Gas Leaks!

My dear friends Sandy & Jon have just called me and we had a fun visit. During our conversation I was telling them about how busy I've been, "If I am not working with Tony at the Rusty Dawg food truck four days a week, sleeping, eating, cleaning The Cabin or taking a break I am writing on my 3rd novella....And I need to blog, but too much is going on and there has really been not that much exciting stuff to tell...."

Jon chuckled and told me/reminded me "It's been a really long time since you blogged...." And he was write, so once again I am apologizing for not blogging regularly.

When I am writing the time flies by so quickly, because my creative juices are hard at work and I am typing as fast as I can. And when I call it "a night" or "a day" and stop writing I am exhausted and just too tired to write one more word.

It is a good/bad dilemma to be in and I know that I must address it sooner than later. The good part about this dilemma I'm in is I am having a blast writing and the novella is flowing. But the bad side of my dilemma is I am hardly blogging and I do feel guilty about that.

So, this is a problem. But, it is a good problem, because I am finally writing up a storm and doing exactly what I was really meant to do—write and hopefully make people laugh at life, as I see it.

But so far, now typing on my sixth paragraph here, I have not written anything funny that would make you or me laugh. And after re-reading this last sentence I actually laughed out loud, because I haven't written anything funny.

So I am going to vow to write more often, at least once a week, until I finish my novella and then hopefully get back to blogging regularly.

And as I finish writing this, I just realized that I could tell you a funny part, in my 3rd novella, that I've already written and it should make you at least chuckle.

First off, please remember that my novellas are pure fiction and that I make this stuff up or the characters do it in my head for me.

Here's a scene that takes place, but a lot has happened before this and after this and I can't give it all away. So just consider this just a peek inside:

Anyway, at one point Carol and I are in her truck driving to Terlingua to help a friend out. Our dogs Scout and Roy (who truly do exist and are the love of our lives) have unbeknownst to us eaten the four bean and egg breakfast tacos that Carol had cooked for us, so we could save time and not stop to eat.

Halfway down the highway, Roy and Scout start blasting us with their horrible breakfast taco farts and Carol is constantly having to lower and raise the windows, so their obnoxious gas leaks can escape and she and I are totally miserable. And Carol is also worried about her truck loosing its Blue Book value, because of the smelly emissions our two great dogs are sharing with us....

Okay, that's enough and I am that sure you get the picture and I really hope it made you laugh. And here is one of my most favorite pictures of Roy that I took back in 2012.

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

Great! or The Cedar Choppers!

Today has been great and so was Saturday, Sunday and Monday. First off, I had a fabulous time at Katelyn's birthday party, that Ronnie & Nita threw, at their Ronderosa Ranch. To say the least, "It was totally great.

Being with my beautiful family was great. Seeing old friends and then playing music with them was great. The food was great.

Sunday morning I left the Ronderosa Ranch, around 8:30 and I got back to Big Foot Ranch, about 10:20. And after hugging Tony and all of our dogs I took a shower, put on fresh clothes and then Tony and I took off, for Kerrville, to run a few errands.

Of course our first stop was, at Home Depot, to buy paint and our last stop was at the big H-E-B, so we could pick up a few groceries, so I could cook a late dinner for our dear friends, Jim Keaveny & Rachel, because they were driving in, from Terlingua, to spend the night with us.

When we got back home, we unpacked our groceries and then we put on our work/paint clothes, because we wanted to get started painting the front porch ceiling "sky blue" as quickly as possible. Because a porch ceiling painted the color of the sky keeps wasps away. Here are some pictures that I took of our project.

Jim & Rachel arrived around 7:30 and it was so good to see them and while Jim told us about leaving for his Holland tour, on Tuesday (today) I cooked us a delicious roast with carrots and potatoes and onions, in my Instant Pot.

And earlier, when I started peeling the carrots, we excitedly told Jim & Rachel about us getting an Instant Pot and they both started laughing. "Jeff Haislip just got one of those things, too," They said. "And he's been telling everyone, in Terlingua, about how great it is...."

While our super-pressure cooker was cooking us a delicious meal, in under an hour, Jim told us that he was going to spend half of his tour opening for Joan Osborne. And these are the dates for those shows, in case you might be, in Holland.

Sunday night we had a blast visiting with our friends and we stayed up until midnight, so we could wish Jim a Happy Birthday.

Monday morning, around 10:30, I cooked breakfast and while we were drinking delicious Donut Shop Coffee, we made a toast to Jim's birthday and we had a good laugh about it working out that Jim spending Thanksgiving, Christmas's and his birthdays with us.

Around 12:45, after another fun visit Jim & Rachel took off to go visit Kinky. And we took off for Carol's ranch, so we could celebrate Mark's birthday and meet Bill's sweet niece, Cathy and her husband Chip, who were visiting them, from Wisconsin.

