A Bed Of Chocolate!

Yesterday was a great day, because late in the day, we went to Kinky's Man In Black Tequila bottle signing party at Spec's, in Kerrville and we had a blast. The gigantic liquor store was packed with all kinds of people, standing in line to get Kinky to sign their bottles of Man In Black tequila, along with a few guitars and one ukelele.

Before they sold out of Kinky's tequila, Tony and I took a lot of pictures of Kinky's and our friends. I love this black and white picture that Tony took of Kinky's tequila business partner Brian Kanof.

Dylan Ferrero and Little Jewford

Gerry Olert, Little Jewford and Kink

Jay Pennington, Big G and yours truly

Jay Pennington with Little Jewford

Max Swafford with L.J.

My favorite videographer, Gerry Olert and guess who?

Today has been good, but it is fixing to be great, because our dear friends Leisa and Rick, "The Friendly Lighthouse Keeper" from Port A, will be arriving here, around 7:30 and we can't wait to see them.

Earlier today, after I did some paperwork, I cleaned our trailer, vacuumed the walls and ceiling on the front porch and Outer Space and then Tony and I went out to my writing cabin to get it ready for our friends. 

While we were making up their bed I started laughing, "Tony, instead of putting a little piece of chocolate on their pillowcases, like they do at fancy hotels, we should get Ben's three, giant bricks of Miles of Chocolate out of the freezer and put them in the middle of the bed." Tony chuckled about it. "Rick would get a kick out of seeing a bed of chocolate—his bed of chocolate, and he would feel good about you paying off the kayak."

So, in about thirty minutes, we are going to go outside to put the three, frozen bricks of Miles of Chocolate on Leisa and Rick's bedspread—then T. will officially be the new owner of his kayak as soon as Rick sees it. And that is about it for tonight.

Y'all have a great evening!

When Goats Cry And Dogs Fly!

Even though I am a little tired from today's events, today has been great for several reasons. My day was already made for me by seven minutes past eight this morning, when I successfully reset our awesome Atomic clock! When Tony returned from the Old Timer he asked why I was grinning from ear to ear, just as I was finishing walking my sixth mile with Leslie. "You figure it out," I teased. "Look around."

As I prepared "Cousin Nancy's Porridge" for his breakfast, which is just oatmeal topped with blueberries, raisins, a banana and a spoonful of Leisa's and Rick's honey from their bees, T. looked around and around and around, but couldn't figure it out, so I told him to look at our Atomic clock and then I bragged about figuring out how to reset it. "Good,"was all he said, because he doesn't talk much or get as excited about things like I do. Anyway, I was thrilled.

Last Thursday my blog was about three dogs and a goat named Buddy, who were in desperate need of a home and I have got some good news. The next day a woman named Elena called me at the rescue ranch wanting to adopt a Poodle. Since we didn't have any Poodles here, I told her about Angel, Grayson's and Carla's sweet, little eight year old Poodle and then I gave her their phone number. Then I called Grayson and told him about Elena possibly wanting Angel and then I said, "Grayson, I know that y'all have run out of time to find your pets a home. I've talked with Tony about them and I want you to know that we can take Angel, if Elena doesn't want her and Mabel and Buddy, the goat." Grayson could not stop thanking us.

Saturday afternoon after our great event, Grayson called to tell me that Elena had fallen in love with Angel and Elena's young granddaughter had fallen in love with Angel, too and they were so happy for Angel to have found a great forever home and then he thanked me again for helping Angel. Then we made plans for them to bring them out today.

A little before one o'clock today the dogs started barking outside to let us know that Grayson and Carla were driving in. When we went outside we saw a big, black Ford F-150 pickup followed by a mid-sized car pull up by the pig pen and park. After howdys and handshakes we went to meet Buddy in a cage, in the back of Jimmy's truck. "I love him," I said. "Hi, Buddy." Then Grayson carefully took him out of his crate and then Buddy jumped off of the tailgate and Grayson walked him into my writing cabin's front yard.

As we petted Buddy, who seemed a little bit scared and nervous, our friend and great neighbor, Heather arrived with Lo, who had to come down to visit Heather. "We heard from Sherry and Brittany about Buddy coming to the rescue ranch and we just had to come over to meet him. He's absolutely beautiful. Hi, Buddy..."

Five minutes later while we were visiting, our neighbor and good friend Sherry and her daughter Brittany, showed up to meet Buddy, so I shot them. From left to right: Carla, Sherry, Brittany and Buddy. Isn't he handsome!

Here is Carla feeding Buddy some alfalfa.

Then Tony shot Buddy and me.

