Gratitude

As it often does, the chaos returned. Really beginning three weeks ago when I began looking for studio spaces nearby. It has become obvious, even to me, that I must move the business out of the house to grow. Or even really to continue production at the current level. Almost immediately, I found a space, right in the industrial part of my town. The space has some problems, as they all do. Parking is tight, and the door is in the back of the circa 1963 building, up a narrow, steep driveway. There is currently no air conditioning.

The space is however perfect in many respects. It is five minutes from my house and close to school and the all important summer pool. It has windows and plenty of natural light, and maybe even more space than I need to EXPAND:) And I like the neighborhood, where auto mechanics and HVAC contractors mingle with French antiques and fine cabinet-makers. And, did I mention it is five minutes from our house?

I have decided that i really like this space, and want to rent it. Although I have no lease, the landlord gave me his key and i have been in and out, showing it to friends and family. Enough to realize that it has a fatal flaw. A very rusty ceiling. The leaky roof has been replaced, and the place painted, but the metal ceiling was not replaced and is quite rusty. In the hopes of actually solving this problem, I have been obtaining estimates at the request of the property manager. I am still hopeful, but prepared to walk away if the owner does not choose to do the very expensive work. Luckily, I live in Kensington, the land of Contractors:) Wish me luck!

Now, I know you have guessed there is more to this post from the above picture of Frankenpup. Life really went off the rails two weeks ago when our sweet and silly Cody was hit by a truck. More accurately, he hurled himself under the wheels of said truck. Not their fault, but mine for taking a short cut through my morning to make it to yoga and throwing the ball in the front yard instead of giving him a proper walk. The good news is that he is making an excellent recovery. The short term "now" from that time was terrible, particularly as Cody was so panicked he ran away and it took me an hour and a half to find him and he was in terrible shape when i did.

Under the excellent care of Kindness Animal Hospital, he is growing muscle tissue over his worst wound and has had his stitches out on his head. He will be wearing the "cone of shame" for a while yet, as his left foreleg has some work to do yet. He is healing amazingly well, and loves his friends at the vet, who he visits almost daily. This is where gratitude comes in. I am so grateful that our Cody survived his accident with only soft tissue injuries. No internal injuries, no broken bones. Despite having his movements restricted, he is himself again. Today, when I picked him up, he charged into the reception area to me, completely evading the tech. Go Cody, you crazy puppy!