And the exhaustion hits. A lot looming. Shares needed.

Photo copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved.

That in the photo up there is one of the reasons for going with this model: an estimate of $168 per year in total operational cost. It's Energy Star-certified, and it's got better functionality than most much larger tankless heaters, at a fraction of the energy cost. But it's wiped out a good chunk of what we had set aside. And there's another $1,700 in water softener costs that it will need, which will ratchet up to about $2K when you factor in sales tax.

Speaking of wiped out, that's both of us today. It was a good week with regard to progress on the house, the kind of progress that inspires and motivates, and yet we've been running nonstop for three days straight. That's the way it is here; everybody needs something, usually answers of some sort, and there's always something else that has to scheduled, planned, fixed, or paid. We arranged for the lighting install to be completed next Monday while the crew is working on finishing up the upstairs flooring, and we're waiting to see when Randy will be back to start tiling the downstairs bath. Wings also called one of the local chimney guys today to schedule an appointment to look at the place and give us an estimate on what will be required (both materials and total costs) to install our woodstoves. Those, by the way, we already own, and have had them in storage all these years. The larger one is slated for the southwest corner of the dining area, to heat the whole front section of the house and the kitchen and shoot the heat up the stairs by way of the ceiling fans. The smaller one is set to go in the corner of the living room on the east side, between banco and utility room wall. That one will heat the rest of the living room and the back of the house, particularly north and east sides.

Now, I'm waiting to hear back on the cabinets tomorrow, although we likely won't have the actual quote until sometime next week. As I said last night, we have to figure out how to do all this labor, the cabinets, the appliances, the water softener, and the fix of that damn septic system now. I have no idea how, but we're going to push as far as we can. And as I also said, this means that the pressure is now on me even more to make sales to make up the differential. It also means that the Home Depot and Lowe's gift cards become ever more crucial, given what we still have to buy to make the place livable. So here are the links:

• Wings's site, for sales;
• Lowe's cards (the physical version) via our Amazon wishlist;
• Lowe's e-cards (delivered via e-mail) here; and
• Home Depot cards via the company site. The e-version using my e-mail address is great; I take the tablet to the store with me, and they scan it off the screen.

Please share them all, as much as possible. One large sale would go a long way toward making up the difference (the water heater is paid in full, but now there's all the other stuff, including the softener that has to go in before hook-up; yes, it's expensive, but it's going to save us a ton in the long run). We are surrounded by storms on all sides right now, as we have been all day, and I need to get some outdoor work done before they hit or before my body gives out, whichever comes first, so I need to get on it. Many thanks and much love to all.

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.