At least there's one upside to this weather, apparently.

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

That was all covered in white yesterday evening; it's melting fast now. The winds today are not as bad, but they're supposed to be much worse tomorrow than yesterday's were, so neither of us is looking forward to that.

We did see a bald eagle circling over us on the way home yesterday, and I was outside earlier today when the golden eagle soared directly overhead, way up high on the thermals. At least there's one upside to this weather, apparently.

After three nights in a row of virtually no sleep [because that's what pain and autoimmune dysregulation do], I was so exhausted last night I was nearly falling over on my feet. I mean that literally; I fell into the door, which luckily was there to keep me from hitting the floor. But at least I slept. I'm not feeling spectacularly better, but that's part of the whole deal, too, especially now, when it's going to be three months of gale-force winds, so just expect me to be miserable and generally useless for anything.

Of course, it's also tax season, which means I can't afford any of that. I don't have time, in the first place, and if I don't bring in some sales soon, we're screwed. Last year was a nightmare, all year long: expenses of the sort you can't plan for that were astronomical, combined with one of our worst sales years ever. The really bad part is that we still haven't recovered from it. Meanwhile, new expenses mount [taxes, the well pump, the security system, a lot of other things I had no way of anticipating, but there's no one else to do it], and we've made a grand total of three sales all year so far.

That won't even begin to cut it.

Wings has been rocking in the studio for weeks. There's a ton of new work, but posted just last week alone are two new pairs of Red Creek jasper earrings, plus four new necklaces [one vintage-style oval and three hearts, the latter all made with some really unique materials]. And, of course, there are all the other new works from the past two months, a couple of bolos, a new buckle, endless cuffs, I don't know how many pairs of earrings. If you're in the market? Now would be a really, really good time to buy. I really, really need to sell some of his work, and soon.

Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (Amazon cards, Soapbox soaps, Black KN95 masks are most useful at this point); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim year last year, and this one beginning at least as badly, we urgently need to move 2025 onto a better footing before taxes take every last cent, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2025; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                                                     

The Transformative Power of a Love Strong and Brave

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's an all-new work by Wings, completed only last week, one built around a unique and beautiful material that reminds us that love flowers from an iron heart. It's a necklace set with Leland Blue glass, iron slag from one specific place and source, a product of the ugliest forms of colonialism that reinforces the truth of the transformative power of a love strong and brave.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. We have enormous repair costs ahead and it's March already[!]. We urgently need to get 2025 onto a much better footing than last year, so shares are very much needed and much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2025; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.   

So freaking beat.

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

Early this morning: a couple of inches' worth of accumulation, all gone by noon. A few random flurries throughout the afternoon, none of which stuck anywhere, at all.

And a day spent on the run from jump, and I am so freaking beat.

Early appointment for Wings with the doc; just a routine follow-up on last week's annual labs, and his results were really, really good. But they're so overloaded with patients now that we had to wait a very long time to get called back, then even longer to see the doc, and by the time we were done, I was so starved I couldn't think straight. It didn't help that this morning was so hectic that I forgot to take my pain meds [or, more accurately, thought I'd taken them when I hadn't], and I've spent much of the day no really functional as a result. Don't take them on time? The effects magnify, and it takes that much longer for them to kick in and do me any good. Of course, the high winds don't help, either.

Everything's terrible. A couple more tragedies locally, and a couple more spectacularly heinous crimes, too. The missing local man is still apparently missing, with no movement by LE and no attention from the local rag.  They breathlessly front-page tourist deaths [and visits] for days, but when local kids are lost to accidents or violence? They can't even be bothered to give it a fucking line. There has been so much that's awful here since the start of the year, and that's not even including all the stuff we're dealing with, just community issues.

But it's been bad for us, too. I'm not even going into any of it; I'm too tired, there's nothing that can be done, and I have so much to do that can't wait for anything else. I have to get our taxes done. I have to be chasing sales. [Cut-and-paste ahead again, because I'm so tired I can't even rephrase.  I've got hours of work ahead again tonight, too.]

