Last week, I read on my friends Denny and Reilly’s blog about Cotton Candy grapes. I can’t begin to tell you excited I was to read about these grapes. In fact, Denny and Reilly’s mom wrote:
“Now for the few of you who haven’t heard of these (probably our overseas readers) these grapes REALLY do taste like Cotton Candy (or Fairy Floss as it is called in other parts of the world) and the best thing for Mom is they are extremely low in acidity.”
I just knew my mom would love these delectable little morsels so I wrote them on her weekly grocery list. Well, the first market mom went to they didn’t have a clue as to what they were. So mom went to another market. And there they were – I do believe mom said she heard angels singing. She picked up a bag and they are expensive – around $4.99 a POUND. So mom muttered something about them needing to be made of fairy dust… I didn’t get that.
She got home with her purchase and had one. Friends, I can not describe the look and joy that went across mom’s face. It was priceless regardless of how much these grapes cost. Yes, they were that good. Then mom had to get daddy to try them. And she video taped it for you to view. Enjoy my friends and if you come across these, you have to try them!
Welcome my friends to SPOTLIGHT THURSDAY. This is the time that I will introduce you to one of my fellow anipals so you can get to know them better. Some of them, you may already know. We hope that you enjoy this series!
What were your first thoughts when you met your new parents? Reilly – I was 3 weeks old when I first met my peeps – my breeder had two shelties and two dachshund and was a very caring of wonderful lady. Mom picked me up and I snuggled right into her arms like I belonged there and promptly fell asleep – yes I chose her – I knew she was special. Dad was busy cuddling a baby dachshund and I wasn’t to sure about him. Mom and Dad came to visit me every week until I was ready to go home with them and Mom gave me my name straight away and my breeder called me that all the time so by time I was ready to go home I already knew it. Here I am tasting my first ever bacon beggin strip – I wasn’t sure what to do with it so I ran around the garden until I finally figured out how tasty is was.
Denny – I was already 11 weeks old when I met Mom and Dad for the first time – I was very tiny for my age and hadn’t had a lot of human contact so I was pretty timid but Mom snuggled me close and whispered lots of soft words in my ears. I took me a few weeks to get use to them and Mom was my favorite for sure – but eventually I knew they would protect me and care for me no matter what. It took nearly a year before I went to Dad for my first cuddle and since then he is my now my ‘go to guy’ for snuggles’
What was the defining moment when you knew you were in your forever home? Reilly – I just knew right from the first time I met my Mom that this was the person who would love me forever. When we arrived at my new home there was a huge big fenced garden for me to run in and so many places to sniff. Mom had a basket full of toys for me and she would take me everywhere with her. I especially knew it was my home though when the gardener left the gate open after mowing the lawn and Mom went and told them off because I could of gotten lost.
Denny – I took me a long time to get use to being in a house and having people around but I knew it was forever home when Mom bought me a bed and put it next to her bed – it was my special spot and every night I would curl up in and felt safe and loved.
What has been your biggest “Oh no, now I’ve done it” moment so far in your home? Reilly – the very first night I was home with Mom and Dad – they had set up a little play pen for me to keep me safe. Mom was just going up the stairs when she heard me yelp she turned around in a panic wondering why I was crying and lost her footing and fell backwards down the stairs, She dislocated her shoulder and got badly bruised and even though she was in a lot of pain she called to dad and made him check on me first. There was nothing wrong – I just didn’t want to be alone in the play pen. Mom had to go to the hospital to get a pain shot and x-ray (she put her shoulder back in place herself) and even though she had her arm in a sling she still managed to drive from Minnesota to Nebraska the next day to where we were going to live.
Denny – My oh oh moment was when I discovered the joys of digging in flower pots and decided one day to help Mom by emptying them all out on the deck. Mom wasn’t angry as it was the end of winter and Mom was going to empty the pots out anyway to get them ready for some spring planting. What was amazing is I didn’t get dirty at all 🙂
Who do you have wrapped around your paws more – mom or dad – and why? Reilly and Denny – without a doubt it is Mom she is a easy mark for that sad eye look or that sad little whimper- we have her well trained to give us our meals at a certain time – to go walkies when we rattle our leads. Mom also NEVER eats all her food so sometimes she will let us have a little bit of her meal – Dad is tough – he never shares.
