Saturday, December 31, 2022

A good way to end the year.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

Another one that's been in progress for a bit. He's hoping to have it done today, in which case I will have three new ones to show you; otherwise, I might hold onto the other two until tomorrow and post them all then.

But we're both already back to work, and it's a good way to end the year.

It's made possible as I said yesterday, because thanks to a dear friend, we're going to get out of this terrible year in decent shape. There will be much more to do,  much more expense to come, and thus far, of course, there is still nothing that will help my disabling conditions, but this alone lets me breathe again. And as I also said then, it also lets me get back to work, not just for ourselves but for so many other folks in our many communities that need help now. And there are so terribly many of them who need help.

Of course, we will still (always) need to make sales, and there are plenty of gift-giving events coming up in the new year. If you're in the market, we will not turn sales away; if you're looking for places to donate to folks who need it, watch this space and my other online spaces, because I'll be highlighting them in the weeks to come. Much of the country has just been through a deadly storm, and there's still a deadly pandemic raging; lots of folks are going to need long-term help.

A
ll of our links are here; emphasis on sales and testimonials for now (and subscriptions, if you're looking for that; I'll have more on that to come in the first weeks of the new year):

There's lots of fabulous work on the site, with three new cuffs coming shortly, 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.    

Reason to Hope — For the Snow, and For the World's Healthy Rebirth

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a masterwork for infinite space and time, for thresholds and turning points and cycles of renewal and the obligations that attend them. It's a cuff to remind us that our world, and we, are possessed of a cosmic resilience, and that even in the grip of a twelve-hundred-year drought, we have reason to hope — for the snow, and for the world's healthy rebirth.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact formWe still need to make consistent sales to make it through the rest of this third year of pandemic and loss, and while most of the holiday season is officially over, there are opportunities for belated gifts and many occasions for gifts thereafter, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.


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.  

Friday, December 30, 2022

Cause for gratitude.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

Only a dusting of graupel for us; not a lot more than that on the peaks, but it's something, at least. We can't even see them today, because low clouds and fog are still wrapped around them, but it's cold enough even down here that that should mean more snow for the mountains.

That alone is cause for gratitude. 

We have other causes for it, too, not least the fact that, thanks to a dear friend, we're going to get out of this terrible year in decent shape. I have felt for months like I couldn't breathe, and the weight that has rolled off me now is indescribable. There will be much more to do,  much more expense to come, and thus far, of course, there is still nothing that will help my disabling conditions, but this alone lets me breathe again.

It also lets me get back to work, not just for ourselves but for so many other folks in our many communities that need help now.

There's not really a better way to end one year and begin another than by doing that.

Of course, we will still (always) need to make sales, and there are plenty of gift-giving events coming up in the new year. If you're in the market, we will not turn sales away; if you're looking for places to donate to folks who need it, watch this space and my other online spaces, because I'll be highlighting them in the weeks to come. Much of the country has just been through a deadly storm, and there's still a deadly pandemic raging; lots of folks are going to need long-term help.

A
ll of our links are here; emphasis on sales and testimonials for now (and subscriptions, if you're looking for that; I'll have more on that to come in the first weeks of the new year):

There's lots of fabulous work on the site, a lot of it new, 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.    

Friday Feature: A World Where Snow Is Still Possible

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

It's our Friday Feature at The NDN Silver Blog, with a trio of Wings's recent works that share commonalities of shape and shade, substance and spirit. All three are manifest as gifts of air and sky as our world settles now into winter, reminding us that, twelve-hundred-year drought notwithstanding, we inhabit a world where snow is still possible.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact formWe still need to make consistent sales to make it through the rest of this third year of pandemic and loss, and while most of the holiday season is officially over, there are opportunities for belated gifts and many occasions for gifts thereafter, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.


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.  

Thursday, December 29, 2022

A chance shot in the middle of the storm.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

Sometimes the wld birds come to deliver gifts, too, in the form of a chance shot in the middle of the storm.

The forecast three inches are in fact barely a dusting, with lots of high cold winds and not a lot else to show for it. At the moment, though, the peaks are mostly white, so at least that's something. And I have to get back to the work.

