God Bless Ruth Buzzi!

Kinky Friedman, Tony and I loved Ruth Buzzi so much and when Tony and I heard the sad news about Ruthie's passing our hearts were broken once again this year, because we lost Kinky back in June, and now we've lost Ruthie. 

Tony and I are so blessed that Ruthie was our dear friend and that we got to spend so much time enjoying her and her husband Kent Perkins many visits at the rescue ranch and Big Foot ranch . And I will never forget the hilarious time that Ruthie taught me how to make her famous, Italian beignets, inside our trailer and I can't believe that was over 20 years ago.

While Kinky, Tony and Kent sat outside, in Outer Space (aka our screened-in-porch), talking about ranch life, etc., Ruthie and I were inside cooking up her delicious beignets. Or should I say trying to cook up her "secret beignet recipe," because we were laughing so much. And please note that my kitchen counters and stove were all covered in powdered sugar and flour and so were we! And it still makes me laugh just thinking about it and the big mess that we made.

In fact, we were cutting-up with each other and laughing so much, the men actually came inside our trailer just to see what was so funny. (And to also refill their coffee cups and to eat all of the beignets that we had just cooked.)

Anyway, the bottom line is that We Loved Ruthie so much. And Tony and I will always treasure all of those precious, good times and the fond memories that we spent with sweet Ruthie and Kent. 

And not to brag, but to really brag big time—I am so honored to say that Ruth Buzzi once chased and hit me with her purse, onstage at one of our Bonefits. And I am so proud to be an exclusive member of the "Ruth Buzzi Hit Me With Her Purse" club, which includes famous members such as Elton John and Muhammad Ali— just to name a few.

Here are just a few of my favorite pictures of Ruthie that I want to share with you:

Kent & Ruthie and Little Debbie at Big Foot Ranch

Ruthie, Kent and Tony listening to Chet O'Keefe playing guitar, in our trailer, at the rescue ranch. Just before I grabbed my keyboard to let Kent play along with Chet.

                                           Best friends: Ruthie and Little Debbie

                                   Ruthie signing the door inside my writing cabin!

                                                        Ruthie and me in Kerrville, Texas

This is my favorite of all. Ruthie signed and sent us this picture of the famous character Gladys Ormphby that she played on Laugh In!

On the evening of November 20th, 2014 Tony took this short video of Kinky and me, standing outsidehis lodge, for an upcoming Tribute to Ruth Buzzi event, in Dallas. It is one of my favorite videos because Kinky, Tony and I loved Ruth Buzzi so much. Rest In Peace Ruthie. You were the BEST!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsLuePP-ulw/

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!

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!

We Love Gladys Ormphby!

This past week has been busy for us. We've spent most of our free time, over at our new property.

We had two big events happen this past week. The first event is that last night we went over to Kinky's Lodge, so we could have a fun visit with him and get to listen to the "rough cut versions" for Kinky's soon-to-be released CD.

Kinky has written all of the fabulous songs recorded for this CD and a few of his close friends helped him out with some of the lyrics. Anyway it is such a great CD and we cannot wait for it to be released.

The second big event this past week actually happened this afternoon and it arrived, in the mail, from one of our very special friends—Ruth Buzzi!  Ruthie is one of the sweetest people on this Planet. And both Tony and I feel so blessed that she (And her husband Kent) are two of our dearest friends.

Anyway, Ruthie took the time to send us this really cute, sweet card, along with an autographed picture of one of her most famous, loved characters, the dowdy spinster, Gladys Ormphby. And we love Ruthie's/Glady's signed photo so much—we are definitely going to get it framed. "Thank you, Ruthie!"

And that's about it for tonight.

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

B-GOOD! or Viva Terlingua!

This past weekend has been filled with mowing and good times, so it was great to say the least. Saturday morning I went outside and started mowing down the tall grass and weeds, in Hazel's pen, under dark-looking clouds.

After I finished push-mowing Hazel's pen, that took me twice as long as it should have, because of the thick, knee-high grass I started mowing the alley next to her pen.

Halfway done, it started to lightly sprinkle, so I started pushing the mower as fast as I could, which in my case wasn't all that fast. And right when I had finished mowing it—it started pouring down rain.

By the time I reached the feed barn I was soaking wet. I was grateful for the rain, but was a little depressed, because I knew that the too tall grass and weeds would grow at least another inch taller before I would get to do some more push-mowing. The mowing felt like it was a never-ending task.

Around 2:00 in the afternoon our dogs started barking, so Tony went outside to see what was going on and two minutes later, I went outside, because I saw that Tony was talking to a couple I didn't know. And that's when the fun started.

