In The Company of Angels!

This morning, I woke up at 5:30. After feeding the dogs and Lucky, the cat—I sat down at my laptop to get some work done. As the coffee brewed, I sat at the kitchen table, pulling pictures of dogs that we had adopted out, from my iPhoto album, so I could e them up to Stacie, who is working on a slideshow for tomorrow night’s Bonefit at the Ruta Maya, starring our good friend, Joe King Carrasco!

I enjoyed looking at the many pictures of our dogs, that we’ve adopted out, and they brought back memories and smiles. After I had picked out about thirty or so pictures, I resized them and then I e-mailed them up to Stacie, in Austin! And, it took less than 20 minutes for me to do!

At 7:45, I phoned Harley Belew, so I could talk to him, on-air, about our dogs, and to tell him, who was his Pet of the Week. Harley’s Pet of the Week was Lexi, a beautiful tan and white muttigree, about 3 years old and is very well trained. She is a great dog and would be a great companion for someone who likes to jog! Hopefully, she will be adopted soon. Before the interview was over, Harley let me plug tomorrow nights Bonefit in Austin!

After the interview, I started preparing breakfast, knowing that Tony would be home soon. The breakfast was tasty, and after cleaning up the kitchen— I returned a few phone calls to people wanting to bring their dogs to us, because they could no longer keep them—for various reasons.

At 9:20, the phone rang. I decided to let the machine take the call, because ‘Kokomo’ by the Beach Boys was playing on my iPod Deck, and I didn’t want to pause it. “Hello, Nancy? This is Tom. Nicki and I and her parents, Nancy and David are leaving Austin...”

“Hi Tom!” I said, to my nephew. “Are y’all coming down for the Kerrville Folk Festival?”

“Yep,” Tom replied. “Would it be okay for me to bring them out today to meet y’all and to see the rescue ranch? We were thinking of driving there first and then going over to the festival.”

“Good grief, Tom,” I said. “I would love for y’all to come see us! You’re not going to believe how cool Outer Space is!”

“Hmm,” Tom hummed. “What’s Outer Space?” And, then he sorta laughed.

“Tom, I named the screened in porch, that you and Ronnie built—Outer Space!” I explained. “And, you are going to be blown away!” (Little did he know the wind was gusting up to 25 miles per hour outside.)

“Oh, okay, Nance, we should be there in a couple of hours. Bye.”

As soon as that call ended—Maribeth arrived, and twenty minutes later—Ben arrived from Austin!

Around 11:00, Tom’s party of four arrived! Tom’s girlfriend, Nicki gave me a hug, as did Tom and then Nicki’s parents. Then I invited everyone into Outer Space. As they followed me up the porch steps, I bragged to them about Tom being a talented carpenter, and they agreed with me and were impressed with his and Ronnie’s work.

Unfortunately, we had a pretty short visit, but it was a lot of fun, and there was a lot of laughter! They needed to leave, because they were anxious to get to the festival to set up their camping gear. But fortunately, before leaving, they told us that they would be coming back tomorrow, for a tour and a longer visit! And, that made my day! I thought.

Well, around 4:35, the dogs outside started barking! Someone was driving onto the ranch! I hoped that it was Tom, Nicki, Nancy and David, but unfortunately it wasn’t. Instead, it was a FedEx delivery truck, so Tony left Outer Space, to go meet up with the driver. As Ben and I watched from Outer Space, Tony signed for the package, and then headed back our way—wearing a smile and giving us a thumbs up!

When he returned to Outer Space, he said, “Nance, it’s for you—from N.M. Kelby. You want me to open it up for you?”

“Yes, please,” I said. “I’ll bet that it is the ‘Bad Girls Bar & Grill’ BBQ sauce, that I had ordered!

“Yes,” Tony said. “And no.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Yes, it is the BBQ sauce, six bottles, and two copies of her book— ‘In The Company of Angels!’” Then Tony handed me the books! “Ben, Nicole is so sweet. She wouldn’t let me pay for the BBQ sauce. So, I am going to send her a brick of y’all’s ‘Miles of Chocolate’ as soon as her book tour is over.” Ben smiled, and nodded his head. “I am nearly finished reading, ‘“Murder at the Bad Girls Bar & Grill’ and it is a fantastic read—just like ‘Whale Season!”’

