Low light and long shadows.

Photo copyright Aji, 20200; all rights reserved.

The days are visibly longer now, if only by a matter of moments. But it's still a time of low light and long shadows and the bitter cold will be back by week's end.

It's now afternoon, so the light will be gone before we know it. I have so much to get done, and that includes chasing what seem to be nonexistent sales now. This month's Patreon has already mostly gone on bills, the rest is spoken for on other bills, and still it's not enough. January is a god-awful month, with the Pueblo closure looming and with an unusual number of one-off or every-six-months bills due, and Wings has two [routine] medical appointments this week that will have to be paid up front and out of pocket. I'm also way behind today and still in a hellish amount of disabling physical pain, so the rest is cut-and-paste. Folks, I need to bring in more income somehow. I can't do this at this rate. I try to start each year being hopeful, but reality sets in fast, and if this is going to set the pattern for the year, I have no way of making it all work.

Aside from the bitter cold that usually does show up about now, the first of the year always brings a bunch of new bills (business-related, vehicle insurance, other costs). On top of that, the keyboard on my laptop is giving out fast; one of the nav keys broke entirely yesterday (yes, broke, not just a now-missing key, but the most-used keys have been failing for months now, which is why my typo rate is so much worse). An external keyboard might be a temporary solution, but my pain levels and locations mean that I can't sit at a desk for long; I have to use my laptop literally as a laptop, and there's no way to use an external for that. I don't know what I'm going to do at this point. 

This year was also supposed to bring follow-up biopsies for me, starting next month, but we're not doing that now. I'm deferring all follow-up medical testing for now. There is just way too much else that needs paying, with ~ $2K in bills (some one-offs or 6-mont-offs) just this month alone. The only work on the house we're scheduling right now is what we hope will be the last of the plumbing fixes (and we won't be doing that just yet, because there's no money for it). And still I feel guilty with every dollar I spend that's not on bills, which is why things that may seem silly to you remain on the wishlist; we children of grinding poverty can rationalize almost anything for almost anyone else, anyone except ourselves. Meanwhile, the bills come due and the money doesn't. We're waiting for payment on our one holiday commission this year (it's in process; just hasn't arrived yet). One of my Patreon subscribers very kindly informed me a few weeks ago of changed circumstances so that I would not be surprised by their unsubscribing. But it's a $100/month decrease I have yet to be able to replace (but thank you so much to the patron who upped their subscription by $10/month! It's so appreciated). And I have no illusions about the fact that we will still need help to make it through this year. Folks can help in several ways (sales are always preferred), and we really need it now:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Wishlist here;
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

Please share everything. Thanks.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2020; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.