HIGH TECH WORK ENVIRONMENT

Now on the San Francisco tour.....we head to the office building where our son works.

I know it's in a brand new building, across from the water and near a new hospital complex...but exactly where.....I haven't a clue. I freely admit I'm directionally challenged!  But I did pay attention to the details of this HUGE 2 floor complex.  The decor was amazing....just look at this handmade table in the lobby.

And how about this???  Air plants hanging on wire, weighted with what looked like metal fishing weights....very cool.

It's like no office I've ever seen.  There are no private offices....not even for the founders (CEO/CFO).  Instead, there are rows and rows of tall work stations.

The carpeted floor is a raised surface and below are miles of cables for all the techy stuff.  These grate like covers can be removed to access the wiring.

Clocks keep track of the time in various parts of the world and the typical white board is replaced by something that works the same but appears to be wood.

Raiden (the grandson) knows right where to head......one of the numerous mini 7-Elevens that are located on every floor.  They are self service with just about anything you can think of and all supplied by the company.  And if that's not enough, employees have access to a fully catered lunch room besides!

Yup....more self-service goodies for the hard working employees.

Everywhere I looked I saw art, disguised as furniture.....

 One of the many lounge pits.....perhaps the employees come here to take a nap??

 Yes, that's a bike you see in this photo....did I mention this place is huge?  Free-standing yurts can be used for meetings/brain storming sessions.

Each was decorated differently and stylishly.

Does this have your head spinning???  Truthfully, I've never given much thought to what offices look like or how they function. My world is so removed from that environment.  Perhaps yours is too, but hopefully you've found this interesting.  Well....there's more......check back tomorrow for the conclusion of my travel blog.

SAN FRANCISCO - A WORLD SO UNLIKE MY OWN

 ......My travel tales continue......

 Unlike the stagnant real estate here in NC, San Francisco's housing market is booming again.  Our son's neighborhood is astonishing.  You'll find one or more of these old homes on every block in the process of being totally remodeled. Many are digging out beneath the house to create room for a garage. As you can imagine, parking is at a premium in this very urban space. 

 The owners move out for 8 months to a year while their homes are transformed.  Most are 'tented' like this one to keep debris contained.

Our son will be going through this same process early next year, so he and his wife are constantly on a search for attractive ways to enhance their outdoor space.  We were fascinated by this living wall of plants. This could be a perfect solution for their fairly large backyard that ends with a tall wide fence.

 Another trademark of the area is bicycles.....frankly, I'd freak out if I had to drive in this environment since the riders tend to weave in and out of traffic so rapidly and seemingly too carefree.

And dogs....they are EVERYWHERE......patiently waiting for their owners to come out of the coffee shop or grocery stores.

Although I didn't get any photos (purposely thinking parents would prefer not to have their children's pictures taken).......you will find kids and strollers that even out number the dogs.

 Within walking distance from our son's home, there's an impressive Saturday Farmer's Market, including musical entertainment by local groups.

 It was fun checking out all the Halloween decorations, which would feed anyone's creative spirits....very impressive.

Believe me, I could have spent hours just taking Halloween inspired photos.

And as I wrap up this post.....I'll share these treasures I brought back home.  It's typical to find trees that are planted in small squares of earth within the sidewalks.  Most have smooth river rocks covering the dirt.  If you are a follower of this blog, you may recall that I recently went ga ga as I embellished a few rocks (inspired by Lisa's blog).  Rocks here in the mountains are rough so I've been searching for nice smaller, flat ones (yes I know they can be purchased.....but I want to use 'found ones'.)  

I nearly grabbed some of the sidewalk rocks, but (a.) I felt that'd be stealing and (b.) how many dogs do you think have visited them??  Yuck...

However, my son took me to a location where I found some 'clean' ones.  In fact, there were hundreds, but I only selected about 9 this time.  Did this silly tid bit really require several paragraphs and a photo??  Probably not, but I'm a happy camper and had to blab about it.

See ya tomorrow.....that is if you want to see more about San Francisco.

BECAUSE I'M A QUILTER......

.....because I'm a quilter.....I'll begin my next San Francisco trip related post with......ta da......fiber!

  There was a big family gathering during my visit, which included my DIL's brother's family who traveled all the way from Argentina.  His MIL gifted the hostess this adorable Tic-Tac-Toe game.  (Hope you are following all these connections?!?)  

But....what may be clearer is the photo of this felted game board, complete with felted playing tokens.  I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED it......made by an Argentinan artist.

 Because I'm a quilter, I see and appreciate color!

 Because I'm a quilter, I enjoy delicious food such as brie and a zippy spread.

 Because I'm a quilter.....I LOVE desserts.  Even the young & single party goers brought food (a LOT of food).  Jon (a 20 something) doesn't bake, but his contribution of this super rich red velvet cake was a big hit.

 The Argentinan contingent got into the kitchen and turned out some of their favorites.....brownies, topped with whipped cream (the real stuff) and fresh raspberries.

 .....and this best ever lemon tart.....