Then Brian Kanof, El Paso's finest photographer pulled up. "Kinky told me about Buddy and I just had to come over to meet him. He's one big, beautiful goat." Then Kinky arrived.

"That's Buddy?" Kinky asked, in amazement, as he walked over to meet the most handsome goat in the whole state of Texas. "Hi, Buddy." Then I introduced him to Carla, Grayson and their pretty daughter and Jimmy and they visited for a few minutes and then Kinky went over to greet his friend Heather and her guest and that is when he met Mabel, the sweet, little ten to twelve-year-old dog, who was nearly blind. Mabel stole his heart as she had ours. "Nance, let's talk later about Mabel. Maybe I can take her if Sophie will let me or maybe y'all can take her. Isn't she sweet."

"Buddy loves carrots," Carla said, as tears filled her eyes, as she petted Buddy. "I'm so sorry. This is so hard for me to be saying goodbye to our beloved pets. I love them so much..." T. overheard Carla's words and went up to the trailer. When he returned he had carrots in his hand and then he fed them to Buddy.

While we continued to visit, Tony, Grayson and his daughter jumped into Kermit with Mabel and drove off to put her in her dog pen that T. had prepared especially for her. 

Then Heather and Lo left. Then Brian drove off. Then Kinky said goodbye. Then Sherry and Brittany went back home. After we said goodbye to Jimmy, and Grayson and his family they slowly drove away, as I was standing next to Buddy and it was obvious that he was upset. Then he started crying and it nearly broke my heart, so I started crying, too.

When Tony walked up I said, "Tony, Buddy is crying. Listen." Then Buddy, as he stared down the drive, lowered his bottom lip and made this loud huffing sound like, "Huff, Huff" and then he did it again. "I didn't know goats cried," I cried. "It's okay, Buddy. We love you. Please don't cry." Tony came over and hugged me and then he petted Buddy, as Buddy continued to make sad, weeping sounds.

I was so upset and felt so sorry for Buddy and the family that he loved, who had been forced to give him up, I went to the trailer to get him a couple of carrots, while T. went to the barn to get him some feed. 

Tony and I spent most of the day visiting with Buddy and trying to let him know that we loved him and that we would take good care of him until we could find him a wonderful home. I don't know if Buddy understood, but he finally did quit crying and seems to be okay.

This evening Kinky called to talk to me about Mabel and Buddy and we have come up with a few ideas and we have already put in a few phone calls to friends. When I told him about Buddy crying he said, "Thank goodness I wasn't there..." Please keep your fingers crossed and say prayers for Mabel and Buddy.

When I post a blog I never like it to be sad or end it on a sad note, so please check out these cute pictures that Mari found on the Internet and sent to me about Flying Dogs. I promise it will make you smile and laugh. Mari, thank you so much for sending this to me. The photos are incredibly great.

Y'all have a great evening!   

The Gang!

Yesterday morning my nephew Tom, Cindy's son, called me. "Nancy, Nicki and I are at the Kerrville Folk Festival with her parents Nancy and David and Nicki's sister Rachel and several friends. Anyway, we wanted to know if it would be okay for all of us to come out tomorrow. I know that we are a big gang..."

"Tom, that would be fine, but I didn't know that you were in a gang. Do Cindy and Ray know that you are a gangster?" I teased. Before hanging up he told me that they would come out after one o'clock.

I was so excited that Tom and Nicki and her family and their friends were coming out I decided to deep-clean the trailer so it wouldn't look like Tony and I lived here. The first thing I did was go outside with Hazel  and vacuum Outer Space, then I vacuumed all of the cobwebs off of the outside wall of the trailer so it didn't look like The Adams Family lived here.

In between returning phone calls, answering e-mails, and doing paperwork I cleaned up the inside of the trailer. At seven o'clock last night I called it quits and watched a couple of reruns of Everybody Loves Raymond on the television.

This morning I got up early. I fed the dogs and Lucky and walked six miles before T. returned from The Old Timer. After he ate and I drank breakfast I went outside to help him with his chores. "I'll clean the pens while you feed, Tone." Then he grabbed the feed buckets and I grabbed the poop bucket and the pooper-scooper and we went to work.

After I cleaned all of the pens I came inside and cleaned the trailer some more. I cleaned the windows, mopped the floors, etc.  and then I jumped into the bathtub and cleaned myself and then made lunch. We had cornbread and beans.

Right after I had cleaned up the kitchen our neighbor, artist and friend Steve Peach showed up with a couple of his artists friends Kelli & Danny Garrett that were visiting him. They wanted a tour of the rescue ranch so I happily volunteered to give them a tour.

