Dog & Owner Supplies
If anyone has suggestions for more great resources for Dog Supplies, let me know.
Contents of Owner Supplies on this page:
Reference Books
For anyone seriously interested in canine nutrition, there is no better book than "Small Animal Clinical Nutrition" by Michael S. Hand. This is not a book of "popular fluff." This book breaks down the nutritional necessities, particularly emphasizing the medical aspect and importance of nutrition; and details exactly what nutrition is needed for numerous health problems/concerns.
For anyone seriously interested in canine veterinarian care, including health concerns, diagnostic & surgical procedures and medications - this is THE book to have; "Saunders Manual of Small Animal Practice." It's a book that veterinarians themselves refer to. A bit pricey, I've seen it for $100 at Amazon, but it's worth it's weight in gold.
Pee Pads
One of the cheapest sources I've found so far, and are actually for humans. You can choose a size, and they are delivered quickly in large boxes.
Pee Pad Holders
Pee Pad Holders or Floor Protection Trays
One of my new puppy owners just told me about a fantastic product which holds the peepads into place. I went to Amazon and typed in "Pee Pad Holder." The owner loves it, and says that it prevents the puppy from tearing up and playing with the pee pads.
Dog Beds
Although I haven't used the PetCots myself, I HAVE seen them in veterinary hospitals and in kennels, and several puppy owners have used them. They are very comfortable for Dachshunds, low enough for them to get into and out of easily without straining their backs, and <drum roll> indestructible. They come in different sizes and look absolutely fantastic for putting in a kitchen or puppy pen when the puppy needs to be confined. They have different types of beds (for incontinent dogs, etc) and accessories (waterproof pads, orthopedic inserts, etc.) They come already assembled, are stackable (and I imagine would be easy to slip beneath a bed or some other furniture when not needed). I WOULD suggest adding a blanket or comforter on top of the bed, so the Dachshund can burrow beneath it to sleep - as many are fond of doing.
Rawhide Treats
100% US made Rawhide Treats
A good company for Rawhide Treats made from US materials, and processed here in the US. My kids love the "Sows Ears" and the "Snozzles" (Pig Snouts)
The "Pig Ears" are rather harder and more greasier than the "Sows Ears" and sometimes give the ones with sensitive tummies diarrhea. Also - stay away from any that have bone in them, like the "Rib in a Blanket" or "Texas Toothpicks"
Meyenberg Goat's Milk
Meyenberg Goat's Milk, Evaporated or Powdered
Amazon is the cheapest place I've found, especially since it will qualify for free shipping. Although sometimes it might be available in grocery stores, Amazon will probably be cheaper.
Kaolin Pectin for Diarrhea
Kaopectate used to be the medication of choice, since it contained the very safe Kaolin & Pectin, but they have changed their formula (they are now the same as Pepto-Bismol). I prefer the Kaolin Pectin mixture and it can be purchased at KV Vet Supply.
Additional Vet Supply Places
Lambert Vet Supply
Jeffers Pet Supply
Valley Vet
PBS Animal Health
Rescue Pet Supply
Dominion Veterinary Laboratories, Inc.
Agri-Med
J-B Wholesale Pet Supplies
QC Supply
One of the few places I've found which have pyrethrin powder. If you order this from them, do it by phone and tell them to tape the flip lids shut and also tape around the screw lids themselves.
UPCO
Baby Gates
And, believe me, we've tried them all.
The best we've found for normal size doorways are the "Center Gateway" made by Kidco, which we buy on Amazon.com
For very wide areas we use the Elongate Safety Gate, made by Kidco, which we also buy on Amazon.com
Mirra-Coat
Mirra-Coat and Mirra-Coat O3 are the very best coat & skin supplements we've found, and we prefer the powder over the oil. The powder gets mixed with a big spoonful of Dannon Vanilla Yogurt and given to each dog and puppy every day. It can be purchased at Amazon.com or KV vet supply and probably other pet supplies places.
Soft Baby Blankets & other items
I've done business with this online place and absolutely love their prices and fast delivery. You can find some great deals. We purchased the SAME baby blankets at Wal-Mart for over twice the price.
www.rockbottomdeals.biz - click HERE
Doggy Steps
We use the "Deluxe Doggy Steps" which can be found in Pet Stores, sometimes at Wal-Mart and lots of places on the internet. They are VERY easy to assemble (no tools needed) are very sturdy, and come with a faux sheepskin cover which is easily removable for washing. Actually ramps are a LOT better for Dachshunds - see the page "Dachshund Ramps."
Puppy Pens
We use the "exercise pens" which can be found just about anywhere. They come in different heights, section widths and you can hitch 2 together to make a great outside pen for exercise. Never leave your puppy/dog outside unsupervised - even if he is in a puppy pen.
