The rain continues to pass us by.

Photo copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved.

And once again, the rain continues to pass us by.

If only a few other things could pass us by, it wouldn't be so bad. Everything is focused around making sales right now, and so far, it's been a shockingly fruitless endeavor. I have got to bring in more scratch.

I also have to get a ton of physical things done around here today. I've even taken a pred in hopes of improving my breathing, and of staving off the constant itching that increasingly looks like a side effect of the new inhaler. If so, I might not be allergic to the dispersal method (it uses the same one as my rescue inhaler), but the steroid itself, and it's going to really suck if there turns out to be literally no maintenance inhaler that I can use. Every time I think about that possibility, I just want to bawl, because it will mean my chance at getting back even to my disabled normal is shot. Which means I can't let myself go there despite my current misery, because if I start I'll never stop. But now I have to get to work, so what follows is all the cut-and-paste: sales here; testimonials here; wishlist (such as it is still) here. Thanks to the two folks who sent in testimonials; once again, I'm going to try to get them up tonight, although it all depends on how the rest of the day goes. We need more folks to send them in, too. Wings dropped his new bead pieces (two necklaces; four pairs of earrings) a few days ago; you can find the summary post here. Please share their individual links, and be on the lookout for the other new works, especially the belt, which will likely be done next week.

When I say we need to make sales, I'm deadly serious. This is our survival. At this moment, I need to pull in $2,700 worth of sales: enough to cover the quarterly taxes and the latest four-figure physician's group bill that they just got around to sending me (I guess this is what happens when there are five different docs involved for one lousy biopsy). And while I spend every spare moment chasing them, there aren't many spare moments for me these days, especially with my ongoing breathing issues and whatever else is going on that they haven't identified yet. So please, help us get the word out.




All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

A Place of Medicine

Photo copyright Aji, 2019;
all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a pair of earrings wrought in traditional style, gentle colors of the dawn infused with the powerful spirits of a sheltering sky. It also serves as a reminder of the gifts and obligations of summer, a temporal space of abundance, and a place of medicine, too.

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



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Words. Sales.

Photo copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved.

Yesterday. It's tempting to call it a visitor, but it's not; it belongs here. And since we were just treated like (essentially labeled) visitors by a colonizer a few moments ago, I'm newly mindful, yet again, of the words I choose to describe our world.

It's hot, and it's been a very long morning already, and I have so much more to do that I'll never have time to get to, so here's the cut-and-paste: sales here; testimonials here; wishlist (such as it is still) here. Thanks to the two folks who sent in testimonials; once again, I'm going to try to get them up tonight, although it all depends on how the rest of the day goes. We need more folks to send them in, too. Wings dropped his new bead pieces (two necklaces; four pairs of earrings) a few days ago; you can find the summary post here. Please share their individual links, and be on the lookout for the other new works, especially the belt, which will likely be done next week.

When I say we need to make sales, I'm deadly serious. This is our survival. At this moment, I need to pull in $2,700 worth of sales: enough to cover the quarterly taxes and the latest four-figure physician's group bill that they just got around to sending me. And while I spend every spare moment chasing them, there aren't many spare moments for me these days, especially with my ongoing breathing issues and whatever else is going on that they haven't identified yet. So please, help us get the word out.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

At Home In the Water

Photo copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a work that coordinates with the piece we featured on Wednesday, and one designed to evoke the trappings of the season that, until now, have been not much in evidence here. It's a tribute to the water lilies, and to those they bring — the small spirits of summer who are at home in the water.

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



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Rain and reserves.

Photo copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved.

What 152 bales looks like. This is from the other day; there were 22 bales they didn't get to, and we sold them to one of our neighbors yesterday at an absolute steal of a price, somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 what they're going for on the market for even really lousy stuff. This is top-quality grass/timothy/alfalfa mix out of our north field. He has three mares, so the 22 will be good for them, short-term.

We thought we would get only one cut this year, and still counted ourselves lucky, since last year's drought meant nothing but burnt fields. But it looks as though we might get a second, if we get any amount of rain at all, so even with the cost of cutting and baling, we still come out ahead for the winter for our horses. Reserves are everything these days, for them and for us.

