A Little More Christmas - 2021

Gentle Friends, I've been off-line for a few days as I had to "takedown" my office" and get ready for Christmas.  I work at our dining room table and needed it for Christmas dinner and so I boxed it all up and moved it into an upstairs closet.  But I'm back up and running... I'm off this week so not too much going on around here.  I have some snaps from the last couple of weeks... let's start off with a small (14 people) cocktail party over at our friends who live on Alamo Square here in the City... they have a super house dating back to the 1880s.  They were on lockdown last year so they didn't entertain a bit...  this year they wanted to do something smallish for their bubble... here is a shot of their spectacular tree...

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This is our Christmas Dinner table, for which I gave up my "office"...

Rico whipped up a really lovely centerpiece of red and white roses and red tulips... we are still enjoying it this evening... here's Baby Jesus' Birthday Cake this year...

... I made a lemon cake with lemon curd filling and lemon butter creme icing with fondant poinsettias for decoration...

... for dinner I made a really tasty brisket (if I do say so myself) Gratin Dauphinois (just fancy scalloped potatoes) green beans with almonds and some biscuits... enjoyed by everyone.

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Christmas Night, after all the hubbub, I finally finished up MCEV... here's a snap...

BBD - Merry Christmas Ella Vaugh

40ct LL Pear

Recommended Floss

10/31 - 12/25/2021

The changes I made... I removed what I think was supposed to be a cupola from the roof and added in the two chimnies making it a more Georgian house.  I also changed the name.  Everything else remains the same as charted.

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I hope everyone had a super Christmas!! 

Looking forward to a great 2022!!!

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That's about it for this evening.  I'll post my new start next week when it actually looks like something.  Thanks for stopping by do stop again!  Stay Safe!!!

Good Thoughts! Good Words! Good Deeds!

edgar

A Little Winter

Gentler Friends, I almost missed posting some Vivaldi for this first day of Winter... I took this week off and next week we're closed so I get two fat weeks to sleep late... any-who here's an interesting version of Winter...

Enjoy!!

edgar

A Little Stitchin' and a Little Christmas

 Gentle Friends, I've gotten a little stitching done on MCEV, and here's a snap...

... the picture is a bit wonky as I couldn't get it to lay flat and was quite wrinkled from the q-snaps.  I changed the date and will change the name for my grandmother who was named for her grandmother and 1860 was the year of her birth...  so that would be my great-great-grandmother...

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I also got a pan of baklava made up and parceled it out to my neighbors for Christmas... 

here's a snap of that...

.. I've not made baklava in a few years and really missed it last year, so it was a treat to make some for everyone this year!!

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We also got the Christmas tree up and decided to only use the sterling,  Swarovski, and Wedgwood snowflakes... here's a close-up snaperoo..

... we did this a few years ago and really enjoyed it so it was nice to do it again this year.  I hadn't unpacked the sterling ornaments in a while and they all needed a good polish before going on the tree...

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

Good Thoughts! Good Words! Good Deeds!

edgar

Quite a Bit of Christmas and a Fruity Finish

Gentle Friends, over the past week I've been baking and mailing out Christmas Treat boxes near and far... this year I made up a few dozen of each of these...

Spicy Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies

Christmas Butter Cookies and Oatmeal/Coconut Cookies

and lots of Pralines...

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On Friday evening we headed downtown to Davis Symphony Hall for a performance of...

Handel's "Messiah" - this was our view of the soloists, musicians, and the Chorus.  It was so nice to go to a live performance and we love this piece of music and really enjoyed the evening!!!

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Yesterday I finished up my year-long SAL from Modern Folk Embroidery... here's the finished piece...

"The Fruits of Plenty" - Modern Folk EMbroidery

40ct Moonglow from PTP

CC - Wavy Navy and GAST Morning Glory

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I also worked a bit on MCEV and got the house filled in with "Red Pear"... here's a snap...

... now I've got to get this sucker finished up for Christmas...  

there's lots of white snow stitching fill on the hill still to do...

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That's about it for today sports fans.  

Thanks for stopping by do stop again.  Stay Safe!

