Sure I'll Do It!

This morning after I walked six miles I went over to Kinky's for a short visit. When I told him about trying to sell one of his books on eBay he had a light bulb moment. "Nance, why don't you sell my pool table on eBay and sell it?" Kinky said with enthusiasm. "We could split it half and half..."

"Sure, I'll do it but are you sure that you really want to sell your pool table?"

"Yes. I have been thinking about selling it for the past two years..."

The thought of trying to sell Kinky's pool table for him excited me so I came home, grabbed my camera and then returned to the Lodge and shot his pool table and him so I could post the pictures to show people Kinky's pool table. This is the picture I took of him.

When I got home I did paperwork and returned phone calls and then made lunch. After lunch Tony went to Kerrville to pick up his postcards at Copies Plus and then swing by Koyote Ranch to see if they wanted to buy any to sell, while I spent over two hours on the Internet checking prices on used pool table and talking back and forth on the phone to Sandy and Jon at Wolfmueller's Books about selling Kinky's pool table on eBay.

When Tone came home he had great news to tell me. "Nance, the man at Koyote Ranch loved my postcards and he bought ten of each! And he told me that he would be reordering more real soon!" I was thrilled for Tony and told him so. I love his photography.

About an hour ago the phone rang—it was Jon. "Hi, Nancy. It's Jon."

"I know, Jon. I have Calller ID. What's up?"

"Sandy and I wanted to know if it would be okay if we came out to the rescue ranch after we close."

"That sounds great, Jon! I'm glad that you called because I need to go take a shower." Jon laughed. "I can't wait to show you my new toy pig that laughs and moves. I promise that it will make y'all laugh out loud and..."

"We've seen it. We watched your video..." As soon as we hung up, I lit a stick of my Naga Champa incense and then jumped into the shower.

Well it's nearly five-twenty and Sandy and Jon should be arriving out here in about twenty minutes and I am sure that we will have fun tonight! As soon as I put Kinky's pool table up on eBay I will let y'all know so you can go check it out.

Y'all have a great evening!

Pig Tails!

This afternoon Tony and I went to Kerrville. Our first stop was at Gibson's so I could buy a knife magnet like Carol and Rick have. I was thrilled when I found the knife magnet and then I took off looking for  Tone because he had forgotten to bring his cell phone and I am glad that he did.

When I passed an isle I heard loud laughing and I looked around to see who it was or should I say what it was. It was the cutest stuffed toy that had a light sensor built into it. I couldn't quit laughing as I watched this little pink pig moving its tail and mouth while wildly rolling around on the floor. Then T. found me and started laughing with me, and then he bought one for me!

Our next stop was at Walmart and we speed-shopped. The first thing we put into our cart was a seed starter kit because I wanted to go ahead and plant my Heirloom seeds for the upcoming garden and then we went to electronics so I could buy 400 minutes for my Tracfone. The reason I bought 400 minutes is because I will not have to renew it for a year. 

After I paid for the airtime minutes I asked the young man if he could please help me and add the minutes to my phone. After he added the minutes for me we grabbed cat food for Lucky, batteries for my  laughing animated pig and then we checked out.

On our way to Buttermilk I told Tony that I now had over 900 minutes was so glad that the nice clerk had added the minutes for me. "He didn't want to do it, Nance," Tony said. "When you asked him, he rolled his eyes and it really made me mad and I thought about..." Before pulling out of the parking lot Tony inserted the batteries into my new stuffed toy and I read the directions on the box on how to operate my pink pig as we headed home. "Tony this is so weird! It says: Our toys are hand made with love and Italian design. Made in China. What?" We both started laughing and here is a picture to prove it. 

On the way home I decided to turn on the pig as we started up the pass and that was a big mistake. As it wildly swung its tail and moved its mouth in my hands while laughing nonstop, I could not turn it off. Tony was laughing like a wild man as I wrestled with it in the front seat. I finally was able to turn it off when we turned off of Highway 16 and Tone teased me about it all of the way home.

When we got inside the first thing we did was show it to Hank, Toto and Thunder to get their reaction and I made a short one minute video of it and named it—Pig Tails and the pig is the only one laughing in the video clip. After I shot the funny video Tony fought with it for over a minute trying to turn it off. Then he went back into his office to do some farming while I planted real seeds in the kitchen.