During the tour even though I talked way too much I found out that Danny Garrett was one of the famous Austin poster Artists during the Armadillo World Headquarter days and he was writing a book about it for the TCU Press up in Fort Worth!

As we walked around the rescue ranch we discovered that we had several friends in common. They knew Henry Gonzales and the late Danny Young who passed away last year. When the tour was over our conversation wasn't so we went into the Space Ship and then into Outer Space. They thought the Space Ship was cool and they loved being in Outer Space.

Before they left to go eat lunch Danny and Steve purchased my new book and then I asked Danny if he had a business card so I could check out his artwork. Kelli took off for the truck and returned with three cards that looked like mini dollar bills and the artwork on them was fantastic! When I looked at the back side of the card included in the artwork were these words: "IT's ODD WE TRUST" and it made me laugh out loud. Click here to visit Danny Garrett. He really rocks!

Right after they left our friends Jacky & Brian Kanof arrived, so we went into Outer Space with them and had a really fun visit with them. Brian updated us on Zelda and Bogie, the cats that he adopted from us and then we talked about photography, writing and the Kerrville Folk Festival. Then Jacky showed me the beautiful diamond wedding ring that Brian had made for her and then Brian showed me his matching band without a diamond. Then they asked to buy two copies of my book and for me to sign for them. Jacky laughed out loud when she read what I had written in her book: "Jacky, Can I have your wedding ring?"

Just as they were fixin' to leave Tom and his gang arrived! After introductions Brian and Jacky said goodbye to all of us and then they took off for the folk festival. I invited everyone to go into Outer Space and we had a blast! Nicki's mom, Nancy Lemon had us laughing from the git-go and her husband David, a closet comedian, kept making hilarious wisecracks that only I could hear that caused me to look like an idiot, because no one understood why I kept bursting out loud with laughter.

During our fun visit with "Tom's Gang" Nancy told us about her latest addiction—Miles of Chocolate! "I bought one of their giant bricks and I ate the whole thing!" Tom & Nicki's friends didn't know about the chocolate, so I came inside and pulled a package out of the freezer and then went outside with it. Tony cut it up in slices and then served it to everyone. To say the least, they loved it and were now also addicted to it so they all had seconds with only one piece left so T. offered it to Nancy and she shared it with Nicki. Then we started talking about pigs—Beckham to be exact, because Nicki & Tom's friends knew about them rescuing him and bringing him to us. Then we went inside the trailer because it was getting hot outside.

After giving everyone a tour of the trailer I told everyone about my drum lesson and they asked to see my pad, sticks and digital drum pad. Everyone laughed when they saw my sticks and lavender colored drum pad and then they all took turns banging on the digital drum pad. One of their friends put on my new pink feathered, flashing lights cowboy hat and he started cutting up on the drums and here is a picture of him as we all watched and laughed.

He played the drums the best. After Tom tried out the drums he sat down at the table and took off his cap and I teased him about his hair being messed up, so I shot him! (Sorry, Cindy and Ray.)

After I put the drums away Nancy told me that they needed to leave and I didn't want them to because I was having so much fun, so I invited them to take a tour of the Space Ship. Everyone loved it and thought it was cool. Then Nancy said they really needed to leave, so I asked her if all of us could go over to the Lodge so I could take a picture of her with the Buddha dog that she had given to Kinky two years ago.

When we arrived at the Lodge we went to the Friedman Family Bone Orchard and everyone admired it and thought it was so beautiful and they could not believe all of the Hummingbirds that were hanging out at Kinky's feeders. While Nicki busily snapped her camera at Kinky's Hummingbird Herd I shot Nancy.

When Nancy announced for the third time that they really needed to leave I gave up trying to keep "Tom's Gang" from going, so we returned to the rescue ranch and fondly bid them farewell.

Tonight's shout out is to Nancy & David Lemon and Tom & Nicki's Gang. Thank y'all so much for coming out to see us and for not packin'! We love y'all and please come back soon! Y'all rock!

Y'all have a great evening!

Happy 58th Birthday, Nita! I'm Right Behind You!

Today has been a really great day, because Mercury is no longer in retrograde, and it is Nita's, my favorite sister-in-law, fifty-eighth birthday! Happy Birthday Nita! I love you, Tony loves you, heck everybody loves you, especially Ronnie! I hope you have the best birthday ever!

This morning I overslept, but thanks to my furry old friends, I was only behind schedule by fifteen minutes. After Tony had done his outside chores, and I had walked six miles with Leslie Sansone, Will called from the Lodge. "Nancy, when do y'all want me to catch Bogie? He's here right now."

