Refuge. Not there yet. Plus a horse and a chicken in need of good vibes. Shares needed.

Photo copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved.

That's from a few days ago. It's just the late-afternoon sun shining through the west window of my hopefully-soon-to-be writing refuge, pure golden light on the wood floor. It has the same effect on the woodwork, and I love it.

::Sigh:: today has been one of ups and downs, but the biggest down is that Wings and I are both suffering from raw exhaustion. We only got a few sprinkles of rain here and there, but plenty of up and down in temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, and wind (and the flies and mosquitoes are a horror show right now), and that plays hell with our bodies at this point. And I'm still not really sleeping, which I suspect will not change as long as we're in this tin can, because calling the sleeping area a "bedroom" distorts the word beyond all meaning. Even the word "bed" really doesn't apply very accurately. But until we can move in, our health will continue to suffer, and autumn is well under way here now.

I'm just gonna repeat what I said last night; no, I'm not even gonna bother block-quoting, because I'm literally too wiped out. As I've been saying, 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. Right now, Home Depot cards specifically are absolutely the most valuable thing in the world. 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). Many thanks and much love to all.


P.S. If you have some good vibes to spare, please send them along to Dahlia, one of our adult chickens: As nearly as I can tell, in all the jockeying for position that goes on atop the coop where they all sleep, she fell off it onto the ground. At any rate, I found her there, hopping around with an injured left leg and left wing, and she's able to put virtually no weight on the foot. I've checked her out thoroughly, in the fading light and under attack by mosquitoes, and I can find no gashes, bites, or broken bones, so I think, as I think is the case with Butthead Miskwaki, she's just sustained sprains and maybe a bone bruise. She's tucked in the corner inside the coop now, and I hope she stays there all night and recovers a bit by tomorrow. I just buried my horse; I can't lose another of our animals right now.

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.