The Pendletons!

Today has been great. This morning Jim, June, Ellen and Kris, our friends/volunteers came out and walked our dogs and we loved it and our dogs loved it even more.

While they walked our happy dogs Tony's friends Melanie and Terry, who he had met during his Texas Master Naturalists Hill Country Chapter course, came out to see our rescue ranch and we had a fun time visiting with them. And they especially loved meeting Roy Rogers, my ninety-five pound four-legged soul mate.

After Terry and Melanie left, we went up to Koyote Ranch, to visit with our friends, while they ate lunch. Tony and I didn't eat there, because we were meeting our dear friends Cheryl and Walt for a fun lunch at El Sol de Mexico at 1:30. (Cheryl and Walter are characters in my upcoming novella, The Cowgirl Sisterhood: The Membership Drive Part I.)

When Tony and I walked into our new favorite Mexican food restaurant, for the fourth time this week, Peto, their super waiter, chuckled when he saw us walk in before greeting us. As usual, Tony and I sat at our table, the same table that we have sat at with Sandy and Jon on Monday, Carol on Tuesday, Carol on Thursday and today with Cheryl and Walt.

Our lunch with Walter and Cheryl was so much fun and it was filled with non-stop laughter and interesting stories. As we ate our delicious lunch, our dear friends told us that their Christmas present for us was being delivered to us today by UPS, so we thanked them in advance even though we had no idea what it was, because they wouldn't tell us.

When Tony and I got home Carlton was flashing on the breakfast bar, so I pushed his button and heard Dusty Pendleton, tell us that he and Martha wanted to come out and adopt Jackie Kennedy Onassis, so Tony called them back to let them know that we had the gate opened for them.

Then the dogs outside started barking. "UPS is here," Tony said and then he went outside to meet with the friendly UPS driver.

When he came back inside he was carrying a big, five inch thick box. "I wonder what it is?" I said, as Tony used his box cutter to open up the box. Inside was a beautiful gift wrapped box with a card from Cheryl and Walt. After we read their sweet note to us Tony unwrapped the box and then our jaws dropped to the floor. "Oh my god, it's a Pendleton Journey blanket! Tony, I have wanted to buy a Pendleton blanket for the longest time, but never have because they are so expensive. It's so beautiful and the colors are perfect."

After Tony and I had admired our beautiful gift, I sat down at the computer to send an e-mail to Cheryl and Walt to let them know that their gift had arrived and that we absolutely loved it and while I was typing them a note the dogs started barking outside, again. "The Pendletons are here," Tony said. So, I had to stop in the middle of my note to my friends, to go outside to greet Dusty and Martha and get them to sign off on Jackie-O's adoption papers.

We visited with Martha and Dusty, while she filled out Jackie's adoption papers and then they hopped into their truck and followed us down to Jackie's pen. When Jackie saw it was the Pendletons she knew they had come back to adopt her and talk about one thrilled little dog. While Tony put their new blue collar on Jackie, I said, "We hope Emmylou Harris and her will get along, but remember if it doesn't we'll gladly take her back."

"We're pretty sure they will get along, because Emmylou loves meeting other dogs," Dusty told us. After Tony put Jackie's leash on, she ran out of her pen and could not wait to kiss Martha on the cheek and knew that she could not wait to leave our rescue ranch.

When it was time for them to leave with their precious cargo, Tony and I told them that we had our fingers crossed for Jackie and hoped that she and Emmylou would become fast friends. Then we adios-ed each other and they drove away.

As Kermit took us back to The Cabin I laughed and Tony asked me why. "Because today has been a really great day, because of the Pendletons. And that is about it for tonight. "Thank you, Cheryl, Walt, Martha and Dusty. We love y'all."

Y'all have a great evening!

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!

Stop & Go!

Today has been great. This morning while Tony and I were outside working a car drove up and this really nice couple got out. "Hi, welcome to the rescue ranch. Are you Della?" I asked.

"Yes, I am and this is my husband Roy," she said, as we shook hands. We're here to walk your dogs or do whatever you need for us to do."

"We always need dog walkers, so let's go get some dog leashes. Roy and his sweet wife first walked Rufus & Roxanne, then they took Maggie and Emmylou Harris for a walk, which turned out to be pretty funny, because Emmylou is a "squatter" and I had forgotten to tell them that.

