Marginally human.

Photo copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved.

The fence is nearly done, and Chinook can now run loose. She's giving Cricket a run for his money, literally; it's the first time he's faced a dog that's actually faster than he is. They already love each other. Not enough, you understand, to get near us humans, but he accepts Chinook as a new best friend. [For those for whom this is new: Cricket is the dog on the right, a half-feral who was essentially abandoned, with five others, to starve, and found his way here. He was so badly abused at such a young age that he has an old hip injury and a deep and abiding distrust of all humans. He loves us enough to stay here, to eat the food and drink the water and use the doghouse we provide, but he will not get close enough to any human for them to touch him.]

Still can't get rid of this bug. I keep calling it that, but I know from hard experience that it's strep, and with me, it holds to an absolutely predictable pattern. If it's not caught, it turns inevitably into bronchitis, and with my breathing issues now, that could be very bad indeed. But since Wings saw our doctor yesterday, and she knows that we both have the same thing and have been battling it for too long now for it to be merely viral, she transmitted scrips for us. [It helps that we are the type of people who never, ever take antibiotics unless there's absolutely no other choice, like when that falling finial sliced my wrist open last year.] So when Wings takes me in to ship a couple of things this afternoon, we'll pick them up, and maybe I can start feeling marginally human again relatively soon.

And while there's been no respite from the health problems, as I've said, there's no break from the medical and financial pressures, either. That big bill last week I put off last week because of the tax thing? I had to pay it day before yesterday.Yesterday, it was Wings's medical appointment, and today it'll be scrips for both of us. And those other bills, the two hospital ones that still amount to $30K specifically, are killing me. I'm breaking under the weight of the financial pressures right now. I have to raise that $30K very fast, because that, too, is coming to a breaking point, and we can't do it without making some very big sales. [If we could sell the new concha belt and the butterfly maiden necklace, that would take care of what remains on the heart hospital bill. Then I could focus on the local one with the much higher balance, because they are the ones who are killing me with the stress.] We also can't do it without help. Here are the links:

• My Patreon, The Interstices (Writing Between Worlds) (and if you subscribe today you won't be billed until May 1st for April);
• 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 off it, because Wings can't lift the boxes right now with his shoulder;
• 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.

Sales, sharing Wings's site (and testimonials, if you got 'em, please) — that's what we need. Also good vibes for Raven for everything to be easy and pain-free and comfortable for him for whatever time he has, which is pretty clearly not long. We thought perhaps it might be the other night, but he made it very clear that he had decided against that, and so we will support him as long as he chooses to be here. 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.