It's Seedless To Say Part II: Guilty!

Today has been great. Late this morning I walked over five miles with Leslie Sansone and besides doing all kinds of knee-lifts, kicks, and arm exercises I did with walking—I used my stretchy band and my pink dumb bells. And trust me it was a workout.

Late this afternoon, Tony and I went to the big H-E-B to buy groceries for us and dog food for our rescued dogs. And when I was leaving the store with our groceries, I was pushing the cart and was oblivious to the world, because I was visualizing the end of my mini-mystery. "Nancy. Hey Nancy! Over here." I heard Tony half-holler. So I paused, on the sidewalk and looked out towards the parking lot.

First, I saw our good friend, Jay Pennington, walking across the parking lot towards me, then Tony waving at me and then Jay's sweet wife, Sarah, who was standing, by their SUV, with Emma, their beautiful, three-year-old German Shepherd. And after apologizing to everyone for being in my "writing zone" we had a very fun visit with them. Then we came back home.

Last night, I was up until nearly 2:00, because I had figured out the rest of the plot for my mini-mystery and I was so excited about it, I could not fall to sleep, because I kept coming up with more lines, etc.

It's Seedless To Say: Part II Guilty!

The following morning, while I was walking, in the big room and kitchen with Leslie Sansone, the phone rang—it was Jon. "Good morning, Nancy. How are you?"

"I'm fine, but I want to let you know that I am not breathing hard because of you—I'm in the middle of walking four miles with Leslie Sansone." Jon chuckled.

"What's so funny?" I heard Sandy ask, in the background.

"I'll tell you later," Jon said. "I'm back, Nancy."

"Okay. Just a second. Let me pause my walking video. Okay, what's going on?"

"Are you and Tony coming to Kerrville today?"

"No, not today, Jon. Because Tony is fixin' to leave to go meet our good friends, Jay & Sarah, in Bandera, because they are going to one of those Renaissance festivals. Wow! I just realized that you & Sandy have the same first initials as Jay & Sarah. J & S. How cool is that?" Jon chuckled, again.

"What?" Sandy asked, in the background.

"I'll tell you in a minute, Sandy," Jon stated. "Are y'all coming to Kerrville tomorrow?"

"Yes. We have to, because we need to pick up a refill of Roy's arthritis medicine, at Hoegemeyer Animal Clinic and then run a few other errands."

"Good. We'll come see us tomorrow, because Sandy has found four more Carl Hiaasen books for you to read."

"That's great. We'll see y'all tomorrow and please tell Sandy that I said hello."

After Tony left, I finished my sweaty workout with Leslie and then I rewarded myself by eating one of Carol's delicious, homemade oatmeal raisin cookies. Then I spent ten minutes feeling guilty about it, so I ate one more to calm my nerves.

While I was taking a shower I started feeling guilty about Jean and me getting sideways with each other, over a petty, pretty, pink pot-holder that we had made. And I worried about it hurting our life-long friendship. Then I worried about why I worry so much.

So, to stop me from doing anymore worrying, I grabbed my iPod, found the song "Don't Worry Be Happy" by Bobby McFerrin and then I cranked up the volume, on my new, awesome Harman/ Kardon Wi-Fi speaker and let it blast me into a much better mood.

After that song had finished playing, Louis Armstrong started singing one of my all-time favorite songs, What A Wonderful World—I teared up like I always do when I hear him sing that beautiful song and it inspired me so much—I pulled off my pink boots and slipped on my "almost-all-leather" pair of moccasins, that still have the dried on glue, on the bottom of the soles, that Aaron had made out of pity for me, because the directions on how to make them didn't make any sense to me.

Then let's just say, "I went outside and did some serious Earthing." To free my soul and make things right with the Universe. And that night I slept like a baby, except I didn't cry or drool and Tony will vouch for that.

When I woke up the next morning life was great, once again. I was so happy that I cooked Tony a delicious breakfast of bacon and Belgian Waffles and I could tell that it puzzled him, because I rarely do that anymore. So sadly he spent most of his morning doing his chores and worrying about why I was being so nice to him. And then that made me worry about why he was thinking that.

After we ate lunch—leftover waffles and a couple of strips of cold bacon, we decided to take off for Kerrville to do our errands. And before we walked out the front door, I quickly slipped a small package, inside my red, insulated H-E-B shopping bag.

Our first stop and most important stop, was at Hoegemeyer's, to pick up Roy's refill of pain pills. Then we went down, Sidney Baker Street aka Highway 16, to Wolfmueller's Books.

Jon greeted us from behind the checkout counter, and then said, "Perfect timing! Sandy and Jean just got back from eating a late lunch together. They're in the back office putting away their purses."

"Good," I said. "Because Jon, I'm scared that I hurt Jean's feelings the other night and made her mad at me."

"Why?" he asked.

"After we quote settled our pot-holder dispute she kept giving me this weird look with her left eye. And I feel terrible about it." Jon burst out laughing.