As I finished cleaning Mr. Rogers & Miss Dee's pen, which was the last pen to clean, I looked up and saw Roy standing with Emmylou laying down next to him, happily wagging her tail, over by Annie Oakley's pen and I started laughing as I walked over to them. "I'm sorry, Roy. I forgot to tell you that Miss O. is a squatter. Come on Emmylou, get up girl..."

After several requests Emmylou finally stood up and she took about six steps with Roy and then she laid down again, happily wagging her tail and it took Roy and me about ten "stop & go's" to return her back to her pen with Maggie.

Bob Dylan and Rockette were the next two lucky dogs to go for a walk with Della and her husband and while they were out walking, Lisa arrived with her ukulele. "Sorry, Nance. The other Fab 4 couldn't make it today..." While I showed her the inside of my upgraded writing cabin, Phillip arrived with his guitar, so he and Lisa could practice playing the song that they had chosen, to perform at a upcoming Master Naturalist event on Wednesday. "Hi, Phillip. Come on inside my cabin that I've recently decorated. I'm really proud of it."

"Wow," he said, as he walked around inside the cabin. "This is really cool..." Ten minutes later, after Lisa handed us the sheet music to one of my favorite Merle Haggard's songs—we were jamming, even though I was just sitting in on their session and we sounded good and during a break I took this picture of them visiting with Tony.

After Lisa and Phillip had nailed Haggard's song we played for about thirty more minutes and then we decided to rest our fingers and that's when Roy and Della knocked on the door and came inside the cabin and sat down with us. 

We talked and laughed about Emmylou being a squatter and the many dogs that they had walked and then Lisa told them that it would take a few more dog-walking visits before all of our dogs warmed up to them, because she didn't want them to feel bad about our dogs being shy with them. And after a fun visit with them they adios-ed us and then they drove away and that's when we decided to go eat lunch at Koyote and invite Carol to join us.

Five minutes later, Trigger, Tone and I followed Lisa over to Koyote Ranch, because Carol was going to meet the three of us for lunch and I had a total blast. First, we talked about Karin, our new found friend from Germany, fun visit and how much we had enjoyed meeting her and getting to know her and getting to show her around the Texas Hill Country, then we laughed about the gigantic size of Scout, Carol's lovable Black Lab's feet and many other things and all-in-all—lunch was a lot of fun. And that is about it for tonight.

Y'all have a great evening and please keep praying that we get some more rain and that Emmylou Harris quits squatting—sooner than later!

B. J. Thomas Bonefit, November 26th!

Today has been a good one. For lunch I tried making my first paninis, that Carol had told me how to make and they were so delicious, I called Kinky, after we had eaten to ask him if he would like to try one of my turkey Panini with Monterrey Jack cheese with jalapenos and a sliced tomato.

Fifteen minutes later, as Kinky munched away on my panini, he suggested that I should really do a cookbook, because I always get so excited about trying new recipes and then telling everyone about the ingredients and how to make it.

When my panini had disappeared we started talking about our exciting upcoming B.J. Thomas bonefit, because tomorrow morning Kim and Bryant Williams are coming out to shoot us and our dogs for a thirty-second commercial about our B.J. Thomas fundraiser, to run on local  FOX stations. Then he went back to his office and came back into the kitchen, so he could practice the "script," so I could time him to make sure that he read it under thirty seconds.

After several readings, Kinky complained about the type being so small. "Kinky, I can blow it up real big, so you can read it, if you want me to."

Twenty minutes later I happily returned to the Lodge, with three pages of the enlarged script, taped onto a big foam board. "Thanks, Nance. This will work..." Before going back home, after telling Kinky that I was fixin' to go reupholster the couch inside my cabin, Kinky told me that his friend Captain Frank was coming out late this afternoon, because his friend wanted to talk to us about some ideas he had for helping our rescue ranch.

"That sounds great," I said. "Oh, I almost forgot. We have rescued a two-year-old, female black Lab, that our friends Robert and Tracy rescued in their neighborhood, the nice couple from Kerrville, that adopted Betty Boop from us over a year ago, and they are bringing her out later today and..."

Before Tony helped me bring the cushions into our trailer I took this picture of the old couch cushions.

