Thanks guys and thanks Greg re: COC. She's one of my most treasured possessions.
Re: taxes - yup, most years previous to this one my story has been similar to David's - hence I routinely hold a fairly decent chunk o'cash in reserve through the spring.
The upside of doing this is not needing to sell off something (usually gear) to pay taxes (adds insult to injury) and, if the cash isn't needed - well, hey now, that's just like found money!
Rusty - you weren't the only one working to find her a new home. I dangled her in front of a few of my 6-string associates and one almost bit - in fact, a luthier in the Fender Custom Shop even advised him that it was a good deal and he should do it! - but he ultimately declined.
While all of that was going on, her subtle charms started working on me and I thought - hey, why not, as long as my tax situation is favorable this year.