"No. No. No, Nancy," Jon said, in a hushed tone. "You've got it all wrong. Jean isn't mad at you. She has pinkeye and she is almost over it." Then all of us burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" Sandy asked, as she and Jean walked up and joined us. I quickly glanced over at Jean and her left eye still looked pretty weird, but not as weird as it had the other night.

"Nancy's been worried that Jean is mad at her over that stupid pot-holder they made, because she said Jean kept giving her creepy looks with her left eye." Jean shook her head sideways. Then she walked up to me and gave me a great, big bear hug which I wasn't comfortable with, because I was afraid that now I would catch pinkeye from her.

"Oh Nancy," Jean said. "I felt bad about it too, so I have a small, peace-offering to give to you." Then she handed me a sealed envelope. "I am giving you a piece of paper signed by me and witnessed by Sandy & Jon—stating that you have full ownership of that pretty, pink pot-holder and you can do whatever you want to do with it. It's yours. I don't want it." So I teared up. Then Jean hugged me against my will, again. And I'm thinking, "Great, now for sure I know that I am going to get pinkeye.

When Jean finally let me out of her tight grasp, I accidentally stepped back, on Tony's big toe, and said, "Oh, I'm sorry Tony. I didn't know that you were standing there behind me." Then I turned and looked at Jean, and said, "Thank you Jean, for giving me full ownership of the pot-holder/(and really thinking pinkeye). You're too sweet (when I'm actually thinking—if I get pinkeye from you I am sending you the bill).

"Can I go use your restroom?" Tony asked. "I think Nancy broke my big toe."

"Sure Tony. Go ahead," Sandy said. As Tony limped away, Sandy said, "Well, I am so glad that y'all's ridiculous pot-holder war is finally over. And not to hurt y'all's feelings or anything, but I have to admit that I have never liked those kind of pot-holders."

"It's true," Jon added. "She really hates them. A long time ago, when our boys were kids and made those things for Sandy she secretly threw them out and then she lied and told our kids that I had accidentally burned them up when I was barbecuing."

"That's sad Jon," I teased.

"Well, I'm pretty sure it's broken," Tony stated, as he limped back to join us."It's already black and blue."

"Great!" I joked. "Let's sue Sandy & Jon!"

"It'll never "stand up" in court," Jean quipped.

After we had all quit laughing, I said, "We've got to get back home, but before we go I have a little peace-offering that I want to give to Jean. I'll be right back." Then I left the bookstore to go get my small gift for Jean.

"Oh Nancy," Jean said, as I re-entered the store, "You shouldn't have." Then I handed it to her, so she could open it.

When Jean started unwrapping my little gift, you could have heard a pin drop, inside Wolfmueller's Books store. In fact, all of their customers had gathered, up front, to see my gift to Jean.

"It's not much," I said, trying to sound humble. But little did I know, until she opened the box, that it really wasn't anything to brag about."

"Oh thank you, Nancy," Jean said, trying to sound like she meant it, as she stared into the box. "I love it."

"What is it?" Sandy asked, as the crowd of spectators and us leaned-in to get a glimpse of it.

"I'm not sure," Jean confessed. "It's pretty."

"It's Jean's half of our pink pot-holder," I explained. "Yesterday, while Tony was attending the Renaissance festival, with Sarah and Jay, I exhumed my time-capsule and cut our pot-holder in halves."

Then Jean held the box up for all to see and I about fainted when I saw it, because her half of our pink pot-holder had completely unraveled itself, because the loopers were so tight and the box was now full of pink and white, loopers that were useless, because I had cut them in half.

After the crowd of customers had glared at me and walked away, Jean said, "Well, it's the thought that counts, Nancy." Then we all started laughing about it.

When we were fixin' to adios our good friends, Jean said, "Wait a minute, y'all. I almost forgot my other peace offering for Nancy. I'll be right back." Then she took off for the office.

Seconds later Jean returned with something in a sack. "Nancy, I know how much you love all animals and when I saw this for sale, at Wild Birds Unlimited, it had your name written all over it, because I had called you squirrely. Here."

When Jean pulled it out of the brown sack I looked at it and gasped. "Oh Jean, I love it," I lied.

"Do you really?" Jean asked.

"Yes, I do," and I am pretty sure that she believed me. "Thank you, Jean. We've really got to go."

When Tony backed out of the parking space, in front of Bad Girlz of Texas, I said, "Tony what is that thing that Jean gave me?"

"It's a squirrel shaped seed-cylinder, Nance. For the birds to eat. It's great and I know where I am going to hang it."

"No Tony," I replied, flatly. "It's my squirrel seed-cylinder and it's cute, but I can't bear to watch it day after day losing a part of an eye, or a nose, it's tail or it's paws."

"So what are you going to do with it?" he asked, with disappointment in his voice.

"I'm going to put it in another time-capsule for you to bury. We need to go to Home Town Crafts right now, so I can buy a big shadow-box and then we'll stop by Gibson's so I can buy a metal mailbox."

"What are you going to do with a metal mailbox?"

