"Life is so unfair" edition. Shares needed.

Photo copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved.

There's something terribly unfair about the fact that another married couple has gotten to move into our house even before we do.

Yes, that's the Mr., right up there. See that tan patch above him to the left? That's what he and his wife have been industriously building, which is to say, hollowing out of our exterior wall. When I went up to paint today, he was back, and it sounded like he was about to come through the drywall. Much as we love the messengers, which is what flickers are, we're going to have to keep running them off until Monday, at least, when hopefully the guys can come up with a way to block them while providing them with an option somewhere close, but, you know, else. It's obvious why they like this spot, though. With the stucco paper and chicken wire lath, their barred feathers blend right in.

At any rate, that's not all I did today:

Photo copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved.

That photo's not all I did, either. I actually got the ceiling in the closet, the walls in the hallway, and the short wall at left and the less-short wall at right, as well as about half of the east-side long wall done. Tomorrow, I'll finish it, the front (south) wall around the doors, and the rest of the west wall, which is the big white expanse at the left in the photo. I'm hoping Wings can handle the ceilings, because doing them causes me all kinds of grief physically; if so, I may even be able to get started on the second coat, which is the copper. Once that's done, the turquoise will be the top coat (with all three colors visible in randomized patterns). It looks and feels like a combination of both silk and velvet.

I don't know whether the guys will be able to plaster on Monday, given what the weather's doing. We've got hail currently; the wind has quite literally howled all day (although not enough to justify the IKT outages that have been going on for days now), and we're supposed to get snow over the weekend and again next week. If not, they'll likely divide their time between casings and sills for the windows and the upstairs bath tile. And we're going to need to make a trip down to Santa Fe soon, for supplies and other purposes, and so being able to pick up some of what we can get only at Lowe's would be useful while we're there.

We've Spent another small fortune the last two weeks locally, on lumber and lath and Structolite and the other supplies needed for the interior plasterwork. There'll be more to go, too, and all too soon. So we need shares:

• Wings's PayPal account, for donations to the house fund (out of a current $30K goal, last night upped our total raised to $2,800 since last Monday, leaving a balance of $27,200. If that link doesn't work, it's tied to his e-mail address: wingsoftaos [at] newmex [dot] com.
• His Web site, for sales (always preferable, and the base upon which the whole project hinges anyway, along with paying our day-to-day living expenses) — and just by the way, he's got some really incredible new works up now.
• Our Amazon wishlist, which contains Lowe's cards that will allow us to purchase some materials more cheaply than here in town, and also allow us to divert the extra funds to labor costs.

Tomorrow will be more labor, flat-out and as fast as we can. Thanks and love to all of you who are helping us keep going.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Friday Feature: LifeLines

Photo copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved.

It's our Friday Feature at The NDN Silver Blog, with a look at a small and simple tool of transformation. It's a work that provides protection, sustenance, and renewal in the form of very literal lifelines.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. As always, sales are much needed (especially now), so shares of the site links are much appreciated.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

PAINTING! And shares still needed, natch.

Photo copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved.

Yes, I'm back at it. Finally. It took some juggling of supplements and so forth, but I've had more energy the last two days than the last six weeks combined. Not fully back yet, especially since the last six weeks were only the culmination of five and a half months of being sick, but I'll take what I can get right now. 

It doesn't look like I got very far today, but given the other demands on my time, I actually made some decent headway; all the walls in the closet (it's a walk-in) are done, and I got some experimentation done on some scrap drywall that tells me what I want to do with the ceilings. All of the painting is in artisan finishes, which means multiple colors layered in a specific manner. The master bedroom will be backed by the same charcoal that formed the base color for the bathroom, and it will utilize the same copper, but instead of the white, the top coat will be turquoise. The photo above, of the closet interior, looks lighter than the gray actually is; it's so rich that when the turquoise is backed by it, the blue develops a depth like velvet. If it works the way I think it will, it'll look like our monsoonal sunsets.

More tomorrow, and while it'll be a lot more ceiling and wall space, it'll go faster now that 1) we've settled on ceiling color, and 2) Wings will be able to lend me a hand for a few hours. If it goes as well as I hope, I may get to the copper on Saturday.

