A Little Merry Christmas

Gentle Friends.... 

A very Merry Christmas to one and all!!!

edgar

A Little Night Post

Gentle Friends, just got back from midnight Mass and now have the midnight Mass from the Vatican on the old tube..... and I think we should all remember.... 

... the reason for the Season - it often gets lost in the commercial shuffle out there.....

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edgar

4th Sunday of Advent

Gentle Friends, the 4th candle of Advent was lit today... 

... and the 4th CANDLE – is called THE ANGEL CANDLE or THE CANDLE OF LOVE

The angels announced the good news of a Savior!  “…I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord” ~ Luke 2:10b-11    

 God sent his only Son to earth to save us because he loves us!   

 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” ~ John 3:16-17

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I'm wrapping up the baking for Christmas this afternoon ... I made a Rum Cake for to take tonight to the coffee time after "Midnight Mass"  - they asked for volunteers to bake a bring in goodies.....  I'll post some snaps when I get back into the swing of things.  

Just a quick FYI, I took off the next week and won't be back to work until Tuesday 1/2.  Which means that Blog Posts will be sporadic at best...... The reason for the week off is that I didn't take a vacation of any length this past year so I'm approaching my PTO (Personal Time Off) Limit.  If I was to reach the Limit it would mean that I'ld stop accruing Vacation time and that ain't gonna happen....  so a week off was called for.  Now, next year I've got some plans for the Fall that are coming together quickly.... more about that later on.  My plans for the week are to stitch on Christmas Garden, I've got a massage scheduled for Wednesday evening.... and just being lazy and hanging out at home - sounds good to me!!!!

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That's about it for today sports fans....  have a lovely Christmas Eve!!

Take care,

edgar

A Little Thrifting

Gentle Friends, even though I've been out and about every weekend there's really not been anything to talk about until I found a couple of things this past weekend...  here's a snap....

...  the "icon" with the angel is nice but I can't identify where the image comes from.... and the bright cut trumpet vase was a great find and not a chip in sight!!

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

Take care,

edgar

A Little Winter

Gentle Friends, today is the Winter Solstice and so I'm posting a lovely piece of

 music to celebrate....

"Allegro Non Molto; Largo; Allegro" (The Four Seasons); from The National Botanical Gardens of Wales; Julia Fischer en el violin; acompañada de "Academy of St Martin in the Fields";

del Maestro Antonio Lucio Vivaldi....... ENJOY!!

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That's about it, for now, sports fans, I'll have another post up in a little while!!

Take care,

edgar

A Little Christmas Lunch

Gentle Friends, last week we had our annual Company Holiday Lunch.  This year we all headed to Downtown SF to a restaurant I'd never heard of or been to...... "delarosa - a Roman Styled Pizzeria"

 .... I got there on the early side so instead of sitting at the bar ..... I headed over to St Patrick's Church around the corner on Mission Street.  Founded in 1851 and rebuilt in 1906 after the earthquake.  It's a lovely space and so quiet in the midst of downtown and everything going on....  here's some snaps...

... it's gothic revival and dwarfed by the buildings around it...

 ... the inside has loads of green marble in the panels of the walls and the columns.....

 ... even the organ loft is decorated for Christmas....

... and marching along the wall are the Stations of the cross...  in bas-relief...

... and the windows are wonderful Saints depicted in stained glass... if you ever get to the City a lovely Landmark to see is this super Church!!

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Back to the lunch...  the restaurant is set up with long tables and serves "family style."

... this is our table ....  the food came out in courses...

... first out was a nice Caesar Salad... they have a really well-stocked bar and so we ordered drinks....

..I ordered an Aperol Spritz which is made up of...Aperol, seltzer, orange ....

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.. next out was a really delicious dish of roasted Brussel sprouts!!

... then came meatballs....

 ..and finally, the delicious pizza came....  and it was time for another drink and I ordered....

... a really super Salty Dog!!

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 ... after Pizza, it was time for dessert...  John ordered Bomboloni Caldi - the fresh donuts with sauces.... and I ordered a... 

... Tiramisu....

... it was a delicious lunch and we had a super time!!!

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

Take care,

edgar

A Little Christmas Music

Gentle Friends... last night on the local PBS channel was the annual Morman Tabernacle Choir program... as usual, it was just lovely!!  I do love the music of Christmas... the following are three of my favorite carols of the Season...... enjoy......

Es ist ein Ros entsprugen

In The Bleak Midwinter

.... and one of my very favorites as it reminds me of my father 

(it was his favorite Christmas Carol).....

Stille Nacht (Silent Night)

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

Take care,

edgar

A Little Stitching

Gentle Friends,  still stitching away bit by bit on Christmas Garden.... and here's a snaperoo...

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It was the third Sunday of Advent, the rose candle was lit at Mass yesterday......

