Space Cowboys!

Today has been great and I have two short stories to tell. The first one, Crossing Paths, is totally true and very condensed and the second short story, Space Cowboys, is sort of true, because today is Halloween Day.

Crossing Paths

Wednesday afternoon Tony and I stopped by Gibson's, so we could buy Eileen, our dear friend, a small gift to celebrate her last chemo treatment, because today, at the Koyote Grill all of our super volunteers/friends were going to give her a surprise "No Mo' Chemo!" party.

When we were walking up to Gibson's Tony spotted our dear friend Donna Hatch as she and I walked right past each other, because I am blind and because I was focusing on not tripping and falling on something and because Donna was focusing on the cool Christmas items for sale, outside the store. "Hey, Donna," Tony said, as she and I both turned around and recognized each other.

After a fun, but short visit with our good friend, I told Donna about Big Mama, the sweet Great Pyrenees that we rescued last week. "Ryan and I," she said, "have some dear friends that want to get a really big dog and..."

Yesterday afternoon as planned, Michelle came out to meet Big Mama and it was love at first sight for both of them, so she asked us if she could take Big Mama home for a few days so her sweet husband could meet Big Mama and they see how she got along with their two cats. And of course, we said, "Yes! Please do!"

This morning Michelle called me. She told me that they love Big Mama so much and that she got along beautifully with their two cats. "She slept on the bed with us last night and she loves to sit on our furniture! She is the perfect dog for us and we want to adopt her! She's so sweet and...." So thanks to Eileen for causing us to make a stop at Gibson's and for Tony recognizing Donna—Big Mama now has a fabulous, forever home!

Space Cowboys!

This morning when I got up I felt like something wasn't right and I couldn't put my finger on it. Then when I was drinking a cup of Texas Pecan coffee I had two signs or omens revealed to me—that today might not be so great. 

The first sign was when I noticed that Bob was no longer standing up, in the big chair, which Tony had made for me, eighteen years ago.

So when Tony came into the big room to get more coffee, I asked him if he had moved Bob and his answer was, "No." Then he looked at Bob and stood him back up, in the chair. 

As Tone was pouring himself another cup of coffee, I said, "Tony, yesterday afternoon when Hazel and I were vacuuming, I found one of Rick's friendship bracelets that he gave to you, on the floor, under the bench by the window. Would you mind picking it up for me, because my back is aching?"

Tony, bent down to pick it up and says, "Nance, it's not a bracelet. It's a dead centipede. You really need to get new glasses." Then he picked it up, so I could take a picture of the scary-looking thing, before he tossed it into the trashcan.

A few hours later, Tony and I took off for Koyote Grill, to celebrate Eileen's "No Mo' Chemo!" party with our dear friends. And that's when things got really scary.

We were fifteen minutes early and the very first ones to arrive, at the popular grill. I had thought it was a good idea to get there early, so we could surprise Eileen when she walked inside, but it turned out to be a very bad idea. Because when we walked inside we were immediately captured by a Star Wars Storm Trooper! And then he had the nerve to ask Tony to take pictures to document what he had done.

Even though I am smiling, in the picture above and looking friendly—I was faking it big time. Then one by one, as our dear friends arrived for Eileen's party, they were captured, too. To say the least, "We were in big time trouble. 

While we were pleading for the Star Wars trooper to please let us go party, two Space Cowboys rode up on their Space Quarter Horses and the cowboy and cowgirl were immediately captured, too. It was so terrifying!

Then the space cowboy had a brilliant idea and saved the day for all of us!

The Space Cowboy invited the Star Wars Storm Trooper to Eileen's celebration party and then he went and showed him the beautiful "Lucky" cake that Lisa had ordered for Eileen's party, made by Creative Cakes By Sharon! 

And because it was a "Lucky" cake it touched the Star Wars Storm Trooper's heart, because he collects horseshoes and is fascinated with cowboys, he decided to set us free and then a good time was had by all!  

Please note that the Star Wars Storm Trooper ate two, heaping servings of the delicious cake and then he vanished off into thin air.  Here are two of our dear friends thanking and adios-ing the Space Cowboy for thinking fast and saving the day for us, as he and his Space Cowgirl rode off into the sunset. Talk about one lucky day for all of us!

Y'all have a Happy Halloween evening with a happy ending like we did today!

Short!

Today has been great, even though it was a quiet day out here. So I am going to keep it short tonight,  to give y'all a break from reading my latest too long posts, that took me hours to write and hours for you to read.

Late this afternoon, after catching up with some rescue ranch paperwork I decided to go outside and work on my new/used RV, that I've recently named The Mother Ship. Before I started doing some painting inside the RV, I decided to do a little cleanup outside, that Chet O'Keefe cleverly named Area 51.

I only spent about ten minutes, outside, cleaning up Area 51 and there is still plenty of cleanup work left for me to do, but I quit early, because I was too excited about starting my painting project. And that is about it for tonight.

Y'all have a great evening and rest your eyes!

