicious," I said, as Ben and Tony politely, took turns dipping their chips into my delicious, stolen green sauce. Needless to say, "Ben loved it, as much as we do.

"I'm definitely going to make this, but I think I will add some Cilantro and roasted Red Pepper to your recipe and serve it with Ceviche," Ben said.

When it was time for Ben to take off, we invited him to come over for breakfast, tomorrow morning, so he can try my scrambled eggs with the sauce and he told us, "Sounds good. I'll see y'all at breakfast." And that is about it for today.

Y'all have a great evening!

In Fredville! or If It's Free—It's For Thee!

Today has been a great day, because after I did my outdoor morning chores, I officially took the day off and went to Fredericksburg, 44 miles away, to meet my sister Cindy for lunch, at Wheeler's and to do a little shopping.

Our lunch at Wheelers was totally delicious and it was filled with too much laughter, to say the least, but unfortunately, I didn't get to see my good friends Randy & Lisa, the owners of my two favorite restaurants, in the Texas Hill Country: The Save Inn, in Kerrville and Wheelers, in Fredville.

Even though my sister and I shopped at seven different clothing stores, on Main Street, Cindy didn't find what she was hoping to find, but I did, at Marilyn's. I bought myself a beautiful, hand embroidered, cotton peasant shirt, that was made in Mexico and when I got home and put it on—Tone loved it— which is really good, because he would faint if he knew how much I paid for it.

And that is about it for tonight, because I need to clean up the trailer, I mean, The Cabin, because Ben Welch is coming out tomorrow to work for us, for a few days.

But before I say, "Y'all have a great evening!" Which I honestly do mean, there is just one more thing I must do. I have just received an exciting e-mail announcement from Marilyn Anderson, co-author of the newly released e-book Muttweiler: An AutoDOGography, that Kinky, Tony, our rescue ranch and I are in. And because I love Boomer, Marilyn and Dennis and their e-book so much and want to help them anyway that I can to get the word out about their free download offer on Amazon, I figure if it's free—it's for thee. Here is the announcement she sent to me:

Starting Weds July 25, our new book MUTTweiler: An AutoDOGography is FREE on Amazon.com

 

Boomer, my rescue dog who wrote it - would LOVE you to have a copy - and please send this to your Facebook and Animal Lover friends so they can get their FREE COPY, too. And you'll be helping Boomer, too. The more people who download it, the higher his ranking goes! Sooo, this is the perfect time to share it or gift it.

MUTTweiler: An AutoDOGography by Boomer

Translated by Dennis L Lanning and Marilyn Anderson

It's a quick, fun read with comical photos about his travels from Kinky Friedman's Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch to Hollywoof, Colliefornia!

Click to see: MUTTweiler: An AutoDOGography

or cut and paste this into your URL:

http://tinyurl.com/7njwhr4

Even if you don't have a Kindle you can easily read MUTTweiler on any computer, smartphone or tablet, including Apple products, by downloading the free Kindle reader:

Get Kindle Reader Apps Here

Boomer is a rescue dog and a portion of the proceeds are being donated to the Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch, where he was first saved as a puppy.

THANKS and ENJOY it....

Marilyn

I hope that y'all will download their free e-book, because it really is a fun read, it also benefits our rescue ranch and we're in it.

Y'all have a great evening!

The Perfect Pirate!

Today has been a fantastic day, because around noon, a big, white Chevy pickup drove up to The Cabin, so I went outside to see who was here and I was pleasantly surprised. "I'm Barbara and I hope that is okay that I came out. I am on my way home, from a wedding at a ranch out here and when I saw y'all's sign, I just had to come here, because I've wanted to visit the rescue ranch for a long time. And I bet that you are Cousin Nancy...I'm hoping to adopt a dog for my mother and..."

When Tony came outside to greet her, I quickly told him about her wanting to adopt a dog, for her mother, then the three of us took off, so we could give her a tour. After showing her all of the dogs, on the East side of the ranch, we took her over to Johnny Depp's & Lulu's pen, because after talking to her, we felt J.D. might be the perfect pard for her mom.

Well, it was love at first sight for both of them, even though little Johnny only has one eye and he looks a lot like a furry version of Captain Jack Sparrow. "Oh, he's the one," Barbara said, "he's definitely the one and my mother is going to love him and spoil him rotten!..."

After Barbara, who Tony and I really liked, had signed off on Johnny Depp's adoption papers, I took this picture of Tony, J.D. and Barbara.

When Tony put the pint-sized, perfect pirate inside Barbara's fancy pickup, Mr. Depp was beyond thrilled and he could not wait to leave and never come back, which made all of us laugh.

