Thanks For The Memories, Kink!

 Here are several of my favorite pictures of Kinky. And after these photos I added two more short videos of Kinky. 

After hiking with his dear friends: Will Wallace, Dylan Ferrero, Kinky and Ben Welch

Kinky on set with Jimmy LaFave for movie Palo Pinto Gold

Kinky outside on his porch

Kinky holding Stella a rescued dog from hurricane Katrina

Kinky signing a guitar on his pool table

Kinky posing next to my writing cabin at our rescue ranch

Sandy Wolfmueller, Tony and me having a fun lunch with Kinky @ Cracker Barrel

Kinky posing with Mama, my rescued Great Pyrenees

Tony took this picture of Kinky and Sophie, his rescued dog

Kinky taking a walking break with David Beckham, our rescued wild hog that plays soccer.

Tony, Kinky, me and U.S. Representative Lamar Smith @ our rescue ranch

Kinky posing with Little Jewford

Bob, Kinky, me and Jay Pennington outside of the Lodge

Kinky signed his cigar poster to Tony & me

9 years ago Tony took this video of Kinky & me doing a video for an upcoming tribute to our dear friend Ruth Buzzi

Kinky's kind words 

Thanks for the memories, Kink!

Episode: 20: Heart Cycles!

I had a blast doing this podcast yesterday. In this super fun and interesting podcast I interviewed Tony's and my dear friends Jay Pennington and Gerry Olert of Olert & Pennington Productions about their latest award-winning feature film Heart Cycles. And please note Gerry is on the left and Jay is on the right side of the photo.

Jay and Gerry are known for making fabulous films on shoestring budgets that are high quality films that win many awards. In fact, last year I actually played a small part acting like a crazy, old woman who spends most of her time stacking rocks when not worrying about her outlaw son— in Vinegar To Honey soon to be released.

In this episode, between my corny jokes, my friends discuss their backgrounds, how they met and how they work so well together. And they also talked about the multi-talented actors/actresses and the awesome music score that has made Heart Cycles a must-see feature film.

Also after I told a corny joke about a pony I reminded Jay about the two of us both getting pictures taken of us on the same pony even though Jay's photo was taken in his front yard, in San Antonio and mine was taken in my front yard, in Fort Worth. I guess you could say at the time, "It was a small world for a small pony."

To listen to this podcast please CLICK HERE or near the top of the sidebar on the left. And please always remember my favorite quote, "Life is short and so am I!" 

Y'all take care and keep on laughing!

P.S. Please check out Jay and Gerry on Facebook, too! And please give Heart Cycles a review on Instagram and Twitter, etc.

The Cousin Nancy Show! or The Peep Show!

 Since my last post, my podcast The Cousin Nancy Show, is now available to listen to on Apple, Spotify & Google, etc. and I am more than thrilled about this.

But I am even more thrilled about doing my first podcast, Season:1, Episode:1, with my dear friend Gerry Olert—last Saturday.

In my opinion, Gerry Olert is the Best Videographer & Editor in Texas. And if you recall Gerry, is the man who was the Utopia Animal Rescue Ranches official videographer and he was the editor of the Longmire—Texas Style spoof.

Anyway, a month before I had even made The Cousin Nancy Show trailer, he had volunteered to be my  very first guest (guinea pig) for my podcast. So, right now I would like to say, "Thank You, Gerry! You made doing the podcast so much fun."

Last Saturday, when Gerry arrived at Big Foot Ranch at 1:00—I had already set up the recording equipment, in the kitchen and I had been pacing the floor for an hour, because I was so nervous about doing the podcast and then editing it. Basically hoping that nothing would go wrong with the equipment, etc.

After howdies, Gerry and I spent about ten minutes discussing what we planned to talk about while Tony stood back and took this picture of us doing a sound check.

And a few minutes after T.'s photo shoot we adjusted our headphones and then I pushed the red record button on my computer and the audio interface lit up and we started talking. 

Gerry and I chatted, told jokes, talked about our friends: Billy Joe Shaver, Kinky, Jay Pennington, Nancy Harvey, the owner of Spirits of Texas in Bandera, our dear friends at Escondida Resort & Spa, Big G, Asleep @ the Wheel, Chet O'Keefe, Jim Keaveny, the Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch, etc. ,jobs, etc. and I did so much laughing my back actually started aching. 