“Can I read them, when y’all are through?” Ben asked.

“Of course, you can, Ben,” I said. “They are so good! I can’t wait for you to read them!”

“I’m nearly finished with ‘Whale Season,’” Tony said. “And, you’ll like it.”

When the temperature in Outer Space reached ninety-six degrees, Ben decided it was time to leave, so he went over to the Lodge, to see his dogs, Penny and Valerie, and Tony and I came inside the trailer to—escape the heat.

P.S. Thank you, Tom, Nicki, Nancy, David and Nicole—y’all just made my day! I love it!

Blown Away!

This afternoon, I contacted my good friend Fay, and asked her to please share some information with me about the Dwight Yoakam fan club that she belongs to, so I could share it with y’all. Here is her information that she sent to me, so I could blog about it! I’m gonna join the club now, and after that— I am going to sit down, with a glass of red wine and enjoy reading Nicole’s new book! I hope everyone has a great evening!

P.S. When I talked to Kinky last night, our conversation, at one point, turned to my blog and book—he told me that several people in Scotland, Ireland and England had told him that they loved my book, and that they also loved reading my daily blogs and he was—blown away by it! He thought it was too cool! And, then he went on to say, "They all said to tell Cousin Nancy hello!" And, then when I heard that news—I was blown away!

Heresssssssssss Fay!
Nancy asked me to share with ya’ll some information about Dwight Yoakam’s online fan club, the Route 23 Club. DY is a huge fan of the Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch, and we’re all fans of Dwight so it’s all good. If you like Dwight’s music you’re gonna LOVE being a member. The best thing is, I’m NOT the President of his Fan Club, just another satisfied customer like the all the rest who’ve joined up.

For only $23 a year you can get all the Dwight news you can handle, PLUS: Exclusive audio, video, upcoming TV appearances, photo gallery (sweeeeeet!), contests to win cool DY stuff and chances at every show to Meet & Greet with Dwight! They’ve just added exclusive pre-sale tickets to his concerts so members have the first chance at the best seats at his shows!

His online store will be open soon with all kinds of fun and exciting DY stuff. They have a great message board, the Lonesome Roads Hotel, where you can interact with other fans, see awesome fan photos of DY, and meet some cool new DY friends. They just keep coming up with exciting new perks for members, we all love it!

It’s worth the money just to view Dwight’s Welcome Message on video. He seems more fun than a barrel full of monkeys, let me tell you. My personal favourite place at the Route 23 Club is Kissin’ Corners. As a member of the club you can submit questions to DY and every couple of months he’ll choose a whole bunch and answer ‘em. It’s so fun, and funny! As Dwight says… “just remember, kiss all you want... but don't tell!”

Here’s a VERY SPECIAL OFFER from me: To all the great folks who read Cousin’s Nancy’s blog and decide to join Dwight Yoakam’s online fan club, I’m offering to make a $100 donation to the Utopia Rescue Ranch on behalf of one lucky new Route 23 Club fan club member!

All you have to do is join the fan club by June 30, 2008 and put “DY Goddess” in the Referral field when you join. Send me an email with the name you registered under to dyxychyk@hotmail.com.

I’ll enter everyone’s name in a draw and choose one lucky winner at random. It’s for a great cause, and, you can claim it on your taxes! Dang, life as a Dwight Yoakam Fan Club member just keeps getting better all the time!

Join today, you won’t regret it or have buyer’s remorse, I promise you. You can have a free tour if you go to www.route23club.com Check it out and join today!

Sunshine, On My Shoulders...

Today, N.M. Kelby kicks off her 40 stop book tour for her latest book, “MURDER at the BAD GIRL’S BAR & GRILL” and I wish her the Best of tours! I started reading her new book, early this morning, and I am already having trouble putting it down—the first page hooked me. But, when Tony came home, from the Old Timer, I had to put down Nicole’s book.

When Tony walked inside the trailer, he was carrying a big box and said, “Surprise! I hope you like it? I bought this for you.” And, then he set the heavy, green box down on the coffee table, in ‘The Big Room!’

I was shocked! “I love it! Thank you so much, Tony! I love it! Let me get a picture of this.” I grabbed my camera, and then asked Tony to please pick up the box, so I could take this picture.