After Barbara had thanked us for letting her adopt J.D. for her mom, we thanked her back, for coming out and adopting our super cute, little, one-eyed dog. Then we adios-ed each other and they happily drove away and we happily drove away, headed for The Cabin, so I could call Kinky and tell him the fantastic news about Johnny.

"Hi, Nance. What's up?" Kinky said.

"I've got some great news for you. Johnny Depp just got adopted, Kink!" Then I told him all about Barbara adopting him for her mother.

"That is wonderful news! We really are on a roll..."

"Where are you?" I asked.

"I'm waiting to board a plane, at the Austin Airport, so I can hook up with Willie, in Phoenix..."

Around 2:00, Ben M. came over from Echo Hill camp to officially adopt Princess and T. and I were thrilled about it! Ben has been a camp counselor this summer and last week when he came over he fell in love with Princess and she with him. So, he has been coming over daily and getting Princess, so he could spend time with her, because he was pretty sure that he wanted to adopt her.

After Ben had signed off on Princess' adoption papers we went outside, so he could leash her up and take her back over to Echo Hill camp and before they left I took this picture of Ben and his new forever friend.

Late this afternoon, our friends Matt and Jodie came out and they picked up one happy, little Peggy Sue, that they adopted on Thursday and like Johnny Depp, she was more than delighted to be leaving the rescue ranch and to never be coming back here. And that is why my day has been so fantastic. "Good night, John Boy (Depp). Good night, Peggy Sue. Good night, Emmylou. Good night, Hank, Sr. Good night, Guinevere. Good night, Princess. Good night,..."

Y'all have a great evening!

Three Dog Day!

Today has been one great, exciting day. Early this morning, at 7:45, when I did my Utopia segment on The Harley Show, to talk about our rescue ranch, Lois Lane was Harley's Pet of The Week.

After breakfast, while Tony did his dog feeding chores, I used the push-mower and mowed down the grass in four large dog pens and one alley, before I cleaned the dog pens. Then I came inside and returned a few phone calls and then I got Guinevere's adoption papers ready to be signed, because Vicki and Peter, from Victoria, Texas, were adopting her and Vicki and her sister Bobbi were already on their way to come get her. Then I made some delicious veggie burgers for our lunch.

Then things started really popping. Our friends Matt & Jodie showed up to look at our dogs, because they wanted their cute son to have a dog and they decided on adopting Peggy Sue, but they told us they would come back in a few hours to make it official.

Then we came back inside The Cabin, so we could cool off. While I was preparing Peggy Sue's adoption papers, our friend Shirley called us from Bandera, because she wanted to adopt Hank Williams, Sr., because she had just seen his picture, as the Pet of The Week, in the Bandera County Courier newspaper, and she told Tony that she would come out in about an hour. 

Thrilled that we had three great dogs getting adopted today, I called Kinky to tell him the fabulous news. "Nance, that's wonderful news. Three dogs in one day. It's amazing..." Then I filled out Hank Williams, Sr. adoption papers.

Between 2:00 and 2:30 we had a three dog day! First came Vicki and Bobbi.

When I shot Guinevere with her new forever mom, Matt and Jodie arrived. "We definitely want to adopt Peggy Sue, but we can't pick her up until Sunday," Matt told us and we were fine with it. After they had filled out Peggy Sue's adoption papers, I took this picture of Peggy Sue with her soon-to-be forever family.

And twenty minutes later, after everyone had left, Shirley arrived and adopted Hank Williams, Sr.! And he could not wait to jump into the backseat of her fancy truck and get out of here.

After Shirley chauffeured Hank away we came back inside The Cabin, so I could call Kinky about the three great adoptions that had just occurred and needless to say, "He was as thrilled about it as we were."

Before Tony and I take off for the Lodge, to go visit with Kinky and Kent Perkins, I want to thank Judith Pannebaker of the Bandera County Courier newspaper, for helping us with her weekly Utopia Pet Of The Week column, because she has helped many of our dogs find their forever homes and she has just gotten Hank his super home. And that is about it for tonight.

Y'all have a great evening!

Boomer Rules Big Time!

Today has been a great day. Early this morning, when I checked my e-mail, I had one from Amazon, telling me that my dear friend Dennis Lanning had sent me a gift, so I clicked the button to follow the link and I loved what I saw—it was a Kindle edition book about Boomer, a lovely dog, that Dennis had adopted from us many years ago!

After reading Dennis's sweet note to me and downloading his gifted book, MUTTweiler: An AutoDOGoraphy by Boomer, (Author) Marilyn Anderson and (Translator) Dennis L. Lanning, I was so thrilled that they had published it and I started reading it immediately, on my pink Kindle.