One of my favorite subjects that we discussed and had fun with was when Gerry gave me a Peeps taste test. Even though I did not know anything about Peeps, he had brought with him 4 packages of different colored Peeps for me to taste.

And that is when we really did a lot of laughing. In fact, I think the subtitle for my first episode should have been The Peep Show, but you will have to listen to Episode:1 to decide for yourselves.

Gerry and I talked and laughed our way through my first podcast and we had recorded 59 minutes (998 megabytes). So, Sunday morning I spent a few hours editing the podcast down to 54 minutes before uploading it to Buzzsprout for them to rss feed to Apple, Google, Spotify and many other podcast platforms. 

And as a teaser the first joke I told many of my friends are still laughing about it and telling it to their friends and families. 

To listen to my first podcast you can go to cousinnancy.com and click the Podcast button at the top or at the bottom of the page and it will take you to The Cousin Nancy Show on Buzzsprout. Or you can just click this link: The Cousin Nancy Show or listen to it on Apple, Spotify or Google, etc.

As I finish writing this post/announcement, Sunday evening, Gerry sent me this cute photo that he took of his cat, sitting on top of his desk, watching the video he took of us talking about Peeps. (Gerry brought some of his video recording equipment and he had set it up to record the show, before he and I started talking.) Gerry titled his photo:

The Peep Show.

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

Empty Glass!

I'm sorry for not writing for so long, but I have an excuse—I've been pretty depressed. But knock-on-wood I am started to see the light at the end of the tunnel and I am feeling much better. But then again—it is early.

Also my other excuse for not writing lately is that I've become addicted to solving jigsaw puzzles, on my iPad and I am blaming my sweet sister Cindy for that new habit.

I've been trying to curb my addiction to these fun puzzles by playing solitaire, on my lap top, so now I have two addictions, jigsaw puzzles and solitaire, that I never had before all of this mess with that horrible virus.

Anyway, I am seriously thinking about starting a program that I've named JPSA (Jigsaw Puzzle Solvers Anonymous) and I will let y'all know when I open the first JPSA chapter in Medina. But remember it is anonymous, so I will not be able to reveal names or the secret location.

A few days ago while I was sewing my costume for me to wear in Jay Pennington's & Gerry Olert's upcoming Short Western—Vinegar To Honey, Tony came inside The Cabin and he was mad, and he said, "Last night something happened to all of my hummingbird feeders. They were emptied and completely dry this morning and I filled them up last night, before dark....I am going to move our game cameras and hope to find out what happened or who did it...."

While Tony was outside moving the cameras—I finished sewing my outfit for the movie. Knowing  that I had to make my costume look old, ragged and dirty-looking, because of the character that I am playing I pondered how to distress my outfit.

I thought about spilling coffee on it, making a mud puddle outside and soaking it in the mud, etc., but I wasn't wild about either one of these ideas, so I pondered a little longer.

Then I had a light bulb moment and I knew exactly how to make my costume look old and tattered—I would drag the garments on the floor, because it is always dusty and covered in dog hair! And it worked!

Anyway, as I was dragging my skirt around the big room's floor Tony walked inside, and he asked, "What are you doing! Is Hazle dead?" And after I explained to him why I was dragging my clothes around on the floor Tony thought I was brilliant. I think?

Yesterday Tony downloaded the pictures from his game cameras and he found out why his hummingbird feeders were emptied and who had done it. Here are four game pictures and I've titled them—An Empty Glass. Because I love Gary Stewart's song Empty Glass.

FYI: The night before Tony "set his trap" and he intentionally emptied his feeders, and hung them back up, so later when Mr. R showed up it explains why he looks confounded as to why they were already empty.

Before I finish writing this tonight, so I can get back to solving another jigsaw puzzle, The Mineral Man sent me this YouTube link to enjoy and to refresh my memory. It is one of Gerry Olert's fabulous videos that he filmed at the Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch and at our last fundraiser held in April 2014. And I enjoyed watching it. So, please click here to enjoy it.

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

Gerry Olert—Is The Best!

Today has been great. Tonight's post is going to be rather short, because I have something very important to do in few minutes— spend Happy Hour with Tony and our five four-leggers!

I am looking forward to doing this, because I need a break from hearing any more depressing, negative news, etc.