• Wings's PayPal account, for donations to the house fund (out of a current $30K goal, we've as of this moment raised $2,535 since last Monday, leaving a balance of $27,465. If that link doesn't work, it's tied to his e-mail address: wingsoftaos [at] newmex [dot] com.
• His Web site, for sales (always preferable, and the base upon which the whole project hinges anyway, along with paying our day-to-day living expenses) — and just by the way, he's got some really incredible new works up now.
• Our Amazon wishlist, which contains Lowe's cards that will allow us to purchase some materials more cheaply than here in town, and also allow us to divert the extra funds to labor costs.

Tomorrow will be more labor, flat-out and as fast as we can. Thanks and love to all of you who are helping us keep going.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

#TBT: The Webbed Lines of the World

Photo copyright Wings, 2017; all rights reserved.

It's #ThrowbackThursday at The NDN Silver Blog, and today, it's a trip back to 2011 or 2012, and a work that embodied the lines and plates of our earth, its skeleton and skin. It's a reminder that, thanks to this small spirit, we live safe within the webbed lines of the world.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. This piece sold long ago, and the cabochon is one of a kind, but if the general style speaks to your spirit, simply inquire via the site's Contact form; Wings can create a version uniquely your own. As always, sales are much needed (especially now), so shares of the site links are much appreciated.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2017; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

The Cloud Web of a Sheltering Sky

Photo copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's Wings's newest work, completed only today. It's a piece that's perfect for our weather here, the cloud web of a sheltering sky.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. And, as always, sales are much needed (especially now), so shares of the site links are much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Out of order today; lots going on here. Shares needed.

Photo copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved.

Taking things out of order today, for a couple of reasons. First, I'll have some new work from Wings to feature at his site, but it may be relatively late in the day. He's trying to get caught up on some commissions that were in the works, as well as a bunch of work for regular inventory that was in process when we got so sick. What you've been seeing lately is the result of that catch-up effort, and later today there'll be at least one and possibly two new pieces coming out of that. Second, the follow-up for his stress test is this afternoon, so we'll be dealing with that later today.

The guys are here and back at work. Plastering isn't feasible because of the weather — oh, no, the weather people's "more than a foot of snow" missed us entirely (it's all rain), but everything's soaking wet and (for here, anyway) humid. There's supposed to be more of this this weekend, and intermittently next week, too, so I have no idea when things will dry out enough for them to do even the scratch coat. And we need the rain so badly that I can't even be upset; this was the driest winter we've had in a while, and things were looking pretty grim for planting.

In the meantime, they're building the casings and sills for the upstairs windows and doors. Both are going to require some extra work and extra steps, so there's plenty for them to do. Meanwhile, Tony solved my problem from last night, so that catastrophe that was will be no more.

In the meantime, we still need shares. Thanks to three kind and generous souls, we have an additional $220 since this time yesterday, so the totals below have been updated accordingly. Here are the share links:

• Wings's PayPal account, for donations to the house fund (out of a current $30K goal, we've as of this moment raised $2,535 since last Monday, leaving a balance of $27,465. If that link doesn't work, it's tied to his e-mail address: wingsoftaos [at] newmex [dot] com.
• His Web site, for sales (always preferable, and the base upon which the whole project hinges anyway, along with paying our day-to-day living expenses) — and just by the way, he's got some really incredible new works up now.
• Our Amazon wishlist, which contains Lowe's cards that will allow us to purchase some materials more cheaply than here in town, and also allow us to divert the extra funds to labor costs.

We have a hugely busy day ahead (and no small amount of stress to go with it, no pun intended), and I have to get to it. I'll be back, hopefully in a couple of hours, with Wings's latest. Thanks and love to all of you who are helping us keep going.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Storm warning; no plasterwork in this weather. Shares needed.

Photo copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved.

Some days, you just shouldn't look back.

That old saying about not being able to go home again? Yeah. Especially when you have no home. It's something I haven't had one for . . . well, most of forever, actually.  

