Here's Your Sign!

Today has been great. This afternoon, after we ate lunch, we went to TNJ Engraving, in Kerrville, across the street from J. C. Penney, to pick up two signs. I love doing business with TNJ Engraving, because they are so nice, they always do a fabulous job, they have great prices and their turn around is extremely fast.

For example, this morning after we did our morning chores outside, I sat down at my computer and designed two signs. One sign was for a new pen sponsorship, made earlier this week, by our friend Vern and the other sign was for Tony's chuck box outdoor kitchen, that he knew nothing about. When I was done, I e-mailed the artwork to TNJ Engraving, then I called them to place my order and I was happily shocked when Garrett told me, "We'll have them ready for you and you can pick them up, in about an hour." And they did!

When we arrived at TNJ Engraving to pick up the signs, they were on the counter and I loved what I saw, but Tony was delighted and surprised at what he saw. "Here's your sign, Tony," I said, as I handed it to him, "it needed a name, so I named it, "Tony's No Whiner Diner." Then I paid for the signs and thanked them and then we took off for Wolfmueller's Books, so we could show Sandy & Jon his new sign for his chuck box. And, to say the least, "They loved it and it made them laugh," which was exactly the reaction that I was hoping for.

When we got home we first hung Vern's sign on the dog pen that Hank Williams, Sr. and Jackie Kennedy Onassis share. Hank, Sr. is the yellow Lab in front and that's Jackie O. leaning on him.

Then Tony went and got a ladder, from the barn and then he carried it down to The Okay Corral and hung up his sign and he loves it even more than I do.

Before I finish writing this, I want you to know that Dusty Pendleton called us last night with a Emmylou update, telling us that she and their other dog instantly fell in love with each other and that Emmylou could care less about their older cat and that Martha and Dusty are in love with Emmylou Harris and they are thrilled with their new forever dog.

Also, tonight we have three dear friends, in three different hospitals, in three different cities, so I want to do a shout out to them, "We love you, John, Billy and Steve—GET WELL SOON!"

Y'all have a great evening!

Emmylou Harris!

Today has been great, but pretty quiet, except for the occasional thunderstorms, that so far, have given us over two inches of much needed rain.

Besides the rain being great, the best thing that actually happened today, was around 6:30, or twenty-five minutes ago, was Martha and Dusty Pendleton came out and they adopted Emmylou Harris! And I'm not sure who was the happiest about the adoption, because we all were, but I bet it was Emmylou because she wouldn't quit wagging her tail and kissing Martha on the face, as they sat in the backseat.

And that is about it for tonight, because it has just started raining again and I just heard some thunder, so I need to get offline, once again, so I can go unplug everything. "Thank you, Martha and Dusty!"

Y'all have a great evening!

Green Eggs!

Today has been great and it started early this morning when I was cooking up my latest stolen recipe.

Yesterday, while Vern and us were eating lunch at the Highway 16 Cafe, in Medina, Vern told us about the delicious breakfast that David Farrar had cooked for him, at the Trail's End Guest House. "When Desiree served me David's scrambled eggs that were green, I was a little hesitant to eat them, so I asked Desiree why the eggs were a greenish color and she laughed and told me that David had made his avocado scrambled eggs, so I took a bite and could not believe how delicious it was. I would have never thought of scrambling eggs with an avocado..."

So, this morning, for the very first time, I made, "Cousin Nancy's Green Eggs" for our breakfast and I topped it off with my homemade salsa and to say the least, "Tony and I absolutely loved it!" Here is a picture that I took, before topping off the avocado eggs with what Tony calls, "my not-so-hot" salsa.

Around 3:00 today, our dear friend and one of the Texas Hill Country's most famous and favorite artist, Dusty Pendleton, came out to meet Emmylou Harris, because he and his sweet wife, Martha, are thinking about adopting her! Dusty is the artist that painted the beautiful, "The Von Kinky Family Singers," that we have used on the front of our rescue ranch 2009 calendar and holiday cards. 

After Dusty and Emmylou Harris fell heads-over-heels in love with each other, we invited Dusty to come up to The Cabin, so we could visit with him and it was so much fun. For one and a half hours we laughed and talked about many different subjects and when he told us he had to head back home, in Bandera, we didn't want him to leave. But the good thing is, we might see him much sooner than later, because when Martha comes out with him, in the next few days, so she can meet their possible new fur buddy—we'll get to do it all over again!