But I do want to share what my dear friend Gerry Olert sent to me this morning. He has just uploaded his latest video Gerry Olert's Reel 2020, on YouTube, and several of our dear friends (including me) are in Gerry's video. Such as: a clip of Jay Pennington starring in his and Gerry's Short Western—Smile, Ruth Buzzi, Chet O'Keefe and Billy Joe Shaver. So please click here to watch it and please give Gerry a thumbs up.

Thank y'all for watching it.

Y'all have a great evening and keep on laughing! And stay safe, healthy and happy! Cheers!

#73-B! or ZZ Top Documentary Rules And Rocks!

Life here is good—knock-on-wood. Since my last post it has mainly been the same routine: editing, working and sleeping, but I do have a few things that I do want to mention here.

Last week our AACC (Ancient Alien Coffee Club) met at Randy's & Lisa's Save Inn Restaurant for coffee, tea, water or breakfast, again. And it was a blast.

During our meeting we presented one of our anonymous members #73-B (we are all anonymous and only use numbers) with his official alien-attracting helmet that Tony and I had custom made especially for him. It took us an hour—laugh out loud.

Once again we used another colander that we purchased @ Wal-Mart for the base of the helmet and after we  had quit decorating #73-B's helmet with pipe cleaners and stickers we stuck a small LED push button light, on the top of it for special effects.

#73-B seemed to really like his alien-attracting helmet and here is a picture of him wearing it and a picture of me wearing my helmet and my LED magnification glasses with my helmet.

And needless to say, the Save Inn's customers thought it was all very funny, too. Which is exactly the response that I had hoped for, because I believe that we all need to laugh more. 

Last week our good friend Gerry Olert came to visit us. (Gerry is the fabulous, talented video-grapher that made all of our rescue ranch videos for us and he also did the Longmire—Texas Style video spoof that I wrote, directed and produced, in 2016, to make Little Debbie more famous. 

The video spoof starred Little Debbie, our rescue ranch friends/volunteer dog walkers, Chet O'Keefe, Bob (the alien) and me. Tony took these pictures of Gerry filming us at Big Jim's & Lady Liz's Grey Goose Saloon.

During our fun visit with Gerry, we discussed my part and what I should wear in Jay Pennington's & Gerry Olert's upcoming Short Western movie Honey To Vinegar. And the best news is Tony is going to be involved with the movie, too!

Anyway last week I did a lot of research for my crazy old lady's costume to wear for my part in the movie and I purchased some material, etc., so I can make my outfit. Which I plan to hopefully sew later on this week. 

Lastly, last week I watched the new ZZ Top documentary, on Netflix and I just want to highly recommend it, because it was so much fun to watch. And the friends that I recommended it to also loved it. And that is about it for now.

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

Best Buns In Town!

Today has been great and so has everyday since my last post. I've been very busy working, going on a couple of all day trips and writing.

This past Wednesday Tony and I went to visit our dear friend Jan, at her awesome horse rescue sanctuary, in Mountain Home and I fell in love with all of her beautiful rescued horses, cats, dogs, donkeys, and an adorable outlaw hog, etc.

Yesterday I went with Carol, to Bulverde, to visit one of my favorite people—her sweet sister Carla.

I loved getting to visit with Carla and her beautiful family. And while I was there I fell in love with their sweet cat, who dared anyone to remove him from Carla's lap.

I spent this morning writing non-stop and this afternoon, after lunch, I was writing and I thought my worldly travels were over, but we needed to go to Kerrville to pick up supplies at the big H-E-B store on Main Street. So I had to quit writing. Dang.

I didn't want to quit writing, because I only have about ten more pages to write before finishing my book.

Anyway, I had just written this scene where Tony, Chet and Randy rode the horses to the bottom of a butte, in Terlingua, in hopes of rescuing Carol and me, but instead they were captured by aliens. Here is a peak of what I had written:

"At 3:33 to be exact, this blinding light, high above the butte, beamed down on the three cowboys, from this huge flying saucer and it created a wide circle around the three men. The drenching rain instantly stopped, inside this brightly lit ring and neither Tony, Chet or Randy could talk or move. It was like they were paralyzed or frozen in time. Then the beam of light went out and the men were gone and so was the spaceship."

I was disappointed that I had to quit writing right then, because I was trying to decide if or when the men are returned to Earth and if they would be stripped of all of their cowboy clothes, except for their underwear and socks, because aliens LOVE everything cowboy—especially the cowboy hats, Wrangers, buckles, belts and cowboy boots.

