A Couple of "Sweet" Shots......

Gentle Friends, the week is wrapping up on a "sweet" note today....  you remember how much we like Trader Joe's and make a weekly trek there... a couple of weeks ago we stumbled onto a new product, or new to us, it is just scrumptiousness in a jar.....

....  this has got to be the best caramel sauce I've ever tried....  I know caramel is easy to make, and homemade is much better.... blah blah blah..... but, to just be able to unscrew the top and have access to this nectar is great!!  I can't recommend this stuff highly enough, and if you nuke it for 20 or so seconds to warm it up it is even more delicious.  - and - a table spoon in coffee is also a treat!!

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I'll leave you with this last shot, it is one that Rico took with his phone of some super sweet butts.....

....it's a bit on the blurry side, as it was "chicken" time.  Let me explain what "chicken" time is - at our house at 5 pm we need to get three little pills into the Peach for her heart issues.  How we do it, is to get some "Just Chicken" from trader Joe's, grind it up, and then hide her pills in a lump of ground chicken, and yes, they all know what the word "chicken" is and immediately take up positions in the kitchen for some.  The "butt" snap from  l to r is Humpi, Peach, Smokie and Lolly.

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There you go sports fans, another week gone and only 208 days until Christmas!!  Have a great weekend, and thanks for stopping by do stop again!!

take care,

edgar

Love is Something Big and Shiny!!!

Gentle Friends, last weekend, that four extravaganza of laziness, started off with breakfast out at the Red Cafe - and then it was off to an Estate Sale.  Most Estates Sales here by the Bay begin on Friday and go through the weekend.  Since I work M-F I can't get to them until Saturday. Being off on a Friday allowed me to get to the only one going last week on day 1...... the sale was on the small side, but there were a few stand out things.......

 .....  as we walked in I saw the 3 part meat dome ( the three parts are 1) warming tray for hot water, 2) the actual well and tree platter and 3) the dome cover with handle) and just plotzed, you know how I love silver and this gorgeous thing just yelled "take me home"......  but it had a big price, that I couldn't swing, so I looked around and found a few fun things....  the wedding ring quilt, the great little piece of bright cut glass, and the silver bread tray. Even as I was paying and leaving I was drawn to the big silver behemoth sitting behind Ernie the cashier guy......

Saturday came and we ran around to the thrift and consignment shops, finding only the double disc Special Edition of "Independence Day."  Then I thought, why not ride back over to the Estate Sale and see if "it" had been sold.  We arrived and it was still there, after hemming and hawing for about 45 minutes Bill, the Estate Sale rep,  finally hit me with a price I just couldn't pass on, and this beauty came home to live at my house.  The verbal provenance that came with it  - that is was purchased at the Estate Sale of Eleanor Roosevelt's things when she died in 1962.  Now, I take that with a grain of salt, but it is a fun fact, true or not.  

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

Take care,

edgar

A Drive by Posting: Mission Dolores

Gentle Friends, over the weekend between doing nothing and going out foraging for breakfast and lunch we visited a couple of thrift shops and a super Estate Sale (more about that tomorrow) - we also made a stop at one of the top sites to see here in San Francisco.  The Mission San Franciscan de Asis or as it is more commonly known as Mission Dolores.  This was the sixth mission in Alta (upper) California chain of Missions, it was founded in 1776.

....  the Mission church of adobe was built in 1791 and the neo-Spanish Basilica to the right was built in 1913 replacing an earlier Gothic structure that came down in the earthquake of 1906.  it is a real treasure and they give tours of both buildings.  An interesting bit of info is both the Mission, Basilica and Graveyard were all used in the Film "Vertigo".  If you are interested in seeing some really great snaps of the interior click HERE and you'll be taken over to Daveland Blog, the photos are from a visit he made to the Mission in April of 2013.

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

Take care,

edgar

A Little Sitchin'

Gentle Friends, it was a nice long weekend... and although I did some laundry, vacuumed and went to the grocery store....  it felt like I was a total lay-about doing nothing..... and it was lovely!!  I did do a little stitching on a couple of things, two I can show you today.....

... after the craziness with the chart I finally got a start on the Colonial Gathering piece, not much but a beginning..... and ...

... I worked on the SMS some and it is still coming along nicely.

