Beep, Beep! 7/95!!! or Stephen K. Morris Live Tonight on Facebook!!

The last few days Tony and I have been painting the outside of The Cabin. The cabin is now painted, but we still need to paint the trim boards and put them up, along with the shutters that we made. Anyway, it is a work in progress and the hardest part has been accomplished.

The other day while we were waiting for the paint to dry, on once side of The Cabin, our dear talented artist friend, Steve Pietzsch came over to visit us and he brought me an incredibly great, beautiful present that he had made/painted. And please note that we stayed ten feet apart, because of social distancing.

I about fell over when Steve gave me a signed and numbered, limited edition, framed, print, of one of his most recent paintings. My print is number 7/95.

It is a beautiful painting of a roadrunner racing across the desert and Steve put "his own unique funny twist" on it, because the dust that he painted behind the roadrunner is similar to the artwork they used in the hilarious Wylie Coyote cartoons. And I absolutely love it!

It is titled "Beep, Beep!" And here is a picture of the back of the framed print.

After Steve's fun visit, I took it inside to take pictures, but because of the sunlight's glare it does not do it justice. So I suggest to view Steve Pietzsch's "Beep, Beep!" please click here to check it out on his website. It is the first picture on the bottom row. Anyway, here is my print of "Beep, Beep!

Well, tonight Tony and I have exciting plans to watch another great, live performance of Stephen K. Morris playing his awesome music on Facebook, at 7:30! And now like solving jigsaw puzzles and playing solitaire my latest addiction is watching and listening to Stephen K. Morris' Another Stir Crazy Wednesday! And I hope that y'all will join Tony and me for another great Wednesday evening.

And that is about it for tonight, because I want to solve a few more jigsaw puzzles, before tuning in to  watch Stephen's show.

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

P.S. Mari has just sent me this great video about Kerrville's restaurants helping restaurants in Kerrville and it was so much fun to watch.  So Enjoy! (Thanks Mari!)

Watch Stephen K. Morris Perform Live, Tonight at 7:30!

Today has been great. I walked for over an hour this morning, made us sandwiches for lunch, took a short nap with our five, four-leggers and  I solved ten jigsaw puzzles!  And right now I am still laughing at what my friend Mari sent to me, so I am going to share it with y'all.

This afternoon Tony told me about our dear (incredibly talented musician) friend, Stephen K. Morris, from Fredericksburg, doing live performances every Wednesday night @ 7:30 and you can watch him perform live, here on Facebook Stephen K. Morris.

I also found out from Tony that Stephen has been doing his awesome "Stir Crazy" series for several weeks and he told me that it is a lot of fun to watch, because Stephen's & Eva's friends  and fans make comments, etc. during his show and Stephen responds to these comments in between his songs. And I cannot wait to watch Stephen's show tonight, because I plan to send Stephen a comment.

I want to invite everyone to join me tonight to watch Stephen K. Morris' live show on his Facebook page, because I promise that you'll love his show, because he is an awesome entertainer, talented songwriter, singer, one fine musician and one very dear friend.

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

More Awe Moments!

The past few days have been awesome. Last Wednesday our dear friend Jim Keaveny came to see us and he was the very first person to spend the night in my finished writing cabin, even though I still have a few more pictures to hang up.

The good news is Jim loves my small 12'x10' she shed and we had a wonderful time visiting with Jim. And before he and us adios-ed each other the next day I asked Jim to please sign my cabin's door, because I am going to ask everyone who goes inside my cabin to sign the door. Also because, with a ton of friend's signatures on the door—it will help hide the slots and holes in the re-purposed blind's slats.

After Jim left for Terlingua, I called Carol and invited her to come over to see my writing cabin which I still haven't named yet.

Bottom   Line: Carol totally loved the cabin, too! And she could not believe that it was originally a Tuff Shed. And before Carol exited the cabin she autographed my door, too.

Tony and I had a wonderful time at Christina Fredriksen's art exhibition at the Texas Heritage Vineyard, in Fredericksburg. And Stephen K. Morris' music was fabulous and it was perfect for the event.

Tony and I had a lot of fun visiting with Stephen, Hans & Marita, Christina & Zach and Zach's sweet parents. During an intermission I invited our friends to come over on Monday, because I wanted them, especially Christina, to meet our dear artist friend Steve Pietzsch. And before we left the event Christina had already sold several prints, originals and merchandise.

Tony and I worked the mornings and evenings next door, this past weekend and of course, it was fun, too.

Early Monday afternoon Hans & Marita, Christina & Zach and Stephen K. Morris & Eva Robinett came to see us and the minute they walked inside The Cabin—a fun time was had by all.

We ate snacks and visited and because we had 30 minutes to kill, before going to see Steve Pietzsch, I told everyone that I wanted them to see my cabin and that I also wanted them to sign the door. And because my cabin is so small Tony suggested that we go in two groups—Ladies first—Men second.