After Tony had introduced me to Hans & Marita Fredriksen, visiting from Bergen, Norway and I felt like I knew these strangers and I already liked them. Hans told us that they had recently met Kinky after a show he did in Norway and Kinky had given them one of our Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch business cards. And he had invited them to come see us when they visited the Texas Hill Country.

Why, but don't ask me why something told me to ask them, "Have y'all ever heard of Chet O'Keefe? He's a fabulous singer/songwriter musician and he is a real good friend of ours?"

"Yes!" They answered. "We know Chet and we are good friends with him, too. We love his music and we love the music scene, so we started a business that helps promote traveling musicians and artists to help make their life, on the road much easier."

"Wow! That's way too cool," I exclaimed. "Where are y'all staying and for how long?" They told us that they were staying, in Fredricksberg and were staying for several weeks. So once again and don't ask me why, I asked, "Have y'all ever heard of Stephen K. Morris?"

"Yes!" They answered, to our surprise. "We love Stephen's music and Eva Robinett's photography. We've know them for a long time and we are trying to talk them into coming over, to Norway, to perform." So I immediately invited them to come, inside The Cabin, so we could cool off and visit some more.

During our super fun visit with Marita & Hans, they told us that they had planned on going out to Terlingua, during their stay, in Texas, because they had never seen it. So we told them that Chet, Stephen & Eva and us all owned places out there and we all love it. Then we found out that Hans & Marita were musicians too, so I pulled out my Martin D-28 and handed it to Hans.

When he started strumming my guitar we asked them to sing something for us, so they did. First they sang one of their favorite Chet O'Keefe songs In San Joaquin Valley and then they sang Luckenbach Texas (Norway-Style) and they were absolutely fantastic.

Tony and I were so excited about meeting Hans & Marita and before they left to drive back to Fred-town, they told us about going to the Auslander, Sunday at 4:00, because Stephen was hosting another one of his super fun "Outsider Songwriter Spotlight" featuring Hollin McKay, who is one of Tony's and my favorite singer/songwriter musician and he lives nearby, in Bandera. Here is where Hollin will be playing his gigs at which includes Austin's famous Threadgill's.

So we put our heads together and decided to play a little joke on our dear friends Eva & Stephen. We decided that it would be fun for us to show up around 4:00 and when we saw each other we would hug each other and sit down, at a table together, hoping that it would surprise Stephen & Eva that we knew each other. Then during a break we would tell our mutual friends that we have been good friends for many years, etc.

After our fun visit with our new Norway friends, Kinky called me from the road, to tell me that Ruth Buzzi and her husband Kent Perkins would be arriving, at the ranch, around 4:00 and that he would be back at the ranch no later than 8:00. "Nance, would you mind going over to the Lodge to welcome them for me?"

And of course I said, "I would love to see them!" A little while later, I jumped into Trigger and drove over to the Lodge and their beautiful, black Bentley was parked, in the driveway.

Kent greeted me and he told me Ruthie was taking a nap, so he and I went inside the Lodge for a fun visit. And an hour later, when I was fixin' to leave, Tony arrived at the Lodge, because he wanted to visit with Kent & Ruthie, too.

Then about an hour later, Kent drove over here to drink some coffee with us and to visit some more. And to say the least about that—Tony and I had a great time visiting with our dear friend.

Sunday morning, Kent & Ruthie came over to see us, before meeting Kinky for brunch, in Kerrville. Omg, Ruthie was so cute and she had all of us laughing the minute that she got out of their car. And it continued when they spent about an hour with us, inside The Cabin.

Later that afternoon around 4:15, we arrived at the Islander's back patio. Stephen and Hollin were already on stage. When Stephen saw us come in he nodded at us and we waved back at him. And a few minutes later, Marita & Hans walked up to our table and we put on a good show for Stephen to watch while Hollin sang a beautiful song.

Eva wasn't there yet, but when she arrived she looked just as shocked as Stephen, to us sitting with Hans & Marita. So I guess that you could say—we pulled it off.

Tony and I had so much fun listening to the great music and getting to visit with Stephen & Eva, Hollin and Marita & Hans. Here is a picture I took, at the Auslander, of Hans & Marita.

Of course Tony and I could not stay for the whole show, because we needed to get back to the rescue ranch, so before we adios-ed our friends, around 6:00, Stephen & Eva, Marita & Hans us talked about us possibly meeting up, in Terlingua, for a few days of Viva Terlingua fun. And who knows—maybe Chet and Jim Keaveny and Anna will be out there, too. Talk about a real good time with great friends with great music.

Here is the top of their business card that Hans gave to us, because we are hoping to hook up with these four great friends of ours for lunch, later on this week.

And at the bottom of their business cards it reads "Make music - B-Good." 

