The Cowgirl Sisterhood: The Terlingua Treasure Map Mystery!

Last night I am proud to say that I finally finished writing my third novella, The Cowgirl Sisterhood: The Terlingua Treasure Map Mystery. I am still not sure about the title, but that is the working title for now.

Even though I have finished writing my book, I still have lots to do with it such as major editing, etc. And I am hoping that my little publishing company Undepressable Press will be publishing and releasing it within the next few weeks. But time will tell.

Today has been so great. This afternoon, before we met our dear friends for lunch at The Boat in Kerrville, Tony and I had enough time so we swung by Wild Birds Unlimited, because I wanted to buy another bunny, as a gift to me for finishing writing #3.

When we walked inside this super-cool store, Linda and Tricia greeted us and then I told Linda that I wanted to buy another beautiful bunny. "Great," Linda replied. "It is good that you came by today, because I've almost sold out of them. Everyone seems to love them."

While I picked out my next shiny rabbit, Tony picked up a cylinder of SuperSuet with hot pepper for his birds, because our raccoons don't like to eat it. And because we were in a hurry and almost running late, we paid for our stuff and quickly left the store.

When we arrived at The Boat, on time, our friends were standing in the parking lot talking to each other, so I grabbed my pretty bunny and showed it to them, before we went inside to eat. Needless to say—everyone loved my beautiful rabbit.

We had a really delicious lunch with our friends and of course there was a lot of laughing.

As soon as we got back home, I took four pictures. Here are the first two:

Then I took two pictures of my new bunny meeting the metal armadillo and the other bunny. But when I downloaded my pictures there were a total of five pictures. And this is the third picture.

When I saw this I thought what in the world is this thing? I only took four pictures. Then after studying the picture closely I realized that it is a picture I must have accidentally taken of the overhead light and fixture above the kitchen island. Anyway I was relieved that I had figured it out. And here are the pictures of the bunnies and the armadillo's meet & greet.

Then I grabbed my new silver rabbit and I took it and my camera out to The Last Resort, my writing cabin. And here are pictures of the new bunny doing a meet & greet with my new black Yeti (Yeti Blue microphone). That I will be using when I start podcasting soon.

And that is about it for tonight, because I plan to do some more editing on #3.

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

P.S. This morning I took this picture of Henry Standing Bear standing on top of the table, on our  front porch, having a serious conversation with Tony. I don't know why Henry loves standing on top of things.

It's Seedless To Say Part II: Guilty!

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

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

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

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

It's Seedless To Say: Part II Guilty!

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

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

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

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

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

"Are you and Tony coming to Kerrville today?"

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

"What?" Sandy asked, in the background.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Why?" he asked.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"That's sad Jon," I teased.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Do you really?" Jean asked.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"What?" Tony asked.

"I forgot to buy the Carl Hiaasen books!"

The End

It's Seedless To Say!

Okay y'all. I've done it. Early this morning I decided to try and write a funny, quirky, fiction, short story about the cute, Mr. Peanut Squirrel seed cylinder that we got yesterday, from the Wild Birds Unlimited store and several times during the day I have stopped whatever I was doing and written down little notes to myself about my fiction, mystery, short story.

And please note that I have not yet decided on which name to use for the name of Jon and Jason's detective agency. But I do promise that y'all will be the first to know once I decide.

Hopefully, I will have the time this weekend to finish writing it. Anyway, for the next few days, I will post whatever I've written, to make it feel more like a cliffhanger. So wish me luck. And here goes:

It's Seedless To Say!

by

Nancy Parker-Simons

Our good friends Jon & Sandy Wolfmueller and Jon's sweet, sister Jean and their cousin, Jason, who is also a part-time private-eye, in Jon's and his little private detective agency, came by this evening to visit with us.

Early in the evening, we sat outside, around a small, cozy campfire, that Tony had built, so we could watch and they could take pictures of many different kinds of beautiful birds that fly in regularly, to eat from my husband's many bird feeders. 

Tony always keeps his bird feeders topped-off with the highest quality of bird seeds, that he  buys from the fabulous, Wild Birds Unlimited store, in Kerrville, Texas.

