Maintaining Composure

Me and my guitar
Always in the same mood
I am mostly flesh and bone
And he is mostly wood
I loved this James Taylor song when I was a kid and while I still do take comfort in my guitars, I am beginning to feel the same affection for the church. I am mostly flesh and bone and she is mostly wood.

This has been a hairy couple of weeks. It started when the hard drive began to fail on my iMac. A trip to Tekserve, a fair amount of anxiety and finally, a happy but moderately expensive outcome. Then, the record label that I work for, Roadrunner Records, announced that it was bought by Warner Music Group last Tuesday. Those of you who know me, know that I do not thrive in corporate culture, so I had another tussle with anxiety that day. And then, the crown of this triumvirate was my trip to the church this weekend. I had taken Monday off so I could be there when my HVAC guy and Central Hudson, the gas company, ripped up my street and front lawn to install all new sewer, water and natural gas piping to the church. My feeling was if we somehow blew up the town of Coxsackie, as the owner and person somewhat responsible, I should be there.
When I got there on Saturday, I saw this:

Central Hudson had come and indicated where to dig.
Now I am going to jump to Monday, where the beehive of activity was dizzying to me. I took this photo from my front door:

This is the moment when they discovered that there was some concrete that the backhoe couldn't handle and someone had to run up to Albany to get a jack hammer attachment. It was a long day. And an important one since my goal is to get heat and running water by January 1st so I can start staying there.

David told me that our backhoe operator, Richard, removed the pine tree in front and replanted a bush that we had ripped up earlier in the day into that spot.  I had been regretting not taking out that pine tree when I had LB Tree Service remove the maples and big spruce so I was glad Richard was willing to do a little more work for me on the side. The beautiful house across the street is owned by my neighbor, Wayne West. He and his family have been very welcoming and patient with my renovations. Wayne owns Century 21/New West Properties where Deb Parker, my friend and real estate broker, works.

A LOT had happened in the interior while I was in the city...

In the most exciting development since the patio doors and transoms were installed, the ceiling is completed. This:

Became this:

Another dance and high five! I was particularly happy with how we used mini tie rods for the "beams" in the lofts that mimic the large tie rods below.
In other developments, I am definitely at that moment when I realize that I don't have the resources to do all the things I'd like to do and I am really trying to figure out creative ways to cut costs.
I ordered the kitchen cabinetry which should be arriving around the first of the year. I've started to look at appliances but I'm not going to do anything really fancy there. It is uber important to me to be able to finance the deck in the spring. I do not want to run out of money and have to put that on hold. AND I'm going to have to do something with landscaping this spring. This is going to be interesting.
I stood out on the deck for a long time this weekend. I love being out on the deck. I love looking at the Hudson River and the Coxsackie Roundout.

And you also know how much I love Sparky. With all that was going on, I really needed to find some serenity. And Sparky saved the day. His serenity is infectious and he helped me meditate.

I will be going to Paris on Thanksgiving Day and won't be back at the church until December 3rd. I've given the guys the week of Thanksgiving off to give the church, my blog and my budget a rest.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I know I have a lot to be thankful for.

Big Changes

Now that the foundation work is done some of the interior work can begin. I have to order a front entry door  which has proved a difficult choice and the prices have been suck in your breath kind of prices but it's a necessity and you can't punt on your front door. If any one has ever had to buy a front entry door and had a good experience with a particular company, let me know.

When I was at the church last weekend, the beautiful tongue and groove vintage white stained pine was delivered. I asked David when he could start putting it up. He said we needed to get insulation first. So we went to Home Depot to buy insulation. Guess what? Insulation isn't cheap but it's cold in upstate New York and I know we need  it.
This is what the ceiling looked like when I left on Sunday.

David picked up the insulation on Monday morning and by Thursday, his helper Don had sent me this picture.

And by Friday evening, Don sent me this.

Now this really got me excited at a whole new level. The ceiling soars to the pitch and we got tie rods to mirror the large tie rods in the center of the church. I cannot wait to see it in person but for now I'm happy to look at this photo all week and see that it WILL come together. Here's what the loft ceilings  used to look like (notice the tie rods are boxed in to look like beams).

Speaking of beams, my mason Tom Dootz, procured these beams for us to install in the living space below. I think I want to paint them white but we'll see how they look when they go up and I'll decide.

 

I can't wait to change the staircase up to the office loft. Looking at staircases has become one of my favorite pastimes. And it seems that I'm not alone in that obsession. Check out Stair Porn!
With everything going full steam ahead at the church, I was able to have a lot of fun with the Parker-Thomassons for Earl's birthday party and Halloween.

Deb and I also did a little shopping. I'm trying to get decent pieces inexpensively since I've realized that every last penny is going into the renovation leaving nothing for the really fun part of decorating. We made a really good score that has kind of opened my mind to becoming more wood and vintage danish modern than italian and contemporary with the interior design. We got the breakfront/china cabinet, swedish eames chair interpretation and the pole lamp and it was all for less than $300. Score!

And here I am outside of my storage space with most of my booty. The phonograph plays 78s really loudly. And I bought the "Destination Moon" LP for the spacemen cover.

And it was a good week in the city too. My friend, Kevin Patrick, took me to see Matt & Kim at Webster Hall. It was a really fun show with fantastic energy. And I would like to say for the record that I know those two appear to be Brooklyn Hipsters but they are two the nicest and most genuine artists I've met.

And in another brush with one of the nicest and most genuine artists I've had the privilege to work with, Jim White, sent me this piece of art as token of his appreciation.

Oh, it wouldn't be a blog entry without ending with Sparky. We did a lot of running around last weekend so we let him take some of the driving responsibilities.

Definitely, a good couple of weeks.

Quantifiable Befores and Afters

It's starting to get cold upstate. Very cold.  At this point in the renovation it's time to keep motivated and celebrate how far we have come even if we still have a long way to go.
Here's a progression of the church facade on the day I bought it through this past weekend where she sits proudly on her new foundation.

Here's the exterior outside the south wall. A lot of time, effort and money have been spent on keeping water from seeping into this side of the church. The top photo was taken from the east wall deck and the bottom photo was taken from the front "yard." The removal of the clusters of maple trees and the new retaining wall with curtain drains will make a big difference.

And here's the basement which transformed from a set out of The Silence of the Lambs to something clean and dry.

I was also really happy that I was able to deal with the woodstove by making it more minimal. Now, I find it a goofy, welcoming kind of hearth. I'm looking into some kind of stainless steel plate to put under the stove. I can also see what a beautiful wash of white will do to the light in the church and finally, I did a little dance when that wall behind it came down!

Behind that wall is the greatest achievement to date: the installation of the doors and windows and all new siding on the east elevation.

The Interior East elevation:

I've had to learn patience and have faith. These are both valuable skills that I sometimes lack. I just try and remember that it has to get ugly before it gets beautiful.