Y'all have a Happy New Year's Eve!
Monday, December 31, 2012
Happy New Year!
A few minutes ago, Tony and I went outside to the front porch, with our cameras, to shoot the last 2012 sunset at Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch and here's my picture.
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Fruitful!
Today has been a quiet and peaceful day with not much happening, so I have basically spent my day doing rescue ranch end-of-the-year paperwork. I am proud to say as of this moment, that I am completely caught up with it until we get our mail tomorrow.
I want to alert everyone, that Jim, "The Mineral Man," sent me an early morning e-mail to let me know that our Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch web site is down and I want to thank him for the heads up, because our people are working on getting it back up as soon as possible. So, don't worry. We're still here.
My dear friend Ellen, one of our super volunteers, has asked me to let everyone know that the seven, adorable, little wannabe Chihuahuas that she rescued from the pound, when they were only two days old, have just received their 1st puppy shots and they are now available for adoption to only super homes.
Ellen, who has one of the driest, funniest sense of humor, named the puppies mama Fruitful and then she and her sister June, who is just as funny as Ellen, named Fruitful's cute pups who seemed to have different dads: McIntosh, Bartlett, Clementine, Kiwi, Kumquat, Loquat and Quince. So, if any of y'all want one of these precious pups or know anyone looking for a small dog, please call me at the rescue ranch 830-589-7544 or post a comment on this post, so I can put you in touch with Ellen.
Lastly, I plan to spend New Year's Eve Morning deep cleaning The Cabin, while Brandon helps Tony with the morning chores outside. Then I am going to give Rita, visiting from New Mexico, a private, deluxe tour of our rescue ranch, because she told me this morning that it has been on her Bucket List for several years. Then I am going to drive myself to Kerrville to run a few quick errands before noon and then I am going to come home and relax, before Tony and I watch Lonesome Dove and then go to bed before 9:00. So, Happy New Year, Y'all!
Y'all have a great evening!
I want to alert everyone, that Jim, "The Mineral Man," sent me an early morning e-mail to let me know that our Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch web site is down and I want to thank him for the heads up, because our people are working on getting it back up as soon as possible. So, don't worry. We're still here.
My dear friend Ellen, one of our super volunteers, has asked me to let everyone know that the seven, adorable, little wannabe Chihuahuas that she rescued from the pound, when they were only two days old, have just received their 1st puppy shots and they are now available for adoption to only super homes.
Ellen, who has one of the driest, funniest sense of humor, named the puppies mama Fruitful and then she and her sister June, who is just as funny as Ellen, named Fruitful's cute pups who seemed to have different dads: McIntosh, Bartlett, Clementine, Kiwi, Kumquat, Loquat and Quince. So, if any of y'all want one of these precious pups or know anyone looking for a small dog, please call me at the rescue ranch 830-589-7544 or post a comment on this post, so I can put you in touch with Ellen.
Lastly, I plan to spend New Year's Eve Morning deep cleaning The Cabin, while Brandon helps Tony with the morning chores outside. Then I am going to give Rita, visiting from New Mexico, a private, deluxe tour of our rescue ranch, because she told me this morning that it has been on her Bucket List for several years. Then I am going to drive myself to Kerrville to run a few quick errands before noon and then I am going to come home and relax, before Tony and I watch Lonesome Dove and then go to bed before 9:00. So, Happy New Year, Y'all!
Y'all have a great evening!
Friday, December 28, 2012
Tiny!
Today has been great. This morning Brandon came out to help Tony do the morning chores outside while I stayed inside doing some paperwork and answering e-mails. Around 9:45 Kris and Jim aka The Mineral Man came out to walk our dogs, even though it was pretty chilly outside.
During one of my fun walks with them, Jim and I talked about his delicious bread recipes, because his last loaf of bread that he baked for us was so delicious. Then we talked about his Oster bread machine, because I had just purchased one like his earlier this morning.
Around 12:15, Brandon went home to eat lunch, so we followed Kris and Jim over to Koyote Ranch to eat lunch together. And to say the least, "Our lunch was a lot of fun."
When we came back home I did a little more paperwork. Then I signed a few copies of my new book and went to Medina to mail them. When I got back home Brandon was back helping Tony.
Around 4:00, we had a very nice surprise—Vern's Christmas gift to us was delivered and it was a Lanikai concert series ukulele! When Tony opened its box I took one look at it and immediately named it, Tiny, because it was so cute.
Then I tuned it and began playing it, because I learned to play the ukulele when I was either in the fifth or fourth grade.
Tiny has a beautiful sound, so I played it for a long time, because I was having so much fun. When Tony and Brandon came inside I showed Brandon a few basic chords and then I handed it to him, so he could play it, since he has never played a uke before.
Within seconds Brandon had all of us smiling, because he had already memorized the chords I had showed him and he was going to town with it and playing the tunes of several songs and quickly figuring out other chords.
After Brandon had picked out and played like a pro he said, "This is a sweet little instrument to play. I just might have to get one of these for myself..."
"I'm going to The Melody Corner, on Monday, to buy a case for Tiny and to get Stan to put a pick-up on her, so we can plug her into my amp," I said. "Please play us some more music." Twenty minutes later Brandon ended his free music concert and went home.
"Thank you, Vern! We love our uke and right now, Tony is sitting here playing Tiny and having a blast." And that is about it for tonight, because it is my turn to play with Tiny.
Y'all have a great evening!
During one of my fun walks with them, Jim and I talked about his delicious bread recipes, because his last loaf of bread that he baked for us was so delicious. Then we talked about his Oster bread machine, because I had just purchased one like his earlier this morning.
Around 12:15, Brandon went home to eat lunch, so we followed Kris and Jim over to Koyote Ranch to eat lunch together. And to say the least, "Our lunch was a lot of fun."
When we came back home I did a little more paperwork. Then I signed a few copies of my new book and went to Medina to mail them. When I got back home Brandon was back helping Tony.
Around 4:00, we had a very nice surprise—Vern's Christmas gift to us was delivered and it was a Lanikai concert series ukulele! When Tony opened its box I took one look at it and immediately named it, Tiny, because it was so cute.
Tiny has a beautiful sound, so I played it for a long time, because I was having so much fun. When Tony and Brandon came inside I showed Brandon a few basic chords and then I handed it to him, so he could play it, since he has never played a uke before.
Within seconds Brandon had all of us smiling, because he had already memorized the chords I had showed him and he was going to town with it and playing the tunes of several songs and quickly figuring out other chords.
After Brandon had picked out and played like a pro he said, "This is a sweet little instrument to play. I just might have to get one of these for myself..."
"I'm going to The Melody Corner, on Monday, to buy a case for Tiny and to get Stan to put a pick-up on her, so we can plug her into my amp," I said. "Please play us some more music." Twenty minutes later Brandon ended his free music concert and went home.
"Thank you, Vern! We love our uke and right now, Tony is sitting here playing Tiny and having a blast." And that is about it for tonight, because it is my turn to play with Tiny.
Y'all have a great evening!
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Careful!
Today has been a quiet day, but yesterday was a total blast! Tony and I got up real early Christmas morning, so we could have everything ready to go when our friends/volunteers showed up, to help us prepare our dog's Annual Christmas Dinner.
Brandon came out at 7:15, to help Tony clean the dog pens while I stayed inside and cooked the 20 pounds of mixed vegetables and five dozen dinner rolls.
Kris and her husband, Jim, "The Mountain Man" Bobbitt, showed up first and then the other Jim showed up with his lovely wife Diane and her son and his two beautiful daughters. Then June and Ellen arrived with season greetings. By 8:45, Diane and Kris were cracking up eggs like professionals, while June and her sister Ellen added the stuffing, the olive oil, cheese and the garlic into the four buckets. And to say the least, everyone was pitching in and having fun.
Before Chef Tony was ready to add the steaming vegetables, Tony, Brandon, Jim's granddaughter and a few others took turns mixing up the food, with our heavy-duty drill using a long cement mixer paddle. After the peas, corn, carrots, lima beans and green beans were added to the buckets and had been mixed in—we went outside to serve our dogs their Christmas dinner which included a warmed dinner roll and one of Diane's homemade dog treats.
About thirty-minutes later, all of the dogs had eaten their delicious dinner and wanted seconds, so we served up second helpings until we ran out of food. Because everyone had Christmas plans, June and Ellen were the first to leave, but before driving away, Ellen told me that she had left her Christmas gift for me inside The Cabin and she hoped I liked it.
Then Jim and his family thanked us for letting them come out to help and then they wished us a merry Christmas and left. Kris and Jim, Brandon, Tony and I then stood outside and had a fun visit mainly talking about Jim's gluten-free, 9 grains loaf of bread that he had made for especially for us on Monday.
Because we were having so much fun, Tony and I invited everyone to come inside the trailer, so we could visit some more.
When we came inside The Cabin I saw Ellen's Christmas gift that she had left for me, so while Tony made fresh cups of Keurig coffee for our friends I opened up the pretty gift sack and pulled out a t-shirt, that made me laugh out loud. Then I turned it around and showed it to everyone which made them laugh, too. Here's a picture of the front of my new t-shirt—that I love so much and is so very true, as you well know.
