More Choices

We heard you about Prinnie's Label- THANKS for the feedback. Here are two more choices - please select either the first or the second (or, of course, neither) for your choice.....

You'll Need Some Tissues

Today, we received our quarterly newsletter in the mail from our regional animal shelter. There was a story in there that was a real tear-jerker, so before you read any more, go get a good box of tissues, a nice cup of coffee and be ready to have your heart touched!

Abbey
by author unknown

"Our 14-year old dog Abbey died last month. The day after she died, my 4 year-old-daughter Meredith was crying and talking about how much she missed Abbey. She asked if we could write a letter to God so that when Abbey got to heaven, God would recognize her. I told her that I thought we could, so she dictated these words:

Dear God,
Will you please take care of my dog? She died yesterday and is with you in heaven. I miss her very much. I am happy that you let me have her as my dog even though she got sick.

I hope you will play with her. She likes to play with balls and swim. I am sending a picture of her so when you see her you will know that she is my dog. I really miss her.

Love, Meredith

We put the letter in an envelope with a picture of Abbey and Meredith and addressed it to "God/Heaven". We put our return address on it. That afternoon she dropped it into the letter box at the post office. A few days later, she asked if God had gotten the letter yet. I told her that I thought he had.

Yesterday, there was a package wrapped in gold paper on our front porch addressed "To Meredith" in an unfamiliar hand. Meredith opened it. Inside was a book by Mr. Rogers called "When a Pet Dies". Taped to the inside front cover was the letter we had hand written to God in its opened envelope. On the opposite page was the picture of Abbey and Meredith and this note:

Dear Meredeth,

Abbey arrived safely in heaven.

Having the picture was a big help. I recognized Abbey right away.

Abbey isn't sick anymore. Her spirit is here with me just like it stays in your heart. Abbey loved being your dog. Since we don't need our bodies in heaven, I don't have any pockets to keep your picture in, so I am sending it back to you in this little book for you to keep safe and have something to remember Abbey by.

Thank you for the beautiful letter and thank your mother for helping you write it and sending it to me. What a wonderful mother you have. I picked her especially for you.

I send my blessings every day, and remember that I love you very much. By the way, I'm easy to find...I am wherever there is love.

Love, God "

For Siku's Mom

Siku's Mom:

Here are some pictures we thought would brighten your day. Prinnie insisted that we post these for you in hopes that it will help you feel better so you can come home very, very soon!

Love,

Prinnie, Digby and Duncan

June Glee

This may sound crazy, but we've been LOVING the weather the past few weeks (sorry to you fellow San Diegan's who hate this). We've been experiencing what the weathermen call "June Gloom", and it is wonderful. We typically have so many sunny days that when we get the good fortune to have natures light covered by clouds, we want to go dancing in the streets....but then we remember that we don't dance, or at least not well! The temps have been in the high 70's to very low 80's, and we are savoring every minute because before we know it, we will be basking in 100+ degree days for the next several months.

When we grew up in upstate NY, sunny days were few and far between. June gloom was year round, along with rain, humidity, snow and ice. It seems odd that these two native New Yorkers pray for a cool, cloudy day, but we do....and we LOVE IT!!

Things are bustling along with the Barkery. We went to our local farmer's market this past weekend, and are preparing to set the stage to be a regular vendor there starting later this summer. We've been welcomed with open arms, since we are the only business in the area to "do what we do".

Today, the woman we hired to do our embroidery on our shirts, visors and hats called to say that a prototype was done and ready for our review. We stopped in late today to check it out (see picture below). We made a few alterations/corrections and selected the final thread colors that will go on the shirts (not at all what you see on the prototype). How exciting! Our new cards, paper and car advertising magnets arrive tomorrow. Another thing we can soon check of the growing list of things to do.

All in all, things are busier than ever, but we are making good progress and just loving the thought that in a few short months, we will get the honor of working together again - day in and day out - in June Gloom or July Fry! Bring it on!!!

Another Video of P & D

Teach me something new, and I'm hooked! We caught Prinnie and Digby doing their nightly chase routine (albeit only a few seconds of it actually got recorded) in the back yard tonight. This game typically goes on for a good 5 minutes, with the little white flash of fur putting her big brother to shame with her speed. Probably boring to you, but always a smile-generator for us!

More Progress...

Late today, we officially got our Business License at the City offices, and our Fictitious Business Name paperwork filed at our County Clerk's office. Next is our Seller's Permit, and conversations with the State Board of Equalization to determine the tax rates we will be accountable for. As with most of your states, there are many tax rates throughout California, and we aren't sure whether or not we would need to charge CA sales tax or that of the state in which the order is placed. We'll get that all figured out soon enough.

Shar found a few places that have the "hard to find" ingredients (primarily alternative flours) that she will be using in her recipes, and will pick up some tomorrow so that she can begin experimenting with various additives to see which work best. We'll send our "Testers" some samples later this week so that we can begin to get some feedback where it counts the most - pooches preferences.

All in all, things are moving along really well. We spent the weekend doing a lot of research about our product, target customers, etc. When we weren't doing that, we were busy studying and preparing for tests. The kayaking had to wait a few more days - hopefully we can get to that this coming weekend----we will DEFINITELY need some comic relief by then! :)

Video of Prinnie

We got a brief chance to video Prinnie looking for her space ships tonight. This is our first attempt to post a video, so we're not sure how, or if, it will work......