Sadie!

Today has been great. This morning I got up early so I could do Big G's popular radio show and so I could also bake a spinach and mushroom quiche for breakfast.

I had a fun time visiting with Big G and his Pet of the Week was Wilma Flintstone. Wilma is nearly two-years-old and she is a fabulous dog, except for being a chicken murderer. We adopted Wilma out when she was a young pup and several months later, Wilma was returned to us, because she ate the couple's chickens.

When the couple returned her to us they were crying, because they loved Wilma and chickens. The sweet woman told us that Wilma was a perfect dog in every way, but they could not keep her out of their chicken house. So, if you are wanting a great yellow Lab mix, that you will share your fast food fried chicken with—adopt Wilma.

This morning while Brandon, Tony and I ate breakfast, Brandon would not quit raving about how tasty my quiche was. And to prove it, here is a picture that I took of Belle, seriously begging T. to please give her some quiche.

This morning while Tony and Brandon did the morning chores outside, I walked four more miles with Leslie Sansone. When the guys came inside I bragged about walking twelve miles in the past three days and then I said, "I'm not going to walk tomorrow with Leslie, until my Nike+ Band arrives. I cannot wait to read the results..."

This afternoon, after the three of us ate lunch, Tony told me that he was going to take Brandon home, because there was nothing else to do outside. When they left, I decided to go take a short nap with our dogs and it turned out to be very short.

With all five of our dogs on the bed with me, I closed my eyes, and then I heard the front door open. "Nancy? It's Brandon." 

"I'll be right there, Brandon. If the dogs will let me get off of the bed." After climbing over and shoving my furry best friends, I came into the kitchen and asked Brandon what was going on.

"We just rescued a dog. Tony has her outside." I grabbed my camera and then we went outside to The Okay Corral.

"We found her going down the middle of the road, about a quarter of a mile before we got to 16," Tony said, as he filled a bucket with water. "She's real sweet and seems to be in pretty good shape. She's either lost or  someone must have dumped her..." I immediately named her Sadie and then I took this picture of her, before the three of us jumped into Buttermilk and took her to Hoegemeyer Animal Clinic, in Kerrville.

Sadie rode in the back seat with Brandon and she was very calm, like she was used to riding in cars. On the way there, we discussed putting her with Red Skelton, Rocky or George, if we can't locate her owners.

When we walked inside the clinic, we told Susan about Tony and Brandon rescuing her and then we asked her to wait a couple of days before spaying her and giving her shots, etc., because we hoped that we might be able to find her people. And that is about it for tonight.

Y'all have a great evening!

One To Four Months!

Today has been great, but first I want to invite everyone to go see my dear friend Donna Schloss' collection of Asian & African Fiber Arts, at the Kerr Arts & Cultural Center. It runs through the entire month of August and the opening reception is on Saturday, August 3rd from 1:00 - 3:00.

On several occasions our friend, Donna, has shown Tony and me some of her Asian and African fiber arts collection and we were very impressed with it. I hope that y'all will check out Donna's awesome collection, at the Kerr Arts & Cultural Center, at 228 Earl Garrett Street, across the street from Wolfmueller's Books. If I can get away this Saturday, I am going to be at the opening reception and I hope I see you there.

Early this morning, after we ate breakfast, I walked four miles with Leslie Sansone, while Brandon and Tony did the outside chores. Yesterday morning I also walked four miles with Leslie, inside The Cabin, because I am trying to lose some weight and get healthier.

Later on, while the three of us ate lunch together, I told them about possibly buying a Fitbit Flex (A very popular, souped-up pedometer, similar to the Nike+ Fuel band, but it is much cheaper.) to help motivate me to move more. They thought it was a very cool idea and so did I until I found one Online. "Get this," I said. "Here's a brand new one for sale for $99.00, but it says that it will ship within one to four months. Forget that." Tony and Brandon started laughing. "I need for it to ship in one to four minutes."

After lunch I started searching some more for a new Fitbit Flex and I finally decided to give up, because all of the ones that I saw were either out of stock or on back order. The Fitbit Flex is obviously a very popular item and because I am not good at waiting, I've decided to just keep on walking with Leslie. Who knows? In a few months I might not need or want one by then. And that is about it for tonight, because I've just decided to go check out the Nike+ Fuel Band, because my dear friend Mari loves hers and swears about it being the best.

It is now twenty minutes later and my Nike+ Fuel Band will be arriving on Wednesday! To celebrate, I am going to let myself eat a peanut butter cookie, because when I put my new Nike+ Band on Wednesday, I will no longer be eating cookies, because It will know. 

Y'all have a great evening!

Roy, Mama And Kinky!

Today has been great. Early this morning Kinky and Brian, his business partner for Man In Black Tequila, came over for a quick cup of coffee and a short, but fun visit, before they took off to Fort Worth, to attend a tequila convention.

While we drank coffee with them, in the kitchen, Roy and Mama would not leave Kinky alone. They were both fighting for Kinky's attention and if Mama wasn't shaking hands with Kinky and demanding that he pet her, Roy was trying to kiss him on the cheek and it was pretty funny. And the only way that we could make our dogs leave Kink alone, was for Brandon to make Mama and Roy sit and then toss dog treats to them. But as soon as Brandon had given them treats, they'd return to Kinky for attention.

