Even Funnier!

Today has been great. Before noon, I walked, inside our trailer, over eight miles with Leslie and I reached my daily Nike+ goal and had walked over 11,000 steps. I've done it three days in a row and I plan to do it everyday until I lose ten pounds.

I spent most of the afternoon doing paperwork, returning phone calls and e-mails, not fun, but it must be done. Then I took a break and did some more writing on my upcoming third novella. It's about a long distance trail ride that Carol and I go on, along with some zany and weird characters.

After I finished writing I went outside and cut some of Tony's gorgeous flowers to replace the wilted, smelly Cowpen Daisies and they look fabulous, in the blue vase and they don't stink.

I know that Mercury in retrograde is upon us and this MIR time, for some reason, it is affecting me in a great way—thank goodness. My novellas are suddenly flying out of The Cabin and in the past two weeks I have had to reorder more copies of Part I and Part II, to keep up with the demand and for my upcoming book signing at the Highpoint Resort, in December. 

This morning while I was visiting with Kinky, I told him about this strange novella phenomenon suddenly causing my books to sell like hot cakes and having to reprint more and he was thrilled for me. When we talked about my book signing, he suggested that I also sell my second book Meanwhile Back At The Rescue Ranch: The Dog Days of Cousin Nancy too. 

I have sold out of that book several times and I have not restocked it for over a year, because I forgot about it. So late this afternoon, after crunching some numbers, I made the decision to go ahead and reprint it, too and then I placed my order. 

Laugh out loud, by next week, my office will be full of my books for me to go out and sell and my Undepressable Press checking account will be depressing to look at for a little while. I hope that my new luck with book sales continues, even though we still have to deal with MIR until Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving. Otherwise, my friends and family will all be receiving second copies of my books for Christmas and their upcoming birthdays, etc. And, if they remind me that they have already read and have signed copies of my books, I'll be prepared to say, "I know, but this one is even funnier."

Y'all have a great evening!

Manfred & Ellen!

Today has been great. This morning after I had walked four miles with Leslie, my friends Garnet and Sandy, from Utopia, came out to check out our dogs, because their old dogs had passed. While I gave them a tour and introduced them to our dogs, Garnet, Sandy and I visited and caught up with each others latest news.

Garnet was interested in Grace Kelly and Gonzo, but when she tried to walk Gracie, Gracie pulled and dragged her around and would not quit jumping up into the air. She was obviously too much for her to handle, since Garnet is smaller and shorter than me.

Gonzo behaved himself and before Garnet and Sandy left, they told me they wanted to talk about it and would get back to me about Gonzo.

While I was cooking lunch for Brandon, Tony and me, Tony went outside and a few minutes later he walked back inside The Cabin and said, "Here are some fresh flowers for you from my garden." And I love them and they don't stink.

This afternoon after lunch, Brandon and I picked and grinned for nearly an hour and a half, then I drove him home.

This afternoon around 3:00, Karon brought the kids from the Medina Children's Home over to walk our dogs for us. I was working on my third novella, so Tony went outside to greet them and to help leash up our dogs. Around 3:30, the dogs outside were barking, which made our dogs start barking. I figured one of the dogs had gotten away from a walker and knew that Tony could handle it.

Then five minutes later, Tony walked inside The Cabin and says, "Nancy, there are two really nice German people here. They live in Germany six months and they live in Bandera the other six months. They love dogs and have two Labs, in Germany and they want to know if we would let them foster one of our dogs for six months, before they return to Germany. I like them and I think it would be good for one of our dogs, to help make them more adoptable."

"I like the idea, too. I want to go meet them." Tony and I then went outside and found them standing by Jeremy's pen. When I greeted them and introduced myself, they told me they were Manfred & Ellen. Manfred didn't speak very much English, so Ellen and I talked and then she would translate it to her sweet husband, who was all smiles.

After Tony took off to be with the children, down by the creek, I gave the friendly Germans a tour of our rescue ranch and introduced them to all of our dogs and they petted each one. When the tour ended at George's and Bella's dog pen, they fell in love with Bella and she fell in love with them. "May we foster Bella?" Ellen asked.

"Yes, we would love for you to foster Bella for six months!" Bella could not wait to get out of her pen and jump into their car and the rest is history. While Ellen filled out Bella's foster care form I took this picture of one very happy dog.

Around 5:00, after the children left, Tony and I am went over to Carol's ranch for a fun visit with her. Before we left to come back home Carol surprised me, because she gave me a pretty, pink, Pedernales Cellars cap, from the vineyard that she just started part time working for. And then she gave us a big jar of her Dad's Secret Salsa, that she made for us, along with a large bag of her delicious, healthy oatmeal cookies. And that is about it for tonight.

Y'all have a great evening!

Texas Sized Dumplings!

Today has been great so far. It is nearly 3:00 and I am writing this post early, so I can spend the rest of my day and evening doing some writing on my third novella.

This morning, while I was walking four miles with Leslie Sansone, in the big room, while dodging our big, sleeping dogs, lying on the floor, I decided to use up my leftover chicken, from last Saturday, and try for the very first time, to make chicken and dumplings. For backup, in case the dumplings didn't turn out good, I also decided to bake a pan of Jiffy Corn Muffins and warm up the delicious pot of nine different organic beans, that Kris and Jim gave to me, because Tony, Brandon and I love beans and cornbread.

When I was done walking I started preparing lunch and within fifteen minutes, the muffins were baking in the oven, the beans were warming up and the garlic chicken and broth were waiting for me to add the homemade dumplings, which I had no idea how to make. So I got on the Internet and started Googling Chicken & Dumpling recipes.

After spending about ten minutes checking out different recipes, I found one that claimed it was the fastest and easiest way to make chicken and dumplings, so I chose that one. The directions for making these dumplings required mixing flour, baking powder, salt, softened butter and milk and then stirring it with a fork for a couple of minutes, before pinching tablespoon-sized-balls off and dropping them into the simmering chicken pot.

While I was dropping these sticky, little dough balls into the pot, Brandon and Tony came inside The Cabin. "What are you doing?" Tony asked. "I thought you said that we were having beans and cornbread for lunch."

"We are for backup," I said. "I decided to use our leftover chicken and try to make chicken and dumplings. And Brandon, if the dumplings turn out bad, you do not have to eat them, because I am sure our dogs will love them."

"Yes, ma'am," Brandon said. "I love chicken and dumplings and I'm sure your dumplings will be delicious."

Time marched on for about twelve minutes to let my dumplings cook, then it was time for us to eat. When I removed the lid and looked into the chicken and dumpling pot, my dumplings had nearly tripled in size, so I grabbed three bowls and filled them with chicken and giant dumplings. "Brandon, remember that you do not have to eat this if it tastes bad. Tony! Lunch is ready."

