Lhunpaurwen's Ramblings

Live art stream starting soon! 8pm CST. - http://livestream.com/leopardwolf

I plan to make changes to patron reward tiers soon. Anyone who has pledged and donated toward my art and creative efforts *before* the date of the change, will be grandfathered in to still be eligible for the *old* reward system after the changes are made, based on pledge amount. The changes will take place Monday, November 7th. When I start producing work in pure copper, bronze, silver, gold, and using dichroic and higher grade gemstones, people will wish they took advantage of the offer when it was available. I will also be changing the stretch goals now that I have a better idea of how they work. When I first started using Patreon I really didn't have a clue what to do with them. Now I do. I will post more information and reminders in preparation for the changes. Thank you all for your awesomeness and continued support!

To clarify something with the service dog fundraiser I have been doing, because a friend pointed out some confusion. We were having a discussion about me needing to come up with $120ish for a training class and I was saying I'd have to raise the money. Trying to be helpful she made the comment "At least you have the $700 from the service dog fund if you need to use that".

I actually do NOT have that much. That is just the total that was raised from the time that I first got Journey until the time I had to rehome him (almost 2yrs worth). This was before I made the choice to apply to CPL and everything. That money at the time was specifically raised to go toward his training and care, or toward service dog related expenses, and it did. Some of it went to help cover some expenses during the two trips I took to visit CPL.

In reality I only have around $380 remaining currently. $250 of that is tied up in a revolving line of credit (LOC) with the bank. This was done to hold the money for the service dog fund purposes but to also help improve my credit, since I had medical debt and have been unemployed. It works sort of like a credit card. I can spend up to that amount, but I have to "pay it back" at the end of the month. Until I close the LOC anuyway. When I do, I get that $250 back. But I don't plan on doing that anytime soon because it really has helped improve my credit so far.

The remaining $130ish is the actual "spending money" I have right now specifically for service dog or CPL related things. The rest of it is gone. It was spent back when I had Journey for his care and supplies, and some of it was just spent recently for the new things I needed for Chakotay.

This is why I keep sharing the link to the fundraiser. I am in limbo waiting to hear back from SSA on Disability, so unless I sell art or creative things, a commission, or something from my Etsy store, I don't have any other source of money coming in unless someone is kind enough to donate.

Did the "amount raised" display on the fundraiser confuse anyone else ( make you think that was how much I still had)?

Should I start a brand new fundraiser at $0 amount so people realize I really don't have $700 already toward the cause?

I hate that I even have to ask for help, I'd much rather people buy my art, crafts, jewelry, or commission me so they get something in return.

But aside from dog training and animal psychology related training and sharing my knowledge, that's the only other thing I can do, and all of it is limited by my health problems at any given time.

We did end up going to the gem and jewelry show earlier this month. Went for two days, covered half the show floor each day so I could get a better look at things they had. It's changed a lot since the last time I went, a different company is managing this show group. Sooo many pretty sparklies and shinies. Mom and aunt and Mike each gave me some money so I could pick stuff up and replenish much needed supplies. I was on my feet all day both days, with Journey helping. He'd keep trying to keep me moving and the vendors all thought it was the funniest thing when I'd excuse myself and say I'd be back after I walked off the symptoms ( I trigger if I stand in one place for too long without moving ). Everyone loved him and was sad to hear about his hip dysplasia and that he'd be career changing. I joked with some of them the first day that we might be back the next and they joked about "torturing the poor dog" and how they were sure he'd be thrilled. Then the next day more joking when they saw us back and I joked "Should have seen the look on his face when he realized we were back for more!" It was warm but tolerable. Wish I had my neck fan, but it killed over. Met some awesome people, got some beautiful sparklies I will share at some point. My body was soooo angry after all the activity, it took the full week after just to get un-sore enough to move around without back, legs, and feet hurting badly. Then I ended up with a migraine from hell that wouldn't go away and kept coming back for days. Today is the first day the pain has dulled enough to really think clearly so I can try and be a little productive.