Twins? or Is It Memorex?

 Today I was looking at some old photos and I burst out laughing when I saw these two photos of us accidentally dressed alike, which we still accidentally find ourselves doing. 

It never really bothered me when this would happen, but Tony would more or less—be totally horrified especially if some one commented on it—like at the grocery store or at the the Medina Cider Mill, or Wolfmueller's Books. For example: This picture of us was taken at the Cider Mill, 2017 after we enjoyed lunch with our fabulous dog-walking volunteers.

And this" twins photo" (except for our caps) was taken of us, at Sandy & Jon's famous Wolfmueller's Books store, in 2018. And please notice Tony isn't smiling in either photo, because that is how he looks when he is horrified or embarrassed.

Anyway, tomorrow when I do the super-fun podcast with Eileen & Dean I am going to try to trick Tony and dress alike again and get Gerry to take a picture of us as long as he doesn't make me look fat. 

Now that I've gone down memory lane with y'all I have to ask,  "Are Tony and I twins or is it Memorex? Or is it just old age."

Y'all take care and keep on laughing!

Light Show! or Loaf!

Last night we had some thunderstorms and some were mixed with pea-sized hail and Big Al(ice) was not a happy camper, even though forty minutes before the light show, thundering and pounding started I had already put her thunder-jacket on her and given her a tiny doggie-downer. But the good news is she was much calmer.

While the storms tried unsuccessfully to do harm outside, I was already ahead of the game with my damage control plan. I had everything unplugged, of course, and I had my music cranked up really
 loud to block out the thunder strikes.

About thirty minutes into the noisy storm, my legs went to sleep, because I had Henry Standing Bear sitting on my lap—licking my fact non-stop while I was holding Little Debbie in one arm and Big Al(ice) in my other arm.

During a lull of lightning and thunder I forcibly removed Henry from my newly flattened legs and lap and then I put The Girls back on my chair seat and covered them up with a doggie blanket. Then I pulled out a drawer, in the kitchen, to search for some emergency batteries for my battery-operated candles, just in case we lost power.

And to my delight—I found the batteries and I also found another one of those super-cool, motion-activated toilet bowl lights, as seen on TV! I guess I had purchased it for back-up.

Anyway, while Henry stayed glued to my leg, I put new batteries in my candles and carefully re-read the instructions on how to operate the bowl light.

I knew that Tony would be thrilled at my bowl light discovery, because our last one wore out or broke over a year ago, during our monster move. Bottom   Line: Tony was pleasantly surprised when I asked him to pause the TV show he was watching and to please go into the bathroom without turning on any lights.

Today has been great. This morning Tony and I worked for a few hours next door, at Escondida and then we did a few chores and then we went to Kerrville.

We were busy in Kerrville. We went to the Kerrville dump and dropped off a load, then we went to the laundromat to wash one load of clothes. And while the clothes were becoming cleaner by the minute we went to the big H-E-B and bought gas and groceries.

Our last stop, while our cleaned clothes dried was at Wolfmueller's Books, so we could visit with Sandy and Jon. Unfortunately, Sandy was gone, but we still had a fun visit with Jon, when he wasn't busy helping customers find books.

When we got back home, after hanging up the clothes and putting them away and putting up the groceries—I made a loaf of bread and for the first time in my life—it was absolutely delicious and it looked like a loaf of bread—instead of a brick. And here's a picture of it, before we started consuming it.

Tony loved my loaf of bread and he was shocked that I had actually baked it and so was I. And it was hilarious when he cautiously took his first bite of bread, because my past history of bread making has always been disastrous.

And as I finish writing this tonight, because I am not a liar—I have to confess that I did bake that loaf of bread for twenty minutes, but other than that I had absolutely nothing to do with it and that's why it turned out so good. 

So there. I admit I did not make this delicious loaf of bread. It is Central Market's Country Loaf, that I bought today at H-E-B. 

But I am not going to tell Tony about it, because he wants me to start making it often. And the way I see it—what he doesn't know he doesn't need to know. If that makes any sense to you.

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

Longhours!

Things are great here. Friday evening Sandy and Jon Wolfmueller treated Tony and me to a delicious dinner, at the Medina Highpoint's Koyote Grill. The Koyote Grill is becoming famous for their "Friday Nights All You Can Eat Catfish Buffet" and word has been spreading fast, all over the Hill Country, so we met our dear friends, at 6:00, so we could be among the very first to eat and not have to wait in line for the popular buffet.

During our delicious meal Sandy asked me, "Have you watched Longmire, yet?" because she and Jon are hooked on the series that they had told us about last week.

"Not yet." I confessed. Then Sandy, Jon and Tony started talking about how much they loved the popular crime fighting television show, filmed in Wyoming and five minutes later when they were all talked-out about what a great show Longmire was, I said, "Okay, I'm sold.  I promise that I am going to watch it tonight as soon as we get back home."

Needless to say, when we got back homeI kept my promise and that is why I didn't post anything on my blog Friday night. I loved Longmire so much, I stayed up to nearly midnight watching the first five episodes. I wasn't hooked on the show—I was addicted to the show!

In fact, I was so hooked on the show, Saturday afternoon, I started watching episode six, right after we had adopted out Chi #4 aka Banjo, to a very nice couple, that lives in Medina! Which means we now only have the two Chihuahuas, Alice and Ginger, left to find homes for, before we can remove the puppy pen, from the big room, in The Cabin and return to normalcy.

Yesterday evening, as I was about to watch another episode—Sandy and Jon called me. "....Well, did you watch it?" Sandy asked, using their speakerphone.

"Yes! Omg, I love it and I can't quit watching it. I'm hooked and am..." They kept laughing, as I went on and on talking about the great actors, the plots with a twist, etc. and they were in total agreement with me.

"We've just started watching Longmire's second season," Jon told me. "It's really good too, with some surprises and...."

"Well, I'm going to try to finish watching season one tonight and then hopefully, I'll watch all ten of the second season's episodes tomorrow," I said, followed by a laugh. "The race is on as to which one of us finishes the series first!...."

As soon as I adios-ed our dear friends—I immediately started watching another episode and I spent the rest of the evening spending Longhours watching Longmire. And that is my reason that I didn't post anything last night, so y'all have The Wolfmuellers to blame for turning me on to Longmire and me slacking-off, the past two nights.

Today, as I finish writing this, it is around 3:30 and I am scheduling this to post at 7:00 tonight. I only have nine second season episodes to watch and I'm fixin' to start watching episode two, of the second season—right now. So, if you are reading this tonight please know that I am glued to the TV, with three, adorable Chihuahuas sleeping comfortably, on my lap. Longmire Rules!

Y'all have a great evening!

Is That Gumby!

