Never easy.

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

The light today has been a living thing: breathing, animated, animating. It's been extraordinary . . . and of course, we've had no time to stop and appreciate it. 

This day is never easy day, because this is the anniversary of the day we lost BearGirl [vet malpractice]. It's been 18 years, and it might as well have been last week. She was the first one we lost together, and it was incredibly hard and incredibly painful, but they never get any easier, and there have been so very, very many more since.

And I'm so very tired of loss, of grief, of mourning. But she did send us the rain this evening, and a brilliant full-arc rainbow tonight.

Today was also San G, of course, and also of course, we didn't go. We had appointments that couldn't be changed, and and so much else that had to get done. On the plus side, I now have a dose of steroids in my right shoulder, which I hope will help with some of the pain and tendency to dislocate. On the minus side, I'm still just getting my own work under way at 10:00 at night.

Again.

I'm so fed up. It has to stop.

In the meantime, I've GOT to bring in sales, and I've got to do it regularly, at least, if not actually daily. That holiday creative season effectively begins on October first, a few hours away now, and we will both be running 16 hours a day, 7 days a week, until the end of the year. He also has to finish the last half-dozen or so commissions that are in the works before he can turn his attention to cranking out holiday inventory in any real way. And we need to bring in sales now, both to cover his work building new inventory and simply to meet all the costs of this stupidly expensive year [on top of last year being the same; hell, last week, set us back about $1K in cash, between the repair and he guys and scrips and medical stuff]. If we could just continue to make regular weekly sales, we'd be fine . . . but we need to make those sales now, and so far, that's not happening. There's a lot of gorgeous new work up, but I've got to sell it for it to make any difference. This kind of stress is also not helping my health. I need that to change now, and fast. And to that end, links are here [with the LaminaSaver back on the wishlist, because Miika goes through it at a rapid clip]:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here [priority at the moment is more of the LaminaSaver for Miika];
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

And we do still need to make those regular weekly sales, so please share all of the links. We really do need this to be a better month than what we've had so far this year.

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: A Medicine Dance of the Light

Photo copyright Wings, 2025;
all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's an edition of Red Willow Spirit for newly remarkable manifestations of fall's greatest animating spirit here. It's two images linked by a single spectacular work of wearable art, all of them manifest as portals to other worlds formed by a medicine dance of the light.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. Our expenses this year have been enormous in both senses of the word, and we're entering the holiday creative season in less than a week, which will require its annual huge investment of resources and time [and last week brought us another ~$1K in unexpected cash expense, repairs, scrips, medical]. We need to bring in consistent sales each and every week to make sure that everything is covered.

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.          

This time of year is beautiful.

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

After the last couple of nights of cold temps, lots of color today. The red has especially begun to show itself as of this morning, on the vines and the maples both; on the peaks and slopes, the aspens are gold and the gambel oak orange now.

This time of year is beautiful; if only we had more time to enjoy it.

After 40+ hours with no sleep, I slept later this morning than I intended, which meant I didn't get the jump on the day [or the week] that I had planned. We both did get a great deal done today, but not the things we were hoping and planning to do. Which is why I'm doing all my daily work at 9:30 at night.

Again.

It doesn't help that every night without sleep sets me back multiple days, but that's the nature of this disease, and there's nothing I can do about that. I am, at least, getting steroid shots later this week [for the first time], and I'm hoping that it takes enough of the edge off the pain to allow me to sleep more consistently for a while. And that, in turn, might let me get caught up a little before the holiday creative season really gets under way.

