Mama's Muffin!

Today has been great and so was Saturday and Sunday, even though there was nothing exciting to report. I am writing this early this evening, because I might have to unplug everything in a few hours, because once again, the weather experts have promised us more rain, with possible thunderstorms, tonight and tomorrow morning.

Saturday and Sunday night because I had nothing interesting to write about, I watched two movies that I have been wanting to see. Saturday night Mama, Belle and I watched August: Osage County, while Tony, Beau and Roy watched television, in Tony's office. I really enjoyed the movie, but Mama and Belle slept through most of it. Sunday night, I watched Philomena while all of our dogs slept and I loved it too.

This morning I cooked Mama pancakes, again, but because she is so old, frail and now a finicky eater, she only ate half of her stack. So, before I started writing this, I decided to try fixin' my dear old friend my version of an egg and cheese McMuffin.

While toasting up a muffin and four pair of eyes watching me, I fried up three, over-easy eggs. When I started carefully trying to stack all three eggs on top of a cheese covered, buttered muffin bun, Roy started barking at me, to let me know that he wanted to eat Mama's Muffin and that made Mama growl.

After I nicely asked Mama to quit being so grumpy, I placed the other half of her muffin, on top and then I wrapped it up in foil and put it in the oven to warm, for a few minutes. Then I asked Roy, Belle and Beau to go outside, so they wouldn't get jealous and they did.

When I removed the tall, warmed Mama Muffin, Mama began drooling and after she had let it cool down some —she gobbled up the whole thing, within seconds! So now, Mama is happy and that makes me happy.

Today, Ellen, our good friend / volunteer, who for nearly seven weeks has been fostering a mama cat and her kittens for us, sent me a picture of the two precious kittens, that still need to find forever homes, because the mama cat and the other kittens have already been adopted. So, if you are wanting to adopt a precious kitten or know of someone wanting a kitten—please call me @830-589-7544. Yesterday, Ellen took this picture of the seven-week-old cuties.

And that's about it for tonight, because Kinky just called and asked me to come over to the Lodge.

Y'all have a great evening! And if you have the time, please pray for some rain.

First, Velvet Elvis—Now Lois Lane!

Today has been great. I got up early this morning, so I could cook Mama some pancakes, because Mama loves them and it is the only thing that she will eat and it is also the only way that I can get her to take her pain pill. I crush up Mama's big pain pill using a spoon, then I mix it into the pancake batter and voila! Mama enjoys her breakfast and feeling no pain.

As soon as Mama ate her buttermilk pancakes, I cleaned up our kitchen and then Hazel came out of the closet and removed all of the latest dog fur, that was resting on our wooden floors. After Hazel returned to the closet Tony and I went outside to do our morning chores.

Around 9:45, I went outside to go greet Jim and Ruthie, but Jim was down at the creek walking Layla and Little Girl, so he missed out. When I walked up to Tony and Ruthie, over by the barn, I said, "Tone, I need for you and Kermit to take me and this old, hippie chick up to the trailer, so we can drink a cup of coffee and visit." As I slid over to the middle and Ruthie climbed into Kermit, I said, "Ruthie, I love your tie-dyed t-shirt." Then we took off.

Two cups of coffee later, Lisa walked inside The Cabin, "Hi guys! It looks like it is fixin' to rain and the dog walking is over..." Then it thundered loudly, so I raced around the big room—unplugging everything. And ten minutes later, all of our friends / volunteers were joking and laughing inside our thirty-one-year old trailer, while Roy made his rounds, letting everyone pet him. Five minutes later, Lisa suggested, "Let's go into Outer Space."

We hadn't been in Outer Space two minutes, when we heard big rain drops start to break their fall on the tin roof, of our screened-in porch. Seconds later, the rain was coming down so hard, I thought it was hail instead of rain, and the noise from the rain was so loud, it was hard for us to talk, without half-hollering. When it started lightning and thundering real close, we all decided to move back inside The Cabin.