Today has been great and I am running behind tonight, because I have been outside refilling the dog's wading pools with fresh, clean water. And I bet by morning the pools will be back to looking muddy again. Oh well.

This morning when I cooked Tony's breakfast, I heated up some of the leftover bacon and cheese grits to go with his two over easy eggs, that he covers in hot sauce. Then I made myself a healthy smoothie. And while I was drinking my delicious drink I decided to cook Mama breakfast too, because the grits were still warm, in the oven and you know how much Mama loves my grits.

I cooked the exact same breakfast that I had cooked for Tony, except for adding the hot sauce. After I had ground up her pill I mixed into the grits and then put the two over easy eggs on top of the grits and mixed them together. And the whole time I was preparing Mama's breakfast—Mama was watching me. And the good news is—Mama licked her bowl clean, again!

This afternoon Tony and I went to Kerrville. First, we ate a delicious lunch at La Fours and as we were driving down Junction Highway we got stopped at the Five Points signal light. As we waited for the light to turn green, I looked over to the left and said, "Tony, look at that! Is that Gumby?" He looked to the left and then we both started laughing.

"No, it's not Gumby. It's supposed to be a slice of pizza and he is probably trying to draw attention to that new pizza place, Papa Murphy's Take N Bake Pizza, behind him." This person had to be young to be dressed up like a giant slice of pizza, on this hot day and we were having a blast watching him jump up into the air and then run up and down the sidewalk and then start dancing nonstop. He was fabulous and we laughed about it until we arrived at Wolfmueller's Books!

Jon greeted us, from behind the counter, as we walked inside his and Sandy's super cool bookstore. "Where's Sandy?" Tony asked. After Jon told us that she was shopping, Tony started telling Jon about his new GoPro Hero+ Silver Edition camera. And the more Tony raved about his early birthday present the more he got excited.

"It sounds really cool," Jon said. "You ought to buy a drone for it. Then you could fly the camera all over the ranch." All of us started laughing.

"I wonder how much a drone costs?" I asked.

"Four-hundred and ninety-nine dollars," Tony quipped. Then Jon and I burst out laughing.

"Looks like Tony really wants a drone," Jon teased. "He already knows what a drone costs...."

After a really fun visit with Jon, Tony walked and I skipped across the street, because we were going to the Kerrville Arts and Cultural Center, to check out our dear friend Gerri Dickerson's four paintings, that were included in the art exhibit.

We thought Gerri's paintings were incredibly beautiful and I told Tony that I wish that I could paint like her. "I wish you could, too," Tony teased. After viewing the art exhibit, I browsed around their gift shop while Tony signed up to become a member of the Kerr Arts and Cultural Center.

While I was admiring some jewelry under glass, this heart necklace, on the counter, caught my eye and I could not quit staring at it, because I loved it. When I showed it to Tony—he bought it for me. So this is what I'll be wearing, around my neck, tomorrow when our friends/volunteers come out to walk our dogs. "Thank you, Tony!"

And that's about it for tonight, because it is 10:26 and I need to go to bed.

Y'all have a great evening or what's left of it!

Crazy, Old Lady! or Tony Got Gas!

This evening when my dear friends, Sandy & Jon Wolfmueller, called me and asked me how my day had been, I laughed and said, "Today has been a weird one...."

Today was great until Tony and I took off for Kerrville, in Trigger and Buttermilk. The reason we left in both vehicles was because we needed to drop Buttermilk off, at The Alignment Shop, to get her realigned.

After we dropped her off, halfway between here and Kerrville, we jumped inside Trigger and took off, again, for Kerrville, so I could pick up some glass that I had ordered, earlier this morning, at Thad Zeigler Glass, so I could replace a broken window pane, in The Spaceship. And on our way there, I laughed out loud and said, "You know The Alignment Shop would be a great name for a chiropractor clinic...."

When we arrived at Thad Ziegler Glass, Tony parked Trigger and said, "I'll wait for you in the truck." Which wasn't a good decision. When I walked inside the glass store, I was immediately greeted by the friendly employees, who were all wearing smiles on their faces.

When I told the sweet, young woman that I was there to pick up my order, she handed me my invoice and took off to go get my glass. As I was finishing up writing my check, that was under $8.00, she returned and said, "Here's your glass," as she laid it down on the counter.

When I handed her my check, I guess my purse hit something, because suddenly we heard the loud sound of glass breaking right next to me. I was so startled by it, I said, "I'm so sorry. What did I break?"  The nice people at the counter just smiled at me and told me it was alright. So, I turned around and asked a friendly-looking old man, about my age, sitting in a chair, "Do you know what I broke?"

"Glass," he mumbled, because I guess he had forgotten to put his dentures in. Then it dawned on me that I had broken my glass—not theirs. That made me feel relieved, but I was still embarrassed. The kind woman said, "Don't worry about it, it will only take us a few minutes to cut you another piece of glass, since y'all live in Medina.

"Oh my goodness, I feel like such a fool. I will gladly pay again for the new piece of glass. It is no problem." She smiled and then left the lobby, as two smiling young men came into the lobby with a shovel and broom to sweep up my shattered glass.

Three minutes later, the woman returned and said, "Here's your glass, ma'am and there is no extra cost." I thanked her and the men for being so nice to me and then I left the building, with glass in hand.

As I was carefully putting my glass in the backseat, Tony asked, "Is everything okay?"

"Yes. I love Thad Ziegler Glass. They are the best." And I told him the story of me breaking my glass, as we drove to H-E-B to get gas and pick up a few groceries. Before he dropped me off, at the front door, I told him, "If we ever have to get glass again, would you please go in with me, because I'll bet you that those nice folks, at Thad Ziegler Glass, probably think I am one crazy, old lady."

After Tony got gas and I got our groceries, we picked up Buttermilk and came back home. When I walked inside The Cabin I was shocked, for the second time today, because Tony's dog Beau Bridges had torn off the cover to my new Cowboys & Indians magazine and shredded pieces of the magazine covered the floor. And then I discovered that wasn't all. Beau had put teeth marks and chewed on our coffee table's corners, too! But actually, I wasn't mad at Beau, because it was our fault for not crating him and fixing the coffee table would be easy to do.

I took these pictures in sequence of Beau's destruction and lousy carpentry work.

This is what it says on Beau's sign:

I WAS A COWBOY CARPENTER

UNTIL TODAY, BECAUSE I RIPPED OFF THE

COVER OF A COWBOY & INDIANS

MAGAZINE & SHREDDED IT. AND I ROUNDED

OFF THE COFFEE TABLE'S CORNERS.

THIS IS NOT THE COWBOY WAY.

I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER.

I AM VERY SORRY NANCY.

