Lick My Face

Yes. I'm back. I got awfully lazy during my summer in Northern Michigan so I think I may have to ease back into this blogging business slowly. By the way, my summer was amazing. I promise, I'll tell you all about it later. Right now I have something more pressing to discuss. Dog licking.

I don't know if you've noticed, but there has been a lot of discussion about dog licking lately. Now I'm not talking about our natural habit of licking and cleaning ourselves. Everyone knows that's perfectly natural. And I'm not talking about incessant paw licking that borders on the pathological. That's probably due to allergies or some other irritant. For that I advise staying off the grass (say what girl?) and switching to a grain-free diet. No, current discussion all seems to revolve around us dogs licking your sweaty mugs. Should it be allowed or not? Now, personally, I like to start each day by jumping up on the bed and licking my dad's face like it was a great big meat lollipop or something. Actually, that's what I see when I look at my dad. A great big meat lollipop on the end of a stick. A lot of people say that puppies lick their mom's face to signal they are hungry. In response mom will regurgitate her food all partially digested and smooth like nature's answer to Gerber's. And I tell you it's true. My pups, when they were little ones, would lick my face when they were hungry. And I would spit up my breakfast for them. I have never seen them enjoy a meal more. They were like cute fuzzy little vultures on a carcass. But, really, when I lick my dad's face in the morning I'm not trying to get him to spit up that protein shake he slurped down right before calling it a night. But, come to think of it, I am kinda hungry in the morning and maybe I am trying to signal to the great big dumb meat lollipop that it's breakfast time in the same way I did to my mom when I was a pup. Never really thought about it that way before. This blog is way better than any therapist's couch!

But, anyway, all the current chatter centers on the benefits to humans derived from a good old-fashioned tongue bath. Well, two of my pups live with a plastic surgeon and he told me about a study that found that scars treated with the gentle lick of a dog heal faster and more completely. My dad extrapolated and decided that all this licking must be like a natural wrinkle cream or the best dermabrasion treatment ever. Now he will do anything to get me to lick his face. Honestly, he really doesn't have to. I love the taste of all those potions, tinctures, and ointments he applies to his face every night standing in front of the bathroom mirror before he puts on his soothing lavender eye mask and slides into bed. Now don't laugh and please don't tell anyone. He looks darn good for 82. Anyway, that stuff he puts on his face is like food for the gods to me. Really I can't get enough.

So all this face licking leads quite naturally to another debate. Do dogs have emotions and is a lick equivalent to a kiss? Well, as a dog, I can tell you I do have emotions. I do love my great big dumb meat lollipop and my pups and, of course, my Frisbee.

Retreat

Yep. That's right! I'm retreating!! I'm headed off with Angus and Roxie and dad to our summer retreat in the woods by the lake. We will be relaxing, taking long walks, going swimming, eating good food, drinking Whiskey Sours, etc., etc. for all of August and September. So I don't know if I will be blogging at all. Perhaps I'll work on my much anticipated book. Perhaps you'll find me in a hammock.

Don't forget about me. I'll be thinking about you.

Divas and Players

Have you ever watched that reality show Dallas Divas and Daughters? It's about these really horrible moms (the divas) and their equally horrible daughters (the daughters). And it all takes place in Dallas. It's mildly engrossing and totally ridiculous. I don't even know what network it's on. You see, dad purchased it on iTunes and we all cuddled up in the media room in Dallas and watched it, one quick episode after another, until we had seen it all. It was as if dad thought it would serve as an educational film for us newbies in Dallas. Here's what I learned. I'm a diva, but also a bit of a player. And Angus, Angus is a total player. Roxie is a tiny diva. A divita. Rufus is a player in training. A playito. And dad? Everyone knows dad is a BIG OLD DIVA and a TOTAL PLAYER. The worst of both worlds really. This is especially surprising packaged in someone who, on occasion, has been confused for a Mormon.

Brotherly Love: Angus and Rufus Lounge on the Floor of the Divas and Players Suite at the Four Seasons, Houston.

Well we had heard (and from a really reliable source), "NO ONE COMES TO HOUSTON FOR FUN." But how could this be true of Beyonce's hometown? She's one bootylicious diva. For us it was like we were starring in our very own reality show Houston Divas and Players. First of all, we were staying in the Divas and Players Suite at the Four Seasons Hotel downtown. It wasn't really called that, but that's how we started referring to it. As befits a diva, we had lots of servants there. Delivering us distilled water by the jug-full and when we arrived they delivered four HUGE bowls of dog food. Dad quickly scooped this up and dumped it in the dry cleaning bag he found in the room. He has been parsing it out to us with our regular food ever since. The first night we stayed in the room while dad went downstairs to the restaurant Quattro where the chef from the Four Seasons Florence had just started working two days before. So while he was enjoying an eggplant and burrata starter, arugula soup with panzanella and pan-seared gnocchi with tomatoes and mushrooms, we were upstairs acting out our favorite scenes from Beverly Hills Chihuahua. Angus, since he's the oldest and a boy, got to play the lead. A spoiled female Chihuahua from Beverly Hills. It's amazing how much Angus can sound like Drew Barrymore when he's really into it. I played his love interest. A German Shepherd, a former police dog who lost his sense of smell due to psychic trauma. It's a very complicated plot line.