Thirty-five minutes or one inch of rain later, it quit raining long enough for everyone to scramble to their vehicles, so we could go up to the Medina Highpoint Resort to celebrate Lisa's birthday and to eat lunch together.

Tony and I were the last to arrive at the resort, because we had to stay behind to lock our gate. When we arrived at the Medina Highpoint Resort, everyone was standing around the table, admiring Lisa's adorable birthday cake, that Eileen had custom ordered from Creative Cakes By Sharon, in Kerrville.

Eileen, knowing that Lisa's favorite dog out here is Lois Lane, a super, sweet Pit Bull, that Lisa fondly calls Lolo, had given Sharon a picture of Lois Lane, so Sharon could creatively incorporate her image in the cake's design and the results were beyond stunning. Here is a picture of Lisa with her too cute cake, that reads:

Happy Birthday

 Lisa 

Love, Lolo

  

Here's Lois Lane

And here's Lois on Lisa's incredibly cool birthday cake.

During our fun lunch with good friends we could not stop talking about how much we all loved Lisa's  birthday cake design and that by far, Creative Cakes by Sharon is the Best Bakery in the Texas Hill Country. After we had all vowed to only get our birthday cakes from Sharon's and Keith's bakery—it was time for Lisa to cut the cake. And to say the least, "The cake was totally delicious and Lisa ate Lois!" And that is about it for today.

Y'all have a great evening!

Velvet Elvis! or Windchimes, Clocks & Birdseed!

Yesterday and today have been great. Tony and I went to Kerrville yesterday afternoon, because we were meeting Kinky, Big G and Jay Pennington for lunch, so we could discuss Jay's pet rescue project.

When we arrived in Kerrville, we were thirty minutes early for our lunch, so I asked Tony if we could go to Creative Cakes By Sharon, because I wanted to meet Sharon and her husband Keith and check out their bakery, that Sandy & Jon had raved about.

When we turned on to Earl Garrett Street Tony let me out, by their front door and then he drove off to go find a parking spot for Buttermilk. When I walked inside Creative Cakes By Sharon, I was welcomed and greeted with smiles. Then I said, "Hi y'all. I'm Nancy, that wrote about y'all in my blog the other day and I just wanted to see your cool bakery, meet y'all and buy a couple of cupcakes." Then Tony walked inside their bakery.

After introductions and handshakes, I said, "We're good friends with your neighbors, a few doors down, Sandy & Jon Wolfmueller. Last Saturday they came out to see us and rumor has it that I didn't get all of my facts exactly right. Keith is the baker and Sharon is the creative cake decorator."

They chuckled and then Keith said, "That's true and...." Before we left the Best Bakery, in the Texas Hill Country, I purchased two Velvet Elvis cupcakes. Then we went and had a fun business lunch with our friends.

After Jay, Tony and I adios-ed Kinky and Big G, in the parking lot, Jay followed us over to Kerr County Animal Services, so we could talk to Ginny, their friendly adoption coordinator / kennel technician, about Jay's cool pet rescue project and the meeting went very well.

Then Buttermilk took us home. When we got back home the first thing Tony and I did was eat Creative Cakes by Sharon Velvet Elvis cupcakes. Oh my goodness! We loved them so much and they melted in our mouths, so now we are addicted to them. Seriously, they were the best cupcakes that we have ever eaten and I suggest that you go there as fast as you can and get one, so you'll be addicted to them too, so I won't feel guilty about craving them so much.

Today has been great. This afternoon Tony and I made a mad dash to Wild Birds Unlimited, so we could replace our Solar Water Wiggler, that Bella destroyed, when she spent two days, in my pink, writing cabin's front yard. (The reason that we made a mad dash to Kerrville was because we were promised rain with severe thunderstorms, late this afternoon, so we wanted to make sure that we would be back home when it happened.)

Tony and I always love going to Wild Birds Unlimited, on Junction Highway, because our good friend, Marguerite, works there and it is a great store and has very good vibes. When we walked inside, Marguerite greeted us and then we talked about her two old dogs and my Mama and then we talked about Enzo and Odi, her other two, great dogs, that she adopted from us in the past few years.

