Heads Up

Whew - what a busy week!

Duncan from Steiff has arrived. If you have one on hold/layaway, we've got it set aside for you. I had fogotten how beautiful this bear is. Such a nice dark brown..oooh.

New this week:

From Steiff - Muffy Nutcracker - that teeny tiny frog and his teeny tiny crown is a kick!

From Gund - Wild and Wooly Animal Heads (more on these below)

From Encore - Lou Rankin animals are back! These are one of our all time favorites and we are very excited that Encore got the license. They are wonderful wild animals. There is a new baby penguin that is darling.

Tidbits from Tug -

The Arizona Search Dog team was deployed to help with the hurricanes, mostly in Galveston, TX. The lead dog, Reo, was retired from working about 6 months ago. Pic, a 6 year old Black Lab Superstar took the leadership role. Sadly, during this deployment Pic crossed over the rainbow bridge. They need 4 teams to be deployable. Tug is going through his certification testing and had the 2nd phase scheduled for 10/4. With the loss of Pic, Tug's testing became top priority and was moved up to this Saturday. He's on his way to Oakland. Join us in wishing Tug and J.D. the best and send them good thoughts on Saturday. Go Tug Go! (That's Jackson hugging on Tug and Tug's brother Ben.)

Here's the story on those Wild and Wooly Heads. Sometimes Linda & I try things in the shop and Coit questions our sanity. I really thought he would think that about the Wild and Wooly Moose head we ordered from Gund. Much to my surprise (rather shock!) he went crazy over the Moose. Had it been in the shop for any length of time, it would have made it's way to our house. It went home on teddy bear day and we ordered some of the other styles. The Moose arrived this week along with the Bear, Polar Bear and Deer. And, Linda picked the Bear as her item of the week. Wonders never cease!

Pick of the week-
Linda - Wild and Wooly Brown Bear by Gund

Valerie - Ganley Hedgehogs by Gund (again with the little rodents!)

Our Steiff Event is 2 weeks from today - where does the time go?

Come by & see us, the bears love the company!

Cooler Weather

Yeah!

Cooler weather is on the way! We've made it through another long, hot summer. Bring on the sweaters - can't say coats because sometimes we don't need them at all.

I put my picture up. I must have been 2 or 3, because I have hair and it isn't brown yet. And, the mystery is solved - my love of little garden animals (rabbits, mice, guinea pigs) started very young! I wish I still had that bunny rabbit I'm holding.

New this week-
From Little Adventures - the super hero cape - little fellows really like these and they are washable
From Hansa - their camel - a very nice sized one too

Linda's pick - the leopard teddy from Steiff - she has really taken a liking to this bear
Valerie's pick - Snugapuff Elephant Cozy Cushie - so soft and such a pretty shade of lavendar - I'm thinking this might be a great travel pillow for me!

Save the dates: October 3, Steiff Event & October 18, Front Porch Festival

We've got some great new stuff coming in this month - so be sure to stop by & visit, the bears love the company.

Teddy Bear Day

Did you see us on t.v.? Linda was in all her glory - she digs being on t.v. Valerie was even on, if just for a minute right at the beginning! Thanks to Good Morning Arizona, Brad Perry and all those that make it happen - especially Lorraine - she's the best!

Well, if you didn't make it down for Teddy Bear day, make sure to save the date for next year. It falls on the Saturday closest to National Teddy Bear Day, which is the 8th of September. There was so much going on Saturday - it was great fun - we had Becky & Sue (volunteers from the Visitor's Center) at the shop taking pictures for folks with the biggest bear we've ever had in the shop. There was lots of entertainment spread out - a mime came in the shop - I wish they would talk - they wouldn't give me the heebie jeebies then - but then they wouldn't be mimes, would they? Our favorites, the Taylor Family Circus were there doing balloon tying, face painting & stilt walking. Lots of drawings, make & takes, and fun all around downtown. Plan on it for next year!

New in the shop this week -
From Steiff - the Hot Water Bear - beautiful!
From Gund - finger puppets - all sorts of different little animals from farm to zoo

Linda's pick - Flocke polar bear ornament from Steiff - he is something else.
Valerie's pick - Howton & Pumpkin Bumpkin from Gund - it makes me giggle - the pumpkin singing backup is a riot.

The next big thing is our Steiff Event on October 3rd at the Civic Center Annex on Glenn. New pieces, presentations and a great event bear, it's going to be a bunch of fun.

For those of you who have been to the last couple of events, you've met John Dean and Tug from Arizona Search Dogs. Well, Tug has passed what may be his most challenging half of the certification process. They passed the prerequisite test and are signed up for the certification test, which will be in Nevada, the same weekend as our Steiff event, so they won't be able to come this year. John and Tug are working full time to prepare for this next test. We wish them both the best and continue to be some of their biggest fans. Tug is still all go and little whoa! I'll put some pictures up of him when I figure out how to do that! With all the challenges, storms, budget cuts, etc., the handlers and dogs continue to train so they are ready should the call come. It is a testament to their commitment that the handlers give so much of their own time and money to guarantee they and the dogs are ready at a moments notice. With our customers help, we have been able to support Arizona Search Dogs, and we can not thank those customers enough.

There will be lots of new product going up on the site this week - Valerie got all her ducks in a row and is ready for a marathon. We've put out our fall stuff in the shop this week, trying to at least pretend it is getting cooler! Bring on that sweater weather!

Hope to see you soon!