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.