Farm Club Retreat in San Francisco – 2024 – Part 2

Here is the Part 1 blog post. I just realized that I got the timeline wrong. That restaurant dinner was on Friday night. The library visit was Saturday. We ordered dinner to be delivered from Kung Food on Saturday and had enough left over that some people had it for lunch the next day as well as taking some home.

Both evenings and during other parts of the day we arranged ourselves in the parlor and working on projects. The parlor is the room that we were surprised and dismayed last year to find out there had been severe water damage and it was closed for repair. The floors and ceiling had major repair work. The difference this year is that there is no carpet and some of us commented on the different feel to the room. It is still a lovely place to hang out. We were able to leave our “toys” there the whole weekend and come back to them when we felt like it. That empty end of the green couch is where I set up shop. I wove two rigid heddle scarves and spun on the e-spinner.

Some people knitted, some spun, and some just relaxed. Deborah used the time to finish the fringe on a v-shawl that she (and I) wove in one of my classes last year.

Sunday morning I decided that after all that food and a lot of sitting I’d better go for a walk. I love seeing these old houses. (One here serves as a church.)

Some of the houses are maintained remarkably well, but I noticed some as I got farther from this neighborhood that need work. I can’t imagine how much it costs to keep up the paint job and the window repairs on these houses.

I took this photo a couple of blocks from the Home. Now I wish that I had investigated at the time and we had gone back. I assumed that “made while you wait” would mean that someone has a circular knitting machine and they crank out acrylic beanies. NOPE! I have looked at the website, www.hampuihats.com, and these are felt hats, among others. The website is impressive and the process is interesting. I encourage you to look at it.

A different kind of home decoration, still beautiful.

I wasn’t able to get much of a photo here because of the angle. There is a cow in there (not real, but a good size). You can see the face between two of the bars in the cetner and the body between another two.

Isn’t this a wonderful house?

Buena Vista Park is across the street from that last house. I walked into the park and up and down paths through and around it. I came out with this view. Now that I’m looking at a map I see I was at the south side. I saw Sutro Tower and thought that it didn’t seem that far and I may as well head that way.

I walked along streets going in the general direction. Every so often you see a stairway that cuts between properties and takes you from one street to another.

I found another small park at the top of one hill and looked beyond it to Sutro Tower. Hmmm. Not as close as I thought. I knew I could still walk there but maybe I shouldn’t spend the time. I turned around and went back taking a different route through Buena Vista Park.

From there I looked to the north and saw the Golden Gate. You can see the towers just below those distant hills.

I got back to the Home and many of our group had gathered in the dining room. We finished off yesterday’s pies and spent more time in the parlor visiting and spinning before we headed home about noon.

What will next year bring? If the weather is good I plan to walk to Sutro Tower and maybe through some of the other parks in the city.

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