This afternoon we took Roy Rogers back to Hoegemeyer Animal Clinic to get his leg checked out, again, because sometime last night, Roy managed to remove a part of his bandage on his leg, that was put there to stop him from licking at it. And Roy was licking it.

Anyway, Dr. Craig Jannsen has just called me to tell me that he looked at Roy's leg and he suggested that he should cut off the growth and then we will wait for a week to see how it looks and then go from there. He also told me that the growth seems to have grown bigger and he can do the surgery this evening, so we will be able to pick up my four-legged soul mate tomorrow. And that's about it for tonight.

Y'all have a great evening!

Watch What You're Saying!

Today has been great. Last night Ruth Buzzi and her husband Kent were over at Kinky's and they invited Tony and me to meet them for breakfast this morning, at the YO Hotel, in Kerrville. And I said, "Yes, we would love to."

But I lied, because I had forgotten that we had scheduled an appointment for a couple to come out to the rescue ranch, this morning, to check out our dogs. Anyway, when I saw the date circled-in on my
hilarious Cow Abductions & UFO Sightings 2016 calendar, that sweet Eileen gave to me, I immediately sent Kent & Ruthie an e-mail to cancel our breakfast date.

This afternoon our lunch-a-month club met for a fun lunch, at El Bracero De Jalisco restaurant, in the same parking lot as Wild Birds Unlimited, one of our favorite hangouts.

It is a fairly new Mexican restaurant, next door to the Home Town Crafts store and it was Tony's and my first time to eat there. Oh my goodness, their food was absolutely delicious and the waitresses were very friendly. And believe it or not, Tony and I didn't order the same thing on the menu, but The Mineral Man and I did. 

Jim and I ordered the "Special Dinner" which included: one beef enchilada, one tamale, one poblano pepper, one beef taco, re-fried beans with rice and a guacamole salad. Seriously, it was more food than I could ever possibly eat, but I did my best and so did Jim. And all of us agreed that our meals was more than delicious.

While we were enjoying our friends and the mouth-watering food, I commented about Jim's new birthday watch, "Now Jim, that's a watch worth watching. I love it, because it is so big." So the next thing you know, after Jim had told us about his huge wrist watch, we were all talking about our favorite past and present watches that we've had.

Denise told us that her two favorite watches were the purple watch, that she was wearing and the turquoise one that is exactly like her purple one. "Well, for Christmas," I said. "Tony got me the cutest hot pink, solar watch. And I love it, but our good friend Lisa had to set it for me, because I couldn't figure out how to do it. I'm not good at that anymore. And the only thing that I don't like about it, is that it's alarm always goes off, at noon, everyday. And I don't know how to turn it off. And now, I need to reset it again, because of the time change."

"Nancy, what kind of watch is it?" Jim asked.

I shrugged, because I couldn't remember and then it came to me, "Oh, it's a Casio."

"Listen Nancy, send me the watch's model number and I'll go Online and look it up in the manual," The Mineral Man said. "It'll be a piece of cake to fix. I promise you." Then Tony told us about him, many years ago, getting a real good bargain, on a Gruen watch, in Fort Worth, that only cost him $70.00, because the store was going out of business and slashed their prices. 

After our super fun lunch with friends, I walked across the parking lot and mailed a letter, then walked over to Wild Birds Unlimited, to meet up with Tony, who had driven over there. As always, our good friend, Marguerite and I started talking and laughing about Scout''s and Henry Standing Bear's latest, hilarious adventures, while Tony was busy picking out some suet, birdseed, etc.

Then Marguerite told me that she had talked to her friend Lenore, who teaches classes on how to train your dog by using a Clicker. Because Marguerite and I want to train Scout and Henry, together, because we know it would be a laugh a minute with those two rascals. "Sounds great. Let's sign up for her classes!" I said. "Tony, I'll take the course and then I'll come home and teach you what I've learned in the class. That way we can both train Henry. Okay?"

Tony chuckled, and then said, "It's fine with me as long as you don't forget everything that you've learned in class, by the time you get back home."

After we had quit laughing, Marguerite said, "Don't worry about that, Tony. Lenore gives out handouts to take home, so we can do our homework with our dogs."

So, as I finish writing this, it looks like Miss Scout and Mr. Henry Standing Bear will soon be going to school together, attending a once a week class, for five weeks straight, with Marguerite and me. And I am looking so forward to it, because Tony's and my sweet, rescued, four-month-old, Great Pyrenees/Lab mix pup is literally growing in leaps and bounds, by the minute. Seriously, he now weighs over forty pounds!

Y'all have a great evening!

The Great Writer, Donna Gable Hatch, Has Done It Again!

