Independence Day, American StyleJuly 5, 2006 It's great to be back in the US for July 4th...even if it's full of thunderstorms and pouring rain, and you stay at the house all day. Last year we were in Holland, celebrating the holiday with two other Americans, and introducing two British friends to how we celebrate American independence from their country. They learned that we mainly celebrate our independence with beer, grilling, and sports on the tv. Warning: Since we stayed in all day, this post is a little hound-heavy, which is something I usually try to avoid. I know I mentioned on Monday that I would be posting something about a tattered kitty-cat toy, but that will wait until Friday. |
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With the help of a ladder, safety glasses, and a masonry bit, Chris got our flag proudly flying on the front of our house. |
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We decided to stay in for a couple of reasons...mainly because the weather was terrible, but also because we didn't know how the new doggie would do with the fireworks. We happen to live very close to two big fireworks shows, and it was LOUD. If you count the Basenjis here you'll come up with FOUR...that's because our friend and neighbor, Lorelei, brought her Basenji (Strider) over to celebrate an indoor July 4 with us. That's a lot of dogs, man. |
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Here's Lorelei on the floor of a room that is infested with hound dogs. |
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Our guest doggie, Strider, is a handsome 2-year-old black and white Basenji. |
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We had four dogs in the house, but they were easily divided into two groups. Here we have the older gentlemen... |
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...And here we have the teenagers. |
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Besides being an older gentleman, Gus also happens to be Alpha King Ruler Emperor His Royal Heighness of The Exalted House and Yard. He did a lot of overseeing to make sure the teenagers didn't step out of line. |
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A little fun we had during the day...Strider wanted a lost toy from under the sofa. Basenjis don't bark, but they aren't silent. Here's a little movie of what a Basenji "baroo" sounds like. Don't worry, he's not sad or anything, just frustrated that he can't reach the toy. I couldn't stop laughing. |
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Every year I make Chris dress in red, white, and blue for the 4th...and every year he tries to convince me that light khaki, blue and a stripe of red on his shoe is enough. But this year he's all decked out properly, and he's even wearing an American flag pin! He later asked me if he could stop wearing the pin, because it was poking a hole in his chest. Since it was still July 4th, I moved it to his lapel. |
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It was nice to have a houseguest who could take a family photo! We convinced Strider to join in the fun. |  |
We had no idea this would happen, but we could clearly see one of the fireworks displays from our back deck. Lucky! No need to leave the house after all. |  |
And since we have a cool fireworks feature on our new camera, we have about a million photos like this. |  |
The boys were really tired after all of the day's excitement. One minute they were curled up... |  |
And the next they were snuggled. Lou (the new guy) is adapting better than we could have ever expected. Lookit how little he is! |
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One last bit of fun...this just happened this morning. Ike hasn't howled at passing sirens in years, but he did it today, and I captured it in another little movie. It sounds so sad! Sorry for the "Blair Witch" quality of the film. |
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My email - staci@verypink.com |
Chris' email - barkless3@yahoo.com |
