Working Hard….or Hardly Working. What do you think?
My idea of work might be a bit fuzzy, but I’m pretty sure no one’s complaining! 
Tag Archives: downingtown
A Little Green
St. Patrick’s Day is just around the corner, so I decided to make sure I had the perfect green outfit to wear for the big day. It never hurts to be prepared.
My clover tie was looking great, but I knew it needed a little something.
Oh yes, the top hat totally makes the outfit!
I’m ready for my night on the town with my Leprechaun posse. Don’t tell mom, but we like to get into a wee bit o mischief on St. Patrick’s Day. Only 4 more days to go!
Sigh, I’m not sure I can wait that long!
My Trip to PetValu
Last weekend I took my very first trip to PetValu. Have you ever been to a PetValu? If not, you are in for a treat.
Upon entering I could immediately tell that this place was just a little bit different from the big box pet stores like Petsmart and Petco.
This store was filled with fun items that I hadn’t seen at the pet stores I usually frequent.
I was immediately drawn to the display of Jonathan Adler merchandise – I loved his fun colorful patterns.
Mom was so close to bringing home this new leash for me (probably for the packaging alone) but Dad thought it was a bit too colorful for a boy (I can rock pink better than any girl!).
I had a blast wandering around the store sniffing out all the goodies. Many of their products were healthy and all natural, and they had a much wider selection of the “good for you” treats than most of the pet shops I’ve been in.
Oh and they had cats, lots and lots of cats! Mom heard they were rescue cats that are up for adoption, and I had fun playing “find the kitty” all over the store.
Can you find the Kitty?
Not only did PetValu have cats scattered all over the shop, but they also had a shop bunny that was dog friendly. I REALLY wanted to see how friendly he was, but Mom wouldn’t let me get too close, probably because of my bunny killing record in the backyard.
My trip to Petvalu had me coming home with two fun products. A Nylabone Durachew (which I love) and a bag of Get Naked Antioxidant Dental Chew Treats.
I had a great time at PetValu, and I’m sure I will be visiting again real soon.
Most of the PetValu stores are located in Canada and along the East Coast of the US, but you can click here to find one nearest to you.
I was not paid or perked to write about PetValu, I just thought everyone would enjoy taking a trip inside the pet store with me!
12 Days of Cheer! Christmas Parade Time!
Every year I put on my best holiday gear and get ready for the Downingtown Christmas Parade in town.
This year was no exception!
Being that I have a 9-5 job working as official shop greeter at mom’s shop in town, parade time I have to work extra hard to invite parade goers into the shop for free hot cider & cookies!
Luckily I’m pretty cute, so my job usually isn’t that hard. *wink*
After working hard at the shop all morning I was excited to hear that the parade was about to start. I made sure I got a front row seat for all the action!
The parade was just as fabulous as always, but the most exciting part is always SANTA!
And MRS. CLAUS too!
Hey Santa! I hope you got my Christmas List! See you again in a few days!
Frankenstorm
Most of you have heard that Hurricane Sandy aka Frankenstorm has been barreling it’s way towards the east coast. Being that I live in Pennsylvania, the hurricane was set to hit my area on Monday evening with full furry.
I made lots of preparations like tucking my ponies safely into the barn, sandbagging up mom’s shop in town, and making sure I had plenty of kibble and water.
I battened down the hatches and prepared for the looming Frankenstorm to approach.
Trips to the farm in the wind and rain to keep my ponies safe were inevitable, but I tried my best to stay warm.
I hope everyone that the hurricane has effected has stayed safe, and I’ll be sure to update everyone on how I weather the storm just as soon as it moves out of my area (hopefully by wednesday).
As always you can stay up to date on all my adventures in the storm on my facebook page. Wishing you all the best!
**update** I made it through the storm, and although I did lose power around 9pm at night it did come back a few hours later. My house faired well with just some down leaves and a few branches but the farm is still without power. I’ll be heading out soon to check on mom’s shop in town – and we’re hoping the water from the Brandywine River didn’t flood the area. I hope everyone else stayed safe!