"I'm going to put Peanut the Squirrel inside it and then hermetically seal it, before you get to bury it. Dang-it!"

"What?" Tony asked.

"I forgot to buy the Carl Hiaasen books!"

The End

Lucky You! or The Bird People! or Peanut The Squirrel!

Yesterday when we walked inside Wolfmueller's Books store, Jean greeted us, from behind the counter, and then she said, "Sandy's not here and Jon's down in the basement." Then I complimented her on her beautiful,  blue, knitted scarf that she was wearing and then I asked her if she had knitted it. "Yes, I knitted it...." Then she and I started discussing pot holders, like the beautiful pink one that we had made. Then we started laughing about them suddenly having a huge comeback and those kind of pot holders were showing up, in all kinds of stores, in Kerrville and Medina and were also being sold on the Internet.

"All I can say is ours is the prettiest," I said. "Well, I'm so glad that we didn't invest all of our savings into buying more Loopers, because obviously that pot holder market is totally saturated and we could have lost our shirts. It was a blessing." Then I excused myself and went looking for Carl Hiaasen books, while she and Tony talked about birds. 

About four minutes later, I walked back to them and my arms were full of Carl Hiaasen's 1st Editions and when they saw me, I joked, "I found his books!" Then we started laughing, while Jean totaled up my bill. "I bet this sale will make Sandy & Jon happy. When they get back here, please brag about my big purchase and then tell them that I asked you to please tell them that I bought them, because they weren't here." Then we had a big laugh over that.

Then Tony asked me why I was buying another copy of Nature Girl since I had just read it and loaned it out to Kris & Jim to read. "Because it is a 1st edition, too." Then I excused myself and went next door to Bad Girlz Of Texas, so I could buy a couple of hilarious birthday cards and a pair of socks.

And when I returned to Wolfmueller's Books, Jon, his sweet sister Jean and Tony were talking about how cool Terlingua is. 

A few minutes later, when we were leaving we Tony told them  our next stop was at Wild Birds Unlimited, so he could buy more birdseed. "Hey," Jon said. "They are having a big sale right now and if you purchase a certain amount they are giving away a free squirrel seed cylinder." 

"That is too cool," I remarked. "I love squirrels. Hmm, maybe I should write a funny mystery that revolves around a squirrel seed cylinder and at the end when the mystery is solved, there would only be a few seeds left of it..."

When we arrived at another one of our favorite stores, in Kerrville, Wild Birds Unlimited, Jason greeted us from behind the counter, and then he said, "You just missed seeing Marguerite by only three minutes." Then he helped Tony find the bird seed he wanted.

When Jason started to ring us up, I asked about the squirrel that Jon had told us about. "Here it is and it is free to y'all." I was so excited about getting the cute squirrel for free I ended up buying a sack of Armadillo Poop and Squirrel Poop, which is actually delicious chocolate nut toffee.

Then at the exact same time, Tony and I spotted the latest copy of the Kerr County People, a great community magazine, that was stacked neatly, by the cash register, with our Wild Birds Unlimited friends, on the cover. "Omg! This is a great picture of y'all," I said. "This is so great! Can I take a few copies to pass around?" Jason smiled as he slipped the magazines, into our paper sack. 

I read the great article, The Bird People of Kerrville, written byAnne Schneider, about Kevin & Linda Pillows' Wild Birds Unlimited, in Kerrville, while Tony drove us home. And Tony read it immediately after he had hung up his new bird seed cylinders outside. Tony had wanted to hang my squirrel seed cylinder outside too, but I told him that I had other plans for it, before letting him hang it outside.

And come to find out later on when I unwrapped my cute squirrel seed cylinder he actually has a name—Peanut the Squirrel and he is from New Braunfels, Texas.

And I am already plan to use it, in my next mystery. So, before I finish writing this tonight I want to thank Jon for telling us about Wild Birds Unlimited squirrel and thank Jason for giving Mr. Peanut the Squirrel to me. And who knows? Maybe Jon and Jason will be characters in my mystery who try to kidnap Mr. Peanut the Squirrel or the detectives who save him. Anyway, that's about it for tonight, because Henry is waiting for me to read him another hilarious Carl Hiaasen book.

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

Bad Monkey!

Today has been so much fun, because Tony and I went to Kerrville, late this afternoon, to run a few important errands.

We went to our all-time favorite stores: Wolfmueller's Books, Bad Girlz of Texas and Wild Birds Unlimited and that is why we had so much fun. And here's the proof that we went to these great stores, in Kerrville.

And because it was late when we finally got back home tonight I am going to blog about it tomorrow night, because I cannot wait to finish reading my second, hilarious, Carl Hiaasen book Bad Monkey. 

Since last week I've already read Nature Girl by Carl Hiaasen and I've already loaned it out to Kris, for her and Jim to enjoy reading, because it was such a fun read. 

Little Debbie, Big Al(ice), Henry Standing Bear and Belle are now waiting for me to finish reading Bad Monkey to them, but before I go I want to wish our dear friend Kris a very Happy, Happy Birthday!

