Birthday presents and floral decorations. Next week's labor covered, but a long way to go in the next four weeks. Shares/sales still needed.

Photo copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved.

Flowers from my baby, on the shelf between the bancos.  I have a place for them now!

He surprised me with them; I was not expecting it. He is, however, going to take me out to dinner tonight (one of the vanishingly rare occasions we ever go out to dinner, like probably for the next year), so I'm posting this early.

I got another birthday present this morning, too: I took my first shower in the house! It was so strange; I kept catching myself hurrying really fast, because for seven years, I've had effectively no more than three minutes of hot water per shower. And then I'd have to remind myself that I don't have to worry about that anymore. I'm still waiting for it to sink in. As I told a good friend earlier today, it really felt like I was taking a shower as a guest in some schmancy hotel. My head hasn't wrapped itself around the idea that this really is ours yet.

Thanks to kishik and a whole bunch of other folks, we have next week's labor covered now, and we're both profoundly grateful to every one of you (and to so many others, for so many reasons). We are, however, up against an unbreakable deadline now of just under a month, and in fact, the weather deadline will no doubt come far earlier, so we and the crews are really going to have to push hard to make it. That means more materials, and more labor, and more planning for the inevitable incidentals that we can't predict. So we still need shares, daily (and thank you to everyone who has fulfilled items off our registries, although there's a lot more to go there; I haven't even gotten to the tables and lamps and other two upstairs rooms yet, but those will go on this weekend, I hope). So here are all 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.
• Our Amazon wishlist generally.
• Wayfair gift cards, to replenish all the furnishings that the RV has destroyed in one way or another.
• Partial registry #1, from Bed, Bath and Beyond. It's not complete; what's on it so far are drapes for the upstairs, associated curtain rods, bath rugs for both bathrooms, and doormats and a few other miscellaneous items. Most important: hold-backs and drapes for upstairs.
• Partial registry #2, from Wayfair. Also not complete, but covers a number of the area rugs needed for the upstairs and some kitchen items. I've finally added a bunch of items to it, although nothing in the way of small tables or lamps or kitchen items beyond three basic things, because yesterday proved to be a time-suck of epic proportions, and today was more of the same. What I did get to is all of the rugs for the whole house, and a few basic furniture items. But about Wayfair, and VERY IMPORTANT: They make it possible to crowdfund each item. So if you'd like to help, but the prices are too much for one person? You can kick in 20 bucks, or ten, or five, on any one item; many small donations can add up to one item. Even the backordered/out-of-stock items can be crowdfunded in advance. Right now, the two most important items are probably the first four that show at the top of the list. It's a slow process, but every day I find a few more items that fall into the badly-needed category, because the wiring and mold and lime and everything else in this toxic tin can has destroyed so much of what we used to have. I'm sickened by the amount of stuff we have to throw out (on top of the things that were simply ruined, such as the microwave fried by the wiring in this place).

Thank you all for the birthday wishes, and for every other thing you've done over the last 16 months to get us safe and keep me sane. We are both so thankful for each and every one of you who made it possible for us to sleep (and shower!) now, for the first time in seven years, in a safe and healthy (and warm!) place.

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.