But before us girls went out to the cabin, Stephen gave Tony and I a copy of his latest CD The Hustler's Fool. "Christina did the beautiful cover artwork for the album," Stephen said. 

"And you're going to love this CD," Hans said. So we thanked Stephen & Eva for the CD and then I asked Stephen and Christina to autograph the CD.

And y'all can check out this fabulous CD on Stephen K. Morris' site.

After I got Stephen and Christina's signatures us women marched out of The Cabin to go see my little cabin. And not to brag they fell in love with it, so we had a hilarious, mini "hen party" out there. And before we vacated the cabin—they all signed the door for me and after the men had checked out the she shed—they autographed the door, too.

And after the unofficial autograph party, we jumped in the vehicles and took off to go visit Steve Pietzsch's awesome paradise. But wait. I left out this important bit of information:

Tony took Henry Standing Bear out of the side yard and put him inside The Cabin!

When we arrived at Steve's beautiful, mountaintop Shangri-La-Loma our friends were immediately blown-away by his beautiful scenic view of the Hill Country and his awesome yard art and his rock walls that he had built. 

And after the "awes" were over Steve gave them a tour of his little piece of heaven and then he invited all of us to come inside his home.

After all of those "awes" inside his cabin had subsided we went down the hallway, so Steve could give us a tour of his art studio. And needless to say there were even more awe moments.  

We had intended to only stay about an hour at Steve's place, but because everyone was having so much fun visiting—we stayed over two hours.

Before it was time for the adios-es, there were handshakes and hugs, business cards exchanged and  then pictures were taken. Here is a picture that Tony took of Steve with Marita, Christina and Hans.

When we left Steve's awesome place, Hans & Marita and Christina & Zach took off for Fredericksburg and Stephen & Eva dropped us off at Big Foot Ranch, before going home to Fredericksburg.

Now remember what I said earlier about Tony putting Henry inside the house? When we walked inside—the place was not a wreck as I had expected. 

In fact, Henry Standing Bear had cleared off the kitchen island and he had cleaned all of the dishes for me—even though they were all on the floor. And I know that Hen would have put the emptied bags of tortilla chips and beer bottles and cans in the trash can—if the lid had had been off of the garbage can.

Last night, before going to bed I checked out Steve Pietzsch's Facebook page, because he told us that he was going to write about our visit. Steve wrote:

"Fun! Beautiful visitors to Shangri-La Loma all the way from Norway! Marita, Christina, and Hans Fredriksen. Christina is a fantastic artist embarking on a future in the arts!

...and the rest of the guests...the Texans...plus Zach (beach fossils tee) also from Norway!...."

I know this has been a long post, but as I finish writing this I do want to share some pictures that I took this morning, of my tiny, cozy writing cabin—that I love so much. And it starts with our thirsty rain gauge.

And that is about it for today, because I plan to spend the rest of my day writing.

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

P.S. I've just decided to name my cabin—THE DOG HOUSE!

Be There Or Be Square!

This morning has been great. In a few hours Tony and I are going to Christina Fredriksen's art exhibition and I hope that we see many of you there.

So my phrase for today is: "Be There Or Be Square!"

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

Sympathy Pains! or Christina Fredriksen!

The last few days Tony and I have been working a lot and in-between working, Tony and I worked on my writing cabin.

With the help of our friend Ernest, the walls and the trim work are completed and the ceiling is finally insulated and finished, too.

During the three full days of working on the cabin, while working mornings and evenings next door, I sprained my ankle on the first day. So, if someone were watching us I must have looked like a female version of Chester, on Gun Smoke, as I limped around.

That first day after spraining my right ankle early in the morning, it was late afternoon when we finally called it a day and put away our tools. And when I went inside The Cabin, to go take a shower before going to work that night at Escondida—Henry Standing Bear was limping when he came to the door to greet me.

Henry was limping on his front right paw, so when Tony followed me into The Cabin, he joked, "Henry must be having sympathy pains for your ankle." And after we had checked out Hen's paw and had found nothing I agreed with Tony's diagnosis sort of.

"He must be faking it." Anyway the good news is Henry and I are fine now. No more fake limping or sprained ankle. And once I finish decorating my cozy cabin, which should happen some time next week, I will take pictures and be ready to show it to y'all.

Now I want to do a big shout-out for Christina Fredriksen, because her upcoming art show, The Habitat Art Exhibition & Live Music event is this coming Friday, September 27th from 2 pm - 6 pm, at the Texas Heritage Vineyard, in Fredericksburg.

Last week, after asking Marita to please send me some more information about Christina's art exhibit, so I could blog about it and promote her art show. Marita wrote back:

"Christina chose the theme "Habitat" for her art exhibit to illustrate the relationship between living and belonging somewhere. We all need to take care of each other and the environment that we live it. It is vital to our existence!"

Norwegian artist making drawings and installations inspired by nature and geometric structures. Fascinated by the autonomy of natural patterns, discrepancies and similarities to human taxonomies, I aspire to investigate and disrupt the formalities and identities of natural forms. This I do by deconstructing, repeating, assembling, scattering and/or superimposing within space, different material structures, objects and geometries.  I strive to apply new meaning and quality to the experience of space, inspiring viewers to reflect on their own existence, spatiality and perception of being in and of space."