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

Bett And Chet! or Andy And Andie!

The last few days have been so much fun, because our dear friend, Chet O'Keefe and his super dog, Willie, drove all of the way, from Terlingua, Texas, to come see us.

They arrived late Monday night and they went to visit Kinky, so we didn't get to see them until Tuesday morning.

Yesterday morning, while Chet ate breakfast with us he told us that he needed to run some errands, in Kerrville. And that he was hoping that we could eat lunch with Bett, so he could meet her and thank her personally for giving him her awesome cut-away, Martin guitar that he loves.

And this all happened after Bett had read Donna Hatch's fabulous article, in the Kerrville Daily Times, about Chet's van burning up, in June, and him losing his Martin and just about everything else that he owned. And fortunately, his wish came true, because we met up with Bett(y), at La Four's restaurant.

Our delicious lunch with Bett was a total blast for us, because we became fast friends with her, because we quickly discovered that we had so much in common with her. 

While we were eating our delicious lunch, Chet stood up and took a picture of La Fours' famous painting of Jesus, that hangs, on the wall, behind the checkout counter. 

Kinky had made this painting famous in an article that he wrote and then later on, in 1998, when he mentioned La Fours' painting while he was being interviewed by Jeff Guinn, a columnist for the Fort Worth Star Telegram, because he had honestly thought it was a painting of Andy Gibb, of the Bee Gees until Freda told him that it was Jesus.

And please note that the very first time that Kinky and I ever met for lunch, at La Fours,  about 20 years ago, he pointed to the painting and asked me who I thought it was and my answer was I don't know? Then he teased Freda about me not knowing who it was, too. 

Anyway, Chet took a picture of it, because he wanted to surprise Kinky with it when Kink returns to the ranch tomorrow. Anyway, when we told Freda, one of the owners of, La Fours, about Chet wanting to surprise Kinky with it—she thought it was funny and she giggled about Kinky making it so famous. And before we had finished eating our lunch—Chet had agreed to also make copies of it for Bett and for us, too.

  

And after we ate lunch we went outside the restaurant and I took this picture of Bett and Chet.

After we adios-ed Bett we went down the road, to Walmart, so Chet could make copies of La Fours' famous painting and for Chet to pick up a few other things that he needed before he and Willie headed back, to Terlingua.

After shopping, at Walmart, when we were on our way, to Bad Girlz of Texas, so Chet could go talk to the sweet owner, Andie Morgan, about a possible upcoming gig, at her store and that is when I came up with the title for the famous La Four's painting—Bee-Gees-Us.

So while Chet was visiting with Andie, we went next door to visit with our dear friends, Sandy & Jon, the owners of  the famous Wolfmueller's Books. And after our fun visit with all of our friends we returned to the ranch.

As soon as we got back home, Chet got busy framing La Fours' famous painting and as soon as he gave us ours, Tony hung it up on the wall, above our entertainment center. And we love it.

"I''m going to have so much fun with this picture, because when people come out to visit our rescue ranch we always invite them to come inside, The Cabin, so we can visit with them," I said. "And if Kinky's around we usually take them over to the Lodge, so they can meet him, too. Can you image how funny it will be for them to come inside, The Cabin and wonder why we have a picture of Andy Gibb, hanging on the wall. And then, when we take them over to the Lodge and they see the same picture of Andy Gibb, hanging on his wall—they will think we are all crazy." Then I called Carol to invite her to come over, so she could visit with Chet, before he packed up and leaves the ranch. 

When Carol came over we had a fun visit with her, while we waited for Chet to arrive, because he had gone over, to the Lodge, to drop off Kinky's framed picture of Andy Gibb.

Carol had a fun, but short visit with Chet, before she had to go, home, to feed her horses. And around 9:00 last night, we adios-ed Chet and Willie, because he had decided to drive halfway there and spend the tonight and then get up early this morning, so he could drive the rest of the way home, because he has a gig to play tonight, at La Kiva.

This afternoon we had to go back to Kerrville, so we stopped by Wolfmueller's Books first and dropped off Chet's Bee-Gee-Us picture for Bett, so she can pick it up the next time that she is in town.

And as I finish writing this, it is now time for me to show you our print of Bee-Gees-Us. And if you want to see this original painting, I suggest that you go eat lunch or dinner, at La Fours restaurant, because their food is delicious and because Kinky really has made that painting famous.

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

Fifteen Potholders!

Today has been great. This afternoon when we went to Kerrville, to get Balser's Northside Automotive to change Trigger's oil for us, I brought along my framed painting and the famous, hermetically-sealed, pink potholder, because I wanted to show it to our good friends, Jon & Sandy, the owners of Wolfmueller's Books and to Marguerite and Linda, at Wild Birds Unlimited.

While the nice people, at Balser's Northside Automotive, changed the oil Tony and I ate lunch, at the Acapulco restaurant, which is right next door to Balser's.

After we got Trigger back we went to see the Wolfmuellers, on Earl Garrett Street and we had so much fun visiting with them and Kinky and Dylan. We didn't know that Kinky and Dylan would be at the bookstore—it was just a coincidence.

