Perfect Timing!

Today has been great. This morning after we did our chores outside, I came inside and cooked spaghetti with meatballs for Kinky, Tony and me. Lately, instead of seasoning the tomato sauce with oregano, etc., I've been using my homemade salsa as the spaghetti sauce and Kinky and Tony love it, because the jalapenos give it some heat. And I've named it Cousin Nancy's Tex-Mex Spaghetti.

After lunch, Buttermilk took Tony and me to Kerrville, so we could run a few errands. Our first stop was at the post office so I could mail some letters. Then we headed down Sidney Baker Street (Highway 16) to the Home Depot, so I could buy some solar batteries for our new solar lights, to light up our front porch and Outer Space, again.

Years ago, after my brother Ronnie and my nephew Tom built us Outer Space, our fabulous screened-in porch with a view to die for, Tony and I put up solar lights in there and along the railing of our front porch and steps.

We loved the solar lights that automatically came on at dusk and went off at dawn, but, unfortunately three years ago, after we had rescued and adopted Belle, she made it her personal mission to eat all of the hidden wiring, including the small solar panels, before she turned six months old. She accomplished her mission and she was happy, but we weren't.

After we had purchased a couple of packs of rechargeable solar batteries we went down the street, to Hoegemeyer Animal Clinic, so we could finally pick up Blake Shelton and Ringo, the small dog that we rescued last Thursday.

Four days ago, when we were taking Blake to Hoegemeyers, to get him groomed, a red Jeep, in front of us, suddenly slowed down on Highway 16 and as it pulled off to the side of the road, we saw this little, white dog running down the middle of the highway. So, Tony immediately pulled off of the road, right behind the couple getting our of their Jeep. As I jumped out of Buttermilk, the frightened dog stopped running down the road and started walking slowly towards us.

"Did y'all lose that dog?" The nice man asked.

"No," I answered. "When we saw y'all pull over and then saw the dog—we wanted to help. Hey, little buddy come on over here." The dog waged his tail and then he walked up to me and I picked him up. "We're on our way to Hoegemeyer Animal Clinic right now. We'll take him with us and drop him off there and then we will try to locate the owners, even though he isn't wearing a dog collar."

"Great!" The nice woman said. "Thank y'all. Talk about perfect timing..."

I held the little dog in my arms all of the way to Hoegemeyers and he was great in the car and seemed used to riding in vehicles. When we arrived at Hoegemeyers, Tony walked inside with Blake and then I walked inside with the little, white dog, still in my arms. Susan greeted us and then she turned her head sideways, smiled and said, "Now I know Blake has an appointment. So who is this little guy?"

As soon as we told Susan his story, she took him into her arms and then asked one of their sweet vet techs to go scan him for a chip. Before they came back to get Blake, Susan told us that the dog was not chipped. "Please hold him for a day or two," I said. "In hopes that we can find his owner..." Then we left the clinic and went to eat lunch with our dear friend Drew, at The Fork & Knife or The Knife & Fork, in Ingram. And lunch was delicious.

While we were waiting for our lunch to be served, we told Drew about rescuing the little dog on the highway. Then he picked up his phone and punched in some numbers, "I know some people that have a business in that area. Hello, this is Drew. Do you know if anyone is missing a little, white dog? Okay, if anyone is please tell them he is at the rescue ranch and they can come and get him. Have a great day. Bye. They told me that for the last three or four days they had seen that little, lost dog, that they think was probably dumped, running up and down 16 and they have been worried sick that it might get hit. They told me to thank y'all for rescuing it...." When we got back home, I phoned Susan and told her what we had found out and to please go ahead and give him his shots, neuter him, etc. And when she asked me to name him, I said, "Ringo Starr."

Today, when we got back home, Blake's coat looked beautiful and he was very happy to get back into his old pen with Miranda. As we drove away he made us laugh, because we saw him rolling in the almost dried dirt, to get that fragrant shampoo smell off of him.

Because Blake is so clean, Tony and I are hoping that it doesn't rain again, until Wednesday afternoon, because last night Fay sent me an exciting e-mail, telling me that Julie will be picking Blake up, Wednesday morning, at 10:00 and that she and Ian will be meeting up with her Friday morning, to take him to his new fabulous, forever home, in Toronto.

Here's a couple of pictures I took today of Ringo, before we put him in his pen today. They're not the best pictures. I will get a better picture of him, in the next few days, and post it, after he becomes Buddy Holly's new best friend.

P.S. Today, Susan and Robin, at Hoegemeyers, told us that Ringo was a super dog. Very friendly, sweet, not hyper, about 14 months old, etc.

Y'all have a great evening!

Air Vents!

Today has been great and not so great for several reasons, so I've decided to tell you the not so great part first.