Today has been great. Our dear friend, Donna Gable Hatch has done it again, but this time for Kinky! She has written a fabulous article about Kinky's newest CD, "Kinky Friedman: The Loneliest Man I Ever Met," released on October 2nd, for the Kerrville Daily Times and AP. And it includes an awesome interview with our dear friend, Ruth Buzzi, about Kink's newest CD.

Tug Of War! or I Love Whiskey!

Yesterday was too much fun. Ruth Buzzi and her husband Kent called us around noon and invited us to meet them for lunch, at the Apple Store, in Medina aka the Apple  Cider Mill and they also invited Chet, too, but he couldn't go, because he was busy.

When the four of us walked inside, the Apple Store, Tony and I introduced our good friends to Barbara and then to Dawn. And we had a super fun time eating lunch with them. And if Ruthie wasn't cracking us up with hilarious stories and jokes—Kent was.

All kinds of people were excited about Ruth Buzzi being there and several fans of all ages, asked her to please let them get their picture taken with her. And after Ruthie had posed with all of them, we asked Dawn to please take a picture of us with Kent and Ruthie, because Ruthie and Kent had already posed with her earlier.

Before we left Medina to come back to the ranch, I asked Ruthie and Kent if they would mind stopping, at The Old Timer, because I wanted to introduce them to our good friend Debbie, the store owner and her super friendly employees. Here's a picture I took of Ruthie posing with Debbie and her adorable Great Pyrenees pup.

Then Ruthie met everyone of the employees and she posed for pictures and then she visited with all them. And to say the least, "Everyone, inside the Old Timer, was totally thrilled about getting a chance to meet the sweet, famous stage, television and silver screen Ruth Buzzi."

Before all of us left the Old Timer, Tony and I invited our friends to come over to the rescue ranch so we could visit some more with them and Chet O'Keefe.

Chet greeted us at the front door and after howdies and hugs, Kent said, "Chet Ruthie and I love your music and we wish that you would play a song or two for us." And seconds later, Chet was sitting on a stool, playing my guitar and singing one of his great songs for all of us.

After Chet sang three songs there was a knock on the front door and there stood sweet Marcie, Kinky's younger sister, with our good friend Nelda. "Hi y'all!" I said. "Come on in. Y'all know everyone. Chet's playing music for us..." 

And a few minutes later, after Chet had sung another song, Kent said, "I wish I had a piano to play, so  we could play some music together."

"We do. My keyboard is being stored inside the Mother Ship. That's my RV that I am fixing' up. Let me go get it for you." Then I took off to go fetch it.

A few minutes later, Chet and Kent were jamming and they sounded fantastic. They took turns playing Chet's songs and favorite, old classic songs that Ruthie loves. It was totally awesome.

When Kent and Chet started singing some old Willie Nelson tunes and Blue Grass songs, I went back to my office and grabbed my old guitar that Ronnie made for me. Then I sat in with them and played along with them. 

When it was time for Ruthie & Kent and Marcie and Nelda to get back over to Kinky's, Chet and Tony left too, so they could try to fix Marcie's car.

And twenty minutes later, I phoned Kinky to ask him to please go tell Tony that he needed to get over here fast. Then I went back outside.

Two minutes later, they drove up in Kermit. "Thanks for getting over here fast. This woman has this dog and...."

After we told her that we would take her dog Whiskey and the nice woman had quit crying. We talked about what pen to put Whiskey in, because Whiskey, who looks exactly like our Belle, but she is a little darker tan, has issues about being left alone without another dog being with her. "You can put her in with Willie," Chet suggested. "Whiskey and Willie already seem to like each other."

Last night Chet, Tony and I went over to the Lodge, so we could have another fun visit with Ruthie & Kent, Marcie and Kinky.

This morning when Chet came inside The Cabin, he laughed and said, "Whiskey is a really great dog and she loves to play with Willie. They woke me up this morning, because they had found one of my socks and they were playing tug of war with it. Seriously, they had my sock stretched twice its size. It was a lot of fun to watch. I love Whiskey and so does Willie..."

Today has been great even though it is sadly, once again, M.I.R. Time (Mercury In Retrograde). I've had a very busy day and tomorrow I will post a picture of our, new, two-year-old, rescued Whiskey.

P.S. Mari, I love the funny comment that you made on my last post about Chet and I doing dumb things on our trip to Terlingua. In fact, I am still laughing about it. And tomorrow, I will also write about Chet and me breaking the law as we were driving out to Terlingua.

Y'all have a great evening!

Ruth Buzzi Rules! or Ten Days And Counting! or Almost Ready To Go!

This past Thursday, Tony and I went over to Kinky's lodge, around 5:00, so Tony could take a short video of Kinky and me saluting our dear friend Ruth Buzzi, for an upcoming Tribute to Ruth Buzzi, that was held for her, this past weekend.