Brandon came out at 7:15, to help Tony clean the dog pens while I stayed inside and cooked the 20 pounds of mixed vegetables and five dozen dinner rolls.
Kris and her husband, Jim, "The Mountain Man" Bobbitt, showed up first and then the other Jim showed up with his lovely wife Diane and her son and his two beautiful daughters. Then June and Ellen arrived with season greetings. By 8:45, Diane and Kris were cracking up eggs like professionals, while June and her sister Ellen added the stuffing, the olive oil, cheese and the garlic into the four buckets. And to say the least, everyone was pitching in and having fun.
Before Chef Tony was ready to add the steaming vegetables, Tony, Brandon, Jim's granddaughter and a few others took turns mixing up the food, with our heavy-duty drill using a long cement mixer paddle. After the peas, corn, carrots, lima beans and green beans were added to the buckets and had been mixed in—we went outside to serve our dogs their Christmas dinner which included a warmed dinner roll and one of Diane's homemade dog treats.
About thirty-minutes later, all of the dogs had eaten their delicious dinner and wanted seconds, so we served up second helpings until we ran out of food. Because everyone had Christmas plans, June and Ellen were the first to leave, but before driving away, Ellen told me that she had left her Christmas gift for me inside The Cabin and she hoped I liked it.
Then Jim and his family thanked us for letting them come out to help and then they wished us a merry Christmas and left. Kris and Jim, Brandon, Tony and I then stood outside and had a fun visit mainly talking about Jim's gluten-free, 9 grains loaf of bread that he had made for especially for us on Monday.
Because we were having so much fun, Tony and I invited everyone to come inside the trailer, so we could visit some more.
When we came inside The Cabin I saw Ellen's Christmas gift that she had left for me, so while Tony made fresh cups of Keurig coffee for our friends I opened up the pretty gift sack and pulled out a t-shirt, that made me laugh out loud. Then I turned it around and showed it to everyone which made them laugh, too. Here's a picture of the front of my new t-shirt—that I love so much and is so very true, as you well know.
After we had all quit laughing about it we drank coffee and talked about all kinds of things including the cute pink napkins that Ellen had also given to me, with cute little white pigs on it.
After The Mineral Man and his super sweet wife left to go home. I cleaned up the kitchen while Tony and Brandon surfed the TV trying to find a football or basketball game to watch and then they helped me put the turkey into the roasting pat and then I prepared our Thanksgiving dinner.
We ate at 12:30 and Brandon was so cute, because he kept telling me how delicious it was during commercial breaks. I think our informal dinner was tasty, but I must confess that the best part of our dinner was Jim's bread and Brandon's homemade pecan pie.
When we had cleaned up the kitchen, Brandon plugged his electric guitar into my amp and then I plugged my acoustic guitar into it and we jammed for several hours, because we were having such a good time.
Brandon is an exceptionally talented guitarist and he can play the lead to any song I threw at him. On a scale of 1 - 10, with 10 being the highest, Brandon is an 11 and I am maybe a five, in my dreams. Anyway, Tony and I really enjoyed Brandon spending Christmas day with us and for cooking his mouth-watering pecan pie. And that is about it for tonight, because I plan to watch The 35th Annual Kennedy Center Honors.
Y'all have a great evening!
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Merry Christmas!
Today has been great and it has been the best Christmas ever. Will write about it tomorrow, because my fingers are sore to the touch, because Brandon and I jammed for hours on our electric guitars and we played a lot of Lynyrd Skynyrd and Alabama songs. I am fixin' to take a nap now. Merry Christmas!
To Be Continued...(Sorry, Mari.) : )
To Be Continued...(Sorry, Mari.) : )
Monday, December 24, 2012
Thank You, Alfredo!
Today has been great. Early this morning my friend Alfredo, called and left a message on Carlton, "Nancy, I've been tracking that gift package that I sent to you and Kinky over a week ago, that got lost in the mail. It is now at the Medina Post Office. So, if you want to get your holiday gifts, please go to the Medina Post Office before noon today. I hope you like it. Merry Christmas."
After washing our breakfast dishes and cleaning up our dishes I took off for Medina for three reasons. First, I went to the post office to pick up Alfredo's box. Then I went to the Medina Ace Hardware Store. "Merry Christmas, Nancy," Andy, the store owner said to me as I walked inside. Then he handed me a beautiful calendar."
"Merry Christmas everyone," I said as I browsed through the calendar. "I love your Hill Country wildlife calendar."
"Tony should do a Hill Country calendar," Andy said. "His Hill Country photos are as good as these or even better. What can we help you find?"
"I need to pick up two, five-gallon plastic buckets for our dog's Christmas dinner." Four minutes later, I stopped at The Old Timer to pick up some scratch-offs for stocking stuffers for Tony. Then I returned to the rescue ranch.
Since Tony and Brandon, from the Medina Children's Home, were still working outside I carried Alfredo's big box and the scratch-offs up to The Cabin. Then I sat the stocking stuffers on the drainboard and then I sat Alfredo's box on top of them.
When I opened up Alfredo's box, I read his beautiful card that he had personally made for me. Then I opened up his present and I loved it. Alfredo Salas had sent me a Scentsy Warmer, a wickless air fragrance with two scent packs of Cinnamon Bear and Clove & Cinnamon! After I had screwed the lightbulb in and turned it on, I put a Cinnamon Bear wedge on the top of it and our trailer instantly began to smell of cinnamon. To say the least, "I loved it," because I couldn't smell the pot of beans that I was cooking." Then I saw Alfredo's business card. If anyone wants to buy a Scentsy Warmer, please go to his website to buy one: www.alfredosalas.scentsy.us. Here's mine in action.
After I removed Alfredo's card and wickless warmer for Kinky, from Alfredo's box, I removed the big box from the drainboard and saw that half of Tony's scratch-offs were floating in the dish water. After trying to dry them with paper towels I put the water-logged scratch-offs on a towel in our bedroom, in hopes they would dry and be scratchable for Tone.
When T. and Brandon came inside The Cabin, I handed Tony the scratch-offs, that had not fallen into the sink and he was thrilled, because he had won twenty dollars. "Thanks, Nance."
"There's more, but they are still drying," I said. After I told him about them falling into the kitchen sink, he laughed and then he raced into the bedroom to see if they had dried.
"They're still pretty soggy," he said. "I'll scratch them later.
Around 2:00 today, while Tony was helping our friend move into a new house, I wondered if Tone had remembered to take our turkey and the ground turkey and sacks of mixed vegetables, for our dogs holiday dinner, out of the freezer, so they would be thawed out tomorrow morning.
A few minutes later, when I went down to the barn I found out—he had forgotten, which I can't fault him for, because I am so forgetful. I removed everything from the freezer and put it in buckets and then carried the frozen food into Outer Space, so the sun could help it defrost.
After washing our breakfast dishes and cleaning up our dishes I took off for Medina for three reasons. First, I went to the post office to pick up Alfredo's box. Then I went to the Medina Ace Hardware Store. "Merry Christmas, Nancy," Andy, the store owner said to me as I walked inside. Then he handed me a beautiful calendar."
"Merry Christmas everyone," I said as I browsed through the calendar. "I love your Hill Country wildlife calendar."
"Tony should do a Hill Country calendar," Andy said. "His Hill Country photos are as good as these or even better. What can we help you find?"
"I need to pick up two, five-gallon plastic buckets for our dog's Christmas dinner." Four minutes later, I stopped at The Old Timer to pick up some scratch-offs for stocking stuffers for Tony. Then I returned to the rescue ranch.
Since Tony and Brandon, from the Medina Children's Home, were still working outside I carried Alfredo's big box and the scratch-offs up to The Cabin. Then I sat the stocking stuffers on the drainboard and then I sat Alfredo's box on top of them.
When I opened up Alfredo's box, I read his beautiful card that he had personally made for me. Then I opened up his present and I loved it. Alfredo Salas had sent me a Scentsy Warmer, a wickless air fragrance with two scent packs of Cinnamon Bear and Clove & Cinnamon! After I had screwed the lightbulb in and turned it on, I put a Cinnamon Bear wedge on the top of it and our trailer instantly began to smell of cinnamon. To say the least, "I loved it," because I couldn't smell the pot of beans that I was cooking." Then I saw Alfredo's business card. If anyone wants to buy a Scentsy Warmer, please go to his website to buy one: www.alfredosalas.scentsy.us. Here's mine in action.
When T. and Brandon came inside The Cabin, I handed Tony the scratch-offs, that had not fallen into the sink and he was thrilled, because he had won twenty dollars. "Thanks, Nance."
"There's more, but they are still drying," I said. After I told him about them falling into the kitchen sink, he laughed and then he raced into the bedroom to see if they had dried.
"They're still pretty soggy," he said. "I'll scratch them later.
Around 2:00 today, while Tony was helping our friend move into a new house, I wondered if Tone had remembered to take our turkey and the ground turkey and sacks of mixed vegetables, for our dogs holiday dinner, out of the freezer, so they would be thawed out tomorrow morning.
A few minutes later, when I went down to the barn I found out—he had forgotten, which I can't fault him for, because I am so forgetful. I removed everything from the freezer and put it in buckets and then carried the frozen food into Outer Space, so the sun could help it defrost.
