My favorite colors are purple and green, especially together. I really like the combination. I’m not really sure whether they go together, but they do to me.

The doors of my house are painted purple. The room I use at home for an office/project room is painted Corsage Orchid. My dining room is painted Queen Anne Lilac. I like to wear purple and green too.

My niece Rachel asked me to knit her a hat. She’s a girl after my own heart. She requested a hat that was lime green and light purple, a perfect color combination in my opinion. I’ve made Rachel several hats since she was born (she’s 8). It was years before her mother, my sister Jennifer, told me that all the hats I had made for her were too big. The two I made when she was an infant didn’t fit her until she was 5. My biggest worry was that I wouldn’t get the circumference right (yes, my sister did send the measurement of her head).

Rachel's Hat

The hat was so cute that, as soon as I mailed the hat off to Rachel, I made one for myself from some avocado green and a dark purple yarn leftover from a felted tote bag I made. Even though I tried it on as I went, I was disappointed that the finished product was too short. It didn’t cover my ears. It was more of a beanie than a hat, cute, but not so practical. No worries, I’ll just make me another.

Betsy's Hat

On Valentine’s Day, I got an email from Jennifer to say that Rachel loved the hat, but… it didn’t cover her ears. So, now I’m making Rachel another one too.

If you’ve follow my blog, you know that I like to make soup. I had some ham in the freezer, so I tried out a new split pea soup recipe, with ham, obviously. It was different from the usual split pea soup I make, not quite as thick, with some diced potatoes. It hit the spot for a Sunday lunch, plus we’ll enjoy it for lunch at work for a few days. When I snapped the picture, I noticed that my green soup was in a purple bowl. There’s that color combination again, totally unexpected. It follows me everywhere.

Split Pea Soup with Ham and Potatoes
Serves 6

2 Tbsp olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
2 or 3 cloves garlic, minced
8 cups chicken stock
1 pound dried split peas (I prefer a mix of green and yellow)
2 cups potatoes, peeled and diced
1½ tsp herbes de Provence
1 tsp Tabasco sauce
2 cups diced ham from a ham steak (about 8 oz)

Heat the oil in a soup pot. Add the onion and garlic. Saute for 1 minute to soften slightly. Add the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, then, reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Add more water if it gets too thick (I didn’t have to). Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Eat it while it’s hot!