What’s the biggest misconception that humans think about you? That they don’t think we understand when they spell something instead of saying it. Trust us – we know what V-E-T means and B-A-T-H means.
Hope you enjoyed meeting my friend – check back next week for another Spotlight edition!
Welcome my friends to blogville’s first annual Anipal Appreciation Day. Me and my Cousin Sammy have collaborated together to initiate this day every year on February 15th. What better time to get together and share the love than the month of February.
Rules for Anipal Appreciation Day:
Post your Anipal Appreciation Day blog on FEBRUARY 15, 2016.
Title your blog Anipal Appreciation Day.
Put the badge below on your blog post for the day.
Give shout outs not only in the posting of your blog but throughout the day with the comments you may get. There is no set number of shout out’s you are required to do – let your heart lead you. We are *not* leaving anyone out. If you don’t make the post on a blog, be sure to check messages and comments throughout the day that people and anipals might leave.
If you can, link back your shout outs in your blogs for them to find.
HAVE FUN! This is the most important rule – have FUN and share the LOVE!
Cousin Sammy – I’ve known him for years now. He is a great guy – a bestest friend and always willing to lend a helping paw. He goes out of his way to make you feel loved and welcomed even though at times I know he doesn’t feel well. And you know what? He gets that from his humans. And technically, he and I *may* be related somewhere down the road with his parents and my parents being second, third or fourth cousins or something.
Brother Easy – Dude! He is funny, he is kind, he is a hoot and he has the hardest job keeping his staff in line with their own antics. And you know what? Any time you need something, he is always there for you with a helping paw.
Felix – Now we all know the regular guys from Fozzie’s world – Dinnermintz, Doc, Forrest, Marbles, Cleo, Jacque, Pickles and Oscar (Did I miss anyone?) Do you know Felix? I mean all of this clan hold a special place in our hearts here at the Hotel Thompson but Felix especially. Why? Because Felix gave up some wool and Fozzie gave it to another person that is special in our hearts – Auntie Sharon. Auntie Sharon then spun that beautiful wool and made Fozzie, herself and my mom a scarf to keep their necks warm in the cooler weather. In fact, my mom calls her scarf Felix. Cool huh? You gotta love this bunch from down under ❤
Shoko and Kali – WOWZER! These are the coolest cats I’ve met in Canada. You know what is even more cool – if that’s possible? My mom/dad have met their mom/dad in real life. Yep nods head. They have and they had a BLAST together. Talk about laughing until your tummy hurts. They are all a cool bunch!
Reilly and Denny – They are an awesome duo that live in a wonderful place full of beaches, sand and the sun. They are beyond creative in finding their adventures from trails, their backyard (minus the snakes please) to roaming the beaches looking for trinkets to keep. I would love to hang out with these and have fun running and exploring.
Cupcake – I’ll let everyone in on a secret with something about Cupcake. The little pooch here – Houdini – has a *thang* for Cupcake. He loves her. He pulls her blog up and watches her picture for hours dreaming about running, playing and watching the movie Lady and the Tramp together. Shakes piggy head. He has it bad.
Dante – You talk about big things coming in little sizes – this is that. Dante is what maybe 6 pounds (kind of like Houdini) and has the biggest heart. He is always inspiring us to be nicer – to do more – to smile and give love. And in this day and time, we need all of the love we can share. Right?
Little Binky – Smiling and shaking my head. I love Little Binky and his granny. I watch him in his backyard looking around and playing around his new house.
Sam – Did you know that Sam is part of a therapy team with his mom? He brings smiles to patients in a hospital and hospice care. I’m telling you my friends, Sam brings a smile to my face just reading his blog and his adventures. He’s a friend that is always giving and giving.
Of course, the list can go on and on and on for days. These are just ‘some’ of the people that have touched our lives here at the Hotel Thompson. It is in no way – ALL. In fact, throughout the day, I’m sure I will be adding more and more here and there and in the comments. We love you ALL here in blogville. And believe it or not, YOU have touched our lives here. You bring smiles to our faces, you touch us when we are down, you make us laugh/snort. We talk about you to our friends – which is hilarious to here. Yes, YOU are a HUGE part of our lives. Each and everyone – from being listed to those that maybe we don’t even talk to but every couple of days. YOU inspire us. YOU hold a special place in our heart. We grieve with you. We laugh with you. We joke with you. YOU ARE FAMILY MY FRIENDS.
