Everywhere.

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

More storms looming close again. Only a dozen or so drops this far, but that could change by evening. Yesterday it rained so long and so hard that it filled the rain barrels to overflowing in a matter of minutes. We had puddles everywhere, many a few inches deep, but the earth had absorbed it all by this morning. We even had full clearing overnight, not a single cloud to bar view of the stars [but no Northern Lights here, at least], until five o-clock this morning.

How do I know? I was up that whole time. Wide awake. Exhausted, but wide awake, because the pain is unrelenting right now, and there isn't a single thing I can do about it. My pain meds aren't even taking the edge off this. 

And right now, the pain is everywhere.

I know people think I'm exaggerating when I say that. I'm not. Head, neck, shoulders, arms, elbows, wrists, hands, fingers, sides, chest, back, hips, legs, knees, ankles, feet, toes? All in pain. Every second of every day. No respite. None. Imagine what it's like to deal with that invading your consciousness every single second, unable to sleep because of it, and now imagine dealing with the financial and other stresses I dealing withe very minute of every day. Because this is my life.

All I can do is shove it down as far into the recesses of my consciousness as my brain's pain receptors will allow, and get on with all the work that has to get done. The most important thing, of course, is bringing in sales, but I'm having no luck on that front right now. As it is,  I can't even begin to cover the things I need to cover. Tomorrow, Wings is supposed to take the truck in to have that hose replaced; current estimate is ~$170, but we won't know for sure until they actually get in there. Yet another expense, in a year in which they've been absolutely endless. And there's no end in sight, either.

Because we still have to pay for major medical other expenses later this month [and throughout, "we" means that I am the one who has to figure out how everything gets covered]; there's Wings's ongoing dental; we have some bureaucratic nonsense to take care of; and somehow, and I have GOT to bring in something for taxes. And the other demands on me are just as relentless [the ones that don't, directly, anyway, have to do explicitly with money]; there is no help for any of it, and I am at my wits' end over the latter ones especially. Combined with my illness progressing? I need help.

Meanwhile, my Patreon is still down by more than $700 a month over last year, and as our most consistent source of income, that is what pays our monthly bills like utilities and groceries and gas and so forth. What remains is not going to be enough even for that, never mind the taxes and everything else. Somehow, I have to bring in sales. If you're in the market, now would be a really, REALLY good time. I should have two new pairs of earrings this evening, possible three. And as always, all the regular links are listed below, with sales, as always, being the most important:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (Amazon cards are most important now, because they go to buy things we can't get locally, like the protein mixes for Wings and GF stuff for me and all the cleaning and other household products that people in cities can get but we can't; and also the filters for the air purifiers, because we have only one left and the amount of dust and dirt they take in in these winds is indescribable); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim 2023, and with this year starting off MUCH worse (and given that we're already approaching the half-way mark), we really need to get 2024 onto a better footing, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.