Dee Day!

Today has been great because of a dog that we rescued last week. Last week an elderly couple from Medina (also friends with T.) asked Tone if he could please help them with their part Catahoula / Heeler dog, Dee, because they were in their eighties and they could no longer keep up with Dee, so T. told them we would take their sweet, a little over a year old dog and promised them that we would find her a good home.

Well, today Tony kept his promise to his friends, because we found Dee a fantastic forever home! A very nice man from Bandera came out to look at our dogs, to possibly adopt one, and when he met Dee—she stole his heart and then he stole her heart and we loved it.

Before going to the trailer to get Dee's adoption papers, the man told us that he lived on a big ranch outside of Bandera and he was a caregiver for his eighty-five year old mother who loves dogs. "We already have a three-year-old Pug and a Blue Lacey that we adopted from animal shelters. Yesterday we decided to get another rescue dog because we love dogs and have plenty of the room on the ranch for another one."

After Dee's new best friend signed off on her adoption papers I took this picture of one happy Dee.

When it was time for them to leave, Tony helped put Dee in the backseat of his big, fancy Ford F-250 and we laughed when he climbed into his truck and she immediately jumped from the backseat into the passenger side front seat and sat down, and then she leaned over and started kissing the man on his cheek. Then he started the truck and they drove away to her new home.

This afternoon I was talking to Tony about how happy I was for Dee and then it hit me. "T., I think Dee is a litter mate to Callie Dean G. They are approximately the same age and they both were born in Medina. I'm going to send Eileen her picture to see what she thinks!"

When I went to my e-mail—there was an e from Eileen. She had sent me a short, hilarious dog video to watch, so I checked it out before writing to her about Dee. And I loved the funny video so much I had T. come watch it and he couldn't quit laughing either and I hope that you will check it out. I promise that you'll love it.

Y'all have a great evening!

Music To My Ears!

Today has been nice and quiet, which makes it a great day. This morning I overslept on purpose sort of, because I didn't want to get out of bed, because our trailer's inside temperature was fifty-seven degrees and I was in bed, warmed by several blankets, with our dogs snuggling next to me. I loved it, but knowing that Tony would be coming home soon, I finally threw the blankets back, quickly dressed into my sweats and then I came into the kitchen to drink some hot coffee.

As I slowly sipped the delicious Dunkin' Donuts French Vanilla coffee, out of my favorite turtle mug, I looked outside to check the outside temperature and I was totally shocked to find that it was forty-two degrees outside and drizzling! Being a native Texan—I have never seen the temperature get down to forty-two degrees in May, with the exception of the two years when I lived up in Crested Butte, Colorado.

Because it was so cold inside the trailer too, I turned on the oven to help warm up the trailer, because last month Tony had shut off the propane tank outside—that heats our trailer, because we thought we were done with winter weather.

By the time T. got back home I was cooking his breakfast and the inside temperature had only risen three degrees, so he immediately went outside to turn on the propane. An hour later the inside temperature was  sixty-eight degrees and it was still drizzling outside, thank goodness, and only forty-three degrees.

Late this afternoon around four o'clock Kinky called me from Nashville to check on us and The Friedmans and to see if we had gotten any rain. After I gave him my report he told me that he was excited to be back in Nashville and having fun. Kinky told me that he had already seen his friend B. J. Thomas, and he was looking forward to tonight's show at "3rd And Lindsley" because many of his old friends that he hasn't seen in a long time, are coming to his show tonight.

Well, that's about it for tonight, because my finger tips are tender to the touch, because yesterday, after not having played my guitar in over six months—I got it out and played it for over an hour in the kitchen. I had only planned on playing it for about thirty minutes, because my calluses had gone away, but when I stopped picking and was putting my guitar back into its case, Tone came out of his office and said, "Nance, please don't stop playing your guitar. You sound really good and I am really enjoying listening to you..." So I pulled my guitar back out of its case and played it for another thirty minutes, because of what T. had said—had made my day and was music to my ears.

Y'all have a great evening! (Right now it's sixty-one degrees outside and seventy-one inside.)

I'm No Good! or Rent-A-Cow!

Today has been great. Late this morning our good friends Carol & James came over for a visit and within seconds of greeting them, those two had me laughing. When Tony drove up in Kermit we went into Outer Space.

"I finished reading The Art of Racing In The Rain and I loved it!" Carol said, as we sat down in the chairs. "And I loved the ending and it made me cry. James listened to the audiobook version and..."

"Wow. I love that book," James said, as Belle Starr-Simons jumped up on him. "It is a great book and thank you for loaning me the audio version and the ending was a total surprise and blew me away..."

