Even Dogs Celebrate the Presidential Inaugural 2009

It was written in the newspapers that all across America people were getting together to celebrate freedom and the Presidential Inaugural ceremonies this past week. Well, our neighborhood was no different, except most of our guests had four legs and a tail!

We get together with our dogs almost every evening after the golfers have finished playing, only we don't usually have cocktails. After Tuesday evening, though, we may start bringing libations more often!

We have Eric Felten, writer for the Wall Street Journal's Food & Drink section to thank for Tuesday's buzz and Wednesday's hangovers for that matter. He wrote a fantastic article (Sat/Sun, Jan 17-18, p. W5), called 'Having a Ball at the Inauguration'. The story was about the crazy party with the American people at Andrew Jackson's Inauguration in 1829. There are some striking similarities between that inauguration and this one (read the article).

Anyway, he included a recipe of the Inaugural Orange Punch that got so many people drunk back in 1829, so I made up a batch to use at out little party. I also made a Barackatini from a recipe off the Internet, but it was not near as special as the punch.


The first cup was delicious! Here's to our 44th President! The dogs were busy roaming around and chasing tennis balls oblivious to the political process.

The second and third cups were even better! Yummy. One person had to go home and she put the wrong dog on her lease to leave. Poor Wrigley almost went to another person's home for a sleepover!




Discussion on the fourth and fifth cups of punch:

"You should post the recipe for this punch on your blog!"

"Good idea":

Inaugural Orange Punch

3 parts fresh orange juice

1 part fresh lemon juice ( I squeezed about 5 lemons for 1/2 and used Minute Maid Light Lemonade for the other 1/2)

1 part mulled orange syrup (see below)

1 part dark rum

1 part cognac

2 parts soda water

Combine in a punch bowl with a large block of ice. Serve in punch cups with a little crushed ice and give each glass a dash of Angostura bitters.

For the Mulled Orange Syrup:

Combine 1 cup sugar with 1 cup water and heat to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Reduce heat to a low simmer. Add the peel of an orange and mulling spices (a couple of cinnamon sticks, some whole cloves and allspice berries). After 15 minutes, remove form heat and let it sit for several hours, strain.

Finishing off the last cups in the punch bowl, some of us could have used this sign crossing the course to get back home with our pets:

I cannot think of a better way to celebrate, it's a new tradition in our house! Congratulations, Mr. Obama and special thanks to Eric!

I See Tears in His Eyes

Wrigley is definitely going through the empty nest syndrome today. The last child left yesterday, heading back to college and I see actual tears and crying from Wrigley, our golden retriever. He keeps roaming the house, looking for someone to rough-house with or be pet or play ball, but no one is here...except me.

For the past three weeks, Wrigley has gotten nonstop attention from the kids and their friends. A lot of time, they would just lie around the house together, watching TV or listening to music. I think he is going to have a harder time adjusting than I am! Maybe, I should go pick up a special bone for him to chew or get him a new toy to destroy.

I keep telling him, it'll get better as the days go by and that at least Laura will be returning in four months for her summer break, but my words are falling on deaf ears. For Wrigley, each time we leave, he has no understanding whether we will back in 20 minutes or 4 months from now. Poor puppy.

Wrigley Delivers the Goods

I know you are all waiting for an update on the findings in Wrigley's poo, so here goes:

Yesterday, his droppings included one earring stud minus the stone, a broken golf tee (the sharp end), a colorful beaded child's necklace and part of a shredded, red Tupperware top, oh and some noodles. No pink razor yet.

I'd like to put in on record that we do feed him dry dog food twice a day. He loves it; it takes all of 45 seconds for Wrigley to consume 2.5 cups of food each feeding. Still, who could resist a little sparkly jewelry for a midday snack? I think he's really going to miss Laura when she returns to college next week with all the yummy taste treats lying around in her room!

What Do Wrigley and the last Emperor of China Have in Common?

Today is day two of our latest ordeal with Wrigley, our 16 month old golden retriever. (My husband caught him chewing a plastic razor from a bathroom trash can and the sharp razor part had already been swallowed). He is showing no signs of pain or discomfort but remember that this is the same dog that runs directly into stucco walls in the backyard without even a whimper.

He's had a steady diet of breads and rice that hopefully have coated the sharp edges of the razor as it slips through his 80-pound body. And although it's one of the most unpleasant things I do all day, I am checking his #2 droppings similar to how the servant/workers checked the bowel movements for the last Emperor of China. Don't you remember in the movie, they checked to see the color of his urine and the consistency of his poos and adjust his menu to "fix" or correct any problems? Here's the clip for the movie in case you forgotten it (the movie came out 10 years ago, so maybe you weren't even going to movies yet). The child actor was so adorable, but his life was pretty sad overall.

http://www.imdb.com/rg/VIDEO_PLAY/LINK//video/screenplay/vi2156855577/

Anyway, my careful examinations show me nothing unusual has passed through my puppy yet and it makes me wonder just how long this item is going to take to get through him. What if he's bleeding inside his intestines or someplace and we don't even know?! It's really kind of scary when you think about it........

..........Scary for me and the family, but Wrigley is oblivious. He's happy all the time. Every night, we head out to the golf course (we call it our dog park, FYI) and he runs for tennis balls, tackles his buddies and occasionally tromps through the sand traps (shhh! don't tell anyone).

Keep your fingers crossed that maybe tonight the razor will reveal itself and Wrigley is fine!

Today, Wrigley got into a trash can and ate one of those plastic shavers. Not the whole thing, mind you. Just the razor part! Bill caught him seconds later and tried to grab down his throat to retrieve it, but to no avail. I tried, too.

We have given him some bread and rice and do not know what else to do but sit and pray that Wrigley will be okay. Wrigley is 15 months old and he has already eaten so many things that should not go through a puppy's system. Whole socks, baby back ribs bones and countless dog toy parts have made their way through this strong little (well, 80 pound) puppy.

Say a little prayer and keep your fingers crossed for Wrigley tonight!