Tuesday On Monday Or Tuesday!

Today has been great. This afternoon a man and his children came out to check out our dogs to possibly adopt, because their old dog recently passed away. After Tony and I gave them a tour of the rescue ranch, he told us that he was interested in George Carlin, Tuesday Weld and Rio.

His two, sweet sons, probably ten and twelve years old, wanted him to pick Tuesday Weld, because she had instantly stolen their hearts. As we stood under a shade tree, next to her pen, the father confessed that he really liked Tuesday the best, too, as his sons petted her through the fence.

Then the nice man pulled out his cell phone and began videotaping his sons interacting with Tuesday. "I think she is definitely the one for us," he said, "but first I want to bring my wife out here to meet Tuesday, so we can make the decision." Tony and I were thrilled and so were his sons and Tuesday.

"When do y'all want to come back out?" I asked.

"Probably on Monday or Tuesday," he replied. "If that is okay with you. I know it's a holiday and all."

"Monday or Tuesday is fine with us and you can even come back today or tomorrow if you want to," I said. "Tuesday is a great dog and we would love for you and your family to adopt her."

After we had adios-ed the man and his two sons and returned to The Cabin, I called Kinky to tell him the great news about Tuesday, on Monday or Tuesday, probably getting adopted and he was as happy about it as he was about Sparky getting adopted. Please keep your fingers crossed that Sparky stays adopted and Tuesday gets her super forever home. And that is about it for tonight.

Y'all have a great evening!

Guilt Free!

Today has been great. This morning our friends Kris and Jim came out to walk our dogs for us. Brandon, Tony and I went to Koyote Grill with them, to eat lunch and it was a lot of fun, too. Jim and I exchanged recipes, Kris and I talked about this painted pink parking lot, in China, that is exclusively reserved for women, Coach Tom Landry, the upcoming Texas A&M vs. Alabama football game and fall gardening, etc.

On our way home, Tony stopped at our mailbox to get our mail. "There's a big box inside," Tony said, as he leaned out the window to retrieve it. As he grabbed for it, he said, "It's for you." Then he accidentally dropped the box. As he picked it up, he remarked, "Nothing sounds broken. What did you buy from eBay?"

"Four steak plates," I said. "They are Homer Laughlin China, made in USA to match my other four Homer Laughlin China dinner plates. I'm getting rid of our Made In China dishes and giving them to the Salvation Army, because I am tired of everything being made in China or somewhere else."

Then I told them about seeing a television show, earlier in the week, where these people came into a couple's home and removed everything from it that was not made in the USA and the home was basically emptied. "After watching that show, I looked around our trailer to see what would stay and what would go. Fortunately, all of our furniture, including our bed, my guitar, banjo and mandolin, dogs and pictures would stay, but all of our appliances and electronics would disappear. And that is why I bought the Made In USA plates, so we can eat guilt free."

After we dropped Brandon off we came home. Fortunately, my new-used Made In USA restaurant supply plates were not broken and I love them. They are smaller than the size of most of today's plates being sold. The steak plate is 10"x 8" and my dinner plates are 9"round and I especially like that, because you eat less, eating off of a smaller plate, instead of a plate that is the size of a platter.

Late this afternoon a very nice man, that has come out twice in the past week, to check out Sparky, came out and adopted her, after taking her for a long walk down to the creek. We are more than thrilled about her adoption and we have our fingers crossed that Sparky will fit in with his other three dogs. Here's a picture that I took of her adoption just before she took off, in a fancy new truck, to go to her new home, in Kerrville. And that is about it for today.

Y'all have a great evening!

I Win!

Today has been quiet. Late this afternoon, Karon came over with the kids, from the Medina Children's Home, so they could walk our dog for us. Brothers, Alex and Andrew, love Chad and Jeremy, so they leashed them up. Brooke and Sophia chose Layla and Little Girl to walk, down to the creek.

Then I decided to have some fun and asked Brandon if he wanted to go kayaking. Then he and I walked back to the rescue ranch to get them. Ten minutes later Tony and Brandon were unloading our kayaks out of the back of Trigger.

With Karon, the kids and Brandon watching and laughing, on the shore, I tried to get on my kayak, in the water, with Tony's help, but I was so nervous of falling down, I suggested that Brandon go first, using my kayak, so I could shoot him.

As Brandon happily paddled around the creek, I half-hollered, "Is it leaking, yet?" Brandon shot me a quizzical look. "Mine had a hole in it and Ben patched it for me last year." Brandon frowned, as we burst out laughing. "Are you getting wet?"

"My seat is," Brandon replied, followed by a laugh, as he quickly rowed to shore, before sinking. When he got off of my kayak we checked it to see if it was full of water. It wasn't—thanks to Ben's patchwork. Then Brandon happily jumped on Tony's bigger kayak to try it out and we helped shove him off shore. 

"Okay, Tony. Please help me get on mine," I said. Tony repositioned mine, half in the water, held my arm tight, as I slowly sank and more or less landed on top of my kayak.

"Try to slide back down into the seat," Tony suggested, before laughing at me. Then I awkwardly slid backwards and with a loud thump, I dropped my rear into the wet bucket seat. Karon and the kids were laughing as Tony pushed me off of the gravel and into the creek.

Brandon and I paddled around the creek for a while and I was really enjoying it and so was Brandon.