The Academy Awards is on and I am going to watch it. Tomorrow I plan to go over to the Lodge and show Kinky my new pink toy in action.

Y'all have a great evening.

Our Fun Fund!

This afternoon after we closed the rescue ranch at three o'clock I decided to try to put something up on eBay to see if I could do it. I wanted it to be something small and very simple to mail so I looked around the house. I found plenty of things that I could sell on eBay since I now have the "eBay-fever" but I decided to keep it simple for a first-time-seller so I chose a book—one of Kinky's to be exact.

I have several copies of all of Kinky's books so I picked A Case Of Lone Star, a first edition signed to Jim and me by Kinky. It has been gathering dust on my bookshelf for nearly twenty years. The book came out in 1987. Now let me tell you a story about this book and I will try to keep it short.

Back in June 1990, our good friend Sammy Allred who had the number one talk show in Austin on KVET, and the man who gave me the moniker "Cousin Nancy" had been telling Jim and me for several years about how good his friend's (Kinky's) books were and he had begged us to buy one. We never bought one because we were too busy embroidering. At the time our business was so successful that we had to work seven days a week to keep up with all of the orders. On June 15, 1990 Sammy walked into our shop with Kinky because he wanted us to meet. And I remember it well.

Kinky walked inside our shop smoking a nice smelling cigar and he acted like a detective. He walked around and stared at our walls of pictures like he was trying to solve a crime or something. After Sammy introduced us we had a fun visit.

Before leaving our shop Kinky told me that he wanted to order two "Geezinslaw Brothers Shiny Nineties Tour" jackets for his sister and him. After he gave me their sizes he asked me how much they would cost and I told him, "Signed first editions of his first three books that Sammy has been raving about." Then we shook hands on our deal and then Sammy and Kinky left.

A few days later I mailed the jackets to Kinky and a few days later we received a box with his first three books signed to us and that is how our friendship started with Kinky.

The reason that I decided to sell A Case of Lone Star is because I have been carrying that book around with me for nearly twenty years and I don't need it because I have another signed copy and I want to un-clutter and feng-shui our trailer. I am not a collector or a hoarder and I don't plan to reread it, so there is no reason for it to be collecting dust and dog hair on the bookshelf. In fact, I am thinking about selling all of my Kinky book collection for T.'s and my "Fun Fund."

Carol and James told us that they buy and sell on eBay for their "Fun Fund" and when I heard that, I wanted Tony and me to have a "Fun Fund" for vacations, etc. or to pay for a maid to dust off our "stuff."

If you want to check out my very first eBay item to sell click here. My Seller ID is: texauthor. I am so excited that I figured out how to do it (thanks to James' and Carol's lesson) and now I can't wait for it to sell.

P.S. I got an e-mail from Donna "The Drummer" Schloss, who is still out of town. She told me when she gets back to Kerrville she will get a hold of her friend who wants to give me his electronic drum pad and I can't wait! As you can guess Tone ain't real excited about it.

Y'all have a great evening! (I'll be spending mine on eBay!)

A Real Hit!

Today has been fun. This morning while I was walking eight miles inside the trailer Tony and Ben were outside working and I didn't know that our great dog-walking volunteers: Ellen, Jim, Lisa and Matt were outside walking our dogs.

After my ninety-six minute stroll inside the trailer was done Kinky called and invited me to come over to discuss some business and that is when I discovered Team JE and Team L&M were here. I wanted to stop and visit with all of them but my schedule was really tight today so I didn't get to. Thank you, Lisa, Matt, Ellen and Jim! Y'all are the best!

When I walked inside the Lodge Kinky and Will were playing pool and Will won. After Kinky and I had our brief business meeting I challenged Will to a game of pool and he won real quick because I never sunk one of my balls. Surprise, surprise, surprise.

This afternoon Carol invited us to come over so James could teach Tony and me how to sell things on eBay and Carol was going to sell a saddle and show us how easy it was to do. We arrived at four o'clock for our lesson.

In no time flat, after admiring Carol's beautiful saddle, Carol was on the computer and walking us through the procedure while James answered our questions and helped Carol. "James taught me how to do this and he knows how to sell anything on eBay! He's a pro when it comes to eBay!" Carol bragged on her new love.