And that was a total blast, too. It was great to see Mark as always and meeting Bill's family was like being with our own family. Carol cooked up a fabulous fajita dinner and she made one of her signature pies—Magnolia Pie. (Last year, Carol gave me the recipe to this mouth-watering pie and after eating a small slice I definitely plan to make it for us soon. After I loose several pounds—thanks to Weight Watchers.) And yes, I might as well admit it now that Saturday and Sunday I fell off the wagon doing Weight Watchers.

Tony and I spent our Monday evening painting the rest of our front porch or at least as much as we could before running out of paint.

This morning our dear friend Gerry Olert came to visit us. Gerry is the incredibly talented, video-grapher that has done all of our rescue ranch videos for the past 20 years. And he is also the one who worked with me on our hilarious video spoof Longmire—Texas Style. Starring the one and only Little Debbie!

Before Tony and I went to go eat lunch with Gerry, in Kerrville, Gerry asked me to do a short video for him, on our front porch. So while Tony stilled my wind chimes for Gerry, I grabbed Little Debbie and he shot us and it was painless.

We had a fun lunch with Gerry and after we adios-ed him Tony and I went to Home Depot and bought a few more buckets of paint. And then we came home and started painting, again.

Tonight as I finish writing this I want to tell you about this fabulous book that I bought for Tony, because it arrived this afternoon. The book is The Cedar Choppers: Life On The Edge of Nothing by Ken Roberts. Published 2018 by Texas A&M Press.

It is a fabulous book. And Tony's dad, his brothers, his relatives and him are mentioned in this awesome book. It is a "can't put it down book" and as soon as I finish writing this I plan to spend this evening reading the history of all of these cedar choppers.

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

Love Copper Love!

Yesterday, Tony and I spent most of the day mowing and I am proud to say that our rescue ranch looks beautiful—until it rains again. : (

Last night Little Debbie, Big Al(ice) and me and the rest of our dogs watched the movie A Street Cat Named Bob: And How He Saved My Life by James Bowen and we absolutely loved it.

This fabulous movie is based on a true story and it is a feel-good, heart-warming movie that I highly recommend you watch. But don't be surprised when your dogs jump up and run, to the television screen, when they hear Bob meow or dogs barking.

Today has been great. This morning when I did the Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch's segment, on Big G's show, sweet, eleven-year-old, Baxter Black was his Pet of the Week.

While Big G (Gordon Ames) and I were talking about Terlingua and West Texas I asked him if I could make an announcement about our dear friend, Copper Love, who was in a fatal car accident, on March 28th. "Sure Nancy. Go right ahead. Copper was a friend of mine."

And instead of telling you about Copper Love's Celebration of Life party—I am going to show you the invitation that was sent out about the event, which Tony and I will definitely be attending.

This morning I plan to do a little more mowing. Then take care of some rescue ranch paperwork and phone calls, etc. Then after I've cooked us lunch and cleaned up the kitchen—I plan to spend a few hours working on my pretty, patchwork quilt that so far is coming along nicely.

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

Tangled Up, Too!

Well, I sure hope that all of y'all had a wonderful Christmas, because we sure did and so did our fabulous four-legged rescued dogs.

After we cooked and served our rescued dogs their annual, delicious Christmas dinner and I had cleaned up the kitchen I cooked our Christmas dinner. And promptly, at 1:00, Kinky arrived, so he could eat Christmas dinner with our good friend Jim Keaveny and us. Bottom Line___It was delicious and we had a lot of fun enjoying Kinky's and Jim's hilarious tales about some of their musician friends.

Later on in the evening, Jim let us listen to his new CD, which is due to come out, in March and we can't wait to buy a copy, because it is totally fabulous. And if you want to check out Jim Keaveny, please click here: jimkeaveny.com and make sure to check out his Music & Videos and you can sample more of his music at: cdbaby.

We really enjoyed having Jim spend his Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with us. And Monday morning after Tony and I had done both of our chores, Kinky invited the three of us to come over, to the Lodge, for a visit and to drink some coffee with him.

When we went over to the Lodge, Kinky greeted us and then he immediately poured us coffees and Tony and I had a great time, sitting around the kitchen table, listening to more of their tales about some of the famous people they have known. There was a long discussion about Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Minnie Pearl & her husband, Jimi Hendrix, Keith Richards, Muddy Waters, June Carter and Bob Dylan just to name a few and that is why we spent over two hours over at Kinky's. And before we left, the Lodge, to come back over here, I took this picture of Jim & Kinky.

Sadly, late yesterday afternoon, Jim and us adios-ed each other and then he took off to go visit a few more friends, before returning home, to Terlingua.

Today has been great even though I overslept and missed Big G's phone call, to do his morning radio show.

Around 10:00, Kinky called me and invited us to come over for a visit, I went, but Tony didn't, because he wanted to go take some pictures.

