A "Beary" Nice Visit

This morning I woke--rather late, I say sheepishly--to gray overcast Illinois skies. Quite a change from yesterday when I woke before dawn to this view:

What the photos don't tell you is that in the first scene there were snow flurries swirling about on this chilly day, and in the second scene once the sun rose completely, it warmed the day up to a pleasant--though chilly day by Arizona standards--64 degrees. Needless to say, I'm suffering a little culture/weather shock today.

Click here to see more Skywatch Friday photos. I didn't add my name to the posts there, however, because this post isn't really about my photos of the sky. I returned home early yesterday evening after spending a week in Arizona, visiting my daughter and her boyfriend, who, I am sad to say, will not be coming home for Christmas this year. My trip gave me the opportunity to also meet my new granddog for the first time.

This is Bear, a lovable 6-month-old puppy. Yes, I did say puppy--you may recall my posting a few pictures of him earlier this year and explaining that he is a Mastiff, which is one of the largest breeds of dogs there is. Bear weighs almost 90 pounds now, but his Daddy weighs 200 pounds, so one can only imagine how big he will be the next time I get to see him!

Bear seemed to take to me right away, although I noticed that there really isn't anyone he doesn't like. He is still definitely a puppy with some puppy "issues" that my Daughter is working on, including trying to eat forbidden things like the garbage and paper when they are out. One day when she and I were out shopping, Bear grabbed the People magazine I had brought along to read on the plane and ate several pages. Apparently he didn't agree with some of their choices for "Sexiest Man Alive." (Neither did I, to be truthful.) And on the morning of my departure I found him in my bedroom pulling out a paper from my carryon--my plane ticket! I like to think he didn't want "Grandma" to leave:)

The week gave me plenty of quality time with my new grandson, including attending puppy school with him and my daughter. This evening's lesson included learning the commands "Bed" (funny, I don't have a problem with that one), "Heel," and "Stay." Bear seemed to understand these commands fairly well, although he had a problem with attention, often being distracted by his girlfriend in the class, Macie. In the photo above, Daughter was practicing a few of the commands in the aisles of Pet Smart when she decided to check out a new bed for him. Although Grandma was eager for gift ideas, we both decided this, the largest bed they had, would soon be outgrown in a few months.

On Saturday we took both dogs to the local dog park. This was a new experience for me! I like dogs, but I'm used to one or two or three at a time, not a whole area full of all breeds of dogs running free and playing rather boisterously with each other. Bear loved it, while Odie the pug preferred to sit on the sidelines after awhile.

Afterwards, we were all ready for a nap.

While Daughter and I were busy with several activities, time had to be taken each day for walking the boys, of course. Odie, the pug, used to live with us, so we renewed our acquaintance during my visit, and occasionally I would walk him while Daughter or Boyfriend walked Bear, who is still learning to be polite for inexperienced--and weaker--leaders like myself.

I learned that not only are birds difficult to photograph, but so are dogs. Daughter wanted a nice "family" portrait in front of her newly decorated Christmas tree, but as you can see, Bear and Odie didn't quite understand the concept of "Sit" and "Stay" at the same time. I think she might have to hire a professional photographer for a good Christmas card photo:)

Of course, Bear will pose for treats!

Or sit still by himself if "Grandma" snaps the camera very quickly. I did get a few nice photos of the family--Daughter, Boyfriend, and the "boys"--outside their apartment, but without her permission to use them here.

Grandma still has the touch, though, of keeping the kids in line for a moment at least.

I had a wonderful week with my daughter and her family; since all the rest of my family lives close by, it is hard to have her so far away, but it does give me an excuse to travel more often. We did a lot of shopping and visited some interesting places. Once I've sorted out all my photos, I'll have much to show you in later posts--a good thing, since there certainly isn't anything blooming in my garden!