Unexpected gifts.

Photo copyright Aji, 2021;
all rights reserved.

Even setbacks can produce unexpected gifts. 

I was supposed to have my MRIs all done by now, but nope. And it's completely out of my control (the explanation is linked below). But maybe it's for the best (that reasoning is linked there, too). Anyway, yesterday morning when Wings went up to the north willows, where my red-tailed girl likes to perch, to patch some hoses, he found one of her tailfeathers. He'd just dragged the hoses up there the evening before and it wasn't there then, so she left it for us early yesterday. Seven years she's been hanging with us, and this is the first time she's left a gift behind. Coming on the day that did, when we were not even supposed to be here (and with yesterday's winds, it would've been swept away long before we got home and we never would've seen it)? Feels like confirmation that yesterday's delay was supposed to happen.

So, too, does the fact that we got a call from one of Wings's oldest friends; he and his sister wanted to drop by yesterday. I say "oldest friends," but the fact of the matter is that in the way we reckon such things, "brothers" is more accurate, because they grew up together traditionally. Anyway, all four of us are fully vaccinated, and it was nice to spend an our or so outside at the picnic table under the shade of the aspens, just talking. You know, about everything and nothing. [Yes, I was masked, before you ask.  We always mask around anyone but each other, and I have to be especially careful now.] Anyway, F (Wings's brother) is an artist, and in the middle of one convo, he stopped speaking and said to me, "I have something I want to give you. I just finished it." It's for both of us, of course, but he described it as for me, and it's stunningly beautiful.  That's it up there, and now I'm trying to figure out where to hang it so that the light in the painting can catch the actual sunset light.

And we would've missed out on their visit, which was the real gift, if we hadn't been here yesterday.

Anyway. More or less a month to wait. For those of you who don't know what all this means, you can read about it here. You can read why my main concern now is just the potential DX, treatment, and survival (i.e., not the medical bills themselves), half-way down the post here. And why I've been forcibly set back a whole month in the process of getting a diagnosis? You can read that here.

But, yes, we still will need to make consistent sales. I'll have travel costs coming up, plus, if the DX is worst-case, there'll be a lot of days (weeks? months?) when I won't be able to work, which means no chasing sales or patrons to pay regular bills and expenses. And as I said, Wings will have several new pieces out soon, too, possibly as early as the end of this week: at least one major necklace (theoretically TODAY), and a minimum of four new Warrior Woman and three new Pueblo pins (those last three, with a very cool new twist). I posted the first two Pueblo pins two nights ago; one has already sold, but you can see the other here. Oh, and by the way, we're in reverse order today because he's finishing that necklace I just mentioned, and I'm hoping to have it to feature yet today.

I'm skipping all the rest of it because I'm tired constantly, and frankly I don't have the focus right now for anything else. Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (priorities are LaminaSaver for Miika [she's set until August] coffee & metal/glass/dishwasher cleaners);
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

And if you've been contemplating a purchase? This would be a very, very good time to do it; I've got to make up this staggering outlay somehow. There's lots of fabulous new work, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2021; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.