Speaking of both rain and reserves, we have virtually none of either. So as I said yesterday (because I'm too wiped out to retype everything, and I have a ton of real-world work to get done here today): Need to make it rain on other fronts, too, given that quarterly taxes get paid next week, and I still don't feel like I can schedule the next round of testing to find out what's going on internally. I mean, that could change, at least with regard to the knew throat mass, if they decide it needs pursuing now, but 1) I hope not, and 2) there's all the other testing that remains to be done that has nothing to do with my thyroid. Also staring down a very expensive refill in another couple of weeks.

So here's the cut-and-paste: sales here; testimonials here; wishlist (such as it is still) here. Thanks to the two folks who sent in testimonials; once again, I'm going to try to get them up tonight, although it all depends on how the rest of the day goes. We need more folks to send them in, too. Wings dropped his new bead pieces (two necklaces; four pairs of earrings) a few days ago; you can find the summary post here. Please share their individual links, and be on the lookout for the other new works, especially the belt, which will likely be done next week.

When I say we need to make sales, I'm deadly serious. This is our survival. And while I spend every spare moment chasing them, there aren't many spare moments for me these days, especially with my ongoing breathing issues and whatever else is going on that they haven't identified yet. So please, help us get the word out.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Friday Feature: A Little Summer Shelter

Photo copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved.

It's our Friday Feature at The NDN Silver Blog, with a work by a master who is, in our way of extended clan and familiar relationships, a brother of sorts to Wings. It's also one that captures the very spirit of the season, of lifeways both ancient and very, very current, and of what, at this season, is most often needed: a little summer shelter, for body and spirit.

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



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Polecat Princess.

Photo copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved.

No, she doesn't look much like that at the moment, but that's our Polecat Princess. She's upstairs in her dog bed on the bedroom floor, lying in the sun and trying to dry off (this after me having chased her off our bed, natch). She had herself yet another new experience last night, that of getting skunked, which garnered her the additional new experience a little while ago of a bath, this one with deskunking shampoo.

Demousing operations are proceeding apace; no new catches today, and given that the point of entry is closed and how many we've trapped thus far, I think we might be done. Traps will remain baited and set for a week or so yet, anyway.

Meanwhile, the rain seems to be bypassing us again. Lots of clouds to the south and west this morning, now all seeming to blow by us on the south side. Everything is tinderbox-dry; we got the hay in just in time.

Need to make it rain on other fronts, too, given that quarterly taxes get paid next week, and I still don't feel like I can schedule the next round of testing to find out what's going on internally. I mean, that could change, at least with regard to the knew throat mass, if they decide it needs pursuing now, but 1) I hope not, and 2) there's all the other testing that remains to be done that has nothing to do with my thyroid. Also staring down a very expensive refill in another couple of weeks.

So here's the cut-and-paste: sales here; testimonials here; wishlist (such as it is still) here. Thanks to the two folks who sent in testimonials; once again, I'm going to try to get them up tonight, although it all depends on how the rest of the day goes. We need more folks to send them in, too. Wings dropped his new bead pieces (two necklaces; four pairs of earrings) a few days ago; you can find the summary post here. Please share their individual links, and be on the lookout for the other new works, especially the belt, which will likely be done next week.

And now, in between chasing sales, a whole day's worth of physical tasks await. First, though, I think I better go make sure the princess hasn't migrated again.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

#ThrowbackThursday: A Space For the Water

Photo copyright Wings, 2019; all rights reserved.

It's #TBT at The NDN Silver Blog, with a work from some eleven years ago that would become a part of my personal collection. It's Skystones and Water Birds in the form of a barrette, and a reminder always to make a space for the water.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. As always with #TBT features (and all his work), each piece is one of a kind, but if the style speaks to your spirit, simply inquire via the site's Contact form; Wings can create a version uniquely your own. And, as always, sales are very much needed, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2019; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Screening out the stressors.

Photo copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved.