As I finish writing this, our turkey is in the oven still defrosting. The dog's ground turkey is taking turns soaking in hot water in the kitchen sink, while also slowly thawing on top of the stove.
Tomorrow morning, Tony and I are getting up at 5:30, so we can have everything ready to go, before Brandon and our super friends/volunteers show up at 8:30 to help prepare and serve our rescued dogs a delicious, warm Christmas dinner, compliments of June, Ellen, Eileen, Jim and Kris & Jim, "The Mountain Man."
Y'all have a great evening!
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Happy Anniversary, Roy!
Today has been great, because today is the one year anniversary of me first meeting my faithful, loving companion, Roy Rogers. When Tony and I went to pick up Roy at Hoegemeyer Animal Clinic, so we could take him home to live with us, it was love at first sight for Roy and me. The minute that all ninety-five pounds of him walked into our veterinarian's lobby, he looked into my eyes, wagged his tail and stole my heart. And I have been so in love with him ever since that day.
When we got back home with Roy, he instantly fit in with our fur-family and before it got dark outside, Tony took this picture of Roy and me sitting together on the front porch.
When we got back home with Roy, he instantly fit in with our fur-family and before it got dark outside, Tony took this picture of Roy and me sitting together on the front porch.
Because Roy has been such a joy to me every day, I decided to make him semi-famous by writing about him on my blog this year and including him in my fiction novella. In fact, Roy is actually going to come to my rescue in The Cowgirl Sisterhood: The Membership Drive Part II and be my hero, but that is all that I can say about it right now. Here is a picture that I took of my four-legged-soul-mate, for my soon to be released e-book version, with bonus pictures for my first novella. It hangs on a wall in our bedroom.
"I love you, Roy! Happy One Year Anniversary!" And that is about it for tonight, because my Roy and I are going to watch a Roy Rogers movie that my dear friend Mari gave to me recently.
Y'all have a great evening!
Friday, December 21, 2012
His and Her!
Continued from yesterday...
After we ate breakfast Kinky called me from Portland, Oregon. "Hi, Nance! I'll be back at the ranch late Friday night. I have two questions for you."
"Okay."
"Number one, is your novella about the rescue ranch?"
"No. Well, it is mentioned a couple of times, but it is about Carol and me going out to Northern New Mexico to help Fay solve a mystery. Why?"
"In about ten days I am going to be doing my monthly interview on one of San Antonio's most listened to radio stations and I want to talk about your novella..." His second question was about The Friedmans, asking me to baby sit his dogs when he takes off next week for a few days. And before we adios-ed each other he told me that he can't wait to see my book and he wants me to come over Saturday, so we can talk about it some more.
After Tony and I did our morning chores outside, we came inside and got cleaned up and then we took off for Kerrville, to go meet our friends Kris and Jim for lunch, at El Sol de Mexico.
Having lunch with Kris and "The Mineral Man" was a lot of fun and the food was delicious, as always. Before leaving the restaurant they bought ten more books from me and gave me written instructions on who to sign them to. "You don't have to sign them now, Nancy. We'll pick them up when we come out tomorrow to walk the dogs," Jim said. After we had thanked them for treating us to lunch and a fun time we adios-ed each other and then took off to run a few errands before coming back home.
Today has been great. This morning a few of our super dog-walking volunteers came out even though it was thirty-seven degrees outside when they arrived. Jim and Kris & Jim, like me were amazed that it didn't seem to feel that cold outside, because fortunately, the wind wasn't blowing.
After they had walked most of our dogs down to the creek and back we all decided to go up to Koyote Ranch's Koyote Kafe to eat lunch together and by that time it had warmed up to sixty degrees and the sun was shining brightly. Before leaving, I gave Kris & Jim their ten autographed books and Jim gave us a fresh loaf of bread that he had made earlier this morning and his nine grains bread smelled delicious.
Lunch was a blast and delicious and after we had finished eating, June, another one of our great friends/volunteers, walked inside the cafe, so we asked her to join us. Even though June had placed her order to go, she stayed and ate it at our table, because we were having so much fun.
When Tone and I got home I cut off two slices of Jim's homemade bread and wrapped them in foil. Then I set the oven to two-hundred-twenty-five degrees and warmed it for over forty minutes, because I was doing some paperwork and had forgot about it being in the oven, until I smelled its delicious aroma.
Before I had sliced Jim's beautiful loaf of bread and put it in the oven I took this picture of it.
Tony and I loved eating Jim's delicious bread and after Tony went outside to go check on the dogs I decided to halve it and make his and her loafs, so Tony and I wouldn't fight over who got to eat the last piece.
After we ate breakfast Kinky called me from Portland, Oregon. "Hi, Nance! I'll be back at the ranch late Friday night. I have two questions for you."
"Okay."
"Number one, is your novella about the rescue ranch?"
"No. Well, it is mentioned a couple of times, but it is about Carol and me going out to Northern New Mexico to help Fay solve a mystery. Why?"
"In about ten days I am going to be doing my monthly interview on one of San Antonio's most listened to radio stations and I want to talk about your novella..." His second question was about The Friedmans, asking me to baby sit his dogs when he takes off next week for a few days. And before we adios-ed each other he told me that he can't wait to see my book and he wants me to come over Saturday, so we can talk about it some more.
After Tony and I did our morning chores outside, we came inside and got cleaned up and then we took off for Kerrville, to go meet our friends Kris and Jim for lunch, at El Sol de Mexico.
Having lunch with Kris and "The Mineral Man" was a lot of fun and the food was delicious, as always. Before leaving the restaurant they bought ten more books from me and gave me written instructions on who to sign them to. "You don't have to sign them now, Nancy. We'll pick them up when we come out tomorrow to walk the dogs," Jim said. After we had thanked them for treating us to lunch and a fun time we adios-ed each other and then took off to run a few errands before coming back home.
Today has been great. This morning a few of our super dog-walking volunteers came out even though it was thirty-seven degrees outside when they arrived. Jim and Kris & Jim, like me were amazed that it didn't seem to feel that cold outside, because fortunately, the wind wasn't blowing.
After they had walked most of our dogs down to the creek and back we all decided to go up to Koyote Ranch's Koyote Kafe to eat lunch together and by that time it had warmed up to sixty degrees and the sun was shining brightly. Before leaving, I gave Kris & Jim their ten autographed books and Jim gave us a fresh loaf of bread that he had made earlier this morning and his nine grains bread smelled delicious.
Lunch was a blast and delicious and after we had finished eating, June, another one of our great friends/volunteers, walked inside the cafe, so we asked her to join us. Even though June had placed her order to go, she stayed and ate it at our table, because we were having so much fun.
When Tone and I got home I cut off two slices of Jim's homemade bread and wrapped them in foil. Then I set the oven to two-hundred-twenty-five degrees and warmed it for over forty minutes, because I was doing some paperwork and had forgot about it being in the oven, until I smelled its delicious aroma.
Before I had sliced Jim's beautiful loaf of bread and put it in the oven I took this picture of it.
Then I put the halved loafs of bread into two large Baggies and wrote His and Her, so not to confuse us.
I'm glad that Kinky will be back at the ranch late tonight and I can not wait to see him tomorrow. I think Jim, "The Mineral Man," Bobbitt should open up a bakery specializing in bread. And that is about it for tonight.
Y'all have a great evening!
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Your Power!
Today has been really great, even though it didn't start out good, because of an electrical power outage that lasted for over seven hours. When Tony woke me up at 6:00 this morning, as I had asked him to, so I could do The Harley Show, he said, "Wake up, Nance. We have no electricity. I have already called the Bandera Electric Cooperative to report it."
When I climbed out of bed The Cabin was really cold, so I quickly dressed in my winter uniform: navy blue turtleneck, pink sweatshirt, 501 Levis, heavy socks, pink cowboy boots and then I put on my pink Carhartt jacket. And I was still cold, when I came into the dark kitchen, ready to make myself a cup of Donut Shop coffee, in the dark and that's when it hit me—no electricity—no delicious coffee—no breakfast—no Internet, no running water, etc. In other words, "Let's just say that I was not a happy camper." Then Tony bid me farewell and left to go drink coffee with his friends in Medina.
At 7:45, when I called Harley Belew, to do his popular morning radio show, The Harley Show, a five to ten minute segment about our rescue ranch, it was pretty funny and went something like this. "Good morning, Cousin Nancy. How are you doing?"
"Not so good, Harley, because we are experiencing an electrical power outage and right now it is fifty-seven degrees inside The Cabin..."
"Well, I hope your power comes on soon," Harley said to me. "So, tell me who is Harley's Pet of The Week." Which made me chuckle.
"I can't Harley. I can't get on the Internet." Then Harley laughed.
"Let me get on utopiarescue.com and tell you." A few seconds later, Harley told me that Lois Lane was his pet of the week. Then I told him all about sweet Lois Lane. When my Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch ended, I paced back in forth in the big room, until Tony returned home from The Old Timer, in Medina, Texas.
Then my friend Alfred, in Von Army, Texas called me to see if I had received his Christmas present. "No, Alfred. It has not arrived, yet." Then he and I had a fun telephone conversation. Before we adios-ed each other, he told me that he was going to track his package and get back to me. Then Bandera Electric called me to discuss our power outage. Then a few minutes later, Julie, at the Medina Post Office called me to ask if I had received Alfred's package. "No, Julie, but Kinky received a box the other day and maybe that is it. I'll drive over to The Lodge and check to see if it was from Alfred and call you back." Then I drove over to The Lodge.