But the last few days have included one that is a particularly dark marker for me, one filled with grief and guilt and too many bad memories, and so maybe it was inevitable that one of these mornings, I would revisit something, thinking I could look at some small sepia snapshot of the past brought forward into the present and remain untouched by all of it. This morning happened to be it, and as always, it was a mistake.

And so when, inevitably, something went wrong, it immediately became my fault. No, no one else is saying that; I'm perfectly capable of inflicting it all on myself, thanks. The gray drizzling nature of the day — too warm for real snow, too cold for pure rain — and the fact that it will set us back isn't helping. We were down one crew member today, with a death in his family, and so the two remaining moved on to something that screwed up my own work, and plastering is unlikely tomorrow because of the cold (and, if the forecast is to be believed, a great deal of snow overnight, but I'll believe it when I see it).

At any rate, it has been an exhausting, difficult day (in other words anymore, a day ending in "y"), and tomorrow will be more of the same, and predictably, I turn it all inward. Fortunately, I have Wings to pull me out when I slide too far down the black hole.

I don't, however, have energy left over for much else. So tonight, it's all cut and paste, but no less urgent for that. Here's the share info:

• Wings's PayPal account, for donations to the house fund (out of a current $30K goal, we've as of this moment raised $2,315 since last Monday, leaving a balance of $27,685. If that link doesn't work, it's tied to his e-mail address: wingsoftaos [at] newmex [dot] com.
• His Web site, for sales (always preferable, and the base upon which the whole project hinges anyway, along with paying our day-to-day living expenses) — and just by the way, he's got some really incredible new works up now.
• Our Amazon wishlist, which contains Lowe's cards that will allow us to purchase some materials more cheaply than here in town, and also allow us to divert the extra funds to labor costs.

Back at it tomorrow, and several other tasks besides. Thanks and love to all of you who are helping us keep going.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Red Willow Spirit: Shelter In the Lines

Photo copyright Wings, 2017; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's the last March edition of Red Willow Spirit, one good for a day of navigating the spaces between a winter unwilling to leave and a spring not yet wholly in place. In the midst of the rain, as we await what is predicted to be a great deal of snow, it's a post that reminds us to seek shelter in the lines.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. It's all photos again today, and as always, his work is available for purchase in any of the usual three formats; simply inquire via the site's Contact form. Also as always, sales are much needed (especially now), so shares of the site links are much appreciated.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2017; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Scratch coat maybe tomorrow. Overwhelmed, in more ways than one. Shares needed.

Photo copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved.

First day back for the week, and the guys spent it on lathing the small stuff — the painstaking work of wiring the seams wherever the drywall meets the wood, such as around the vigas and at the edges of the stairs. I think they have a little of that sort of thing yet to go, and then they'll probably begin the scratch coat tomorrow afternoon; they're picking up the Structolite and so forth tomorrow morning.

There's so much to be done; it's unreal, the sheer volume and number of things that go into building a home. And it's not even a complicated home. I look at the faux Pueblo-Revival McMansions down the road in the developments across the highway, and I can't even imagine what went into them, given all the bells and whistles and stuff involved in them. Sheesh. I'm overwhelmed at least a dozen times a day, and that's with the simple, basic design. But even overwhelmed, we are moving forward.

I'm overwhlemed in other ways, too. We owe thanks to a bunch of folks for recent stuff. In no particular order: Avila, Avilyn, basket, belinda, bfitz, Bill, Erich, gabriella, kishik, lexalou, RunawayRose, TokenLiberal, River and Charles, Joe, CS, PMcM, and a few whose names/initials are unknown to me, because the receipts don't always include a sender. This is for moral support, e-cards, notes, texts, DMs, e-mails, wishlist purchases, Lowe's cards, purchases of Wings's work, and the donations that helped us close out the last stage and get a big jump on this one, even despite the outside attempts to hinder its progress. I owe so many personal notes, and I'm so far behind, and so many of you have reduced me to tears without knowing it and given me the strength I needed to keep going at some of my absolute lowest moments over the last difficult weeks (difficult for so many reasons, not the least of which have been the health and medical issues we've been dealing with, one way or another), and I'm so profoundly grateful to you all that I have no words.

