Monday, December 25, 2017

A Little Merry Christmas

Gentle Friends.... 


A very Merry Christmas to one and all!!!

edgar

A Little Night Post

Gentle Friends, just got back from midnight Mass and now have the midnight Mass from the Vatican on the old tube..... and I think we should all remember.... 


... the reason for the Season - it often gets lost in the commercial shuffle out there.....
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edgar

Sunday, December 24, 2017

4th Sunday of Advent

Gentle Friends, the 4th candle of Advent was lit today... 


... and the 4th CANDLE – is called THE ANGEL CANDLE or THE CANDLE OF LOVE

The angels announced the good news of a Savior!  “…I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord” ~ Luke 2:10b-11    

 God sent his only Son to earth to save us because he loves us!   

 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” ~ John 3:16-17
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I'm wrapping up the baking for Christmas this afternoon ... I made a Rum Cake for to take tonight to the coffee time after "Midnight Mass"  - they asked for volunteers to bake a bring in goodies.....  I'll post some snaps when I get back into the swing of things.  
Just a quick FYI, I took off the next week and won't be back to work until Tuesday 1/2.  Which means that Blog Posts will be sporadic at best...... The reason for the week off is that I didn't take a vacation of any length this past year so I'm approaching my PTO (Personal Time Off) Limit.  If I was to reach the Limit it would mean that I'ld stop accruing Vacation time and that ain't gonna happen....  so a week off was called for.  Now, next year I've got some plans for the Fall that are coming together quickly.... more about that later on.  My plans for the week are to stitch on Christmas Garden, I've got a massage scheduled for Wednesday evening.... and just being lazy and hanging out at home - sounds good to me!!!!
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That's about it for today sports fans....  have a lovely Christmas Eve!!

Take care,
edgar

Thursday, December 21, 2017

A Little Thrifting

Gentle Friends, even though I've been out and about every weekend there's really not been anything to talk about until I found a couple of things this past weekend...  here's a snap....


...  the "icon" with the angel is nice but I can't identify where the image comes from.... and the bright cut trumpet vase was a great find and not a chip in sight!!
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That's about it for today sports fans, thanks for stopping by do stop again!!

Take care,
edgar

A Little Winter


Gentle Friends, today is the Winter Solstice and so I'm posting a lovely piece of
 music to celebrate....


"Allegro Non Molto; Largo; Allegro" (The Four Seasons); from The National Botanical Gardens of Wales; Julia Fischer en el violin; acompaƱada de "Academy of St Martin in the Fields";
del Maestro Antonio Lucio Vivaldi....... ENJOY!!
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That's about it, for now, sports fans, I'll have another post up in a little while!!

Take care,
edgar

Wednesday, December 20, 2017

A Little Christmas Lunch

Gentle Friends, last week we had our annual Company Holiday Lunch.  This year we all headed to Downtown SF to a restaurant I'd never heard of or been to...... "delarosa - a Roman Styled Pizzeria"

 .... I got there on the early side so instead of sitting at the bar ..... I headed over to St Patrick's Church around the corner on Mission Street.  Founded in 1851 and rebuilt in 1906 after the earthquake.  It's a lovely space and so quiet in the midst of downtown and everything going on....  here's some snaps...


... it's gothic revival and dwarfed by the buildings around it...


 ... the inside has loads of green marble in the panels of the walls and the columns.....


 ... even the organ loft is decorated for Christmas....

... and marching along the wall are the Stations of the cross...  in bas-relief...

... and the windows are wonderful Saints depicted in stained glass... if you ever get to the City a lovely Landmark to see is this super Church!!
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Back to the lunch...  the restaurant is set up with long tables and serves "family style."

... this is our table ....  the food came out in courses...

... first out was a nice Caesar Salad... they have a really well-stocked bar and so we ordered drinks....



..I ordered an Aperol Spritz which is made up of...Aperol, seltzer, orange ....
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.. next out was a really delicious dish of roasted Brussel sprouts!!

... then came meatballs....

 ..and finally, the delicious pizza came....  and it was time for another drink and I ordered....

... a really super Salty Dog!!
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 ... after Pizza, it was time for dessert...  John ordered Bomboloni Caldi - the fresh donuts with sauces.... and I ordered a... 

... Tiramisu....

... it was a delicious lunch and we had a super time!!!
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There you go sports fans, thanks for stopping by do stop again!!

