Ukrainian Pysanka - aren't these gorgeous eggs -
two OOP Sheepish Designs, two OOP Chester County charts and a Mary Beale card of ornaments also OOP - These OOP are just killing me at how unavailable everything I want is turning out to be!!!!!
This is looking east out over the Mission and towards the Oakland hills - our hill is covered at the moment with these lovely yellow flowered bush/trees.
2-4-2010 / 3-27-2010
Our friends who where selling up actually had two of these but by the time we got there one had already sold. They gave some killer parties and would serve both red and green Margarita's!! This will be a super addition to any festive occasion!! I also picked up a few other bits at other places...
This is such a dog friendly city you see this many times all over!! 
We picked up some of these tulips - and they are just lovely!!
here is snap of the other things we got...
The honey is really delicious and is from sage flowers around Turlock down in the Valley - it is a beautiful pale colour. We got the bread at the liberty Cafe over in Bernal Heights - I turned the cauliflower into this..
a tasty Gratin of Cauliflower - from a recipe of Julia Child's. 
We parked the car and walked past this display of colour - the guy that was selling these was sitting in his van with his bong and was totally enjoying the lovely day!! Outside of the cafe is a patio area and there are these....
...beautiful wisteria everywhere - I love these flowers and even though they are a very destructive vine - the floral display is magnificent!!! I also got this snap of other goodies inside the cafe...
I'm not sure what these are but they were really great looking in the case.
Cathy stitched a super "chickie" mattress pin cushion and "chickie" fob - aren't they totally sweet!!! The package included some super treats - a beautiful piece of "Earthen" linen from PTP, a skein of Gloriana silk, a carrot of chocolates and two really cute Easter decorations - a super thoughtful parcel for Easter. Here is a close up the stitched lovelies...
The pin cushion is stitched on 40 ct Antique white using DMC floss. the chart is PS #107 "Just Hatched." The finish piece is surrounded by a lovely pink ribbon - this couldn't be cuter!!!
These are really nice samplers and yet the person who charted DMC conversion must have been colorblind - as they are all very brightly charted - I know, I know, that originally they would have been bright and maybe that was what they were going for - but you know me and my mantra "Grey, Beige, Brown and Black" - extra dingy!! I am certain I can rechart the colours for a more beat up and aged look!! :)
How great is this - a blue tree. There are a few of them along a ridge up on Diamond Heights above the city. Near to our Safeway grocery store. These blue flowers last a long time so it will be there for quite a while. Yesterdays pink flowering tree I think has been identified by Sharon in St Louis - as a flowering crab apple - and that works for me as these do look like apple blossoms. I wonder what this blue one might be? Any guesses? It is rather bushy so It might just be some way over sized shrub- no fragrance at all - or none that my schnoz could discern.
They are short and stumpy little trees - but just a profusion of gorgeous spring flowers.... They are also a buzz with little honey bees a buzzing and working each flower. I stood up in the middle of the branches and tried to get a snap of a bee - but what I got was....
a pretty picture from inside the floral mass - there is a sweetish smell - not very strong, but very pleasant when you get close to these trees. A really wonderful harbinger of spring!!
We ended up getting -
It is/was simply delicious!! All creamy and butterscotchy!! We don't stop too often but when we do it is always delicious!!
Just some nice older sampler charts - I was running low :) dont'cha know!! and I even picked up a great chart of the Ponce Inlet Light House. This lighthouse is in Daytona Beach and I have never seen a chart of it. I am thinking this would be nice for my mom for Christmas - its never to early to get a jump on Christmas stitching!!
Not the most neat of snaps - with some of the silver still sitting out, leftover beer and a bowl - but look past that stuff and get a eye full of the blue and lime colours we went with for this party. We usually pick a different colour for each party - that way we don't get bored with the way things look - and it mixes it up for our guests - and we get to try all sorts of different flowers and plants.
