Not holding my breath.

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

Hot and steamy, and in none of the good ways. Apparently all of today's rain is to be consigned to the dark hours: first early this morning, and then [supposedly] late tonight.

We'll see.

It's been a rough weekend, and I don't see that changing. Of course, it's been a flatly terrible month across the board, so there's no reason why this should be any different, just because it's the last day of the month. But I need to July to behave itself; I can't go through another month of this nonsense. My health can't take it, and I'm just tired.

Speaking of July, tomorrow is Wings's birthday. It's kind of an informal milestone one, I suppose, although by the time you get to our ages, they're all either milestones or immaterial, I haven't figured out which. I haven't been able to get him anything. It would be nice if I could offer him several sales in lieu of that, but I'm not holding my breath on that front, either. I mean, the last two weeks have been hellishly expensive purely on medical fronts, and there's a lot more nonsense ahead, so if I don't bring in sales, nothing at all gets covered.

On top of that, I've already missed the deadline with the IRS to avoid the next round of penalties and interest, but I have GOT to get this off my desk, and there's no way I can do that without really major sales coming in. And there's none of that, which means that I am buried under all of this for the foreseeable, so if it's not related to bringing in sales, I'm likely not doing it. [What I am doing is losing my fucking mind, so there's that.] I got the two new solid-silver cuffs up the other day, here and here, plus a new ingot pendant, here; last night, I got the two Art Deco cuffs posted, here and here, and they're fabulous. There are also a ton of new earrings posted in the Earrings Gallery, all from the last month or so. Generating income is all that matters at this point, which means sales are all that matters. Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (Amazon cards are probably most useful at this point); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim year, this one already even worse than the last, we really need to get 2024 onto a better footing, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                              

The Fire That Holds the Day

Photo copyright Aji, 2024;
all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a work for summer days that dawn and end in a spirit of fire. It's a pair of earrings wrought in an old, classic traditional style, each one set with the shades of the fire that holds the day, bookending it in warmth and shelter and light.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. It's now summer in this no-longer-new calendar year and facing complications and costs, some carried over from the end of last year, some all new, that have completely wiped us out. We need to make consistent sales urgently, so shares are very much needed and much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.   

I am at the end of my fucking tether.

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

At least somebody's enjoying the weather. I wasn't quick enough to get the shot when he had all four legs in the air, so I had to settle for the "look at me; the grass has me completely stoned" routine.  Which lasted all of twenty seconds, natch.

Gray everywhere now, but no rain yet. Just oppressively hot and humid, which just makes me feel worse all the way around. Not that it takes much under circumstances like these; I didn't fall asleep util sometime after 6 AM, and I was awake again around 8. Fewer than two hours' sleep, and even that constantly interrupted by pain, means that I am not even barely functional today. I'm also not in a frame of mind that will tolerate nonsense. everything's terrible; I've got no help with it; and people think they can treat me disrespectfully and still make demands, and right now, I'm just done.

Thanks to a rheumatoid factor is that sky-high, many times higher than the last time it came back positive, the pain and fatigue are out of control. Unfortunately, that means regular bouts of insomnia, and nothing touches any of it. The other thing that causes insomnia is the constant stress, because there is so much that has to be covered and no money to cover any of it. Wings just refuses to think about it, on the theory that it will work out somehow, but as the one who actually has to find a way to make it "work out somehow," I don't have that luxury. I also don't have any help; just demands on me from other people.

And I am at the end of my fucking tether.

The last few weeks have been a nightmare of medical and bureaucratic nonsense. I still have to deal with the imaging, but I can't do that until we have a lot more money coming in than we do now. That will run into four figures easily, and right now, I have literally nothing, so that's a big ol' nope for now. Of course, if there is something big bad lurking, the longer I delay, the worse it'll get. We had to shell out over $600 cash over the last two days, for medical stuff and the $400 yesterday for his scrips [plus I also have to deal with everything that finally got us to the point of getting them changed in the first place]. That's after a few hundred last week, for all of our labs, and there will be more labs and more appointments and I still have the fucking scans for myself, and given the sense of urgency [none] in this fucked up country, I will probably die before I can afford to get them done [which would solve it, at least]. But that's the way it is in a country that prizes death over life, so here we are.