After we had discussed the book Tony brags, "My Belle is a genius. Yesterday she took a doggie IQ test and she is one really smart dog. I'll prove it," he said, as he got up and walked out of Outer Space. "I'll be right back." When T. returned to Outer Space with the Doggie IQ tester that Eileen had given to us, he explained how it worked while he put treats in the holes and then slid the covers over them. "Y'all aren't going to believe this," he bragged, as he placed the IQ board on the floor and Miss B.S.-S. did nothing but stand there."Come on Belle. You know how to do this," and Belle came over, so T. could refresh her genius brain, as he showed her the hidden treats as all of us laughed. "Look! She got one!" Tone declared. "Get another one!" Once again—Belle, the pup prodigy, did nothing.

As Tony sat on the floor trying to help his dog find the treats, we laughed and tried to cheer him up. "Belle is smart," Carol said, as she chuckled. "I bet we have all known some people who could not figure it out." After agreeing with Carol, Ms. B. got interested and found the rest of her hidden treats. Yeah Belle!

Then we started talking about the cows that they are fixin' to buy, so they can use them to practice cutting them out of the herd on their awesome cutting horses and we laughed so much about the trouble that they had had trying to find four nice cows, my back started aching again. So, as you can already guess—I'm sitting on my pink sheep hide, that my good friend Mari bought for me and it seems to be working.

"This one man told us that his cows were high dollar and he would not sell them to be roped," Carol said. "I tried to explain to him that we love animals and would never rope a cow, because it is cruel, but I guess he didn't know the difference between cutting and roping events..."

During that fun hilarious conversation, James looks at me and smiles and then points his finger at me and says, "We need to find us a herd-turner and we were thinking of you."

"What's a herd-turner?" I asked.

"It's a man, who..."

"A woman," I joked.

"Okay, it's a woman who just basically sits on a horse who keeps the herd together while we cut one out," James explained. "You'd be perfect for it, Nancy." Carol, Tony and I started laughing.

"I'd love to be a herd-turner as long as it's not dangerous! I could add that to my resume!"

"But, it doesn't pay anything," Carol said, with a laugh. "Think of it as an honor or something."

"Well, I'd be honored to be a herd-turner. But I think that we should do it on a trial basis, because if it turns out that I'm not a good herd-turner—I don't want y'all to feel bad about trying to figure out how to tell me nicely that, "I'm no good." Okay?" After they agreed, I said, "Rent-a-cow. Somebody needs to start a rent-a-cow business."

As Carol & James were leaving Carol got a phone call and when she hung up the phone her face lit up and she said, "We got cows! He's delivering them this afternoon!" And then James' face lit up because of Carol's good news. Then they left and went back to the ranch, so they could get ready for "when the cows come home."

This evening T. and I went over to Lisa's house, in Kerrville, to eat dinner with her & Mark From Mississippi, Matt, Shirley & Jerry and Meghann and we had a wonderful time. The food was delicious and the conversations were fun. Thank you, Lisa & MFM for inviting us—we had a great time and we're still full!

Y'all have a great evening! (I keep pinching myself, because I can't believe that I am fixin' to be a herd turner!)

P.P.!

 What a day? This morning I overslept and missed The Royal Wedding and even though I thought it was a sign—I wasn't upset, because our DVR had recorded it.

By the time Tony returned from drinking coffee at the Old Timer, in Medina, I was caught up with my morning chores and cooking his breakfast. "Morning, T."

"Porky's dead," he said, flatly. "He was okay when I left for Medina and he must have died soon after. He was old, for a pig, Nance. I'm going to call Robert to see if he can come over with his backhoe and dig a big hole, because my back is out." As Tony talked about Porky Pig to our nice neighbor, Robert, I felt sad about Porky's passing, but was glad that he had passed peaceably. Porky Pig was a good pig.

After I had cleaned our breakfast dishes I went outside to thank Robert for helping us and found him on the giant piece of equipment digging a very wide, deep hole, as Frank and Tone stood by and watched, and Robert and Sherry's daughters played with Gilligan, our cute, little Dachshund mix.

Once Porky had been buried I took Brittany and Ashlie up to the trailer, so they could meet and play with Belle Starr-Simons. Needless to say, "Belle stole their hearts and she enjoyed playing with them."

As I was cleaning up our lunch dishes the phone rang—it was Jon Wolfmueller. "Hello, Nancy. We just found out that there is a fire up on Medina Mountain. Mary Jo just told us about it and that's all we know..." After I thanked Jon for calling to warn us about the fire I went outside and told T.

