Scarier than any Hallowe'en monster.

Photo copyright Aji, 2023; all rights reserved.

Beautiful amber aspen leaf, backlit by the sun . . . and surrounded by something scarier than any Hallowe'en monster of any sort. Those fuzzy strands? That's that invasive bindweed, going to seed, meaning pollen. It's no wonder we both feel like hell all the time.

We've never had this here before. Literally. We've always had at least one genuinely hard freeze [meaning single digits] before now, even in drought years when it's still too warm for the season. This is yet one more nail in the coffin  caused by climate collapse. And we're on a warming trend for the next week-plus, so this crap's not going anywhere anytime soon.

Meanwhile, we're out of month. No sales, but lots of expenses coming due tomorrow, and my Patreon, such as it is, won't clear the bank before Thursday or Friday at the earliest. Between that and the progression of my disease, I'm so far behind now that I can't do anything, and I am at my wits' end. I have to come up with a couple hundred for Wings's scrips tomorrow, and a good four figures the rest of this week and next for autopays, septic service, and a few other one-offs, and I have no way to do it. This is scarier than any monster, too.

Nothing I do is working when it comes to sales. I need to bring in at least $1,500 worth [more than that; I haven't even had a chance to tally it all up] to cover things I know are coming down the pike in the next week+, and I'm getting nowhere. I have Wings's two latest pairs of earrings up, here and here; there will be another new pair in the same informal series tomorrow [sodalite]. Selling those would be a start, but even that would be only a start. I've got to do better, but how? I feel like I'm losing my mind, and the unbearable physical pain just adds to that.

It's been a terrible year on virtually every front, and now, nearing the end, I'm afraid we actually might not make it.

We have to make up a LOT of ground financially over the next two+ months. A LOT. This year has been so slow that we're way behind on everything, including prepaying next year's taxes [that's a zero; a big fat zero]. I need to bring in at least one sale a week, preferably two, for the remainder of the year. And it's clear that my illness's progression means that I cannot maintain the pace or workload I have in years past. That means that we need help with shares, and with testimonials, too. If you have some of Wings's work and are willing to have a testimonial published on the site, send it to me via the Contact form (we will list you however you wish, by name, name and initial, initials only, some other way that doesn't identify you; you can see an example in our newest, here, and with luck, I'll have a second one up by tonight). All the links are listed below, so please share:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (liquid soaps are priority now [or Amazon cards, and I can order them myself]); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

There's lots of fabulous work on the site, and there will be much, much more in the weeks to come. The way this year has gone, things will still be grim for a good while and the holidays will be here before you know it, 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.