Craig Johnson! or Robert Earl Keen Beer!

Today has been great! This morning after doing our chores outside, I came inside The Cabin and checked my e-mail and Fay's made me smile. She wrote me a note telling me that a co-worker friend of hers was interested in Big Mama, but she needed to know if Big Mama was good with friends.

So, I immediately called the sweet, recently widowed woman. When I told her what was going on, she said, "Big Mama was great with my grand children." When I asked there ages, she said, "Two, seven and twelve..." When I told the nice lady that I hope Big Mama gets adopted by Fay's friend, because Toronto, Canada, would be a perfect climate for her—she totally agreed with me. Then we adios-ed each other and I immediately shot back a "good news" e-mail to Fay.

After I told Tone about the possibility of Big Mama getting adopted, he was thrilled, too. Then I called Kinky. "Kink, do you want to meet us for lunch?"

"Yes," Kinky said. "Let's eat at Randy & Lisa's Save Inn. How about 1:15?"

Tony and I arrived, at the Save Inn, five minutes before Kinky arrived and our lunch was delicious and we did a lot of laughing. After we had finished eating the super nice waitress removed our plates and handed us our tickets. "Hey Kinky," Tony said. "Since your birthday is this Saturday, we'll treat you to lunch today."

"Thank you very much," he said, as he handed his ticket to Tony.

Our next stop was at Wolfmueller's Books, so I could pick up the latest Longmire book that Sandy & Jon bought for me, at the Texas Book Festival, they attended this past weekend. When we walked inside their fabulous bookstore our friend, Robert Earl Keen, was standing by the checkout counter, visiting with Sandy & Jon.

After greetings, Sandy told us, "Robert Earl has brought us some of his new signature beer to try. It's just come out and it is made with Texas honey and it is brewed by the Pedernales Brewing Company, in Fredericksburg." Then Jon showed us a can and then gave it to Tony to try tonight. We had a fun, but short visit with Robert Earl before he adios-ed us.

As soon as Robert Earl had left their store, Sandy & Jon handed me the book Wait For Signs: Twelve Longmire Stores by Craig Johnson. Then Sandy says, "We met Craig Johnson and we had a fun visit with him. He is the nicest man and he signed your book to you, Cousin Nancy!" Her exciting words gave me instant goose bumps, because I am such a big fan of Longmire and now I can actually brag that I own an autographed Longmire book. "Did you check out Craig Johnson's website last night?"

"Oh my goodness! Yes I did," I said. "I loved looking at all of the Longmire merchandise for sale and I wanted to buy all of it." That made them laugh and then they agreed with me. "I especially loved the beautiful buckled cuff, the pink Sheriff coffee mug and the pink Longmire t-shirt. As soon as I pay down my credit card a little bit more, I plan to buy those items and a cap or two. And he is good-looking too."

Sandy agreed with me and then Jon said, "He's a down-to-earth man and very easy to talk to. We felt like we had known him all of our lives..."

After we had talked about loving Craig Johnson's Longmire books and the A&E Longmire series, Tony and I adios-ed them. Then we went down the street to early vote and then we went to the big H-E-B, to pick up a few more groceries.

Our last stop was, at Hoegemeyer Animal Clinic, to pick up Ginger, the sweet, four-year-old, overweight Boxer that we rescued last week. When we arrived at the clinic Susan, Kathy and the vet techs raved about what a sweet dog Ginger is and what a cool dog she is before they went to get her for us.

When Ginger entered the lobby her stubby tail was wagging wildly and that instantly confirmed everything nice the staff had just told us about her.

On our way home, I rode in the backseat with Ginger and she was great and seemed very comfortable riding in cars, as she constantly kissed my face or tried to sit in my lap. When we got home Tony put Ginger in my pink writing cabin's front yard. Then we went and got our cameras so we could take pictures of her to post. Here are two of the best ones I took of Ginger.

After I shot Ginger with my camera, I came back inside and took pictures of the Robert Earl Keen Beer can, before Tony put it into the freezer, so it wouldn't take long for him to taste it. Then I took pictures of my treasured Craig Johnson autographed book, so I can prove to all that I really do have a signed book by him.

Then I started writing this for my blog. Kinky called me around 6:30 to ask me what time and what channel the Cowboys are playing on. I told him that I didn't know, but I would find out. Then I asked Tony and he said, "7:00 on channel 206." So then I called Kinky back and told him and then we talked for over twenty minutes. And that is about it, because I'm fixin' to watch the Dallas Cowboys RedSkins game.

Y'all have a great evening! (And Carol, I am glad that you're back home and I will call you in the morning after we do our chores.)

The Coffee Pot! or What About Bob!

Today has been great, but first I want to catch y'all up with what has been going on. Thursday morning Tony and Rick went to the Old Timer, in Medina, to drink coffee with Tony's old friends, before they picked up the sweet, four-year-old, female Great Pyrenees, to bring to the rescue ranch.

