A Little More Stitchin'

Gentle Friends, stitching away on Hannah and here's a snaperoo...

... she's just a bee-bopping along!!

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

Take care,

edgar

A Little Weekend Fun

Gentle Friends,  over the weekend we made a trip across the City to visit China Town and I took some snaps...

 ... parking in the Powell Street Garage we walked up to the Dragon Gate entrance to China Town...

... looking down Grant Street ...

.... more Grant Street.... 

... lots of shops and places to buy geegaws and trinkets....

 ... a shot of the Asian Mural on Commercial and Grant.....

... there are lots of SF things to look at and or take home.....

 ... walking out of China Town this is the back side of the Dragon Gate...

 ... we decided to have some lunch and headed here to Cafe de la Presse... a great restaurant down on Union Square...

... a shot of the bar...  I'm not sure what was going on at that other table on the left but look at the girl's expression........

 ... we got sat and ordered some drinks... Rico got his usual coke and I got a Bloody Mary.....

... we both ordered Croque Monsieur's mine I had with fries and ...

 .... Rico had a salad....

UPDATE:  I didn't even think of it when I was writing this Post...... but the reason we didn't have lunch in China Town was we already had plans to go out to dinner with some friends for Chineses in the evening... we went to Alice's... you can click the highlit Alice's and it will take you back to my Post from 2016 about this super restaurant we really like in our neighborhood.

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It was a lovely day, bright and sunny and a fun walk around a part of the City we rarely get to!!  Thanks for stopping by do stop again!!

Take care,

edgar

A Little Dinning Out

Gentle Friends, last night we headed to the Castro for "Dining Out For Life."  A day-long event where local restaurants donate a portion of the proceeds to the SF AIDS Foundation.  A group of us went to the newly opened "Hamburger Mary's."  Now, I've lived so long in the City that I can remember going to this place when it was the iconic a totally fun brunch place called The Patio Cafe.  It's been closed and shuttered up for at least 16 years and finally a couple of months ago it finally reopened as Hamburger Mary's ...we had been wanting to get here so this was a perfect opportunity......

... we got there for an early dinner and the crowds hadn't yet gathered...

... known for hamburgers here are the choices...

... and flip the menu over and you find the libations...

we ordered some drinks and I got a really tasty "Dark & Stormy"...

... John got a really large Strawberry milkshake, which comes with a shot of vanilla Vodka...yummy!!

... I ordered a "Meaty Mushroom" burger....with a side of tots ...

...Rico ordered a Guacamole BJ with a side of seasoned fries...

... I think this is John's burger, it's a Barbra-Q Burger with a side of tots...

... instead of dessert, we had another round and this time I had an original Bloody Mary with a spicy rim... very good!!  Then the fun started.....

...Maleficent Towers from the House of Towers hit the floor... she worked the room...

... we really enjoyed the meal, company and show!!  It's a fun place and we'll be back!!

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

Take care,

edgar

A Little Late

Gentle Friends, I was late to the office this morning... The Peach and her yearly heart check-up, we were the first appointment this morning at 7 AM...

....Rico took a snap of me with her in the waiting room of the VCA with one of her favorite blankets... Dr. Williams filled us in that things checked out alright and we'll hear about her blood work later today.... so everything is on an even keel with no change to the medication she needs morning and evening... WooHoo!!  She's just the sweetest little old lady in our lives and now that she is in the middle of her 16th year (we think since she was a rescue).. like the rest of us she ain't gettin' any younger and we worry!!

That's a quick update on my world this morning!!

Take care,

edgar

A Few Stitchin' Answers

Gentle Friends, well, I'm still stitching I away on Hannah and here's where we are at the moment...

... I've had a few emails about this sampler and thought I would Post some answers to the questions I was asked ... Yes, this is a reproduction piece from an original stitched by Hannah Beeby in 1816.  Yes, as with all the stitching I do, I'll put my own twists in it as I go along.  I had the most inquiries about the lower case alphabet and here's some info I lifted from the National Museum of American History...

"Many early samplers do not have the letters “J” and “U” in their alphabets because they were not part of the early Latin alphabet and so the letter “I” was used for “J” and the “V” for “U.” The letter “s” is often replaced with the printers “s” which looks like the modern f."