Spirit knows we need all the help we can get on that score. Last year was a nightmare, all year long: expenses of the sort you can't plan for that were astronomical, combined with one of our worst sales years ever. The really bad part is that we still haven't recovered from it. Meanwhile, new expenses mount, and we've made a grand total of three sales all year so far.

That won't even begin to cut it.

Wings has been rocking in the studio for weeks. There's a ton of new work, but posted just last week alone are two new pairs of Red Creek jasper earrings [featured today at The NDN Silver Blog], plus four new necklaces [one vintage-style oval and three hearts, the latter all made with some really unique materials]. And, of course, there are all the other new works from the past two months, a couple of bolos, a new buckle, endless cuffs, I don't know how many pairs of earrings. If you're in the market? Now would be a really, really good time to buy. We have to pay taxes soon; we have to replace our well's pressure pump; we have to get a security system installed suddenly; and I still need to replace my laptop, which I have to baby along daily. We're also having to help relatives with some cultural obligations [that's already begun the last couple of weeks, and there's a lot more to go]. And of course, there are all the animals' expenses. Gotta keep the chickie girls happy: Those eggs won't lay themselves. [And yes, they've been known to go on strike when they don't get what they want.]

So I really, really need to sell some of his work, and soon.

Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (Amazon cards, Soapbox soaps, Black KN95 masks are most useful at this point); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim year last year, and this one beginning at least as badly, we urgently need to move 2025 onto a better footing before taxes take every last cent, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2025; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                                                     

Red Willow Spirit: Weathering Storms and Winter's Fire

Photo copyright Wings, 2025; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's an edition of Red Willow Spirit for a season that exists mostly in memory now. It's three images linked by two new[ish] works of wearable art, all of them capturing the beauty and power of this land and season of weathering storms and winter's fire.

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. We have enormous repair costs ahead and we're already into the first week of March. We urgently need to shift 2025 to a much better footing, and we need to do it very fast now, so shares are very much needed and much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2025; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.    

Talons and teeth.

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

That was around noon.  We got a few flakes, a little graupel, nothing collecting anywhere. Constant high-velocity winds, though. I would call the storm toothless, except since it's nothing but wind, that means it's nothing but talons and teeth.

Which means that I feel like absolute hell. 

There is no weather phenomenon as destructive to my joints and connective tissues as high winds. And we have three full months ahead, at least; it lasts longer every year now. I haven't had any real sleep the last two nights, and I felt absolutely ill last night, and this is why; it was on the way, the changes in air pressure and other conditions set my whole body on fire.

AndI'm ridiculously behind today; couldn't even get to my own work until about 2:30.  Tomorrow will be worse. I am determined that the rest of the week is going to be for my work, and nothing else, because I am out of time.

I have to get our taxes done. I have to be chasing sales. [Cut-and-paste ahead, because I'm so tired I can't even rephrase.  I've got hours of work ahead again tonight, too.]

Spirit knows we need all the help we can get on that score. Last year was a nightmare, all year long: expenses of the sort you can't plan for that were astronomical, combined with one of our worst sales years ever. The really bad part is that we still haven't recovered from it. Meanwhile, new expenses mount, and we've made a grand total of three sales all year so far.

That won't even begin to cut it.

Wings has been rocking in the studio for weeks. There's a ton of new work, but posted just last week alone are two new pairs of Red Creek jasper earrings, plus four new necklaces [one vintage-style oval and three hearts, the latter all made with some really unique materials]. And, of course, there are all the other new works from the past two months, a couple of bolos, a new buckle, endless cuffs, I don't know how many pairs of earrings. If you're in the market? Now would be a really, really good time to buy. We have to pay taxes soon; we have to replace our well's pressure pump; we have to get a security system installed suddenly; and I still need to replace my laptop, which I have to baby along daily. We're also having to help relatives with some cultural obligations [that's already begun the last couple of weeks, and there's a lot more to go]. And of course, there are all the animals' expenses. Gotta keep the chickie girls happy: Those eggs won't lay themselves. [And yes, they've been known to go on strike when they don't get what they want.]

