Blustery day.

Photo copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved.

Remember Winnie-the-Pooh and the Blustery Day? Welp, we're Pooh and Piglet over here, getting blown off our feet. That's one of the many storms that has passed through here since about eight-thirty this morning, and the winds are absolutely vicious. Sun's out now for the moment, with another big line of clouds moving in from the southwest.

One big cloud off the horizon as of the end of the day yesterday, when my doc called to notify me of my referral. I called the imaging people immediately, and they offered me Monday morning (yes, day after tomorrow, as in President's Day), so I'll be getting stuck with needles while y'all are enjoying not having to get out of your jammies. I'm assuming it will be an FNA, and I've had several of those (different body part, a quarter of a century ago); if it's a core-needle biopsy, well, I've had that, too, but it's a hell of a lot less pleasant yet. I think it's good that they scheduled it so fast, so that I don't have as much time to think about what's waiting for me and freak myself out over it. I've been stuck so many times since infancy that I'm very used to needles, but these, and the area in question, make this a whole other thing. Of course, the possibility of what the results will be make it a whole other thing, too, but I'm convinced that it will be benign. That will still likely entail surgical removal to prevent it from becoming un-benign (and also to get rid of this pesky heart/breathing thing that's bedeviled me for more than a year), but much as I will dislike it, and I can get my head around it.

None of this, of course, stops the worry over money, either, given the massive outlays we've already had over the last six weeks and the ones that we know are coming down the pike. The Pueblo's been closed since the first of the month, and will remain so through most of March. Sales are vanishingly slim, and there's a lot of year ahead of us. If it is cancer, the costs are going to skyrocket very fast, and we have no way of paying for it, and neither of us cares; we're doing this. Determination is the word; with Wings's help, I'm going to beat whatever it is. So much fear intertwined with all of this, and no end in sight. We need sales. Badly. Selling today's featured work, shown just below, would take care of the biopsy costs. Even so, all this stuff is piling up fast and I have to get us through the whole year, not just the next two weeks, so please share the links (or use them, if anyone's so inclined):

• My Patreon, The Interstices (Writing Between Worlds) (and if you subscribe today you won't be billed until March 1st for February);
• Wings's site, for sales, with lots of new items posted;
• Wings's direct PayPal link;
• A way to buy me coffee (which actually goes to all of our medical bills, which continue to mount);
• Amazon wishlist, which mostly consists of animal and household stuff, with the kibble back on it; we gave several of our existing bags to a vet with a starving rescue dog who needed the help;
• Partial registry #1, from Bed, Bath and Beyond. I've added two or three new kitchen-y things on it now, stuff that I didn't realize we'd need.

All we want, to be able to have some confidence in making it through the whole year with whatever they're going to find going wrong in my body, is to make some sales. That's it: sales; nothing else. But I haven't been able to make even that happen, and the stress is telling. Good vibes for Raven are still welcome (he's still hanging with us, and I need him to be safe while we're out). But I could use some, too. We all could also use some help with sharing Wings's site (and testimonials, if you got 'em). Thanks.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.