Yesterday, while eating lunch with our great friends/volunteers, at the Medina Highpoint's Koyote Grill, I was telling our friends about my sweet Little Debbie chewing off the corners of our pillow cases, on the bed. "Between her ruining our nice, expensive pillow cases and Tony's dog, Beau, chewing holes in our old bedspread and top sheets and then the top of our new bedspread, we just can't have anything nice....We love our dogs dearly and I guess it's the price that we must pay, because we wouldn't trade them for the world."

This morning, while it was still raining outside, I woke up to discover Little Debbie chewing a gigantic hole in the new, cheap blanket, that I had bought last week. I got it, so I could put it on top of our once pretty bedspread, in hopes that it would protect what's left of it and hide Beau's latest hole.

After I took this cute picture of Little Debbie, looking innocent, I nearly fainted, because she had obviously, during the wee hours of the morning, been busy chewing several more holes, in the cheap blanket. 

Once I had recovered from her bedlam, I took these pictures of some of her unwanted air vents that she had created. 

After drinking my first delicious cup of H-E-B Texas Pecan coffee, I removed our shredded linens and cheap blanket, filled with holes, from our bed, and washed and dried them, before Tony returned home from the Old Timer, in Medina.

While cooking Tony's breakfast I told him about Little Debbie's destruction. "...All I can say is, "Thank goodness, that blanket cost less than $25.00."

"Don't buy anymore like it," Tony replied. "She'll just tear it up like she did this one."

Before washing the breakfast dishes and cleaning up the kitchen, I put the cleaned sheets, bedspread and cheap blanket back on the bed. Then I laid out the two chewed up pillow cases corners and chewed up pillow cover's broken zipper and took this picture. And please note the large, black hole in the blanket, near the top, that Debbie had created overnight.

Then I made up the bed, hiding the chewed up corners of the pillow cases, under the bedspread and the cheap blanket. And please note the huge hole, that Beau chewed, at the top of our bedspread, awhile back.

Okay, that was the bad part and now it's time to tell you about what made my day great. Late this afternoon, Brian Molnar, Kinky's, Chet O'Keefe's and our dear musician friend, that often tours with Kinky, on the East Coast, came over to visit Tony and me!

We had a blast visiting with Brian. After we had caught up with each others latest news, I showed Brian my amp, that Chet likes a lot, and the guitar looper I recently purchased. While we were talking about his music and recent tour, I got my guitar out of its case and plugged it into the amp. Then I asked Brian to please play us some of his songs, from his latest CD.

Oh my goodness! Brian's songs were so fabulous they kept giving me goose bumps. Brian played for over forty minutes and neither Tony or I wanted him to stop. I took this picture of him just before he quit playing my guitar. Please click Brian Molnar to find out more about our good friend.

And that is about it for tonight.

Beckham, The Soccer Playing Wild Hog!

This morning I received some sad news from our good friends, Desiree and David, at the Trails End Guest House, in Kerrville, that Beckham aka Wilber Pigg, the soccer playing wild hog, that we rescued many years ago and adopted out to them, has passed away. I took these pictures, in 2009, of Beckham at three months old, before we adopted him out to Desiree and David. And you can check out his videos on the side bar, too.

Here is the sweet obituary that David wrote to honor the orange & black wild hog that we all so dearly loved:

Pigg, Wilber AKA Beckham

Sunday, August 24, 2014, Wilber Pigg passed on the land of no sorrows. It must be noted, though, that if Mr. Pigg ever had any sorrows, he never showed them to anyone. Wilber, who admittedly, was getting pretty long in the tusk, was spry till the last of his days. He could sprint across his pen as quickly as when he was but a wee wiener whenever he heard slop being dumped into his trough. Ever the fleet of foot, small cartoon like clouds of dust would be propelled through his cloven hooves to enable his timely arrival in front of his ten gallon custom designed and manufactured aluminum dining dish. He had the dish created to enable the full piquant of any morsel to rise and surround his finely tuned taste buds and olfactory receptors. This facilitated full concentration and enjoyment of any tasty slop that came his way.

Known in so many circles as an ever demanding gourmand, he could find delight in a simple mush, be it accompanied by a fifty-eight degree, gently poured full bodied cabernet or a tepid two liter jug of Big Red sloshed in with little grace. His culinary genius for pairings knew no bounds and many was the time when guests would stand in awe and amazement as he skillfully tossed out the errant mushroom or potato slice that did not measure up to the perfection that all finely prepared slop should aspire to achieve. While chocolate chip cookies accompanied by robust ales and stouts were his afternoon favorites, he was occasionally observed enjoying an India Pale Ale in their stead; although he was not especially a fan of the overly citrus bite from any hops not hauled to the brewery in oaken wagon beds.

Interviewed many times by bloggers from all over the world, they trekked with abandon to the nirvana that was his sty. He welcomed many queries on many topics but it always came back to food and his extensive knowledge of that subject. Ever humble, he quickly dismissed any similarities of greatness between himself and Mr. Creosote. His most famous quote concerning this subject was noted in a Swiss blog.