When Tony came into the kitchen he looked at the steaming hot bowls filled with chicken and chunky dumplings. Then he said, "I think I'm gonna eat the beans and cornbread first."

I laughed at Tony's remark and said, "That's so you can tell me that you're already full, so you won't have to eat my chicken and dumplings." He and Brandon started laughing.

For the record, let's just say that today's lunch could have been better without Cousin Nancy's Chicken & Dumplings. When I took my first bite out of a gigantic, Texas-sized dumpling—it was totally tasteless. "Brandon, the dumplings suck," I said, after I swallowed a drink of water to help wash it down. Then I started laughing, as I watched Brandon nervously put a humongous dumpling into his mouth and try to chew it, and I wish you could have seen the look on his face, as he smiled at me and swallowed it.

"It's good, Nancy," Brandon lied. "I'll call Mom and get my mama to give you her chicken and dumpling recipe. It's really delicious." Then Tony walked back into the big room carrying his empty plate.

"Okay, now I'm ready to try your chicken and dumplings," Tony said, as he grabbed a spoon and placed it into his bowl of bold dumplings. Then he went back down the hallway to eat it, as Brandon and I chuckled about it.

"Brandon, I am going to give the chicken and dumplings to our dogs, because they love my cooking, but first I want to take a picture of the worst chicken and dumplings ever made." Then I took a round dish out of the dishwasher, which hasn't worked for over ten years, because that is where I store my extra pots and pans. Then I poured my latest recipe into the dish, along with Brandon's and my full bowls and took this picture. And please note: Those three large lumps that are about the size of a chicken breast are actually my dumplings.

Right after I took this picture, Tony walked into the big room, carrying a full bowl of my chicken and dumplings. "Sorry Nance, I like your chicken and dumplings, but I am really full." Brandon and I started laughing.

"We couldn't eat it either," I teased. "But it wasn't because we were full. I'm going to feed it to our dogs." Then I put all of our dogs outside and only let Roy come back inside. I filled up my bowl and put it on the floor, so Roy could enjoy eating it, but Roy hesitated to eat it, something he has never done before, which made Brandon and me laugh as we watched him. It took him about three minutes before Roy finally had licked the bowl clean. Then it was Mama's turn to come inside and she did the exact same thing as Roy did and by the time everyone had reluctantly eaten their bowl of Cousin Nancy's Chicken & Dumplings, they all wanted to go outside, because I guess they thought I was punishing them for something. Seriously, those dumplings were so bad that I bet if I had thrown them into the trash can and had purposefully left the lid off, Roy would not attempt to get them out of the trash. 

Around 2:15, I checked my Nike+ Fuel band that I wear daily, and I had still not hit my daily goal, so I decided to walk another four miles with Leslie and when I had finished walking four more miles, I had surpassed my daily goal big time. Now I plan to start writing. And that is about it for today.

P.S. The litter of yellow Lab puppies will be coming next Saturday, not today as planned, because they are not totally weaned yet. And the good news is—they already have homes waiting for them.

Y'all have a great evening!

They Stink! They Stunk!

Today has  been great. This morning before Brandon and Tony went outside to do the daily chores, I asked Tony to please go outside to cut me some of his beautiful wildflowers, because the lavender flowers, in the pretty pink vase had given up and had wilted.

A few minutes later he came back inside The Cabin and handed me a fresh-cut bouquet and I was thrilled. As I filled the vase with fresh water he said, "Be sure to put a baby aspirin in the water. It will help them last longer." Even though I have never heard of this I dropped a pink aspirin into the vase and then I added a small amount of sugar, because I've heard that sugar helps them last longer, too. Then I took this picture.

Thirty minutes later, while I walked four miles with Leslie Sansone, I had the beans, that Kris & Jim gave to me and the Jiffy Corn Muffins warming in the oven, so Brandon, Tony and me could eat them for lunch.

Right after I finished walking, my friend Kim called me about helping her find homes for her neighbor's six, eight-weeks-old yellow Labrador pups. I told her I would see what I could do.

During our delicious lunch, I told Tony and Brandon about the puppies that needed a home. "I want one," Brandon said. "And my mom, in Alabama, might want one, too." Then he and I talked about how cute all puppies are and how destructive Lab puppies can be, until they mature around two years of age. When I asked Brandon if he wanted a male or female pup, he said, "I want a male and I am going to name him R. J."

"R.J.?" I asked.

"Roy, Jr.," Brandon explained. "You've got Roy Rogers and I want mine to be exactly like Roy." He was so excited about getting a pup, I decided not to tell him that in real life, Roy Rogers, Jr. was nicknamed Dusty. Then I picked up the phone and punched in Kim's phone number.

"Kim, we can take two. One female and one male," I said and she was delighted and told me that she will deliver the pups to us on Saturday.

After lunch Tony and I jumped inside Trigger and took off, to go run errands, in Kerrville. Our first stop was at H-E-B, on Main Street. While we were filling our shopping cart with groceries, I decided to buy a blue vase just like the pink one I had purchased last week and the November issue of Texas Monthly, because I love that magazine.

Then we went to Home Depot and our last stop was at Hoegemeyer Animal Clinic, because we wanted to check on Dale Evans and to meet Christopher Columbus, the little, stray dog that a man had called me about finding, who was going to drop him off at the clinic for us.

After we saw a much healthier Dale Evans, I asked Susan if we could meet Chris and she said, "Me, too. The man never dropped him off."

"That is great news, because the nice man had told me that he has been without a dog for over six years, because when his old dog died, it broke his heart and he vowed to never get another dog.  He also told me that if he kept the little dog one more day, he just might have to keep it, because it was stealing his heart."

On our drive back home, I thumbed through the Texas Monthly magazine and I was nicely surprised when I turned to page 284, to discover that they had included the beautiful, one page Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch advertisement, that they had designed for us several years ago. So, I want to thank the great folks at Texas Monthly, once again, for helping us get the word out.

When we got home Tony and I put up the groceries. Then I grabbed the scissors and went outside to cut some pretty, yellow flowers, so I could put them in my new blue vase. When I returned to The Cabin, I filled the new vase with water, dropped in a baby aspirin and added a little sugar. Then I put the flowers into the vase and put it on the table, next to my banjo. Then I took this picture of it.

When Tony came into big room I said, "Tony, look at my new vase with the yellow flowers that I just cut. Tony looked and then he chuckled. "What's so funny?"

"Those flowers stink. They are called Cowpen Daises. Go smell them." I went over and smelled the pretty flowers and sure enough, I did not like what I smelled—they stunk.

It has been a few hours since I first put the stinking cowpen daisies into the blue vase and after much thought, I've decided to go ahead and keep them, until they wilt, because they do look pretty and they just can't help how they smell. 

