Monday, December 31, 2012

Happy New Year!!!!!

Have a super New Year's Eve welcoming in 2013!!!!!!!! 


Take care,
edgar

Friday, December 28, 2012

".... and They Sinned" A Quick Update

Gentle Friends thanks so much for stopping by this morning.  Not much going on here, it's pretty chilly (for SF) and we are expecting the rain to swoop in this afternoon/early evening ... leading us into a very wet weekend - or that's what we've been told to expect.  Nothing at all on the agenda for the next few days except a New Years Day party - an annual event given by some very close friends - I missed their Christmas Party, I just was not in the mood - but I really am looking forward to Tuesday.
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I said I would get a recent shot of ATS up today, and although I have been plugging away at the grass, there seems to be miles yet to go -  there is just so much green to fill!!!  Here's the snaperoo.....


As you can see I am doing the darker "Shutter Green" stripes first, then the lighter "Green Apple" will go ( should go) pretty fast, all the counting through the different bits really slows me down for some reason.  I am happy I chose to stitch the grass, as I like the visual weight it gives the piece - and no matter that it is taking so long to get stitched, and even if I go a little in January, I am still enjoying this stitch very much -  and will miss this "monster" after when it's completed.
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On Wednesday we lost a super voice of the "60's."  

 Fontella Bass - 1940-2012

Fontella Bass passed away from complications caused by a heart attack she suffered at the beginning of December.  Her signature song that she is best know for is "Rescue Me" - 1965 - I found this great clip on You Tube.....


The biggest hit of her career, and one she will long be remembered for - RIP sweet songstress!!
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That's about it for today sports fans, have a super weekend and wonderful New Years eve!!!

Take care,
edgar

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

A Little More Christmas....

Gentle Friends we had one quiet little Christmas we went to the candle light Mass at Most Holy Redeemer, it was a lovely service, with lots of music, decorations and candle light!!  On Christmas morning - we slept in a bit and got up late - I baked up some sausage Pin-Wheels I had made the day before.  Even with all the changes to my Christmas this year I was determined to keep some of my family traditions going, sausage Pin-Wheels is one of them and - I also made a Birthday Cake...  baby Jesus gets one every year and I wasn't about to not have one this year.  The type of cake changes from year to year, we had many a "Robert E Lee " cake growing up.... this is a coconut cake with 7 minute frosting filled with lemon curd.  

This year I decided to make one of my favorites.... Pat's Rum Cake....


I have made this many times... the only glitch being was my empty liquor cabinet - as I had no Rum for the cake.  I picked up this bottle at Trader Joe's  - that's a clear bottle it's in....  very nice and dark rum!!  It was a hit as always. 

After our little breakfast, and a quick dog walk... and a visit to Chauncey and Nikita (the two sweet kitties we a watching for some Friends while they are are in the UK - we settled into opening up some presents!!  One of my favorite things Rico gave me was the Bluray of the first two season of Downton Abbey.  One of my favorite shows and I can't wait for them to start up again on January 6th!!  We also received a very special gift from Shirlee and John.  I waited until Christmas morning to open it up, although I was told I could open it early, and to my surprise were two lovely BBD Stocking ornaments!!


 They look super on the the tree!!!  Thank you so much Shirlee!!!!  Perfectly stitched and finished!
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- I really wasn't in the mood to make a big elaborate Christmas dinner... instead I made reservations!!  We had a fun and entertaining dinner at Benihana's over in Japan Town.  It was lots of fun - and they were just packed and turning away people both at the door and over the phone!!
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I am still plugging away on ATS - and even though I said I was going to show an update snap, I am gonna hold off until Friday for that.
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That's about it for today sports fans - I hope everyone had a super Christmas!!  Thanks for stopping by, do stop again!

Take care,
edgar

Friday, December 21, 2012

Two Wonderful Packages!!!

Gentle Friends yesterday was a super mail day as I received two great packages!!  

The first opened was from Karen, my partner in the "Friends Stitching Through the Seasons" - this was our last Exchange and once again she sent a super package!!  Here's a snap.....


Included but not shown is a great 123 Stitch Gift Card!!  I couldn't wait to get the lovely ornament on the tree....