Good Thoughts! Good Words! Good Deeds!

edgar

A Little Stitchin' and a Little Dinner

 Gentle Friends, I took off Wednesday and Monday for the Thanksgiving weekend... in between cooking and getting the house ready I've been able to get a little more done on MCEV... here's a snap...

... I just took this quick snap with it still in the Qsnaps... I'm thinking about changing up the roofline, but I still have some time... and here's a snap of us as we sat down to Thanksgiving...

.. our dining room is too small for all of us so I popped up a card table, slapped on a linen cloth et voila enough room...Rico whipped up a lovely centerpiece and I scaled back the menu a bit... turkey breast, crock-pot stuffing ( the real winner and I'll never make it any other way!!), steamed green beans, mashed white potatoes, sweet potato souffle with pecan topping,  roasted Brussell sprouts, homemade cranberry sauce, apple butter our friend Rob put up this Fall for my buttermilk biscuits and a dish of watermelon rind pickle.  We started off the afternoon with Kir Royale for everyone... at dinner, we popped both a red and white wine ... AND we sat down at 2:05 pm... only 5 minutes past when I said we would.  Usually, I'm so backed up I'm lucky if we sit down by 3.....  but I had prepped the hell out of everything so it was probably the smoothest and least stressed Thanksgiving ever...!  My sister and brother-in-law came down from Vancouver WA and brought a delicious Marion Berry Pie, and I had made a spiced dark chocolate cake for Mike's birthday.  There was very little leftover so I am very happy about that and everyone had a super time!!  Now on to Christmas Dinner.... we're thinking Brisket this year.......

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Thanks for stopping by do stop again!  Stay Safe!

Good Thoughts! Good Words! Good Deeds!

edgar

Gobble Gobble

Happy Thanksgiving!!

edgar

A Little Stitchin'

Gentle Friends,  stitching away on MCEV and getting ready for Thanksgiving.... here's a shot...

... I wasn't sure about the non-traditional Christmas colors, but as I get more into the piece I'm really liking the color choices and it's one of the reasons I love the Blackbird Designs.

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Thanks for stopping by do stop again. Stay Safe!

Good Thoughts! Good Words! Good Deeds1

edgar

A Little Boost and a Rib

 Gentle Friends, we headed out to get our Covid Booster Shots this morning.  I had made appointments for us at the same place we had gotten our first 2 shots ... in the Mission at 24th and Capp Streets.  Since they are just around the corner from the Mission McDonlads' we headed over there after we got shots for a reward...

... I had to get the McRib and Rico got a Quater Pounder meal.  As usual, it was delicious and I totally enjoyed every bite!  I'm really happy to have gotten the Booster shot,  now we need to get the flu shot for this year and we're covered ... hopefully!

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There you go sports fans.  Thanks for stopping by do stop again.  Stay Safe!

Good Thoughts! Good Words! Good Deeds!

edgar

A Little Stitchin'

 Gentle Friends, I stitched up as much of Fruits as I can until the last section shows up...  here's a snap...

... I also got the border done on MCEV...  here's that snap...

... both shots are on the dark side, but you get the idea.  That stick thing in the vase is going to be some sort of tree...  

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

Good Thoughts! Good Words! Good Deeds!

edgar

A Little Blue Stitchin'

 Gentle Friends, I picked up on November's section of Fruits...here's a snap...

.. I also made a start on the December section.  Since the dark-blue outline mirrors Octobers it was an easy jump...I'll get in the last bottom triangle and the corner piece before I start in on the lite blue areas...

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

Good Thoughts! Good Words! Good Deeds!

edgar

A Little Start

 Gentle Friends, here's my start on my Christmas piece...

BBD - Merry Christmas Ella Vaughn

40ct LL Pear

Recommended Floss

It's an older pattern from 2006.  The Fourth Pattern in The Family History Series.  I've had these charts from this series for years in my stash and just never have gotten around to stitching any of them... no time like the present! 

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Also on the Christmas front, at the grocery store this past week they got in my favorite eggnog...

Bud's, elixir of the gods!!!!!!   Even with my Hallowe'en cookie jar still on the counter, I had to have a slug of that old Christmas magic, delicious!!!!