During their visit, Kinky asked Tony to show him the great caricature that our friend, Mike Scovel, an extremely talented artist, did of Tony. And Brian loved it and he thought it was totally amazing, as did all of us.

After lunch we had a few visitors come out who only wanted to take a tour, but not adopt and Tony and I enjoyed meeting them and giving them tours. And that is about it for today, because if you are reading this early this evening, Tony and I are and our dear friends, Sandy and Jon, are up at Koyote Ranch, eating pizza.

Y'all have a great evening!

Thank You, Volunteers!

Today has been great. This morning our friends/volunteers came out to walk our dogs and some of them brought along their friends and or family to help. Needless to say, "All of our dogs were walked and most of them went for a swim too." Thank you, volunteers! Our dogs loved it.

Around 11:30, all seventeen of us went up to Koyote Ranch to eat lunch together and there were so many of us, five of our friends had to sit at a nearby table. Our lunch was delicious and filled with fun and laughter.

The rest of the day was quiet and peaceful. And that is about it for tonight.

Y'all have a great evening!

A Pickup!

Today has been great. This morning after Brandon and Tony finished working outside, we jumped into Buttermilk and took off for Kerrville. There were three reasons that we were going to Kerrville.

Our first stop was at our friend Stan's music store, The Melody Corner, because I wanted to buy a pickup for my banjo.

After a fun visit with Stan and buying a pickup, we headed over to Randy & Lisa's Save Inn restaurant, because we were meeting our good friend Eileen, #3 of the super Fab 4 friends/volunteers, and her husband for lunch.

Our lunch with them was a lot of fun and the food was delicious as always. When we left the Save Inn, Eileen followed us to Hoegemeyer Animal Clinic, because we were going to take a picture of Tadpole and she wanted to meet him.

When Susan brought Tadpole into the lobby for his photo shoot, Brandon and Eileen could not believe how cute he was and how healthy he looked. When Susan put Tadpole on the tile floor, he ran to greet each of us with his tail wagging non-stop.

Susan ended up having to hold him for his photo shoot, because he was running all around the lobby, making it hard to snap a good picture of him. Here's Tadpole, a very lucky pup that has already been adopted, thanks to the great people at Hoegemeyers.

When we returned to the rescue ranch, I did some paperwork and returned phone calls and e-mails, until Karon came over with a sweet girl, from the Medina Children's Home, who wanted to volunteer by taking Red Skelton and Gretchen Wilson for a walk, to see if they would get along, so she could replace Buttercup, who had been Red's short term pen mate.

Even though Red decided that he did not want to share his pen with Gretchen, Karon told us that Buttercup aka Butterball had fit right in with her furry family. And that is about it for tonight.

Y'all have a great evening!

One Lucky Tadpole!

Today has been great. This morning at 7:20, I did the Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch segment on Big G's popular radio show, on KOOK 1230AM. It was a lot of fun and his Pet of the Week was Buster Brown. Buster is the very sweet, five-year-old Jack Russell that we rescued last month, because his owner passed away and he needs a home.

After I cooked breakfast for Brandon, Tony and me, they went outside to feed the dogs and clean the pens. When Brandon and Tony had finished doing their chores, Tony and I took off for Hoegemeyer Animal Clinic, in Kerrville, because we needed to get Mama's Previcox prescription refilled, because Tony had given her last pill early this morning.

When we arrived at the clinic, Susan gave me Mama's pills, then we went into the back with her, because she wanted to show us the improved version of Tadpole, the small pup that we rescued that one of their vet techs has already adopted.

Oh my goodness, the minute that we saw little Tadpole, we both started grinning, because he looked very healthy and happy, nothing like the poor sick puppy that Tony had taken to them weeks ago. He was so cute, I asked Tony if he had a camera with him, to take his picture, so I could show it on my blog tonight.

Unfortunately, Tony was without cameras and I was disappointed, because this little pup was too cute and precious. He is about the size of a Chihuahua and his front legs are bowlegged. So, tomorrow if we go to Kerrville, we are going to swing by the clinic, so we can take his picture just to show y'all one very lucky little puppy. And that is about it for tonight.

Y'all have a great evening!

The Queen Of Sass!

Today has been great. After lunch some very nice college students came out to take a tour of the rescue ranch and then they walked Red and Reba McIntyre down to the creek, so they could let the dogs go swimming.

Around 4:00, Karon called. She told Tony that she and Dalton would be coming over around 6:30 to pick up Reba. She also told Tony that she was going to change Reba's name to Buttercup The Queen of Sass! And Tony, Brandon and I love her new name.

This evening after Karon had officially changed Reba's name and adopted her, she started playing with her. "Why is she so fat today?" Karon asked. "Buttercup looks like she swallowed a bowling ball."

After all of us had quit laughing, Tony told her that he had caught her eating Red's food this morning, after he had left their pen to go feed more dogs. Then Brandon, who is quick-witted and very funny teased Karon and said, "Come over here, Butterball." Then we all started laughing.

"Brandon, her name is Buttercup, even though tonight she looks like a Butterball," Karon said, in between her laughs.