When Tony returned home, from the Old Timer, in Medina, I hadn't even started making breakfast, but after I had told him the reason why and, "Tony, we're in the book, too and they are giving a portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book to our rescue ranch," Tony started reading it as I prepared our healthy smoothies and his scrambled eggs with avocado. And he never quit reading MUTTweiler: An AutoDOGoraphy, as he ate and drank his delicious, healthy breakfast.

This is a review of Boomer's, Marilyn & Dennis' book, that I copied:

"MUTTWeiler, An AutoDOGography is a warm and witty “memoir” written by a lucky and lovable dog, who reveals his life story from Texas hill-country mutt to living large in the city of Los Angeles.


Falsely blamed for a canine crime he didn’t commit, puppy Boomer is taken to the pound and sentenced to the BIG SLEEP. Minutes before his final walk, he is rescued and taken to Kinky Friedman’s Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch.


Choosing the right human to own is no easy task, but when mountain-biker Dennis shows up, it’s a match made in doggie heaven. Boomer hops into Dennis’s SUV and they ride off to begin their journey. Together they travel to fabulous places – from New Orleans to New York, from Canada to Mexico, from Moab to Mount Ruffmore.


Finally, arriving in Colliefornia, Boomer meets the kinds of pampered pooches he’s never seen before. He ultimately gets hooked on “Hollywoof,” and dreams of becoming a star. But when he visits an acting school, he learns their classes cost a whopping $12,000, so he has to make some big bucks fast! With its feel-good style and comical photos, MUTTweiler is sure to please readers and pet lovers of all ages." And I totally agree. "Thank you, Boomer, Marilyn and Dennis. I love your book!"


I hope that y'all will check out this fun to read book,  and buy it. It only costs $2.99 and I promise that it will make you laugh till your back aches and it will also help our rescue ranch—win-win situation for all.


We are fixin' to have a thunderstorm, so I need to go unplug everything. 


Y'all have a great evening!

On Board!

Today has been a great day, which is sort of weird, because we're in MRT (Mercury Retrograde Time) where anything can go wrong or weird things just happen and they don't make a lot of sense.

Even though Mercury officially went retrograde this past Saturday, I've noticed some weirdness inside The Cabin and also outside. For instance, the television in the big room turning itself off or changing stations while I'm watching it and my iPod suddenly playing songs that are not in my favorite playlist. And our printer, which is always very sensitive when it is MRT suddenly start shooting out ten or twenty blank sheets of paper, when I enter my office, etc.

The weirdness going on outside happened Friday morning, when Tony went outside, before sunrise and our dogs are terrified, listening to their piped in music, which we always turn off after we finish our morning chores, with some preacher ranting and raving, on some religious station, from an AM station, because we never listen to AM. And, then yesterday morning when I jumped into Kermit to take off, who we had just gotten back from the repair shop, last week and who has been running great—dead, again, in its tracks.

This morning, as Tony and I were finishing up our daily chores, his sweet, older brother Sam, arrived, pulling his long flatbed trailer, so he could haul Kermit back to the repair shop for us. After a fun visit with Sam, the three of us slowly pushed Kermit, to align him up to the trailer ramps, so we could load him up.

Then Sam and Tone attached a big, heavy chain to Kermit's front bumper and then the end of that chain to a hand-cranking come-along, hooked on to the trailer. Because Tony's back has been out, we decided that Tony would do the cranking and Sam and I would get on both sides of Kermit and do the pushing.

Inch by inch Kermit slowly began going up the steep ramp, as Tony cranked and we pushed Kermit and then midway up, we had to stop to shorten the chain, so Sam and I stole two heavy rocks, in front of Daisy's & Gonzo's pen and then we carefully placed them behind Kermit's rear wheels, which were still on the ground.

After they had adjusted the heavy chain and we had rested, Sam and I took our places, on Kermit's sides and he and I pushed for almost two minutes, with all that we had in us, as Tony slowly reeled him on board. Then Sam and Tone carefully tied Kermit down to Sam's trailer and then Sam and Kermit took off.

We went to Kerrville late this afternoon, because we needed to go to the Post Office, get groceries at H-E-B and go to the Home Depot to buy a faux, 2" wooden blinds to replace the old, cheap, vinyl blinds that were sadly still hanging, in my office, so I could finally complete my feng shui efforts in there.

When we got home, T, installed my new blinds, after we had put up our groceries and then I spent the rest of the day returning phone calls, e-mails and doing some paperwork. And that is about it for tonight.

