Road Trip

Hello folks, Grimace here.

Today my grandma took me on a road trip with my cousin Milo.  Meathead wasn't interested in going.

First of all there wasn't a couch where we are going.  Secondly, Meathead just didn't want to go.  His attitude?  Why would anyone want to go anywhere that doesn't have a couch!

I never know where we are going on these trips.  I just hop in the front seat and sit to watch Grandma drive.  This time Milo was with us and he insisted on sitting in the front seat with me.  Whatever! I can share.

"uhh, Grandma, Milo here.  Grimace is touching me! Make him stop."

"Seriously Grandma, squeezing me."

"Geezy-peezy,
 he is fine!"
Whatever!"

"Yeah!  We are here ... wherever here is!"

"Smells like Great Grandma's place."

"Hey, Grimace, Great Grandma gives the best pets."

"She loves me more than you, Milo!"

Grandma's perspective?

Another road trip completed without blood shed!

  Life would be a little less complicated if one of them would sit in the back seat! 

Whatever!

:-) 

Grandma is so ...

... Grand!!

She adores us!  

So a little introduction.

From left to right, 

I am Meathead, the English BullDog.  I am the senior member of this family even though Grimace is a year older than me.  You see I was here first as a puppy.  Grimace was rescued at the age of 3 - so I have seniority.  I am 10 years old.  I am magnificent!

Next in the center is Milo, the French Bull Dog.  He belongs to my Aunt Kris and he is 2 - a young, energetic, egotistic,  pushy, overly alert, and exceedingly cute dog.  The last quality saves his butt more times than you could imagine.  We remind him frequently when he is being a "yo-yo brain" (something that happens frequently), that his mom was shopping for a blond female French Bull Dog when she got him!  Blond!  Female! How she got side tracked by a brown male (even if he has melty bedroom eyes), we will never know!

Lastly on the right is Grimace, the Pug, who is my adopted brother and a pretty good friend to everyone.  He is 11 years old.  But he loves Grandma with an intensity that would be considered stalking in the human world!  

Anyway,  here are The liver cookies our Grandmother bakes for us every Christmas.  They are cut in the shapes of hearts and bones. And she doubles the quantity of liver listed in the recipe.  She knows her boys!!

Shapes are very important. 

Like

very,

 very

important!

Making these cookies in simple circles is a bad idea.  When Grandma made these last year they were in circles.  They were cooling on the kitchen counter ... she was busy in the living room.  Then Grandpa came into the living room chewing and chewing away, asking ... "These aren't chocolate chip cookies, are they!"

:-)

Since we don't like sharing our liver cookies, (and Grandpa doesn't like liver), the shapes save our treats for us.

New followers ... Welcome to Grandma's blog.

An introduction to Grandma can be found here.  Information on Grandma's first Give-Away (it isn't liver cookies), can be found here.

Sincerely,
Meathead

New Duds!

Hi all. Milo here!

Gosh, it has been a long time since I made a guest appearance on my Grandma's blog.  Time to correct that error in judgement on her part!  Of course, she types faster than I do so I will be brief.

Every Thursday I go to my Grandma's house.  Today I arrived to find - a new coat!!

So just sit back and take in the glory of me and my new duds!

So here I am showing off the colorful pattern and the details of my new coat.
I especially like the generous strap that allows for expansion of girth
should that ever happen to me!

Again, this is me ... showing off a bit of my wonderful physique!
My hair is so sparse and short with no fat that I get cold - hence the jacket.

From the top - really quite perfect for the cold weather.
It goes all the way to my tail and hangs wonderfully down both sides
protecting from the cold my ... ah .... well, you know what is there.
Now all my Grandma needs to do is find something for my delicate ears!

From what I hear of my Grandma's thoughts, she now must find something special for her other two granddogs - Meathead and Grimace.  She tries to keep things even in the "giving" department.  But coats for them would be almost cruel because they run to hot, hot, hot ... all the time hot.

Note from Retired Knitter:
A little background on the coat:  Good Shepherd Dog Coats is the company that makes these coats for dogs.

"Made in the same manner as our durable and warm lamb coats, which are relied upon by shepherds to keep their newborn lambs thriving and comfortable in winter, Good Shepherd Dog Coats will keep your dog equally warm and cozy in cold weather."

I found this vendor at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival.  Because French Bulldogs do not run to standard sizes, I had to have this coat made specifically to Milo's measurements - which they are happy to do.

If you are interested in this vendor, they can be found at www.goodshepherddogcoats.com.  Apparently they do make coats for lambs as well (www.goodshepherdlambcoats.com).