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

Take care,

edgar

An Anniversary

Gentle Friends, today would have been my parents 59th wedding anniversary.  I thought I would share a couple of shots from their special day so many years ago.....

... this was taken just after the ceremony and before they left for the reception.....

... a picture I really like, they are leaving for the reception  (the weird waviness is from the Wedding album pages) ..... and here's a shot from last Sunday, I had some flowers put on the alter in their memory....

... my Mom carried white orchids, tube roses and pink asters in her bouquet, and her favorite colour was pink, so I had a white a pink inspired arrangement made up, I think it turned out really nice.

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That about wraps up the week sports fans, It's a long weekend for me so I'll next week, aiming for Tuesday, but you never know.  Thanks again for stopping by do stop again!!

Take care,

edgar

A Visit to Japantown

Gentle Friends, over the weekend we made a run across town to one of my favorite destinations, Japantown.  Although it is a bit touristy, and cheesy, there are some really nice things to see, do and buy.  It is also the only place in town that carries the incense I like....  

 The main shopping is broken into two big malls connected by a plaza with.....

... this five tiered concrete Peace Pagoda.   The incense place I always stop at is Asakichi Incense .....

.... it is a small shop and really fascinating with wonderful smelling things - I prefer direct burning solid sticks and coils - and - if you buy something they'll stamp your parking ticket, saves you $2, if you've parked in the underground lot!! 

One of the great features are all the eatin' places.....  there are dozens both large and small - and just every one of them have food displays near the front door....

... of the menu items made out of rubber, this is one of the more elaborate ones... since we where there at about lunch time we stopped at a small place we hadn't tired before.  They had a Bento Box Lunch special...

.... from a list of choices you picked two...  I had prawn and calamari tempura and a beer......  Rico had.....

... vegetable tempura and teriyaki chicken.....  It was a great afternoon - and I would highly recommend a quick visit if you ever get to SF.

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

Take care,

edgar

It's a Tuesday Post

Gentle Friends, what a creative and inspired Post Title??  There's not been too much going on here by the Bay recently, still working on my Exchange.  I made a gigantic switch in projects for the Exchange piece and have been stitching like crazy to meet the mail date, which I'll probably not make.  But, the piece sent I will be so much happier with.  

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Since I can't show you stitching I'll show drinks......

.... a few weeks ago we picked up one of these coffee drink things at the store, they were an introductory "sale" price and so why not.  They ended up being quite tasty, and now we get one just about every time we shop.  Here, as in many places, you can't swing a cat by the tail (not that you should swing a cat by tail) without hitting a coffee shop, they are everywhere, on every corner and then some.  But, sometimes it just isn't convenient to make oneself presentable and trudge out and find a coffee drink.  It is much nicer to just open the fridge up and get your coffee drink at home while looking like an unkempt shulb in sweats.

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.... and some eats........

..... yesterday Rico's company had an annual Golf Tournament down in Millbrea.... and we all know what's in Millbrea.....  The Millbrea Pancake House (HERE's the Post about the MPH from back in February).  I had to drive down and pick him up after I got off work and instead of coming home and making dinner we stopped there and I of course had breakfast while Rico had a burger and fries......  a tasty dinner for sure!!

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That's about it for today sports fans - and just a heads up, this is a short week for me as I took off Friday to make a 4 Day weekend of being lazy around the house - no plans, no worries, no shaving!!  So by the end of the four days I'll be mighty scruffy!!  Thanks for stopping by, do stop again!!

Take care,

edgar

Around the World Selfie......

Gentle Friends, I wanted to share this wonderful video, thanks to Alex Chacon........

... you can't help but smile and think what a wonderful place our small little planet is!!!

Have a great weekend!!

Take care,

edgar

Thrifting Thursday

Gentle Friends, its almost the end of the week and the heat here by the Bay is going to break this afternoon.  I was watching the news before leaving this morning and the cool ocean breezes are pushing onto land in the next few hours and we'll be back in the 60's quickly!!  It was 98 in my car, SoMA, at 2:00pm yesterday and 68 in the car this morning - but, it has been two three days since I've had on a sweatshirt.

