More turquoise, and the ability to breathe again. Thank you.

Photo copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved.

We worked on it together today, and we were rockin'. Losing a significant source of stress, even temporarily, will do that for you.

Wings got the entire ceiling painted for our bedroom, the hall, and the closet. I still have edging to do around the ceiling in some of those areas, and I have the east and south walls to do with the sponged-off turquoise. But we got the two walls that were big uninterrupted expanses done, plus those ceilings. The camera doesn't quite capture the colors, but in natural light, it's absolutely luminous.

For those wondering why I've done nothing but paint, hip spasms and other obligations notwithstanding, for two days: It's because the crew will be back tomorrow, and I can't do it then. And we need to get it done as fast as possible, because they will be between plaster coats soon and need to do the casing of the windows and doors up there. So we've had to prioritize this as much as possible, especially since our bodies can be pushed only so far these days.

Thanks to countless souls and overflowing generosity yesterday, the crew will indeed be back tomorrow, and they'll be covered for the following week, too. We'll also be able to afford the plastering materials they'll need tomorrow. I've been beside myself with gratitude all day, and I can't count the number of times I've teared up over it. We don't celebrate Easter per se, but this has certainly renewed our by-now-very-worn spirits, and I cannot thank you all enough. 

Even so, we need to keep pushing link shares. The water heater will be well over $1,000; the septic system, $7,000. both will need to be put in all too soon. So please continue to share the links:

• Wings's PayPal account, for donations to the house fund. [I said that last yesterday's donations totaled somewhere in the neighborhood of $3K, and taking that as a floor put us at $7,300 total raised on this stage's goal of $30K, with something under $23K left yet to raise. We've since had an additional $200 donated, so I'm going to guess at a flat $7,500, which leaves a balance of $22,500.] 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.

Today had all the promise of a very bad day; it is, after all, the one-year marker of one of the absolute worst days of my life. but even that held healing, and having some of the immediate financial stress has been a priceless gift to us today. Thank you all so very, very much; we love you.

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.