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

Take care,

edgar

A Lotta Cuteness!!

Gentle Friends... surfing around on YOUTUBE I found a tiny vid of a couple of cute chi's.  I thought they act very much like Rico and me and how we are together.... give it a look...

.... if you can't guess..... I'm the bitchy white chi!!

Have a super weekend!!

edgar

A Little Brunch

Gentle Friends,  friends of ours whos Kitties we've watched in the past wanted have been trying to take us out to Brunch for the longest time.  We finally got it together last Sunday and headed to a New to Us place down on the Embarcadero called "Towns End."  It's actually on Townsend Street where it ends at King Street and The Embarcadero... It's owned and run by a lovely couple who are the chefs and overall good guys who do everything.......

... located in a newer complex of storefronts and apartments facing the Bay...

... every day they tweak the menu to reflect what's fresh or available...

.. there's Mary, head chef and running the open kitchen...David her husband was in the back and popping in and out I couldn't get my camera out fast enough to get a shot of him...

.. we had reservations, which are imperative for getting a table on the weekend, and within minutes of sitting down, the waitress landed this scrumptious basket of goodies on the table.  This place has restaurant seating and also a separate take-out bakery of all house-made baked treats!!   The basket held a selection of scones and different types of mini muffins... and then we ordered...

... Mindy had the "3 Chili Scramble"...

... Rico had Omelette with carrot/potato pancakes and apple compote...

... and Tom and I had the Eggs Benedict with housemade Turkey sausage and polenta...  

I didn't know before I went there but this is one of the signature dishes for Brunch they make and it was DE-Licious!!!!  

I know you saw on the menu all the different types of Mimosas they serve - so -  "why didn't edgar order a drink like he normally does at every meal??'...  and the answer is he doesn't like Mimosas....  now if there was a good ole Bloody Mary on the menu...... that's another story!!

... this is the view from the restaurant... looking at Pier 38 and the Bay...

... turning to the left and looking North you see the Bay Bridge...

... and as we walked back to the car this is another view looking out across the bay and the marina...

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I would HIGHLY recommend this place.  It's in a lovely area, with great SF views, easy parking, tasty food...BUT...  get a reservation to guarantee a table as the waits can be very long.

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

Take care,

edgar

A Little Stitchin'

Gentle Friends, stitching away on Hannah and here's where I left off...

I wanted to get to the bottom of the piece to make sure it fit on the linen (always a worry for me no matter how many times or how much I measure) and the little upside down bird is the bottom of page 4.  I'm sorry that the picture makes the floss look so dark it really is a nice color mix of dark blue/green and purple...  I'll try and get a better snap later on...

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

Take care,

edgar

A Little Thrifting

Gentle Friends, it's been quite a while since I posted any fun finds I've picked up running around the City.... the real reason is that there's' been a dearth of things to buy!!  I looked back at my Posts and it's been like over a month.... so here are the few fun things I found...

... so here ya go... I found the early Victorian mahogany letterbox in the baskets section at a Goodwill - and after I picked my jaw up off the ground - I thought about it, I really didn't need it or have much room for something like this but it was marked $2.99 so how could I not buy it!! After I got it home, polished it up... it turned out to be a lovely piece of wood and totally handmade!!  Who just gives stuff like this away, I ask myself!!

... and I have a really hard time passing on old pieces of porcelain... and most of the time I really restrain myself... but the mid 19th century scalloped plate with the hand-painted transferware is a super piece and really unusual... the great little gold lined Royal Worcester demitasse cup and saucer is a lovely shade of green and the pate sur pate dot decoration is superb!  The rimmed saucer with a pretty magenta transfer and silver luster was only .99 so I had to rescue this late 18th early 19th-century piece from oblivion!!  I found the great Russian laquered box last week and since I'm a real sucker for them, it came to my house to live!! 

There you go sports fans, thanks for stopping by dos top again!!

Take care,

edgar

We Need ... A Little Christmas....!!

Gentle Friends, last week while we were out downtown we happened to go into the Swarovski store and they already had...

... the 2018 Christmas Snowflake!! So I had to get one to add to my "snowflake" ornament collection.  You may remember that I collect both these crystal snowflakes and the Gorham sterling snowflakes.  This year's snowflake is nice and simple and I think really pretty.   My mom started me and my siblings on these years ago and I've just kept up the yearly acquisition.  It's nice when Christmas rolls around and the tree goes up to put some of them on the tree and remember......