"It butter be," I teased. "I can't believe it's not butter." Then we all started making really corny "butter this" or "butter that" remarks.

The best one was Brandon's remark, "And, you can call her Butter Bean when she has gas."

Anyway, everyone at the rescue ranch is thrilled that our little butterball is now Karon's and Dalton's Buttercup pup. And that is about it for tonight, because I butter go outside to see what the dogs are barking about.

Y'all have a great evening! And please note that I am not buttering you up!  : )

New Territory!

Today has been a great day even though it has been quiet out here, so there really isn't much to write about. So instead, I am going to tell you a short, dog story about the love and respect of dogs.

As you already know, dogs are constantly amazing me and this story is about my dog Roy Rogers and Tony's and my old dog Toto, who passed away last May, at the ripe old age of fifteen or sixteen years.

Toto was a terrier mix and he chose me to be his best friend. He was devoted to me and he thought that I belonged to him. Near the end of his life, even though he only had one tooth left, he would growl and bite at any of our big dogs that tried to get near me. He always slept next to me in bed and during the day when I was doing paperwork or writing, etc., Toto would always sleep in his bed, underneath our kitchen table, so he could be closer to me.

None of our dogs ever tried to fight with Toto when he would attack them with his dull tooth and they never tried to take his space under the kitchen table, because they respected him enough not to make him mad.

Last night, while I was writing, at the kitchen table, Roy, my four-legged soul mate, who loves me with all of his heart and who is dumb enough to actually believe that I am a perfect person, totally amazed me. While I was sitting there writing, I tried to move my right foot, but it wouldn't budge, because Roy was sleeping underneath the kitchen table and he had his paw resting on the top of my boot.

It really touched me, because Roy has never tried to sleep under the kitchen table so he could be closer to me, because he respected Toto's territory.

A few minutes later, when Tony walked into the big room, I asked him to please take a picture of Roy sleeping under the table.

And since last night, every time that I have sat down, at the kitchen table today, Roy immediately goes under the table and lays down next to my feet and goes to sleep. So as I finish writing this, with Roy snoring loudly, under the kitchen table, I guess it is now Roy's new territory. I like that.

Y'all have a great evening!

Reba!

Today has been great. This morning our great volunteers came out and walked our dogs and then we went to Koyote to eat lunch together.

Late this afternoon, I realized that I had not posted how to purchase my 2nd novella directly from me, so I have now posted it near the top of the page. The Cowgirl Sisterhood: Part II, Death In New Mexico costs $10.00 and to cover the tax and the shipping expense it costs $16.08.

After I added the details about my book, Tony and I went outside to greet our friends, Karon and Dalton. They had come over to play with Reba McIntyre, our adorable three-month-old puppy, because they have been thinking about adopting her.

We had a fun visit with our friends and before we adios-ed each other, they had adopted Reba and they are going to come back and pick her up on Monday! Kinky, Tony and I are thrilled about Reba going to this great forever home and we know that she is going to have a blast playing with their other dogs. And that is about it for tonight, because I just heard it thunder outside and I need to unplug everything.

Y'all have a great evening!

Tadpole!

Today has been great. Last Friday, June, our super friend/volunteer, asked me if it would be okay for her to bring out ten really nice high school kids, attending a Unitarian Church camp, in Kerrville, so they could walk our dogs on Thursday.

Well, this morning around 10:45, the super nice kids arrived and they could not wait to walk our super nice dogs. After introductions I gave them a tour and introduced them to all of our dogs. Then they started walking the dogs and our dogs loved it as much as the group did. Here are a couple of pictures that I took of Lois being returned to her pen and Reba and Red taking a fun break.

During their lunch break, in The Okay Corral, we visited and talked about animal rescue. Then I told them about us rescuing Tadpole, a five to six-week-old puppy, a few weeks ago. "This poor, little puppy was sick when Tony took him to Hoegemeyer Animal Clinic. Later that day the vet called us and he told us that the puppy was in bad shape. He had worms, ringworm and Parvo and the vet told us that he might not make it. They wanted to treat him and keep Tadpole for at least a month." The group of teens and young adults were all sad for Tadpole.

"Well, last night, when I came inside and checked the machine for new messages, I heard Kathy, whose husband is a vet, at Hoegemeyers, say, "Nancy, I have some great news! One of our sweet vet-techs has fallen in love with Tadpole and she wants to adopt him, even though she knows that Tadpole has to stay with us for a few more weeks. She asked me to call you to see if she can adopt him. Craig and I can vouch for her. We know that she would take great care of Tadpole. Call me. Bye." I wanted to call Kathy back right then, but the clinic was already closed for the day.

I was so happy about the good news, I immediately told Tony and then I called Kinky to tell him. Needless to say, "They were happy for Tadpole finding a forever home." Everyone was wearing big smiles on their faces—until it started raining real hard. 

We went inside my pink, writing cabin to stay dry and to visit. When the rain had finally stopped they came into The Cabin, so they could meet my four-legged-soul-mate, Roy Rogers, that I had told them about. 

Brandon, Tony and I were very impressed with these great high schoolers and high school graduates and we hope that they will come back next year, because our dogs loved them and so did we. 