In the meantime, I've GOT to bring in sales, and I've got to do it regularly, at least, if not actually daily. That holiday creative season effectively begins on October first, the day after tomorrow, and we will both be running 16 hours a day, 7 days a week, until the end of the year. He also has to finish the last half-dozen or so commissions that are in the works before he can turn his attention to cranking out holiday inventory in any real way. And we need to bring in sales now, both to cover his work building new inventory and simply to meet all the costs of this stupidly expensive year [on top of last year being the same; hell, last week, set us back about $1K in cash, between the repair and he guys and scrips and medical stuff]. If we could just continue to make regular weekly sales, we'd be fine . . . but we need to make those sales now, and so far, that's not happening. There's a lot of gorgeous new work up, but I've got to sell it for it to make any difference. This kind of stress is also not helping my health. I need that to change now, and fast. And to that end, links are here [with the LaminaSaver back on the wishlist, because Miika goes through it at a rapid clip]:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here [priority at the moment is more of the LaminaSaver for Miika];
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

And we do still need to make those regular weekly sales, so please share all of the links. We really do need this to be a better month than what we've had so far this year.

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 Conjuring Fire

Photo copyright Wings, 2025; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a Monday Photo Meditation for September's end, and for these increasingly short days, with low long light and longer nights, that carry us into the cold season. It's an image that dates back eleven years almost to the day, one that neither of us recalled until days ago, but one that's spectacularly apt for this season, for the stormclouds and sun that create a conjuring fire to call the night.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. Our expenses this year have been enormous in both senses of the word, and we're entering the holiday creative season in less than a week, which will require its annual huge investment of resources and time [and last week brought us another ~$1K in unexpected cash expense, repairs, scrips, medical]. We need to bring in consistent sales each and every week to make sure that everything is covered.

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.          

Compensations.

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

No sleep last night. None.  Zip, zero, nada. Not stress; certainly not caffeine. Just pain, and the damage that lupus and RA do to the neurotransmitters in my brain that make sleep possible in the first place.

And for once, I don't even resent it particularly [okay, well, let's say "not as much"], because being up long before dawn means I got to see that. Up there. No filters, no edits, nothing; that's what the sky looked like this morning. Plus a rare morning rainbow in the western sky, only the third one we've ever seen here [and two of those in the last couple of weeks]. So for once insomnia had its compensations.

Of course, now I'm dragging so badly I can barely string two words together.

Yesterday was supposed to be a day to catch up; nope. Too much pain and fatigue. So, today, but nope. No sleep, no ability function. This is why I can't work for anyone else; because my body literally would never cooperate. I have almost as many sleepless nights as those with sleep, and thanks to almost a year of a brain med, I'm sleeping better now than I have for most of my life. Even with nights like last night.

But I can't afford any more of these; I have GOT to get caught up. I've also GOT to bring in sales, and I've got to do it regularly, at least, if not actually daily. The holiday creative season effectively begins on October first, and we will both be running 16 hours a day, 7 days a week, until the end of the year. He also has to finish the last half-dozen or so commissions that are in the works before he can turn his attention to cranking out holiday inventory in any real way. And we need to bring in sales now, both to cover his work building new inventory and simply to meet all the costs of this stupidly expensive year [on top of last year being the same; hell, last week, set us back about $1K i cash, between the repair and he guys and scrips and medical stuff]. If we could just continue to make regular weekly sales, we'd be fine . . . but we need to make those sales now, and so far, that's not happening. There's a lot of gorgeous new work up, but I've got to sell it for it to make any difference. This kind of stress is also not helping my health. I need that to change now, and fast. And to that end, links are here [with the LaminaSaver back on the wishlist, because Miika goes through it at a rapid clip]:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here [priority at the moment is more of the LaminaSaver for Miika];
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

And we do still need to make those regular weekly sales, so please share all of the links. We really do need this to be a better month than what we've had so far this year.

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 Cool Moonlit Magic

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a work for fall's longer nights, a vintage-style rendering of our world by the moon's cold light. It's a deliberate homage to Indigenous silverwork styles of a century ago, with a distinctly Art Deco sensibility framing an otherworldly stone, a tribute to the way this season bestows a cool moonlit magic upon the darkened earth.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. Our expenses this year have been enormous in both senses of the word, and we're entering the holiday creative season in less than a week, which will require its annual huge investment of resources and time [and last week brought us another ~$1K in unexpected cash expense, repairs, scrips, medical]. We need to bring in consistent sales each and every week to make sure that everything is covered in time.