Y'all have a great evening!

Happy Birthday Jimmie Dunn!

Tony and I dearly love Jimmie Dunn and his beautiful, sweet wife, Nelda and we wish that they lived closer to us, than Arkansas. Today is Jimmie's birthday and we want to be among the first to wish him the happiest birthday ever, so here goes Jimmie.

"Happy Birthday to You. Happy Birthday to You. Happy Birthday Dear Jimmie. Happy Birthday to You! And many more."

We hope that you and Nelda have a great celebration and we wish that we were up there, in Arkansas, to celebrate your birthday with y'all, but as you know—I don't get around much and am a home body. So, please come see us when y'all can! We love y'all! Happy Birthday, Jimmie!

Stormy Weather!

Today has been really great, but I must keep it short, due to the stormy weather. This morning, after Tony and I did our morning chores outside, he took a dog to Hoegemeyer Animal Clinic to get it checked out, because it had had a seizure.

After he took off, I decided to drag Hazel, out of the closet, to help me clean up the dog hair that seems to be constantly showing up, on our floors and I am glad that I did, because right after Hazel went back inside the closet two of my favorite people showed up—Cheryl and Walter!

After the howdies and hugs, Cheryl says, "We wanted to give you your birthday present, that we got for you, before your last birthday, before your next birthday rolls around..." Then she hands me a beautiful paper sack filled with goodies. So, I invited them to come inside The Cabin, so we could visit and catch up with each others news, while I opened my birthday presents.

Omg! I loved my beautiful, pink birthday card and all of my birthday presents! They gave me a box of my favorite incense, Incense of the West: Pinon Pine, which a cone is burning right now, as I type this. The sweet smell of Pinon Pine burning, always conjures up fond memories of my past and of all the good times that I had, when I was young and lived in Crested Butte, Colorado, in the early 70's and of my many unforgettable trips out to Northern New Mexico.

They also gave me this incredibly beautiful book, Paper Blossoms: A Book of Beautiful Bouquets for the Table, by Ray Marshall, featuring five amazing paper pop-up bouquets, which they purchased from the Art Institute of Chicago, when they were up there and they gave me this beautiful, hand beaded in Kenya, 100% Angora shawl, that they found for me, when they were up in New York City.

After opening up all of my super cool presents and thanking them, Walt and I played my guitar, then the three of us talked and laughed non-stop for over an hour and I had a total blast with them, wishing that Tony had been here to enjoy their fun visit.

Before my dear friends left to go back home to Boerne, we made plans to meet for lunch, some time in August and I am really looking forward to it. "Thank you, Cheryl & Walt! See y'all sooner than later!" And, that is about it for tonight, because the skies are rumbling.

Y'all have a great evening!

Here's Your Sign!

Today has been great. This afternoon, after we ate lunch, we went to TNJ Engraving, in Kerrville, across the street from J. C. Penney, to pick up two signs. I love doing business with TNJ Engraving, because they are so nice, they always do a fabulous job, they have great prices and their turn around is extremely fast.

For example, this morning after we did our morning chores outside, I sat down at my computer and designed two signs. One sign was for a new pen sponsorship, made earlier this week, by our friend Vern and the other sign was for Tony's chuck box outdoor kitchen, that he knew nothing about. When I was done, I e-mailed the artwork to TNJ Engraving, then I called them to place my order and I was happily shocked when Garrett told me, "We'll have them ready for you and you can pick them up, in about an hour." And they did!

When we arrived at TNJ Engraving to pick up the signs, they were on the counter and I loved what I saw, but Tony was delighted and surprised at what he saw. "Here's your sign, Tony," I said, as I handed it to him, "it needed a name, so I named it, "Tony's No Whiner Diner." Then I paid for the signs and thanked them and then we took off for Wolfmueller's Books, so we could show Sandy & Jon his new sign for his chuck box. And, to say the least, "They loved it and it made them laugh," which was exactly the reaction that I was hoping for.

When we got home we first hung Vern's sign on the dog pen that Hank Williams, Sr. and Jackie Kennedy Onassis share. Hank, Sr. is the yellow Lab in front and that's Jackie O. leaning on him.

Then Tony went and got a ladder, from the barn and then he carried it down to The Okay Corral and hung up his sign and he loves it even more than I do.

Before I finish writing this, I want you to know that Dusty Pendleton called us last night with a Emmylou update, telling us that she and their other dog instantly fell in love with each other and that Emmylou could care less about their older cat and that Martha and Dusty are in love with Emmylou Harris and they are thrilled with their new forever dog.

