Home&Real Estate Home Front
BRAIDED RUGS ... Arlene Magarian will offer a workshop on “Braided Rug & Basket Making� from 1 to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 26, at the FabMo center at 2423 Old Middlefield Way, Mountain View. Using recycled materials, students will learn the basics and leave with a summary leaflet, lacing tool and enough lacing to complete a seat mat, small rug or basket at home. Cost is $40. Information: www.fabmo.org
OPEN HOME GUIDE 58
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In Umhofer’s workshop is a hand-filed screw, left, that dates back to the 1500s, which was found in the rubble of his hometown in Germany; a current project is restoring a World War II airplane propeller.
ORCHID SHOW ... The Peninsula Orchid Society will hold its annual show and sale, with a theme of “Through the Looking Glass,â€? from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 26 and 27, at the Community Activities Building, 1400 Roosevelt Ave., Redwood City. General admission is $5, seniors/students $3, children 12 and under free with an adult. Information: www.penorchidsoc.org GOOD BUGS ... Nancy Garrison, former coordinator of the Santa Clara County Master Gardener Program and garden consultant, will teach a class on “Attracting Beneficial Crittersâ€? from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 26, at Common Ground, 559 College Ave., Palo Alto. Her class will include a Power Point presentation on plants that attract hummingbirds, butterflies, bees and lizards, among others. Cost is $31. Information: 650-493-6072 or www. commongroundinpaloalto.org ENERGY-SAVING VOLUNTEERS ... Acterra is recruiting new volunteers for its Green@Home program, with a two-part training from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Wednesdays, Jan. 30 and Feb. 6, at a Palo Alto location. During the hands-on training, volunteers will learn how to use a Kill-a-Watt meter, review an 80-point checklist and learn basic “building science.â€? Cost is $30, but is refundable for those who perform at least two additional “HouseCallsâ€? within the next two months (trainees get to keep the home energy-saving devices to install in their own homes). Information: Lisa Dorn at LisaD@acterra.org or 650962-9876, ext.380, www.acterra.org/ greenathome/ NATIVE GARDENS ... Dee Wong, maintenance division manager at the Village Gardener, will offer a second class on “California Native Gardensâ€? (based on “Care & Maintenance of Southern California Native Plant Gardensâ€? by Bart O’Brien, Betsey Landis and Ellen Mackey) from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Friday, Feb. 1, at Gamble Garden, 1431 Waverley St., Palo Alto. The class takes place in the native plant area of Gamble Garden. Cost is $35 for nonmembers, $25 for members. Information: 650-329-1356 or www. gamblegarden.org NEW OFFICERS ... Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS™ 2013 officers include Carolyn Miller (RE/MAX, Cupertino), president; David Tonna,
Ottmar (Al) Umhofer, who will be teaching a class on the care and preservation of antique furniture, holds one of his planes, above, and inspects a section of a Chinese screen, below.
3FWFSJOH UIF 0-% by Ranjini Raghunath | photos by AndrĂŠ Zandona
New class deals with the care and preservation of antiques
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n a small village in World War II Germany, a young boy’s curiosity to know how things were made guided him from one workshop to another, picking up woodworking, painting, gilding and metal work — skills that ultimately fueled his passion for fine furniture and antiques. Today, Ottmar Alois (“Al�) Umhofer is a specialist with 50 years of experience fixing and restoring
Umhofer uses a microscope to assess damage to a Chinese screen that dates back to the 1800s.
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