Bogie is a big handsome cat, that showed up at the Lodge several months ago, but nobody was able to catch him, because The Friedmans kept running him off. About a month ago, while Kinky was on the road, Will took it upon himself to make friends with Bogie. He began feeding him regularly, when The Friedmans were not around. At first, Bogie would hiss at Will, like he was going to attack him, but over time, Bogie learned to trust Will and they became good friends.

Bogie would follow Will all around the ranch, and soon he was coming into The Pro Shop, to visit with Will. Before Kinky took off for his two week European Tour, he asked Brian Kanof if he would consider adopting Bogie. After I had had several back and forth phone calls with Brian, we made a plan.

Brian told me that in three weeks, when he returns from El Paso, he will come by the ranch to adopt Bogie. I told him that we would get him neutered and given all shots, so Bogie would be ready to go when he got here. So, this morning when Will called about Bogie, I told him that we would be over there in twenty minutes with a crate.

When Tony and I arrived at the Lodge, we were greeted by The Friedmans. After petting them and a short visit, we locked them inside the Lodge, so Will could catch Bogie. In no time flat, Bogie was following Will and Tony into the annex aka The Pro Shop, where Will lives when he is dog sitting The Friedmans for Kinky. Here is a short video clip of Will crating Bogie for us. 'Trapper Will'.

After Tony loaded up Bogie, Buttermilk took us to Hoegemeyer's Animal Clinic. Here is a picture of Tony unloading Bogie.

After dropping off Bogie, we went to Randy and Lisa's Save Inn restaurant for an early lunch. Our lunch was delicious, as always, then Buttermilk took us back to the ranch.

After returning fourteen phone calls, I took what was left of the spinach quiche, that I had made for Rick and Leisa's breakfast yesterday, grabbed my camera, and then went outside to Layla's pen. To my surprise, Layla loved my quiche more than Leisa and Rick had! I took little pieces and dropped them closer and closer to me, and near the end of Layla's brunch, she was eating within two feet of me! After consuming her tasty meal, Layla walked around the pen a bit, and then she went and laid down. Here are a couple of pictures that I took of this beautiful dog!


After Layla laid down, I sat down on the ground, about ten feet away from her, and talked to her. Then Tony showed up, because he wanted to work with her, too, so I went back to the trailer.

"Nance," Tone said, when he returned to the trailer, wearing a big smile on his face. "She licked my hand. Layla licked my hand!" Needless to say, that made our day! Then I called Nita to wish her a happy birthday.

"Happy 58th Birthday, Nita!" I said. "I'm right behind you!"

"Thanks, Nance," Nita replied.

"Can you believe that we are this old?"

"No, I can't."

"Then go look in the mirror!" I said. "I hope that you are having a great birthday, and Tone and I will see you in few weeks at the family reunion. I am thrilled that..."

Y'all have a great evening!

True Love!

In the wee hours of the morning, Doug Everett and his fabulous crew, began cooking their authentic chuck wagon dinner, to be served later in the day, for over two hundred and forty people!

Saturday, at five in the morning, Tony and I were up! We fed our dogs and cat, and then T. took off to Medina to drink coffee with his friends. While he was away, I made Kinky’s giant birthday card, so everyone at the event could sign it! It looked okay, but it was not the best that I could do—after a sleepless night in Medina. After that, I dusted and vacuumed the trailer—just in case someone had to come inside!

When Tony returned around 7:45, I fixed him and Ben and me breakfast. Ben had spent the night in my writing cabin with his two dogs, Valerie and Penny. After breakfast, Ben went over to Kinky’s to help set up things.

When Tony and Aaron had finished feeding the dogs and cleaning their pens, they clipped on our walkie talkies, and went over to help Ben out. Then I grabbed a drinking glass, from the kitchen cabinet, and wrote the word ‘LOVE’ on it, and then I filled it with water. Then I took another aspirin for my heart, and then drank another glass of ‘worded water.’ I then said a few silent prayers for the event, and then I headed over to Kinky’s. By the time I had parked Trigger—I was filled with love, thanks to M. Emoto’s books—on the power of water! It really does work—I promise!

While Aaron and Ben set up the benches for the concert, A.J. Agiewich, Ben’s business merchandising partner, showed up, and he began setting up their merchandise tables, while Debora busily set up the items for the silent auction in the Gazebo.