Jean and I love birdwatching just as much as anyone does, but tonight while our good friends sat  around the warm campfire, drinking cold beers and shooting the birds—with their cameras, Jean and I went inside, The Cabin and had a semi-heated discussion. And we finally came to terms to dissolve our pot-holder-money-maker business. 

Jean wanted to keep the never-off-the-ground business going, but I didn't, because woven, looper pot-holders had suddenly become the rage and the market was now being saturated with cheap, knock-off copies of our beautiful, pink pot-holder. And that had truly"burned-me-up." 

Jean was a little more than miffed with me, because several weeks ago, without her permission, I had hermetically sealed "our" beautiful, pink pot-holder, inside a lovely, time-capsule-shadow-box, that Tony had buried, in the middle of night, in a secret location, on the rescue ranch. And Jean was, let's say, "upset about it," because we would not tell her where Tony had buried "the most beautiful pot-holder that was ever made." 

Even though, after Jean had finally quit her faked-crying, I caved-in and gave her this one little clue to its whereabouts, "It's sort of squirrely. And that's all I am going to say about it."

"It's sort of squirrely?" Jean, sarcastically echoed back my words. "You're squirrely. What kind of stupid clue is that, Nancy? I want half of that pink pot-holder that we made and it is only fair for you to give it to me."

"Jean, I wish I could half it with you, but it is now hermetically sealed, in a buried time-capsule. It's out of my hands now. It's done." Jean just stood there, leaning against the breakfast bar and she said nothing and she stared at me like I was crazy or something? "Look Jean. To make things right with you and me, I will gladly weave another pot-holder for you, but I must warn you—that you'll have to finish it like you did the other one and it won't be pink. Because I used up all of the pink loopers making that one."

"We'll, I'm sorry, but that's not good enough. I want my half of our pink pot-holder." I started laughing, because I couldn't help myself. Then Jean started laughing too, but she had this funny look in her eye. Not both eyes. Just her left eye and it made me nervous. "This is ridiculous," she laughed. "For us to get upset over a silly, pink pot-holder." Then she hugged me, but I didn't trust her, because Jean's left eye was doing it again. 

Too Be Continued…

Lucky You! or The Bird People! or Peanut The Squirrel!

Yesterday when we walked inside Wolfmueller's Books store, Jean greeted us, from behind the counter, and then she said, "Sandy's not here and Jon's down in the basement." Then I complimented her on her beautiful,  blue, knitted scarf that she was wearing and then I asked her if she had knitted it. "Yes, I knitted it...." Then she and I started discussing pot holders, like the beautiful pink one that we had made. Then we started laughing about them suddenly having a huge comeback and those kind of pot holders were showing up, in all kinds of stores, in Kerrville and Medina and were also being sold on the Internet.

"All I can say is ours is the prettiest," I said. "Well, I'm so glad that we didn't invest all of our savings into buying more Loopers, because obviously that pot holder market is totally saturated and we could have lost our shirts. It was a blessing." Then I excused myself and went looking for Carl Hiaasen books, while she and Tony talked about birds. 

About four minutes later, I walked back to them and my arms were full of Carl Hiaasen's 1st Editions and when they saw me, I joked, "I found his books!" Then we started laughing, while Jean totaled up my bill. "I bet this sale will make Sandy & Jon happy. When they get back here, please brag about my big purchase and then tell them that I asked you to please tell them that I bought them, because they weren't here." Then we had a big laugh over that.

Then Tony asked me why I was buying another copy of Nature Girl since I had just read it and loaned it out to Kris & Jim to read. "Because it is a 1st edition, too." Then I excused myself and went next door to Bad Girlz Of Texas, so I could buy a couple of hilarious birthday cards and a pair of socks.

And when I returned to Wolfmueller's Books, Jon, his sweet sister Jean and Tony were talking about how cool Terlingua is. 

A few minutes later, when we were leaving we Tony told them  our next stop was at Wild Birds Unlimited, so he could buy more birdseed. "Hey," Jon said. "They are having a big sale right now and if you purchase a certain amount they are giving away a free squirrel seed cylinder." 

