I Heart Pom Poms and The Devil Cat

Cross country ski season is here, and with it comes a new ski hat. May I present to you I Heart Pom Poms by Karen Borrel. I have somehow managed to give away all of my previous ski hats, and this yarn, the butter soft (and superwash!) Malabrigo Rios in Azul Profundo is leftover from my cardigan design. I have one more skein left, and I hope to transform it into a matching cowl or scarf.

 

Even though I wouldn't describe myself as a lover of pom poms, I knew I had to make this hat when I saw my friend's FO. The nifty part of this design is that it can be transformed quickly into a cowl, although I don't see myself ever wearing it like that since having two pom poms around my neck would make me look like I have goiter. 

I made some minor modifications to this hat:

• CO 88 stitches instead of 92 - I think I could have reduced the number of stitches by 4 more for an even better fit
• 1x1 ribbing with size 6 needles both at the bottom and top of hat
• Body of hat with size 8 needles
• Stitch markers for eyelets every 22 sts
• 10 purl ridge repeats instead of 9 for more slouch

 All this skiing means that my cousin is watching the house and, more importantly, the beasts. Greaseball lived up to his beastly reputation and woke my poor cousin up when he thought it was an appropriate time for breakfast. Let me assure you that it was not an appropriate time for breakfast. It never is when that devil cat wakes me up.

You can find more of his work at http://hyperdoodle.blogspot.com.

Gimpy Dogs and Java Curry

So, Vespa had a mini-me lump growing on her side. I noticed it a couple of years ago, and our vet said since it was a slow growing lump that wasn't attached to her muscles, that we could safely leave it if it didn't seem to bother her. Earlier this week, it was obvious that it was bothering her since she had taken an interest into chewing it, and since no good can come of a dog chewing a lump on her side, off to the vet she went. The lump was safely removed and we had confirmation that it was a benign cyst that needed no further examination. Whew!

Now, the hard part: 14 days of no jumping or running and only leashed walks as exercise. This means that there is no wrestling with Mingus and no chasing the squirrels who taunt her so in our backyard. Oh boy... I don't know if it is going to be harder for her or for me.

On top of Vespa's surgery, it was a busy week that was in need of some comfort food.

The boy hates this stuff, and he can't understand why I find a processed curry sauce comforting when I recoil at most boxed foods. The answer? I don't know, but Japanese curry roux is delicious and I'm not going to question it. I find Java Curry especially spicy and tasty, and it's even better if you marinate your chicken overnight with a little rice wine, garlic, sesame oil, and soy sauce. Oh, and if you have some fat, juicy carrots from Full Belly Farms, your curry will be even better.

 

The boy asked if Japanese curry was the equivalent to "poor white trash" food, and I told him no because there is a bit of prep work to do that involves real chicken and vegetables. However, maybe he does have a point in that I'm prejudiced about my convenience foods, and that really there is no difference. Whatever. More curry for me.