I meant to post this a couple of days ago: mouse eradication. You can see how low to the ground that dryer vent is. They're not getting in there now, though. I think we may have caught the last one, but it'll be a few days before we know for sure.

Between Wings and River, they got 152 of the bales in yesterday; 22 are still in the north field, but they can be picked up one or two at a time, if need be. Yesterday was, of course, the first day since mid-spring that the mercury got anywhere near ninety. Hot again today, and still no rain in sight, although the experts insist that will change by this weekend. I'll believe it when it actually happens, and not before.

I didn't even do any of the loading and stacking yesterday, and I'm still completely wrung out. The pressures are endless, and at some point something's got to give, and it is — my health, on all fronts. I refuse even to entertain anything about the new mass in my neck; I assume that if the docs thought it was truly dangerous, mine would have told me by now to schedule another biopsy. At any rate, just the logistics involved in another biopsy, forget the thousands of dollars in cost, make it a nonstarter at the moment, and there's nothing I can do about that, so the healthiest thing is to focus on more immediate concerns. Like breathing.

We have to pay out quarterly taxes next week. We have to pick up two scrips today, and I have another medical bill waiting (more than a grand), and I still have to schedule my next follow-up, never mind figure out the additional testing that has nothing to do with my neck. I'm screening out the stressors as best I can, but there are just too many of them. So here's the cut-and-paste: sales here; testimonials here; wishlist (such as it is still) here. Thanks to the two folks who sent in testimonials; once again, I'm going to try to get them up tonight, although it all depends on how the rest of the day goes. We need more folks to send them in, too. Wings dropped his new bead pieces (two necklaces; four pairs of earrings) yesterday evening; you can find the summary post here. Please share their individual links, and be on the lookout for the other new works, especially the belt, which will likely be done next week.

The rest of the day is going to be busier than my body's equipped to handle right now, but there's nothing I can do about that, either, so I'd best get on it.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Water For a Warming Earth

Photo copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's one of Wings's boldest works, a cuff in the shapes and shades of summer. It's the embodiment of the greening of the earth, a reminder that in this place, summer is water for a warming earth, and that we need it now more than ever.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. And, as always, sales are very much needed (this would cover next week's quarterly taxes and just over half the cost of my inhaler refill), so shares of the site links are much appreciated.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

More work.

Photo copyright Aji, 2019;
all rights reserved.

From yesterday evening. We allegedly got 174 bales out of it, which, if true, is a record for the north fields. Which is good, given that we're not doing the south fields at all. Wings and River are out loading and stacking right now; I went out just for a moment to see something, and the hay dust and my asthma very clearly do not mix. Unfortunately, the other guy who was supposed to work did not, so it's just the two of them.

A lot to come in the way of more work, and more expenses besides. I have not been able to get into town to pick up our scrips, and today's not looking good, either, since I'm back to waiting for Lowe's after they screwed up last week's delivery. But that will be another expense, and so will the next round of appointments, and that doesn't even contemplate another biopsy, which I hope they will decide is unneeded for the moment. Quarterly taxes, and then there's the whole plumbing/wall mess.

So here's the cut-and-paste: sales here; testimonials here; wishlist (such as it is still) here. Thanks to the two folks who sent in testimonials; once again, I'm going to try to get them up tonight, although it all depends on how the rest of the day goes. We need more folks to send them in, too. Wings dropped his new bead pieces (two necklaces; four pairs of earrings) yesterday evening; you can find the summary post here. Please share their individual links, and be on the lookout for the other new works, especially the belt, which will likely be done next week.

And now, time to play catch-up on all the catch-up things I couldn't get to yesterday. Maybe by the end of the summer I'll at least have June's work done.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Red Willow Spirit: The Work of Summer

Photo copyright Wings, 2019; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's an edition of Red Willow Spirit for the spirits and tasks of the season. It's a contemplation of change, of what is absent and what is required, and a prayer to the spirits as we engage in the work of summer.

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 very much needed, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2019; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

As promised, six new works by Wings.

Photo copyright Aji, 2019;
all rights reserved.

