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.
This month, our needs are much the same as last– we are constantly one step ahead of disaster due to the cost of my medicine. There is no cure for fibromyalgia and no really good treatment my doctor can prescribe for the fatigue, which is my worst symptom, but I’ve found a collection of very strong herbal and vitamin supplements that keep it under control pretty well. I’ll never be healthy, but I can function like a normal person most days a week if I take them. Without them, it’s hard to even prop myself up in bed to write. The trick is, all together they cost more than rent. So we’re always in a scramble to afford everything even though my income keeps going up as the blog gets more readers. In addition, this is the end of Rosie’s school year and I had hoped to take her on a couple of field trips to flesh out our science and humanities unit studies, but I’ll have to take the bus out to the Pittsburgh stop, then call an uber and then pay museum and zoo admission to do that, so it’s an expense as well.
So, as always, I ask: if you like what you read, throw a tip in the virtual tip jar! To do that, 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!
(image via Pixabay)
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