No,

 I have not been paid to post this message - 

just sharing a wonderful dog coat option

 with those who might be interested.

There is a new "bully" in town!

Yes, the new English "bully" made his debut in our house on Tuesday afternoon.

  He doesn't have a name yet.

Today he met the French bully. 

He/she (not sure yet) has the same captivating face as Meaty.

The same wrinkly body.

The same droopy jowls.

Lays on his back the same way as Meaty does.

Smells the couch the same way.

Lays on his side with his head hanging
off the couch the same way Meaty does.

"Grandma, this bully is a little strange. There is no drool. "

"Grandma, there should be a smell or something at this end."

"Grandma, aren't I enough for you?"

The perfect dog.
No farts, no snoring, no drool, no accidents in the house.

But no personality, no affection!
Ok,
not the perfect dog!

But cute, yes?

Just a Normal Day at Grandma's House

Meathead
Ahh.  Sleeping on Grandma's lap!  Heaven.

Grimace
Sawing out some ZZZZZZZ at Grandma's feet.

Milo
Sleep?  Really?
 I did that last night!  Looking for action!

Oh crap!  He is at it again!

But Grandma I WANT TO PLAY!!
Pleeeaaasse.

Grandma, this is Meaty speaking.
You know, your first born grandchild.
I have "rank" here.  I am the Meaty!
Can you please make Milo stop?

OK, Grandma, you owe me big time for this!

I'll give him 5 minutes, then I am done.
Done!!

The couch is the only safe place for me!

Milo

Milo - trying to recover from his weekend at Grandma's.

The picture sort of says it all!!

Nuts! Too soon over - the ride home

I knew this moment would come.

Nuts!

I delayed the trip until 3:00 in the afternoon. The roads were quiet going home. No need to take pictures. Nothing had changed from the ride out. But I had plenty of time to reflect on the weekend.

I had a great time. It was quiet, except for all the laughter, and the sharing, and to cooking, and the eating, and the crafting. Hmm .... now that I think about it, it wasn't a quiet weekend at all. :-)

I had taken a ton of pictures, but suddenly I realized I never got a group photo. In fact, I seldom took pictures of people. Panic! Maybe I should turn around, go back to Ocean City, and get that shot. No. The pictures I had were perfect as they were. We were not "groomed" for pictures at any point that weekend. My hair never got combed the whole time, often we just stayed in pajamas the whole day. But those images that never made it into my camera - the happy faces - are tucked away in my memory where they will be safely kept.

I also took a few other things home with me.

The weekend began with the distribution of Goodie Bags!

How cool was that?

My bag's message reflected the feeling of these three days for me.

I will think with joy of that weekend every time I see this charming bag.

I bought candy for mom from The Candy Kitchen.

She has such a sweet tooth.

My cousin, Linda, gave me an ocean side oil painting she created.

She sent it home as a gift for mom.

My cousins (both of them) are hugely talented artists.

This image says so much about the beauty of nature near the water's edge.

As I approached

The Bridge

I realized that I was going to be provided one last beautiful image.

Sun Set

Soooo out came the camera once again.

And the snapping began.

As I took pictures traveling over this previously feared bridge,

I realized just how much I changed this year.

It is going to take more than this bridge to make me fearful.

This year I faced down some hard personal situations.

I came out the other side of a hard year.

I am different.

After the sun set, darkness quickly fill the sky.

By the time I got to my street, it was night.

Soon I pulled into my parking space.

I looked up to my living room window.

Do you see what I see?

There in the window.

A pair of ears silhouetted in the light of my home.

Those perky little ears belonged to just one dear dog.

Milo

Milo was expecting his grandma.

And she was thrilled to see him.

Thank you

Linda

Leslie

Susan

Elizabeth

We made a wonderful weekend.

Until next time ...

Milo a regular Assisted Living visitor

Mom may not live with me any longer, but she is a regular presence in my life - because I visit her about 4 times a week. Usually Milo makes the trip with me. And he is now totally comfortable in this new location.

From the moment he gets out of the car, he walks directly up to the Assisted Living door, he struts with confidence into the living room checking left and right as he walks just incase he can spread alittle of his charm around to the residents.

He knows my mom resides in room #10 - he makes a straight shot to that room and then begins to settle in!

He has a bed there ... and a water dish!

He has a bone there! Sometime he rests his chin on it.

But where does he sleep?

On my mom's bed, of course.

Only "dogs" sleep on the floor! He is a valued family member, and he sleeps on the bed!

And the people keep busy as well. Mom watches TV.

I usually knit.

And Milo, he usually does this!