One hour later or the time it took to have completed three seat cushions, there was a knock on our door, so I dropped what I was doing and opened the door to a friendly man. "Hi, are you Captain Frank?" Robert started laughing, because I didn't recognize him, because I am as blind as a bat.

The minute that we met Missy, the temporary name that they had given to her, who reminded me so much of our dear old Thunder, we had a fun visit with them, as we watched Emmylou Harris happily playing with her new roommate. While the two dogs romped around the front yard of my pretty, pink cabin, Tracy showed us pictures of Betty Boop, while they told us hilarious stories about her.

After Tracy and Robert left, we left and went back inside the trailer, so Tony could watch the Cowboys game and I could finish the cushions and ten minutes later, Kinky came over with Captain Frank and Melissa, so we could visit, which turned out to be fun and very interesting.

When the Cowboys had officially won the game, I was done with the cushions! So, Tony helped me carry them back into the cabin, so I could take a picture of my finished project. And yes, it is another one of my creations, "It's  A Nancy," because the stripes don't line up, but I don't care because I am sixty-years-old.

After I took this picture, T. and I jumped into Trigger and took off to feed Shalom and the donkeys and that is about it for tonight.

Tomorrow after Kim and Bryant shoot all of us, we are taking "Missy" to Hoegemeyers' to get her shots, because she has already been spayed and vetted.

Y'all have a great evening and please keep praying that we get some more rain!

From Air Gun To Nancy!

Today has been great. This morning after Tony and I did our morning chores, we cleaned up, because we were picking Karin, up at the motel where she is staying, so we could take her to eat her first real Mexican food and as we were fixin' to leave the trailer—the phone rang, so without thinking I answered the phone. "Rescue Ranch."

"Hi, Nancy. This is Garnett (our good friend from Utopia). I really need your help."

"Sure, Garnett. What's up?" Then she told me about her and her husband Sandy rescuing a cute, little, four-to-five-year-old female Chihuahua that was housebroken and they had put up Lost & Found posters all over Utopia, but no one had claimed her and they could not keep her, because they already have four dogs. And to make a long story short—I told her that we could take the Chihuahua, because today, after we had lunch with Karin, we were going to Hoegemeyer Animal Clinic to pick up Emmylou Harris and Peanut, that we rescued from the Kerr pound last week. "She will be a great companion for Peanut, because he is a real small dog, too." After my friend told me that she would bring the dog to us on Wednesday, I adios-ed Garnett and then T. and I jumped into Buttermilk and took off for our lunch date with Karin, in Kerrville.

When Karin opened her door to us she was all dressed up, like a Texas cowgirl and proudly wearing her Justin Gypsy cowboy boots, but they were covered up by her jeans this time. As Tone drove us to the Mexican eatery down the street, we laughed about Karin buying some Jameson last night at the liquor store, next to Hastings and drinking it from the "Kinky For Gov" souvenir glass, that we had given to her the other day. "So, after spending time with Tony and me—we've  driven you to drinking!" I teased.

After Karin had quit laughing she seriously said, "No. I only drank little tiny bit of it—very small amount." But, we kept teasing her anyway.

Our Mexican meal was as delicious, as it was fun with Karin. As we ate our Shrimp Cocktail appetizers we laughed about yesterday and all of the fun we had had and then I told her that Tony had discovered the reason why Trigger had stunk to high-heaven yesterday—caused by a poor, dead mouse that had wiggled its way into the fan system and then she told me that the same thing had happened to Jurgen and her too, in Germany. "Noncy, (the way it sounds when she pronounces my name) it is sad. Yes, but very bad odor." Then we started laughing, as the friendly waitress served us our hot plates, loaded with steaming hot Mexican food.

Because Karin had ordered the same thing that I did, we tried in vain to eat our chicken, beef and cheese enchiladas, taco, refried beans and rice, because it was just too much food and too much laughter, so I asked for two take-home containers, because we had more left on our plates than we had eaten and then because we were talking so much, we forgot to take them with us when we left.

Before taking Karin straight back to her motel we stopped by Hoegemeyer's to pick up Peanut and Emmylou Harris and to also let Karin see the famous veterinary clinic and meet the friendly staff.

Susan and Kathy and the staff and the people in the lobby gave Karin a big Texas welcome—which made her smile and blush at the same time.