So I really, really need to sell some of his work, and soon.

Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (Amazon cards, Soapbox soaps, Black KN95 masks are most useful at this point); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim year last year, and this one beginning at least as badly, we urgently need to move 2025 onto a better footing before taxes take every last cent, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2025; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                                                     

Monday Photo Meditation: Of Winter Reborn

Photo copyright Wings, 2025;
all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a Monday Photo Meditation for a day and week forecast for winter, but already stolen by spring. It's a reflection on what has changed so drastically in fewer than two decades as well as on what remains, and on the truth that ours is a world of winter reborn, and we have much work ahead of us to nurture and protect it.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. We have enormous repair costs ahead and we're already into the first week of March. We urgently need to shift 2025 onto a much better footing than last year, and fast, so shares are very much needed and much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2025; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.         

At long last.

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

Findings on those last two done at long last. I was too beat to haul out the velvet backing, though, and take new photos; I'll do that sometime tomorrow. I really overdid it last week, and it all came crashing down on me today.

I keep saying I'm supposed to be staying here, not running errands constantly. Last week didn't get the memo, obvs; out of seven days in the week, I think I had to go into town on five of them. For me anymore, that's a lot; way too much, actually. It's also maddening that I felt good yesterday [I mean, as good as I ever do, which is not what most people mean by the phrase, but my illnesses have left me with expectations that are a hell of a lot lower now]. So I had high hopes for getting things done today, and instead, I barely slept overnight, and I've been sick all day today by which I mean the kind of "sick" that lupus and RA induce, which essentially feels like the kind of fever and so forth you get with a bad case of the flu, except there's no flu and no actual fever, either]. I will have to go into town at least once this week, but that has to be it, I think. And of course, we all know how likely it is that that will actually happen, anyway.

But while I'm here, I also can't be doing everything else under the sun. I have to be chasing sales. [Cut-and-paste ahead, because I'm so tired I can't even rephrase.  I've got hours of work ahead tonight, too.]

Spirit knows we need all the help we can get on that score. Last year was a nightmare, all year long: expenses of the sort you can't plan for that were astronomical, combined with one of our worst sales years ever. The really bad part is that we still haven't recovered from it. Meanwhile, new expenses mount, and we've made a grand total of three sales all year so far.

That won't even begin to cut it.

Wings has been rocking in the studio for weeks. There's a ton of new work, but posted just this week alone are two new pairs of Red Creek jasper earrings, plus four new necklaces [one vintage-style oval and three hearts, the latter all made with some really unique materials]. And, of course, there are all the other new works from the past two months, a couple of bolos, a new buckle, endless cuffs, I don't know how many pairs of earrings. If you're in the market? Now would be a really, really good time to buy. We have to pay taxes soon; we have to replace our well's pressure pump; we have to get a security system installed suddenly; and I still need to replace my laptop, which I have to baby along daily. We're also having to help relatives with some cultural obligations [that's already begun the last couple of weeks, and there's a lot more to go]. And of course, there are all the animals' expenses. Gotta keep the chickie girls happy: Those eggs won't lay themselves. [And yes, they've been known to go on strike when they don't get what they want.]

So I really, really need to sell some of his work, and soon.

Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (Amazon cards, Soapbox soaps, Black KN95 masks are most useful at this point); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim year last year, and this one beginning at least as badly, we urgently need to move 2025 onto a better footing before taxes take every last cent, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2025; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                                                     

Of the Hardest Days Is a Green and Flowering World Born

Photo copyright Aji, 2025;
all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a work for changing seasons, one originally created for fall's linking of summer to winter but just as apt for the unsettled threshold between winter and spring. It's a reminder, too, of where true strength lies, and of the truth that of the hardest days is a green and flowering world born.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. We have enormous repair costs ahead and it's March already[!]. We urgently need to get 2025 onto a much better footing than last year, so shares are very much needed and much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2025; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.   

First egg.

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

March first; first day of meteorological spring [and 72 degrees]; first egg.