"That is too cool," I remarked. "I love squirrels. Hmm, maybe I should write a funny mystery that revolves around a squirrel seed cylinder and at the end when the mystery is solved, there would only be a few seeds left of it..."

When we arrived at another one of our favorite stores, in Kerrville, Wild Birds Unlimited, Jason greeted us from behind the counter, and then he said, "You just missed seeing Marguerite by only three minutes." Then he helped Tony find the bird seed he wanted.

When Jason started to ring us up, I asked about the squirrel that Jon had told us about. "Here it is and it is free to y'all." I was so excited about getting the cute squirrel for free I ended up buying a sack of Armadillo Poop and Squirrel Poop, which is actually delicious chocolate nut toffee.

Then at the exact same time, Tony and I spotted the latest copy of the Kerr County People, a great community magazine, that was stacked neatly, by the cash register, with our Wild Birds Unlimited friends, on the cover. "Omg! This is a great picture of y'all," I said. "This is so great! Can I take a few copies to pass around?" Jason smiled as he slipped the magazines, into our paper sack. 

I read the great article, The Bird People of Kerrville, written byAnne Schneider, about Kevin & Linda Pillows' Wild Birds Unlimited, in Kerrville, while Tony drove us home. And Tony read it immediately after he had hung up his new bird seed cylinders outside. Tony had wanted to hang my squirrel seed cylinder outside too, but I told him that I had other plans for it, before letting him hang it outside.

And come to find out later on when I unwrapped my cute squirrel seed cylinder he actually has a name—Peanut the Squirrel and he is from New Braunfels, Texas.

And I am already plan to use it, in my next mystery. So, before I finish writing this tonight I want to thank Jon for telling us about Wild Birds Unlimited squirrel and thank Jason for giving Mr. Peanut the Squirrel to me. And who knows? Maybe Jon and Jason will be characters in my mystery who try to kidnap Mr. Peanut the Squirrel or the detectives who save him. Anyway, that's about it for tonight, because Henry is waiting for me to read him another hilarious Carl Hiaasen book.

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

Bad Monkey!

Today has been so much fun, because Tony and I went to Kerrville, late this afternoon, to run a few important errands.

We went to our all-time favorite stores: Wolfmueller's Books, Bad Girlz of Texas and Wild Birds Unlimited and that is why we had so much fun. And here's the proof that we went to these great stores, in Kerrville.

And because it was late when we finally got back home tonight I am going to blog about it tomorrow night, because I cannot wait to finish reading my second, hilarious, Carl Hiaasen book Bad Monkey. 

Since last week I've already read Nature Girl by Carl Hiaasen and I've already loaned it out to Kris, for her and Jim to enjoy reading, because it was such a fun read. 

Little Debbie, Big Al(ice), Henry Standing Bear and Belle are now waiting for me to finish reading Bad Monkey to them, but before I go I want to wish our dear friend Kris a very Happy, Happy Birthday!

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

More Good News! or Share Our Wealth!

Here's some more good news to tell you about. While I was taking a shower this morning, with Henry constantly trying to get into the shower with me, I was counting my many blessings. In fact, I was up to my 147th blessings counted when Tony said, from the kitchen, "Nance, I've got a surprise for you!"

At first I thought that Tony was going to jump into the shower with me, but I quickly blew that idea off, because we are both old and we ain't what we used to be in the looks-department.

While I was drying myself off, Henry Standing Bear tried to help me by licking my toes. "Thank you, Henry," I said, while I was sucking in my stomach, in hopes of buttoning up my too tight 501 Levis. "You've been very helpful. Now, go help Tony."

Standing proud, like he had really been so helpful to me, Henry slowly stretched and then he walked out of the bathroom to go find Tony.

A few minutes later, my top button on my jeans was at last buttoned, emphasizing my muffin-top(s). So, I put on my blue work shirt, tied a pink bandana around my neck to hide "the hide" that once I was so proud of.

Then I pulled on my pretty pink boots and was now ready to receive the world or at least get a delicious cup of Donut Shop Coffee. "Morning Tone," I said, trying to sound cheerful. "What's my surprise?"

