Friday Flora Frantic Edition

Busy busy busy. The last week was like thisand like this
(That's a Mantegazza, a Vuillaume, the "Jackson" Stradivari, a Petro Guarnari, a 1742 Guarneri "Del Gesu," an early-1900's Italian instrument, and the extra space is for the "Mendelssohn" Stradivari. The bows ain't hay either--There's a Peccate and a Tourte. More info here.)

The Real Doctor and I spent a week in Claremona--the Southern California Violin Makers' Workshop, Cremona in Claremont. After a week of focusing on fine art and spending three days obsessing over things on the scale of a tenth of a millimeter and wielding blades that make razors look dull, it was home to my parents' for a night. The night was spent largely in the emergency room, using a CAT scan to find out that the pain my father was experiencing was, after all, constipation. The next day featured a fourteen hour drive through the 104 degree central valley into the more temperate climes of Oregon. The beasties were all in good shape, but the next morning we found this
Which is the shed housing our reservoir, and a break in the water main to our house. Gone the razor sharp tools and submillimeter fussing. Break out the shovel and the PVC glue. In the five days we've been back, the contractors have just about finished work on framing and roofing the addition to the house.
Now the real work begins for me--I will be doing the interior walls, the sheetrocking, the ceiling, the exterior wrap, the siding and trim, and the deck (not to mention the paint).

All that, and four sheep are supposed to arrive here on Monday. I need to get some sort of fences made so they don't end up as roadkill, and some shelter made for them so that they don't end up as coyote snacks. Oh, and the chickens--they've outgrown the chick box I made for them, and I am trying to make a chicken coop.

Which is all to say, that's why there hasn't been much here for a while. Here's a Friday Flora for ya--and a reminder that my Mom's garden is still better than yours.