Our Morning Coffee Ritual

Ted and I both drink coffee every morning. When we are at home we have a routine or ritual about our making and drinking coffee. 

When we lived in the US, I always got up earlier.  Before I left for work, I would wake him up and bring him a cup of coffee in bed.  I don’t do that here because our bed is in a tatami room.   We don’t eat or drink in the tatami rooms, because as careful as you think you are being, accidents can happen.  We’re not taking any chances.

If we both get up at the same time, I ask him, do you want your coffee first or second? That may sound like a strange question, unless you know that we don’t drink the same coffee.  Ted drinks “ninja” coffee and I drink coffee that is not so strong.  Ted’s answer is always “first”.  (He really doesn’t function without coffee in the morning.) He grinds his coffee beans the night before, I usually drink a coffee that we buy already ground.

 

We both drink our coffee with milk. While Ted’s coffee is brewing, his milk is heating in the microwave.  Ted likes hot hot hot ninja coffee, I’m okay with cooler coffee, so my milk isn't heated.

 

After Ted gets his first cup, the rest goes into a thermos, and I make my regular strength coffee.

 

This is our special occasion coffee from Cosco that we drink in the afternoon or sometimes with a dessert.  It is so delicious, I can drink it without milk.

If you want decaf in Japan, you better bring it from America because it is hard to find here.

Work in Progress Wednesday - On Thursday

I’m working on the dragon body.  The body stitches use three strands at a time and there are six colors of silk that have to be blended.  I’m not really happy with the way this is going, but I keep telling myself done will be better than perfect.

 

I’m linking up with Pintangle’s WIPW weekly post. Check it out and encourage other stitchers who are working on some long term projects.

2014 Smalls SAL - Kogin Needlebook

Here’s my completed small for January – a kogin pattern needlebook. The lining is a Japanese silk print and the needle pages are red wool.  The pattern for this needlebook is available at caro-rose creations.

If you want to join this stitch a long, check out Stitching Lotus.

 

The New Year Pot Luck Party

The International Exchange Society hosts a New Year Party each January and this year it was held this past Sunday. (I wrote about last year’s party here.)

 

As always, there was a lot of delicious food.

 

 

We enjoyed visiting with people we knew and meeting new people.

 

 

We had fun playing games.

 

One fun game was a present pass.  There was a table full of presents and each person picked one. Everyone stood in a big circle and passed the presents to the left, as music played.  When the music stopped, each person kept the present in hand. Ted won some maple chocolates and I won a pedometer.

 

 

Once again, we had a great time!

Monday Morning Star Count - 262

Check out this blue hexagon flower quilt made by Grit here.  I like how the two dark borders and one thin lighter border frame the flowers.

As for my progress, this week I made four new flowers for a total of 262 and stitched together two more long strips.

 

I’m linking up with Jessica’s epp show at Life Under Quilts.  Check out the other epp projects and join in yourself!