The color of infinity inside an empty glass

So this has been a really really tough year, as I imagine it has been for most people. We started it off with a life-changing medical issue on my behalf (I suffered second-degree burns on my upper chest in early January) and have almost ended it with a life-changing issue on my mom's behalf (she had a heart attack in September, which has caused lingering health issues). But there are good things as well! Earlier this year, my nonbinary daughter started HRT, and she's so much happier. Even though she got denied disability in June she's gotten wind of an autistic-friendly day program via Regional Center that will cover transportation to and from as well as a program for her to go to college-based training programs for free, so we're looking into that for her. And also, my mom might qualify for in-health support services where she will be able to hire me as a caretaker and I'll get paid about $19 an hour for it, which will help with rent, expenses and bills. So even though things are rough right now, we have hope.

My list is a mix of some big ticket items for my mom and daughter (especially since my daughter just turned 23 on November 5th and due to SNAP benefits being withheld and other financial issues we weren't able to get her much) and one wish by necessity for me. So if you can offer any help, or even just some kind words, we would love anything and everything.

1 - Our Amazon wishlist. I literally spent about six hours reorganizing it so everything is sorted into "sections." There's a ton of Fresh delivery food items on there so if you want to order something from Amazon's Fresh delivery program just give me a heads up on what delivery time you picked so I can make sure I bring refrigerated and frozen stuff in quickly. Otherwise, we will be thankful for anything off this list.

2 - Amazon gift cards, Memory Stitch gift cards, and Google Play gift cards. Amazon gift cards will let me buy food not on the list as well as gifts I have for my family on other wish lists, so those are always a huge help. Since I can no longer wear crewneck T-shirts and I literally have a collection of 20+ years in fandom shirts I can no longer wear, I'd like to take some of them and turn them into a premium T-shirt quilt from Memory Stitch. I'm pricing it at around $436 to get a 30-shirt quilt with batting and long arm stitching as well as an extra $40 to get them to cut the shirts so I don't screw them up and not have them be usable. It's expensive, but it's the best deal for what I'm looking for most in a T-shirt quilt. And Google Play cards will let my daughter get all the limited-edition stuff for her mobile games without causing me to go broke (if they're digital, I've can give you her email address via PM).

3 - Any help with our GoFundMe. It was started when we were homeless in 2022, so that's why we've raised a lot, but we're still keeping it going because even with two of us on social security and a ton of help from a friend, we still struggle to make ends meet. At the time of writing this, I had taken out two large loans and three payday loans to cover unexpected expenses over the last few months, and even renegotiating my payments because of the government shutdown I'm currently overdrawn with no chance of getting any overdraft fees I may incur refunded because my bank sucks. Once I can cover the overdraft, I can use any other funds I may get to get a jump on next month's bills as well as cover our car insurance and two credit card payments I'm not able to pay right now. Even a couple bucks if you can spare it is a huge help.

4 - This coat and hat set from Anime Gear Guru. My daughter is obsessed with Hololive, and she showed these to me as things she wants. These are definitely Big Ticket items, but she is cold often so the jacket would be perfect for cold nights, and she collects hats so that would be cool as well. These are items that are up for pre-order but she would love them.

5 - Pokémon Legends: Z-A for the Switch. My daughter got a regular Switch a few years back and she is an avid Pokémon fan. She would love the game for her to play since it's actually available for the regular Switch and not just the Switch 2.

6 - A Kobo Libra Colour eReader (7") for my mom. New, refurbished or gently used, we would be happy with anything. Because of the heart attack she had she's having to postpone her two cataract surgeries until at least April, and she just can't read small print books anymore, which comprises most of her book collection. A friend of mine got this eReader and said it's good for people who have trouble reading print books and that she can use it with Hoopla and Overdrive as well as Epub books I have downloaded for her, so it seemed like the best choice so my mom can start reading again.