Do you ever come off of weekend feeling more tired than you did going into the weekend? That’s the way it seemed here this weekend at the Hotel Thompson. Mom/dad were on the constant go – but before I snort about that, let’s talk about my Bashful. He came home last week! Mom came home late from work one night and found a box sitting on her doorstep. She looked at the return address and knew it was Bashful coming back from his visit with Denny and Reilly. She came in telling me that Bashful was home!
We both dug into the box to find our little guy. And not only was Bashful in the box but so was his friend Sweet Pea. They have stayed up late at night and talked so much to the other pet rocks here for nights now. There is no slowing down the rock clan. I think they are silently putting together a party that they are going to talk to mom/dad about later. Can you imagine that party!? I’m kind of looking forward to it… but don’t tell anyone – that’s our secret for now okay.
But also in the box from Denny and Reilly were a couple of gifts that I have just piggy swooned over my friends. One of them was a box of Barnum’s Animal’s crackers – limited edition. Oh my piggy heavens. First of all – I absolutely LOVE animal crackers. They are up there on my top favorite three snackables and these are so cool! I kept telling mommy, “Give it to me – give it to the piggy”. She told me to be nice though and look at the other gift that was in the box. It was wrapped up in paper and mommy had to unwrap it. What was it? What could it be?
Squeals to the high heavens – it’s a mini-me named Elvis! Look at this cute little pig and he’s black – LIKE ME. I couldn’t believe it. He is so adorable! And mommy said his name was on his neck – Elvis. OMP! He is a perfect addition here at the Hotel Thompson. I told mommy to put him on our book shelves in the front yard. He gets to sit right next to our ninja cow – don’t ask – snorts. Isn’t he beautiful?!
Thank you so very much Denny and Reilly for hosting my Bashful, showing him the bestest of times and my gifts – I love them!
So that brings us to this weekend. Busy, busy and more busy. I think it was a race to see how much could mom/dad do in two days. Really I do believe that. They got up Saturday and went to the worky place. Mom really wants to finish up her year end totals for 2015 and she is getting there. Then she can start work on taxes – shaking piggy head. I don’t think I will see mom until this Summer – snorts with piggy laughter. After mom got done working almost a full day, they ate dinner out and went by the pharmacy. By the time they got home, we anipals got some snuggles and hugs and then it was time for bed. Where did Saturday go huh?
And then Sunday was just as rushed. Mom/dad talked to Easy’s parents in France first thing. You should have hear mommy laughing so hard with Easy’s mom. They were having a blast of a good time. Now, I want you to know during this time I was a perfect pig. I slept close to mom snuggled down next to her legs behaving myself. I can not say the same for my little brother Houdini. Houdini does not like to share and this day was no exception. Houdini kept attacking mom’s fingers and hands trying to get her attention. The only time he behaved was when daddy held him. Then Houdini would hear mom and Easy’s mom voice and want to go at mom again. It was hilarious!
After the phone call, mom went to give plasma at the clinic (#14 donation if I say – she committed to 20). Afterwards, mom/dad went for lunch. Once they were nicely full, they went grocery shopping. Snorts – what a perfect time huh? You are so full that you just want to get what you need and leave. But I’m glad to report that mom had almost $30.00 in coupons. Yay huh?
So you see, by the time they did all of this, where did the weekend go? I demand a repeat without any errands or work. What do you think? How was your weekend my friends?
Oh dear piggy heavens my friends in blogville. What has my Bashful been up to you ask? As you can see in this picture, Bashful is happy, smiling and have an awesome time in Florida.
My friends Reilly and Denny have brought Bashful to many outings with them in their parks. Bashful seems to be having the time of his life with Sweet Pea.
In fact, both of them are learning about nature and other wildlife in Florida. And in some pictures oh my! Once they were reviewing the pictures at home, they saw something spooky! It would be right up my ally in my Bacon’s Tales of Terror – shivers.
