A short-term rescue, and a few inches of snow. Platform launch still in process. Sales (and shares) very badly needed.

Photo copyright Aji, 2018; all rights reserved.

Today's rescue. Yes, that's a dark-eyed junco. She smacked into the window this evening, all our decals and bandannas and shiny silvery spiraly things notwithstanding. I went out to see whether she was well enough to have flown away, and found her half upside-down, right wing and right leg tangled up together at an awkward angle.

I picked her up gently (she's an adult, not a chick), got her righted, and let her rest in my hand for ten minutes or so. Then we put her in Ember's old crate, lined with one of Wings's scarves, and gave her some water. If she'd needed to stay, we would've brought in some food for her, too, but after 20 minutes or so, I went to check on her . . . and she hopped out and promptly flew up onto the top of one of the vigas. I retrieved her, for about two seconds, and then she landed on a couple of other vigas, the chandelier, and eventually the windowsill, where she was hoping to get out. I caught her there and carried her outside to the feeder and had her sit in it for a minute. Then, in an explosion of feathers, she took off, flying southward toward the stand of red willows. I think she'll be fine.

Four to five inches of snow today, although part of it has melted off already (and part of it has blown off, too; I'm past ready for this wind to go, but apparently it's sticking around for a while). We'll take the snow, though; this is the first real weather we've had all winter. 

I have so much to do and I'm so far behind.

Still working on the platform launch. It may happen sooner, but given my breathing and brain fog issues and how slow I am (and how overloaded, as a result), I'm shooting for March first. That said, the first goal is to retire two specific medical bills totaling $1,676 (oh, hell, make it a flat $1,700; PayPal takes out major fees), so it's still possible to kick in in advance via the donate button here. It's not even a tenth of what I owe thus far for the hospitalizations and heart cath and other testing, but it's a start.

For the rest of it — basic living expenses to get through the winter, to say nothing of bringing the crew back part-time to make the stairs safe and finish the cabinets and the rest of the house — what we need are SALES. We had reason to believe that we would be okay, at least for a good long while, but that has not materialized, so I am back to pushing sales every second I'm able, even as I try to cadge moments to work on these other projects. And I am completely worn out, so the rest is cut-and-paste.  

Please. Spread the word. Valentine's Day's gone, but people have birthdays, anniversaries, I-love-you days; there'll be other holidays and seasons coming up before you know it. Please spread all of our links around on FB and Twitter and other social media, via e-mail and word-of-mouth, to your family and friends and colleagues and whoever. The O2 issue is now solved, but there are all the ongoing regular expenses, the astronomical medical expenses, and of course, someday we'd like to be able to get the house finished. I have no hope of that happening anytime soon; I don't know how we're going to get through the rest of this winter, given current circumstances. So here are the links: 

• Tonight's post elsewhere (what winter is, for all of us);
• A way to buy me coffee (which actually goes to She-Wolf's & my medical bills);
• Wings's direct PayPal link;
• Wings's site, for sales;
• 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. There are new kitchen-y things on it now, stuff that I didn't realize we'd need to replace (either because the RV ruined it or because we gave it away when we had to downsize).
• Partial registry #2, from Wayfair. There are some things left on both registries that I thought by now I might be able just to buy outright, but medical bills (mine and She-Wolf's both) have to come first.

I've been trying to find some sort of accommodation with this oh-my-god-you're-going-to-die thing that keeps happening, which is to say, every time it crops up, I smack it ruthlessly back down and force myself to sit and breathe through it. It's not working. I'm doing it regardless, but these recent episodes are terrifying. We need, also, to get free of some of this crushing stress, and I don't see that happening as long as I have to spend every day scrabbling (mostly unsuccessfully) for whatever sales we can make. Closure's imminent, and I see no way to get through it now. In spite of it all, though, thanks, everybody, from both of us, for everything. I don't know about tomorrow, but at least today I got to see the dawn, and I got to play with puppies.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2018; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.