Ours was to be a secret video, at the time and Ruthie knew nothing about her sweet husband Kent, Kinky, Tony and me doing it, along with many of her famous celebrity friends, such as Willie Nelson, that were all sending in their video tributes, too. We did this video in just one take and it is short, but because I am technology challenged or just plain stupid, it took me several hours of frustration trying to figure out how to reduce its gigantic 335 megabyte size, so I could get it to Kent, so he could pass it on to sweet Tara and then she could pass it on to the video editor. You can check our video out, on YouTube by clicking: We Love Ruth Buzzi, Too!

Saturday evening, I watched two fabulous documentaries, back-to-back, on Netflix. The first one was Burt's Buzz and it was about the life of Burt Shavitz, the co-founder of Burt's Bees' products. Then I watched Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead by Joe Cross and it inspired me so much, it has and is going to change Tony's and my lifestyle food choices.

So Sunday morning, right after we did our morning chores outside, we went to Belk's, in Kerrville, so I could buy us a juicer and buy some organic vegetables, at the big H-E-B, on Main Street, because I could not wait to start juicing, once again.

Many years ago, Tony and I juiced everyday for at least two years, until we purchased Jaws, our fabulous Vitamix machine. I held on to our juicer for a couple of years and I stored it in our bedroom closet aka The Wine Cellar aka Hazel's Hangout and our clothes. And a few years back, I finally feng-shued it and gave it to the Salvation Army with no regrets until I watched Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead. Here's what we bought!

And this is where it now lives. On the second shelf, above my red, hand-painted "May The Dog of Your Choice Bless You" sign, near the refrigerator.

Today has been a great day. This morning, before we went outside to do our chores, I asked Tony to please watch Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead, with me, because I knew this informative documentary would inspire him, too. 

Before we watched this great documentary, Tony and I made the Joe Cross' "Mean Green" detox juice recipe, that Joe drinks, in the film and it was surprisingly delicious. Then we sipped our super healthy juice while we watched Joe and Phil shed hundreds of pounds, by only juicing vegetables and fruits. And after we watched it, Tony was as inspired as me.

This afternoon Tony and I went to Randy's & Lisa's Save Inn restaurant, because we were going to eat lunch with Kinky and Donna Hatch. All of us love Donna. She is one of the most upbeat people we know and because she is always ready for a laugh. So needless to say, "We laughed throughout our delicious meal.

At one point in our fun conversation, I told Kinky and Donna about us watching Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead. Donna seemed really interested and wanted to know more, so I said, "Donna, I am seriously thinking about doing Joe's ten day juice fast and starting it the day after Thanksgiving. In fact, that's why I'm eating this chicken-fried steak today." 

"Let's do it together!" Donna said. "It will be more fun and we can help each other not fall off of the wagon."

"It says the first three days are the hardest," I warned.

"I know we can do it!" Then we talked about our upcoming "ten days and counting" juicing experiment. And that is about it for tonight.

Y'all have a great evening!

Carol's Back!

Today has been great. This morning, after we did our chores outside, our dear friend, Kent, came over to visit Tony and me. Kent is Ruth Buzzi's husband and he had come down to see Kinky and us. And as you know Kinky, Tony and I love Ruthie and Kent. They are our dear friends and they have done so much to help our rescue ranch.

While the three of us drank Green Mountain Donut Shop Coffee, in the kitchen, Kent watched Gerry Olert's video of Chet O'Keefe singing Ode To Cousin Nancy, at our Chet O'Keefe In Dining Hall Concert. And Kent, Tony and me teared up, because Chet's song is so beautiful and it was so kind of him to write it. Needless to say, "Kent loved the song, too."

After we watched the video, I told Kent all about Earthing and he thought it made a lot of sense, so I printed out two pages about it, so he could take it home and read more about it. Then I told him about  the hilarious lunch that Big G, Carol, Kinky and me had, last Saturday, when I told Big G and Kink about Earthing. Then we did a lot of laughing as we caught up with each others latest news.

When it was time for Kent to get back over to the the Lodge, he invited Tony and me to join him, Kinky, Big G and Lucas, Big G's son, for lunch today, at Del Norte, because on Wednesday they have a great Mexican food buffet. When we told Kent that we would love to go, he then insisted that he wanted to treat us to lunch, too.

Before we adios-ed each other, I said, "Kent, let's play a joke on Kinky and Big G! At that lunch they were teasing me about Earthing. So, sometime during lunch, make up something and tell them that you've discovered Earthing and you want to share it. It will crack them up!"

Lunch with our dear friends was a total blast and it was long too, because we did so much laughing, especially when Kent wanted to share his exciting news about discovering Earthing. And that is all that I can or will share with y'all.