While Marguerite was showing Tony some super birdseed blends, I wandered over to admire their beautiful, Corinthian Bells, Made In the USA, hand-tuned windchimes, because I am always drawn to them. Because I firmly believe that you can never have enough clocks and wind chimes, as Tony believes that you can never have enough birdseed.

When I saw Tony and Marguerite carrying all his different kinds of birdseed, a Solar Water Wiggler, Flying Start feeder, etc. up to the checkout counter I carefully removed a beautiful windchime, from the rack, and took it up to the counter. And when Tony saw my awesome windchime, it made him smile, because he knew that it had evened out his and my purchases.

As soon as we got back home, I took a picture of the windchime box, then Tony hung up my new windchime on the front porch and hung up the older one, in Outer Space, for me. Then he took his Wild Birds Unlimited bag, filled to the brim with birdseed and goodies, to The Okay Corral, so he could fill up his feeders, etc. and then start taking pictures of the birds.

As I finish writing this it has still not rained a drop or thundered out here and it looks like our 70% chance of rain has passed. And that is about it for tonight.

Y'all have a great evening!

Nose Job!

Today has been great. Early this morning, after I did the Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch segment, on Big G's popular radio show—Kinky called me. "Nance, can you come over here and help me give The Friedmans their monthly flea and tick preventative?..."

Ten minutes later, after drinking a delicious cup of Green Mountain's Donut Shop Coffee, I went over to Kinky's Lodge. I was determined to get The Friedmans to take their pills, because they are very picky eaters, because Kinky has spoiled them, because he cooks them delicious meals daily.

When I arrived at the Lodge, Kinky had just cooked breakfast for them and they were not hungry. Because the pills were big and sort-of-hard for them to chew, I decided to cut the pills in half, which was hard to do, because they were as hard as rocks. Anyway, they would not take them. So Kinky suggested that we hide their pills inside a cold beef burrito, that was in his refrigerator. That didn't work either, because they ate the pieces of burrito, but constantly spit out their pills. "The Friedmans love bagels," Kinky said, followed by a chuckle. "Maybe that will work." And it didn't work either, so we gave up for the time being and decided to try later in the day, because I needed to get home, to help Tony do the morning chores.

The last dogs for me to feed were Mr. Rogers & Miss Dee and when I went into their dog pen, they walked up to greet me, with their tails wagging and that's when I noticed two porcupine quills sticking out of Miss Dee's black nose. She had been porcupine-ed, but it didn't slow down her appetite—she licked her dog bowl clean and she didn't seem to mind the two quills.

As soon as lunch was over, Tony put Miss Dee in a big crate and we took off, in Buttermilk, for Hoegemeyer Animal Clinic, for her to get a nose job and for us to pick up Judy Collins, because she had been spayed and given her shots and was ready to come back to our rescue ranch.

When we delivered Miss Dee to Hoegemeyers, Susan told us that we could pick her and Judy up in about an hour, so Tony and I went shopping. First we went to the big H-E-B, on Main Street, to get gas, mail a few letters and to buy approximately $49.00 in groceries.

Then we went over to Hastings to possibly buy a few, cheap, used movies that we haven't seen. Tony bought a scary one, that I'll never watch and I decided to get the Dallas Buyers Club starring Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner.

Then we basically went right back across the street, to Radio Shack, to see if they had a certain iPad cable that Tony needed and when we got out of Buttermilk, we saw our dear friend Mari, leaving the frame shop and getting into her car. I hollered, "Mari!"but she didn't hear me, so I sort of skipped over to her car, because she was fixin' to back out of the parking lot.

I'm glad that I skipped over, because Mari saw me and turned off her vehicle. We had a fun, but short visit and she showed me the beautiful artwork that she had just gotten framed, a charcoal done by a very talented, local artist. And before we adios-ed each other we vowed to do lunch together before June rolls around.

