Great picnic at the parent’s house- I invited a bunch of people, so did mom and dad, dad wrote the menu, I did the shopping, and dad made quite the spread (and that is with half the meal inside, including the cucumber and zucchini salads, the roasted corn salad, and the desserts):
Crab potato salad was my favorite, although the pork loin was pretty amazing (it was seasoned with coffee, anise, and chili powder). Sadly, there was a murder of a puppy wire-haired pointing Griffon. He was running around like a crazy person, then he was found dead in the pachysandra:
Fortunately, we were able to revive him, and after he stuck his big nose in several unguarded wine glasses, was up to full speed again:
Everything was fun until I tried to walk Lily and Rosie home without leashes and Rosie ran off, causing my mom to yell at me for being a shitty dog owner. I had no defense.
But still, Happy 4th!
*** Update ***
Balloon Juice spies are everywhere: attached are fireworks from the inner harbor of Baltimore, sexed up by some pregnant feet in the bottom corner:
Also, this picture is so win.
Comrade Mary
God, that looks like fun. And in another week, that puppy will be twice the size of petite Lily.
Elizabelle
I cannot even imagine taking to the hills after experiencing life Chez Cole (aka Chez Tunch). What could Rosie have been thinking?
Fluted watermelon rind, hmm?
Kristine
Lily looks a saucy business.
Rosie came back, right? Eventually?
Looks like a great picnic.
General Egali Tarian Stuck
Nice to know big happy families exist. Sounds like an epic fourth for the Cole crew and pooches too.
Cat Lady
Rosie looks like she has a nice personality and may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, but Lily is The Bomb.
ETA: Beautiful yard. I haz a jealous.
Genine
Did Lily come back?
And Happy Fourth, everyone!
Keith G
I like how Lily is watching you take that first picture from under the table.
jeffreyw
Gonna have to ask for the crab tater salad recipe.
Litlebritdifrnt
Tonight it was just DH and I (the way I like it) we had Applewood smoked turkey breast tenderloins (done on the George Forman rotisserie), mashed taters, boiled new taters, and steamed veggies (carrots, beets, green beans, brocolli and peas) and home made whole wheat rolls. I absolutely adore the Jennie O applewood smoked turkey, it is delicious and turns out perfect no matter what I do to it. Yum.
Right now all of the dogs are hiding under my legs beneath the puter desk. They DO NOT LIKE FIREWORKS THANK YOU!
Litlebritdifrnt
BTW – I am the ONLY house on the block flying the stars and stripes today. What the hell is up with that?
Josie
The sleeping puppy is so cute. He probably ran till he dropped and slept on the spot. Soon he will be twice the size of the ladies, but I’ll bet they continue to boss him around.
El Cid
Grilled parsnips are a great discovery. The excellence of beef short ribs are enjoyable, but not unknown, nor that of portobellos nor eggplant.
WereBear
Happy Fourth. Just got in from the fireworks; hope I didn’t donate tooooo much blood for the occasion.
burnspbesq
Your Mom still yells at you? In our family, that stopped when we reached age 30. Now she just gives us The Look. It’s amazing how she’s able to give The Look by telephone and email.
SiubhanDuinne
@Keith G: Oh, good catch! I completely missed the under-the-table Lily the first time of looking at the photo.
It all looks like a wondeful day. What a joy to see the dogs all getting on so well.
SIA
In the last photo it looks like Miss Lily is being a bit flirtatious with the new guy, while Rosie walks off in disgust.
TOO cute, those puppehs.
jeffreyw
Time for a snack. Mmm…an egg on toast? Or maybe two?
wonkie
I went down to the dog rescue to walk dogs this morning and met the new girl. She’s labelled a pit mix and maybe she is but her coloring is very unusual. She has a chocolot brown face, brown legs up to her elbows and knees, and a brown tail but the rest of her is a streaky greyish brownish tan. Her fur is longer than usual in a pit.
She looked somehow familiar…
It’s that puppy! She has coloring like him! You you suppose it is possible for a a dog to be a pit/german shorthair pointer( or whatever tht puppy is) mix?
