Saturday at The Ponderosa

Fall in Texas. You just never know what it is going to be like. Forty-two degrees in the morning and eighty in the afternoon. But I love the cool weather. Saturday we went to "The Ponderosa" to visit. Originally it was to be a pre-birthday party for Jo. Her twin cousins were not going to be able to come to her party so we were having a get together this last weekend. Unfortunately Jaxson came down with a fever and a cough so they could not come. Jo and her Mom had made "Princess" cupcakes so our attendance was requested. TJ and Uncle "Daisey" were going to boil deer and hog heads for European Mount display. Uncle Daisey is actually Uncle Matthew but Jo has called him Uncle Daisey her whole life. Matthew has a boxer named Daisey. Jo would always see them together and called the dog Daisey and Matthew, "Uncle Daisey." Well that stuck and that is who he is to her. I asked him one time if he wanted her to change it and he said no, that it was fine. She adores her Uncle Daisey so I guess he did not care. In the middle of the morning Allison got a call from Matthew saying that he had a bad sore throat and was not coming. Since Allison is expecting grand-daughter number two in the spring this was good as she would not want to catch it or for Jo to get sick. This just meant that the heads would not get processed this weekend. Our "party" had dwindled to five. The important part was having the cupcakes and YoYo and Coach were there so Jo was happy.

Jo and I went out to get the mail and she had a package from her Aunt Jane Ellen. She had mailed Jo's birthday hat. It is a "helicopter hat." This is one of the coolest patterns I have ever seen. She takes multi-colors for the base of the hat and then the top has "strings" which are really I-cord that make the propellers. I don't know if the hat is really called this or it is just what Jo calls it but she loves it. She had one when she was smaller but Aunt Jane Ellen wanted her to have a bigger one. She said, "I love it!" and wore it everywhere. My sister is a prolific knitter. I go to her with any "weird" questions I have or just to ask her opinion about a pattern. We both do knitting for the Knit-A-Cap project. This group makes hats for pre-school and young elementary school kids who live on the Native American reservations throughout the United States. I know she does not want praise or attention but we have done this since 2003 and this last year in 2008 she sent in 361 hats by herself.

After lunch we had the "Princess" cupcakes. Jo had helped ice them so they were pretty covered with sprinkles. The weather was so wonderful that we spent the afternoon sitting on the deck watching Jo do what she does, entertain herself. She has such a vivid imagination. She likes having people play with her but is just as happy to create her own play by dancing, singing, and exploring. She checks on the garden, the dogs, plays in the sandbox. She is just a joy. TJ had smoked a chicken on the smoker and Jo had to help her Mom make supper. The pix is of her stirring the cheese into the Mac and Cheese, one of her favorite foods.

I have another pair of socks on the needles for her. They are Tofutsies also in a reddish orange with some light brown. I had enough of the yarn from her last pair leftover that I am going to make matching socks for the new baby. So much yarn, so little time.