When they arrived back at the rescue ranch, they put Big Mama in the alley next to Miranda Lambert, in hopes that they would bond quickly and become roommates. But ten minutes later, while the three of us were inside The Cabin eating breakfast, our dogs started barking outside, so we went out to the front porch and saw Big Mama, running past our parked vehicles, heading up the tall hill, behind our trailer.

As we hollered for her to please come back, she quickly disappeared into the woods. So, Tony and Rick jumped into Kermit and took off looking for her while I quickly phoned all of our good neighbors to be on the lookout for Big Mama.

As soon as the men returned home, I was frantic about Big Mama running off, so I jumped into Trigger and drove all around Kinky's ranch and the ranch before you get to Echo Hill. When I returned home, Tony reminded me that we had to go to Kerrville, but I didn't want to go, because I wanted to stay home just in case Big Mama returned or one of our neighbors called about seeing the Great Pyrenees.

Two hours later, when the three of us returned home, from Kerrville and after me having said hundreds of silent prayers about Big Mama returning safely back to the rescue ranch—Big Mama was standing next to our front yard gate! So when Tony parked Buttermilk, we all opened the car doors and called for her to jump into the Expedition. The good news is she jumped right into the backseat with me. Big Mama was home at last! Talk about make my day great!

After Tony and I put Big Mama, in Tom Landry's Escape Proof pen and took Tom out and put him in the alley beside her we jumped into Kermit and went up to The Cabin, so I could check Carlton's messages and call our nice neighbors to let them know that Big Mama was back home.

There were only two messages to listen to and they were both back-to-back and from Sandy Wolfmueller, "Nancy, please call me." Second message, "Nancy, we found a stove top percolator for Rick! Call us as soon as you can. Bye"

I called Sandy back and then I went outside to tell Rick, "Sandy and Jon found their old, copper bottom coffee percolator, in the bookstore's basement and they want to give it to you. They said for you to return the one you bought at Gibson's..." Then we came back inside The Cabin, so we could check my e-mail, because they had just sent me a picture of their aka Rick's stove top coffee percolator.

Friday was a great day, too. Our great friends/volunteers came out and walked our dogs. When all of us went to The Koyote Grill to eat lunch together, Kris & Jim "The Mineral Man" had belated birthday presents for me. When Tony and I walked inside Koyote this was sitting in a chair, at our long table. Tony and I started laughing. Then Kris said, "His name is Bob." Then Kris or Jim took this picture of me meeting Bob and falling in love with him. And Kris and Jim also gave me two, super cool alien guitar picks!

When Tony and I got home, I put Bob in the chair and took his picture. Then I stood him up next to where Roy was sleeping. The pictures say it all.

Early Friday evening, Rick, Tony and I jumped into Buttermilk and we took off to go pick up Drew, in Kerrville, who was going to ride with us to the Hunt Store, where Chet O'Keefe was performing. 

When we arrived Chet and his dog Willie were already there and so were our many friends. While Chet was doing a sound check I took this picture, before Chet started playing. And please note that the cool dog, standing on the roof, that Willie is watching, is owned by John & Vicki Dunn, the super nice owners of The Hunt Store. Chet's concert was great and Tony and I had so much fun visiting with our friends and listening to Chet.

Saturday was a great day, too. Around 10:00, our good friends, Denise and Bruce, from New York City, came out for their yearly visit with us and it was a lot of fun. While they were inside The Cabin drinking coffee with us, Rick was outside packing his things into his rental car, because he was headed to Wolfmueller's Books, to pick up his new/used copper bottom, stove top coffee percolator, before leaving town. And ten minutes before Denise and Bruce adios-ed us, Rick adios-ed us. 

Later in the day, a nice family delivered Rylie, their sweet, eight-year-old, female Dachshund, that they could no longer keep, because their children had become allergic to the dog. And Tony and I put her in the alley next to Buddy & Ringo Starr's pen, in hopes that she would soon bond with the boys. Here is a picture of little Ringo playing with his best bud.

And here's a picture of Ringo Starr, who is only about a year old. He's a great dog and has stolen every one's hearts. He's great with other dogs, not hyper, not a digger or a climber and he loves to ride in cars. Several of the volunteers think that he is a Chi-Weenie. 

Two hours passed before we put Rylie, in with Buddy and Ringo, her new roommates. I tried to take her picture for over thirty minutes, but because they dogs were playing and having so much fun, I never got a great picture of her. So, in the next few days I will be posting her picture so y'all can see her.

Today has been great. This morning Chet came over and ate breakfast with us, before heading back to Austin, because tonight he is playing at the Strange Brew.

Early this afternoon, Tony and I went outside to take pictures of Big Mama. When we went into her pen, she was happy to see us and she could not wait to kiss us. She seems to have settled in and she and Landry seem to be working it out through the fence. Here are two pictures that Tony took of this super sweet, four-year-old, gentle giant dog that has stolen my heart.