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

Good Thoughts! Good Words! Good Deeds!

edgar

A Spooky Post

 Gentle Friends, I just wanted to wish you all a wonderful All Hallows Eve... 

... "Thine is the Trick and the Treat"...this was a fun stitch a few years ago, it is framed up and I look at it every day, probably my favorite October sampler, ever!! Stay Safe!

Happy Hallowe'en!!!!!

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Good Thoughts! Good Words! Good Deeds!

edgar

A Little Finish

 Gentle Friends, I'm wrapping up the week with a finish of Mighty Acorn... here's a snapperoo...

"Mighty Acorn" - Blackbird Designs

9/26 - 10/28

36ct LL Vintage Light Exampler

Recommended Floss

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I won't be getting the November section of Fruits until Monday or I'd just pick that up this weekend to stitch on....  I've already pulled together my next "seasonal" piece...a little Christmas sampler which I'll get a start on over the weekend and post a snap on Monday.

That's about it for today sports fans.  Have a super weekend... It's massage weekend here by the Bay for us so I'm totally stoked about that!!  Thanks again for stopping by.  Dos top again.  Stay Safe!

Good Thoughts! Good Words! Good Deeds!

edgar

A Little Stitchin'

 Gentler Friends, we had quite a bit of rain over the last few days... let's hope it keeps up!!  I've been stitching away on Mighty Oak and here's where I left off...

... now to get work on the house and the two squirrels.

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

Good Thoughts! Good Words! Good Deeds1

edgar

A Little Brunchin'

 Gentle Friends, Sunday we set a date for Brunch with friends of ours to meet in Cole Valley, which is between the Haight and the Castro just over the hill from where we live in Noe Valley, at a new to us restaurant called Zazie.  Here's a snap I stole off the internet because I forgot to take a snap when we were there... 

... and even though we had a wait of about an hour and 1/2 before we were sat I still forgot to get a snap of the front...  usually, I won't wait for more than about 20 minutes but we all wanted to eat here and after putting our names in the queue we were I think 87th inline......  we went shopping.  Cole Valley is very much like Noe Valley, our neighborhood, lots of shops and a great place to walk around so the wait was not bad at all.  As with most restaurants here in the City, they have a double "parklet" built in the parking spaces directly in front but we got sat at an inside table.  Here's what we had...

Rico got the scrambled egg dish... "Genevieve", leave it to him to find the dish with the avocado... he loves that fruit!!

Denise got the Eggs Benedict "Divorcee" without fontina...

Julie got the Omelette du Jour, with butternut squash and grilled onions...

... and I got the eggs benedict "Monaco"... the egg was perfectly done and the roasted tomato a delicious addition...I like that you can order just a single eggs benedict and a single pancake...  so I also ordered a gingerbread pancake for us all to share!

... I love gingerbread and this exceeded my expectations, it was warm, thick, and delicious, the lemon curd was tangy, and the poached pear perfect.  The long wait was well worth it and we'll be back!!

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

Good Thoughts! Good Words! Good Deeds!

edgar

A LIttle Stitchin'

 Gentle Friends, stitchin' away on both pieces this past week... first up Fruits SAL...

... finished up October's part...

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....then when I got October wrapped up I pulled out Mighty Acorn

... I finished up the top section and the border outline... I was very happy when everything met up without having to fudge and or frog any stitches!!

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

Good thoughts! Good Words! Good Deeds!

edgar

3 Little Years ago....

 Gentle Friends... my Facebook popped up a snap this morning from 3 years ago...

.. I remember what a fun sitch this was... 

"Sojourner" by Heart's Ease Examplar Workes  

April 11, 2015 - August 6, 2016  

Stitched on 36ct "Pecan Butter," Using the called for "Belle Soie" silks (Classic Colorworks)

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Hope you are having a great Sunday afternoon!!

edgar

A Little Stitchin'

Gentle Friends,  as I turned another year older this week I reflected on all the stitching I've done over the years and how much I still want to do in the future.  I came to the conclusion that if never another chart was released I would still have too much stash to ever complete in my lifetime... yet I still accumulate and dream....  here's a bit more stitched on Fruits...

... I've gotten the bulk of the dark blue in and even a bit done on November...