Welp, I said it was dry today; little did I know. Ivan is already here baling tonight instead of waiting for tomorrow (which also means that we'll be paying him tonight instead of tomorrow). River will be here tomorrow to help load and stack, too. 

Obviously, we need to make sales, and I did say that there were new pieces in the works. So now, as promised, six new works by Wings: two necklaces in the new bead series; two coordinating (but not identical) pairs of earrings; and two more pairs of earrings standing alone in their series. [Those last two? Two of my all-time favorites in this series so far.]

First, the first of the new necklaces, one in the colors of summer (it was done on the solstice, too, except for the fact that the findings on one end wouldn't cooperate, so he left it to finish up yesterday: Labradorite, turquoise, jade, malachite, kyanite. This one is a bit longer, 20", and the stones are more costly, so it's priced accordingly. It's called Borealis, and you can read the description here.

Photo copyright Aji, 2019;
all rights reserved.

Next are the coordinating earrings (yes, same stones, and also priced slightly higher as a result). And yup: They're called Aurora. Their full description is here.

Photo copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved.

Now we come to the second necklace, one Wings particularly likes. It's the blues that do it. This one is also slightly shorter than the others, designed to put the lapis focal bead at the hollow of the throat, which shows off strand and throat both to spectacular effect. This one is called The Dust of Ancient Stars, and it's full description is here. 

Photo copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved.

Next, we have the earrings that coordinate with it (but don't match exactly). These are chunky and textured and as bold as their name: Blue Nova. Their description is here.

Photo copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved.

Now, seeing as how I tend to be a stormy blue and green girl, I'd have expected myself to go for the two sets above, but nope: This pair of stand-alone earrings, Berry Moon, is my favorite. I absolutely love these. You can read their description here.

Photo copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved.

And last by not at all least, since these run a close second for favorite status with me, are Ash and Fire. Their description can be found here.

All at NDN Silver, all available for purchase via the Contact form (or DM).

And since I've had to defend the amount of time I spend trying to make sales, including all of the writing involved (and there's never any time left for my own writing, needless to say), it'd be really nice to sell the whole lot right now.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Everything is dry.

Photo copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved.

The northeast field at mid-afternoon yesterday. We only did the north/northeast fields this year; east and south are too overgrown with inedible weeds, with too little actual hay. Now that we're down to two horses, there's not as much need for it, and neither of these too needs much in the way of alfalfa anyway, which is entirely what those fields were pre-drought. The north was always grass only on the far end and a bit of alfalfa closer in, so it's a good mix for Miskwaki and Miika.

The rain the night before proved to be irrelevant, since the hay had, thankfully, not been cut yet. Had he shown up as scheduled, it would've been lying in the fields, soaking up all the water in heavy masses and risking rot; since it was still standing, it had time to dry out, and the winds from yesterday and today will be enough to dry it thoroughly for baling tomorrow, probably. And everything is dry. I had to walk up to open the gate this morning, and the soil is like ash. If the rain forecast for this coming weekend doesn't materialize, we're in trouble. And by "we," I mean the whole area. The grass is already browning again, and the maples have begun turning, thanks to the freezing nights. We need more warmth, and more rain with it.

We need the other sort of rain, too. We need to pick up two scrips today, one for each of us; next week, we're hoping we can get the plumbing repairs mostly finished, however much it costs. Next week is also quarterly taxes for '19. And then we worry about the walls (and the possibility of the kitchen plumbing/wall also being shot), and at some point, I have to shove everything else that needs to be paid out of my mind and get serious about figuring out the next round of medical tests for me. That's, of course, if they don't figure out for me with demands for yet another biopsy because of this new mass in my throat/neck.

I am, quite literally, focused on nothing but sales right now (I mean, over and above how we're going to correct everything that needs correcting and pay everything that needs paying). Of course, that means my stress levels are epic, and I already have more than enough in that regard just with the breathing problems and the medical stuff still hanging over me like the blade on a pendulum. We have to make consistent sales to survive, and we're way down on the season, and that has to change or we don't make it. So here's the cut-and-paste: sales here; testimonials here; wishlist (such as it is still) here. Thanks to the two folks who sent in testimonials; I'm going to try to get them up tonight, although it all depends on how the rest of the day goes. We need more folks to send them in, too. Wings will have the new bead pieces (two necklaces; four pairs of earrings) done today, and the belt in a matter of days, probably. I'll be posting the bead items later today, so please share them as they drop.