Fence Weave or Inserts for chain link fencing
Face it, our little darling Doxies are the cutest dogs on earth, but it can be upsetting when they display their hunting instincts. Our back yard has 3 perimeters of fencing, and the inside fencing (closest to the house) is 6' chain link, 5' above ground and 1' buried. Unfortunately, baby birds and baby rabbits can hop right through the openings of a chain link fence. Hubby solved this problem by ordering "fence weave" - an absolutely wonderful way to turn a chain link fence into a more solid structure. The inserts come in a variety of colors and in plastic or aluminum. We purchased the aluminum weave because we thought it would be much more durable with the summer heat and winter snow. The company was great, the fence weave came quickly and it was a snap to put up. Not only does it prevent any little animals or birds from coming through the fence, but it created a WONDERFUL visual and auditory barrier to the neighbors for our dogs. This is the company we used:
Flea Products
We do NOT use any of those toxic drops that are sold by veterinarians. The only "preventative" we use is "Avon Skin So Soft Original Bath Oil" (not those newer Skin So Soft products which have all kinds of stuff in them), which can be found at Wal-Mart, on the internet, etc. We put a few drops on our hands, and then stroke the dogs - particularly when they will be out by the pond on summer evenings. The oil is an insect deterrent. IF we find a flea on a dog, we shampoo with Johnson's No More Tears Baby Shampoo (rinsing thoroughly) or use Adams Flea Mist - a pyrethrin spray found in Petsmart, feedstores, Wal-mart, etc. It is very safe - but make sure you protect the dog's face when you spray. Also, because it is alcohol based, do not use it all the time, or it will dry the coat. It's very effective and very safe.
Harnesses
We do not use collars on our Dachshunds. We NEVER keep anything around their necks when they are on our property. When we take them to the vet, we use harnesses. Buster's parents, Melissa and Jason have told me about a fantastic harness called the "Puppia Dog Harness" which they use on little Buster. I believe it is sold on several places on the net.
Tinkerbelle's Mom just saw a wonderful "Never Choke" Dachshund Harness with a unique "V" shaped design for beneath the neck which means that no matter how hard the Dachshund pulls, there is no pressure against the neck - wonderful! It is sold by NoodeandFriends.com and perhaps other places as well:
Noodleandfriends.com Never Choke Dachshund Harness - Click HERE
Bentley & Chance's parents told me that the EasyGo Harness is one of the best they have seen. They can be purchased at Dogo Design:
A Lesson from our little Dachshunds
We can all take a lesson from our precious little Dachshunds. They are happy little dogs with an exuberant zest for life. They believe in being happy and active and living each day to the fullest. No wonder they are great therapy dogs!
They love their sleep, they love their food, and they love playing. They believe in making themselves VERY comfortable when they want to sleep. They love snacks and various kinds of food, and when they find something they enjoy doing - they delight in doing it over and over.
They are not only very happy little dogs, but have a GREAT sense of humor. I'll never forget being on the phone with Bailey's Mom and she was telling me about Bailey getting into the freshly laundered clothes and hiding socks beneath a bed. She couldn't figure out why she kept coming up with single socks. Not until she saw little Bailey's head poking out from beneath the bed did she look there, and found a mountain of family socks that he had been hoarding...lololol As she was speaking, she let out a screech, "No!" "Stop that!" "Bring that back, you two!" And hurriedly said that she'd call me back because Oscar and Bailey had just dashed past her with one of her freshly laundered panties - each holding onto one edge, and were gaily running full speed around the house having a ball with their new "tug-of-war toy."
No wonder Dachshund owners are a happy lot. Happiness is contagious and you can't live with a Dachshund and not be happy.
Mattress and Shoes
A comfortable mattress and a comfortable pair of shoes - you'll be spending 90% of your life in one or the other.
Good Books
Cuddled up in a favorite chair with your Doxie on your lap is a great way to enjoy a good book. Good books and prices - and reviews - can be found at Amazon. I love to browse at Amazon and then ask the local library to get the book on an intra-library loan.
Good Music
Look up old favorite songs to listen to, or even current popular ones at Playlist. You could spend 24 hours a day there just listening to all the wonderful recordings.
Online Games
It's great to sit down once and a while and clear your head by concentrating on a game. The best I've found is Pogo - tons of games, and well worth the small fee for yearly membership. But even if you don't want to spend money for a membership, there are PLENTY of free games.
A Special Picture
Have a photo of a very beloved dog you once had - or have now? Or a picture of an animal you rescued? Splurge and have it enlarged, frame it and put it up. You'll smile and feel very happy whenever you look at it.
Great Scents
Whether you like incense (sandlewood is wonderful), scented candles or cologne or perfume, make it a point to have something that smells great around you. You'll inhale deeply without even realizing it, and by doing so will physically relax your mind and body.
Woods of Windsor and Crabtree & Evelyn are both excellent and can be found on Amazon.com
My very favorite colognes in the whole world have been "Highland Collection" (especially Heather) which could be purchased at "Proudly Scottish" (in Scotland). There was also a Florida-based business which carried them: The Scots Den - click HERE
Unfortunately, it seems that the Highland Collection colognes have been discontinued and businesses selling them are in short supply :-( However, Scots Den seems to have some interesting fragrances which look intriguing.