Tony smiled, and said, "The rest of your Hans Freitag Wafers Cocoa With Cream filling arrived."

"Are you serious?" I asked, even though I knew he was telling me the truth. Some people call that a control-freak thing, but I do it, because I am hard of hearing and just want to make sure that I heard him right.

"Yes, but I wonder why they just didn't pack them all into one big box?"

"Too many calories," I explained, while I was placing the six new bags of the world's tastiest wafers, on top of the stove. Then I took this picture of our newest arrivals.

"Tony, we've got a ton of errands to run today. We've got to pick up Roy's meds, at Hoegemeyers, run by Pressler's for me to sign off on some paperwork, go to the Post Office Sub-Station, go to the craft store and go to Wolfmueller's Books, so I can drop off Jim & Liz's poster, Kris & Jim's Tom Slick book and something else, but I forgot?"

"Go by Wild Birds Unlimited? Because I'm low on my birdseed."

"Yes, but that's not it. I will remember it in a minute," I said, staring in disbelief at all of the bags of wafers we had. "Tony, I feel like we're sitting on a gold mine here, with all of these wafers. So let's share our wealth." Then I grabbed two bags of the incredibly delicious, Made In Germany, wafers and put them on the breakfast bar. "Let's give a bag of these to Kris & Jim and to Sandy & Jon." And that's exactly what we did.

When we were heading back home, on the down-side of the Medina Pass, I finally remembered what the other thing was that we needed to do today, but Tony was talking to me about me helping him put together an e-book of his beautiful pictures. And by the time he stopped talking and we had stopped Buttermilk to pick up our mail, I had forgotten once again about what we needed to do.

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

He's So Vain!

Yesterday was Henry's last Clicker-Training class. When Tony and I were getting ready to take him to his class, we could not find him, until I checked our bedroom and found him doing another one of his down-unders.

When I told him that we were taking him to school, he shot out from under the bed and then raced into the big room, with Little Debbie and Big Al(ice) chasing after him and barking at his heels. So, he did this to escape from them.

And he stayed up there until we attached his leash to his red dog collar.

Once again we went straight to Wild Birds Unlimited, so we could follow sweet Marguerite to Linore's awesome, do training center. For the very first time we were the first to arrive, so I got out of Buttermilk and headed towards the Wild Birds Unlimited front doors, because I wanted to go inside to say hello to Linda and Tricia, but instead I came to an abrupt halt, about three feet away, from the front doors, because of this beautiful windmill that was spinning in front of me. 

Then I turned around, looked at Tony and Henry Standing Bear and pointed at the  coolest windmill, that I've ever seen. Tony smiled and nodded his head and then I went into the store. And right after Tricia and Linda greeted me with smiles and howdies, I said, "I love that windmill outside and I want to buy one..."

"That windmill is the very last one we have, but we've got more coming in," Tricia said. "Marguerite has one. Do you want that one?"And a few minutes later, Tricia and I walked outside and put that awesome windmill, that has two beautiful, separate, decorative, half-wheels that spin in opposite directions. Then we followed Marguerite to the training center.

Linore's class was so much fun and Henry had a total blast going through his clicker routines that we had worked on, then figuring out puzzles to get treats and learning how to balance himself on a ball.

And Henry had all of us laughing at him, near the end of class, when we caught him admiring his good looks, in the mirror. So it looks like we're going to have to buy Henry a wall mirror soon, because he's so vain.

When we got back home, I planted my new, super-duper windmill, in our front yard.

While Henry sat there and watched.

Today has been great. This morning I cleaned out the change inside my purse, because it had gotten so heavy. And you're not going to believe this, but I removed $19.71 in coins. So I took this picture to prove it.

Late this afternoon, I cooked a small batch of Cafe du Monde's famous Beignets for Tony and me and they were absolutely delicious. It has been quite a while since I've cooked beignets, but when I saw them making them and eating them, in the movie Chef, I purchased a box of the mix and some powdered sugar, the last time that we visited the big H-E-B.

