Bargaining is useless; acceptance is a done deal. Forward slowly. Shares needed.

Photo copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved.

Okay, so the setting sun doesn't show much beyond silhouette. Trust me, behind where I was standing, the upstairs was awash in light. And, yes, the power fist means he's happy.

So things are slow. But there's progress. The remainder of the drywall was delivered today. The glass, it now turns out, won't be delivered until the first week of January; such is the timeframe when windows and doors have to be special-ordered. ALL had to be special-ordered. It's that tempering thing.

Yes, my temper needs tempering about now, too. It's been a rough couple of weeks, and I'm not just referring to the obstacles to getting the house done. But I'm managing to keep it [mostly] in check. I tend not to unleash it on anyone but myself anyway. I had my moment this morning, and then my raptors came to visit me and I'm fine now.

Of course, we still need to raise the rest, because there's a lot ahead of us yet. Once the glass is done (or, as a matter of timing now, before), we're going to need to buy some of the bathroom fixtures and pay the plumbers the price of a small country to get the bathroom rough-ins completed so the guys can sheetrock them and get them prepped for the finish work. Knowing how far out we are just on closing in the windows and doors, I'm punting on the septic system for a while. We have not yet gone below zero here; starting tomorrow, we're supposed to get at least a temporary warm-up, with highs nearing 50 by Sunday or Monday. If the patterns hold, we won't get really cold weather until well into next year, and maybe not at all (where "really cold" is defined as highs somewhere around zero). But either way, there's not Thing One I can do about it, so I've had to force myself not to sweat the exterior plaster; the same applies to the septic system, if necessary.

Still, as I said, there's that whole "raise the rest" thing. And since I still am not over this bug, and therefore am absolutely beat by this time of the evening, it's cut-and-paste time again. Herewith, what we need:

• Shares of our YouCaring page via the widgets provided, especially the widget code under 2) at the "Other Ways to Help" link that produces the image shown here:

• Shares of Wings's site; sales are way, way down this holiday season, and this is the time of year that usually gets us (mostly) through the long harsh winters. This year, it's also funding construction. Testimonials help.
• If you're considering commissioning holiday gifts by Wings, now's the time to contact me so I can get your order into his workbench queue.
• One last thing: I mentioned above that the plumbers are coming, and bathroom-fixture purchases are in the offing. To that end, I've added Lowes gift cards to our Amazon wishlist. No, there's no Lowes here in Taos, but there's one an hour-plus away in Española. Less obnoxious than Home Depot, and an actual selection and discount pricing that are not available here in town. It's by far the most cost-efficient way for us to buy the fixtures and appliances and sundry other items needed to make a house habitable.

Thanks to everyone for your help thus far. We are going to need to push through this, hard, fast, and and consistently. Winter is here: Snow, ice, bitter cold, and a septic system that freezes nightly because it was misinstalled all those years ago. No snow until Sunday, allegedly, although a 45-degree high might turn that to rain. And then ice, natch. Please give us a hand with consistent daily shares to a wide audience.

Also, for the record, I'm supporting exactly three efforts right now: Ours, my s-i-l's, Lin's. Dassit. Not endorsing anything else, even if I have in the past.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.