Anyway, when we walked inside the best book store, in Texas, everyone was hanging out, at the checkout counter and they were laughing and Kinky and Dylan were just as shocked to see us as we were to see them there, even though it actually happens quite often.

Halfway through the fun we were having with our friends, I adios-ed our friends and declared, "Y'all, I need to go next door, to Bad Girlz of Texas, to buy a few hilarious cards and to shop around. Is Andie over there?"

"Yes," Sandy said. "I'll be over there in just a minute, because I want to show you her super-cute cat coin purses."

I had a fun, but short visit with my friend Andie, in between her helping her customers find things. Her store was packed with customers and because she was so busy I went to check out her hilarious, large assortment of off-the-wall cards for all occasions.

The cards kept me laughing and I chuckled several other times when I would hear a customer burst out loud laughing at something they had found. It was sort of like doing "the wave" at a football game, because there was non-stop people laughing.

After I had picked out four or five hilarious birthday cards to buy, Sandy walked into the store and then she found me. "Nancy, come over here. You've got to see these cat purses." So I followed Sandy.

"Omg! I love these cat coin purses. They are too cute," I said.

"I know," Sandy said. "Andie told me the other day that she just got in a new shipment of these, because they keep flying off the shelf." So, I decided to buy one of each to give to my cat-loving friends, before they were all gone. And when Andie was checking me out, I lined them up, on the counter and took this picture of them, before she sacked them up for me.

When Sandy and I returned to Wolfmueller's Books, I showed her and Jon my painting and the potholder, in the box. "I love Jean," I said. "She truly saved the day for me, because for the life of me I could not figure out how to tie off those stupid loopers. And she is so much fun...."

"Oh, before I forget," Jon said. "Here's your premium metal hook that Jean found after y'all left the other day." After I thanked them for giving me my hook back I started laughing, as I told them about the hilarious comments that Jean and Fay have made on my blog, about the pink potholder.

Then Sandy picks up her phone and says, "Nancy, you really should think about making doggie mats, because they are really cool. Then she held up her phone and showed me this picture of a beautiful potholder doggie mat, that Jean had sent to her to show to me.

And as I was admiring the doggie mat photo I tried to figure out how many years it would take for Jean and me to make just one. "Good grief," I joked. "Fifteen potholders! That could take us years to make and we would have to charge at least $1,000.00 to make that thing, as long as Jean will work for free. Maybe we could just make them for real small Chihuahuas. Omg, Little Debbie has gained a few extra ounces and she might need six potholders or more. Now I'm not so sure that this potholder moneymaker will be a financial pleasure after all. Jean and I need to have a business meeting to discuss this some more...."

Our last stop before going home was at Wild Birds Unlimited. When we walked inside Linda and Marguerite greeted us. "We just dropped in, so I can show y'all my painting and the hermetically-sealed pink potholder.

First, I showed them the one-of-a-kind potholder and it made them laugh. Perfect, that was what I wanted them to do. Then I showed them my painting and they complimented me on it, which was what I also wanted them to do, to help give me confidence in my art. Then we had a short, fun visit talking about their upcoming doggie adoption day that we will be participating in, at their store.

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

Bad Girlz of Texas Monthly Wined Up! or Black Helicopters!

I am so glad that Tony and I went to the first Bad Girlz of Texas new Monthly Wined Up, in Kerrville, because we had such a great time.

When we got there, Sandy greeted us and said, "Y'all just missed seeing Kris & Jim. They just left." Then Jill Kinsey and Brigitte London started singing and those two extremely talented women gave me goose bumps, because their voices were so beautiful.

And by the time they had finished singing that song, they had drawn a huge crowd of people that had gathered up and down the sidewalk, just to listen to more of their incredibly great music.

Yesterday was just another hot Texas Summer day, so Sandy and I took off and went inside Bad Girlz of Texas, to cool off for a few minutes. This super cool store was packed with smiling customers, but when Andie, the owner, saw us she came right over and greeted us. "....Where's Tony?" she asked.

"He's next door visiting with Jon and he is probably sitting over there drooling at their new Texas Master Naturalist book they got in. Published by Texas A&M, which seriously that book must weigh at least ten pounds," I replied.

Sandy laughed, and then said, "It actually only weighs five pounds."

After we had a fun, but short visit with Andie, because she and Sadie were so busy ringing up the cash register or trying to help the customers, up walks our good friend Irene Van Winkle who is an extremely talented author whom I admire.

While the fabulous music was happening outside, Sandy and I had a fun visit with Irene. She told us about her upcoming trip to the Ukraine and then she and I caught up with each others latest news. Then Sandy walks up to us, and says, "Nancy, this hat is YOU! Try it on." So I tried on the pretty cowgirl hat, and Sandy says, "It looks great on you. You've got to buy it." And she was right about me needing to buy it.

After Irene left the building Sandy and I started doing some serious shopping, if that is even possible, because many of Andie's items are so unique and off-the-wall hilarious.