When we had paddled down the creek a ways, I suggested, "Let's race back, Brandon," as I purposefully steered my kayak ahead, in front of Brandon. Then I yelled, "Go!" Brandon started laughing, because he knew that I was cheating and was much further ahead of him. We both started paddling as fast as we could.

As the kids cheered for Bama to win, with Karon and Tony shooting us with their Canon cameras, I knew that Brandon was about to pass me, so I held up my fist and yelled, "I win!" Everyone started laughing about me deciding where the finish line was, so I could be the winner, including Brandon, as he swiftly paddled past me.

We kayaked for about an hour, before docking. And Tony came this close to having to ask Brandon to help him pull me out of my kayak. And that is about it for tonight.

Y'all have a great evening!

Gumbo Groceries!

Last night, after blogging, Kinky called me just as I was ready to pick up the phone and call him. After we discussed the weather he invited me to come over for a visit. I told him, "Okay, because I need to drop off some oatmeal cookies for Brandon, that Carol made for him."

"Can Kinky have some, too?"

"Sure, you can have some of ours that she baked for us."

As soon as I arrived at the Lodge, Kinky sampled one of Carol's delicious cookies and then continued to snack on them as we once again complained about the drought and needing rain badly. Then we went outside and searched the clear blue sky for a cloud. Unfortunately, we found none.

This morning, when Brandon and Tony returned from Medina, I asked Brandon if he had picked up his bag of Carol's cookies, that I had left for him, on Kinky's kitchen table. "No, I didn't know they were over there." To say the least, his upside down smile, on his face, made me feel sorry for him, because he loves Carol's cookies.

While Brandon and Tony were outside doing the morning chores, Kinky called me. After we had talked about the weather he said, "Nance, those cookies were fantastic."

"I know. Brandon can't wait to pick up his bag of cookies."

"Well, he had better hurry, before they are all gone." Then Kinky and I talked about what a good cook Brandon was.

"I've heard several people tell me that his Alabama gumbo is to die for," I said.

"Really? I would love some good gumbo..." Before we adios-ed each other, I had decided to ask Brandon to show me how to cook his gumbo recipe, later today.

One hour before our lunch was to be ready, Tony drove Brandon over to the Lodge, so he could pick up his cookies, before Kinky devoured all of them. And during lunch, Brandon gave me a shopping list for the ingredients needed to make his famous gumbo.

After I had cleaned up the kitchen the three of us went to Kerrville to get gumbo groceries, run a few errands and to pick up Katie and Peggy Sue, at Hoegemeyers, so we could bring them home.

This afternoon, when we returned home, Brandon taught me how to make his gumbo and Kinky, Tony and I thought it was some of the best gumbo that we have ever eaten. And that is about it for tonight.

Y'all have a great evening!

Oatmeal Cookies!

Today has been Feng-Shui day. This morning after eating breakfast with Brandon and Tony and cleaning up the kitchen, I made myself a cup of Donut Shop Coffee. Then I went into Outer Space, with our dogs, for some quiet time with our dogs.

By the time my coffee mug was empty I had decided to clear out some clutter in the big room and deep-clean it. I was excited about my project, but my dogs weren't. When our dogs saw me drag Hazel out of our bedroom closet, they raced to the front door, to be let outside.

As soon as Abbie, Mama, Belle, Beau and Roy were outside, I plugged Hazel in and began vacuuming up their latest dog hair that was gracing our old wooden floor. After that hair-raising experience, I filled up three, large plastic containers with clutter, while listening to Direct TV's New Age music channel.

When Brandon and Tony came inside The Cabin, after doing the morning chores, I was vacuuming up some deserted cobwebs from the corners of the room. Then Brandon asked, "Nancy, is there anything I can do to help you?"

While Brandon made three non-stop, round trips, carrying the heavy containers, to the barn, I quickly basted some chicken thighs, with barbecue sauce and then I shoved the pan of chicken into the oven to bake, for our afternoon lunch.

Bless Brandon. He helped me remove the light bulbs and the fixtures from the ceiling fan, so I could wash the fixtures and then he held the fan blades still for me, so I could clean them. Then he put the fixtures and light bulbs back where they belonged.

Two hours later, the big room was sparkling clean, clutter free and our lunch was ready to be served. Tony and Brandon loved the juicy BBQ chicken and the chopped broccoli lunch. They cleaned their plates, before I washed them.

Kinky called me this afternoon to talk about the weather, his two rescued cats and their two kittens and The Friedmans. "Nance, I'm reading it right now and it says that tomorrow we have a forty percent chance for rain. The coast is getting some action....The Friedmans are finally starting to ignore the cats and live in harmony with them."

Early this evening Carol came over for a short, but fun visit. She brought with her two Baggies, full of her delicious, healthy, homemade oatmeal cookies. "This big bag is for you and Tony since there are two of you and the smaller bag is for Brandon." And that is about it for tonight, because I am going over to the Lodge to visit with Kinky and to give Brandon Carol's cookies.

Y'all have a great evening!

The Chair!

Today has been great. This afternoon Tony and I met Carol and Kris at El Sol de Mexico for a really fun lunch. We all arrived about the same time and as soon as we sat down at our table, the laughter never stopped.