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Saturday was a lovely day, bright and sunny, with the prospect of the regular thrifting we do, there was also the prospect of a few estate sales to pop in on......  I found a few choice bits.....

from l to r - a great divided relish/sauce dish of cut crystal (Heisey) with a sterling, gadrooned foot, a split oak "buttocks" egg basket, a Longaberger basket, an aluminum kitchen utensil, an R&B silver nut dish and a copy of "A Visit from St Nicholas/Night Before Christmas" in Spanish......

... the divided dish I found at one of the estate sales, and it was a piece that I thought was priced a little on the high side, so I walked away from it on Saturday.  After Mass, then a quick breakfast and a stop at Trader Joe's on Sunday, I was still thinking about it.........  I knew that everything that was left at the sale would be half price, so I drove on over and it was still sitting in the dinning room so I snapped it up for a super price.

I have been asked by more than a couple of folks what I do with all the "stuff" I pick up at sales and thrifting.  A very valid question, most of the things I just live with for a while.  After that I make the descisioin to keep a few things the rest of the stuff..... I divest myself of either through local dealers I know or pass things on or just sell things outright on the Bay of Evil. I usually don't pay too much for things and get quite a few bargains, so it is amazing what a tidy little extra income I can generate on eBay by just staying within my comfort zone of knowledge.

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

Take care,

edgar

Some SF Stuff

Gentle Friends, in keeping with my Wednesday is SF theme I have a few tid bits .......  you may or may not be aware that we are having a little warm spell here by the Bay, the temps the last couple of days have been in the mid 80's, and for SF that is really quite warm. In fact we set a new record for yesterdays date, at about 3:30 pm in downtown SF it reached 90, breaking the 87 high back in 1927.  Today is supposed to be the last really hot day and the temps are to start plummeting and by the weekend we should be back in the 60's and regular cool breezes blowing.  With the temps being so hot we have been hitting the pool in the afternoon........

..... as you can see not a speck of fog coming over Twin Peaks and there's Rico......  there are still the ever so slight breeze, but not the usual gale force ones we are used to - a nice little change.

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Last week we stopped into Buttons, you can read a Post about this great little store HERE, so that i could get a fix of Pontefract cakes....  and look at this super display......

.....  all that crazy popcorn.....  although I do love an interesting popcorn, I stuck to my licorice, picking up the Pontefract Cakes and some AllSorts.

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Last Friday on the way to work we were talking about what to do for dinner... I didn't have a thought and later in the morning I got a call about how about trying something new or new to us - Munchery, a fabulous weeknight dinner delivery service.  We had heard of  it from friends and seen the web site, but just had never taken the plunge.  Now that we have, we will certainly be regulars!!!

... we placed the order in the morning and were given a 5-6 pm window for delivery, and as it says on the site, it came in the first 1/2 hour.......

... there were grilled artichokes with a lemon aioli.....

.... Rico got the grill Bistro Steak..... and....

along with a side of black eyed peas, I got the Fish and Grits, the fish was rolled up with some spring greens and the grits had cheese and some nice heat from peppers.  The meal was top notch and really wonderful.  It comes cold and all you do is heat it up in the microwave, et voila, a restaurant dinner without the hassle of parking and rude wait staff!!!   - and - I got were my sweats and watch a movie!!!  This is only here in SF and is expanding into the Seattle market at the moment, but there is no reason to think it won't expand to other cities later on.quality

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There you go sports fans, another bit of my little life here in SF - thanks for stopping by do stop again!

Take care,

edgar

A Little Mall Shopping.....

Gentle Friends, you know the kind of shopping I like, the unknown, hunt and gather, finding a treasure at a thrift shop kind.... and you can't really do that at the Mall. 

 We went out to the Mall, actually Stonestown Mall, there are a few "Malls" in and around the Bay area - Stonestown is out in what would pass for the burbs here in SF, to get some summer clothes for our little great-niece.   There was a super sale at Macy's and I had a discount coupon they sent me - AND - they have a big selection of Hello Kitty  - which we ended up with pile of Hello Kitty stuff......  then we headed to the food court for dinner - which after getting there we decided on Hot Dog on a Stick and fries with limeade.... but on the way to that classy dinner we passed a shoe store called Journey's, and they had a big display of Converse shoes on sale, which stopped me dead in my tracks. 

 After perusing the shoes for a bit I decided I had to have these......