After we left Radio Shack, an hour had passed since we had left the clinic, so we headed back to Hoegemeyer Animal Clinic to pick up our precious cargo. Then we came back home.

Mr. Rogers was beyond thrilled when Tony put Miss Dee back into their pen. I am fixin' to call Kinky to see if he still needs my help to give The Friedmans their flea and tick preventative chewys and then I plan to relax and watch my new, used movie, that was a rental. And that is about it for tonight.

Y'all have a great evening!

P.S. Today we received a sweet note, with pictures and a donation from Jan. On November 11, 2004 she adopted Goober, a sweet Lab pup, from us. She sent this picture of Goober's first meeting with Jelli and a picture taken of them a year later. Her pictures have made my day great and I wanted y'all to see them, too. And lastly, I just talked to Kinky and yes, he was able to get The Friedmans to finally take their pills.

The Best Little Book Signing @ The Best Little Library in Texas!

Today has been great. Tony and I got up real early and did the chores outside, then I cooked him breakfast, showered, dressed and then Tony loaded up Trigger with my books and stuff for The Best Little Book Signing @ The Best Little Library in Texas!

I love the Medina Community Library so much and I want to thank the friendly and helpful staff for all that they did, in advance, for my fun, financial pleasure, book signing. When I arrived at the library the staff greeted me and they already had everything set up, in the side room.

While they started brewing coffee and arranging the cookie plates, etc., at the back of the room, I unloaded my stuff and quickly set up my table. When Tony arrived, about twenty-five minutes after me, because he had to stay at the ranch to receive and unload some free dog food that Paul delivered, he took this picture.

There was not a very big crowd, at my book signing, but it was fine with me, because I really enjoyed talking one-on-one with the audience. Tony took this picture of me talking to the crowd and yes you are right, I am, once again, wearing my uniform that I always wear to weddings, funerals, book signings and events.

My fun book signing lasted for about an hour and a half and Tony took these two pictures of me signing books.

And that is about it for tonight, because our dear friends Sandy & Jon should be arriving any minute now for a fun evening under the stars. They are bringing pizzas for our dinner and we plan to sit outside, in The Okay Corral, so we can do some bird watching.

Y'all have a great evening!

Creative Cakes By Sharon!

Today has been great. This morning, Tony, Rick and I went outside, when the sun came up, to feed the dogs and clean their pens. Then I cooked breakfast for us and it was not Cousin Nancy's Spinach & Sausage Frittata that everyone seems to love, because I was out of the two main ingredients—spinach and sausage.

While the four of us ate breakfast, Rick told us about getting up around 3:00 and going outside to discover a gigantic raccoon trying to get into The Golden Girls' Egg Palace. And the way Rick told the story was pretty dang funny, even though I'm sure our chickens would not have laughed about it—if chickens laugh at all.

Around 10:00, when our great dog-walking volunteers showed up, Leisa and Rick were, inside my pink writing cabin, packing up their things, because they needed to get back on the road. I hung out with them and watched closely as they loaded up Leisa's Chevy pickup, because I was afraid that they might steal something. (Not really. I'm just joking and decided to write something funny and I hope that it made you laugh.)

Anyway, it was about 11:15 when Leisa and Rick pulled up to the barn and adios-ed us and the volunteers, and then they took off, leaving a trail of dust behind them, that covered all of us, because it is so dry out here and we need rain like a fish needs water.

At 11:45, all of us went up to the Medina Highpoint Resort to eat lunch together and to surprise Suzanne with a birthday party. When Tony and I arrived Suzanne was busy getting tea, on the other side of the tall counter, while Eileen quietly lit the three candles on Suzanne's adorable, custom decorated birthday cake that Eileen had ordered from Creative Cakes By Sharon, on Earl Garrett Street, in Kerrville. And when Suzanne walked around the corner, with her iced tea, all of us starting singing the Happy Birthday song to her. To say the least, "Suzanne was totally surprised and her cute birthday cake, that everyone admired, was absolutely delicious. In fact, the cake was so tasty, several of the volunteers got seconds and made comments about Sharon being the best baker, in the Texas Hill Country."