So, I daydreamed all of the way to Kerrville, as Tony drove Trigger to the big H-E-B, but I still hadn't made a decision about what will happen to Tony and his search party. Will they return to Earth or not?

After we left the grocery store we went down Main Street and Tony parked Trigger in front of the Wild Birds Unlimited store, because we wanted to visit with our friends: Marguerite and Linda & Kevin Pillow, the friendly owners.

When we walked inside the store all of our dear friends greeted us and then sweet Marguerite ran over and gave me a big hug.

I love Marguerite so much and after the hugs she and I immediately started catching up with each others news. And we mainly talked about our dogs, cats and her birds and I did make a point to brag that Little Debbie and I are going to be actresses in Jay Pennington's and Gerry Olert's upcoming Short Western—Vinegar to Honey.

While Marguerite was telling me about one of her dogs that she had adopted from our rescue ranch, I couldn't help but notice that Linda had come away from the counter and she had started decorating a display near us. I teased Linda, and said, "Linda, you're not fooling me. You do this every time I come in here, because you know I will buy whatever you display."

And we had a good laugh about it and yes, I did end up buying one of the coolest bunnies on her newest display and I told Tony that it was his Valentine gift for me. Bottom   Line: This is the second bunny that I  have purchased from Linda & Kevin's awesome store, because I LOVE bunnies and they have the best buns in town!

When Tony and I got back home and after we had put up the groceries I pulled my bunny out of the Wild Birds Unlimited sack and I could not quit admiring it.

Here is a picture of the first bunny I purchased from Wild Birds Unlimited. It is made of wood and wrapped inside a metal strip. And it always gets noticed when we have friends over.

And here is Tony's shiny bunny Valentine gift for me that I LOVE so much!

As I finish writing this, because I love my new bunny so much, I've decided that Tony, Randy and Chet will definitely be returned to Earth, but that is all that I am saying about it. But wouldn't it be cool if these aliens that captured them—looked like rabbits? And that is all the men can remember about their abduction?

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

Escondido Resort & Spa New Year's Eve Party!

Tony and I have been working a lot of hours next door, at Escondida Resort & Spa, this week.  Tonight we are resting up, because this famous, popular resort, next door to us, is nearly booked up for their annual New Year's Eve party. Which means that Tony and I will be very busy working next door this coming week.

The theme of this New Year Eve party is the Roaring 20's. So we've been busy decorating and get everything ready for the celebration.

Our dear friend Little Jewford will be the entertainment for the festive evening, so it is already guaranteed that the party will be a total blast. And I cannot wait to see LJ again, because he is one of the funniest entertainers and best piano players on this Planet.

Because Tony and I have been so busy working I haven't blogged or caught up on my e-mail, because I've been too tired.

Not tired because of the extra work next door, but tired because the past five nights I've been waking up in the middle of the night and writing on my novella for at least two to three hours.

I am thrilled about what all I've written, but getting by on four to five hours of sleep each night is starting to take a toll on me, because if I don't get at least eight hours of sleep each night Tony says that I tend to get cranky. Or better said—bi***y.

And because of my lack of sleep I've tried making up for it by taking naps with our four-leggers, but that hasn't been a good idea, because I am not sleepy when I go to bed. So unintentionally I have messed up my sleeping cycle.

Today I decided not to take a nap, in hopes of going to bed at a descent time tonight and catching up on my beauty sleep. So instead of napping this afternoon I've spent most of my afternoon writing. And as I finish writing this I am already yawning, but I am determined not to go to bed at 7:00 and make myself stay up until 10:00. So please wish me luck that I get at least eight hours of sleep tonight.

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

P.S. Gaby I got your e-mail and I plan to write you back tomorrow.

P.S.S. And to clear up any confusion—Little Debbie will also be acting in Jay Pennington's and Gerry Olert's next short Western—Vinegar to Honey!

Sir? Yes You!

Today has been great. Actually it has been more than great, because this morning I received an exciting e-mail from our dear friend Jay Pennington, the writer, director and actor in Smile. And his note has made this the best Christmas present that I've ever received.

I know, and you probably know by now, that I can easily get excited about all kinds of things. But let me just say Jay's unexpected news didn't just get me all excited—it nearly caused me to wet my pants or even worse, because I was not expecting this could possibly happen. But I am so glad that it is going to happen.

Now you may be asking yourself, "What in the heck did Jay write to cause all of this? We already know that Cousin Nancy is going to be an actress in Jay & Gerry Olert's next short Western movie, Vinegar to Honey."