And just so you'll know—Tony and I have already made arrangements to be off at work, so we can attend Christina's art exhibition and I hope that all of y'all will come to it, too. It will be a fun time for all and I promise that you'll love Christina's beautiful art and enjoy listening to Stephen K. Morris' fabulous music.

And here is Christina Fredriksen's Facebook page so you can check it out: https://www.facebook.com/artistchristinafredriksen/

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

Mark Your Calendars—September 27th— 2 pm - 6pm — Texas Heritage Vineyard!!

This past week I've been writing up a storm even though it has not rained one drop here. :(

Our dear friends Marita & Hans Fredriksen, from Bergen, Norway are back in Texas! In fact, they are in Fredericksburg, staying with our dear friends Stephen K. Morris & Eva Robinett.

Marita sent me an exciting e-mail today with news about their daughter's upcoming art exhibition, at the Texas Heritage Vineyard, in Fredericksburg. The Habitat Art Exhibition & Live Music event, will be on Friday, the 27th of September, from 2pm - 6 pm.

Tony and I cannot wait to go to this event, because Christina Fredriksen, is an incredibly talented artist. Tony and I love her art so much, I am hoping to buy a piece of her art. (If she has a lay-a-way plan.)

This event is going to be so much fun that I want to invite everyone to please mark your calendars and come to it, so you will have the opportunity to meet Christina in person and view her fabulous art. And if you show up for this event I promise to also introduce y'all to Marita & Hans, too. (Hans & Marita are characters in my upcoming 3rd novella.)

I also promise to introduce y'all to Stephen K. Morris &  Eva Robinett, because you will love love listening to Stephen's awesome music and you will just  simply love meeting sweet Eva. (Stephen & Eva are also in my 3rd novella.)

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

P.S. My dear friend Kris & I have now taken 3 line—dancing classes and we are hooked on line—dancing, because we are having so much fun and burning calories!

Foreign Friends! or Pot!

Tony and I have had so much fun these past few weeks, visiting with all of our foreign friends and Texas friends, is the main reason why I have not blogged. I would apologize for not blogging, but I can't, because we simply had too much fun getting to spend quality time with each and everyone of them.

During these past few weeks our foreign dignitaries represented their countries. Big Foot Ranch has hosted Marita & Hans from Bergen, Norway, Fay from Toronto, Canada, Liz from Mexico/Texas and Gaby from Germany. Also including our Texas friends: Stephen K. Morris & Eva Robinett from Fredericksburg, Chet O'Keefe from Terlingua, Xenia from Pleasanton, and our two mystery guests that unexpectedly showed up later today.

To put it on a bumper sticker—It Was A Busy Schedule, But We Had A Wonderful Time Seeing Everyone. Hmm...Somehow I don't think all of that would actually fit on a bumper sticker, but that's okay. And to say the least, "We would gladly do it all over again, because it was so nice to be with so many of our dear friends."

Yes, I know I could write volumes about each one of our friends visits, but time is of the essence here, because I need and want to spend this evening writing on my third novella, because lately it has been put, on the back burner so to speak. So I am only going to write about today.

Early this afternoon Gaby and her lovely daughter Xenia came to see us. Gaby (from Germany) has been spending a few weeks with Xenia and her family and today they drove up from Pleasanton to spend the day with us. Tony and I were thrilled about it and so was Kinky, because like us he loves her too and overtime that he tours Germany, she is always put on his German guest list.

After howdies and hugs today, we invited our sweet guests, inside The Cabin, so we could drink some coffee and munch on some fresh, homemade beignets, that I had cooked up earlier. But after serving delicious coffee, Gaby wanted to give us her gifts she had brought for Tony and me.

So while the beignets cooled, on the kitchen island, Gaby handed her gift for me to open, so I opened it. Omg! I about fell off of the couch when I saw her, six, beautiful, hand crocheted pot holders.

Then all four of us burst out laughing, and Gaby said, "I read about your famous, pink pot holder, on your blog and you needing your friend, Jean, to help you finish it off, so I decided to make you six, cotton yarn, pot holders that are machine washable."

"After I thanked her, I turned around and pointed upwards, and said, "There is that famous pot holder!" And all of us started laughing again.

Bottom   Line: We spent the next several hours catching up with each other and doing a lot of laughing. And the best part about it for me was that I got to tell Gaby and Xenia my off-colored joke, because I think they are the last two people that we know on the Planet, that I've not told it to! Xenia burst out loud when I told the punchline, but it took Gaby a few seconds longer to get it, because she is from Germany. Anyway, they loved my joke and I enjoyed making them laugh.

Around 3:30, Kinky called to let us know he was back from town and he invited us to come over. And ten minutes later, we were having fun visiting with Kinky, Rick, Zoie and The Friedmans.