Early this evening, my dear friend Carol called me as soon as she got off of work and she was all excited. She is officially retired, but last week she decided to interview for a job at Pedernales Cellars, in Stonewall, because she has always thought it would be fun to work at a vineyard. 

Today was Carol's first day working, at Pedernales Cellars and when she called me, the first thing that she said to me was, "Nancy, I love working with the people at Pedernales Cellars. They are so nice and I love my new job. And I have something really big to tell you!"

"What? Is it good news?"

"It's great news and you're not going to believe this."

"Tell me."

"Today while I was working, my boss came out of the office and she asked me, "Do you know Walter and Cheryl?" I told her "Yes, I do. They are new friends of mine and they are two of the nicest people on the planet." Then I asked her, "Why?"

"Nancy she told me that Walter had just called her and he told her about me being a dear friend of theirs and because of me, they have signed up and joined our wine club."

"Carol, that is way too cool. I love Cheryl and Walter and their sweet gesture does not surprise me, because they are great people."

"I know. Me too. When my boss told me that, I said, "Oh my goodness. They are so sweet to do that for me. Last Sunday, when I last saw them, I told them about starting my new job here and about how excited I was to work for y'all." "Nancy, instead of buying bottles, Cheryl and Walter purchased cases of wine to be delivered to them! Can you believe that?"

"Yes, I can. I am so happy for you."I said. "Can I blog about this?"

"Yes, please do, because I love Pedernales Cellars and Cheryl and Walter. Nancy, I need to get Cheryl and Walter's phone number and address, so I can call them and personally thank them for joining our Pedernales Wine Club today, on my first day of work. I know that they are going to love the wine, too, because it is made with 100% Texas grapes and their wines have won all kinds of major awards in California and Texas..."

Carol and I talked for a few more minutes, before she told me that the sun was shining directly into her eyes and that she needed to get off of the phone. I am so happy for Carol that she loves her new job and I need to end this, so I can e-mail her Cheryl and Walter's address. And that is about it for tonight.

Y'all have a great evening!

Carol's Dog Scout!

Today has been great. This morning when Tony and Brandon went outside to do the morning chores, I went outside and push mowed The Okay Corral, Rufus and Roxanne's pen and Lois Lane's pen. When I started push mowing between their pens and Layla and Little Girl's pen I had to stop, because I ran out of gasoline, so I came inside and returned a few phone calls and then I cooked lunch.

After we ate lunch today, Tony went to the Old Timer, in Medina, to buy gas for Kermit, the riding mowers, the push mower and the weed-eaters. Then I was back in business outside.

While I weed-eated around the pens and the trees, near our caliche dirt road, Tony took off on Zorro and started mowing down every thing in his path. After two hours of yard work, we came inside to rest.

Instead of taking a nap with my four-legged friends I decided to try to paint a picture for the cover of my third novella, because after going to that art show, on Sunday, with Carol, Cheryl and Walter, I was inspired to try to paint again.

I spent about one hour painting this, in our kitchen and it still needs a lot more work, until it is finally finished. The Black Labrador sitting near the creek is supposed to be Carol's dog, Scout and I think I am going to include her other dog, Jake and my Roy, but I am not sure.

I have scheduled for this to post at 7:00 tonight, because it is nearly 6:00, because I am going back outside to push mow one or two more dog pens before the sun sets.

Y'all have a great evening!

Christopher Columbus!

Today has been great. This morning I took care of some paperwork, Hazel and I cleaned up The Cabin and then I returned several phone calls and e-mails, before cooking lunch for Tony and me.

After lunch I cleaned up the kitchen and then I sat down, in front of my laptop and reordered more copies of my second novella, The Cowgirl Sisterhood: Part II Death In New Mexico, because I only have six copies left.

Then I jumped into Trigger and took off for Kerrville to run several errands. Tony had to stay here, because Paul was coming out to deliver some free dog food. On my way home, I stopped by Carol's ranch for a short visit. Then I came home.

When I got home Carlton told me that I had two new messages. One was from Kinky, who is out of town and the other was from a very nice man named Chris, who had asked me to call him, because a stray had shown up at his house, in Kerrville.

I called Kinky first. He wanted to discuss our upcoming Bonefit (benefit), that will probably be in January, that he and Big G are already working on. Then I called Chris about the dog. When I said, "Hello Chris, this is Nancy from the rescue ranch."

He said, "I would recognize your voice any where, because I listen to Harley. Thanks for calling me back..." After we had adios-ed each other, I called Susan at Hoegemeyer Animal Clinic.

"Hi Susan. It's Nancy. Tomorrow morning we've got a man named Chris dropping off a small stray. He told me that the dog weighs about fifteen pounds, is real sweet and he sort of looks like a Beagle, but he is copper colored. I can't wait to meet him."

"What did you name him?"

I paused for a moment and then said, "Christopher Columbus." That made Susan chuckle.

Around 5:00, I went outside and started weed-eating, because the recent rains have made our grass turn green and grow rapidly. Then I jumped on Zorro (Our Toro riding lawn mower.) and then I used the push mower to cut down some tall Blue Stem grass. As I finish writing this my back is aching a little, but that is okay, because I am sipping some fine, box wine, to help relax my back.

Y'all have a great evening!

Where's Lorri & Jeff?

Today has been great, but first I must tell you about what happened on Friday and Saturday.

Besides having a wondeful birthday, I spent all week looking forward to Friday night, because Carol had called earlier in the week to tell me that her dear friends Lorri and Jeff, who Tony and I love, were going to be in Texas and that they were going to come spend Friday night with her. "I want y'all to come over for dinner on Friday," Carol said. "And Nancy, Jeff told me to tell you to bring your guitar, so y'all can pick and grin."

Because Tony and I could not wait to see Lorri & Jeff, during the week I would play my guitar as often as possible and practice for as long as I could, because Jeff is a fabulous songwriter and guitarist and I didn't want my fingers to kill me and make me have to stop picking and grinning with him.

Friday evening, after giving Abbie her 7:00 pills, Tony grabbed my guitar case and we took off for Carol's ranch. As we drove up to Carol's house, I said, "I wonder where Lorri's and Jeff's car is?"

When we got out of Buttermilk, Carol came outside to greet us and as we entered her home, I asked, "Where is Jeff & Lorri's car?"

"Oh, they had to run over to the Highpoint Resort to buy Jeff some beer," Carol said.

Then from the dark hallway people came rushing towards me, hollering, "Surprise! Surprise! Happy Birthday, Nance!" At first it scared me, because it was so unexpected and had caught me off guard and then I realized it was my family.

"Oh my goodness!" I said, as my brother Ronnie hugged me. "I can't believe this! Y'all have really surprised me," I said, as I hugged my sister Cindy, then Ray and then Ronnie's beautiful wife, Nita. Then I started to tear up, because I was so happy to see my loving family. "Carol, how did you pull this off?" Carol and my family started laughing.