Litlebritdifrnt
@jeffreyw:
Jeff in England an egg on toast (poached or fried) is known as Adam on a Raft, two eggs is of course Adam and Eve on a Raft.
SIA
@SiubhanDuinne: Did you get up to watch the Peachtree Road Race?
MikeJ
@Litlebritdifrnt: I thought that was American diner talk. Scrambled of course is, “Adam and Eve on a raft, sink ’em.”
SiubhanDuinne
@SIA: I’m ashamed to say I slept in!
I hope you had a good Fourth. I just came inside a short while ago from my apartment’s parking lot. There were actually three different fireworks displays happening, from different communities/different directions. None of them individually was especially spectacular, but it was neat to watch them all, basically just turning and spinning around to be sure of not missing any.
I’m off tomorrow, so Yay! Maybe I’ll sleep in again, two days in a row :-)
Mary G
@burnspbesq: My mother says volumes with the Look; if I get aggravated, she gives me the “I didn’t say a thing” line with a smirk.
We don’t have our fireworks for another half hour out here. We have had a heck of a lot more June Gloom out here this year than last year. Still here in July, which means cooler weather, but the first couple of fireworks will look gorgeous, then the rest will be more and more obscured by smoke and fog until you hear the final flourish and just see occasional flashes of light.
Our house is about half a mile from the beach in what has become a very affluent area we could never afford to move to now. Our little kitchen still has the original aqua blue tile that was installed in 1950. New people who come by look at it with horror. No granite! No dishwasher! White appliances!! OMG! But it’s all paid for.
There is a giant wall of Lincoln Navigators, Hummers and Escalades parked on our street. Is it just here or has everyone seemed to decide that cars can only be black, white, silver or grey? So boring.
Jules
@Mary G:
Our little kitchen still has the original aqua blue tile that was installed in 1950. New people who come by look at it with horror. No granite! No dishwasher! White appliances!!
Screw them.
Original aqua blue tile?
Be still my heart.
I would KILL to find a house from the 50s/60s that had not been renovated….all my appliances are white too.
SIA
@SIA: I did have a nice day, my mother came up and we spent most of the day on the porch reading. The weather has been very nice since the humidity dropped. Then the fireworks started so we went in before Woofie tried to melt into my legs. He doesn’t like those loud noises!
Glad you’re getting a two-fer sleep in. Enjoy!
Violet
That picture of all four dogs has such an excellent shot of Lily. She looks so playful and gorgeous. No wonder everyone loves her.
I hope Rosie came back safely. She is looking more like a dog and less like a pig-in-a-blanket these days. The new puppy is adorable!
Spent the weekend packing, as we move in two days. Dinner was bacon (eating out of the freezer) and eggs. Took a break to watch the fireworks. They were excellent.
Hope everyone had a great Fourth. Now back to more packing.
General Egali Tarian Stuck
Living in the boonies means very little public fireworks if any around here. But it is pretty cool that someone is firing off some decent stuff that I can watch right out the window where I’m sitting. And it is good news that Charlie could care less about all the popping sounds going on right now. He’s snoozing on the bed, probly dreaming about butterflies and deer and whatever else dogs dream about.
Dead Ernest
Want to voice a ‘second’ (please) on jeffreyw’s motion for learning the crab/potato salad recipe – and also ask for the cucumber and zucchini salad (or was that two different salads?) recipe –
Can’t imagine the tenor of John’s post would be so calm if Rosie wasn’t back home.
Zuzu's Petals
I love that you are walking distance from your mom’s house. Every mother’s dream.
JD Rhoades
Just got back from a friend’s house, He’s got a state fireworks license and a hell of a budget for his 4th of July party.
Now I’m stuffed to the gills, drunk off my ass, and I smell like beer, chlorine and gunpowder, since I was drafted onto the firing crew (second line mortar).
It was a large time.
SIA
@SIA: Ha, that was intended for SiubhanDuinne, not SIA.