“Yes, yes,” Wilber chuckled, “I am quite familiar with Mr. Creosote’s body of work and the vast contributions he made to the world of fine dining. He was truly an artist, much the same as John Belushi. As it was said about Mr. Belushi after his untimely passing, “who can say what might be the limits of genius?” Seemingly Mr. Creosote did step over that line by accepting “just one thin wafer” but did he really? I prefer to feel his was a life of sacrifice that opened the doors for culinary disciples such as me.”

To limit the life of Wilber Pigg to simply the food-stuffs world would be a tragedy. He was so much more. He was a friend to all that needed a friend. He always had a gentle welcoming grunt to each visitor. He was especially close to a married business woman in his community and though some local scallywags hinted at more, he insisted it was strictly platonic. He was on excellent terms with her husband and any late evening pen meetings between he and her were quite honorable.

Though initially brought into a Jewish home he lived with Gentiles for the majority of his life. His own faith he discussed rarely, though it was rumored he had a fascination with Viking beliefs and rituals. It is said he was observed once, in the shadowy glow of an October full moon, standing on his rear trotters, Viking helmet on head, breastplate on chest and spear in hoof oinking out a modified chorus of a melody composed of Wagner’s Ring Circle and Strauss II’s Der Fledermaus. This is just rumor and while there were hidden cameras filming his rendition, in an odd twist, the developed negatives have never been located.

He was interred in a private ceremony at an undisclosed location in his much beloved Texas Hill Country where he resided. In lieu of flowers Wilber requested contributions be made to the Spam Museum in Austin, Minnesota. When asked about this unusual requested he stated simply, “I may be a porcine, I may have been raised in a Jewish home for a time and I know that it seems odd but I just love that wonderful pink chicken.” 

After reading the obituary, I sent this e-mail to David and Desiree:

"Hi Desiree and David. Tony and I loved reading our friend's obit, even though Beckham/Wilber has passed away and gone to the "All You Can Eat Buffet In The Sky." His obit made us laugh out loud several times and I think Beck/Wil would have wanted it that way, too. Thank y'all for taking him in and giving him a wonderful life filled with love and food or should I say, "filled with FOOD and love." We loved Beckham and Kinky, Tony and I cannot thank y'all enough for adopting him and feeding him so well.

In my heart, Beckham will always be the coolest pig (Wild Hog) that I've ever known. "Rest In Peace Beck and may the "god of pigs" feed you as good as Desiree and David did, at their Trails End Guest House, in Kerrville.

With Love,

Nancy

P.S. Tony and Kinky send y'all their best."

Y'all have a great evening!

Boring!

Yesterday and today were great, but sort of boring. Basically all I did was do paperwork, return phone calls and e-mail and then I spent the rest of my time helping Tony mow down the grass and weeds, which is now under control, thanks to Chet helping us get that really tall grass mowed down, last week.

This afternoon after coming inside to take a water break, I took this picture of my Little Debbie and Alice, who still needs a home, on patrol, as they guard and sunbathe with Belle and Beau, on the front porch.

Even though I've gotten some great exercise pushing the mower around and using the weed-eater, yesterday and today, I'm tired and am going to watch another movie before going to bed. So that's about it for tonight.

Y'all have a great evening!

The First Week of October!

"The crate in her van, looked big enough for Blake's 24 hour trip, to Michigan, where Julie would hook-up with Fay and Ian, but we had to make sure it was. So, Tony lifted up Blake's gigantic front paws and placed them on the bumper. Then he bent down and lifted up Blake's rear and...."

Continued from yesterday....

Then he bent down and lifted up Blake's rear and Blake went right inside the crate and the crate was big enough! Blake is going to Toronto, to live with Fay and Ian and Kinky, Tony and I are more than thrilled about it. He will be departing here around the first week of October and we know that he is going to love living with Fay & Ian and enjoy the cooler Canadian weather and all of that snow. And that is about it for tonight, because I am going to watch a movie.

P.S. I know that Blake Shelton is also going to be very popular, in Toronto, because of his good looks and deep Texas accent. He'll drive the other girl dogs wild whenever he barks, "Remember the Alamo!"

Y'all have a great evening!

To Be or Not To Be!

Please note that this morning I started writing this post.

This past Thursday, I was pleasantly surprised when I read our dear friend, Judith Pannebaker's heartwarming article about our sweet, ten-year-old Molly Ivins recent adoption. Judith is the talented editor for the popular Bandera County Courier newspaper and she and the paper have helped our rescue ranch so many times I've actually lost count.

Her story about Molly Ivins and Ed is a fabulous read and Kinky loved reading it, too. Please click here to read Judith's story about Molly Ivins. And once again, I want to thank Judith Pannebaker and the Bandera County Courier for helping us and other area shelters find great homes for super dogs.

Today has been great. Yesterday morning Tony dropped Grace Kelly off, at Hoegemeyer Animal Clinic, because Friday evening she had been adopted to Mark and his family. Grace needed her annual Rabies shot and a check up before Mark could pick her up and take her home to see how she got along with their other dog.