When I arrived at The Lodge, Marcie was wrapped in blankets. After we talked about the missing package and the power outage, she told me, "I was up late last night and around 2:30 there was a loud explosion and all of the power went out and it came from that direction." Then I checked to see if Alfred's package was in Kink's mail. Then I came back home.
"Hello, Julie. It's Nancy. Kinky's package was from someone else." Then she told me that she had tracked it and found it. The package was in Dallas and on its way to the Medina Post Office.
A few minutes later, at 9:32, the electricity finally came back on thank goodness and it was fifty-seven degrees inside The Cabin, so I cooked us breakfast and drank a cup of coffee while I did it.
When I climbed out of bed The Cabin was really cold, so I quickly dressed in my winter uniform: navy blue turtleneck, pink sweatshirt, 501 Levis, heavy socks, pink cowboy boots and then I put on my pink Carhartt jacket. And I was still cold, when I came into the dark kitchen, ready to make myself a cup of Donut Shop coffee, in the dark and that's when it hit me—no electricity—no delicious coffee—no breakfast—no Internet, no running water, etc. In other words, "Let's just say that I was not a happy camper." Then Tony bid me farewell and left to go drink coffee with his friends in Medina.
At 7:45, when I called Harley Belew, to do his popular morning radio show, The Harley Show, a five to ten minute segment about our rescue ranch, it was pretty funny and went something like this. "Good morning, Cousin Nancy. How are you doing?"
"Not so good, Harley, because we are experiencing an electrical power outage and right now it is fifty-seven degrees inside The Cabin..."
"Well, I hope your power comes on soon," Harley said to me. "So, tell me who is Harley's Pet of The Week." Which made me chuckle.
"I can't Harley. I can't get on the Internet." Then Harley laughed.
"Let me get on utopiarescue.com and tell you." A few seconds later, Harley told me that Lois Lane was his pet of the week. Then I told him all about sweet Lois Lane. When my Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch ended, I paced back in forth in the big room, until Tony returned home from The Old Timer, in Medina, Texas.
Then my friend Alfred, in Von Army, Texas called me to see if I had received his Christmas present. "No, Alfred. It has not arrived, yet." Then he and I had a fun telephone conversation. Before we adios-ed each other, he told me that he was going to track his package and get back to me. Then Bandera Electric called me to discuss our power outage. Then a few minutes later, Julie, at the Medina Post Office called me to ask if I had received Alfred's package. "No, Julie, but Kinky received a box the other day and maybe that is it. I'll drive over to The Lodge and check to see if it was from Alfred and call you back." Then I drove over to The Lodge.
When I arrived at The Lodge, Marcie was wrapped in blankets. After we talked about the missing package and the power outage, she told me, "I was up late last night and around 2:30 there was a loud explosion and all of the power went out and it came from that direction." Then I checked to see if Alfred's package was in Kink's mail. Then I came back home.
"Hello, Julie. It's Nancy. Kinky's package was from someone else." Then she told me that she had tracked it and found it. The package was in Dallas and on its way to the Medina Post Office.
A few minutes later, at 9:32, the electricity finally came back on thank goodness and it was fifty-seven degrees inside The Cabin, so I cooked us breakfast and drank a cup of coffee while I did it.
After we ate breakfast Kinky called me from Portland, Oregon.
To Be Continued.... (Sorry, Mari.)
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Christmas Dinners!
Today has been great and so was yesterday. Yesterday, after running several errands in Kerrville, we went to the H-E-B grocery store, on Main Street, so we could buy our rescue dog's Christmas dinner, which was paid for by our great volunteers: June, Ellen, Eileen, Jim, Kris & Jim, "The Mineral Man."
Earlier in the week, they had given me a check for $180.00 to pay for our dog's Christmas dinner and even though we forgot to buy the five dozen dinner rolls, when the cheerful cashier told me the amount, I chuckled, because the dog's holiday dinner cost $179.17. Here's the receipt.
Earlier in the week, they had given me a check for $180.00 to pay for our dog's Christmas dinner and even though we forgot to buy the five dozen dinner rolls, when the cheerful cashier told me the amount, I chuckled, because the dog's holiday dinner cost $179.17. Here's the receipt.
Today we went to Kerrville to do some banking, mail out some thank you letters and my books and then we went to the same H-E-B store to buy groceries for Tony's and my Christmas dinner and it wasn't near as expensive as our dog's dinner, because I used some H-E-B coupons. And, we bought the 5 dozen dinner rolls for our dogs, as our small contribution for their dinner. Then Trigger took us home.
Around 3:40, Mama, my dear old Great Pyrenees, barked twice and then she ran and opened our front door (Because she knows how to open doors and gates.) and went outside. Then Tony walked down our hallway and said, "Did you order something? FedEx is here and then he went outside to meet their friendly driver. Then I went outside to watch.
After the driver had given Tony the box he drove away. When I saw Tony smiling as he approached me, carrying a box with intentional air holes, he said, "Karen and Terry have sent us some more of those delicious pears!
They weren't just regular old pears, they were Harry & David Brand Royal Riviera Pears, which are considered to be the best pears, grown in Oregon, USA! They are remarkably sweet and juicy pears and can be traced back to 19th century France. They were brought to Oregon's Rogue Valley in 1897, where the climate provided ideal growing conditions. So, tonight before I end tonight's post I want to thank Karen and Terry for sending us those mouth-watering pears. I'm going to go eat one now.
Y'all have a great evening!
Monday, December 17, 2012
Life Is Not Fair!
Today has been so much fun. Tony and I went to Kerrville late this morning to attend our friends/ volunteers second annual Ladies Christmas luncheon. If you are wondering why Tone went to it, it is because this year we decided to include the men.
When we arrived at Lisa's and Chuck's home, Tony and I were the first to arrive and I was thrilled not to be late. I was also very happy that I had remembered to bring a pebble, to place in Lisa's beautiful labyrinth, had remembered to bring the right kind of H-E-B brand guacamole, for Lisa's brisket tacos and had not forgotten to bring signed copies of my novella, as Tony's and my Christmas gifts to these great friends/volunteers.
Minutes after we had arrived, everyone showed up bringing gifts and the food and beverages, that they had signed up to bring. And the fun party began instantly, before Lisa and Chuck had served everyone their beer and wine refreshments.
Because up to now this has been an exclusive "girls only" party, the men stayed in the kitchen talking about men things at their kitchen table, while us hens left our drinks inside their house, so we could follow Lisa outside, so we could walk in Lisa's gigantic labyrinth and place our small rocks at the end of it.
June, Ellen, Eileen and Kris had brought beautiful, very interesting looking rocks and I brought a small heart-shaped rock, about the size of a silver dollar, that I had found in Tom Landry's and Buffy's pen earlier this morning, while I was cleaning it. (Don't worry. After we did our morning chores outside, I washed it in the kitchen sink and dried it, before I put it in my purse to take with me.)
After we had walked-the-walk and placed our rocks in Lisa's super cool labyrinth, we climbed the huge stone steps back up to the house, so we could grab our drinks and then have an official hen-party, outside on their patio.
First we opened up our gifts and laughed about some of them and I was having so much fun, until Ellen told Kris and me, who was sitting right next to me, "Y'all's gifts have not arrived yet, so I don't have anything to give to you. So, you must act like big girls and understand."
Kris laughed and smiled and acted like a big girl should, but I couldn't resist, so I stood up and jokingly, put my hands to my eyes and pretended to cry. "I can't believe that Ellen has ruined my Christmas. Everyone gets a present but Kris and me. Life is not fair..." After all of us had quit laughing about that, we kept on laughing about funny stories that we traded back and fourth. Then we went inside to eat a delicious lunch.
We first started with June's tasty homemade soup, that I want the recipe for, followed by mouth-watering brisket tacos and then Ellen's to-die-for-delicious cake, that she had bought at Central Market, in Austin, last week.
All in all, today's Annual Ladies Christmas Party, was a total blast and Tony can't wait until next year, to attend another one, if we choose to allow the men.
Kinky called me earlier this evening and he told me that his West Coast Bi-Polar Tour has been a lot of fun and that he is looking forward to returning to the ranch on Friday and I can't wait to see him and that is about it for tonight, except I want to say, "Merry Christmas, Ellen! I hope your gift gets here before Friday, because The World ends on Friday."
: )
Y'all have a great evening!
When we arrived at Lisa's and Chuck's home, Tony and I were the first to arrive and I was thrilled not to be late. I was also very happy that I had remembered to bring a pebble, to place in Lisa's beautiful labyrinth, had remembered to bring the right kind of H-E-B brand guacamole, for Lisa's brisket tacos and had not forgotten to bring signed copies of my novella, as Tony's and my Christmas gifts to these great friends/volunteers.
Minutes after we had arrived, everyone showed up bringing gifts and the food and beverages, that they had signed up to bring. And the fun party began instantly, before Lisa and Chuck had served everyone their beer and wine refreshments.