When we started talking about traveling and our friends going around the world to visit different countries, Kris mentioned our friend going to Paris. "I want to go to Paris, Texas," I said. "To see that famous, tall statue of Jesus wearing cowboy boots. My sister and I have often talked about going up there to see it and visit the graves of distant relatives, because she's into genealogy."

"Are you serious?" Carol asked, while Tony and Kris chuckled.

"Yes, in fact I've just come up with a great idea, thanks to y'all and Kinky. The other day Kinky and I were talking about his upcoming tour which includes Paris, Texas. When I reminded him about me wanting to see the famous statue, he starts teasing me and tells me that I should go to Paris soon, to see the statue of Jesus wearing cowboy boots, because it is number one on my bucket list."

"Tell us about your idea," Kris said.

"I'm thinking about naming my third novella The Cowgirl Sisterhood: Part III, The Bucket List. Carol and I could go to Paris, Texas and solve another mystery."

"Excuse me, but I'm from Paris, Texas," said a young woman, sitting at the table next to ours. "When I heard you say Paris, Texas I couldn't help but ease drop."

"Have you seen the famous statue of Jesus wearing cowboy boots?" Carol asked, the friendly stranger.

"No, I've never heard of it," she answered. "And I lived there most of my life." All of us started laughing.

"Google it," I suggested.

"I will as soon as I get home. Enjoy your lunch." Then she and her friends left the restaurant.

A little later on, I started laughing. "Carol, you've got to tell Kris about The Chair." Carol and Tony burst out laughing.

"Okay. Kris, last week I went Online and ordered a beautiful, comfy chair, for my big room. It is cream colored linen, with windowpane red stripes and has nailed brads."

"It's a beautiful chair," I added.

"It was delivered yesterday. When Nancy and Tony came over to visit me, they saw the chair box, on the deck and Nancy asked me, "Did your chair arrive?" Then Carol, Tony and I started laughing again. "I told her yes, but there is a little problem with it." Then I asked them if they wanted to see it. Nancy says yes, and then she tells Tony, "Tony, don't laugh," as we entered the house. As soon as Nancy saw my chair she burst out laughing and then she and I couldn't stop laughing. I love the chair, but I'm on the fence about shipping it back or keeping it."

"What's wrong with the chair?" Kris asked.

"It's real tiny," Carol answered. "I think it might be a kid's chair."

"Really?" Kris asked, before chuckling.

"Yes. You should have heard all of Nancy's wisecracks about it, as we stared it. Nancy described it best when she said it was the perfect size for a visiting leprechaun. I love the chair. It's comfortable, it supports my back and it fits me perfectly. Nancy even suggested that I put it in the bathroom, because it is so small."

"Carol, I love your new chair and I think you should keep it," I said. "It will be a real ice-breaker when new friends come into your home for the first time. In fact, if I were you I'd invite them in and say nothing about the chair, as they stare at it and wonder if you have grand kids."

"Nancy even suggested that I move all of the end tables away from it, because they are so much taller than the the arms of the chair, so they don't dwarf it," Carol said, followed by us laughing.

"If a tall man sits in it, his knees will be higher than his head is," I added.

"I want to see this chair," Kris said.

"Tony took pictures of it yesterday," Carol continued, "while we were laughing about it. In fact, to show how small it is, he took a picture of Nancy, who is only five-foot-two standing beside me, sitting in the chair and she looks six feet tall."

"It's true," I said. "We need to get Tony to take a picture of you standing beside the chair, because you're only two inches taller than me. Carol, do you mind if I blog about this tonight?"

After Carol had quit laughing she told me that I could. Here's Tony's picture and that is about it for tonight, because Tony and I are going back over to Carol's ranch for another photo shoot of the chair, with her standing beside it.

Y'all have a great evening!

Tunnel Vision!

Today has been great. I spent most of the afternoon doing paperwork, returning phone calls and e-mails. Our good friend Jim, The Mineral Man, sent me a couple of pictures that he took last Saturday of Eileen who volunteered to dress up as a bat, to help celebrate Old Tunnel's one-hundredth anniversary.

Old Tunnel State Park is a wildlife management area near Fredericksburg. There is an abandoned railroad tunnel there that is home to millions of Brazilian Free-Tailed Bats and several of our friends/volunteers also volunteer there. Here are a couple of pictures of Eileen, cutting-up in her bat costume, for Jim, which I've titled, Tunnel Vision.

Around 3:30, Carol called to invite us to come over for a visit. When she asked when we wanted to come over, I didn't hesitate for a second and said, "Now. I've been doing paperwork all day and I need a break and want to laugh..."

As always we had a fun time over at Carols. We sat out on her deck and we had a good laugh about us becoming more forgetful, while Tony took pictures and identified birds for us. Unfortunately, I've already forgotten which birds he identified for us, but they were real pretty. And that is about it for tonight—I think?

Y'all have a great evening!

Kate Middleton Has Heart Worms!

Today has been great, even though late this afternoon we found out that the sweet dog, that we rescued two days ago, Katie, aka Kate Middleton, has heart worms. The veterinarian told me that they will start her treatment tomorrow and in a month or so, after she is completely free of heart worms, they will then spay her. Then we can find her a great home.