Anais Anais has always been another favorite of mine. Fragrance notes: blooming fresh cut flowers including gardenia, jasmine, and lily of the valley, with lower notes of cedar and leather.
Tabu has been also been a favorite of mine for years and years. I prefer it as an evening fragrance. It is a blend of rich rose, orange blossom, jasmine, vetiver, oakmoss, amber and musk.
Great Lotions, Creams & Soaps
I have looked for years and years and years for a super product line of lotions, creams and soaps; and finally found one. They are made in Canada and are called "Canus." Based on Goat's milk, they are absolutely heavenly. For folks with extremely sensitive skin, their "fragrance free" bar soap and Li'l Goat's Milk Baby Butter and Li'l Goat's Milk Lotion are fantastic. They also have regular fragrance soap, and baby soap, regular lotion and other products. They are the very first line of products in which I think all THREE are excellent - the soap, lotion and cream. Previously I had purchased different brands of soap, lotion, moisturizing cream, cleansing cream, etc. They are available at Amazon.com.
Essential Oils & Flower Water
I've looked long and hard for an excellent source of pure essential oils and flower water, and finally found one.
Use these wonderful products to make your own candles, wax tarts, potpourri warmers, soaps, lotions, perfumes, shampoos. OR to enhance the products you already use: when wax tarts have lost their aroma add a few drops of wonderfully scented essential oil and extend their use for another week; keep all those bits and pieces of soap instead of throwing them away and put them in a jar with some flower water and essential oils and you'll have a fantastic aromatic soft soap; a few drops of Sweet Almond Oil (not Bitter Almond) in shampoos and lotions is highly absorbed by hair and skin. The possibilities are endless.
Cookbooks
Cooking and baking can be very relaxing. Collect some great cookbooks - it can be fun!
Some of my favorites are:
"Foods of the World" (series) by Time Life. A wonderful set of hardback books created by Time Life and each book featuring a country or region. The individual books are written by people who are familiar with that country/region's food. The pictures are terrific, the recipes are authentic and the books detail the histories of the foods with such enthusiasm and knowledge that these books are also among my favorite bedtime reading books. Don't forget that each hardback book also has an additional spiral recipe book. You can purchase them individually or as whole sets - usually on places like eBay.
King Arthur Flour has two absolutely wonderful books "Baker's Companion" and "Whole Grain Baking" (the later has an incredible Westphalian Rye Bread recipe that tastes just like the authentic bread from Germany).
I especially love "old" cookbooks, which often contain a lot more than just recipes.
Be sure to try out different recipes, and remember to keep your favorites in a special folder, so you will be able to find them quickly when you want to make them again.
There is a "Cooking" page on the website with links to my other cooking pages, and are an accumulation of information I've collected for the past 40 years. Neat to have on hand because you can look up just about anything quickly and not waste time when you want to prepare a dish.
Special Recipes
Ever remember a special dish from your childhood and would love to find the recipe? This is the "Lost Recipe" site on the net, and is fantastic for finding old great recipes. It's also a delightful place to just browse.
Gourmet Tea or Coffee
And even if you don't like caffeine, there are plenty of caffeine-free coffees & teas. Make your drink totally decadent.
For coffee I prefer a "caffelatte" with freshly ground coffee beans (a combinaion of 8 o'lock coffee regular flavor, and 8 o'clock hazelnut), a bit of vanilla, demarara sugar and lots of hot frothy milk :-) Get yourself a good Krups coffeemaker, it will last forever. And nothing can beat the taste of freshly ground coffee. Get a good burr-type grinder (not a blade grinder), BUNN makes an excellent one; and grind up your own coffee beans. Store the beans in the freezer to preserve freshness, but be sure to thaw them before putting them in the grinder.
For a delicious afternoon cup of tea, the Upton Tea Company has an incredible collection, and couple of my favorites are: Jasmine Pearls and China Rose. Tea can be an exquisite, refreshing drink if prepared properly; use the proper water temperature and steeping time for the best cuppa ever.
A Comfort Dinner
Have items on hand for a "comfort dinner" to treat yourself to when it's been a bad day. A relaxing "comfort dinner" can often be made of breakfast items - scrambled eggs, toast made with homemade bread and spread with real roll butter and topped with plum jelly; or (my favorite) heavenly buttermilk pancakes and Nueske's smoked bacon. Both the buttermilk pancake mix and the smoked bacon can be kept frozen until you want them. They are the best pancakes and bacon I've ever tasted, and wonderful "comfort food" in the evening after a long, hard day.