So here is clue. Imagine that you're at the Academy Awards or at home watching the Oscars being handed out, when the MC finally says, "And the Best Supporting Actress for a short Western movie goes to—Little Debbie! And the audience roars with applause and approval and they all stand up, as the orchestra starts playing the Vinegar to Honey soundtrack.

In fact (or fiction) at this awards event, I pass out when they call out Little Debbie's name, because I had hoped that it might be me that gets the award. Because I am great at playing a crazy old lady.

So Tony thinking-fast pulls my cowboy hat down, over my face, takes Little Debbie out of my arms and they go up on stage to accept Little Debbie's Best Supporting Actress Oscar.

And I was still passed out, when Tony told Little Debbie's adoring fans, "Little Debbie wasn't expecting to receive this award, but Nance was and I am sure that she'll be okay in a little while. She faints all of the time. Sir? Yes you. Would you mind putting Nancy's cowboy hat back over her face? Thank you."

Then the music starts playing softly, in the background, to speed up Little Debbie's/Tony's acceptance speech. "Little Debbie wants to thank Jay Pennington and Gerry Olert and the entire awesome cast of Vinegar to Honey for making this happen. She thanks you." Then a pretty woman walks up to them and escorts them safely backstage, so they can attend the parties.

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

The AACC!

Monday when Lisa and Eileen came to visit us, Lisa told us about her binge-watching Ancient Aliens on the History Channel and how much she loves this show. And I told her that I would love to watch it, too.

Tuesday Lisa sent me an e-mail informing me that Ancient Aliens is also on Netflix, too. So, last night I started binge-watching Ancient Aliens on Netflix and I absolutely love this show.

Wednesday morning after posting on my blog about Jay and Gerry's fabulous movie Smile, I sent Lisa an e-mail suggesting that we get together more often and I proposed that we meet for coffee once a month, in Kerrville. I also suggested that we get Eileen, Kris & Jim and Tony to join us. Lisa was totally on board with the idea.

Later that morning Lisa sent me a note. She told me that she was excited about us meeting for coffee every month, because it would be so much fun and it would also give her and I a chance to discuss Ancient Aliens episodes, and she also wrote, " ...We can call ourselves the AACC (Ancient Aliens Coffee Club)." I totally love that name.

Even though Kris & Jim, Eileen and Tony are still unaware about all of this I am sure they will want to be participating members in our exclusive Ancient Aliens Coffee Club.

I can't wait for our first coffee meeting, because we will have a lot of business to discuss. Such as:
a logo, who pays for the coffee, a mascot (hopefully Little Debbie), rules, a secret handshake, decoder rings, an oath, etc.

And since Lisa and I are the co-founders of this new prestigious Ancient Aliens Coffee Club I am hoping that she will be voted president and that I will get to be the vice president. I think it is the only logical and fair thing to do.

Anyway, I do know at our first official meeting I do plan to suggest that we dust off our alien-attracting-pot-pie-tin hats, (The hats that I made, in 2016, that we wore in the making of the Longmire—Texas Style video spoof.) for us to wear to every club meeting and special events. And if no one objects to my idea I will offer to make even more alien-attracting pot-pie-tin hats to sell at events to help pay for our coffees.

This is all so exciting to me I keep pinching myself, but I've forgotten why.

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

P.S. This morning Gerry Olert sent me this picture of him and Jay Pennington scouting locations, in Texas, for their next movie Vinegar to Honey!

The WEST KERR Current & Irene Van Winkle Made Me Smile!

Today has been great and it started out early, because sweet Irene Van Winkle sent me her fabulous copy/story that she wrote about Jay Pennington's and Gerry Olert's awesome movie Smile—for the WEST KERR Current's December 5th edition.

So I especially want to thank Irene Van Winkle and the WEST KERR Current for giving me permission to reprint Irene's fabulous story about our dear friend's fabulous movie. So Extra! Extra! Now You Can Read All About It!

****

'Smile' - The little Western that could  

By Irene Van Winkle

West Kerr Current

The accolades keep coming in for a new short Western film made on a shoestring and a prayer by two friends from Texas who have been finding that dreams sometimes do come true.

Actor/writer/co-director Jay Pennington and technical guru/filmographer and director Gerry Olert think they may be shaping up to become the next Coen brothers. 

They became friends through a mutual interest in film, and lately have been collecting kudos for their first short film, “Smile,” along the film festival circuit.