I have no illusions about the difficulty of what we face, and I'm not talking only about finishing the house, although that's a huge one. But, as I have said so many times, I am nothing if not bull-headed, and neither is he, and we keep moving forward, even if it's only one step a day. And it's the shares that help keep us going, no matter how tough it gets:

• Wings's PayPal account, for donations to the house fund (out of a current $30K goal, we've as of this moment raised $2,315 since last Monday, leaving a balance of $27,685. If that link doesn't work, is tied to his e-mail address: wingsoftaos [at] newmex [dot] com.
• His Web site, for sales (always preferable, and the base upon which the whole project hinges anyway, along with paying our day-to-day living expenses) — and just by the way, he's got some really incredible new works up now.
• Our Amazon wishlist, which contains Lowe's cards that will allow us to purchase some materials more cheaply than here in town, and also allow us to divert the extra funds to labor costs.

Tired or not, much more work tomorrow, on many fronts. Thank you all, and we love you all.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Monday Photo Meditation: Shelter, Between Sun and Shadow

Photo copyright Wings, 2017; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a photo meditation for a week of unsettled weather to come. It's a recognition of the fact that, in such times, all we can do is navigate by the sky and the piñon lines, and seek shelter, between sun and shadow. 

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. As always, Wings's photos are available for purchase in any of the usual three formats; simply inquire via the site's Contact form. Also as always, sales are much needed (especially now), so shares of the site links are much appreciated.


All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2017; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Too tired edition. Shares needed.

Photo copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved.

Yes, that's the same photo from the other day. I'm just posting it again because I like it. Also, I'm too beat to go hunting for anything else.

I am clearly not over this yes. My s-i-l brought over some traditional medicine for me a while ago, because I'm tapped out on pharmaceutical options and none of them was working, anyway. We're both going to use it.

At least there's no getting up at some ungodly hour and heading into the hospital sans coffee tomorrow, as there was last week.

Crew returns tomorrow. More lathing, and while I think they thought they would get to the actual plastering tomorrow, I doubt it'll be before Wednesday, at the earliest; my understanding is that they'll have to lath the drywall in the bath and utility room, too, so that will take some time. Thanks to amazing generosity and dedication from some of u'all, we'll be able to pay this week's labor and next, so that's two weeks' worth of that particular stress off my mind, at least. Which is goo, because there are more than enough other stresses, house-related and otherwise, to fill its place.

So, shares. We need 'em. Like I said last night, I'm too wiped out to do anything but copy and paste from last night's post (full-blown autoimmune flare "wiped out"), so here goes:

• Wings's PayPal account, for donations to the house fund (out of a current $30K goal, we've as of this moment raised $2,315 since Monday, leaving a balance of $27,685.
• His Web site, for sales (always preferable, and the base upon which the whole project hinges anyway, along with paying our day-to-day living expenses) — and just by the way, he's got some really incredible new works up now.
• Our Amazon wishlist, which contains Lowe's cards that will allow us to purchase some materials more cheaply than here in town, and also allow us to divert the extra funds to labor costs.

And as I've said the last couple of nights:

Many thanks to the folks who have donated, purchased art, bought wishlist items (Gorilla tape, already in service since Shade decided to charge through barbed wire a couple of days ago; aloe, which is keeping Ice healthy; and the Lowe's cards, which will be put to use on materials just as soon as we can schedule a supply run down to Santa Fe). And many, many thanks to everyone who has helped us so much, whether it's with donations, purchase, shares, diaries, moral support, or just lending an ear/hand/shoulder when recent weeks have threatened to steal my sanity along with our health. We love you all.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

The Veins of Mother Earth Carry Water to Her Heart

Photo copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a work that, on this day, looks like our world here in miniature. It's one also one that reminds us of the truth that water is life, as the veins of Mother Earth carry water to her heart.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. And, as always, sales are much needed (especially now), so shares of the site links are much appreciated.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.
  

Dogs and trees and storms edition. Shares needed.

Photo copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved.

Well, it appears we're back up to four dogs.