After Tony and I had swept the leaves off of the Pavilion floor, the men went to fill the ice chests up with ice, and the water jugs, so I skipped over to the Lodge to see Kinky. His Lodge was full—everyone was in the kitchen and the vibes were great! His sweet sister, Marcie, who had flown in from Vietnam, for the event, was there, and the incredibly talented photographer, Brian Kanof, from El Paso, was there, too, with his better half—Jackie, and Jerome was there from Pasadena, Texas to help us! After a short visit with everyone, I left. I was on my way back to the rescue ranch to get ready, just as Dylan and Sage Ferrero arrived! They are our friends and had volunteered to help out with the parking over at Kinky’s.

By eleven thirty, our great friends and volunteers, Copper Love and Max Swafford were set up, outside of the rescue ranch, ready to greet our guests, and invite them to take a tour of the rescue ranch first, before going over to Kinky’s. Then our friends and wonderful volunteers, Carol Vail and Charlie Cooper arrived to help Tony and me give rescue ranch tours. Then Tony and Aaron arrived to help! We were ready for the event to start—let the fun begin!

At 12:00, Tony opened our rescue ranch gate, and the cars started arriving, and the nicest people on the planet, began walking into our rescue ranch—full of love and smiles and compliments! I don’t know if it was because I had drank those two glasses of ‘love worded water,’ that I saw things through rose-colored glasses, but all I know for sure was—love was definitely in everyone’s hearts! I loved it! Here are some pictures, that Tony and I took of the event! I wish that all of y’all could have been there!

Kinky giving tours of the rescue ranch!

Our dear friends, Dianne and Len Nowicki, showed up, and surprised me with a beautiful turtle for my birthday! It was absolutely gorgeous, and poor Len had to carry, the thirty pound turtle, all the way in! I love it and I plan to put it into Outer Space tomorrow! I gave them a tour of my Space Ship, and then we went into Outer Space for a fun visit! I love those two people!

“Welcome to the rescue ranch!” I said. “I’m Cousin Nancy. Where are y’all from?”

“California. I am Keith O., and this is my friend Jimmy, from San Antonio.”

“Keith?” I said. “Oh my gosh—I finally get to meet you in person, after all of these years!” We hugged and Tony shook hands with them. Then I invited them to go into Outer Space with me, for a visit!

Then our friend, Matt, from Austin, arrived with his latest pictures of Albert Einstein, a dog that we had rescued years ago! And, he joined us in Outer Space! It was a lot of fun and filled with laughter!

Here is a picture of the Gazebo full of items for the silent auction!

A picture of the people in line for their chuck wagon dinner! And, it was absolutely delicious and Kinky could not get over how great it was! He wants to use them again, for our future events!



Here is a picture that Tony took of Carol and Ben talking, with me in the background!

The concert:


P.S. After the concert, when I met Jimmie Dunn and his lovely wife, Nelda, from Arkansas, he confessed that he reads my blog, which absolutely delighted me! Then when he told me that he now has every book that Kinky has written, and his collection was now complete, because he had just bought a copy of “The Missing Puppet Head,” which is only available at Wolfmueller’s Books, where he had also purchased the fantastic book, “The Kinky Files,” the day before! I smiled, and then introduced him to the talented author, Max Swafford, who had written, “The Kinky Files”— because he was standing right behind us!

P.S.S. Love is definitely all you need—and it truly works! Thanks to everyone who came out to help us out on Saturday, and to everyone who has supported us through the years ! I love y’all so much! Have a great evening—I’m headed to bed, now—it’s past my bedtime! Good Night!

Cool, Clear—Water!

I am so glad that Kinky is back! This morning I went over to the Lodge for a visit with him. The first thing that Kinky did, when I arrived, was to hand me a magazine called, ‘Spirit’ —August 2008 edition. On the cover was a beautiful picture of an orangutan. “Nance, I think you will really enjoy the story about a woman, who has a sanctuary in Florida, for chimpanzee's and orangutans.”

“Thank you, Kinky. I can’t wait to read it,” I said. “I love orangutans so much! Did you know, that I got to bottle feed and change a baby orangutan’s diaper—when I worked at the Fort Worth Zoo, as a kid? It was awesome, holding that adorable baby in my arms—as it tugged on my long brown hair. That is one of my claims to fame, for me.” Kinky and I had a great visit and then I returned to the rescue ranch.

Around 5:00, Tony, Ben and I went over to the Lodge to see Kinky. Brian Kanof, the incredibly great photographer, from El Paso, was there. We had a short, but fun visit, before Ben, The Mountain Man, challenged Tony to a game of pool.

The Medina Bulldog, grabbed his stick, Ben grabbed a stick, racked up the balls and the contest commenced! After two fairly short games— The Medina Bulldog - 2, Ben, The Mountain Man - 0! I loved it!

