Fabric samples at FabMo, Mountain View.

Shop for Creativity

I don’t know about you, but for me when the weather gets cooler my urge to be creative, especially for handmade things gets larger. For example, I don’t like to knit when it is warm, but now I can see myself with some wool and needles.

Fabric samples at FabMo, Mountain View.

If you are into sewing or have other creative ideas for fabric and on the hunt for reasonable priced fabric, FabMo might be a great place to shop. Born out of the idea of rescuing designer samples, FabMo is an all volunteer organization in Mountain View. They are open once a month for three days in their Selection Event. The next Selection Event is November 7th – 9th, 2019. Check the event calendar for the schedule and other exciting workshops and events.

Spools of yarn at FabMo, Mountain View.

Besides fabric FabMo also offers patterns, carpet samples, and also tiles and other designer samples.

If you are not inclined to be crafty yourself but appreciate handiwork, you might find the annual fair an interesting opportunity. On October 26th, 2019 from 10 am to 4 pm you can shop at the FabMo Arts Boutique at the First Congregational Church, 1985 Louis Road, Palo Alto. 

FabMo is a great place to volunteer and help reduce landfill. There are many ways to help out: sort fabrics, work in the store,  be a blogger or social media influencer.

Are you a maker or a shopper for crafty things?

If you want to shop for quilting fabric you should check out Bay Quilts in Richmond.

Man raking leaves at the Gamble Garden in Palo Alto

Relax in the Gamble Garden

Volunteer raking at the Gamble Garden, Palo Alto.

365 days a year you can go over to Old Palo Alto and see what’s in bloom or just chill and soak up the beauty.

The Gamble Garden is open for the public year round, on the grounds of the historic home  where Elizabeth Gamble grew up 100 years ago. The garden became a public park in 1985.

Kids digging and measuring worms at the Gamble Garden, Palo Alto

Every second Saturday they open the doors a bit wider. The next event is January 12th, 2019. A morning (10 am – 11:30 am) for the whole family. They offer tours around the garden, a family nature hunt, and a tour of the first floor of the home.

I enjoyed the Second Saturday in December with some friends. We browsed the seasonal offerings of decorations and the holiday greens sale. It was fun to see all the kids digging for the longest worm.

Water drops on plant at Gamble Garden, Palo Alto.

My friend introduced me to her passion of photographing water droplets on plants; we could find many examples.

Mary our tour guide at the Gamble Garden, Palo Alto.

I was so glad we caught the tour with Mary our tour guide! We started at the new water catching area, a water tank that feeds a little stream with water plants, experienced the wisteria room and its tranquility, and got a lesson in photosynthesis and how to describe plants.

Schola Cantorum chorus at the Gamble Garden, Palo Alto.

It was a festive outing with the holiday carols from the acclaimed Schola Cantorum chorus.

This will be on my holiday to-do list for the upcoming years. A great tradition is born.

If you are interested in visiting the Gamble Garden for the next Second Saturday you should register with them on their website.

Do you have a holiday tradition?

 

A swell shark to touch

Touch a shark

I touched a shark and it was swell!Touch a shark and get a sticker to proudly proof it. The Seymour Marine Discovery Center in Santa Cruz is one of my favorite places in the Bay Area. Besides petting a shark – a real swell shark that is! – you are also invited by the great volunteers to get your finger wrapped up by sea creatures like anemones, spot a hermit crab or hold a sea star. The aquarium tanks hold shark babies and jellyfish. Jellyfish floating in a tankDid you know that jellyfish needed a round tank to generate the circular flow keeping them suspended in the tank?

If you talk about the wildlife of the Bay you also need to see the exhibit on the sea otter. There is otter fur to touch, which is the softest fur ever.

Shark Science Week is July 22 – 28. 2018 – to get a deeper understanding of sharks.

Sea Otter Awareness Week is September 22 – 30. 2018 – this is an annual event all around the Bay recognizing the importance of the sea otter for the nearshore ecosystem.

