Happy New Year, everyone!

I hope everyone had a great New Year. We did a small bit of a pub crawl, so here are the reviews of the beers we sampled:

1) Sam Adams Christmas Ale (draught): Dark amber, nice head. Bitter but smooth taste, similar to Guiness. Spicy aftertaste. Would go well with pizza rolls.

2) Red Stripe (bottle): Smooth. Not bitter, mild. No pronounced aftertaste. Similar to Bud. Would go well with hot wings.

3) Smithwick's (draught): Weak head, very dark color. Smooth and slightly bitter. Bit of a peaty aftertaste. Would go well with corned beef.

4) Guiness (draught): Strong head, extremely dark color. Clear, light taste. Not harsh. Not much of an aftertaste, maybe a very little bitter. Would go well with sausages.

and, for the beer I am drinking right now...

Blatz (can): Highly carbonated, so a very spicy, bubbly initial taste (sort of like the first drink out of a new can of Coke). Mild and inoffensive, surprisingly good for being one of the cheapest beers in the supermarket. A sour aftertaste, so pair it with something strongly flavored...I'll be trying sushi as soon as the rice cools off and I can roll it. I think something salty like Doritos would also be good.

Well, now that you all think I'm a lush :-) on to my knitting.

Here is the latest hat I made for Fairview Hospital:

They gave me one skein each of pink, blue, and white and said I could make solid colors or patterns, but to not mix pink and blue on the same hat (to make it easier to sort them for boys and girls).

Here it is modeled by the stylish Teddy:

No, the hat is not down too far on one side, he only has one eye. I got him the Christmas I had just turned three, and his eye fell out the same evening. All subsequent attempts to attach an eye have been unsuccessful...for some reason they kept coming out, so after a few years we gave up.

This bear has been everywhere! Girl Scout campouts, operating rooms, delivery rooms, you name it. You can see the hospital bracelet on his arm, which is a souvenier from the admissions nurse when I went in for my tonsillectomy.

Pause while I roll the sushi....

Yummm...yes, the Blatz does in fact go well with the sushi. Unfortunately I am out of wasabi, so I had to substitute Sriracha hot chili sauce. It was really good!

And more knitting:

This is how far I've gotten on a Baby Surprise Jacket. I'm using KnitPicks' Harmony needles 4mm and Bernat Sweet Stripes.