... this candle is called The Shepherd Candle or the Candle of Joy..... 

when the shepherds received a message of Joy!! 

…and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger because there was no guest room available for them.      And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”        Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” ~ Luke 2:7-15

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

Take care,

edgar

A Little Baking

Gentle friends, once again this year I am in the kitchen baking up some treats for family and friends near and far..... and this past weekend was the weekend to pull it all together..... in the past I've done jams, jellies, candy and other things - this year I decided to make Biscotti... I found two really delicious recipes over at Sallys Baking Addiction a super cooking Blog that I read all the time.....

 ... the two recipes I made were a "White Chocolate with Pistachio and Cranberry Biscotti" and a "Christmas Spice with Orange and Walnut Biscotti"  the Spice/Orange with Walnuts one was based on her Dark Chocolate and Orange Biscotti, I tweaked the spices by deleting the cinnamon and adding a heaping teaspoon of my own Pumpkin Pie Spice Blend, since both recipes called for the same amount of cinnamon I wanted them to be a little more different in the flavour profile than the same..... and it worked a treat!!!

... here's a snap of them all ready for packing up!!  They are really GOOD biscotti and not dry and hard as so many of them tend to be... Sally hit a home run with this recipe!! 

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That's about it around the old homestead sports fans, thanks again for stopping by do stop again!!

Take care,

edgar

A Little Stitchin

Gentle Friends, still stitching away on Christmas garden and here's where I left off yesterday.....

... as you can see I've introduced another green into the sampler.  I thought about staying with the single, lighter shade of green but with three pine trees in the pattern and this being a "winter" sampler I wanted to include a darker green... and now that I see it stitched in I'm really happy with the results!!

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Yesterday was the second Sunday of Advent and Mass included lighting the second candle on the Advent Wreath...  

... this second candle is called the Bethlehem Candle or the Candle of Preparation...

“As is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:  ‘A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.  Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low.  The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth.  And all mankind will see God’s salvation.‘ ~ Luke 3:4-6

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

Take care,

edgar

December 7, 1941

Never Forget.....

edgar

A Little Christmas Cheer

Gentle Friends, over the weekend we started off the Christmas Season with the annual party at Chris and Mo's.... and of course, I took some snaps.... so enjoy this years edition 

"Christmas Cheer on Steiner Street".....

 ...the front of the house was is really pretty and looked great from the street.....
their tree is always the highlight of the evening as they put both regular white lights

 ...and then red candles for a traditional tree...

.... before the candles are lit the tree is ablaze with the white lights...

 ... here's a shot of the dining room table with some treats...

... the front hall was also decorated with lights along the banister...

... at about 9pm the white lights are turned off and the candles are lit.......

... and with the candles going and Christmas carols playing in the background the 

Christmas Season has begun!!! 

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

Take care,

edgar

A Little Stitchin'

Gentle Friends, still stitching away on "Christmas Garden" and here's where I left off last night...

... I was very happy when the border met up - and now working away on the floral bits and pieces will keep me busy through the Christmas season.

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Yesterday was the 1st Sunday of Avent and the Mass was a beautiful service - it is so nice to remember the reason for the Season and be a part of the lighting of the first candle of Advent - the candle of Prophesy and Hope.

“And again, Isaiah says, ‘The Root of Jesse will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations; the Gentiles will hope in him.’  May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” ~ Romans 15:12-13

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

Take care,

edgar

A Little Stitchin'

Gentle Friends, it was a really nice few day off and Thanksgiving was just super!! 

 The stitching I've been doing lately is all border on "Christmas Garden".....  here's a snap....

.... the border has almost met up and then it's on to the sampler......

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

Take care,

edgar

A Little Turkey Trot

Gentle Friends......

...have a really fun Thanksgiving!!!!

Take care,

edgar

A Little Stitchin'

Gentle Friends, focusing on the stitching I've been doing for the past couple of weeks.... 

As you may remember I've been working on "A Yuletide Welcome"... well, that wasn't coming along as I had planned. After finishing up the border, I started working on the grassy area and the more I stitched the less I liked what I was stitching and how it was turning out.... until I finally just didn't want to work on it anymore. So I stopped stitching, folded it up and put it away until I can either make it work, frog what I have stitched or just toss the piece out.....

Now, with "Yule" not getting any more attention I pulled out "HEIOTS" and jumped back in on stitching the border..... 

.... sorry about the wrinkles, here's where I left off when I decided what I was going to work on........

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So, while I stitched away on HEIOTS I thought about what I wanted to work on over the next month or so.... I had already done quite a bit of looking through the "Christmas/Holiday" stash heap and kinda had an idea what I wanted to stitch so it really just came down to making a decision.... and that dear Freinds was to start on a great piece by Blackbird Designs called "Christmas Garden."  It's a really lovely piece from one of my favorite designers!!  Here's a snap of where I am at the moment...

