It’s been a long hard two years when the single focus has been to get Aji and Wings back under a real roof with real walls and real windows and into a real home after having their previous home ripped out from under them.
Their endurance throughout all this time reminds me of migrating butterflies. They seem so fragile and any wind blows them off course — but they pursue that drive to return home. As humans, it’s hard to put your life out there, when everything seems to be one failure after another that put you in the bad position to begin with. It’s not ego, it’s every bit of pride you once had being ripped to shreds. But if you’ve ever seen a butterfly with tattered wings, they still fly. They still rest and soak in the heat and sun and sip nectar. They continue to live out their lives with the same hope as when they first emerged from the cocoon. They look fragile, but they are not. Their inner resilience is how they are able to migrate thousands of miles.
Earlier this month two years ago, Avilyn posted this diary. While the need to rebuild was always the goal since Aji and Wings lost their previous home to predatory loaners, it was this incident that scared Aji —and she knew that they simply had to change the dream to a reality or live in constant fear that one night they may simply not survive it.
They still need a little help to complete their home. These are the immediate goals:
- Get the bathrooms completed
- Get the Internet connections moved to the house
- Get a somewhat working kitchen together
- Get the exterior finish completed
*The first three goals will keep Aji and Wings from having to return to the RV. Right now, bathrooms are slowly coming together, but not completed. So they return to the RV to shower. It’s looking like there’s been a setback due to more tiles needing to be ordered.
*The internet wiring will need to be moved to the house. This is a matter of scheduling this and getting cost for that. Aji and Wings rely on the internet connection to make their living. It is an absolutely essential.
*The RV kitchen still needs to be used since there is no current kitchen in the house. It's my understanding that appliances have been ordered, but there will be no cabinets or counters for some time as other things are more important in the order of finances.
Every minute spent in the RV means breathing in more mold spores. They both need to be in clean space 24/7. They need to not spend a single second more in that RV.
*The last exterior plaster coat must be completed before winter truly sets in. This will seal their home completely from all elements.
Can we send them some more love and hope on the wind? Can you spare a dollar or two or more? The wind drives things in directions we always don’t like because no one can control the win capricious and specific in her own way — but she does carry our dream spirits and present hearts and love to our friends far away and in need. Every winged creature is waiting to take messages and send them forward, starting them off on a light breeze. And foolish or not, I’ve always been an advocate of the power of positive thinking. ;-)
There’s another reason for this diary — we want to celebrate Aji’s birthday. It’s this week and serves only as a reminder that this actually laying down the foundation and building up the walls and raising the roof to a home is now past it’s 2-year anniversary. This will be always a month filled with sadness for Aji, but it can and should be shared with joyful moments as well. The joy of the changing light, welcoming the season of rest, and even welcoming the cold — because it’s in these cold months that the skies shine the brightest blues of all the seasons.
And lastly, the joy of being safely ensconced in a warm and safe and secure home.
********
Now is the time to make any requests for anything made by Wings if you would like to give one of his silverworks for the upcoming holidays. I love his self-inspired works and always look forward to his latest (and his latest posted yesterday are simply gorgeous!! …. and just seeing they’re already SOLD!), but things I’ve requested specially made are beyond words.
Here are some winged inspired works by Wings...
Here are some direct links to help out if you’re viewing via mobile:
Some other links where you can help — from Aji’s latest blog post:
- 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 two most important items are probably the first four that show at the top of the list. 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).
time to dance!
****** Wait! There’s more!! ******
AND… there’s a $250 match in place!!! Can we reach it? If so, it will mean $500 towards covering upcoming labor costs! Labor costs routinely range between $1000 — $1500 a week. Once more, as I know we’ve conveyed before and must again — their funds are down to zero. To finish what needs to be done will always mean paying the crew. There’s no getting around that. If the crew can’t be paid next week, it means more delays and the work half-completed remains half-completed. Please, if you can, we would love to meet the match and exceed.
You can send donations here
Thanks for reading this long rambling diary. Can we all ramble towards the goals? Love to you all. Mei says …
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