Earlier this evening, Tony and I visited with his friend Jeremy, in my pink cabin. The reason for the visit was he is going to help us both launch web sites. Tony's site is going to showcase his awesome pictures that can be purchased and mine is going to promote my books, and we are very excited about it.

A few months ago, I went to GoDaddy and bought my domain name: www.cousinnancy.com, but it is not live yet, because I started getting confused on how to do it, because unfortunately I am not a computer nerd and also because I am not the sharpest tool in the tool shed. Tony hasn't come up with the name for his site, yet. Anyway, I will keep y'all posted about our new upcoming web sites, when we launch them and they become live.

As I finish typing this tonight, I plan to go into Outer Space with a glass of boxed, fine, iced red wine and my guitar, so I can play some music for our dogs. They love to listen to me when I play my guitar or do anything else, like washing the dishes or just breathing, because of their unconditional love for me. That is why I love dogs so much, because I believe that life is all about love and my dogs are constantly proving it to me, every time that I look into their eyes.

Y'all have a great evening!

Katie!

Today has been great. Our sweet Abbie, since she started taking her meds, is doing great and definitely not in pain. She runs up the steps, jumps up on our bed and has reclaimed her rocking chair, in the big room. As I type this Abbie is sleeping in her rocker, Roy is sleeping next to my feet, under the kitchen table, Mama is sleeping in the middle of our bed, Beau is keeping Tony company, in his office and Belle is in my chair, staring at me. So, all is good as far as I am concerned.

Early this morning, Brandon, Tony and I went over to the Lodge to eat breakfast with Kinky, Ben, Will and Blake. Breakfast was delicious, because Ben cooked it and it was a lot of fun catching up with Ben's, Will's and Blake's latest news.

This afternoon we rescued Katie. I got a call early this morning from a nice woman, who told me that she and her family had rescued this cute, sweet little dog, several days ago, that was lost and dodging cars, in a CVS parking lot, in San Antone. "We brought her home with us and she was great with our dogs, but we can't keep her. We put up signs everywhere and made phone calls too, but no one has claimed her. She loves children too, and we don't know what else to do..."

Katie is everything that the woman told us and she looks like she could be a sister to Kinky's dog, Winston Churchill. We plan to take her to Hoegemeyer Animal Clinic tomorrow, to get her spayed, shots, etc. We're guessing that she is about one to two-years-old, but we will know more, after our vets check her out. If you are interested in this too cute gal, please give us a call: 830-589-7544. And that is about it for today. Here's Katie!

Y'all have a great evening!

An Iguana! or New York City!

Last night it rained—for ten minutes, which was great, because earlier in the day it rained for two minutes and a few seconds. So far this week we've received twelve and a quarter minutes of rain.

Yesterday was an okay day. In the morning when I started to fill the sink so I could do the dishes, I was startled by this little creature fighting for his life, trying not to drown, in the Ivory soap water. Because I am old and sometimes can't remember the correct word to use, I half-hollered, "Tony! Come quick! There's an iguana in the sink!"

Tony saved the miniature iguana and took him outside to dry on the porch and then when he came back inside he was laughing and then he teased me, "It's a gecko, Nance. Not an iguana."

"I know it's a gecko, I just couldn't remember the word."

After breakfast, while I was cleaning up the kitchen, Abbie came into the big room and she was foaming at the mouth, shaking and her tail was tucked between her legs. Five minutes later, Tony took off with our twelve-year-old Lab mix, for Hoegemeyers, while Brandon and I went outside to do the morning chores. I fed the dogs and Brandon did my job which is cleaning the pens.

Tony picked Abbie up late in the afternoon and brought her home. Dr. Janssen told him that Abbie was suffering from painful arthritis and he sent her home with two bottles of pain pills. When she arrived she seemed to be feeling a little bit better and she rested all night, in her bed.

The pills had really kicked in by this morning and Abbie does not seem to be in pain and she is jumping up in chairs once again. She also took an afternoon nap, on our bed, with Mama, Belle, Beau, Roy and me. So, today has been good.

This morning our great friends/volunteers came out to walk our dogs and twice it got dark outside, the winds picked up and the temperatures dropped, because it looked like it was fixin' to rain, but it didn't.

All of us went up to Koyote to eat lunch together and Carol joined us, and it was a lot of fun. During our laughter-filled lunch, we got to talking about speeding tickets and Carol told us a story about when she was in her early twenties.

"It was a Friday evening and I was driving home from work and I could not wait to get home. I was driving down a long stretch of country road and I got behind a slow moving car that was actually doing the speed limit. I decided to pass anyway. We're talking a double-striped lane, too. I floored my car and at 85mph I started passing the car. While I was passing, I looked over and saw that it was a policeman. So, as soon as I passed the squad car I slowed down and then pulled into my driveway—followed by the policeman."

"Did he write you a ticket?" I asked.

"No, because he was friends with my sister..."

While Ellen, The Bacon-a-tor was munching down on her BLT sandwich, Suzanne said, "Nancy, I just finished reading your second novella and I loved it. It was so hilarious that I could not put it down until I finished reading it."

"I loved it too," Carol said, followed by a chuckle. "We started out being ditsy characters in the first novella and now Nancy and I are Dumb and Dumber."

"Sounds like I need to make us a couple of new Cowgirl Sisterhood Dumb and Dumber t-shirts," I joked. "Do you want to be Dumb or Dumber?"