Barn Raising
Trooper and I were hanging out on the farm this morning because the Timber Frame has arrived for the new farmhouse.
The Timbers arrived on the truck to be used in the construction of Trooper’s new post and beam house being built on the farm.
My initial inspection earned a paws up review from me – and I told the boys to start loading up the crane!
After the crane piled all the timbers into the new house, Trooper and I were anxious to see how they would put them together.
We watched from afar for a bit, but eventually we just couldn’t wait any longer to get our paws dirty too.
So Trooper convinced his mom and dad that we would promise to be safe if they let us get a little closer to see just how a post and beam house is constructed.
As you can imagine, Trooper was very excited!
I was enthralled with watching the construction workers help the crane lower the beams into the house.
But the very best part – getting to watch Trooper’s Dad pound some of the very first pegs into the timber frame.
It was a VERY exciting day, and Trooper even got to keep a souvenir of the day! Lucky!
October Instagram Weekend
My Birthday weekend was a whirlwind of opening presents, hanging out at the shop, running on the farm, and curling up at home.
I’m still recovering from all the fun, but I thought I’d give you a little taste of what I’ve been up to via my Instagram photos….
Mom had her own busy weekend filled with weddings and ranch sorting with the ponies, but she still had time to give me the best Birthday ever! Thanks mom!
Birthday Week: Dog Treat Round-up
I couldn’t decide what I wanted mom to bake me for my Birthday, so I decided to round-up some of my favorite dog treat recipes on the web right now.
My paws are crossed that mom will bake me one of these this weekend, because when your Birthday is on a Friday you get to extend it into a Birthday Weekend – it’s a rule!
Natural Dog Treat Recipe with Apples from 17 Apart
Ingredients:
- 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup cornmeal
- 1 finely chopped or grated apple
- 1 beaten egg
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1/2 cup cold water
Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease cookie sheets. Blend flour and cornmeal in large mixing bowl, then incorporate apple, egg, oil, brown sugar, and water until well blended. Flour your workspace and roll out dough to desired thickness. Cut cookies to desired shape and size. Place dog cookies on baking sheet and bake 35 minutes. After baking, turn oven off and leave cookies inside for another 30-45 minutes until crisp. Allow to cool and store in an air-tight container.
Peanut Butter Dog Biscuits from Pink Pistachio
Ingredients:
- 1 cup flour
- 1/4 cup oats
- 1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon applesauce
Directions: Preheat oven to 350. Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl. Add wet ingredients and mix until well blended. Knead into a ball and roll out on wax paper to 1/2″ thickness. Using cookie cutters cut out cookies and place on an unlined baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Store in an air-tight container.
Low Fat Carrot Dog Treats from Dog Treat Recipes
Image via 17 Apart
Ingredients:
- 1 medium banana (ripe)
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 1/4 cup unsweetened applejuice
- 1/8 cup water (maybe more, as needed)
- 1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour (keep some handy for rolling)
- 1 cup rolled oats
Image via 17 Apart
Directions: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, lightly spraying a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray and sprinkling a little flour onto the surface you’re planning to use to roll out the dough. In a medium bowl, mash up the banana and mix in the shredded carrots. Then add water and apple juice. Stir. Next, add the oats and flour. Stir all of the ingredients together until they are thoroughly combined.
Using your hands, knead the mixture until a dough forms. Dump the dough onto the lightly floured surface that you prepared earlier. Roll it out until it’s about a half inch thick. Using a cookie cutter, cut into 3″ pieces. Place the pieces onto your lightly sprayed baking sheet. Bake the dog treats for 25 minutes.
Before “serving”, let them cool completely. Here’s a tip that you may find useful: If your dog likes a little more crunch to his treats, then turn off the oven and let the treats cool there overnight.