About an hour or so later, our dear friends Kent Perkins and his beautiful wife, Ruth Buzzi, arrived to complete the festive party. Gaby and Xenia were so excited to meet Ruthie and soon after visiting with her, Ruthie posed for pictures with them.

About another hour later, it was time for us to return home and when I adios-ed Kinky and Kent, in Kinky's office, Kent asked me if he and Ruthie could come over to see The Cabin, because the last time they had seen it—we had just bought it and had not started our renovations.

So, we caravan-ed over to Big Foot Ranch. Tony and I led the way, Ruthie & Kent followed us in one of their Rolls Royce and Xenia and Gaby followed them.

When Kent & Ruthie walked inside The Cabin their jaws dropped, and Ruthie said, "I love it!..." So after we gave them the grand tour all of us were back in the kitchen, and Kent said, "Are these what I think they are?"

"Yes!" I said, followed by a chuckle. "Help yourselves to the beignets. I made them earlier...." So everyone grabbed a tasty beignet and the powder sugar started flying (out of our mouths). And after accepting several compliments on the delicious beignets, I said, "Thank y'all, but they are not as good as Ruthie's beignets. Hers are to die for. In fact, several years ago, Ruthie taught me how to make them and just about every time that Kent & Ruthie have come down for a visit with Kinky and us—we usually cook up a batch of beignets...." And after another fun visit our dear friends we adios-ed them.

As soon as everyone had left Big Foot Ranch I grabbed Gaby's pretty pot holders and laid them out, so I could take a better picture of them. So you could see how beautiful they are.

And if you look closely at the picture above, you can see part of the blue handle casserole dish that I had put the over-a-dozen beignets in. And this is what was left of my beignets, after all of us had eaten our fair share of them.

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

The Prize!

Unfortunately, today and yesterday we did not get to work, at The Old Timer's Rusty Dawg food truck, because we are getting so much rain. We haven't been able to work, because of the rain, because when it rains hardly anybody gets out in the rain to go to a food truck or anywhere else for that matter. So to help keep costs down and not waste our time—we don't work when it is raining.

But please know that I am not complaining about all of this much needed rain that we've been blessed with, because by staying home the past two days I got to and get to write, write, write.

I love writing, even though I do miss having so much fun with Tony, at the Rusty Dawg and our great customers. And hopefully tomorrow it won't be raining all day, so we can get back to working at the Rusty Dawg. Here's a great picture of the Rusty Dawg that Tony took last week, when the sun was shining and we were taking a break from cooking up some delicious hot dogs and Frito-pies.

This past week has flown by and it was a whole lot of fun. Besides having fun with Chet O'Keefe, Stephen & Eva, Hans & Marita—I had a total blast going over to Carol's ranch for a super fun visit with her, Debbie and Vicki.

Debbie and Vicki are two of the nicest women and of course, Carol is too. Anyway, over the years Tony and I have become good friends with Carol's dear friends, Vicki and Debbie, from Dallas. In fact, Tony and I love them so much I've made them two of the main characters in my upcoming, soon to be published novella The Cowgirl Sisterhood: Part III, Ghost Riders In The Sand.

Anyway, last Saturday afternoon I went over to visit with Carol, Debbie and Vicki and to talk to them about the quirky characters that I've turned them into for my book. And while we were talking and laughing about their characters, Vicki mentioned that she thought it would be fun for me to do a contest, like one of her favorite authors had recently done.

Vicki told us that this author announced on her blog that anyone wanting to have their name, in her mystery book, should write her and tell her why their name (possibly made into a character) deserved to be in her upcoming book. 

Well that got all of us excited and after two minutes of listing the pros and cons of having this contest I decided that I should do a contest too, because it would be so much fun. But we figured out that I would have to limit the requests to just one paragraph, because otherwise I would be bombarded with reading for hours and not be able to write.

So I am now inviting all of you that would like to see your name in print, in my third novella to please enter this contest by writing no more than 1 paragraph telling me why your name deserves to be in my book. 

To enter the "I Want To Be In Your Book" contest please post it as a comment on my blog, because that way it will be confidential—I can read it and no one else will ever see it. 

The Rules:

1. You may not be eligible if your name has been in my previous books.

2. The contest starts today and it will end one week from today—Saturday, September 15th @ midnight.

3. And at the end of your paragraph please include your full name and the best way that I may contact you in the event you win. (e-mail, phone, snail mail, etc.) 

4. Please note that all contestants will be considered, but please know that I do not have the time to personally respond to each contestant individually and to send out rejection letters. So if you are picked the winner, I will notify you and only you and then I will announce it on my blog and post the paragraph that you have written to me for all to read.

5. But before I can announce the contest winner, I will need a consent form giving me full permission to use your name anyway I want to, in my book and it must be signed and dated. (Who knows? You just might become another quirky character in my third novella.)

6. The prize for this contest will be a signed, first edition copy of my third novella. 

7. The last rule is to have fun with this.

And that is about it for tonight.