Before he left to go check out the fire on the mountain he called our neighbors / friends, Carol & James and Robert & Sherry to alert them about the fire. After Tony took off, I got on the computer to see if I could find out any news about the fire, but I found nothing, so I called the Kerrville Fire Department and was told that it was under control and that no one needed to evacuate—thank goodness. Then I called our neighbors back to update them.

Twenty minutes later, while I was outside, once again applauding, B.S.-S. for "going potty" Tone drove up in Trigger with Eileen right behind him in her red car. "The fire is small and under control," Tony said, before we greeted Eileen and then quickly filled her in on the fire-scare. Then we went into Outer Space. "This is the IQ test for dogs," Eileen said, as she handed me the box. "My sister Dean sent this to me, so I could test Callie Dean's IQ. And I think it is really cool."

"You put small treats in the holes and then slide the covers over them and see if Ms. Belle can figure out how to get the treats out by sliding the covers." I immediately went into the trailer to get my camera and some dog treats for Belle Starr-Simons' IQ experiment, and I must admit that I was a little bit nervous about how well she would do. After Eileen helped me hide the treats under the covers we set it down on the floor and waited for Belle to discover it and prove to the world that she is a genius.

After waiting for over a minute we showed Belle the treats and then we slid the covers over them and held our breaths. Nothing happened! And when Eileen and I looked at T., we could tell that he was crushed that his dog wasn't "the brightest planet in Outer Space." Then the "IQ Miracle" happened! Belle went to the doggie IQ box and started sliding the covers to retrieve her treats.

Tony was thrilled and he sort of puffed up, like a proud father, as Eileen and I cheered her on. "She's a genius," Eileen declared. "Look at her go!" After Belle had proved to us that she was a "G.P." (Genius Pup) she tried to help T. reload the IQ box for her encore performance as Hank and Toto disgustedly, stood by and watched."

B.S.-S.'s belly was so full, after her final encore IQ performance, she looked like she had eaten a small planet and that's when Eileen told us that she really needed to get home. T. and I didn't want her to leave, so we tried to talk her out of it, but it didn't work, because Eileen left ten minutes later. 

As I type this Belle-Belle is sleeping next to my chair and I need to wake her up now, so she can go outside to "go potty." Thank you, Eileen, for making my day and for making Tone's day too, by proving that his dog Belle is a "P.P." (Pup Prodigy). 

Y'all have a great evening and please pray for rain for us!

Off Broadway! or Get Down!

This morning, around eight o'clock, Kinky called me from the Kansas City, Missouri Airport and he told me that he had a blast last night performing at Knuckleheads. He told me that it was sold out with standing room only and he loved the crowd and the many people that he met, especially Tom & Kay and their daughter. Hearing his good news made my day.

Tonight Kinky is in Little Rock, Arkansas and he will be performing at "Juanita's" and I bet that it will sell out, too. Then tomorrow morning he is off to St. Louis, Missouri to perform at "Off Broadway" tomorrow night and like I told him this morning before hanging up, "Have fun and break-a-leg!"And I heard him chuckling, as he turned off his cell phone and ended our conversation.

Today has been a quiet day with not much happening. Early this evening Belle Starr-Simons and I went into Outer Space, so I could teach her how to get "down" on command and she did really good. I used treats to reinforce her "downs" and I think she's almost got it. Then I ended her training session on a good note with her getting down for Tony and us praising her.

Tomorrow I plan to use treats again, but on Saturday I plan to start using the tasty treats sporadically and I hope that it works because she is one smart pup. Also, tomorrow afternoon, while Kinky is flying to St. Louis,  Eileen is coming out and she is going to give Ms. B.S.-S. a fun doggy IQ test and we can't wait!

Y'all have a great evening!

Now-Not-So-Hot!

Today has been great, as they almost always are for me. This morning when I checked my e-mail, Eileen's hilarious note to me about spotting "the alien" in Kerrtown, who landed out here two Saturdays ago, during a full moon, while I was showing Jim and Sean our dogs—made me laugh out loud.

In Eileen's report—she noted that "the alien" has cut off a few inches of her unruly hair and was seen walking near Albertsons, and was busy arguing with her imaginary friend as she....  Thanks for the update and making me laugh, Eileen.

Today T. and I went to Kerrville to have lunch with Carla and Dan. Carla is a dear, old friend of mine, that I've known for over thirty years and dearly love, because she is so sweet and has a great sense of humor.

Last week when she called me from her home in Rock Springs, about a dog, we decided to try to meet in Kerrville soon, so we could catch up with each other's news, because it has been over four years since we last saw her and her two beautiful daughters, when they came out to see us.