Then Brian challenged The Medina Bulldog! The Medina Bulldog 1, The Texas Western - 0! I loved it, again!

When Kinky entered the room, Tony asked him if he wanted to shoot a game of pool with him. “No, I have to make some more phone calls,” Kinky said. “Earlier today, I beat Brian in two games. I’m the new reigning champion at Echo Hill ranch.”

“Not anymore,” I teased. “Tony is!” Everyone laughed but Kinky. Then we went outside to the Friedman Family Bone Orchard, so Kinky could show us his latest plant addition—a beautiful hot pink hibiscus!

After admiring the beautiful bloom, we all went for a hike, to a beautiful place, on the ranch, known as, Big Foot. It was a lot of fun walking, talking and watching The Friedmans playing with Ben’s two beautiful pit bulls, Valerie and Penny, which Ben adopted from us—many years ago.

When we reached Big Foot, the dogs immediately jumped into the creek—swimming, jumping and laying in the cool, clear water. We stayed there, for over twenty minutes, before returning to the Lodge. It was a great hike!

When we reached the Lodge, Tony and I said our goodbyes and returned home to the rescue ranch. I am so glad that Kinky’s back.

I have just finished reading the magazine article, that Kinky asked me to read. It was a beautiful story, and I hope that y’all can find a way to read it, too. It is titled: ‘Back to Nurture’ by Mike Darling about Patti Ragan.

I'm Tired Of This!

Yesterday, Tony and I were over at the Lodge, and I challenged Kinky to a game of pool. And, it was a short one. The Hummingbird Man—1 Cousin Nancy—0! It didn’t bother me—I always lose.

Kinky then challenged Tony to a game. And, it was a short one, too. The Medina Bulldog—1. The Hummingbird Man—0! I love it! The Medina Bulldog rules!

Yesterday afternoon, I showed Ben the Vita-Mix video and their cook book. After looking at the recipe book, Ben and I decided to try their recipe for blueberry ice cream, which only takes two minutes to make. We used organic blueberries, organic sugar, organic vanilla extract and organic 2% milk! In less than two minutes, we were eating the best ice cream on this planet! It blew Ben away—he's going to buy one!

This morning, Kinky called and he left this message on our machine, “Nance, I’ve got a flat tire on the Navigator. Could you please find Ben, and bring him over here, to help me change it, before it gets too hot? Brian Kanof is here, and he said he would help, too. Call me, please. Thank you, very much.”

In ten minutes, Ben, Tony and I were over at the Lodge. Brian and Kinky were outside staring at the dead, deflated tire. “Kinky’s jack is broken,” Brian stated. “Do y’all have one?”

“Yes,” Ben said, as he pulled the jack out of the back of Trigger. It took Ben less than five minutes to remove the airless tire, and replace it with a donut! Mission accomplished. Before leaving the Lodge, Tony and I volunteered to take Kinky’s tire to Kerrville with us, to get it fixed at WalMart—while we shopped.

After we had dropped the tire off at WalMart’s Tire department, we pulled out our cell phones and turned them on, so that we could call each other, after we were through shopping—so we could meet up. Then we grabbed our carts, and took off in different directions.

I filled my cart up with charmingly cheap stuff for The Space Ship, which will soon be completely solar and off the grid! I piled these items into my basket: a complete service for four blue stoneware dishes (made in China—that were on sale for only $9.00—which I'll now refer to as—my fine china), flatware, that left me flat, an olive green Coleman camp stove, which doesn’t go with my color scheme at all, two solar lanterns, blue-striped dish towels, blue cloth napkins, an enameled blue camp coffee pot, blue pot holders, blue can opener, off white dish drainer, a pack of two dark green propane bottles, and four cobalt blue drinking glasses, a small wooden cutting board and a box of my favorite wine—Chillable Red! I then called Tony to tell him that I was done shopping, so we met up at the checkout counter, to check out our many priceless treasures!

After we loaded up the back end of Trigger, Tony went back inside the store to get Kinky’s tire. I didn’t go, because I was too tired. As Tony was putting the tire into to the back of the truck, I phoned Kinky and got his machine. “Kinky, we got your tire fixed. It only cost nine dollars and fifty cents.”

“It cost fifty dollars!” Tony said.

“What? Fifty dollars?” I asked, in shock! "Oh my gosh!"

Tony started laughing. “I’m just kidding you, Nance.” Then he started laughing, again.

“Tony was kidding me,” I said to Kinky’s answering machine. “It’s only nine dollars and fifty cents.” Then I hung up.

We then went to Home Depot, so I could charge some lumber and nails to my account—for the Space Ship. Then we came home.