Buttermilk Pancake mix from Clifton Mill - click HERE
Smoked bacon from Nueske's - click HERE
End the day with an exquisite cup of hot chocolate. Use high quality cocoa or chocolate, vanilla beans, milk and a bit of cream (my favorite is the English "Double Devon" cream that you can sometimes find in small bottles). I have a "Cocomotion" machine (made by Mr. Coffee) and it makes the perfect cup of hot chocolate - thick, creamy, frothy and the perfect temperature. Top your decadent hot chocolate with either marshmallows or a bit of whipped cream that has been put in the freezer for a few minutes.
Bread Machine & Homemade Bread
Get yourself a good bread machine, there is NOTHING in this world that smells better or tastes better than homemade bread. And don't forget to spread it hot out of the machine with REAL butter (not that stuff you purchase in the grocery store, or margarine).
If you don't have a bread machine, you can still create absolutely wonderful homemade breads with very little effort. Take a peek at the King Arthur site for dynamite supplies, cookbooks & information:
For those who really want to get into making breads, particularly the sourdough & starter-type breads, get yourself a good KitchenAid mixer with a dough hook. Doesn't have to be the expensive top of the line ones, the cheapest model works just as well and is heavy duty enough for bread doughs.
Perfect French Bread with a Steam Baker
Anyone can make the PERFECT loaf of French Bread the very first time, crispy crust, soft chewy inside....and an aroma that is out of this world. Unfortunately the gadget that is used to make it seems to be harder than hens teeth to find. I believe the manufacturer went out of business, or at least is not selling them in this country anymore. King Arthur Flour used to sell it, but they don't have it any longer. Once in a blue moon you can see one up on eBay - and it's pricey there because everyone wants one.
The name of this marvelous gadget? The "Steam Baking Master" by Baparoma. It's the most marvelous bread invention I've ever seen. It's like a Dutch Oven but comes in 3 pieces, a dome, a perforated center to hold the dough and a bottom tray to hold the water which steams during the rising and baking. If you do a Google search for it, you can see pictures of it with a description. Perhaps if enough folks emailed King Arthur, they would either begin selling it again, or find something similar to offer.
Maybe some enterprising cook out there could think of a homemade version - perhaps utilizing one of those low-fat meat loaf pans, using the bottom as a holder for water, and finding a dome or top for it? If anyone comes up with an alternative gadget (and I don't mean any "spritzing gadget" that just spritzes water (or steam) into an oven - but a REAL steamer baker) - let me know, and I'll post it here.
Cheese & Butter
Cheese and butter are good, wholesome foods, and MUCH healthier than the "fake cheese" and the "margarine" that are touted as being "healthy" (and which are actually anything but; do some research, don't rely on fads). For an excellent article on the margarine hoax, visit this site: Click HERE
There is a variety of cheese to suit every person's taste. One of my favorites is Gjetost, which is a delightfully sweet caramelized goat cheese from Norway. Slice it thin on a bagel and stick under the broiler for a little bit....heavenly for breakfast! Gjetost is difficult to find, but keeps very well, so when you find it - be sure to get several small bricks. I also enjoy a moist, mild fresh cheese. Hubby loves a firm baby Swiss cheese, and often a Blue cheese. But whatever your taste, there is a flavor and texture that will suit it. Be brave, experiment! Cheese is GOOD for you, and there are hundreds (probably thousands) of varieties to sample.
If you've only had butter from a grocery store - then you haven't had REAL butter at all. "Sweet cream butter" from the grocery stores is just regular cream stuck into a machine and one end - with butter emerging from the other. REAL butter never uses "sweet (aka fresh) cream." REAL butter uses cream that has "turned" (aka soured) a wee bit before being churned, which is necessary in order for the butter to develop it's full flavor. The best butter I've ever had in my life is the "Rolled Butter" or "Roll Butter" which I purchase at Amish stores. There is one local Amish store here in Marysville, Ohio called "Amish Heritage Country Market", and another in Plain City, Ohio called "The Cheese Shop." I purchase a 2-lb package of the rolled butter, slice it in 1" slices and freeze the slices, so I have plenty of butter for toast, baking, frying, etc. If you are a "butter lover", once you've tasted REAL butter, you'll never go back to the bland, almost tasteless stuff the grocery stores sell. If you search online, you will find this butter and it can be shipped to you, be sure to search for "Amish Country Roll Butter"or "Amish Style Roll Butter."
Both the "Amish Heritage Country Market" and "The Cheese Shop" sell a MARVELOUS Plum Jelly. The balance between sweet and tart is just right and reminds me of the old-fashioned homemade plum jellies and plum jams that I had as a kid. The label on the jar is Yoder's and they have a website called "Yoder's Fine Foods."
Yoder's Fine Foods - click HERE
Spices
A few GOOD spices can make an average dish soar to new heights. For instance, ever sprinkle cinnamon on top of a frothy foam-covered cup of coffee? No - not that stuff labeled "Cinnamon" in the supermarket (which isn't really cinnamon at all) but REAL cinnamon - the highly fragrant (almost floral), mild tasting spice that can turn a cup of coffee into a heavenly brew; or a Moroccan Tagine recipe into an exquisite experience. GOOD spices are one of the secrets to great cooking. And the best source I have found is Penzeys.