As we watched Carol fill in the blanks I noticed her knife magnet on the kitchen wall, "Carol, you have got to tell me where you got your knife magnet. Rick in Port A has one too, and I have looked everywhere for one since we were down there."

"Gibsons," Carol said as she typed away on the laptop. "I love mine too and they come in two sizes..." Five minutes later James double checked Carol's form and then Carol posted her saddle up on eBay. If you want to check out her saddle click here.

James had a Columbian fishing shirt to sell on eBay and he invited me to get on his computer so he could walk me through the selling process which was a big mistake because he uses a PC and I have an Apple. As he walked me through the form I kept clicking on the wrong side of the pad and making one typing mistake after another which had us all laughing. So halfway through the process I thanked James for all of his help and patience and then I let him take over because we'd still be over there. James told me that he completely understood my problem with switching from Mac to PC to make me feel better. He is such a nice man and I am so happy that he and Carol found each other.

After James quickly posted the yellow shirt, the four of us had a fun visit. Click here to see the item I worked on with James.

At six o'clock Tony and I left to go home and we were sick—we had caught eBay-fever and we couldn't quit talking about what all we could sell on eBay.

A few minutes ago I received an exciting e-mail from Donna "The Drummer" Schloss. This is what she wrote:

"How would you like to make more noise? A friend of mine has an electric drum pad set that he no longer uses and he will give it to you if you would like..."

"If I would like!" This is the e-mail that I immediately shot back to Donna:

"Hi, Donna! OMG! I would love to get the electronic drum pad set and make more noise! I really like drumming. I hope that your trip to visit your Aunt Willie was fun and...Thank you for making my evening a real hit! I can't wait to tell Tony!"

Y'all have a great evening!

Get A Life!

This morning I walked six miles and then I did some paperwork and returned a few phone calls then the phone rang—it was Kinky. "Good morning, Nance. Is Ben there?"

"Yes, but he is outside working right now," I said. "Why? What's up?"

"I just got off of the phone and I need to check something out on the internet. Could you and Ben come over here and look it up for me on your computer?" Kinky asked.

"I will go get Ben and we will be over there in just a few minutes. Bye." I put on my white Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch cap and then my red hoodie sweatshirt and left the trailer. I found Lisa and Matt first. They were down at the feed barn helping Tony with something. After hugs I had a short but fun visit with them. Then I asked, "Do y'all know where Ben is? Kinky called and has asked for us to come over..."

"He's over by the pump house pulling a flat tire off of a riding lawnmower," Tony said. After saying good-bye to everyone Trigger and I went to the pump house and found Ben. Two minutes later he and I walked inside the Lodge and were greeted by Kinky and Will. When Kinky told us what he wanted to see on the internet I handed my laptop to Ben and asked him to find the site. Then we went into the living room and Ben began his search.

"Ben, it is fine to close that window if you want to," I said.

"I'll do it," Kinky said. "It is a little chilly in here." Ben, Will and I started laughing. "What's so funny?" Kinky asked as he started to close a window.

"Kinky, your windows are fine," I said. "I was talking computer talk..." When Ben quickly found the site he asked Will to take over because he needed to get back over to the rescue ranch to help Tony. He wanted to walk over to the rescue ranch so I stayed and visited with Will and Kinky until they no longer needed the use of my computer. "Kinky, are you going to town to eat lunch?" I asked.

"I don't know," Kinky said. "Are you going to town to eat lunch?"

"Yes, Tone and I need to run some errands. Why don't we all go to Kerrville and eat lunch together?"

"I'm not sure I can go," Will stated. "Ben has to go to the dump and I am not sure of his plans..." After we decided to eat lunch at one o'clock I left the Lodge and went back over to the rescue ranch to find T. and Ben.

At twelve-thirty Tony and I were visiting with Trisha at Copies Plus. After Tony placed his order for some more of his postcards we left her busy printing business because several customers had walked inside to place orders.

Tony and I arrived ten minutes early at the restaurant and ordered the same thing. Then  Kinky, Ben and Will arrived two minutes past one o'clock and they ordered the same thing that we had ordered. I thought it was pretty funny and laughed about it and so did the guys.

