Tuesday, May 6, 2014

A Little Help for a Friend (and a Talented Fiber Artist Besides)

Scarf by Fineena.
Photo copyright Wings, 2013, 2014; all rights reserved.

Update before posting: Wings and I are in for $50; it's already been sent. This is not a purchase; it's a donation. Can you match it? If so, go to PayPal.com and use this e-mail address: PALSKaren@aol.com. And if you can't, please help by sharing this with everyone in your real-life, e-mail, and social media networks.
This seems to be the year of the housing crisis. Already. How many of these have I done so far just since the beginning of 2014? Too many.

I mean, we're still in the throes of our own, and I don't expect that to change anytime soon, but we at least have had time to adjust. Our current digs are . . . well, to call them modest is still grandiose; it's not even a house. But we've managed to make it [mostly] functional, and relatively comfortable, and despite it all, we have each other and the animals and we get by.

Not everyone is so lucky.

My peeps at DK know her as Fineena. Some of you know who by her "real" name, too, but I'm not going to post that here unless she decides she wants me to do so for some reason. But I saw that peregrine kate, beautiful soul that she is, has a diary posted for her, and I figured if I can't help out there yet, at least I can post one in support over here.

Fineena, like a lot of us, has been through ten kinds of hell in recent years. The difference between her and some of us, though, is that she's doing it alone. Her only faithful companions are her Airedales, and they're currently boarding with her vet; whatever else happens, Fineena MUST be able to find housing that will accommodate her dogs. This is non-negotiable. Her life has already been put at grave risk by medical concerns (outlined below), and the stress of homelessness is only adding to that. But I can say from firsthand experience, knowing what it was like when I had no one in the world by my dogs: Losing them would kill her.

And that can't happen.

Follow me over the jump to see just what this lovely woman has been battling alone for so long, and find out how you can help.


The DK script demons keep me from commenting and otherwise participating at DK lately, but I can still read. And I was just thinking about Fineena a week or so ago, wondering how she was because I hadn't seen her. I never learn, of course; I should've just dug out her contact info and tracked her down.

Because things have been bad.

Thanks to Bush's economy, things went south a few years ago. Fineena lost her house. [I know something about what that does to a person.] She lost a treasure trove of personal belongings, family heirlooms, and other beloved items in storage. [I know something about that, too.] She was forced to move some distance away, all while dealing with chronic disabling conditions. [I know something about those, too.]

She finally found an apartment where she could have her beloved dogs, extensions of herself, really. And from the moment she moved in, it was one damn thing after another.

Her landlord is a . . . problem, shall we say. [That's me being polite. Enjoy it while you can, because it's a rare occurrence in such situations, and yes, it's a strategic one.] He's always been a problem, as far as I can tell, but apparently, complaining about a rodent infestation was a bridge too far, and he decided that he wasn't going to wasn't going to put up with complaints.

Meanwhile, her health was worsening. A few weeks ago, she wound up in the hospital. As I understand it, her doctors feared cancer; instead, she'd had a heart attack. She also has COPD, which is going to present new lifelong health issues for her.

And about this same time, the landlord decided to serve her with a 60-day notice of eviction.

According to kate's diary, she moved out yesterday, and is currently living in a temporary arrangement, while her beloved four-legged family members are being boarded at her vets (which will present another huge bill). She's already down $2,500 in terms of trying to claw her way out of this situation, but in practical terms, she's going to need much, much more to get her on her feet in a safe housing situation while she recovers from this medical crisis.

We can help with that.

First, Fineena has an etsy shop via which she sells her fiber art, and, yes, it is art. The scarf in the photo above is one of hers; another is in the photo below. I was privileged to receive both as gifts a year ago from Kossacks (I know the trio who funded one of them — love youse guys; the other remains unknown to me to this day). But here's what you really need to know:

I wear them. Like, all the time.

And virtually every single time I do, at least one person stops me to ask where I got it.

Scarf by Fineena.
Photo copyright Wings, 2013, 2014; all rights reserved.
This photo is from just about a year ago. [Sigh] when Lilith and Major were still with us.

Since then, we were lucky enough to be able to get Wings the winter scarf he needed by commissioning it from her over the winter. His is an ordinary long scarf, but narrow, per his request, and of a lovely soft blend. I don't have a photo or I'd post it, but it's also of a blend of colors: yellow and green and blue, and just beautiful. He loves it.

And because she is generous to a fault, Fineena also sent us the "practice scarf" she made first, to make sure that the yarn would work for what he needed. It's in blues and purples and magenta and a little green. And she sent me, as a gift, one of her glorious winter cowls, in black and white and jewel tones, for working outside in the freezing weather.

I can testify to the art, the crafts[wo]manship, and the incredibly good vibes built into every stitch.

