A Movie Post

GR&DF thanks for once again stopping by for a visit. I think that Roberta's comment for yesterdays post was spot on - I'll just try the buttons that came with the charts - In my feeble little brain I just thought if I changed the linen I would have to change the buttons. From 32 to 36 ct is not that great a leap one would think for button size. I'll try them and see.

I haven't talked flickers in a while so I thought it would be nice to mention some of the better ones I've seen lately.

Starting off with "The Killers" - 1946 - starring Burt Lancaster, Ava Gardner and Edmund O'Brien. This film adapted from a Hemingway short story is told in flash back with an Insurance Investigator piecing together the life of the Swede - who we see murdered in the first few minuets of the film. It is a story of murder, treachery and greed that all leads to beautiful and mysterious Kitty Collins. This was a super break out film for both Lancaster and Gardner - a great Noir piece worth a look.

Here's another Noir film that's worth a mention - "The Narrow Margin" - 1952 - starring Charles McGraw and Marie Windsor. A really nice B production of a dead mobsters wife going undercover to testify against his gang. She needs to get to Los Angeles without being killed by the gang. Most of the film takes place on the train ride getting to Los Angeles. Made on a budget the suspense and giant twists in the story keep you wanting more. There is the obligatory "uber Brat" little boy, but aside from that it is a quick paced and well told good guy bad guy type film.

Wrapping up the films today I wanted to mention a series from the TV - "Pillars of the Earth" - 2010 - an 8 part mini series based on the book of the same title by Ken Follett. I have loved this book for many years and have read it quite a few time so when I heard there was to be a mini series I sort of cringed at the thought. Most adaptations fall so far short of the original material that they are sometimes impossible to watch. With this production I felt quite differently. Yes, there was changes to the story, yes, there was lots of telescoping of the the time line, but the overall piece was really top notch and very watchable. It stars Ian McShane, Matthew Macfadyen and Donald Sutherland. You cant help but get swept up in the politics, war, rebellion and over all power struggles of the characters. The struggle for the throne of England, the Archbishopric of Canterbury the seat of the Earls of Shiring, being Prior of the Abby at Kingsbridge or the lead stone masons position..... it seems that everyone was scrabbling for something. I thoroughly enjoyed the entire thing, and would recommend it highly. If you watch this piece and have read the book, let go of the book details and get caught up in the film and the story it is telling.

There you go sports fans - thanks for stopping by!!

Take care,
edgar

A Rainy Wednesday

GR&DF the weather has taken on a decidedly damp aspect!! It is supposed to rain all day today and then on and off for the next two days. That's the winter here in SF - usually rainy and cold. Thanks for the the feedback on yesterdays post - I knew I wasn't the only one to remember the Claymation Specials from 20 years ago!! I think the California Raisins really date it but I still enjoy the heck out the whole thing!!!! - remember how over the top popular the raisins were at the time. Nicola asked about Christmas Rules - and yes, I am going to try and get it stitched up before Christmas. It shouldn't be to arduous a stitch - the only problem I foresee is that each double section includes some silly buttons to finish out the squares. There are three little white ones and a larger red button and they are all incorporated in the designs - now the recommended linen is 32 count so the button size reflects that and I'm stitching mine on 36 so I will have to find some smaller buttons or stitch in the place of the buttons - right now I am not too sure what to do - any suggestions out there?????

I have posted both the Cherry/Coconut Pound Cake and Dinner Roll Dough recipes on Blacksheep Bakes - if you want them just click on over. Both recipes I found on line but adjusted them somewhat to my family's taste. They are both pretty easy - if you have any questions feel free to ask.

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

Take care,
edgar

Christmas Rules and Christmas Clay

GR&DF thank you for the kind comments for yesterdays post. For the past few years we have been putting up an artificial/prelit tree - so the fresh tree is a very nice change. Next year it is back to the artificial one. Alice asked about the exercise I must take to keep my ever so slim figure - slim I aint!! I must confess that a majority of the baked goods and sweet treats I usually send to work with Rico. He works for a large Construction Firm and there are plenty of folks there that will eat up my cooking. I will usually just hold back a slice or a single piece for the two of us - but the rest I send out into the world. The only exercise I seem to get is chasing the who-hounds, dragging the laundry up and down the stairs, slaving away in the kitchen (more fun than slave I must admit) and pushing the vacuum and rug shampooer around, and lets not forget all the finger work that I put in - that TV clicker ain't gonna click itself!!

I wanted to post a snap of the pitiful amount of stitching I have gotten done on Christmas Rules...

Sorry that the linen looks band-aid coloured - it is a bit lighter.

