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| Photo copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved. |
Welp, it's only eight days late. This design is from the November #BeadThisInYourStyle challenge on Instagram/Twitter, founded by a young Indigenous woman from up north who is an expert beader. Participant skill levels run the gamut, from folks who should be able to command hundreds of dollars for their work to rank beginners, which, since I haven't done this since I was nine or ten, is me. I think it was actually intended to go the other way up, but what I saw in it, given the season, anyway, was a poinsettia topped with snowbells, so I went with reds and greens and white. And yes, I know how rough it is; I see countless errors, even in the photo. It was also supposed to be done by the end of November, but the only time I have for it is between dinner and bed, around other tasks like laundry and so forth, so . . . ::shrug::. And of course, it's not actually done yet, either; it still needs to be backed and edged. I think I might turn it into a Christmas ornament. I'm just grateful that the tradish medicine is letting me do this again, even if it winds up being only temporary.
A ton of stuff to get done this week, and I need to get on it. I need to recoup the $91 I just had to spend on replacing the propane heater for Wings's studio, which is STILL between $50 and $60 cheaper than buying it locally. If he can't keep it heated, he can't work, and that means no sales and no income, so it's an investment we had to make. It also won't be here until Thursday, which means a cold week in there for him if we can't get find the really old burner and get it to work at least minimally. I did at least post five new pieces here four nights ago, plus a new major piece night before last: two pairs of earrings and three new Warrior Woman pins, all three of the pins bearing some new imagery; and last night's is an incredible new cuff with Deco undertones and stunning cobalt focal cab. Wings also has in the works the first in a new series of four major necklaces, all part of a theme but which will be sold individually. Please share the links, because while, we have made a couple of sales over the last few days, which has taken the immediate strain off me a bit, there's no room for me to let up on the sales effort. Winter's already early and hard, and we've got about 7 months of it left. The rest is all cut-and-paste, but please read it anyway. It matters, because while sales are literally all that matters at the moment, what else the wind leaves behind is all the rest of the work, and ALL of the bills. But really, it's SALES.
SALES SALES SALES. That's all it's about now. A lot of y'all don't realize this, but the Pueblo closes for much of the winter, starting usually a month to six weeks after the new year. Even before Christmas, the whole month of December locks vehicles out of the village, and that reduces tourist traffic a lot. Even though we're not physically there anymore, the drop in tourism affects us, too — and the numbers are down all over town and seemingly getting worse every single year.
What folks also don't realize is that this means that holiday sales are what keep us alive, through not just the end of the year but essentially the first six months of the year to come. If we could sell the belt featured below, it would keep us going well into the new year. This is it; this is what the whole year leads up to, and even in off years, Wings would still be filling commissions beginning around the first of October.
I did something yesterday that subluxed my lower back — trying to dodge romping dogs, I think — so I have to be careful how much strain I put on it today. As miserable as it is, it's nice finally to have a name to put on this thing that has caused me incessant pain literally my whole life, the thing everyone else dismissed. It happens to me virtually daily, at least in some small way (and very often in very large and debilitating ways), and at least now I have labels and language for what's happening to me and causing me so much constant pain. For those wondering about those and my other health issues, see here, although now there's a new wrinkle I'm not even going to bother to try to explain (triggered by this year's flu shot and confirmed by my doctor, and suffice to say there's no affording treatment); with regard to the work done and not done on the house, some of the details are here. Folks can help in several ways (I've added some new practical items to the wishlist), and we really need it now:
Please share everything, because I'm suddenly back behind the eight-ball on a whole additional front, and yeah, I'm scared about covering everything and surviving, too. Thanks.
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.
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