P.S. Early this morning I called Susan at Hoegemeyers, to tell her that we would love for the vet-tech to adopt Tadpole. And that is about it for tonight.

Y'all have a great evening!

Life Is Good!

Today has been great because as of now you can purchase my new Part II mystery, cliffhanger, novella from me, Wolfmueller's Books and Amazon!

And all that I can say about today is, "Life is Good. And that is about it for tonight."

Y'all have a great evening!

Short Shower!

Today has been great. This morning I did Big G's radio show and Mr. Rogers was his Pet of the Week. Mr. Rogers is a very sweet dog, but when he gets adopted his roommate Miss Dee has to go with him, because they love each other so much.

  

This morning while Brandon, Tony and I were eating breakfast, I looked outside and noticed that it just started raining, "Good grief, it's raining outside!" I declared.

Brandon jumped off of his barstool, stepped over Roy, shoved his plate into the dishwater and then said, "My windows are down," as he ran out the front door. As soon as he had left our front yard, it began raining even harder.

When Brandon walked inside The Cabin he was soaking wet and he was laughing about it. Then, as if someone had flipped a switch, it immediately quit raining. Then we laughed about the short shower as Brandon dried himself off, using paper towels.

At 2:47, our dogs started barking outside. "UPS is here!" Tony said. Then he went outside  to meet the driver, so he could get my The Cowgirl Sisterhood: Part II, Death In New Mexico books. As soon as he sat the heavy box down on the coffee table, he opened the box for me.

I was so excited about seeing my books I took this picture. Then I opened up a package of them and said, "The first book that I am going to sign is for Brandon." Then I signed my book. Then I called Kinky, "Hi, Kink! My books have just arrived."

"Great, Nance. Why don't you come over?" Before I went over to Kinky's Lodge, I quickly signed two books, one for Kinky and one for his sweet sister Marcie.

Kinky was thrilled for me and he complimented me on how great my book looked. 

 

Then we went outside to sit on his front porch, so we could discuss Death In New Mexico. After a fun, but short visit I returned home.

A few minutes later, Brandon walked inside with Tony and I handed him his signed copy. "Thank you, Nancy..." And that is about it for tonight, because tonight Tony and I are going to celebrate. If you want to purchase my new novella I will give details tomorrow. I am so happy!

Y'all have a great evening!

Sean Rima, Willie Nelson and Gretchen Wilson!

Today has been great and so was yesterday evening. Last night around 6:00, I went over to the Lodge to visit with Kinky and his good friend, Sean Rima, who has a very popular talk show, in San Antonio, from 4:00 - 7:00, at KSAT 550AM.

When I walked into Kinky's kitchen Sean greeted me and then said, "Kinky's on the phone right now and I have something I want to give to you, since you gave me a signed copy of your first novella ." Then he left the kitchen and returned with a book. "This is my first book of poems."

After thanking him for a signed copy of Snake Farm Blues, I turned it over and read the blurb that Kinky had written for Sean's book of poems. "If Charles Bukowski had been from Texas, his name would be Sean Rima. —Kinky Friedman."

I've already read half of Sean's poems and I love his poems. And I totally agree with what Kinky wrote. It is a great book and it is available on Amazon.

This afternoon, Brandon and Tony went to Hoegemeyer Animal Clinic, to pick up one-year-old Willie Nelson and eight-months-old Gretchen Wilson, while I stayed home and did middle-of-the-month paperwork. 

When I had just finished doing my paperwork, Tony and Brandon walked inside The Cabin. "Those two dogs are great  and Gretchen is wearing a Victorian collar, to keep her away from her spaying stitches." Then I grabbed my camera and we went to go see them. Tony was right about them being great dogs and here are pictures of Willie Nelson and Gretchen Wilson.

Late this afternoon I went Online and purchased a really cool cookbook app, "A Sweet Life Without Sugar: Naturally Sugar-free and Gluten-free Artisan Recipes" by Joan Miller, because two different friends have recommended that I check it out. 

I love this cookbook's healthy recipes and looking at the beautiful pictures of the food nearly made me drool like my dog, Roy, does when he is watching us eat. And that is about it for tonight, because I am fixing to go bake the cookbook's Upside Down Fruit Cobbler, because of the picture.

Y'all have a great evening!

Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch Update!

Today has been great thanks to our dear friend, Gerry Olert, because he has made a video update about our rescue ranch. Kinky, Tony, Brandon and I are thrilled with the video and I hope that you will check   out Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch Update.

Our rescue ranch cannot thank Gerry Olert enough for helping our dogs and the rescue ranch. He is a highly skilled, professional videographer and he has spent years filming several television shows, events, etc. Gerry lives in the San Antonio area and he loves to travel anywhere to make videos. If you want a professional to handle your wedding, a party or an event please contact Gerry at 210-852-6370.

Today we have a chance for rain and it is getting dark outside, even though it is only 2:25 and ninety-four degrees outside. I wanted to post this early, because I want everyone to check out Gerry's video about our update and also because I might have to unplug everything due to lightning. Please note that I am wearing a turtleneck, in the update and I still look fat. And check out our super dogs that are waiting for you to come out and adopt them and enjoy the music that Brandon and I played, in the background.

Y'all have a great evening!