LOVE,

"BEAU-BEAU" BRIDGES

(TONY'S DOG)

My sander.

Please note that Beau or Belle, both Tony dogs, chewed off the screwdriver handle.

The refinished coffee table

Repairing Beau's damage only took me about twenty minutes to accomplish and our coffee table looks great, once again. And that is about it for tonight.

Y'all have a great evening!

Who?!

Today has been great. This morning after Tony and I did the morning chores outside, I came inside, so I could cook Tony and I lunch and while that was going on, I put some beans into my crock pot, so I could slow-cook them all day.

After we ate lunch, I spent an hour doing some paperwork, returning phone calls and e-mails. Then I took a short, sleepless nap with Mama, Roy, Belle and Beau.

Late this afternoon, Carol came over for a fun visit. While she and I were in Outer Space visiting, Tony came outside and said, "Karon has just called. She wanted to know if she could come over and bring Chris and his son Kyle over, because they are interested in Sandy Wolfmueller. They will be here in just a few minutes." Carol and I were thrilled about the possible adoption. Then she told us that she needed to get back over to her ranch, so Carol adios-ed us, as she climbed into her big truck and then she drove away.

Tony and I then went into The Okay Corral, so we could play ball with Sandy Wolfmueller, while we waited for Karon and them to arrive. Sandy was having a blast retrieving the ball for Tony, when Karon, Chris and Kyle arrived.

After howdies and introductions, we learned that Chris had had a Border Collie and he loved that breed and he wanted his son to have his own dog. Fifteen minutes later, after Chris had talked to Kyle, Chris said, "We definitely want to adopt Sandy Who?"

"Sandy Wolfmueller," I said, then I talked to much telling them all about our dear friends Sandy and Jon and their famous, fabulous bookstore. Then I went to The Cabin, so I could fill out Sandy Wolfmueller's paperwork. Ten minutes later, Sandy was officially Kyle's dog and she seemed so happy about it. Before everyone left to go back home, Tony snapped this picture of Kyle's new best friend.

We are going to keep Sandy here, for about a week, when Chris and his family will be ready to come pick up Sandy and take her to her new, loving, forever home. And we are totally thrilled about Sandy Wolfmueller's adoption and that is about it for tonight. Except I do want to thank our dear friend Karon, for helping us find Sandy a super home.

Y'all have a great evening!

Once A Month Lunch Club!

Today has been great. Early this afternoon Tony and I went to Kerrville. Our first stop was at the big  H-E-B to buy more swimming pools for our dogs. We purchased all ten of their blue and yellow, small plastic pools and we hope to come back tomorrow to buy more.

Our next stop was at Wolfmueller's Books, so we could visit with Sandy & Jon, because we haven't seen them since Sandy's surprise non-birthday party, at El Sol de Mexico. We had a fun visit with our dear friends and before leaving their popular bookstore, Tony purchased a really cool photography book from them.

At 12:33, we arrived three minutes late, at Valentino's Italian restaurant, to meet our "Once A Month Lunch Club" friends. Les & Denise and Jim & Kris were already seated at a table when we walked inside the restaurant and unfortunately Deb & Craig could not make it.

While we ate our delicious meals, Denise announced that this Thursday, July 4th, at 10:00, she is going to be a guest and talk about the United States Constitution, on KOOK 1230, because she teaches classes about it. We were all thrilled for Denise and suggested that she do a regular talk radio show about the U. S. Constitution. Then Kris and I teased her about us all calling in to the show to ask her questions. "Hello, this is Kris, from Kerrville. Hello, this is Nancy, from Medina, etc." Denise thought it was funny, but she asked us not to.

Then it was my turn to make my big announcement, "I have some exciting news to share. I am going to push the button tomorrow morning, and get my second novella published. I worked all day Sunday tweaking it and it is finally ready to be published. I should have my books for sale next week and I can't wait."

"Nancy, I am going to buy ten of them," Jim said. "To give to our friends and family. When will it be available on Amazon?"

"Next week, as a book and an e-book and you can also buy them from me and Wolfmueller's Books." Then we talked about all kinds of subjects and we laughed a lot, so all in all Tony and I had a wonderful time eating lunch with our friends.

After lunch we came back home. Around 4:30, Kinky called and invited me to come over for a visit and as I was driving out, in Trigger, the sweet, Medina Children's Home girls were helping Tony fill up our dog's new swimming pools.

After a fun visit with Kinky, I came back home and saw that Brandon was here. I have been anxious all day long about Brandon taking his driving test and passing it to get his Texas driver's license. So, I parked Trigger and climbed out of the truck. "Brandon, did you pass your test?"

"No ma'am," Brandon said, looking sad.

"I'm sorry, but don't you worry about it," I said, feeling sorry for Brandon. "Don't forget that I flunked my driving test three times before I finally got my driving license." Then the girls, Karon, Brandon and Tony started laughing.

"He passed it," Tony said.

"I did the exact same thing to Karon when she asked me if I passed it," Brandon said. "I drove over here, too. Let me show you my license and picture." And that is about it for tonight.

Y'all have a great evening!

Happy Birthday Lynda Coates!

Yesterday was great and today has been great too. Yesterday afternoon we met Kinky, at Randy & Lisa's Save Inn restaurant, for lunch. Kinky chose to go to the Save Inn, because he recently tried their Huevos Rancheros and he was very impressed with his tasty meal and the restaurant.

While we were eating lunch I started telling Kinky the story about last Saturday night, when we had dinner with his and our friends, Sandy and Jon Wolfmuelller. Before I could finish telling him about me thinking it was Sandy's birthday and us wanting to surprise her at El Sol de Mexico, he laughingly guessed, "It wasn't her birthday." And he thought it was pretty funny, too.

This morning after we did our morning chores outside, a very nice man named Steve, representing Hill Country Pest Control, arrived to exterminate my pink writing cabin and The Cabin. We met Steve one year ago, when for the very first time, he came out to rid our home of Scorpions and other pests. We were so impressed with him and what a good job he had done for Hill Country Pest Control, we asked him to please sign us up for yearly pest control inspections and treatments.

"Have you had any Scorpion problems?" Steve asked, as he pumped up his sprayer.

"No. Thanks to you," Tony said. "Until you came along last year and sprayed, we used to find Scorpions in our sinks, tubs, closets, shoes, etc. and we haven't seen any since you sprayed last year."

"Did Hill Country Pest Control call you and tell you that they are giving y'all a bigger discount this year, because of the good work you do?" Steve asked.

"I can't remember," I said. "That is so nice of them to do that for us. Please tell them thank you."

"I will. They are good people and they enjoy helping out the community as much as they can..."