Because up to now this has been an exclusive "girls only" party, the men stayed in the kitchen talking about men things at their kitchen table, while us hens left our drinks inside their house, so we could follow Lisa outside, so we could walk in Lisa's gigantic labyrinth and place our small rocks at the end of it.
June, Ellen, Eileen and Kris had brought beautiful, very interesting looking rocks and I brought a small heart-shaped rock, about the size of a silver dollar, that I had found in Tom Landry's and Buffy's pen earlier this morning, while I was cleaning it. (Don't worry. After we did our morning chores outside, I washed it in the kitchen sink and dried it, before I put it in my purse to take with me.)
After we had walked-the-walk and placed our rocks in Lisa's super cool labyrinth, we climbed the huge stone steps back up to the house, so we could grab our drinks and then have an official hen-party, outside on their patio.
First we opened up our gifts and laughed about some of them and I was having so much fun, until Ellen told Kris and me, who was sitting right next to me, "Y'all's gifts have not arrived yet, so I don't have anything to give to you. So, you must act like big girls and understand."
Kris laughed and smiled and acted like a big girl should, but I couldn't resist, so I stood up and jokingly, put my hands to my eyes and pretended to cry. "I can't believe that Ellen has ruined my Christmas. Everyone gets a present but Kris and me. Life is not fair..." After all of us had quit laughing about that, we kept on laughing about funny stories that we traded back and fourth. Then we went inside to eat a delicious lunch.
We first started with June's tasty homemade soup, that I want the recipe for, followed by mouth-watering brisket tacos and then Ellen's to-die-for-delicious cake, that she had bought at Central Market, in Austin, last week.
All in all, today's Annual Ladies Christmas Party, was a total blast and Tony can't wait until next year, to attend another one, if we choose to allow the men.
Kinky called me earlier this evening and he told me that his West Coast Bi-Polar Tour has been a lot of fun and that he is looking forward to returning to the ranch on Friday and I can't wait to see him and that is about it for tonight, except I want to say, "Merry Christmas, Ellen! I hope your gift gets here before Friday, because The World ends on Friday."
: )
Y'all have a great evening!
Saturday, December 15, 2012
My Second Book Review!
Here's what my dear friend Vern had to say in an e-mail to me about The Cowgirl Sisterhood: The Membership Drive, Part I!
Hi Nancy,
I just wanted to let you know that I received your new book yesterday. It is beautifully done and the cover photos are fabulous!
I started reading it this morning at around 5:30 AM and would have completed it in one sitting except for laughing so much at the part about you and Maya farting when you saddled her up! I laughed so hard that the tears caused me to have to stop reading for a while.
I loved the Vern character and got a laugh out of his business dealings.
Thanks for including my character in your really funny adventure novella.
Please give Tone my best and tell him he has become my photo hero.
Peace and love,
Vern the Hippie
My First Book Review From Mari!
Mari of the NoMads said...
Shameless plug for Nancy's new book here:
If you enjoy this blog and have followed it for any length of time, you will LOVE the book! This reader found herself drifting in and out of reality/fantasy as the lines do 'blur' in this book.
It's a blast to read.
And if you follow this blog, you know that I dislike being left 'hanging', as in when Nancy ends her blog posts "to be continued".
So that's my only complaint about this new book and you know it would be MY complaint - waiting for the sequel is the longest TO BE CONTINUED wait I hope I EVER have to endure! LOL
Buy it - you'll like it!
I think Nancy has created some wonderful characters in this book - she and Carol are liable to become America's favorite new heroines!
Personally I can't wait for the movie!
If you enjoy this blog and have followed it for any length of time, you will LOVE the book! This reader found herself drifting in and out of reality/fantasy as the lines do 'blur' in this book.
It's a blast to read.
And if you follow this blog, you know that I dislike being left 'hanging', as in when Nancy ends her blog posts "to be continued".
So that's my only complaint about this new book and you know it would be MY complaint - waiting for the sequel is the longest TO BE CONTINUED wait I hope I EVER have to endure! LOL
Buy it - you'll like it!
I think Nancy has created some wonderful characters in this book - she and Carol are liable to become America's favorite new heroines!
Personally I can't wait for the movie!
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Can You Hear Me Now?
Yesterday was a lot of fun for Tony and me. Our lunch with Mari was a total blast and yes, she and I out-talked Tone. In fact, T. only got to say fourteen words. After we had ordered our lunch, Mari gave me some really nice Christmas presents which I loved. Then I gave her a signed copy of my new novella, because she and her husband David are some of my favorite characters in it.
During lunch we talked about dogs. Her super trained, award winning agility dogs and Tony's and my personal not-really-trained-so-well dogs. We had a long, serious talk about how hard it is to find and buy Made In The USA products, because China makes just about everything now days. Then we talked about our friend Lori and her family opening up a Popeye's Chicken franchise in Kerrville. Then we started talking about getting older. We laughed about no longer being able to multi-task like we use to do, our forgetfulness and our aches and pains and that's when Tony finally got to speak.
"I use Kinesio tape for my back and shoulder," he said. (Nine words)
"What's that?" Mari asked.
"It's used in sports medicine and it has really helped Tony's back," I said. "Hasn't it, Tony?"
"Yes, and my shoulder, too," he said. (Five Words)
After I had told Mari all about the tape she told us, "David uses Salonpas to help his back and shoulder and then she told us all about the heated patches and where to get them.
So after a really fun lunch with Mari, we went straight to Walgreens and bought Tony Salonpas heated pads. Then we went to Wolfmueller Books to see Sandy and Jon, so they could buy some books from me for them to sell. Then we went to the Post Office so I could mail some books and then we came home.
Our dear friend Fourth came over around 6:00 to visit with us and to buy some more books, because his wife Lynda had just finished reading my novella and they wanted to give them as Christmas presents to their friends. And during our fun two-hour Happy Hour, we laughed and traded stories until 8:00, because Fourth needed to go home.
Today has been great. While Tony and I were outside doing our morning chores he told me that our dear friend Jimmie, who just turned seventy-years-old ate Chinese food for the very first time in his life and when Tony read it on Facebook he asked Jimmie why he hadn't ever tried it his response was, "I love BBQ and am a meat and potatoes kind of guy." (We love you, Jimmie!)
We went to Kerrville after lunch, so we could go to The Rev radio station, so we could drop off signed books for Harley and Big G, pick up some groceries at H-E-B and so I could mail out more books at the Post Office.
When we arrived at the station, Big G was in the lobby and after howdies, handshakes and hugs I gave him the books and then we had a fun conversation with him, before he had to get back to work. After mailing out more books we went to the H-E-B, on Highway 16 for two reasons, get groceries and get Tony's new ten-dollar Trac Phone working.
Last Tuesday, Tony and I bought each other new ten-dollar cell phones for Christmas, because ours were 1st generation and over twelve years old and Tony's no longer worked. That evening he called Trac Phone to get our phones activated and our minutes moved over, but there was a problem, but he didn't know it.
The next day after he had gotten our cell phones activated, his wouldn't let him make a call, because of a SIM problem. And because we have no cell service out here to check the phone, we decided before going to Kerrville today, that Tony would sit in Trigger, where there was a signal and use my new phone to work out the problem, while I bought groceries.
When I returned to the truck with our groceries, T. was still on the phone trying to get his to work. When I climbed into Trigger, Tony was talking to a tech and then when the tech put him on hold, Tony says, "Les came by to say hi to me, but I couldn't talk to him because the tech was giving me instructions. I feel terrible about it..." A few minutes later Tony's phone was activated and working!
When we got home I shot our good friend Les an e-mail explaining why Tony couldn't talk to him and that is about it for tonight.
Y'all have a great evening!
During lunch we talked about dogs. Her super trained, award winning agility dogs and Tony's and my personal not-really-trained-so-well dogs. We had a long, serious talk about how hard it is to find and buy Made In The USA products, because China makes just about everything now days. Then we talked about our friend Lori and her family opening up a Popeye's Chicken franchise in Kerrville. Then we started talking about getting older. We laughed about no longer being able to multi-task like we use to do, our forgetfulness and our aches and pains and that's when Tony finally got to speak.
"I use Kinesio tape for my back and shoulder," he said. (Nine words)
"What's that?" Mari asked.
"It's used in sports medicine and it has really helped Tony's back," I said. "Hasn't it, Tony?"
"Yes, and my shoulder, too," he said. (Five Words)
After I had told Mari all about the tape she told us, "David uses Salonpas to help his back and shoulder and then she told us all about the heated patches and where to get them.
So after a really fun lunch with Mari, we went straight to Walgreens and bought Tony Salonpas heated pads. Then we went to Wolfmueller Books to see Sandy and Jon, so they could buy some books from me for them to sell. Then we went to the Post Office so I could mail some books and then we came home.
Our dear friend Fourth came over around 6:00 to visit with us and to buy some more books, because his wife Lynda had just finished reading my novella and they wanted to give them as Christmas presents to their friends. And during our fun two-hour Happy Hour, we laughed and traded stories until 8:00, because Fourth needed to go home.
Today has been great. While Tony and I were outside doing our morning chores he told me that our dear friend Jimmie, who just turned seventy-years-old ate Chinese food for the very first time in his life and when Tony read it on Facebook he asked Jimmie why he hadn't ever tried it his response was, "I love BBQ and am a meat and potatoes kind of guy." (We love you, Jimmie!)
