A different kind of play date today, though. My friend Cindy came over, and brought this toy for Chappy, from his best friend Horatio the Corgi. While Chappy would have enjoyed seeing his friend (not possible, really, until the next time the weather is good enough to meet in the yard or at the park), he definitely enjoyed this floppy, squeaky toy.

Chappy’s opinion seems to be that if it doesn’t squeak, it doesn’t qualify as a toy, unless it’s a ball somebody’s throwing for him. He can entertain himself wonderfully with a good squeak toy, but others, like chew bones or non-squeaking toys? What’s the point, he wants to know? And, for real quality, a squeak toy has to be latex–vinyl gets chewed apart too quickly, and stuffed toys (like this) don’t last very long once he settles in to chewing them . . . he’s managed to destroy perfectly good toys in five minutes flat . . . which is why he enjoyed this SO much today. . . . Note the flying-ears, action shot above, taken mid-shake.

Chappy’s wasn’t the only gift today, either. I gave Cindy her Christmas Tree hat. She was thrilled, and says she’s going to wear it to work every day this week. I also gave her a Lucet, which she admired a lot at Rhinebeck, and a book called “Even God is Single, So Stop Giving Me a Hard Time,” which is funny, and I thought she’d appreciate!

She gave me a Pawprint lace scarf pattern, and a DVD set of Spencer Tracy/Katharine Hepburn movies, including “Woman of the Year,” one of my favorites. Also a copy of “Knitted Rugs,” as a replacement for the birthday book on spinning that she got me last month that I already had. Very cool!

  Guess what else I worked on today?

Yep, my bag is almost done. I’ve got about one more step for final assembly, but that’s it. I could finish it right now if I weren’t so darn tired. By my standards, this has been a wildly sociable weekend . . . not one, but two visits with friends? Laughter? Coffee? Tea? Cookies? Presents? My goodness . . . I go weeks at a time without so much as seeing one friend, and then two in one weekend?

  I even got a good amount done on my socks. I did the heels last week, and have a good inch and a half on the ribbing done. They’re definitely anklets at this point, and while there’s still a couple inches to go, at least, to be fully qualified socks, I’m pretty confident I’ll have them done by the end of the year, which will officially clear my UFOs for Naked Stix 2006. That makes me feel good, but (sniffle) I’m feeling just a little left out–I’ve finished three out of four of my UFOs (well, okay, one step to go on the bag to be officially done, but still)–and I haven’t been mentioned in the weekly updates once. I even left a comment saying I’d finished two last week. And, for that matter, my blog isn’t even linked in the list of participants. (Sniff.) But that’s okay. I know I’m finishing things, right?? (grin)

In fact, I’m so confident I’ll have these socks done, I started my sweater last night. It’s just amazing how fast a sweater can go on size 6 needles, when your last one used size 2. I’m almost through my first skein of yarn, and I have about 3″ of the back done already. Compared to USMP, this is just flying!

• Tags: Chappy, Friends, General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Play Date Part Two //