....... the "Owl" pair was the last they had in the store and I took them with me, the "Skulls" pair they only had a size 8, and believe me my big old foot is a couple of sizes bigger than that - so I had the sales guy order me a pair  - and it was free shipping - the guy told me it would be a week to 10 days until they came, they got to me in 3 days.   Now, I certainly don't need any more Converse, but aren't these great shoes!!!   - and - I justified the purchase in my mind by rationalizing it this way.......... since they were on sale that it was like I was getting two pair fro one price!

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That's about it for today of my silliness!!  Thanks again for stopping by do stop again!!

Take care,

edgar

Winner, Winner Chickin' Dinner... and a Stitchin' Update

Gentle Friends, again, let me say how overwhelmed I was by all the kind comments left at the 7th Blogaversary Post - and can only thank you all so very much!!!!

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Over the weekend after printing and then cutting the entries into strips and folding them into unidentifiable little faux-rigamis, I got out a cut glass BoD from which the hag Claw and who hounds could draw a winner....

... of course you should never work with children or animals, and I am sure the hounds thought we were going to drop a picnic ham or something on the floor, they got really excited, the Peach was beside herself with glee......

... Smokie was the only one to stay still long enough to really see what was going on.....

... when they saw it wasn't going to be a brisket or ham, they all lost interest quickly!!!  But, a name was drawn.... and .....

.... Sharon over a Seaside Stitcher was drawn as the Winner of

 Blacksheep's 7th Annual Blogaversary Gift-a-Way, congratulations!!!  Thanks again to everyone who entered!!  I have sent off an email to Sharon and my plan is to have the box-o-goodies winging it's way to her in the next few days, once it arrives I'll talk more about what I sent.

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I worked a little on SMS and here's an updated snap...

.... this week I'll be putting this piece aside to finish up my Exchange piece.

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

Take care,

edgar

One Actress Three Films

Gentle Friends, I looked back and find I have been very lax in talking about film and the movies - I think today I'll remedy that by talking about three of them that feature a really top notch actress.....  the actress....

... Emily Watson, and English actress I admire and have totally enjoyed in the many films I have seen her in!!  The three films I wanted to talk about today, in chronological order..... starting off with....

"Gosford Park" - 2001 - a super who dunnit, mystery film with a huge ensemble cast of top English Stars.  The film is set in a beautiful country house during a shooting weekend in the 1930's.  There's a murder and lots of suspects, and I mean lots of suspects!!  I have seen this film dozens of times and always enjoy every minute.

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The second film is "Oranges and Sunshine" - 2010 -  The film is based on the true story of Margaret Humphreys, a social worker from Nottingham who uncovered the scandal of "home children", a scheme of forcibly relocating poor children from the United Kingdom to Australia and Canada.  A tough film and well acted by all the players - well worth a look!

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... and the third film is a recent one called "The Book Thief" - 2013 - set in Nazi Germany just before WWII and narrated by Death, we follow a young illiterate girl being relocated to "new" parents.  After they discover that she can not read or write, her new father, played by Geoffrey Rush, sets out to teach her to read.  She becomes obsessed with reading and books.......

All three are really good films and all are on DVD/BluRay.  I would highly recommend all of them!!

That wraps it up for the week sports fans!!  Thanks again for stopping by, and remember I'll be announcing the winner of my 7th Blogaversary on Monday!!!  If you've not entered the GIft-a-way and still want to -  go back to the original post HERE and leave a comment before 2PM PST.

Take care,

edgar

Thrifty Thursday

Gentle Friends, last Saturday we ran around to the shops and hit a great Estate Sale.... 

 and I found a few fun things.....

....  from the top left moving clockwise...  a nice sized Royal Copley "Ivy" vase, a super vintage acid etched Baccarat decanter with an older silver plate "whiskey" liquor label, a great 19th century large luster-ware mug, an older great condition Hemingway and a handeless transfer ware mulberry tea cup.  Some great stuff!!  You know I love the chase, and when I can find something fun it is even better!!!

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

Take care,

edgar

You can tell it's Spring.....

Gentle Friends, one of the sure fire ways I can tell it's Spring here in the City by the Bay is by walking down 7th street..... past the past County Jail Intake Facility #1 which is attached to a huge court building....  across the street and a few hundred yards on you come to a wall of loveliness...

