Samhain Spirit

"We're drinking out of these tonight!" declares my aunt. I had coffee, she had a mixed drink.

Happy Samhain / Halloween

Nox and Tox hope you have a bloody good time!

http://leopardwolf.deviantart.com/art/We-re-All-A-Little-Mad-Here-Pt-2-410288119

Medicine blurt

Apologies to anyone if I seem out of it or overtly snarky or emotional in any way. I had to half my dose of Cymbalta ( SSNRI ) and I am in a lot of pain. I am almost out of the supply I had, and I don't have $500 to refill my prescription for another month's supply. So I am trying to make it last as long as I can.

Since we were forced to move I lost the MN state health coverage I had that was helping pay for the prescription, and haven't been approved for any state medical aid or anything here yet. I sent a request to the pharmaceutical company for their "help affording medicine program", but that normally takes over a month to process and ship if approved, and by then I'll have long since run out.

Cymbalta works through accumulation over time. The reduced amount of medicine in my system means it is not effectively controlling my symptoms. My Fimbromyalgia and facial nerve pain are coming on strong, so if I seem a little miserable, that's why.

The memory remains

Settling in and unpacking. It feels somewhat strange, surreal even, to be back in New Orleans. Yet at the same time, it feels so right. You begin to realize just how much you miss a place, and how much it means to you to finally have a chance to return. Yet the familiarity isn't quite what it used to be. Things changed so drastically after Hurricane Katrina, and the losses we all suffered here left a lasting impact that will probably never fully heal. Memories and wishing for things to be the way they used to be.

What is harder is not having my mate by my side, but instead separated by such a vast distance. The distance we fought so hard to overcome in the early years of our relationship, only occasionally getting to visit each other during holidays. Otherwise all our interaction was online, or over the phone.

When we were finally able to move in together 8 years ago, we didn't want to look back on the time we were forced to be apart. We never thought we'd eventually end up right back where we were, through no fault of our own and not for lack of trying our hardest to prevent it from happening. Yet here we are again. Me in Louisiana, Mike in New Jersey.  While there are certain good things about being home for both of us and being able to see family again, they do not realize there were unspoken reasons that we originally left home in the first place. I really don't think any of them can comprehend how deeply this has effected us.

We'll hope for the best as we journey down this road.

New Mailing Address

This is my new and most current PO box.

Brittney Steptoe
PO Box 740354
New Orleans, LA 70174


I love getting random snail mail from friends and customers. :)

= = =

*** Please do not send anything to the Mississippi box from this point forward.

If you did send something, please let me know so I can make sure I get it.

Moved To New Orleans

I have moved back home to New Orleans. Despite my family's best efforts to help with temporary living arrangements with the camper, it turned out to have too many unseen issues. It was a safety risk and would cost more than it's worth to fully update, modify and deep clean it to make it safe.

I have moved in with my aunt for the time being, and will go back and forth between here and Mississippi as needed. I owe a huge amount of gratitude and thanks to my aunt. Despite being allergic to cats, she is letting me and the animals stay here. It will be a trial basis at first, to see how her allergies respond. So far, so good.

Mike is still in New Jersey, hoping to hear back on some job prospects. I too might have something lined up next month. Waiting to hear back on details.

I am just getting my computer set up again. I have not had a stable, reliable internet source since we left Minnesota, so apologies if I missed anything. I have a lot of things to read and respond to and a lot of catching up to do. I plan to also get back to work on commissions this week now that I have access to my supplies and tools and have a place to set everything up and work.

Hope everyone is doing well, and look forward to catching up.

In Limbo

In limbo. Still not settled in. The camper I was originally supposed to move in to has had too many problems and is a safety and health concern, so we are considering alternative options, which are rather limited. This whole situation has been an exhausting and emotional roller coaster of doubt and uncertainty.

Mississippi Conversion

Got car registered, new plate and Mississippi license, handicap hangtag extension, and got a PO box today. Also managed to move the queen size convert-a-bed couch out of the trailer. And drag it down to a storage shed. All by myself.  ::Flexes.  Dies:: Didn't have anyone else who could help move it. Been waiting days to get it out, finally got tired of waiting. My body will hate me for it later, but at least it's taken care of and no longer in the way. It was heavy and cumbersome and took up too much space in the little space I have, so it needed to go. Need more room for artistic endeavors, afterall.

Neuro-blah

My middle finger on my right hand has been numb and tingling for over a week now, and the sensation has spread to almost all my fingers and palm. I get numbness and tingling frequently, but it normally occurs and then stops and returns to normal. This numbness and tingling has been constant. Worried because it is my dominant hand, and it has been effecting my ability to grip objects and manipulate them. I thought maybe I strained it somehow during packing and moving, but I didn't do anything that hurt it badly or should have caused injury. I tried using a stabilizing brace and see if that helped any, but no luck so far. Yay neuropathy.