I attended a memorial service here last Saturday for my son's grandfather and my former…read morefather-in-law. Tom was always kind and generous to me, and I was honoured to be able to attend this very heartfelt and classy event for a really great guy. He was a Renaissance Man of sorts, whose 87+ years spanned a distinguished University career and a love for competitive sailing and tennis, skiing, wood working, music (oboe), gardening, language, and family. His impressive obituary also appeared in the New York Times and it's entirely possible that his path crossed with that of Gayle's Dad at around the time of 3 Mile Island. And a short while ago, Gayle and I were invited to his home for dinner, as he was curious about her and how I was doing. My favourite memory of Tom was a family conversation when he calmly and politely asked me a logical sequence of questions based on some "factual" statement that I had made. I answered then in turn and was initially quite sure of my position. By the 3rd or 4th question, I realized that I was logically trapped and by my own rope! He kindly let me off the hook, but I left that conversation impressed and humbled. I previously knew of the Town and Gown Club and had walked past it on the corner of Dana and Dwight many a time without recognizing it as such. It was founded by Emmanuel Marie Paget in 1898 as a club house for Berkeley women. It is a striking, yet simple redwood structure, of which the tall core is the work of Bernard Maybeck. The first floor features a common area with dark woods and angled ceiling beams, plus a library, kitchen, cloakroom and a small, but elegant outdoor garden. Upstairs is a meeting hall and auditorium, which is where Tom's service took place under the watchful eyes of his family, friends, and his beloved bonsai and flowering cherry plants. I was also grateful to be welcomed into the family again for this brief period by Tom's wife and my sister-in-law's family. There were kind words and hugs all around. And as each person stood up to celebrate Tom's life and accomplishments, I felt proud and grateful that I had the privilege of knowing him too.

Beautiful historic club. Wonderful events and lovely members.read more

We hired Pete for our most recent event at UC Berkeley for a paint night with optometry and PhD…read morestudents. Pete and his daughter were just lovely! They completed captivated everyone and led us through a fantastic, relaxing evening. Even though it was raining, everyone had a blast and I was hearing great thing even weeks later. Definitely hire Pete for your next social or work event! Super easy to work with and just a blast. Thanks so much, Pete!!

Pete and his team came to LinkedIn to support our Black History Month efforts. They were excellent!…read moreThey arrived on time, had plenty of supplies, team members to assist, and the energy to engage a large group. They also were excellent with communication leading up to the day. We went through multiple painting templates, before settling on our final image. They were supportive and flexible the entire time. Highly recommend them for a corporate or personal event.

A great bunch of people who know how to throw a party. If you love jazz, vintage cars, dressing up…read morein vintage clothes this is the place. They've got educational programs. Two kick-ass parties a year: The Art Deco Preservation Ball in the Spring and the Gatsby Summer Afternoon in September. If you long for a begone era of grace and elegance, but still prefer indoor plumbing, the ADSC is for you.

If you love Deco - then you have found a dedicated tribe of super enthusiastic folks. Too many cool…read morethings to mention.

When figuring out where I was to stay for a graduate school visit to the University of California,…read moreBerkeley (in March 2015), this was the 2nd pick of the professor who brought me out for interviewing. He had contacted students and post-docs in his group/department to see if they would host me. However, as I was his 6th prospective student the people he asked were tired of hosting so he signed me up to stay here at the Women's Faculty Club, located on-campus. The building was rustic and on a not so busy road. There were grassy area(s) to the west/north that the campus squirrels enjoyed. At one point, the male professor was walking me one-on-one to the building. When we walked over a small stream on a bridge together he made a comment about water flow in the stream. I felt uncomfortable. Then I spotted it. My knights in shining armour. Squirrels. They were foraging in the grass and were on the larger side. I made note out loud of this. The male human said nothing. He did not share my love of the furry cuties. After living in South Africa where we had vervet monkeys instead of squirrels and Hawai'i where we had mongeese instead of squirrels, the squirrels were a reminder of wildlife in my hometown of Seattle. Sometimes wildlife helps make a place special and feel like home. Breakfast in the women's faculty club could be ordered and I dined alone during my stay. As the rest of my meals were with other people, I enjoyed the tranquility of dining here. There was no loud music and during my visit the dining hall did not reach crowded levels while I ate. Check-in was in a convenient location, my room was up the stairs and had window(s) looking out towards the area(s) the squirrels liked. The floor was more towards the creaky side, in a homely kind of way. The bathroom had signage about water usage as California was in a multi-year draught (no rain). The bed was large and comfy. It was cool to be able to sleep diagonally. Workers in the dining hall and when I came and went were friendly.