Ten minutes later, after paying for my stuff, Sandy and I went back outside to join the crowd listening to Brigitte London singing a Merle Haggard song with "Dash." (Daryl Wayne Dasher) So of course I got goose bumps again.

After their great performance they took a short break. And that's when Andie walked up to Irene and me and said, "I want to introduce you to these awesome musicians. They know Chet too and...."

When Andie introduced us to Brigitte London, she says, "Oh, I know you. You're Cousin Nancy! I've heard you on the radio. Big G's show....."

After a fun visit with all three of the musicians that are also good friends with Chet O'Keefe, I bought Jill's latest CD and Dash's latest CD and I would have bought Brigitt's CD too, but she had just sold completely out of all of her CDs, but Andie told me not to worry, because she was going to start selling all of their CDs, at both of her Bad Girlz of Texas locations, with all of the sales going straight to the musicians. And I liked that. Then I went next door to fetch Tony and to visit with The Wolfmuellers.

And before Tony and I adios-ed our dear friends, I surprised Tony, and said, "I want to buy that giant Texas Master Naturalist book, over there, as a present for Tony's upcoming birthday." Then I opened up my purse to get out a credit card, and I teased Tony, by saying, "Tony, I can't pick that thing up, because it is so heavy, so if you want me to buy it for you, you'll need to haul it over here to the counter for me." And Tony jumped at my request, which made all of us laugh.

When Tony and I got back home we put up our groceries and then I took these pictures of my latest Bad Girlz of Texas merchandise: the cute cowgirl hat, the CDs and the pretty pink doggie treats jar that I later filled up with our dog's treats.

And as I finish writing this for tonight, I just snapped this cute picture of sweet Belle doing some serious sleeping, on the needs-to-be-repainted-soon rug. And just so you will know—she is Henry Standing Bear's best friend.

Right after I took Belle's picture we had two, big, fast moving, black helicopters fly over the ranch. I wasn't fast enough to get outside to take a picture of the first one, but here is a picture that I took of the second black helicopter flying over us, that rattled everything inside our trailer including all of our nerves. Here's a picture of it and then I cropped it down, so I could enlarge the picture of the solid black copter.

Then I went back and cropped off some more to get this close up picture of it.

And I wonder what's that long thing sticking out, in front of the body of the helicopter? Anyway, that's my latest Breaking News for today coming live from the rescue ranch. 

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

Bad Girlz of Texas Was Too Much Fun!

Here's some good news! Last night after I posted on my blog our phone rang and it was a very nice woman named Lisa who had found a big, sweet, yellow Lab-mix wearing one of our rescue ranch dog tags.

After speaking with her, I looked up the dog tag number and it was Springsteen, so I immediately called her back and told her that the dog was Springsteen and thanked her for rescuing this wonderful, "born to run" dog and then I gave her Mimi's phone number. "Lisa, I will call Mimi immediately and then get back to you."

Then I punched in Mimi's phone number. I got her machine and left her a detailed message telling her that Lisa had Springsteen and then I gave her Lisa's phone number.

Then I called Lisa back to tell her that I had left a message for Mimi. Then we talked about Springsteen looking tired, but he was definitely enjoying her air-conditioning. And before we adios-ed each other Lisa gave me her address.

When that phone conversation ended I pulled Springsteen's adoption papers and discovered that Springsteen lived on the same road as Lisa. So I called Lisa back and gave her Mimi's & Springsteen's home address.

Ten minutes later, Lisa called me and she told me that she had just put Springsteen back into his yard and once again I thanked her for helping him get back home.

And five minutes after that conversation the phone rang, again. "Nancy, this is Mimi. When I got your message I immediately took off for home and when we got here Springsteen was in the yard and he greeted us!...."

This afternoon I cooked lunch for us and it was pretty tasty. Tony and I always eat our big meal for lunch, then we eat lighter at in the evening. Today I heated up my leftover red beans and rice along with some chicken fajitas and I served it with some of Tony's home grown organic tomatoes.

Late this afternoon Tony and I went to Kerrville, specifically to go to Bad Girlz of Texas, so we could visit with friends and attend their very first Monthly Wined Up! Featuring Brigitte London, Jill Kinsey and "Dash" aka Daryl Wayne Dasher. And to say the least, "It Was Totally Awesome!"

And I am going to write more about today's super fun Bad Girlz of Texas event tomorrow, because I cannot wait to go listen to these singer/songwriter musician's fabulous music CDs that we purchased. 

But before I go enjoy listening to their fabulous music I do want to mention that these great, super talented musicians will be performing tomorrow afternoon, at Luchenbach, Texas.

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

To Be Continued....(Sorry, Mari!)

A New Tradition!

Thursday and today have been great, because I spent most of my day Wednesday catching up with paperwork, returning phone calls and e-mails.

Yesterday was great, because Tony and I met our dear friend Fourth for a really fun lunch, at Billy Gene's Restaurant, in Kerrville. Then yesterday evening I went over to Kinky's Lodge for a really fun visit after he and I and The Friedmans had taken a short hike around the ranch.

