The Adventures Of Joan & Kent! or Here's It!

Today has been quiet, but let me tell you about what happened yesterday, after I did the Harley Show, which was a lot of fun.

When Tony and I had finished doing our morning chores outside I decided to walk back to The Cabin, instead of hitching a ride with T. on Kermit and I am glad that I did, because I found a large turtle trying to get inside Rufus' and Roxanne's pen, near the barn and those two dogs were pretty upset about it.

So, when Tony and Kermit approached I waved them down to stop, so Tone could help me rescue the uninvited stranger and return him back to the creek. "Get back, Nance. That thing can bite your finger off." Then Tony put his leather gloves back on and carefully picked up the turtle and put him or her into a big bucket.

As Kermit took us down to the creek Tony told me, "Around here, we call them Alligator Turtles, because of their long spiked tails..." Before the turtle found its way into the creek I snapped these pictures of Snappy.

After that, while I was fixing lunch for us, Tony went to get our mail and when he came home I had two nice surprises in store for me. The first was Maya's registration papers, from the American Quarter Horse Association, with me listed as her new, proud owner, which I plan to frame, sometime this weekend and hang on a wall in the big room.

My second surprise was a beautiful card sent to us from our dear friends, Joan & Kent.

And when I opened up the card to read it, a small sticker fell to the floor, which I didn't notice and while I read about Joan's & Kent's latest hiking adventure—Tony started laughing as he stared at their sticker they had sent and I started laughing when I read: "Kent and I have just returned from the mountains of North Carolina, where we hiked into the mountains. (Not naked though!) I found this sticker in a hiking shop and could not resist sending it to you....Love, Joan The Naked Hiker."

Then Tony showed me the hilarious sticker, because it has been a private joke between us, (And the rest of the world, who read my blog.) because since she told us about being from African and once hiking, for days in the nude—I've teased her about it. 

Then I put the sticker on our fridge, right below the, "What Would Ronnie Do?" magnet and it makes me laugh every time that I open the refrigerator door. 

Yesterday, after lunch Tony and I went to Kerrville to run a couple of errands. Our first stop was at The Salvation Army, so I could drop off some clothes and other stuff, then we went inside the store to look around and I am so glad that I did, because I found a real bargain and bought It immediately before anyone else could snatch It up.

It was standing next to some matching furniture and the price tags on the other pieces started at $250.00 a piece and up, but It's sale tag price was only $49.00 for some reason and I wasn't about to question It.

The reason I am calling it It, is because I'm not sure if it is an old dining room buffet or what, but it really doesn't matter to me, because It is now in our bedroom, being used to store our jeans and socks. Here's It standing between the stool and our closet door! And that's about It for tonight.

Y'all have a great evening!

The Scales!

Yesterday was a quiet day around here, so when Tony took off to Medina, around 5:30, to take some pictures, I decided to get online and surf around and when I found this really cool guitar lessons site, I decided to check it out, in hopes that I could learn to play my guitar better.

Two hours later, after practicing the C and G scales on my guitar, I got offline and did some pickin' and grinnin' until my fingers were killing me or 8:00, because I wanted to watch the highly acclaimed PBS documentary, The Titanic With Len Goodman and I am glad that I did, because it was a real eye-opener for me on that historic, tragic event, 100 years ago. And, I am glad that I recorded it, because I can't wait for Tony to watch it with me.

Today has been a good day. This morning while Tone did the morning chores outside, I stayed inside with Hazel and we cleaned up The Cabin. When The Cabin finally looked like T. & I didn't live here, I took a break and went over to the Lodge to visit and to drink some coffee with Kinky.

During our fun visit, on his front porch, Kinky asked me if I wanted a cookbook, that he had written a blurb for, on the back jacket cover, that he had just received from his friend and of course, my answer was, "Yes, I do. You know I love cookbooks and..." When I came home, I gave the cookbook to T. because it was mainly about outdoor cooking.

Late this afternoon we met Kinky and our friend, the popular morning radio host, Big G, at Buzzie's BBQ, in Kerrville, for lunch, even though we had already eaten lunch at home we had a blast visiting with them and Buzzie.

Then we went to Wolfmueller's Books to talk to Sandy and Jon, for a few minutes, about our upcoming fun trip. Then we adios-ed them and went to Home Depot to buy some lumber, because in the next few days, weather permitting, we are going to build a small chicken coop, so we can have chickens again and start eating healthier, free rage eggs.

Tonight I am fixin' to go out to the Okay Corral to play the scales, over and over again on my guitar, until I can either play them by heart or my fingers are killing me, which ever comes first. And that is about it for tonight.

Y'all have a great evening!

Hair Removal!

Today has been fun. This afternoon we took off, for Kerrville, to meet Kinky for lunch and to run a few errands.