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.         

Done.

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

A lone blackbird. They're everywhere right now, but they're usually gone by this point. None of our usual patterns are in force anymore.

Cloudy today; only a stray drop or two down here so far, but there's snow on the peaks again. There will also be a freeze tonight, presumably, which means more rapid color change, and also early die-off.

Speaking of early die-off . . . .

Right now? I'm just done. We can't afford to have the guys back working next week, at least not unless I manage to bring in a bunch of sales before Monday, and we all know that's not going to happen. I don't think either of us could manage another week of this anyway. We're both completely overwhelmed the bullshit of this year, too much labor, too much expense, too little time, and too many goddamned demands by everyone else. I don't notice any commensurate [or even occasional] checking in to see if we need a hand with anything. That would, of course, be because there isn't any. And I'm tired.

Funny how some people think that the fact that we try to help folks when we're able [and often even when we're not] turns into some kind of obligation to them whenever they want something. 

And after the last few weeks, the last two days, the constant stress over money, the constant derailments? Today, I'm done. My disease progression is making it impossible to get even the most basic stuff done, and I can't afford that right now, even less than usual. The holiday creative season effectively begins on October first, and we will both be running 16 hours a day, 7 days a week, until the end of the year. He also has to finish the last half-dozen or so commissions that are in the works before he can turn his attention to cranking out holiday inventory in any real way. And we need to bring in sales now, both to cover his work building new inventory and simply to meet all the costs of this stupidly expensive year [on top of last year being the same]. If we could just continue to make regular weekly sales, we'd be fine . . . but we need to make those sales now, and so far, that's not happening. It's been two weeks since our last sale, and that's not going to cut it. There's a lot of gorgeous new work up, but I've got to sell it for it to make any difference. This kind of stress is also not helping my health. I need that to change now, and fast. And to that end, links are here [with the LaminaSaver back on the wishlist, because Miika goes through it at a rapid clip]:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here [priority at the moment is more of the LaminaSaver for Miika];
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

And we do still need to make those regular weekly sales, so please share all of the links. We really do need this to be a better month than what we've had so far this year.

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 Renewing Power of Seasonal Shifts

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a work for periods of change, a new moon, an autumnal equinox, another turn of the earth. It's a cuff wrought in the Art Deco style of a century past, set with an extraordinary old stone with faustite's lime-green hues, both a tribute to the renewing power of seasonal shifts, and a reminder to honor them.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. Our expenses this year have been enormous in both senses of the word, and we're entering the holiday creative season in less than a week, which will require its annual huge investment of resources and time [and this week brought us another ~$1K in unexpected cash expense, repairs, scrips, medical]. We need to bring in consistent sales each and every week to make sure that everything is covered in time.

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 unspeakably glad the weekend is here.

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

Punkins! That's the ripest of the bunch so far, but there are several in various stages between dark green and bright orange. They're all small, but that's fine. If I decide to make pies with any of them, they'll be the right size [and sweetness].

I am so unspeakably glad the weekend is here. Wings sent the guys home an hour early because of the heat, and tomorrow and Sunday we won't have to go anywhere, see anyone, do anything other than our daily work [which has been suffering terribly this week with all the interruptions]. Yesterday was twelve kinds of hell, beginning with the fact that I'd had no sleep, which is the worst possible thing for folks with autoimmune diseases, and I could barely think or function, and yet I was slammed harder with things that had to get done to other people's schedules than in the rest of the week put together.