This is a totally craptastic snap of this sampler, but with artificial light and a flash it is the best I could do last night. As you can see I have finished up the right side flower/bird part and the black for the most part is finished - except the handles on the urns. The little animal band is also completed and I started to work on the second angel towards the end the evening - he looks kind of odd at this point. I have the words all charted out and so there really isn't much left on this to do. I already have my list of the next four things I am going to stitching - and I am itching to get started, but I am gonna finish this first.
.... and this was the only snap I got all day!! and evening!! I just got wrapped up in pulling it all together and forgot to take any pictures. My job for all our parties is to keep the table filled and make sure the auxiliary tables are also kept up. Rico is in charge of the liquor. We served quite a few things - main table - cheese platter with 5 different types of cheese, spinach dip, taquitos, two kinds of miniature quiche - Florentine and Lorraine, crab cakes, ham puffs, veggie and fruit trays and miniature egg rolls. Set up out on another table was a big bowl of Guacamole and bowl of salsa with white and yellow corns chips. On a further table was a big bowl of cashews. It was a lot of fun but also a ton of work that I paid for yesterday. After getting the house back together and cleaned up I just sat around being a big lazy lump recuperating for most of the afternoon and evening. 
This great older Longaberger hanging basket turned up at an Estate sale and worked out perfectly for this exchange. I stitched a pyn keepe from the PS Book April using the recommended DMC Floss. I filled the basket with some Easter treats. And here is a snap of the whole exchange I sent...
It has taken all these weeks for these two to get to the point of touching. With the Peach it is another story.... she has gotten over the "no touchy" phase - to a point - and will at least let Lolly brush against her or give the all mighty butt sniff - so important for every occasion, but that is about it - no snuggle, no share, no love - she can be very stubborn!
and thought I would share this culinary miracle with you all - in the back you can see I had some delicious crunchy Cheetos to go with the dog - such a well rounded lunch!!
Here is our park of nub trees - I remember my first trip to Paris when I was in High School - it was early spring and many of the parks had rows and rows of trees that looked just like this - all nubbley and barren.
There where some lovely flowers for sale - these great red ones - and...
some gorgeous Hyacinth - the smell coming off these buckets was simply spectacular!!!
and the asparagus was just piled up everywhere - so we got a bunch and had it steamed with pork chops for dinner and it was a good as it looked!!
This table of greens was so overwhelming - and so green. We are coming off of winter and there where many open spaces where there should have been tents set up, but the crops are just not in yet. Here are some snaps of our purchases...
A bunch of asparagus, some great little fingerling potatoes and nice little cauliflower and my "crack" snack - Kettle Korn!! We also picked up..
A dozen organic, free range brown eggs - now in my pea brain I like the brown eggs better than white. I know there is absolutely no difference it is just my preference - and at only $2.50 a dozen you can't beat the price!!
Not only did Nicola send me this great towel but she also included and great skein of brown Needleworks floss - Thank you so much !!!! Also in the mail was some more stash.... I know I did need any of it, but wanted it!!!
I couldn't pass on the PS charts - and break up my ever growing set - and the Jenny Bean charts are too cute not to have this, the third in the series... and A flag with the state quilt blocks - I have wanted this for the longest time!! Yes, I know, all rationalized for my continued sanity, but hey, it works for me!!
and then started the construction of "the cake mess from Hell!!!" Mixing the batter for the required 2 or so mins....
created a golden mix of delicious cake batter - I do love some cake batter!! Then melting the butter in the skillet, adding the brown sugar, stirring until I had a gorgeous brown slurry of sugar deliciousness - and then arranging the pineapple, cherries and walnuts I had the pan ready for the batter....
Then I started to pour the batter onto the prepared fruit... and ended up with this cake.....
From breakfast we went to the Civic Center Farmers Market.......Gentle Friends, it's been a couple of weeks of really not wanting to stitch so I didn't...however, over the weekend I once again ste...
