I don’t know about you, but I am a real sucker when it comes to receiving food as a gift. I do not care what the occasion is, give me food!

Food is one of those special gifts that mean something bigger than just another ‘thing’. Food puts together all the best in life. In addition, the best thing about giving food, is you can be a little extravagant without being expensive.

Particularly in my business, Wine Gift Baskets are the best gifts for all reasons. You can give wine gift baskets for any holiday or occasion as well as for special events. Wine gift baskets always fit in and no one, and I mean no one, will be disappointed you did not get them a new sweater or engraved pen instead.

There is a lot of convenience built in for the giver of wine gift baskets as you can order these gifts right over the telephone or the Internet. Place your order and it is delivered right to your recipient.

I know that some people think that giving a gift like this does not show any special concern for the person getting the gift. Nonsense. This can be much more personal than even sending someone flowers. I mean, did you ever see the flowers you were sending when you ordered by phone or the Internet?

You can certainly place an order for a certain amount of money, and the company will choose the wine gift basket that fits your budget. However, many companies encourage you to pick the items that go into the basket. Here you can become creative in choosing the makeup of your wine gift baskets. If you are sending to a person that has particular fondness for a special kind of wine, then you can choose that wine as part of your gift.

And be creative. Choose the same type of wine from different wineries to make your wine gift baskets even more special.

Of course, wine needs a nice compliment like cheese or fruit. Add these items to your wine gift baskets to make the gift even more special. Here again you can show your imagination and special concern for the one you are giving the gift to by the selection you make.

Let me give you a little tip about making up your wine gift baskets. Try to think of wine or food items that the person probably would not buy for himself or herself. You know how people are. Buy them that bottle of imported Italian Chianti that they always talk about but never would buy for themselves. Or include in your wine gift baskets that special gourmet food that you know they would never get to splurge on themselves. Wine gift baskets are a great gift that will be most appreciated.

Tip on Pencil Portrait Drawing - Cropping

Cropping is a presentation technique that displays a subject within the borders of your paper and often involves a truncation of some parts of the subject. For example, part of a hat or an arm may be truncated or cropped.

Cropping usually brings the subject much closer to the viewer and makes the portrait much more intimate. As the viewer you almost feel like you are violated the subject space.

Here are a few ideas when applying the cropping technique on your pencil portraits drawings.

Balance - Cropping immediately presents you with a compositional puzzle. You must exercise good judgment in what to crop and what not. You must make sure that you preserve the balance in the drawing both from the perspective of shape and in terms of values.

You can usually determine by gut feeling whether or not you did a good job. If the result feels right then it generally is right. If not, you should try to determine what exactly is wrong.

Border - Sometimes it may be beneficial to the overall look of the finished product to use border tape or actually draw in a border. Border tape can be had in any art store and comes in many different colors and various widths. Border tape is generally only used for artwork of which you will make prints because with time the tape on the original will almost certainly loosen and maybe even ruin the picture.

Variant - An alternative to actual cropping is letting the drawing run all the way out to one or more of the edges of the paper. This often creates a triangular composition with pleasing results. It can also help you in balancing the values if there are no other alternatives to do so.

I regularly use this technique when the subject’s upper-body clothing is of interest. I usually draw the head life-size on a 16″ x 20″ ground. By letting the drawing run out to the bottom and side edges I am able to gain enough room to also draw the upper-body clothing.

Imagination - Cropping is an interesting compositional tool. It can also be used to lead the viewer’s attention in a particular direction off the page and force him or her to think about what is not drawn in that direction.

For example, part of the back of a horse-drawn cart could be cropped. A smiling good-looking gentleman could be sitting up-front in the cart gazing towards the unseen backseat of the cart. In this way, a viewer is invited to wonder what sort of person could be sitting in the back of the cart that can attract the rapt attention of such a fine gentleman.

Cropping is interesting and adds to the drama of the composition. It is something you must try at least once.

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Routine health care for pets is critical to their ongoing well-being and overall health. In addition to feeding, exercising your pets and other pet-related products, you need to maintain their general health.

These health care measures include regular veterinarian visits, parasite control, dental care, grooming and more. To learn more about each preventive health care measure, keep reading.