Lunch was a total blast and full of non-stop laughter, even though I talked way too much, as I always seem to do! Carla and I laughed so much as we traded stories about our pasts, that my back began aching, so tonight I am sitting on Mari's pink sheepskin for relief, as I write this.

Tony and I really liked Dan, too. We found him to be a very interesting, nice man—even though he only got to talk when I was chewing my food and of course—Tone said nothing, because he wasn't fast enough to get a word in edgewise—between the three of us and we teased him about it.

When the friendly waiter started removing Carla's, Dan's and Tony's empty plates, I noticed that my plate was still over halfway full of now-not-so-hot Mexican food and that's when I realized that I truly am "Cousin Nancy Parker-Simons Motor Mouth." Sorry about that Carla, Dan and Tone.

I had so much fun at lunch with them—I didn't want it to end, but it did. But before Carla and Dan took off for Walmart and Lowe's, before heading back to Rock Springs, we agreed to get together more often and meet for lunch whenever they come to Kerrville for supplies, and T. and I can't wait until we get to see them again.

Y'all have a great evening!

Do-Make-It-Soup!

Today has been great. Ms. B.S.-S. is fully recovered from her surgery and she is now back to being her cute, young self. This morning Kinky took off for the airport to catch a plane to Kansas City, Missouri, because tomorrow evening he will be performing at "Knuckleheads" and I wish that I could be there, but as y'all well-know—I don't travel.

I spent most of my morning returning phone calls, e-mails and doing paperwork. My dear friend, Mari, of The NoMads, sent me an e-mail to tell me that she made the Quick Chicken-Noodle Soup, on page 23, and David and her loved it, but she warned me to go easy on the egg noodles, because the directions weren't clear and she used the entire 8oz. package of egg noodles instead of only half of it. So, I shot her back an e and thanked her for the heads-up. Then I went to page 23 and made a grocery list of the needed ingredients.

This afternoon T. and I had to go to Kerrville to run a few errands. Our first stop was at Wolfmueller's Books, because we wanted to say hi to Sandy and Jon, and also because I needed to get the Quick Chicken-Noodle Soup recipe ingredients, because I had forgotten to bring my grocery list.

Jon greeted us, from behind the checkout counter, when we walked into the bookstore. After howdies, Jon told us that Sandy was out buying rare books, as a friendly customer, from Alabama, paid him for a pile of books. As soon as the woman left the building I joked, "I love it, Jon. You're in here selling books as fast as Sandy is out there buying them up." Jon laughed, as another happy customer paid him for her books.

When Jon went to help a customer, I headed for the cookbook section to find a copy of the Easy Soup Recipes. When Jon walked up I was still searching for the cookbook. After I told him about Mari trying the Quick Chicken-Noodle Soup recipe and loving it and me needing to write down the ingredients—he put his hand on the cookbook and handed it to me. "Sandy and I tried that recipe, too and we really liked it, too, but be careful not to add too many noodles, because..." I burst out laughing and then I told him that Mari had also warned me about the noodles, too.

When I started to copy down the required ingredients Jon offered to make a copy of it for me, since I owned the cookbook, and then he went back into his office and seconds later he handed me a copy. Thank you, Jon!

Tony and I visited with Jon a little longer, but when my back started aching, because of laughing so much—we adios-ed him and then took off to run our errands. 

Our last stop was at H-E-B and as we pulled into the parking lot we saw Matt, so Tony drove up to him and I jumped out of Trigger and gave him a big hug. "We're sorry, about not getting to have dinner with you and your parents. Did you have a nice birthday?" Then someone tooted their horn behind us, so Matt jumped into Trigger and they took off for the gas pumps, so T. could fill up Trigger, while I went inside to pick up the soup ingredients.

Fifteen minutes later, Matt and Tony loaded up the groceries and then we visited with Matt, before dropping him off at Hastings and then we came home.

After returning a few phone calls, I pulled out a big pot and made the Quick Chicken-Noodle Soup and was careful to only add half of the egg noodles package and we loved it. Thank you, Mari and Jon for warning me about only using half of the 8oz. package of noodles! The next time that I make it I am thinking about adding a little garlic, onion, and a few peas and calling it, "Cousin Nancy's Stolen Cock-A-Noodle-Do-Make-It-Soup!"

Tonight, I plan to spend the rest of the evening doing some writing.

P.S. Mari, I wrote this tonight sitting on my pink sheepskin that you gave to me and my back is no longer aching from laughing so much, earlier today! Thank you. I love it and it really does work!

Y'all have a great evening!