Everyday, at least twice, we would visit Discovery Green which is just out the door from the Four Seasons. It's this wonderful new 12-acre park with great lawns, naturalistic ponds filled with beautiful water lilies and those little boats like you see in the parks in Paris, swathes of tall grass, and two small dog runs. And flowers with dragonflies and hummingbirds floating above them. There is a SUPER COOL part where water dances out of the ground to the delight of all. It is teeming with children of all types in swimsuits of every color. And boy is it fun. The next morning we walked through with dad and got completely messy. Good thing they have lots of towels at the Four Seasons Hotel in Houston.

On Saturday morning we showed up for free yoga in the park and returned that evening to find a Mexican country band playing some old country song. I don't know why, but dad knew all the words. Here we met little Olivia and her beautiful family. Olivia pointed out that she was sporting a hairstyle that was very similar to ours. She was as pretty as a picture with a smile as warm as the sweet Texas air.

Houston what a great job you did on this park. It's like some fantastical zocalo filled with community and love and people and dogs of every type. There's even a great restaurant in a sleek modern building called The Grove. The dining room offers sweeping views of the park and the best darn pomegranate margaritas north of the border (or so my dad tells me). Special props (that's the player in me speaking) to Dirk the general manager at the Four Seasons Hotel in Houston for making us feel so welcome and for giving us great restuarant recommendations even before we arrived. Dirk, dad says both Gravitas and T'Afia were PERFECT!

Houston, we do not have a problem. We will definitely be back.

Glorious Bastard

Deep Acres Fields of Gold took Best Puppy, Group 3 Puppy, Winners Dog , and Reserve Winners (twice) over the weekend at the The World Series of Dog Shows in Houston.

As reported by DOG SHOW POOP:

"The big news this weekend was the big numbers in Houston where the Houston Kennel Club, Beaumont Kennel Club, & Galveston Kennel Club drew over 7500 entries for the three days. That meant that Group wins were as big as many BIS this year. Even the dogs getting group placements were making serious advances in the rankings."

The World Series of Dog Shows was a wonderful show in a beautiful arena with tons of dogs and people bustling around. There were all sorts of vendors and you could even get your teeth whitened if you so desired. We ran into some handler friends like Larry Cornelius who won Best in Show on Friday with his Skye Terrier, CH Cragsmoor Buddy Goodman, and Hiram Stewart who was showing John Shaw's Halo, a plucky little Pekingese.

On the first day, our friend Stephanie took Winners Dog with Nordstrom (of Muddy Paws Kennel) and RiLee's beautiful girl Miss Minnie took Best of Winners. My little Rufus took Reserve Dog , Best Puppy, and 3rd Puppy in the non-sporting group. The next day RufRuf (that's what I sometimes call him) took Winners Dog and on Sunday he was awarded Reserve Dog. Not bad at all for such a youngster!

But I must admit, we almost didn't get that placement in the non-sporting puppy group. You see, the published start time for the group competition was 4 PM. So were we going to hang out at a dog show all day? Heavens no! We wanted to go check out Tiny Boxwoods, a restaurant in the middle of a nursery called Thompson Hanson we had read about in the New York Times. And, boy, are we glad we did. It was the cutest place, buzzing with activity, filled with the kind of marvelous people you would never find at a dog show. And the food, the food was HEAVEN! And there was a SNAZZY little shop where dad just had to buy a tiny little sheep made by an artist in New York with a porcelain face and four wee porcelain feet . But just as the clerks were wrapping our tiny sheep in green tissue paper, dad received a call from Shelby, our handler. The group times had been changed from 4 PM to 3:30 PM and the non-sporting group was first up. Oh shit! It was already 3:20 and we were more than 10 minutes away. But dear old dad is not one to give up easily so we flew to the car and raced to the arena. Can a dog get whiplash? We told Shelby we would meet her at the ring and she didn't look too happy as we approached. All the other dogs were already in the ring and the judging had commenced. "He isn't even groomed. Should we just forget about it?" Shelby suggested.

But dad would have none of that and Shelby and Rufus approached the judge and asked for permission to enter the ring. The judge was very pleasant and allowed them to enter. But our hopes of a placement were sunk. No one likes it when you're tardy to the party. Shelby quickly brushed Rufus out in the ring as they waited for their turn on the table and, my beautiful boy, he strutted around that ring like there was no tomorrow and was awarded 3rd in group. Now that's what I would call being fashionably late! Although, I swear, I heard some of our more punctual competitors call it BULL SHIT.

As we were leaving the arena on Sunday another one of our handler friends, who was privy to all the scuttlebutt, gave us a bit of insider information, "Pretty Boys with Pretty Pups. The Bitches Don't Like That." It was so ridiculous we couldn't keep from laughing.

Donuts?

I think Sam is quite swell and he loves donuts! Now that's my kind of guy! Sam was just featured as the pet of the week in the Seattle Herald.