... its a green wall in full bloom of jasmine.  This was planted to block out a parking lot for a furniture store.  It is green year round, except for a few short weeks in the Spring - so that as you walk by you are enveloped in the most delicious aroma....

... for me it takes me back to my grandparents yard in Florida, swinging in the hammock looking at the Halifax River.  Their yard was full of jasmine, 4 o'clocks, roses and a warm evening breeze off the river mingled the odor of these flowers together so that whenever I run into it it carries me back to that intoxicating floral brew of my youth.

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

Take care,

edgar

A Little Sweet

Gentle Friends, it's going to be a short post today, not much of anything to show and not much going on out here by the Bay.  

We have a very specific routine that we follow most weekends and one of those things is a trip to Trader Joe's.  This past weekends latest visit to TJ's found us shopping as usual. 

Well, before I knew it out of the corner of my eye I spotted a shiny package.....  and then three words..... 

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dark chocolate, peanut butter and salted caramel....  three things that get my engines going!!  Of course we brought some home and they are delicious!!  I do enjoy peanut butter candy and when you add in dark chocolate and a dab of caramel it makes these truffles pretty close to being perfect!  

Some of these will certainly make it into the Surprise Gift-a-way celebrating my 7th - don't forget to sign up on last Fridays Post.

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

Take care,

edgar

A SMS Stitchin' Update

Gentle Friends, wow, such kind comments and wonderful things you are all saying about the Blog.....  basically it leaves me speechless with a lump in my throat.  I have been thinking all weekend about the "gift-a-way" and whomever is drawn from the "BoD" by the Hag claw and who hounds will enjoy what I send.

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My little schedule in my pea brain, Mondays are reserved for stitchin' updates, and today is no different, I worked on three things...  an upcoming Exchange piece, my Colonial Gatherings piece (and at some point I relate the saga that surrounded this) and I got a bit more done on the SMS.......  here's a snap......

....  I finished off the small green leaves, and some of the medium gold leaves and started the "Teddy Bear" clovers.  In my mind I have named all the different lines just to keep them straight.

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That's about it for today sports fans.  Thanks again for stopping by and for all your kind comments!!! 

Do stop again!!

Take care,

edgar

A 7th Blogaversary Gift-a-Way

Gentle Friends, come next Friday, May 9th, I'll be celebrating 7 years of Blogging. From that first post until today I would have never imagined that I would have kept up my ongoing blather and yakity yakking for all these years.

...... to celebrate this milestone I'm going to have a Gift-a-Way Drawing.  I am still mulling over just what to include, but it will be a box of fun and surprises!!!  If you'd like to be Gifted with a surprise box for my 7th Bloagaversary just leave a comment on this Post and you'll be entered.  Remember if you can get mail you can win, I can send it anywhere a carrier will tote the package.  I'll close the Gift-a-Way drawing at 2:00 pm PST 5/9/14, and announce the winner on Monday May 12th. 

There you go sports fans, and I once again thank you for stopping by and for your ongoing kindnesses to me and my little ole Blog!!!

Take care,

edgar

Thursday Thrifting and Something Delicious!!!

Gentle Friends, I am still stitching every evening but all I'm working on are lots and lots of pale green leaves, so a snap would be totally boring, so I'll hold off until Monday with an updated SMS snaperoo.

Saturday was spent running around Thrifting... and I did find a couple of things....

... a couple of books and a fun Christmas DVD.  The glass book replaces one that I loaned out a few years ago and never got back, and the Four Sisters books is just a great little read.

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After Mass on Sunday we skedaddled on over to the Mission for breakfast and decided to stop at San Jalisco,

....a really great family run place off the beaten track that serves top notch traditional Mexican fare.  Within seconds of sitting down a basket of warm chips and salsa arrive.  They are made in house and keep you crunching away whilst you peruse the menu.......

... we both decided to have the regular Chilaquiles.... 

and they arrived with a side of rice and the house refried beans - a delicious breakfast!!  I order chilaquiles all the time and at lots of different places we get breakfast and it amazes me how many different variations there is of this very basic fare.  A little shout out to Rico, his version of this dish is top notch, but isn't it nice to go out to eat and to have someone else cook and clean up!!

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

Take care,

edgar