Earlier in the week, Mark had checked out Grace on our website: utopiarescue.com and he had come out specifically to check her out. After Tony and I had shown him all of our dogs and had made a strong point about Grace being an incredibly creative, escape artist, he told us about their five acres, that was high fenced and that he and his family really wanted to give her a chance. So everyone please keep your fingers crossed for Grace, that she doesn't try to escape and her adoption sticks, because Mark and his family really want her to be a part of their loving family.

I spent yesterday evening having so much fun, because I got to work on the Mother Ship at last. Thanks to Chet O'Keefe doing an excellent job repairing the sub floor, I spent most of my time in Area 51, measuring and then cutting the 1"X4" white, pine boards, imported from Sweden, for the floor, using our chop saw. When I ran out of daylight and energy at the same time, I put the tools, inside the Mother Ship and then I came back inside The Cabin and sipped a glass of my cheap boxed wine.

Today has been great. This morning after Tony and I did our morning chores outside, Mark called me to alert me that Grace Kelly had just dug out and escaped, but she was wearing her Rabies and our rescue ranch dog tags, so if anyone called me about finding her to please call him immediately, so he could go pick her up. He also told me that he and his family were driving around looking for her and they were calling all of their neighbors, etc. I told him that I would check the phone regularly and then we adios-ed each other. After telling Tony about Gracie, I went over to the Lodge to visit with Kinky and Dylan and Tony took off to take some pictures.

I had a great visit with my friends and when I returned to The Cabin, Carlton was on the breakfast bar flashing me. "Hello, a female dog, wearing one of your rescue ranch tags has just shown up at our home and...." I immediately called the woman back. "Hello, this is Nancy calling from the rescue ranch. Does the female dog have blue eyes?"

"Yes, she did," the nice woman said. "Our neighbor Mark, just took her home..." After adios-ing her I called Mark. "Nancy, she is fine and we don't want to give up on her. We plan to spend all day spoiling her..."

After I talked to Mark, I started preparing lunch for Tony and me. At 1:00, just as we were about to eat homemade meatloaf, mashed potatoes and zucchini, Julie arrived, as she had promised she would. "I'll be there between 1:00 and 1:30." So, Tony and I shoved our plates into the oven to keep our food warm. Then we went outside to greet Julie.

Julie owns Breeders Select Pet Transport that delivers pets to all 48 states. She came out with her friend Robert, so we could see if Blake Shelton would fit comfortably in her largest dog crate, because our dear friend Fay and her husband, up in Toronto, want to adopt him and we want Blake in Fay & Ian's home. 

Following a short visit, outside the trailer, with Julie & Robert, we jumped into Kermit and they jumped into their transport van, so they could follow us down to Blake's and Miranda's pen. Blake and Miranda Lambert instantly liked Julie & Robert when they first met them. Then Tony leashed up Miranda and clipped her leash to the fence, so he could bring Blake out without her getting out, too.

The crate in her van, looked big enough for Blake's 24 hour trip, to Michigan, where Julie would hook-up with Fay and Ian, but we had to make sure it was. So, Tony lifted up Blake's gigantic front paws and placed them on the bumper. Then he bent down and lifted up Blakes rear and....

To Be Continued....(Sorry, Mari. I want to go work on the Mother Ship some more.)

P.S. Everyone please watch Imus In The Morning tomorrow morning, because Imus is going to play one of Chet O'Keefe's songs!

Y'all have a great evening!

A Great Name!

I've been so busy this week I ran out of time to write anything. Now I am going to catch you up on things "Readers Digest" style.

Wednesday morning, after cooking breakfast and making smoothies for Chet O'Keefe, Tony and me, our dear friend Drew came out to visit all of us, after we had done our chores outside. We had a total blast, in Outer Space and laughed way too much.

After Drew went home, Chet went to work repairing the rotted out floor in my old RV, which is named The Spaceship. While Chet worked inside the RV, Tony and I continued our ongoing mowing project and my wrist was killing me. We worked all day and into the evening. Then our friend, Z, came over to do happy hour with us and that was a lot of fun.

Thursday morning started out just like Wednesday morning had. After breakfast, Tony did our chores outside, while I did paperwork and returned several phone calls, etc, while Chet made significant progress stabilizing the floor, in The Spaceship. And the good news is my wrist was feeling much better—nothing broke.

Right before lunch, Kinky called and had left two almost exact same messages, on Carlton, "Nancy, I need to talk to Chet! Please tell Chet to call me as soon as possible." When I heard Kink's messages, I punched in his phone number and while he and I were talking I went outside, so Chet could talk to Kinky.

When Chet started talking to Kinky, Tony and I heard Chet say, "What? Really? You're kidding? Wow? Are you serious? I can't believe this? Thanks, Kinky...." After Kinky and Chet had adios-ed each other, Chet told us some very great, exciting news and I got instant goose bumps, because I was so thrilled for Chet.