After unpacking Trigger, we drove over to the Lodge, and the three of us watched, as Ben tirelessly replaced the donut tire with Kinky’s now air-filled tire. Kinky then invited us in for a visit, but we declined, because we were too tired.

P.S. Tomorrow morning, before it gets too hot, I plan to start renovating my Space Ship! I know how to use our chop saw and nail gun, and I can't wait! I will write more, tomorrow—I'm too tired to blog one more word.

It Has Been A Great Day!

Today has been fun! This morning, after taking care of paperwork, I passed the window and saw this odd looking bird—eating some birdseed on the porch. I haven’t shown the pictures to Tony yet, but I am thinking it is a baby hawk, because Tony has seen a mama hawk, teaching her babies how to fly, for the past several days. If anyone can identify this bird, please let me know, by posting a comment. I’m hoping that it isn’t a baby buzzard—that’s getting a little too close to home for me—I’m only 56! Here are the pictures:


And then a beautiful hummingbird showed up!

After my photo session, I went over to visit with Kinky and Brian Kanof, the incredibly talented photographer—from El Paso. When I arrived, they were outside, sitting in chairs, near the Friedman Family Bone Orchard. At one point during our visit, Brian excused himself, and went into the Lodge, and then he came right back outside, carrying his gift for Tony, that he had personalized—it was a pool stick, and he had bought one for Kinky and himself, too! I loved it!

Around 12:30, Kinky called and asked Tony and me to come over, to help give Perky some pills. After we had given little Perk, her pills—we went outside for a visit. Then Mr. Magoo showed up looking just like Kinky, he was chomping on his doggie chewgar, that our great friends, Herb and Karen Cares, had given to him, on their visit, back in January. Gooie looked hilarious! Kinky said, “Like father, like son.”

Then our friend, Timothy Abnour showed up and came over to visit. Just minutes after his arrival—it started to sprinkle! “I think I just felt a raindrop,” Timothy said.

“Me, too,” Kinky said.

“It’s not rain,” Tony said. “Its the sap falling from the tree above.”

To prove it was sprinkling, Kinky, Timothy and I got up from our chairs, and walked away from the tree, to make sure it was rain. It was definitely—sprinkling! Here is a picture that I captured of them celebrating the rain, which sadly ended—two minutes later. No more rain.

Timothy needed to get back to work at the camp, so Kinky, Tony and I went into the Lodge. Kinky announced that he was on a winning streak, and that he had won the past five pool games, against five different players. He then challenged Tony to a game.

They both were shooting good shots, and it was fun to watch, even though the Medina Bulldog lost to The Hummingbird Man.

He's Back!

Kinky arrived back at the ranch today around 4:00! At 5:00 he called, “Hi Cousin Nancy, are you in Outer Space?”

I picked up the phone, “Nope. I’m right here, in The Big Room. Welcome home, stranger!” We talked on the phone for a couple of minutes, and then he invited Tony and me over to the Lodge.

When we arrived, Kinky was already outside, standing by the gate to greet us. After a hug and a handshake, we went inside the Lodge for a fun visit. Then we went outside to The Friedman Family Bone Orchard, where Tony and Kinky watered and discussed the plants. “For the past three weeks,” Kinky said. “I’ve received many reports from several people informing me about Tony’s pool victories, like ‘The Medina Bulldog beat this person, did you know the Medina Bulldog has beaten Kanof twice, etc. and I am now challenging Tony to an official tournament!”

We immediately went inside the Lodge. “But Kinky,” I said. “It’s not fair. You’re tired and you have jet lag.” Kinky ignored me, and grabbed his pool cue. The first game, The Hummingbird Man was shooting fast and accurate, and it looked like he was fixin’ to take away The Medina Bulldog’s title, but when he accidentally sunk the eight ball—before it was its time to drop. The Medina Bulldog had won, and there was much teasing and laughing going on!

Then we went back outside to the bone orchard. After Kinky and Tony pulled several weeds, Kinky said, “Come on Tony, one more game—let’s give Cousin Nancy something to blog about.” Back inside the three of us went. Game two was fast and furious! The Medina Bulldog sunk one ball, and then The Hummingbird Man nearly cleared all of his balls off the table. Then it was The Medina Bulldogs chance to play catch up. Just after he had teased The Hummer, that he was fixin’ to kick his you know what—The Medina Bulldog missed his shot! The happy Hummingbird Man then aimed at the eight ball and sank it! The Hummingbird Man had won!