And now, I have to take a couple of hours to work on some of the physical labor that has me so far behind, before my pain levels spike above and energy levels drop below that short-lived median that permits me to do it.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Monday Photo Meditation: The Sacred Space of Summer

Photo copyright Wings, 2019; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a photo meditation for a Monday and a season that need to be a little less manic, a little less captive to the bonds of colonialism. It's a reminder that, however busy the outside world forces us to be now, one of our obligations is to make time to appreciate the season's gift, to find the time to honor and inhabit the sacred space of summer.

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 very much needed, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2019; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

A mess.

Photo copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved.

Yesterday's storm, or part of it, anyway. The weather here is a mess right now. That's not all that's a mess, either.

Ivan is finally here and cutting the hay, arriving only an hour and half late. He was supposed to be here at ten. Then again, he was supposed to be here at four yesterday afternoon, and that was after he was supposed to be here at ten yesterday morning, and that was after he was supposed to be here sometime after four on Friday afternoon. Since it rained briefly last night, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise, but people we are paying taking our time for granted is on my last nerve after this past week. I don't care if you can't do it at the time you originally said because you're overloaded and were overly optimistic about how soon you could get it all done. I do care if you can't be bothered to let us know that.

We're also dealing with more fallout from the plumbing disaster, and that is well past my last nerve and on to me needing to find a creative outlet for revenge. Besides misinstalling, well, everything, but I'm thinking specifically right now of the washer drain and cleanout, they also put the dryer vent far too low to the ground and didn't screen it. So what we didn't know was that, on top of everything else they fucked up in that wall, they left it open to invasion by a colony of mice. And so, when Sherm opened the wall up, guess what happened? Yup. And it's not field mice, either; it's fucking deer mice, the kind that carry hanta virus and bubonic plague, and it's an entire family of the little monsters. So we've been trapping them as fast as we can, but whoever coined the phrase "breeding like rabbits" was an idiot who obviously didn't know jack about mice.

Yeah. Now is not the time for anyone to get crosswise with me. To top it all off, I'm having a new allergic reaction to a supplement (goddammit, granola shops and manufacturers, if you're so into this vegan stuff, you damn well ought to be labeling, in letters more than a millimeter high and on the front of your products, when they have COW in them, because we're both allergic to the beasts). And I didn't know that bovine gelatin capsules were the cause of my additional misery until this morning, when I decided to try to read the teeny, tiny print on the back label, and sure enough, and now that I'm hoarse and rashing out everywhere, I'm really loaded for bear. 

Anyway. So we pay for the cutting today; baling probably tomorrow or Tuesday. If I can convince Wings to hire an exterminator instead of doing it himself (yeah, he's got the masks and all, but I still don't like it), there'll be that, too. We paid off our installment plan for the 2017 taxes on Friday; quarterly taxes are due this coming week for '19 (we paid off '18 in a huge lump because their site and phones were down and we couldn't arrange an installment plan, hence part of this year's enormous cash outlay already, because, yeah, Trump's tax changes screwed us, too). Then there's the medical stuff, and we've paid out in the high three figures for the two of us over the last ten days or so, with more to come, and that doesn't even include the tests they want me to schedule soon (or what they might want out of me because of this newest mass in the front of my throat).

All of this means we've got to make sales. And since I'm too wiped out from the asthma and the allergic reactions and everything else, here's a cut-and-paste of what I posted yesterday: sales here; testimonials here; wishlist (such as it is still) here. Wings will have some new bead pieces possibly today (two are done; four more awaiting final stages), and the belt in a matter of days, probably. Please share them as they drop.

And now, I have to get back to rebleaching surfaces. Again. And maybe pop another pred to deal with the allergic reaction.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

A Medicine of Earth and Light

Photo copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's one of the season's more powerful spirits, manifest in Wings's distinctive design. It's Serpent, out of the water but still a signifier of prosperity, one who holds the medicine of summer, a medicine of earth and light.