"Over a month ago, I decided to do a surprise birthday party for you. Do you remember me asking you how you spelled your maiden name when we went to Port Aransas to surprise Kinky?"

"Yes."

"When we got back home from our trip, I Googled Ronnie and found him," Carol said. "When I called him I got their machine, so I left this crazy message saying, "Hello Ronnie. You don't know me, but I am Nancy's friend and...."

"When we got back home from the football game I called Carol back," Ronnie said. "And I told her that we would make this happen some how."

"Since then, Cindy, Ronnie and I have been back and forth on the phone trying to pull this off," Carol said, followed by a laugh. "We had several dates in mind, but due to work schedules, etc. today was the only day that worked for everyone."

"We arrived a little before 5:00," Cindy said. "And Carol wasn't here due to an appointment that took a little longer than she thought it would. When Ray started unpacking our car, y'all's horses came up to greet us and to check out what was inside the car. It was hilarious."

"I got back to the ranch about 5:15," Carol said. "And when Ronnie and Nita got here, I called you at 6:15 and told you, "Lorrie and Jeff are here, so come on over." But you couldn't leave, because you had to wait to give Abbie her pills..."

My surprise birthday party was so much fun, I know that I will never forget it or be able to thank Carol enough for making it happen! Carol cooked us a delicious dinner and afterward she served us her homemade, mouth-watering birthday (carrot) cake, which she knew is my favorite cake that she bakes.

After dining outside, inside her beautifully decorated screened-in porch, we came inside, because it was beginning to get a little chilly. "Okay, y'all," Carol stated. "Now, I want to hear y'all play us some music." Ronnie and I grabbed our guitars out of the cases and Ray removed his dulcimer from its case and we started picking and grinning.

Ronnie, who is the singer/songwriter and the best guitar player in our family, sang many of his beautiful songs, one after another, with Ray and me accompanying him. When he played Utopia, Texas, a song that he had written for me, back in 1995, I teared up as I always do, because it is about after my husband had died and me leaving Austin for good and moving to Utopia, to live in an old trailer with my dogs. (And it was the best move that I have ever made.)

Around 10:00, Tony and I had to adios everyone, because we had to get back to the rescue ranch, because Rick, The Friendly Lighthouse Keeper, was baby-sitting it for us. We stayed up and visited with Rick until 11:00 and then we all went to bed.

Saturday morning, while Rick, Brandon and Tony were drinking coffee at the Old Timer, in Medina, I was over at Carol's ranch. While Carol and I took her dogs, Jake and Scout, for a short hike and fed our horses, Ronnie cooked breakfast for everyone and it was delicious. And we did a lot of laughing and teasing before 9:30, when it was time for my family and me to go back home.

When I returned home, I quickly cooked up some eggs and warmed up Ronnie's delicious homemade cheese biscuits and leftover bacon and sausage. While Rick, Tony and Brandon ate breakfast, some people arrived and I went outside to greet them.

By 10:00, I came inside The Cabin and happily announced, "Chad has just been adopted to the nicest family!" As I filled out Chad's adoption form, I told them, "This couple is so sweet. They have adopted three young children, all about the age of four. Their old dog died from old age and they want their kids to have a dog. And they told me that their children love dogs and that they know how to treat them right..."

Fast forward. Today has been great, too and a lot of fun. This afternoon Carol and I went to Boerne, to meet up with our dear friends Walter and Cheryl, so we could all go to an art exhibit. We got a fun visit in with them, while we checked out the beautiful artwork and met several of the artists. And that is about it for tonight, because tomorrow is back to business as usual.

Y'all have a great evening!

RCR!

Today has been more than great, because I've had the best birthday ever, thanks to so many friends and family. It started out funny this morning when I called Harley, to do my five-minute Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch radio segment.

When it was time to do Harley's show on air, he said, "Happy Birthday Cousin Nancy!" And it surprised me, because I didn't know he knew it was my birthday, so I laughed.

"Well, thank you, Harley. I'm sixty-two-years-old today." Harley started laughing.

"Cousin Nancy, you don't have to tell everyone your age."

"I know, but you're the first one to wish me a happy birthday."

"What? Tony hasn't wished you a happy birthday, yet? Well, that's not right."

"No, Harley. He's still at the Old Timer, in Medina, drinking coffee with his friends..."

Thirty minutes later, Tony walked inside The Cabin and said, "Happy Birthday, Nance" and then Brandon wished me a happy birthday, too.

"Thanks, Tony and Brandon." Then Brandon and Tony started laughing. "What?"

"Mike Harvey always listens to you when you do Harley and this morning when he walked inside the Old Timer, he looked at me and said, "Harley was just on the radio talking to your wife and he was busting your chops for not wishing her a Happy Birthday!" Then Brandon, Tony and I burst out laughing.

I spent my morning talking on the phone to friends and family, who had called to wish me a happy birthday and while I was walking four miles with Leslie Sansone, I would just mute the television and continued to walk with her, while talking to my friends.

This afternoon, Tony and I met our friends Carol and Cheryl & Walter, at Bella Sera Italian Restaurant, for lunch and to celebrate my birthday. All three of my dear friends are zany, fictional characters in my mystery cliffhanger novellas and I could not wait for them to meet each other, because I knew Carol would love them and that Cheryl and Walter would love Carol.

A few days ago, Cheryl sent me a funny e-mail telling me that we might not recognize them at the restaurant, because they would be wearing their Roswell disguises. So I decided to pack my pair of the green Roswell alien sunglasses, that they had mailed to me, while visiting Roswell and surprise them.

When Tony and I arrived at Bella Sera, Carol was standing outside and greeted us, "...Walter and Cheryl are already inside." I started laughing as I removed my bifocals and put on the green alien sunglasses. "What?" Carol asked.

Tony and I quickly explained the joke to Carol, as we went inside the restaurant. When we went to our table, Cheryl and Walter spun around to surprise me and they were wearing the same kind of green alien sunglasses that I was wearing. Then we all burst out laughing, as people at other tables stared at us, as we removed our alien sunglasses.

Lunch with Tony and our dear friends was a total blast and it was filled with non-stop laughter. Carol, Cheryl & Walter became fast friends and they found out they had many things in common with each other, as we ate the delicious Italian food. We talked about Roswell, aliens, Ireland, horses, artists, music, New Mexico, decorating, Utah, Colorado, cutting horses, etc.

At one point during our fun conversation, we were talking about Walter and me playing guitars, the next time that we all get together and us starting a band. When Carol admitted that she didn't know how to play an instrument, Cheryl says, "I can't play one either, but I know the perfect thing that you and me can play!"

"What?" Carol asked.

"A washboard!" Cheryl said. "I got one and I love playing it."

