Light in the darkness.

Photo copyright Aji, 2021; all rights reserved.

I had to go back out to the studio just before full dark yesterday evening, and when I came out, this was the view of the side of the house. Knowing then what today would mark, it seemed important to get a shot of it, the light in our home, glowing bright against all darkness.

Even the darkness that nearly extinguished me for the first time four years ago today. Right about now, as a matter of fact.

No, to this day they still don't know what caused it, other than it was nearly fatal, and continued to be so for some time. And I still have recurrences. But back then? Eight days before the wedding, before we were even fully into the house, having to come to terms, in a literal heartbeat, with the possibility that I might not see any of it, or that I could be ripped from it permanently at any moment thereafter, and to still be here today? Pandemic, vaccination reactions, three hospitalizations, two cancer scares, two new autoimmune diagnoses, and multiple visits by death only to have him turn away empty-handed?

That feels like an achievement. It feels like light in the darkness.

Of course, what I had already had to learn when my sister was murdered is that the world doesn't stop for anybody's death; there's no real impact and no lasting effect. I labored under no illusions in that regard. But now, to have to worried mainly about those mundane problems, bills and expenses and medical costs and even the physical pain and fatigue, and the need to chase sales to cover it all? Still seems pretty damn good.

Still. I'm cautious now. We were planning a supply run today, but thought better of it, and I'm glad; no need on this day not to mind my business, no need to tempt fate unnecessarily. But meanwhile, everything is its usual end-of-year seasonal chaos. This is our busiest time of year, but that's the nature of what we do; from October 1st through year's end, it's 16-hour+ days, seven days a week. No breaks. And because of the shipping mess, we're in crunch time already. 

And I still need to continue to make consistent sales to get us through the winter. The guy with the hay had sold it to someone else by the time our funds cleared, but he had more of it over the weekend, and we got the two bales delivered Monday. Wings has ordered two more for delivery next Monday, because it's the absolute last of what he's got and he won't have any more for a while, and four of these might be enough to get the horses through the winter. Of course, that's ~$400 yesterday and another ~$400 that will need to be paid Monday, plus ~$200 going out the door tomorrow on firewood (can't order any more of that yet, because we don't have the funds for it). So if I could sell some of these new pieces that are going up today, that would do wonders to keep everything going.

Yes, it always comes back to needing to make more sales. A lot more, because we have two years' worth of a shattered pandemic economy to make up for, by which I mean we need to gain more ground ourselves financially to be able to be sure of making it through the winter. And again, if you're planning on commissioning gifts for the holidays, DO IT NOW. [And that includes just ordinary orders for the holidays, too.] Yes, I mean NOW. We're dealing with the same supply-chain issues as everyone else, and at some point soon, Wings is going to have to get silver and stones to produce holiday inventory, and I'm hearing that the price is already spiking on the metals. More to the point of what customers care about, we also can't guarantee shipping times this year, because see above. But I've posted a ton of Wings's new work lately, and there will be more in the days and weeks to come. If I could sell one of the big works, like one of the belts, maybe I could get us on the drill list for the well that is the only thing that's going to keep this land alive. But I've got way too much to do and too few hours and other resources to do it. 

Anyway, I have GOT to continue to make sales, so links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (priorities are first and foremost, the ladders, because see above, and coffee coffee coffee, which we're finding it harder and harder to get locally);
• 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 cover all this staggering outlay somehow and get us through what's left of the year. And right now? I have no way to do it.  But 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.