I got to bed sometime after 11 and didn't get up until 5:45 this morning. Of course, today was another hellscape, mostly involving errands and me standing in lines for ridiculous amounts of time, but at least I had had enough sleep to function. But it was a horribly expensive day, that repair bill from yesterday plus the guys' pay for the week plus groceries which have gone up to ludicrous levels plus well over $200 in scrips for both of us [and there are more to come for next week, plus doctor's visits that will cost us both]. Sometimes I feel so discouraged by everything, because there's never any let-up.

I also can't keep up the constant stress of the demands on me, money, time, constant nonsense, whatever. My disease progression is making it impossible to get even the most basic stuff done, and I can't afford that right now, even less than usual. The holiday creative season effectively begins on October first, and we will both be running 16 hours a day, 7 days a week, until the end of the year. He also has to finish the last half-dozen or so commissions that are in the works before he can turn his attention to cranking out holiday inventory in any real way. And we need to bring in sales now, both to cover his work building new inventory and simply to meet all the costs of this stupidly expensive year [on top of last year being the same]. If we could just continue to make regular weekly sales, we'd be fine . . . but we need to make those sales now, and so far, that's not happening. It's been two weeks since our last sale, and that's not going to cut it. There's a lot of gorgeous new work up, but I've got to sell it for it to make any difference. This kind of stress is also not helping my health. I need that to change now, and fast. And to that end, links are here [with the LaminaSaver back on the wishlist, because Miika goes through it at a rapid clip]:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here [priority at the moment is more of the LaminaSaver for Miika];
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

And we do still need to make those regular weekly sales, so please share all of the links. We really do need this to be a better month than what we've had so far this year.

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: Held From All Directions In Fall's Magic Light

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

It's our Friday Feature at The NDN Silver Blog, with a vintage-style masterwork shown from four perspectives. It's a classic traditional work, a big, bold necklace layered with meticulous silverwork with a phenomenal old stone at the center, as though held from all directions in fall's magic light. 

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. Our expenses this year have been enormous in both senses of the word, and we're entering the holiday creative season in less than a week, which will require its annual huge investment of resources and time. We need to bring in consistent sales each and every week to make sure that everything is covered in time.

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.         

Hell on every level.

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

Tonight's sunset. Reminds me of jack o'lantern eyes, which winds up being more apt than you know on so many levels.

I imagine some of that cloud cover is indeed smoke, which is what it looks like; they're apparently doing a prescribed burn in Valle Vidal. And that brimstone-y look? Fitting for a day that's been absolute hell on every level. [And tomorrow's going to be more of the same, and that's abslutely the last day I'm doing this for a while, because if I don't get a break, I'm going to break.]

I don't know how I'm going to keep this up. Two hours' sleep, essentially; I got to bed sometime well after midnight, to sleep after one, I think . . . and something woke me up just after two. No idea what it was; could've been pain, could've been dogs. I tried to go back to sleep, and then the dogs came up demanding to be let out, and that killed it. No chance of sleep after that, no matter how hard I tried. I finally dropped off sometime around six, I think, but I had to be awake around seven, so . . . . And aside from the blinding fatigue, my pain levels are completely off the charts now. Ever had mono? It's like having mono and a really bad case of the flu simultaneously, plus feeling like you've been run over by a semi, ever joint system in your body broken, or at least feeling like it is.

This is my normal right now.

On top of that is everything else that's gone wrong today, including a repair that was originally scheduled for the end of October; they called and wanted to come today, and it turned into hours of waiting and problems upon problems [not the guys' fault; their bosses' fault], and another $500 cash that I have to shell out tomorrow for this that I was expecting to be maybe half that, and . . . . It's endless, and I cannot keep this up, especially without any sales coming in.

