The good stuff

[vaneramos]

More rough going these past two weeks. I should stop making predictions about my state of mind. If I could, I should entirely stop gazing at the precipice and pay attention to the ground where I stand at any moment, and make the most of it. It isn't easy to do.

I've received some good news recently. Generally that hasn't helped my mood. But today there are a few things to celebrate, and that will be the focus of this writing:

• This week I worked 41 hours on the organ at the big St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in downtown Toronto. It was my most solid week of work in months.
  
• During the week Les received news we've awaited for months: one of his proposals for a new church organ in Vancouver has been approved. He expects to have a contract by the end of the month. It should provide me with full-time work for at least a year.
  
• The instrument we built in 2007/2008 at St. James Dundas had an electric action, but this will be a tracker organ, with mostly mechanical action. It is a more traditional construction, which Les considers the superior and more durable option for smaller organs. Also Les plans to build the wooden pipes in our shop, and much of that work will fall to me (for St. James we used many vintage wooden pipes, and new metal ones must be contracted out to shops with appropriate facilities). So this will be a learning experience.
  
• I spent an excellent, pleasant weekend with Danny, including a field trip with OOTS friends Lori and Sarah M. to the Ontario Alpaca 2009 show in Orangeville.
  
• Since January Danny and I have been playing Starship Catan regularly on weekends. It is a complex, strategic two-person offshoot from the Catan games. I am awfully good at board games and difficult to beat, but along the way I've given him strategy tips and this week he started winning frequently. I have met my match. It is sometimes frustrating but mostly more enjoyable.
  
• The Waterloo-Wellington Rainbow Chorus plans to commission a new choral work by a prominent Canadian composer, and the favourite text under consideration is a short piece I submitted based on my poem Agape.
  
• This morning I finished knitting the entrelac scarf that was started at least 18 months ago. I loved the yarn so much that I wanted the scarf to be perfect, so at one point I started over, ripping out many hours of work. The finished scarf is entirely satisfying. It is the loveliest knitted thing I have made. I still have to block it, and will get Danny to take a photo next weekend.
  
• Speaking of photography, I've done hardly any photography this winter, due in part to exasperation with the Canon Powershot; some dust on the sensor was impossible to remove. For my birthday Dad bought my first DSLR camera. I spent several weeks shopping around, but this afternoon we drove to Downtown Camera in Toronto and purchased the new toy. It is a Canon Rebel XSi. I'm charging the battery tonight and can hardly wait to start using it.
  
• I have most of this week off. Financial concerns are mitigated by the prospect of steady work. I look forward to communing with the river, getting to know the new camera, and writing.