Yes, it's a broken egg; one of the 'lorps occasionally lays one with a shell that hasn't hardened entirely, and quite often, her first one of the year is like this. But it means they'll be laying regularly soon. And given the literal price of eggs now [and the fact that stores are limiting purchases], that will save us some money.

Spirit knows we need all the help we can get on that score. Last year was a nightmare, all year long: expenses of the sort you can't plan for that were astronomical, combined with one of our worst sales years ever. The really bad part is that we still haven't recovered from it. Meanwhile, new expenses mount, and we've made a grand total of three sales all year so far.

That won't even begin to cut it.

Wings has been rocking in the studio for weeks. There's a ton of new work, but posted just this week alone are two new pairs of Red Creek jasper earrings, plus four new necklaces [one vintage-style oval and three hearts, the latter all made with some really unique materials]. And, of course, there are all the other new works from the past two months, a couple of bolos, a new buckle, endless cuffs, I don't know how many pairs of earrings. If you're in the market? Now would be a really, really good time to buy. We have to pay taxes soon; we have to replace our well's pressure pump; we have to get a security system installed suddenly; and I still need to replace my laptop, which I have to baby along daily. We're also having to help relatives with some cultural obligations [that's already begun the last couple of weeks, and there's a lot more to go]. And of course, there are all the animals' expenses. Gotta keep the chickie girls happy: Those eggs won't lay themselves. [And yes, they've been known to go on strike when they don't get what they want.]

So I really, really need to sell some of his work, and soon.

Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (Amazon cards, Soapbox soaps, Black KN95 masks are most useful at this point); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim year last year, and this one beginning at least as badly, we urgently need to move 2025 onto a better footing before taxes take every last cent, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2025; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                                                     

The Borderline Blues Between Winter and Spring

Photo copyright Aji, 2025;
all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a work for the first day of meteorological spring, and for the natural, if unfulfilled, expectation that from last snow, first rain will fall. It's also a work that recognizes our differences from other climates, historically and now, one to celebrate the borderline blues between winter and spring.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. We have enormous repair costs ahead and it's March first already[!]. We urgently need to get 2025 onto a much better footing than last year, so shares are very much needed and much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2025; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.   

Friday Feature: Witness to the Blues of Creation

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

It's our Friday Feature at The NDN Silver Blog, with an all-new work wrought freehand in vintage style of extraordinary materials, one that reminds us that we are now present at the birth of new worlds. It's a necklace built around a phenomenal specimen of royal lapis, ringed with freehand silverwork and strung from spectacular beads hand-selected specifically for it, collectively a reminder that daily we are witness to the blues of creation, and we can help ensure a better world for future generations.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. We have enormous repair costs ahead and tomorrow is already March. We urgently need to get 2025 onto a much better footing than last year, so shares are very much needed and much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2025; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.   

That's not the only drought.

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

Yes, out of order AGAIN. I'm in one hell of a mood right now; it's after seven o'clock at night, and I've gotten none of my regular done, because my work is always fucking disposable, subordinate to everything and everyone else under the sun.

You wonder why I don't write?  THIS IS WHY.

Last day of February, which cannot be the case but somehow it is, and look at that drought. You can't tell from that photo, but I caught it last night; there's no snow to speak of on Lobo Peak, either. Nearly seventy again today, and all anybody in authority wants to do is more world-killing shit.

So we're two months gone on the "new" year already, and that's not the only drought. We've had I think three and a half sales all year. That's it. We're never going to make it at this rate, even if there were nothing else pressing on us, but there is, every damn day. I just shelled out a few hundred on prescriptions today. We also paid out just shy of $700 cash this week to cover that other thing [not for us; for someone else]. Taxes are looming, and I have no idea what the fuck I'm going to do. And there's the well pump, the security system, and my laptop dies on me daily now. 