Ongoing Veterinarian Visits

Your adult cat or dog should see the veterinarian at least annually. Puppies and kittens should have a vet visit at least once a month for the first 4 months and then as needed until they’re ready for annual check-ups. Cats and dogs over 7 or 8 years old should see the veterinarian every six months.

During your veterinarian visit, you can expect your veterinarian to look for signs of possible illness, disease or injury. They may also prescribe blood work, prescription drugs, vaccinations or a health care program such as hydrotherapy or physiotherapy.

Parasite Control

The primary intestinal parasites of dogs and cats include roundworms, hookworms, whipworms and tapeworms. These worms damage the digestive tract or interfere with absorption of essential nutrients. Intestinal parasites are typically diagnosed after finding worm eggs or actual worms in your pet’s feces.

Fecal samples should be tested periodically - this is typically done at your annual veterinarian checkup or on an as-needed basis.

Heartworm is another type of internal parasite that is almost always deadly. The worms are contracted by mosquito bites, then the eggs later hatch and live in the blood vessels around the lungs and heart. It is painful and deadly, but also preventable. During mosquito season and sometimes year-round, your veterinarian will prescribe preventive heartworm health care for pets in the form of a pill.

Common external parasites include fleas, ticks and mites. Monthly preventive measures consists of regular grooming, baths, spray and a thorough inspection for bites or bugs.

Dental Care

Just like humans, dogs and cats are vulnerable to tooth decay and gum disease. You can prevent this common problem by brushing your pet’s teeth regularly. While dogs may need daily brushing, cats are usually fine with an occasional sweep.

You can help keep your dog’s teeth and gums in good condition by brushing their teeth regularly and providing them with certain toys like flossies or dental bones.

Grooming of Hair

Loose or shed hair cannot only mat and cause problems, but it can also be inhaled and lead to digestive issues or hair balls. Keep your pet well groomed to avoid skin irritation, which can also lead to bacterial or parasite infection.

Health care for pets is about more than an occasional visit to the vet or treating specific problems. Additionally, it includes ongoing maintenance and a regular health care routine. So, give your pet a long and happy life by practicing good grooming, regular dental care, parasite prevention and appropriate trips to the vet.

Though it is not pleasant, it is possible that in the lifetime of your dog they will get injured. Hopefully it will not be a crippling injury and will be one they get over quickly. The best way to insure your dog doesn’t get injured is to train your dog. Obedience is the key here. If your dog goes into the street they could get hit by a car. So to avoid that, you want to train your dog to obey words like “stay”, or “sit”. Other possibilities of injury are dog fights. Training won’t insure that your dog never gets injured, but should make the chances of it happening far less likely.

So if your dog does get injured, what do you do? The first thing you need to do is assess the situation. If you happen to see the incident, then you will immediately know what just happened. If not, then you will get a good idea when you examine your dog. If your dog is unable to walk or won’t come to you then you know there is a very good chance there are broken bones. Make sure to carefully look them over. The worst possibility is that there is a spine injury.

The next step is to get them to a place of safety. If they can’t move, then to keep them from greater injury it is good to get a coat or anything flat under them. Then you can either drag them away, or if you are able, carry them to safety. If they are bleeding a lot, then try to find some cloth to wrap around the wound to stop bleeding. You might have to tear or cut off a piece of your shirt if this is the case, or use your coat if you have one. You can also use their collar to help stop bleeding if there is nothing else. Just tighten it up as best you can. Some kinds of collars won’t work though. It will be hard, but one of the best things you can do is to try to comfort your dog by using a calm voice. Just keep speaking to them. If you and your dog have had time to bond, then your dog should already see you as security and comfort. It won’t help a lot, but it will help.

Of course the next thing to do is to get them to the vet quickly. Even if the injury isn’t severe, it is good to take them anyways. After your dog checks out, they will need some time to rest and recover. If the injury was pretty bad, you will want to get them a comfortable bed to sleep in. There are plenty of comfortable luxury dog beds to choose from that will work. You want something that will take pressure off of joints so make sure it is well padded. You will also want to put their favorite pet chew toys by them for comfort. Also, if you wound up using their collar to stop any bleeding or it got damaged, there are plenty of fancy pet collars out there to replace it with. Just keep up their fluid intake and try to get them to eat. Closely watch the progress and follow up with a visit to the vet as needed.