Even Happier Chappy

Hard though it is to believe, Chappy's had an even better day today than he did yesterday.

This sun is out (kind of, mostly), and he's had all of us home all day.

And, he got to play in the snow again--with his beloved Flying Squirrel toy--AND didn't get stuck with a bath afterward because we put his coat on him first.

His coat, incidentally, is an Apache River "dog blanket" and is by far the best winter coat I've gotten for any of our dogs. Spandex-lined polar fleece, so it slides on without clinging to his fur, and is still warm. It slides on over his head, and then there's a "belly band" which goes between the front legs and velcros to the sides for a snug fit. (Or, well, it would be snug fit except that by the time we get to that point, he's so excited about going outside, he's spinning in circles, so I just take what I can get.) And, unlike wool, it doesn't turn into felt when it gets wet and played-in. I love this coat. He only really wears it on bitterly cold days, or for serious playing in the snow, but, well, I've never been the least bit tempted to knit him a sweater. There's no way it could keep him warmer more easily than this!

Really, I could keep posting snowy-Chappy pictures for you . . . I took plenty of them, after all. For a couple of reasons--one, I doubt I'll have the chance again this winter, and two, he wouldn't look AT the camera! When I was standing there without my camera, he'd stare right at me, willing me to throw something, anything, for him to chase. But the minute I'd take my mitten off to reach into my pocket for my camera? He'd either look away to where he thought I'd throw it for him (as if!), or stare at my other hand holding the mitten . . . It took a lot of tries before I got one where he was mostly looking AT me.

Luckily, the sky was more than willing to cooperate, so here's my Saturday Sky picture for you.

Of course, all of this has left me exhausted. I guess I don't have the snowball-stamina I used to have. Either that, or the additional effort of cleaning off my car wore me out. We ended up with about 6-8 inches of snow with a fine crust on the top. I am so grateful for my Sno Brum. Trying to break through that crust and then sweep the snow off sideways is just too rough on my shoulder, but the snow broom is perfect--it's a foam rectangle that won't damage the car, so I could beat at the crust to break it into pieces and then just push everything away. I've had this for over ten years now and wouldn't want to be without it.

I know, I'm sounding like an info-mercial, but I mean it! They've even added a telescoping handle which has to be handy if you drive those big SUVs. Oh, and while I'm mentioning nifty things to buy--I saw this very cool diaper bag, which I have no use for, of course, but it doubles as a carrier for a tired child--dispersing their weight across Mom's shoulders, which has to make life SO much easier.

(And, no, I'm NOT trying to make you spend your hard-earned money, but isn't it a nice change from yarn p*rn?)

But, well, okay, you talked me into it.

I finished my current hatfull of singles--finally--which means that, as long as I get these plied between now and Thursday, I can bring something else to Liz's next weekend. And, well, I WILL.

That'll be good for me, too--I need a break from this anyway. It's ironic, you know. I really love the fiber, love the yarn, love the feel, the color, the preparation, the results  . . . I'm just tired of the same thing . . . and there's still more than a pound to go!

One other, random link for you--the folks over at Creating Passionate Users have a slide show about blogging to promote a Microbrand. Now, I can't say I'm entirely certain what a microbrand is, but still, the tips are good in general, I think. I'm not even remotely in marketing or anything even like it, but this is a blog I enjoy reading--it makes me think about things I wouldn't otherwise have thought of, and in an informative way.

Now, if you haven't overloaded on "cute Chappy in the snow" (I understand that if you're not a member of his family, that this may be possible), and assuming the link works and that you're even interested (grin), here are a couple of very short snow-romping videos I took on my camera earlier.

Download MVI_3413.AVI (22 mb, 12 seconds)

Download MVI_3414.AVI (19 mb, 11 seconds)

Download MVI_3418.AVI (27 mb, 19 seconds)

And now, not only am I tired, but I'm also stiff--not only from the snowballs, and the digging out my car (thank heaven we have someone who plows our driveway for us!) but also sore because when I was climbing over the pile of plowed-up snow to get INTO my car to move it before, I slipped and fell half into the seat, ramming my spine against the door jam . . . I'm definitely going to be sore tomorrow....

Have a good night every one!

Comments

[Beth]

Cute video! Even Pearl's tail doesn't wag that fast!

[Carrie K]

Happy Chappy! And poor Deb! I hope you're not that sore - did you take any ibuprofen for it?

I messed up my brownies the other day - I blame Daylight Saving Tim - I left out the butter, but it actually turned out quite well! I think I'll be skipping the butter in the next batch.

[Teyani]

that saturday sky photo is fabulous!

[Annie]

Chappy is adorable! And your spinning is pretty fantastic as well.

[Carol]

Cute pet pictures are really hard to take. For every good one I get, I have 100 bad ones. Thank goodnes for digital photography. good job with the snowy Chappy pics! And now I am going to have to looking for a snow brum. thanks! I've been wanting somethinglike htat....

[Kim]

Saturday was an awesome day for sledding. I saw a lot of happy dogs while I was sledding, too.

[Rebekah]

Oh I just love the happy chappy pictures!

[Jeri]

Deb:
Love your web-site. I am looking for a great Boykin spaniel pup for the fall. Wondering what breeder you used. Please e-mail me at jerisaalman@optonline.net.

Thank you.
J.