Kung Hei Fat Choy - 2014

Gentle Friends today is the Chinese Lunar New Year!  So, Kung Hei Fat Choy!!!  It lasts for 15 days and to celebrate we have The San Francisco Chinese New Year Festival and Parade an annual event that is held here in the City.  This festival combines pieces of the Chinese Lantern festival and a typical over the top Parade!!  It was first held in 1858 along Grant and Kearny Streets in the heart of Chinatown.  It is the oldest and largest Asian cultural event held in North America.  The parade route begins on Market Street and terminates in Chinatown.  The parade is sponsored by Southwest Airlines and you can click HERE to get information about the route the parade takes.

I went down to Union Square over the weekend and didn't find to many photo ops....  but I did get some snaps....

... looking form Union Square across Geary Street towards Macy's.  Both Macy's (the Men's Store and the Women's) are decorated for the event.....  2014 is the Year of the Horse........

...a shot in the Women's department....

...across Stockton Street in the Men's department .....

... and downstairs in housewares.  Macy's has had some  on going events over the past month to celebrate the Lunar New Year.

The Parade is fun with lots of people.....  here are some snaps from last years parade...

... last year was the year of the Snake...

Here are some things you can do to help enjoy and encourage prosperity, longevity and happiness in the coming New Year.....  Have something to eat. and there are some specific things to have and they are Lucky Foods........... starting off with Tangerines and Oranges - displaying and eating these fruits is said to bring good luck and wealth.  The tradition comes from the words for gold and orange they sound alike as do the words for tangerine and luck, sound very much alike.  It's good when on display if the fruit has leaves, as that symbolizes longevity,  however, never group them in fours as that number is associated with death. Next up in the Lucky Foods department are Long Noodles - always served as long as possible for a long, long life. One of the sweet things to eat is Nian Gao - which means year cake, gao sounds like the word for tall or high, which makes the cakes symbolize achieving new heights in the coming year.  These are steamed cakes made with glutinous rice flour, brown sugar and oil.  A side dish you could have are Leafy greens and long beans - leafy greens such as Chinese broccoli are served to wish a long life for parents and again long beans are served to ensure a long life.  The Tray of togetherness - to be displayed and offered to visiting relatives and friends or to be given as a gift has 8 compartments, these are to be filled with things such as kumquats for prosperity, coconut for togetherness, logans to bring many sons and red melon seeds for happiness.  Another fruit to serve and have is the Pomelo - a large citrus fruit that is thought to bring continuous prosperity and status.  It comes from the way the Cantonese phrase for pomelo sounds like the words for prosperity and status - and last be not least is to serve steamed, baked or fried... a Whole Fish -  again the Chinese word for fish sound like the word for abundance, and remember it is important that the fish be served whole with the head and tail intact - to ensure a good start and finish to the year.

There you go, fun stuff to do and great things to eat to ensure a Happy New Year.  You can see past parades on You Tube and find some really super recipes on line to make you own Chinese New year Banquet!!

Thanks for stopping by do stop again!!

Take care,

edgar

Thrifty Thursday and a Coffee Cake

Gentle Friends I did some running around last Saturday and found a couple of things......  let me start off with a sandwich plate that has some great silver overlay.  I usually avoid silver overlay since most of the time the silver is either pulling away or lifting, or just in really terrible condition.  This plate/tray was in great condition and here's how I found it....

.... I picked this piece up and saw that for all the tarnish and filth that underneath there was something really lovely.......

.... made by the Cambridge Glass Company, I am pretty sure it is from the 2nd quarter of the 20th century (1925-1950)  The silver was in great condition and only needed some polishing.....  here's a group shot of the other things I picked up.....

.... in addition to the tray I picked up a great transitional bisque figurine in super condition.  Although missing her male partner, she's pretty enough to stand alone!!  I also found a couple of interesting books and a cut steel ornament by Judie Bomberger.  This is from her series of 16 of Cirque du Soleil  pieces, they are hard to find and usually only turn up on secondary markets like eBay, this one is called "Zebra."

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On Sunday I whipped up a tasty blueberry coffee cake from the recipe on Food.com called "Very Berry Coffee Cake".......

... it came together quickly and was a a real treat with a cup of coffee!!  You can click HERE to get the recipe.

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

Take care,

edgar

... and We Have a Winner.... along with a Little Finish

Gentle Friends, I had every intention of posting yesterday but the computer had other ideas.... by the time it was up a going I was way behind, so I put off yesterday what I could do this morning.

The Hag Claw, with some help.....

... from some Who Hounds, pulled a name from the BoD.......

..... and that name is.......

..... Donna, from over at "Dirty Martini Queen's Musings"...... I've sent off an email to alert her and will get the chart out as soon as I get her snail mail address.  I wanted to thank everyone for taking time to enter and to mention I have another Gift-a-Way in the works so stay tuned!!

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I finished up the Colonial Gathering piece last night.....

... it was a fun little piece to work up and now I'll be popping it into the mail to Faye for finishing.... as I said to her... "I haven't a snowballs chance in hell, getting this thing finished up decently" and her skills are huge, so I'll trust it to a professional! I'll post a snap when it returns. 