P.S. Just to let you know, we had emptied out George Carlin's pool and cleaned it out and within five minutes when Gerry filmed George the pool was full of new dirt.

Reba And Red! Of Half Special!

Today has been great. This morning our super volunteers came out to walk our dogs for us. Everyone fell in love with Reba McIntyre, the plump pup that we plucked from the pound a few weeks ago.

When Eileen and Suzanne decided to take her and her roommate Red Skelton for a walk down to the creek, I tagged along, with my camera. Here's a picture of Red Skelton, before he went swimming.

Red is the sweetest four-year-old dog and he weighs about thirty pounds and he loves Reba. She loves Red too, so when it was time to go on a walk, she happily followed Red down to the creek and walked beautifully on a leash, even though she is only three-months-old and has never been on a leash before.

When we got down to Wallace creek, Red jumped into the water, while Reba tested the water and then she decided not to go for a swim and just enjoy watching Red enjoy the water.

While waiting for Red to come out of the water, Reba shook hands with Eileen and then she posed for me while sitting on a rock.

Red and Reba are fabulous dogs and they are highly adoptable. Both are sweet, not hyper, not diggers, not jumpers and they need loving homes. So, if you know of anyone wanting a super dog or pup, please ask them to give me a call, because we have some great dogs out here.

After the great friends/volunteers walked our dogs for us, we went to The Apple Store, in Medina, to eat lunch together, because their Special today was catfish, green beans, potato salad and hush puppies.

Tony and I were the last to place our orders and we both wanted the Special, but they only had one left, so Tony had to order a hamburger, because the last time they ran out, he got the Special and I had to eat something else. So it was my turn to eat the Special. And as it turned out, I got full after only eating  half of my lunch, so I offered my Half-Special to Tony and he finished it off for me. As always lunch with our friends was a total blast and the food was delicious. And that is about it for today.

Y'all have a great evening!

The Handy Outline!

Today has been great. This morning while Brandon, Tony and I ate breakfast, I was telling Brandon about ordering thirteen more swimming pools from H-E-B. "Dale, the nice man that I spoke to told me that they should be in their store on Friday, so tomorrow afternoon, after we eat lunch with the volunteers, we're going to town to pick them up."

Then the phone rang and I let Carlton take the message. "Hello, this is Lisa at H-E-B. I was calling to let..."

"Hello, Lisa. This is Nancy."

"Hi. I just wanted to let you know that your thirteen, yellow and blue swimming pools have just arrived."

"That is great news. We'll pick them up after lunch. Thank you, for calling me. Bye."

After the three of us ate lunch in, The Cabin, Brandon and I jammed for twenty minutes while Tony finished making a few phone calls. While we were playing, I looked up on the wall to check the time and my favorite clock had gone blank. In other words it was timeless. "Looks like I need to buy some new batteries for my clock," I said, as I removed the digital clock from the wall, so I could see what batteries I needed to buy. Then I laughed when I looked at the wall, because the walls have darkened some and it hadn't behind the clock.

Then Brandon went home and we went to Kerrville. Our first stop was at the Melody Corner, so I could talk to Stan about which pickup he thinks I should buy for my banjo, because Brandon and I want to start using my amp more often when we pick & grin.

"I have some ordered," Stan said. "They should be arriving tomorrow and I will call you, so you won't make a special trip." Before we left Stan's cool music store I bought a pink and a green shakers, that look like eggs, because if Eileen, our super volunteer, who plays the drums, might want to use them when she jams with us sometime. They sort of sound like a rattlesnake and they are very pretty.

When Tony and I returned home the first thing that I did after putting up the groceries, was put new batteries in the clock and set it. And it was easy to rehang, because I used the handy outline on the wall.

Around 6:00 tonight, Tony and I went outside to put the new swimming pools in the remaining pens that needed them and to fill them up. I was put in charge of turning the spigot on and off and dragging the hose from one pen to another. While Tony's job was to place the pools in the pens, fill them up and then screw or unscrew my heavy, long hose from the faucets. It only took us about an hour and it was well worth it.

And that is about it for tonight, because I need to go wash a load of clothes and dust the trailer, I mean The Cabin.

Y'all have a great evening!

Wolfmueller's Books Rule!

Today has been a really great day. This morning our dear friend, Gerry Olert, the best videographer in Texas, came out to see us and to make a new video about our rescue ranch. Gerry arrived around 10:30, while Brandon and Tony were outside doing the morning chores, so he and I drank Donut Shop Coffee, in the kitchen and caught up with each others latest news and discussed the new video.

When Brandon and Tony came inside The Cabin, I said, "Gerry is going to make a new ranch video for us today and he wants Brandon and me to play the background music for it." Brandon was very excited about us getting to play the music for it.

"Nancy, I'll play the banjo and you can play your guitar," he said. Ten minutes later, after we had discussed what we would play, Gerry recorded us. And not to brag, "Brandon and I nailed it."

Then Gerry suggested that we film my part, inside our trailer, because it was nearly ninety degrees outside. "Okay, but let me go put on a turtleneck, first, so it can help hide my chicken neck and won't make me look fat."

