Pajamas!

Today has been fun. Last night when I went to work the first thing that Darlene and Sarah said to me was, "Nancy, do you have pajamas?"

"Yes," I answered as I tied the apron around my muffin top. "Why?"

The women started laughing and then they told me that they wanted to play a joke on Wolfgang, our boss. "Since we have all been working extra hours for weeks we thought it would be funny to come to work in the morning wearing our pjs....We'll tell Wolfgang that we were just too tired to put on clothes...." And last night during dinner we told a few of the guests what we were up to and they thought it was hilarious.

In fact, Dana suggested that we tell Wolfgang and his wife that we wear our pajamas to work everyday.

So this morning after showering I put on my pajamas and went next door.

As I drove Trigger past Sarah's and Darlene's house I saw Sarah and Tracy sitting out on the porch smoking, so I stopped and got out of the truck, to make sure they were still going to wear their pajamas to work. Because I did not want to show up first in my pajamas and be the only one wearing pj's.

Ten minutes later all of us drove down and parked our vehicles at the Escondida hacienda and we were all wearing our pajamas. And Darlene, went the whole nine yards, because she had even rolled up her hair in curlers.

As the four of us strolled into the courtyard, Wolfgang and his son were sitting outside on a bench and when they saw us—they burst out laughing and then they followed us into the kitchen, to drink coffee with us while Darlene and I got things ready for breakfast.

Before the Escondida guests started arriving for breakfast at 8:30, I was visiting and drinking coffee with Wolfgang, and I joked, "I almost came to work this morning—not wearing my dentures. But that might have been too much for your guests." And he burst out laughing. Then he suggested that Tony come take pictures of us—in our pajamas. So we lined up and Tony shot us.

Y'all have a great evening!

Something In The Way!

First off—Happy Thanksgiving Day to all of y'all. 

We've had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day so far, but it is early.

Tony and I worked a few hours this morning and in a few hours we are going back over to Escondida Resort to be treated to a fabulous Thanksgiving dinner with our friends. And we know the food will be absolutely delicious, because Darlene and her sweet son Todd are cooking the festive feast.

Earlier this morning, after working next door, I was home washing some dishes and when I looked out the kitchen window—Henry Standing Bear was outside watching me. And once again he wasn't standing on the ground and it made me laugh, so I took this picture of him.

After drying the dishes and putting them away I was in the big room and glanced outside the window above the couch—Henry was doing it again, so I took these pictures of him, because there is something in the way he stands that moves me to laugh out loud."

Then I brought Henry inside, so I could enjoy a short nap with all of our four-leggers.

After my sleepless, but restful nap with my furry friends Tony and I went outside to The Last Resort so he could help me hang up my latest sign that I got made—DILLIGAF, above the door.

And when we went inside The Last Resort I laughed when I read what Chet O'Keefe had written on the door and what Ellie & Drew had written. And I don't know what Akron3 is about.

After Tony had hung my DILLIGAF  sign above the door I stood back and took this picture. And that was before I turned on the lamp.

Then I turned around, turned on the lamp and snapped this picture, because I am so in love with how my tiny, cozy, writing cabin has turned out. (FYI: I still need to hang up some more pictures. Then it will be completely finished.)

Y'all have a great Thanksgiving and keep on laughing!

P.S. I am wearing my new pair of 501 Levis today. So this Thanksgiving Day I am especially thankful that the little shoplifting alarm is dead and gone. Rest In Peace Beep-Beep!

A Floater!

Yesterday morning after working next door I had to run a few errands in Kerrville. My first stop was at the big H-E-B to stock up on groceries. I guess because everyone was doing some last minute shopping for turkey day on Thursday—it took me over ten minutes to find a parking space and park Trigger.

The grocery store was filled with so many people I speed-shopped while dodging people visiting, kids running wild, people not moving and just starring at their phones (looking like zombies) as I waited patiently for them to move so I could get what I needed off of the shelves, etc.

Basically, because of the upcoming holiday I put people into three categories. They were either mad or joyous or bewildered and I was determined to be joyous and I think I pulled it off.

My next/last stop was at a department store in the mall so I could purchase some New Balance walking shoes, because my old pair finally fell apart. In fact, earlier that morning at work my old shoes came apart where the rubber meets the leather, so when I walked—my shoes more or less echoed my footsteps—flopping after each step that I took. Thankfully, no one noticed at work.

After purchasing my new shoes I went and bought a new pair of 501 Levis. My older jeans didn't come apart at the seams or echo (except when I accidentally farted) I just needed a new pair. And I was pleased with my discount of $19.51.

Right after I returned home I put away the groceries and unpacked my new shoes and put them on for a test drive.

I was a happy camper until I pulled my Levis out of the sack and saw this wire-thing looped between the belt loops—it was a shoplifter alarm and it was sort of cute. And because I needed to go back to work soon I knew that I did not have enough time to return the jeans to the store, so they could remove the alarm, so I got creative.

So I tugged with all of my might on the wires, but that did nothing, so I grabbed my big scissors and tried to cut the wire, but that didn't happen, so I grabbed a pair of pliers and that finally worked! I was thrilled that my jeans were no longer being held hostage and I wouldn't have to wear them to work with an alarm system dangling between my legs.