I also can't keep up the constant stress of the demands on me, money, time, constant nonsense, whatever. My disease progression is making it impossible to get even the most basic stuff done, and I can't afford that right now, even less than usual. The holiday creative season effectively begins on October first, and we will both be running 16 hours a day, 7 days a week, until the end of the year. He also has to finish the last half-dozen or so commissions that are in the works before he can turn his attention to cranking out holiday inventory in any real way. And we need to bring in sales now, both to cover his work building new inventory and simply to meet all the costs of this stupidly expensive year [on top of last year being the same]. If we could just continue to make regular weekly sales, we'd be fine . . . but we need to make those sales now, and so far, that's not happening. It's been two weeks since our last sale, and that's not going to cut it. There's a lot of gorgeous new work up, but I've got to sell it for it to make any difference. This kind of stress is also not helping my health. I need that to change now, and fast. And to that end, links are here [with the LaminaSaver back on the wishlist, because Miika goes through it at a rapid clip]:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here [priority at the moment is more of the LaminaSaver for Miika];
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

And we do still need to make those regular weekly sales, so please share all of the links. We really do need this to be a better month than what we've had so far this year.

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: Phases of Season and Time

Photo copyright Wings, 2025; all rights reserved.

It's #ThrowbackThursday at The NDN Silver Blog, with a #TBT work that dates back nearly twenty years, to 2006, if memory serves, and one of Wings's eminently traditional works. It's an old-style concha belt buckle, oval, scalloped, with extraordinary freehand scorework and stampwork and a phenomenal old green turquoise stone, together evoking the gifts that are granted us through the phases of season and time.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. This work will never be duplicated exactly, 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.  Our expenses this year have been enormous in both senses of the word, and we're entering the holiday creative season in a week, which will require its annual huge investment of resources and time. We need to bring in consistent sales each and every week to make sure that everything is covered in time.

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 freezing mark.

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

Colors are changing fast now. Even down here, the upper quarter of the big fire maple is mostly orange and red, and the cottonwoods a cross the highway have much more gold than yesterday. 

I didn't think to check the thermometer until about 8:00 this morning, and it was still only 38 then. I'm guessing it got down very near freezing, if not actually at the freezing mark. It was cold enough downstairs to need a fire this morning.

And our local shelter is closed until next Monday night [a staff member died over the weekend]. But that's going to make it that much harder for unhoused/unsheltered folks over the next several nights.

Everything's terrible. The news is just a constant firehose of deliberate, gleeful evil. We are doing as well as can be expected given our pain levels and everything else, but the harm to the most vulnerable now is . . . I'm so tired, just from the constant physical strain on my body, but the constant rage at what this country and its politicians continue to wreak is becoming unmanageable. It's hard to believe that we're at the mercy of such colossal, willful stupidity and evil, but here we are, and the GOP will never change, but the Dems have no excuse. Fucking cowards. People are dying, and more will die, and they all have blood on their hands. [I think the Tylenol labeling was the thing that broke it for me, finally. Don't expect me not to swear a blue streak, because I'm never going to be "respectable" about evil.]

And my disease progression is making it impossible to get even the most basic stuff done, and I can't afford that right now, even less than usual. The holiday creative season effectively begins on October first, and we will both be running 16 hours a day, 7 days a week, until the end of the year. He also has to finish the last half-dozen or so commissions that are in the works before he can turn his attention to cranking out holiday inventory in any real way. And we need to bring in sales now, both to cover his work building new inventory and simply to meet all the costs of this stupidly expensive year [on top of last year being the same]. If we could just continue to make regular weekly sales, we'd be fine . . . but we need to make those sales now, and so far, that's not happening. It's been two weeks since our last sale, and that's not going to cut it. There's a lot of gorgeous new work up, but I've got to sell it for it to make any difference. This kind of stress is also not helping my health. I need that to change now, and fast. And to that end, links are here [with the LaminaSaver back on the wishlist, because Miika goes through it at a rapid clip]:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here [priority at the moment is more of the LaminaSaver for Miika];
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

And we do still need to make those regular weekly sales, so please share all of the links. We really do need this to be a better month than what we've had so far this year.