Before leaving the motel, Karin used my laptop computer to send Jurgen an e-mail and to read what I had posted last night on my blog and it made her laugh. Then she told us that her adventure today was  to go to Luchenback, Texas, less than one hour away, because she loves Waylon Jennings and his song. After hugs we adios-ed each other and Buttermilk took us home.

When we got home I checked Carlton's messages and then I checked my e-mail and burst out laughing, because Jurgen had sent me this note that was titled in the subject area: From: Air Gun To Nancy.

Jurgen wrote:

"Hi Nancy,

I just red your blog and I was laughing, too. Wish I could be with you. Great pics!  I'm very glad to see Karin so happy.  And she is a good rain-maker, isn't she? She even doesn't need to dance, she just has to get out of her car...  So I was laughing out loudly again when I saw her in the outfit we call 'Ostfriesen Nerz' - ask her what this is, it's as difficult to explain for her as to pronounce for you ... I'm kidding, too.

Did't Karin faint when she met Kinky? In her mail to me she pretended to have kept cool - but I doubt...

And I have got a new nick! I would suggest to call me George because Jürgen is an alteration of Georg = George, but my new nick is absolutely o.k.!

So spend some other happy days together, the day after tomorrow I shall go again in the Internet caf'e, read your blog and write to you and to Car Inn !

Remember me to Tony!

Love   Air Gun"

After Tony read Jurgen's sweet and funny e-mail he said, "I like these Germans."

"Me, too. Even though I can't speak German."

This afternoon at 3:58 Roseanna, at Hoegemeryer's, left this message on Carlton, "Nancy and Tony, we just wanted to let you know that Tiger Lily (The ten-year-old cat that we rescued, several weeks ago, from our friend, who could no longer keep her.) has just been adopted to a great home and..." To say the least, we were thrilled for Tiger Lily and then I called our friend to tell her the good news about her cat finding a forever home and she was more than thrilled with the great news. "Thank you, Hoegemeyer Animal Clinic for helping us help find a home for another great cat!"

Early this evening I went outside to take pictures of Peanut and Emmylou Harris, they are both about one-year-old, sweeter than sweet can be and hoping that you or one of your friends might come out to adopt them. Girls first.

Around 7:00 this evening, Aaron came out to remove the dead mouse from Trigger's fan compartment—but there was no deceased mouse to be found—it was two, big, expensive, rotting steaks, found under the driver's seat—that we had bought five days ago, that Tony had overlooked when he carried in our groceries.

And that is about it for this evening. I plan to answer George's (Jurgen) note and then get some work done on the 2011 rescue ranch newsletter. Tomorrow morning I am calling Karin, so we can make plans for the day.

Y'all have a great evening and please keep praying that we get some more rain! Lastly, I want to do a shout-out to all of Karin's friends and family, in Germany, that are now reading my blog just to keep up with Karin and her Texas adventures. "We Love Karin, the "Great Roping German" and now a Proud Part-Time Texas Cowgirl! But, I want to ask y'all just one question—Do All of Y'all Germans Talk Like Her? Please make a comment and let me know and I Want to Thank Y'all For Reading My Blog! Hagen Das!" Even though I have no idea what that means—its a favorite ice cream over here and the only German words that I know.

Tater Catfish Stevens Was Here!

Today has been great even though I woke up at three in the morning because of a nearby lightning strike. I immediately woke up Tony so he could help me unplug everything from the wall sockets so none of our electronics would blow up and accidentally catch our trailer on fire. Within two minutes everything was unplugged, so we went back to bed as the thunderstorm boomed and lit up the night sky.

This morning while Tone did his chores outside I walked six miles with Leslie Sansone and then Hazel, my trusty vacuum cleaner and I gave the trailer a thorough cleaning, because our dear friends Denise and Mark Stevens from Austin were coming to visit us and I didn't want them to think that it looked like we lived here!

We met Denise and Mark through our mutual friend, Brian Alstott years ago. They are the couple who adopted Hank from us and Hank's story is in my new book.