Having a great assortment of spices and herbs won't do you much good if they are kept jumbled inside a kitchen cabinet. You want them where you can easily get hold of the one you want - immediately. My creative hubby built a "Spice Porch" for me; upon which the spices are placed alphabetically. He put it up in less than an hour, from shelving material and decorative railing, it looks like a miniature porch. They look nice and I can tell at a glance where the spice that I want is located.
Vanilla & Vanilla Beans
Vanilla is a "flavor enhancer" and besides having it's own distinctive flavor, it enhances other flavors such as coffee, chocolate, banana, etc. Because it is so flavorful, it can be used, especially in hot beverages, to cut down the amount of sugar used.
To add a real gourmet taste to your coffee, or baking recipes, split plump vanilla beans and scrape the caviar into your sugar canister. Add the split vanilla beans and let the sugar infuse with the vanilla. Absolutely delicious! Vanilla beans from the grocery store are very expensive (and usually dried up), but there is a lovely supplier on the internet. They offer a variety of Vanilla Beans, types, sizes, etc. and have LOTS of information - the best I've seen anywhere.
Organic-Vanilla.com - click HERE
Please be VERY careful of purchasing cheap Mexican Vanilla - the type that is sold in those big bottles in the tourist towns near the border. Despite the label, they are not pure vanilla, but mostly a potentially hazardous ingredient that is flavored like vanilla. Pure, authentic Mexican vanilla is available, but it's not easy to fine, and it sure as heck isn't cheap. Lots of information about that on the internet.
Dried Vanilla beans? No problemo. Break of the ends and snap the beans in half. Then put them in a saucepan and cover with milk, and simmer gently until the beans are soft. Pour off the milk and use it as a base for a decadent cup of hot cocoa or a scrumptious baked custard. Split the beans and scrape out the caviar (seeds). Put the caviar along with a few spoonfuls of vanilla extract into a small glass (such as a shot glass), cover tightly and refrigerate. Use this highly fragrant liquid flavoring for cakes, cookies, etc. Put the split pods into a canister of sugar, shake well so that the pods are separated and each coated with sugar. Use the fragrant vanilla-flavored sugar for your morning cup of coffee, and for baked goods. The split vanilla pods, when put in with demarara or turbinado sugar, create a delicious sugar for crumb topping on muffins, coffee cakes, etc. You'll have used every bit of your "dried up old vanilla beans," and their flavor will delight you for many weeks to come.
Nut Butters
Nut butters are one of the most overlooked delicacies of all foods, and I'm not just talking peanut butter; but cashew butter, hazelnut butter, walnut butter, pecan butter, pistachio butter, Brazil nut butter, etc. A spoonful in a cookie dough recipe gives the cookies an incredible flavor. I love to spread them on toast in the morning instead of butter. For handfeeding baby hookbill birds, a small amount of macadamia nut butter in their formula really helps plump them up and keeps them healthy and strong. Honest to goodness, I even like a spoonful on a ham sandwich. Futters is the best I've found, and my only complaint is that they haven't (yet, anyway) made a butter out of my favorite nut - hickory.
Perfect Puree of Napa Valley
My sister, who lives in the Dominican Republic, told me of a sleep remedy that is commonly used there - passion fruit juice. And Happy Hallelujah - it works! Unfortunately, the only stuff I could find locally were the "flavored mixed drinks" sold in grocery stores, not the "real" stuff; so online I went for a search. The absolute best I found is sold by Perfect Puree of Napa Valley. I keep the container in the freezer and take out a large spoonful and add it to lemonade or any fruit drink just before bedtime. However, it's a known blood pressure reducer, so folks with low blood pressure should drink it with caution. Perfect Puree has a variety of purees: apricot, banana, black currant, blood orange, blueberry, coconut, key lime, mango, papaya, pear, pomegranate, strawberry, white peach, and a bunch of others. An incredible selection to use for making your own summer drinks, ice cream, sauces, even flavorings in breads, cakes, etc.