We joked and teased each other as we enjoyed our delicious lunch. Near the end of our luncheon Jon Wolfmueller walked inside, and came up to our table and handed Kinky a book. After Kink thanked him for the book Jon asked me if I was going to watch American Idol tonight. "Tonight's the night that they kick off some people..." As Jon, Tony and I discussed the contestants Kinky started laughing and teased us about needing to get a life!

This afternoon when we got back to the ranch I put out my first Hummingbird feeder on the porch so the scouts can find it.

I've got to go watch American Idol.

P.S. Tomorrow Tony, Ben and Will are going to have a "Photo-Booth" breakdown contest in the kitchen or in Outer Space! I bet T. wins! And there will be pictures and videos!

Y'all have a great evening!

Texas Fats!

This morning when I woke up I had very mixed emotions because March 3rd is a very significant day because it is the worst day of the year for me. Here are just a few examples:

Today is the fifteen year anniversary of my late husband's passing. Jim was only fifty-five when he died from cancer and broke my heart. He was a good man and I still think about him often.

Eight years ago today Tony and I left our beautiful mini-ranch in Utopia and moved the our trailer over here so we could be with the dogs and run the rescue ranch. At the time I did not want to leave Utopia or move over here and it took me a long time to adjust because I loved my ranch and the people of Utopia. Looking back I know that it was the right thing to do and so many positive things have happened since we moved and it has been fun and very interesting being Kinky's neighbor to say the least.

This morning I was sad for Kinky because he did not win the primary for Democratic Ag Commissioner and that depressed me. I wanted to call him but I felt it was best to wait and let him call me. So after feeding the fur-family, starting a load of laundry and making breakfast I decided to walk in hopes that it would improve my mood.

I felt much better after walking six miles with Leslie. Since Kinky still hadn't called me, I decided to pass the time and mow our overgrown front-yard. I asked Tony to bring me one of our hand-push-gas mowers because I knew the Green Goddess, my "green" push-mower that came without-an-engine couldn't cut the tall grass outside.

Ten minutes later, after Tone started the mower for me I was plowing away. After Lisa and Matt arrived the mower quit on me. "Tony! The mowers dead! Hi Lisa and Matt!" I hollered.

"Pull the rope!" Tony hollered, as Lisa and Matt waved at me.

I pulled on the rope but it wouldn't budge an inch. "Tony! I think it is broken! I pulled on the rope..." Lisa, Matt and Tone started walking towards me. I had a fun visit with Lisa and Matt as Tony worked on the mower. After T. got the mower started and I started mowing again, the three of them took off to do chores.

Thirty minutes later I was back inside the trailer looking outside the window admiring my work. Then I looked over at Carlton and he was flashing. I punched the play button and heard Kinky say, "Hey, Nance! Call me!" He sounded upbeat.

"Hi, Kinky! How are you doing?"

"I'm okay. Can you come over?" Two minutes later I was standing face to face with Kinky in his kitchen. He told me that last night had been a little rough and he had returned to the ranch late last night and he had only gotten a few hours of sleep because he couldn't fall to sleep. "Fortunately, I am feeling better by the minute..." I stayed for about ten minutes and then I returned to the rescue ranch.

 When I saw Lisa, Matt and Tony over by Mr. Rogers and Miss Dee's pen I stopped Trigger and went to talk to them. "Kinky is fine—just exhausted..."

This afternoon Lisa and Matt came back out to the rescue ranch with Melody and Laurie. And Lisa surprised me when she came inside the trailer with a beautiful bouquet of flowers for me, and she had one to give to Kinky too, so we all went over to the Lodge to see Kinky!

Kinky was glad to see us but I could tell that he was tired. After Lisa gave him his beautiful bouquet of flowers she challenged The Medina Bulldog to a game of pool. After Kinky and all of us sat down to watch the pool tournament she came up with "Texas Fats" for her nickname. "You know, Minnesota Fats—Texas Fats," she explained to me.

The game was fun to watch but it didn't last real long. Medina Bulldog - 1, Texas Fats - 0. Before leaving the Lodge Kinky teased Tony about him still being the pool champion for over three weeks. Tony laughed and challenged Kinky to a game of pool for the championship but Kinky declined. "I am the pool champion," Kinky said, "I'm sorry, Tone. You are going to have to wait one more day to try to regain the title..." Then he laughed.

Y'all have a great evening!

Not Tonight, I'm Watching The Primary Coverage!