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



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

The wind is already rising, and the smoke is already here.

Photo copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved.

I kept trying to catch images of the fields yesterday, with the grasses rippling like an ocean beneath the wind. Unfortunately, in still photos, it looks . . . well, still. This close-up of the tops along the west-side berm were the closest I could come to depicting it. Those mulberry colored flowery tops? Normally they stand straight up, and you can see they're bent at right angles.

The wind is already rising, and the smoke is already here. [Another metaphor there, yeah, I know. But the whole world's on fire, and people are focused on stupid, meaningless political and social-media "wins" that help no one but themselves instead of working on putting out the flames.] No rain to speak of in the forecast, but we do have an air quality warning, so there's that. Still waiting for Ivan to get here to drop the hay; he had a problem with his tractor the other night (one that's been ongoing for years), so apparently he spent yesterday getting a new tractor. Still not here yet, though. 

Meanwhile, breathing is a problem. So's the headache that goes with the smoke, and it's been here since late Wednesday afternoon (the headache, I mean, but that's because the smoke's been here since then, too). I also overdid it again yesterday trying to get caught up on things around here, so my pain levels, already jacked by the smoke, are that much worse yet. And, of course, I'm endlessly behind on everything.

Speaking of which, I need to get on it. I also need to make some sales to keep everything going. Thanks to a sale last weekend, Ivan's covered for the hay, but there's all the other endless expense of the plumbing and the wall and the medical stuff and, of course, just the costs of daily living. So: sales here; testimonials here; wishlist (such as it is still) here. And I'm back to work, pain and shortness of breath or no.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

A Magic Light Made of Dust and Smoke

Photo copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a work from Wings's "Light" signature series of traditional concha-style earrings. These shimmer with a warm and earthy light well-suited to this first full day of official summer, one whose complicating factors still carry their own beauty, a magic light made of dust and smoke.

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



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Not an auspicious start.

Photo copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved.

I aspire to such levels of relaxation. Also of physical flexibility. I will never achieve either.

She's lying more or less at my feet at the moment, instead of on the dog bed. I wasn't supposed to be here right now — I was supposed to be with Wings at his follow-up — but the smoke is so bad here today that we both thought I'd be better off staying indoors as much as possible. Given the town lies lower than our place here, the smoke is undoubtedly worse, trapped as it gets in the valley. So much for the first day of summer: Smoke, and gale-force winds, and we can only hope the latter blow out the former. not an auspicious start.

This week has been trash pretty much across the board. I lost two full days to UPS's . . . I don't even know what to call it. I confirmed last night with the night manager that someone on the day shift dummied up the records; our delivery was never in put onto a truck. So they falsified the first report of "receiving business (i.e., our residence) closed" two nights ago; then yesterday again falsified the entry that we had refused delivery, saying that we hadn't ordered it and instructing them to return it. And if that sounds unlikely to you, well, you're no more astonished than I am.

And UPS has been absolutely useless, offering me nothing more than a coupon code for 40% off future shipments. Which, I might add, are tax-deductible anyway, so they're offering us nothing for depriving me of two days' worth of work, all the agita of chasing them and the stupid package around, and a severe asthma attack chasing Chinook down because we had to keep the gate open for the delivery that never came, and some idiot was screwing around on the road up there. I guess we won't be using UPS anymore; I wish I could force vendors shipping to us to use FedEx for things that have to come to the house.

Anyway. The box was so badly damaged that we have no confidence that the contents aren't also damaged, so we wound up telling them to proceed with the return anyway. The part can be ordered through a local dealer who carries a different line, but it's a lot more expensive locally, so we thought we'd save money and get it in the same amount of time. Apparently not.

And I find, today, that I am so mad I cannot see straight. It's not even this UPS bullshit, though bullshit it most certainly is. It's the fucking plumbing disaster and the damage done to our house and to us, and the knowledge that we have no recourse. I have to get rid of this rage at some point, but since our house is still torn apart and we're going to be dealing with the fallout for months, to say nothing of the costs, I'm nowhere near there yet.