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

P.S. Great news! Our dear friend Fay, in Toronto, is coming to see us on the 17th and we cannot wait to see her!

Stephen K. Morris' Outsider Songwriter Spotlighter's Series Featuring Chet O'Keefe! or Horrible Host!

Tony and I had a wonderful time going to Stephen K. Morris' awesome Outsider Songwriter Spotlighted Series, live show with Chet O'Keefe, at the Western Edge Cellars, in Fredville.

Several times during the show I actually got goosebumps, because the music flowed and was so awesome.

Anyway, if you were not lucky enough to go to this show here is the link, so you can listen to Chet's and Stephen's fabulous music. And please note that Chet's performance is the 2nd one down on Stephen's play list of artists.

https://soundcloud.com/stephen-k-morris

Last night Chet, Tony and I watched this great documentary about cigar box guitars—Strung Together, because I actually have a super cool, cigar box guitar that Kinky gave to me many, many years ago.

After watching this fun documentary we got out my amps and Chet plugged in the cigar box guitar and started playing it. And to say the least, "Chet sounded so good that Henry Standing Bear and I started dancing to Chet's awesome music. And here is a short video that Tony made of Chet playing it for the very first time.

https://youtu.be/ygtxRIaFEAg

And needless to say, "Chet and I have both vowed that we are going to make us custom cigar box guitars, because they are such a cool instrument."

Yesterday our dear friends Hans & Marita and Stephen K. Morris came over for a super fun visit. Being the horrible host that I am known for, I cooked two, cheap, frozen supreme pizzas for our lunch. And to my amazement our friends ate all of it and even complimented me on the delicious late lunch that I had prepared for them. And all that I can say about that is—they must have been starving.

Of course, Tony and I didn't eat any pizza, because we are sticking to our Keto Diet. So while they gobbled up the wanna-be supreme pizzas—we just sat there, knowing that we were burning up fat calories, as we watched them. 

But I must admit that Tony and I were definitely tempted to eat a slice of pizza, even though we know by experience it tastes like tomato and cardboard, with these colorful, tiny objects that represented pepperoni, cheese, bell pepper, onion and cheese.

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

Western Edge Cellars! Be Square or Be There!

This afternoon @ 4:00 our dear friends Chet O'Keefe will be playing with Stephen K. Morris @Western Edge Cellars, in Fredericksburg, and Tony and I will definitely be there to enjoy Stephen's and Chet's awesome music. So be square or be there. Happy Labor Day Weekend!

Second Hand News! or We're Off! or Mug Shots! or Foreign Friends!

Yesterday was so much fun. I actually got up early and I was thrilled about it, because I've been trying to change my body clock, so getting up early will become second nature to me. And it's working like clockwork.

Anyway, after getting up and drinking a delicious cup of coffee, Hazel came out of the closet and she and I got removed all of the dog hair, from the floor, behind things and underneath furniture. Then I walked 4 Fast Miles with Leslie Sansone.

After that I decided to check my e-mail. Mari had sent me some funny notes and Chet O'Keefe had sent me an e-mail that was written in three phases. What I mean he wrote some on Sunday night during a thunderstorm, Monday evening and Tuesday morning.

Sunday's news was about him coming up to visit us on Friday and planning on playing a fun gig with Stephen K. Morris, at the Western Edge Cellars, in Fredericksburg @ 4:00. And we can't wait, because we love Chet and Stephen's awesome music and the Western Edge Cellars is way too cool a place to listen to great music.

On the Monday part of his e-mail, Chet added news about his new, custom-made guitar and the last part of it was exciting, because he was looking forward to staying with us over the weekend and seeing all of our dear friends Stephen K. Morris & Eva Robinett and Hans & Marita, who are here once again, visiting all of us. Marita and Hans are from Norway and they will be staying in Fredericksburg, for the next month.

Tuesday morning the last part of Chet's note was a short note—Chet told me that he had talked to Hans & Marita and he knew that they were coming to see us "today."

As soon as I read that Marita & Hans were coming to see us "today" I asked Tony to please check his messages, to see if they had contacted him.

A minute later, Tony came into the big room, and said, "They sent me a note. They said that they are coming to the Old Timer's Rusty Dawg food truck to eat lunch and get a visit in with us.

I went into a panic mode, and said, "Oh my goodness! We won't be there." Then I clicked the remote to open our gate outside. "Try to send them a note telling them we're off today and to please come to The Cabin instead."

While Tony was writing them a message, I jumped into the shower and took the fastest shower that I've ever taken in my life. And forty minutes later our dear friends, Marita & Hans arrived!

After howdies and hugs outside, we came inside The Cabin and the real fun began. But before we started catching up with each others news they gave Tony and me gifts. "These are our favorite coffee mugs and they are made in Norway and...."

Tony and I loved our new Norwegian-made coffee mugs and I claimed the blue one and he got the white one.

To say the least, since this post is growing by the minute, "We had a wonderful time with Hans & Marita and we hated to see them go back to Fredericksburg. Not because we don't like Fredville, because we were having such a great time with our foreign friends.

