Dear Friends,

Grace is busy making gazpacho with all the ingredients from our garden up on Prickly Mountain. I’m going to grab some sweet corn on the way home tonight, too. I don’t grow sweet corn anymore because back when we had chickens, the raccoons would come eat my corn just as it was perfectly ripe and then have chickens for desert. But it is pretty cool to be eating so much food right out of our yard.

Obviously, Small Dog Electronics is a dog-friendly workplace and we are currently in a puppy-phase since Emily has a puppy, I have a puppy and Artie has a puppy. Unfortunately, the rugs are suffering as the pups learn to go outside but it is great to have all the puppy energy around the place. I really feel that having dogs in the workplace can be a huge benefit to the company.

We have a fast-paced business with phones ringing, orders being fulfilled and new products always coming out. It can be a very stressful situation. And yet, I can literally see the stress relief that the dogs provide. Not only just watching them play but as I see them go from employee to employee seeking pets and treats, I can see the stress move from that employee to the dog and get dissipated with a wag of the tail. I always wondered what those tails were for! My new pup, Pirate, has an uncharacteristically straight tail that points a bit to the left (sorta like his owner).

This week’s Kibbles & Bytes special features that Chill Pill Audio, Chill Pill portable speaker. Okay, it does not have Bluetooth, it does not have AirPlay, it can’t make coffee but it will fit in your hand and pump out some great tunes. Think of transformers, this little speaker splits apart and has retractable connecting cables. Plug it into your iPhone or iPod and crank some tunes on that camping trip. When we first made these speakers they were selling for $79. Well, we made a few (thousand) too many and I am offering Kibbles & Bytes readers a 12-pack of black Chill Pill speakers for only $59. You get 12 speakers for $59!