I could hear the men laughing about what I said, as I pulled a navy blue turtleneck over my head and slipped on a blue work shirt. When I returned to the big room Gerry had his camera set up. Let's do it with you sitting on that bench, that Brandon is sitting on," Gerry suggested.

When Brandon stood up, Tony laughed and said, "Nancy, Brandon just dusted off part of the bench for you."

When we looked at the bench seat we all started laughing. While I was dusting off the bench, Gerry suggested that I sit in a chair near the bench. Then he filmed me for about twenty minutes talking about our rescue ranch, as Tony, Brandon, Roy, Mama and Belle watched.

"Let's go film the dogs that you talked about," Gerry said. As we were going outside, Gerry asked, "Nancy, aren't you going to be hot wearing that outside?"

"No, I'll do anything for our dogs and anything for not making me look old and fat."

After Gerry filmed our dogs we went to eat lunch at The Apple Store, in Medina and when we returned Gerry, Brandon and I went over to the Lodge, so Gerry could video tape Kinky. After a fun visit with Kinky and Ty Weatherford, Gerry quickly filmed Kinky, on his front porch. And when it was time for us to return to the rescue ranch, my back was aching from laughing so much.

Twenty minutes later, Brandon adios-ed us and then Gerry adios-ed us. Then I listened to my many messages. Two of them were from my dear friends, Sandy and Jon, "Nancy, call us. We've got some good news. Bye."

Then the phone rang and I recognized The Wolfmueller's phone number, so I picked it up, "Hi," I said. "I was just fixin' to call y'all. What's up?"

Sandy and Jon were on speakerphone and they told me that they have one, rare, first edition of Roll Me Up & Smoke Me When I Die written by Willie Nelson and the Foreword by Kinky, signed by both Willie Nelson and Kinky, on the title page. They are going to sell it for $250.00, to the first buyer that either calls them or walks into Wolfmueller's Books to buy it and they are donating the entire proceeds to our rescue ranch! "Oh my god!" I said. "Thank y'all, so much for doing this! I love that book...."

If you are interested in purchasing this signed, rare, first edition of Roll Me Up & Smoke Me When I Die , please call Wolfmueller's Books at 830-257-7323 or go to Wolfmueller's Books on 229 Earl Garrett Street, in Kerrville, because it is going to be sold fast. Good luck! And that is about it for today, except I want to say, "Wolfmueller's Books Rule!"

Y'all have a great evening!

Is That You, Brandon?

Yesterday was a great day. Yesterday morning Brandon helped Tony do the outside chores, so I finish editing my hard copy proof. As I was winding it up the phone rang, so I let Carlton take the message, so I could concentrate on my editing.

Debbie, the owner of the Old Timer, in Medina, called. After hearing her message about a little stray puppy that had wandered up to the store, that it was not in good shape and her hoping that we could take the pup, I went outside to find Tony.

After I told him about the puppy we both agreed that we should rescue it and get it to Hoegemeyer Animal Clinic. Tony only had Rocky left to feed, so I grabbed the feed bucket so I could feed him, so Tony could take off for Medina.

After feeding Rocky I returned to The Cabin. A few minutes later there was a knock on our front door—it was Lisa, our good friend/volunteer and her friend Carol, from Houston. I went outside to greet them, because I hadn't used Hazel yet to clean up the dog hair on the floor.

They told me about meeting Tony on the road and knowing about the puppy that needed our help. Then we went into Outer Space for a very fun visit.

Thirty minutes later, Tony rolled in with the puppy, so we exited the screened-in-porch, so we could meet the puppy. As Tony removed the five to six-week-old puppy from the crate, he said, "I've already named him Tadpole, because he has some Chihuahua in him."

After we admired the puppy and let him potty, Tadpole and Tony took off for Hoegemeyers. Then Lisa and Carol adios-ed me and took off to go back to Kerrville. And that is when I noticed two new, yellow and blue swimming pools by Rufus and Roxanne's pen. So I took off to go find Brandon.

"Where did those swimming pools come from?" I asked.

"Lisa brought them."

"Oh my goodness, I didn't know that she brought them. I need to send her an e-mail to thank her for them." Then I returned to the trailer aka The Cabin and then totally forgot about sending Lisa an e-mail.

Today has been great. After Tony and I had finished doing the chores outside, we got cleaned up and took off in Trigger, to eat lunch and to buy more swimming pools at the big H-E-B store.

When we walked inside the restaurant, the waitress asked us to follow her to a table and that's when I thought I saw Brandon sitting at a small table for two, but I wasn't sure because my eyesight is so bad. As we approached the man sitting at the table, I said, "Is that you, Brandon?"

Brandon started laughing. "Yes, ma'am. It's me." Then we all started laughing and then we asked Brandon to come sit with us. It ended up that Brandon had already ordered the Surf & Turf, that I had also ordered. Having lunch with Brandon was a total blast.

After we adios-ed each other, we headed to the big H-E-B to buy thirteen more pools, but there were no pools, so we came back home.

Then I called Dale, at the H-E-B store, to ask him if they could get 13 eleven dollar pools for our dogs and he was very nice. I will place the order and if they have not run out of them, I should have 13 pools delivered here by Friday..." And that is why I love H-E-B and that is about it for tonight.

Y'all have a great evening!

I've Got The Proof!