Also, tonight we have three dear friends, in three different hospitals, in three different cities, so I want to do a shout out to them, "We love you, John, Billy and Steve—GET WELL SOON!"

Y'all have a great evening!

Emmylou Harris!

Today has been great, but pretty quiet, except for the occasional thunderstorms, that so far, have given us over two inches of much needed rain.

Besides the rain being great, the best thing that actually happened today, was around 6:30, or twenty-five minutes ago, was Martha and Dusty Pendleton came out and they adopted Emmylou Harris! And I'm not sure who was the happiest about the adoption, because we all were, but I bet it was Emmylou because she wouldn't quit wagging her tail and kissing Martha on the face, as they sat in the backseat.

And that is about it for tonight, because it has just started raining again and I just heard some thunder, so I need to get offline, once again, so I can go unplug everything. "Thank you, Martha and Dusty!"

Y'all have a great evening!

Green Eggs!

Today has been great and it started early this morning when I was cooking up my latest stolen recipe.

Yesterday, while Vern and us were eating lunch at the Highway 16 Cafe, in Medina, Vern told us about the delicious breakfast that David Farrar had cooked for him, at the Trail's End Guest House. "When Desiree served me David's scrambled eggs that were green, I was a little hesitant to eat them, so I asked Desiree why the eggs were a greenish color and she laughed and told me that David had made his avocado scrambled eggs, so I took a bite and could not believe how delicious it was. I would have never thought of scrambling eggs with an avocado..."

So, this morning, for the very first time, I made, "Cousin Nancy's Green Eggs" for our breakfast and I topped it off with my homemade salsa and to say the least, "Tony and I absolutely loved it!" Here is a picture that I took, before topping off the avocado eggs with what Tony calls, "my not-so-hot" salsa.

Around 3:00 today, our dear friend and one of the Texas Hill Country's most famous and favorite artist, Dusty Pendleton, came out to meet Emmylou Harris, because he and his sweet wife, Martha, are thinking about adopting her! Dusty is the artist that painted the beautiful, "The Von Kinky Family Singers," that we have used on the front of our rescue ranch 2009 calendar and holiday cards. 

After Dusty and Emmylou Harris fell heads-over-heels in love with each other, we invited Dusty to come up to The Cabin, so we could visit with him and it was so much fun. For one and a half hours we laughed and talked about many different subjects and when he told us he had to head back home, in Bandera, we didn't want him to leave. But the good thing is, we might see him much sooner than later, because when Martha comes out with him, in the next few days, so she can meet their possible new fur buddy—we'll get to do it all over again!

That's about it for tonight, because it has started thundering and lightning and raining, so I need to get offline, so I can go unplug everything. And I hope that all of y'all will try making my new avocado scrambled eggs recipe, because I guarantee that you will love it at first bite.

Y'all have a great evening!

Vern Was Here!

Today has been a lot of fun. Our good friend Vern, from League City, who was in Kerrville, staying at  the Trail's End Guest House, came out to take us to lunch. "Y'all pick any restaurant and I'll drive you there," Vern told us, as we climbed into his Toyota. Tony rode shotgun, so I sat in the backseat.

"Let's go to Medina," I suggested, because I was getting a little worried about some dark clouds that were rolling in and also because I didn't know if Vern was a secret, wannabe-race-car driver, ready to test his driving skills, in the Texas Hill Country.

"Let's eat at the Highway 16 Cafe," Tony suggested. "You'll like it, Vern. It's one of our favorite places to eat in Medina."

"Let's go!" Vern said, enthusiastically, as I quickly buckled up my seat belt, while silently praying that Vern wasn't related to any Nascar drivers. And my prayers were soon answered, because Vern drove great, exactly the way I drive—slow!

Our lunch was a lot of fun. We all ended up ordering the exact same thing—Today's Special, which was chicken fried chicken breast, real homemade mashed potatoes, homemade creamed corn, homemade biscuits and homemade upside down pineapple cake for dessert.

As we ate, we laughed and talked non-stop about our chickens and the chickens he used to have and how much better tasting and healthier for you real farm eggs taste, compared to store bought eggs, his dogs and our dogs, about chickens and fish eating each other, the devastation of Hurricane Ike on Galveston, fishing on the Texas Coast, Kinky, our favorite Kinky books, his delicious Louisiana BBQ sauce recipe, that he inherited, which can only be made up in 5 gallon batches, because he has tried to break it down several times to make less of it, but it tastes different, our fun trip with Sandy and Jon Wolfmueller out to Terlingua, his trip to Terlingua, he and I both being deaf in our left ears and him telling me his method on how to cook fish in foil, our love for the Texas Hill country, etc. So, to say the least, "We were having a blast with Vern."

