Things I love Thursday…
Another Thursday, another “Things I love Thursday” post, idea courtesy of Gala Darling.
- Betty Crocker Fudge Brownie mix- when Melanie visited my place when Nay & Sarah were in town she bought these brownies which I loved. I had a different recipe for brownies but I much prefer the “cake” type that she bought and she let me in on a secret that they were just a packet mix so when I saw the mix at the local import food shop last week I picked them up. Made them yesterday and have been enjoying them ever since (which might not be good for weigh in tomorrow at the dr`s!)
- Being almost 34 weeks pregnant- If Goma-chan decided to come early then he would probably be perfectly fine on the outside world albeit a little small. So it is definitely something I am loving this Thursday- and of course I love him too and can not believe we will be meeting him sometime in the next six weeks or so (my god that has come by fast)
- The expression “He is not the brightest button on the blouse” – heard it today for the first time and it had me giggling. I love expressions like that and always love it when I hear a new one (Not the sharpest tool in the shed, not the brightest crayon in the box, etc- do you know any good ones? I might need to start a list)
- Steak for dinner courtesy of MIL- she gave us two pieces of sirloin steak the other day and I cooked it up with some mashed potatoes (plus other boring stuff like vegies but of course the steak and mashed potatoes were the best part!). Have run out of packet gravy sauce (such a shame!) but mum said she will bring some more in December.
- Reading comments on my previous post about how people got their own names and how they named their children- was interesting to read that not everyone had the names picked out and that some even changed their mind from their names of choice. Like I said, we are pretty sure on the name BUT not 100% sure until we meet him and we have added a new contender to the list in the last couple of days which I am really liking so Goma-chan might just be “Goma-chan” for the first day or so.
- Winter PJs- loving that the nights are getting cooler and winter PJs are coming back into play!
- Starting the quilt for Goma-chan- have had the material and inside part for ages but only started cutting up all the squares today. Not quite sure when I will sew them together but probably sometime next week so maybe next Thursday I will be celebrating a finished quilt. Do not have backing material yet but think I will go for a plain colour and just buy it from the itoyakado near the station instead of trying to travel to the Yuzuwaya craft shop in Tsudanuma. Any quilting hints? I have no idea, it is my first attempt!
- Looking through old photos- I posted some old baby shots a couple of days ago but I have also been going through some photos from a couple of years back when I was on exchange, and even before that from Australia plus from when I first met Shun. Might post some favourites over the weekend. I love looking at old photos and having them bring back memories.
- Amazon.co.jp packages arriving at my door- did an order a couple of days ago for the remaining baby things we needed plus a couple of Christmas presents since not sure if I will get much shopping in between now and when Goma-chan arrives. Even though most of the stuff arriving (except one book) is not really for me as such I love having the delivery men drop things off and opening up the boxes. While I bought it all from amazon, some of it is sent from other places so today I had two packages arrive and I expect another two will arrive tomorrow.
- Almost 4000 comments on my blog- That`s right, I have had almost 4000 comments on my blog since starting it almost 4 years ago. I wonder who the 4000th commenter will be?
- Friend Cat coming for dinner and dvd`s tomorrow night- we haven`t had a girls night, just the two of us in AGES. Shun has a work nomikai so won`t be home til late so it will just be us two catching up on gossip and watching dvds.
- Package from Australia- posted about it on the weekend- all those lovely goodies from my mum and family in Australia.
- Sleep-ins – I get the best 3-4 hours of sleep after Shun has gotten up for work (7:45am) because I get the whole bed to myself (and Goma!). Since I have a lot of time for “resting” it is nice that I can spend some of it sleeping!
Okay, now what are the things YOU are loving this Thursday?