Not literally — they're still spending their nights wherever it is they've been living up until now — but Raccoon is over here bright and early every day now, and her brother (or boyfriend, whichever) has begun joining her. Meet Smoke. He looks so much like Lilith it's scary. Nah, I have no idea what their real names are, or whether they even have names, but we have to call them something other than "Dog," "Hey, You," or "Butthead." That last applies to ours as much as to them, so it gets confusing.

The snow is virtually all gone, fourteen inches of it. Oh, there's still a light layer out in the fields, but it's really just a few inches of white slush. Here, it's mostly mud now. And our piñon tree actually broke in SIX places, at least two of which are irreparable, so Wings pruned it a little and we tied up the biggest break that looked like it might be able to reattach itself over time. We're going to see whether the other three breaks are manageable. Even so, it's shot as a home for the magpies for now.

In the meantime, blue-black clouds are amassing in the west, and the storm that was supposed to hit tomorrow into Monday is now slated for tonight into tomorrow. Rain turning to snow again. And, yes, the high was 64 today.

I have also discovered that I am in no way back yet. My cough is now mostly gone, although it comes back every night and early in the morning for a while. My energy levels? Nonexistent. I know I can't expect to bounce back like I did was 20 (or 30, or even 40), but I was really not prepared for just how bad, and how long-term, this is apparently going to be. I can't think straight, can't carry on a conversation, mostly can't even construct a coherent sentence. I was supposed to paint today, and [insert cackling with an edge of hysteria here] there is just. no. way.

I'll try again tomorrow.

In the meantime, shares. We need 'em. I'm sorry; I'm just too wiped to do anything but copy and past from last night's post, so here goes:

• Wings's PayPal account, for donations to the house fund (out of a current $30K goal, we've as of this moment raised $2,300 since Monday, leaving a balance of $27,700.
• His Web site, for sales (always preferable, and the base upon which the whole project hinges anyway, along with paying our day-to-day living expenses) — and just by the way, he's got some really incredible new works up now.
• Our Amazon wishlist, which contains Lowe's cards that will allow us to purchase some materials more cheaply than here in town, and also allow us to divert the extra funds to labor costs.

And as I also said last night:

Many thanks to the folks who have donated, purchased art, bought wishlist items (Gorilla tape, already in service since Shade decided to charge through barbed wire a couple of days ago; aloe, which is keeping Ice healthy; and the Lowe's cards, which will be put to use on materials just as soon as we can schedule a supply run down to Santa Fe). And many, many thanks to everyone who has helped us so much, whether it's with donations, purchase, shares, diaries, moral support, or just lending an ear/hand/shoulder when recent weeks have threatened to steal my sanity along with our health. We love you all.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

The Flowing Waters of a Flowering Sky

Photo copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a work with a distinctly feminine sensibility, but one that reminds us also that identity is grounded in more than external frameworks. It also reminds us that spring is a time to celebrate the flowing waters of a flowering sky.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. As always, sales are much needed (especially now), so shares of the site links are much appreciated.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Spring storms, power outages, delayed schedules, and shares needed.

Photo copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved.

So, this is what the weather did to one of our piñons this morning. It's broken in four separate places (one was cracked already from last year's spring storms, hence the rubber-covered twine [no longer] holding that branch in place). It also sent the magpie nest sliding, which I suppose means that they'll be limited to the condo they built in the neighboring cedar tree unless they decide to rebuild elsewhere. This tree will now be too exposed for them to use.

That wasn't all the weather accomplished. Up-mountain from us, it supposedly downed a bunch of power lines (of course, Indian Killer Utility's definition of "a bunch" could just as easily be "one"). At any rate, the power went out at 6 AM (and thus the water, too, since the well pump is electric, never mind our Internet access, with a router that requires electricity), and we didn't get it back for eight and a half hours. We did, however, get bitter cold and a hard north wind this morning, leaving me bundled up in three layers of fleece, a hat, gloves, wool socks, a poncho, and two blankets, all with no heat and no coffee and this tin can rocking back and forth in the wind. And then this afternoon, the temp shot up to 50 degrees.

We really do need to get out of this place. This year.

