Almost Ready

I am in the process of packing. Leaving in the morning to go visit Little Sister and the rest of her family. One thing that I'm excited to pack is the pink cap I made for Little Sister last week. She picked the yarn out herself the last time I was out there. The wonderful yarn shop, Mockingbird Moon, even has a play area for little ones, so she likes going there with Mimi.

We looked at several pink yarns but she never changed her mind.  She continued to point to the same yarn as we shopped. "This one!" And so it was decided—pink Lamb's Pride wool. I started a couple of different patterns before Christmas that just didn't feel right. Then a Ravelry friend, Sonja, made cute red caps this winter and when I saw that pattern, I knew that's what I was looking for.

Pattern:  Hibernatum in Inca Alpaca

Yarn: Lamb's Pride worsted

Needles: size 7

The pink cap was finished quickly. Except for the pompom. When I commented on my Ravelry page that it was all done but I was waiting to make the pompom, another dear Ravelry friend, Diane, read that and promptly dropped a set of pompom makers in the mail to me. (Love these long distance Ravelry folks--they are the online/knitting equilvalent of penpals we used to have years ago.) 

Diane also tucked a page from At Knit's End (by Stephanie Pearl-McPhree) into the package. I have read it several times. It is totally appropriate for this trip. Here is a sentence from that short essay...

Just because he says he wants purple mittens, and you believe you have knit purple mitten, is no reason to believe that the three-year-old in question will believe that these are indeed purple mittens.

And the essay ends with this....

I will remember not to knit for three-year-olds unless I am going to be pretty relaxed about rejection. 

We will find out soon if Little Sister thinks this is a pink cap. And if she likes it.

This will be a quick trip, but even so Daddy-O must stay home to babysit the cows. They must be fed daily during the winter. So I am preparing a few things that will make meals easy for him until I get back. This pot roast is cooking now while I pack. It's a good recipe. It's easy. It freezes well. What more could you want. (I'll divide this up into smaller portions for the freezer.) If you haven't tried this, it's a recipe we have loved.

3-PACKET POT ROAST

beef roast, about 3-lbs (I like a chuck roast, but others will work)
1 packet Italian dressing mix, dry
1 packet ranch dressing mix, dry
1 packet brown gravy mix, dry
1 cup water.

Place roast into Crockpot. Sprinkle all the dry mixes over the top. Pour water over all. (I used a fork and lightly mixed the dry stuff up a little here.) Cook on LOW for 8-10 hours.

I know the sun will rise in the midwest, too, 

but I'll miss this view for the next few days.

Remember the Cauliflower Soup I made last week? I got this email a few days ago from a Canadian reader of this blog. You really need to try it, too.

"We had your cauliflower soup recipe for supper on the basis of Daddy-O's recommendation, and [my wife] says we are going to have it once a week from now on! "