This is one of my Top 10 Favorite Christmas Carols!!  I found this Flash Mob version of it on You Tube that is really wonderful....  I think you'll enjoy it !!

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The other package was a lovely Christmas present from my stitching Buddy Charlene.  She hit the nail on the head with what she sent.....


What a super ornament from my favorite Christmas book!!!   I hung it near other special ornament of a Christmas Classic!!  The other ornament Charlene sent is totally me....


 This gorgeous Black Sheep - he is lovely and fuzzy and looks so great on the tree -  Thank you so much Charlene, these great additions to the tree are so perfect!!!
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That's about it for today and wraps up the week - I'll be back next Wednesday with a progress shot of ATS and the ever growing field of green!!

Take care,
edgar

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Some Puppy Pictures

Gentle Friends I finally got it together and got some snaps of the puppies, including the newest addition to the "Who Hound Herd." 


This is the new puppy in to our family....  at a little under a year old and about 3 or so pounds he is one bundle of energy....

Here are the two man dogs - you can see that Smokie is a bit bigger than the "Humpster" or Stewie as we call him - they both are in continual "Grab-ass" mode - which has one good thing going for it, it gives Lolly a break from Smokie and his wrestling around.

.....and here they all are trying to crowd each other off the heating pad.. clockwise from l to r - there is Peaches, Lolly, Humpi and Smokie - they look really cute, but don't let that fool you, they can be little devils when they want to!!!

On the tree this year is a great ornament that a Friend of Rico's gave us...

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

Take care,
edgar

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Movie Stuff

Gentle Friends your wonderful comments about the Exchange were so nice, and I do thank you!!
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Yesterday the mail bought a couple of things I bought from Amazon a while back and were back ordered for some reason...


... when these books first hit the shelves I knew I wanted them.  Last night I only quickly perused them, and they are both just full of stills from the films and lots of photo's from their each of their lives and careers.  Although the info on each film is a bit scant in the Elizabeth book it's the pictures that really make the book super.
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Last night was a Netflix Pix - a real "feel good" film called "Big Miracle" - 2012 - starring John Krasinski, Drew Barrymore, Ted Danson and Kathy Baker.  Based on a true story this film set in Barrow, Alaska follows the fate of a family of Grey whales that are caught in rapidly forming ice in the


Beaufort Sea - just north of Barrow.  The film shows the coming together of Governments, public and private agencies and just plain town folks in a massive effort to save these majestic animals.  I enjoyed this film and really liked the idea that the whales were the focus of the film. I would totally recommend this film!
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That's about it for today sports fans - thanks again for stopping by, do stop again!!

Take care,
edgar

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

A Christmas Exchange Arrived

Gentle Friends your super comments about my finishing the grass field are inspiring... but all that green is a bit overwhelming.  I'll just keep at it until it finishes up.  I already have a piece I will start in on the 1st and "come hell or high water"  I'll pull out a new needle, the fresh piece of linen and some silk and make a start.  I usually just keep using the same needle from project to project until it breaks or I loose it, usually I have used a needle so long that it becomes very thin and breaks.  The needle I am using at the moment for ATS is one I have used for a long while.  I wonder how long one should use a needle.  I know the gold plate wore off a loooooong time ago.
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Over the past year I was part of a small group of stitchers "Friends Stitching Through the Seasons"  we did a quarterly Exchange and my partner, Diane, received her last package yesterday.  I really enjoyed this group quite a bit and will miss it next year.  Here is a snap of the piece I stitched for her....


...... the chart is from Homespun Elegance and is one of the Cinnamon Stick's, I love this quote from "A Christmas Carol" - and have wanted to stitch it up for the longest time, and this was the perfect opportunity!!  Although I did the stitching on this piece it was wonderfully finished by sweet Faye over at Carolina Stitcher, her finishing is top notch and makes the stitching that much more special - Thank you Faye!!!
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There you go sports fans, thanks again for stopping by, do stop again!!

Take care,
edgar

Monday, December 17, 2012

Eatin' Out With Friends and ATS

Gentle Readers it was a chilly wet weekend here in the City by the Bay - and for the most part I was a numb butted stitching fool!! 