"It doesn't matter, because you're the writer and you get to choose." Then we started talking about hurricanes and then chili.

"In Texas," Carol declared. "No self-respecting Texan ever puts beans in their chili. And they ought to make it a law." Everyone at the table agreed with her. Then we started talking about the best chili that we've ever eaten.

Everyone agreed that Texas chili is the very best, except for Jim, The Mineral Man. "Now, I love Texas chili hands down, but believe it or not, the best chili that I've ever eaten was in New York."

"New York City!" Carol countered. "No way."

"Not, New York City," Jim explained. "At Bear Mountain resort, in upper state New York. They cooked a brisket until the meat was so tender it fell apart. Seriously, it was the best tasting chili that I've ever had."

"I bet the cook was a native Texan," Carol teased.

Late this afternoon, I decided to go outside, so I could do some target practice, using my pretty, pink, Daisy BB gun, because before we went to eat lunch, Jim gave me two Glow Shot targets to try out. "They're really cool, because the holes will be different colors," Jim said, before he showed me his and Kris' colorful, used targets.

"They might not go through the target with this high wind,"Tony teased.

"They should penetrate it," Jim said.

"Because the BBs might blow back at me," I joked. Here are before and after pictures of my target.

Even though I actually totally missed the target several times, I ended up with two bulls eyes and put seven inside the little orange ring. Now I'm fixin' to go over to Kinky's to visit with our friends Ben, Will, Blake, Brandon and Kinky and I can't wait to show them my pretty target, even though orange is not my favorite color. I wonder if they make these using pink and pastel colors.

Y'all have a great evening!

It Just Started Raining!

Jimmy Lafave Was Here!

CONTINUED FROM YESTERDAY...

After Kinky and I adios-ed each other, I called Carol to tell her what was going on and her immediate response was, "Oh my god, Nancy! He can't sit on Maya with her wearing a pink saddle blanket!"

"I know and that's why I called you..."

Today has been great thanks to The Cowgirl Sisterhood. Carol arrived at the rescue ranch at 8:00 as planned, with a gray saddle blanket for Maya. After we said our howdies we jumped into the truck and Kermit to go find Maya to get her ready for her first major picture role.

After saddling Maya, The Smartest Horse in Medina Movies, Carol took her into the corral to exercise her and run her around the ring for a few minutes, because it's been quite a while since I have ridden her and Little Jewford, our miniature donkey, who worships Maya, went into the corral, too.

When Carol started Maya galloping around the ring, Little Jewford immediately started running as fast as he could behind her. It was really sweet and fun to watch.

Later when Carol was riding Maya around the ranch, with LJ following them, I went to the Lodge to tell Kinky, the friendly director and the upbeat film crew, that Maya was ready when they were. Here are pictures of Carol riding the range and of Carol and Maya visiting with Roy, Gabby and Little Jewford.

Twenty minutes later, in the secluded woods, Kinky was back in the saddle and he and Maya were posing for the camera crew, with our donkeys standing nearby. After the film crew's cameras had captured Kinky on Maya, I took this picture of Carol visiting with Kinky, in his late 1800's costume. In the western movie scene, if they decide to use it, they are only going to show Kinky's hips and legs, as he dismounts from Maya and that is why he is wearing a ball cap.

Before Kinky and the crew took off, Kinky invited us to come back over when his musician friend, Jimmy Lafave, arrives to be in some scenes with Kinky. And here is a picture that I took of the movie director visiting with Kinky and Jimmy. 

Y'all have a great evening!

Hot Pink!

Today has been great. Since yesterday, Abbie seems to be feeling fine, thank goodness and we are all thrilled that she is back home with us.

This morning at 7:20, Big G called me, so we could do our weekly Utopia segment on his radio show and Marie Osmond was his Pet of the Week.

"Big G, we love Marie Osmond. She is a great dog and she is about a year and a half old. She is always happy and she loves to go on walks, down to the creek, with her brother Donny. She's medium sized and probably part Whippet," I said, as Mama, my great Great Pyrenees, let herself out the front door, because Belle was outside, barking at a rabbit or an armadillo.

This morning I did some paperwork, returned a few phone calls and e-mails, before I cooked lunch for Brandon, Tony and me. Yesterday, my friend Carol and I were talking about baking chicken using Panko, instead of frying it. "Ronnie told me that he only cooks thighs instead of chicken breasts, because the meat is so much tender and juicier," I said. 

Carol laughed and then she teased me. "Well, if Ronnie prefers cooking thighs instead of breasts, then I will too, because Ronnie always knows best..." After we had quit laughing, Carol told me, "Nancy, if you really want to make the best panko chicken in the world, mix equal parts of Parmesan cheese and panko..." Before we adios-ed each other, Carol had also given me her baked Brussels Sprouts recipe, which is now Cousin Nancy's Oven Roasted Brussels Sprouts. And to say the least about our lunch, "Brandon and Tony ate all of the thighs and wanted me to cook them more. Thank you, Carol! I'm going to give Ronnie the recipe."

Early this evening, the phone rang—it was Kinky. "Nance, the movie guys are already here for tomorrow's shoot and they just told me that they want to shoot me riding a horse. Could I ride Maya?"

"I'd love it! Maya is going to be a movie star horse. Like Mr. Ed was or Trigger or Buttermilk or..."