Last year was indescribably bad on pretty much every single front, especially sales. This year, already a month into it, and it's not appreciably better. I have GOT to make some sales, since we've had only three so far in this new year, and we're already to the third month. It takes at least one sale a week [sometimes more] just for us to break even on the year, and last year? We didn't even do half that.  So now would still be a good time to buy. TONS of new and fabulous work on the site, and tons more on the way, too; those two new pairs of earrings finally got posted this week, and the four new necklaces are now up and live. But I've got to sell something, for the love of all that's holy. I can't live with this level of unrelenting stress on top of everything else. And no, I'm not going for more scans or needles, because see everything above that has to come first.

Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (Amazon cards, Soapbox soaps, Black KN95 masks are most useful at this point); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim year, this one far worse than the last, we urgently need to begin 2025 on a better footing before taxes take every cent, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2025; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                                                     

I'm skeptical.

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

I said elsewhere today that the thin line of clouds to the south looked more like early June. That up there? That should be the end of June, when the last of the snow finally gives way to the warmth.

The last of the snow is four months early.

It's terrifying.

In theory, we might get some snow Sunday through Tuesday. Given the forecast highs, though, if we get anything at all, I think it's more likely to be rain, unless it occurs overnight. I'm skeptical that we'll get anything at all, though.

Our nephew was here today helping with a bunch of tasks, including Miika's farrier work, so he and Wings got a lot done, and he's coming back tomorrow to do more. I'm so grateful for the help, because this is all work I can no longer do — including holding Miika while Wings does her hooves, because all it takes is one good jerk from a horse with CPTSD, and my shoulder's dislocated. The lupus has damaged my connective tissue in every joint system so badly [and the rheumatoid arthritis has so badly damaged al of my joints], that everything subluxes on its own now. I can be sitting here working, minding my own business, and something will dislocate; sleeping, and suddenly excruciating pain tears me awake because, well, the tissue has just torn again, and the joint is out of place. Even things you didn't think could dislocate, like ribs.

So the heavy labor is off-limits to me anymore, except in emergencies. Of course, I have more than enough of my own work these days, and I'm way behind on all of it. Partly because those in authority and control [not power; Carter taught me that] are killing more of the planet, and more people, daily [and those elected to defend against it are AWOL entirely], and partly because all the usual issues continue apace. So does the work, our own and the vocational stuff that we have no choice but to do. And, of course, the world is still on fire, they're still coming for us all, and we still have to worry about our communities, about our relatives [both of whom are disproportionately affected by this illegal "funding suspension"], . . . and about us. Last year was indescribably bad on pretty much every single front, especially sales. This year, already a month into it, and it's not appreciably better. I have GOT to make some sales, since we've had only two so far in this new year, and we're already in the second month. It takes at least one sale a week [sometimes more] just for us to break even on the year, and last year? We didn't even do half that. We're going to have to replace the well pressure pump, without question. Taxes are coming. Now we have a potential security issue, and I think we're going to have to hire someone to install a camera system here [the distance is too great for the little cheap cameras; this will require something a lot more sophisticated (and a lot more costly, natch)]. My laptop apparently will have to wait yet another year [assuming I can keep this alive that long, which I can't assume for a moment, actually]. So now would still be a good time to buy. TONS of new and fabulous work on the site, and tons more on the way, too; those two new pairs of earrings finally got posted yesterday, and the four new necklaces are under way [by tonight, if at all possible]. But I've got to sell something, for the love of all that's holy. I can't live with this level of unrelenting stress on top of everything else.

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 far worse than the last, we urgently need to begin 2025 on a better footing before taxes take every cent, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2025; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                                                     

#TBT: The Great Lapis Expanse of Night

Photo copyright Wings, 2025; all rights reserved.

It's #ThrowbackThursday at The NDN Silver Blog, with a #TBT work that dates back at least 19, perhaps 20 years, to a uniquely designed twist on Wings's long-running signature series of Spirit Horses. It's a very different version from most, one that seems to be just emerging from the mists and smoke of the dark, to guide us through the dream world across the great lapis expanse of night.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. As always, this work 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 have enormous repair costs ahead and we're already at the end of February. We urgently need to get 2025 under way on a much better footing, so shares are very much needed and much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2025; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.         

