Appliances! Not useable yet, but here at long last. Also, a lot to do this week, and a lot of expense. Sales/shares (including the registry) badly needed.

Photo copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved.

Today was both a gloriously huge step forward and a bit of a check on my ambitions. I got a stark reminder that, sleeping in a real bed in a real house with warmth and clean air or no, my body has limits. Big ones. Almost no sleep last night, and nothing to do with the environment, just what happens when my autoimmune conditions (and thus my pain levels) decide to spiral completely out of even minimal control. No big shocker there; I've been pushing it for months. But it meant that I was dragging today, and am absolutely wiped out tonight.

Still . . . APPLIANCES! Not that we can do anything with them yet. And as you can see, we did manage to get the little portable cart set up this morning, so we have one tiny surface. But hopefully tomorrow or the next day we can get the plumbers out to do all the hookups, and then we'll probably move Wings's ancient picnic-style table in temporarily to have some minimal counter space, and then the only thing I'll need to go back into the RV for is is the slow process of emptying it. Raven is on this rug at my feet;' She-Wolf is on the round rug in front of the big woodstove, which has a roaring fire in it; and Wings is upstairs resting after what has been, for him, a very long day also.

And it's still completely surreal.

But as I said last night, of course, we are not fully in here yet, and there's a huge amount to do before we can really say that we're truly living in it. Things like kitchen cabinets are months out yet, but we have to finish, at a minimum, the exterior, the shelves and closets, the stairs, and the kitchen sink/appliance set-up within the next three weeks. That's a lot in a very short period of time, and we have no choice but to find ways to push through it.

More than half of next week's labor is covered. Sales are going to be crucial to finishing this over the next few weeks, but we won't turn away donations, either. But the registries have suddenly become particularly important. The most immediate needs are listed first, although in no particular order: the tables, the lamps, the white shelving unit for the downstairs bath, the round brown Rouseville Blue rug for the utility room. The next big thing will be my office space, but that stuff is pricier, and for now, I just want to finish off the downstairs as much as possible so that when folks are here, it's comfortable for them. And as always, they can be crowdfunded, so kicking in $10 or $20 on an item is extraordinarily useful; a few donations that size to a single item, and it's fulfilled and on its way. All of this, of course, means that we still need shares, daily. So here are all the links:

• Wings's direct PayPal link;
• Wings's site, for sales;
• Lowe's cards (the physical version) via our Amazon wishlist;
• Lowe's e-cards (delivered via e-mail) here; and
• Home Depot cards via the company site. The e-version using my e-mail address is great; I take the tablet to the store with me, and they scan it off the screen.
• Our Amazon wishlist generally.
• Wayfair gift cards, to replenish all the furnishings that the RV has destroyed in one way or another.
• Partial registry #1, from Bed, Bath and Beyond. It's not complete; what's on it so far are drapes for the upstairs, associated curtain rods, bath rugs for both bathrooms, and doormats and a few other miscellaneous items. Most important: hold-backs and drapes for upstairs.
• Partial registry #2, from Wayfair. Also not complete, but covers a number of the area rugs needed for the upstairs and some kitchen items. I've finally added a bunch of items to it, although nothing in the way of small tables or lamps or kitchen items beyond three basic things, because yesterday proved to be a time-suck of epic proportions, and today was more of the same. What I did get to is all of the rugs for the whole house, and a few basic furniture items. But about Wayfair, and VERY IMPORTANT: They make it possible to crowdfund each item. So if you'd like to help, but the prices are too much for one person? You can kick in 20 bucks, or ten, or five, on any one item; many small donations can add up to one item. Even the backordered/out-of-stock items can be crowdfunded in advance. Right now, the most pressing items are the ones outlined above. I've just added the furnishings for the rest of the upstairs (i.e., the guest room and my writing/office space, which also includes the desk and chair further down the list, and the last three rugs on the list, two of which are back-ordered). The chaise and daybed are for the two upstairs rooms: the latter for the guest room, the former for my office, which is where I will be spending most of my time, and my AI issues require working on a laptop with my legs outstretched, so that's why it's a pricier piece; it'll probably be the primary means to my role in our living. There will also be more items that fall into the badly-needed category (coffee/end tables and lamps, particularly), because the wiring and mold and lime and everything else in this toxic tin can has destroyed so much of what we used to have. I'm sickened by the amount of stuff we have to throw out (on top of the things that were simply ruined, such as the microwave fried by the wiring in this place).

Thank you all, once again, for everything you've done over the last 16 months to get us safe and keep me sane. We are both so thankful for each and every one of you who made it possible for us to sleep (and shower!) now, for the first time in seven years, in a safe and healthy (and warm!) place. But we have a long way to go, and this night, at least, is going to be very, very cold again, a reminder that we have to get this done, and fast.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.