Denise and Mark arrived here around eleven-thirty just as I was about to clean up our lunch dishes, so I happily blew off cleaning up the kitchen. After howdies and hugs outside by their truck they introduced us to their darling dog Tater Catfish Stevens! OMG! Tater was absolutely too cute and he stole T.'s and my hearts instantly. Then Denise gave me some beautiful flowers and then we went into Outer Space with our dogs. T. C. was a perfect guest-dog as he let our old dogs take turns sniffing his butt before they welcomed him and then went and laid down on their pillows.

While we caught up with each others news Tone and I took turns holding "The Tater" as he slept peacefully in our arms. "I love Tater," I said. "He is just like a little baby, but cuter." Denise and Mark, his proud adoptive parents totally agreed with me.

At one point during our fun conversation I looked down at my wrist and quickly realized that I had put on my off-white turtleneck on the wrong side out and started laughing at myself. "Y'all are going to have to excuse me for a minute," I said. "This morning right before y'all got here I took a bath and I have just realized that I put my turtleneck on wrong side out!" Everyone started laughing as I left Outer Space and went inside the trailer to correct my wardrobe malfunction. Then I returned to Outer Space.

"Y'all, I can't believe that I put my t-neck on wrong side out. I've never done that before. I guess that I'm definitely getting old." I said with a laugh as I sat down in my chair.

"I can't wait to tell Kinky and Ben about this!" Tony teased. Then Mark and Denise started telling us about going to the Saxon Pub in Austin and listening to some really cool Jazz musicians when our dogs outside started barking, because a car was driving in, so Tony took off to go see who was here.

A few minutes later when he returned to Outer Space Tone was wearing a big grin on his face. "June, Ellen and Eileen are here and Eileen just told me that she wants to adopt Rita Coolidge in two weeks!" I was so thrilled with Tony's news about Rita! Then we told Denise and Mark about our cute puppies, Rita and her sister Emmylou Harris who found her fantastic forever home last week.

Around four o'clock Mark and Denise told us that it was time for them to head back to Austin and I was sick because I didn't want them to leave because we were having so much fun.

I want to do a shout out to Ellen and June our super volunteers. Our plan worked! Thanks for working on Eileen like you said you would! Y'all Rock and so does Eileen! And Mark, Denise and Tater Catfish Stevens—we love y'all and please come back and visit us sooner than later!

Y'all have a great evening!

The War Of The Weeds Or I Knead A Little Help From My Friends!

Yesterday morning after walking six miles with Leslie Sansone, Ben and Tony came inside the trailer after doing their chores outside to discuss what I was going to fix them for lunch. "I've got a jar of Ragu and was thinking of fixing some spaghetti, but with shrimp instead of meatballs," I said. "How does that sound?"

Even though the guys didn't jump up and down with joy in the big room, like I had hoped they would, they told me that my spaghetti would be fine. Before going back outside to mow and edge we decided to eat lunch at noon. Then I showed off to Ben my new William and Sonoma marble rolling pin, pastry scrapper and the marble, made in Spain, pastry board that Karen and 'Erb had sent to me. Ben was real impressed, so I asked him if he would help me make flour tortillas after lunch and he told me that he would and then they went outside to battle the war of the weeds.

After I had returned several phone calls, I changed clothes and I put on my denim work overalls and then went outside to help Ben and Tone mow and weed-eat before the future forecasted rain came. I am proud to say that I push-mowed our backyard, the front yard, the side yard by Tony's garden and the front yard of my writing cabin all by myself! When it was time for us to go inside for lunch Tony and Ben told me that they were really impressed with my hard work. Of course, I know they were just glad that they didn't have to do it.

After I put the spaghetti into the water to boil on the stovetop I had a big surprise. "Ben! I don't have any Ragu! I thought I had some. I need your help. What can we do?" Tony and Ben started laughing.

"Nance, you are always out of Ragu," Ben teased. Then we went over to "my wall pantry" and Ben removed a large can of tomatoes and a can of tomato sauce. "I'll fix lunch." I was thrilled, but not as much as Tony was. Twenty minutes later the three of us were eating Ben's delicious meal. Thank you, Ben!

While I washed the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen Ben and I talked about my flour tortilla disaster. When the kitchen was close to being sparkling clean I pulled up the flour tortilla recipe on my laptop and we went to work or should I say Ben went to work as I sat at the kitchen table carefully reading aloud to him the ingredient measurements and the instructions on how to prepare chewy flour tortillas.