Today has been another great day. This morning our super volunteers came out and walked our dogs for us and our dogs really enjoyed it.

When the dogs were walked we all went up to Koyote Ranch's Koyote Grill to eat lunch together and I laughed more than I ate. Which is good, because I am trying to shed a few pounds. I don't know exactly how many calories I burned laughing, but I am guessing that I may have lost a half pound.

Late this afternoon, at 3:48, UPS delivered my hard copy proof of Death In New Mexico for me to approve before the books are printed. I am delighted with how it looks.

The first thing I did after looking at it, I called Kinky, because Tony wasn't here. "Kinky, I've got the proof!" Then I went over to the Lodge to show it to Kinky, he loved the way it looks too, "That is a great picture of you and Carol," he said.

"Tony took the front and back pictures," I bragged. Then he thumbed through the book and then read the dedication, which made him smile. "I like it. It is very nice." Then we talked about the book for a few more minutes and then I came home.

Tonight I plan to start reading it again and looking for any printing mistakes that I can find, before pushing the final button to get it printed. Here's a picture of the front cover.

And that is about it for tonight, because I can't wait to reread it and edit it.

Y'all have a great evening!

Happy 4th of July!

Today has been great even though Chad Stuart was returned to us early this morning, because he wanted to pull expensive cushions off of the chairs and decorate their backyard with them. The nice couple felt very bad about having to return him to us, but they didn't know what to do and neither did we know how to solve the problem.

Tony and I really liked the elderly couple, about my age and they still want to keep in touch with us, in hopes that they can adopt a dog, about five-years-old, who just wants to sit on their cushions, by the pool, instead of drowning them. And the good news is Chad was thrilled to come back home and be reunited with Jeremy, his best friend. Chad & Jeremy are planning to enjoy tonight's summer breeze.

After Brandon helped Tony with the morning chores outside, Tony and I declared today, July 4th, an important  holiday and that we were taking the rest of the day off to enjoy it. Then Brandon and I grabbed our guitars and Tony grabbed my banjo and we played music together for about twenty minutes, until Tony's fingers were killing him.

When Tony left the big room, to go back to his office, Brandon and I decided to keep on jamming and I had a blast, because he and I wrote and came up with the official The Cowgirl Sisterhood: Death In New Mexico theme song! Then we decided to write a blues tune that we've named, The Swamp Song and that's when Tony came back into the big room just to listen to us, because he loved what we were playing and so did we.

I've really improved my musical skills, because of pickin' and grinnin' with Brandon. Brandon and I played our guitars for over two hours, until my fingers were killing me. And that is about it for tonight.

I want to wish everyone a Happy 4th of July, and I want to show you the picture, that our friend Marguerite sent to me of Odi, the adorable, one eyed pup that she adopted from us last year. He and Enzo, the German Shepherd, that she also adopted from us are two of the luckiest dogs to have found her.

Y'all have a great 4th of July!

She's An Elephant!

Yesterday was great. In the morning while Tony and Brandon were outside doing chores I was inside and pushed the button to get my new novella printed. I was so thrilled about it, I went outside to tell Tony and Brandon my exciting news and they were happy for me. "I think we should celebrate Brandon getting his drivers license and me publishing my book, so Brandon, Tony and I want to treat you to lunch, so we can celebrate our accomplishments. How does that sound?"

"Sounds good to me," Brandon said.

When we arrived at a certain restaurant, in Kerrville, weird things started happening. When the three of sat down at our table, Brandon put his arm on the end of the table, then he reached back to get his cell phone and the weight from his arm nearly caused our table to flip over.

We laughed about it as Tony and I rested our arms on the table to counter balanced Brandon's weight. When the waitress sat our hot plates down on the table, mine sort of spun, which made us laugh some more. "There must be something between the table and your plate," Tony said. So, I lifted it up and we found nothing on the table or on the plate, so I sat it down, in front of me and it spun a half-cirle. Which made Brandon nearly choke, because he was laughing so hard.

Throughout our lunch, every time that my knife and fork touched my plate it would move either clockwise or counter clockwise. So, our lunch was one big laugh. When the waitress removed our plates, I was sort of sad to see the plate go. "Okay, our next stop is at the pound," I said.

As we drove to the pound, we told Brandon about the pound and then we talked about how many  dogs that we planned to get on this trip.

After picking four dogs, we decided it would take us two round trips to get them to Hoegemeyer Animal Clinic which is about two miles away. When it was time to load a beautiful, male yellow shepherd mix and a black, medium-sized female into the crates, in the back of Buttermilk, Brandon held the adorable, fat, three-four month-old puppy, as Tony and one of the employees put the dogs into their crates. Then we took off.

As Brandon held the chubby puppy in his arms, I turned around to the back seat and said, "Brandon, since this is your first time to the pound and Hoegemeyers, I want you to name the four dogs."

By the time we parked at Hoegemeyers, Brandon had named them. "Brandon, let me hold the pup, so you can help Tony unload the dogs." Then Brandon handed her off to me and I could not believe how heavy she was. "She's so heavy. I hope that I can make it to the lobby," I joked. Then I took off.

When I walked inside carrying the gigantic puppy, Kathy and Susan laughed when they saw me. "Is that a puppy or a dog?" Susan joked, from behind the counter.

