Bitter cold and an extended utility outage. Shares needed.

This will be quick. I lost half of my work day today to a power outage by Indian Killer Utility, and so I will be up pulling an all-nighter to get done everything I need to do. The weather here is very bad, high winds and bitterly cold temperatures that will only get worse over the next few days. This is a huge setback for the work, because unless we get a sustained warm-up, no exterior plaster work will be possible. They can still do the inside (heated with freestanding propane heaters), but I have spent the last day getting my head around the fact that there is no way we will be in the house for the winter, and that, coupled with several other urgent issues, has me teetering on the edge of a dark place.

I'm just going to cut and paste from yesterday's post. People keep asking me how to help, but only a very small fraction of them follow through, even with acts that take only a few seconds and cost nothing. Yes, I'm discouraged at the moment. It'll pass, because there isn't a choice but to keep walking forward at this point. But right now, especially in this kind of bitter cold, it's nothing remotely easy.

Here are the ways people can help, none of which costs a thing (except for those wanting commissioned works, obviously):

1) ON A DAILY BASIS, share the link to our YouCaring page via the widgets provided, including the widget code that gives you the image shown at the top of this post.

You'll find this code and the other widgets under the link "Other Ways to Help" on the page itself, just above the "Supporters" list. Please use FB, Twitter, e-mail, word of mouth, everything at your disposal. Tell them there is currently a $1,000 match on offer.

2) ON A DAILY BASIS, share the link to Wings's Web site. Again, please use all methods. And if you own some of Wings's work, please include a testimonial endorsing it.

3) If you DO own Wings's work, please send me a testimonial that I can post on the Web site. Again, lots of folks ask how to help us. Lots of folks tell me privately what Wings's work has meant to them. Almost no one offers up a public testimonial with permission to use it in this way. It would help.

4) If you're considering commissioning holiday gifts by Wings, CONTACT ME NOW. We're running out of time for him to design and create, and for me to ensure pre-holiday delivery. Normally, this is our busiest season of the year, and what helps get us through what are long hard winter months. This year, it's also helping to fund construction of the house.

As I also said yesterday, we are profoundly grateful to everyone who has helped us get to this point. I've been saying consistently, however, that we have a long way to go. I'm not sure most folks realize just how much is left to do. The road is very long, hard, costly, and cold right now, and I am not feeling hopeful at this point.



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