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There you go sports fans, a little sentimental Wednesday!! 

Thanks for stopping by do stop again!!

Take care,

edgar

A Little Stichin' Finish and a Stitchin' Start

Gentle Friends, I've finished up Little Sheep Virtues, with my own twist to the center square...

 here's a snaperoo... sorry about the snap the color is off towards the bottom of the piece...

 "Little Sheep Virtues" by Little House Needleworks and 

"Sheep in the Meadow" by Country Cottage Needleworks - 2/11/2018 - 4/7/2018 

36ct Lakeside Lines Vintage Sand Dune - using my overdyed floss conversion

... you can see I've changed up the center square quite a bit.  The house is now blue ( GAST "Barn Grey" and GAST "Freedom") and the grass I stitched lighter (CC "Weeping Willow)  The major change I made was to do away with all the oversized "daisy " type flowers and make the meadow more "sheepy" with the addition of three extra sheep.  Overall I'm pretty happy with the results...

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I already had another project ready to go when LSV wrapped up... "Hannah Beeby 1816" a reproduction Quaker sampler by Timeless Designs... and here's where I am at the moment...

...I switched out the recommended Splendor silk for Gloriana silks "Seaweed" and "Antique Gold Dark" I am stitching this on a piece of 36ct "vintage" linen that was in my stash and is nameless...

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

Take care,

edgar

"Once Upon a Springtime" - Macy's Flower Show 2018

Gentle Friends, again this year we made a visit downtown to Union Square Macy's store to see their Annual Flower Show - you can click on any of these years - 2013, 2014 or 2015 to see past Flower Show Posts.  This year the theme was "Once Upon a Springtime" or "Autumn" or "Winter" - and although really lovely it seemed to be a very loose theme ......

 .... the windows outside...

 ... I really like this shot  - it shows how the "Flower Show" is even on the outside ... and butterflies were everywhere in pictures and displays.... one of the few recurring themes...

 ... along the First-floor perfume and makeup counters ... they were just loaded with really beautiful flowers and plants...

 ... the focal point was a cloud "Dragon"...

 ... that when looking straight on was a dragon... 

but from the side, you can see the individual pieces....

  a better shot of all the flowers and the dragon...  and on the floor were these large sticker signs...

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 ... above the watch counter were these enormous mushrooms...

 going towards the Post Street Entrance through the Jewelry Departments ....

 ... there was this Gothic styled paper Folly... 

which opens up and leads to a flower covered wall and throne.....

 ... and here's Rico siting on the throne!! 

above all the different jewelry and handbag areas are raised displays ... 

all very pretty but very similar...

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After walking around the store we headed to the roof for lunch.  

On top of Macy's and overlooking Union Square sits The Cheesecake Factory...

... looking west towards the Westin St Francis Hotel... 

... here's a better shot of the flowering cherry trees ... 

these are in bloom all over town and really lend a Springtime look to the City...

...after finally be sat for lunch we started off with a round of cocktails...of course...I had a really delicious "Bourbon and Honey" concoction made with Four Roses Bourbon, Orange Blossom Honey fresh lemon and a spring of Thyme...although delicious we are still trying to figure out why the thyme??  It added no additional flavor, whatever...the pink drink is just a vodka and cranberry...

... appetizers were an order of avocado egg rolls...

... Mike had a Caesar Salad with chicken...

... I had "Cheeseburger Wraps"... I really enjoyed these and will try and make at home...

... Rico and John both had BLT's with fries...

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It was a beautiful afternoon and we sat around in the sunshine yakking away... 

so another round of drinks...

...so we had Long Island Iced teas.... these treats rounded out the lunch!!

We had a guest for lunch that sort of perched by us during the whole meal...could it have been the fries we were sneaking to him through the opening in the glass windbreak that kept him hanging about... 

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After lunch, we walked around quite a bit and I took this photo of the huge line of folks waiting to take the Cable Car at California and Market Streets. It's a long line and I would always suggest getting on this Cable Car line at Van Ness and ride it back downtown, less crowded and I think more interesting!!

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

Take care,

edgar