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 Paths of the Cold Season's Spirits

Photo copyright Aji, ,2025; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a vintage-style masterwork for this land where the buffalo roam, and for this time of year when these great beings come fully into their own. It's a cuff wrought in vintage style with traditional silverwork framing a truly phenomenal stone, all of them reminding us that the paths of the cold season's spirits are ours also, and that guidance is there for us if we seek it.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. Our expenses this year have been enormous in both senses of the word, and we're entering the holiday creative season in a week, which will require its annual huge investment of resources and time. We need to bring in consistent sales each and every week to make sure that everything is covered in time.

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.         

If only.

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

These two . . . not a care in the world, and I wish I could be so lucky. If only. And no, that's not Storm on the right; that's Cricket, the feral, and you'd think he was the pup, but he's actually two years older than Sunny. But he loves his big little brother.

Except when there's food, a treat, or private space involved, and then it's all snarls all the time from both of the little monsters. Stormy, on the other hand, just ignores them both and goes on with whatever she's doing, once again proving the inherent wisdom of girls over the ridiculousness of boys.

Beautiful days right now. Terrible days for me health-wise. Nothing to do with the weather; just disease progression and pain and fatigue. But it's making it impossible to get even the most basic stuff done, and I can't afford that right now, even less than usual. The holiday creative season effectively begins on October first, and we will both be running 16 hours a day, 7 days a week, until the end of the year. He also has to finish the last half-dozen or so commissions that are in the works before he can turn his attention to cranking out holiday inventory in any real way. And we need to bring in sales now, both to cover his work building new inventory and simply to meet all the costs of this stupidly expensive year [on top of last year being the same]. If we could just continue to make regular weekly sales, we'd be fine . . . but we need to make those sales now, and so far, that's not happening. There's a lot of gorgeous new work up, but I've got to sell it for it to make any difference. This kind of stress is also not helping my health. I need that to change now, and fast. And to that end, links are here [with the LaminaSaver back on the wishlist, because Miika goes through it at a rapid clip]:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here [priority at the moment is more of the LaminaSaver for Miika];
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

And we do still need to make those regular weekly sales, so please share all of the links. We really do need this to be a better month than what we've had so far this year.

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: Reckoning Prosperity

Photo copyright Wings, 2025; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's an edition of Red Willow Spirit for the arrival of official fall, and for the distinctive gifts of autumn here. It's two images from nearly a decade ago, linked by a single newly contemporary work of wearable art, all of them chosen to remind us that there are better ways of reckoning prosperity now.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. Our expenses this year have been enormous in both senses of the word, and we're entering the holiday creative season in ten days, which will require its annual huge investment of resources and time. We need to bring in consistent sales each and every week to make sure that everything is covered in time.

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.          

Beautiful medicine.

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

Just look at that beautiful medicine. Wings brought it home with him this morning. I put a couple small sprigs on top of the woodstove, and the whole house smells heavenly now.

And I feel better than I have all day.

Smudging has actually been proven, under controlled conditions as part of a scientific study, to help not only with stress but with things like fatigue and pain management. Of course, it was conducted in Europe [many years ago now], so American medicine refuses to acknowledge it.

Unfortunately, something distracted me in the middle of taking my meds this morning [dogs or husband; I couldn't tell you now which], and I got the first one into me, but not the second. The second is the pain medication, which has to wait for the first, so there's a gap of a few minutes between, and whatever called me away, I thought I'd taken it, and discovered a little while ago that I hadn't. Which explains why I've felt even worse today than I have been since Thursday or so. yes, I took it [late], and it's finally kicking in a little, but I'm grateful for the cedar, too.