Today has been great, because this morning most of our wonderful, fun friends aka dog-walking volunteers, came out and walked our dogs for us. And we all ended up meeting, at The Apple Store, in Medina, for a tasty lunch.

Tony and I and a few others had their delicious Friday Lunch Special which was Fried Catfish, Coleslaw, hushpuppies and french fries. But when I saw Eileen's delicious-looking SPJ Hamburger, I told her, "I'm going to get that the next time we come here to eat."

Early this evening, I called Kris & Jim to tell them my latest off-color joke and like me they thought it was pretty funny.

Before I adios-ed our dear friends they asked me if I knew what was happening, at Bad Girlz of Texas tomorrow afternoon and I told them no, because I hadn't heard anything about it.

After they told me I told them that Tony and I would most definitely be there. So after we Bye-byed each other I went on Bad Girlz of Texas FaceBook page to learn more about their cool event. And then I copied this off of their event page and copied it and pasted it below, so y'all could read about it and go to it, too.

"Details

We are starting a new tradition at our Kerrville location that we have been doing for years at our Canyon Lake location... the monthly CUSTOMER APPRECIATION PARTIES! For those that do not know what to expect, we offer Free food, Free drinks (alcoholic and non), a Free gift of some sort, and, of course, Free live music. For our inaugural party, Brigitte and Jill will be joining us fresh from Luckenbach. They played at The Hunt Store last August. It is not often that you can catch these two dynamos playing at the same place, at the same time! Although they both travel nationwide for the Last Honky Tonk Music Series, one is based out of Louisiana, while the other is based out of Nashville. If you have not heard them before, please check them out at:
www.lasthonkytonk.org
https://www.facebook.com/JillKinseyMusic/?fref=ts
https://www.facebook.com/BrigitteLondon/?fref=ts
https://www.facebook.com/HighwaywomanRadioShow/
http://tunein.com/radio/The-Highwaywoman-Show-p381577/
They are truly wonderful singer songwriters!

We thank you for all the support and kindnesses you have shown us in such a short time here in Kerrville! We just want to give a little back to the community! In an effort to get the word out, please feel free to share the event to your page, click attending, tag and/or invite your friends; anything you can do to let people know that this is a FREE and VERY entertaining event! Check the event page occasionally to see the status of the menu, perhaps the recipes, as well as what the free item may be.

This is gonna be GREAT!!!"

I have a "Breaking News" update to share with y'all. In the past eight months, Henry Standing Bear has gotten so BIG that he is no longer able to fit "down under" our furniture. So now he has chosen to be "up above." And here is a picture that I just now took of him, as Little Debbie and Big Al(ice) slept on Henry's torn security blanket below.

So as I finish writing this tonight, I hope that Tony and I will get to see y'all tomorrow, at Bad Girlz of Texas, The Coolest Fun Shop, in Kerrville, which is also right next door to the famous Wolfmueller's Books store, which we all know is the Best Book Store, in Texas.

Y'all have a great evening and keep on laughing! See y'all tomorrow at Bad Girlz of Texas and Wolfmueller's Books!

We've Been Pretty Busy!

Today and the last few days have been a lot of fun, because we've been pretty busy working and also having so much fun and that is the main reason that I haven't posted anything new, on my blog.

This past Friday, after having a fun time eating lunch with our fabulous volunteers, at the China Town restaurant, Chris and Suzanne, who don't live in Kerrville, followed us over to Wolfmueller's Books and Bad Girlz of Texas, because all of us had told them what great places they were.

When we first arrived Tony and Chris went inside Sandy & Jon's fabulous bookstore, while Suzanne and I went next door to do some serious shopping, at Bad Girlz of Texas.

While Suzanne and I were shopping, we listened to the great music from the 60's and 70's and we could not quit laughing at the hilarious cards for all occasions, the very funny magnets, the really cool clothes and purses, etc.

While Suzanne was busy picking out some laugh-out-loud cards to buy, I went up to the checkout counter and paid Sadie for two refrigerator magnets and a little guitar mint container. Then I adios-ed Suzanne and Sadie, because Suzanne was still shopping, so I could go over and say hi to Sandy & Jon and show them the cute things that I had just purchased.

And when we got ready to leave, Suzanne was still shopping over, at Bad Girlz of Texas and Chris told us how much he loved Wolfmueller's Books awesome bookstore and that he was planning on coming back soon to it, so he could spend several hours checking out there huge collection of new & used books and their rare books.

Saturday we had quite a few people come out to take tours and we've got our fingers crossed for one of our dogs that they might come back to adopt.

Sunday evening was a fabulous blast from the past, because we went to the awesome Kerrville Folk Festival's 45th annual festival, to listen to Harpeth Rising, Ari Hest, Judy Collins and the festival's incredibly great Memorial Concert that included the awesome Symphony of the Hills Orchestra performing with Judy Collins, Harpeth Rising and Matt Nakoa. 