Good Online Source of Foreign Foods
It's so easy to get into a rut with meals. Pick a delicious online source of some great foreign meals and snacks. My favorite is Wise Choice British Foods.
www.wisechoiceuk.com - click HERE
Unfortunately, one of my favorite foods of all time seems to be disappearing like the proverbial dinosaur. REAL Connecticut grinders (a sandwich brought to CT by Italian shipbuilders way back when) are scarcer than hen's teeth to find nowadays, even in CT. Most folks point you to a "Subway Shop" or store that sells "Hoagies." Nope <shaking head> they are not the same thing at all. There are even a couple places in Ohio which claim they sell "real grinders" - but they put mayonnaise on the sandwiches and give you a "choice of cheeses." Puh-leeze! REAL grinders have oil, not mayonnaise; and no self-respecting grinder would be caught wearing any other cheese than Provolone. I can even remember when the only grinders in CT were made with thick-sliced salami with huge black peppercorns in them, and cabbage was used instead of lettuce. Ham is an acceptable substitute for salami (and I do prefer ham over salami), and nowadays lettuce seems to be used instead of cabbage, but the "essentialness" of the grinder is the same. Count yourself VERY lucky if you have access to REAL grinders - and have one for me. :-)
Good Old-Fashioned Online Store
This is my all-time favorite online store "The Vermont Country Store." It has a delightful catalog that brings back such great memories. How super that one can still purchase (and all in one place), good old-fashioned items like:
Chewy Coconut Bonbons
Wild Beach Plum Spread
Wild Elderberry Jelly
Spiced Watermelon Pickle
Brown Bread in a Can
Potica Pastry
Welsh Rarebit, made with Cheddar cheese & beer
European Chocolate Bottles filled with Liqueurs
Old fasioned Licorice
Enamelware
Table Linen Lace
Genuine Oilcloth
Chenille Bedspreads
Camay Soap
Cashmere Bouquet Talc & Soap
Pine Tar Soap & Shampoo
Pure Cola Syrup
Lady Esther Cream
Bon Ami Powder
Herbal Horehound Drops
Natural Boar Bristle Brushes
Yardley of London Toiletries
Evening in Paris Parfum
....and tons more.
A Good Dehydrator
Honestly, a good dehydrator is not only economical but fun. A wonderful way to preserve the flavor of your summer fruits and vegetables. We dehydrate our peppers, and then freeze them in the vacuum-type freezer bags and snip them into all kinds of dishes all winter long. Great for making SAFE chicken jerky for your dogs. And you can dehydrate anything from pudding to pickles :-) Get a GOOD dehydrator - not one of those cheap round things which don't do the job properly. An Excalibur 3900 Deluxe with 9 trays is the very best I've found. And be sure to put it in your kitchen someplace, not in some closet where it will be forgotten and not used.
Hummingbird Feeder
Purchase an easy-to-clean hummingbird feeder and put it next to a window that you're near frequently during the day - dining room, computer room, kitchen, etc. Don't use the red liquid feeding solution; simply boil up water and then add 1/4 to 1/3 cup of white sugar to 1 cup boiling water, and let it set and cool. Get a simple and small hummingbird feeder that you can rinse out and put fresh sugar water into every couple days. Get an "ant guard" so ants don't get into it. Put it up at the beginning of warm weather and don't take down until Hallowe'en, so the hummingbirds can get plenty of energy for their long migration. Hummingbirds are one of nature's great joys, and don't worry if it takes a few weeks for them to find your feeder - if you put it up, they will come :-)
Flowers
Flowers make you feel good. If you have a green thumb, plant roses, mock orange, lilac, the ones that smell heavenly. If you're like me (the grim reaper of chlorophyll) purchase little impatiens plants, just keep them watered and you'll be rewarded with hundreds of flowers that never need deadheading. Plant morning glories and moonflowers (remember to soak the seeds overnight). During the day the morning glories are gorgeous, and at night the moonflowers are stunning. Pick up some little solar lights and stick them around your flowers. They will use the sun's energy to glow at night - and your garden/patio will look like fairyland.
Keep a small vase, or even just a jellyjar near your computer or in your kitchen and put in flowers, small tree branches, Pussy Willow catkins, etc. You can ALWAYS find something to put in it.
Herbs
Do a little research and plant some wonderful herbs, either in an outdoor garden or in containers. Use them in cooking, teas, baking, potpourris and even in health & beauty preparations. Make homemade herb vinegars, herb oils, herb/floral sugars. Many don't require a green thumb; and heck - ANYONE can grow mint, and you'd be surprised at the different varieties available, including an absolutely to-die-for Chocolate Mint that smells just like York Peppermint Patties. :-)
Fresh parsley, cilantro & chives for your meals - yum! There are many annual herbs that are easy to grow and how delightful to go out to your own garden and pick fresh herbs whenever you want them.
Tomatoes & Strawberries
Eat some scrumptious tomatoes & strawberries - and they will taste even better if you grow them yourself!
You will need:
Four 5-gallon white plastic buckets (available at Wal-Marts, hardware stores, etc)
Spaghum Peat Moss
Miracle Grow Potting Soil
Miracle Grow Tomato Fertilizer
Agricultural Lime
Sunshine
Appetite
Planting:
Drill 1/2" holes in the bottom of the buckets for drainage.
Fill buckets 1/2 with Spaghum Peat Moss and 1/2 Miracle Grow Potting Soil. Water thoroughly and mix in a slurry and let sit a few hours so the water soaks into the peat moss & soil - this is VERY important because it takes a few hours for the peat moss to become completely saturated.