We did venture out to forage for food  - and on both occasions it was to savour not only fun food but fun folks also!!

On Saturday evening we went out to dinner with our "cat" friends from upstairs.  We watch their kitties whenever they travel - an they are going away again over the Holidays for a quick visit to London.  So we had to get together and talk about that - since it is one of my most favorite cities there is!!  We went to a new place, for us at least, called Starbelly.  it was totally tasty and we had a great time.  The menus changes often - and keeping with the talk around the table I had the "Starbelly bangers and Mash"  with roasted Brussel Sprouts, finishing off the dinner with a warm toffee cake!

Then Sunday morning after Mass, we met up with Shirlee and John for breakfast, they were in town over the weekend visiting and soaking in some of the SF Christmas Spirit!!  it was a super time and we had a great time just eating and talking.  Or, at least John and I did talking movie stuff.  When I get with another film person I love talking about movies.  I think that Both sweet Shirlee and Rico were very tolerant of all the movie blather going on at the table and then spilling over onto the sidewalk.

It is always so fun to meet another Blogger -  and make that final personal connection!! 
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I have been working on ATS a bit and am now into the "field of grass."  here's a snap...



As you can also see I am tempting fate by pre-dating the piece before I really finish it...  I am still going to try and get it done before the end of the year.
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That's about it for today sports fans, thanks for stopping by, do stop again!

Take care,
edgar

Friday, December 14, 2012

...and the Winner is.....

Gentle Friends last night I had Rico haul out the BoD (bowl of destiny) and draw a winner for the quilt books...


......  and the winner is Mary from over at "Neat and Tidy."  Thank you all for entering and keep an eye out for another Gift-a-way coming up really soon!!!  
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That kinda wraps up the week on a high note!  Thanks for stopping by do stop again!

Take care,
edgar

Thursday, December 13, 2012

TCM Remembers

Gentle Friends thank you so much for your great comments...  gotta love the Muppet's!!  I would have to say that - probably my favorite version of ACC has to the 1970 musical "Scrooge" with Albert Finney...  I'll get to that one in a couple of days.  Last night's 1938 and 1951 versions I enjoyed, tonight I think there will be a Netfilx in the mail so I'll watch that first....
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Keeping with the film theme this week I saw the TCM Tribute piece for 2012 yesterday and once again they did an outstanding job, it's a little over 5 minutes long, enjoy.....



I am still plugging away at ATS, I think I'll show a progress snap on Monday after a weekends worth of stitching.

Thanks again for stopping by, do stop again!!

Take care,
edgar

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Scrooge-a-palooza 2012

Gentle Friends last night I began my annual "Scrooge-a-thon" or as it has come to be know in my little brain.....  "Scrooge-a-palooza!"


I hauled out all the version I had of "A Christmas Carol" and started in on the oldest... "Scrooge" - 1935 starring Sir Seymour Hicks as Ebenezer scrooge.  This film made in England at the beginning of the sound era is a bit creaky in places but it is still a charming little sugar plum of the season!!

After this ACC was over I flipped on regular TV over to AMC to catch another classic Christmas film "Miracle on 34th Street" - 1947 -



Now, I love this film, but they were showing the "colorized" version which is just beyond the pale....  so after a few minutes of my eyes burning in protest... I flipped back to the DVD player and popped in my "correct" Black and White version and watched that instead - and thoroughly enjoyed it!!! 

Tonight I'll be watching -  the 1938 "A Christmas Carol" and probably one of the two best versions of ACC  ever put on film - the 1951 "Scrooge."
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That's about it for today sports fans, thanks for stopping by do stop again!!

Take care,
edgar

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Back to the "Gift-a-Way"

Gentle Friends once again your comments and emails are very heart warming and lift the spirit so much, thank you!!

I though I should get around to holding my Fall Drawing/Gift-a-way, I will have the drawing this Thursday and announce the name on Friday.  So, if you have not left a comment on that Post, then click on over before this Thursday to be included.
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I have still been getting my Netflix Films and wanted to mention one I saw recently...