... I am stitching this piece on 36ct Navy Bean and have converted the recommended floss to colors I like better but are still within the color palette.  I love this border as it is very much like a sampler I stitched back in 2013 called "Mary Hutton" from Scalet Letter.

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

Take care,

edgar

A Little Break

Gentle Friends, I'm taking a week off and will be back next Monday.

Take care,

edgar

A Little Thrifting

Gentle Friends, last Saturday we were out and about and I found a couple of really great things.....

... we hit the most of the same places we normally do and at the last "Goodwill" was this super, small ladderback child's chair.  I saw it sitting on the top of a dresser on the "on sale" side of the furniture room... so not only did I get a really wonderful early 19th-century chair - but I got it on sale.  I usually just glance at the furniture since our home is just stuffed with so much already.  However, occasionally there is that special little piece that I can "just" squeeze in.... so home it came.  I also found the pair of early and rare "Venice" transferware dessert plates. 

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.... so what to do with the little chair.  I had packed up a little doll that my Grandmother had made back in the 60's.  It was one of the things I kept after she passed.  I remember it sitting in her kitchen when they lived in Charlotte before my grandfather retired and they moved to Florida.  All the years they lived in Florida I never saw it again until we were going through things after she passed.  So I kept it and now have a cute chair for her to sit on again.

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

Take care,

edgar

A Little Stitchin'

Gentle Friends, I've been stitching away on the border for "Yule" and 

here's a not very exciting snap....

... and its the two colours for this border that I first changed.. they are both Classic Colorworks and are - Green "Steamed Broccoli" and Red "Cherry Cobbler" - in my opinion, they were more Christmassy than the called for NPI/DMC floss.

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

Take care,

edgar

A Little Thrifting

Gentle Friends, there's not been much out there in the thrift and consignment shops and the Estate Sales have been sparse at best... and nothing I was interested in buying...but over the past weekend, I found a few fun things...

from l to r... a nice plate from Lenox with a geat sterling rim (the rim photographed really yellow), a lovely bright cut "corset" vase, a nice vase from Denmark with seagulls and a super little Belleek cup.... not too much but some nice bits....

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

Take care,

edgar

A Little New Stitchin'

Gentle friends, I went through some of my Christmas Stash and pulled a few things... then after some deliberation settled on this piece for my new Holiday WIP...

... once again I 've always meant to stitch this piece and now seems as good a time as ever.... and I really like this piece!!  I've tweaked some of the floss colors and reworked the bottom part of the chart - although I like the top part of the piece the large words in the grassy area have never really appealed to me so I took them all out and shortened up the entire piece.  When I get to the companion chart "Ghoultide Welcome" I'll do the same and shorten it up also.

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

Take care,

edgar

A Little Stitchin'

Gentle Friends, still working on the border.......

...  I really enjoy working borders and this one does not disappoint....  I'm thinking about starting a Seasonal piece to work on over Christmas and I have so many really fun Christmassy things in my stash...now which one do I pick???....  

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

Take care,

edgar

A Little Stitchin' (with a little update)

Gentle Friends, well, here's a snap of my new start.....

... it's a lovely large piece from Heartsring Samplery called "His Eye is on the Sparrow."  I left my notes at home about the specifics but here's what I remember...... I have already changed the main green vine colour from WDW Oscar to GAST Camouflage and the red flower was to be done in another red and I chose a GAST color called Old Red Paint.   The reason for the changes it two-fold - I didn't have enough of either color in my floss stash to complete the border without reordering - and then I would have the problem with different dye lots..... but I did have multiple skeins of each of these from the same dye lots..... the second reason, I really like the color Camouflage and have used it on many occasions for a dark shaded green and Old Red Paint is a great red color that works well with the green.  I forget what the linen is exactly, but it is a 36 count piece with lots of green mottling.

UPDATE: The linen is 36ct PTP Heritage

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

Take care,

edgar

A Little Hallowe'en Finish

Gentle Friends, well, I've finished up TitToT and here's a snaperoo..

Prairie Moon - "Thine Is the Trick or Treat" 

September 16 - October 17, 2017

Stitched on Silkweaver 36ct Days Gone By 

I used Belle Soie throughout and here's the break down by colour:

Black - "Old Crow"

Orange - "Lasagna"

Green - "Collard greens"

I also used: 

"Tulip" for the Rat's eye 

"Her Crowne" for the crow's eye 

 "Beanstalk" for the cat's eye

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It was a great piece to work on and it stitched up really fast.  I remember when this was first released in 2010 and every year I wanted to stitch it in the Fall or around Hallowe'en it was always on the top of the "to be stitched" pile.... now it's been done....last night I pulled together my next stitching project - all the floss and linen ... I'll talk about that on Monday when I have some of it stitched and it actually looks like something!!

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

Take care,

edgar