On top of that, I've already missed the deadline with the IRS to avoid the next round of penalties and interest, but I have GOT to get this off my desk, and there's no way I can do that without really major sales coming in. And there's none of that, which means that I am buried under all of this for the foreseeable, so if it's not related to bringing in sales, I'm likely not doing it. [What I am doing is losing my fucking mind, so there's that.] I got the two new solid-silver cuffs up the other day, here and here, plus a new ingot pendant, here; last night, I got the two Art Deco cuffs posted, here and here, and they're fabulous. There are also a ton of new earrings posted in the Earrings Gallery, all from the last month or so. Generating income is all that matters at this point, which means sales are all that matters. Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (Amazon cards are probably most useful at this point); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim year, this one already even worse than the last, we really need to get 2024 onto a better footing, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                              

Beneath the Clouds' Silver Light

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a pair of pairs, brand new earrings as related in substance as in spirit, of the insight a circle of starlight bestows. It's two pairs of hoops wrought in solid sterling silver, stamped freehand in differing motifs of medicine and power, honoring the gifts that bless our lives beneath the clouds' silver light.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. It's now summer in this no-longer-new calendar year and facing complications and costs, some carried over from the end of last year, some all new, that have completely wiped us out. We need to make consistent sales urgently, so shares are very much needed and much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.   

We need a break.

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

Beautiful morning: clear skies, cool air, lots of newly thriving green. The storms are slated to return tomorrow and stick around for a week or so, but today is just glorious.

It's good; we need a break. Of course, we need a break on every front right now, not least of which is sales. 

The last few weeks have been a nightmare of medical and bureaucratic nonsense. I still have to deal with the imaging, but I can't do that until we have a lot more money coming in than we do now. That will run into four figures easily, and right now, I have literally nothing, so that's a big ol' nope for now. Of course, if there is something big bad lurking, the longer I delay, the worse it'll get. But that's the way it is in a country that prizes death over life, so here we are.

On top of that, I've already missed the deadline with the IRS to avoid the next round of penalties and interest, but I have GOT to get this off my desk, and there's no way I can do that without really major sales coming in. And there's none of that, which means that I am buried under all of this for the foreseeable, so if it's not related to bringing in sales, I'm likely not doing it. I got the two new solid-silver cuffs up the other day, here and here, plus a new ingot pendant, here; last night, I got the two Art Deco cuffs posted, here and here, and they're fabulous. There are also a ton of new earrings posted in the Earrings Gallery, all from the last month or so. Generating income is all that matters at this point, which means sales are all that matters. Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (Amazon cards are probably most useful at this point); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim year, this one already even worse than the last, we really need to get 2024 onto a better footing, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                              

Friday Feature: The Breath of Life and Light

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

It's our Friday Feature at The NDN Silver Blog, with six separate works from the same category, all of which embody that which keeps our world alive. It's the power and medicine of celestial spirits, all wrought freehand in shimmering silver, a coming full circle of the breath of life and light.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. It's now summer in this no-longer-new calendar year and facing complications and costs, some carried over from the end of last year, some all new, that have completely wiped us out. We need to make consistent sales urgently, so shares are very much needed and much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.      

Once again, it's been a day.

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

That was the source of the day's first rainfall, about 2:30 this afternoon. We've had smaller showers since, and we're awaiting the arrival of the line of real bangers right now. If I disappear offline tonight, that will be why.