... "Last Chance Harvey" - 2008 - starring Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson, IMDB sums up the film in a nutshell....." In London for his daughter's wedding, a rumpled man finds his romantic spirits lifted by a new woman in his life."  I thoroughly enjoyed this film and found both Hoffman and Thompson in top form and giving great performances.  Although a bit on the predictable side at times,  I would recommend the film without hesitation.  Just a nice little film that tells a nice little story - rent it for yourself and enjoy!!
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That's about it for today sports fans, thanks again for stopping by do stop again!

Take care,
edgar

Monday, December 10, 2012

Some Recent Stuff

Gentle Friends I wanted to say again how much all the kind words you have sent via Commenting, Emailing or the lovely cards in the mail really have made a great deal of difference - and I do thank you all so much!!
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With everything going on in the last few weeks - one of the things we didn't do is take our annual  snap of our "little family" at Thanksgiving.  I guess we'll try and get one this Spring.   By the way our family has grown by one "who hound" -   a little black and tan Chihuahua rescue named Wahumpa that I call Hunka-munka.  I'll get a snap up at some point.  He is super feisty and really gives Smokie a workout.  We did put up our tree, but not much else, just not feeling it this year.  My Christmas Cards are going out really late also.....
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On the stitching front I have been working on ATS a bit....  here's a snap...


Not sure if I'll get it finished by the end of the year like I planned, but I'll give it the old college try!!
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We made it out to the Mall for some Christmas Shopping....


I got a snap of Santa and he and the elves were doing a super job with the all the children.  We got a lot done and most of it will go into the mail in the next couple of days.
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Yesterday I baked a Pineapple upside-down cake for Rico and his work buddies 


- it was a request from Jose - he helped us with a flat tire we had last week - so the least I could do was whip up a cake!!  Thanks Jose!!
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That's about it for today sports fans, thanks again for stopping by, do stop again!

Take care,
edgar

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Getting Back

Gentle Friends I wanted to thank you all so much for your kind comments and condolences.  I am getting back to things - I have 100's of emails that I know will take quite a while for me to answer.

The last couple of weeks were a roller coaster of feelings and emotions.

Since I haven't picked up a needle since 11/17 I really have nothing in that department to show....  but I will be back at some point.

Thanks again, and Take care,
edgar

Sunday, November 18, 2012

1926-2012

Gentle Friends I will be away from the Blog for the next couple of weeks - as my mother who had been sick over the last week  -  went from stable to downhill very fast over night and she passed away this morning. 

 I will be in Florida dealing with what needs to be dealt with. 
 Here's a great snap from Christmas 2 years ago....

.... on the back of a Harley with my BIL - always up for a new adventure!!

Take care,
edgar


Friday, November 16, 2012

Cleaning Up

Gentle Friends this weekend will be spent getting ready for Turkey Day...  grocery shopping, cleaning house, polishing the silver and hauling out the good linen.  I love using all the old things from my family and other things that I have acquired over the years  - Growing up we had Thanksgiving at my Granny's which was a wonderful event.  She would have everything hauled out before deciding on which china, crystal, silver and linen to use driving her house help to distraction!!  


Now, it's my turn - with no "help" in my house Rico and I have to start a few days earlier to spread the chores out - but in the end its all worth trouble and such fun to have my family together!!

Don't forget to sign up for the Quilty Gift-a-way on yesterday's post!!

That's about it for today sports fans, have a super weekend!!!
Take care,
edgar

Thursday, November 15, 2012

A Little Fall Gift-a-Way!!

Gentle Friends it has been good long while since I had a drawing here on the old Blacksheep Blog.  Recently I have been going through my books, and there are a ton of them to go through and found that there are just way too many at my house.  

So, I have put together a small literary drawing for the Fall.  


Since Fall is Quilt weather I pulled these four quilty related books to gift-a-way... and there will be a surprise included that I am not showing!!  It is so easy to enter...  just leave a comment on this post only, making sure I have a way to contact you if you win, and you can mention it on your Blog if you are so inclined.  I will have one of my family that is visiting for Thanksgiving draw the winner on next Friday and announce the winner on Monday, November 26th.  Easy peasy mac and cheesey!!  The drawing will close Thursday evening, 11/22 - and is open to anyone that can leave a comment, as I will send these anywhere in the world the mail delivers!!

