TEA TIME!!!!
Tea for the post: bubble green tea with milk. I personally never imagined having green tea with milk, but I really liked it! However, since this was the second time I had something like this, I think I preferred the one I had the first time at Infusions Tea Spa in Allston, MA. Also, I think the next time I drink this, I'll try it warm, without sugar, and maybe with less milk or with the Rainbow evaporated milk with cardamom flavor rather than fresh milk (I typically use this brand of evaporated milk whenever I drink Lipton tea; I feel like it gives a nice scent and flavor to the tea. Unfortunately, I can't find it here in the US...but I did hear that it could be found in Indian grocery stores in the country and I personally haven't really checked).
Speaking of trying out new stuff, since I started going to my hotline trainings, I found it funny how most of the girls and young women there (most of whom were between 19 to 25 year olds) would have their knitting projects ready to work on as they're out and about! This is really not a sight to be seen back in my home in the UAE, especially in Dubai; so yes, it was quite an extraordinary sight for me! Watching them work on their projects during our break times really inspired me to want to learn knitting (as you may have noticed in the "fun" list I was talking about in my previous post).
In my search of free knitting video tutorials, I stumbled upon Knitting Help.com. The first video I watched seemed to be simple and easy to follow, hopefully, once I get the knitting tools I need and have the chance to experiment, I'll try to follow these tutorials and will some day post a review of the website here ;-)
Knitting Help.com also provides free patterns and project ideas and links to some knitting stores online. Among the knitting stores linked is a website called Darn Good Yarn that sells recycled and fair-trade yarn, local Californian Alpaca wool yarn, banana fiber silk yarn, and silk Sari yarn. They have AMAZING colors (see the picture above) and offer a 5% discount with all first-time orders. Although the website only sells yarn and offers free patterns and ideas for projects, it did have a special offer only for February the 8th of getting a free pair of size 11 bamboo circulars if you order two or more balls of yarn on that day.
I didn't know about this offer until after I started emailing the owner of the site about weather I could get samples of the yarn to experiment before actually buying the yarn. She told me that they didn't but that they had that offer and that since I'm interested in learning, she'd also provide me with a free crochet needle in case I go in that direction! So, I ordered two balls of yarn and she added the free bamboo circulars and the free crochet needle. One of the balls of yarn cost $7.59 (originally $7.99) while the other was $6.64 (originally $6.99). The shipping cost $3.99, so I've paid a total of $18.22, plus I'm receiving the free needles; a good bargain for an expensive craft like knitting.
Although I placed my order on that very day and she had shipped it the next day, I still didn't get my package so I still can't comment on the quality of the products yet. So far, this long delay is my only criticism of this online knitting store. But then again, the package probably didn't reach me yet because of the bad weather in some cities and also due to this long weekend (it was President's Day today...I personally don't understand why do Americans have so many holidays; but I like that!!). I guess I should receive it by the next day or two because, according to the package tracking online, it is in transit and has just left the sorting facility in Boston. Will post a review of the products once I get my package and spend some time experimenting with them to see if this really was a good bargain overall ;-)
Would highly appreciate it if you **Tea Mates** and **Visitors** share links to good knitting stores online and free online video tutorials.
From your Tea Mate,
Reema B. :-)
I miss knitting. lool
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