It is 7:35 and Kinky has just called me, from the Houston airport. He sounded great and he was looking forward to be getting back to the ranch, late tonight and we can't wait to see him. And that's about it for tonight.

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

Fay From Toronto! or Big G From Kerrville!

Yesterday and today have been great. Last night our dear friend Fay called me, from Toronto. Fay, from Toronto, is our long time, dear friend. She and her beautiful family over the years have adopted three dogs from us: Kris Kristofferson, Kia and Blake Shelton.

Anyway, she called me last night, because she and her sweet husband Ian were, at Hugh's Room, visiting with Kinky, Brian Molnar and Joe Cirotti, before Kinky, Brian and Joe performed to a standing room only crowd. And Fay sent me these four pictures .

Fay & Kinky

Kinky & Joe

When Fay called me she told me that the crowd loves Kinky and that he was being kept busy autographing his new Cd, The Loneliest Man I Ever Met, that Brian produced. Before handing the phone over to Kinky, she also told me that she and Ian were having a blast.

I had a fun, but rather short visit with Kinky before someone, in the crowd, asked him to please sign his Cd for them. Kinky told me that he is really enjoying his tour with Brian and Joe. He is badly missing all of The Friedmans, especially Sophia and he hopes that we get a lot of rain, in the next few days.

This morning I did some more work on, the Mother Ship, my old, 1993 Shasta RV. Then around 1:00 Tony and I went to Kerrville to buy more dog food for our rescued dogs and then run a few errands. And the best part of our trip to Kerrville was getting to visit with Marguerite, at the Wild Birds Unlimited store.

And before I go back outside to work on my RV, I want to wish our dear friend Big G a Happy Birthday.

Y'all have a great evening!

His & Ours! or BYOB!

Today has been great. After lunch this afternoon, Tony and I went to Kerrville to run a few errands. Our first stop was at Next Generation Produce, on Sidney Baker Street, so we could each drink a healthy juice. Tony drank their Healthy Heart juice and I ordered my usual Bear Pear juice.

Since the last time we were at, Next Generation Produce, the super cool store owners have expanded and now they've added delicious smoothies to the menu and have a lot more healthy products. The store was packed with all kinds of happy customers that were either shopping or hanging around drinking their juice or smoothies. So, if you have not been there yet—go, because you'll love it! It's now one of our favorite stores, in Kerrville.

Our last stop or so I thought was at, Home Depot, because Tony needed to buy some more rubber tubing and parts for his drip watering system, that he uses in his organic garden. While he was busy finding the tubing, etc. I spotted some rain gauges that were on sale and it sparked my memory. A few days ago, Kinky and I had agreed that the first one of us to go buy a rain gauge would buy two, because his and ours had recently broken, I guess from all of the rain that we've been getting lately. So I purchased His & Our magnified rain gauges.

On our way back to Trigger, in the parking lot, Tony says, "Let's go to Wild Birds Unlimited." And we did. As always this store was packed with happy customers, too. Kevin Pillow was the first to greet us, followed by his wife Linda and then Marguerite. While they were busy ringing up sales and helping the many customers, Tony and I shopped around, because we had the $40.00 Wild Birds Unlimited gift card with us, that sweet Marguerite and her dogs: Enzo, Odie and Mini, had given to us last week.

After Tony showed and told me that he was buying a Lenny's Log feeder and a big tub of Birdacious Bark Butter, I decided to buy a cute, little bird butter feeder, too. When he saw what I was getting, he said, "I'm not sharing my butter with you. You need to buy your own butter." Marguerite and I looked at each other and then we burst out laughing.

Then I looked over at Kevin and Linda, and jokingly said, "Great, now we're going to have a full blown argument inside y'all's store, because Tony just told me that it's BYOB—Buy Your Own Butter. Because he's not going to share his butter with me. Tony, it'll be real interesting to find out what you're going to be fixin' yourself for dinner tonight, because I'm not cooking it for you. Oh, and you can use our butter, because I share." Then Kevin and his wife started laughing and teasing Tony, too." 

Then when I started to go pick up another Birdacious Bark Butter tub, for me, Tony says, "I'm just kidding with you, Nance. You don't have to buy another tub. You can use my butter."

