"Winter Band" Update

Gentle Friends it is a rainy, blustery day here by the Bay - an we need every drop!!  It is supposed to rain through the weekend so I'll be a wet thrifter.  I wanted to wrap up the week with the sampler... so here tis....

....  the focus has been working on the house - 

I have the rest of the windows to finish and then more fill stitching.

That's about it for today sports fans.  Have a great weekend!!

Take care,

edgar

Some Fun Stuff

Gentle Friends, you know I love fun mail deliveries....  and I do love me some Christmas, (I'm really a 10 year old kid trapped in a 50 year old body)... and I do love Converse sneakers!!  

Well, yesterday it all came together.....

...... and in the box......  not a fox with sox, nor a fish on a dish....  but these super shoes....

...  the book I took down from the "Christmas Collection" bookcase, but the shoes, the shoes are super de duper!!!  Along with "A Christmas Carol," "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" is a favorite book of mine from childhood!  I saw these shoes a couple of years ago and when I found them on the Converse site, on sale for a great price, I placed my order.  I usually do not like high top sneakers, but these only come in high top so that's what I got.  Although in the book it says..... “Maybe Christmas, the Grinch thought, doesn't come from a store.” ... for me it came through the mail!!

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Since this is also Thrifty Thursday I have a snap of the stuff I picked up over the weekend.....

.....  Smokie was all involved in my taking pictures and you can see his little hoof - top left....  now the stuff from left to right... a nice, old hat pin holder, when I took it up to pay for it I asked the clerk what he thought it was.....  his answer "a salt shaker"  but he asked how do you get the salt inside??  I explained what it was and he was amazed that one would have to use a hat pin to hold down a hat.....  after a few minutes I think it sunk in that fashion dictated large hats and one had to anchor them down or lose then to the wind....  I am just amazed sometimes!!  

I also found a great super copy of "A Christmas Memory" by Truman Capote, this version still retained it's original red slipcase, I also found a Lucky Charms bowl/mug, and a book of English silver marks.  I picked up a 2 disc DVD of Anchorman, an older Bunnykins bowl and a copy of "The Ledger Book of Thomas Blue Eagle" - another Blogger wrote about this book HERE, click over for more details.

That's about it for today sports fans.  Thanks for stopping by do stop again!!

Take care,

edgar

An Easter Treat......

Gentle friends it just wouldn't be Easter without some....

...Peeps!!  With their catch phrase being "Peeps - always in season" one can enjoy these marshmallow treats year round with different shapes for different Holidays.  Waxing nostalgic I just can't remember an Easter when these weren't a part of my Easter Basket - and now since I have tipped the scale, age wise and am on the slow slide to senility, I just buy them and enjoy.  There are others in my house, and it would be tacky if I was to mention names....... Rico....... that turn their noses up and make a sqinchy face at my Peeps, that's when I feel it is my duty to rip into another box and pop one into the gaping maw!!  

Over the weekend I saw some that were different flavours, and now I feel the need to give them a try..... and as I find other Peepish related stuff I'll be making "Peep Reports" - because I just know that although there are detractors for this wonderful confection, there are just as many that really enjoy them, like Me!!!!

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That's about it for today sports fans, I'm still stitching away on the Band Sampler, but it is just fill stitching and not much to look at, so I'll wait until Friday to post an updated snaperoo..  Thanks for stopping!!

Take care,

edgar

So Freakin' Easy!!

Gentle Friends, towards the end of last week I was bopping around to different Blogs looking for some goodie inspiration to make.  I landed on "South Your Mouth" a great Blog by Mandy Rivers.  I wanted a recipe that was made from stuff that I already had in the house and ended up making "Fluffernutter Squares."  I knew I had the three ingredients already and in reading the recipe knew it would be easy peasy and couldn't miss.  They use three ingredients, butter, peanut butter chips and marshmallows!!  Staples in any ones cupboard!  Melt, mix and pour, let it set up et voila......

.....popped out of the 9x13 pan and ready for cutting......

... cut up and ready for munching!!!  You can click HERE for the recipe.  Thank you so much Mandy for this super recipe!!

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That's about it for today sports fans.  Thanks for stopping by, do stop again!!

Take care,

edgar

I Like a Routine

Gentle Friends, as you well know by now I am a creature of habit.  Year in and year out I like knowing whats going to happen, doing the same things, knowing when and where and for how long.....  pretty boring, but that's the way I am, gotta love it.  Now, with that said, life usually throws a curve ball in my direction about every three seconds to disrupt my ever pleasant, even going, temperate nature (there would be those who would disagree with that little statement..... but, I do love my rose coloured glasses!!) and one was thrown in our direction yesterday.

