Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, she became a butterfly.” -Barbara Haines Howett

This weekend the British Hubby and I decided to make a journey to check out a new yarn store and partake of some authentic British food. The Nifty Knitter is a cute little yarn shop with some luxurious yarns. This week the store is celebrating its Grand Opening with daily sales. Below is a photo of my finds. We were perusing the shop when the British Hubby saw a store sample and declared, “I would wear striped socks.” So we both picked out striped sock yarn. I’m going to cast on one pair this week. I know you’re thinking, I’m not supposed to be adding to my wips. When the British Hubby says he wants striped socks, the British Hubby gets striped socks. Wouldn’t it be neat if I could have them done for Christmas? (Notice I didn’t say what year.)

We also stopped by our favorite British supply store for some salad cream. It was about lunch time so we picked up some British pies for lunch. Here’s a photo of my very first steak and mushroom pie. I’ve never been a big pot pie fan, but the American pot pie really isn’t the same as this British version. The British Hubby was delighted to find steak and kidney pies available.

This is my favorite time of year to try out new recipes. These garlic butter smashed sweet potatoes are a tad over done (I may have set off the smoke detector more than once), but they still taste great. I often find sweet potato dishes are too sweet, but the garlic butter  and cheese provides just the right juxtaposition. This was three big sweet potatoes.

Update on other wips:

• Frank in Pairs: Just completed stripe seven today! The scarf is about 25 inches. See photo below.
• Dewberry Dancer: No progress on this one yet. I can feel some jealous vibes coming off this one, but can you blame it? Milo III is hogging all the knitting time.
• Milo III: I’m on the last owl repeat. Too soon to know if this will be ready for Thursday.

Burt’s been sort of down lately. This time of year most of the local wild life is rather inactive. He can’t seem to figure out why. Today, he followed me all over the house when I got home.