Ten minutes later, I felt guilty about writing a check for so little, because I doubt if the small amount they charged us even covered the costs of their products used. I am not trying to be Angie here, I just want the people, in the Texas Hill Country, to know that Hill Country Pest Control, Inc. is the best and that I highly recommend them.

Late this afternoon Tony and I jumped into Buttermilk and we went over to see Carol. We had a fun visit with her. She is as excited as me about my second novella fixin' to be published and I think that I am going to let her have a peak at it, since she is one of the main characters.

It is fixin' to storm here, so I guess that is about it for today, because I need to go unplug. Happy Birthday Lynda Coates! We love you!

Y'all have a great evening!

We Bought A Zoo!

Today has been great, but tonight I am walking behind schedule, because early this evening, we invited Kinky and Marcie to come over to visit Toto and us. After Kink and Marcie had fed Toto some special treats, Tony showed them his beautiful Dragonfly poster, that Marguerite had given to him and his book about Dragonflies, that Sandy and Jon had given to him, yesterday.

After Kinky and Marcie had admired Tony's poster, they took turns browsing through the Dragonfly book, so I fixed them some hot Celestial Seasonings Lemon Zinger tea to try, with a half of a teaspoon in each cup of Rick and Leisa's harvested Port Aransas honey from their bees and they loved it, as much as we do.

We had a fun visit with Kink and his sister and after they left to go back to the Lodge, I started a load of clothes washing, in Queen Bee, our washing machine and then I put Leslie Sansone's Four mile workout DVD into the player and started walking and walking and walking.

I finished her four mile workout a few minutes ago and I have just put our cleaned clothes into Airy Queen, our clothes dryer and as my Lemon Zinger tea is brewing, it is time for me to end tonight's post, because I am fixin' to watch a Netflix rented movie, We Bought A Zoo, which Sandy and Jon told us we would love and I can't wait to watch it, before I go to bed tonight.

Y'all have a great evening!

Thank You, Marguerite!

Today has been a great day and it started out real early. This morning, at 6:15, Tony and I were outside, before sunup, feeding the dogs, deer and pigs, because he had to be in Kerrville, at 8:00, for his second Texas Master Naturalist class.

At 7:23, T. waved goodbye to me, jumped into Buttermilk, with his notebooks, etc. and took off for Kerrville and I came back inside The Cabin to drink one more cup of coffee, before going back outside to clean the dog pens and that turned out to be a little exciting, because I accidentally let Tuesday Weld and Annie Oakley out of their pens.

Tuesday, was the first to get out, but fortunately, all I had to do was call her name and she came running back inside her pen. Annie though, was a different story. While I was in the alley trying to persuade George Clooney into going back inside his and Annie's pen, because we separate them when we feed them, Annie saw her chance and she took off, before I even realized what had happened.

As the dogs barked in unison, to let me know that "Annie had left the building," Annie raced from one end of the ranch to the other as I race-walked behind her, calling out her name. On the third go around, Annie decided to stop and go down the alley to chat with Jackie Kennedy Onassis and Chad & Jeremy and that is where I finally caught her, because the gate at the end of the alley was closed. And all I have to say about it is, "Jackie O didn't like being disturbed."

Late this afternoon, after Tony had returned from his TMN class, that he really enjoyed, we took off for Kerrville to run some important errands. After we had taken care of the important errands, we went to Wolfmueller's Books, so Tone could pick up the beautiful Dragonfly poster, that our friend Marguerite, the woman who had adopted Enzo, the German Shepherd from us, had left for him, to prove that there really are pink dragonflies and to help him identify the dragonflies, that he captures with his cameras.

As T. admired his beautiful dragonfly poster, that had awesome pictures and the names of each dragonfly, Sandy, Jon and I talked about how thoughtful Marguerite was to give him the poster, that she had saved, after the Wild Birds Unlimited Dragonfly seminar, held a few weeks ago. "The next time that y'all see Marguerite, at Wild Birds Unlimited, please tell her that I said, "Thank you very much," Tony said. "I am going to get this framed."

Before we left Sandy's and Jon's popular bookstore, to come back home, they told us that Mari had come by earlier and she asked them to please tell us, "Hi." So Mari, if you are reading this, "Hi! We are sorry that we missed seeing you and let's do lunch sooner than later, but not until I drop a some more pounds."

When we got back home, I took a nap with our dogs and I actually did sleep, for forty-five minutes and then after that I walked four more miles with Leslie Sansone, so now I am pooped. And that is about it for tonight.

Y'all have a great evening!

New Plates!

Today has been great. This afternoon we met Kinky for lunch, in Kerrville, so we could catch up with each others news. Lunch with Kink was a lot of fun and was filled with laughter. We talked about the rescue ranch, Toto's deteriorating health issues, a little politics, which is one of Tony's and my least favorite subjects and about him running into our dear friends, Walt and Cheryl, at the San Antonio airport.

"Someone stole one of my license plates in the airport parking lot," Kinky told us.

"Did you call the police?" I asked.

"No, because I am going to the Court House, after we eat lunch, to renew them. That's when I'll report it stolen..."

After lunch, T. and I ran a few errands and then we came home, and then after talking to Kinky on the phone, we went over to the Lodge to visit with him and Marcie. While Tony was helping Kinky put  his new plates on Mr. Green Jeans, Tone said, "Kinky, who ever stole your license plate, was at least nice enough to put the screws back on..."

When they had completed their "Put new plates on Mr. Green Jeans" mission, I showed off Tony's pink dragonfly picture to Marcie and Kinky and they totally loved it, so Tony gave his picture to Marcie, so she could get it framed. Then after a fun visit with them, Trigger took us back home, so I could return a few phone calls and Tony could go outside to try to capture more beautiful dragonflies, using his camera.

While Tony was outside, Sandy and Jon called me. "....Nancy, please tell Tony that we have a beautiful dragonfly poster for him, at the bookstore and the pink dragonfly is on it and it has a name...."

For the last four days, I have faithfully walked four miles everyday with Leslie Sansone, to help me lose weight and I need to walk four miles now, so I guess that is about it for today.

Y'all have a great evening!

That Old Fossil! or History Deal!

Today has been great, even though the F.M.T. (Full Moon Time) is just three days away and M.I.R. (Mercury In Retrograde) is upon us until August 8th.

I really am enjoying my tiny, pink Nano. The first thing I did, when I got out of bed this morning, was clip it on, turn it on and walk to the kitchen, to drink a cup of coffee.

By the time I had finished doing my morning chores outside, I had already walked over 4,000 steps, with only 6,000 more steps to go, to reach my daily goal of 10,000 steps-a-day.

While we were running errands, in Kerrville, this afternoon, we stopped by Wolfmueller's Books, so I could show Sandy and Jon my early birthday present, that Tone gave to me. "I love my iPod Nano," I said, as I showed it to them and they thought it was pretty cool, too.

