Something beautiful.

Photo copyright Aji, 2023; all rights reserved.

In the few moments between finishing today's NDN Silver post and sending it viral, the western sky changed from filament-like gray clouds backlit by a silver sun to a wall of stormy dark blues. It appears that we will actually get something out of this weather system, although we're both skeptical as to how much.

In the meantime, the flowers above are brightening this up in here; Wings brought them home for me a couple of days ago, and the first of the lilies opened yesterday. Given how ugly this week has been, it's nice to have something beautiful flowering.

Everything else has been just awful. ATV, still not finished and with no idea what it's going to cost; my dead cell phone, with no notice and the upgrade backordered likely until next month; the truck insurance and other nasty one- and two-off expenses, a lot of them; the washer drain problem and the unidentifiable leak under the upstairs sink; and this dislocated shoulder, which, besides killing me with the pain, is making it impossible to get any real work done. No sleep; I finally came downstairs so I wouldn't disturb Wings, and just sat here writhing and sobbing in agony. I'm so accustomed to constant pain that it rarely makes me cry anymore from the severity, but this one does. No, I'm NOT going to the COVID-riddled hospital that almost killed me five years ago. It'll go back into place eventually on its own, probably within a matter of a few more days, and I'm not inclined to catch a virus that will kill me because these people can't be bothered with the bare minimum.

Because I've got too damn much to do, agonizing pain or no. And that's because the regular seasonal stresses are already ramping up in a big way now; there's all the usual January stuff to worry about. This and June (or July, depending on how the bills fall in a given year) are always our worst two months in terms of expenses, and I don't know how this one's going to shake out yet. I've also got so much to do in terms of ordinary day-to-day work, and I just got four new works by Wings posted up on the site, but of course, I need to try to sell it, too. You can see them all here, but click through and look at them from all angles, because they're frankly amazing.

Because we will still (always) need to make sales, and there are plenty of gift-giving events coming up in this new year. But 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 an even more deadly pandemic still raging, utterly unchecked; lots of folks in our various communities are going to need long-term help.

Speaking of sales, I'll have four new works to show you here this evening, I hope. It all depends on whether I can get them up in the relevant gallery, descriptions written and entries complete. They're all fabulous, and they all need homes.

All 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 next few weeks, hopefully with some changes):

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here;
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

There's lots of fabulous work on the site, with three new cuffs coming possibly as early as later today, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2023; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.