We went to Kerrville after lunch, so we could go to The Rev radio station, so we could drop off signed books for Harley and Big G, pick up some groceries at H-E-B and so I could mail out more books at the Post Office.
When we arrived at the station, Big G was in the lobby and after howdies, handshakes and hugs I gave him the books and then we had a fun conversation with him, before he had to get back to work. After mailing out more books we went to the H-E-B, on Highway 16 for two reasons, get groceries and get Tony's new ten-dollar Trac Phone working.
Last Tuesday, Tony and I bought each other new ten-dollar cell phones for Christmas, because ours were 1st generation and over twelve years old and Tony's no longer worked. That evening he called Trac Phone to get our phones activated and our minutes moved over, but there was a problem, but he didn't know it.
The next day after he had gotten our cell phones activated, his wouldn't let him make a call, because of a SIM problem. And because we have no cell service out here to check the phone, we decided before going to Kerrville today, that Tony would sit in Trigger, where there was a signal and use my new phone to work out the problem, while I bought groceries.
When I returned to the truck with our groceries, T. was still on the phone trying to get his to work. When I climbed into Trigger, Tony was talking to a tech and then when the tech put him on hold, Tony says, "Les came by to say hi to me, but I couldn't talk to him because the tech was giving me instructions. I feel terrible about it..." A few minutes later Tony's phone was activated and working!
When we got home I shot our good friend Les an e-mail explaining why Tony couldn't talk to him and that is about it for tonight.
Y'all have a great evening!
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Fourth!
Today has been so great, but I can't write about it tonight, because it is close to my bed time. Early this evening our dear friend Fourth, who is one of the quirky characters in my fiction novella, came out around 6:00 to buy some more copies of my book and after a couple of glasses of my cheap, boxed wine we got to talking and trading funny and interesting stories back and forth and before we knew it, it was already 8:00 and Tony and I had a blast visiting with him.
Tomorrow evening I promise to write about today, which will include our fun lunch with Mari, of The NoMads and our day.
Y'all have a great evening!
Tomorrow evening I promise to write about today, which will include our fun lunch with Mari, of The NoMads and our day.
Y'all have a great evening!
Monday, December 10, 2012
Cloud Nine!
As you can well guess, I am on Cloud Nine tonight, because my books arrived at 4:20 and I am thrilled with how they turned out and how many I have already sold.
Other than the excitement of receiving my books, nothing much has happened out here today. So, I am going to spend my evening packing my book orders, so I can ship them out tomorrow.
Y'all have a great evening!
Other than the excitement of receiving my books, nothing much has happened out here today. So, I am going to spend my evening packing my book orders, so I can ship them out tomorrow.
Y'all have a great evening!
My Novella Books Will Be Arriving Today!
Today is going to be a wonderful day for me, because my novella books will be arriving in just a couple of hours and tomorrow I will start shipping them out as fast as I can! And I already want to thank everyone who has already ordered copies.
While I was outside doing my morning chores I realized that some people might want to buy my new novella by check. So, if you would rather do that than use a credit card please write it and send it to:
While I was outside doing my morning chores I realized that some people might want to buy my new novella by check. So, if you would rather do that than use a credit card please write it and send it to:
Nancy Parker-Simons
966 Echo Hill Road
Medina, Texas 78055
I'll write more today about today later this evening. I am so excited!
Y'all have a great afternoon!
Sunday, December 9, 2012
It's Fess Parker Wine Time!
Today has been great, because I have put my soft cover novella buying information up on my blog, so y'all can be the first to own a signed copy.
It has been over two years since I have put a PayPal deal on my blog to sell books and I was nervous about how to do it again, because I had forgotten how to do it. I am proud to say that it only took me about forty minutes to figure it out again.
I have been tracking my shipment of books, just like I always do with Santa Claus and as of late last night the novella paperbacks are now in San Antonio and I am hoping that they will arrive late tomorrow afternoon, even though the UPS information still says the estimated delivery will be on Tuesday, the 11th.
If anyone has any questions about purchasing my first novella please feel free to call me at the ranch or send me an e-mail. And that is about it for tonight, because I am so happy. I am fixin' to finally drink a glass or two of Fess Parker Wine with Tony, that my dear friends Cheryl and Walt gave to me for my sixty-first birthday, to celebrate this very special occasion of my very first fiction, mystery, cliffhanger novella being published by Undepressable Press. And I hope that y'all will enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it.
P.S. Within the next couple of days The Cowgirl Sisterhood: The Membership Drive, Part I will also be available as an e-book at Amazon and Barnes & Noble and I will announce it as soon as I get it done.
Y'all have a great evening!
It has been over two years since I have put a PayPal deal on my blog to sell books and I was nervous about how to do it again, because I had forgotten how to do it. I am proud to say that it only took me about forty minutes to figure it out again.
I have been tracking my shipment of books, just like I always do with Santa Claus and as of late last night the novella paperbacks are now in San Antonio and I am hoping that they will arrive late tomorrow afternoon, even though the UPS information still says the estimated delivery will be on Tuesday, the 11th.
If anyone has any questions about purchasing my first novella please feel free to call me at the ranch or send me an e-mail. And that is about it for tonight, because I am so happy. I am fixin' to finally drink a glass or two of Fess Parker Wine with Tony, that my dear friends Cheryl and Walt gave to me for my sixty-first birthday, to celebrate this very special occasion of my very first fiction, mystery, cliffhanger novella being published by Undepressable Press. And I hope that y'all will enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it.
P.S. Within the next couple of days The Cowgirl Sisterhood: The Membership Drive, Part I will also be available as an e-book at Amazon and Barnes & Noble and I will announce it as soon as I get it done.
Y'all have a great evening!
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Friday, December 7, 2012
The Pendletons!
Today has been great. This morning Jim, June, Ellen and Kris, our friends/volunteers came out and walked our dogs and we loved it and our dogs loved it even more.
While they walked our happy dogs Tony's friends Melanie and Terry, who he had met during his Texas Master Naturalists Hill Country Chapter course, came out to see our rescue ranch and we had a fun time visiting with them. And they especially loved meeting Roy Rogers, my ninety-five pound four-legged soul mate.
After Terry and Melanie left, we went up to Koyote Ranch, to visit with our friends, while they ate lunch. Tony and I didn't eat there, because we were meeting our dear friends Cheryl and Walt for a fun lunch at El Sol de Mexico at 1:30. (Cheryl and Walter are characters in my upcoming novella, The Cowgirl Sisterhood: The Membership Drive Part I.)
When Tony and I walked into our new favorite Mexican food restaurant, for the fourth time this week, Peto, their super waiter, chuckled when he saw us walk in before greeting us. As usual, Tony and I sat at our table, the same table that we have sat at with Sandy and Jon on Monday, Carol on Tuesday, Carol on Thursday and today with Cheryl and Walt.
Our lunch with Walter and Cheryl was so much fun and it was filled with non-stop laughter and interesting stories. As we ate our delicious lunch, our dear friends told us that their Christmas present for us was being delivered to us today by UPS, so we thanked them in advance even though we had no idea what it was, because they wouldn't tell us.
When Tony and I got home Carlton was flashing on the breakfast bar, so I pushed his button and heard Dusty Pendleton, tell us that he and Martha wanted to come out and adopt Jackie Kennedy Onassis, so Tony called them back to let them know that we had the gate opened for them.
Then the dogs outside started barking. "UPS is here," Tony said and then he went outside to meet with the friendly UPS driver.
When he came back inside he was carrying a big, five inch thick box. "I wonder what it is?" I said, as Tony used his box cutter to open up the box. Inside was a beautiful gift wrapped box with a card from Cheryl and Walt. After we read their sweet note to us Tony unwrapped the box and then our jaws dropped to the floor. "Oh my god, it's a Pendleton Journey blanket! Tony, I have wanted to buy a Pendleton blanket for the longest time, but never have because they are so expensive. It's so beautiful and the colors are perfect."
After Tony and I had admired our beautiful gift, I sat down at the computer to send an e-mail to Cheryl and Walt to let them know that their gift had arrived and that we absolutely loved it and while I was typing them a note the dogs started barking outside, again. "The Pendletons are here," Tony said. So, I had to stop in the middle of my note to my friends, to go outside to greet Dusty and Martha and get them to sign off on Jackie-O's adoption papers.
We visited with Martha and Dusty, while she filled out Jackie's adoption papers and then they hopped into their truck and followed us down to Jackie's pen. When Jackie saw it was the Pendletons she knew they had come back to adopt her and talk about one thrilled little dog. While Tony put their new blue collar on Jackie, I said, "We hope Emmylou Harris and her will get along, but remember if it doesn't we'll gladly take her back."
"We're pretty sure they will get along, because Emmylou loves meeting other dogs," Dusty told us. After Tony put Jackie's leash on, she ran out of her pen and could not wait to kiss Martha on the cheek and knew that she could not wait to leave our rescue ranch.
When it was time for them to leave with their precious cargo, Tony and I told them that we had our fingers crossed for Jackie and hoped that she and Emmylou would become fast friends. Then we adios-ed each other and they drove away.
