Just To Let You Know!

This morning I received an e-mail from Karin, in Germany. She told me that she received an e-mail supposedly sent from me on twitter. She knew it wasn't from me and she said it had something to do with money. It wasn't from me, because I have not tweeted for over a year or more and I don't plan to tweet any more. So, if you receive an e-mail about me tweeting—I didn't tweet it and I suggest that you not open it and just delete it.

Do-Over Day!

Today has been great, even though it was filled with do-overs. In the earlier part of the week I spoke to the nice couple that in October had adopted our super sweet, four-year-old Beagle, Peggy Sue.  As much as this fabulous coupled loved Peggy Sue and had tried very hard to make her happy, they had decided to return Peggy Sue to us, because they wanted her to be happy again, like she had been at our rescue ranch.

Peggy Sue had stolen their hearts and they were sad and depressed about giving her up, but they felt it was the best thing to do for Peggy Sue and I agreed. Before our conversation ended, we made a plan to meet them, Friday afternoon, around 2:30, in front of Pet Supplies Plus, by the little H-E-B, on 16.

But unfortunately that didn't happen, because around 1:30, while Tony was gone, taking photos, at the Bandera County Stock Show, I was home alone doing paperwork. I don't like doing paperwork, but it was peaceful and quiet here, until all of the dogs started barking outside. Grace Kelly had gotten out and she was happily running around the rescue ranch, teasing the other dogs.

Ten minutes later, after chasing Grace (Escape Artist #1) Kelly from one end of the ranch to the other, I stopped Trigger and got out of the truck and said, "Load Up!" Grace smiled at me and then she jumped inside Trigger ending our little rodeo!

After Grace had dragged me back to her and Tom Landry's pen, she happily ran inside it. She kissed Landry and then she laid down to rest, in the sunshine.

Ten minutes after that, round two of my privately run, mini rodeo occurred when the dogs outside started barking again. I figured it was Grace again, but I was wrong. It was Tom Landry this time, happily running around the rescue ranch, proving that he could do it too. He had dug out.

Tom (Escape Artist #2) Landry was easy to catch and was back inside his pen within two minutes. Then he unknowingly showed me the hole, where he had escaped from, because he was fixin' to go out it again, so he could run around the rescue ranch some more. I caught him and ten minutes later, after having filled up the hole with big rocks, I returned to the trailer.

Ten minutes after that, the dogs outside started barking again and when I went outside, I saw Tony pulling up, in Buttermilk. After I calmly told him about the exciting adventures of Grace Kelly and Tom Landry, he apologized for not being here, "Dang it, Nance. It seems that every time that I leave you at the ranch, something like this always happens. I'm just going to have to stop going anywhere and just stay home." (Tony is so sweet and that is one of the reasons that I love him so much.)

"It's not your fault, Tony. And yes, you are going somewhere, too." Then I laughed and said, "There's a broken pipe near the barn that needs to get fixed. I have already shut off the water." By now, it is getting late in the day, so I called Peggy's parents and asked if Tony could meet them today at 1:00, instead and they didn't mind one bit about keeping Peggy Sue for one more night.

Before we adios-ed each other, this super nice woman says, "Call us when Tony leaves and then we'll take off to go meet him."

"Okay, will do. Bye."

Today, around noon, Tony took off early for Kerrville, so he could buy some gas, buy dog food for our rescued dogs, mail some letters and pick up a few groceries for me, before picking up Peggy Sue and bringing her back to the rescue ranch.

Around 1:45, I went outside, on the porch, to greet Tony. "How is Peggy Sue?"

"I don't know. They never showed up. I waited twenty minutes for them and then I came back home. By the way, I didn't get gas either, because the pumps were down, so we'll have to get some tomorrow. And I also forgot to buy your French Vanilla Coffee Mate, even though it was at the top of your grocery list."

"I've got lunch ready and I'll call them after we finish eating. I hope everything is okay..." (Hang in there. I'm nearly done telling my story.)

After lunch, I called the couple and spoke to the sweet woman. In a few short minutes we were both laughing about me forgetting to call them when Tony took off. Of course, it was totally my fault and after I apologized to her and to Tony, who was in the kitchen listening to me, we all decided to do another do-over.

So Tony took off again, in Buttermilk, to go meet the couple, at the Mini-Mart nearest to us. Fifteen minutes after he had gone—the phone rang. "Hello, Nancy. We're at the Mini-Mart on the corner of 16 and Ranchero Road. Tony's not here. Is this the right Mini-Mart?"

"No, ma'am. You need to drive about three or four more miles. I think. You'll see it on your right." Then we both started laughing, before we adios-ed each other.