Everything's late because once again, it's been a day. I woke up around 5 AM with a massive migraine, and it's still here, despite everything that I had to do today [and for the first half of it, in suffocating heat and humidity]. We also had to shell out another . . . I don't even know, over $200 in cash, with probably another $100 tomorrow for scrips. Wings has had to have his meds adjusted again, although this time it's just a dosage change, not a change in the meds themselves. He also needs another round of labs, so that will be more three-figure money out the door. I got off easy by comparison this time; I don't have to have my labs repeated until December [barring some new problem, of course]. I had three things out of range, one my LDL, which is always WAY low, but now it's 2 points above the line. That's an effect of the lupus, which can cause exactly that issue, but it's not elevated enough to require medication. Likewise, my one liver enzyme that was elevated is apparently the result of syndrome that occurs in some people when they're tested while fasting, and I was indeed fasting; basically, I eat, and it drops back to normal. The third one, though, is not so easily resolved. My rheumatoid factor was sky-high, several times higher than it was last time I measured seropositive for RA, and that's on 7 months of chemo. She says that it must have quite literally been off the charts last November, given how high it still is. So that means I stay on the chemo at the current dose for now, but we'll elevate it if necessary, and I see her again in the fall.

Unless, of course, the imaging turns up something nasty, in which case I'll have to see her a lot sooner. But I have to bring in enough scratch to cover the imaging, which will run into four figures easily, and right now, I have literally nothing, so that's a big ol' no for now. Of course, if there is something big bad lurking, the longer I delay, the worse it'll get. But that's the way it is in a country that prizes death over life, so here we are.

On top of that, I've already missed the deadline with the IRS to avoid the next round of penalties and interest, but I have GOT to get this off my desk, and there's no way I can do that without really major sales coming in. And there's none of that, which means that I am buried under all of this for the foreseeable, so if it's not related to bringing in sales, I'm likely not doing it. I got the two new solid-silver cuffs up yesterday, plus a new ingot pendant; tonight I'll get the other two cuffs posted, each with a focal stone, each Art Deco in the design, but very different overall. Generating income is all that matters at this point, which means sales are all that matters. Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (Amazon cards are probably most useful at this point); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim year, this one already even worse than the last, we really need to get 2024 onto a better footing, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                              

#ThrowbackThursday: Spirits of Water, and of Light

Photo copyright Wings, 2024; all rights reserved.

It's #TBT at The NDN Silver Blog, with a #ThrowbackThursday work that dates back to roughly 2009 or so, and what is I believe might be the very first work in this informal but longstanding series of pendants. Prototype or not, it was very clearly an archetype, both for the series and for the fragile yet powerful beings returning to us now for the summer, small spirits of water, and of light.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. As always, this work 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. It's now summer in this no-longer-new calendar year and facing complications and costs, some carried over from the end of last year, some all new, that have completely wiped us out. We need to make consistent sales urgently, so shares are very much needed and much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.     

Storm gathering, but no rain.

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

Dangerous heat this morning; storm gathering now. I stepped outside a few minutes ago, and I could hear distant thunder — very distant . . . for now. We also have flood warnings out for the next couple of days, not just for the burn scars on the other side of the ridgeline, but for us as well.

I wish we could get a flood of sales. I'm at the end of my tether over everything that we have to cover, and we can't. They say you can't get blood from a stone; well, you can't conjure cash out of thin air, either. It's really lousy to have all the destructiveness of the storm gathering, but no rain.

The rest of this week is going to be fraught for us; I have new things added on to what was already on my desk [and sitting like a boulder on my chest]. And I've already missed the deadline with the IRS to avod the next round of penalties and interest, but I have GOT to get this off my desk, and there's no way I can do that without really major sales coming in. And there's none of that, which means that I am buried under all of this for the foreseeable, so if it's not related to bringing in sales, I'm likely not doing it. I will try to get the two new cuffs up and out there today, and possibly the big one he's been working on lately, too. Generating income is all that matters at this point, which means sales are all that matters. Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (Amazon cards are probably most useful at this point); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim year, this one already even worse than the last, we really need to get 2024 onto a better footing, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                              

Finding a Path In the Light

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a work for a world of extremes of sun and shadow, of traveling the way of the hoop amid both dangerous conditions and healing possibilities. It's a pendant wrought in a very old traditional design, dual-sided and full of meaning and medicine, reminding us of the necessity of finding a path in the light.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. It's now summer in this no-longer-new calendar year and facing complications and costs, some carried over from the end of last year, some all new, that have completely wiped us out. We need to make consistent sales urgently, so shares are very much needed and much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.   