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I’ve been eagerly awaiting this post today, so again this counts as one of my things! You’ll have to wait for the rest…
Oh and I’m totally with you on Brownie mix! I’m tempted to go buy some and make some today, but I’ve been decidedly slack with the gym lately and things are all feeling a bit tight :s
Finally, big cheers for 34 weeks and Goma-chan! That has to be a huge worry off your shoulders!
yep, instant brownies mix is one of my favorite things. I do have a recipe for a really thin brownie type thing that is really good from a Japanese cookbook, been awhile since I made it but when I manage to get back home I`ll send that one your way some time
Quilting, hmmm really sort of depends on what you are making and how you are doing it. Hand stuff takes forever to do especially if its something more complex, but if its just a bunch of squares you could probably do shapes inside each square like a star or since its for Goma-chan different types of vehicles perhaps.
mmmm Brownies…… yum!
You had know problem baking them in a Japanese oven? I pretty much gave up on brownies and converted to hedgehog slice.
And my favourite of those sayings is a sandwich short of a picnic. You’ve gotta ask Nay- one of the characters on Home and Away is ALWAYS sporting those sayings!
Are you going to machine quilt, or hand quilt? Hand-quilting takes a long time, and is pretty hard on your fingers. But, it would allow you to do more interesting designs, since you’ll have more control, and you won’t need a special foot for your machine. Like Melanie said, you could do designs in the squares, especially if you’ve got some in plain fabrics. If you’ve used prints, you might find that the prints themselves give enough interest.
If you’re machine quilting, I’d really recommend you do in-the-ditch quilting for a first go- just pick a seam line and follow it. If you’re just doing a bunch of squares, it would be easy to just run down each seam. It gives you a guide to follow, and you don’t have to worry about trickier manouveurs like curves. You’ll probably need a special foot to quilt with your machine- it’s called a walking foot, and it allows the top layer of fabric to be fed through at the same rate as the bottom layer (which is lying on top of the dog feeds)– without it, you’ll probably get puckering in the fabric.
Your last option, and the easiest, is to tie the quilt. That’s definitely the easiest, I’m not sure if it’s the quickest because I’ve never tried. All you do is make a little stitch with some decorative thread (embroidery thread would work well), and tie the ends of at the front.
The key with the quilting, especially for a baby quilt that will get washed lots, is to make sure there’s lots of quilting holding the three layers together. A good rule is to leave no space larger than a fist without any quilting. Plain fabric will work fine for the back, it’s a good idea to use 100% cotton fabric for patchwork/quilting because it won’t have a stretch to it, which will affect the outcome.
Wow. That’s a little essay for you! A good tutorial for beginners is here: http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=305294.0
If you need any help once you get started, let me know!
Your other loves- mmm… brownies. I want some, now! Yay for 34 weeks! I love winter PJs, too
haha i like those kind of sayings too. I have heard (and used at times) these ones:
a few fries short of a happy meal
not the ripest fruit in the bowl
not playing with a full deck
And the other day I heard these two which I thought were hilarous:
Her elevator doesn’t go all the way up
The bus doesn’t go where he lives
And today I’m loving having a week off work and relishing the chocolates I got from our Belgium trip from which we returned yesterday! Bliss!
YAY for lots of things that you love! I might start doing this from time to time on my blog as well!
I am ridiculously jealous of all your sleep-ins!
Glad you are getting alot of rest though and that Goma-chan is staying put for now. You do of course realise that after this scare, he will end up being late don’t you?! 
Hehe I love euphemisms like that, they’re one of my favourite things about the English language as there are so many and they’re just so random.
-Not the shiniest penny in the fountain/jar/pocket/well (but often just shortened to not the shiniest penny)
-A few sandwiches short of a picnic (my mum favours that one)
-Dumber than a box of hair, which I believe I heard used to describe Avril Lavigne a while back!
Slightly different but I also love “He’s about as useful as a chocolate teapot”
Brownies sound good! I made mini pumpkin muffins today but something wasn’t quite right, the texture was more like bread than cake…will need to try it again though with a few tweaks as they were definitely promising.
Looks pretty good.