Meeting Fellow Blogger Friend "Odat" in New York

Last week while in New York I squeezed in some personal time to meet a fellow Blogger friend for lunch. Some of you may know "Odat" as she is known from her Odat's Mumbling blog. (We're also friends on Facebook, where she reveals her real name, but here in the Blogger world, I'll just call her Odat). We first spoke via telephone a few months ago, to share a few tips before her cruise to Greece. I had just returned from my Aegean Sea cruise, so it was still fresh in my mind. I was staying in mid-town Manhattan and Odat traveled in from another part of the city, so I am appreciative for her efforts. We had a nice lunch at the Waldorf and had an easy time talking; in fact I felt as though I had known her much longer. But then again, that's the way it is in the Blogger world. We feel as though we get to know each other because we follow someone's life and times on their blog. Anyway it was a special treat for me, and I'm grateful that we had the opportunity to meet.
-Rick Rockhill

Food For Thought With Dear Friends

Enjoying a good meal with friends is one of my favorite hobbies. I'm especially fortunate to have some dear friends who share my passion for food. I generally like most types of cuisine, although I readily admit I am somewhat of a traditionalist- French, Italian, Chinese & "California-cuisine" (whatever that is) are among my favorites. Whether dining out or cooking at home, sharing a meal together is a wonderful experience. In this photo above, I enjoyed a meal with some dear friends at Chef Lidia Bastianich's Becco in New York. According to their website, the name Becco is from the Italian verb "beccare", which means to "peck, nibble or savor something in a discriminating way". The restaurant was very understated, but the food was delicious and the servers were very friendly.

above: look at this incredible Pork Chop. Wow.

above: Fresh pasta with shaved Truffles, and a truffle oil sauce. It was life-changing good food.

above: A really nice serving of veal parmagiana.
A few other fun dining experiences this past week...

above: Chefs at the Waldorf bring more desserts to the buffet table

above: this buffet included a wonderful chocolate fountain. I really need one of those at home.

above: fresh made crepes, cupcakes, strawberries and a piece of pound cake dipped in chocolate!

above: more little pastries from the buffet...and some fresh berries, for something healthy!

above: the dining room at Le Perigord, a wonderful French restaurant in New York.

above: an incredible Boeuf Bourguignon, a wonderful French Beef stew of sorts.

above: Le Perigord's fabulous chocolate souffle, with creme anglaise.

above: "Floating Islands", which are Meringue floating in a pool of Creme Anglaise. Oh My Gosh so good.

above: And finally, a slice of heaven. I mean five-layer chocolate cake. Such wonderful creations. I should have been a chef instead of a pet food guru.
-Rick Rockhill

Westminster Dog Show 2010

For the past few days I've been attending and participating in the events around the Westminster Dog Show. I've been a regular here for a number of years and just love being around all these terrific dogs. The show itself was broadcast live on the USA network Monday and Tuesday nights, for the Best in Group judging, with the Best in Show as the big finale on the second night's broadcast. What you don't see on TV is all the individual Best in Breed judging that takes place during the daytime. There, in Madison Square Garden are the champion show dogs within each breed standing around waiting for their moment to strut their stuff. It's actually pretty cool to walk around and spend time with the various breeds and watching their personalities.

above: Madison Square Garden is where all the action takes place!

above: I took this close up photo from the jumbo-tron of the Yorkie, she was cute.

above: here is "Walker" the toy poodle who won Best In Group for Toy dogs.

above: within the Non-Sporting Group, both the Miniature and Standard poodles were in competition, but did not take the Best in Group.

above: on the second night, an aerial view of the final round of judging for Best in Show. These are the seven best in group dogs lined up for the final moment...

above: the lights in the garden were dimmed for the dramatic moment. Spot lights swirled around the show floor as the announcer's voice boomed....

above: Sadie the Scottish Terrier who won Best In Show. She was favored to win from the start. Sadie not only won the Westminster top award, she also racked up Best in Show at the National Dog Show back in November and the AKC/Eukanuba Championship in December, making her a Triple Crown Winner! I met her owners and handlers at the Show Dogs Awards the Saturday prior. Sadie is a really sweet dog, she looked so happy when the realized she had been picked! It was another great Westminster Show, I'm glad I was here to experience it once again.
-Rick Rockhill