When Suzanne's fun, surprise birthday party was over, our good friends Kris & Jim, followed Tony and me back to the rescue ranch, because I needed Jim's help to program my Undepressable Press Square Credit Card Reader, because tomorrow morning, at 10:30, I'll be doing a book signing, at the Medina Community Library, which by the way, is my favorite library and is proudly known as "The Best Little Library in Texas!"

While Jim and I sat at the kitchen table, so he could program my Square Reader for me, because he is a whole lot smarter than I am, Kris sipped a cup of coffee and visited with Tony, talking about arrowheads, dogs, etc.

After I had finally retrieved my password for my super cool credit card reader, it only took Jim about three minutes to program and set up my Square reader for me, that I hopefully will get to use tomorrow, at the book signing. Then Tony and I visited with our dear friends for a while, before we adios-ed each other.

Ten minutes after they had left the building, I checked my e-mail to discover that Jan, a good friend of Tony's that also loves animals, who lives in Mountain Home, had just purchased a copy of The Cowgirl Sisterhood: The Membership Drive, Part I, so I happily signed her a copy and then I took off, in Trigger, to go mail it, at the Post Office, in Medina. And my fingers are crossed that she'll get it tomorrow.

And that is about it for today, because now I need to get everything ready for my book signing, tomorrow morning, at The Best Little Library in Texas. Wish me luck!

Y'all have a great evening!

Time!

Today has been great and a lot of fun. This morning I got up real early, so I could wake up before doing the Harley Show. At 7:44, when I called Harley, Seth answered the phone and told me that today he was doing Harley's show, because Harley had called in sick, but he should be back on the Air tomorrow.

A few seconds later, Seth introduced me On-Air. We talked about Katie being his Pet of The Week, even though Kate Middleton actually found her fortunate, forever home a few weeks ago. Then I confessed about forgetting to remove her from our web site: utopiarescue.com, because I've been so busy since the Concert for Utopia. After we talked about our great volunteers and I had invited everyone to come out and become a dog-walking volunteer I jokingly put Seth on the spot when I asked him, "Do you have a dog?"

He laughed and then said, "Yes, we do have a dog and my wife wants to get another one..." Before we adios-ed each other I invited him and his wife to come out and adopt one of our super dogs.

Around 11:45, after Tony and I did our chores outside, we jumped inside Trigger and took off for Kerrville, to run a few errands, before Rick and Leisa treated us to lunch, in town.

During our fun lunch, Rick started teasing Leisa about her always asking people how long does it take to get from here to there, instead of asking them how many miles it is from here to there, so I sided up with Leisa. "Rick, it's like this. Pretend that I'm having a party at 1:00 and you have never been out to the rescue ranch. We're 22 miles from Kerrville, which you would assume would take 22 minutes, but because of the winding Highway 16, the traffic and the Medina Pass, it actually takes approximately 30 - 35 minutes. So, to get here on time for my party you would need to leave at 12:25 -12:30. Not 12:38, because you would be late for it and that's why I'm not inviting you to it."

After Leisa, Rick & Tony had finished laughing, Rick, always needing to get the last word in, joked, "Well Nancy, that's fine with me, because I hate parties anyway."

This afternoon, around 4:00, Karon and the sweet kids, from the Medina Children's Home came over to walk our dogs for us and our dogs loved it. And that's about it for tonight, except I want you to know that this morning, after we had told Rick & Leisa about Aggie and her fear-biting problem that we're currently working on, because she is not yet fully socialized, he grabbed a dog biscuit and gave it to her, through the fence, without her barking at him or acting vicious. "Nancy," Rick said later. "When I walked up to her pen, she calmly walked up to the fence—wagging her tail and she took the doggie treat from me. She's a cool dog and I bet she is going to be just fine in time..." And Tony and I agreed with Rick.

Y'all have a great evening!