Priorities.

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

Click on that photo to enlarge it. That is a truly pitiful amount of snow.

Some friends came up to visit us today, and we were talking about how, not very many years ago, they' used to drive up here with three feet or more of snow on the ground and the mountains completely white. None of that now.

It wasn't as warm as yesterday; I think the high was only the upper fifties, maybe low sixties late this morning. Then the winds showed up, and it was brutal all afternoon long. It used to be that the winds would die with sunset, but that's no longer true, either. Of all the weather conditions we could have that decided to increase their presence exponentially, we of course are getting the worst of them all.

But at least we got to spend time with friends today. Since the start of the [still ongoing, people] pandemic, we haven't been able to see them nearly as often, so a visit is rare but very, very welcome. It's also why everything's late, because I do have my priorities straight, and work takes a definite back seat to spending time with people we love.

But even so, all the usual issues continue apace. So does the work, our own and the vocational stuff that we have no choice but to do. And, of course, the world is still on fire, they're still coming for us all, and we still have to worry about our communities, about our relatives [both of whom are disproportionately affected by this illegal "funding suspension"], . . . and about us. Last year was indescribably bad on pretty much every single front, especially sales. This year, already a month into it, and it's not appreciably better. I have GOT to make some sales, since we've had only two so far in this new year, and we're already in the second month. It takes at least one sale a week [sometimes more] just for us to break even on the year, and last year? We didn't even do half that. We're going to have to replace the well pressure pump, without question. Taxes are coming. Now we have a potential security issue, and I think we're going to have to hire someone to install a camera system here [the distance is too great for the little cheap cameras; this will require something a lot more sophisticated (and a lot more costly, natch)]. My laptop apparently will have to wait yet another year [assuming I can keep this alive that long, which I can't assume for a moment, actually]. So now would still be a good time to buy. TONS of new and fabulous work on the site, and tons more on the way, too; those two new pairs of earrings finally got posted this morning, and the four new necklaces are under way [maybe tonight; more likely tomorrow]. But I've got to sell something, for the love of all that's holy. I can't live with this level of unrelenting stress on top of everything else.

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 far worse than the last, we urgently need to begin 2025 on a better footing before taxes take every cent, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2025; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                                                    

A Royal Shield For an Indigo Storm

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a masterwork for dark days and hard times, shield and storm together in its own powerful armor. But it reminds us, too, that neither is enough, and that we can no longer afford to regard them as external; rather, it's a royal shield for an indigo storm, and we must learn how to become both ourselves.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. We have enormous repair costs ahead and we're already at the end of February now. We urgently need to get 2025 onto a much better footing than last year, so shares are very much needed and much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2025; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.   

Red Willow Spirit: The Power of Post-Storm Royal Blue Skies

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's an edition of Red Willow Spirit to remind us what should be in a winter that feels like May, in a world literally dying for snow. It's three images linked by a single masterwork of wearable art shown from two perspectives, all of them brilliant and breathtakingly beautiful reminders of the power of post-storm royal blue skies.

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. We have enormous repair costs ahead and we're already into the last week of February. We urgently need to get 2025 under way on a much better footing than last year, so shares are very much needed and much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2025; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.    

Every week I say that this will be the week.

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

The last two of this group. [Rejected silicon on mostly shungite on the left; Rosarita (gold slag) on mostly red-over-white glass trade beads on the right.] He hasn't added the findings yet, but that'll be complete tomorrow. I had intended to get all four of the up on the site tonight, but this day has been chaos from jump, so it's unlikely. It's also why everything's out of order again.

Every week I say that this will be the week that I get to focus on MY work, and every week, it winds up being the absolute last thing I'm able to get done. I wear, with the exception of one thing I can't get out of, all the rest of next week, I'm going on strike. I don't care who wants what, it's not getting done until my own work is done first.

Because I'm tired of having to defer to everyone and everything else.

