Down a man on the crew, but most of the uprights are in. Bad news on cabinets and tile. Shares needed.

Photo copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved.

It's been a day of both wonders and less pleasant reminders and realities. We were visited again by a mantis and the red-tail; the latter has come back home in just the last few days. That up above is what the house looks like at the moment, and it's sort of wondrous, if also a little weird. Those are the support posts that will hold the deck. 

Here's what it looks like trying to get one of them upright:

Photo copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved.

And the guys were down a man today, because Tony's out sick. Wings talked to him on the phone last night, and he sounds absolutely terrible; says it's just a cold, but you know summer colds. Anyway, Reynaldo, Sherm, and Marcos got all but three of the posts set; the east side of the house is complete:

Photo copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved.

Yes, those are the chickens on the ground underneath the posts. The little monsters think EVERYTHING happens for them.

The deck is essential right now for construction reasons as well as habitation ones. It will simplify the process greatly (and save money on scaffold rental) when the guys are ready to apply the color coat and prime and paint all the trim. And those need to be done before October, because by then it will be too cold, and we don't want the wood going another winter unprotected. From a liveability standpoint, it will enable me to do a lot of my outdoor stuff right off the upstairs, where it's warmer in the winter and where I can get back inside easily (and also not worry about stumbling and falling, as I seem to do even in good weather these days.

It's also been wondrous because my beloved Ono posted a diary for us, and if folks would go T&R and share the links, I'd be grateful. She always makes me cry, in a good way, which is much better than some of what I've been doing lately with this autoimmune flare.

The bad, unfortunately, is pretty bad. I've been saying that I want [need[ to lose weight, and I may not have a choice, given that my current flare is making eating difficult. It's also making sleeping difficult, and I'm on virtually no sleep for last night. For those wondering what's going on, aside from the usual simple exacerbation of pain and fatigue, one of the other physical side effects has become greatly aggravated, to the point where the only option (which is mostly not an option, and indeed it's not for me) is surgery. I'm having to rely getting it to calm itself over time, but that's only going to happen when the stress is off. 

And it's definitely not off. About an hour ago, I got the quote for the cabinetry. I knew it would be thousands, but this is just more than we have any way of doing, thanks to the septic mess that took what I thought would be allocated for it. The sale (20% off) is good only through the tenth, and there's no possible way, so that's out. I have no idea when or how, no. Also, the downstairs flooring has been delayed until the 18th (no, I have no idea why, but it was supposed to be started a week and a half ago), and until that's done, basically nothing else can happen on the downstairs. I suppose I should be grateful that the toilet seats are supposed to be in on Friday, so maybe they can get that and the tub functional for us upstairs (the shower needs a door yet; the sink needs . . . well, everything; and the kitchen sink is just a dream at this point). But this is always a bad day for me anyway, given that it was the day eleven years ago that my middle sister succeeded in her only-partly-subconscious campaign to commit slow suicide by way of booze.  

I am not well enough tonight to do anything but copy and paste the text and the links — and as I've said the last couple of days, with one big change: I'm putting Wings's PayPal link back at the top. The last two weeks have not wiped us out completely, but they've put a huge hole in our reserves. This whole process has been a marathon made up of many sprints, and when we can, we have to push as hard and far and fast as we can through whatever stages are immediately doable, until we can't. Then it's scrounging and chasing funding, and then we gear up for the next sprint. We just ended one of those (not finished, precisely, because we didn't have the kind of funds available to get us as far as we wanted), and the problems with the plumbing and septic left a big hole in our available resources. We are approaching a standstill on the interior of the house if the tile can't get done, and given that we expect that to start sometime in the coming week, it's essential. So I'm back to robbing Peter to pay Paul with regard to specific tasks (because as always, the labor is eating us alive). But we will be at a standstill again anyway if I can't find a way to get all of these last big tasks funded. Beyond cash, Home Depot cards are still most useful right now, because there is still a kitchen to . . . well, create. I've also added some old items back onto the Amazon wishlist, namely stuff for the animals. I have to add a few other such items, too, but I just haven't had time even to think about it yet. Anyway, here are the links:

• Wings's direct PayPal link;
• 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. I'm having an unusually hard time navigating this autoimmune flare, and I'm behind on everything. To the extent folks can share the links and maybe give us a boost that way, I'd be really grateful, because I'm just not able to do anywhere near my normal level of work right now. Thanks to everyone, and special thanks and much love to Ono and to the two donors who have kicked in already. I'm sorry that I don't have words tonight to thank you properly.

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.