At one point while Ben was kneading the dough on the 'Made in Spain' pastry board he got to laughing and started teasing me about the way I pronouce tortilla. "Y'all, want a torrrrr—tilla?" Ben said mocking my drawl, while wearing a big smile on his face. He and T. started laughing. "It's a Fort Worth 'thang' and everyone up there in North Texas talks like that. I can just see you calling Cindy and Ronnie and asking them how they pronounce tortilla and they will pronounce it just like you do! Torrrr—tilla." We got to laughing so hard we accidentally let the covered eight balls of dough rest an extra minute. Then the three of us became a torrrr—tilla factory assembly line.

Ben was the roller and on a roll. I was the cooker that cooked, and T. was the official timekeeper. While Ben dusted and rolled out the balls into seven to eight inch circles, I cooked them thirty seconds on each side in a hot skillet while Tony told me when to flip them and they were absolutely delicious! Here is a picture that I took of the torrrr—tillas! Thank you Karen and 'Erb! Your Care's Care Package did the trick and as soon as I have a little extra time I am going to make some and overnight them to y'all!

After I cleaned up the kitchen in the torrrr—tilla factory I went outside and push-mowed and weed-eated until five o'clock with Ben and Tone. And that is why I didn't post a blog last night because I was exhausted and I went to bed before eight-thirty. And I am glad that I did.

This morning I woke up at five o'clock while T. slept like a log. After I had fed our fur buddies it started thundering and lightning up a storm. And I mean a big storm with pea-sized hail. Fortunately, it only hailed for about three minutes then the electricity started going off and on while I was trying to unplug everything from the wall sockets. Thank goodness I had a flashlight!

By seven-thirty it had quit storming and Tony and I were sitting in Outer Space drinking coffee even though we were under a tornado warning that Lisa had alerted us to. Thank you, Lisa!

When Ben arrived Tony and I were already outside feeding the dogs and cleaning their pens. "Morning, Ben!" I half-hollered from Hank's and Nellybelle's pen. "We're under a tornado warning!" Ben started laughing!

"A torrrr—nado alert," Ben teased. "I'm starting to figure this out. Anything that starts with tor is pronounced torrrr—nado!  I'm so torrrr—up."

This afternoon Buttermilk took us over to the Lodge to deliver an urgent message to Marcie from Kinky for her to call him as soon as possible. He is on the road for a few more days and needed for Marce to call him. After asking Marcie to call Kink we went to Kerrville to get some supplies at H.E.B. where we ran into our super volunteer and good friend, Ellen Jackson, by the toilet paper section! Scott Extra Soft tissue to be exact.

 After howdies and hugs Ellen asked us how Rita Coolidge was doing. "Ellen, she's fine, but she really misses her sister, Emmylou Harris. She is so lonesome." Then the three of us made a secret plan about getting Rita adopted, but to protect the innocent and us, I can't reveal it at this time, but please keep your fingers crossed for little Rita.

Y'all have a great evening!

The Procedure!

This morning I got up early and walked eight miles before seven o'clock. After breakfast I did a little paperwork and then went outside and helped Tony clean the dog pens. When our cleanup was complete T. asked me to go with him to hay the cows, but I didn't want to because he always makes me open the gates and I am afraid of the cows. When I told him no and why Tony promised me that he would open and close all of the gates. So I went and I am glad that I did, because I have never silently laughed so hard for so long.

It all started when we went to get the giant round bale of hay over by the corral. After Tone backed Buttermilk up to the hay trailer he started to get out, the door wouldn't budge, so he put Buttermilk into park, rolled down the window, unlocked the doors from inside and then reached his arm outside and opened the door using the outside handle. "I think Buttermilk's door is broken, dang-it." Then he got outside and hitched the trailer to Buttermilk so he could load the hay on it.

When he got back inside the Explorer he had to do a lot of back and forth maneuvering to finally line the trailer up to the round bale then he tried to open the door so he could get out, but it would not open and that is when I started silently laughing. "Dang it!" Tone said, as he put Buttermilk into park, rolled the window down, pressed the door unlock button and then stuck his arm outside and opened the door from the outside.

He had to repeat these steps four more times before we took off to go hay the cows and I could tell that T. was a little more than bothered about it. "Tony, Buttermilk can't help it. She's over fourteen years old. She's old like me." I tried to explain to his deaf ears.