After our super fun lunch Tony and I swung by Hoegemeyer Animal Clinic, so we could pick up little Carol, the dog that I named in honor of my dear friend Carol. We adopted Carol out, in April, but unfortunately it didn't work out. Which is fine with us, because it just wasn't meant to be her forever home. So, if any of y'all know someone who wants an adorable, sweet, little dog, please tell them that Carol's back, at the rescue ranch. This is her adoption picture.

By the time Carol, Tony and I arrived back at the ranch we three had decided that Carol should live inside with us and our giant dogs, until she gets adopted again, because we just don't have any space available for her outside and she's very small. We are going to crate her for a few days, next to the kitchen table and let her sleep in the big puppy pen, that Tony has set up for her, in my office, so she will get to know and be comfortable around our four-legged giants. Then we will remove the crate and puppy pen, so she can be part of our family until she finds her forever home.

Here's Mama checking Carol out, once again, so I'm calling this photo "I Know, I Know You..."

Before I finish writing this I just checked out Kris' & Jim aka The Mineral Man's—Footloose And Kid-Free In The Hill Country blog and I love the pictures they have posted, from their latest trip to Colorado. And my favorite pictures are the hilarious Alien pictures that they took, in Roswell, New Mexico, at that famous Alien Museum. So, I hope that you will check out Kris' & Jim's latest post on their blog, because it is one of my favorite blogs to read, that I follow. And that is about it for tonight.

Y'all have a great evening!

Judy Collins!

Today has been great and so was Friday and Saturday. Because so much has been going on out here I've got a lot of catching up to do, so I'll start with Friday.

When Mama and I woke up, at 6:00, Friday morning, Mama opened the front door and went outside and the first thing that I did was check my e-mail, while waiting for my first delicious cup of Green Mountain Donut Shop Coffee to brew.

Our dear friends, Kris & Jim Bobbitt, had sent me an note to let me know that they had just posted a story about our Concert for Utopia, on their blog—Footloose And Kid-Free In The Hill Country. I checked it out and really enjoyed reading their post. Here's the link to it.

While I was sipping my first cup of coffee, Kinky called me, at 6:15, to tell me that Amy Nelson, Willie's daughter, was coming out later in the day, with a camera crew and she wanted to come over to see our rescue ranch and to also have a meeting with me.

After we adios-ed each other, I took a shower, dressed and started cooking another Cousin Nancy Spinach & Sausage Frittata, because Tony loves it so much.

A little later in the morning, our incredibly great friends/volunteers came out to walk our dogs for us and around 10:30, our dear friend Gerry Olert, our rescue ranch's official videographer, came out to "shoot" all of us, for an upcoming video he's doing about Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch. If you were at the Concert for Utopia, he was the tall man walking around with his video camera.

While our volunteers were out here walking our dog and letting them go swimming, down at the creek, Gerry ended up getting to shoot and interview everyone of them, for our upcoming video. After all of the dogs were walked all of us went up to the Medina Highpoint Resort, to eat lunch together. And it was a lot of fun and filled with laughter.

After lunch, Gerry, Tony and I returned to the rescue ranch, so Gerry could shoot me. Here's one shot that he took of Tony and me, as we rode around the ranch, in Kermit, videotaping our dogs.

After Gerry had finished his videoing our dogs, he grabbed his guitar, out of his truck and then we came inside The Cabin, so he and I could pick & grin. Oh my goodness, talk about fun! Gerry is a great guitar player and I had so much fun pickin' with him.

Around 3:45, Gerry packed up his guitar and before he adios-ed us, he gave me an Elvis and a Beatles guitar picks, which is way too cool. Then he handed me two CDs, that he took at our concert. Gerry Olert shot this hilarious video when Ruth Buzzi, Big G, Kinky and I went up on stage, following the Intermission and it is pretty fun to watch.

Ten minutes later, after Gerry had left the building, Kinky and Amy showed up with her friendly camera crewman. When they walked inside The Cabin, her jaw dropped and then she said, "I love your trailer! It is so cool. Would you mind if I videoed it?"

As Amy slowly walked around the kitchen and big room, videoing The Cabin's walls, she and I talked about our love of animals and how very special each and everyone of them are. When I told her about my book that I am currently working on, about how great dogs actually are, she said, "I love it and it just gave me cold chills..."

Amy and I had a great visit and because we have so much in common, it looks like I've got a new friend and I am really looking forward to working with her on her project.

At 5:45, as soon as they had left the building, Tony and I jumped into Buttermilk and took off for Don's ranch, in Medina, because Don had invited us and friends over for Happy Hour and dinner and we were already running forty-five minutes late.