Because Tony wasn't home to help me with my dilemma I was thrilled with myself that I had successfully removed the tiny alarm with wires, without needing his assistance. But my joy did not last long, because the alarm started emitting this continuous loud, annoying shoplifter beep. "BEEP, BEEP, BEEP...."

When it first beeped it upset Henry Standing Bear so much he ran to the front door, pushed the screen door open and ran outside and began barking non-stop. But the worse part was having to listen to Little Debbie howling—non-stop. So let's just say that my smile instantly morphed into a frown and that I said a few cuss words.

With Henry barking outside, the alarm beeping and Little Debbie trying to imitate a miniature wolf or small coyote I knew what I had to do and I did it quickly. I grabbed the hammer and started banging it on the alarm box—but my hammering did no good. This tiny alarm system was made of molded plastic, but it was as tough as solid steel. 

So I put the hammer down and threw the tiny alarm into the dishwater.

It beeped twice and then it stopped or better said—it had drowned. And it was a floater. Then there was total silence. No beeping, no barking and no petite howling imitations. 

So, I let Henry back inside the house and let Little Debbie go outside and then I waited for about two more minutes before removing the floating alarm, because I wanted to make sure the alarm was truly dead and would not go off again. And the good news is—when I pulled it out of the water—it did nothing at all.

Then I dried it off, because I felt it was the least I could do, before tossing it into the trash can.

Y'all have a great evening and keep on laughing!

I Am Still Alive!

I am fixin' to go back to work tonight and I know that I have not been blogging much. And the reason is the awesome Escondida Resort has been booked solid for the past week and next week and Tony and I have been working a lot more hours.

This past week I've been working split shifts, so I can help sweet Darlene in the kitchen, because we've been preparing and serving breakfast, lunch and dinners. In other words I've go in to work real early and work 2-4 hours, then back again for lunch (2 hrs.) and then back again for dinner  which usually is is about 2-3 more hours.

Tony has been working his normal everyday schedule and then working a few split shifts when needed. And I am not complaining and welcome the extra hours, even though my feet are complaining, because I am standing non-stop. If you doubt my words that I've been walking, standing, etc. my pedometer has been averaging 22,000 steps per day. So all is good.

This past Wednesday our dear friend Chet O'Keefe and Willie, his faithful canine companion,  came to visit and stay with us,  because he had a gig to play with Stephen K. Morris, last Wednesday, at the Western Edge Cellars, in Fred-town.

And tonight, during and after dinner Chet will be playing his awesome music at the Escondida Resort. Tony and I are really looking forward to it, as are the guests staying at Escondida.

Anyway, Chet and Willie have been staying in my little writing cabin The LAST RESORT and he has promised me that he will sign the door, before heading back home to Terlingua.

And that is about it for tonight, because I am fixin' to go back to work. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I am still alive and ask you to please not give up on me—I'm just working a lot

Y'all have a great evening and keep on laughing!.

Birds of a Feather! or A Texas Thing!

The other day I posted about Henry Standing (on the table top) Bear with pictures.

So our dear friend Fay, in Toronto, sent me a couple of pictures of Blake Shelton aka Ranger and Henry's twin sister, Miss Moneypenny, making use of table tops, too. She wrote that it must be a Texas thing.

(FYI: Fay & Ian adopted Blake and Miss Moneypenny from our rescue ranch.) Ranger is the giant black dog and Miss Moneypenny looks exactly like Hen.

Y'all have a great day & evening and keep on laughing!

It's Official!

Two days ago my Last Resort metal signs arrived! I was thrilled and could not wait to hang them up, but because it was so cold with nasty weather and because we were working extra hours—it had to be postponed. So let's just say that I was not a happy camper about my signs.

Today has been great. Tony and I worked this morning at Escondida Resort & Spa and a few minutes ago after we got home the sun was shining and it almost felt warm outside, so Tony volunteered to help me put my signs up.

First he put one of the signs inside the tiny cabin and then we went outside to so he could put up the other sign. Here are the before and after pictures of the outdoor sign.

So it is official now—The Last Resort has been named. And I totally love it!

Y'all have a great day & evening and keep on laughing!

Table Top!

Yesterday before Tony and I went to Kerrville to run errands I went outside, on the porch, to bring Henry Standing Bear inside and he made me laugh out loud.

So I skipped back inside the house and grabbed my camera, in hopes that Henry would stay put. Then I went back outside and took this picture of Henry Standing (on top of the table) Bear.

On our way to Kerrville Tony and I were talking about the cold front that was due to blow in within the hour.

When we left Big Foot Ranch it was 71 degrees outside and twenty minutes later when we arrived in Kerrville it was 50 degrees and it was very windy. So to say the least—we ran our errands in record time, so we could get back home and start a fire in our wood burning stove.

Last night as the temperature outside dropped steadily, I relaxed and watched the movie The Art of Racing In The Rain. Omg, it was incredibly great and the story line stayed close to Garth Stein's best selling book. So I highly recommend this great movie to everyone.

