Potatoes in the Mist

I just finished knitting this cowl. I really like it. I recently realized I like cowls better than scarves. The pattern is on Ravelry; it's called "A Cowl'd and Frosty Morning." (Bad pun, I know.)

Recently found out that someone I know is an anti-vaxxer (her two-year-old had not been vaccinated for anything). This was worrisome because of the measles outbreak that has been spreading (14 states now, according to the New York Times) and various other reasons. Fortunately we have talked her out of it. She was planning to use a "religious exemption" to New York state law to avoid getting the vaccines for school. But recently a federal judge upheld a New York City school's decision to keep unvaccinated children home from school for months at a time, because of the health risks they pose to other children. So I'm glad she changed her mind.

Tomorrow I think I will try to make a "Dutch baby," i.e., a pancake that will feed 3-4 people. You cook it in a cast iron skillet in the oven. Then you can scatter some apples, sauteed in cinnamon and sugar, on top. The cast iron skillet is very heavy - the first thing I thought when I lifted it was, "murder weapon." Not that I am going to kill anyone - but I read a lot of murder mysteries. I took a "What is your spirit animal?" quiz on Facebook, and it said I was a cat. I love when you get the exact result you want :)

Funny how when you see examples of good decor online, they are usually white (living rooms, etc.) Can't decide if it looks classy or sterile. Would also be a disaster with small children.

I want to make this . (There's a lot of text before the recipe...but it looks good.)

Discovered a new series by M.C. Beaton today. I've been reading her Agatha Raisin series for years. This series is about a Scottish detective named Hamish Macbeth. You really can't go wrong with this writer.

So I read online that if you put Vicks Vapor Rub on a child's (or adult's) feet, then put socks on, coughing will vanish instantly. I checked on snopes.com and found out that, even though no one knows why, this works 100% of the time. So I'm trying it for Z tonight. She was coughing for about an hour in the middle of the night, ugh.    

I took a friend's advice and dusted off my Etsy shop. I'll be gradually adding items. If you want to take a peek, the URL is etsy.com/shop/bearette24.

I woke up to this (our first real snow of the season), through a screen window: I was surprised they didn't cancel school, but NYC is tough about that. Upstate, outside of the city, most of the school districts were canceled. The snowfall seems to be slowing down now, though.

Just finished reading A Conspiracy of Friends by Alexander McCall Smith. He's an extremely prolific author who has written about 5 series. This one was particularly fun, including a scene where a loathsome character got trapped in a particle accelerator. Instead of "atomizing" him, as one physicist feared, he took a turn for the better - becoming more altruistic.

I finished another piece of knitting. It's called a shawlette, but could easily function as a large scarf. I like the way it came out.

Just finished knitting a sweater. Very happy with how it came out :)

One of Zoe's teachers (a "permanent floater") made hats for all the children. Zoe's hat is very cute. I noticed she incorporated pink. One of the teachers calls her "Pinkalicious."

I just put some pineapple upside down cake. It reminds me of our trip to Hawaii. This restaurant near our hotel had it. My recipe is very simple: you melt some butter in the oven, mix in some brown sugar, put in some pineapple slices, then pour some cake mix on top. I wish it didn't take so long to get to Hawaii. We got an invitation to a party this weekend. Last weekend, the host and hostess were sick with a stomach virus. I wonder if it's the same one we had, and if we should go to the party.

We have our annual Christmas stomach virus. Also found out that my sister-in-law is pregnant (this will be Baby #2).

The Trader Joe pumpkin pancake mix is always in big demand. It hits the shelves in the fall. When I was at Trader Joe's recently, I spotted a guy in their trademark shirt and asked him, "Is the pumpkin pancake mix out yet?" He glanced around and lowered his voice nervously. "If it's not out, I can't give it to you yet. But it should be out later tonight." "Okay," I said, feeling like we had been discussing some popular but very illicit drug. At a different Trader Joe's, I found the pumpkin pancake mix - but in a different form! Alas, it was now gluten free. I bought it anyway and tried it. The kids and I liked it (D doesn't eat pumpkin). But it flies off the shelves equally fast.

Recently they finished final construction on the Highline (to the tune of $34 million). We decided to explore the new section today. It was a beautiful day. We are having a three-day Indian summer.

Here is my new cardigan! It was fun to knit. I might make it again in a smaller size and different color. It's very soft. 

Finished the bag! Nice quick project. Am reading The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters...

This will turn into a shoulder bag. I love the color. Is anyone else a little disappointed that Scotland did not become independent? Though I guess it would have been a disaster. On a related political note: I really want Elizabeth Warren to run for president in 2016.