Dimatteo’s Winery is located in a major farming are of Southern New Jersey.
We very much enjoyed the wines here, and purchased several bottles to add to our stash at home.
The tasting room was dog friendly!
Monthly Archives: May 2017
Plagido’s Winery: Hammonton, NJ
Plagido’s Winery had been on our list for quite some time.
However, dogs are only allowed on the patio area, so we had to wait for a nice day to visit. It was worth the wait!
All the grapes are planted, picked and fermented on the estate grounds.
We learned during our visit that the owner of Plagido’s used to have a German Shorthaired Pointer, who unfortunately, he had recently lost. We enjoyed talking to him about the breed, and he enjoyed meeting Margarita.
3 Years Old
Margarita Makes the Front Page of The Burlington County Times!
SHAMONG — About 20 pairs of eyes widened and a few shouts of excitement rang out as two four-legged visitors took over Linda Newman’s first-grade class Tuesday at the Indian Mills Elementary School.
“I want to pet them! I love dogs!” the students said in chorus.
Robyn Klim, the district’s director of pupil services, asked the students to quiet down and gather in a circle as she led her dog, Lena, a 3-year-old Shih Tzu-Yorkie mix, to the center of the room. Following behind was Jen Beadling, a middle school teacher with her dog, Rita, a 7-year-old English pointer.
The two dogs were recently trained and certified as therapy dogs and were part of a new districtwide initiative to support student success.
“Our goal of the program is to provide students with the support, encouragement and friendship of a nonjudgmental therapy dog,” Klim said. “Research shows that a relationship with a therapy dog allows students to be more successful in school and the community.”
The goal of having the dogs in the school is to help alleviate stress and help students focus, Klim said. For example, the dogs could come into the guided reading exercises and help students who are struggling with reading stay on task. The dogs have already visited one class where students were taking a test, Klim said, and they were allowed to pet the dogs to help stay calm and chase away any nerves.
The program began at the school earlier this month as a way to build skills and confidence for the students.
Each of the classes will get an introduction lesson, just like Newman’s class received Tuesday, before the dogs will be brought back for other activities. Klim said that Rita had already made her second trip back to a middle school class who had the opportunity to pet her while taking a test.
The plan is to continue to expand into next year, to allow all classrooms to sign up for about one visit a quarter. Teachers will be able to go into the “The Bark Room,” and sign up for a visit.
As the program expands, teachers can match their lessons to incorporate the dogs.
Both Klim and Beadling were getting their dogs trained as therapy dogs for different purposes when they started discussing it with each other.
“Wouldn’t this be awesome to do for our school district?” Klim said.
From there, Klim worked with Superintendent Christine Vespe to set up a board policy allowing the animals to visit during the day as well as secured insurance.
The dogs will be accompanied by Klim and Beadling at all times that they are in the school. Students who do not want to participate or parents who do not want their children to participate will have the opportunity to opt-out of the program, Klim said.
So far, however, Vespe said not one student in the district has opted out.
Excitement filled the room Tuesday as the students got to interact with the dogs and learn about them. Beadling told the students how she rescued Rita last year, while Klim discussed how she adopted Lena about two years ago.
“I love you Lena,” Keegan O’Brien, 7, said as the dogs were walking around the circle.
Still, he said Rita was his favorite dog that he had met.
“I really like Rita cause there’s a girl named Rita in Power Rangers,” he said with a smile.
For Klim and Beadling, seeing the students smiles and positive reactions has made the program worth it.
“I think it’s very exciting for the kids to have exposure to therapy dogs (and) learn about them,” Beadling said.
Klim said teachers are starting to use the dogs as a motivation tactic for the students.
“I think that (Lena) is motivating our students,” she said. “She’s providing positive rewards for our children.”
Mother’s Day 2017
Being a mother doesn’t mean being related to someone by blood. It means loving someone unconditionally and with all of your heart.
…To all the moms out here who traded beauty sleep for dark circles, salon cuts for ponytails, long showers for quick clean-ups, late night parties for late night potty walks, sleeping-in for early morning face-licking-wake-ups, pedicures for PAWdicures, and designer bags for poop bags…Happy Mother’s Day!
Happy Mother’s Day 2017!
5 Years Old
National Limerick Day
National Limerick Day is celebrated annually on May 12, and celebrates the birthday of English artist, illustrator, author and poet Edward Lear, known mostly for his literary nonsense in poetry and limericks.
National Limerick Day also celebrates the limerick poem. Limerick poems were popularized by Edward Lear’s book “Book of Nonsense.”
A limerick is a very short, humorous, nonsense poem. A limerick has five lines. The first two lines rhyme with the fifth line and the third and fourth line rhyme together.
Here is an example:
THERE WAS A YOUNG LADY
By Edward Lear
There was a Young Lady whose chin
Resembled the point of a pin;
So she had it made sharp, and purchased a harp,
And played several tunes with her chin.
Here at Cello’s Corner we thought it would be fun to try and create a Limerick about Limoncello. So on May 12, I did my best on writing my first Limerick:
