Sort of Boring

This is sort of a boring post; probably a bit on the lower key side now that I'm actually in my studio and the big drama of roof-raising and sheet-rocking is a thing of the (recent) past. Hey! Go back and take a look. It did take a full year from conception, design and completion. But I love my studio.
In the meantime, the garden looks terrific. Above is a sort of cliche shot of a Connecticut Copper (the butterfly- I think I identified it correctly!) and a lovely Tithonia (rotundifolia "Torch" for those that pay attention to such). The colors are spectacular!
And they'd better be, as our garden tour is only two or three weeks away and there's still loads to do...

I wasn't sure which shot I liked better. I like the fact that the butterfly sitting on the flower made me stop and look for a couple of seconds, as opposed to my running from one task to the next, without really looking. But I guess we soak up through some visual osmosis the many little lovely moments like this that happen almost unnoticed while we work in the garden. How do we find the time to do all we do... I guess that's rhetorical! But I did manage to plant our prickly pear cactus and some other plants graciously given to us by friends. Friends are great for filling in holes; in one's life as well as in the ground. Beatrice and John gave me an early (yeah!!) birthday gift which filled another hole. That would be a spectacular Yucca filamentosa because (ooooooooooooooooooohh!!) it's variegated!!! I do love my spots and stripes...
And here's a gratuitous photo of a lime meringue pie I made for my sister and her partner visiting:

It was delicious!

Sunday Sundries

I know everyone is just dying to see the foundation... done! Bob and I worked all week and pulled it off. Before my "vacation" ended, we had finished the block and mortar. Bob swept up so it looks all clean and new. I'm thrilled. It will cure for a week and then we'll get the sill.
In the meantime, what haven't we accomplished? I was without my car all last week as it needed a brake job. Our former next door neighbor Pete did a magnificent job of replacing the brakes with Bob's capable assistance. Probably not having the car to drive was another inducement to put noses to grind stones and finish that foundation!
Then we attended a wonderful garden party (for Roberta's birthday) at our friend John's house. What an amazing garden he has! Hidden behind his house on an unassuming street, you'd never guess at the incredible garden tucked away up the side of a hill. Every nook and cranny harbors a wonderful, intimate- and maximalist!- view. John is a super gardener.
And today we left bright and early for New York, where we had perfect weather to enjoy the High Line. That was also a garden treat. Some exceptional plants that caused Bob and I to play "stump the stars"; some really cool cultivars to hunt down. And such a great concept (for those who don't know what the High Line is). It's an abandoned elevated rail way line that was to be torn down, but was restored as a garden/park several stories up in the air. Wonderful views of the river, various buildings, the Chelsea art world. It was kind of surprising that we'd never been.
The real reason we went into NYC was for us to attend a meeting about a art fair- called Debt Fair that I may participate in. It was in a not easy to reach venue, but was peopled (thinly) with other earnest artists who are attempting to right some of the obvious inequities of our capitalist system. We would have been happier had there been a few hundred in attendance instead of the thirty or so (of which we were two). We left a little early...
So here's a photo of a butterfly that kept us busy on the concrete while we finished up. Don't know what the attraction that concrete holds for butterflies! Also, not sure what kind of butterfly this is.