Thanks for stopping by, do stop again!!!

Take care,
edgar

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

A Little Shopping

Gentle Friends thank you so much for your kind words about my CCN Cottage Finish.  I had some questions....  regarding framing... at some point, but for the moment it is in the completed heap, the linen I used is a 36ct piece of LL "Vintage Butter Creme" - and although it always seems to photograph on the green side, it really leans towards the yellow/beige in colour - the floss I used was cotton throughout, with about 1/2 recommended and the other 1/2 my conversions.  Now I am back to stitching on ATS, and the way I'm gonna work that on the Blog, so as not to bore you too much with it, is to post a weekly update snap.
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Over the weekend I made it to some of the thrift and consignment shops, there were no Estate Sales in the City.  Here is a snap of the few things I picked up...


I picked up the great early printing of "The Snowy Day" for a $1, it still has its original dust cover, and for a children's book you rarely find that.  This has been a favorite book of mine for as long as I can remember.

I also stopped by a Video store that is slowly closing it's doors - they are selling off their immense stock of DVD's and Blu Ray's over the next few months.  I picked up these 3 Alexander Korda films released by Criterion. The films are "The Private Life of Henry VIII"- 1933, "The Rise of Catherine the Great" - 1934 and "Rembrandt" - 1936 all three top notch films with superior acting and super set decoration.  Although often not as accurate historically as they could have been the films stand alone for the great stories they tell.  There is a fourth film in the set that I will keep checking on to see when they put it out and I'll snatch it up when I find it.  They are randomly putting out "new" product daily.
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That's about it for today sports fans.  Thanks for stopping by, do stop again.

Take care,
edgar

Monday, November 12, 2012

Monthly Cottage SAL Finish

Gentle Friends... happy Monday morning!!  I wanted to thank you for all the kind comments about ATS and my little start on "December."  I finished up the Cottage and with this last monthly finish it also finishes up the whole SAL!! It was a super happy dance Saturday Afternoon!!!  I got a couple of snaps...

The first snap of "December is very crooked - sorry....


For this month I made a couple of small changes, with the floss I switched out "Swiss Chocolate" and used "Brandied Pears" and for "Seagull" I used "Pelican."  These colour changes are not dramatic and suit me and the piece.  I also stitched some extra white on the red flowers in the border around the yellow centers.  Another change I made was to leave off the straight stitched lines for the window mullions, they looked odd, to my eye, and  I had also left them off of March and August cottages, so I had already set a precedent.

Here is an overall shot of the piece....


I think knowing what I know now about this piece.....  it would have looked better doing this four across and three down. With a 4 x 3 configuration I wouldn't have the three cottages using so much red lined up one on top of the other (June, September and December).  I am, also really glad I used yellow for the August house to break up the light blue's used - but that's neither here nor there at this point, it was a fun piece to work on and I wanted to send a big big thank you out to Nikki!!!!!  Now, I can't wait to get going on next years CCN SAL ... Santa's Village!!
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That's about it for today sports fans.  Thanks for stopping by, do stop again!!

Take care,
edgar

Thursday, November 8, 2012

"and they Sinned" and CCN December Cottage

Gentle Friends thanks for stopping by and for the great comments on Monday's post!!  Sorry to miss a post yesterday but I was catching up on emails and they just took a bit more time to answer than I had expected.
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This morning I wanted to show the two most recent things (excluding my exchange piece) that I have been stitching on.... first up has to be ATS...  still working on the different bits in the sixth section....


If you look closely you can see the I have run a single thread along the sides so that I can make sure I stay within the narrow confines of the stitch.  For some reason it has worried me, so to put my mind at rest I got some orange thread and just put them in.  I'll pull them out later.

The other piece is the last Cottage on the year long SAL - I got my December chart a few days ago and thought about any changes I wanted to make.  The only Major change was to switch "Swiss Chocolate" for "Brandied Pears"... and why you may ask did I do that...  basically I had no "Swiss Chocolate" floss in my stash - and BP is very close to the DMC conversion so I just went with it.  I was also going to change "Spinach" for "English Ivy" but after stitching some with EI I found that floss to be just too dark so I frogged it out and went back to the recommended "Spinach"....  here is the little bit I have done...