On Friday coming home from work we went over to the Haight and stopped at a great record/dvd store called Amoeba Records. Rico was looking for something and I was along as the driver. While he was off somewhere I went through all the Holiday DVD's and found this...

(sorry for the craptastic snap) This was a total blast from the past. I had no idea that it had ever been released onto DVD. It is from 1987 and the Christmas Special has been stuck in my mind for the last two decades - so very funny!! The DVD also has a Halloween Special and an Easter Special - pretty super for a used DVD!! Here is a clip from the Christmas Special -



A great interpretation of a wonderful old carol. You can find the entire Christmas Claymation on You Tube in three parts. Give it a look - you will not be disappointed.

There you go sports fans - short post today. Thanks for stopping by, do stop by again.

Take care,
edgar

The Weekend Just Flew By - Whooosh

GR&DF you know how it is. When the weekend starts and finishes within the same couple of minuets. It felt like that this weekend here in the city by the Bay. The weather held out most of the day Saturday with wispy clouds and some sun, but by Sunday the clouds where just rolling in from the west and we only had what seemed like just a moment before the sky opened up and it poured. Not a steady rain but on and off in waves most of the day.

On Saturday I got another wild hair and hauled out the bread machine-o and was bound-damned and determined to figure out and make some cina-buns. After making the super easy bread part I rolled out and cut up and let rise and baked et voila -

Then covered in a buttery cream cheese frosting they turned out pretty tasty!! I'll throw more snaps and the recipe on BB Bakes. You know something - I think you could cover dirt with cream cheese frosting and it would be simply delicious!!!!!!

Then yesterday morning we went on the hunt for the Christmas tree. This year we decided to have a real tree so we had to go find one. We visited a great lot here in the city and they had some great trees....

and some beautiful wreaths....


they even had the mini table top trees....

We where looking for a smallish 4 footer and eventually found one we thought would be nice. The whole time we where looking I didn't see any pricing on anything anywhere! I should have known that was a bad sign. I always remember my Granny saying "If you have to ask the price, you probably can't afford it." But, I thought to myself - "self, this little scrawny 4 footish tree can't be more the $25 or so." Silly, silly me!!!!! I eventually found someone that could answer my question. She came over to see what tree we wanted.... after looking at her very secret list she extracted from her very inner pocket on her very ratty coat - she said that the little 4 foot tree had a price tag of $68.00. "What was that??" "Oh, just $68" she reiterated and then walked off to stun someone else. I looked at Rico - he was picking his jaw up off the ground at that particular moment. I put back this unusually special and rare noble fir tree - for it was NOT the tree for us. We two poor tree hunters slunked off back to the car and sat there a moment. "Was she kidding!!" - I said...... "Off to the new Lowe's" - Rico said.... and 15 mins later we were pulling into the Lowe's parking lot.

We walked into the store since we didn't see any tree lot - we did pass two 7 foot tall tress decorated with $35 price tags!! Now that's a price!!!! We walked into the Christmas sections and my eyes where accosted by these....

Now I am all for new and unusual colours, but I like me the more traditional red Poinsettias - I can even bend a little for the variegated red and white ones, but not blue (and these were way more blue that they look in the snap!!). We eventually found the tree lot and got us a great 4 foot tall noble fir for $19.99!! Woo-Hoo!!!!!

We got our tree home and wrestled it into the stand - I hate that part!! and it sits all belighted waiting for tonight when the decorations will be applied.

The wild hair from Saturday got me again on Sunday and I whipped up a Cherry Pound Cake -

It is pretty tasty and the majority of this sucker went off to work with Rico this morning. I'll post that recipe also on BB Bakes.

That about wraps up the weekend - I did very little stitching - just not in the mood I guess. Thanks for stopping by, do come again!!!

Take care,
edgar

The Weekend is here!!!!

GR&DF I do thank you all for the kind comments for yesterdays post.

I posted on Blacksheep Bakes the recipe for the Spice Cake I made on Thanksgiving. A very easy recipe to pull together, I hope you will enjoy!!

Yesterday the mail brought another Christmas surprise -

They were a gift from my dear stitching friend, Jennifer - and I am pretty sure that she hand dyed these herself. She sent a lovely group of very useful colours... Thank you so much!!!

Last night I wrapped up the last of my "gift" baking and most of the packages will go out today. So there was no stitching just a lot of kitchen time!!

Thanks for stopping by, do come again!!