At 2:45, Peggy Sue and Tony arrived, so I went outside to greet Peggy Sue and Tony. Peggy Sue looked absolutely beautiful, healthy, was in great shape and she seemed very happy. We had to put Peggy Sue in The Okay Corral, because our pens are full and we have no extra space for her. She loves my writing cabin's front yard and I think she's thinking that it is the Presidential Suite of dog pens out here.

After I took these pictures of her, Tony opened up Buttermilk's back door hatch to show me the boxes filled full of Peggy Sue's cute toys, leashes, etc., that this super sweet couple had sent back with her.

Tonight I plan to re-watch the movie, On Golden Pond, one of my favorite movies. Tomorrow, after we do our morning chores outside, we need to do one more do-over and that is to go back to Kerrville, to hopefully buy gas and get my Coffee Mate. And that is about it for tonight.

Y'all have a great evening!

Cedar Fever!

Today has been great, even though I woke up this morning coughing and sneezing non-stop. At first, I was scared that I might be coming down with the flu, but I know it is definitely cedar fever, because when I was outside helping Tony with the morning chores—it got worse. And get this, Buster Brown, our cute, six-year-old Jack Russell terrier was sneezing too, because of the cedar.

The good news for today is all of Ginger Rogers' puppies have been adopted to great homes. Around 1:00, Tony and I me up with his friend, Patty, in Kerrville, so she could adopt Jase and take him home. And late this afternoon, Karon brought her friend over, who works at the children's home too, so she and her delightful son and daughter could adopt Sopapilla and take her to her fabulous forever home.

And that is about it for tonight, because I am sneezing so much, it makes it hard for me to type. Hopefully, the cedar count won't be so high tomorrow, because I am close to running out of Kleenex.

Y'all have a great evening!

My Chicken & Dumplings!

The last two days have been great, because they were quiet days, with no excitement. Yesterday, while Tony and I were in Kerrville, enjoying lunch with our friends, Jim told me about him cooking up the best chicken and dumplings that he and Kris have ever eaten. After he told us about how easy it was to make, using a crock pot, he told me how to make Jim's Chicken & Dumplings.

After an enjoyable lunch with our friends, Tony and I went to the little H-E-B to buy the ingredients needed for Cousin Nancy's Chicken & Dumplings recipe, that I had just stolen from Jim. Then we came home, so I could pre-cook the chicken and dumplings and only have to heat them up for today's lunch.

Early this morning, before I did the Utopia segment, on Big G's popular radio show, I made Mama a special meal. I mixed her dry dog food with a heaping scoop of chicken and dumplings, because she doesn't like to take her pain pills and I knew that I could hide one inside a big dumpling. To say the least, "Mama is feeling no pain and she loves my chicken and dumplings recipe."

Around noon, Tony and I came inside to eat lunch and to say the least, once again, "Tony and I love my chicken and dumplings."

When Kinky called me around 12:30, I told him about my chicken and dumplings and I asked him if he was interested in trying some. "Yes, Nance. I'm very interested. Come on over..." Five minutes later, I was over at the Lodge hand delivering Kinky a baggie full of my delicious chicken and dumplings.

About an hour later, Kinky called me again, to discuss "our big secret", which is our upcoming benefit for the rescue ranch . When I asked him if he had liked my chicken and dumplings, he said, "I've not eaten them yet, but Chumley loved them and he licked his dog bowl clean." And that is about it for tonight.

Y'all have a great evening!

Hey! Bo Diddley!

Today has been great. Early this morning, before Tony and I went outside to do our chores, I signed copies of my first two novellas to Chet O'Keefe. Then Tony and I jumped into Buttermilk and went over to Kinky's, so I could give Chet my books, because last night Chet told me that he loved to read and would like to read my novellas.

We had a fun visit with Kinky and Chet and before we left to come back home to feed the dogs and clean their pens, the four of us decided to meet for lunch around 1:00, at La Fours, our favorite seafood restaurant, in Kerrville.

Lunch was so much fun and while we were eating our delicious meal, Chet and I got to talking about his music and some of the bands that he has been in and famous people that he has played lead guitar with. When Chet humbly mentioned Bo Diddley's name, Kinky's, Tony's and my jaws dropped down to the floor, because we love Bo Diddley's music. Then Tony and I spent several more minutes being fascinated, as we listened to Chet and Kinky chat back and forth about some of their mutual friends they know, in the music business.

And that is about it for tonight, because this evening I am going to get back to writing regularly, on my third Cowgirl Sisterhood novella series, since the holiday season has ended.

Y'all have a great evening!

Sparky!