When we arrived at his friend's restaurant the parking lot was completely empty, so we drove up to the door and the sign on the door read, "Closed On Monday," so I grabbed my cell phone, out of my purse and punched in Kinky's cell phone number. "Hi, Kink. We're here and the restaurant is closed on Mondays, so where do you want to eat now?"

After telling me where he wanted to eat, we adios-ed each other and as I was putting my cell phone back into my purse a good-looking, young man, probably in his early thirties, pulled into the vacant parking lot, to my side of Buttermilk and then he waved at us to lower my window.

Since he was wearing a big grin on his face I lowered my window and smiled at him. "Are you Cousin Nancy?" he asked. Tony started chuckling.

"Yes, I am," I answered, as I began to blush. Then he chuckled and pointed his finger at me.

"I knew it was you!" The happy man said. "When I saw the rescue ranch sign on your Expedition, I just had to follow y'all, so I could put a face to your voice. I hear you all of the time on Harley's show." And that made me chuckle.

"I love Harley and I am glad that you listen to his morning show."

"Harley's great. Well, I am sorry for wasting your time, but I just had to meet you."

"Don't apologize. You just made my day and I thank you." Then we adios-ed each other and took off in different directions and T. teased me all of the way to the restaurant.

Kinky pulled into the #2, his second choice restaurant, right behind us, so after greeting each other we started walking toward the door, but we didn't make it inside, because a smiling man hollered out, "Hey, Kinky!" So, we made a detour over to the man and his friend.

While shaking hands with each other, the friendly man introduced himself and his friend to us and then Kinky introduced Tone and me to them. "Kinky, I am Molly Ivins brother and..." Then we had a fun conversation with the men, in the crowded parking lot.

And Molly's brother and friend laughed a lot, after Kink and I told them the funny story about a woman asking me to sign her "A Night With Bob Wills" program, at the Cailloux Theatre, during an intermission, and after I had signed my name she sincerely said to me, as she walked away, "I love you, Molly Ivins. Thank you so much."

After an enjoyable lunch with Kinky we went our separate ways to run our errands. And when we returned home Tony was thrilled, because his "Shed Pal," an incredible cordless pet grooming vac, that he had ordered for our dogs online, had arrived.

Tony tried it out on our dogs while Kinky, The Friedmans and I went on a fun hike and when I came back home I used it on Belle and Roy, again and they loved it as much as I did. So yes, I am endorsing the Shed Pal, that costs under $20.00, because I also used it on our (Roy's, Belle's and Abbie's) chair cushions and it was a fast and easy hair removal device. And that is about it for tonight.

Y'all have a great evening!

Plan B!

Today has been a great day, even though Tony woke me up, this morning, to tell me, "We don't have any water..." His words didn't exactly make me want to jump out of bed with joy, because that meant I could not take a shower and wash my hair, etc.

Normally, temporarily being without water would not have been any big deal, because it happens a lot, but last night I had carefully planned out my morning, because I had several tasks to do besides cleaning the dog pens outside, before we were to leave at 11:00, to go on a picnic with Ellen, Eileen and her sweet dog Callie, that Eileen adopted from us two years ago. So, I said, "I'm blaming this on Mercury in retrograde." T. laughed.

"Nance, it happened, because I forgot to turn off the watering hose, last night, in The Okay Corral..." Then Tone adios-ed me and took off to go drink some coffee with his friends, in Medina, while I drank my coffee and came up with a "Plan B" on how to get everything done before the picnic.

When Tony returned home, about an hour later, we had water within five minutes and because my Plan B had worked out so well—we were where we were supposed to be for our picnic and Tony, Belle and I were five minutes early.

The picnic was a lot of fun. As our hilarious topics of discussion flowed back and forth, Belle's new best friend, Callie, raced around playing with each other. And after we had eaten our lunch we took Callie and Belle down to the creek to let them go for a swim, but Callie didn't want to get her hair messed up, so she waded around in the shallow water, while Belle did a few laps for Tony or else to impress her new found girlfriend. Anyway, the dogs had a blast and we had a great time watching them.

The first thing that we did when we got home, from our picnic, was to thank Belle for not getting carsick and throwing up on me, as she has regularly done in the past and Belle seemed happy about it too.

After I returned a few phone calls, I went down the hallway to tell Tony, "I'm going to take Roy Rogers swimming over there, because I want to find out if he can swim. Do you want to go?"

"Not really. I was thinking about taking a nap, but I will if you want me to."

When Roy and I had arrived at the creek, where we had picnicked at earlier, he was excited to be off-leash, but even more excited about my Baggie filled with sausage like doggie treats that I had taken, in case I needed to catch him.

After Roy had run around marking every place where Callie and Belle had peed, we walked down to the creek. He stepped into a shallow place, drank some of the cold, clear water, but he didn't seem real interested in going swimming, so I picked up a few twigs and flung them into the creek, in hopes that he would jump into the creek and retrieve them, but he didn't. All he seemed interested in was the contents inside the small Baggie, that I held in my hand, so I came up with another Plan B, for the day and it worked.