I don’t know about you, but I’m totally drooling!
Birthday Week: Get to Know Me
I thought it would be fun to dive a little deeper into the true me during Birthday Week, just like I did last year when I answered some of your burning questions. So with a little help from my mom we came up with 10 new questions for me to answer that will help you get to know me a little bit better.
Q What is your all-time favorite thing to do on the weekends?
A This is a tough choice between spending time on the farm, and napping in my sunroom at home. I enjoy being at the farm to hunt for groundhogs and lay in the sun, but being at home has it perks too as my sunroom has an all around view of my yard, and my comfy worn in spot on the sofa.
Q What is your favorite toy?
A Right now my favorite toy is a Strawberry made by Planet Dog
Q Do you have any bad habits?
A Well not any that I care to admit! But if you must know, my mom says I bark a little too much at the critters in my backyard. Personally I do not consider this a bad habit when I’m just doing my job by protecting my fortress from intruders. And I guess if we are being truthful here, I also like to hump pillows – particularly the ones on mom and dad’s bed! I know, I am ashamed.
Q What is the next trick you plan to tackle?
A Well I had started learning how to barrel race like this speedy little dachshund, so perhaps mom will help me finish mastering this one. Although mom says she also wants me to learn to put away my toys at home – which doesn’t sound as thrilling to me.
Q Who is your favorite artist?
A Well besides my talented painting pony friends, I have fallen in love with the paintings made by the talented Kim from Yellow Brick Home after she painted my portrait (and the ponies) earlier this year.
Q Where are all your super fun photos taken?
A I experiment with a lot of different places for my styled photoshoots (like work, my backyard, the spare bedroom in my house), but recently I’ve been setting up my backdrops in the sunroom at home. It seems to provide the perfect amount of light which makes me look extra adorable!
Q In the past 4 years, what has been your favorite adventure?
A It’s so tough to choose just one adventure, but I really have enjoyed when mom and dad took me to the corn maze (which reminds me, I’m due for a trip soon). I get to use all of my hunting and scenting skills to get us through the maze in the fastest time possible – and I have to say my maze skills have been quite impeccable!
Q What is your favorite blog to read?
A Oh gosh, how do I choose just one? You can check out my sidebar to see a bunch of the pet-related blogs that I love to read, but I guess if I had to choose just one to read I’d have to say I’m drawn to my newest blog find, Love and a Six-Foot Leash. It’s the pretty pretty pictures I tell you!
Q Do you enjoy being a shop dog?
A I very much love being able to go to work with mom every single day, and meeting lots of new people is one of the highlights of my day. However sometimes I just feel a little cooped up, and I get a little antsy having to spend my day inside all the time. But in the long run it definitely beats being stuck home alone all day, and I wouldn’t give up being a shop dog for anything!
Q What is your favorite food?
A All of the above. But I guess if I had to choose just one, string cheese would be at the top of my list.
I hope you’ve enjoyed getting to know me a little bit better, and if you have anymore questions for me please be sure to leave them in the comment section below!
P.S. I have to make sure I say Happy 4th Wedding Anniversary to my mom and dad today! Kisses from your number one boy, Ammo.
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Apple of my Eye
Every year when Autumn rolls around I take the obligatory trip to Highland Orchards, home of the cider donut, pumpkin picking, fresh apples, canned preserves and goats!
Like most of the children there I humored my parents with having my photo taken in the fall cutouts.
But we all know there is really only one reason to take a trip to Highland Orchards (besides a bite of cider doughnut)…
…the goats!! Now last year the goats gave me the stink eye, so I was careful to be a bit weary the second time around.
I have to admit those fellows are starting to grow on me, even with their sharp pointy horns.
Although I was still somewhat relieved that there was a fence between me and them, after all I was sorely outnumbered.
I plan to visit the Highland Orchard goats again, if only to get on their good side, because Mom says we may be getting goats on the farm in the near future. Yikes!