Show Dogs Awards Night In New York

Here's a bit of fun and frivolity. I'm in New York for a few days on business, in part to attend and participate in the Westminster Dog Show (which runs Monday and Tuesday); and surrounding events. I've been going to Westminster for the past 6 years, and I look forward to it every year. As Americans, we are not alone in our love of dogs and the sport of showing dogs for competition. Dog shows are amazingly popular here in the US and many countries worldwide. The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is a venerable institution, with all the pomp, circumstance and good fun too. They promote responsible breeding practices. Most people involved in dog shows love dogs and enjoy spending their lives learning, loving and living with their favorite breed, usually because of the personalities of a particular breed. Breed enthusiasts are really into their favorites. I have my own favorite...with two standard poodles, I now consider myself a "poodle person". I'm sure this will attract my usual share of nut-job extremists who will leave a comment chastising me for not rescuing dogs, bla bla bla. Well of course there are plenty of GREAT dogs in shelters that deserve homes. And the last time I checked, this a free country, so I would tell those extremists to chill out and recognize that people are free to enjoy pure breeds and appreciate dogs of any variety. Since I do happen to care, I may as well mention that if you are so inclined to add a dog to your life, do consider visiting a shelter. You can find both pure and mixed breed dogs who need someone's love, affection and a good home. There, I said it. OK now back to the fun stuff. So last night was the 55th Annual Show Dogs of the Year Awards, an evening to recognize the top judges, trainers, breeders, handlers, and owner teams. It is a rarefied group of the exalted within the dog show world. It is a fancy black tie affair- a good excuse to pull out all the stops and have fun. Oh by the way, the top photo above left is me with friend Michelle.

above: the statuettes are lined up waiting for the awards ceremony.

above: in the center of each table were beautiful arrangements of roses, and copies of Dogs in Review magazine for 2010.

above: I'm partial to poodles- so I snapped a photo of these two posters. There were breeds for each dog group, but I conveniently forgot to take photos of them!

above: dessert was dark chocolate "purses" of chocolate mousse, topped with white chocolate dog, so delish!
Fabulous After Party Entertainment
After the awards, a small group of us went to a lounge called the Carnegie Club, where they featured "Sinatra Saturdays", right up my alley...

above: The Stan Rubin Orchestra was already performing when we arrived. I love the big band sound, it isn't common to find places that still feature this style of entertainment anymore.

above: we made our way to the mezzanine lounge, where I took a few photos of the orchestra, and the lead vocalist who was channeling Frank Sinatra.

above: I just like this view of the bar below, with the orchestra in the distance. This was like a 1950's lounge. It was filled with pleasant aroma of cigar smoke and swell music.
Check out this groovy video from the club:


above: once we had our champagne, we decided it was time for cigars...

above: I'm not a smoker by nature but once or twice a year I enjoy a good cigar.

above: The atmosphere, music and company made for a perfect way to wind down a great night in Manhattan. New York, the city so nice they named it twice.
-Rick Rockhill

Snowboarding Bulldogs Train for the Olympics

You're seen them here before, demonstrating their amazing abilities on skateboards and snowboarding on the world's longest parade float at the Rose Parade. Now Tillman, Rose, Lyle and Sully are training for a special competition at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. Sponsored by Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Pet Foods (my employer) they are training at the Mountain High slopes in Wrightwood, California. Tillman and Rose continue to attract a great deal of media attention. This week, the video of their training was featured in the UK. Soon they are headed north to Vancouver to join the Olympics festivities, which should be fun. Check out this FUN video of them all training and having a blast. Enjoy~

When Dogs Snowboard from Mountain High Resort on Vimeo.