We arrived at Don's beautiful ranch a little before 6:15 and we had a total blast with Wayne & Michelle, Carol, Steve and Don. Tony and I had planned to only stay for about an hour, but because we were having such a great time with our friends, we stayed until 7:45, because Tony needed to put The Golden Girls (Our six, egg producing chickens.) up for the night. 

Saturday was great and we had several visitors out here. Tony and I had planned to leave the rescue ranch at 3:00, so we could go to Kerrville, to take Drew, one of our favorite friends, that we haven't seen in over four years, out to dinner. 

On the road, between the rescue ranch and 16, an old man and woman, about my age, both wearing green colored Kerrville Folk Festival t-shirts, flagged us down. "Hey man, we were down at Freeman Crossing and this dog showed up. We were afraid that it might get hit by a car, so we caught it. We can't take it with us, because we're from Austin...."

Ten minutes later, Tony turned Buttermilk around and we headed back to the rescue ranch, with a sweet, young, female dog, riding comfortably, in the back seat. 

After Tony put Judy Collins inside our small, portable dog pen. He fed her and then filled up a water bowl for her. Then once again, running late, we took off for Kerrville again. Here's Judy!

Tony and I had a wonderful time with Drew and we treated him to dinner at the Rio Ranch restaurant on 27. All three of us ordered the same thing—Chicken Fried Steak and it was delicious.

Today has been great, too. I am writing this early and having it post at 6:55 tonight, because at 2:30, we are going to Dick and Elaine's ranch party, in Medina. Carol, Don, Steve and Kris & Jim are going to it, too and we are all planning to meet them there around 3:00. Tony and I know that it will be a lot of fun, but we plan to only stay for about an hour and a half, because Tony wants to work in his garden and I need to write and rest.

Tomorrow afternoon, after we do our outdoor chores and eat lunch, we plan to take Judy Collins to Hoegemeyer Animal Clinic, to get her spayed and shots, etc. And that is about it for today.

Y'all have a great evening!

Ruth Buzzi & Kent Perkins Are Coming To The Concert, Too!

Today has been great. We've had a blast with Fay and our great friends/volunteers. This afternoon  Tony and I wanted to impress Fay, so we took her to Home Depot, in Kerrville, to buy a chainsaw. After we purchased the chainsaw, I think Fay was pretty impressed with us Texans, because later on in the evening, when all of us were eating dinner with Kinky, at the Medina Highpoint Resort, she said, in her cute, Canadian accent, "Well, I've never done that before!"

Well, you guessed it—Donna Gable Hatch and The Kerrville Daily Times have done it again for us! Here is a great story about our dear friends Ruth Buzzi and her husband Kent Perkins. We love Ruthie and Kent and we cannot thank Donna Gable Hatch and The Kerrville Daily Times enough for all they have done for us! Enjoy! And we will see y'all at the Concert for Utopia, on Sunday!

Comedienne Ruth Buzzi to pay visit to Kerrville

By Donna Gable Hatch 

Features Editor

donna.hatch@dailytimes.com

She cracked us up as part of the sketch comedy troupe on “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In.” She reduced the legendary Dean Martin and Johnny Carson to tears of laughter with her character, Gladys Ormphby, a hairnet-wearing, handbag-wielding spinster. She can even hold her own alongside the inimitable Miss Piggy.

She’s comedienne-actress Ruth Buzzi, and she’s in Kerrville this weekend to support her longtime friends at Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch, in Medina.

“There have been too many highlights in my career to pick just one, so I’ll share a few: winning the 1972 Golden Globe for best supporting actress in a comedy or variety show was huge for me. Getting to know Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Lucille Ball, even John Wayne and Muhammad Ali; the fascinating people I met along the way are all career highlights for me. But one thing that really stands out is the day I picked up TV Guide and saw my face on the cover. It wasn’t Rolling Stone, but I did get 10 copies for my mother,” Buzzi quipped.

A homecoming, of sorts

Buzzi and her husband of 36 years, Kent Perkins, will be in the audience at the Concert for Utopia, a benefit for the animal sanctuary founded in 1998 by Kinky Friedman, Nancy Parker-Simons and Tony Simons. The concert begins at 3:30 p.m. Sunday, April 13, at the Kathleen C. Cailloux City Center for the Performing Arts, 910 Main St., in Kerrville. It features nine-time Grammy winner Ray Benson and Asleep at the Wheel, singer-songwriters Billy Joe Shaver, Chet O’Keefe and Jesse Dayton. Friedman and radio host Gordon “Big G” Ames will co-host.

Joining the couple in the balcony are her in-laws, Dee and Elaine Perkins of Southlake, Texas, who have been married 69 years. Perkins’ mother will celebrate her 88th birthday while in Kerrville.

“People are surprised that Ruth Buzzi has living in-laws,” Perkins cracked.