Inside Ms. BlueThe tour that is included in the entrance fee takes you outside the center. It starts off with the history of the Seymour Marine Discovery Center. An important stop is Ms. Blue, the 87 feet long blue whale skeleton that greets every visitor. You are invited to go into her belly, touch some baleen plate, that is used to filter out food and a glass jar of krill to understand how much food is needed for these giants. The tour might end behind the scene of the Joseph M. Long Laboratory. Here our group got to see two dolphins and a seal that are being studied.

In July and August the Seymour Marine Discovery Center is open every day 10 am – 5 pm. Adults admission is $9, senior, children and students are $7. For the free days you need to check the web site. They also participate in the Discover and Go program.

Have you ever touched a shark?

 

Off to the races

Off to the races

A beautiful racetrack right by the Bay, Dollar Day Sundays, and some (over 18) gambling excitement. The Golden Gate Fields racetrack Dollar Days, every Sunday until June 10th, 2018, include $1 parking, $1 entry fee, $1 program, $1 mimosas, $1 beer and $1 soda and water.

Betting starts at a minimum of $2.

They welcome newbies and have a booklet to teach you all the important aspects.

Spectator at Golden Gate Fields, BerkeleyThe audience is very eclectic, from college students to families to retired persons. The people-watching is part of the experience. Collections of interesting headwear, the groups gathered around TV screens to follow other races, and the owners and jockeys posing for pictures after the races.

The large amount of smokers surprised me. The place itself felt like a Casino without the one-armed bandits. One can almost smell lost hopes. Tickets on the floor  at Golden Gate Fields, Berkeley

 

But when the race starts and everyone either shouts out the name or the number of the horse they bid on, willing it to run faster, every sad thought is forgotten and you are, at least for these moments, excited in the experience.

Horse  at Golden Gate Fields, BerkeleyWhatever your strategy is for choosing a horse, statistics, names, numbers or looking at the horse prior to the race, there is a lot of luck involved.

Please drink and gamble responsibly.

 

 

Have you ever been to the races?

 

Photo at the entrance of the Black Panthers at 50 exhibit at the Oakland Museum of California

Commemorate black history

February is black history month. A good way to educate yourself on an aspect of black history is the current exhibit of the Oakland Museum of California: All power to the people: Black Panthers at 50.

Unity is the solution poster from the Black Panthers at 50 exhibit at the Oakland Museum of CaliforniaUntil February 26th this will show original documents of the panthers, never seen photos, and the cultural component of the movement. 

It was surprising to me that the movement was composed by 2/3 of woman, who also held leadership positions.  In an early draft of their program it showed that they thought about a basic income, which is a much discussed topic all around the world right now.

When I visited on Super Bowl Sunday I hoped to be there pretty much by myself. Due to this highly popular exhibit and the fact that on every first Sunday of the month the entry is free (they ask for donations), I had to wait for about half an hour in line.

Besides the Black Panther exhibit I also saw: Out of the box: The rise of sneaker culture. I never thought that sneakers could be so interesting! The story of Carl Lewis’s shoes or a sole making Obama prints is very cool.

Sign to warn drivers that immigrants might cross, at the Oakland Museum of CaliforniaTo complete my visit I went to see the Gallery of California history exhibit. Very well organized time periods of Californian history. What struck me was the timeliness of their showing of the Mexican border and the last piece of the exhibit some food for thought about the Dakota Native Americans.

There are also the art and science exhibits that I did not have time to visit.

Opening hours:

Mon – Tue: closed, Wed – Thur: 11am – 5pm, Fri: 11am – 9pm, Sat – Sun: 10am – 6pm

How do you celebrate black history?

welcome

Thank you for finding me. This is my first post and I hope there will be many more to come.

This blog is about what to do outside the big city: San Francisco. We live in Silicon Valley, and I find there is a lot of interesting things to do here that I’d love to share with you.

If you have ideas, please use the comment field for now. I want to hear about it!

 

until suburbia!

Silvia