More upstairs bath issues; downstairs bath tile. We're sleeping there now, but snow for Monday? Shares needed.

Photo copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved.

So, one night in, and we now have a better idea of how far we have to go. 

Neither of us slept much last night; it's always that way in a new environment, which is why neither of us ever sleeps to speak of on the vanishingly rare occasions that we've had to travel overnight. That said, after dozing intermittently, I finally dropped off for good somewhere around 2 AM. I woke up at 5, in the exact same position; three hours completely under, without movement, and on my back (a sleep position that has been impossible for me for the last seven years, because the unstable, uneven bed was torture on my back). It wasn't much rest, but it was real rest, and that's something I'd literally forgotten. It was also incredibly warm, despite a very, very cold, clear night. We actually had to turn off both the electric blanket and the space heater; that's how much that lower-level adobe insulates the whole house (and how solidly even the upper-level framework is constructed).

It turns out that there are more issues with the bathroom; things need to be corrected on both toilet and tub. We took our showers this morning back in the RV (still no shower or bath upstairs, but hopefully the shower will be workable very soon), and all of our cooking and most other stuff still has to be done here; it's where I'm typing this right now. We need to get such odd things as nightstands of a sort and table lamps to be able to do more than sleep over there right now, but at least we have that. When you've spent seven years with the ceiling only three feet or so from your face every night (a moldy ceiling, at that), having space and clear air in which to sleep is an absolutely indescribable feeling. We'll head back over there again tonight.

So much to do; so little time. Monday will be crazybusy, with four separate crews out here: the regular crew, mostly scrambling to get the deck done, although Sherm has a couple;e of things to do in the downstairs bath so the second crew, the tile guys, can do their thing. Third will be the plumbers, again; fourth will be the woodstove guys. we might actually have non-electric heat in there by Monday night, which would be a wonderful thing, because between this morning and this evening Monday's forecast changed from a clear low of 27 to a snowy low of 20.

Speaking of the tile guys, that photo up there is of what they laid out for planning purposes on Friday; it's what will go on the shower walls, the bathroom floor, and now the backsplash around the pedestal sink to fix the plumbers' fuck-up (because there is absolutely no way anything but a pedestal was ever going in there, be4cause you wouldn't be able to move around a vanity in that tiny space, but no one listens to me, so . . .). At any rate, that's what the tile looks like (the shower base will pebble tile like upstairs, only cream-colored instead of charcoal). I was perfectly happy to have them cut through it and leave the edges the internal terra-cotta color, but noooo. So this is what they came jump with for baseboards and showed wall edge and curb:

Photo copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved.

See those mottled square tiles leaning against the plaster wall, above the floor tile? They dug those up, and they're a damn near-perfect match. Porcelain, yes, but different series, line, and manufacturer; they're a certain grouping of the leftover tiles from the master bath upstairs. We had plenty left over, which we just stashed in case anything needed replacing, and one of them apparently came up with the idea of trawling through the boxes looking for the mottled earthy gray ones, and here we are.

But the big thing is the heat. Thanks to a whole bunch of you, we'll have it — if not by Monday night, then at least by the end of the day on Tuesday. I'm personally hoping for Monday, given the forecast. And as always, there's still a long way to go. As close as we are, there's too much to be done, and that means a lot of labor, which means a lot of expense, and a lot of materials to buy and damaged goods to replace. So 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.
• 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, and bath rugs for both bathrooms. ]
• 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 have to supplement this one (and the BBB one) badly, but I've been pulled in all directions nearly every second, and I probably won't get time to add to them before late tonight or tomorrow. 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. Also, it appears that everything that was listed as out of stock/on backorder is back in stock, along with a couple of additions both to it and some others to the BBB registry. 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).

Many thanks and much love from us both, for donations, gift cards, shares, recs, moral support, and just generally helping me not lose my mind. Not much has changed on the health front:  As I've been saying daily, it seems, this has been a difficult day health-wise, with my flare itself seeming to flare, no doubt in part due to our high winds and drastic weather changes. But there are also the breathing difficulties, and sundry other issues secondary to the AI problems, and so I am moving very, very slowly, and accomplishing things only with quite a lot of difficulty. I'm going to be slow, and late, and unfocused; please bear with me while we try to get into a much healthier space. We are both so thankful for each and every one of you who made it possible for us to sleep last night, for the first time in seven years, in a safe and healthy 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.