In the meantime, everything has to keep moving. Ivan will be here this evening to drop the hay; assuming the forecast is accurate, I'm guessing he'll bale Sunday or Monday. This will be the second year in a row that I will not be able to help with getting it in; in the past, I was always right out there beside Wings loading and stacking bales, but my body's been too damaged these last two years for me to do that kind of lifting. Another loss, and I feel it acutely; there is so much I can no longer do, and it has real-world consequences for us. All the stuff we used to do together that requires two sets of hands, things like the hay and repairing (or even building) fences and so forth? I can't do any of it now, which means that we have to pay someone to help out with it. So many, many years of work, and suddenly, I'm cut off from all of it.

So there's a lot of expense, now and coming down the pike both. There's a lot that we have no choice but to shell out for, and we have to make some sales to do it — in a local economy where sales are nonexistent, and an online one in which they're way, way down for this time of year. So please share the links to our site; please send me testimonials to post (no full names, of course). I confess to being really disheartened by the lack of response to this simple request; so many of you have really, really phenomenal work by him, and so many of you have accordingly sent me personal notes over the last decade and a half about how life-changing it has been for you, lots of effusive words in private, but you haven't offered a public testimonial that will help increase sales despite my repeated pleas for them.

I'm discouraged on all fronts right now. Just getting through each day is difficult on its own when you can't breathe and you're in constant all-over pain. And I have two additional days' worth of work to get through now, so I best get on it, and forget about testimonials and everything else.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Friday Feature: Gathered In the Light

Photo copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved.

It's our Friday Feature at The NDN Silver Blog, with a work by a young carver who will one day be hailed as a master, wall art in katsina form for this first day of summer. At the  very moment of the solstice it felt as though perhaps this feminine spirit was here, conspiring with Mother Earth to enfold us in the robes of summer, gathered in the light.

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



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Nearing eruption.

Photo copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved.

The Spoonbowl looked like a volcano last night, one nearing eruption. That's me right now, too, thanks to two days now lost to UPS's inability to get its delivery shit together and its subsequent treatment of my time as of no consequence. There are not too many things that set me off, but people treating my time as having no value (especially when they're being paid) is one those that does. Two. Days. Lost to this nonsense. And an asthma attack besides, since it forces us to keep the gate open, and I had to chase down Chinook to keep her from getting out when someone inexplicably wandered on foot up around the gate (no, it was a white dude with no reason to be there). It left literally me unable to breathe, and it took the rescue inhaler far too long to kick in.

Meanwhile, the bills keep piling up. We paid the plumber today for the work he did last week (he'd told us he'd wait to bill us, but we told him to do it now and get his money). Tomorrow will be more medical stuff, this time his instead of mine. And all the unknowns still looming are weighing heavily right now, especially with sales as down as they are.

Speaking of which, we need to make them, so we need folks to share the links. I need you to send me your testimonials so I can post them. We need folks to check out all of Wings's new work, and keep your eyes open for the new pieces coming, too. If you want to help in other ways, the wishlist is the place for it.

And now, since my morning was thoroughly disrupted and I'm only now getting the usual posts up, and the rest of my day looks to be shambles too thanks to UPS's bad behavior, I have to get a bunch of other things that can't wait. This week has been trash from jump, and I can't even get the most basic stuff done on a bunch of fronts, all due to people whose behavior is entirely beyond my control, but who have still gotten their coins out of it at our expense.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

#TBT: Days of Earth and Light

Photo copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved.

It's #ThrowbackThursday at The NDN Silver Blog, with a work from the end of last November that, in entirely opposite ways, perfectly suited that season and this. It was a special commission by a dear friend, one built around a spectacular stone manifest as glowing landscape, warming in winter while embodying the summer, these days of earth and light.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. As always, commissioned works are entirely one of a kind and will not be duplicated, but if the style speaks to your spirit, simply inquire via the site's Contact form; Wings can create a version uniquely your own. And, as always, sales are very much needed, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.