Just utter garbage.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

Plenty of dark storm clouds. Nothing like any real rain.

Of any kind.

This day has been just utter garbage from start to finish. The reasons today's posts are so late are Legion, and yes, I meant that capital L. We're both exhausted.

First up, had to have chores and showers out of the way early because the electrician was coming at ten. Did he? Of course he fucking didn't.

So. We were going to do our semi-annual grocery stock-up (freezer items, non-perishables, because we can see what's coming even if public health authorities and chief executives insist on playing ostrich), so we gave him an hour not to show, then went into town. As we were leaving, I realized that I hadn't called to cancel my pain appointment, so I hauled out my cell phone to do that . . . and after something like six tries, still could not get connected to the damn doctor's office, because the network here is trash. Finally got through and canceled it, and I have no idea when I can reschedule, because everything's terrible (including my pain levels).

So we get through at the grocery store in under an hour, go through the checkout, put in the debit card, and . . . declined. Repeatedly. THE MONEY IS THERE. I KNOW THIS. So we have to have them suspend it, we call the bank, it takes about twenty tries to get to A PERSON, they tell us it's a fraud alert we didn't respond to, because no fraud alert was sent to us so we couldn't respond, they tell us they've lifted it and it's fine. So we go back, go through the line, try again. The store is hotter than hell and NOBODY IS WEARING A FUCKING MASK, and people are sniffling and coughing and then touching things and crowding in close, and I'm ready to lose it at some colonizer by now. Nope. Still declined. So we call again, they try "lifting" it again, STILL declined, and by now, the bitch staffing the next register has smacked into me THREE TIMES unnecessarily because she's constantly stepping out when she doesn't need to and I can't see her so I don't know she's coming and does she bother with an excuse me? OF COURSE NOT. I'm already unsteady on my feet, between the heat and the pain and being closed in a tight space, and she literally whacks me, hard, three separate times.

Nope. Still declined.  We drive home, twenty minutes to get there, grab cash, drive back, another twenty minutes; meanwhile the bank calls back and tells us to try again, and I learn that they did an UPGRADE yesterday that lowered the daily limit by 75% AND DIDN'T TELL ANYBODY and the system is still imposing the limit when it was supposed to be removed. This time it works. I'm so overheated by now I'm about to faint.

And THREE HOURS out of the day, when, if bank IT had done its job, we would've been home in just over one hour and we both would've gotten some work done today.

Then I learn tonight, courtesy of a dear friend who was planning to pick up some silver for Wings, that that price on the specialized silver he needs for that honor commission? Is NOT an aberration. Oh, no. I know they're going to whine about "supply chain issues" and "gas prices" and "Russia," but the upshot is that both suppliers in this state have just raised their silver prices drastically, like by more than three times what they were, and a whole lot of Native silversmiths and jewelers in this state just got forced out of their professions. This is terrible news for out peoples, and artists WILL have to quit their work. When a sheet of silver that is historically $700-800 is now suddenly going for more than 2 grand, when a sheet of a standard gauge is more than 3 grand, when "wire" is a thousand bucks for any useable amount (or, in the case of what he needs for this job, $2,600+)? People are going to go out of business.

Third year of pandemic, and this colonial nightmare of a country has figured out yet another way to destroy us. I may not be able to have another pain treatment this year, at this rate. And today's events are going to leave me crippled tomorrow, after all that back-and-forth on hard surfaces, so I won't be getting much work done then, either.

Anyway, the silver price thing has me shaken. He's got enough for now to do what he needs to do, but nothing's going to change anytime soon; these prices are here for the foreseeable future. I have GOT to make some sales. All the links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (priority is first and foremost, the other ladder);
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

We're still hoping to put aside enough for a new well when the ground thaws enough to drill in the spring, too, Nah, we've given up on the well. No one's available to drill before the latter half of summer, and the tax burden means we would never be able to afford it anyway. But it's perhaps even more of a good time to make a purchase, because Uncle Sam is a vindictive colonizer, and my current stress levels about paying it all are off the charts. And there's lots of fabulous work, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2022; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.