"Wait," Carol said. "I could play the spoons! I know how to do that. Let's do it soon..."

After our sweet waitress removed our plates from the table I opened up Cheryl & Walter's and Carol's birthday presents and all that I can say is, "I love their presents! And thank you, Cheryl & Walter for treating us to lunch!"

On our way out of the restaurant, Carol ran up to me and said, "Oh my god, Nancy. I love those people. Oh Nancy, they are the coolest couple. I can't wait..." And before we hugged and adios-ed each other and went off in different directions, Tony took this picture of our newly, loosely formed band, The Roswell Country Rockers.

I can just see it now, once our band has practiced together a few times, "Extra! Extra! Read All About It! RCR Will Be Invading Your Town Sooner Than Later! Performing some of the funniest out-of-this-world tunes, with lyrics like, "Oh give me a home, where the spaceships roam. Where the aliens and the martians play. Where often is seen, a mysterious scene. Where the skies will be buzzing all day. Phone. Home from the plane..." 

When Tony and I got home my brother Ronnie and his sweet wife Nita called to wish me a happy birthday. After a fun visit with them, which included a lot of laughing, Ronnie says, "Nance, I saw two hilarious bumper stickers today about getting older. One was, "The Older I Get The Better I Was" and the other one is, "I Was Born With Nothing And Still Have Most Of It." Needless to say, we hung up laughing.

This by far, has been the best birthday ever, thanks to all of my dear friends and family and it started last Friday, at the Highpoint Resort and it still ain't over yet, because I am fixing to go outside to The Okay Corral to start a fire, in the chiminea and then play my guitar, during happy hour. I love y'all.

Y'all have a great evening!

On Winston's Watch!

Today has been great. I'm happy because in the past two days we have received a total of three inches of rain and because the mama cat, that Kinky rescued and her five adorable kittens, that she had hidden from us are safe, because they are now inside Kinky's Lodge.

Early this evening, Kinky called with some exciting news. "Nance, the mama cat had five kittens and a few minutes ago, I looked out the kitchen window and she and her kittens were standing outside in the yard. The kittens are beautiful and none of them look alike. One is black, one is tan, one is gray, one is speckled and it looks like his/her mother and the other one is real light colored, like Lucky was. I got them inside the Lodge and they are under the kitchen table. You've got to come over and see them."

I grabbed my camera and left the building and within two minutes I was admiring the cat's cute kittens, in Kinky's kitchen. When The Friedmans, Kinky's dogs, started trying to inspect the kittens that were wandering around his kitchen, he became concerned that the mama cat was being so protective that she might hurt one of his dogs. "Kinky, you need to put a wire crate underneath the kitchen table, so the kittens and The Friedmans will all be safe and also won't get accidentally stepped on, etc."

Then Brandon walked inside the Lodge. "Hi, Brandon," I said. "Will you go over to the rescue ranch with me, so we can get a crate for Kinky to borrow and bring it back over here."

"Sure." Then Brandon and I adios-ed Kinky, jumped into Trigger and took off, to go get a crate. Five minutes later, we returned to the Lodge with a crate and Tony was inside the kitchen talking to Kinky.

When we were inside the kitchen, Kinky and Tony quickly made a nice bed of blankets, inside the crate and then they slid the crate under the kitchen table. Then they gently put one kitten, at a time, into the crate, as the mama cat, Brandon, The Friedmans and I watched. And as soon as Tony's & Kinky's "Kitten Relocation Protection Program" was completed, the mama cat, without saying one word of thanks to us, walked calmly inside the crate, so she could feed her five hungry kittens.

Then Kinky closed the crate's door her and locked it, as Chumley and Sophie walked out of the kitchen. "I'm so glad I thought of putting a crate under the table," Kinky teased me. "Thank y'all, for helping me with this." Then Kinky took off to go answer his phone, back in his office. Then I took this picture of Winston Churchill, either watching or guarding the mama and her litter of darling kittens and I've titled it, "On Winston's Watch." And that is about it for tonight.

Have a great evening!

Pretty Great!

Today has been pretty great, even though I don't have any exciting ranch news to report. This morning while I was shopping at the big H-E-B, on Main Street, I decided to do something nice for myself. So after I had filled up our cart with the groceries that we needed, I went to their flower section to buy some pretty flowers.

For many years, I used to always have fresh cut flowers in our trailer, but for some reason I just quit and I can't remember why, because I am fixin' to be 62. Well, last month when I was over at Carol's ranch, we visited outside on her deck, while she hung up new hanging flower baskets, which instantly made her porch pop, because the flowers were so beautiful.

So, I decided to copy Carol, as I often do. So the next time that I went to Kerrville I purchased some hanging flower baskets and put them in Outer Space and they made it pop, too.

Last week when I was over at Carol's ranch, we went inside her ranch house to look at some color paint swatches and the first thing that caught my eye, when we walked inside her lovely home, was the vase, on her coffee table, filled with these beautiful, fresh cut, yellow flowers. And I do remember commenting on her beautiful flowers and telling her, "The next time that we go to Kerrville, I am definitely buying some pretty flowers for our trailer. And I love the color you picked out..."

And that's exactly what I did today. I purchased this cute, pink vase, that looks a lot like a Mason jar and some inexpensive lavender colored flowers, and I could not wait to take them home.

When we got home Tony helped me put up our groceries and then I filled the jar with some water and put the flowers in it. Then I placed the vase, filled with flowers, on the cabinet, which I made several years ago, beside the refrigerator and I love how they instantly made me and my kitchen pop.

I love flowers. They are like magic to me, because flowers can instantly soothe the soul and bring warmth into any environment. And because of the instant, wonderful, calming effect these beautiful lavender flowers have already made on me, I have promised myself, from here on out that I will always keep fresh-cut flowers in The Cabin. And that is about it for tonight.

Y'all have a pretty great evening!

Springsteen!

Today has been great and so was last night when I received an e-mail from Carol. Her subject title was "Roy Is Famous." She wrote to tell me that my friend, Judith Pannebaker, the great editor for the Bandera County Courier, one of my favorite newspapers to read, had written a very funny story titled "Dog Shaming at Utopia Rescue Ranch" about me shaming my dog, Roy Rogers, in a blog titled "Grease Guilt" that I had written on September 26th.

So I immediately picked up the newspaper and read Judith's entertaining story. Then I took the newspaper into Tony's office for him to read and he and Roy loved it, too, but it made Mama jealous and she left the room, when I read it out loud to Belle, Abbie and Beau, in the kitchen. I think Abbie and Belle enjoyed my reading of the article about Roy, but I am not sure about Beau, because I think he has attention deficit disorder. Anyway, I want to thank Judith and the newspaper for all they do to help our rescue ranch and do a shout out to them. "I Love The Bandera County Courier!