Take care,
edgar

Tuesday, December 19, 2017

A Little Christmas Music

Gentle Friends... last night on the local PBS channel was the annual Morman Tabernacle Choir program... as usual, it was just lovely!!  I do love the music of Christmas... the following are three of my favorite carols of the Season...... enjoy......







.... and one of my very favorites as it reminds me of my father 
(it was his favorite Christmas Carol).....


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

Take care,
edgar

Monday, December 18, 2017

A Little Stitching

Gentle Friends,  still stitching away bit by bit on Christmas Garden.... and here's a snaperoo...

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It was the third Sunday of Advent, the rose candle was lit at Mass yesterday......

Image result for advent wreath 3rd sunday

... this candle is called The Shepherd Candle or the Candle of Joy..... 
when the shepherds received a message of Joy!! 

and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger because there was no guest room available for them.      And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”        Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” ~ Luke 2:7-15
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 That's about it for today sports fans, thanks for stopping by do stop again!!

Take care,
edgar

Tuesday, December 12, 2017

A Little Baking

Gentle friends, once again this year I am in the kitchen baking up some treats for family and friends near and far..... and this past weekend was the weekend to pull it all together..... in the past I've done jams, jellies, candy and other things - this year I decided to make Biscotti... I found two really delicious recipes over at Sallys Baking Addiction a super cooking Blog that I read all the time.....


 ... the two recipes I made were a "White Chocolate with Pistachio and Cranberry Biscotti" and a "Christmas Spice with Orange and Walnut Biscotti"  the Spice/Orange with Walnuts one was based on her Dark Chocolate and Orange Biscotti, I tweaked the spices by deleting the cinnamon and adding a heaping teaspoon of my own Pumpkin Pie Spice Blend, since both recipes called for the same amount of cinnamon I wanted them to be a little more different in the flavour profile than the same..... and it worked a treat!!!


... here's a snap of them all ready for packing up!!  They are really GOOD biscotti and not dry and hard as so many of them tend to be... Sally hit a home run with this recipe!! 
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That's about it around the old homestead sports fans, thanks again for stopping by do stop again!!

Take care,
edgar

Monday, December 11, 2017

A Little Stitchin

Gentle Friends, still stitching away on Christmas garden and here's where I left off yesterday.....


... as you can see I've introduced another green into the sampler.  I thought about staying with the single, lighter shade of green but with three pine trees in the pattern and this being a "winter" sampler I wanted to include a darker green... and now that I see it stitched in I'm really happy with the results!!
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Yesterday was the second Sunday of Advent and Mass included lighting the second candle on the Advent Wreath...  


... this second candle is called the Bethlehem Candle or the Candle of Preparation...

As is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:  ‘A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.  Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low.  The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth.  And all mankind will see God’s salvation.‘ ~ Luke 3:4-6
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There you go sports fans, thanks for stopping by do stop again!!

Take care,
edgar

Wednesday, December 6, 2017

A Little Christmas Cheer

Gentle Friends, over the weekend we started off the Christmas Season with the annual party at Chris and Mo's.... and of course, I took some snaps.... so enjoy this years edition 
"Christmas Cheer on Steiner Street".....


 ...the front of the house was is really pretty and looked great from the street.....
their tree is always the highlight of the evening as they put both regular white lights
 ...and then red candles for a traditional tree...

.... before the candles are lit the tree is ablaze with the white lights...


 ... here's a shot of the dining room table with some treats...

... the front hall was also decorated with lights along the banister...

... at about 9pm the white lights are turned off and the candles are lit.......

... and with the candles going and Christmas carols playing in the background the 
Christmas Season has begun!!! 
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There you go sports fans, thanks again for stopping by, do stop again!!

Take care,
edgar

Monday, December 4, 2017

A Little Stitchin'

Gentle Friends, still stitching away on "Christmas Garden" and here's where I left off last night...


... I was very happy when the border met up - and now working away on the floral bits and pieces will keep me busy through the Christmas season.
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Yesterday was the 1st Sunday of Avent and the Mass was a beautiful service - it is so nice to remember the reason for the Season and be a part of the lighting of the first candle of Advent - the candle of Prophesy and Hope.

And again, Isaiah says, ‘The Root of Jesse will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations; the Gentiles will hope in him.’  May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” ~ Romans 15:12-13
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There you go sports fans, thanks for stopping by, do stop again!!

Take care,
edgar

It's Spring!!

Gentle Friends, a lovely variation of Vivaldis's first movement of Spring....  bright and cheerful........ ________________ The year mov...