After lunch, Tony and I had to go to Kerrville to run several errands, while Chet wasted no time working on the floor, because he was going back to Austin, today.

When we got back home I took care of some rescue ranch business and then I started feverishly sewing slip covers for the two, bunk bed mattresses, in the RV. I only got one made, before Chet, Tony and I had to leave, because we were eating dinner with our good friends Jesse and his sweet wife Delores, at their home. Here's the old mattress and the first one I recovered, before we took off.

We had a wonderful time eating Delores' delicious dinner and after dinner Jesse took us to his recording studio, so he could show it to us. Jesse's studio was beyond awesome and it was filled with many great guitars and a piano. When Jesse and Chet started jamming I was watching the clock, because Chet wanted to get back, before dark, so he could finish the final floor repairs, before heading back to Austin today. And I needed to get home too, so I could sew the other slip cover, while Tony put the chickens up for the night, etc. Thirty minutes later, we returned to the ranch.

It was nearly 9:00 when I finally finished sewing the slip cover and Chet had finished his floor project and had put up his tools. Then we had a Happy Half-Hour, before Chet and his super cool dog, Willie, went over to Kinky's. Here's the second slip cover, with Belle posing for me.

Today has been great. This morning Tony and I got up real early, because we had plenty of things that we wanted to do. Before the sun came over the tall bluff, behind The Cabin, I had made a dozen Cousin Nancy Breakfast Tacos, for us and Kinky's friends to enjoy, that were warming in the oven. And by 8:30, Tony and I had finished our morning chores outside.

While Chet, Tony and me ate breakfast, drank smoothies and sipped Texan Pecan Coffee, I was telling Chet about me wanting to paint The Spaceship and Tony wanting to put a small fence around the RV, so when our friends and family come to visit us, they will have a yard for their dogs to stay in. So Chet says, "I think you should name it Area 51."

After we had quit laughing, I told Chet, "I love it and I will. It's perfect and I will get a sign made that says, "Area 51! Thanks for naming it, Chet..." Then Chet and Tony went outside, so Chet could help Tony work on the engine of Tony's old, but super cool VW Beetle.

While they were outside doing that, I put the newly recovered mattresses back in the RV and then cleaned it up. Then I took the leftover breakfast tacos over to Kinky's. While Kinky and his guests ate the breakfast tacos I told them about Chet naming the soon-to-be fenced in area around the The Spaceship—Area 51. "Omg! I said. "It really is the perfect name, because I was born in 51." Everyone liked the name and laughed about it. Then I said, "In the past, I've always called my RVs The Spaceship and I've just come up with a new name for this RV."

"What?" Kinky asked.

"I'm going to call it," then I made an intentional 30 second pause, "The Mother Ship!" Everyone burst out laughing, including me and they all told me that it was a great name for RV number 3. A few minutes later, Trigger returned me to the rescue ranch, just before our great friends aka super volunteers started arriving. 

Early this evening we had another great adoption and I will tell y'all about it tomorrow. And that is about it for tonight.

Y'all have a great evening!

In Outer Space Concert! or Black & Blue!

Yesterday was great and a little bit weird. Late in the afternoon I was, over at the Lodge, visiting with Kinky and Chet O'Keefe. While we were rocking, in the rocking chairs, I said, "Wow, it's been a weird day. Tony and I had to go to Walmart today and there was this old woman, about my age and she was in one of the stores motorized scooters."

"That's not so weird," Kinky commented.

"Yeah, it was, because she was sort of stalking Tony and me. She followed us everywhere through the store. She would speed up behind us and then pass us and then immediately turn her electric cart right in front of us. Then she would stop and start pressing all of the cart's buttons, like a madman, while pretending that she could not get her welcome wagon to move. Tony and I had to stop abruptly and then walk around her each time."

"That is weird," Kinky noted.

"I know. She did it at least five times to us," I said. "Pass us, pull up in front of us and then stop. She made Tony so nervous he had me walk right behind him, just in case she tried to do a "hit and scoot" or lose control of her scooter...."

The reason that I didn't post anything last night was because around 7:00, Chet, Jesse and his beautiful wife Delores came over, so Tony could introduce Chet to Jesse, because they are both incredibly talented guitarist. Tony had invited them to come over, so they could jam together, in Outer Space.

Oh my goodness! Talk about one incredible evening! Those two were awesome together. It was like listening to Chet—times two. They took turns playing lead and singing their songs and their fabulous music had Delores, Tony and me totally mesmerized. In fact, they were so good, I kept getting goose bumps and seriously, it was the best two hours I've spent in a very long time. Even the dogs outside enjoyed their In Outer Space concert, because they never barked or howled once. Here's a picture I took of them jamming.

Today has been great, but pretty uneventful. Basically, Chet helped Tony and I mow and weed eat the dog pens, all day and the pens look great now, even though I hurt my wrist, in the process.