This morning while I was cooking us breakfast, Tony was outside taking pictures. When he came back inside The Cabin, he was carrying a gift wrapped package. "I found this by the gate. Fay has sent you something."

Since I was busy cooking I asked Tony to please open it for me.

When I saw the cute box, I said, "Let me open it. Will you stir the eggs for me? They are almost ready." Tony took my spatula and began stirring my scrambled egg concoction (sausage, onion, mushrooms, garlic, eggs, parmesan cheese, heavy whipping cream and power greens) for me.

When I opened the box and saw the hilarious mug's message, I laughed out loud, because those were mostly my thoughts for the most part of August, because of Mercury doing its thing. It could not have been more perfect, because it said it all. Then I read Fay's sweet note. So right here, I want to say, "Thank you, Fay! I LOVE this mug! I Can't Even—"

❤

Then I cut up a ripe avocado and halved it. Then I smashed it, on our awesome restaurant plates, they sweet Liz & Jim gave to me. Then I dumped my scrambled egg concoction, on top of the smushed avocado and we ate another Keto-friendly-low carb breakfast. And in four days, we've been eating delicious salads, burger without buns, etc. And Tony has already lost five unwanted pounds and I can almost button the top button on my 501 Levis!

Here are our mug shots. 

As I finish writing this post this morning, Tony and I are fixin' to take off for Kerrville, because we are meeting Marita & Hans for a super fun lunch, even though neither one of us is hungry. Then we're going back to the big H-E-B, so we can stock up on more Keto-friendly food, because we are loving this amazing, healthy diet. And that is about it for today.

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

Christmas Trees!

Yesterday I got back to Big Foot Ranch, at 2:00. And yes, I would have gotten back here sooner, but when adios-ing Alpine, after topping-off Roy's tank, I got behind a huge hay-hauling truck and I had to follow it all of the way to the first rest stop, on the other side of Fort Stockton.

It was great to be back home and after hugging all of our dogs and Tony. I made me a quick sandwich and then I went over to Carol's ranch to tell her all about my "research trip" and fact gathering mission, for my third novella—The Cowgirl Sisterhood: Ghost Riders In The Sand, Part III.

We were sitting out on her beautiful deck, watching the big fish swimming around her lake, when I told her, "I loved my cabin, at the Terlingua Ranch Lodge and I was lucky to get it, because they only had three vacancies left. Because there was this Christmas Tree convention staying there and the place was packed with friendly Christmas tree people..."

"What?" Carol asked me, followed by a chuckle. "Why would there be a Christmas tree convention, in the desert?"

"I don't know. I thought it was sort of weird too. Anyway, Jim Keaveny asked me to please tell you hi and he and...."

An hour later, Scout barked and he stood up on the deck. Scout is Carol's old, sweet, lovable black Lab that has the gigantic paws. And he and my Roy are famous, because our two, old Labs are in my Cowgirl Sisterhood novellas.

Anyway, Scout barked because he saw Tony driving up the driveway. So when Tony arrived, Bill came out on the deck to join us. And we had a fun visit. We talked about our awesome keyhole gardens, how much we love the hilarious Duck Dynasty show and then we changed the topic to fire ants and then to bees.

Tony and I took turns telling Bill (Carol already knew the hilarious story) about Tony's and Chet O'Keefe's over night trip to Port Aransas, many years ago, when they went down there to spend the night with Rick, at the lighthouse, on the island.

They went down there so they could bring back Rick's bees and bee equipment, because Rick was moving to Nicaragua. Rick was giving away all of this to Tony, so Tone could take over Rick's hobby and become a beekeeper too. And to say the least, "We were all laughing so hard my back began to ache, so we came home.

And speaking of Rick, our mutual friend Ronnie Namour, the music scene writer for the Island Moon, who came up with Rick, last Friday, to visit us, sent me the article that he wrote for the  Island Moon newspaper's May 24th Edition.

I loved reading his humorous story about his and Rick's Hill Country adventure and Ronnie even mentioned Tony and me and Kinky's CD release party, in his fun to read article. Here's the article, but I think that you will have to enlarge it to be able to easily read it:

Well today has been great. I slept like a log last night and I didn't crawl out of bed until 9:00 this morning, because the dream I was dreaming involved Christmas trees. And once again, the first thing that I did when I got out of bed was to hug our dogs and Tony, because I was so glad to be back home. Then I drank two cups of delicious Donut Shop Coffee.

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

P.S. I just got off the phone with Carol. Tomorrow night our dear friend Stephen K. Morris will be playing, at the Medina Highpoint Resort. Carol & Bill and Tony and I are going. So y'all come on out, too.

Happy Pranksgiving! or Moon Pies!

Today has been great and I am happy to report that last night Stephen K. Morris' awesome music was a big hit with the fun crowd, at the Medina Highpoint Resort.