"Maybe, I should get one," Jon said, "so I can find out how much walking I do, inside our bookstore..."

Our last stop was at H-E-B, to stock up on some groceries. When I climbed out of Buttermilk, I checked my Nike+ and wrote down how many steps I had walked, on my grocery list. "Tony, so far I've walked 5,339 steps and I can't wait to see how many I walk inside H-E-B."

When we finally returned to Buttermilk, with our bags full of groceries, I helped Tony load them up and then I checked how many steps I'd walked. "T., you're not going to believe this! The Nike+ counter is now up to 6,591 steps!" When we jumped into Buttermilk, I grabbed my pen and quickly did the math on my progress.

"How many steps did we walk inside H-E-B. today?" Tony asked, a little sarcastically, as he started up Buttermilk, because he hates to go shopping.

"1,252!" I declared, happily, as I accidentally turned off my Nano. "Dang it."

"What's wrong?" He asked, as I turned my Nano back on, as we dodged an elderly, gray-haired woman, who I thought looked about the same age as me, trying unsuccessfully to back her fancy car out from her parking space. "That old fossil shouldn't be driving..."

"She can't help it, Tony," I said, in hers and my defense, because I can't back up either. "Great, my walking stats for today have been deleted and the counter has reset itself to start at 000 steps walked. But, the good thing is, my steps today have been automatically recorded by this thing and are being stored in the 'History' deal. It's all M.I.R.'s fault and..."

Y'all have a great evening!

Picture Perfect Pomegranate!

This afternoon Tony and I went to Kerrville to run a few errands, but the main reason that I had wanted to go to Kerrville was to buy some pomegranate juice at H-E-B. The reason that I wanted to buy the pomegranate juice was because Sandy and Jon called me last night, to tell me that they had added a teaspoon of it to the water and sugar mixture that they put in their Hummingbird feeders and they hung it up beside another Hummingbird feeder, which only had the clear water and sugar mixture, to find out which feeder the Hummers preferred.

When their scientific experiment, "Do Hummingbirds prefer clear or colored water?," had ended they called me with their test results, "Nancy, the Hummers definitely prefer colored water to just plain clear water! We used 100% pomegranate juice and we only added a teaspoon to the sugar-water mixture and our Hummers only wanted to drink from that feeder. The next time that y'all come to town, you need to buy only 100% pomegranate juice and we promise that you'll attract more Hummers," they told me on their speakerphone.

After running our errands, our next to the last stop was at H-E-B to buy gas for Buttermilk and pomegranate juice for our Hummingbirds. While T. was outside, at the pumps, filling up Buttermilk, I went to the fruit and vegetable section, where the refrigerated juices are kept and I found several varieties of small bottled Pom Pomegranate juices, but they were out of the just plain 100% Pomegranate Juice and I was really disappointed.

Then I looked below the shelf with the small bottles on it and found several large bottles of Pom 100% Pomegranate juice and to say the least, "I was absolutely thrilled until I discovered how expensive it was. Knowing that Tone was outside waiting on me, I decided to go ahead and buy it anyway.

Our last stop was at Wolfmueller's Books, so we could tell Sandy and Jon that we had bought some pomegranate juice, but when we entered their popular bookstore it was full of Kerrverts and tourists buying their books, so we sat down at a table and waited for a chance to tell them.

During a momentary lull, they came over to greet us. "We just bought some Pom 100% pomegranate juice, at H-E-B, and it was expensive. They were out of the smaller bottles, so I bought a large bottle of it and it cost over $10.00."

"You should have bought a smaller bottle of it on the juice isle that isn't refrigerated. It's much cheaper," Sandy said.

"What kind did you buy?" I asked.

Sandy got up, grabbed her iPhone and said, "Here, let me show it to you," then she showed me a picture of their pomegranate juice bottle, which made me burst out laughing.

"Sandy, I can't believe that you took this picture of your pomegranate juice?" I teased. Jon, Sandy and Tony started laughing. "I mean it is a picture perfect pomegranate juice bottle and you centered it nicely, but do you honestly take pictures of all of your groceries? I'm sorry, Sandy, but I've got to blog about this, because there hasn't been much going on for me to blog about lately. And when I get home, I am going to take a picture of our Pom 100% Pomegranate Juice bottle and then e-mail it to you."( And that's exactly what I did when we got home.)

While we were still laughing, some nice people walked into the bookstore and the woman says to Sandy, "Hi, I am Gianna from the University of Texas Press and this is Chris. We drove down from Austin to check out your famous bookstore."

"Well, you've come at the perfect time, because one of your authors, Nancy Parker-Simons is here with her husband Tony. I'm Sandy and this is my husband Jon..." And the rest is history and it was fun.

Here are a few pictures that I took this evening of our beautiful wildflowers, that Tony planted a while back for me, because my favorite flowers are wildflowers.

Tonight, because of the sad passing of Nora Ephron, a woman whom I greatly admired, I plan to watch either When Harry Met Sally or Sleepless In Seattle or You've Got Mail or Julie & Julia, because they are my most favorite movies.

Y'all have a great evening!

Happy 39 Years Wedding Anniversary To Sandy & Jon!

The other day, while I was visiting with my dear friends Sandy and Jon Wolfmueller, of Wolfmueller's Book, the greatest rare book store in Texas and found out that today is their 39th wedding anniversary I could not resist posting this, because I adore those two.

Happy 39th Wedding Anniversary to Y'all. Happy 39th Wedding Anniversary to Y'all. Happy 39th Wedding Anniversary to Sandy & Jon. Happy 39th Anniversary to Y'all. And many more...

We truly love y'all!

Queen For A Day! or Wedding Bells!

Since Sunday evening, when Leisa and Rick arrived out here, with Leisa's cute little dog Squirt—it has been a lot of fun.

On Monday, Memorial Day morning, after Tony and Rick had done the outside chores, our dear friend Fourth came out to visit and drink some coffee with us in Outer Space and we had a blast. Then we spent the rest of day just hanging out.

On Tuesday, Primary Day, after Leisa took off for San Antone to go visit her family, Rick, Tony and I went to Kerrville to run some errands. Our first stop was at the Biker Church, on Highway 16, so T. and I could vote. Then we on into Kerrville, because Rick wanted to treat us to lunch, at The Hat, before running a few errands.

Our next stop was at Wolfmueller's Books, so we could visit with Sandy & Jon and needless to say, "we did a whole lot of laughing there." Then we went to Home Depot to buy some wildbird supplies. Then after filling up Buttermilk at the H-E-B we came home, so we could all take a nap from our busy day, but that didn't happen, because Kinky had called—wanting to know if he could bring his friends over, so they could meet us and see the rescue ranch.