This morning around 10:00, the parents and their super cool kids, members of the East Kerr 4-H club, came out and walked some dogs for us. Tony and I love it when this group of 4-H'ers come out to volunteer, because they are so caring, nice, polite and fun to work with. Tony took this picture of us after they had walked our dogs.

Before the East Kerr 4-H club left to go home, Alexa, was delivered to us. Last week a very nice woman had called me to ask for our help, because in August they had rescued a sweet stray, in Kerrville. She told me that they had done everything they could to find the owners, by putting up posters, asking nearby neighbors where she had been found and running ads in the newspaper. Molly then told me that they had fallen in love with this great, perfect dog, but when Alexa had frightened their oldest, rescued pot-bellied pig and caused him to have a stroke, she and her husband decided that they must find Alexa a home, as soon as possible, to protect their seven rescued pigs. 

I told Molly that I would have to talk to Tony about it and get back to her. When I showed Tony the picture of Alexa that Molly had e-mailed to me, he asked me to call Molly back and tell her, "Yes, we can take her." And I did.

When Alexa arrived, Molly's nice husband put Alexa in Red Fox's former pen and Alexa seemed nervous. When it was time for Kirk to drive away Alexa seemed to get even more stressed out, so I asked Brandon to please take Alexa for a long walk down to the creek, to try to help divert her stress.

When Brandon and Alexa returned she seemed to be calmer. When the East Kerr 4-H girls started talking to her and petting her that seemed to help, too. While this was going on I said, "Y'all help me rename Alexa, since she is starting a new life here." In less than thirty-seconds, they had renamed her Grace Kelly, because she is such a beautiful, sweet dog. Then it was time for them to leave, so we thanked them and invited them to please come back.

After they had left, I asked Brandon to help me. "Grace needs a roommate now, to help her adjust. Let's take Grace and Tom Landry for a long walk to see if they like each other." Thirty minutes later, Brandon and I returned the dogs to the rescue ranch and we put Tom and his pretty girlfriend, in Tom's pen and they were both very happy about it.

Then Brandon and I went up to The Cabin, so I could cook the three of us lunch, but Tony had already started. "We're having cornbread and beans," he announced, as he stood by the oven stirring the beans.

"And beef fajitas," I said. Two minutes later, the fajitas were also cooking on the stove top. Then I left Tony in charge and went over to the Lodge, so I could show Kinky the cute article that Judith had written about my Roy. And like me, they loved reading the article. Then I came back home and ate a delicious lunch.

(I promise, I'm almost done. It's been a really busy day.) Late this afternoon around 4:00, a nice woman named June, from Dallas and her friend, arrived with Banjo, a super sweet dog, that she had rescued, in Dallas. She told us that he is an escape artist, as we watched him trying to climb out of the pen, that we had just put him in, which is probably how he originally got lost. He is one-year-old, neutered, been given all of his shots and tomorrow or Monday, we will take Banjo, who we are renaming Springsteen, because he is born to run, into Hoegemeyers, to start his heart worm treatments.

After June and her friend left the rescue ranch, Tony and I spent about forty minutes, reinforcing his pen with four inch cattle panel and Tony did most of the work. Here is a quick picture that I took of him behind bars and I think he is very handsome and because of his eyes he looks a lot like Grace Kelly.

When Tony and I finally came back inside The Cabin, we caught Roy licking up the grease that he had just spilled on our kitchen floor, next to the empty plastic fajitas bag, that he had pulled out of the trash can. But, because of Judith's article in the newspaper and because I love Roy so much and he loves H-E-B's fajitas, as much as we do, the only thing that I could do was laugh, then take a picture of the licked-out fajita bag and his newest grease stain for evidence. And that is about it for tonight, because I'm so tired from our very busy day.

Y'all have a great evening!

Lili's Herbal Remedies!

Today has been great and filled with a couple of wonderful surprises. Not to brag, but I truly do have some of the very nicest, coolest friends walking around on this planet. And I can prove it daily. First off, last night my dear friend Mari, forwarded her friend's book review for my second novella, The Cowgirl Sisterhood Part II, Death In New Mexico. And I loved reading it and I want to thank both Mari and Polly. This is what Polly wrote and Mari passed on to me:

Lions and tigers and bears, oh, my. Helicopters and FBI, pink Daisy Red
Ryder BB air rifle (need to see pictures), pot fields, and avocado orchards,
no wait, that's another book. I never knew so much could happen in 24 hours,
and HOW did you manage to sleep standing up? Did a major doggie head tilt on
that one. I fully understand the mounting block/stump. Wish I could teach
willow to go get help, but I don't think I'll do it in spanish. LOL. I did
enjoy the book and am looking forward to part III. Thanks for the chuckles.
I hope all your friends are able to live up to your expectations of them.
Oh, the dog hair place mats. Hard for me to not shudder. I live with enough
dog hair (I'm a spinner as well, have spun and knit dog hair) but that's
just too close to food for me. But I love that you put the weaver in there!
Go fiber artists!!!!    polly and willow 

Another example why I know that all of my friends are the nicest and coolest people, in the universe, happened several times today. First off, Jim showed up early this morning and he brought along some of his family with him, to help get all of the dogs walked. He brought his sweet wife Diane, her sister Ruthie & Dan and Ruthie's daughter, Lori. I was so thrilled that I could not wait to go outside to see all of them, especially Ruthie, because she and I are buddies, because she always keeps me laughing, whenever she comes out here.

To make my day even brighter, Eileen, Lisa and Suzanne, our dear friends/volunteers, that Tony and I love, also came out to walk our dogs. So, while everyone was outside walking our dogs, Ruthie and I came inside The Cabin and had a fun time catching up with each others latest news. Then we took off, in Trigger, to go see Carol for a few minutes, because Ruthie thinks the world of Carol and she wanted to meet her dogs, Scout and Jake and see Maya & Rosebud together.

After a super fun, but short visit with my best friend Carol, the other member of our two-members-only Cowgirl Sisterhood club, we returned to the rescue ranch. Then she purchased two signed copies of my second novella and then we went over to the Lodge, so she could get Kinky to sign a book to her. Then we jumped into Trigger, to go eat lunch at the Medina Highpoint Resort with our friends.

When she and I walked inside the Medina Highpoint Resorts store and grill, everyone hollered, "Surprise Nancy! Happy Birthday!" I almost fainted and dropped the books that I was delivering to Pete and Sarah.

"Oh my goodness, y'all!" I said. "Y'all have really surprised me." Then Ruthie told me that they had all been in on the surprise birthday party and that she wanted to buy Tony's and my lunch. Then I found out that Tony didn't know about it either.

Lunch with these great friends was a total blast and the twelve of us did a lot of laughing, which I always love to do. I received some sweet and funny birthday cards and I loved all of my gifts. Lisa took this picture of me posing with my cute chicken purse that Eileen gave me, while holding the box of my favorite wine, given to me by Chuck.