"Do you have a saddle and bridle for her?"

"Yes, I do. Oh my god!"

"What!" Kinky asked, excitedly.

"Her saddle blanket is hot pink, Kinky," I answered.

"Hot Pink! I can't be riding a horse with a hot pink saddle blanket. Nance, this is supposed to be a cowboy western movie, set in the late 1800's."

"Okay, let me call Carol to see if she has a saddle blanket that we can borrow and then I will call you right back." To Be Continued...

Y'all have a great evening and let's hope that The Cowgirl Sisterhood saves the day for Kinky and that Maya becomes even more famous than she already is!

Abbie Is Home!

Ninety Plus Miles!

Today has been great, even though I am exhausted from walking twelve miles yesterday, tripling my daily goal of 2,000 Nike+ Fuel points.

This morning after Brandon helped Tony with the outside chores, we picked up Wilma Flintstone and then dropped off Brandon and then we headed to Hoegemeyer Animal Clinic, so Robert could meet us there, so he could pick up Wilma and take her to her new home, in Fredville.

We arrived at Hoegemeyers at 11:15. Robert arrived two minutes later and by 11:30, Wilma was headed to her new home, as Buttermilk was taking us back home. Tone and I talked non-stop all of the way home, about how much we both liked Robert and how lucky Wilma was.

We picked up Brandon on our way home, so he could eat lunch with us and then do some of Tony's and my latest "Honey do" chores.

When we walked inside the trailer, we immediately noticed that someone had vomited up their breakfast, in the big room and in the hallway and we quickly discovered that it was Abbie, because she threw up again, while I was making tuna fish sandwiches for us.

We watched Abbie for the next few hours and she even took a brief nap, on the bed, with Roy, Mama and me. When our sleepless nap ended, we could tell that she still didn't feel great, even though she had quit vomiting.

Around 3:15, Abbie threw up again, so I immediately called Hoegemeyers and three minutes later, Brandon and I took off in Trigger, with Abbie resting in the back seat. Tony wanted to go with us, but he couldn't because Karon was bringing over some sweet girls, from the Medina Children's Home, to walk our dogs and take them swimming.

Before we arrived at Hoegemeyer Animal Clinic, Abbie had thrown up two more times. When we walked inside the clinic, with Brandon carrying Abbie, the nice veterinarian on emergency calls, was working on an eight-year-old dog that had been badly porcupine-ed.

As we waited our turn to see the vet, Abbie slept on the cool tile floor, in the lobby, as we visited with a nice woman, who had met her brother at the clinic, who was getting the quills removed from his dog's face.

In less than an hour, the veterinarian listened to me about Abbie's problem and then we went into a private room, so he could examine her. He told us that Abbie was not badly dehydrated, her temperature was normal, her gums, ears and eyes looked healthy, too. Then he told us that he wanted to give her some fluids with electrolytes, under her skin and a couple of shots to cease the vomiting and that he wanted to keep her overnight for observation.

When the veterinarian returned with the bag of electrolyte fluids and hung it up, he then put an IV into Abbie's back, without her even noticing, which nearly caused me to faint, because I don't do needles. The drip then started slowly, ounce by ounce, going into Abbie's shoulder, as Brandon and I petted her and reassured her that she was going to be just fine, which made her wag her tail.

When the bag was either half full or half empty, depending on how you look at things, the sweet vet removed the IV and then slipped it into the other side of her shoulder. "She's already gained one pound," Brandon observed, before chuckling.

After Abbie had received the fluids, we adios-ed her and told her that we would see her tomorrow and for her to sleep tight. Then Brandon and I jumped into Trigger and headed back to the ranch.

Ninety-plus miles later today and well worth it, when we arrived back at the rescue ranch, around 6:35, Tony met us outside to tell us the great news that, "We had gotten three big drops of rain." So as I end this tonight, I am not going to walk with Leslie, but instead drink a glass or two of fine boxed red wine, celebrate Wilma's super adoption and that Abbie is going to be okay, and then watch Coach reruns until I laugh myself to sleep. Life is good come rain or come shine.

Y'all have a great evening!

Happy Birthday Dean Brown!

Tony and I and all of our great friends/volunteers want to wish Eileen's sister, Dean, Happy Birthday! Dean is coming to visit Eileen in a few weeks and all of us are very excited about seeing her again. We can't wait to tease her about crying at the end of Lassie shows and finding out if she really used to eat doodle bugs when she was a kid.

Happy Birthday to You. Happy Birthday to You. Happy Birthday Dear Dean (The doodle bug eater.) Happy Birthday to You! And many more!

We love you and we hope this is your best birthday ever! See you in a few weeks. And don't forget it is BYOB—Bring Your Own Bugs!

Happy Birthday June!

Today has been another hot, dog days of summer day and I've about had it with the heat, no rain and the serious drought that we are in. For the past two weeks we've had consecutive one-hundred-degree days and it is starting to take its toll on me, but I am fighting it, by doubling my Nike+ daily goal.

Actually I am not depressed, yet. I'm just tired of feeling sorry whenever I look at the trees, shrubs, grass, animals, fish, birds, turtles, rivers and dried up creeks—all needing precious water. We have a twenty percent chance of rain this evening and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will rain. And if it doesn't rain by 6:30, I plan to walk with Leslie, inside The Cabin, until I triple my daily goal of 2,000.