I love the "Ribbon Red" and will probable stick to the hand full of DMC "browns" - This last part should be finished up in a day or two.

That's about it for today.  I'll not be posting tomorrow as I am taking a 1/2 day - but I'll be back on Monday.  Thanks again for stopping by and for your comments!!  Do stop again!

Take care,
edgar

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

A Couple of Things

Gentle Friends I really didn't mean to creep you out... too much... but how odd and spooky are those "specters?"
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Over the weekend we got to a few of the "shoppes."  I found two things...


A great "guide" book of Chatsworth and a super "Noah's Ark Toy" ornament.  Chatsworth has always fascinated me - being the home of that great Elizabethan female powerhouse Bess of Hardwick, this is the house that also held Mary Queen of Scots for years.  Here is the Official site for the House.  And, here is the some extra info on Wikipedia.  As many times as I have been to the UK I have never made it here, but someday!!!
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I also wanted to mention another super multi-chart release that Nikki from CCN is starting for next year.  It's called Santa's Village.  It looks super cute and lots of fun.  Here is a little teaser of the piece stitched as a single piece.
Although each chart can be stitched as a single stand alone, what a super piece worked on a single piece of linen!!  So that we can see all the stitching - Vonna has started a Blog for those that want to join and post their progress. 

I have finished up my Exchange piece and also gotten a little bit more on ATS stitched.  I'll try and get a snap of ATS for tomorrows post.
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That's about it for today sports fans.  Thanks for stopping by, and for your super comments!!  Do stop again!

Take care,
edgar

Monday, November 5, 2012

Seeing is Believing ???

Gentle Friends and new Followers - Happy Monday!!!  It was a lovely, quiet - stress free weekend here by the Bay and the weather was perfect, not too windy, not too cool, not too damp...... just a lovely couple of days.  Today is to be our last "hot" day for a while and then we are back to our cool and breezy days.
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Here's a different kind of post............On Friday, Rico's sister (who lives down in the San Joaquin Valley near Modesto) was completely creeped out by the unknown.  She is a reasonable person that is not one to go off the deep end, but early Friday morning around 5:30 am, after her husband had left for work and she was alone in the house.... she felt she was not alone in the house.  She heard someone/something walking down the hall.... went to look and nothing was there, went to the kitchen and was making coffee and felt something touching her back, again nothing was there......  she just felt she was being watched or another presence in the house ....  so she went to get here camera and started taking pictures all over her great room......  and these are the results......









The image could only be seen in the pictures as there was nothing there she said...  this is not the first time odd things have been heard or seen in her house.  This is not an old house they built it just a few years ago........  but what was there before who knows??  So, what do you think??
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That's about it for today sports fans.  Thanks for stopping by for a little creepy Monday post!

Take care,
edgar

Friday, November 2, 2012

Stitchin' Along

Gentle Friends I did want to thank you for all you kind comments - they do warm the heart!!!
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Not much going on here by the Bay - I am stitching on an exchange piece that will go out next week, so I have no a snap of that yet to show. 

Something I can show that I am working ever so slowly is Erynne's "Merry and Bright" SAL.... and here's a snap of my tiny bit o'progress....


I am really enjoying this stitch, not only is the chart easy to follow and totally cute, but this Silkweaver linen is a dream to stitch on!!

Yesterday surfing around the Blog's I ran into another SAL headed up by The Thread Basket - the design is TourniCoton and is called "Charmant Joyeux Noel."  It is on the small side but looks to be a really fun piece to stitch.  Only 2 parts have been released so far.  I did a floss toss last night and here's what I came up with.....


The linen is a PTP piece of 32ct "Dill" - the called for linen is 32ct "Nougat" or "Cocoa."  This piece has a overall brownish cast to it, but I do like the incursions of green, and think it will add to the finished piece.  Although I pulled the recommend DMC Floss, I feel I may just have to switch them out for some delicious Belle Soie before starting to stitch...  wouldn't that be super!! 
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That's about it for today sports fans.  Thanks again for stopping by and for your comments and emails!!!  Have a super weekend!