Speaking of not a lot to show for it, that's the last few days. As I said, I've mounted one last Hail Mary pass to try to cover everything we need to cover by year's end, with no results. That's about $5K total (and we STILL can't get our money out of Venmo, so that's a big problem, too, almost $2K that we should have had five weeks ago). I don't expect that I can possibly make enough sales today and tomorrow to cover that much by Friday, but I have to try. We're down to the wire, and there's still endless work to be done in terms of chasing sales; January is always a bad month financially (January and June or July, one- and twice-yearly stuff that can only be handled then), so we also need to bring in more income now anyway. This year, though, it's more urgent than that; we didn't make enough in sales to cover what I needed to cover in prepaid taxes, hence the need to bring in about $5K in sales for that before the end of the year. Yeah, I know it won't happen, but I have to try.

So, of course, no respite from the stress that attends it all, either. And with my autoimmune disease rapidly worsening, it's making everything that much more difficult now.

All the links are here; please, share them, too:

There's lots of fabulous work on the site, a lot of it new, 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.                                                              

#ThrowbackThursday: Waiting For the Snow, Watching the Winter Light

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

It's #TBT at The NDN Silver Blog, with a #ThrowbackThursday featured work that dates back only to Christmas Day, one that is deeply personal and close to my heart.  It's one of the Christmas gifts that Wings created specially for me, built around an extraordinary stone that holds a spirit as familiar as my own, waiting for the snow, watching the winter light

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. This work obviously will never be duplicated, but if the general style speaks to your spirit, simply inquire via the site's Contact form; Wings can create a version uniquely your own. We urgently need to make consistent sales to make it through the rest of this third year of pandemic and loss, and while most of the holiday season is officially over, there are opportunities for belated gifts and many occasions for gifts thereafter, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.

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.     

Wednesday, December 28, 2022

There's always more work in progress.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

Wings at work on his latest. Or, more accurately, one of many in the pipeline; there's always more work in progress. He's out in the studio right now, and it's a good day for it, cold and damp and intermittently rainy, although nothing to speak of in the way of snow.

I've mounted one last Hail Mary pass to try to cover everything we need to cover by year's end. That's about $5K total (and we STILL can't get our money out of Venmo, so that's a big problem, too). I don't expect that I can possibly make enough sales today and tomorrow to cover that much by Friday, but I have to try. We're down to the wire, and there's still endless work to be done in terms of chasing sales; January is always a bad month financially (January and June or July, one- and twice-yearly stuff that can only be handled then), so we also need to bring in more income now anyway. This year, though, it's more urgent than that; we didn't make enough in sales to cover what I needed to cover in prepaid taxes, hence the need to bring in about $5K in sales for that before the end of the year. Yeah, I know it won't happen, but I have to try.

So, of course, no respite from the stress that attends it all, either. And with my autoimmune disease rapidly worsening, it's making everything that much more difficult now.

All the links are here; please, share them, too:

There's lots of fabulous work on the site, a lot of it new, 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.                                                             

The Winter Medicine of Melded Snow and Sun

Photo copyright Aji, 2022;
all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a masterwork to honor the elemental forces that conspire and collaborate at this time of year. It's the Eye of Spirit on the Thunderbird's wings, together creating the winter medicine of melded snow and sun that keeps our world alive year-round.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact formWe urgently  need to make consistent sales to make it through the rest of this third year of pandemic and loss, and while most of the holiday season is officially over, there are opportunities for belated gifts and many occasions for gifts thereafter, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.

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.   

Tuesday, December 27, 2022

What *is*.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

It has been a day of extraordinary skies, masses of lenticular and Kelvin-wave clouds everywhere, along with a cold iridescence around the light. We're supposed to get snow starting in the early hours of the morning (like 1 AM), and I hope they're right about it continuing all day. As always anymore, though, you can't believe it until you see it.

It's also been a day of pure exhaustion; my hip joints were so bad last night that I literally could not sleep for the pain. Nothing works. I finally dropped off about 8:40 this morning and got up a half-hour later, at 9:20. And I only acceded to that because I didn't sleep more than five minutes at a stretch all night, and those episodes were hours between.