My visit with Kinky was a lot of fun and it lasted for over an hour. And before we adios-ed each other, he and I made a pact aka New Year's resolutions: for the three of us to start drinking coffee together every morning and for him and me to take two, twenty-minute, daily hikes together. And lastly, for Tony and me to meet him for lunch today, at 2:00, at Buzzi's BBQ, because we both had errands to run, in Kerrville.

Lunch was delicious and a lot of fun and we got to visit with Buzzi. And before we adios-ed each other, in the parking lot, I showed Kinky my pink, leash that connects two leashes to it, so I can walk Little Debbie & Big Al(ice) and the reason that I showed it to him was, because earlier, during our morning visit, I had suggested that we try using it on Sophie & Mr. P when we start doing our daily hikes, because Sophie is blind and Mr. P is deaf.

After we adios-ed Kink, Tony and I went to Wild Birds Unlimited, so I could buy a gift and we could check out Kevin & Linda's on sale items. Unfortunately, Marguerite wasn't there, but we did have a fun visit with Linda and Tricia. And I did buy a gift, but I also bought one for myself, because I loved the gift that I was going to be giving. And the only clue I will give you is—mine is pink.

Around 4:45, I went over to the Lodge, so Kinky and I could hike with The Friedmans and I took my stopwatch and my pink leash, so we could try it on Sophie and Mr. P.

Before we took off to go hiking for our first, twenty minute hike, Kinky suggested that we extend the length of the two pink leashes and that was a big mistake, because I was getting tangled up with it, inside The Lodge and when he took over, outside—he got tangled up, too. And we both had a good laugh about it and tonight before I adios-ed Kink, we agreed that the next time we hike (tomorrow) we will not extend the length of the two leashes for our own safety.

And that's about it for tonight, because I am planning to watch the Kennedy Honors, in just a few minutes.

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

The Sunrader!

Today has been great and so was last night. Before it got dark outside, Chet and I went outside and he took several short videos of me introducing some of our great dogs, to hopefully help them find forever homes.

Here is the link to Chet O'Keefe's Facebook page to view the great videos that he took of a few of our  fabulous dogs: Clovis, Lois Lane, Blue, Butterbutt, Rockette, Rocky, Buster Brown, Merlin, Hank and Lori Darlin'. Just scroll down the page until you see Chet's introduction followed by our dogs. "Thank you so much, Chet!" (I could not post his videos on here tonight, because I forgot to ask him to please e-mail them to me, before he took off. Anyway, as soon as I get them I will post them here, too.

This morning our good friend Chet drank some coffee with us and then he went outside and started packing up his super-cool motorhome with his stuff, for his road trip back home, in Terlingua.

Chet's super dog, Willie, seemed excited about them leaving, but Tony and I weren't, because we have had a great visit with Chet and we got to catch up with each others latest news. And Chet told us that he wished that he could spend a few more days with us, but he needed to get back, to Terlingua, so he can play his weekly Thursday night gig, at La Kiva.

Anyway, before we adios-ed each other Tony took these pictures of Chet and Willie and his fabulous Toyota Sunrader rv.

And that's about it for tonight.

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

Aggies Do Know How To Have Fun!

The past few days have been busy here and we've also had fun. Besides mowing almost every evening until dark and taking care of rescue ranch paperwork, etc.

Yesterday afternoon we found time to hook up for lunch with Marita & Hans, our new Norwegian friends.

Originally, we had decided to meet, in Kerrville, for lunch, but due to their unexpected rental car's trouble, we wound up going to, Fredericksburg, to eat lunch with them, at Hilda's Mexican Restaurant.

Our lunch was so much fun. We traded jokes back and forth and we talked non-stop about music, musicians, artists and Terlingua, because they left early this morning for Terlingua, so they could spend a couple of days out there, before once again returning to Fred-town.

When we were talking about artists, Marita started telling us about their daughter Christina who in my opinion is an extremely talented artist. Seriously, I loved looking at her beautiful art, because some of it reminds me of Salvador Dali, who I am a big fan of.

When it was time for us to head back, to the rescue ranch, we did not want to leave, because we were having such a great time visiting with Marita & Hans. So before we adios-ed each other we made plans for them to come and see us, at the rescue ranch next week, before they fly out to California to join their Canadian friends.

This morning my dear friend Mari sent me the cutest e-mail about a dead cockroach, that was found under a stairwell, in the Texas A&M's Anthology building. And I promise that it will make you laugh out loud. So please click here if you would like a good laugh, because Aggies do know how to have fun.

This morning our great friends/volunteers came out and walked our dogs for us. We all decided to go to the Koyote Grill for lunch, which is now under new management, because we wanted to check out their new menu that so many people having been raving about.