That's about it for tonight, because it has started thundering and lightning and raining, so I need to get offline, so I can go unplug everything. And I hope that all of y'all will try making my new avocado scrambled eggs recipe, because I guarantee that you will love it at first bite.

Y'all have a great evening!

Visitors In Outer Space!

Today has been so much fun even though this morning wasn't so hot. This morning when I woke up I heard Tony feeding the dogs and Lucky. Remembering that my back was out I carefully jumped out of bed. When I came into the kitchen I thanked Tone for feeding our fur people for me. Then T. grabbed his camera bag telling me that he was going to the Old Timer to drink some coffee with his old friends.

While I was checking my e-mail my right arm started really itching so I pulled up my sleeve and discovered that it was red and swollen twice it's size! I figured it was from a spider bite so I went to the bathroom and patted it down with some white vinegar to help stop the irritating itching.

When Tony got back from the Old Timer I showed him my arm. "A spider got you again, Nance. You had better put some of that miracle healing stuff on it that our friend Terry gave to us." So, I grabbed my aluminum walking pole-cane and hobbled back to the bathroom. After dabbing my red swollen arm with the I wonder if it cures all stuff which mainly consisted of tea tree oil I pulled Hazel out of the closet and let her vacuum up all of the new hair on the floor, because we were going to have company today. Then I lit some Naga Chapa incense and slowly race-walked around the trailer with the help of my trusty walking pole, smudging the trailer for unwanted spiders.

Around ten o'clcok our good friends Garnet and Sandy Sheffield and their precious little dog Chiquita arrived with Garnet's sister Margie who was visiting them from out of town. After hugs and howdies we went into Outer Space for a fun visit while Tony fed the dogs and cleaned their pens.

I had a blast visiting with them even though I talked way too much and laughed so much it made my back ache more. When I told them about my back going out yesterday Margie showed me two exercises to do for my back and it really helped! Then we came inside the trailer for coffee and some Miles of Chocolate After they told me how much they loved the Miles of Chocolate Tone walked inside the trailer to visit.

Somewhere in our conversation I showed them my pink feathered, flashing lights cowboy hat that our friend Eileen Gotke had given to me. After the laughter subsided Garnet put it on her head and then Margie put it on hers. Here are a couple of pictures that I took of them cutting up in front of the camera. The first one is Garnet with Chiquita and the second is Margie.

While Tony and Margie discussed photography Garnet and Sandy told me all about their new travel trailer and then we went outside so Tony and I could give them a Grand Tour. After I showed off the travel trailer we went into my writing cabin and they loved it and the "Von Kinky Family Singers" picture that Dusty Pendleton had painted. 

Then we walked around the rescue ranch as Tony and I introduced them to all of our dogs. When it was time for them to leave Margie told us a her very funny cat story. After we were done laughing I told them about John Kemmerly and Bluefoot Publishing, and suggested that they submit their stories for publication since they are both great writers. Then we bid them farewell even though we didn't want them to leave.

After lunch around one o'clock our friends Bob and Kathi and their daughter Stephanie came out for a visit. Stephanie wanted to walk our dogs so she took off while we went into Outer Space and visited with our friends from North Texas and it was non-stop laughter, too! And when it was time for them to leave Stephanie gave T. and me beautiful friendship bracelets that she had made and we loved them. In fact, mine matched my lavender overalls. Tony and I didn't want them to leave either, but we were glad that they had come out to us, too.

It is nearly seven o'clock and once again I have written this blog standing up because my back is getting better, thank goodness. The swelling in my arm has gone down some which I am happy to report. Tonight I'm looking forward to reading some more of the great book, Drop-Ins because it is so funny and suspenseful at the same time. I highly recommend that you read it because you will love the characters and the plot.

I just got off of the phone with Jon Wolfmueller. He and Sandy wanted to know how my back was doing. After I told him about my back and the spider bite I said, "Jon, I don't understand why this spider likes to bite me and doesn't bite Tony. I guess tonight when I go to bed I am going to wear socks and a sweat suit and spray Off all over me so it will bite Tone." Jon laughed even though I was serious. Before we hung up he asked me to tell all of y'all hello!