So I've been operating all day on . . . what? less than a single hour's sleep overall. Which is mostly why everything's late; insomnia destroys my ability to concentrate enough to construct a sentence. Of course, so does pain, and that's been abominably bad for the better part of a week now. But I've managed to get the basic posts done (or will, shortly); got laundry and dishes done; wood brought in; vacuuming done; some photography of Wings's work done; and made bean soup with green chile and garlic for dinner tonight. I wonder how much I could get done if I actually ever felt human.

But that's apparently out of the question now. All I can do is try to navigate what is, and yes, I know I'm doing a shit job of the acceptance part, but I'd like to see anyone else do better on that score. But we're down to the wire, and there's still endless work to be done in terms of chasing sales; January is always a bad month financially (January and June or July, one- and twice-yearly stuff that can only be handled then), so we also need to bring in more income now anyway. This year, though, it's more urgent than that; we didn't make enough in sales to cover what I needed to cover in prepaid taxes, so I still need to bring in about $5K in sales for that before the end of the year, and I don't see that happening in the next couple of days. Dealing with what is, indeed.

Which means no respite from the stress that attends it all, either. And with my autoimmune disease rapidly worsening, it's making everything that much more difficult now.

All the links are here; please, share them, too:

There's lots of fabulous work on the site, a lot of it new, 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.                                                             

Red Willow Spirit: The Blues of Waiting For the Snow

Photo copyright. Wings, 2022; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's an edition of Red Willow Spirit for this haunting, vaguely melancholy day of anticipating the storm's arrival. It's three related images today, linked by two also-related works of wearable art, all of them the visual and tangible embodiment of the blues of waiting for the snow.

The post is hereWings's main page is hereAs always, his photos are available in any of the usual three formats; simply inquire via the site's Contact formWe urgently need to make consistent sales to make it through the rest of this third year of pandemic and loss, and while most of the holiday season is officially over, there are opportunities for belated gifts and many occasions for gifts thereafter, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.


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.    

Monday, December 26, 2022

This in-between period.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; ll rights reserved.

Our only outdoor lights this year. And for maybe the first time ever, we were the only people in our area to hang any at all. Christmas seemed to sneak up on everyone this year, but also, no one seemed in the mood for it.

It's a rare thing when we have more Christmas spirit than the rest of this place.

Of course, we didn't even put those up until Christmas Eve. Because of the nature of our work, we don't really get to enjoy the "holiday season" between Thanksgiving and Christmas the way other folks do; it's all work, seven days a week. So we don't even think about taking down the tree until January 6th (I think it was more like the 10th last year), and we use this in-between period to enjoy the lights and food and snow. That last, only if we're lucky anymore, though.

But if this is our "rest period" (such as it is) it's only from the crush of holiday creative and shipping deadlines. Because there's still endless work to be done in terms of chasing sales; January is always a bad month financially (January and June or July, one- and twice-yearly stuff that can only be handled then), so we also need to bring in more income now anyway. This year, though, it's more urgent than that; we didn't make enough in sales to cover what I needed to cover in prepaid taxes, so I still need to bring in about $5K in sales for that before the end of the year, and I don't see that happening.

Which means no respite from the stress that attends it all, either. And with my autoimmune disease rapidly worsening, it's making everything that much more difficult now.

All the links are here; please, share them, too:

There's lots of fabulous work on the site, a lot of it new, 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.                                                             

Monday Photo Meditation: In Snow and Storm and Sunlight, a Glimpse of the World to Come

Photo copyright Wings, 2022; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a photo meditation for the last Monday, and week, of the calendar year, and for the work that lies ahead of us. It's an image of threshold times and foresight alike: in snow and storm and sunlight, a glimpse of the world to come.

The post is hereWings's main page is hereAs always, his photos are available in any of the usual three formats; simply inquire via the site's Contact formWe still urgently need to make consistent sales to make it through the rest of this third year of pandemic and loss, and while most of the holiday season is officially over, there are opportunities for belated gifts and many occasions for gifts thereafter, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.