"She's an elephant," I said. "She weighs a ton." Then they came into the lobby with a leash, so I could rest my arms. "We have four dogs total that we rescued from the pound. This one is Reba McIntyre, the yellow one is Wish Bone and that black one is Gretchen Wilson..."

The next time we arrived at Hoegemeyer's we delivered a beautiful, young, black Lab mix, named Willie Nelson. Then we came back home, so we could bath some dogs and we didn't finish until 7:00 and I was too tired to write.

Today we had two adoptions, thanks to Kathy and Dr. Craig Janssen's help, at Hoegemeyer Animal Clinic. They told this really nice couple about us last week, because they were wanting to adopt one or two older dogs. This couple came out to look at our dogs, this past Friday and the wife really liked one certain dog and they told us that they would come back.

Anyway, when Kathy's husband, Craig, saw Wish Bone, he asked Kathy to call this couple, because he thought Wish Bone would be perfect for them. So the couple went to look at Wish Bone this morning and told Kathy they wanted him and then the wheels were set in motion. Kathy called me, then the man called me and at 3:30 this afternoon, Chad Stuart was officially adopted.

After thanking the nice man for adopting Chad, he took off with Chad, in a crate and was headed to Hoegemeyer's to pick up Wish Bone, so he could take them to their new home, in Kerrville. To say the least, "Brandon, Tony and I were thrilled about two of our dogs finding a fabulous forever home. We were all on Cloud Nine about it."

Late this afternoon, when I returned from Medina, to mail some letters, I stopped and parked Trigger by Chuck's pen, so I could say, "Hi," to Karon and Sophia, from the children's home. Everyone looked sad. "What's wrong?" I asked.

"Martha Stewart has just died," Tony said.

"What?"

"When Brandon and I started to shampoo Chuck, (Who is in the pen next to hers.) she was running, jumping and barking in her pen and acting totally normal. Ten minutes later, when we went to shampoo her, for fleas and ticks, she was curled up and dead."

"She must have had a heart attack," I said. I was sick about Martha and so was everyone else, because she was a really great dog. We rescued Martha Stewart in 2011 and she came with two pups, Candace Bergen and George Clooney, both got adopted.

All of us watched as Brandon dug her a grave and then we buried her. We are pretty depressed tonight about losing Martha and all that I can say is, "Rest In Peace, Martha. You were a really great dog. You will be missed and we loved you."

Once A Month Lunch Club!

Today has been great. Early this afternoon Tony and I went to Kerrville. Our first stop was at the big  H-E-B to buy more swimming pools for our dogs. We purchased all ten of their blue and yellow, small plastic pools and we hope to come back tomorrow to buy more.

Our next stop was at Wolfmueller's Books, so we could visit with Sandy & Jon, because we haven't seen them since Sandy's surprise non-birthday party, at El Sol de Mexico. We had a fun visit with our dear friends and before leaving their popular bookstore, Tony purchased a really cool photography book from them.

At 12:33, we arrived three minutes late, at Valentino's Italian restaurant, to meet our "Once A Month Lunch Club" friends. Les & Denise and Jim & Kris were already seated at a table when we walked inside the restaurant and unfortunately Deb & Craig could not make it.

While we ate our delicious meals, Denise announced that this Thursday, July 4th, at 10:00, she is going to be a guest and talk about the United States Constitution, on KOOK 1230, because she teaches classes about it. We were all thrilled for Denise and suggested that she do a regular talk radio show about the U. S. Constitution. Then Kris and I teased her about us all calling in to the show to ask her questions. "Hello, this is Kris, from Kerrville. Hello, this is Nancy, from Medina, etc." Denise thought it was funny, but she asked us not to.

Then it was my turn to make my big announcement, "I have some exciting news to share. I am going to push the button tomorrow morning, and get my second novella published. I worked all day Sunday tweaking it and it is finally ready to be published. I should have my books for sale next week and I can't wait."

"Nancy, I am going to buy ten of them," Jim said. "To give to our friends and family. When will it be available on Amazon?"

"Next week, as a book and an e-book and you can also buy them from me and Wolfmueller's Books." Then we talked about all kinds of subjects and we laughed a lot, so all in all Tony and I had a wonderful time eating lunch with our friends.

After lunch we came back home. Around 4:30, Kinky called and invited me to come over for a visit and as I was driving out, in Trigger, the sweet, Medina Children's Home girls were helping Tony fill up our dog's new swimming pools.

After a fun visit with Kinky, I came back home and saw that Brandon was here. I have been anxious all day long about Brandon taking his driving test and passing it to get his Texas driver's license. So, I parked Trigger and climbed out of the truck. "Brandon, did you pass your test?"

"No ma'am," Brandon said, looking sad.

"I'm sorry, but don't you worry about it," I said, feeling sorry for Brandon. "Don't forget that I flunked my driving test three times before I finally got my driving license." Then the girls, Karon, Brandon and Tony started laughing.

"He passed it," Tony said.

"I did the exact same thing to Karon when she asked me if I passed it," Brandon said. "I drove over here, too. Let me show you my license and picture." And that is about it for tonight.

Y'all have a great evening!