All of us ordered different items from their menu, including Tony and me, which seldom happens.  Anyway, we all loved what we had ordered and we all agreed that the food was delicious and that we love their new menu. Here is a copy of Koyote Grill's new delicious menu and I hope that you'll go there and check them out soon. Because I promise you that you won't be disappointed.

Late this afternoon I took a short, sleepless nap with our dogs and it completely re-energized me. So I went back outside and pushed the mower around for about an hour. And now I am poopedonce again. So that's about it for tonight.

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

#33!

Today has been a blast! Tony and I left early this morning and the only sad thing about it for me was having to adios Roy, Belle, Beau, Little Debbie and Big Al(ice). When I adios-ed Roy, he took it in stride and wagged his tail, which I guess means that he was laughing at me.

Belle, our official four-legged worry-wart, wrinkled her forehead and acted very concerned, but then again she always acts concerned. Beau, Tony's Blue Heeler, basically blew me off and ran outside to chase his squirrel friend.

And Little Debbie and Big Al(ice) were not happy campers about us leaving them behind for a couple of days, so they intentionally used their potty-pads right in front of me, so I had to stop and replace their soiled pee/poop-pads with new ones before heading out the door.

Our trip today was fun, too. Our first pit-stop was at the Pilots Truck Stop, in Junction. We bought two sausage, egg and cheese biscuits and one breakfast taco. Then we took off and ate while Tony drove Sparky down I-10.

Around Ozona, while we were listening to Willie's Roadhouse on Sirius' channel 59, I said, "Tony, don't you just love Sparky!"

"Yeah, it is a great go-cart. When do you want to start driving?"

"Soon," I lied.

About fifteen miles before we got to Ft. Stockton, Sparky told Tony that we were low on fuel and believe it or not, the very next exit sign showed a gas station. So, we took that exit and sure enough, out in the middle of nowhere was a tiny gas station and nothing else.

So when we pulled into this little oasis, in the desert, I told Tony that I would go inside to pay for the gas while he filled up Sparky. "I'm also going to dump out our trash," I said.

When I walked over to the blue, rubbermaid trash can, without a lid, I started to toss out what was left of the breakfast taco and two breakfast biscuits, but before I could dispose of our leftovers seven, beautiful cats, that all looked closely related surrounded me and started meowing at me. "Y'all want some breakfast?" I asked. Their answer was a definite yes, so I carefully unwrapped the taco and biscuits and fed them to the cats. Then I went inside the gas station and paid the woman for our gas and confessed to her that I had just fed the cats.

She smiled and said, "Thanks. I usually feed them in the evening when I close for the night."

When we turned off I-10 to get on Highway 67, Tony once again, asked me when I wanted to take over the driving, and I told him, "When we get to Alpine." And of course that didn't happen, even when we stopped to top-off Sparky, near Sul Ross.

When we turned onto Highway 118, Tony complained about being tired of driving. So, I ignored him and changed the channel to a comedy station, to make him laugh and forget about me driving. Then I sent Chet a text to let him know our approximate arrival time.

Seconds later, my phone rang and it was Chet. "Hi Nancy...."

We checked in, at the Terlingua Lodge, just a little past 3:00 and they gave us a key to our cozy cabin, #33.

After we had unpacked everything, we drove down to the Bad Rabbit Cafe, less than a quarter of a mile away. Christy, their friendly waitress greeted us and then brought us iced tea while we made up our minds what to eat. And believe it or not, we did not order the same thing. Tony ordered a BLT with fries and I ordered a veggie burger without the bun and fries. Then we got to visiting with Christy and John, the cook and it was a lot of fun.

Right after we started eating our delicious lunch/dinner=linner or dunch, Chet walked inside and all of us greeted him. Then the five of us started visiting and hears some good news—John is interested in possibly adopting Big Foot. "John, we are boarding Big Foot and his sister, at Hoegemeyer Animal Clinic, until we get back. And if they haven't already found a fantastic home for him we would love for you to adopt him..."

We stayed at the Bad Rabbit for over two hours having a great time visiting with Chet and our two new friends. And just before it got dark we adios-ed everyone and returned to our cabin. And here is a picture I took from our front porch.

Tomorrow morning we are meeting Chet for breakfast, at the Bad Rabbit. Then we plan to hang out with him and his friends for most of the day. And that's about it for tonight.

Y'all have a great evening, because we are!

Sparky! or The Road To Terlingua!

Today has been great, because early this morning Tony and I decided to rent a cute, Kia Soul, from Enterprise, in Kerrville, because we are going out to Terlingua for a mini-two-day vacation, tomorrow morning!

I've already named our rented, silver colored, Kia Soul—Sparky and we've already packed our bags and early tomorrow morning, before the sun shows up we are taking the Road to Terlingua. And we can't wait to go out there and see all of our friends including Chet O'Keefe.

We plan to be back sometime Thursday afternoon and I will write more then if I am not too tired. Viva Terlingua!