Enjoying the Sun while seated on the outside deck, I was at a business lunch again at the WFC…read more This time, after two helpings of the salad bar (I'm telling you, the Egg-Fu-Yung is a favorite), I was going for the desert I missed out on the last time I was there, the Neapolitan. Our Asian Sister, who gave us excellent service, brought out the tray. No Neapolitan, sold out (very sad trombone). But, what's that? Fresh Cherry Flan w/Almonds! The sweetest pitted cherries on a cheese flan, crowned with toasted Almonds. Simple, but oh so good. My colleague, Karen, devoured the same thing. Our guest enjoyed a dark chocolate tart. Next time, I'm ordering the Neo first!

i'm in a writers' group on zoom and i treasure each meeting. we help one another with friendly…read morecritiques of our writing and enjoy one another's writing style/subjects. i've been in this group for two years now, and am grateful to ashby village for steering me there. when i need a ride outside paratransit's parameters, i send an email to ashby village asking for a volunteer to drive me on my errand(s). i'm finally trying to downsize and a volunteer, as well as one of the members of my writing group. is going to help me i would have given AV a 5 rating, but, as someone else mentioned, the person who first interviewed me on the phone was unfriendly, not at all empathetic and when we said "goodbye", i was licking my wounds. her sharp tongue, and her inability to listen should disqualify her from ever interviewing someone for membership in AV. during the conversation, she stated, coldly, that i was probably too disabled to qualify for membership. i'm sure she's scared other people away. i wasn't that easily scared; just very angry. thank you to ashby village; its wonderful staff and volunteers. you bring much joy into your members' lives.

Since becoming a member of Ashby Village I've been to art classes, social get togethers, philosophy…read morediscussions, and best of all, the writing group, A talented ,warm funny group of people who get together on zoom and , on special occasions, in person. I have also made requests for help putting up curtains and hanging pictures, breaking down boxes and other helpful little jobs that I now find difficult.

I rented a coworking space from Hidden Gem for two years and had the GREATEST experience! It was my…read morefirst time renting a professional space and Rafael and the whole team were always clear, communicative, and kind! Beyond just the physical space, they do amazing work for the community with their programming educating youth, and I couldn't be happier with my time; I'm only leaving my desk because I'm moving out of state-- highly recommend!

I rented out office space at the Hidden Gem. The location is spotless. Perfect creative space to…read moremake podcasts, films, art, and have meetings. It's quiet, which is fantastic to build your business! Highly recommend.

What a fun girls night out! Felt a bit crowded but the…read moreinstructors were very nice and helpful! Never thought that I would finish my first painting in 2hours! Highly recommend it!

What a fun evening. They provide the instruction, music, apron, paintbrushes, paint, easel & a…read moreblank canvas. You can stay with the instructor or venture off and make it your own. I recommend getting there early enough to get a prime spot. Especially if you have a larger group and want to sit together. The instructor goes around and helps people when needed. We had an assistant floating around refilling peoples paints & paper towels. I took a painting course in college and I have a few of my own paintings in my home. I attended this event with someone that had not painted since elementary school. The events are able to please and entertain a broad range of abilities. Everyone was having fun. In-between instruction/demonstration, they kick up the music. Our instructor chose a great playlist. It really put me into a creative groove and had me singing along. You are free to order drinks wherever the event is being held at, just drink responsibly. It was so fun to walk around at the end of the evening and see everyone's execution and interpretation of the piece. Most of the events sell out way in advance, so keep your eyes open!

My guess is that there are plenty of Cal Students who spend their 4 years here and walk right past…read morethis place without giving it a second thought. I first noticed this Museum on the way to class a few weeks back and had some time recently to take a look. And I'm glad I did! The Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology was founded in 1901. The original goal of the museum was to support systematic collecting efforts by archaeologists and ethnologists to support a department of Anthropology at the University of California. The Museum was originally located in San Francisco from 1903-1935, when it moved to the UC campus. On the Berkeley campus, the Museum was located in the former Civil Engineering Building until 1959, when it was moved to the newly built Kroeber Hall. This museum was also the final residence of Ishi, who lived there from 1911 until his death in 1916. The Museum houses an estimated 3.8 million objects plus extensive documentation that includes field notes, photographs, and sound/film recordings. Major collections include: - Approximately 9,000 California Indian baskets, representing almost every tribe in California and all of the region's basketry techniques. - A broad collection of approximately 20,000 ancient Egyptian artifacts. . - A large Peruvian collection, especially strong in pottery and textiles. - Approximately 16,000 African artifacts - An important collection of Oceanic objects, including collections from the Trobriand Islands and from excavations in Fiji and New Caledonia. It's all free (with a suggested voluntary donation) and well worth your time, including an extended look or even study.

11.2 afternoon. It is an exhibition about poison, prescription, prayer and pleasure: the world of…read moremind altering substances. It is a small museum. I spent 20 minutes to see it. I saw many stone carving, cups and bottles of China. The building is quiet at weekends. There are only two visitors. There ate sofas and chairs to sit on.