On my last blog I promised to tell you about the prank I played on our dear friend, Jeff Severson. Many years ago, because of dear Carol, who is dear friends with Jeff and his sweet Lori, introduced us to Jeff and since that time Carol has always made sure to get us together with Jeff & Lori when they come to visit her & Bill.

For several years Jeff & Lori have come down to Carol's ranch to spend Thanksgiving with her & Bill. In fact, it has become a "family" tradition, so to speak. And when Lori & Jeff are down here Jeff and I always get to do a little picking & grinning and it is so much fun. And please note that Jeff is a much better musician than me hands down. 

In fact he is actually a professional actor/retired pro football player who earned 4 or 5 Super Bowl rings/singer/songwriter/ musician known worldwide as "Jeff Severson The Singing Cowboy." Here is a picture of Jeff.

Anyway, this Thanksgiving Lori & Jeff spent Thanksgiving with Carol & Bill, up in Weatherford instead of at Carol's. And Carol called me and she gave me a heads-up before Lori & Jeff arrived, at Bill's place. "Nancy, be on alert about Jeff pulling a prank on you. They should be here any minute and I promise you that within the first hour Jeff is going to ask me about you and then give you a prank phone call."

With that said, I prepared myself to be ready to receive one of "Bob's" (Jeff's prankster alias) crazy phone calls. And sure enough, a few hours later, Jeff called me and left this hilarious message, on Carlton. With his voice changed to sound more like a redneck, he said, "Hello. Hello. This is Bob and I need a turkey—now. Please get me a turkey...."

When Tony and I listened to his message we were nearly rolling on the floor. But because we had company, I didn't return his call, because I had decided to wait and return his phone call as soon as I came up with a good prank to play on him.

The following day Jeff called me again and left another message on Carlton. This time Jeff went on and on about needing a turkey which made Tony and me burst out laughing when we heard it. Tony urged me to call him back, but I didn't because I had not come up with a good-enough prank to play on him. So I let it slide until Thanksgiving morning. This is the e-mail that I sent to Carol around 11:00 Thursday morning:

"Hi Carol! I received Jeff's aka Bob's 2 hilarious phone calls about needing a turkey. I am finally ready to get him back. Here's the plan and you must be a good actor:

1. Tell Jeff and everyone (i want to also get Lori and Bill, too.) that you just got an e-mail from Tony telling you that I've been totally exhausted and depressed about.... and please tell Jeff that Tony has asked you to please ask Jeff to please quit calling me, because I am a basket case, etc. 

2. Then tell them that Tony told you that I've been so depressed that each time that Jeff (Bob) called that I burst out in tears when I heard his message, because i am so sad they didn't come down here.

3. Now let that sink in for a minute or two until Jeff, Bill and Lori feel bad about Jeff calling me and depressing me more.

4. Then call me so I will know that it is working and then act like I am crying on the phone, because I am so sad and make sure to do it in front of Jeff, Bill and Lori. Then tell Jeff that I want to talk to him so i can say, "I got you Jeff, Bill and Lori!"

I plan to be here for the next hour or so and then we are going over to the property to work, so, if y'all are not around we can do it later today…Nancy"

About an hour later Carol called me, and she whispered into the phone, "This is perfect. We just went for a short walk and while we were walking Jeff said that he wondered why you haven't called him back." Then Carol and I burst out laughing.

"Okay, Nancy. I am going to call you right back." Click. 

"Hello Nancy?" Are you okay? We miss you and.....(I talked back to Carol trying to sound like I was depressed, etc. in case Lori, Jeff and Bill could hear me.) "Nancy, I am going to put you on Speaker Phone now, because everyone wants to talk to you." 

"Happy Thanksgiving Nancy," the three said in unison and they sounded like they felt sorry for me and I was loving it. "We miss you and Tony," Jeff said, sounding very serious.

"Next year we are all coming to Carol's," Jeff proclaimed, in an effort to try to cheer me up and I had heard enough.

I started laughing and then in the background Tony started laughing and then Carol burst out laughing, on the other end, "Ha, ha, ha. I got you Jeff! I mean Bob and Lori and Bill!" Then there was a moment of silence, in Weatherford, Texas, until they had figured out my (and Carol's) prank. "I'm not depressed at all, y'all. You fell for it hook, line and sinker...." I said between fits of laughter. 

Later that evening Carol sent me this e-mail: 

"Jeff's brain is in overdrive trying to come up with a way to pull One on you 😊 
You got him good!
I miss y'all and I'll be home in a day or two. Happy Thanksgiving!"

Late this morning Tony, Little Girl and I went, over to the property, to meet up with our dear friend Ellen and her super-nice friend Curtis, because sweet Ellen was ready to adopt Little Girl from us. But before Ellen signed-off on Little Girl's adoption form, she gave Tony and me two-mini Moon Pies, and said, "Today is Moon Pie Day and we're celebrating its 100th Anniversary...."

Tony and I love Moon Pies and I was so excited about it I forgot to take a picture of Ellen and Little Girl's adoption. But at least here's a picture of our mini Moon Pies, before we ate them.