In one bucket plant two indeterminate beefsteak tomato plants (purchase plants with nice thick stems, not thin ones) and bury them deeply - they will develop roots all along the buried stems. Don't bother tying them up or putting them on tomato poles....let them sprawl (we put the buckets on black landscape fabric, it keeps the fruit clean and bug-free.)
In second bucket plant 2 - 4 cherry-type tomatoes, my two favorites are "Sweet Hundred" (red) and "Sun Gold" (yellow). Put this bucket next to a fence or use a tomato thingie for them to crawl up.
In the third and fourth buckets plant some ever-bearing strawberries, the large sweet kind. You can put 4 - 5 plants per bucket because by keeping them watered and fertilized, they will not compete with each other for nutrients, and each plant will grow full size and produce lots of berries.
Place all the buckets in the sun.
Growing:
Get yourself a good watering can, one of those large lightweight plastic green ones.
Water your buckets twice a day, once in the morning and again in the evening. In one of the waterings put a little of the Miracle Grow Tomato Fertilizer and a little lime (Agricultural Lime or Horticultural Lime if you can't find Agricultural Lime - but do not use Slacked Lime) in the watering can, fill with water and swish around so the fertilizer and lime are dissolved and water your plants. I usually use fertilized water in the morning and plain water in the evening.
I've found that blossom-end rot is more prevalent among certain varieties of tomatoes, and (at least from my experiments) doesn't have anything to do with "uneven watering." By using a little bit of lime and fertilizer in a watering once a day, it not only helps prevent blossom end rot in susceptible varieties, but also helps cut down on the lower leaves turning yellow (have no idea why). Calcium (lime) helps the plants absorb nutrients, but it is easily washed out and since you will be watering twice a day, the plants really do better when it is added every day.
Forget the people who warn you not to use a lot of fertilizer or you will get all foliage and few vegies/fruit. Baloney. I found that the more lush foliage the plant has, the more vegies/fruits are produced. Fertilize a little bit every time you water. Calcium not only helps prevent blossom end rot in tomatoes, but is essential in order for the plants to absorb nutrients from the fertilizer. Since calcium washes out of the soil easily (and you'll be watering every day), you'll need to replenish it frequently.
Fertilizer and lime are poisonous to dogs - so be sure to keep the kids away from the containers. And it's really best to put up a small fence around your garden anyway, which will help keep out wildlife (deer, rabbits, woodchucks) as well as your furry kids.
Forget the early tomatoes, patio tomatoes or determinate tomatoes - they don't have a fraction of the flavor that a huge, sun-warmed beefsteak 'mater has. And forget the super large peppers like "Big Bertha", and fancy "Elberta Peach" tomatoes - those are novelties, not as tasty and not good producers. Stick with tried & true producers with great taste.
Using:
Make a huge 'mater sandwich out of the very first picked tomato: 2 slices of crunchy toast, mayonnaise (or Miracle Whip), a thin slice of sweet raw onion, a huge 1/2" thick slice of fresh, sun-warmed beefsteak tomato. Yum!
Keep the runners clipped on your strawberry plants to encourage more berries. The first berries won't be quite as sweet as the later ones, but still better than what you'd probably get in a store. Have fresh berries with your breakfast cereal, on pancakes & French toast, make strawberry shortcake, put on vanilla ice cream, or serve very chilled with Devonshire cream (yummy!). Or just pick and munch while you are strolling around outside. Later in the season you can let the runners spread and they will grow into little plants on the ground. Next spring, when the little plants on the ground begin to grow, scoop them up and plant them in your buckets. We purchased strawberry plants 8 years ago and have never purchased them since. We always used the little plants that grew from the runners in the previous fall - and have plenty of berries.
No weeding, no pesticides needed, just keep the soil moist and well fertilized and you'll be eating delicious home-grown tomatoes and strawberries all summer long.
Container Gardening
A Dachshund will ALWAYS find the easiest and most fun way to do something. They are super inspirations because they are wonderful examples of how great life can be when you keep things simple and fun. Container gardening is fun, simple, easy and practically work-free.
Besides strawberries & tomatoes, you can plant just about anything and everything in containers and all you do is lay down black landscape fabric, prepare the buckets, put in the seeds/plants, water daily and that's it - other than picking loads and loads of fresh vegies.
Benefits over a regular dug garden:
- The soil in the buckets warm up faster than the soil in the ground so you can get a head start on your vegies.
- If there is a late frost, it's very easy to cover the top of the buckets to protect the little plants.
- You don't ever weed, because no weeds grow in your buckets.
- You don't ever need any pesticide, because bugs rarely crawl up the sides of the plastic bucket, and by the time the plants are adults, they are not much affected by the bugs.
- You never waste water or fertilizer - it all goes right into the bucket - you don't water & fertilize the surrounding ground.