Dry as dust.

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

That's what a hot sky looks like. And it is hot today: currently 93, supposed to hit 95, likely to go higher yet. High winds, too, which, in these conditions, do absolutely nothing to alleviate the heat.

The rains are supposed to return tomorrow, and we can only hope the forecast is right. Everything's dry as dust again already. That includes sales, unfortunately.

The rest of this week is going to be fraught for us; I have new things added on to what was already on my desk [and sitting like a boulder on my chest]. The good news is that our niece is getting sprung from the hospital today, and has a follow-up tomorrow. Then there's . . . everything else.

And I've already missed the deadline with the IRS to avod the next round of penalties and interest, but I have GOT to get this off my desk, and there's no way I can do that without really major sales coming in. And there's none of that, which means that I am buried under all of this for the foreseeable, so if it's not related to bringing in sales, I'm likely not doing it. I will try to get the two new cuffs up and out there today, and possibly the big one he's been working on lately, too. Generating income is all that matters at this point, which means sales are all that matters. Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (Amazon cards are probably most useful at this point); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim year, this one already even worse than the last, we really need to get 2024 onto a better footing, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                              

Red Willow Spirit: An Earth Held In a Timeless Light

Photo copyright Wings, 2024;
all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's an edition of Red Willow Spirit for these hottest days of summer, for extreme heat and wind and lack of rain and the resilience that keeps land and people strong and alive. It's two photographic images linked by a single masterwork of wearable art, all of them perfectly suited to this land and what rests upon and rises from it, an earth held in a timeless light.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. As always, his photos are available in any of the usual three formats; simply inquire via the site's Contact form. It's now summer in this no-longer-new calendar year and facing complications and costs, some carried over from the end of last year, some all new, that have completely wiped us out. We need to make consistent sales urgently, so shares are very much needed and much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.      

Nothing to show for it.

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

Heavy thunderheads all day, and nothing to show for it except high heat and higher winds.

Nothing to show for anything else, either; hence everything being so late. It's been a shitty start to the week, and I'm just so tired.

Some of my labs are back, and I do know how to read them, and my rheumatoid factor has skyrocketed, so there's a reason for my exhaustion. The baseline indicators of full-body inflammation are the lowest they've ever been, so clearly the chemo is working on that front. But there's a good reason [or, rather, a bad one] why I'm in so much constant pain, and clearly that's not going to get better.

I went into it all in detail yesterday, and I'm not inclined to revisit it. That was Part II of where we are, this is Part III, I suppose, and maybe it goes some distance to explaining why I keep harping on the need for sales, and also why I'm so scattered mentally. [We also have a niece in the hospital, and a ton of other concerns pressing on us, so it's not purely my own medical issues and lack of money to pay for them; it's everything all at once.] The one saving grace is that I expect Wings's follow-up this week to be nothing more than that, with very good results. Amazing what a change in providers can do.

Anyway. I am buried under all of this for the foreseeable, so if it's not related to bringing in sales, I'm likely not doing it. Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (Amazon cards are probably most useful at this point); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim year, this one already even worse than the last, we really need to get 2024 onto a better footing, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                              

Monday Photo Meditation: An Earth That Refracts the Light

Photo copyright Wings, 2024; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a Monday Photo Meditation for the elemental forces of summer, and the gifts they share with this place in particular. It's a photo from Wings's one-man show, an old black-and-white image that demonstrate those gifts clearly, in water and sky and an earth that refracts the light.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. As always, his photos are available in any of the usual three formats; simply inquire via the site's Contact form. It's now summer in this no-longer-new calendar year and facing complications and costs, some carried over from the end of last year, some all new, that have completely wiped us out. We need to make consistent sales urgently, so shares are very much needed and much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.       

Part II of where we are.