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.     

Sunday, December 25, 2022

Earth and sky have their own holiday lights here.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

Sunset, Christmas Eve. Plain little white lights around the deck. Purple, pink, and yellow sky. Earth and sky have their own holiday lights here.

We're keeping the day as low-key as possible. It's warmer, per the thermometer, but there's an icy wind; you can feel and smell the snow it carries, although that's not supposed to be here before Wednesday. We exchanged gifts this morning (I'll post photos of mine in the days and weeks to come, because he made three absolutely extraordinary pieces for me), and we'll have a nice dinner this evening. Some months back we scored a duck, and it's been sitting at the bottom of the freezer waiting for the holidays; it's been brining since yesterday, and it's going into the oven shortly. Beyond that, we're enjoying basketball and football while we go about our work (no, there's no such thing as a day off here). Our best gifts are each other, our love and our life together, and nothing else will ever come close to that.

And I'm trying to put the days and weeks to come out of mind for a day, at least. Because there's still endless work to be done in terms of chasing sales; January is always a bad month financially (January and June or July, one- and twice-yearly stuff that can only be handled then), and we need the respite between Christmas and New Year's to gear up for all that, but we also need to being in more income now. 

I'm also hoping that we don't need to leave the house again until well after Christmas, but the financial issues are still keeping me awake at night. I'm still trying to keep all the balls in the air right now, because if they come crashing down, everything shatters. And I've still got to get us out of this month and this year in one piece, and I can't do that unless our sales rate increases dramatically and immediately (except we're out of time now, so apparently this year is going to end with us in a very big hole). Nothing else matters (to the outside world where these things have to be paid, and so I have to behave accordingly).

All the links are here; please, share them, too:

There's lots of fabulous work on the site, a lot of it new, 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.                                                             

The Medicine of the Snow

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's one of Wings's most recent works, an embodiment of what keeps our world alive, and also of two of the greatest teachings of this season. It's a medicine of storm and light like you've never seen, here with a little generosity and gratitude and hope for the medicine of the snow to come.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact formWe urgently  need to make consistent sales to make it through the rest of this third year of pandemic and loss, and while Christmas will officially be over tomorrow, there are opportunities for belated gifts and many occasions for gifts thereafter, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.


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.  

Saturday, December 24, 2022

No, I'm NOT feeling Christmassy, why do you ask?

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

Icy slopes in miniature. It's what remains where the snow slid off the hay barn roof and froze solid, then melted and refroze in an endless cycle. In theory, there will be more snow to fall on it beginning next Tuesday or Wednesday and running into the following week, but as always, we'll believe it when we see it. These days, our only truly endless cycle seems to be drought.

Christmas Eve, and I'm late on everything. It's been one of the hardest holiday seasons we've ever had, complicated by the pandemic, of course, but also by . . . well, everything. I cold barely walk yesterday (and today's not a whole lot better), but I had to be out and about yesterday regardless. I have a to-do list for today that I'll never get through in time, but that's the way things are now. I have had less than zero bandwidth for anything for months now, and it just keeps getting worse. We need time to rest and recharge, but we won't get it. And that's another endless cycle that's damaging not just us, but the rest of the world. The pandemic presented it wit an opportunity to heal, and of course, colonialism chose death and destruction instead.

No, I'm NOT feeling Christmassy, why do you ask?

And there's still endless work to be done in terms of chasing sales; January is always a bad month financially (January and June or July, one- and twice-yearly stuff that can only be handled then), and we need the respite between Christmas and New Year's to gear up for all that, but we also need to being in more income now. 

I'm also hoping that we don't need to leave the house again until well after Christmas, but the financial issues are still keeping me awake at night. I'm still trying to keep all the balls in the air right now, because if they come crashing down, everything shatters. And I've still got to get us out of this month and this year in one piece, and I can't do that unless our sales rate increases dramatically and immediately (except we're out of time now, so apparently this year is going to end with us in a very big hole). Nothing else matters (to the outside world where these things have to be paid, and so I have to behave accordingly).

