Watermelon Treats For Dogs On A Hot Summer Day

Who doesn't love a cool treat on a hot summer day?  I know I love ice cream as much as the next guy, and there's nothing better than a crisp, sweet, cold watermelon cut open outside to enjoy with all its drippy goodness!

Well, guess who else loves cool treats on a hot day?  Your dogs!

Our sweet furry family members patiently wait for pieces of ice whenever we fill our glasses with ice.  They immediately crunch their pieces and often come back for seconds!

Patiently waiting for a piece of ice

It seems this one prefers ice over drinking water!

Recently, while enjoying a delicious watermelon with the kids, the dogs really wanted a taste too.  So I gave them each a small piece of rind.  They gobbled it up in no time, and came for more before I could finish my second piece!

Their enthusiasm for an iconic summertime treat like watermelon had my brain whirling, thinking of a fun way to keep them cool while outside on a hot day, but also make them feel they were getting a special treat, all while keeping them busy and entertained.

So I saved all our rinds, cut them into bite size chunks (according to the size of your dog), stuffed them in 2 large soup mugs, filled each mug with water and put them in the freezer overnight.

Cut melon into large chunks

 

Fill a bowl or soup mug with melon chunks

Cover chunks with water

Place mugs in freezer overnight

The next day, I removed the mugs from the freezer, put them in a sink of tap water for a minute or just until the ice melted away from the sides of the mugs.  Then I gave each dog their treat, and didn't hear from either of them for at least an hour!

They LOVED it!!!

Belle looks like she's saying "Thanks,.mom!" 

 

 

But here she looks like she's saying, "Wait, that one's bigger than mine!" 

And Dixie just says "nom, nom, nom"

So do your fur-babies a favor and fix them a special treat of something cool, fun and entertaining!  I'm pretty sure they'll love you for it. 

After all, we are in the dog days of summer.

The Dining Room Furniture, Before and After

As a follow up to my previous post, Moving Day, here are before and after photos of our antique Louis XIV china cabinet and dessert buffet that was damaged in the move.

It still amazes me, that after 22 years of military service and moving all over the world, we've never had damage to our household goods like we incurred this time.  "This time" being a move within the same state, less than 100 miles from the point of origin!  I guess there's no such thing as a perfect track record!  And on the bright side, it could have been much worse, as some of our military friends have experienced complete nightmares with their moves.

And to chalk it up to the moving company, Coastal Moving and Storage, they took full responsibility of the damage of our furniture and various items, taking care of all cleaning, repairs, and compensation.  In a timely manner, to boot!  While I probably wouldn't recommend them for handling a job that includes high risk, irreplaceable items, their response and rapid settlement of our claim was impressive.

 

The moving company took care of transporting these pieces to Colonial Woodworks in Columbia, SC.  They were the moving company's choice and we knew nothing about them.  While the job took a good amount of time, we couldn't be more pleased with the work they did and the care they displayed in bringing these special pieces back to life.  I have to admit, after the first month came and went and we still didn't have our furniture, I became extremely skeptical.  Of course my mind was going through all the "what-ifs" and I wasn't thinking very positively.

 

Finally the day for delivery came, and I honestly think I gasped when the pieces were placed in our dining room.  Having not seen the before photos, I wasn't positive of where the work was done, and to my unknowing eyes it was difficult to guess.  Once I was able to store away all our linens, china, crystal and serving pieces, I had the moving company send the "before" photos to me.   

 

As you can see in the photos below the work is impeccable!  Sincere gratitude go out to Steve and Laurie at Colonial Woodworks.  We HIGHLY recommend them for all your furniture refinishing needs!

We love our dining room and look forward to many many years of enjoyment, sharing meals and good times with dear family and precious friends.  Come visit us!!!

The Dessert Buffet

Before and After



 

 

 

The China Cabinet

Before and After