I bought a new lighter today. This is a practice run for my 2022

Birthday Extravaganza which officially starts next week. This

Zippo lighter is called the Classic Brushed Chrome model. The

sides are a high polished chrome and my fingers are able to grip

it a bit better than the one I have been carrying for two years

which has brushed chrome all the way around.

I think that was another of my famous long sentences.

Anyway, it's always fun to have a new lighter. Almost as much fun

as having a new knife, or pistol. ALMOST.

Oh, and according to the markings on the bottom of the
lighter, it was made in June of 2011.

Good-bye old friend.

Hello new friend!

~ Merry Christmas from Lizzy Tex Borden, 2021 ~

After we finished our Christmas Eve dinner leftovers

we sat down to watch Abbott & Costello in their movie
"Africa Screams". It was a lot of really corny fun and on
the ten foot screen it is even more fun.
We had a great Christmas.

It's officially Christmas Eve here at The Ranch and we have had quite

a bit of rain overnight. A lot of wind too. I'm not a big fan of the wind.



The rain filled this bowl up.

Christmas Eve!
Sing it baby, sell it!

!!!!!!!! WHEEEEEEEEE !!!!!!!!

Happy Christmas Eve, friends!

Ensuring our safety and the safety of our property

during the most wonderful time of the year.

HO HO HO!
Yeah, somebody knitted this guy.

One of the strips of tape holding our outdoor Christmas light

display came loose. As I was adjusting it, this spider came

running out. Not a big one, but it WAS a surprise.

One of my mom's nativity scenes. I like

this one. It has little stuffed fabric figures.

I thought that I had posted this before, but I apparently did not, so

here goes. These photos are from my 2010 visit to the Autry Museum

of Western Heritage. Above is the display featuring a chuck wagon.

Everybody probably knows that a chuck wagon is where meals were

prepared for hungry cowboys while on cattle drives etc. The term chuck

wagon came from the word "chuck" which is slang for food. I bet THIS

was a welcome sight at the end of a long day.

"Don't short me on the beans there, cookie. I got my eye on you."

The cooks were often called "cookies". And you did not mess with a cookie.

This man prepared all of your food while on the trail. You give him a hard

time and your meals are going to SUCK. The above cowboy's meals are

going to suck.

And while in this section of The Autry, overhead you will be hearing a

great rendition of "The Old Chisolm Trail" sung by I have no idea. I

love this song and it brings back great memories. I am just hoping that The

Autry does not mind my posting this song. I'll find out I reckon. Please

enjoy the above audio of the song as heard in the museum.

- Update: Saturday, July 27, 2024 -
I have learned that the person who sang this version of
The Old Chisolm Trail is Harry “Haywire Mac” McClintock.
1882 - 1957

When they left their litter on this Lot Cop

I wish that it could have tazed them.

Enjoying some HOT chocolate...

...during a COLD sunset.

Potatwo.

Two movies that I am excited to see. In Old Henry the trailer seems to

point to Henry being an older repentant Billy the Kid. But this could

merely be a red herring. I will find out. And Steel Dawn, a 1987 film set

in a post-apocalyptic world. In Mad Max it was gasoline. In Steel Dawn

it is water. They made quite a few of these movies in the 80's and 90's
and they can be a LOT of fun.

I bought them both at Walmart.

The dust up here in the mountains can be heavy and between my

action figures and electronics, it comes close to being a nightmare.

Compressed air has been my best friend, but it is expensive and as

of late it is difficult to find around here.

I finally broke down and bought this Alpthy air blower. It charges

via a USB port TYPE-C cable (supplied) and it puts out a pretty dang
good bit of air. There is also a built-in LED light to help you see just what
it is that you are dusting. The air blower comes with a nice little storage
bag as well. I actually use it. The device was not totally inexpensive but
 it will hopefully pay for itself in about six months.

So far it has the Tex

Borden Seal of Approval.

Just another slice.

~ Happy Thanksgiving 2021 ~

And it is a beautiful Thanksgiving
Day to be certain.

 It is once AGAIN Knife Day here at El Rancho De La Tex!