The Jury is out on these cupcakes

It's only been the past two years or so that I started drinking cawfee. I *love* the smell of coffee beans, ground coffee, and freshly brewed coffee. And so, I started a daily visit to Starbucks. It is quite habit forming, but on weekdays I only have one cup per day, in the morning to start the day. Weekends are another story- I like to brew a whole pot of cawfee and watch the sunrise on the mountains. I digress. Back to the daily Starbucks visits. As I stand in line to place my order, I usually stare at that danged display case of baked goods. I have a wicked sweet tooth to begin with, but I usually order a blueberry scone in the morning. Recently however something more alluring caught my eye. Cupcakes. Oh My.
I've been drooling at those cupcakes for several weeks now, contemplating how delicious they would be. Most times my visit has been in the morning, so a cupcake didn't seem right. Yesterday however was different. I made an afternoon pit-stop at Starbucks and there they were. The ultra-rich chocolate cupcakes, calling out to me. The barista girl asked what I wanted. "I'll have a tall Pike's drip cawfee, black..." and I hesitated for a moment and then suddenly blurted out "...and a chocolate cupcake too". The nice Starbucks lady handed me a little box that contained the most beautiful chocolate cupcake, capped off with shiny swirls of frosting. I caught myself drooling and tore into the box. I took my first bite off the top. The rich chocolate frosting melted on my tongue. I dug in with another forkful of the cake portion. And then my dessert world came crashing down. The cake itself was dry and stale. I was so disappointed. I had hyped myself up with such high expectations of how this cupcake would taste. I wanted to go back and complain. But I let it go and sulked in the corner. I glared back at the display case of baked goods, wondering if I just had the one that was left from yesterday, or if they were all old and dry. Or was it how all Starbucks cupcakes tasted? I wondered. I was distracted by a phone call and before I knew it I was lost in the world of work and soon my mind was off to more pressing matters.

I decided that I really need to give them another try, so tomorrow I'll try the red velvet one...or maybe the chocolate one again. I'll report back and let you know if they measure up. Until then, the jury is out...
-Rick Rockhill

My Final Days at PETCO

By now most of you are well aware that last Friday was my last day working at Petco. I spent most of the weekend relaxing, but also reflecting on the past 13 years. As I mentioned in Saturday's post, I need to re-program my mind. Today is a new day- it is the first day as an employee of Natural Balance Pet Foods. I need to do all that normal stuff of getting my office organized and setting up my computer, new e-mail contacts, etc. Before I move on, I'd like to share photos from my last few days at the old job. In all honesty I was surprised to learn that my colleagues wanted to have a "Roast" in my honor to say farewell on Thursday. I really didn't want all the fuss, but it was important closure for the team after my long career with the company. Anyway, the festivities began on Wednesday night, when my direct team hosted a Happy Hour at a local restaurant, which was a lot of fun. Thursday was the busy day; morning exit interviews, an off-site lunch with the senior team, followed by the "Rick Rockhill Roast". The lunch room was filled with colleagues from throughout the organization, including a number of dogs who normally come to work everyday!

above: As I walked in with Sheldon (you can just see his shoulder) I was surprised by how many people showed up. It was very flattering.

above: Someone made a series of wacky posters and put my head on the images. Like this one of Saturday Night Fever. I'd throw my back out if I tried to even pose like John Travolta did...

above: then there was this Harry Potter take-off. There were several others, I just didn't get photos of them all.

above: During the Roast, various people stood up and shared semi-embarrassing (but fun) stories about me or zany memories. A surprising number were either about this blog, my fascination with wearing Ascots or all my celebrity connections. One person told the story of the time I invited Ellen DeGeneres to Palm Springs to visit for the weekend on the first time I met her.

above: I hugged a few people who came up and shared touching stories. I've left off photos of most people- I didn't have time to ask if I could post their photos.

above: One of my team members send me a box of chocolate-dipped strawberries. I ate too many of them before I took a photo of the box they came in, so I snagged this image right from the website. Wow they were good.

above: at the Roast, we feasted on chocolate cupcakes....

above: and CAKE. It was chocolate inside and really delicious. As I ate a piece I actually thought of Empress Bee, of the High Seas. I wished she lived nearby, she could have had a slice! Sheldon kept trying to stretch his pointy nose close enough to get a lick of the frosting. Fortunately I was successful in controlling him. It was a really fun afternoon. If any of my former co-workers happen to read this post, I want you to know how much I appreciate this gesture. It was one heck of a send-off and a huge honor. I was humbled by it all.
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As I left the building Friday with Sheldon and Duncan, I breathed a heavy sigh and gazed up at the blue sky and smiled. It had been quite the ride.
-Rick Rockhill