Our routine for Sunday is as follows....  attend 8 am Mass, then on to breakfast, either at Mickey D's or some Cafe, then on to Trader Joe's, then home.....  yesterday we decided to go to Mickey D's, and part way through my Bacon/Egg and Cheese biscuit the fire alarms went off.  After sitting about 5 minutes listening to the racket, and getting no information - we gathered up what was left of breakfast an trotted out to the car to finish.  After another 5 or so minutes - the Fire Truck, Hook and Ladder, Emergency Vehicles and mall Security all showed up and tossed everyone out of TJ's ( Trader Joe's is two doors down from Mickey D's) we knew we were not getting to do our regular TJ run.  We do have options, there are a few other TJ's in the area, so we drove down to the West lake one, about 5 minutes down the road from Stonestown Mall..... I knew that on the way was.....

... so we stopped and picked up......

... thank goodness this Krispy Kreme is a good distance out of the City, any closer and it might get to be a regular stop on the weekends!!  We did get to the TJ's down in West lake and eventually made it home to settle down into a regular Sunday afternoon.......  and late in the afternoon I made a pot of tea and it was made extra delicious with one of these donuts!!!!

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Another Seasonal routine I like, when it comes around is Easter and the candy explosion......  you can tell it's near Easter when this is sitting out.......

......  like candy corn in the Fall, Black Jelly Beans are the harbinger of Spring in my book!!!!

That's about it for today sports fans, thanks for stopping by, do stop again!!

Take care,

edgar

Two Lovely Churches and a "Winter Band" Update

Gentle Friends i thought today would be a great day to show some snaps from last weeks travels.  You know when I travel I make it a point to visit churches.  I got to quickly see two churches during our short trip.  In Opelousas Catholic services can be dated as far back as 1756 with a recorded Baptism.  Records show that the present church site was officially established in 1776 as the "Parish Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Post of Opelousas.  The church now standing is the third one and was completed in and the first mas said in 1909.  Here are some snaps of St Landry Catholic Church.........

...... the historical marker with some great info.....

and a couple of shots of the lovely interior, which was finished about 10 years later due to lack of funds....

and a shot of one of the side aisles and the great columns...

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We were also in Leonville, a very small community about 15 minutes from Opelousas, and I got some shots of the church there, it is the Church of St Leo the Great......

... it is a much newer church built in 1954, here's a shot of the corner stone.....

... and some interior shots....

.... the stained glass windows were 12 in total and of the Apostles... here are three of them....

.... they are really lovely and fit the sanctuary so well....  I will leave you with a shot of the Little Teche Bayou

.... we had dinner one night at Crawfish Town in Breaux Bridge, and it was delicious!!

I forgot my camera, this is a snap I found online.  We all had seafood, I had a plate of fried oysters that were great!!!  We started off with a sampler platter of crawfish, alligator, frog legs, shrimp, hush puppies and catfish - a real Cajun treat!!!!

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Here's a snap of "Winter band Sampler" - although I took it with me I didn't touch it once for almost a week, so very little has gotten done, but I am now working on the house......

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That about wraps up the week, thanks again for stopping by do stop again!!!

Take care,

edgar

Una vista di Primavera

Gentle Friends it's a shortish post today... 

 I though you might enjoy a snap of our "veranda" now that Spring has sprung......

.... Rico has the green thumb around our house, I keep my ficus tree, jade plant and Christmas cactus alive and he does the rest.......  and here's a great piece of music for the season, played in a lovely setting.....

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There you go, a little bright note for the week!!  Thanks for stopping by, do stop again!!

Take care,

edgar

A Tasty Breakfast

Gentle Friends today's post is just a week off - it was meant for last Wednesday - and you do remember the melt down we had here with the computers........On the way down to the Antique Show we decided that since we were, or could, drive through Millbrae why not stop and have a little breakfast.  For me the only place to eat in Millbrae is....

.....since it was a wet and rainy day it looks like night almost, but it was really about 10 am....  the Millbrae Pancake House opened it's doors on Mother's Day 1959 and has been going gangbusters serving delicious breakfasts ever since.

The Pancake House has been in the same location since it opened - and has stayed as unchanged as the knotty pine walls and rustic furniture.  Here's a couple of snaps of the menu...

(I can't believe I got those snaps next to each other!!)  

Back to breakfast....  I ordered the Swedish style pancakes,

 I do love the Lingonberry butter, and I had a side of sausage....

.... Rico had the California Omelet....

... it came with a side of their fluffy buttermilk pancakes.  It is a great place for breakfast, and since it is not very near the City, whenever we are in that direction we try and stop.  I think my only criticism is that the when the waitress remembered I ordered a side of sausage, and it eventually came, it was on the barely warm side, I would even go so far as to say cold......  tasty, but cold.

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I've had a quite few emails as to why I was away.  What happened was sort of last minute - my sister and I decided to fly to Louisiana last Thursday to visit an Aunt who is very ill.  The decision was made to make the trip sooner rather than later, better to not put things off until its just too late.  It was a very good visit seeing everyone and I do have quite a few snaps of some places around Opelousas and will be sharing them over the next couple of days.