Today has been great. Late this morning the phone rang and I actually took the call, which is weird, because I always let Carlton screen my calls for me. "Rescue Ranch." I said. "This is Nancy."

"Hello, Nancy," a nice sounding man said. "I'm Dallas. A few months ago my wife and I came out there and adopted Sparky from y'all. We wanted to do this during the holidays, but decided to put it off until now." (My heart immediately sank, because I knew that he was going to tell me that Sparky hadn't worked out and they wanted to return her to us. Poor Sparky.)

"Yes, Dallas. I do remember you. Is Sparky okay?" (Then I held my breath.)

"Sparky is doing great!" Dallas said. "She is a fabulous dog and she..." (Then I smiled, let out a sigh of relief and listened.) "The reason that I am calling you is that my wife and I are at Pet Supplies Plus right now and we wanted to know if we could come out and drop off a big box of dog treats for the dogs."

Thirty-two minutes later, I went outside to greet Dallas and his sweet wife. After handshakes, they gave me the gigantic box of dog treats that was too big for me to carry, so they put it on the ground, just as Tony walked up to greet them. "Thanks for the dog treats," Tony said, as he picked up the heavy box and put it in the back of Kermit.

Tony and I spent over twenty minutes outside, talking to Dallas and his wife about Sparky. All they could do was brag about what a fine dog she was. We found out that their veterinarian had insisted that they change the spelling of Sparky's name to Sparkie, because she is girl and it made Tony and I laugh. We also learned that Sparky(ie) is mainly an inside dog and she gets along great with their other dogs and they love her so much they spoil her regularly. To say the least, "We are so happy for Sparky(ie) that she finally found her fabulous, forever home and is living with such nice people.

After we adios-ed Dallas and his wife, Tony took off, in Kermit, to go see Chet about a ladder. Five minutes later, Mama started barking, so I went outside to see who or what she was barking about. "Howdy, Steve!" I half-hollered, as I walked down the porch steps, so I could go greet our dear friend. "Come on up to The Cabin and drink a cup of coffee with me. Tony should be back in just a few minutes..."

As soon as Steve and I started sipping our delicious Donut Shop coffees, Tony walked inside the trailer and said, "Hey, Steve..." Then Tony said, "Nance, did you know that Chet can also play rock 'n roll with the best of them?"

"No, I didn't," I said. "Steve, Chet O'Keefe is a friend of ours that we met through Kinky and he is a great singer/ songwriter, musician and we love his music." Then the phone rang, I looked at the telephone number and picked up the phone, "Hi, Carol! How are you doing?"

"I'm doing great."

"Our artist friend, Steve, is over here right now and you ought to come over, so you can meet him."

"Darn it, I can't, Nancy, because I am leaving Fredericksburg right now and heading home."

"I was just talking to him about you being a very talented oil paint artist and that you were thinking about taking some more painting lessons. When I showed him my poster that I had made, of your painting of Maya, he told me that you don't need any lessons." That made Carol laugh.

"Tell Steve I already like him." Then Carol laughed again. "The reason that I called you was to invite you and Tony and Chet to come over for happy hour. Maybe Steve can come over too?" After I had invited Steve to join us for happy hour and he had agreed to meet us, Carol and I adios-ed each other. Then we adios-ed Steve. Then Tony went back over to Kinky's to invite Chet to join us for happy hour.

Around 3:30, we adopted Phil Robertson, one of Ginger Rogers five, adorable puppies, to Mike and his new bride Ally, a super nice couple, that live and work at the children's home, across the street. They told us that Phil's running buddy is going to be their little Yorkie. And before the newly weds left, they also told us to feel free to come over any time to see Phil.

Early this evening, Chet, Steve Tony and I showed up at Carol's ranch, for a really fun happy hour that was filled with laughter. An hour and a half later, when we got back home, Tony and I spent ten minutes rounding up a chicken that had gotten out of the pig pen. And that is about it for today.

Y'all have a great evening!

Secrets!

The first day of the new year has been great. First, I overslept and did not climb out of bed until 8:45. I don't feel guilty about it, because I love sleeping with our dogs.

For breakfast, I cooked Leisa, Rick and Tony bacon and a very tall pile of Aretha Frankenstein's Insanely Great Pancakes. They loved the pancakes even though I had to cook Aretha's pancakes using milk instead of buttermilk, which is the major ingredient for making the pancakes delicious. The reason that I was out of buttermilk was because yesterday, Tony not knowing that I was going to need it for the pancakes, drank up all of the buttermilk.

