Deck basically done; fridge functional; range nearly so. Extra costs for the next 3 weeks. Sales/shares (registries included) badly needed.

Photo copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved.

Today began with chaos, but at least we have some progress to show for it. Nothing ever comes easy, of course.

That is now what the deck looks like up there; the railing is complete on all sides. It needs to be spray-treated, but that will have to wait until sometime after tomorrow, because it's too freaking cold right now. While it was bright and sunny this morning, we still had winter storm advisories; now that the clouds have moved in and the wind will cut you to the bone, they've dropped it to 20%, so who knows? It looks like snow, it feels like snow, it smells like snow, but what do I know?

At any rate, things began inauspiciously, down a man on the crew and me making my displeasure known, because three weeks. Apparently, reducing me to a point just an eyelash shy of tears had an effect, though (and it was not in the least faked; they literally had me at that point), because the guys moved much faster and more consistently all day long, with the result that the deck is now done save for the treating and one support post that the sawmill's had on order for 2 weeks and has not yet cut.

Photo copyright Aji, 2017;
all rights reserved.

Fridge and stove look like that now; can't deal with sink or dishwasher until the guys frame out a temporary support for them. The fridge had a problem, of course; the hose in the freezer is not long enough to reach the ice-maker that was designed specifically for this model, so it was an open question whether I'd have to fight with Home Depot, but so far, it's [slowly] making ice cubes. So we can at least keep food and insulin cold in here. The range is not yet useable; the sign and literature did not make it clear, but it needs an adapter to convert it from natural gas to propane, and didn't come with it, natch.  So that's another $150 + labor, and at least two more days lost. Oh, and the sink? The drain for it has been in at Lowe's in Santa Fe for more than a week, and it's a part that they neither ship nor deliver. They sent me an e-mail on Saturday reminding me to pick it up. Marcos was in Santa Fe this weekend, and he went in yesterday with his license and our release to get it. Much agitation and consultation and playing with the computer later, they flat-out lied to him and told him that 1) it was not in yet, and 2) would not be in until TODAY. Both of which IU have documentary proof were lies. So I fired off an e-mail to the national customer service folks, letting them know that the appropriate resolution to this would be to have the Santa Fe store, AT ITS OWN EXPENSE, overnight said drain to us here, because we've done a hell of a lot of business with them over the last year, we live 2.5 hours north on a rez in the mountains, it's cold and snow is on the way (it still was when I wrote that), and we cannot just get down there at any moment and certainly not today. We'll see, but they're going to correct it, because I'm not having them sell stuff out from under us and then tell us baldfaced lies so easily shown to be lies.

But, cold, snow, whatever, we do have this:

Photo copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved.

And we also have this, thanks to a dear friend family:

Photo copyright Aji, 2017;
all rights reserved.

Doesn't that look inviting? I'm still wandering around in a state of utter disbelief, even though we're nowhere near done, because this is just such a complete reversal from that cold, drafty, dusty, uninsulated, moldy, toxic tin can that I don't even know how to describe it.

Still, there's that "nowhere near done" part, combined with the "three weeks" part and the "snow" part. More than half of this week's labor is covered (but nowhere near all, so I have to bring in some more scratch in the next two days to cover that). Sales are going to be crucial to finishing this over the next few weeks, but we won't turn away donations, either. We need funds for materials, for increasing the crew's hours (and potentially adding a man, if it comes to that). But the registries have suddenly also become particularly important. The most immediate needs are listed first, and priority is the little Valencia end table (item #2), simply because it's nearly sold out already. Beyond that, the priorities are as follows, in no particular order: the remaining tables, the lamps, the white shelving unit for the downstairs bath, the round brown Rouseville Blue rug for the utility room. The next big thing will be my office space, and yes, I really, REALLY want (and need) to get that done ASAP, but that stuff is pricier, and for now, I just want to finish off the downstairs as much as possible so that when folks are here in three weeks, it's comfortable for them. And as always, they can be crowdfunded, so kicking in $10 or $20 on an item is extraordinarily useful; a few donations that size to a single item, and it's fulfilled and on its way. All of this, of course, means that we still need shares, daily. 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 most pressing items are the ones outlined above. I've just added the furnishings for the rest of the upstairs (i.e., the guest room and my writing/office space, which also includes the desk and chair further down the list, and the last three rugs on the list, two of which are back-ordered). The chaise and daybed are for the two upstairs rooms: the latter for the guest room, the former for my office, which is where I will be spending most of my time, and my AI issues require working on a laptop with my legs outstretched, so that's why it's a pricier piece; it'll probably be the primary means to my role in our living. There will also be more items that fall into the badly-needed category (coffee/end tables and lamps, particularly), 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, once again, for everything 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. But we have a long way to go, and the weather service is predicting another winter storm, complete with snow, for tomorrow evening, a reminder that we have to get this done, and fast.

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.