7 - Two (or at least one) of the Yarn Heaven bags from Everything Crochet for my mom's craft area. Even though she got rid of a ton of yarn that was in our storage unit, she still has a lot of yarn and fabric to organize and this would be a huge help in doing that. The shelves in the craft area are slotted wood shelves, so once we get the shelves organized more, we can hang a bag on one shelf if we only get one or both her shelves if we get two bags. That way she can see all her yarn and maybe some of her fabric too, which means there's more chance she'll use them.

8 - Fanfiction for me, but! There is a caveat with this gift. I have a wide variety of fandoms, as I have been writing fanfic for over 27 years. BBC Sherlock, Elementary, Star Trek AOS, Doctor Who, the CSIverse, the Buffyverse, Bleach, the MCU and Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries are my absolute faves, and if you look at my fics you should get a better idea of my ships (but please, no BBC Sherlock Johnlock fic). I also enjoy other fandoms that are not one-off ones I made art for, as I moderate a Big Bang and make cover art for a lot of the unclaimed fics, so if you're unsure whether I'd like a fic for a ship or fandom, feel free to ask me!

But, as I said, there is a caveat to this wish: if you make me something, let me make something for you in return, okay? if it's for a fandom I'm familiar with and a ship I feel comfortable writing I would love to write you a fic, otherwise I'm willing to make art for people for fandoms/ships I don't write. My only no-gos are non-con/dubcon (for both writing me a fic and reading a fic to make art for it) and incest ships (don't ship any of the ones in my fandoms). But otherwise, I am game for anything as long as you let me give you something in return.

(Also, for people from last year who I owe graphics and fic too, if you still want what I owed you from last year, let me know in the comments regardless of whether you make me something and these will be my top priorities this year!)

9 - V-neck (preferably deep V-neck) and scoop neck clothing for me. I have a ton of utilitarian type tops on the Amazon list, but now I've got 20+ years of T-shirts I've collected for fandoms and fun stuff that I just can't wear anymore. While plain stuff is great and will also be loved, what I would really love are V-neck and scoop neck T-shirts and tank tops that are fun. I tend to wear a lot of racerback and regular tank tops just because I'm pre-menopausal and have hot flashes because of that as well as the medicine I take for other ailments, but both short and long sleeved shirts would be awesome too.

And they don't have to be new! I will take gently used stuff you're wanting to give to a new home. I've just gotten to the point where the sensory issues and constant itching have made it impossible to wear crewneck shirts and I have to replace, like, 80% of my tops now, so any help with that would be amazing. I tend to wear a 2X for womens shirts (usually relaxed fit is better than slim fit), a 3X for juniors' tees and 2X to 3X for racerback tanks, depending on how low cut they are (I can usually get away with a 2X, but is some styles 3X sits lower on my chest). Bonus if it's from any of the fandoms or ships on my AO3 page!

10 - Care packages. Honestly, with as rough as the last year has been we'd love a little TLC from anyone who wants to gift this to us that you pick out. We'd be happy with anything, but a few notes: all three members of my family prefer baths to showers, my mother is allergic to pine and eucalyptus scents so none of us can have anything with them (also: nothing topical with menthol) and my daughter has boy cut curly hair/my mother has curly hair in like a bob cut/I have curly hair down between my shoulders and neck, so hair stuff of any type if you want to include it is appreciated since at least one of us can probably use it. For anyone wanting to include pride items, my daughter is nonbinary/trans and bisexual while I am a biromantic demisexual who also just uses the queer umbrella usually, and my mom is an ally and loves stuff showing support as an ally. If anyone wants to include anything clothing related, I can provide sizes.

I don't mind providing our address here! Also, my daughter has to get mail with her deadname, but I put her chosen name in parenthesis so if you want to personalize something you'll know the name to use.

Ragna Cook (me)
Debra Barger-Cook (my mom)
Trace Cook (aka Lena Barger-Cook...my daughter)

1780 S. El Camino Real
Unit C-201
Encinitas, CA 92024
United States