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That's about it for today, thanks for stopping by, do stop again!!

Take care,

edgar

A Drive-by Posting

Gentle Friends the computers had a complete melt down at work so I couldn't do my usual Wednesday posting, sorry - I'll get it posted next week.  

I also wanted to let you know I'll be away from the Blog and a computer for the next few days.  I'll be back a some point next week.

Have a super weekend!!!

Take care,

edgar

Thrifty Tuesday..... Another Star Passes...

Gentle Friends, "Thrifty Tuesday" has much less impact than "Thrifty Thursday" the alliteration is so much better for the "TH" when its Thursday, but since this is a short week I need to make do with whats at hand!

The Hillsborough Antique Show was a nice way to start off the weekend, I love just going to look and see what's out there and what's "hot."  The show itself was not as big as in years past and more than once both of us overheard dealers saying that is was a much smaller crowd staring off.  Now, it could have been the rain that was keeping folks away, but we were there on the first day, and usually the last day is the big day for deals and crowds, so who knows.  I saw lots of things I would have liked to have gotten, but very few "deals."  

After perusing the show I did find a piece to bring home.  It was actually in one of the first Booths we visited, and we had to back track through the rows to find it....  it had a lot going for it....  so it came home with me. The dealer apologized for it not being polished but I told her not a problem......  here it is pre-polish...

...and post-polish...

... I think it's a super piece, made by Shreve & Co, it's a 9" bright cut piece of glass with a sterling pierced rim serving plate.  The price was great and it is in perfect condition and it combines two of my favorite things, cut glass and sterling silver.  

On Saturday we did the usual Thrifting, even in the rain I still enjoy the chase!  Here's a snap of all the fun purchases from the weekend......

....  I found some fun DVD's and I picked up a copy of the newish Blu Ray release of "From Here to Eternity" - 1953 -  a really great film in my opinion.  I really enjoy films where actors stretch a bit and play against type, and both Deborah Kerr and Donna Reed do a superlative job playing "against type."  I also found a great blue Japserware bowl by Wedgwood, date marked 1968, I can only find it called the sacrifice center bowl, it a beautiful piece in super condition, and again there's my great old serving plate from the antique show!!

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I also wanted to mention a  loss yesterday of a Star from classic Hollywood,

Shirley Jane Temple Black - 1928-2014

A wonderfully multi-talented child actor she single-handedly saved 20th Century Fox from bankruptcy during the depression, passed away last night.  You can read a great write up about her life HERE on Wikipedia.   

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That's about it for today sports fans, thanks for stopping by do stop again!!

Take care,

edgar 

A Quick "Band" Update

Gentle Friends it has been a very wet three days of constant rain - sometimes drippy small drops... sometimes heavy fat drops, but, nonstop grey wet days for the City - and - we need every drop of it, so I'm not complaining the least little bit.  In spite of the rain, I still got quite a bit done.

Today I wanted to catch you up on the "Winter Band Sampler"...... as it stood yesterday afternoon while there was a little bit of sunlight.....

... I was aiming for a more accurate photo of the colour of the linen and floss, but this wrinkled up snap will have to do.  As you can see I pushed through and finished the snowflake and "holly" bands and now I'm sort of at the midpoint.  If you remember I re-worked this piece especially the bands, I removed all the verses and added this double triangle band to split the piece into two parts.

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There you go sports fans, thanks for stopping by, do stop again!!

Take care,

edgar

The Completed Candle Pocket and a "Band" Update

Gentle friends the mail was "very, very , good " yesterday!!  I got back from Faye my completed Candle Pocket, the First Kit from the Colonial Gathering Club.  She did such a wonderful job in the finishing, I know I would have totally botched the whole thing.  Here's a snaperoo of my Pocket....

....I am so very pleased with the way it turned out, and again can't thank Faye enough for her superb job... she does lots of finishing and you can contact her through her blog Carolina Stitcher.  I would highly recommend her to anyone!!!!  Now, I can't wait for the next little project!!!!

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I finished up the next band on my "Winter Band Sampler"....  I also went back to using the recommended "Mustard Seed" floss.....

.... the colours are a bit off, well, quite a bit off, I jangled it about a bit in photoshop, but taking the picture at night with lamp light and flash sort of wreck the colours, but you get the idea.  The next band is composed of big, white snowflakes. It is the band I have been dreading as I really do not like stitching great amounts of white....... but I will push through.

That's about it for today sports fans, I'll not be posting tomorrow, I am taking the day off to go to the one of the first of the Winter/Spring Antique Shows that pop up here in Northern California.  It is a pretty big show with some good dealers so I am hoping it will be a good show!!

Thanks for stopping by, do stop again!!

Take care,

edgar

"Let's have another cup of coffee.......