After Rick, Leisa, Tony and I did the morning chores outside, Kinky called me, "Nance, call me as soon as you get this message. I've got some exciting news..." So, I got excited and called Kinky immediately, even though I didn't know what his exciting news was. As soon as Kinky picked up the phone he said, "Nance, you're not going to believe the great news....." And Kinky was right about that, but unfortunately I can't tell y'all the great news yet, because it is a secret.

Before Kinky and I adios-ed each other he told me that he was hungry and couldn't decide what to eat, so I told him about having seven, leftover, Aretha Frankenstein pancakes that he could have. Five minutes later, I was sitting in Kinky's kitchen, watching him eat two pancakes, as we talked about our big secret. Before I left the Lodge I invited him to come over and eat lunch with us and he told me that he might, because he wasn't sure if he was going to Kerrville to eat lunch.

When I returned home, I immediately told Leisa, Rick & Tony our secret and they got all excited, too. One hour later, when Carol arrived, to eat lunch with us, I told her the secret and like the rest of us, she got all excited about it. Then Leisa, Carol and I cooked up the four pounds of fresh, two-day-old, Gulf shrimp, that he had brought up from Port Aransas. Before we started to eat I called Kinky to invite him over and he said, "Dylan is on his way out here and we might come over in a little while..."

The grilled shrimp and the sauteed shrimp were mouth-watering delicious and so was my homemade split pea and ham soup, that we had to drink out of coffee mugs, because all four of my bowls were in use. (Two of them were in Ginger's portable puppy pen.)

Our healthy feast was so delicious—we ate all of the shrimp and soup, so while Leisa, Carol and I cleaned up the kitchen, I asked Tony, "Would you mind calling Kinky and telling him not to come over, because we ate all of the shrimp and soup and Carol is fixin' to go home and all of us want to take naps?" Tony did and Kinky thought it was very funny that we ate it all.

When I finished my sleepless nap with Mama, Roy, Belle and Beau, I took this cute picture of Roy resting and using Belle as his pillow. He's perfect, so sweet and such a great dog.

Late this afternoon, I baked a peach cobbler, because Rick and Tony love it so much. While it baked, I called Kinky and asked him if he wanted some peach cobbler. "Yes, I would love some and I know Chet definitely does..."

Because of my temporary bowl shortage, Rick and I used plates to eat the cobbler that was topped off with Blue Bell Vanilla ice cream and we joked about it being difficult to eat the ice cream, as it melted on our plates. Tony was the lucky one and he ate his out of our only bowl, while Leisa put her cobbler and ice cream in a large mug.

When we finished eating our dessert, I told them that I needed to take the rest of the peach cobbler over to Kinky, so he and Chet could finish it off. When I started to put the half-full carton of ice cream into a thermal bag, Rick looked startled and asked, "You're not taking the ice cream over there, too?" We started laughing.

"Yes Rick. My peach cobbler has to be eaten with vanilla ice cream."

"But what am I going to do if I want to eat some ice cream later on tonight?" Rick teased.

 "Go over to Kinky's," I joked. Then I left and went over to Kinky's to deliver a half eaten peach cobbler and the ice cream.

When I returned home, we got ready to go over to Carol's ranch, so we could eat some of her homemade black-eyed peas—for luck in 2014. On our way over to Carol's we teased Rick about me taking the ice cream over to Kinky's and him having to do without. Right before we arrived at Carol's gate, I jokingly remarked, "Rick, you should know this by now. When you come see us it is always BYOB. Bring your own bowl and Blue Bell." Then I jumped out of Buttermilk, so I could open Carol's gate.

We had a lot of fun over at Carol's and her black-eyed peas, that she served in big bowls, were the very best black-eyed peas that I've ever eaten, so I asked her how she cooked them. She joked that it was a secret, then she told all of us.

When we got back home and I walked inside The Cabin, Roy greeted me with kisses, that he normally doesn't do and then I knew why he was being so sweet to me. Yes, Roy, my hero dog, had once again robbed the trash can. When Leisa, Tony and Rick walked inside a few seconds later, I said, "Roy's done it again."

"Let me get a broom and clean it up," Rick said, as he went to go get the broom.

"Let me take a picture of Roy's mess, first, so I can document it," I said. Then I grabbed my camera, so I could document Roy's latest robbery. As I started to take this picture, Roy stepped back into the picture frame, to make sure that he hadn't left any shrimp heads, on the floor and to prove once again that he was guilty as charged.

While Tony and Rick quickly swept up the trash on the floor, I told Leisa about me shaming Roy on my blog recently and the Bandera County Courier picking up the story and running a funny story about me shaming Roy, in their fabulous newspaper. It was in their October 10th edition. And y'all that is about it for tonight, because I must go to bed.

Y'all have a great New Year!