I had mowed about half of Springsteen's pen when I hit a rock that immediately shutdown the push mower. When I tried to restart the mower I wasn't thinking about the fence being right behind me. So, when I yanked the cord, with all of my might—I released the cord and banged my wrist real hard, on the fence rail. Talk about instant pain. My wrist was already throbbing as I began pushing the mower.

After making Springsteen's pen beautiful once again, I mowed the grass and weeds, in the alley next to him and my wrist was killing me. Any pressure that I put on my right wrist, to help push the mower, made me cringe, because of the pain. So that ended my mowing career for today.

I hope I didn't break a bone, somewhere in my wrist and it will just be black &blue and sore for a few days. Anyway, time will tell and that's about it for tonight.

P.S. The reason that I did not do Big G's show this morning was because our telephone lines were down for over two hours. So hopefully I will be back on the air with him next Tuesday.

Y'all have a great evening!

I'm Running A Little Behind And Am Working On Tonight's Post. Please Check Back In About 1 Hour

Except For Little Debbie!

First off, I am feeling great and am so glad to be back among the living. That darn bug I had, I wish on no one. I would try to play catchup about last week, but too much time has elapsed and I don't have time to write for three or four hours. So instead, I am going to tell you about my day, before it hopefully starts thundering and raining again making me have to unplug again.

Today has been great. I woke up feeling like I always do—an old woman and I was thrilled about it. First, I put our dogs outside and Alice, the darling two-year-old Chihuahua that still is looking for a super home. Then I sipped a delicious cup of Green Mountain Donut Shop Coffee.

At 8:00, when CBS Sunday Morning came on, I decided to listen to the show and start catching up with the all of the paperwork that I didn't do last week, because of THE BUG. When I finished doing that I then started doing my middle of the month paperwork, which I knew would take several hours. And it did.

Then I cooked Tony and me lunch and not to brag—Tony told me that he loved it. Which I am not sure I believe, because several times he came back into the kitchen and would said, "Is it ready yet? I'm starving, Nance." Because he had to cook for himself, while I was sleeping it off off in La La Land. But I will say the roasted chicken, steamed zucchini with onions and mashed potatoes were pretty tasty.

Early this afternoon our good friend Ryan, the sweet husband of Donna Hatch, called me. And his phone call made my day great, because he wanted to know if we could get together sometime next week and jam, but this time at their beautiful home, because when we jammed with Chet O'Keefe, I suggested that we take turns going to each others homes.

While he and I were making plans, I said, "Omg, Ryan! I almost forgot to tell you that I've got some great news to tell you."

"What?"

"I bought a looper!"

"Cool. I like guitar loopers."

"When we come over, I'll be sure to bring it, so you can mess around with it..."

"Great. I've got a CD to lend you, too. It has several different rhythm styles and it is fun to practice with..." Anyway, I am thrilled to have someone to jam with and am looking forward to our next session.

Around 2:00, I told Tony, "Tony, I am well and you can't say no. Okay?"

"Okay. What?"

"I am going to go outside, in a few minutes and mow down the tall grass and weeds, that used to be our front yard. A few minutes ago, when I put Alice and Little Debbie outside to go potty, I was watching Little Debbie. When she walked into that little 8' X 4', nearly three foot tall, mini corn patch, that keeps popping up, because of the birdseed, she completely disappeared into it. Just like the baseball players did in Field of Dreams." Tony started laughing. "It's not funny, Tony. I had to walk in there to remove her, because she wouldn't come out on her own, because I think she liked it in there. Anyway, I am going to mow the front yard, before it rains again. Okay?"

"Fine, but please take several breaks. I'll bring the mower up to the house."

Ten minutes later Tony started the mower for me and I started pushing and cutting down the yard and Little Debbie's little field of dreams.

I mowed for about thirty minutes and then I came inside and took a break. When I went back outside to finish what I had started—the mower would not start. "Tony!..." A few minutes later, after Tone had tried and tried to start the mower, he said, "I think you killed it." Then he started chuckling. "I don't know what's wrong with the dang thing. It has plenty of gas. I checked the carburetor and..." So we gave up and came back inside The Cabin. Then I immediately went back outside and took this picture.

Early this evening sweet Tony went outside and cut down the rest of the tall grass and weeds, using the weed-eater. Now everyone is happy about the front yard, except for Little Debbie. As I finish writing this tonight, Little Deb is sleeping with Alice, in the temporary pen, beside me and I bet that she is probably dreaming about someday having her own cornfield. And that is about it for tonight.

Y'all have a great evening!

Gettin' On The Well Side!

Yesterday morning, I wasn't feeling great. I was all achey, nauseous and still had a headache, so Tony told me to get back in bed and he would take care of the morning chores. Our dogs and I slept for two hours, because when they heard Tony come back inside they jumped off the bed to go greet him.

After taking a shower, Tony loaded up Chad Stewart and we took him to Hoegemeyers to get all of his shots. Even though I wasn't hungry, we decided to eat at The Hat. I ordered their delicious Tortilla Soup, because I figured chicken soup might help me feel better. Well, I was wrong.