....... let's have another piece of pie!"  Gentle Friends, a great song by the ever wonderful Irving Berlin.  It is from the musical comedy "Face the Music" which opened in 1932.  What, you might ask yourself, has that got to do with the Wednesday SF posting....  

Let me start here....we were invited to dinner and a movie at a fiends house, they have an in home theater, it's gotta be good to be wealthy!!... anywho.... the film they were going to show was

 "Sunset Boulevard" - 1950...  so I asked "what could I bring?"  You know I can't go anywhere with out bringing something, it's goes against my upbringing!  So I offered to bring desert.  I knew right away what I was going to bring....  a delicious pie  (see, I got back on track!!) and I knew where I was going to get said pie........... in the Mission, where there's a really wonderful pie place called,

 "Mission Pie."   it's a great place to get both sweet and savory pies.  Here's a snap of the menu, it changes daily....

I had in mind what I wanted to get before I went in, I had done some online research to see what the consensus was as to the "best pie" or "what the masses like."  Here's some more snaps...

 and....

and, even a rolling stack o'pies......

.... I eventually settled on......

... a delicious.....

... pear/blueberry pie, which seemed to be the pie of choice by those yapping foodies on line.... and who am I to go against the heard!  It really was a superior pie, one I would certainly get again!!  Everyone enjoyed what I picked, the pie was a total hit.  Over all it was a really fun evening, dinner, movie and pie!!

Here's a little song from 1932 I found on YouTube, enjoy.....

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This weekend we're stopping by another fun place, we saw it mentioned on the Food Network.  I love being able to go to fun places I see on TV.  It is supposed to rain quite a bit over the weekend, so the snaperoos will be on the damp side!!

That's about it for today sports fans, thanks again for stopping by, do stop again!!

Take care,

edgar

Stitchin' Away on "Winter Band Sampler"

Gentle Friends here is where WBS stands.....

...... I am thinking of working back in "Mustard Seed" - it's a colour of floss I really like, it is just so close in shade to "Dirt Road" - the colour of the deer.  The gold pot was to be "Mustard Seed," as you can see I switched it out for "Olde Gold."  I'll see as I go along....

We've finally gotten some cold weather, and some rain over the weekend!!  We are dry for the next day or so, and then some more rain is on the way.  Of course, what brought on the rain was I washed my Car Saturday afternoon, and it started to rain Sunday, I often think to myself   "why bother!!" 

That's about it for today sports fans, thanks for stopping by, do stop again!!

Take care,

edgar

Kendra's Chicago

Gentle Friends I was contacted a while back by....

Kendra Thornton, a travel writer from Chicago, to trade Posts about some favorite things to do in our respective cites.  I sent her a Post about San Francisco, and here is her Post about some of her favorite things to Do and See in Chicago.......

Things to Do and See on a Trip to Chicago

As a travel enthusiast, I’m always looking for great things to go and do. Fortunately, I live in one of the country’s greatest cities for travelers, which means that even when I’m at home I can find plenty to do. The city of Chicago offers plenty of shopping, dining and activities for a wide range of people to enjoy.

1. You absolutely must shop when visiting Chicago. Everyone knows about the city’s Magnificent Mile on Michigan Avenue, but there are plenty of other places to shop as well. Only a few blocks from my Chicago Cubs’ home in Wrigleyville is Southport Avenue. This laidback-shopping district features chic styles and quaint local boutiques. Some of the stores here feature Chicago’s local designers.

2. Shopping isn’t the only. If you stroll down Michigan Avenue to see the sights while visiting the Windy City, be sure to stop at the historic water tower. Inside, you’ll find the City Gallery. This small gem features the work of local photographers and artists. The building itself is also worth taking a look at. It’s one of the few buildings that survived the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.

3. One of the best ways to view the Chicago skyline is from a downtown hotel. When you visit, be sure to book a hotel within the city limits. There are a number of great hotels for family’s or couples. Booking a hotel within the city limits not only is convenient as many shops and restaurants are within walking distance, but it will also help save money on cab fares!

4. There’s plenty of great food in Chicago. If you want a break from local hot dog vendors and the city’s famous deep-dish pizza, stop for a bite at one of my favorite restaurants, RL. This is Ralph Lauren’s restaurant and features classic American cuisine. When it comes to comfort food, I can’t think of anything better than their grilled cheese with tomato soup. The restaurant is located on Michigan Avenue right next to the world’s largest Polo store.

Any time is a good time to visit Chicago. The Windy City offers a unique collection of things to do and see. Whatever you’re interests are, you’ll find something here to entice you. My city accommodates family vacations, romantic getaways and more. Come and find out why I love Chicago.

You can follow Kendra on Twitter, or visit her at Pinterest.  I hope enjoyed the Post about Chicago - thank you so much Kendra!!

Take care,

edgar