Because I'm a quilter, these homemade chocolate truffles didn't escape my attention.

 Because I'm a quilter......who happens also to be a Mom......having a moment to see two cousins (who live a continent apart) bond....well....it's very memorable.

.....And because I'm a quilter who is also a very proud Grandma, documenting Raiden's love of water (even in late October) was a given!

Warning....more trip reports to come.......see you tomorrow.

FABRIC BOOK

I mentioned that Oct. was a busy month for me with lots of travel, but THE BEST trip just concluded.  Is there anything better than a grandma trip? Even though our only grandchild lives about 2,000 miles away, the distance won't stop me from getting to know him.

Our 'granddog' Nali also now resides in San Francisco too.  WARNING.....my next few blogs won't be strictly fiber related.....so I'll begin with one that is and perhaps it may give someone inspiration. 

  Several (many several) years ago we provided occasional doggie care for our son's dog. It became known as Nali's Wisconsin Vacations, which eventually got documented into a fabric picture book.

 I was clearly practicing to be a grandmother.....as this agreeable dog was 'treated' to lots of activities.

Here Nali was dressed with an old shirt...buttoned up the back...sleeves rolled up.....as she was engaged in 'art therapy". I know how crazy that sounds....and it was a total riot.  I smeared her paws with finger paints and had her walk over sheets of white paper.  Much of the time (if truth be told) I had to drag her...she hated the feel of the paint on her paws and sitting down wasn't uncommon!  Once the paint and dog hari dried, (don't laugh) I cut it into sections and framed them for family members.....  (I suspect you are now actually laughting!)

 Ring toss was a favorite game....

 It only took her a few minutes to understand the concept of an Easter egg hunt! 

 AND....what would a vacation be without a swimming pool and ball?

 Nali is now older and a bit creaky.....but can still manage going out her doggie door.  Raiden (the grandson...pronounced Rye din) thinks the door is fun too.

Now I have a new 'subject' to play with, is there another fabric book in my future?  Yes, of course!

FALL COLOR HAS ARRIVED

Words are really unnecessary.......and to think, these scenes 

are right outside my doorstep!

FIBER JUNKIES - PAPER CLOTH CONTINUED

......continued.........The following photos of completed collage paper cloth were taken as they were drying on the blacktop driveway.

  Gen clearly has this concept down pat, as the final touch, she's given her pieces (above and below) a light blue color wash.....

 Kate had a great idea to work on a plastic tray which made transporting the piece outside to dry much easier.

I love this very happy piece Kate made using all tissue paper and paper napkins.

 Above and below are the pieces Judy made.  She let loose after lunch and very quickly (without agonizing or a lot of thought) made the bottom design which we all thought looked exactly like a "Judy" piece.  After seeing this one, we decided that too much thinking wasn't always necessary

 Denny made this one which we all LOVED.....we were dumbfounded when she sprinkled coffee grounds on the wet glue.....FABULOUS!!

Val, who always blows us away with her designs came up with this clever idea.  She used tissue paper on scrim fabric with a golden dye wash.  Isn't the texture she achieved by manipulating the tissue paper super??

Again, and I know I say this every month....I'm so grateful to have such a great group of creative pals who think it's big fun to get our hands messy!

FIBER JUNKIES - PAPER CLOTH

The Fiber Junkies October meeting was held at Val's home.  We were lucky to sneak in one last outdoor play day before the winter cold drives us indoors.

Gen organized and guided us for this paper cloth project and we are all so grateful to her! 

 The supplies were items we all already had on hand; fabric (any kind as it would be completely covered), paper products (magazines, any kind of printed material/old or new, tissue paper, gift wrap, maps, brochures, colorful napkins, to name just a few.  Other items:  white glue, foam brush, paints/dyes, and plastic to work on.

 Gen brought a French magazine to share with us, and I brought a lot of colorful maps.

Pieces of a variety of paper items were torn and auditioned on a small piece of white on white cotton fabric.  Once satisfied that there was enough 'design' to cover the fabric, the pieces were set aside and the fabric was painted with diluted white glue. 

 Next, the paper was rearranged onto the fabric, coating with glue/water mixture until it adhered to the fabric.

 Here's the result to that point.  It can be left to dry or given a thinned paint/dye wash.  Which I did...using a pale blue color.  I'll post a photo of that final addition when it dries.

My second attempt was made using only tissue paper and paper napkins.  This one was not given a dye wash, but I may change my mind and do it later.  The great thing about this technique is that one can continue to add as many layers (paper and paint/dye) as necessary to achieve a successful design.  Once dried, Gen suggests rinsing the excess glue from the piece and allowing it to dry flat to provide a more flexible product.  It's easily machine stitched!

So...the big question is, "What on earth does one do with paper cloth?"  Well, Gen cut up her previous experiments and treated it like fabric patches, incorporating the pieces into a pieced design. I think I may cut mine apart and mount them on card stock to use as note cards.

Check back tomorrow and I'll share the exciting designs other Fiber Junkies created.