As Kermit took us back to The Cabin I laughed and Tony asked me why. "Because today has been a really great day, because of the Pendletons. And that is about it for tonight. "Thank you, Cheryl, Walt, Martha and Dusty. We love y'all."
Y'all have a great evening!
While they walked our happy dogs Tony's friends Melanie and Terry, who he had met during his Texas Master Naturalists Hill Country Chapter course, came out to see our rescue ranch and we had a fun time visiting with them. And they especially loved meeting Roy Rogers, my ninety-five pound four-legged soul mate.
After Terry and Melanie left, we went up to Koyote Ranch, to visit with our friends, while they ate lunch. Tony and I didn't eat there, because we were meeting our dear friends Cheryl and Walt for a fun lunch at El Sol de Mexico at 1:30. (Cheryl and Walter are characters in my upcoming novella, The Cowgirl Sisterhood: The Membership Drive Part I.)
When Tony and I walked into our new favorite Mexican food restaurant, for the fourth time this week, Peto, their super waiter, chuckled when he saw us walk in before greeting us. As usual, Tony and I sat at our table, the same table that we have sat at with Sandy and Jon on Monday, Carol on Tuesday, Carol on Thursday and today with Cheryl and Walt.
Our lunch with Walter and Cheryl was so much fun and it was filled with non-stop laughter and interesting stories. As we ate our delicious lunch, our dear friends told us that their Christmas present for us was being delivered to us today by UPS, so we thanked them in advance even though we had no idea what it was, because they wouldn't tell us.
When Tony and I got home Carlton was flashing on the breakfast bar, so I pushed his button and heard Dusty Pendleton, tell us that he and Martha wanted to come out and adopt Jackie Kennedy Onassis, so Tony called them back to let them know that we had the gate opened for them.
Then the dogs outside started barking. "UPS is here," Tony said and then he went outside to meet with the friendly UPS driver.
When he came back inside he was carrying a big, five inch thick box. "I wonder what it is?" I said, as Tony used his box cutter to open up the box. Inside was a beautiful gift wrapped box with a card from Cheryl and Walt. After we read their sweet note to us Tony unwrapped the box and then our jaws dropped to the floor. "Oh my god, it's a Pendleton Journey blanket! Tony, I have wanted to buy a Pendleton blanket for the longest time, but never have because they are so expensive. It's so beautiful and the colors are perfect."
After Tony and I had admired our beautiful gift, I sat down at the computer to send an e-mail to Cheryl and Walt to let them know that their gift had arrived and that we absolutely loved it and while I was typing them a note the dogs started barking outside, again. "The Pendletons are here," Tony said. So, I had to stop in the middle of my note to my friends, to go outside to greet Dusty and Martha and get them to sign off on Jackie-O's adoption papers.
We visited with Martha and Dusty, while she filled out Jackie's adoption papers and then they hopped into their truck and followed us down to Jackie's pen. When Jackie saw it was the Pendletons she knew they had come back to adopt her and talk about one thrilled little dog. While Tony put their new blue collar on Jackie, I said, "We hope Emmylou Harris and her will get along, but remember if it doesn't we'll gladly take her back."
"We're pretty sure they will get along, because Emmylou loves meeting other dogs," Dusty told us. After Tony put Jackie's leash on, she ran out of her pen and could not wait to kiss Martha on the cheek and knew that she could not wait to leave our rescue ranch.
When it was time for them to leave with their precious cargo, Tony and I told them that we had our fingers crossed for Jackie and hoped that she and Emmylou would become fast friends. Then we adios-ed each other and they drove away.
As Kermit took us back to The Cabin I laughed and Tony asked me why. "Because today has been a really great day, because of the Pendletons. And that is about it for tonight. "Thank you, Cheryl, Walt, Martha and Dusty. We love y'all."
Y'all have a great evening!
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
The Cowgirl Sisterhood: The Membership Drive E-Book Version!
Today has been great, but tonight I need to work on finishing the editing of The Cowgirl Sisterhood: The Membership Drive, Part I e-book version, because I want it to be available for Amazon's Kindle and Barnes & Noble Nook readers, the same day that my soft cover novella has its early release on Tuesday, December 11th.
I am very excited about writing a pure fiction, mystery, cliffhanger novella and I hope that y'all will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. The soft cover version turned out to be eighty-six pages and I've already forgotten how many pages the e-book version is, but I know that it is close to that number.
I decided that the cost of the soft cover and the e-book version is $10.00, because I sell my books for $20.00 and this is half of a book. I basically have already written Part II in my head and now all I have to do is go into a semi-trance and write what the characters tell me to write, which at times can be pretty exhausting, because they talk so fast and I type much slower since becoming a senior citizen. Anyway, I need to get back to work on the e-book version. Please wish me luck.
Y'all have a great evening!
I am very excited about writing a pure fiction, mystery, cliffhanger novella and I hope that y'all will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. The soft cover version turned out to be eighty-six pages and I've already forgotten how many pages the e-book version is, but I know that it is close to that number.
I decided that the cost of the soft cover and the e-book version is $10.00, because I sell my books for $20.00 and this is half of a book. I basically have already written Part II in my head and now all I have to do is go into a semi-trance and write what the characters tell me to write, which at times can be pretty exhausting, because they talk so fast and I type much slower since becoming a senior citizen. Anyway, I need to get back to work on the e-book version. Please wish me luck.
Y'all have a great evening!
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Carol Loved It, Too!
Today has been great, but I am going to keep this post short, because I want to spend my evening playing my guitar, drinking a couple of glasses of my fine, Franzia Chillable Red boxed wine and then go to bed early.
This afternoon after we had dropped off Molly Brown at Hoegemeyer Animal Clinic we met Carol for lunch at El Sol de Mexico, because we could not wait for her to try their fabulous Mexican food. I ordered their number twenty-six, the same thing that I ate yesterday, Tony ordered the number twenty-seven and Carol ordered number fifteen, grilled shrimp, sauteed mushrooms, onions and peppers, rice and french fries.
When the courteous, friendly waiter served us our lunch, Carol's jaw dropped to the floor when she took her first bite of shrimp, mushrooms, onions, etc. "This is absolutely delicious. The grilled shrimp is perfect, the mushrooms are not over cooked and the onions and peppers are to die for." Then she put a shrimp on my plate and Tony's plate to sample and it was the best grilled shrimp that we have ever eaten, in Kerrville. "I love this place!" Carol said. Then we spent the rest of our lunch talking about their delicious food and El Sol de Mexico becoming our new favorite Mexican food restaurant.
After we had cleaned our plates, Carol and I jokingly argued about who was going to pay the bill and she won out this time. "Thank you, Carol."
Then I ordered a dozen tamales to take home and all I can say is, "The Best Tamales in Kerrville."
Y'all have a great evening!
This afternoon after we had dropped off Molly Brown at Hoegemeyer Animal Clinic we met Carol for lunch at El Sol de Mexico, because we could not wait for her to try their fabulous Mexican food. I ordered their number twenty-six, the same thing that I ate yesterday, Tony ordered the number twenty-seven and Carol ordered number fifteen, grilled shrimp, sauteed mushrooms, onions and peppers, rice and french fries.
When the courteous, friendly waiter served us our lunch, Carol's jaw dropped to the floor when she took her first bite of shrimp, mushrooms, onions, etc. "This is absolutely delicious. The grilled shrimp is perfect, the mushrooms are not over cooked and the onions and peppers are to die for." Then she put a shrimp on my plate and Tony's plate to sample and it was the best grilled shrimp that we have ever eaten, in Kerrville. "I love this place!" Carol said. Then we spent the rest of our lunch talking about their delicious food and El Sol de Mexico becoming our new favorite Mexican food restaurant.
After we had cleaned our plates, Carol and I jokingly argued about who was going to pay the bill and she won out this time. "Thank you, Carol."
Then I ordered a dozen tamales to take home and all I can say is, "The Best Tamales in Kerrville."
Y'all have a great evening!
Monday, December 3, 2012
El Sol de Mexico!
Today has been great. This morning before Tony and I went outside to do our chores I called the people in Akron, Ohio, who are printing my novella, to find out if they had received my certified cashiers check. "Yes, we have and your book has gone into production and it will be shipped on Wednesday and should arrive there on Tuesday, December 11th," the nice young woman said. I was thrilled about the good news and then went outside to work.
After I had cleaned a couple of dog pens, I came back to The Cabin to put on a rain coat, because it was misting. When I walked inside, Carlton was flashing me, because someone had left a message. So, I pushed Carlton's button and heard, "Hello, Nancy. This is Jon. Sandy and I want to know if y'all can meet us for lunch today. Call me."
I called Jon Wolfmueller and said, "We'd love to. We'll be finished with our chores around 11:15. How does twelve-ish sound?"
Ten minutes before twelve Tony and I walked into Wolfmueller's Books and their bookstore was full of tourists and Kerrverts buying their books. In between them checking out customers and helping people find their books, we decided to eat at a Mexican restaurant that Tony and I never knew existed. "You'll love it," Sandy told us. "It's one of our favorite Mexican food restaurants and it is right down the street. It used to be a gasoline station and they have converted into a really fun place to dine."
"Where is it?" Tony asked.
"On Water Street going towards Schreiner University. You can't miss it, because it will be on the left and the building is painted orange," Jon said.