All the links are here; please, share them, too:

There's lots of fabulous work on the site, a lot of it new, 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.                                                             

The Brightest Light In the Winter Sky

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a work for holidays and holy nights, for the medicine of the skies that keeps our world alive. It's a cuff that captures the glow of sun and storm alike, reminding us to be grateful for the brightest light in the winter sky, even in the snow, or in the dark.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact formWe urgently  need to make consistent sales to make it through the rest of this third year of pandemic and loss, and while shipping in time for the holiday sales season effectively ended at the beginning of this week, there will be many occasions for gifts thereafter, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.


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.  

Friday, December 23, 2022

Or unicorns.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022;
all rights reserved.

Finally got the tree decorated last night, save for a couple of minor details. The beaded ornament is my own work, backed with velvety-soft brain-tanned white deerhide, and Wings loves it so much that he keeps in his peyote box instead of with the Christmas decorations.

Maybe next year I'll have time to make some more. And some of the gifts I want to make for family.

And maybe pigs will fly. Or unicorns.

Today was a day. I didn't even get to finish my first cup of coffee; today was shipping [late], along with some last-minute errands, in hopes that we won't have to go anywhere for the best part of the next week. We are supposed to get some snow mid-week, so at least there's that. But I'm so far beyond exhausted now that there aren't words for it, and I have had a hell of time walking today, because my right knee has decided to refuse to function properly anymore (in addition to thigh, ankles, feet, hips, you name it).

And there's still work to be done in terms of chasing sales; January is always a bad month financially (January and June or July, one- and twice-yearly stuff that can only be handled then), and we need the respite between Christmas and New Year's to gear up for all that, but we also need to being in more income now. 

I'm also hoping that by this Friday, we're essentially done, and don't need to leave the house again until well after Christmas, but the financial issues are still keeping me awake at night. I'm still trying to keep all the balls in the air right now, because if they come crashing down, everything shatters. And I've still got to get us out of this month and this year in one piece, and I can't do that unless our sales rate increases dramatically and immediately (except we're out of time now, so apparently this year is going to end with us in a very big hole). Nothing else matters (to the outside world where these things have to be paid, and so I have to behave accordingly).

All the links are here; please, share them, too:

There's lots of fabulous work on the site, a lot of it new, 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.                                                             

Friday Feature: A Light of Snowfire and Stormy Skies

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

It's our Friday Feature at The NDN Silver Blog, with a trio of coordinating works that embody the flame-like beauty of winter's most ethereal medicine. It's a complementary necklace and pair of earrings joined by a coil that suits them better than the now-sold original, together reproducing that gift of the cold season that is a light of snowfire and stormy skies.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact formWe urgently  need to make consistent sales to make it through the rest of this third year of pandemic and loss, and while shipping in time for the holiday sales season effectively ended at the beginning of this week, there will be many occasions for gifts thereafter, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.


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.  

Thursday, December 22, 2022

More likely to be something metaphorical.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

Unseasonally storm skies this morning. It's tempting to hope that they're a harbinger of real winter weather, but any storm is more likely to be something metaphorical these days. Still, it was beautiful while it lasted.

I'm slammed now, needing to make up for all the time lost to the holiday sales season, and especially to being stuck here for an entire week, unable to leave, while a shipping company jacked us around. I'm so far behind, and there's so much to do.

And there's still work to be done in terms of chasing sales; January is always a bad month financially (January and June or July, one- and twice-yearly stuff that can only be handled then), and we need the respite between Christmas and New Year's to gear up for all that, but we also need to being in more income now. 

I'm also hoping that by this Friday, we're essentially done, and don't need to leave the house again until well after Christmas, but the financial issues are still keeping me awake at night. I'm still trying to keep all the balls in the air right now, because if they come crashing down, everything shatters. And I've still got to get us out of this month and this year in one piece, and I can't do that unless our sales rate increases dramatically and immediately (except we're out of time now, so apparently this year is going to end with us in a very big hole). Nothing else matters (to the outside world where these things have to be paid, and so I have to behave accordingly).