So if you'd like to buy something, go to her etsy shop, here: WillieRu Designs. You won't be disappointed. Hell, there are at least half a dozen things there that are already objects of my lust. But I need to save my pennies for a couple of other much-needed clothing items right now. And besides, I want Fineena to have her inventory to sell to someone else, so we're donating $50 as an outright gift. If you'd like to do likewise — hey, if you'd like to match it! Yeah? — go to her PayPal.com account at PALSKaren@aol.com.

And please, please, Like, Share, Tweet, cross-post, re-post, e-mail, and share this with everyone you know. If they're in the market for beautiful fiber art, they won't be disappointed.

Chi miigwech.

9 comments:

  1. Girl, you are so kind all the way around. Love you back. Thanks so much for spreading the word. Mwah!

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    1. Heya, Darlin'! I miss you. You know I'd be in there with a T&R and lots of love if the DK script demons would just go away. :-D This was all I could think of to do, and Wings said, "Do it!"

      Love you lots, hon. Thank you so much for doing this for our mutual friend.

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    2. Well, now I know it's so easy to comment, I can come on over all the time. :) Somehow I thought it was complicated. I get easily discouraged by comment rules.
      This is wonderful, no question.
      How's the show going, btw?

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    3. YAY!!! Love seeing y'all here.

      The show is in its final week; it runs through next Sunday. After we go down and pick everything up, in the ensuing days, I'll post a virtual version of the exhibit here so that people can see his art (both forms), and the curation of it. So . . . maybe like a week from tomorrow or so? If I can get the script gods to love me, I'll cross-post it at DK, but no guarantees. :-P

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  2. Aji, You are so kind & generous! You tell my story so much better than I ever could. I've missed you at DK.
    Fineena

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    1. Hi, Sweetie! I hope I didn't get anything wrong; I wrote it in such a hurry, trying to get it posted in time to support kate's diary. :-D

      And I've missed you, too. So sorry to "see" you again under these kinds of circumstances, but you know what? We're gonna get this taken care of, one way or another.

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  3. I'll be in there with a T&R and tweet and share momentarily, butI have to tell you we won't have anything we can send until Friday. And that will depend on Net connectivity; we'll be on the road in California, going down to my mother's for her 80th birthday Sunday. David is staying here to house and critter sit and I am just sending energy to Spirit and any Gods that will listen that this trip goes off without a hitch. Last time we went to California, my car broke down *twice* in 24 hours and we needed a bailout to cover what wound up being over $1500 in car repairs that the warranty didn't cover. (Both hybrid cooling batteries fried, one one night close to ten atop a mountain pass in Oregon, and the other the next evening around dinnertime in San Carlos. Thank the Gods for AAA Premium. We needed about 75 miles in tows.) Net service on the way down, if I can get it at all, will be by using my phone as a WiFi hotspot. Once we arrive Friday afternoon we'll have better access, but we won't be to where we're staying until well after dinnertime and mid to late evening. I'll set an alarm on my phone if I can to remind myself to send her some money then if we can, Wednesday a week from tomorrow if we can't.

    Anyway, we'll get her some, either as a donation or to buy a scarf. Like you, I have two, both gifts from Kossacks, and a couple of small purses which I bought for myself. We are currently in the hole again, not badly yet and hopefully it won't get bad, but Charles already pulled out the trip money in cash at my insistence and he has a bit coming in, likely on Friday. At the latest, it'll be next Wednesday, when I get my disability funds and Charles gets a paycheck. I need to save up for the 2013 and 2014 property taxes, but I can divert some for her.

    How I wound up with one of the scarves was amazing. I'd been looking at a particular scarf with great longing but no money, and it sold. Not to me. Months later, I was doing something for Fineena or involved in a discussion about the beauty of her scarves, and up piped a Kossack: "I have one but I'm allergic to it and can't wear it. Would you like it?" And she described it; it sounded pretty but I only had a vague idea. It arrived in the mail and it was THAT scarf, the very one I'd been longing for and unable to get. I wear it a lot, but it and the other, which is a brilliant green, stay in the closet on a hanger to keep them out of the reach of puss claws and Hunter teeth.

    Oh, Gods, he's into EVERYTHING. He can pick up lids off boxes gently with his teeth and then play with the lid or the contents. He's close to Bitty in stature already. Tom is finally striking back, as of today, when Hunter bites his tail or tries to capture him under his underside. And he chases his own tail, eventually catches it, and hangs on, running around and around in a circle until he trips, his tail still in his mouth. It's hilarious and I wish you were here to see it.

    Love you, Nimisenh! Off to share the diary.

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    1. Wonderful story about your scarf! Seems like it was meant to be yours.
      Good luck for safe and inexpensive travels. Happy b'day to your mom, too.
      Thanks again for your pledge!

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    2. River, the only thing y'all need to worry about at the moment is getting there and then back home safely. Plenty of time for other stuff after that. Believe me, Fineena's gonna need a hand down the road; this is a long-term process. It'll come in handy then.

      Love you back, and safe travels.

      P.S. And get some pix of the new boy, preferably with tail firmly in mouth. :-D

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