As I tossed one wannabe floating sausage doggie treat after another, into the water, Roy turned into a dog's version of Esther Williams—beautifully swimming all around the creek, to gobble up his delicious treats and not a one of them had the time to sink to the bottom and I was delighted, so I made a short, one minute video of him swimming around, to get his treats and I hope that you will enjoy it as much as he enjoyed it.

So, since I am hooked on Keb' Mo's music, I used his song, Life Is Beautiful, for the background music and for the title of this video. Enjoy!  Life is beautiful! (Even though my video skills are rather limited.)

Y'all have a great evening!

Do Not Open! Hacked Off!

Well, it looks like Tony's e-mail account has been hacked and we are hacked off about it. We didn't find out about it until this morning, from a friend.

When I went to my old e-mail account that was hacked a few years ago, sure enough, there were 3 e-mails from Tony, with no subject, so I opened each one and all 3 e-mails had different links to follow and of course, I did not click on the links, because who knows where they would have taken me.

So, to help Tone, who has now officially changed his e-mail address, please do not open any e-mails sent from Tony's old address, because he did not send them. I'll write more later.

Gloria Doidge!

Today has been a great Friday, even though Mercury is still in retrograde, until the 12th and it is also F.M.T. (Full Moon Time) again.

This morning before we did our morning chores, Tony helped me hang up, "The Okay Corral" sign on the newly, painted black, entrance gate to it and we love the way it looks on the gate.

While T. fed the dogs and I cleaned up their pens, The Best Volunteers In Texas, began to arrive and Jim was the first. Then a few minutes later came Ellen, Eileen, Lisa and Baxter, followed by Dottie and David and we were thrilled, but our super rescued dogs were even more excited to see them, because they knew they were going to definitely go for a fun walk and if they wanted to—a swim, in Wallace Creek.

When Tone and I had finished our chores I invited Eileen and Lisa, because they were up near the barn, to come see what we've done to improve The Okay Corral, but before we took off to go see it, Lisa gave T. and me some cutely decorated, white chocolate covered pretzels and butterscotch covered pretzels, with tiny chocolate Easter eggs, in the center of the nests and they were totally delicious. 

And then Ellen surprises me and tells me that she had gone to the Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation fundraiser, in Boerne and at their silent auction she had bought me a pink cowboy hat, worn by the late, famous Rodeo Queen Gloria Doidge and I immediately fell in love with it, but I could not thank Eileen enough, at the time, because my mouth was full of Lisa's homemade, mouth-watering, white chocolate covered pretzels. "Thank you, Eileen! I love the pretty, pink cowboy hat and I cannot wait to wear it, while riding Maya!"

I would show you a picture of Lisa's adorable Easter egg treats, but we have already devoured them and gained a pound, but I can show you the beautiful, famous cowboy hat that Eileen gave to me as a present. 

When our volunteers had walked all of our dogs we followed them over to Koyote Ranch, up the road, to eat lunch with them and Tony and I really enjoyed it, because all we did was laugh at their hilarious stories and latest, crazy antics, that they shared with us.

After lunch, Tony got on our riding lawn mower to cut the grass, so after returning a few phone calls, I went out to The Okay Corral to stain a bench and to also spray paint an old, metal chair a plum color, that was in desperate need of a new paint job.

And that is about it for today.

Y'all have a great evening!

Purple Windmill!

Today has been great. This morning before Tony and I did our chores outside, we invited Kinky to come over to see our newly improved Okay Corral and he seemed to be very impressed with what we've done to it. "Kinky, can you believe that over ten years ago—this was the Friedman dump?" Kinky chuckled.

"What y'all have done to improve this piece of the property is amazing to me. The entire rescue ranch looks beautiful and it is a very special place. I like what y'all have done to the Okay Corral too..." As he sat on top of the picnic table, I pointed out our freshly painted purple windmill and then I bragged about our new flowerbeds, the solar lighting, etc., but what Kinky seemed to like the most was the purple windmill.

Late this afternoon Tony and I went to Kerrville to run several errands. Our last stop was at Wolfmueller Books to visit with Sandy and Jon and to talk about our next upcoming trip, that we are taking with them, which by-the-way is a secret for right now. 

As Jon looked at a hand held map and Sandy looked at a map on her iPad we discussed which route to take, what time we we're leaving, etc. and there was plenty of laughter through out our fun conversation. Twenty minutes later, when my back began to ache and we had a plan—we adios-ed our dear friends and came back home. And that is about it for tonight.

P.S. After we told them about the Sparrow Hawk scaring me and flying away with a sad, little Sparrow, he looked up the hawk, in a bird book and it was definitely a Cooper's Hawk. "It says here," Jon said. "Known for ambushing small birds at bird feeders and small mammals... "

Y'all have a great evening!