“I wrote it, played the lead, we co-directed, and, Gerry got on film what I saw in my head, so audiences would see how I visualized the story. We make a real good team,” Pennington said. “Gerry does the cinematography, sound, editing, and has a great feel for the music, and the technical side. He can create a visual masterpiece!”

“It looks like a higher budget film than it was,” said Olert. “Using different angles, I got to make it look like a multiplecamera shot. We shot 80 percent of it in one day.”

So far, “Smile” has received five Official Selection awards in various film festivals, eleven nominations and four awards (acting, writing Audience Choice and Best Western).

They were recognized at the Wild Bunch Film Festival in Tombstone, Ariz., with awards for writing and acting, including their young star, Daniel, who won Best Child Actor, in his first featured role. 

At the Billy the Kid Festival in Hico, Texas, they got the Audience Choice award. At the Indie Short Fest (L.A. International film festival), “Smile” was an official selection, nominated for best original story and for directing.

Most recently, they got more great news. On Monday, Olert learned that “Smile” had won the Best Western award at the Los Angeles Film Awards.

“What an original concept and great execution,” said the congratulatory letter from LAFA.

Another film festival will be coming up in Australia, and they hope to garner an invitation. And of course, they’re hoping to get that plum — an invitation from the Sundance Film Festival, the granddaddy of them all.

Pennington, a lifelong student of film, has had a gamut of small and large acting roles, but has aspirations to stretch his acting chops in writing screenplays and in filmmaking. He penned the script for “Smile,” which he and Gerry shot in just a few short days.  

Olert started out in radio, then progressed to outdoor TV fishing and hunting shows as well as private assignments.

He filmed “Smile” armed with a Sony HD camera, which presented some challenges, but, Pennington said, “With his great editing skills, Gerry made it look like we had a major budget.”

Pennington praised everyone else on a job well done. Jack Palance’s widow, Elaine Palance, is in the film along with Destiny Hallman and her son Daniel, musician K.R. Wood, and Sarah Pennington. Music provided by Chet O’Keefe, K.R. Wood and Steven Sellers.

Filmed at Knowlton’s Vista Verde Ranch near Hondo, where Kimberly Knowlton built a western town, “Smile” has been a journey for Olert and Pennington.

“Movies are expensive to make,” Pennington said. “Gerry and I were talking and he asked if he could just film me doing a monologue. Then we thought, ‘Why don’t we write something.’”

The short version of the plot is that a gunslinger finds gold while he’s watching over a town. It’s inspired by the classic film, “Rashomon,” where one person sees one thing, but others interpret it completely differently. 

“In this film, it’s a whole different story than the one you thought you saw. Daniel is part of the Rashomon surprise, but I don’t want to give it away,” Pennington said. “It’s been a great audience pleaser and Daniel did a great job. He just knew what to do.”

At the Wild Bunch Film Festival in Tombstone, held in a historic theater, Pennington said they were near the front row, gauging audience reactions.

“They laughed at the right times, and then were either laughing or gasping at the appropriate times. And we got a big applause with a little added hollering at the end, then a second round of boisterous applause after the credits. To be able to write something and have the audience react like that was great,” he added. “It is an extreme thrill to author a story, make it a reality, and then have an audience enjoy it and heartily respond to it.”

There is a desire for more Westerns across the U.S., Pennington said. The TV series Yellowstone is a huge hit and he is working hard to get a role in that show. Some of his friends have recurring roles in it and he thinks he would be a great fit.  

So for now, there will be even more reason to celebrate -- a local party premiere -- on Saturday, Dec. 14, starting at  6 p.m. at the location where “Smile” was shot, Knowlton's Vista Verde Ranch between Bandera and Hondo, Texas. 

“It will be more of a party that just happens to show ‘Smile’ every 30 minutes. There will be food and drinks ... the Bandera Cattle Company Gunfighters doing skits ... music ... all within the Western town movie set,” he said.

As there will be food,  drinks, music and entertainment, it will be $20 per person to be paid for before Dec. 14 so they know how much food to prepare. Email Jay@Jay-Pennington.com for details on purchasing tickets.

And Olert said he has “definitely caught the bug” for films.

“We will continue to make more Westerns and use local talent. One friend said if we did well with ‘Smile,’ and the next one, Netflix is always looking for new content,” Pennington added.

