Peanut Butter Crunchers

Testing out new recipe!  Peanut Butter Crunchers...

I don't know about your puppy but mine goes crazy when we open a jar of peanut butter.  When she was a baby I would allow her to have a spoonful.

Now she wants the whole jar LOL but we don't give in to her begging.

Healthy treats such as these filled with oats, honey, and peanut butter are much better those moments when she is just too cute to ignore.

These will be available at Critters Comfort at Etsy!  Such cute shapes like dog house, fire hydrant, 3 sizes of bones and a paw print.

Place your order for Valentines day not only for your Human Love but especially for your Major Love of your Life ~ That 4 Legged One!

Pets Part three - Blast from the Past

My next addition to my list of pets was Tiger.

A black and gray striped kitten which really did follow me home!  After several attempts to scare the kitty back to where ever she appeared from; telling the ball of fur to “Go Home my mom won’t let me keep you”- I was almost 9.  We had Mr. Wonder Dog ‘Fluffy’ and I knew Mom would be sure to have a fit when she saw this little face of all ears with the super long tail.

Somehow Tiger got to stay.  I think I finally wore my mother out with my requests for pets.  She knew in her heart I was a child who would drag home the stays begging to keep them, that my soul was just an animal lover looking for little critters to care over.

Tiger was a female.  Unfortunately my parents did not have extra money to spend on neutering.  Tiger would have a litter of kitten once a year.  Usually 3 or 4 darling little all black or Orange tabbies, it wasn’t hard to guess who the fathers were.  Our neighbor had the Orange Tabby Tomcat, and a few blocks away lived a very handsome fellow who was all black with a white spot on his chest.

The kittens where never hard to place in good homes.  We even had a waiting list for folks wanting one of Tigers kittens, Tiger was very mild mannered, an excellent mouser, and was very much at home outside in fact she preferred outdoor life than being in the house.  Her offspring where totally beautiful and bewitching! Plus my father owned a Gas Station and once the kittens where old enough they would travel down to his business where his customers where able to select their kitten.

Life in the fifties was very different life style than it is now days.  Responsible owners in today’s society have their pets neutered and expect neighbor’s pets to also be neutered.

In a couple of years once again my harem of pets grew: followed by Snowball an albino parakeet – a birthday present from my grandfather.  I knew I would be in trouble once again with my mother for wanting another pet – ah to be 12 again.

At age 18 I dated a young man who believed me when I said my parents would have no problem with the pet Alligator I was allowing him to purchase for me as a gift to show me his affection; knowing full well my father was terrified of reptiles and that my mother had already informed me I could not bring one of those critters home when I had spoken about buying one myself.  This is one of the most talked about Pets in my family's history!  Throughout my young adulthood, even to this fun stage of my life as an adult in their prime...'Pat and her alligator' is a conversation piece whenever one discusses pets in our life.

Postcards as promotional items

Over the weekend was busy designing business cards, promotional materials, and creating new products.

I thought I would share my promotional postcard with those who are blog readers!

Postcards are an inexpensive item to create and send out.  You can mail, hand out at local pet park, pin up at your local grocery store bullentin boards, the laundry mat the possiblities are truly endless for where these can go for folks to know about your products, shop and just everyday information!

Doggie Treats are Now Available!

Woof and even more Woof's for doggie cookies!

Three different lines are now available for our canines. 

Buck's Chessy Treats:  These are hard and crunchy

   Bones or round cookie shape

Patches' Herb Treats: These are hard and crunchy

   Bear, shark, and round cookie shape

Fruity Delights: Soft and a bit juicy from fresh fruits

   A fruit filled bar treat

As the online boutique expands products are slowly being added to Critters Comforts.

Next to be added to our wonderful furry friends line will be tasty products for Cats! MEOW!

Wonder Dog - Fluffy - Blast from the Past part two

Soon I brought home Fluffy who was 3 months old when he came to live with us - My Dad for once overruled my mother when I begged for him!

Fluffy was part golden retriever & something else that was never confirmed, although the Vet though maybe cocker spaniel. He was simply the greatest dog that ever graced my life.