Before I finish writing this, I want to apologize for writing such a long blog tonight, but I wanted to update everyone. This evening I am going to work on my third novella and then watch a couple of Longmire episodes before going to bed. And tomorrow we plan to pick up the super sweet, overweight, female Boxer, that is currently at Hoegemeyers. 

Y'all have a great evening!

Chet O'Keefe @ The Hunt Store Tonight—Starts Playing at 6:30!

Chet just called me. For those of you coming to hear Chet O'Keefe play at The Hunt Store tonight, he will start playing at 6:30, instead of 5:00. It's going to be fun and we hope we see y'all there.

The Ride Along!

Today has been great. Our dear friend Rick arrived early this afternoon, from Nicaragua! We were expecting him to arrive around dinner time and the funniest thing happened. Around 1:30, Tony and I left for Kerrville, but we didn't get very far, because when we drove up to the gate, we saw a little red car parked and Rick was standing there leaning on the gate.

When Tony opened the gate, I said, "Rick, how long have you been out here?"

"I just got here about a minutes ago." After howdies and handshakes, we invited Rick to go with us to Kerrville, so he locked his rental car and climbed into the backseat and became the ride along.

Our first stop was at Wolfmueller's, so I could pick up a cookbook that I had ordered, for a gift. When we walked inside Sandy & Jon's bustling bookstore, Jon looked up and greeted us and then Sandy walked up and greeted us, too.

Sandy & Jon are friends with Rick too, and one time they went down to Port Aransas with us, to stay on the beautiful, privately owned island, where Rick was "The Friendly Lighthouse Keeper," so the five of us had a fun, but short visit before we took off for Gibson's, because Rick wanted to buy a stove top coffee percolator and a hands-on orange juicer dish, to take back with him, to Nicaragua. And Gibson's had both of them, of course.

While Rick checked out, I found a pretty, pink vest that I wanted to check out, so Tony and Rick went outside to wait for me. When I was checking out, I looked outside and saw Tony and Rick sitting in chairs, visiting with our dear friend Jim "The Mineral Man."

Jim and Rick know each other, too, so when I went outside to join them the three men were chatting up a storm. So, we got to have a fun visit with Jim, too. "Are you & Kris going to hear Chet play at The Hunt Store?" I asked. "Rick is going with us." And Jim told us that he and Kris were planning on going, too.

"Rick, when we read Nancy's blog about them rescuing a female Great Pyrenees, Kris & I looked at each other and said, "I bet Nancy adopts her..."When we got ready to adios each other, I said, "We're going to the big H-E-B and then heading back to the ranch."

"That's where I'm going next," Jim said. "I'll see y'all there." Then we adios-ed each other.

I've never gone grocery shopping with Rick and he teased me throughout the store, by making comments like: "Sorry lady, Cousin Nancy is nearly blind and she might run her cart into you by accident. So if you see her coming, get out of the way."

Thank goodness, I only needed to pick up a few groceries, because Rick was hilarious and on a roll. When he checked out, in front of me, while I was unloading my shopping cart, he joked to the friendly cashier, "I think Cousin Nancy, right behind me, has more than 15 items in her cart, so you might want to call Security. She does this all of the time." The young woman looked puzzled and then she realized that Rick was joking, so she chuckled.

"Rick," I teased. "I'm never going grocery shopping with you again. He's been doing this to me, all through the store."

When we got back to the ranch, I fixed dinner for all of us and we ate Cousin Nancy's Peach Cobbler with Blue Bell Vanilla Ice Cream for dessert. And that's about it for tonight, because tonight we have a lot of catching up to do with Rick.

Y'all have a great evening!

Chet O'Keefe Playing @ The Hunt Store! Friday Night, 5:00 - 8:00! And We're Going!

Today has been great. This morning while I was doing the rescue ranch segment on Big G's radio show, I told him (On Air) that Chet O'Keefe was back at the ranch and then Big G says, "Great! Did you know that he's playing at The Hunt Store, this Friday night, from 5:00 - 8:00? And it's free!"

"I've known about it for a while, but since it wasn't set in stone yet, I haven't said anything about it to anyone. Tony and I are definitely going to be there and a lot of our friends will be there too. I'm sure there will be a big crowd, so we're going to get there early...."

Around 9:00, when Chet came over to eat breakfast (Breakfast Tacos & Healthy Smoothie) with us I told him about Big G announcing his Hunt Store gig and Chet says, "Great. Last night I found out that the date was confirmed and I am really looking forward to playing at The Hunt Store..."

After breakfast, Chet went outside to work and Tony and I went to Medina, to meet Judy, who is recently widowed and having to relocate to Houston, to live with her daughter's family. We didn't go to tell Judy good-bye, we went to her home to meet her and her sweet, four-year-old, gorgeous Great Pyrenees, that she can't take with her.

When Judy answered the door, Tony and I immediately liked her and when she took us outside to her backyard to meet her giant dog, tears of sadness fell from her eyes. As she wept she told us that she loved her dog with all of her heart and that after having to lose her husband and now having to give up her dog was the hardest thing that she has ever had to deal with. I could tell that her heart was more than broken and it made me tear up, too.