When we reached the gate to the pasture, Tony took a deep breath and then he quickly did the four-step procedure: park, roll down the window, unlock the doors, and open the door from outside and then he got out of Buttermilk to open the gate. Then the cows from afar saw us and started stampeding toward us, so Tony jumped into Buttermilk and drove us through the gate entrance and then he cussed under his breath as he quickly repeated the four-step procedure to get out of Buttermilk so he could close the gate before the herd descended upon us!

It was hard for me not to laugh, but when we reached the area where the hay needed to be dropped, Tony did "The Procedure" and got out and unloaded the hay. Then we took off to the water tank to water the cows and Tony was cussing out loud as he parked, rolled, unlocked and opened the door. When he was out of earshot I laughed uncontrollably until he returned. His cow chores were now done so we took off. Three procedures later we were back home.

Because today was unusually cool, Tony and I decided to do some mowing. While he rode around on the riding lawn mower I push mowed our front and back yards.

During lunch I let Carlton take a call from a sweet, young woman who wanted to adopt one of our dogs for her son. Ten minutes later after eating my last bite I returned her call. After a short telephone conversation she told me that she and her family would be here by four o'clock to possibly adopt one of our dogs! I was on Cloud Nine about it, but it didn't last long.

Ten minutes after I had cleaned up the kitchen a woman called and told me that she was returning one of our dogs, because he kept running away. Hmmmmmmm?  Running away? I knew there must have been a reason, but she wouldn't tell me. When I told Tony that Walter, one of our super dogs, was being returned he was disappointed and felt sorry for Walter. "Walter is a great dog, Nance," T. said.

An hour later when the woman showed up we immediately got mad, but hid it, when we saw Walter riding in the back of her truck. As soon as the woman handed Walter over to me I listened to her complaints about him constantly running away. "Hi, Walter," I said. "Welcome home, buddy..."

"He won't answer to Walter anymore. We changed his name to #*^+*," The woman said. "He doesn't answer to Walter. It's..."

"It's okay, Walter," I said as he sat in front of me as I petted him. "You're a great dog, Walter and we've really missed you..." Then Tony took his leash and took him to a pen and then the woman drove away.

At four-thirty Kim, her husband and young son arrived from Del Valle to possibly adopt a dog from us. Tony and I immediately fell in love with the young couple and their cute son and we were thrilled when they decided to adopt Emmylou Harris, the young, black and white sister pup to Rita Coolidge that we rescued earlier this week! Needless to say her adoption made our day! Now we must get Rita into a great home as soon as possible, because she is already missing her sister.

Y'all have a great evening!

Happy Birthday Pete Hartje!

Today has been great, but first off, I want to wish our dear friend Pete Hartje down in Port Aransas a Happy Birthday! Happy Birthday to You! Happy Birthday to You! Happy Birthday Dear Pete! Happy Birthday to You! We love You! Kelly, please give Pete a big bear hug from Tone and me.

This morning I woke up early which was good, because I got so much done. In fact, I had walked eight miles with Leslie Sansone before eight-thirty! Then Kinky called me and we had a great long distance business meeting about future fund raising ideas for the rescue ranch and the special newsletter that I am working on. After our talk I did some paperwork then I went outside around nine-thirty to help Tony clean pens and discovered that Jim McMahon, one of our great volunteers, was already out here walking our dogs for us!

After cleaning two pens just before I went into Blackie's and Alfie's pen to pick up poop June Hartley arrived with a guest volunteer—her Aunt Barbara who was visiting her from Nebraska. The minute I shook Barbara's hand I liked her because June told me that she is a big time animal lover like all of us are. "I'm on Poop Patrol today," I said with a laugh. "You can call me Stinky Pinky." June and Barbara laughed and then they offered to do my job for me and pick up the poop, but I declined their offer, because I'd rather have them walk our dogs, so they took off to walk our dogs.

After Blackie's and Alfie's pen was spotless I went over to Hank's and Nellybelle's pen to clean it when Ellen Jackson and Eileen Gotke showed up and parked right next to the pen I was in. By the time we had said our howdies to each other I was done picking up the poop and left the pen to visit with them.

