It's been . . . a week. It's only Tuesday.

Photo copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved.

It's been . . . a week. It's only Tuesday. Those monsters up there are part of it.

I had so much I was going to get done. That's funny, now that I think about it. Hysterically so.

We'll begin with the premise that I'm not sleeping, because I'm not. So there's that. Yesterday, I got the posts knocked out early because I really wasn't feeling at all well and I knew how much I had to do. Wings was planning to load up our ancient riding mower onto the trailer and haul it down to the repair place (it's been scheduled for a while) and have them [try to] fix it, because even thought about 20 of our 25 acres are fields, there's that pesky remaining five or so that's already overgrown and housing mosquitoes. And it's far too much to do with a push mower. We've had the riding mower for . . . I dunno, twelve years, maybe? He bought it used; it was their showroom model, but it was also a return from a customer who didn't keep it, which was how we could afford it even then (the price was a steal). So by now, it's falling apart literally around and under him, just from sheer age and use, but it's still useful. If it, you know, runs.

Anyway, back to yesterday. We got the trailer hooked up, and the ramp down, and he started to drive it onto the bed . . . and the back end sank, the front end popped up, the hitch ball popped out of the hitch, and the front end slammed down onto the drive and bumped into the back of the truck.

He's fine; completely calm and cool about it all. The equipment's all fine, too. No thanks to a certain person who shall remain nameless. We realized, too late, that the problem was the hitch; it was too small. He had a three-way that he bought almost 15 years ago, a really good one . . . and he lent it to said person; he thought she was reliable enough to use and return it. Somewhere along the line, the hitch, um, walked away, and we've never seen it again.

Anyway. So once we got it rigged to handle it despite the size, he drove it down and deposited it safely with the dealer for repairs. No idea what that will set us back, but it's got to be done.

So today, I was going to get everything done early again, because I had a ton of other work to get done this morning, and the chimney folks were supposed to come at noon to clean the flues. [Side note: It was freaking cold in here this morning with no fire.] I hadn't even gotten my first cup of coffee yet and the phone rang; someone letting us know that Chinook was on the highway. All that fencing, and she's on. the. freaking. highway. Anyway, Wings runs out in sweats and slippers; I ran upstairs to throw jeans and boots on, because there are snakes around here now. And I could hear her up there, but her bay sounded weak and muffled, and all I could think was the very worst. 

Nope. Despite scaring me silly and throwing me into a full-scale asthma attack, she was fine, and I brought her all the way back from the northeast corner (that's a hike) and into the house. About 20, 30 . minutes later, Wings went outside to feed them. She was standing next to him while he mixed her food, and when he turned to put it down, she was gone. YUP. Back on the highway. She had gotten a scent and was not letting it go, and the dogs, unbeknownst to us, had found a gap that (also unbeknownst to us) River had not fixed when he was doing that section of fence. Wings is now at the hardware store getting what's needed; he and Joe will do it today and tomorrow. For now, Monster Girl is confined to her 50-foot tie-out.

Meanwhile, all these trips to to the north end track her down and bring her back put us way behind all morning, and then the chimney guys called an hour early and wanted to come out. Like, then. No, it was not convenient, but at least it's done, and we saved $100 on it with our discount. They said the flues are in good shape, and the kind of soot in them was exactly the kind of fine-grained stuff you want it to be. 

Also meanwhile, Ivan was just here dropping off his equipment again. This is actually a good thing, if another distraction. You'll remember that I said we only cut and baled the north/northeast fields, because the others had gone over too much to weeds? Welp, the problem is that those weeds are now three feet high, and home to nests of mosquitoes and probably more than a few snakes. [I ran up on a baby bullsnake up here by the house; Wings got shocked out of his shoes by an adult on the way up to the gate two days ago.] It's not safe, for the horses, the dogs, or us, and it needs to be cut. Wings called him the other night to ask whether he had a brush hog and what he'd charge to use it on our south/southeast fields. He asked whether he could bale and take what he cut to give to his cattle, who can eat the kind of stuff the horses can't. We said sure, and so it's getting cut and cleared for free.

And speaking of mosquitoes, there's one in the house now — or, rather, there was one in the house. All that's left now is his tiny little corpse, which drifted off somewhere I can't find it, but he managed to get me multiple times before he got got. Itching on top of itching now, because no, the allergic reaction hasn't gone away yet. the rest is cut-and-paste, because I am on fumes, both physically and mentally.

The financial stressors are aggravating all of it. Not much rain on that front, and it's wearing me especially thin right now. Probably late this week we'll have to get the plumber out here to deal with drain hose in the utility room and check the bathroom and kitchen, and I have no clue what that will set us back. The chimney people are coming out to clean the flues on Tuesday, and we can't put that off or we'll lose our discount. And as I've also said, we're staring down the barrel of $2,700 worth of cash payments this week (I keep putting them off in hopes of bringing in enough to cover them item for item, but this week is fish-or-cut-bait time). That's only two bills: one for quarterly taxes; the other for the most recent physician's group bill from the last biopsy that they've only now gotten around to sending me. On top of that, we're soon going to out some medical expenses for a third person; the young Native man who works for us needs medical care, and IHS is not an option, so we're trying this morning to arrange an appointment for him with our doc. If she doesn't take Medicaid, we're going to be on the hook for the bills, and we've made it plain that we'll do so; this situation can't continue. [His mother is dying of cancer, and the stress on him is epic. He's now away for a week at thing on the other end of the country for Indigenous students, and it'll be good for him to have a break.]

We sold two pieces a few days ago, coming to something less than a third of that total. But I've got to make some sales this weekend to cover the rest of this, so what follows is all the cut-and-paste: sales here; testimonials here; wishlist (such as it is still) here. Thanks to the two folks who sent in testimonials; once again, I'm going to try to get them up tonight, although it all depends on how the rest of the day goes. We need more folks to send them in, too. Wings dropped his new bead pieces (two necklaces; four pairs of earrings) a few days ago; you can find the summary post here. Please share their individual links, and be on the lookout for the other new works, especially the belt, which he hopes will be done finally this week. He also has two new cuffs, two new necklaces, and a pair of earrings in the works. And while I spend every spare moment chasing those sales, there aren't many spare moments for me these days, especially with my ongoing breathing issues and whatever else is going on that they haven't identified yet. So please, help us get the word out. I've got to bring in more sales somehow.



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