When Vern went to pay for our delicious lunch, Tone and I went outside to wait for him on the porch and that's when I spotted the cutest, baby pink Honda scooter across the street. "I love that pink scooter," I remarked. "It's like the kind, that Cindy had and let me borrow and used to ride, back in 1969. I wonder if it is for sale?"

"I'll go find out," Tony said, as he started walking across the street.

When Vern came outside he immediately looked around for Tony. "Tony's across the street. He went to find out about that scooter," I said. Then we saw T. leave the building and walk back across the street to us. "Is it for sale?" I asked.

"Yes, they want $600.00 for it and..." Then we walked back to Vern's car and he returned us safely back to the rescue ranch.

Because, Tony and I were having so much fun visiting with Vern and didn't want him to leave, I invited him to come inside The Cabin, so I could show it off to him and also brag about Tony's beautiful cedar furniture that he used to make.

After giving Vern a tour of The Cabin, which I am pretty sure impressed him, we went outside to The Okay Corral, because Tony and I wanted to show him Tone's chuck box, our chickens, T.'s tomato and pepper plants, our bird feeders and our bird bath, with its solar water wiggler.

As we gave Vern a tour, we talked about birds, birdwatching, outdoor cooking, etc. before he told us that it was time for him to leave. So, before he left to go back to Kerrville, we gave Vern some of our chicken's eggs, Tony's peppers and tomatoes, to take back with him to League City. "Vern, it was great seeing you again and thank you so much for a great lunch and for sponsoring a pen to help our rescue ranch," I said. "Please come back any time, because our gate will always be open for you." Then we hugged each other, before he drove away.

As we returned back to the trailer aka The Cabin, Tony and I both agreed that we loved seeing him and that we were so glad that Vern was here today. "Thank you for coming to see us, Vern! Have a safe trip home."

Y'all have a great evening!"

Declutterization Rules!

Today has been a great day. This morning after we did our morning chores outside, we went over to Koyote Ranch to eat breakfast and it was delicious and the best part about it was I didn't have to fix it or clean up the dishes and when we got home, we fed our leftovers to our dogs and they ate it up and wanted more.

This afternoon, after making and eating Tuna fish sandwiches for lunch, I decided to finish decluttering my office and I am totally thrilled about how much nicer it looks and feels, even though my back is aching, causing me to write this sitting on Mari's pretty, pink dyed lambskin.

When I started cleaning out my desk drawers, I was shocked to find so much clutter and useless, dated papers, that years ago I must have thought were important to keep. It took me nearly two hours to turn my super cluttered office, that I have been avoiding to go into, for quite a long time, into a feels-so-good place, that now I want to be in all of the time to do my work. In fact, I am writing this from my office chair and the lambskin is starting to work wonders on my sore lower back.

When I was finished with my declutterization, I carried out two heavy bags of trash and put them in the back of Kermit, and that's not counting topping off the paper shredder's holding tank.

Then I asked Tony to please come take a look at my beautiful, new office and he was amazed and thought it looked so fantastic, that he declared, "I'm going to declutter my office this week." Then he and I carried out a table, that I had made several years ago, to put stuff on, that I now no longer need. Anyway, everything inside The Cabin has now been decluttered, except for Tone's Man Cave, I mean his office. And that's about it for tonight. Declutterization Rules!

Y'all have a great evening!

Wildflowers & Words!

Today has been a great day. This morning Jim and Eileen, two of our super volunteers aka friends, came out to walk our dogs, which our dogs loved and while they were here, they also helped Tony and me move several dogs around. "Thank you, Eileen and Jim!"

Honey and Baxter are now in the big front pen, up by the gate entrance and next door to Annie. We moved Lois Lane from her pen to the one next door, where Baxter & Honey had been. Then we moved Hank Williams, Sr. & Jackie Kennedy Onassis down to Lois Lane's old pen. Then we moved Guinevere to our shady Puppy Pen, between Rio & Martha Stewart and Betty Rubble & George Clooney and then Tony moved Dr. John to Guinevere's old pen, because this morning Annie Oakley and him decided not to be friends any longer.

After T. and me ate some of my delicious, homemade veggie burgers for lunch, we jumped into Trigger and went to the Home Depot, in Kerrville, to purchase a new cold water dispenser, because the old one that we have been using, inside The Cabin, had a major melt down, while we were outside moving the dogs to new pens. 


And that's about it for tonight, because I'm tired and just feel like watching TV tonight, but before I finish writing this I want to share some beautiful wildflowers & words, that have touched my heart today.

