Sonoma California - Part I "The Mission San Francisco Solano"

Gentle Friends, last Thursday on the first day of our long weekend we headed north from the city across the Golden Gate Bridge into wine country.  Our destination was to Sonoma then on to San Rafael - to visit the Missions ..... a little back information ... one of the things from my Bucket List to accomplish while still breathing is to visit them all and we've been to the Mission San Francisco de Asis here in the City quite a few times ...  we arrived in Sonoma late morning.... 

 The Mission SF Solano is the 21st and last Mission built and the northernmost Mission in Alta California.  This Mission is also the only one built after Mexico gained independence from Spain.

Here's a little history I lifted from Wikipedia..."The mission buildings rapidly fell into disrepair. The town of Sonoma was growing and building materials were in great demand. Roof tiles, timbers and adobe bricks were salvaged from the mission buildings. After the settlers had cannibalized the old buildings, nature began recycling the remnants.^[14]

In 1841, Mariano Vallejo ordered a small adobe chapel to be built on the location of the first wooden mission chapel. It became the church of the parish and replaced the large mission church which was rapidly deteriorating. It stood on the west end of the convento so is often thought to be the church of the old mission.^[40]

During 1863 President Abraham Lincoln transferred ownership of all the mission churches in California to the Roman Catholic Church. In 1881, the Sonoma church property was sold to a local businessman and a new parish church was built across town. At one time, the old adobe chapel was used as a warehouse. The convento may have been used as a winery.^[14]

In 1903, the two remaining mission buildings were purchased by California Historic Landmarks League and became part of the California Park System in 1906. By 1913, both had been reconstructed. After the 1940s, the former church and convento were remodeled along more authentic lines suited to exhibits devoted exclusively to mission history."

 ... looking into the chapel from the vestibule...

 ... the view along the nave towards the high altar...

 ... from the high altar looking back towards the vestibule...

 ... the reconstructed pulpit...

 ... the high alter... 

 ... the outside of the Chaple from the courtyard...

 ... the schoolroom and oven in the courtyard...

 ... the brand marks from the various Mission...

 ... more of the courtyard...

It was a nice drive up, about 45 minutes, the mission buildings and information on the self-guided tour were really quite interesting.  

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That's about it for today sports fans, Part II tomorrow.  

Thanks again for stopping by!!

Take care,

edgar

A Little Stitchin'

Gentle Friends, I forgot my camera cord yesterday so I couldn;t upload any snaps.... and what's a Post without a snap or two...  the long weekend was not nearly long enough, but it was relaxing and there were some high points.  Today I'm talking about AotH that I'm still stitching along on...

... as with most things I stitch I been switching up some of the floss colours....  the green I used here was not the called for Avocado (far too yellow) but a better choice I think, Grape Leaf.  I've almost decided on most of the personalizations and will start adding that as I go along....

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

Take care,

edgar

A Little Box of Treats

Gentle Friends, I've had quite a few emails about what the second half of my 10th Anniversary Gift-a-way was.... well here's that post a bit on the late side but better late than never.....  I had in mind sending some things from the City that I felt would be well-received nd that meant something to me and things I did around town .... so after settling on what I was going to get we headed out to breakfast at the Red Cafe.  A favorite eatery of ours that I talked about before... It's in the Mission district and I usually get chilaquiles...

... I've had these at lots of places but at the Red Cafe, their version included some fresh green pepper and onion.... one of my very favorite breakfasts!!  Rico on the other hand usually gets...

... eggs, bacon hash browns with flour tortillas.... and a Coke!!  So after breakfast, we headed across the street and up the block a bit to our very favorite bakery in the entire City.... Dianda's.... 

.... they make really super things... and here are some snaps....

... the cakes they make are top notch and in demand, so ordering in advance is imperative...  the cases that line the shop on both walls are usually chock-a-block full...

... and the pastries and really tasty also...  the ring looking things in the middle to the right are to die for, flaky and crunchy and they come in either almond or raspberry....delicious!!

... I picked up a box of assorted cookies here to include....  we also stopped off at Philz Coffee for some of their roasted beans.....

....  I also picked up an SF mug to round out the present - packed it all up and everything arrived at Donna's quickly for her to enjoy!! 

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That's about it for today sports fans.  It is a short week for me as I took off tomorrow and Friday and we have Monday off so it will be a long lazy weekend!!  Rico also took off the same days and we have a couple of things planned so you'll be seeing a post or two about our adventures next week.  Thanks again for stopping by do stop again!!

Take care,

edgar

A Little Stitchin'

Gentle friends, just a quick update on AotH...

... I've completed the main stitching for the first row... but none of the personalization yet... 

still working that out.

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

Take care,

edgar

A Little Remembering

Gentle Friends, today would have been my parent's 62nd Wedding anniversary, and my mom always said it was a rainy, wet day.... here by the Bay it's cool and foggy.......  

May 22, 1955  

1st Presbyterian Church, Greenville NC

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I like to remember the event with some flowers at Chrurch and arranged for some to be put on the altar yesterday...

 ...they were nice and pink,(my mom's favorite color) and by tomorrow will be spectacular when all the lilies finally open up....

.. on either side of the Tabernacle were some pink azaleas... 

 my mom would have really enjoyed all these flowers!!

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There you go sports fans.  Thanksd for stopping by do stop again.

Take care,

edgar

A Little Devil

Gentle Friends, knowing me and reading this Blog you may recall my fondness for Converse Chucks.... and every now and then I get a catalog from Journeys and they often have fun versions of Converse sneakers.....  so from the latest one, I ordered.... 

..... and they came in a great box,.....

... som Tasmanian Devil All-Star Chucks!!  I can usually refrain from new shoes (I've got far too many now) but I just had to have these!!

... aren't they great!!  

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

Take care,

edgar

A Little Stitchin'

Gentle Friends, just a quick snap of  the progress on AotH...

... I finished up the border and am now working away on the body of the square...

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There you go  - short and sweet -  thanks for stopping by do stop again!!

Take care,

edgar