Then we went back outside to the bone orchard. Kinky and Tony then spread some new organic dirt around the plants and bushes, then Kinky said, “Tone, one more game. I’m feeling lucky!” We marched back inside the Lodge, to hear a Fox News reporter updating the latest news story on the Texas Governor’s Mansion fire! Game three was temporarily postponed for three full minutes. Game three was great! The Hummingbird Man and The Medina Bulldog were equals. They both were shooting good pool, and it was a very interesting game to watch, especially with all of the joking and teasing going on between them. I wish that I could repeat some of it, but my lips are sealed. The Hummingbird Man finally won the game, but it was close. The Hummingbird Man had won the tournament! The two shook hands. Then it was time for us to go.

As Kinky walked Tony and I back to Buttermilk, he said, “Nance, this is a quote from me for your blog. ‘Tony, now that I, The Hummingbird Man, am the reigning current pool champion at Echo Hill, I am seriously thinking of retiring—you know, go out—while I am still on top! The Hummingbird Man Rules!’”

P.S. I am so glad that Kinky is back at the ranch—we have truly missed him!

Dueling Sticks!

At 3:00, Brian Kanof called and left this message on our machine, "Hi Nancy, please tell the Medina Bulldog that the Texas Western is here, and I'm at the pool table—waiting for him."

At 5:30, Tony and I drove over to Kinky's Lodge, for another pool tournament between them. The results are: Medina Bulldog—2, Texas Western—0! Yeah, Tony!

Now We're Talkin' Super Bonefit!

Guess what? I have some more exciting news to tell y’all about, the June 6th Bonefit at Ruta Maya with Joe King Carrasco! In fact, I haven’t even told Kim G., yet. I want to surprise her and y’all, too, at the same time!

Well, I am sure that everyone reading my blog, knows who N. M. Kelby is, if not, you need to stop reading this right now, so you can trot down to the nearest bookstore to buy everyone of her books! Then when you get home, get on your computer, and go to this address: nmkelby.com and check it out! Her sight is great, and you’re gonna love it! I promise!

I think Nicole, is one of the best authors on this side of the planet, as well as the other side, too! I think it is way too cool that Dwight Yoakam bought the movie rights to her last book, "Whale Season," and she’s been busy working on the movie version with him! And, did you know that N. M. Kelby is the first critically acclaimed author to have ever had a BBQ sauce—as a companion for her latest book—"Murder At The Bad Girls Bar And Grill."

Okay, so now everyone knows who N. M. Kelby is, and I want to thank y’all for buying her books, and checking out her web site. Now, I can continue my exciting story, and tell you the great news!

My good friend, Fay, up in Toronto, who adopted Kris Kristofferson from us, and introduced N. M. and me to each other—via the internet—a while back, and from time to time we have sent each other notes.

Well, this morning I received an e-mail from Nicole, telling me that she wants to send down one of her books, along with a jar of “Bad Girls Bar and Grill BBQ Sauce” to add to the auction items for the June 6th Bonefit! And get this— she is also sending me a copy of her book, and a jar of BBQ sauce, too! I can’t wait! I am so excited! And, I’ll guarantee you this, her book and that jar of BBQ sauce will definitely be two of the high dollar items! Thank you so much, Nicole, and thank you Fay—for introducing us, and thank you Kim for putting on this Bonefit for us!

I just called Kinky, to tell him the great news, and he said to tell Nicole, Fay and Kim, “Thank you, Very Much! And he sends y’all—his best!”

As soon as I get this blog posted, I am sending Kim G. an e-mail asking her to please check out today’s post. When Super Woman reads about this—I’m sure it will make this the best Memorial Day that Kim has ever had!

And, now for the rest of the story. Yesterday, our good friend, the professional photographer, Brian Kanof, came out to the ranch, with his better half, Jackie, and his daughter Lauren, so he could take some photographs. After he had finished his shoot, Tony challenged him to shoot a game of pool.

Before Tony racked up the balls, I asked Brian, “What is your nickname? Tony’s The Medina Bulldog.”

“I don’t have one, but I guess it could be the nickname, that Kinky gave to me. A*** from El Paso.” We laughed. “No. I think I will use my old CB handle—Texas Western. Yeah, I like that one. I’ll use that one.”

The Texas Western broke up the rack of balls and the three game tournament began. The Texas Western was good, but not as good a pool player as The Medina Bulldog. Twenty minutes passed. Texas Western—1 and The Medina Bulldog—2! Yeah, Tony!

As we were leaving, I asked Brian if I could take a quick picture of him, standing next to his car, and he agreed to let me shoot him—so I did. After that, I took the picture of that rock, that looks like an ugly man’s head, that I put on yesterday’s blog. Have a great day! Here’ssssssssssssss—Brian!