After lunch, they lit the candles on the beautiful chocolate velvet cake, then I made a wish and then blew out all three candles and then Ruthie helped me cut and serve the slices to everyone. I want my friends to know that their surprise birthday today was the very best birthday party that I have ever had and I will never forget it.

When Tony and I came home I put my gifts and birthday cards on the breakfast bar and then I took this picture of them to always remind me of this day.

 I love my thermal glass with its pink lid, that Ellen and June gave to me that says, "God Bless Cowgirls." I love my cute chicken purse. I love Lisa's pink candle and especially the jar of my very favorite scrub, Lili's Herbal Remedies Coffee & Cinnamon Scrub, which is made right here, in the beautiful Texas Hill Country, by her company that she owns. And of course, I also love Chuck's box of fine wine. But most of all I love all of my friends.

Okay, I am almost done with tonight's post about some of my super friends. Early this evening, Carol sent me an e-mail with a picture attached, that she had titled Sisters. When I saw the beautiful picture that she took of our two horses, with Maya standing behind Rosebud, enjoying each other's company. I thought, "You know, it really is all about love and friendship."

Y'all have a great evening!

Peggy Sue Has Left The Building!

Today has been great. I spent most of my morning and afternoon doing paperwork, returning phone calls and e-mails. Then I took a delightful, brief, sleepless nap with my very best friends. When Roy started snoring loudly it irritated Mama, so, she jumped off of the bed and went into our bathroom shower, to sleep in there.

When Abbie, Belle and Beau realized there was now more space available on the bed, the three of them stood up, walked around Roy and me and then they snuggled up to us. I was on cloud nine for almost five minutes, then Mama must have heard something outside, because she barked and then ran out of the bathroom, to get to our front door. And the dogs that had been sleeping on our bed took off right behind her, so that's when my nap ended.

The best thing about my day happened around 3:30, because Joe & Jean came out and they adopted our sweet, little Peggy Sue.

Tony and I were thrilled about Peggy Sue finding such a great home. I don't know which of them was the most excited about Peggy Sue's adoption, because Jean & Joe could not wait to bend down, so they could pet her and shower her with love, as Peggy Sue stood up on her hind legs and gave them kisses. 

While they got to know each other I took this picture of Peggy Sue meeting her new, fantastic family.

Jean told me that Peggy Sue is definitely going to be an inside dog and that they cannot wait to spoil her. And I nearly teared up when she asked,"Would it be okay with y'all if we cook her eggs occasionally? We use to do that with our old dog." 

"Please do," I said. "I bet she would like to eat an omelet, too." After handshakes, hugs and adios-ing each other, Joe got in the front passenger seat and said, "Come on, Peggy. Let's go home." Peggy Sue immediately jumped into their mini-van and then she jumped into Joe's lap and started happily kissing his face. "We wanted a lap dog and she's definitely a lap dog."

"I have a feeling that Peggy Sue is going to spend most of her time, taking long walks with y'all and then taking turns sitting in your laps." 

When the three of them drove off, I came inside and called Kinky to tell him the great news about Peggy Sue. "Kinky, Peggy Sue has left the building!..." He was as thrilled about it as we were and he loved the part about them wanting to cook for her. And that is about it for today. 

Y'all have a great evening!

Trailer Invasion!

For the most part, today has been great. This morning, right after I got up I went into the kitchen to make a cup of Green Mountain Donut Shop Coffee and as I waited for our Keurig to brew me a cup I noticed my first intruder of the day. It was sticking out near the ceiling and it was a two foot long vine, so I grabbed my camera and shot it.

Even though our trailer is over thirty-years-old, I could not believe it, because we've never had a vine or anything else grow into our home.

When Tony came home I showed it to him. "Tony, I know it wasn't there yesterday. How could it have grown that fast?" After breakfast Tony went out to the barn and he came back with some Roundup. Then we went out to the backyard and he sprayed the unwelcome invader, as I stood back and apologized to it, for having Tony kill it.

This afternoon I did some more paperwork and then Tony and I went to Medina, so I could go to the Medina Community Library to donate a signed copy of The Cowgirl Sisterhood: Part II, Death In New Mexico and then I mailed some letters at the Post Office.

When we returned home I went into our bathroom to put up some towels and in there I spotted another unwanted intruder running around, in our plastic garden bathtub. "Tony!" I half-hollered. "There's a gecko or a little lizard in the bathroom! Please come quick!"

Before Tony reached down to try to catch the two-inch-long thing, using a washcloth, so he could relocate it outside, I took this blurry picture of it. When Tony bent down to get it, he said, "Sorry, Nance. It just ran down into the drain pipe."

I was sick about the little creature and said, "Oh no. Now, I can't ever take a bath, because it might drown him." And that made Tony chuckle.

"Nancy, as soon as we leave the bathroom he will probably climb back out and be just fine." His words were sort of comforting to me, but now I am scared to go to bed tonight, because he/she might be running around in the sheets and blankets on our bed.

Late this afternoon I received an exciting phone call from Jean, in Kerrville. She and her husband had come out late yesterday afternoon to check out our dogs and they want to come out on Thursday to adopt Peggy Sue, our precious little Beagle.

Tonight I have decided to stay up a little later, so he/she/it can have as many chances as possible to flee from our old trailer. And I hope he/she/it does, because tomorrow, I don't want to accidentally drown it.

Y'all have a great evening!

Happy Birthday Nelda Dunn!

Soap Box Time!

Jim, a dear friend of mine, out in California, sent me this short, three minute video about why it is so important for all of us to buy more Made In USA products, that will bring the jobs back home. As you already know, when I shop I try to only buy Made In USA products, so after watching this video, I decided not to share it with just my friends, but with all of y'all. Please take the time to watch this informative video and please share it with all of your friends. Okay, I've put it out there and am stepping off of my soap box.

#3!

Today has been great. Last night I began writing my third Cowgirl Sisterhood novella, which I have yet  to come up with a title for, so for now I'm just calling it #3.

This afternoon I went over to visit Kinky and Brian at the Lodge. I was over there for almost two hours having a fun visit with them. When I started to leave I told them about my gingerbread cake that I had made and Kinky asked, "Is all of it already in Tony's and Brandon's stomachs?"

"No," I answered. "Do y'all want some?"

"Yes!" They both replied. So when I came back home, I cut them two large slices of gingerbread cake topped with whipped cream. Then I drove Trigger back over to the Lodge and delivered it to them and then came back home.