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

More work in progress. He's finally getting the chance to get caught up on everything that's been on his workbench in various stages of the creative process, some of it for months [even back into last year]. These are both going to be very Art Deco-ish, which makes me very happy; it's my favorite art/architecture style.

I'm beat. The hell of it is, I don't even know how much of it just general autoimmune crap, how much of it is stress from all the money worries; and how much of it is something new I should be worrying about. Restabilizing my chemo dose has helped with the first somewhat, although not as much as I would've liked; I suspect that, my condition having regressed while I couldn't get the right dose, t's now taking longer to build me back up to where I was. 

The third, though, is bedeviling me now. In the last 7 years, I've been through a couple of episodes of nearly dying [three hospitalizations, many more episodes that didnt' get treated because who can afford that?]; initially they thought it was my heart, but that turned out to be in perfect shape, so everyone just gave up trying to DX it. Then there were the thyroid and liver tumors, the latter never biopsied because they decided [assumed] form placement they were hemangiomas, and biopsying can be more dangerous than not, while the former was biopsied multiple times, and like every breast-tissue biopsy I've ever had, absolutely no one could read it. Yes, the inflammatory breast cancer scare, too, and that was put down to the lupus, like everything else, because no one can read the results and no one knows what it really is.

But lupus and RA are progressive. Both can do real damage. Both can damage the heart, both can increase the risk of cancer, and now with COVID making it unavoidable to address, they're finally acknowledging that people with chronic EBV Syndrome, like me, are at far greater risk of certain other cancers, too. Lupus puts me at risk for all of those, as well, plus endo-, myo-, and pericarditis, various lung cancers, lymph cancers, Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin's lymphomas. And aside from all the autoimmune pain and fatigue that never goes away, I now have had, for a few months, this constant pain and swelling on the left side of my chest, underarm, shoulder, and upper back.  Could be nothing.  Could be . . . well, pick one. Could be any of them. 

I've literally just been advised that we have now made a sale I didn't know about and wasn't expecting, so I can breathe when it comes to this week's medical bills for both of us. Next months's imaging is something else entirely; it's likely to run well into the multiple four figures before it's done. It has to be paid in cash, up front, before they'll do the scans. I Haven't even made the appointment yet, because there's no point doing it if I'm not going to be able to pay for it.

So this is Part II of where we are, and maybe it goes some distance to explaining why I keep harping on the need for sales, and also why I'm so scattered mentally. [We also have a niece in the hospital, and a ton of other concerns pressing on us, so it's not purely my own medical issues and lack of money to pay for them; it's everything all at once.] The one saving grace is that I expect Wings's follow-up this week to be nothing more than that, with very good results. Amazing what a change in providers can do.

Anyway. I am buried under all of this for the foreseeable, so if it's not related to bringing in sales, I'm likely not doing it. Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (Amazon cards are probably most useful at this point); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim year, this one already even worse than the last, we really need to get 2024 onto a better footing, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                              

An Earth Thriving In a Cosmic Light

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a work to remind us of the gifts of sun and moon and morning star in this season of unsettled conditions and extreme weather. It's a pair of earrings wrought in traditional concha style, with extraordinary freehand stampwork that evokes an earth thriving in a cosmic light.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. It's now summer in this no-longer-new calendar year and facing complications and costs, some carried over from the end of last year, some all new, that have completely wiped us out. We need to make consistent sales urgently, so shares are very much needed and much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.   

This is where we are.

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reerved.

It looks like clouds around the Andes here today. Well, this morning, anyway. Now, most of the peaks are visible, but the skies are still almost entirely gray . . . and yet, no rain.

None of the other kind, either.

At the end of a terrible week, month, year so far, this is where we are. The bloodwork is done, and while we won't know the results until the end of next week, I expect that Wings's labs will show good things. Mine? Not so much. I'm in the unusual position of having to worry about what they'll show. Normally, my only concern is that the autoimmune patterns show through strongly enough forr DX and treatment, because I've always fallen into the 25% of patients who continually show sero-negative, despite having all the symptoms, and a world that prescribes and treats only by what insurance companies will approve won't treat people like me, no matter how bad the symptoms are. So the last few years of [finally!] sero-positive results have been useful to me, and I hope that continues.