All the links are here; please, share them, too:

There's lots of fabulous work on the site, a lot of it new, 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.                                                             

#TBT: Hope Resides In the Light, and Also In the Dark

Photo copyright Wings, 2022; all rights reserved.

It's #ThrowbackThursday at The NDN Silver Blog, with a #TBT featured work from more than a decade ago, an illuminating and celestial entry in one of Wings's longest-running signature series. It's a Spirit Horse, the original dream horse, racing among the stars with a jewel of stormy winter sun and blood moon, reminding us that hope resides in the light, and also in the dark.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. This work obviously will never be duplicated exactly, but if the style speaks to your spirit, simply inquire via the site's Contact form; Wings can create a version uniquely your own. We urgently need to make consistent sales to make it through the rest of this third year of pandemic and loss, and while shipping in time for the holiday sales season effectively ended at the beginning of this week, there will be many occasions for gifts thereafter, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.

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.     

Wednesday, December 21, 2022

The light visited us here.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

As I write, it's not quite the Solstice yet, but by tonight, we'll already see a lengthening of the light. The longest night was actually last night, but even so, the light visited us here yesterday, up close and very personally. I took shots of that cloud/sun formation from a dozen or more sites and angles, and every single time, that shaft of light insisted on coming to earth on our land.

Today is typically overloaded, getting boxes wrapped and ready for mailing, at some getting the tree up and lights strung. And there are dishes and vacuuming and laundry and at some point this evening, dinner yet to do, and there are not enough hours in the day for any of it.

But there's still work to be done in terms of chasing sales; January is always a bad month financially (January and June or July, one- and twice-yearly stuff that can only be handled then), and we need the respite between Christmas and New Year's to gear up for all that, but we also need to being in more income now. 

I'm also hoping that by this Friday, we're essentially done, and don't need to leave the house again until well after Christmas, but the financial issues are still keeping me awake at night. I'm still trying to keep all the balls in the air right now, because if they come crashing down, everything shatters. And I've still got to get us out of this month and this year in one piece, and I can't do that unless our sales rate increases dramatically and immediately (except we're out of time now, so apparently this year is going to end with us in a very big hole). Nothing else matters (to the outside world where these things have to be paid, and so I have to behave accordingly).

All the links are here; please, share them, too:

There's lots of fabulous work on the site, a lot of it new, 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.                                                             

Drawing Closer to the Light

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a masterwork perfectly suited to the gifts of this very day, a necklace wrought in all the shades of the sun, and all its medicines, too. It's a work of beauty and wisdom and illumination, one to warm body and heart and enlighten mind and spirit, reminding us that our task and obligation is one of drawing closer to the light.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact formWe urgently  need to make consistent sales to make it through the rest of this third year of pandemic and loss, and while shipping in time for the holiday sales season effectively ended yesterday, there will be many occasions for gifts thereafter, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.


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.    

Tuesday, December 20, 2022

Sometimes you get the impossible.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

Two very ordinary eggs yesterday — on the small side, actually. And yet, the one on the left also had within its shell that additionally tiny but fully formed yolk. Three eggs out of two.

Sometimes you get the impossible.

Everything else right now is all too possible, though, including my own crash. I never, ever make it to Christmas without my body deciding, several days early, that it's had enough and it's shutting down, and here we are. But there's still work to be done; January is always a bad month financially (January and June or July, one- and twice-yearly stuff that can only be handled then), and we need the respite between Christmas and New Year's to gear up for all that. 

I'm also hoping that by this Friday, we're essentially done, and don't need to leave the house again until well after Christmas, but the financial issues are still keeping me awake at night. I'm still trying to keep all the balls in the air right now, because if they come crashing down, everything shatters. And I've still got to get us out of this month and this year in one piece, and I can't do that unless our sales rate increases dramatically and immediately (except we're out of time now, so apparently this year is going to end with us in a very big hole). Nothing else matters (to the outside world where these things have to be paid, and so I have to behave accordingly).

All the links are here; please, share them, too:

There's lots of fabulous work on the site, a lot of it new, 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.