New Year, New Update

Hello internet! Long time no post…the holidays and winter were (and still are) SLAMMED for business stuff, which is good…but it all just kind of destroyed my energy levels, and I lost motivation. First, the holidays weren’t as restful as I’d hoped/expected them to be (because what is anything we expect nowadays?), so I ended up taking an entire week off in January, despite having taken a few days off around New Year’s. Also, Chris and I got a puppy! So that’s been occupying a lot of mental and literal space in our lives (Oscar’s too). But I’m back now!

Look at my sweet little shedshop being all holiday-ized! And look at all that snow NOT melting on the roof! That means the insulation is working!

A lovely Xmas gift from my sister, and a much needed reminder…one of the catalysts to my giving myself a REAL break.

Pepperoni, the new pupper-oni! (Right now she goes by Pepper. Eventually she will learn her full name.)

So anyway, lots has been going on, and I thought it was time to update my millions and billions of readers (funny joke, eh?). I’ve been doing a couple of different little shop jobs here and there for clients (fix a rail here, replace some parts there…), but the BIGGEST news is that the shedshop has FINALLY been able to strut its stuff as a full on restoration shop! Because there’s a full on PIANO IN IT.

I’ve obviously done bigger jobs like this before, but this is the first time since the shop was finished that there’s been occasion to put an entire instrument in it! It was a bit of a hassle getting it IN to the shop, but all’s well that ends well. The piano owners hired some colleagues of mine to move it into the shop from the house it came from, and I was once again reminded why piano moving is its own, specialized thing. And I was once again reminded how much I admire my colleagues for being SO DANG GOOD at what they do.

So, basically what happened was, I knew that the piano would fit inside the shop, but what I didn’t fully consider was how exactly it would get inside the shop…thankfully I wasn’t home when they actually arrived with it, because otherwise I would’ve probably had a stroke. As it was, I was already having an anxiety attack from all the guilt I was feeling from the periodic updates Chris was sending me via text as I was out and about tuning.

It was really just that the doorway, while being 6x4 feet and big enough to get a piano in on its own (grand pianos are moved on their side), was not tall enough for a piano, on a dolly, on a ramp. Once that issue was addressed and it was through the door, the question became, what’s the best way to get it back up on its feet?

I mostly just felt bad because these guys are my friends, and I didn’t want to be that person, who presented them with such a headache…they were very chill about it though. I offered Pepperoni to them as penance, and they gave her some pats.

Anyway, that’s the big news! It’s here, and we’re going to become good friends over the next couple of months. The plan is a full restring, full regulation, and some other stuff…it’s got good bones, but needs some work to become the best little piano it could ever be! And honestly, it’ll be nice to schedule some full-on shop days into my schedule. I love my job, but there are times when the constant driving every day gets to me. Plus, I love just being in my shop. Recently I’ve been adding some homey touches, like a welcome rug by the door, some photos and a corner desk where I can work studiously on writing emails and scheduling things. It feels like a nice place that’s just mine, and I love it. I’m thinking about starting to call it “The Under-world” (get it? Underdog…Underworld?), but I haven’t 100% decided yet.

The shop is one of the few places where Oscar still gets to be the only dog. Pepper is not reverent enough for the shop yet. #teachpepperreverence

Oscar is still kind of hot and cold about not being the only child anymore, but then sometimes they do this, and I melt.

I’m actually kind of toying with the idea of making this blog into more of a general blog, instead of a purely shedshop blog (although the shedshop would still feature heavily). What would you people think about that?

Tessa WoodFebruary 14, 2021