My worries now are something else entirely. In the past, my baseline health markers [glucose, lipids, thyroid, etc.] have always been better than perfect: either right smack in the middle of normal, or, as with the lipids, perfect triglycerides with extraordinarily high good cholesterol and extremely low bad cholesterol. But I can't depend on that anymore. Lupus damages all of those things, and I could find that, despite feeling no differently on any of those fronts, something's gone horribly wrong. More, given the tumors in my thyroid and on my liver, and the repeated breast cancer scares and the new symptoms in my chest and upper back on the left, I could find out that something's gone horribly wrong on that front, too. It's why I have to get the imaging done next month [although Spirit knows how, since I don't have four figures' worth of scratch to throw at it; I don't have enough to cover next week's medical bills, never mind the taxes that need to be paid still].

So on top of all the rest of it, I have a week's worth of immediate stress ahead of me, and several weeks' worth thereafter unless and until I can get the scans done and they tell me there's nothing to worry about. And of course, I can't do any of it without bringing in more money.

Yeah, I keep saying that we've GOT to make sales now.  Desperately.  I need help; I can't do this alone. I posted three of his priciest works on social media yesterday, and if I could sell all three? I could at least get a couple of these things off my desk and off my shoulders, too. But absent that level of sales, we're screwed, and I have no way of fixing any of it.

Nothing I have done for the last year has worked. Our sales have tanked, while prices keep going up, and so do our bills, and everybody wants something from me [and there's always a new disaster somewhere that needs fixing immediately]. I don't have anything left. I've put up a bunch of new work lately, including a new pair of extraordinary Skystone earrings the other night, plus something around a dozen other new pairs in the gallery now. There's more to come, including possibly a new cuff soon [he's not satisfied with it currently] and several additional new pairs of simple bezel-set gemstone earrings, plus some small sterling silver hoops and two new slender silver cuffs, all four of which I hope to have posted on the site later today [yes, I keep saying that, but I've had no time and even less bandwidth, but it has to get done today], plus potentially a couple of pairs of siple silver tab earrings, too. But it's hard to work the pain and fatigue, never mind through the depression that accompanies them and this level of external stress. Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (Amazon cards are probably most useful at this point); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim year, this one already even worse than the last, we really need to get 2024 onto a better footing, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                              

Scattered Storms In a Summer Sky

Photo copyright Ai, 2024; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a work for the warm season, and for the weather patterns that, while heavily altered, still have returned with a bit of normality now. It's one of Wings's newest pairs of earrings, a simple design built around bold and elegant turquoise cabochons, their shades and spirits like scattered storms in a summer sky.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. It's now summer in this no-longer-new calendar year and facing complications and costs, some carried over from the end of last year, some all new, that have completely wiped us out. We need to make consistent sales urgently, so shares are very much needed and much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.        b

No rain yet.

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

Beautiful skies today. No rain yet, but that's supposed to arrive this evening.

I just hope I can make the other kind of arrive simultaneously.

So here's where we are. A sale two nights ago made it possible to get our labwork done, for both of us. Mine was double the cost of his, natch, but then, it's a lot more individual tests. We have more medical expenses coming up next week, and then I've got to try to schedule my imaging/scans for sometime next month. They're going to run us into four figures, cash.

On top of the medical stuff, we still have to pay off our fucking TAXES, for chrissake, and they're hounding me now; I need to send payment in full before the 24th to avoid more penalties and interest, and I can't, because there's no money. Wings did pick up a cheap microwave so that at least I can heat Cricket's frisbees at night. But I can't pay for anything else unless I bring in some sales. And yes, that includes my other medical tests. We're so far behind on this year it's terrifying.

Yeah, I keep saying that we've GOT to make sales now.  Desperately.  I need help; I can't do this alone.