Take care,
edgar

Thursday, November 1, 2012

A Great Cake!!

Gentle Friends thanks so much for your kind comments and emails I really enjoyed reading them over again - and I am slowly catching up on my back email answering - slow and steady!!
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My Sunday baking focus was on a really superior pumpkin cake.  I found the recipe over at Flavours by Four - but it originally came from Food.com.  Well, wherever it came from it's a pretty terrific cake!!  The only thing I will do different next time - is leave off the streusel topping, it sticks pretty bad and does not add to the cakes appearance or taste - IMHO.  I took some snaps along the way....

... getting together the ingredients...


.......  after turning it out of the pan and scraping the streusel from the pan...  as I said before leave the streusel off...

.....  a quick icing glaze pretties the cake up a bit......


......  all sliced up ready for serving.  The other change I made was to add a lot more nutmeg than called for (surprise).  This cake is dense and moist, just perfect with a cup of coffee or tea!!
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I got a question in an email last week I though was interesting and worth a mention on the Blog - the question was  "Why don't you ever do anything with bananas?"   I have a single answer they make me gag!!  I do not eat, touch or go near them, never have, never will.  The only thing banana-ish I can deal with is my mothers banana bread and then only a little piece.   So there you go, you will never see me cook with or deal with bananas here ever.
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That's about it for this rainy Thursday.  Thanks for stopping by, do stop again!!

Take care,
edgar

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

A Thanksgiving Exchange

Gentle Friends thanks for all your great comments and emails!!  With the weather once again changing here in the Bay area with the rain coming back, it is great to have such warm nice things to read in the morning!!
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Yesterday the mail guy, Edward, brought me a box of wonderfulness.  I knew what was in it from the return address and from this cute picture...


.... on the label, a great turkey!!  I saved the box to open taking it home so that I could really enjoy opening it up.

 The Hoe Exchange had stipulated a Pyn keep Finish with a turkey included in the design.  My partner Michelle, from over at Mostly Stitching, sent a super package!!  Here's a snap...


With the wonderful Pyn Keepe, there were some lovely Fall glass leaves, and a really cute pumpkin!!  As you can see in the top right corner a who hound hoof - I get lots of help sometimes when I am within 2 feet of the floor.  Here is a close up of the pyn keepe..


The chart is by Pririe Schooler and called "Thanksgiving Comes Again "  Book 141. I just LOVE this chart and have stitched it twice for others, but never for myself.  Now, I have this gorgeous piece to add to my Fall Basket  - with the wee corn button finishing off the top it couldn't be more perfect!!!  Thank you so much Michelle!!!!
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There you go sports fans another day another post!  Thanks for stopping by do stop again!

Take care,
edgar

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Weekend Shopping

Gentle Readers thank you so much for all your kind words about ATS and M&B.  Two fun pieces to work on - last night I worked some on an Exchange piece that will go out next week - I think that will take up most of this week - stitching and finishing.
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Over the weekend we made our usual run around to the "shops" and "sales."  It was pretty poor pickins' - but I did manage to find a couple of things....

I love engravings and finding an older one, with a great wash really made my day - This beauty came from the Goodwill  in the Richmond - its an older piece in a great older beat up frame...  and I found the little hand carved bird at an estate sale - burned into the bottom..... "Black Capped Chickadee" #51 11/90 JB on a pear wood base, John Berry.  I have no idea who John Berry is, but this little guy is great and so he had to come home with me.
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After Mass on Sunday we made a Trader Joe's run and then stopped off at a Farmers Market.  I had my camera so I got some snaps...


You could tell it was fall with all the great Harvest produce...

There were lots of super pumpkins!!

 ........  orange was the colour of the day!!  We picked up a double bunch of these great marigolds.  On the way out I stopped and picked up a....

 
....  golden waffle, and with a scoop of vanilla ice cream was a treat for dessert after dinner!!
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That's about it for today sports fans, thanks again for stopping by and for you great comments!!

Take care,
edgar