Perkins, who met Friedman in 1974, said he and his wife have been friends with the musical talent “for at least 30 years or more. We’ve spent some quality time with Ray and Billy Joe out at the ranch and other places. The concert will be like a homecoming for us. We love Nancy and Tony; they’re among our best friend. We couldn’t have the ranch without them. Nancy’s rare. Tony’s medium rare,” he joked.

Paws all in

Buzzi’s love affair with four-legged friends began as a child.

“I have always thought of animals as friends, from as early as I can recall in my childhood,” Buzzi said. “I was born in Rhode Island but raised in Wequetequock, a small seaside hamlet in Connecticut. It was country living back then, and I had a fox terrier named Fritzy and a black cat named Blackie.”

She and her husband live on a 600-acre ranch near Stephenville in north Texas, where they have 18 head of cattle, a bull, five horses, two rescue dogs — a great Pyrenees named Buffy and an American bull terrier named J.J. — two swans and 10 ducks.

The couple kicked off Utopia’s Pen Sponsorship program in August 2012, and Buzzi raised nearly $8,500 last year for the ranch through her Twitter and Facebook accounts.

She said she and her husband are ready to serve “whenever and wherever we can to support efforts in saving animals. Utopia Rescue has outdoor pens with a tree, at least one tree, in each pen. The dogs are loved there, fed well, played with and treated great by caretakers, Nancy and Tony, who devote their entire lives to the care and love of animals,” said Buzzi, who was honored in 2012 as one of the “Great Women of Texas” by the Fort Worth Business Press. “None of the money raised is wasted; not a penny of it. All the funds go for food, shelter, medical and support services for rescued animals.”

Parker-Simons said the couple’s support has been an invaluable asset to the ranch, and any time they’re in town is a treat, sometimes literally.

“We love it when they visit, because they're always so much fun,” she said. “A few years ago, they came down for a benefit, and later, Ruthie taught me how to cook beignets Italian style, and they were delicious.”

Buzzi and Perkins have been to the area many times throughout the years, and she said she’s grown quite fond of Kerrville.

“My favorite things about Kerrville are the attitude of the people, the incredible beauty of the area, and the name of your public library (Butt-Holdsworth Memorial Library),” Buzzi cracked.

It’s that famous wit and impeccable timing that carried the TV Hall of Famer seamlessly from the Pasadena Playhouse in southern California — where she studied alongside Dustin Hoffman and Gene Hackman — to Off-Broadway, to Broadway, then on to television, followed by film.

“Dustin Hoffman, by the way, was the most shy of all my classmates. He practically hugged the walls as he went from class to class,” said Buzzi, who began working in theater professionally when she was 19, touring with singer Rudy Vallee in a live musical and comedy act. “I guess he’s come out of his shell, wouldn’t you say?”

Her time working with the “Laugh In” cast, she said, are among her most treasured memories in the business — and was a launch pad for lifelong friendships.

“JoAnn Worley and I are the best of phone buddies. I’ve also kept in touch with Gary Owens, Goldie (Hawn), and Lily (Tomlin), too, but we don’t get together much since I’ve moved to Texas,” she said. “When they need me for something, though, they call and we always support each other in whatever ways we can.”

The famously funny "Dean Martin Celebrity Roast" — which aired as an NBC television special show hosted by entertainer Dean Martin from 1974 to 1984 — left an indelible mark, because she got to know the men behind the laughter.

“Both Dean and Johnny were warm, wonderful guys with big hearts. People automatically knew that about Deano, but lots of folks assumed Johnny was standoffish,” she said. “The truth was that Johnny was simply uncomfortable in most large social gatherings, so he rarely went to big parties. He preferred small dinners with no more than four or five people, and my husband Kent and I were fortunate to be counted among those folks several times.” 

She said one image is seared into her heart. “We saw Johnny at a hospital with a dying mutual friend once. He sat beside her every day on his way home from the studio, held her hand and made her feel loved the last few days of her life,” she said. “It’s hard to forget that image of Johnny Carson. I loved him, and I loved Dean, and I miss them both.”

Buzzi said she’s looking forward to the Concert for Utopia and chatting with residents during intermission and while she’s in town. “People should feel free to stop me and say ‘hello’ when they run into me around Kerrville,” she said. “I love meeting people, and I’m never too busy for that.”

Here are a few pictures, too:

 Actress Ruth Buzzi, center, her husband, Kent Perkins, right, Courtesy photo

 and her in-laws Elaine and Dee Perkins of Southlake, will be in the

audience Sunday for the Concert for Utopia.

                                   Ruth Buzzi as park-bench spinster Gladys Ormphy on 
                                                 “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In.”

Ruthie and me.

Y'all have a great evening!