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

So Tonight Be There Or Be Square!

Tonight Tony and I have plans to go to the Medina Highpoint Resort, because of there super-delicious All-You-Can-Eat Catfish buffet and also because our dear friend Stephen K. Morris will be playing his awesome music, outside on their beautiful patio. So tonight be there or be square.

P.S. Tomorrow I plan to blog about the best prank that I've ever played on our dear friend.

Y'all have a great evening and meet us up at the Medina Highpoint Resort for some great music!

A Heartache Couldn't Happen to a Nicer Guy!

Today has been great, even though we worked all day over at the property. I am still pooped, but hopefully tonight after another good night of sleep I will be re-charged and ready to go, again.

Okay, last night's post I promised to get back to you about Jimmy, the great musician that Stephen & Eva brought along to my surprise birthday. But I could not remember Jimmy's last name.

Well, today while we were, over at the property, I listened to Jimmy Ruggiere's fabulous CD, A Heartache Couldn't Happen to a  Nicer Guy and it is incredibly great and Chet O'Keefe loved it and so did Tony.

So, if you want to check out more about our newest musician friend—Jimmy Ruggiere please click on his name.

And that's about it for tonight, because I am going to wash and dry a load of clothes and then going straight to bed.

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

Out-Of-Town Friends!

This past week has flown by so fast, because we've been so busy working/remodeling the cabin, doing our rescue ranch chores, spending quality time with many of our dear friends, etc.

But I guess the real reason for time flying by so fast is because I am now 66 years old. Or better said, "This upcoming Halloween, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas day will be my 66th." And if you think about it that is pretty exhausting to say the least.

This past Saturday the East Kerr 4-H Club came out to volunteer for us and it was so much fun for Tony and me and our dogs. We love the East Kerr 4-H Club, because these super-cool, dedicated kids are doing great volunteer work.

While they were out here we walked dogs, down to the creek, with them and after that they helped Tony with a fencing project. And if we hadn't had their help with the fencing it would have taken Tony and me at least four hours to do what they accomplished in just one hour. So before I go any further I want to thank the members of the East Kerr 4-H Club. And here are a couple of pictures that I took when we went walking with them.

In an earlier post I mentioned that I was going to sew curtains for the cabin, after the East Kerr 4-H Club came out, but it turns out that I lied, because instead of playing "Susie Homemaker" (Where in the heck did that phrase come from?) and sewing the curtains—Tony and I went back over the the cabin and worked until dark-thirty. And we spent most of Sunday working, over at the cabin, too. 

The reason why we worked so hard was because we knew that our good friend Chet O'Keefe and his faithful dog, Willie, were coming to see us, on Tuesday and they were staying with us until Saturday, because Chet has a gig to play Saturday night, at the famous Starlight Theater, in Terlingua. 

And also coming to see us on Tuesday, were our great Fredericksburg friends, Stephen K. Morris & Eva Robinett and they were bringing our mutual Norwegian friends, Hans & Marita and Hans & Marita were bringing their daughter Servenen (spell check there) and her boyfriend Casper, who had flown over, from England, to meet their Texas friends. Anyway, Tony and I were determined to get a lot of work done, so we could show off our soon-to-be cozy cabin. So here is what Tony and I accomplished, before yesterday afternoon.

As planned Stephen & Eva, Marita & Hans and Servenen & Casper arrived, at 1:30 and they brought along Jimmy, their musician friend, who is a singer/songwriter, plays an awesome guitar and harmonica and who also used to perform with Travis Tritt. (I can't remember Jimmy's last name, even though he gave me one of his latest CDs for a birthday present. So tomorrow when we are over, at the property, I will pick it up and bring it home and let you know who this famous musician is.)  

And when they arrived they surprised me, because they were throwing me a surprise birthday party and even Tony did not know about it.

Well, as soon as they arrived Tony and I started giving them a tour of the cabin and by the time we made it out to the beautiful back porch, Tony says, "Chet's here!"

"He is?" I asked, because I figured Chet would be arriving around 3:00 or so.

"Yeah," Tony remarked. "There's Willie..." And that is when our super-fun party began and to my surprise, our friends brought all kinds of delicious food, refreshments and my birthday cake.

After the howdies, hugs and handshakes we gave everyone a full tour of the cabin and the property and everyone fell in love with our place and they were very happy for us, but not nearly as happy as Tony and I are about getting the property. 

After the tour we broke out our musical instruments and we had a great time jamming, for several hours, in our front yard. And I ended up taking a break and took these pictures of our jam session.

I could write so much more about fun party with our dear out-of-town (and country) friends, but I think that I've written about enough for now, because I am pooped and I still need to start gathering up a bunch of stuff, for me to sell, at Ellen's and June's gigantic garage sale, which will be happening this coming Saturday.

In fact, Tony and I are so tired tonight, we stayed home to rest, while Chet and Stephen are performing, at the Western Edge Cellars, in Fredericksburg.

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