Kink's friends were so nice and we spent a lot of time visiting with them outside, talking about our love for chickens, dogs, wildflowers, pigs and music. And when I found out that one of them could sing and play the ukelele, I invited everyone to come inside The Cabin for a jam session.

While we had a fun time playing some music with Kinky, Mama and Roy Rogers actually stole the show, because everyone had fallen in love with our two giant, sweet dogs, so as we picked and grinned Kinky's friends were constantly kissing and petting Mama and Roy.

When Leisa arrived back from San Antone, around 6:45, she walked inside The Cabin and instantly sat down on the bench, so she could enjoy the rest of the music, that only lasted for about twenty more minutes, because Kinky & Friends had to leave, so they could go eat dinner in Kerrville.

Around 9:00 last night, after we had gone down memory lane, talking and laughing about those old black & white television shows, I remembered "Queen For A Day," that Rick, Tony & me had watched as kids, so Tony found a full 30 minute clip of it on YouTube, so Leisa could watch it, because she hadn't been born yet.

Talk about hilarious! We laughed non-stop as the women contestants took turns trying to outdo each other's down- and-out pitiful stories, so they could win and be Queen For A Day and win a new washing machine. We laughed at their stories, their hairstyles, their outfits they were wearing and the hilarious old commercials that were so funny they caused my back to go out. But I didn't complain about my back, because I had so much fun watching that old TV show.

Early this morning, while the guys were at the Old Timer drinking coffee, Leisa and I were talking and laughing and drinking coffee in our kitchen, as I started cooking breakfast, so when our men returned home from Medina, it would be ready for us to eat.

After breakfast, while Rick and T. did the morning chores outside, Leisa began packing up their things, so they could get an early start, back to Port Aransas, so I did some paperwork and returned a few phone calls. Then we had two nice surprise visits.

Unbeknownst to me, Cole, a friend of ours son, had come out to do 8 hours of community service for us, because it was a requirement for one of his college courses, so Tone put him to work doing some mowing and then Tony came up the trailer to tell me about Cole coming out and then he said, "Cole is a fine musician and I've asked him to come up to the trailer in about thirty-minutes, so you, Rick and Leisa can hear him play."

Twenty minutes later, Tony's and my dogs started barking outside, so I went out to the front porch to see what was going on and standing by the front gate stood Tony with Spike Gillespie, my dear friend and fellow author. "Spike! Omg, I can't believe it is you! Come on inside so we can visit."

After introducing Leisa and Rick to Spike we all got to visiting, trading some funny stories and ten minutes later, Cole walked inside The Cabin, so he could play a few songs for us, that he had written, so T. handed him my guitar and then Cole's fabulous mini-concert began.

Cole had a beautiful voice and he had all of us mesmerized as we listened to his lyrics and his awesome guitar playing. After Cole had performed three of his songs for us and we had thanked him for playing for us he went back outside to do some more yard work.

Five minutes later, Leisa & Rick adios-ed us and then they took off for Port Aransas. Then Spike and I were like two old friends, who could not wait to catch up with each others latest news. We talked about her book writing seminars that she is putting on, in Austin, her son, our travels etc. and Rebound, the adorable Boston Terrier that she adopted from us many years ago, after going through her divorce.

But when she told me about becoming a minister, that can legally marry people and then about all of the people that she has married—I was all ears. "Nancy, it is really fun to marry people and I think that you should do it too, to make a little extra money..."

So, after Spike had left I went online to check it out and guess what? I am now a certified minister and I can legally marry people too and it only cost me a little bit of money and only took about ten minutes of my time!

So, this afternoon when I went over to visit with Kinky, I told him about me becoming a certified minister, that can perform legal marriages and he thought it was pretty cool too. And that is about it for tonight, because our dear friend Carol is coming over for happy hour.

Y'all have a great evening!

Remember!

Today has been great. This afternoon, after we ate Tuna fish sandwiches for lunch, we took off for Kerrville to run a few errands.

Our first stop was at Wolfmueller's Books, so we could give Sandy and Jon a little gift that I had especially made for them, a few days ago.

It really wasn't much of a present though, because all I did was use an old, empty salsa jar, spray painted the lid and then added some sand and seashells, that Tony and I had collected off of the Port Aransas privately owned island, where Rick is, "The Friendly Lighthouse Keeper."

Then I wrapped a pink ribbon around the neck of the jar, added Rick's business card, with Leisa's name handwritten on it, Jon & Sandy's business card, Tony's business card and my business card, as a keepsake for them, so they could remember our super fun trip down there.

When we walked inside their bookstore, Sandy and Jon greeted us and then they pretended to be real excited with my goofy-gift for them. After they had admired my latest craft project, they invited us to sit down, at the table with them, for a visit.

As we sat there laughing about each other's latest news I noticed that the jar filled with sand and basically broken seashells was fogging up inside, so I laughed, unscrewed the lid and said, "I guess the sand is still wet. Y'all might want to keep the lid off for a while. I've kept the sand in a Baggie all this time and I didn't know how to dry it up. I thought about using a hair dryer..."

After an hilarious, fun time with Sandy and Jon, we adios-ed them and then we went to Hoegemeyer Animal Clinic, to pick up Miranda Lambert, to take her back to the rescue ranch. And talk about one great Border Collie, Miranda rode beautifully, sitting on the back seat, instead of inside a crate. She is about ten-years-old and she is really smart.

When we got back to the ranch we took Miranda to meet Lulu, because Lulu is going to be roommates with her and fortunately, they liked each other, so we took Miranda into the pen, so they could have a sniff-a-thon.

As they sniffed and sniffed, we tried to take a good picture of Miranda, but she was so busy checking out her new digs—it took us nearly an hour before Tone finally got a good picture of her.

Tomorrow is going to be a busy day for me, but it will also be super fun, because my brother Ronnie and my sister Cindy and their spouses are coming down to visit us, for the entire weekend! So, I might not be blogging a lot, because I will be enjoying their company, playing music with them and going kayaking with them and I can't wait to see them.

Who knows? Maybe I will collect some small river rocks and sand, from the river, while they're not looking and then make them "Remember" presents too. I already have an old mayonnaise jar and a Mt. Olive pickle jar that I could use, but now that I think about it—forget using the sand—because I don't want them to have to keep the painted lids off of them, like Sandy and Jon are doing right now.

Y'all have a great evening and weekend!

One Night Sand!

Today has been great until three hours ago, because my index finger that I had cut on Monday, opened up and began to bleed, when I was cleaning some pretty seashells that I am going to put into a jar, that Tony and I collected very early this morning at the Lighthouse, in Port Aransas, before Sandy, Jon, Tony and I returned home from our super fun, One Night Sand," vacation with Leisa and Rick.

