Still looks and feels like winter.

Photo copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved.

It still looks and feels like winter. Yeah, the redness at the end of the branches are buds, and the stormy blues are rain instead of snow (mostly), and today's clear and sunny. But the winds are viciously cold, and there's no break in the other kind of clouds right now.

Wings is at his doctor's appointment; this is all out of pocket. I'm still sick, but I'm not going; for one, she's so overloaded that you have to make appointments five or six weeks out, which does me now good now, and two, this is the kind of thing that's going to have to wear itself out. I'm accustomed to  my chronic illnesses, but anymore, I almost never get "sick" in the sense of catching some kind of bug, and this is twice in two months now. This was the fourth morning in a row that Wings was up before I was; normally, I'm up before it's light, and before either him or the dogs, but I've had so little sleep that, when my body finally gives out form sheer exhaustion around three or four, I can't get up again. So he's been taking care of dogs and fires and coffee the last few days, and I've been getting up anywhere between 6:45 and 8 AM, which is late for me. Still running a fever; the body aches and fatigue are making rest and work both impossible. It's all just miserable, and I'm ready to be done with it now.

And while there's been no respite from the health problems, as I've said, there's no break from the medical and financial pressures, either. I put off one big bill last week because of the tax thing, but I have no choice but to deal with it this week. Like, today. Four figures' worth. And those other bills, the two hospital ones that still amount to $30K specifically, are killing me. I'm breaking under the weight of the financial pressures right now. I have to raise that $30K very fast, because that, too, is coming to a breaking point, and we can't do it without making some very big sales. [If we could sell the new concha belt and the butterfly maiden necklace, that would take care of what remains on the heart hospital bill. Then I could focus on the local one with the much higher balance, because they are the ones who are killing me with the stress.] We also can't do it without help. Here are the links:

• My Patreon, The Interstices (Writing Between Worlds) (and if you subscribe today you won't be billed until May 1st for April);
• Wings's site, for sales, with lots of new items posted;
• Wings's direct PayPal link;
• A way to buy me coffee (which actually goes to all of our medical bills, which continue to mount);
• Amazon wishlist, which mostly consists of animal and household stuff, with the kibble back off it, because Wings can't lift the boxes right now with his shoulder;
• Partial registry #1, from Bed, Bath and Beyond. I've added two or three new kitchen-y things on it now, stuff that I didn't realize we'd need.

Sales, sharing Wings's site (and testimonials, if you got 'em, please) — that's what we need. Also good vibes for Raven for everything to be easy and pain-free and comfortable for him for whatever time he has, which is pretty clearly not long. We thought perhaps it might be the other night, but he made it very clear that he had decided against that, and so we will support him as long as he chooses to be here. Thanks.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.