Yes, it’s a solar reel mower! Green, good for the planet! I have been wanting one for some time, so that I could mow our front and back yards, and the yard of my cabin, and it’s also another way for me to get in a little more exercise!

Tony set the box down once again, and then he began assembling my earth friendly mower, so I took another picture, with Hank helping him out.

In the brief time that it took for Tony to put it together, I had come up with a name for it. “Tony, I am going to call it the Green Goddess! Thank you so much for getting this for me! Let’s go try it out. I can't wait to tell Kinky!”

Tony picked up the Green Goddess and we went outside for a test drive. I let Tony test her out first, because I wanted to read the instruction manual. As Tony took the Green Goddess for a spin, I said, without hollering, because there was no noise, “It says here, for safety precautions, that you should never go barefoot or wear sandals or—run with the Green Goddess!”

Tony laughed, and continued to mow, as I quickly skipped into the trailer to remove my pink Crocs and to put on my New Balance skipping shoes. I love New Balance shoes, because they have my initial ‘N’ on them.

Now wearing shoes, I knew that it wa safe for me to mow, so I went back outside and then gave the Green Goddess a push—and off we went! I loved the experience of pushing her around the yard, because it brought back fond memories of my youth, when Ronnie and I would get to take turns mowing our parents lawn with a push reel mower. Those were some good times.

As we neared Tony, he said, “Nance, I am glad that you love the Green Goddess. Do you want me to go get you a solar edger?”

“What? I didn’t know there were solar edgers?”

“Yes,” Tony replied. “And, we already have one—out in the barn. It’s called a machete.” We laughed.

Well, I have to go now. I’ve got to go hang up some clothes, on my solar dryer—which I have named—Sunshine!

'Erb and Karen Report on Kinky's Tour!

Last night, Kinky called me at 6:17 and we talked for over thirty minutes! He told me that he had a great time with Karen and Herb in Perth, and he said that the tour has been awesome! This morning, I received this report from my friend 'Erb!

Cousin Nancy---

Just got back, and a day late thanks to Air France. I left before your e-mail came, but we hooked up with Kinky on Friday. We didn't make it in time for dinner together, but we had a lot of fun socializing before and after the show. You were absolutely right---Kinky was in great spirits.

He broke up laughing so badly during the performance, he had to have Little Jewford play Arrivederci Roma!!!! We enjoyed meeting Ratso and especially Little Jewford. Karen is going to donate the cost of our free tickets to Utopia Rescue Ranch.

Speaking of Karen, it looks like I'm getting yet another variation on my name. After a week in Scotland, Karen is affecting a rich Scottish burr, and has taken to calling me Her-r-r-r-r-b!

One of the first things we did when we unpacked was to check the blog, and Karen was thrilled to see us there again! But how about you! You seem to have a more event-packed life when Kinky is away!

More later---my jets are starting to lag badly!

'Erb (or 'Er-r-r-r-b)

Thank You Very Much—Fay! LOL!

My good friend Fay, just sent me an e-mail, requesting that I watch this youtube with Tom Rush. She said it reminded her of me and that I would love it! It's about remembering.

So, I went to this address to check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yN-6PbqAPM

I am sitting here and still laughing about it! I truly believe that the song was written for me, or for the people of my generation, who are now Senior Citizens! Please check it out, if you want a good laugh! Thanks Fay, I truly loved it! I'm going to show it to Kinky—if I can remember to! I'm fixin' to write myself a note now, in my little notebook, that Tony bought for me—but I can't remember where I put it!

Whale Season by N.M. Kelby!

I stayed up until midnight, so I could finish reading Nicole's great book, that Dwight Yoakam bought the movie rights to! I started reading her mystery book after lunch, and could not put it down! Every chance that I had, yesterday—I picked up the book to read some more.

It was a great read, and I love N.M. Kelby's style, wit and humor! I can't wait to see the movie! As soon as Kinky gets back, Tony will have finished reading it, and I can't wait for Kinky to read it! N.M. Kelby is good—Real Good!

P.S. I loved Jimmy Ray and Leon, and I cannot wait to see which character Dwight decides to play! I wish that I could play Leon's Grandma, Lettie Pettit, and run her Pettit's All-Star Alligator Farm.

I Just Made It To Rocketing Rabbit!