There is so much to tell about our really fun trip with our dear friends, but tonight's blog posting is going to have to be made short, because we are out of Band Aids and the ridiculous-looking, homemade (trailer made) goofy bandage that I made for my finger is so big, it is really messing up my typing. (Like adding extra letters to almost every letter that I attempt to type using my left hand.)

So tomorrow morning, after doing our chores outside and returning over 17 non-urgent phone calls and answering a couple of dozen e-mails that I missed, while enjoying myself on that beautiful private island—I plan to write more about our latest, fun-filled, hilarious adventure to the Coast.

But before I sign off tonight, to rest my re-injured, guitar pickin' index finger, I want to show you a great picture that Jon Wolfmueller took of Sandy and me, when we made it up to the top of the lighthouse, standing next to the light, right before the sun came up behind us, this morning, because I truly love this picture of Sandy, one of my favorite people in the world and also because it doesn't show all of my wrinkles or my waistline. Thank you, Jon!

Y'all have a great evening!

Daddy Jim's Quality Meats! or A Savvy Shopper!

Today has been a great day. The reason that I didn't post last night was because I was worn out, because I spent most of my day taking care of paperwork, which is totally caught up and late in the afternoon Trigger and I followed Tony and Buttermilk to Hondo, because we needed to get a repair estimate on Trigger's mirror and back door, because a buck ran into him the day after Thanksgiving day.

This afternoon Buttermilk took us to Kerrville so we could buy our rescue dogs their Christmas dinner, compliments of June, Ellen and Eileen, but before we went to H-E-B we stopped at Wolfmueller's Books to see our dear friends Sandy and Jon.

During our fun visit with them I said, "I am so happy, because earlier today I realized that we can start grilling outside again, because the burn ban has been lifted, because of the rain. So, Tony and I have decided not to have our traditional big, Christmas dinner instead we're going to cook steaks. We're fixin' to go to H-E-B when we leave here and while Tony is running around the store filling up our dog's cart, I'm going to get us some groceries and steaks."

"We only buy our meat at Daddy Jim's Quality Meats," Sandy said. "Shirley and Danny Applewhite own it and they are good friends of ours and we think they have the best meat and prices in Kerrville...y'all should really give them a try." Then Jon gave us directions to Daddy Jim's Quality Meats, "They are on Loop 534, on the right side, right after the VA Hospital and before the shutter store and tell them we sent y'all."

"We will." I said.

"Nancy," Sandy said. "Also, they sometimes sell fresh farm eggs and their homemade sausages are the best that we have ever eaten. You're going to love it. I promise."

After I had paid Sandy for another copy of my favorite book, The Art Of Racing In The Rain, I said, "You know that fabulous cookbook that y'all gave me for my birthday, A Cowboy in the Kitchen: Recipes from Reata and Texas West of the Pecos, I've written down all of the ingredients needed to make their delicious Cream of Jalapeno Soup, that we ate at the Reata, in Alpine." Then I pulled out my list to show her. "Tomorrow, when Ben is here, I am going to make it and serve it with our steaks for lunch and we're also having it on Christmas day, too. And I'm going to ask Ben to help me make it tomorrow, so I don't screw it up..."

Ten minutes later, after we had adios-ed our friends, Tony parked Buttermilk. Then we walked inside Daddy Jim's Quality Meats. "Hi!" I said, to a friendly woman standing behind the counter. "Are you Shirley?"

"Yes," the woman said, wondering how I knew her name.

"We're dear friends with Sandy and Jon Wolfmueller and they highly recommended you..." Then Danny came out of a back door and greeted us and then I told him about Sandy and Jon loving their meat. Ten minutes later Tony and I happily walked out of their store carrying two sacks of meat and we could not believe their lower prices and how much money we had saved. Then we went to H-E-B. with our shopping lists.

And I want to thank June, Ellen and Eileen for donating their $150.00 for our dog's 2011 Christmas dinner, because the bill for it was $147.74! Tony is a savvy shopper.

Well, that's about it for tonight, because my back is still aching from all of the laughing I did at Lisa's Luncheon for Ladies and at Wolfmueller's Books today and I'm dreading tomorrow, because Ben keeps me constantly laughing, but it is well worth it. So, tonight I'm going to plug in our little white holiday lights, that we will never take down, then sit on Mari's pink sheepskin and play my guitar until my fingers are killing me and then read a little and then go to bed.


P.S. Kinky's Hanukkah Tour is now over and he really enjoyed it and he arrived back at the ranch early this evening! And I am looking forward to visiting with him tomorrow.

Y'all have a great evening and thank you for praying for us to get some more rain!

M.I.R.!

First off, the reason that I didn't write last night was because I could not quit reading the book that Kent's sweet wife Joan, the amazing woman that used to run around naked in Africa's forests, asked Ellen to give to me, last Friday.

Yesterday, around 4:00, after I had taken care of all of my rescue ranch business and was badly needing a break from it all, Mama and I went outside to the cabin, so I could relax and play my guitar.

For over two hours, while Mama snored peaceably, on the newly reupholstered couch, I happily played my guitar until my fingers were killing me. After packing up my guitar, but still wanting to stay in the cabin, I decided to start reading Joan's book that she gave to me, Why Is God Laughing? by Deepak Chopra and because I found it to be very interesting, Mama and I didn't come home until eight o'clock and I didn't put the book down until I had finished reading it and then I went straight to bed. Thank you, Joan—I loved the book and we can't wait for another fun visit with you and Kent!

Today has turned out to be one hilarious day. This morning while Tony did his and my chores outside—I stayed inside and with the help of Hazel, we deep cleaned Nellybelle, again, because our super volunteers will be here, early Thanksgiving morning, to help us cook and serve our dogs their annual Thanksgiving Dinner and I wanted our trailer to look like T. and I don't live here. But before Hazel and I went to work, I prepared Ronnie's delicious chicken recipe and then I put it in the oven to bake for one hour and forty-five minutes, so it would be ready in time for our lunch.

Before Tone and I ate our lunch, we rescued Little Sister, a darling, three-month-old Chihuahua pup that had been dumped at our friend's ranch front gate and then we had an unexpected fun time with some visitors, from Fredericksburg, who wanted to see our rescue ranch before going to Lost Maples State Park, to take some pictures.

The minute that we met Eve and Stephen K. Morris—we liked them, so I gave them a tour of our rescue ranch. And by the time the tour was over, I invited them to go into Outer Space with us, so Stephen could play my awesome guitar, that Ronnie made for me, so we could hear some of his music and it was totally fantastic.

