Up Against the Wall, RedHead Fathers!

Well, here we are - smack dab in the middle of September, facing the Gallows of October. As of that fateful month, our jobs require that we achieve 80% of our revenue goals or forfeit all commission pay for the month's labors. In my case that leaves me making less than $8/hour at the tenderly ripe age of 52 years. For 6 months prior to this Doomsday Sword of Damocles, we needed to achieve 60% or go without. My desk has been averaging right around 67%: this month a bit less, & every other desk in our group is doing the same percentage. Of course, some desk have much more revenue in their book of business (much of which used to be MY business) so 'tis not really apples vs. the oranges.
Tack onto this a catastrophic diminution of my driven attitude & my competitive spirit, & the outlook is bleaker than Starbucks' chances of opening a few stores in Darfur.

So what's an Ol' Abbot to do when he is graying without growing earnings? My eBay biz slowed to a crawl & actually shifted into reverse as my fees have outstripped my sales for months now. My sales at etsy.com have been better, but still too few to cover my associated fees. I have revised almost all my photos on etsy, as well as on WolfLodgeTX.com .I am looking into a couple other sites, yessy,com for art , cafepress.com for images on t-shirts, mugs etc., & Elance.com for writing. Now if only I can earn enough for the startup fees to get into them...

Meanwhile I have been busily constructing a dice tower for resale, a castle tower with all the rock work already carved. I carefully hollowed out a niche to inlay an abalone shell only to break the shell after an hour's work. I have another shell, but his particular one was beautiful beyond any I have ever seen. Gonna make lemonade with this lemon as I have wanted to experiment with carving abalone - now I have an excuse! I have several new designs fior these towers ingrained in my brainbucket - oh for time time time!

I have piles of old cedar planks which I have used to surface a 10x12 deck & make a tabletop. A few ideas about that stuff are percolating around also.

My beloved darlin' of 35 years has been having serious health issues. She has taken 3 falls in the past 2 months, the last one incurring a concussion & a particularly nasty head wound. As a polio & cancer survivor, she is adamant that there will be no doctors or EMTs involved. So I am her healer.
Thank the Creator for Reiki & prayer & His healing touch! She has been subjected to my cooking & shopping & laundry "skills" for weeks now. Being unable to travel, I know she is detesting her confinement to the bedroom, & is getting "itchy" these past several days. Perhaps this weekend she can come out to sit in the great room for a while so that our zoo can hang out with her.

Our son is having a tough time with his roomie being unable to work for a while, & then his pay was shorted over 60% this week. Our Blond Bombshell daughter is raising her 4 yr old grandson: now his bio-mother is threatening to take him away.

I am beginning to think we should all change our names to Job! Still, on we slog through the fog of uncertainty, bound by love & leaning upon all the shoulders we can, because we know that the Father's will shall be done, & His rewards are there, somewhere, somewhen...somehow.