Little hats, tiles and stew

Finally, the last of the hot days. Yesterday was a record breaking 91 degrees. We're in the thick of a drought as well, and while the skies are grey I do not think we'll be seeing any good soaking rain for a while. There is still a mellow light coming in through the cloud cover, a bit bleak but it echoes my mood lately. I am taking advantage of the baby napping to knit up this little hat as quickly as I can. I'm at the decrease only section now. Yarn is Trekking 283 that I picked up in Montana this summer, needles are 3mm - a quarter mm larger than most of my US 2's.

The tiles are samples of sister-in-law, Ruth Lampi. She made these on her cross country pottery tour this summer and I think I've found a place to display them where we can enjoy them and the baby won't destroy them. Today is other sister-in-law, Jessica's birthday. We should really see the girls again soon, it seems like longer than it has been. (And we need our drill back). Speaking of family, I made the Van Galen stew recipe this weekend, definitely a favorite with this generation. I should email grandma and let her know it's V.G. stew season again.