Here are the links to share:

• Wings's PayPal account, for donations to the house fund (out of a current $30K goal, we've as of this moment raised $2,300 since Monday, leaving a balance of $27,700.
• His Web site, for sales (always preferable, and the base upon which the whole project hinges anyway, along with paying our day-to-day living expenses) — and just by the way, he's got some really incredible new works up now.
• Our Amazon wishlist, which contains Lowe's cards that will allow us to purchase some materials more cheaply than here in town, and also allow us to divert the extra funds to labor costs.

Many thanks to the folks who have donated, purchased art, bought wishlist items (Gorilla tape, already in service since Shade decided to charge through barbed wire a couple of days ago; aloe, which is keeping Ice healthy; and the Lowe's cards, which will be put to use on materials just as soon as we can schedule a supply run down to Santa Fe). And many, many thanks to everyone who has helped us so much, whether it's with donations, purchase, shares, diaries, moral support, or just lending an ear/hand/shoulder when recent weeks have threatened to steal my sanity along with our health. We love you all.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Friday Feature: Wishing for the Water

Photo copyright A ji, 2017;
all rights reserved.

It's our Friday Feature at The NDN Silver Blog, with a work that wound up being more apt for this day than I had any way of anticipating. It's one that holds lessons from the weather, as well as gifts from a small but powerful spirit, at a time when we have found ourselves wishing for the water.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. As always, sales are much needed, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.

Just FTR, this would have posted far earlier, but we've had no power (or water; the well pump's electric) since 6 AM. Fourteen inches of wet snow overnight, a driving north wind this morning that shook this tin can like a pair of dice, and an electrical infrastructure in the county that's improperly maintained, and they apparently had lines down all over the place up-mountain from us. I had a full work day scheduled, and have gotten to exactly none of it, since power was a requirement. I could have gotten more done, though, were I not constrained by the limitations of the toxic tin can.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

PayPal, Painting, and Puppies.

Photo copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved.

So I guess it’s National Puppy Day. In lieu of new house pix, have a photo from a couple of weeks or so ago of one of the neighborhood strays. This is the puppy who sat a watch for Cree on her first night in her new resting place. It turns out that “he” is actually she, and she has grown a lot in the past month. She has also had her first heat, despite being probably no more than six months of age, and I rather suspect that her ravening hunger, coupled with an otherwise apparently healthy body weight, means that she is already pregnant. Not by Raven, who shoots blanks, but given her skittish but very real attachment to us and to all things here, if she is pregnant, I’ll be very interested to see what the puppies look like. Griffin’s one-year anniversary is three weeks away; if one of the puppies channels him . . . . (No, I don't mean that Grif would be the father; that's impossible on multiple grounds. I'm speculating about the presence of his spirit.) She's here every day now (her [non-blood] sibling, a little less frequently), and so given that we've had to call her something besides "PuppyGirl," for the moment, at least, it's Esiban, which in my language means "Raccoon." When she looks at you straight on, the black rings around her eyes are more pronounced, like a little raccoon mask. She seems to like the name; she answers to it, even if she won't come close enough for us to pet her yet. She's clearly been abused by humans, making her very afraid, but she also wants very badly to be part of a pack — specifically, our pack.

I may not get to post this tonight. We have a little snow, which means, natch, that Indian Killer Telecom is worse than useless. We have TV, but no Web browsing or e-mail at the moment; it's gone in and out, on and off, for the last hour or two, and for what they charge, that’s absolutely absurd. We also learned, a month or so ago, that they screwed up the install for the new house, and it will require a very makeshift and unreliable fix. It’s unacceptable, but there’s nothing we can do; they effed it up and we found out after the fact when the state inspector came out a few weeks ago. He and the IKT guy got an earful. I am so very, very tired of half-assery.