By the time we got back home I started running fever and having chills, so I went straight to the bed, with our dogs and we slept until 5:00. Around 7:00, after drinking a ton of water, I went back to bed and didn't wake up until 7:00 this morning. My fever was gone and I knew the worst was over. I was gettin' on the well side.

This morning, Tony did our morning chores again, so I could go back to bed to rest. I didn't rest—I slept. Around 10:15, I got up and filled out the adoption papers for Dottie West and then I called Tom and Linda to ask them to please meet Tony at 11:00, at Hoegemeyers, so they could fill out the Dottie's papers and take her home. Then I called Susan to tell her that Tony was coming in to pick up Chad and adopt out sweet Dottie. Here's the picture he took for me, of Dottie's adoption in Hoegemeyer's parking lot.

When Tony got back home, I had already cooked us a big pot of chicken vegetable soup. And after we ate it, yes, I went back to bed, again. Around 3:00, our dogs and I woke up. I was thrilled that my headache was finally gone and I was feeling about 90% better!

I'm Down In The Weather!

Today has not been great, because this morning I woke up with a mild headache and was not feeling so good. This afternoon after we had picked up Blake and run a couple of errands, I was feeling so weak, I canceled the rest of our errands, because all I wanted to do was get back home and go to bed.

Hopefully, whatever little bug I've gotten will run its course sooner than later. So I apologize for not writing tonight, because I am going back to bed.

Y'all have a great evening!

A Super Busy Day!

Today has been a super busy day for us and I am so tired right now, all I want to do is go to bed. I promise that I will write about it tomorrow and I'll also return the 37 phone messages that we received, while we were at Hoegmeyer Animal Clinic, in Kerrville, getting Blake ready for his trip to Toronto!

Good News!

Today has been great. During the wee hours of the morning we got three inches of much needed rain and it doesn't bother me one bit that we are going to have to mow the grass sooner than later. Our backs are rested and the exercise will be good for both of us. It's about a three to four day process for us and we'll probably start the mowing tomorrow.

This morning after doing our chores outside, we came inside The Cabin to find Carlton flashing, on top of the breakfast bar. After listening to Fay's "good news" message I called her. After the first ring I hung up, because Fay had asked me to do that, so she could call me back, on her dime, to save us money on our phone bill.

One minute later, Fay called and told me some very exciting news about flying Blake Shelton to Toronto, on a non-stop flight, out of Dallas. And he will be personally escorted, by her friend that works for the airlines, because she'll be flying with him to Toronto, Canada.

After we had worked out some of the flight details and talked about how excited we were about Blake being adopted by her and Ian, I said, "Here's some more good news. Last night a woman called and left a message about wanting to adopt Blake. I'm fixin' to call her back and tell her about Blake being adopted and going to live in Toronto and suggest that she adopt his sister, Miranda Lambert...."

At 10:30, right after Fay and I had adios-ed each other, Victoria and her seventy-nine-year-old father arrived, on time, so Tony and I went outside to greet them. After introductions and a short, fun visit with Ed and his sweet daughter, Tony and Ed jumped into Kermit and Victoria and I took off walking for Molly Ivins' and Merlin's pen. Because yesterday Victoria had called me to tell me about her father recently losing his dog to old age and him wanting to adopt a rescued, older, big dog to be his couch-potato-companion and to go on long walks with him.

During our short walk, Victoria also told me that her father was in very good health, lived on five acres and was cared for by her and friends. She told me that he loved dogs and had always had one. When we arrived at Merlin and Molly's pen, Molly was already flirting with Ed and licking his fingers—it was love at first sight for them! And Victoria loved Molly, too.

Twenty minutes later, after Ed had signed off on Molly's adoption papers and while we were adios-ing each other, Victoria opened the back seat door and before Ed could get into the back seat to ride with Molly—she flew into the back seat, like she had been shot out of a cannon, which made all of us laugh. "Looks like she can't wait to get out of here," I joked. Then I reached inside the car to pet Molly, on the head. "Girlfriend," I said. "I hope we never see you again and you be good." A few minutes later the three of them drove away.

Tony and I are so thrilled for Molly. Here are pictures that I took of Molly when she was returned to us after sharing nine years of her life with a beautiful family, that became too ill to keep her anymore and the other is Molly posing with her new, loving family.

When Tony and I returned to The Cabin I headed straight for the phone, so I could call Kinky, in Houston, to tell him the great news about Blake and Molly and possibly Miranda getting adopted too, but Kink beat me to it, because the phone rang right before I picked up the receiver. And needless to say, "He was more than thrilled with all of the good news."

As I finish writing this I am hoping that Molly and Ed are sitting together, on the couch, watching TV and that we get some more needed rain, so Tony and I don't have to start our mowing project tomorrow. "Come on rain!"