After the first song he sang, Eve accompanied him on vocals on his second song and Tony and I were mesmerized by his/their beautiful music, so Tone then gave them a tour of his hallway photography gallery, that Hazel and I had just cleaned, thank goodness, because they were also into photography.

While they admired T.'s pictures, in the hall, with Mama sniffing their butts, I secretly signed a quick note to them on my second book, Meanwhile Back At The Rescue Ranch: The Dog Days Of Cousin Nancy, because I wanted to give them a copy and I was sick that I was out of my first book, because I wanted to give it to them, too.

Before Eve and Stephen left, I invited them into my cabin, so they could see how cool it was and that is when Tony and I found out that Stephen K. Morris has a new CD coming out real soon and we can't wait to buy it, because he is so talented!  So, please check out Stephen K. Morris, from Fredericksburg, because he is on Facebook and fixin' to become really famous—like Jim Keaveny is going to be.

After eating Ronnie's delicious lunch, we picked up our mail and I instantly became semi-depressed, because I have been summoned for jury duty, in Kerrville, on December 6th, because December is the busiest time of the year for me and I don't like judging people, which is a little odd, because Libras are supposed to be great at being Judges.

After we dropped Little Sister off at Hoegemeyer's, to get her shots, etc. we went straight over to Wolfmueller's Books, to see our great friends Sandy and Jon, because we have missed them and I needed to be cheered up. And during our fun visit with them, they teased me about having to do jury time. "Well, I'm blaming it on M.I.R. (Mercury in retrograde.), I declared, "Mercury goes in retrograde in two days through December 14th and..."

This evening at 5:50 the phone rang—it was Sandy, "Nancy, you're not going to believe this. We just got home and guess what?"

"What?"

"I've got jury duty on December 6th, too," then Sandy and I burst out laughing.

"....Well, I am going to dress real sloppy and wear a sweatshirt, but the good news is we can do lunch together and...."

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

Street of the Seven Angels! or Vote For Honest Harley! or Down By The River!

Today has been great, but somewhat crazy and I am blaming it all on F.M.T. (Full Moon Time). Early this afternoon Tony and I took off for Kerrville, so we could go by Wolfmueller's Book just to say," Hi" to Sandy and Jon, eat lunch somewhere, go to H-E-B, so we could replace the two rotting steaks that Tony had accidentally left under the driver's seat inside Trigger and lastly, to pick up Ginger Rogers at Hoegemeyer Animal Clinic and take her home and we ended up having a few nice surprises along the way.

When we walked inside Sandy and Jon's bookstore we greeted each other and then Sandy holds up a pretty book and says, "Nancy, have you got a copy of your uncle's book, Street of the Seven Angels?"

"No, but I do now, because I'm buying this book right now. How much is it?" As I was writing a check to pay for the book, Sandy and Jon told me that there has been a lot of news, in the last few days, about my famous uncle, John Howard Griffin, my mother's brother, because his book, Black Like Me, is celebrating it's 50 year anniversary when it was first published, back when I was only 10 years old, living in Fort Worth, 2 years before my 6th grade Russian teacher tried to convince me that Communism was good and so was caviar.

After we had talked some about Uncle Howard, Sandy and Jon told us some great news, "Harley has decided to run for Precinct Commissioner of Kerrville and y'all need to sign his petition, because he needs to collect 90 signatures. Isn't that great! We're helping him collect the signatures at our store."

While Tone and I signed our names to Harley's petition, we decided to save some time and go eat a healthy, delicious lunch at the Water Street Cafe, even though my good friend Mari and I had made earlier plans to eat there today or tomorrow with Karin, but because of some last minute rescheduling on my end—I had to cancel our lunch date. "Hey!" I said. "Why don't y'all or one of you take turns and join us for lunch?"

"I just got back from seeing Kevin. We'll try to," Sandy said. Then we adios-ed them and walked down the sidewalk to Kevin's popular restaurant on Water Street.

"Hi, Cousin Nancy and Tony!" Kevin greeted, as we walked in. "How have y'all been doing?..." While I ate my favorite combo, "Black Bean Soup and Chef Salad" and Tony happily munched away on his roast beef sandwich, Jon walked inside and sat down with us and then Kevin walked over to our table, so we could talk about how excited we all were that our dear friend Harley Belew had decided to run for Precinct Commissioner. When we told Kevin that Jon and Sandy and us had already signed his petition at Wolfmueller's Books, he told us that he and his sweet wife would go down to their bookstore and sign Harley's petition too. Then came surprise number two.

While I was paying for our lunch, I told Kevin about Ginger Rogers, the cute little Chihuahua that we rescued yesterday from Garnet and Jan, that we were fixin' to pick up, after grabbing some steaks at H-E-B and his eyes lit up and then he told his pretty wife about us rescuing Ginger Rogers and her eyes lit up, too. "We've been wanting to get our daughter a small dog and we might want to adopt Ginger or at least give her a try..." Five minutes later, after telling them all we knew about Ginger Rogers we promised to come back and let them meet Ginger, before they closed for the day.

Well, we kept our promise to them and tonight Kevin and Julie are giving Miss R. a chance to possibly become their daughter's dog and we hope that it works out, but if it doesn't for one reason or another, I told Kevin and Julie, "It's either meant to be or not meant to be and if its not don't worry, because I know that we can find her a great home, because little dogs always get adopted fast..."

Early this evening I thumbed through Street of the Seven Angels and smiled, when I read that my uncle only wrote when he was listening to classical music and that he was also a marvelous, humorist essayist, because even though I realize that I am not in the same league as my Uncle Howard, I too, am an essayist and I too, only write while listening to my music and in hopes that it makes you laugh often.

So, that is about it for tonight, because I plan to start reading my uncle's book, that was never published during his life time, until Bob Bonazzi, of Wings Press, in San Antonio, who later married uncle Howard's wife and lived next door to my parents in Fort Worth. Thank you, Bob. I sure miss all of them.

P.S. This morning I did my Utopia segment on The Harley Show and Emmylou Harris was his Pet of the Week and Karin has just called me from the H-E-B store in Kerrville, where she is buying some beer.

Karin told me that she had a wonderful time in San Antonio today! She got to see the real Alamo, take a buggy ride pulled by a horse, ride in a barge down the famous, beautiful River Walk and she drank one beer at a famous saloon there. The only thing bad that happened to her was she got a parking ticket at the U.T.S.A. campus, but she sounded happy and told me that she was so glad to be back in Kerrville and she is coming out here tomorrow morning to walk our dogs with our fabulous volunteers! I am so inspired by her braveness to go into San Antone and just sorry that she got a parking fine, but I can't wait for her to meet our volunteers, because they are going to love her and she is going to love them. 

Y'all have a great evening and please keep praying for us to get some more rain!