I'm also tired of dealing with complications on the house, including this week's development of downing our fundraising site, but I don't have any choice but to keep moving forward, no matter how difficult people try to make it for us to do so. PayPal is apparently our one solution now. Thanks to the latest donations, we were able to go into town to the hardware store to pick up some more supplies today, and we'll be able to cover the additional lath and Structolite and next week's labor costs, but we have a long way to go on this house. So here is the PayPal link. For sales, here's the link to Wings's site, which has some fabulous new works available on it. And for the Lowe's cards, for supplies and materials like flooring and cabinetry and appliances that are far more expensive to buy here than from a national chain, here's the Amazon wishlist. If all goes well this weekend, I'll have photos from painting what will be our bedroom to post by Sunday; if all goes well next week, I'll have photos of the guys doing the interior plasterwork to post then.

Many thanks to everyone for your ongoing support, especially in the face of recent complications and setbacks. We are going forward, no matter the odds and obstacles. Wings's health (and mine, too) require that I do nothing less.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.
   

#ThrowbackThursday: Talismanic Waters

Photo copyright Wings, 2017; all rights reserved.

It's #TBT at The NDN Silver Blog, with a work from nine years ago, one that embodied the themes of this week in a gently beautiful way. It was a cuff made of three rivers of silver meeting in a pool of pale blue, a work that held the power and spirit of talismanic waters. 

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. This one sold years ago, and of course, the stones are always unique, but if the general style speaks to your spirit, simply inquire via the site's Contact form; Wings can create a version uniquely your own. As always, sales are much needed (especially now), so shares of the site links are much appreciated.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2017; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

There are other options. We are not quitting.

Photo copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved.

After more than a day, WePay (which cannot really be divorced from its relationship with YouCaring, which pushes people to use its service), sent me a snotty and utterly nonresponsive "response" that tells me they have no legitimate answer for why they've canceled our account. They seem to be trying to accuse us of violating their TOS without actually coming out and saying so in so many words (because of course they can't do that, because we explicitly have not done so; there is absolutely nothing in their TOS that our fundraiser transgresses). It's all weasel words with no substance to it, but they're refusing to back down and correct what is unquestionably an error (I won't call it malice on their part).

But speaking of malice . . . . To the person who created this mess with a fraudulent "report," just know this: I prayed for you this morning. I prayed that you would find whatever is so lacking in your life, whatever it is that you need to heal what is so obviously broken in you, so that you can focus on living your own life, hopefully with great joy and fulfillment, instead of wasting your time and effort trying to harm us. ::Shrug:: it's not as though it will work anyway. We are going to finish this; we are going to have a home; we are going to be safe and no longer at risk. I have far more experience (a lifetime, in fact) in resisting and outlasting abuse than you will ever have in inflicting it.

To everyone else, no, I'm not going to appeal or contest it. Fuck 'em. Life's too short to deal with people and entities who operate in bad faith, and I have far too much on my shoulders right now to waste another second on them. So I guess it's PayPal; that link is here. The link to Wings's site for sales is here. The link to the wishlist for Lowe's cards is here. And the donors who were treated so shabbily by WePay have done as they intended all along, so out of the $30K goal, we've raised $1,100 so far. And we are profoundly grateful to you both, and to everyone else who continues to support our efforts, with shares and good wishes and moral support and everything else.

Now, I have to go produce dinner on this sorry excuse for a stove, and maybe find something to take the edge off this migraine.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Worlds In the Waters

Photo copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's one of Wings's brand-new works, just completed days ago (and, ironically and unbeknownst to me until now, also in time for World Water Day today). It's a work that embodies the spirit, and spirits, of the waters, and one that honors the worlds in the waters that give us all life.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. As always, sales are much needed (especially now), so shares of the site links are much appreciated.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

No, I will not give up.

Photo copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved.

Well.

It has been a day.

It started off with such promise, too: a few shares, two donations, and most of all, the ability to wake up to the knowledge that Wings aced his stress test yesterday. That's one part of six weeks' worth of enormous stress off me now, too. [Only one; there are more concerns, significant and highly stressful ones, but at least his heart is in great shape, and that brings me more joy and gratitude than I can say.]

It was all downhill from there.

There are a couple of problems with the front doors. I'm not up on it enough to describe it with any accuracy, nor do I know how it will shake out, but it's another issue. 