As I finish writing this, it is nearly 5:00. I'm sitting at the kitchen table, with Roy sleeping underneath it and I'm listening to The Notting Hillbillies sing, Blues Stay Away From Me, which is one of my favorite songs. The camera club that Tony belongs to, are outside, sitting in The Okay Corral, having their monthly meeting, before they start shooting every thing with their cameras. And that is about it for tonight, because I am fixin' to do some more writing on #3.

Y'all have a great evening!

Red Fox!

 Today has been great. Late this morning, our good friend, Jim aka The Mineral Man, arrived with a truckload of free dog food, that he had picked up in San Antonio. Tony and I thanked Jim and then we had a fun visit with him, while Brandon unpacked the dog food from Kris' truck.

While we were outside, by the barn visiting, Carol arrived. She and I had talked earlier in the morning about me planning on baking Fannie Farmer's gingerbread recipe, later in the day, and her wanting to make up a batch of her dad's secret salsa recipe, that he only shared with Carol and her sister. When she told me that her blender had just had an untimely death, I suggested that she come over and borrow Jaws, our powerful Vita-Mix blender, so she could still make the salsa.

It took both of us to carry the parts of our giant blender out to her truck and after she drove away, I walked down to the barn to visit with Jim and Tony. When I arrived at the barn, I asked Brandon, "Where are Tony and Jim?"

"Jim's gone."

"Then whose truck is here?"

"I think it belongs to those people that you talked to the other day, that wanted to come out today to possibly adopt a small dog. Tony is giving them a tour." Then I took off in Kermit, to go find them. When I found them standing by Buster Brown's pen and talking to Tony, I went to go greet them.

"Hi, I'm Nancy. Welcome to our rescue ranch."

"Hi. I'm Bill and this is my daughter-in-law, Ricky. I spoke to you the other day and I want to adopt a small dog..." I instantly liked Bill and Ricky.

Twenty minutes later, at 1:15, they had officially signed-off on the adoption papers and had adopted Red Fox! Tony and I were thrilled for Red and he was the happiest that he has ever been. And he could not wait to jump into their fancy truck and get out of here.

After they drove away, I came back inside and cooked us lunch, ate lunch and then cleaned up the kitchen. Then, for the very first time, I followed the directions on how to make Fannie Farmer's Gingerbread cake recipe and then I baked my very first gingerbread cake. 

Even though my gingerbread cake cracked in quite a few places, it was absolutely delicious and Tony loved it. And that is about it for tonight.

Y'all have a great evening!

Happy 50th Birthday, John K.! & Happy Birthday, Karin Pohlmann, The German Cowgirl!

Today has been great, but yesterday and Wednesday could have been much better. Since Wednesday, October 2, the past two days have been a little too crazy for me. Plans were unexpectedly changed at the last minute or were canceled or had to be rescheduled. My printer had a nervous breakdown and started shooting out blank sheets of paper at me or it would print out something that I had printed out months ago, etc. Even though I tried to go with the flow, it was more like I was treading water and sinking fast, because there was nothing that I could do, but try to deal and fix the problems.

Early last night, after another exhausting day of what could go wrong, would go wrong, I decided to check something out on my computer, if she would let me. Snow White is my computer's name.

When I Googled, Mercury in retrograde 2013, I went to this page and found the answer I was looking for. I discovered that Mercury in retrograde began on October 2nd. Then I laughed out loud and relaxed, because it has all been the fault of Mercury in retrograde. Then I got a little depressed when I read a little more and discovered that this M.I.R. is going to be eight weeks long and it will end on November 27th, the day before Thanksgiving. So, that will be something else for all of us to be thankful for.

This morning our super great friends/volunteers came out and walked our dogs. Our dogs loved it, as did Tony and I. When it was time for us to all go eat lunch, at Medina Highpoint Resort, Eileen told us that Blake was acting like he didn't feel good, so I went to check on him. 

"He wagged his tail to greet me, but I think we need to take him in to Hoegemeyer's to get him checked out, after we eat lunch," I said.

"I can skip lunch and take him now," Tony offered.

"No, because when you get there the vets will be out for lunch, too. We'll just eat a quick lunch and leave early."

As always, lunch was a total blast and the three to blame for my lower backache tonight are June, Eileen and Ellen, because they had me rolling on the floor with laughter. When June told me about what happened to her while her husband was proposing marriage to her. Then Eileen's hilarious story about her and Dean spotting a man, wearing only an Hawaiian shirt and old ladies underwear, that had obviously escaped from a nearby funny farm and Ellen telling us about her exciting adventure, when she was invited to be a "guest rider" and get to ride along with police, in a police car, for four hours. 

We all decided to end lunch earlier than usual. As soon as we got back to the rescue ranch, Tony put Blake into a crate, in the back of the Expedition (Buttermilk) and they took off for Hoegemeyer Animal Clinic, in Kerrville.

Late this afternoon, our vet called to tell us that Blake was a little anemic, but he will be just fine and that we can pick him up tomorrow and we are thrilled about that.

Before I finish writing tonight's post, I want to wish our two dear friends, John K., in Rockport and Karin Pohlmann, our cowgirl friend, over in Germany, the best and happiest birthdays ever! And I am hoping that M.I.R. doesn't put a damper on their birthday celebrations.

Y'all have a great evening!

He Can't Be Trusted!

Today has been a great day. It has also been a quiet day, which is good, because I spent most of my day catching up on some paperwork.

Around 1:30, I decided to take a short break. When Roy, Belle and Beau saw me removing my cap and glasses as I headed for our bedroom, they knew it was nap time, so they ran ahead of me and waited for me to lay down on the bed, so they could jump up and snuggle with me.

Twenty minutes later, the phone rang, so I got up to go answer the phone or should I say screen the incoming call. After talking to a nice woman about her dog problem I went back into the bedroom to put on my glasses and cap. When I saw Roy's arm around Belle and his leg resting on Belle, because they are best friends and Beau perched above his latest hole-in-the-quilt, that he chewed up last week, I went to get my camera.

In the first picture, please notice the Beau made a sizable scallop on the quilt's edge, below Belle's head, to help you understand why I still can't put our new quilt on our bed, because he can't be trusted.

Kinky is now back at the ranch. After taking my sleepless nap, I went over to the Lodge for a visit with him. Tonight he is taking a break from his tour, but tomorrow night he will be back on stage performing at The Hilltop Cafe, in Fred town. If The Cowgirl Sisterhood goes, you won't recognize Carol and me there, because we will be wearing our undercover disguises.

When the sweet kids came out late this afternoon to walk our dogs, Tony and I made a point to try to take good snapshots of Blake & Miranda Lambert. Hopefully, later tonight, when I download our pictures, I will be able to post the six-month-old litter mates tomorrow night.

Early this evening, Tony and I went over to visit Carol. While she was grooming her beautiful horse, Tony took this great picture of Carol and Rosebud and I really like this photo of them together. And that is about it for tonight.

Y'all have a great evening!