I know that I always start my posts with, "Today has been a great day," and it actually has been a great day, I just needed to vent about the weather.

Late this morning, Robert and Lynn, from Fredericksburg, came out to look at our dogs and possibly adopt one, because they had heard me talking about our rescue ranch, on the radio last week. Robert had called me on Thursday morning, right after I had done Harley's Show, to make an appointment with me for today and after a nice visit with Robert on the phone, I was excited about him and his wife possibly adopting one of our super dogs from us.

When Robert and Lynn arrived with their three cute grandchildren, all little girls, I was very impressed with the couple from the git-go. After meeting them, I gave them a tour of our rescue ranch, because Tony had gone to Medina to get a battery and feed.

 By the time Tony had returned home, Lynn and Robert had adopted Wilma, and they were already gone, so they could take their grandchildren back home to San Antone. "Did we miss them?" Tony asked.

"Yes. They adopted Wilma and they are going to meet us tomorrow, in Kerrville, to pick her up and take her home. They didn't want Wilma to have to be cooped up in their small car all of the way to San Antone and then to Fredtown..." Tony and Brandon were as thrilled as me about Wilma getting a super forever home.

And that's about it for tonight, but before I start walking with Leslie again, for the third time today, I want to wish June, our dear friend/volunteer, a very Happy Birthday with many more to come. And I also want to thank my dear friend, Harley Belew, for helping us get Wilma Flintstone a great home.

Y'all have a great evening!

The Bacon-a-tor, Lassie And Peggy Sue!

Today has been great. This morning our fantastic, fabulous, friends/volunteers came out to walk our dogs for us. Even though the temperature was  in the eighties outside, our dogs loved going for walks and getting to swim.

Around 11:00, after returning a few phone calls, Lisa came up to the trailer, so she could give us some homemade cookies, that she had baked. "Yesterday, I wanted to bake some cookies and when I went Online to look at recipes, the first recipe that I saw was Bacon Chocolate Chip cookies," Lisa explained, as she handed me the bag of cookies, the recipe and cutest, blue, hand-held fan with a mister. "I thought the recipe was a sign, because last Friday we teased Ellen relentlessly about being The Bacon-a-tor." After a good laugh about it, she left to go walk more dogs and then I took this picture.

Ten minutes later, I ate one of her delicious cookies, before going outside to visit with our fun-loving friends. When I reached the barn, everyone was standing under some trees, by Lois Lane's pen and they were laughing. Eileen was being teased, because on the 17th of August, she has volunteered to wear a fleece bat costume, for a three to four hour event. "You're crazy and you are going to burn up in that outfit," Tony teased.

Then Eileen turned to me and asked me if I thought she was crazy, too. "No," I answered. "I think you're a ding-bat." Then Eileen told us an hilarious story about her, Suzanne and a hippie guy named Randy. Then we started talking about her sister Dean, who is coming to Texas soon for a visit, and Eileen told us some very funny stories about them growing up. Then we started teasing Ellen again, about officially being The Bacon-a-tor.

The fun and laughter continued throughout our lunch, at Koyote. When we were talking about old television shows that we had watched as kids, such as Captain Kangaroo, The Rifleman, Mitch Miller, Flipper, Bonanza, Gunsmoke, etc. Eileen told us about Dean always crying, at the end of every Lassie show, when the music played and Lassie held up her paw.

While we were all laughing about it, even though Brandon had never watched those shows because he wasn't born yet, Eileen secretly got busy on her iPhone. Then the next thing we heard was the Lassie theme song playing loudly on Eileen's cell phone. All of us burst out laughing and then immediately held up our arm and dropped our hand above our chest, like Lassie did with her paw. Then the friendly manager came over to our table to see what was going on and where the high-pitched music was coming from. We told her, as the theme song continued to play loudly, in the background, and she too thought it was funny and she started laughing with us.
After a super fun lunch with our friends we dropped Brandon off and then we came back home. Twenty minutes later, Tony loaded up Peggy Sue, the sweet Beagle that we rescued last month, so he could drop her off, at Hoegemeyer Animal Clinic, for her final heart worm treatment.

Peggy Sue is under two-years-old and she is a sweetheart. Once she recovers from her heart worm treatment in the next four weeks, we will then get her spayed and then she will be ready to be adopted. If you want to adopt a great dog—Peggy Sue is for YOU!

Y'all have a great evening!

One!

Today has been great, even though it has been a quiet, hot day outside. Since celebrating Tony's 59th birthday on Tuesday, I have been very busy doing a ton of office work and exercising inside The Cabin. And that's why I didn't post anything, because there has been nothing interesting to write about.

Last night after feeling totally exhausted from doubling my daily Nike+ goal again, I realized that I have become so obsessed with my Nike+ band, that today I decided not to wear it, because my old body really needed a rest and so did our dogs, because they have been constantly following me everywhere I go.

A few minutes ago, I grabbed my camera, so I could take a picture of my unused Nike+ measure for today's activity and it indicated "0" Fuel earned and "0" calories burned, etc. When I got the camera ready to take the picture, my Nike+ Fuel band goal indicated "1" and "1" calorie burned, because I had moved it on the table.

