Ridiculous.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

Nice to have my girl back for a little while yesterday — the whole family, in fact; the third red-tail was out of camera range to the left. I didn't see any of them today, but I heard the youngster; he's on the hunt every day now.

Everything's late today for multiple reasons: First, we had to go pick up scrips today, and more than $200 cash for that later, plus a couple of other errands, and we didn't get home until early afternoon. Second, I had to take time out from writing to make red chile, as I had promised (Frito pies!). Third, my med-induced hyperactive insulin production kicked into high gear again, and my glucose bottomed out at 60. [That's nowhere near the lowest it's been, just the lowest this week that i've actually tested.] No, I am not diabetic. I am hypoglycemic. Have been my entire life. The hydroxychloroquine I take for lupus has sent my insulin production into seemingly-permanent overdrive, and even though I stopped taking it last week (and was already down to a half-dose even then), I'm still dealing with the fallout. When it drops that low, it takes me the rest of the night to get my equilibrium back, so expect things to be a little weird for the rest of the evening. Yeah, I feel like absolute shit.

Oh, and it's pouring, after an incredibly hot dry day. The sun is shining brightly, and the rain is bucketing down at flash-flood levels. It's ridiculous, but that's summer here.

As I mentioned yesterday, most likely, I will soon have a fundraising post up on behalf of someone very important to us (maybe tonight or tomorrow). We'll be giving, and I'm going to be asking everyone else to give, too, and to share it with your networks. It's for Wings's son, who is working hard at making a go of his own business, but who needs to be able to invest in the single most essential component of it, and the price tag is, of course, out of reach. This is what keeps a roof over his head in a place very far away, and we need to help him do that.

Meanwhile, Wings is still cranking out new inventory when he can. The last in his gemstone bead Elementals series posted last Sunday, here (and you do want to click through each entry and see the other angles). Three nights ago, I posted his four brand-new pieces, one cuff and three rings (one of which is already sold), here. And he's got a whole host of other pieces in the works. But he's suddenly having to be much more mindful of what he creates, given the crisis-level spike in silver prices.

As I said earlier, we just learned that both silver suppliers in this state have more than tripled their silver prices (for some types of silver, much more), which has left me pretty badly shaken. And it's across the board; even small things, like findings and earring wires and backs, have gone way, way up. He's got enough for now to do what he needs to do, but nothing's going to change anytime soon, given that the justifications for it will be "supply-chain issues," "fuel prices," "war in Ukraine," and "inflation"; these prices are here for the foreseeable future. It's going to put a lot of Native smiths and jewelers completely out of business, and to make sure that Wings does not become one of them, I have GOT to make some sales. That's especially true with the holidays coming; these silver spikes are going to make this fall a crisis point for a lot of jewelers. Unfortunately, I'm being hobbled by everything else, not least of which is this flare that is making the progression in my illness much worse: numbness, contractures, crippling pain, another side effect that has forced me to discontinue my lupus meds entirely (dangerously low BG, and now I'm getting the muscle-contracture effects of doing without it). I'm going to need help to do this. All the links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (priority is first and foremost, the other ladder; also sheets, especially replacing the navy ones that are falling apart now);
• 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 late next year at the earliest, and this year's tax burden means we would never be able to afford it anyway. But it's 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.