The neighbor's cows apparently downed a section of fence in a place we didn't know about, and the horses got out. Took forever to get them back on our side, and in the meantime, Shade managed to get wire cuts to both hind legs and her left eyelid. We got her patched up and got antibiotics into her; waiting for confirmation from the vet, but I'm pretty sure that when they got their vaxes last week, that included tetanus. Still, a couple of hours out of the day that needed to be put to other use, and a lot of physical and other strain involved.

Then this afternoon (I was, of course, outside dealing with some other crisis), YouCaring's payment processor notified me that they had halted processing of the first donation, citing alleged "suspicious activity," and assured me that they were contacting the donor to verify that all was well. Within 60 seconds (yes, you read that right; in one minute), they then notified me that they were canceling our account. They gave no reason, and no method of recourse. They did not contact the donor at all. They have not responded (yet, at least) to my message asking for an explanation. 

You know, no one has ever been pressured in any way to donate to our effort to have a home once again. No one. This is all voluntary. People who want to donate and feel they can afford it will; people who don't and can't won't. We have endured seven winters, two electrical fires, untold days without running water, bitter cold, dirt, dust, leaks, formaldehyde-riddled surfaces, mold, and too many other dangers to mention. Those are just the big ones. That doesn't include the grinding erosion of our physical, mental, and spiritual well-being in other ways: the constant lack of space, the scarcity of hot water, the inability to cook properly because the oven is next to useless, the refrigerator that constantly craps out and either freezes everything rock-solid or floods all over the floor, the inability to live a normal life in really basic safety and security. And we've been doing all this with chronic (and severe) health conditions. And while I'm not going to detail any of it here, we still manage to help others out as we're able, because people need help and that's part of our responsibility as human beings.

If someone has a problem with our trying, at long last, to be safe and to have some small relative comfort? That's having a problem with our survival. You should get that hole in your soul looked at. 

I'm very angry at this moment. I cannot, and am not even going to bother to try to, articulate what these last seven years have been like for us. I'm also not going to explain what the last six or seven weeks have been like for me. Suffice to say that they have taken every ounce of strength and persistence to keep going. I am, at this moment, disheartened, demoralized, discouraged. I am about an inch away from a panic attack. And you know what?

Fuck that.

I am not giving up. Period. I am going to make sure that we are safe, Wings and myself together, and eventually, we will be able to live the way everyone else does, in a home that has regular running water and heat and an actual bedroom and an actual bathroom and an actual kitchen. When our aging bodies are in massive pain, as is the case daily, we can take a bath instead of a shower for the first time in almost seven years, and in the shower, the water won't turn ice-cold in three minutes. I will be able to cook decent meals again in an oven that actually works, that doesn't tilt and doesn't scorch everything because the flame will not be directly on the shelf. We will not have to go outside in sub-zero temps to light the pilot and then wait an hour for three minutes of hot water, nor will we have to turn the pilot off because it blows out and floods the place with propane fumes. We will be able to do what most people take for granted, simple things like turning on the faucet and knowing water will come out, even in winter. The roof will not leak in a half-dozen places, no matter how often it's patched, and we will not suffocate in a claustrophobic "bedroom" with no room for an actual bed and no room to stand up, either.

I don't know whether we'll get our YouCaring page back. If not, there's always Wings's PayPal link. But no matter how tired I am, how demoralized, how much I feel like giving up, I am going to make sure that we have a safe place in which to grow old together. It may take me years, but I will do this.

If you would like to help, we're grateful for it. For now, PayPal is here; Wings's site, for sales of his work, is here; our wishlist, for the Lowe's cards for materials, is here. And if someone doesn't want to help, that's perfectly fine; just ignore us. But instead of seeking to harm us, perhaps they could, oh, I don't know, just leave us alone and go live their own life?




All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Red Willow Spirit: To Celebrate the Water

Photo copyright Wings, 2017; 
all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's the first official spring edition our Red Willow Spirit series. Today, it's an opportunity to celebrate the water, even as we know that this year, we will need to take extraordinary measures to preserve and extend its use.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. It's all photos today, and as always with Wings's work, they're available for purchase in any of the usual three formats; simply inquire via the site's Contact form. Also as always, sales are much needed (especially now), so shares of the site links are much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2017; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.