When she introduced her best friend to us, the friendly, gentle giant jumped up on me and she was so big she nearly knocked me over. "Oh my goodness," I said. "She's a beautiful Pyr and much bigger than my Mama." Then I told her about losing Mama, my beloved Great Pyrenees, as I petted her white dog with a beautiful dark mask. Then we discussed when Tony would come pick up her dog, before she leaves Thursday morning, for Houston. So, if anyone wants a giant, friendly best friend please call me at the rescue ranch. I'll post her picture when she arrives, so you can see just how beautiful she is.

About Last Night's Post...

When I was writing last nights post, I forgot to tell you what Tony said after we had eaten breakfast with Chet. "Nance, I hate to say this, but your smoothies this morning weren't as good as they usually are." 

And it didn't hurt my feelings at all. "I know," I said. "When I started to put the Central Market's Power Greens in the blender, the Use By Date was last week, so I used spinach. And I put the no longer powerful greens, in a bowl, for you to feed to The Golden Girls this morning, so they will lay more eggs for us." So this proves that I do look at Use By Dates sometimes. 

This morning I got the funniest e-mail from my dear friend Eileen. She said the word she uses for a late lunch or early dinner is—Lupper. I like that as much as Tony's Sinner.

And I have good news to report about solving the three mysteries. Late this afternoon, Mary Sanders made two comments on last night's post and here is what Mary wrote and my reply: 

 mary sanders said...

Nancy,
Jon Wolfmueller was so nice! I was thinking that he might think I was some kind of alien stalker!
I will retire next year, and think that making a road trip to Utopia to walk dogs is a perfect thing to do.
My recipe is so easy for the preserves:
8 cups of berries
two tablespoons of lemon juice
4 cups of sugar
put it all together in a large pot and cook till "soft ball stage". I don't do that. I just hold the spoon up till I see it's thick and the mixture has a silky look to it.
Ladle into sterile jars and seal.

Some of my friends add the blackberry jam to bar-b-q sauce for a tasty glaze.

I will dig out my hot sauce recipe for later. It's made with a carribean pepper called a datil pepper. I have made it with Jalapeno peppers and that is also very good.

So sorry I didn't get to meet you this trip. I did get Cowgirl Sisterhood I, and will be ordering the next.(you need to restock at the bookshop) I read it on the plane and had to do the Pee-pee dance all the way to the ladies room from laughing so hard.

Hopefully, I will see you next year and walk the dogs. I did go eat at El Sol, and had puffy tacos. Must find a recipe for that. There was no name on the restaurant!

Till we meet....Mary Sanders

 

 Mary sanders said...

PS,
I think it's time you did a Cookbook so all your friends can see their (I mean your) wonderful recipes!
Especially the salsa spaghetti recipe!

 

 cousin nancy said...

Hi Mary! Thank you for the recipes and a hilarious book review. That is great that you went to Wolfmueller's Books, got to meet Jon and ate the delicious food at El Sol de Mexico, while visiting Kerrville.

Several people have suggested that I write a cookbook, but I don't have the time, because I'm too busy stealing my dear friend's recipes and running the rescue ranch.

I look forward to meeting you, after you retire.

P.S. My dear friend Eileen lived in Georgia for 14 years and she asked where you lived in Georgia. So, please make another comment, that I will not publish for your privacy, so I can let Eileen know.

Okay, since Mary has sent me her recipes that I have now stolen and will call mine from here on out, that mystery is solved. And since Eileen solved the Lupper mystery, we only have to wait and see if the mysterious Post Card Person will contact me and reveal who they are.

I Got A Phone Call Tonight

I got a phone call tonight that Tony has stepped on a rainbow. Not my Tony, the Wolfmueller's cat,  Tony. In the fall of 1998, Sandy, Jon and their two boys came out to our rescue ranch, in Utopia and they adopted two young cats from us, because Kinky had sort of pressured them into it, because we were not set up for cats, because we had just started our rescue ranch. 

Sandy and Jon named the brother and sister cats after Tony and me and took them home. Cousin Nancy is dead. At an early age she committed suicide by running under a car, but Sandy and Jon told their young sons that she was in a car accident and she was not wearing her seat belt and they left it at that. Anyway, Sandy and Jon are sad about losing Tony, because they loved him so much and because he was a very cool cat. In fact, they said, "He was the coolest cat that we have ever had."

They told me that Tony had a good life, even though Cousin Nancy didn't. And we all knew that it was coming to an end, because in the past year Tony's health was rapidly declining. Tonight they buried Tony in a very special place, in their backyard. "So Rest in peace Tony and please tell Cousin Nancy that I said, to rest in peace, too!"And that is about it for tonight.

Y'all have a great evening!

Linner or Dunch & Mary's Recipes & The Ruidosa Mystery!

Today has been great. This morning after Tony and I did our chores outside, I came inside The Cabin and punched Carlton's button, to make him stop flashing, on the breakfast bar and to hear the six messages. This one especially intrigued me.