General Egali Tarian Stuck
Luckily, he was only charged with a misdeweiner.
Dead Ernest
@General Egali Tarian Stuck:
HA! – General, I’m disinclined to encourage puns but this did make me laugh out loud (well snort, chuckle and smile) – and then think the guy himself; missed da weiner.
Coincidentally, I had two for dinner this evening… in probably 10 minutes – I couldna been a contender.
MikeJ
If you’re thinking of going to film school, save yourself $100,000 and watch Buster Keaton’s The General, even this super contrasty print TCM is playing.
TaMara (BHF)
We were rained out, big, cold buckets of rain. So we moved the picnic indoors (luckily we had enough good weather to cook outside), had coffee with our pie and watched 1776. Still a bit disappointed to miss fireworks, they’re usually awesome.
I wonder how long before the B-man realizes he’s bigger than his pack? He is all sorts of adorable. And Lily really rules the roost doesn’t she?
The Dangerman
Never happened without a recipe.
Coffee, I get; chile powder, sure. Anise? New one for me (though my cooking skills are …. limited).
Am I the only one wondering why there is a dog in a sling hanging from the ceiling? Am I REALLY that drunk?
Elizabelle
@Violet:
Like you need an excuse to eat bacon!
But good luck with the move.
Platonicspoof
So exactly how far away did she run?
Yutsano
@The Dangerman: Anise is a spice with a licoricy note to it, a slight sweetness that would harmonize beautifully with the chili powder and the coffee. I’m guessing this would be star anise, which is common in Szechuan and Hunan cooking. But even if it’s from common fennel, it’s still a great flavor. It’s most familiar to American palates in Italian sausage. I personally love the stuff.
CaseyL
@The Dangerman:
You’re not that drunk; there is a dog hanging in a sling. But you’d have to be a regular at TBogg’s place to know why there is a dog in a sling. TBogg has basset hounds. Basset hounds are notorious for overgrown toenails – and also for being uncooperative when it’s time to trim said toenails.
I don’t know if the sling idea and implementation are original with TBogg or if it’s standard in professional dog grooming circles. Either way, he rigged one up in his house to hoist his doggies up so he can trim their nails without An Epic Battle.
Joy
OK, I’m with everyone else. Recipes, please, for the crab potato salad, pork tenderloin, corn salad, etc. You get the picture. You guys sure do know how to cook! I love hearing what things you are coming up with. Please share! BTW, the girls are so cute together as is the whole Cole “pack”. And, your mom was right you know. Sorry, I yell at my adult kids for the same thing.
licensed to kill time
@CaseyL:
I knew a guy who worked in a dog grooming place, and he said they had a sling for the doggies that wouldn’t cooperate in their baths. They’d hoist ’em up and hose ’em down. I would imagine it’s SOP for the recalcitrant pets.
This pic takes second place in my mind to the famous Trussing of the Tunch, blurry though it may be. The Frito Bandito mask is gravy.
D-Chance.
Cole, this should make one of your pee-on’s heads explode.
David Brooks = Barack Obama: He’s a party of one, without followers. This is Brooks’s central paradox: He’s both the essential columnist of the moment, better than anyone at crystallizing the questions we face—ones for which there are often no good answers—and also, somehow, totally out of step.
Times are tough for the president, too—which isn’t a coincidence. It sometimes seems as if Barack Obama and David Brooks share the same rational, unflappable DNA.
Wordsmith
Um-hmmm…. I think it sooo tacky to show the end result without inviting US. And what’s with the picture of the dead dog in the bushes?! Good Lord!
I drove around in my end of town – mudderfocking hippieville – to check out any ‘merikan flags out. Yep, all over the place. A tad heartwarming.
Wow! Crab potato salad – I’m not a seafood lover, but that ACTUALLY sounds good! Glad you enjoyed your day.
asiangrrlMN
A good time was had by all. Sounds lovely, Cole. And, pics of Tunchie, please?
@Yutsano: I do not like anise. Then again, I do not like black licorice. Blech.