Before I went to bed the temperature outside was already 30 degrees and it was starting to sleet, so I put another log on the fire and started the faucets slow dripping.

Henry woke me up around 4:30 in the morning, because he needed to go outside and I am glad that he did. 

It was 27 degrees outside and 63 degrees inside, so I added a couple of logs to the fire and then checked the sinks to make sure they were still dripping. 

Because I was wide awake by now I decided to go ahead and stay up, but Henry went back to bed. I made myself a cup of coffee. And because The Cabin was so quiet in the wee hours of the morning I decided to write until Tony got up. I quit writing at 5:30.

As I finish writing this it is only 30 degrees outside and The Cabin's temperature is a cozy 76 degrees. I just checked the rain gauge, because of all of the sleet and it hardly registered any precipitation.

Then I looked outside at the barn and saw that icicles had formed on the roof's edge, so I took this picture.

Y'all have a great (day) evening and keep on laughing!

Stuck!

Today has been great. This morning we worked next door and in a few hours I am going back over to Escondida Resort to work a few hours this evening.

Yesterday, I decided to paint a sign for my writing cabin. If y'all remember I was going to call it The Dog House.

Anyway, while I was waiting for my board to dry out (It was misting yesterday—not raining) I kept thinking about the name that I was giving to my writing cabin and I decided that there had to be a better name for it, because the theme of my decorating has turned out to be "a cozy cabin in a forest (backyard) and it is all about bears—not dogs.

After spending about an hour coming up with possible names I came up with the name The Gummy Bear Retreat. Because I wear dentures and bear was in the name. I liked it and it made me laugh, but the more I thought about it—it still wasn't right. So back to the drawing board.

Possible names kept floating in and out of my head all afternoon, but none of them stuck. Some were cute and some were funny, but I still wasn't wild about any of them, because the name had to be perfect and it had to make me laugh and make my friends laugh, too.

Around 3:30, I had a light bulb moment! I came up with the perfect name for my writing cabin. I was more than thrilled about the name, so I went Online to BuildASign.com and ordered this metal sign to hang outside on the cabin wall. Here's the sign that will be arriving next Wednesday! It says it all—it's absolutely perfect.

Y'all have a great evening and keep on laughing!

Warning!

This morning Mari sent me an e-mail warning me that it is M.I.R. (Mercury In Retrograde) Time.
Her words: "This explains a LOT!"

I am relieved to know this depressing information, because like Mari—this does explain a lot.

After reading Mari's e-mail I went to the Old Farmer's Almanac and sadly discovered that Mercury will be in retrograde until November 20th. But the good news is it should not wreak havoc with Thanksgiving Day celebrations.

Y'all have a great day and keep on laughing!

From Bob In New Mexico!

Today has been great. I had a lot of fun at work and so did Tony. Seriously, we love Escondida Resort and all of the staff.

When we got home this afternoon there was a strange package in the mailbox and when Tony gave it to me, he said, "You've got something from Bob in New Mexico?" Then he asked, "Who is Bob in New Mexico and why did he send you something?"

After I had quit laughing and I had explained about Bob I opened the package and burst out laughing when I saw the contents.

I know my dear friend Mari sent this to me from New Mexico, because I had recognized her home address. Also because she and The NoMads went to a dog event in Albuquerque this past week.

After I put on the adorable socks, I put the cute, little alien inside the jar with Bob and then I took these pictures.

Then I named Bob's new green girlfriend Bobbie McGee. And I am going to call them The Bobby McGees or The Bobbsey Twins, because they look so much alike they could pass as brother and sister.

And that is about it for tonight. But before I sign-off on this post tonight I do want to thank Mari for thinking of poor, ole lonely Bob inside a jar by himself and—me and Bobby McGee.

Y'all have a great evening and keep on laughing!

Kinky & Me!

Tony and I have been busy working. If we weren't working next door, at the fabulous Escondida Resort, we were working outside over here or inside my cabin or running numerous errands in Kerrville, etc. so my excuse for not writing much lately—is at night I've just been too tired after working and then trying to work on writing two books simultaneously.

And yes, I said two books. I've almost finished writing the 3rd novella, but it keeps writing itself and more and more pages are stacking up so fast—it is now just a few pages shy of actually being a book and not a novella.

The other book that I've started working on is non-fiction. I was going to keep it a secret, but a few weeks ago, within a five day frame period, after several of my friends (out of nowhere) suggested that I write a book about Kinky and me—I took it as a sign.

Speaking of signs, this morning while Tony was working next door I went to Kerrville and picked up two more metal signs that I had made for The Cabin and my writing cabin.

But before I show you those funny signs, I want to show you pictures of my writing cabin's progress, because after I built the drainboard Tony installed the bar sink and did the plumbing for me and I love it. Also, I've done a little more decorating. So here are updated pictures.

I love my tiny writing cabin so much and so does Tony and our dogs. Even though I am not completely finished decorating it I love going out there with our four-leggers to write, because it feels so cozy.

Before I sign-off on this post, here are the pictures of my two latest signs that I've already screwed to the walls of my writing cabin and The Cabin. And I hope that they make you laugh out loud.

Y'all have a great evening and keep on laughing!