Prepping for Stage 2

Photo copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved.

We are delayed on Stage 2 just a bit, because we're working with a family member with expertise in this area, to make sure it's done right. That means working around his schedule, because he has, you know, a life, and his own obligations, and all of that is exactly as it should be. In the meantime, we've spent this week on a crazybusy amount of other work, including changes to the gallery. There will be more of that to come. 

For now, here's where things stand: We'll be meeting, sometime in the next few days, to redraft the blueprints and to lay out exactly what will be needed to get the plumbing excavation and other work done before the ground freezes solid. My birthday coincided with the first snow on the peaks, and they are now capped entirely in white, but there are several snow lines between them and us (and a couple between us and town), and so all we've gotten here so far is freezing rain and a little sleet yesterday and a little ice and crunchy grass in the mornings. We're allegedly slated for a small warm-up in the coming week, and we still have some time yet before a genuinely deep freeze.

Once we have the plumbing work laid out, and have gotten all of the estimates we need, I'll launch Stage 2 on the youcaring site. I don't actually have any current feel for what this will entail in terms of actual dollars, but I suspect that it will be higher than the last stage. Once the plumbing stage is complete, it'll be on to Stage 3, which will be a hybrid: the foundation, the basic frame, and the pallets of adobe bricks for the walls. If we're able to get these stages completed by the end of the year, we'll be doing well.

For now, everything else proceeds apace, which is to say, too much to do and too little time. The days are now incredibly short, and our unseasonal weather means that the sun is functionally down shortly after six. There are fence repairs to be done to keep the horses safe; Cree's forefeet continue to require close management; and Shade came up lame yesterday, which will require heavy monitoring. In her case, it may simply be a frog issue rather than a new flare, but we won't know that for a couple of days yet, at least. And for those of you wondering about Wings's knees, the short version is that IHS, as usual, waited too many years, and now there's nothing that can be done but pain management (which, I might add, they tried to deny him up until last week). He has no cartilage left. We're going to be looking into the possibility of knee replacement, but that will entail a similarly pitched battle, if it's even doable, and it will likely have to wait for spring now; it's not wise to embark on that sort of thing during our winters, if it's at all avoidable. I need to stop here, because my anger level over this defies description, and I will say many things undoubtedly better left unsaid.

I'm doing my best, despite my own added physical problems right now, to pick up as much of the slack as I can. Today's posts will be late, probably very late, in part because I'm waiting to see whether he has the opportunity to complete some of what's in process on his workbench. If not (and it may yet be ready tomorrow), for today, we'll feature something else of his. But among my many other tasks, and in between crowdfunding stages for the house, we still need to keep things going on a day-to-day basis, which, for us, means generating sales. So I'm going to ask folks to keep sharing the link to Wings's site. If you have testimonials to offer, those are good, too. And finally, for those of you who plan on commissioning holiday gifts: Now is the time to get your orders in. The creative process takes time, and we're fast heading into the time of year when he spends far too many hours tied to his workbench as it is. If you're planning on ordering something that's not already in inventory, something custom-made, please hit that Contact form now and let us know what you have in mind, so that he can have time to work with you on designing something to your specific needs. And again, please share his site links.

Thanks.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.