As soon as Jon and I hung up the phone the phone rang—it was Kinky. He is back from Los Angeles and is in Austin. We had a fun visit and we caught up with each others news. I told him all about the fun interview I had with Connie Strong and Joni, Mary and Juli and how much Tony and I liked them and he was pleased that we liked them as much as he did. Then I told him about my back going out and the spider bite and he wasn't pleased and he suggested that I go see a doctor, but I told him that there was no need. Then he told me that he was going to do the Kerrville Folk Festival again this weekend and he invited me to join him again. I thanked him for the invite, but told him no because I needed to take a break in my hectic schedule and rest. Before we said goodbye to each other he told me that he will be back at the ranch on Saturday. Yeah!

Tomorrow morning I have to go out of town and I will try to post a blog tomorrow night if I am not too road weary. And don't worry about me getting lost because I will have Garmina telling me every other minute or so where to go.

Y'all have a great evening!

Hello New Mexico! Here Comes The Hobbit Express!

Today has been a lot of fun! This morning I went to Kerrville, because Cindy Pickard had asked me to do her a favor. She had asked me to meet her at San Saba Cap, at ten o'clock, because she was getting her signs aka 'vinyl skins' put on her new FJ Toyota! I was one minute late.

When I arrived, Cindy was outside, with the owner, discussing the placement of the beautiful signs. "Hi Nancy," Cindy said. "I want you to meet John Baker. He owns San Saba Caps." John and I shook hands. "Didn't these turn out great!" My long time best friend asked, as she showed them to me.

"They're beautiful," I said. When Cindy and John were done, I told John that I had been in the embroidery business for over twenty years, and that I was very impressed with his work. Then we went inside his store, and Paul McCullar, came up to us and said hello to Cindy, and then he introduced himself to me. Paul and I quickly got to talking about being in the embroidery business, so he gave Cindy and me a tour of their work area, where their embroidery equipment is. Wow! This company was big time! In fact, they had so many sewing heads—it made my head spin!

When Cindy and I left San Saba Cap, we ran a couple of errands. Our last stop was at Pier One. When we walked out the store's door, I was carrying a sack with two gifts, that Cindy had bought for me!

On our way back to San Saba Cap, we ran into a traffic jam—and we were stranded at the corner where Wolfmueller's Books is a few doors down from. As we watched some kind of giant government equipment, that was causing the backup, slowly start moving. I looked over at Cindy, and saw Jon Wolfmueller waving at me from the corner! Cindy quickly rolled down Trigger's window, "Hi Jon!" I half-hollered. Before Jon could speak, the traffic jam was over, and I had to take off! Sorry Jon.

When we pulled up at San Saba Cap, Cindy and I were in shock, when we saw her beautifully decorated FJ! "It's perfect!" Cindy said, with excitement in her voice.

"OMG Cindy, it's beautiful!..." John came out and met us, as we climbed out of Trigger, and he was wearing a bigger smile than Cindy was. Here are some pictures that Cindy took of it, when she got home. By the way, Cindy named her FJ—the Hobbit Express! I love it!



Late this afternoon, I went over to the Lodge and had a fun visit with Kinky, Will Wallace and Copper Love! Copper is the artist, that did all of the artwork for Kinky's new self-published book, Heroes Of A Texas Childhood, which should be coming out real soon!

Around four o'clock I returned to the rescue ranch. Twenty minutes later, Will came over to borrow some tools from Tone. We had a nice visit with him. As soon as Will was gone, Kinky showed up with two people from Southern Living magazine! "Nance, Tone," Kinky said. This is Jennifer McKenzie Frazier, and Robbie Caponetto. They want to shoot me over here."

After howdies and handshakes, we all went into Outer Space for a short visit, with these two nice people. When Robbie pulled his camera out and started shooting Kinky, I went to get my camera. When I came back, I asked Robbie if he would mind if I shot Kinky, too. He had no problem with it! I shot Kinky seventy-three times! Here is a picture of Robbie and Jennifer and a few pictures of Kinky.



When the shooting had commenced, we took them on a tour of the rescue ranch. They loved my writing cabin, and admired the painting, 'The Von Kinky Family Singers,' that Dusty Pendleton had done! Then we went on the dog tour. Jennifer fell in love with several of our dogs, while Robbie shot Kinky several more times with our dogs. Jennifer told me that the article will probably be in their upcoming November issue of Southern Living! I can't wait!

Before I go watch a movie, I want to say that I met four new people today, that impressed me, and that I really liked. Thank you, Paul and John, and Jennifer and Robbie! Y'all rock!

Y'all have a great evening!