"Nancy, this is Jon," Jon Wolfmueller said. "Pick up the phone." There was a ten second pause. "Okay, I bet that you're there watching another episode of Longmire and don't want to be disturbed." Then he chuckled. "If you and Tony are coming to town today, please drop by the bookstore, because this nice woman, from Georgia, left you some flowers and a sack with with some packages inside it, for you to pick up. Don't worry about the flowers. Sandy has put them in some water for you. Bye." Click.

After listening to the messages and returning a few phone calls I began cooking Cousin Nancy's Crab Alfredo for lunch, that Tony loves and is very easy to make. When it was ready I asked Tony, "Would you let Chet know that lunch is ready?"

When Chet came inside and I told him what I had cooked, he said, "Great. It is one of my favorite meals that you make." Then we served ourselves, buffet style and all sat down to eat. When I took my very first bite I noticed that it didn't taste as good as it usually does. So I took a sip of water.

Then Tony says, as I'm swallowing, "Nancy, this isn't right. I'm sorry, but I'm not eating this. I'm throwing it out." His words almost made me choke, even though I had to agree with his diagnosis.

After the three of us had shoveled my delicious-looking Cousin Nancy's Crab Alfredo, into the garbage can, we figured out that the Half & Half had gone bad, because Chet read us the "Use By Date" on the carton.

"Okay," I said, trying to be upbeat, because Tony was starving again, I said, "When we get back from town, I'll make it again. Chet we will be back in about an hour and a half...." Then Tony and I jumped into Trigger and took off for the big city, with our grocery shopping bags, on the backseat.

Before we went to the big H-E-B, on Main Street, to get groceries, we went to Wolfmueller's Books. After we greeted each other Sandy handed me the pretty sack, meant for Tony and me. I pulled out the card and read it and then I smiled. "Do you know her?" Sandy asked.

"No, but I would love to meet her," I said, as I handed the card to Tony. "She was here for a wedding and she wanted to come out and walk her dogs for us, but her time was limited. She discovered our rescue ranch when she read Kinky's novels and she follows my blog. She is from Georgia and her name is Mary Sanders. Aren't these flowers beautiful?"

"Yes, they are," Sandy remarked, as Tony unwrapped Mary's jars of homemade hot sauce, blueberry and blackberry preserves. We visited for a few more minutes before we adios-ed each other.

On our way home, Tony stopped at our mailbox and handed me our mail. "Hey, here's a pretty postcard of the Sierra Blanca Peaks, near Ruidosa!"

"Who's it from?" Tony asked, as I turned it over to read.

"I don't know. They forgot to sign it." Tony and I chuckled. "But I do know that whoever sent it to us must be at least our age, because it sounds like something that we would do."

As soon as we got home I cooked Cousin Nancy's Crab Alfredo, again. And this time, when it was ready, I said, "Tony would you let Chet know that Linner or Dunch is ready?" Tony did and the three of us thought it was delicious, as it should be.

After I cleaned up the Linner or Dunch dishes, pots and pans, for the second time today, I took this picture of Mary Sander's gifts. And I want to say, "Thank you, Mary! I want your recipes!"

So, as I finish writing this, the unsolved mysteries for tonight are: Will Mary send me her recipes, knowing full well that I will steal them and call them mine? Who sent us the lovely postcard and will they reveal themselves. And is it Linner or Dunch?

Y'all have a great evening!

9:00 Update: Tonight, after Tone read my blog, he told me, "I think you should have called it—Sunch (supper) or Sinner!" : ))  "I love you, Tone."

The Perfect Size!

Today has been more than great! Early this morning after Tone softly said, "Nance, it's 6:00. We've got a garage sale to go to!" I rolled out of bed immediately, instead of asking him to please give me another thirty minutes of sleep like I usually do, because I wouldn't miss going to the city wide Medina Garage Sale for anything.

When Tony and I arrived in Medina, the cute town was already bustling with vendors/ local town folk or better said, "Medina-ites" and tourists. Our first stop was at the famous Old Timer, because I needed to cash a check for some cash, so I could pay with cash if I found something that I just had to have.

Then we went down the road a little ways and parked Trigger, near the famous Apple Store aka Cider Mill. Then our fun began. As we strolled up and down the main street (Highway 16) we ran into many old friends of ours and we got to catch up with each other's latest news.

Our friend Dick told us that someone had stolen his tailgate, in Ft. Worth and that he was fixin' to drive to San Antone to buy a tailgate from someone, that he had found on Craig's List. "And I'll bet you that it is your same old tailgate," I teased, as he climbed back inside his pickup. And we saw and got to visit with Linda, from Utopia, Ray & Jan, Julie, Chris, Jeremy, Charlie & Ellen, Frank and Don plus many more.

After we had walked up and down both sides of the highway, Tony and I had our hands full and a little cash left over and we were happy. So, to celebrate our many purchases, we decided to go eat the buffet breakfast, at the Medina Highpoint Resort.

