creating things

I feel so glad to have today off. I don't know why this is different than any other day off, but I feel more able to relax and enjoy myself, for some reason. Maybe it's because everything is closed today so I'm not feeling like I should be accomplishing anything.

But- even without pressure- I have accomplished two things!

One, the baby hat started the other day is done. I still have to block it, but I think it's really cute. Oh, here's a question for all of you parents out there: should I put a chin strap on? The pattern calls for earflaps and a tie, but I'm not so into it. Another question for parents: Do you think this could translate into a hat for boys? The woman at the knitting store tisked at me when I said I'd like to make one for a baby boy, and now I have doubts. Maybe if I got rid of the decorative trim and used cooler colors? Argh, why do genders have to be identified by color?Two, I made a pie this morning. We're going to some friends' tonight for a July 4 hang out, and I volunteered to bring a peach pie, since peaches seem to be everywhere recently. I've never made a peach pie, but it wasn't so bad. The hardest part was cutting up the peaches after I'd peeled them, since without skins they were really slippery. Here are some photos:
These are the peaches prior to peeling. First you score Xs on their bottoms.
Next you plunge them into boiling water for about a minute, and from there into ice water for another minute.
Once they come out of the ice water, the skins just slide off. It's amazingly easy, except that they are then very slippery and hard to cut up. Once they are cut up, you just mix them with the other ingredients (allspice, nutmeg, sugar, lemon zest and juice, tapioca, salt) and stick them in the crust. I have to admit that there wasn't enough crust and it was hard to slide it into the pie pan without it breaking. The top of the crust is especially broken up, but somehow it looks good anyway! And I'm sure it doesn't effect the taste. Yum! I can't wait to try it!