Early this morning when Tony returned from the Old Timer, he surprised me with these gorgeous wildflowers, that he had handpicked for me, before coming inside The Cabin. And this afternoon, Mari sent me this picture—which I think says it all about dogs. "Mari and Tony, thank y'all for making my day!"

Y'all have a great evening!

Figs For Jalapenos!

Today has been great. After we did our morning chores outside I came inside to check my e-mail and I am so glad that I did, because my dear friend Mari, who we were later meeting for lunch, in Kerrville, had sent me one, asking if we liked figs, because if we did, she wanted to trade us some of her figs for Tony's jalapenos. So, I shot her back an e-mail telling her that we would love to trade figs for jalapenos, then I jumped into the shower to get cleaned up.

Tony and I love Mari and getting to have lunch with her is one of our most favorite things to do and after we have lunch with Mari, I always wish that we could do it more often, because on a scale, from one to ten, with ten being the highest, of "Favorite Things To Do"—she's a twelve.

Before leaving the rescue ranch, Tony quickly handpicked a fresh crop of his jalapenos for Mari and then he loaded up two dog crates, in the back of Buttermilk, then we took off for Kerrville.

Our lunch today with Mari was a total blast. When she arrived two minutes after we got there, she was carrying a large white box and a gigantic, plastic bag filled with the biggest figs that we've ever seen and before she sat down, Mari handed me the heavy box and said, "I have one and I bought this for you, because you love Roy Rogers as much as I do."

When I opened up the white box, I was instantly thrilled at what I saw. It was this beautiful 399 page book, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans: It Was Always The Music, a celebration of Roy and Dale's singing cowboy B-Western era of country-western music, by Eric van Hamersveld, authorized by Dale Evans Rogers, Roy "Dusty" Rogers, Jr., and the Roy Rogers-Dale Evans Museum! "Mari, I love this. It is so beautiful. Thank you, so much!" Then our waiter appeared and interrupted me, so he could take our order. (Mari and I ordered the exact same thing from the menu, except she requested Charro beans, instead of the refried beans that I ordered.)

"I knew you would love it, since you have started playing your guitar again, " Mari said. "It has every song, from all of their movies, with the music and lyrics and it is filled with movie pictures that you're going to love and..."

Because Mari is one of the most well informed, intelligent, humorous women that I have ever met, she and I were either talking or laughing non-stop, about dogs, the importance of buying Made In America products, politics, music, The NoMads, figs, jalapenos, West Texas, Terlingua, drivers license, tuna fish from Thailand, etc. and poor Tony hardly ever got to get a word in edgewise. And after two fun-filled hours had passed, Tone finally got to say, "Nance, it's nearly three o'clock and we need to get back to the ranch." Which totally shocked Mari and me, that so much time had passed, because we were having so much fun.

"Tony, will you please carry my book for me, because it is so heavy?" I asked. "And the figs."

While T. was gone to put our giant sack of figs and my newest, favorite book inside Buttermilk and getting Mari's jalapenos for her, Mari wanted me to listen to this great song, No One Kisses Their Horses Anymore. So when Tony joined us, we chuckled as we listened to it, standing in the parking lot. Then we adios-ed each other and left.

Our next stop was just down the street at Hoegemeyer Animal Clinic, to pick up Hank Williams, Sr. and Jackie Kennedy Onassis, so we could bring them home. And Hank, the handsome Yellow Labrador barked, I mean, serenaded us all of the way home.

When we got back to the rescue ranch, I took these pictures of Hank, wearing his temporary lampshade and not knowing what to think about it and cute, little Jackie O. 

Early this evening, I went over to the Lodge to visit with Kinky and Marcie and I had a fun, one hour,  really enjoyable visit with them, before coming back home. And that is about it for tonight, because I plan to learn how to play a few Roy & Dale songs on my guitar, until my fingers are killing me and then read my newest, favorite book. "Thank you, Mari! I love my book!  Let's do lunch sooner than later!"

Y'all have a great evening!

My Right Eye!

Today has been a happy 4th of July. This morning after we did our morning chores outside, we decided to basically take the day off and enjoy the holiday. So, for lunch I made us Shrimp Scampi and Tony told me that it was the best that he has ever eaten, but because he's never eaten Shrimp Scampi in his life—I took his compliment rather lightly.

After lunch I cleaned up the kitchen, then I decided to make some homemade salsa for us, because we had over fifteen, large ripened tomatoes, taking up too much space on the kitchen counter and we still had at least fifty jalapenos left over, even after giving Kinky a giant, gallon bag of them yesterday, waiting for me to do something with them, before they went bad and would have to be thrown out.

