Lamb Chop

Blogging Friends.... Thank-you for all of your get-well wishes the other day!! Wow. I truly did feel your "vibes"!! And, while I am not completely recovered {It takes a body time to be resilient after battling nearly-constant asthma attacks.} I'm on the mend!!
 

 A favorite toy. Didn't nearly every individual growing up possess at least one? For my sister it was this brown bear named Teddy. She traveled everywhere with that stuffed animal. Camping. Roswell, New Mexico. Home School field trips. Maui, Hawaii. Church. She would conveniently roll Teddy up like some threatened caterpillar, stuff him in her backpack, and he would be her travel buddy!! Me? I flit around like some hummingbird from "favorite" toy to "favorite" toy. And, because I am an oddball, many of them were, by choice, less than conventional. Such as toys from McDonald's Happy Meals. Paper dolls. A Mini Lion King Polly Pocket-style Pride Rock which contains cubs Simba, Nala, and adult Simba. However. There is a brunet-haired, blue-eyed, cockeyed smirking Crimp 'n Curl Cabbage Patch Kid doll. {That I called Nicole Jane, because Hasbro must have been ahead of the strange Hollywood celebrity baby names times.} Comically, Nicole's lavender-colored shorts would never stay up!! Now an adult, I'm afraid that I have parted ways with most of my dolls and stuffed animals. But not Nicole. She was--and always will be--special, in more ways than one. Like Woody to Disney/Pixar's Andy. We're connected somehow, Nicole and I. See, if I part Nicole's wiry hair, there is a skin-colored line stretched down her plastic head. And, wouldn't you know, I deemed that Nicole's surgically-created craniosynostosis scar!! I still own Nicole. Her limbs are dirt-stained, and thread has been pulled out of them. But, as some favorite toys cannot ever be given away, I still possess Nicole. My sister still has Teddy. Question. Are dogs exempt from owning "favorite" toys, much like kids? Answer? Nope!! Rose has this plush, purple-colored Lamb Chop dog toy. {You know. From the television show Lamb Chop's Play-Along with Shari Lewis?} It is actually her second one, and, according to Rose? Best. Dog. Toy. Ever!! They are manufactured in about four different colors, including the classic white. Now. There is one large squeaker in Lamb Chop's body, plus the feet have four little squeakers. What's not to love?! I packed everything for Rose as we prepared our cabin trip in the serene mountain woods. Dog food. Check. Bowls. Check. A can of pumpkin. Check. A black handheld can opener in case the cabin kitchen lacked one. Check. Home-baked dog treats. Check. A brand-new dog pillow. Check. Recycled plastic newspaper bags. Check. A towel for muddy paws. Check. A spare leash. Check. The dog cable. Check. But, apparently, I forgot to bring along something else. Lamb Chop!! Because the very second we returned home--as soon as our front door was closed--when I unhooked Rose's red leash, what did she do? My little girl blissfully pounced on Lamb Chop!! Together again!!