"Who's minding the store for y'all while we're gone?" I asked.
"Mary Jo," Sandy said, as Mary Jo walked up.
"Hi, Mary Jo," I said. "You're in my new book."
Mary Jo chuckled and said, "So, I get to buy your book." A few minutes later, we adios-ed Sandy, Jon and Mary Jo and left the bookstore, so we could go meet the Wolfmuellers for a super fun lunch.
When we pulled up to El Sol de Mexico, Sandy and Jon pulled up right behind us and we went inside to grab us a table before the lunch crowd arrived. As soon as we sat down at a table a friendly waiter came to our table and told us that their daily Special was number twenty-six and then he asked us what we wanted to drink. It was like a wave, because we each said, "Tea," and it made me laugh, because I felt like we were on another fun vacation with our good friends.
After the waiter had served us our tea and put chips and salsa on the table he took our order. "I'll have the Special," I said.
"Me, too" Tone said.
"I'll have the Special, too," Sandy said.
""Me, too," Jon said, which made me laugh out loud, because we had ordered the same thing again. Which was two cheese enchiladas, refried beans, rice, a puffy taco and a chalupa. About fifteen minutes later when the waiter put our special lunch plates down on our table, we had already laughed a lot, as we caught up with each others news.
When I took my first bite of everything on my plate I would say, "Oh my god, I love this. These beans, enchiladas, puffy taco, chalupa and rice are the best and they all agreed with me. "This place is fixin' to be Tone's and my favorite Mexican food restaurant. The vibes in here are great and this is the best Tex-Mex food that I've ever eaten in Kerrville..."
I am generally a half a plate eater and always leave the other half of the food left on the plate, but I am embarrassed to say that today I cleaned my plate, because the food was so delicious.
Early this evening I went over to visit with Carol and after I had told her about discovering this great Mexican restaurant, she told me, "In Spanish, El Sol de Mexico translated, means the Mexican Sun," or something like that. And that is about it for this evening.
Y'all have a great evening!
After I had cleaned a couple of dog pens, I came back to The Cabin to put on a rain coat, because it was misting. When I walked inside, Carlton was flashing me, because someone had left a message. So, I pushed Carlton's button and heard, "Hello, Nancy. This is Jon. Sandy and I want to know if y'all can meet us for lunch today. Call me."
I called Jon Wolfmueller and said, "We'd love to. We'll be finished with our chores around 11:15. How does twelve-ish sound?"
Ten minutes before twelve Tony and I walked into Wolfmueller's Books and their bookstore was full of tourists and Kerrverts buying their books. In between them checking out customers and helping people find their books, we decided to eat at a Mexican restaurant that Tony and I never knew existed. "You'll love it," Sandy told us. "It's one of our favorite Mexican food restaurants and it is right down the street. It used to be a gasoline station and they have converted into a really fun place to dine."
"Where is it?" Tony asked.
"On Water Street going towards Schreiner University. You can't miss it, because it will be on the left and the building is painted orange," Jon said.
"Who's minding the store for y'all while we're gone?" I asked.
"Mary Jo," Sandy said, as Mary Jo walked up.
"Hi, Mary Jo," I said. "You're in my new book."
Mary Jo chuckled and said, "So, I get to buy your book." A few minutes later, we adios-ed Sandy, Jon and Mary Jo and left the bookstore, so we could go meet the Wolfmuellers for a super fun lunch.
When we pulled up to El Sol de Mexico, Sandy and Jon pulled up right behind us and we went inside to grab us a table before the lunch crowd arrived. As soon as we sat down at a table a friendly waiter came to our table and told us that their daily Special was number twenty-six and then he asked us what we wanted to drink. It was like a wave, because we each said, "Tea," and it made me laugh, because I felt like we were on another fun vacation with our good friends.
After the waiter had served us our tea and put chips and salsa on the table he took our order. "I'll have the Special," I said.
"Me, too" Tone said.
"I'll have the Special, too," Sandy said.
""Me, too," Jon said, which made me laugh out loud, because we had ordered the same thing again. Which was two cheese enchiladas, refried beans, rice, a puffy taco and a chalupa. About fifteen minutes later when the waiter put our special lunch plates down on our table, we had already laughed a lot, as we caught up with each others news.
When I took my first bite of everything on my plate I would say, "Oh my god, I love this. These beans, enchiladas, puffy taco, chalupa and rice are the best and they all agreed with me. "This place is fixin' to be Tone's and my favorite Mexican food restaurant. The vibes in here are great and this is the best Tex-Mex food that I've ever eaten in Kerrville..."
I am generally a half a plate eater and always leave the other half of the food left on the plate, but I am embarrassed to say that today I cleaned my plate, because the food was so delicious.
Early this evening I went over to visit with Carol and after I had told her about discovering this great Mexican restaurant, she told me, "In Spanish, El Sol de Mexico translated, means the Mexican Sun," or something like that. And that is about it for this evening.
Y'all have a great evening!
Saturday, December 1, 2012
I Coud Not Wait!
Today has been a great day and rumor has it, as of 4:45 this afternoon, that Jackie Kennedy Onassis might get adopted on Monday if she gets along with their dog, Emmylou Harris, who was adopted from us a while back. So, Tony and I are keeping our fingers crossed for her, because she is a really cute dog.
Yesterday was great and was filled with excitement and that is why I didn't blog, because I was pretty tired. Friday morning when Tony returned home after drinking coffee with his friends at The Old Timer, his first words to me were, "We've got a new dog. Someone tied her to our gate after I left this morning. She's a great dog and I just put her into The Okay Corral...."
When our volunteers came out to walk our dogs I introduced them to the sweet, one-year-old dog and everyone fell in love with her. "She looks like a Molly to me," Kris said, so I decided that Molly would be her name.
While everyone was walking our dogs I kept coming inside The Cabin to check my e-mail and phone messages. I needed to okay the final proofs for my novella and then high-tail it to Bandera, to withdraw some cash, so I could go to Kerrville to deposit it into my book publishing business account, so I could get a certified check for the full payment and then rush to FedEx to overnight it.
When Carol showed up I told her about being excited about my novella and what all I needed to do before 3:00. Then she offered to lend me the cash to save me time from having to go to Bandera. "We can go to my bank to withdraw the money."
"And I will write you a check and you can deposit it right back into your account..."
When everyone was fixin' to go eat lunch I told them what all I needed to do and that Tony and I were fixin' to go pick up Carol and go to Kerrville, because time was of the essence and they totally understood.
Time wise, everything worked out in Kerrville and when we got back home, around 3:00, I checked my e-mail and the proofs were there for me to sign off on, but since the printing company was on Eastern Standard Time, I only had one hour to sign off on my novella.
When I looked at the proofs I was so thrilled, because they had done a great job for me, for the second time in two years. As soon as I signed off on the printing I called the printers and told them what all I had done in Kerrville and that the check would be there Monday morning. "As soon as we receive the check we will start printing your books," the nice woman said. Then I thanked her and asked her to please tell her staff at 48 HrBooks that I was thrilled with their work. Then I called Carol to ask if I could come over, for a minute, to show her the book cover, because I could not wait for her to see it.
When I showed the cover to Carol she loved it as much as me and I hope y'all do, too!
Yesterday was great and was filled with excitement and that is why I didn't blog, because I was pretty tired. Friday morning when Tony returned home after drinking coffee with his friends at The Old Timer, his first words to me were, "We've got a new dog. Someone tied her to our gate after I left this morning. She's a great dog and I just put her into The Okay Corral...."
When our volunteers came out to walk our dogs I introduced them to the sweet, one-year-old dog and everyone fell in love with her. "She looks like a Molly to me," Kris said, so I decided that Molly would be her name.
While everyone was walking our dogs I kept coming inside The Cabin to check my e-mail and phone messages. I needed to okay the final proofs for my novella and then high-tail it to Bandera, to withdraw some cash, so I could go to Kerrville to deposit it into my book publishing business account, so I could get a certified check for the full payment and then rush to FedEx to overnight it.
When Carol showed up I told her about being excited about my novella and what all I needed to do before 3:00. Then she offered to lend me the cash to save me time from having to go to Bandera. "We can go to my bank to withdraw the money."
"And I will write you a check and you can deposit it right back into your account..."
When everyone was fixin' to go eat lunch I told them what all I needed to do and that Tony and I were fixin' to go pick up Carol and go to Kerrville, because time was of the essence and they totally understood.
Time wise, everything worked out in Kerrville and when we got back home, around 3:00, I checked my e-mail and the proofs were there for me to sign off on, but since the printing company was on Eastern Standard Time, I only had one hour to sign off on my novella.
When I looked at the proofs I was so thrilled, because they had done a great job for me, for the second time in two years. As soon as I signed off on the printing I called the printers and told them what all I had done in Kerrville and that the check would be there Monday morning. "As soon as we receive the check we will start printing your books," the nice woman said. Then I thanked her and asked her to please tell her staff at 48 HrBooks that I was thrilled with their work. Then I called Carol to ask if I could come over, for a minute, to show her the book cover, because I could not wait for her to see it.
When I showed the cover to Carol she loved it as much as me and I hope y'all do, too!
And here's the back of the novella.
And y'all have a great evening!
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