Winter storm warning now in effect. A long way to go yet. Shares needed.

Photo copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved.

As promised, José finished the flashing over the vigas on the back of the house today. Everything's pretty much ready for plaster . . . now that it's too cold to do it. If the forecast holds, we'll finally drop below zero over the weekend, once the storm that's now looming passes out of here.

The other thing he and Toney got done today is this:

I know, it's hard to tell. Too much glare off the plastic that time of day. But if you look at the bricks, you'll see what looks like a long crack in them. If you squint, you'll be able to see that, about a third of the way from the top, there's a box-shaped cut-out there now, too. That's for the breaker box. We rented a power version of a chipping hammer for them, and they went all over the adobe interior downstairs and chipped out lines for the wiring to be inserted before the insulation and drywall go up.

There's just too much for me to get my head around it. So many moving pieces, so many balls to keep in the air simultaneously. I've never had the agility for juggling.

At any rate, the balance on the windows is being paid tomorrow. They're supposed to be delivered next Friday. Right now, we're trying to gear up for the purchase of bathroom fixtures and another payment to the plumbers, so that they can get the bathroom rough-ins done and the guys can finish up the insulation and drywall in those rooms. Of course, then there's the kitchen . . . .

Tomorrow, we're also getting the estimate from the guy who's bidding on the interior plaster work — what's known in the local parlance as taping and bedding and then the finish work. NO idea what that's gonna run. The guy seems to know his stuff, though, and we like him. HIs name is Ice, like my horse. Okay, that's his nickname, but still. It's on his business cards.

There is a long, long, long way to go. I'm re-reminded of that every single day, when they come to us with yet another thing that has to happen before they can do whatever it is that they need to do next. Weeks, months. Even aside from the money. I clearly low-balled the YouCaring page by a not-insignificant amount.

Speaking of which, we need shares. Badly. Here's the cut-and-paste, because I am just too beat to look for a way to rephrase anything:

• Shares of our YouCaring page via the widgets provided, especially the widget code, which has once again been moved back to the purple box at the lower right-hand side of the page, that produces the image shown above.
• Shares of Wings's site; sales are way, way down this holiday season, and this is the time of year that usually gets us (mostly) through the long harsh winters. This year, it's also funding construction. Testimonials help.
• If you're considering commissioning holiday gifts by Wings, now's the time to contact me so I can get your order into his workbench queue. We're about out of time for this one, at least those that involve shipping across the country. 
• One last thing: I mentioned above that the plumbers are coming, and bathroom-fixture purchases are in the offing. To that end, I've added Lowes gift cards to our Amazon wishlist. No, there's no Lowes here in Taos, but there's one an hour-plus away in Española. Less obnoxious (and less expensive, and less far away) than Home Depot, and an actual selection and discount pricing that are not available here in town. It's by far the most cost-efficient way for us to buy the bathroom fixtures, which we're going to have to do very soon so that they can complete the plumbing rough-in and our crew can get to those rooms.

Thanks to everyone for your help thus far, with special thanks to a few folks over the last few days, and this evening, who have suddenly made progress possible once again. Extra-special thanks to one dear friend and benefactor from earlier in the week, and to one from today. We are going to need to push through this, hard, fast, and and consistently. Winter is here: Snow, ice, bitter cold, and a septic system that freezes nightly because it was misinstalled all those years ago. The snow arrives potentially as early as tonight, but either way, we're under a winter storm warning for tomorrow into Saturday. Please give us a hand with consistent daily shares to a wide audience.



Also, for the record, I'm supporting exactly three efforts right now: Ours, my s-i-l's, Lin's. Dassit. Not endorsing anything else, even if I have in the past. This is not a commentary on the worthiness of other efforts posted elsewhere, merely on what I have in the past supported here.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.