Take care,
edgar

A Stichity Post

GR&DF its Thursday and another day closer to "it" and another day less to get ready for "it." I do love the Christmas Season - not so much the crowds, punching and pushing, the malls, and all the unnecessary bitchiness that seems to permeate "corporate christmas." I love the specials on the tube, the music, the giving with open hearts - basically the nice side of an otherwise overblown beribboned "figgy pudding." The little shopping that I do - I try and do it on line - and love that to pieces!! There are a couple of things I am going to the mall for this evening and then I will avoid that pit of inhumanity like the plague until 2011!!

I wanted to post about a little lovely gesture of niceness - yesterday the mail brought a wonderful Christmas RAK -

Dear Carol sent me a lovely prezzie - and such a wonderful way to start off the month of giving!! The ornament is the "Woodland Christmas Reindeer Ornament" on 28ct Mocha Cashel stitched using GAST floss. I love me some licorice and tea and what better way to enjoy both at the same time!! Such a thoughtful gift and I do thank you Carol so much for starting off the season so brightly!!

I on the other hand have just started to get my mailed things out today and will finish up over the next few days. I love sending out treats to friends and relatives. But, sometimes it seems that Christmas just sneaks up and there it is and your out of time.

I took some snaps of both the Sampler Wreath progress and my new Christmas start.
Lets show the wreath first....

Its kind of wrinkled, sorry, but you get the idea. The church to the left sort of blends in but there is quite a bit a back stitch there so after that's completed it will show better. Still loving this piece!!

Here is a snap of the little bit of start stitching I got done last night....

It is "Christmas Rules" by Lizzie Kate. I am stitching it on 36ct linen and not the 32ct that is recommended. I just like 36ct better. I am using the recommend WDW floss. The moment I saw this I knew I wanted to get it to stitch. I also know that I am the biggest whiner about designers releasing multiple charts in bits and pieces to complete a project, but sometime you just gotta bite the bullet and suck it up to do something you love!! The sentiment is so great for the season and really for the whole year. What a super place it would be if we all kept Christmas in our hearts year round!!!

Yesterday we had another checkup appointment on Rico's Franken-foot. The Doctor was really nice and had only positive things to say about the way it has healed up. He also has started Rico on some Physical Therapy so that he gets some strength back in the calf muscle and foot. On the way home from the Doctors we stopped off a Popeye's - gotta love that spicy chicken!! Across the street is an old Movie Theatre that has been everything from a Theater to an Evangelical Church to a working artist space. Now it is boarded over awaiting it's next incarnation. On the boards that cover the front doors is a super mural - so great I got a snap...


I love me some Lazar eyed kitty's - gotta kill the bug!! That's one of the nicer things about SF - is all the inspired and interesting mural art. You never get bored.

Rachel asked about a snap in yesterdays post - and the answer is basically no - I had a snap of a tial light that I took, but it fell a little short when I was putting the post together so I went on the Internet and found a picture I liked better - great Cadillac fins are hard to come by!!

There you go sports fans. Thanks again for dropping by and for the kind comments!!!

Take care,
edgar

First of December

GR&DF The first day of the last month of the year. Where has the time gone. As I wrap up the year and make ready for the Holidays I cast my mind back across the year and remember the good, the bad and the truly ugly - and try and think of every thing as a learning experience. I try and think of things I could have done, and of things I did get done. I always feel so reflective - like a tail-light!!

Oh well - we must look forward to a new and brighter year ahead!!

Not much going on - last night I made some super headway into my "Christmas Giftie Cooking." I was one busy guy and up to my whoo-zitts in sugar and chocolate - but I wanted to get some little things out into the world and they need to start leaving by the end of the week - so I had to get a move on.

I got not a single stitch done - I didn't even touch it!! As I was basically running from stove to counter to laundry room - for most if not all of the evening. I have gotten some stitching done recently on the Sampler Wreath and will get a snap up tomorrow. I am putting that up for a few weeks because tonight I am starting my Christmas Stitch for this season. It is not very complicated and I should be able to get it done before or just around Christmas. I'll get a picture of that start up also.

Thanks for the kind comments about my Thanksgiving and our little trip. Sherry asked about my 2011 stitching plans.... I always have a plan for my stitching but it usually gets tossed to the wayside pretty quickly if I see something I want to do immediately. I have a rough Idea what I want to accomplish and try and finish, but who knows what will come of that list. Denise asked about Basin Redwood Park - I have never been there, but it looks lovely.

I have been to Muir Woods a few times and have always thought it so peaceful - and just a wonderful place to be - so I now need a trip to Big Basin!! and - Peggy Lee mentioned Pac-Man - they didn't have a Pac-Man, but they did have a Ms. Pac-man - ahhhh the memories!!

There you go sports fans. Thanks for stopping by, do come again!
Take care,
edgar