Since I was on a roll I quickly quipped back, "Well I guess that makes you a butter man for sharing. And I'm not buttering you up." Then I purposefully changed the subject, and said, "Marguerite we want to take you out to lunch...." 

When Tony and I got back home, I took the above picture of our Wild Birds Unlimited gift card spree and then I called Kinky. "Hi, Nance. Two men have just left here and they are headed your way."

"They must have gotten lost. Keep your fingers crossed, because I think we've got another adoption fixin' to happen. Tony's friend John, has a brother that wants to adopt one of our dogs. But Kinky, the reason that I called you is to tell you that we bought you and us magnified rain gauges today."

"That's great!" 

"I'll bring it over later, because those men are here. Bye." Then Tony and I went outside to greet John and his brother and then show them our super dogs.

After we had shown John's nice brother all of our dogs, he picked—Cheryl Strayed! Cheryl was thrilled about it, he was thrilled about it and Tony and I were thrilled about it, too. 

If her adoption sticks and we think it will, one-year-old Cheryl is going to spend the rest of her life living and playing, on a beautiful, giant ranch, just outside of Medina and she's also got a gigantic fenced yard to play in, too. Unfortunately, I did not get to take a picture of her adoption, because in all of the excitement, I forgot to grab my camera when I went back outside to get her adoption papers signed. And that's about it for tonight.

Y'all have a great evening!

Thomas Evans!

Today has been great. First off, I want to wish Jim "The Mineral Man" a happy birthday. This morning when I called in and did the Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch segment, with Big G, I wished Jim a happy birthday on-air and then Big G asked me to sing the Happy Birthday song to our good friend.

After I quit laughing at his request, I said, "Big G, I can't sing it. I'm tone deaf. Why don't you sing Happy Birthday to Jim?"

After Big G quit laughing at my request, he said, "I only sing Happy Birthday to you and Ruth Buzzi. Come on Cousin Nancy. Sing the song." Because I really can't sing worth a dang, I ended up sort of singing the birthday song really, really fast.

Big G's Pet of the Week was Bee Spears and after we talked about Bee being nine-years-old and really sweet, Big G asked me, "What is Chet O'Keefe's contraption that I saw on Tony's Facebook page?" After I told him that Chet had made the Chet Pack, a backpack with a small amp attached to it, so he can walk around and play music, Big G thought that it was a really cool thing to do. Then I changed the subject.

"Big G, did you know that there is going to be a great art opening and reception for Steve Pietzsch's Austin friend, from Austin? His name is Thomas Evans."

"No, I didn't. When is it and where?"

"This Thursday afternoon/evening from 4:30 to 6:30, at the Kerr Arts and Cultural Center, across the street from Wolfmueller's Books. Tom Evans has a really big show of his great Texas landscapes and our friend Donna Hatch has written an upcoming article about him that will appear in The Kerrville Daily Times, Thursday edition. Steve, Chet, Tony and I will be there, as will Donna and Ryan Hatch. And it would be great if you could make it, too. You can check out Thomas Evans art on his website to check out his beautiful art."

"I will and I'll probably see y'all there..."

Late this afternoon Tony and I went to Kerrville to run several errands and our first stop was at Wolfmueller's Books. After we found the books that we were looking for we had a fun visit with Sandy and Jon. But it was s short, fun visit, because Sandy and Jon were busy helping their customers find books, etc."

Our last stop, before coming back to the ranch was at Wild Birds Unlimited, another one of our favorite stores, because it too, always has such great vibes. When we walked inside the store Linda greeted us and then said, "I'm sorry, but you just missed Marguerite. She left here about ten minutes ago. Can I help y'all find anything?"

As she talked to Tony about some birdseed I browsed around the store looking at all of their new inventory and their 50% Off display. When I was admiring this beautiful, tall, shingled A-framed birdhouse, near the front door, Linda laughed loudly and said, "I think that's Marguerite's mini-van that just pulled up."

I looked out the front window and when I saw Marguerite get out of her vehicle, I joked, "It is. Let me handle this." When our good friend walked inside the store, I said, "Welcome to Wild Birds Unlimited. I'm Nancy. May I help you?"

