Mini-goal made, in ways that I never thought possible. The crew returns on Monday, thanks to y'all.

Photo copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved.

Well, thanks to Ono, darling that she is, and to all the folks who donated as a result of her efforts on our behalf, we've blasted right past my mini-goal for this weekend. I'm alternating between weeping and hyperventilating, because I really, truly thought we'd be calling the crew tomorrow evening and telling them not to come to work for the week, because we couldn't pay them. Now we can, and we'll also be able to get the materials they need (they're finishing up the scratch coat on Monday and then launching into the second round of interior plasterwork), and we're good for the following week's labor, too, as far as I can tell.

In the meantime, my hips have not exactly unlocked, but I have a better range of motion today than I've had all week, and as long as I can get up onto the ladder in the first place (or down onto the floor, whichever), I can do what needs to be done. So, that above is what I got out of it today. I'm actually really jazzed by this shot, because it shows all three stages in one: the charcoal base coat; the sponged copper second coat; and the turquoise final coat. Eventually, it'll all be turquoise, although without the second copper coat in the mix on the ceiling. I'll get as far as I can tomorrow; if I can start early enough, I might actually get done with it.

We have another hugely busy week ahead of us, and a lot of costs to cover as the guys move forward on the house. Even though it looks as though we're good for this week and the next, I know all too well by now that we can't take anything at all for granted; too many setbacks and sudden problems or changes in scheduling have taught me that. So I'll be posting the links anyway, because sharing them far and wide will only help. Here they are: 

• Wings's PayPal account, for donations to the house fund. [Out of a $30K goal, we were at $4,300 last night', leaving a balance yet to raise of $25,700. I haven't had a chance to tally everything from today, but it's somewhere in the neighborhood of $3K, so taking that as a floor, that puts us at $7,300 total raised on this stage, and something under $23K left yet to raise.] If that link doesn't work, it's tied to his e-mail address: wingsoftaos [at] newmex [dot] com. Also, that link? It's a direct one now, rather than via the "Donate" button, so it should work better.
• His Web site, for sales (always preferable, and the base upon which the whole project hinges anyway, along with paying our day-to-day living expenses) — and just by the way, he's got some really incredible new works up now.
• Our Amazon wishlist, which contains Lowe's cards that will allow us to purchase some materials more cheaply than here in town, and also allow us to divert the extra funds to labor costs.

I still can't get my head around what's happened today; this has been a truly terrible week for so many reasons, most of which have very little to do with the house, and to end it on a note like this? To have been convinced that we were at a standstill, and now to know that we can keep the crew going at least two more weeks? What a gift, and not just in monetary terms, either. These days, I am hoarding every little scrap of peace of mind that I can get, and this just gave me an infusion. Profound, indescribable thanks to you all, and much love from both of us. [And you can still rec and share Ono's diary for us, here.]

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.