Tea

My love for tea has only started in my 40s. My parents drank a very strong tea every night after dinner when I was growing up. I always found Orange Pekoe to be too strong of a tea for me...still today, I will only drink it if there is nothing else...and very very weak.

I enjoy herbal tea / green teas much more.

It really started with a cup of green tea that I would get in little tea bags at the supermarket.

My favorite being Tazo teas.

Then one day, hubby and I went to meet our grand daughter shortly after her birth,

in Calgary, Alberta...that was 2 yrs ago.

During the week we spent there, we rented a car to revisit our beloved Banff in the Rocky mountains. For lunch I ordered an Organic Maghreb Mint Green Chai tea (quite the mouthful!!). It was a loose leaf tea served in a pottery tea pot. I fell in love instantly with this delicious hot tea and asked the server if it was possible to buy some of it to bring back home with me.

I was so happy to be told that the tea was produced in Banff and that I could buy it at a store just down the street from the restaurant!

Naturel Teas are also available online. They will ship anywhere in the world. I am currently drinkin the Well Throat tea to keep hubby's cold at bay!

Back in Ontario, I began to look for interesting loose leaf tea and I find lots to choose from Teopia. There are lots of those stores all over.

My parents gave me this wonderful cast iron tea pot a few Christmas ago.

It has a filter for the loose tea leaves.

And a warmer in which I put a tea light to keep the tea warm.

I love this little tea pot.

And then, there are flowering teas.  They are little bundles of tea leaves wrapped around one or more dried flowers. When immersed in hot water, the flower opens up as if blooming right before your eyes.  It is best to make these teas in a glass tea pot so that you can enjoy watching the flower slowly open up.

I have a few bundles gifted by a good friend waiting for next tea time.

Watch this Youtube video and relax.

I leave you for now to sit and enjoy my warm cup of tea.

11 questions

(grand daughter wanted to knit like mamie!)



I've been tagged by Misty Haven Alpaca's blog to answer her 11 questions.
The rules are:
1. Post these rules.
2. Answer the 11 questions from the person who tagged you.
3. Create 11 new questions for the people you tag.
4. Tag 11 people and link them to your post.
5. Let them know that you tagged them.

So here goes!
1. What was the best gift you’ve ever received?
Life itself is the best gift. I am thankful for it every moment of the day.

2. Who do you want to be like when you grow up?
ha-ha-ha...this one has me baffled! I am still growing in creativity and self expression and I         want to be the best that I can be when I do grow up.

3. What is your favourite mode of transportation?
 Flying...I would fly anywhere, any time!

4. How many animals do you share your life with currently?
 Well, let's just say that we have quite a few... 7 canines, 7 camelids, 1 feline,

5. If you were given an extra hour today when the rest of the world stopped, what would you do in that hour?
 Yoga...rarely seem to have time for it lately.

6. Tell me something that someone said to you lately that made you feel good?
Je t'aime Mamie (I love you Grandma)

7. Does your living space reflect who you are?
Yes, mostly it does. I like lots and lots of natural light and calm colours...white, blue, cream, yellow and a touch of aqua here and there. Country living...calm and peaceful.

8. When was the last time you laughed until your belly hurt?
My girlfriends and I meet for a girl's weekend twice a year and our last get together was a hoot...mostly from laughing at each other's evident loss of memory!!!

 9. When was the last time you changed your hairstyle?
It's been quite a while.

10. Tell us about your favourite teacher in school.
A grade 8 teacher by the name of Mme Génier. She was very artistic and gave us very interesting art projects, not just crafts. This is when I realized the power of creativity in one's life. I must also include my parents in this category, I have learned so much good from both of them.

11. How do you take your coffee?Black and super hot. I only pour myself ¼ cup at a time so that I can drink it while it's almost boiling hot. This makes my two cups of coffee last me all morning!

Now to come up with my own 11 questions:

1. What is your favorite movie?
2. Boxers or briefs? Bath or shower?
3. What makes you angry?
4. Where do you feel most at peace?
5. What song touches you the most?
6. How do you like your eggs? (scrambled, benedict, over easy...)
7. Is the size of your stash of yarn/fabric/craft supplies problematic?
8. Do you eat the recommended amount of fruits and veggies every day?
9. What colours do you like to wear?
10. What is the best meal you cook?
11. If you could build a house anywhere in the world and bring your loved ones with you...where would it be?

I invite the following bloggers to join in the fun:
Monika at http://yarnloopie.blogspot.com/
Barb at http://knittingthrutheittybittys.blogspot.com/
Chantal at http://unbrindanslevent.blogspot.com/
Valerie at http://wanderingcatstudio.blogspot.com/
Brenda at http://www.cozylittlehouse.com/
Julie at http://www.knittedbliss.com/
And any other bloggers that would love to join in, please do so!

They did it again!

Just yesterday, I was telling you how I liked the Purl Bee website for it's patterns.

Well, they did it again with a new pattern. It's actually a revised version of a baby pullover they had already published.

They now have added Toddler sizes to this knitted cardigan!

And I have a toddler grand daughter to knit it for!! 

With stash yarn and needles I knitted a small piece to get the right gauge. I started with the 3.5 mm needle size suggested but ended up doing better with a 3.25 mm needle. The purl row on my swatch is where I changed to the other needles size.

 Problem is I will need to go shopping for some circular needles in 3.25mm size. I have straight needles in that size but I prefer to knit this one piece cardigan on circular needles...

The yarn is a cotton/acrylic blend and should be perfect for a little spring/summer cardigan. But do you see that knot? I've only knitted a few inches for the swatch and I have a knot in the yarn!
Not impressed.

I hope this is not going to be the case for the remainder of the skeins I have on hand.

I now hope to complete the Grecian rib scarf this week so that I can cast on for this pullover!
Knitting scarves take so much time.

How about a few pics of the pups? They are now 8 weeks old and all weekend long, one by one, they have been joining their new families. We now have only three of the eleven pups left till next weekend when they will also be joining their new owners.

This is Billie, a sweet female.

They love playing outside in the warm sun.

With only three left, the house will be quieter. It will be so much less work as well!

Alpaca scarf

The winter sun is warming up the house nicely today. Spring is just around the corner. But I am not yet tired of the snow...there's so little of it!

Hubby picked up some beautiful canna lillies for St-Valentine's. I will be able to plant the bulbs outside this spring and maybe get them to bloom again.

The Purl Bee website is one of my favorite sites. I just love so many of the patterns that they publish,  both for knitting or sewing.

Last week, they posted a new pattern for a scarf and I had it on the needles that same night. I had the perfect yarn in my stash to knit this scarf. I've been knitting on it every day since.

The stitch is simple to knit but looks so interesting...almost like a waffle stitch. I can't wait to see it blocked.

The yarn is 100% alpaca from a local farm nearby, Misty Haven Alpacas. It's a DK weight and creamy white....just so soft. Perfect luxury for this scarf.

Have you noticed my new knitting 'basket'?

This is a salad bowl that we've had for many, many years. We use it a few times a year when we have large family dinners. So it ends up being stored away most of the time.

But now that I've found a new use for it, it will be in the living room from now on with my current project, right next to my chair.

I love multi purpose items, don't you?

Twice the fun

All done!
You saw the beginning of this project here.
I'm not an avid sock knitter but knitting 2-at-a-time did make it much better since both socks are done at once!

I love this mohair/merino yarn. It's perfect for socks.

This technique is tricky at first but once you have a few inches of knitting done, it goes much more smoothly.
Will this technique make me more eager to knit sock? You betcha it will.
I'll have another pair on the needles by the weekend!