So go check out my Bashful’s activities my friends. And remember, tell them that Bacon sent you! ❤
Bashful has picked up some new talents while visiting Denny and Reilly in Florida. What are they you ask? Oh my piggy heavens – you wouldn’t believe it if I told you. Let’s just say we didn’t know about one of these talents here at the Hotel Thompson. WOWZER – Now you just have to go check it out. And remember, let Denny and Reilly know that this little oinker sent you 🙂
Oh dear piggy heavens. You will *not* believe what Bashful and his new friend Sweet Pea was doing in Florida on the beach. Oh my goodness. This might be too X-Rated for you my friends… yet I know you want to see. Go check it out here.
Oh my friends – it was a quick weekend here at the Hotel Thompson. There were lots of things going on and lots of stuff to get done before the big guy comes on Christmas day. Mom/dad ran some errands and little Houdini had a vet’s visit – he’s good no worries there. He just had some yearly shots so he was a little needy. With all of that said, we had a no electronics kind of weekend.
But I’m here to tell you my friends, I’ve got updates on my Bashful. You know he is visiting Denny and Reilly from Cowspotdog in Florida. He is having a BLAST. OMP – wait until you see some of his antics, pictures and what he is doing and who he is doing it with – squeals!
Be sure to go visit my friends Denny and Reilly and let them know Bacon sent you 🙂
Who is this glamorous looking woman Bashful is hanging out with? Look at her markings – it almost looks like she is wearing lace – how beautiful is that my friends? And those eyes – I can just see her batting those eyes at Bashful – and look at Bashful’s grin!
So who is she? What are they doing together? Where exactly are they? All good questions. Go check with Denny and Reilly to find out 🙂
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Don’t you wish you were laying in the sun with these two enjoying the rays and feeling the sand on your body? Do they not bring to your mind immediate relaxation? I have to admit, this little oinker would absolutely LOVE to be there right now. Go visit Denny and Reilly for the full story and what the two did after soaking up some sun.
Squeals with piggy delight!! Bashful has landed and is at his new destination for the rest of the holidays. Where is it you ask? Squeals! He is visiting my sweet friends Denny and Reilly with Cowspotdog in Florida. You must visit them and check out what their mom made Bashful. You will definitely go aaww. And did you know that Denny and Reilly’s mom is originally from Australia? And we all know what a sweet spot Bashful has in his heart for Australia. – Remember when you visit, introduce yourself and tell them Bacon sent you 🙂
This month we received a suggestion from our friends Reilly and Denny with Cowspotdog. This month we are pricing FIVE items from two different stores for price comparisons in your area. Now, we are going to make this kind of easy. FIVE items of your choice in making a meal. Of course, you can use more than FIVE items to make your meal but you have to price comparison shop FIVE items from TWO different stores.
We here at the Hotel Thompson have been trying to eat better these days and with it being so darn hot, we have been eating a lot of salads. With that in mind, we took this month’s shopping adventure with the makings of one of our favorite week day meals.
1 – Head of lettuce. It’s funny how the price of a head of lettuce fluctuates so much. We went to Kroger where it was 0.99 a head. Publix had it for $1.19 a head.
2 – Seedless Grapes. We got a small bag of red seedless grapes, 1/2 pound, at Kroger on sale for $1.19 a pound. At Publix, they had the same for $2.39 a pound.
3 – Shaved Ham. Don’t tell Bacon okay. We got the store brand low sodium ham shaved at the deli at Kroger for $4.99 a pound. Publix brand for the same was $6.99 a pound.
4 – Cheese. We buy the block of cheese from Kraft and cut and shred what we need. A block on sale this week at Kroger was $2.50. Publix also had it for $2.50.
5 – Strawberries. In the summer time, it’s a fight for fresh strawberries. We love them and they are one of Bacon’s favorites. I like to slice them up and put them in salads. We bought a package from Kroger for $2.50. The same package at Publix was $4.99 this week.
Things also in this salad were chopped pecans and tossed with Catalina Dressing. The all time perfect summer salad in this Georgia heat!
Miniature pot bellied pig and friends - Bacon, Houdini, Hemi and all of the Rock Clan with Journalist Rocky the Squirrel all out looking for adventures from the Hotel Thompson.
Last week, I read on my friends Denny and Reilly’s blog about Cotton Candy grapes. I can’t begin to tell you excited I was to read about these grapes. In fact, Denny and Reilly’s mom wrote:
our biggest “Oh no, now I’ve done it” moment so far in your home? 
Piglove 