- Because of the high peat moss content, the mixture soaks up a lot of water, and even on the hottest days the roots stay cool and moist. (Because the pots are plastic, they will hold the moisture much longer than terra-cotta pots.) When plants are thirsty they will wilt, I like to keep them moist and upright 24/7. For the 16 pots I have this year, it takes less than 10 minutes to water.)
- By keeping the tomatoes constantly well watered, you get huge fruit with minimum splitting or "cat facing" (deformed fruit which results from the soil varying from dry to very wet).
- You can plant vegies very close together, since they have plenty of fertilizer and water, they don't compete much for nutrients.
- If you ever decide you don't want to have the garden anymore, simply remove the buckets, roll up the landscape fabric, sprinkle a little grass seed around and in a few weeks you'd never know that you had a garden there.
We've grown the following vegies in buckets: peas, bush beans, pole beans, sweet peppers, hot peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplants, squash, pumpkins, cantalopes, watermelon, carrots, radishes, lettuce, onions and one year we put straw mulch between the buckets and in the mulch we grew little fingerling potatoes. We absolutely LOVE fresh peas, straight from the garden. Since they are "cool weather" vegies, put the buckets of your early peas in the sun, and put the buckets of your summer peas in the shade. By keeping the summer peas shaded and well watered, we enjoy fresh peas right thru August (in Ohio).
It's an easy way to garden, because there really is no work involved. The climbing vegies were in buckets next to the surrounding fence and just grew up on the fence. The rest of the vegies we let sprawl. We used black landscape fabric on the ground beneath the buckets, and a couple years we put straw on top of that. Here's a couple photos:
We had a superabundance of fresh vegies, and filled our freezer. We loaded up the neighbors with as much as they could handle, and they learned to lock their car doors at night, or else in the morning they'd find the back seats full of vegies.
Below is a picture of the "garden" we planted in 2009. It's tiny because I'm having a problem being outdoors in uv light; but in this space, which is about 8' x 8', we have buckets of sweet peppers, hot peppers, green beans, cherry tomatoes, beefsteak tomatoes, cantalope and watermelon. The plants are absolutely thriving and we're going to have plenty of vegies & fruit this summer.
The garden is in a corner of the back yard, and you can see the hose which runs from the house, making watering easy. The green watering can is the one I use to put a bit of fertilizer in for the morning waterings.
Container gardens can be tiny, medium or huge in size, and you can CHANGE the size of the garden whenever you want! You're not "stuck" with one garden size the whole season - because you're not interfering with the ground at all, you're only putting landcape fabric and buckets on top of it. Easy to put down, easy to take up. :-)
Caution about Parks & Burpee
BOTH companies have had a real problem with sending mislabeled plants the past few years. In both 2009 and 2010 Burpee sent me some kind of horrible tomato plants with inedible golf-ball size red tomatoes instead of the Sun Gold plants. I heard that Parks is having the same problem. If anyone knows of a good, reputable source of Sun Gold tomato plants, please let me know.
Just found out that they are also sending the wrong variety of SEEDS to other nurseries, so THEIR plants are also likely to be mislabeled. Before you purchase seeds - find out from the company WHERE the seeds came from. You'd be surprised at the number of "seed producers" who do not produce their own seed at all - instead they buy it in bulk from the larger places like Burpee & Parks.
And if you're purchasing plants, find out where the seed came from. One company "Territorial Seeds" told me that information was "proprietary" lolololol Guess that's a euphamism for "yup - we sometimes purchase seed from Burpee/Parks."
So far the best nurseries (selling Sun Gold tomato plants, anyway) get their seed from Johnny's Seed - and they are a terrific company. I received an immediate response to my email which emphatically said they did NOT purchase seed from Burpee - and the person emailing said that he enjoyed Sun Gold every single year.
No wonder the plants sold at local Wal-Mart, Lowe's, local nurseries, etc. end up being the wrong variety.....they probably were grown from Burpee or Park seeds.
If you're going to take the time to grow tomatoes - be SURE of your seeds (or if you are purchasing plants - where the seed came from) ...there is nothing more frustrating than caring tenderly for plants for months - watering, fertilizing, tying up - and have them turn out to be some horrible inedible variety.
I forgot to mention that we only prepared the bucket soil ONCE, you reuse the same buckets with the same soil year after year. And far from becoming "worn out", the soil becomes richer. We've used the same soil in the buckets for 7 years now.
If you really want to spoil your plants and assure a bumper crop, put a good hardwood mulch around the plants after they are established (the mulch will help keep the soil moisture from evaporating, will help keep the roots cool and will help prevent soil from splashing up onto the leaves when you water) and water twice a day. In the morning a nice watering with a little bit of fertilizer and lime and after the sun goes down a watering with regular water. That way your plants will never be thirsty, hungry or stressed, and you'll be amazed at how fast they grow, flower & fruit.
By providing a healthy & happy environment, they will grow sturdy & well and be able to resist illness (bacteria, viruses, etc.). Same premise for puppies! Same for humans!