Apparently, this is really going to happen.

We received a gift yesterday: a visit from one of Wings's old friends, a professional to whom he'd reached out some time ago, but who we thought might not even be in town full-time (it turns out that he's back permanently now). They've known each other for six decades, and their families go back much farther than that. Wings has worked with him in the past (to build his studio about 15 years ago, among other things), and he knows his skill and the quality of his work; more, he trusts him. About two weeks from now, when he's done with his current project, he begins work on our house. 

There's a lot to be done in the interim. He's setting up meetings with the plumber and the electrician; we'll have a lot of materials to order and possibly some equipment to rent. In the meantime, we have to arrange to get the hay in and the next round of irrigation done before work begins on the house. All of this will be a huge expense, and the next few months will be more costly yet.

We are not quite at the half-way point of our goal for this stage of the fundraiser. Much of that is my fault for not promoting it consistently. I've been battling daily on multiple fronts: disabling illness, injury, the depression that accompanies both; all of that was magnified a thousand-fold with the sudden loss of Griffin, who has been my touchstone for too many years. I still have thank-you notes to write, and the guilt over that is paralyzing (something fellow sufferers of depression will recognize, but that seems inexplicable to everyone else). I will force myself to get to it this week. In the meantime, all my usual require attention, from the gallery and Web site to the animals to planting (the last being especially urgent, since weather has pushed out timetable back significantly this year).

We have a lot of fundraising to do. Now that we have a rough timetable, I'm watching dollar signs rack up steadily. The materials costs alone are daunting, even before the labor is factored into the equation. So, what we need from everyone is help sharing the link. Please:  Do NOT share my Facebook post, or at least, not only that. PLEASE go directly to the YouCaring page itself and share it via the widgets there (or, if it doesn't work with your browser, please copy and paste the link to the page itself). It makes a big difference in the success rate. Please also grab the widget code from the lower right-hand corner of the page and spread it around as liberally as possible. For the first time in six years, I feel like it's actually possible that we might have a home again, but we need your help to make it happen.

Chi miigwech and ta'a to everyone who has helped us thus far, in so many ways. We continue to do what we can to pay it forward daily.



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