P.S. The reason that I didn't blog last night was because there was no news to tell and I was busy watching several YouTube videos on "how to make fused glass jewelry."

Y'all have a great evening!

Loopy Time!

This past Tuesday, after talking to Chet about what kind of, easy for me to use, guitar looper I should buy, he sent me a link and suggested that I get a Digitech JamMan Express XT. Because it is the most featured compact looper and not nearly as expensive as the sophisticated Digitech looper that he uses. So, I went on Amazon and purchased one with free 2 day shipping. To say the least, "I couldn't wait to get it, because Chet had offered to show me how to use it, before he moves to Austin!"

A looper is an electronic device that plugs into your guitar and amp and it lets you record some music you play and then it continually loops it, so you can play along with it and add more tracks, etc.

Well, yesterday morning when I checked my e-mail I had a big surprise when I tracked my looper. It wasn't going to be delivered in two days, as promised—it was already on a UPS truck out for Wednesday delivery!

Yesterday afternoon Chet was over here when UPS delivered my looper.

After taking the above pictures Chet plugged the looper into my guitar and amp and then he started the looper and began playing some cool chord progressions—then he quit recording. When the looper started playing the chords and looping, Chet started playing some awesome guitar licks and the music he was making sounded so good—it blew Tony and me out of our saddles. We literally didn't want him to quit playing, because we were enjoying his music so much.

Anyway, after Chet showed me how to use the looper—I've been playing my guitar, with the looper, every chance that I get. Unfortunately "my music" ain't near as good as Chets or even comes close to it. But they say that practice makes perfect, so that is why I didn't post anything yesterday and why I am done writing for tonight, because it's Loopy Time! And I am going to play my guitar until my fingers are killing me.

Y'all have a great evening!

Sorry, Not Tonight!

Sorry, not tonight, because we're listening to Paula Nelson play some of Chet O'Keefe's songs on Sun Radio!

Pulling Strings!

Yesterday was so much fun. I got up real early and had Hazel help me de-hair The Cabin, before I dusted off everything. And to prove it, I took this picture of our bedroom, before it starts collecting dog hair and dust again.

Then I took this closeup of our shiny dresser, without any dog hair or dust on it yet.

Then I went outside and did all of my chores. When Tony came back home from The Old Timer, he went over to get Chet, because Chet wanted to drink coffee with us and eat another healthy breakfast, which included the delicious smoothies.

After breakfast, I asked Chet if he could help me figure out how to play Town Mountain's Bluegrass version of Bruce Springsteen's famous song—I'm On Fire. And a few minutes later, after he had listened to my new favorite song, Chet taught me the chord progression and then he started playing and singing the song—Bluegrass style.

While Chet and I were discussing music, I said, "Our friend, Ryan Hatch is coming over, at 1:00, so he and I can jam together. "We'd love for you to join us—if you want to."

After we ate lunch, I had a total blast jamming with with my dear friends Ryan and Chet O'Keefe. Chet and Ryan brought their amps with them, so we all plugged into our amps and turned up the volume.

I played rhythm guitar, which is the easiest way to play a guitar. Chet played lead guitar. And Ryan took turns either playing his harmonica or lead guitar with Chet. Because both of them are such talented, awesome musicians and can sing—we made some pretty good sounding music.

In the big room, we played some of Chet's and Ryan's songs, Bluegrass, Rock, Country and the Blues for Tony and the Chihuahuas, our captured audience. Tony loved listening to us jam, but "The Girls," Alice, Ginger and Little Debbie, slept through most of the two hours that we spent pulling strings . Here's a picture that Tony took of us sitting around playing music.

Today has been great and I hope that everyone had a great Labor Day. This afternoon Tony and I met our dear friends, Debbie & Craig, Denise & Les and Kris & Jim for lunch, at the Soaring Dragon, on Sidney Baker Street which is also known as Highway 16.

We had a great time seeing our friends and we did a lot of laughing and our lunch was delicious, too. After we had adios-ed our friends we visited with Kris & The Mineral Man, out on the sidewalk, for a few minutes. We talked about Ben bringing us those three, huge bricks of Miles of Chocolate, this past Saturday and Tony and I sharing it with them and our other super friends/volunteers. And to say the least, "They were more than thrilled, because they love Miles of Chocolate, too."

Before I finish writing this, I want to let all of y'all know that tomorrow night, 7-8 PM CDT, on Sun Radio's Highway 290 with Paula Nelson show, she will be playing some of Chet O'Keefe's fabulous music and I hope that all of y'all will tune in to her popular show. On the Sun Radio link above, you can listen to it live or get the Sun Radio app, for all of your mobile devices. 

Lastly, I have some wonderful news to share. As of yesterday, Fay, our dear Canadian friend, that has already adopted two dogs from us, Kris Kristofferson and Wee Lassie—is going to adopt Blake Shelton! We are thrilled about it and have already begun working out his transport to Toronto. And that is about it for now.

Y'all have a great Labor Day evening!