Around noon our dogs inside, The Cabin, started barking, to let us know that someone was here. When Tony and I went outside, we saw our friends, Jane & Richard, getting out of their car. After howdies, hugs and handshakes, Richard said, "We want to adopt a dog. "My dog, Pancho, recently passed away and so did Jane's little dog. Both from old age. Now we're down to one old dog that is very sweet and...."

After they had told us what they were hoping to adopt, Tony and I showed Alice, the sweet, little Chihuahua, to Jane and Richard, that was in our front yard, barking at us, along with Little Debbie. Then we came into the yard so they could play with Alice and get to know her. Unfortunately, there was no magic, between them, so we took off to go show them the rest of our super dogs. But we didn't have to go very far, because Richard instantly fell in love with Chad Stuart! "I want him," Richard said, as Chad wagged his tail and kissed Jane's face. And in between Chad's wet kisses, Jane agreed with Richard that she thought Chad would be the perfect dog for them to adopt. And Chad, Tony and I were thrilled.

"Okay, I'll take Kermit up to the house and do his adoption papers and be right back," I said. Then I drove away.

A few minutes later I returned with the adoption papers. While Richard played with Chad, Jane filled out Chad's adoption form and made it official. Then Tony suggested, "Why don't you drive Jane to her car, so she can drive their car down here to pick up Chad? It will make it a lot easier and it will help keep all of the dogs calm. Richard and I will stay here with Chad." Then Tony put a leash on Chad, so he wouldn't escape as Jane left the alley they were in.

After she jumped inside Kermit we took off, but once again, we didn't go very far, because as I was turning Kermit around, I slowed down and said, "Jane, that's little Mindy. She's a real sweetheart and she's only been here for a couple of weeks. Do you want to check her out?"

The expression on Jane's face, as she stared at Mindy, answered my question, before she said, "Yes. She's the perfect size for me." So, I turned off Kermit and we went into the alley, almost directly across from the alley that Richard, Chad and Tony were standing in, so she could meet Mindy. Mindy ran straight into Jane's arms when I let Mindy come into the alley with us.

Then with all of us wearing smiles on our faces we watched Mindy and Jane fall in love with each other. "I want her!" Jane half-hollered to Richard. "I love this dog!"

"Great!" Richard hollered back.

"Great! Then why don't y'all bring Chad over here to see if he and Mindy like each other? Even though I'm sure they will," I half-hollered. Mindy was so happy she was jumping up and down, as the males walked towards us. To say the least, the dogs instantly fell in love with each other, too!

After all of us had quit laughing about them adopting two dogs instead of one, I went back, to The Cabin, to fill out Mindy's adoption papers and a few minutes later, after Jane and Richard had officially adopted Mindy too, I took this picture of Jane and Richard with their new best friends.

After we adios-ed each other, Tony and I went back to The Cabin, so I could call Kinky and tell him the great news about Mindy and Chad's adoptions. And yes, he was as thrilled about them getting adopted as we were, because Jane and Richard are his friends, too. 

Also, when I was talking to Kinky, still in Oklahoma, he asked me if I had seen the latest pictures, posted on his website, of him with his dear friends Kris Kristofferson, Bobbie Nelson and Willie Nelson, taken after they and Paula Nelson had performed together on stage, last Thursday night, at the Shawnee Oklahoma Grand Casino and the backstage picture taken of him with Ringo Starr, taken last week at Austin City Limits, in Austin. So after we adios-ed each other I checked out the super cool pictures and I love them. And that is about it for now.

Y'all have a great evening!

I Want To Thank Every One Of You For Making This My Very Best Birthday Ever! I Love Y'all!

The Little Ones!

Yesterday when Tony and I went to Kerrville to run several errands, we met Kinky and our friend Linda for lunch and then the four of us went to Pet Supply Plus together, so Kinky could buy The Friedmans more dog treats and I could buy Little Debbie and Alice sweaters, because of a soon to arrive cold front.

When we got back home Tony reluctantly helped me put the Chihuahua's sweaters on to make sure they would fit them, as Roy, Belle and Beau jealousy watched and were probably thinking, "But what about us? Don't we get to wear clothes, too?" 

Two-year-old Alice, who is still looking for a fabulous forever home, sweater fit her perfectly, but because Little Debbie has put on a few ounces hers was a little tight fitting, but I didn't say anything.

So after Alice's and Little Debbie's mini fashion show, I felt guilty. So I asked Tony to please help me put clothes on our three, precious, big dogs, so they wouldn't feel left out. To say the least, "Tony did not want to do it, but he caved in and helped me anyway." 

Roy seemed to like wearing Tony's shirt. Belle wanted to wear one of my pink t-shirts and she seemed a little unhappy about having to wear my blue Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch t-shirt. And Beau would have nothing to do with it. So, as soon as I took Roy and Belle's pictures we removed their/our clothes, which made both of them more than happy and no longer feeling jealous of the little ones.