They are already working on a second film together, “Vinegar to Honey,” a tongue-in-cheek Western that will be filmed at the Pine Moore Old West Studio in Blanco. Amanda Smith will be in the spotlight on this film and the characters in “Smile” will be in the second Western playing their same roles.  

Pennington said he wrote “Vinegar to Honey”  so that if it were picked up nationally it could be a Western series. 

 

With the success of “Smile,” they are confident that with lessons learned, their next film is sure to be another award winner.

****

Here is the IMDb TV link to see photos, etc. about  the movie Smile. And here are a few pictures that Tony and I took Saturday night at Knowlton's Vista Verde Ranch, located between Bandera and Hondo.

The Carriage House was so awesome. It is where we watched the premier showing of Smile.

The super cool Western set near dark-thirty.

Jay Pennington and me posing before the premier showing of Smile.

Jay's wife, the beautiful Sarah Pennington posing and me. (In the movie Smile, Sarah played the town's you know what.)

Saturday evening was so much fun, because we got to meet the entire cast members following the movie premiere. And while we sat down and enjoyed eating a fabulous BBQ dinner, we watched the famous Bandera Cattle Company Gunfighters do one of their great shoot-em-up skits.

And are you ready for this? I am going to be playing a crazy old lady character in Gerry's & Jay's next Western movie —Vinegar to Honey! And I am so thrilled about it.

FYI: During the party when we were talking to Gerry and Jay about the character that I will be playing, Tony joked, "It will be a piece of cake for Nancy to play the character, because she is already old and she is definitely crazy." And after we had quit laughing, I did admit it would be an easy part for me to play. : )

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

EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT!

EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT—in a couple of days! Yes, I know that I vowed to print Irene Van Winkle's fantastic article  'Smile" —The little Western that could, that she wrote for the WEST KERR Current's December 5th paper today.

But I didn't lie that I would do it. This morning I called the WEST KERR Current to talk to my dear friend Irene about getting permission to copy her article for my blog and to also congratulate Irene on writing another great article. "Irene, you are the greatest writer that I know of and I know many famous authors. You are such a talented author. Seriously, you're great writing puts me to shame. You write circles around me...."

After complimenting Irene with the truth about her writing, I told her about wanting to publish her article about Jay Pennington, Gerry Olert and their awesome movie—Smile on my blog.

Irene gave me permission, but she told me it would be a couple of days for her to send me her copy, because she was facing a publishing deadline for the paper. So, as soon as Irene makes deadline and she can find the time to send me her copy—I will put in on the blog for your eyes and the world to read and I cannot wait for y'all to read it.

But because we must wait to read Irene's awesome article that she wrote about the movie Smile, I want to share this beautiful story, Irene Van Winkle—The Busiest Woman In Print written about sweet Irene that I found in this great (my favorite) magazine the Texas Heart Beat of the Texas Hill Country. It is a must read and I apologize that I do not know who wrote this great article for texasheartbeat.com so I can give them credit where credit is deserved.

Anyway, this afternoon our two great friends Eileen and Lisa came to visit us and Tony and I had a blast visiting with them. Bottom   Line: We did a lot of laughing and they fell in love with The Last Resort, too. And they also signed the door.

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

Bob Lives! or Smile—The Little Western That Could!

Today has been great and last night at the Smile short film Premier was a total blast—literally. This morning after working I came home and worked on Bob's face, before our dear friends Drew & Ellie came to see us. So once again Bob Lives! And he looks so much better now.

I've run out of time tonight to write much about the fabulous short film Smile premier showing that our dear friends Jay Pennington and Gerry Olert made. So I am going to show you the fabulous article that our dear friend Irene Van Winkle wrote about the Smile movie, for the December 5th West Kerr Current. It is one awesome article to read and tomorrow I will have much more time and will try to get the article from Irene, so it will be easier to read.

Irene's fabulous story about this fabulous short film, Smile, made the front page and the back page!

Tomorrow I will write about the super fun premier showing of the Smile movie and include some pictures, but now I must go.

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

It's Seedless To Say Part II: Guilty!

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

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

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

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

It's Seedless To Say: Part II Guilty!

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

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

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

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

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

"Are you and Tony coming to Kerrville today?"

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

"What?" Sandy asked, in the background.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Why?" he asked.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"That's sad Jon," I teased.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Do you really?" Jean asked.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"What?" Tony asked.

"I forgot to buy the Carl Hiaasen books!"

The End