Lessons in steam and sock knitting

The other day I made tea before work. Even though I was running late, I stopped to admire the steam rising from my mug.

The tea string says, "When the mind is backed by will, miracles happen."

I knew I was in a hurry, but still I took time to enjoy this moment. I believe this to be the secret of life.

It has made work that much easier, because let's face it, work is stress. I focus on the delights: puppy feet, happy dogs, cats with spots on their noses; and try not to hold onto negative moments. This practice seems easy enough but it has taken me several years to reach this point.

Part of my daily pleasures is knitting. I've found that if I don't knit for at least thirty minutes every day, I am more grumpy and short-tempered (Scott asked me today if I wanted a "Crabby" Patty, har har).

And look! I'm on my second pair. I started a pair for Scott this morning also. Once I've made more progress on his, I'll take a photo. Knitting is just a delight.

Shower, Tea, Knit... a Perfect Order

One of the nicest things after a shower on a chilly, windy day, is a hot cup of tea.
Lately I've been enjoying Yogi Tea, especially the Detox, Egyptian Licorice, and Egyptian Licorice Mint.

However, in light of some spring cleaning, I found a few boxes of tea from past holidays. While my friends know I like tea, I'm very particular about the kinds I drink.

The one I chose for tonight was from Timothy's:







I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered that the tea is in "silk" bags with actual tea leaves and not just tea dust. That said, I tried Chai tea, and it was horrible. After a few sips I couldn't drink anymore. Absolutely flavorless. It reminded of really bad coffee, like the kind that literally tastes like boiled cardboard.

I googled the company to find more information on them, but haven't found anything substantial yet. I did find that Timothy's manufactures individual "K-Cups" for coffee and tea...so you can brew just one cup at a time, I guess? sigh...lazy. I'll keep searching.

<:3 )~~~

Besides being misled cute tea packaging, I've started and stopped a new crochet project. After the black and white Granny Rectangle scarf, I decided I skipped a step in the process and started working on plain Granny Squares. I crocheted nine squares alternating in bright blue and spring green (both Red Heart), and single crocheted around each with black.



I started sewing them together, but I'm feeling a bit burned out of them haha I'm not used to projects of stop and go, only going! I would really like to finish this scarf by the end of the week, and I know I can, I just need to do it! I normally don't choose bright colors like this but I was thinking how nice it will be to wear a bright springy scarf in the middle of winter!

Also... I picked up my knitting needles again. I am horrible at knitting, mostly because I go too fast and then a stitch falls off and I don't know how to put it back on, or I miss a stitch...you really never know with me. Anyway, I found a SpiceBox at TJ Maxx today, and it's an Introduction to Knitting, which, I felt couldn't hurt even though I already know the basics (though not so well). Plus, it came with a few cute patterns, four skeins of wool/soy yarn, 5.5 mm bamboo needles, a darning needle and stitch holder, all for $7. What the hell =)

I really like the bamboo needles too. I have three sets of metal ones but compared to the wooden ones, they are much slicker. No wonder stitches kept falling off! (haha....that'll be my excuse). Anyway, I started a Checkerboard pattern which is new to me, but it's very neat looking!




I haven't knitted very much because it takes me such a long time! But you get the idea what it will look like, I hope. This wasn't the yarn that was included in my super box buy ;) it was just a ball in my yarn bag but I have a feeling it's Red Heart. It's a nice yarn to practice with because it's thin yet has a lot of stretch to it. I wonder what I originally bought it for...

Well, this has been a marathon blog for me because I've tried to squeeze three separate things into one. Hopefully my next post will less of a catch up of what I've been up to!

Happy crocheting and knitting!!