Nothing I have done for the last year has worked. Our sales have tanked, while prices keep going up, and so do our bills, and everybody wants something from me. I don't have anything left. I've put up a bunch of new work lately, including a new pair of extraordinary Skystone earrings the other night, plus something around a dozen other new pairs in the gallery now. There's more to come, including possibly a new cuff soon [he's not satisfied with it currently] and several additional new pairs of simple bezel-set gemstone earrings, plus some small sterling silver hoops and two new slender silver cuffs, all four of which I hope to have posted on the site later today [yes, I keep saying that, but I've had no time and even less bandwidth; today's chemo day, though, so maybe I'll have more energy]. But it's hard to work the pain and fatigue, never mind through the depression that accompanies them and this level of external stress. Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (Amazon cards are probably most useful at this point); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim year, this one already even worse than the last, we really need to get 2024 onto a better footing, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                              

Friday Feature: Weaving the Web of Summer's Sky

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

It's our Friday Feature at The NDN Silver Blog, with a pair of masterworks created wholly independently of one another, yet clearly intended by Spirit to belong together as surely as do the elemental forces they represent. It's necklace and earrings set with truly extraordinary gems, together weaving the web of summer's sky and enfolding earth and waters in its protective embrace.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. It's now summer in this no-longer-new calendar year and facing complications and costs, some carried over from the end of last year, some all new, that have completely wiped us out. We need to make consistent sales urgently, so shares are very much needed and much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.     

Packed already.

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

Thunderheads everywhere now. It rained from probably 3 AM-ish to after dawn, and there's supposed to be more on the way. I wish I could've gotten shots of the dawn sky: alternating sections of sunrise and storm, all the way around, and it was positively otherworldly. But it was also pouring rain directly overhead, and I'm not steady enough on my feet at that hour of the day to be outside shooting in it.

Today's been packed already, albeit not with anything like metaphorical rain [i.e., sales], only more [non-optional] spending. There's a lot more to come, and while the lab work will be covered by the one sale we were blessed to make yesterday, I have no idea how we'll cover everything else that's looming.

And on top of the medical stuff, we still have to pay off our fucking TAXES, for chrissake, and they're hounding me now; I need to send payment in full before the 24th to avoid more penalties and interest, and I can't, because there's no money. And now, replacing the microwave . . . ? The worst part of not having it is that I can't heat up the frisbees for Cricket's doghouse, because it's still getting into the low fifties, even the forties, at night. He has an arthritic hip from the abuse he suffered before finding his way here, so I heat them up and put them in the layers of his dog bed every night [he's still too traumatized to come in and sleep in the house]. But I can't pay for anything unless I bring in some sales. DAILY at this point, basically; we're so far behind on this year it's terrifying.

Yeah, I keep saying that we've GOT to make sales now.  Desperately.  I need help; I can't do this alone.

Nothing I have done for the last year has worked. Our sales have tanked, while prices keep going up, and so do our bills, and everybody wants something from me. I don't have anything left. I've put up a bunch of new work lately, including a new pair of extraordinary Skystone earrings the other night, plus something around a dozen other new pairs in the gallery now. There's more to come, including possibly a new cuff soon [he's not satisfied with it currently] and several additional new pairs of simple bezel-set gemstone earrings, plus some small sterling silver hoops and two new slender silver cuffs, all four of which I hope to have posted on the site later today. But it's hard to work the pain and fatigue, never mind through the depression that accompanies them and this level of external stress. Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (Amazon cards are probably most useful at this point); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim year, this one already even worse than the last, we really need to get 2024 onto a better footing, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                              

#TBT: Bits and Pieces of the Blue Summer Sky

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

It's #ThrowbackThursday at The NDN Silver Blog, with a #TBT work that dates back just slightly over three years exactly, to one of a pair of commissioned works created for a relative. It's a pair of classic studs made with old matched cabochons from Wings's private collection, what we reliably believe to be old Morenci, manifest as bits and pieces of the blue summer sky.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. As always, this work 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. It's now summer in this no-longer-new calendar year and facing complications and costs, some carried over from the end of last year, some all new, that have completely wiped us out. We need to make consistent sales urgently, so shares are very much needed and much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.