The Happy Cow Creamery

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Today we went out to Anderson, and enjoyed a Greek meal at an Anderson diner. How fun is that? The diner owner is Greek, a naturalized US citizen, and we enjoyed a delicious lunch. Then we went to the hospital, where Mike did a little work while I knitted and then we shot a little basketball before heading home. All this is a roundabout way of explaining how we decided to take a turn and see if we could find the Happy Cow Creamery (www.happycowcreamery.com). Without any problems at all, we found it and arrived 10 min before their store closed. What a nice place! It turns out it's probably closer to our house than downtown Greenville, making it our new grocery store for most dairy items. They also trade with a ranch that offers antibiotic-free, hormone-free black Angus beef, and an egg farm that offers drug- and hormone-free, truly free-ranged chicken eggs. So they are able to sell these in their store as well - giving us a local supplier of beef, and a second supplier of eggs. We need to find a local chicken supplier now. Today they had sold out of the home-grown blackberries, so we will go back next week and look forward to some blackberry sorbet. We bought some grits grown on the South Carolina plantation that has been operating continuously since the Revolution - recall I got some rice from there at the Farmer's Market, and we also bought some locally made strawberry bread to eat with Happy Cow cream cheese, and some Happy Cow 3-yr cheddar. They won a national award in 2002 for sustainable agriculture practices. Their farm is amazing - it doesn't stink; the cows look as clean as can be (do they wash them every day?). I'm certainly no judge of cattle, but when my dogs look as good as these cows, I'm very pleased. The cows' eyes were clear, soft, alert, and relaxed; their hides were remarkably clean with bright colors. I didn't see a sore or skin injury anywhere on them. We're planning a trip back next Saturday and will give ourselves plenty of time there.

Here's the finished socks! The patterned stitch didn't show up too well, but they are knit from the cuff-down, in Regia sock yarn on US 2 needles. The pattern stitch is from Charlene Schurch's first book, Simply Sensation Socks. I'll have to try again to photograph the stitch pattern.

I spent the week swatching different stitch patterns for the next pair - made from a yarn that is a blend of wool and silk fibers. Finally found a combination that looks good and have started work. These are knitted toe-up; I'm about halfway up the first foot. Stay tuned - they're knitting up quickly as the pattern is simple and easy to read on the needles.