Hi friends,
This is your periodic reminder that Steel Magnificat, and my family, are run almost entirely on gratuities.
I have been so often home-bound from my chronic illness that my husband is a full-time homemaker and takes care of our daughter; I support the family here at Patheos, writing three to seven literary art projects per week. I get a very small monthly check from Patheos based on clicks, and the rest of my family’s income is based on tips from satisfied readers. Think of it as a magazine subscription where you pay whatever you think my writing is worth and you get to read even if you don’t.
We are extremely grateful for everyone who tips– we get a lot of small five-and-ten-dollar tips and a few large ones; some people sign up through Paypal to tip at the same time every month and some just do when they can. Some months we’re comfortable, and some months we make next to nothing, but we have been getting by ever since this blog started thanks to you guys. You literally keep the lights on for us.
I hate to constantly complain about my meds, but the fact is that the only way I’m able to be alert enough to write blog posts in the first place is that we’ve found a collection of herbal vitamin supplements that keep the chronic fatigue from the fibromyalgia at bay if I take them in the right combination. I’ll never be a marathon runner. But when I take them, I can function like a normal person for several hours a day, the majority of the month. When I don’t, the severe fatigue comes back, my head is too foggy to write most of the time, and I end up in bed all day long. The bad news is that all the supplements together cost more than rent and the expense is so bad we can’t keep up.
In addition to that, it’s getting too warm to dry our laundry indoors on racks with the dehumidifier and the electric heater this time of year, but it’s not exactly a safe enough neighborhood or a dry enough climate to run a clothes line outside for hours every day. So I was hoping to try to find a used washer and dryer in the month of May before it gets very hot, but that will be another expense.
So, as always, if I ask, if you like what you read, give me a tip when you can! If you can’t, just keep reading and sharing what I write because that helps with income too. To give a tip, just click on the tab marked “donate” under the Steel Magnificat banner, then click on the yellow button and PayPal will walk you through the rest. If you cannot see the tab, you can find the page here. If that doesn’t work either, just comment and I’ll think of something.
And now back to posts worth reading!
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