Anyway, tomorrow I plan to put it on first thing in the morning and start tracking my daily goal, again, because I am really addicted to it. And that's about it for tonight. Hopefully, tomorrow will be more exciting, since the volunteers are coming out.

Y'all have a great evening! 

Happy 59th Birthday, Tony!

3,233!

Today has been great. Late this morning after walking over five miles with Leslie Sansone and then helping Hazel vacuum our furry floors, I hit my Nike+ Fuel Goal of 2,000!

A few minutes ago as I was fixin' to write something for my blog tonight, I realized that I was too pooped and that I had literally run out of fuel. As I prepare to post this at 7:10, I just took a picture of my daily Nike+ Fuel earned for today so far, and I am pleased that I am 1,233 points over my daily goal, but unfortunately, I am too tired to celebrate. Life is not fair.

P.S. Tomorrow is Tony's 59th Birthday and I want to be the first to wish my sweet husband the very best birthday ever!

Y'all have a great evening!

The Bacon-a-tor Part II!

Today has been great, but I'll tell you about that later. Yesterday evening, Eileen, our dear friend/volunteer, sent me two pictures to post that she took at Tony's surprise birthday party on Friday. The first picture I looked at made me laugh out loud, because Eileen captured Ellen's shocked expression, when she first saw her BLT, with only one strip of bacon on it.

The second picture that Eileen sent to me is of Tony blowing out his tall candles on his gigantic, delicious chocolate birthday cake.

Yesterday was a busy day. Several people came out to take tours and to check out our dogs, even though it was pretty hot outside, but unfortunately no one came out to adopt. But the good news is, Sadie, the sweet dog that Tony and Brandon rescued, that we took immediately to Hoegemeyers has been adopted to a great home, thanks to Dr. Janssen and his sweet wife Kathy.

When they met Sadie, they called their good friend and neighbor to tell them about Sadie. The man came to the clinic to meet Sadie and as Kathy later told me, "It was love at first sight."

Remember me telling y'all about purchasing a Nike+ Fuel band, well all I have to say is that I LOVE IT! Yesterday, was my first day to wear it all day and by five o'clock last night, I had reached my goal of 2,000 Nike+ Fuel! And by the time I took it off, because it was time for bed and I had a grand total of 2,544 Nike+ Fuel! (Nike+ Fuel reflects your level of effort throughout the day and it is calculated the same way for everyone, so you can compete with friends.)

This morning I was so excited about it, I called two friends and then my sister to tell them how great a motivator it was. Then I started walking, inside The Cabin, with Leslie Sansone. Before noon, I had reached my daily goal of 2,000 Nike Fuel and I could not quit pressing the button, on the band, to watch it spell out GOAL. Then I took a picture of it to prove to Mari that I had done it.

And as I finish writing tonight, I just checked my Fuel and I have less than 400 points to go to have doubled my goal today.

Y'all have a great evening!

Surprise! or The Bacon-a-tor!

Today has been great. This morning our super friends/volunteers came out to walk our dogs and while they were walking them and taking them swimming Eileen and Lisa came up to The Cabin to tell me that today the volunteers were giving Tony an early surprise birthday party, at Koyote ranch.

When Tony, Brandon and I walked inside Koyote, all of the volunteers were sitting at a long table, filled with gifts and cards and a gigantic cake, and they yelled, "Happy Birthday, Tony!" Talk about surprised, Tony was speechless, so I had to go order our lunch. "We'll have two Chef Salads, one with no onions and two medium teas, please."

When I sat down at our table, Tony started opening up his cool gifts and then he passed around the hilarious birthday cards, so everyone could laugh more than we usually do. "Tony," Ellen teased. "Pete told us that because of the burn ban is on, we could not light the many candles on your birthday cake." Here's a picture that Jim, "The Mineral Man" took and sent to me.

While we were eating lunch with our friends, Eileen or maybe it was Lisa showed June and Ellen a picture that they had snapped of Ellen's expression, when June, Pete and Art, the chef, played a trick on her. Then Ellen told us, "Since yesterday, I have been craving one of Art's delicious BLTs and when Art brought June's and my BLT's out, he handed June her basket and then he handed me my basket and said, "Sorry Ellen, we ran out of bacon."

"My BLT," June said. "Was stacked high with bacon and Ellen's sandwich only had one thin strip of bacon on it and when I showed mine to her, Eileen or Lisa took the picture of her sister's disappointed expression." 

"Then, thank goodness," Ellen said. "Art walked up and handed me a plate full of bacon for me. And it was good that he did, because I was about to lose it." Everyone burst out laughing and then we all started teasing Ellen relentlessly.

"Ellen is the Bacon-a-tor!" "Well, we all know what to give Ellen for her next birthday—packages of bacon!" "This year her Christmas stocking will be stuffed with bacon." "Bacon is a girl's best friend," etc. Then it was time to light the candles on Tony's gigantic birthday cake. Brandon snapped this picture of Tony's temporary fire hazard.

Before T. blew out the tall candles, on his tall, smoldering cake, we all sang Happy Birthday to him. Then we became very quiet, as we gobbled up his delicious chocolate birthday cake. We love our volunteer friends for doing this for Tony and we cannot thank them enough. And that is about it for tonight, because I need to go walk four miles with Leslie, so I can burn off the chocolate calories.

Y'all have a great evening!