Because it has been a really long time since I've made Cousin Nancy's Secret Salsa, a delicious salsa recipe that I stole from Carol several years ago, it took me a few minutes to find it on my lap top, then I got busy making my salsa.

After making batch after batch of salsa, using my several secret ingredients and all of Tony's organic tomatoes, that had disappeared from the drainboard and the jalapeno count, inside the baggie, had dropped down to less than forty, I filled up a gallon-sized baggie and one medium-sized jar with my salsa!

Before I put the gallon of salsa bag inside the freezer, I asked T. to taste it. "It tastes great, Nance, but I think it could use a little more heat," he suggested, which instantly turned my smile upside down. "I mean it's good. I just like it really hot. That's all."

Feeling a little emotionally deflated from his remark about Carol's salsa recipe, I said, kind of pouting, "I'm sorry it is not perfect, Tony. It's Carol's recipe—not mine. I'll let you make it the next time. Okay?" Then I rubbed my right eye, because it itched, which was a really bad mistake, because tears instantly started flowing from my right eye, because of his jalapenos or the onion.

Tone is so smart. He knew exactly what to do. First he hugged me and then he said, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings and make you cry..."

Even though I have to admit that I sort of enjoyed making him feel a little bit sorry for suggesting that Carol's salsa recipe needed more heat, I did do the right thing. "Tony, I'm fine, but my right eye isn't. I just forgot to wash my hands, before rubbing it..." And then everything was fine between us. He went back into his office and I played my guitar until my fingers were killing me. And that's about it for tonight.

Y'all have a great 4th of July evening!

Toto Picnic!

Today has been a great day. Early this evening, Marcie and Kinky came over to have a picnic with Toto. After Toto ate his special dinner, that they brought over for him, I showed them Gerry Olert's latest video:

Kinky Friedman's Man In Black and Kerrville Folk Festival

and they absolutely loved it and they thought it was really great, too. Then I showed them this hilarious, short video that my dear friend Mari had sent to me this morning:

Meteorologist goes viral with phony apocalyptic forecast 

And, like Tony and me they roared with laughter. And that is about it for tonight, because I am fixin' to watch one of my favorite movies, Electric Cowboy.

Y'all have a great evening and a happy 4th of July!

Roscoe P. Coltrane!

Today has been great, even though we are in FMT (Full Moon Time) and MIR (Mercury In Retrograde) is just right around the corner, beginning on July 14th.

This morning after we did our chores outside, we jumped into Buttermilk and went to the pound, in Kerrville, to pick up an adorable, medium-sized, Muttagree, that Tony, Ben and I had fallen in love with, last Friday, when we were at the pound rescuing Hank.

We didn't take her last Friday, because we didn't have enough room, inside Trigger, so we had asked them to please hold on to this sweet dog until Monday, because then we would be without Ben and Hank, taking up space, inside the truck and today we would have more than plenty of room inside Trigger.

As Tony drove Buttermilk and the three of us over to Hoegemeyer Animal Clinic, so we could drop her off, to get her spayed, shots and a checkup, I came up with a name for her. "Hi, y'all," Susan said, as we walked inside the clinic, with the best vibes. "And who is this beautiful dog?"

"She's Jackie Kennedy Onassis," I said, which caused a few older people to chuckle, inside the waiting room. "We have just rescued her from the pound..."

After we left Hoegemeyer's we went straight to H-E-B, so T. could fill Buttermilk up and I could fill up a grocery cart. Then we came home.

By 4:00, I had Roscoe P. Coltrane's adoption papers prepared, because our friend Medana was coming out to adopt him, because she had seen his picture in the Bandera County Courier, as our Pet Of The Week and it was love at first sight for her. And today when Roscoe saw Medana, it was his turn to fall in love at first sight with Medana. Here's a picture that I took, right after he was adopted, of R. P. Coltrane with Medana.

After Medana and her new found love interest left the rescue ranch, we did too, because Kinky was back from his East Coast Bi-Polar Tour and we could not wait to go see him. We had planned to only  stay and visit with him for about ten or fifteen minutes, so he could rest, relax and visit with his sister Marcie, but we had badly miscalculated our planning, because we ended up visiting with Kinky and Marcie, at the Lodge, for over an hour!

Our visit was so much fun and it was filled with laughter, listening to Kinky, telling us about all of the funny things that happened during his tour. And all that I can say is, "That's about it for tonight and I am so happy that Kinky is back at the ranch.

Y'all have a great evening!

Sorry, Not Tonight—Big Time Thunder Storms—Thank Goodness!