And part of that is because it's MY work that actually makes sure stuff gets sold so the bills get paid. So the taxes get paid, and I have to drop everything else for that now, too. And because all the usual issues continue apace. So does the work, our own and the vocational stuff that we have no choice but to do. And, of course, the world is still on fire, they're still coming for us all, and we still have to worry about our communities, about our relatives [both of whom are disproportionately affected by this illegal "funding suspension"], . . . and about us. Last year was indescribably bad on pretty much every single front, especially sales. This year, already a month into it, and it's not appreciably better. I have GOT to make some sales, since we've had only two so far in this new year, and we're already in the second month. It takes at least one sale a week [sometimes more] just for us to break even on the year, and last year? We didn't even do half that. We're going to have to replace the well pressure pump, without question. Taxes are coming. Now we have a potential security issue, and I think we're going to have to hire someone to install a camera system here [the distance is too great for the little cheap cameras; this will require something a lot more sophisticated (and a lot more costly, natch)]. My laptop apparently will have to wait yet another year [assuming I can keep this alive that long, which I can't assume for a moment, actually]. So now would still be a good time to buy. TONS of new and fabulous work on the site, and tons more on the way, too. But I've got to sell something, for the love of all that's holy. I can't live with this level of unrelenting stress on top of everything else.

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 far worse than the last, we urgently need to begin 2025 on a better footing before taxes take every cent, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2025; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                                                    

Monday.

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

Two of the newest, the royal lapis I promised and the Leland Blue.  I had intended to get them up tonight, but this day has conspired against me on every front, so it's looking like tomorrow now.  Hopefully by then the bead strands for the silicon and Rosarita pendants will be done, and I can do them all at once.

That's if I'm lucky.

Today, though? Today's been a Monday in every sense of the word. Awakened in the early dark hours with a blinding migraine that had not subsided in the slightest by dawn; up early because Wings needed [routine] labs; seventy degrees when we should have snow, but of course, then the high winds show up, too; and all in all, the way everything combined jacks my pain levels makes everything an absolute misery. And now tonight I'm battling to keep my laptop alive [it's shut down on me multiple times already], PLUS Indian killer telecom's service, with no actual redundancy, no matter how they lie about, is borked and we keep losing access. Oh, and I forgot; I've gotta come up with ~$700 now, and a few grand before, say, late April, for cultural stuff [not us, somebody else, but there's no one else to do it].

And I'm losing my mind. Because all the usual issues continue apace. So does the work, our own and the vocational stuff that we have no choice but to do. And, of course, the world is still on fire, they're still coming for us all, and we still have to worry about our communities, about our relatives [both of whom are disproportionately affected by this illegal "funding suspension"], . . . and about us. Last year was indescribably bad on pretty much every single front, especially sales. This year, already a month into it, and it's not appreciably better. I have GOT to make some sales, since we've had only two so far in this new year, and we're already in the second month. It takes at least one sale a week [sometimes more] just for us to break even on the year, and last year? We didn't even do half that. We're going to have to replace the well pressure pump, without question. Taxes are coming. Now we have a potential security issue, and I think we're going to have to hire someone to install a camera system here [the distance is too great for the little cheap cameras; this will require something a lot more sophisticated (and a lot more costly, natch)]. My laptop apparently will have to wait yet another year [assuming I can keep this alive that long, which I can't assume for a moment, actually]. So now would still be a good time to buy. TONS of new and fabulous work on the site, and tons more on the way, too. But I've got to sell something, for the love of all that's holy. I can't live with this level of unrelenting stress on top of everything else.

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 far worse than the last, we urgently need to begin 2025 on a better footing before taxes take every cent, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2025; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                                                    

Monday Photo Meditation: A Cold Cobalt Sky

Photo copyright Wings, 2025; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a Monday Photo Meditation for a February that feels like May, for what we've lost and what we could reclaim if we commit to the work. It's an image from six years ago almost to the day, a mountain snowscape beneath a cold cobalt sky.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. We have enormous repair costs ahead and we're already into the last week of February. We urgently need to get 2025 under way on a much better footing than last year, so shares are very much needed and much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2025; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.