Blonde silky coat not real long or not too short, big ole soul searching brown eyes, with the flume tail, a faint white crest on his chest and those curly haired floppy ears he was most handsome!

– his first visit to the vet my mother informed the Vet “Fluffy is female” which in turn made the Vet ask my mother how many children did she have – a quick reply was so many girls and so many boys – the Vet then informed Mom she should know that boys have a penis and Fluffy was not a girl but a boy. Mom just took the word of an 8 year old child that Fluffy was a girl. Her reply to the Vet is classic “I didn’t Look under the Tail” while turning red faced.

My father and I sorted fibbed when we stated Fluffy was a girl, since he was the one I had picked out from the litter even though we were told no Boy dogs cause they ‘mark’ their territory and do all sorts of bad stuff. He had taken my heart at two months old and the owner of the litter held him for me till he was old enough to leave his mother. When Dad and I went to bring Fluffy home, only he and his brother remained (who was also promised to another child). We really had no choice since I couldn’t now pick out a female.

So we brought Fluffy home, knotted our heads that Fluffy was female and life began with my first dog.

Fluffy although male turned out to have the patience of a saint, heart of female, and took over duties as nursemaid to many of the little critters that forever where running through my life. Many a time he would gather up my cat kittens and watch over them as if they were his very own.

With the aid of my brothers and sisters we taught Fluffy circus tricks. He could jump through hula hoops, jump from dog house to wagon, he could pull the wagon and he could dance on two legs and twirl.

Fluffy lived just short of his 15th year.

One day knowing his time was close, he simply walked out of the yard after one of the neighborhood kids has left the gate open never to return.

We looked high and low, called all the local shelters; anyplace in which we could think of in those days that a dog may be taken.

I never recovered him or his body.

I still like to think even after 30 years that he is just chasing after a wild and sexy dark haired poodle that caught his attention.

Bringing It Home - Pets - a blast from the past

As a child I was always the one bringing home the next household pet. My mother who never really was an animal lover and would try reasoning with me about why we could not keep the critter that I swore followed me home. Although many of them I dragged along with me to get them to the front door. Raising a house full of young children was her number one reason…she didn’t need another mouth to worry over. I was foiled several times by this response and the small critter in my arms was released and sent packing to find its true owner.

The first pet that got to stay and was truly mine: Speedy Gonzales; my adorable Teddy Bear hamster. My dad built a monster cage for Speedy and he settled into the household as another family member in a house overflowing with kids. 

Being a child looking through the wired cage was not my idea of having a pet. More often than not Speedy got the chance to escape with a bit of assistance. 

I still remember Speedy running around the house frightening my dear mother into screaming for me to get that “HAMSTER”.

When Speedy died it was most traumatic for not only me but my mother as well. Frantic calls to the Vet‘s office only confirmed hamsters die, and when hamsters are stiff as a wood board; they are defiantly dead and children would cry. 

As the saying goes -> I will write about my different friends from childhood and adulthood. Share moments in time with them.   Hopefully bringing smiles to your face or a tear when I speak of times that were sadden by death of a critter whose life made everything that much richer.

Critters Comes Alive

It's been a long time that I have written as Alaska Crafter.  I took a year's break from sewing; after all I've been sewing so long I was not enjoying the creative side of it.  I didn't want to loose that love of my sewing machines!

It was wonderful just to sit back, relax, and enjoy doing other creative ventures.  Such as going back to a long love affair with designing Hats and Photography!

I found I can do whichever suits my fancy for the day with out loving one more than the other

My shops are on different selling venues, each are maintaining their own little niche and providing me with fun and the ability to be creative in sewing, photography, and baking.

My newest shop is Critters Comforts Boutique.  A Designer shop for our four legged friends.  I'll be creating Food Mats, Pottery Dishes, Collars, Beds, Blankets, Leashes and of course Baked Treats especially for our big puppies, kitties and a few items for those smaller critters such as ferrets, rabbits, and hamsters.

I've started listing a few products at Etsy.  And in the coming weeks the shop will bloom into a fun place to find treasures for your special best buddy!