It took Marguerite a second or two, because I had caught her totally off guard and then she started laughing with us. Then the four of us had a really fun visit. Marguerite and I had fun trading hilarious Chihuahua stories about Mini-Marguerite, Little Debbie and Alice, while Linda helped Tony pick out certain birdseed that would attract certain birds that he has been wanting to photograph.

When it was time for Linda to ring us up, the cash register started acting up and it would not let Linda enter the code for a certain sack of birdseed. We got to laughing about it and then Linda gave up trying and asked Marguerite to please ring it up on the other cash register. "It's probably happening," I said, "because the full moon is in a couple of days, on the 5th."

As Marguerite started putting in the codes again, she laughed and joked, "No, I think it's because of Nancy's crazy vibes." Then she looked at the cash register and said, "This one won't take the code either." So we all burst out laughing again.

I looked over at Tony and shot him a wink and jokingly said, "Tony, we love this store, but they won't let us buy anything. What are we going to do?" Then Marguerite, Linda and me started making jokes and laughing even harder, when this nice man walked into Linda and Kevin Pillow's Wild Birds Unlimited store. And I would bet you that when he saw us laughing and giggling, at the counter, he probably thought that we were a bunch of crazy ladies that Tony had been assigned to chaperon.

Anyway as always, we had a great time at Wild Birds Unlimited. And I guess, because of the nice man's vibes their cash register started working immediately and it let us pay for our birdseed. And that is about it for tonight.

Y'all have a great evening!

An Early Valentine!

Today has been great, except I have cedar fever pretty bad. My cedar allergy started on Sunday and since then I've been coughing, sneezing, etc. So, tonight's post is going to be much quicker to read, because I am going to leave out a lot.

First off, Sunday night I finished reading Nancy J. Bailey's incredibly great book The North Side Of Down: A True Story About Two Sisters. I highly recommend it, because it is full of emotion, humor and insight.

This morning before I went outside to help Tony with our morning chores my good friend Ryan Hatch called me. Ryan is Donna Hatch's sweet husband and who I play guitars with. Anyway, Ryan called me because he was trying to help a dog that seriously needed rescuing. Twenty minutes later after making a few phone calls the Bottom Line—we rescued this adorable, sweet female dog with Ryan's help, because he volunteered to pick her up and transport her to Hoegemeyer Animal Clinic for us. 

This afternoon Tony and I went to Kerrville to run several errands before meeting Kinky, Big G and Max for lunch. Our first stop was at Wild Birds Unlimited, because they are having a huge seed sale and Tony wanted to save us money by buying a whole lot of seed. 

After we had a fun visit with Kevin Pillows, the humorous store owner and with our dear sweet friend Marguerite we took off around the corner to the Post Office Substation, because I needed to mail Nancy Bailey a few of my books along with her book so she could sign her book for me.

I love to go to this Post Office substation. The people behind the counter are always friendly, courteous and ready to help and there usually isn't a long waiting line. In other words—it is a happy place and I like that.

Our lunch with Kinky and friends was a lot of fun. Big G was hilarious and he kept us laughing out loud. He also teased me about my cedar fever induced deeper voice. "Tony," Big G said, "This morning, on the radio show, Nancy cracked me up when On-Air she told me that she had cedar fever and that you preferred her deeper voice than her real voice. I mean I couldn't quit laughing...."

Before I finish writing this, the nice woman that I spoke to this morning, Donna and Ryan's friend, that rescued the starved, female dog, that we rescued today, sent me a photo she took this morning of the sweet dog that she was kepping inside a horse stall. I didn't get to look at the photo until this evening, when I finally had time to check my e-mail. Oh my goodness, she is a doll! I have just named her Valentine, because she is too cute and I know that she will steal someone's heart—hopefully before Valentine's Day.

As soon as we get to pick up this precious, little Valentine, after she has been spayed, given shots, etc. and we bring her back to the rescue ranch Tony and I will take better pictures of her to post. And that is about it for tonight, because I need to go fetch another box of Kleenex.