We arrived early, in hopes of getting good bench seats with backs. But just in case they were already taken, Tony brought his famous "Blue Chair," that last year, after I watched David Crosby's awesome performance, at the Kerrville Folk Festival, I had casually given away to one of Donna's & Ryan's friends. You know, his blue fishing chair, that two months later, sweet Donna Gable Hatch retrieved from her friend and returned it to Tony. 

And as it turned out—we did not have to use our folding chairs after all, because we found really great bench seats. This is a picture I took, before the place filled up.

And to say the least, "We had a wonderful time that night, at the Kerrville Folk Festival's concert and Judy Collins was incredibly great and she has not lost her beautiful voice. 

Today was fun, because this afternoon we met our great friends Kris & Jim for lunch, in Kerrville. It was their turn to pick a place, so we ate lunch, at Bella Sera. And once again, Tony and I did not order the exact same thing. He had Lasagna and I ate Linguine with Olive Oil, Garlic & Mushrooms and they were totally delicious. 

Of course, we had a blast getting together with our friends and we did a lot of laughing as we took turns confessing some of the hilarious things we had done in high school and college. And that's about it for tonight.

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

Walks With Chopstix! or Eat Like A Bird!

Today has been great. This morning Tony and I went to Medina to check out the Medina Garage Sale event. We saw many of our friends, and we had a fun visit with our friend Judith Pannebaker, the editor for the Bandera County Courier newspaper, and her husband.

As we wandered up and down Main Street/Highway 16, I found a real bargain that I could not pass up. I bought a small, portable, used amplifier for my guitars, even though I already have two great amps that I use.

After I purchased it for only $5.00, from Dalton, Tony asked me, as we walked away, “Why did you buy another amp?”

“Because it was a bargain and I believe that you can never have enough amps, because our friends can use mine, instead of dragging their amps over here to play music with me.”

Thirty minutes later, when we climbed back into Buttermilk, to come back home, it started to rain with some thundering and lightning thrown in. And by the time we got back home it had stopped raining just long enough for Tony and me to get back inside The Cabin, which we had earlier unplugged, before we took off for Medina.

Our dogs were so glad to see us back home too, especially Big Al(ice) and Roy, because they get even more nervous than me when it’s thundering and lightning outside. Then a few minutes later, came the heavy rainfall, with loud, rolling thunder and lighting strikes that were too numerous to count and a little too close for comfort.

Well, I’ve started my 5-day juice and smoothie fast and so far so good. After we got back home, for breakfast, I made Tony and me super, delicious, healthy smoothies made with: almond milk, banana, peach, cantaloupe, ginger blueberries, strawberries, cinnamon, beet, walnuts, almonds, chia seeds, kale, goji berries and cocoa. And here’s a picture I took before letting Jaws take over.

For lunch today, I made Tony's favorite meal— Julia Child's Chicken and Mushroom with Cream Sauce and roasted asparagus, but I didn't eat it, because I juiced instead. You can click on the pictures below to get the recipes.

I made myself a delicious Bloody Mary (Tomato Bell recipe), without the Mary part, and it was absolutely delicious, too. And the coolest part about all of this is that there is enough leftover chicken and mushrooms with cream sauce and roasted asparagus that Tony will get to eat the exact same thing tomorrow and all that I will have to do is heat it up for him.

I used the Big Book of Juices' Tomato Bell recipe to make my Bloody Mary and I drank two glasses of it. And just look how healthy it is.

Well, it finally quit raining and storming here, around 2:30—thank goodness. So all is well once again and the sun is shining brightly, but now we're talkin' humidity.

Today in the mail I received a special care package, from some very dear friends of ours, who are hanging out, camping out and hiking the Appalachian Trail, in North Carolina. And I absolutely love their thoughtful gifts, especially their hilarious note: "for your next movie shoot: "Walks With Chopstix!!"

And when I read the back side of the Tropsticks' package I literally laughed out loud, because it was so cute.

You're probably thinking, "Okay, but what is that stuff, inside the Baggie?" Well, I am glad that you asked me that question, because I'm betting that it is some dirt and twigs, taken from a certain trail, that I've been wanting to hike—but not to go incriminating anybody, I'll just call it some dirt and twigs. 

These two dear friends of ours know that walking the Appalachian Trail has been on my bucket list for a very long time and that is why they sent it to me or maybe they just like to give dirt and twigs as presents. Anyway, I love my new dirt and twigs and the Tropsticks. "Thank y'all!"

And who knows? Maybe tomorrow I'll even try to get Tony to try eating his delicious leftovers lunch, using the Tropsticks, while I'm sipping a delicious, healthy juice and trying to write the script—Walks With Chopstix! 

Heck, I'm already inspired! And just think, that would be such a great photo opt for me, if I can capture Tony eating like a bird. And that's about it for today, because I am fixin' to go call our dear friends to thank them for my presents. Because even though it is a dirty job—someone needs to do it.

P.S. I purchased that cute dish towel "Dogs Welcome. People Tolerated." at Bad Girlz of Texas.

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