Today has been great even though I overslept this morning and missed Big G's three, back-to-back phone calls, to do my Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch segment, on his popular radio show. "Sorry about that, Big G. I promise to be awake next Tuesday morning."

Late this afternoon Tony and I took Little Debbie, to Carol's ranch, so we could have a fun visit with Carol and her good friend Debbie, visiting her from Big D. The reason that Little Debbie went with us, was because Carol and Debbie had requested that she come to their "Little Dog Party," so Debbie's one-eyed Bandit and Pepper, Bill's dog, that Carol is babysitting for him this week, could all meet.

Tony, Little Debbie and I had a blast visiting with our dear friends and all of the dogs got along great, even though Little Debbie was a bit snooty acting and snapped at the boys a few times. Here's a picture that Tony took of us, sitting on the swing together, with the little ones. Debbie with her precious Bandit are on the left. Carol and Bill's adorable Pepper are in the middle and Little Debbie and me are on the right, because Carol wanted my boots to be able to touch the ground too, because of the sloping hill.

Y'all have a great evening!

Pink Eye!

Yesterday was great. Around 3:00 in the afternoon, Chet arrived back at the ranch. Thirty minutes later, when he came over here to see us, he handed me this beautiful blanket, that was made in Mexico. "Linda has just arrived at Kinky's and she asked me to please bring this over to you. She said for me to tell you that she and Bebe will come over tomorrow morning for a visit."

"I love these colors in this blanket!" I said. Then the three of us ate lunch—Cousin Nancy's Squash Casserole and a serving of Anasazi Beans, which I had cooked the day before.

After Chet and Tony had told me that lunch was delicious, Chet and I started talking about my decorating plans for the Mother Ship and landscape plans for Area 51, because the repair work on my old RV is near completion.

Today has been great and it started out early. This morning while I was cooking breakfast, I stopped to admire Linda's beautiful, Mexican blanket. When I was holding it—it hit me like a brick—I'll turn this into a curtain for The Mother Ship and use these colors to decorate it! It will be the color theme.

Around 9:00, Chet came over for a quick cup of coffee, before he and Willie went back to Austin. When he walked inside The Cabin he was carrying this big, decorated box and wearing a big smile on his face. "This is for you, Nancy. It's your birthday present from me and I hope that you like it." Then he sat the box down on the breakfast bar.

"I love that you gift wrapped it with duct tape and foil. And I really like the foil bow on top," I teased, as I removed the foil and the the duct tape. "Omg! I love it! Thank you," I said, as I pulled his super cool present out of the box. Then I placed it on the kitchen counter, plugged it in and turned it on. Then I took these pictures, as we stood back and watched the globe slowly go round and round—creating a light show for our dogs and us. 

"I love the colors, Chet," I said, while Roy and Belle checked out my birthday present. "They match the colors in Linda's blanket. How perfect is that?" 

"This will be so cool, inside the Mother Ship!" Then we started laughing about it all and Chet offering to make me a hovering, Outer Space sound recording, to play on my Bose, when I invite people to enter the Mother Ship for their very first time. "I am going to have so much fun with this thing. I'm going to call it The Orb!"

About an hour after Chet and Willie took off, I was admiring Little Debbie's crib again and realized that something just wasn't right with it. Then I looked at Roy and said, "Hello Houston, we've got a problem." Then I started laughing. Then I walked down the hallway and asked Tony to please fix it for me. Here are the before and after pictures.

The cute crib above looks like a smiley face that has Pink Eye.

Now it looks like a cute crib. Or is it a smiley face wearing an upside down smile?

Linda and Bebe came over right after I took the above pictures. We drank coffee together and had a fun visit inside The Cabin. When I thanked Linda for the pretty blanket, she said, "When I saw that blanket, I immediately thought, This has Cousin Nancy's name on it, so I bought it. I'm glad that you like it." 

After I gave Linda and Bebe a tour of our rescue ranch, which they love, they told me that they had to leave, because they had several errands to run today. So we adios-ed each other and I came back inside and cooked lunch for Tony and me.

This afternoon around 1:30, Tony and I starting making my Bacon-Wrapped-Banana recipe that he stole from me, years ago, because like that saying goes, "What goes around. Comes around." And heaven knows that I've stolen plenty of recipes from my dear friends, in my lifetime. 

We made the bacon-wrapped-bananas today, because this is the two-year anniversary when the nice kids, from the Medina Children's Home/Arms Of Hope, started coming over here, three times a week, to walk our dogs for us.

The kids love our grilled bacon-wrapped-bananas so much, they had asked us to please make them today, when we celebrate their two-year anniversary of volunteering, at the rescue ranch. Please note that we only had one banana leftover when we finished.

When the kids arrived at 3:00, I was writing this post. Two minutes later, when I went outside to greet Karon and them, they were already eating our tasty treats that Tony had cooked on the grill. So I quickly grabbed my camera and took a picture, before they ate the rest of them. Then I stood back and said, "Y'all, say cheese."

And that is about it for today.

Y'all have a great evening!