In no time flat the three of us were laughing about the pretty pink, feathered-flashing cowgirl hat that Eileen had given to me. They told me that they had loved the picture on my blog of Ben Welch wearing my hat and then Ellen told us that the next time that she goes to Fredericksburg she was going to buy one for herself!

Then Ellen gave me an update on Jermaine Jackson, the sweet, shy dog that she recently adopted from us! "He is definitely a Jackson!" Ellen said with pride. "He is doing great and I have taken him to two obedience classes. The first time that I took him to the class he was shy and skittish and nervous, but when we went to his second class he acted like a completely different dog and everyone complimented me on him! Jermaine was much calmer and he even slept at my feet as we listened to the dog trainer. I am so proud of him..."

"I am so proud of you for taking one of our  fouled-up dogs that needed a lot of work, Ellen and having the patience and the love to slowly turn him around. I am so happy for him. Few people would adopt a dog like Jermaine, because most people want a perfect dog from the moment that they get one. You're an angle. I mean an angel."

After our short, but fun hen party Eileen and Ellen grabbed a bucket full of treats and leashes and then they took off to see our new puppies, Emmylou Harris and Rita Coolidge before they walked our dogs so I went to Dusty's pen to clean it.

After "poop-proofing" Dusty Springfield's pen I sat down to visit with her and pet her and I got to laughing as I listened to Ellen and Eileen, just two pens down, holding and baby talking to the cute puppy sisters, because yesterday I did the same exact thing, because Rita and Emmylou are so sweet and cuddly. In other words they are so irresistible that you just can't help it.

While things picked up in Randy Travis', Moe Bandy's and Mandy's pen I teased Ellen and Eileen next door and we all had a good laugh when Eileen and Ellen tried to put small harnesses on the playful pups, so they could take them for a little walk. When the little girls were finally leashed up they carried them out of their puppy pen and it was hilarious watching the pups trying to figure out their newfound attachment to Ellen and Eileen as they ran circles around them and kept getting tangled up.

After I cleaned Rocky's and Lucy's pen I went over to the barn to help Ellen and Tony give Bob Dylan a much needed hair cut and a shave, because Bob's coat was really matted. While we visited Tone and I took turns holding Bob still on the grooming table as Ellen inch-by-inch gently freed him from his thick fur.

Forty minutes later Bob was clean cut and ready to quit playing "Beauty Shop" with us, so I took him down to the creek to give him a bath and I wish that someone had shot us with a camera because I lost my balance in the water and fell into the creek! It was actually pretty hilarious, but Bob didn't laugh even when I was sloshing my way back to the rescue ranch.

After I returned Bob Dylan to his pen Rockette sniffed him and then he started rolling wildly in the dirt trying to get the smell of the foo-foo smell of the shampoo off of him. When I walked up to the barn to visit with our friends / volunteers I was soaking wet from the waist down. "Well, Bob got his bath and I am soaking wet from the waist down because I lost my balance and fell into the creek." Everyone started laughing. "After I had shampooed Dylan I got most of the soap off of him, then I went into the shallow water so he could swim in the deep water to make sure all of the soap was gone, but when I stepped on some sand my foot sank about a foot and when I tried to dislodge it I lost my balance and fell halfway into the creek. Somehow I luckily grabbed onto the side of the bridge to keep from going totally under. Bob was great about it when he got loose. He ran up to the road and waited for me to wade out of the water." We all started laughing and then they teased me before taking off for Medina to eat lunch.

This afternoon I was surprised when a package was delivered to me from Williams and Sonoma, that was sent to me by my dear friends Karen and 'Erb! Thank you, Karen and 'Erb! I love the marble rolling pin and scrapper and T. is nervous! We're definitely talking about another "Cousin Nancy Cooking Show On How To Make Homemade Flour Tortillas!" Brought to you by 'Erb & Karen Cares Care Package!

P.S. 8:45 PM This just in:  Rick just called me from Port Aransas to tell me that our good friends, Cleve Hattersley and Sweet Mary of the famous band, Greezy Wheels is playing in Port A. tonight and they are fixin' to leave the lighthouse to go listen to their first set! "Rick, that is great! Please tell Cleve and Mary that I said howdy and for them to come see us!" Rick told me that he would, then he told me that Leisa had just taken her first taste of honey from her bees and it was delicious!

Y'all have a great evening!