Y'all have a great evening!

Squared!

Yesterday was really great. After Tony took off for the Old Timer, in Medina, to drink coffee with his friends, I decided to go ahead and go outside and get started on our morning chores, so I could spend more time visiting with our friends aka volunteers.

By the time Buttermilk and Tony had returned home, all of the pens had been cleaned and there were only Willie Nelson and Gretchen Wilson left to feed. Tony felt guilty about me doing the chores, but I told him not to, because I had enjoyed visiting with all of our dogs.

Jim was the first to arrive, while we were inside The Cabin eating breakfast. Twenty minutes later, Tony went outside to greet Jim, while I stayed inside and cleaned up the kitchen and returned several
phone calls.

When I went outside around 10:30, Jim, Eileen, Lisa and Kris were gone walking dogs, down to the creek, so I walked up to Tony, who was sitting inside Kermit, visiting with Kris' husband, Jim, The Mineral Man.

After we visited for a few minutes, Jim said, "Nancy, if you want me to look at that Square credit card reader, I can do it right now. (Thanks earlier, to Chet O'Keefe's advice about getting a Square, to use at our merchandise table, for accepting credit cards, at our upcoming Concert for Utopia.) I suggested that the three of us go up to The Cabin, so Jim could help me figure it out, because I am not good at that kind of stuff.

Oh my goodness, Jim figured out how to program it to sell our merchandise, in less than twenty minutes. "That was easy," Jim remarked. Then we swiped my credit card to make sure it was working properly and seconds later, I was out twenty bucks, until the rescue ranch reimburses me. To say the least, "I was more than thrilled, that Jim had solved my Square mystery.

Before all of us went back outside, I said, "Jim, do you want to hear the prank Chet and I played on Jeff, with me singing/ruining Jeff's song?" With a nod of his head, I played Jeff's song and seconds later, Jim was laughing so hard, it made Tony and me burst out laughing. Then I played it one more time for him and when we walked outside, we were still laughing about it.

When we met up with our friends, everyone was ready to go eat lunch, at the Medina Highpoint Resort, so we took off, for a fun time. And as always, our lunch was delicious and was filled with lots of laughter.

Around 1:30, Tony and I jumped into Buttermilk and took off for Kerrville, to run several errands. Our first errand was the most important. We went to San Saba Cap to place a Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch t-shirt and cap order, so we (Kris & Jim) can sell them for us, at the Concert for Utopia, featuring Ray Benson & Asleep at the Wheel, Billy Joe Shaver, Chet O'Keefe and Jesse Dayton, on Palm Sunday, at 3:30, at the Cailloux Theater, in Kerrville.

Then we went to Office Max to buy a stylus pen, for our Square credit card reader. Our next stop was at Wild Birds Unlimited, so Tony could purchase some super bird seed for his feeders. Then I mailed some letters, at the Post Office sub station. And our last stop was at our favorite thrift store, on Main Street, to buy a few used things for Tony's Man Cave makeover, that Tone has put me in charge of.

When we came home I returned a few phone calls and then Tony and I worked for several hours on the Man Cave Project. And the reason that I did not write anything last night was because I was just too tired.

Today has been great, too. After lunch, Tony and I gave a few people tours of the rescue ranch. Around 3:30, Dallas and his sweet wife, the really nice couple that adopted Sparky from us, a while back, came out to deliver several more huge boxes of Milk-Bone Treats, for our dogs to enjoy. And Tony and I really enjoyed visiting with them, because all they could talk about was how great Sparky is and how much they love her.

Around 4:00, Tony and I were working, in his Man Cave when Mama barked, ran down the hallway and let herself out our front door. "Someone is driving in," Tony said. "I'll go see who it is..."

Minutes later, Tony walked inside The Cabin and said, "Nance, Callie (Ronnie & Nita's daughter—my sweet niece.) and her friends are here."

Tony and I had a blast seeing Callie and her friends. After we had showed them all of our dogs, we went into Outer Space and did a lot of laughing, as Callie and her friends entertained us with their latest exciting escapades. And that is about it for tonight.

Y'all have a great evening!