~meanwhile, back at the ranch~

One weekend I was out on the ranch when a truck came to deliver some cattle. I was in the house getting my clothes changed for a funeral when the phone rang. The Cowboy informed me that my 7lb. Yorkie, Stella, had escaped the house and had run down to the cattle pens and was barking at the cattle in the trailer. Assuming this was a problem, I ran outside to try to catch 'The Rat,' as my family members call her. I ran in my knee high boots and dress down to the area where The Cowboy was trying, and failing, to get the cattle off of the trailer. I come down yelling at Stella to come to me and continue to yell at her when she runs away. All she is doing is barking at the cattle. At this point, I am feeling awful that my dog is causing so much trouble; I continue to try to catch her...with no luck. The Cowboy and the nice delivery rancher are, i'm sure, laughing at me under their breath. Here is this city girl in a dress and knee high boots yelling at a Yorkie running through cattle pens. What a sight i'm sure! The delivery rancher leaves and The Cowboy helps me wrangle 'The Rat.' I carried her back and scolded her for escaping... like that really makes any difference. Later that day we were headed into town for the funeral. The Cowboy had sit in silence for a few minutes when he takes a deep breath and begins, "Now don't take this the wrong way, but.... Next time Stella escapes, just come find her.... don't yell. You yelling at her was ten times more stressful for the cattle than the dog barking. I know you didn't mean any harm, but yelling makes it very difficult to get cattle off of a trailer. Quiet is really the least stressful environment for animals."
Sigh.

Ladies and Gentlemen.... the day we have been anxiously awaiting has finally arrived. The boots are here! I checked the porch this morning and the Ariat box was waiting for me! This has been a long journey, but they are finally in my hands!

If a cowboy ever asks you 'would you like some fries'..... the answer is ALWAYS no. Only rednecks eat those.... and my friends, rednecks we are not.

Late last night I received the much dredded but very expected email from the third and FINAL online boot store telling me ALL boots that I have ever been interested in or might ever be interested in are out of stock permanently. CRAP. I guess this means I will have to go to 'the city' to get some from a real store with real salespeople. I hope I travel faster than news...I'd hate for them to find out I have angered the gods and that they should refuse sale to me. I'll let you know. For now, I am roaming the countryside in tennis shoes. Talk about sticking out like a sore thumb. By the way, the sink was drained and The Cowboy had done the dishes when I got up this morning! Guess the drain works!

If you are reading this, leave me a comment- or better yet- become one of my readers! I'd love to hear what you think!

A little update on the hot pink boots. I ordered them online last week and when I got back to work on Monday- I had an email telling me the boots were discontinued. Argh. I went 'back to the drawing board',as we say, and began the search again. I found the great boots a second time~ and ordered them! Wednesday, I got another email from another company telling my my credit card was credited.... guesses anyone???? The boots are discontinued. Today I logged on one more time for a boot search, as this is spring break and I need them out here! I attempted to order a different color....... discontinued. I am getting irritated with this. Finally I find the original hot pink a third time and placed my order. I am NOT going to hold my breath. I am expecting a third email from a third company telling me i'm outta luck. Is this a sign from the ranching gods, telling me I have no business with boots????????????? Gosh I hope not.

When The Cowboy works cattle, he uses the pens near the house. If I can manage to wake up in time, I like to go out and watch! The Cowboy and His Help were doctoring sick cattle when they came across a bloated steer. I have seen many snotty noses in my year out here, but a bloated steer was new for me. Just as I was wondering to myself how they were going to fix this, I heard The Cowboy mention that he needed to find a hose. Before I could guess what they were going to do with said hose, they shoved it down the poor steer's throat. I was sitting in my lawn chair gagging, certain they were shoving the hose down my throat. Poor steer wasn't crazy about it either because he chomped down on The Cowboy's fingers! The goal was to shove the hose down the steer's throat and release some of the gases trapped in his stomach. This tactic was only partially successful, I am told. His Help was messing with the hose while The Cowboy was rigging up an antibiotic shot. Before I could anticipate what might happen, His Help flung the used hose in an attempt to dislodge the stomach juices and feed that were in the hose........ when His Help flung the hose all of the juices and chomped up food came launching in the air and landed on my shoulder. UH............NASTY. I squealed and jumped up, but did not make a scene. The Cowboy and His Help were definately entertained and have told everyone in the county! Glad I can entertain!

So, I bought a new pair of shoes today. I thought if I am going to be out here, might as well try to fit in a little. I began my search for boots in the local western store. I noticed a great pair of boots with a leopard print toe. Of course they weren't my size! Certain that I could purchase them online, I left the store. The next morning I started shopping online. After looking all morning I realized that the search was going to be difficult. I called the western store and inquired about the leopard boots.. only to find out that they were a special order no one picked up! Dang! I resumed my search after lunch and found many suitable options. I narrowed down the choices which were pink patent leather, purple animal skin (no doubt a native animal from this neck of the woods), red toes with leopard boot tops, and the boot you see here. After much deliberation, I obviously went for the subtle, understated iridescent pink!!!! I would love to have them on right this second, but unfortunately... they are coming from Wisconsin and should be here in 8-10 business days. I can hardly wait! I wonder if the cattle will appreciate my subtle hint of flair?

The Cowboy often has day help out here on the ranch and he likes to provide lunch after a full morning of working cattle. There is a small diner in the nearest town that makes the best hamburgers in the world, and we often go there on Saturdays. Last weekend I began to wonder if we go there too often... Wwhen we sat down, Diner Diva recited my order to me before I got a chance to tell her! It became more apparent yesterday when I called in our order and she recognized my voice over the phone! I think perhaps we do go there often, but too often??? I don't think so!!!

~meanwhile, back at the ranch~

The Cowboy was shipping out cattle and was hiring day help. He asked if I would like to cook lunch for 10 cowboys. "Of course," I respond... thrilled to be asked. My plan was to make bar-b-que sandwiches and my grandma's banana pudding. The night before I was putting the recipes together when I realized I had forgotten to buy the Nilla wafers.... or vanilla wafers as they are called around here! I sent The Cowboy and his brother to the nearest small town gas station/grocery store/fast food joint/car care center to get the needed wafers. It wasn't until they returned to the ranch that I realized I had also forgotten the bananas...............
I decided to make the pudding anyway!
The next day I was quick to alert the cowboys to the fact that I am not crazy, there really are no bananas in the banana pudding. I was feeling a little stupid when one (newly married) cowboy chimed in to say, "It's okay, I had sugar-less chocolate pie last week."
Whew! Thank goodness for the kindness of cowboys!

~meanwhile, back at the ranch~

in·ge·nu·i·ty   /ˌɪndʒəˈnuɪti, -ˈnyu-/ Show Spelled[in-juh-noo-i-tee, -nyoo-]

1.the quality of being cleverly inventive or resourceful; inventiveness: a designer of great ingenuity.
2.cleverness or skillfulness of conception or design: a device of great ingenuity.
3.an ingenious contrivance or device.

What do you do when you are making mini cheesecakes for your family and you realize you only have a 6 hole muffin pan and you need 12?????

You find a stack of red Solo cups on the kitchen cabinet! Simply fill your muffin cups with the crumb crust and top with the cheesecake filling. Drop the filled muffin cup into the Solo cup. Place the muffin tin and the 6 Solo cups in the fridge to set up!!!!