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I have lined up a couple of new pieces for the New year that I want to start.  They will be both in silk - a floss I really enjoy working with and haven't much worked with this year.... so stay tuned!!

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Good Thoughts! Good Words! Good Deeds!

edgar 

A Little Stitchin'

 Gentle Friends stitching away on Mighty Acorn... here's the progress...

... and since it's the beginning of October I received and started in on the dark blue of Fruits... here's a snap of it still in the Q-snap...

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That's about it for today sports fans.  Thanks for stopping by dos top again!

Good Thoughts! Good Words! Good Deeds!

edgar

A Little Finish and a Little Start

 Gentle Friends, I finished up Paradise over the weekend and made a start of the Fall sampler...here's a snaperoo of Paradise...

"Peaceful Paradise" by Midsummer Night Designs

3/28 - 9/25/2021

LL 40ct Pearled Barley

Using the Recommended floss

This was a great piece to work on and I think the only change I would make would be to just use a single black as I can't really see any difference in the two blacks, but whatever, she's a done deal...

... now on to my Fall sampler.....

"Mighty Acorn"- from Blackbird Designs

36ct LL Vintage Light Examplar

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There you go sports fans.  Thanks for stopping by... do stop again.  Stay Safe!

Good Thoughts! Good Words! Good Deeds!

edgar

A Little Fall

 Gentle Friends, it's the first day of Fall...

...The Enigma Quartet Play Autumn from Vivaldi's Four Seasons performed at the 

Glasshouse in Port Macquarie... Enjoy!

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Good Thoughts! Good Words! Good Deeds!

edgar

A Little Stitchin'

 Gentle Friends, stitching away this past week, and here are a couple of snaps to show...  first Fruits...

... the lighting is a bit odd, but here we are with just three months to go... 

and here is a snap of  Paradise...

... closing in on the end... all that's left are a few flowers and a couple of sheep.

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There you go sports fans.  Thanks for stopping by... do stop again.  Stay Safe!

Good Thoughts! Good Words! Good Deeds!

edgar

A little Stitchin'

 Gentle Friends, this morning has been so hectic...here is where I've landed on Fruits...

.. finished up the blue fill along the border... and just a bit into the December section.

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

Good Thoughts! Good Words! Good Deeds!

edgar

A Little Stitchin'

 Gentle Friends, I worked some on Paradise...  here's a snap...

... and then on the 1st I got September's section... and put down Paradise and dug out Fruits... and as I always do I am laying in the dark color first...  here's a snap...

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That's about it around here sports fans.  Thanks for stopping by do stop again.  Stay Safe!

Good Thoughts! Good Words! Good Deeds!

edgar

A little Stitchin'

 Gentle Friends,  stitching away on the Paradise "garden"...  here's a snaperoo...

... those green lines will be green hills with a duck pond, but right now it looks a bit odd...

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That's about it for today sports fans.  Stay Safe!

Good Thoughts! Good Words! Good Deeds!

edgar

A Little Italian Dinner

Gentle Friends, so... I got an email this morning that I had left off some snaps of dinner... of course, I took some but really wasn't planning on posting... but ask and ye shall receive!!... here goes...

... we always start off with drinks, and tonight Rico suggested some Prosecco.. we already had some Chambord... so Kir Royales were the way to go!!

... you can't have lasagna without a little salad so chop, chop, chop et voila a little tossed salad... with some Olive Garden dressing...

... the bottle of Prosecco got drunk up quite quickly and my Dad always told me to have a bottle of champagne in the fridge, ya never know, right!!  so I pulled out the emergency champagne et voila more Kir Royale!!!!

.. Rico had cut a delicious focaccia bread with rosemary and had made a sauce to dip the cubes into with blackberry balsamic vinegar and olive oil ... he also wrapped up some melon with prosciutto....... a little snack before the meal.....

... and I had made a small loaf of hot french bread to go with the lasagna.... and our friends brought a watermelon cream pie...  here is a snap of one I stole off the internet but their pie was a dead ringer for this one...

... it was a fun evening!!

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Thanks for stopping by do stop again!

Good Thoughts! Good Words! Good Deeds!

edgar