Home&Real Estate Home Front
HOLIDAY COOKIES ... It’s not too late to learn how to make goodies in Ursula Gallichotte’s “Holiday Cookie Workshop,” at 11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 17, at Sur La Table, Town & Country Village, #57, Palo Alto. Cost is $69. Information: 650289-0438 or email Cooking073@ surlatable.com GUSSY UP A CAKE? ... Christine Hopkins will teach a class on “Cake Decorating: Level I” on Mondays, Jan. 9 to Feb. 6, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Arrillaga Family Recreation Center, 700 Alma St., Menlo Park. Students will learn how to make roses, level a cake, make icing and make decorative touches, such as stars, shells or even clowns. Nonresident registration begins Dec. 19. Fees are $85 for nonresidents, $64 for Menlo Park residents; supplies may be purchased from the instructor. Information: 650-330-2209, nsbickel@menlopark.org or www. menlopark.org RESTORE HABITAT ... — including removing invasive plants, planting native plants and building habitat structures — at the Pearson Arastradero Preserve, 1530 Arastradero Road, Palo Alto, on Saturday, Dec. 17, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Volunteers (if under 12 must be accompanied by an adult) meet at the buildings next to the parking lot, bring a reusable water bottle and dress in sturdy shoes and long pants. Tools and gloves are provided. Information: www.acterra.org or 650-962-9876 A GIFT FOR YOURSELF? ... Christine Palen will teach a class called “Organize Your Office: From Chaos to Control” on Wednesday, Jan. 25, from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at Palo Alto High School, Room 305, 50 Embarcadero Road, Palo Alto. Palen teaches motivational workshops focusing on priorities, productivity and values-based scheduleplanning. She will teach how to create simple paper-flow systems, to streamline emails and to gain control of time. Cost is $35 plus a $5 materials fee payable to the instructor. Information: 650-3293752 or www.paadultschool.org
OPEN HOME GUIDE 54
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by Kit Davey love creating holiday gifts for my family and friends. It gives me a thrill knowing I can make useful gifts for a fraction of what it costs to buy them in a store. If you enjoy adding a personal touch to your gifts, try some of these budget-wise ideas: Decorator’s Tool Kit. Do you have a friend who has just moved into a new home or who continually rearranges his/her furniture? If so, s/he will find this handy kit indispensable. Assemble the following items in a basket, wooden box, bucket or tote bag with a handle: a 30-foot measuring tape, light-weight hammer, pliers, a selection of picture hanger and nails, wire cutters, both types of screw drivers, several sizes of plate stands and plate hangers, push-pins, a bundle of raffia, a mini sewing kit and spackle. Seed Saver Kit. Do you have gardening friends who enjoy exchanging seeds and cuttings throughout the year? Create a kit to make it easy and convenient. Find a lidded box or tin and collect eight or 10 baby-food or spice jars. Spray paint the lids in whatever color paint you have about the house. Provide sticky-backed labels, a pencil for labeling, sev-
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DUMP APPLIANCES? ... GreenCitizen, located at 161 Homer Ave., Palo Alto, is now accepting large appliances, including refrigerators, freezers, washers and dryers, stoves and microwave ovens for free recycling. GreenCitizen is open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Information (and a complete list of acceptable items): http://greencitizen.com/what_we_ recycle.php N Send notices of news and events related to real estate, interior design, home improvement and gardening to Home Front, Palo Alto Weekly, P.O. Box 1610, Palo Alto, CA 94302, or email cblitzer@paweekly. com. Deadline is Thursday at 5 p.m.
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