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

Take care,

edgar

A Few Weekend Shots.....

Gentle Friends, first thing I wanted to say is that I'll be posting the winner of the Gift-a-way in the morning. We had some technical difficulties over the weekend which has made me a day late, so sorry.

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 We have been having such lovely weather this past month, you wouldn't even know it was January.  The days are bright and sunny, no rain and with the highs in the mid 70's all over the Bay area, it has tricked the flowers and trees to start budding out like it was Spring!

  and......

... I was walking in the Haight on Saturday and was knocked over with all the flowering trees, it's every where, even on our hill in Noe Valley, our sour cherry tree over the pool area has started popping out buds, and it's the latest blooming thing you ever saw!!  What I am thinking is we will eventually get some very cold weather at some point and it will be bad, damaging all these trees.  It will also damage the fruit crops and the fruit industry in the Joaquin Valley - the extra warm weather lately - coupled with the very dry winter will push fruit prices sky high this Spring and Summer......

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I got a little stitching done this weekend and worked exclusively on my Colonial Gathering piece....

... it's a fun piece and I'll have it done in a day or two and then it will be on it's way to be finished up into a little pocket.

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

Take care,

edgar

Edited to add a Photo of "Winter Band Sampler"

Gentle Friends I had every intention of showing the progress on the "Winter Band" Sampler I'm working on. 

I flattened out the wrinkles, got the light set up took about 10 snaps - and then then set the camera on the side table.*  I usually put it in the "murse" so I don't forget it rushing out in the morning.  I finally settled on a red colour - Apple Fritter - working on the third band only part of the left side deer is completed - I've had to change his colour only twice..... so far.

*I found my camera in my lunch bag.... so I downloaded the snap...

 Although I may get no further on the band sampler this weekend, I received the First Kit in the year long Colonial Gatherings Club put together by Dyeing to Stitch.  I signed up for the club when I found out that Paulette of "Plum Street Sampler" and Tanya of "Scarlet House" would be doing the projects - both great designers I like and will look forward to the fun kits that will arrive through the year.  I may just stitch on this piece only....  The first kit is a "Colonial Candle Pocket" you can click HERE and go to Paulette's Blog and see a snap and read about this super little project.

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Just a quick reminder today is the last day to sign up for the drawing Gift-a-way of the chart - 

 "Christmas Band Sampler"

My Completed version of the piece

You can click HERE to go to the Post to leave a comment to be entered in the drawing, I'll announce the winner on Monday.

That about wraps up the week sports fans.  Thanks again for stopping by do stop again!!

Take care,

edgar

It's Thrifty Thursday

Gentle Friends the week is winding down and we are once again at Thrifty Thursday, and here's a snap...

.....  I found a couple of books, "The Elf on a Shelf - A Christmas Tradition Gone Bad" was just waiting to happen.  A funny book with a quirky take on the phenomenon of "The Elf on a Shelf."  The other book is one I have seen kicking around for a while and finally found this copy for a couple of dollars, it looks interesting and should be right up my alley.  The Icon is really great, a nice newish piece that fits right in with the rest of my Icons and things - not sure who the saint might be..... any guesses??

And, there you go sports fans, a short post today.  Remember tomorrow is the last day sign up for the "Christmas Band" chart Gift-a-Way.  If you want to enter just click HERE and you will be taken to last Friday's post and can leave a comment there to get you name in the BoD  (Bowl of Destiny)  Thanks again  for stopping by, do stop again!!

Take care,

edgar

A Winter Treat

Gentle Friends the mail brought a box of wonderfulness from my sister and her family the other day.... and I wanted to share it with you.  It was full of goodies to keep us going through the long Winter.  Here's a snap...

....  we were basically out of this super Pancake/Waffle mix from Snoqualmie Lodge, a great Northwest product that we think can't be beat!  

Here's a little blurb....."For almost seven decades, Snoqualmie Falls Lodge built a dining tradition at a quaint lodge overlooking the rushing mountain waters of the 268 foot scenic Snoqulmie Falls.  The old fashioned decor and the 'World Famous Breakfast' made Snoqualmie Falls Lodge a truly unique dining experience for visitors from every continent.  That legendary Snoqualmie Falls Lodge name lives on in 'World Famous Farm Breakfast' items."    Made by Continental Mills, a company based in Seattle Washington that has been making top quality products since 1932. 

Another Northwest goodie in the box was some of the best coffee around - roasted by Stumptown it is probably our favorite coffee - the "Hair Bender" - a dark roast is top notch!!  A true Portland original you can read the History about how this super coffee came about HERE.  Don't get me wrong there are some very good roasters here in SF, but we really like this coffee - and my sweet sister fixes us up when ever we are running low!!

There was also a tasty seasonal treat from Jagermeister, their new "Spice" version, a lighter version of the regular liquor - that goes down a treat!!

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So with all this deliciousness in the house I made us........

... "breakfast" for dinner last night!!  You can't beat pancakes and bacon with a splash of maple syrup ( I  prefer the darker more richly flavoured grade B over the lighter grade A's - Rico likes Mrs. Butterworth).

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Thanks for stopping by do stop again!!

Take care,

edgar