There is No Peace…or Heavy Machinery Never Moves Forward

Warning - major "rich person problem" moaning below.   

NOISE.   Wow. If you have been reading my blog, you may recall that earlier I was driven out of the house and partially out of my mind by construction noise.    I can tell you right now that I'm pretty tough, and should I ever be jailed and tortured, I'd be able to hold out for a long time with food deprivation, physical pain etc.  However, one full day of unrelenting noise and light and I'd sell my only child for relief (fortunately, I don't have one).   And, remember my self-congratualtory decision way back in early April to move my writing desk to our tiny condo/rental unit (my previous home) so I could write, and think, in peace. Well, we have since moved the desk, and 15 or 20 loads of other survival gear (furniture, dishes, cleaning stuff, clothes, etc etc ad nauseum).  This migration has been taking place for the last couple weeks and we've been sleeping and cooking at the condo,  as the dust and chaos at "home" has really become too much (also we have no kitchen, or roof)…

There used to be a ceiling here...

Ani protesting!

Well, the funny thing is...after letting the entire community go to pot during the last 12 years of my experience with Cimino Compund, where we are currently ensconced, the residents have finally ponied up for some much needed and VERY NOISY improvements.   Like -- trimming the trees on all 13 acres, RE-PAVING the parking lots on same -- giant trucks, asphalt smelters (or whatever you call those stinky things)  concrete grinders, bobcats, really it's like Armageddon 2  here ...and it's supposed to go on through July )-:   And then there's the little matter of the repairs on our unit -- right now there is a plumber on the roof cutting into it with some sort of mega-saw  to fix leaking pipes up there -- soon he'll be down to jackhammer the stucco to get at more leaking pipes, while the background music is all that I described in re-paving  -- with the wonderful percussive beat of BEEP BEEP BEEP of the heavy equipment backing up -- REALLY - don't they  HAVE a  forward gear?????  Yes, and special thanks to our dog, Ani, who feels compelled to help out by barking REAL LOUD AND MEAN at everyone who goes by our gate (which is LOTS of people).

So, aside from personal catharsis, why am I writing about this?   Well, in my efforts to put all things in some perspective, it's got me thinking about how lucky I am, and most of us are, to live in relative peace and quiet most of the time.   So -- all this chaos is temporary, some of it is necessary, it will (hopefully) result in something beautiful in the end.   After  all, I, and many of my friends, live in the North Valley -- what could be sweeter and more peaceful than walking along the flowing ascecias in summer, with wildflowers and butterflies and birds of all kinds -- friendly walkers or the occasional horse and rider.   All right here in the heart of our city.  We are blessed indeed.   We could be in oh, say, Syria, or Iraq, or Afghanistan, or about a hundred other places where the noise is not only jarring and constant, it could wreck your home, school, market....or kill you.    So, I remind myself, and offer to you, if you are enjoying some peace and quiet right now -- pause and savor it, be grateful, and if you have got some noisy chaos going on, you might remind yourself, as I am, how very much worse it could be.   

A few shots of peace in New Mexico follow:

HOLY PARAPETS!!

WEEK 8    

Holy Parpets!   

View from below the stairwell-to-be (really, it's one floor, not 5…) 

June 2, 3:00 pm.   Flying Star.   Yes, it has been a ridiculously long time since I had a chance to update.   Fear not, plenty has happened.   Ed and I made a long-planned (and ill-timed) trip to Chicago over the Memorial Day weekend.   AND the guys worked most of that weekend because that's when the extra crew of framers were available. Apparently, every framer in Bernalillo county worked on our house while we were away.  When we left, I was feeling real proud of seeing the skeleton of the new addition because (I thought) I could begin to visualize what the finished project would look like.  When we returned on Monday evening, we rounded the corner towards what used to be our house and there was this giant wooden tower looming over the neighborhood.  No lie, I kind of shrieked.....

So it turns out that I really had very little idea of how the profile of the house would change.   I just had a great idea of what the finished inside would be like - light and airy, great views from a small office, and a lovely room which could serve as a reasonable dance space/social space/yoga floor room with more great views and a cozy nook to curl up and read. Oh yes, and a shop where Ed can work his magic with metal and stone and maybe teach me about wood-turning.  All of which will eventually materialize, but right now the change is pretty overwhelming.  I spent a couple of sleepless nights having second, third, and 30th thoughts about what on earth we were doing, the impact on our lives, our (forever) unborn children's lives, and the future of the planet . Oh yes, and world war 3 also emerged during those nights - however tangentially related it might be to our remodel.

I seem to have regained my grip on reality now...we are doing this, for better or worse, and it has helped a lot to think it all through with good friends who have been wonderfully affirming.   And to imagine all the ways we might put this wonderful space to use, for us, and others.  It did not hurt to discover that we can actually see the Los Poblanos fields open space from the emerging deck - a bonus not even Ed with his engineer's eye , nor Kent, our accomplished architect, envisioned.  This winter we should not only  be able to enjoy the sandhill cranes flying over the house (which was one of my reasons for buying the house in 2009), but also watch them land in the Open Space fields.   Sometimes you gotta trust your instincts and have some faith….

Couple of great views -- it's like a tree house!