Today I am featuring a knife that I bought in the 1980s at...

yes, you guessed it again: a gun show. This is a Cold Steel

Urban Pal Mini push knife. It is made of I believe 440C.

The sheath is leather.

This knife is chisel ground. I was not into knife sharpening

back then for one reason or another and a friend offered to

touch up the blade for me. "Sure, go ahead", said I. I don't

know what happened as he really unnecessarily scratched it

up in a major way. Normally he was really great about such

things. Must have been an off day.

Anyway, this knife has been out of production in this variant

for years. They still sell the Urban Pal, but with a Kraton (I think)

handle, a serrated blade and some kind of a plastic sheath.

Knife Days are too short.

In 1987 my friends and I went up to the wheelhouse
 of the S.S. Mark Twain on the Rivers of America

(Disneyland) to steer the riverboat.

Upon arriving back at home port we were each
awarded a Pilot's Certificate. So yes, I am qualified
to pilot a paddle steamer.

Now you know.

One day when I was seventeen years old I drove to School

and parked on one of the side streets. I got about halfway to

the school grounds and found this little shoe just a'sittin in the

middle of the street. I saved it and put it on the dash board of

my first car. It remained there for some years until the car was

sold. I love this little shoe. I never thought about going door
to door to find the owner. My bad?

~ Veterans Day, 2021 ~

In about 1993 or 1994 I was at a gun show in Ventura California

looking at items on tables that were outside and in-between the two

buildings that hosted the show. I was pretty much alone out there.

On one of the tables I spotted this "Tombstone" movie script. Being a

HUGE fan of the 1993 movie I immediately picked it up and asked the

gentleman behind the table what he wanted for it.

       ~ Texas Jack Vermillion ~

At that point I realized that the man behind the table was none other than

Peter Sherayko who played Texas Jack Vermillion in the movie. He said, "If

you buy it, I will sign it." SOLD. I cannot even remember how much

I paid for it. I used to see him at a few shows, including the show in L.A.

at the Fairgrounds. I read that the shotgun Wyatt Earp (Kurt Russell) is carrying

in the movie, including the "And you tell 'em Hell's coming with me!" scene

was found and purchased by Mr. Sherayko AT the L.A. show. It was a Stevens

Three-Trigger 10-gauge Shotgun.

Mr. Sherayko runs Caravan West Productions
out of Agua Dulce, California.

I found a new spork that I really like. I had been carrying
the Snow Peak titanium spork for a long time, then switched
over for a couple of years to give a Light My Fire titanium

spork a try. But then about, I don't know... eighteen months or so

ago I found THIS titanium spork. This guy is curved just right and

fits into my purse or bag perfectly. The texture is nice when

eating and it is all around great.

The brand is humangear. They can be found on the Internet

if you are curious. I think they run about $14.00. This just

might be The One. I should know for shore in about 4 years.

"Hi. I love you mom."

~ Happy Halloween 2021! ~

These two guys at the Spirit Store are very happy.

Tomorrow is the big day!

I've had a lot of fun posting pictures all month long
from our Annual Halloween Crawl for 2021.

Now, you all have a great HALLOWEEN!

Ladies and Gentlemen, meet Buzzsaw.

Kind of reminds me of your cousin.

Just two more nights until Halloween.

Spooktober is almost over and these three... these...

these three WHATEVER they are are not having it.

I love this mask. This guy is in BAD shape
and it's about to get worse. Party City.

Tokyo Ghoul? If you say so.

Some of these little costumes for your best friend are

so dang cute. When I was young I had a little dog and

I took an old t-shirt, cut it short so he could do his business

and splattered red food coloring all over it. He wore that

every Halloween. It looked awesome on him.

 The "I Purged" tee over at the Spirit Store.

I have been wanting this one a lot and I finally got it

for a good price along with a reward I earned. I bet

that you cannot guess where. That's right! I have

all the Conjuring movies and this
one I watch TONIGHT.

Don't thank us so soon Halloween Express.

We haven't not played with the weapons yet.

If you are going to buy a mustache... this.