Pet of the Week: Sam is a West Seattle newbie
By Patrick Robinson

Sam is a four year old pure bred Tibetan Terrier and originally came from Minnesota from a breeder there.
He lives with Rian Kjolso and Elisabeth Root who moved to West Seattle only three weeks ago from Capitol Hill.

"He's a great dog to cuddle with, he loves to cuddle and sleep with you," said Kjolso. But he does like to sniff out and open the garbage. "We have to keep it up high so he doesn't get into it."

Sam is not shy about his food choices. He loves donuts. "He ate a box of donuts a couple weeks ago," Kjolso said and seems to prefer those from Top Pot but according to Kjolso his first preference is for rawhide bones. "Sam does not eat all the junk food that Rian said," Root corrected, " His most favorite food is actually carrots. Which I think is quite charming."

Sam enjoys and organizes his toys. "He's got a special Cheetah stuffed animal, he's got a special duck, and he's got a flea, a thing shaped like a bug." He keeps them all in a basket and he goes and digs each one out. "If you say go get your cheetah he knows the difference and can go to get it."

"He's a very loving smart dog but he's kind of stuck up when he meets other dogs. Except for Golden Retrievers, they're like his best friend."

Exploring the neighborhood is a frequent activity for these West Seattle newbies. They've been down to the beach, and Lincoln Park and sometimes walk along California Avenue.

Morning

Dad has this poem tacked up on the wall in one of the guest bathrooms in Dallas. I feel it really captures my feelings about the day, except for the espresso of course. I don't need espresso.



Morning
BY BILLY COLLINS

Why do we bother with the rest of the day,
the swale of the afternoon,
the sudden dip into evening,

then night with his notorious perfumes,
his many-pointed stars?

This is the best—
throwing off the light covers,
feet on the cold floor,
and buzzing around the house on espresso—

maybe a splash of water on the face,
a palmful of vitamins—
but mostly buzzing around the house on espresso,

dictionary and atlas open on the rug,
the typewriter waiting for the key of the head,
a cello on the radio,

and, if necessary, the windows—
trees fifty, a hundred years old
out there,
heavy clouds on the way
and the lawn steaming like a horse
in the early morning.

In case you are wondering, Billy Collins was the Poet Laureate of the United States from 2001 to 2003. But I think once you're a Poet Laureate you always are. Collins was born in New York City to William and Katherine Collins. Katherine Collins was a nurse who stopped working to raise the couple's only child. Mrs. Collins had the ability to recite verses on almost any subject, which she often did, and cultivated in her young son the love of words, both written and spoken. Billy Collins has been called "The most popular poet in America" by the New York Times.

"All babies are born with a knowledge of poetry, because the lub-dub of the mother's heart is in iambic meter. Life slowly starts to choke the poetry out of us."

-Billy Collins, The Washington Post, 2007

Dogs of the Corn

I just had to share this pic of my friend Beamer! He's posing with a Lee's Original Corn Cutter and Creamer.

According to his mom Bunky, "Lee’s Original Corn Cutter and Creamer changed my world when it comes to making this creamed corn that I have made forever. I found it a couple of years ago in North Carolina and have been smitten ever since! The little gadget has several settings and will totally remove the kernels from an ear of corn along with all the precious milk. (Just don’t cut your hand with this and tell me that I didn’t warn you! It’s incredibly sharp!). The milk is what you need to make this creamed corn taste so special (and without all that bad cream and fat!)."

You may remember that Bunky was a finalist in a big baking cook-off with her cupcake entry. And you may have come across the recipe for these divine wee cakes on my blog! Well, I just love corn and I thought you might enjoy this healthy summer recipe. As I told Bunky, I once ate an entire ear of corn, cob and all, and got quite sick. So, I guess, I really could use a Lee's Original.

Before you get cooking, check out this cute video of Beamer (His first. What a natural). Be careful though, Roxie and Angus got awfully frisky when they heard Beamer's call. Beamer is 9-years old in case you care. I LOVE your hairdo Beamer.



Creamed Corn
Serves 2-3

3 fresh ears of corn (Silver Queen is my first choice)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2 cup milk (you can use skim, 2 % or whole milk), plus more for cooking
Pinch sugar
Kosher salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Pinch cayenne pepper, optional

Shuck corn, wash and prepare with a corn cutter tool. (Alternatively, you can use a sharp knife. Remove the corn kernels first and then rake the knife down the cob to extract the milk.) Be sure to collect all the milk from the corn cob in the bowl with the corn kernels.

Melt the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the corn and the milk from the cob and saute for a few minutes until the corn feels almost dry (do not allow it to brown). Add the milk and sugar. Cook and stir for a few minutes until the milk is absorbed. Add some more milk, as needed, tasting for seasonings along the way. You may need to add milk several more times as the corn absorbs the milk. Cook until you have the desired consistency. The longer you cook the corn and add milk, the sugars will kick in and thicken the mixture. Season before serving, perhaps with a bit of cayenne pepper for some heat!

This is a dish that you have play with and season it as it cooks. Much of it depends on the corn you use, how fresh it is and the level of starch in the corn. You will know when it is perfect to serve!

Enjoy!

For more great recipes and fun visit www.bunkycooks.com