But that means that I'm way behind now, even more than I already was, and there's no time for that; the holiday creative season effectively begins on October first, and we will both be running 16 hours a day, 7 days a week, until the end of the year. He also has to finish the last half-dozen or so commissions that are in the works before he can turn his attention to cranking out holiday inventory in any real way. And we need to bring in sales now, both to cover his work building new inventory and simply to meet all the costs of this stupidly expensive year [on top of last year being the same]. If we could just continue to make regular weekly sales, we'd be fine . . . but we need to make those sales now, and so far, that's not happening. There's a lot of gorgeous new work up, but I've got to sell it for it to make any difference. This kind of stress is also not helping my health. I need that to change now, and fast. And to that end, links are here [with the LaminaSaver back on the wishlist, because Miika goes through it at a rapid clip]:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here [priority at the moment is more of the LaminaSaver for Miika];
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

And we do still need to make those regular weekly sales, so please share all of the links. We really do need this to be a better month than what we've had so far this year.

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: Patterns of Abundance

Photo copyright Wings, 2025; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a Monday Photo Meditation for the first official day of autumn, and for the changes in climate and weather that have so altered our world here at this time of year. It's a reflection on the lush and fertile land of early fall that we once knew, a moment of mourning for the destruction since, and a reminder to honor the patterns of abundance that still survive.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. Our expenses this year have been enormous in both senses of the word, and we're entering the holiday creative season in ten days, which will require its annual huge investment of resources and time. We need to bring in consistent sales each and every week to make sure that everything is covered in time.

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.          

Fall now.

Photo copyright Aji, 2025;
all rights reserved.

Fall now, no question. And no matter what the calendar says. Hot today, though; the weather service said it got up to 74, but here, we were just shy of 80 at noon, so as usual, they're underbilling it.

And we're both beat.

Today had us in holding patterns, waiting for other people, and that's always more exhausting than just about any amount of physical labor. We also lost another person on the bridge yesterday [the third in two weeks], and today it's being reported that it was a local child, 15, a trans youth, and the sheriff's department has named them and assigned pronouns, but I have every reason to expect that they're misgendering them, so I'm using they/them for now. I was unprepared for how much it would hurt my heart. That's only compounded by the soulless people bitching about delays and effects to tourism. That poor kid.

It's an evil society that drives children to such hopelessness.

Add my illness in full-blown flare on top of all that, and I'm feeling frankly miserable. But there's no time; the holiday creative season effectively begins on the first, and we will both be running 16 hours a day, and we need to bring in sales, both to cover his work building new inventory and simply to meet all the costs of this stupidly expensive year [on top of last year being the same]. If we could just continue to make regular weekly sales, we'd be fine . . . but we need to make those sales now, and so far, that's not happening. There's a lot of gorgeous new work up, but I've got to sell it for it to make any difference. This kind of stress is also not helping my health. I need that to change now, and fast. And to that end, links are here [with the LaminaSaver back on the wishlist, because Miika goes through it at a rapid clip]:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here [priority at the moment is more of the LaminaSaver for Miika];
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

And we do still need to make those regular weekly sales, so please share all of the links. We really do need this to be a better month than what we've had so far this year.

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.          

Earth Hoops and Circles of Light

Photo copyright Aji, 2025;
all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a work for these last waning hours of official summer and beneath a new moon, the transition to what is unmistakably fall by any measure now. It's a personal favorite, a pair of traditional loop earrings from Wings's recently-revived signature series, this one manifest as the earth hoops and circles of light that allow us to measure world and time by their turning.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. Our expenses this year have been enormous in both senses of the word, and we're entering the holiday creative season in ten days, which will require its annual huge investment of resources and time. We need to bring in consistent sales each and every week to make sure that everything is covered in time.

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.        

All that gold.

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

Well, it doesn't exactly glitter, but look at all that gold — and frankly, more valuable, if it heralds a hard and early winter. At this rate, the aspen line will be visible all the way down to the base of the mountains before the month is out.

I'm not supposed to be here right now; neither of us is. We had an event to attend to today, but as always, my illness has other ideas, and my body let me know right away that I would not be going anywhere today. Or tomorrow. Monday's a crapshoot; I've got scrips to pick up, but they might have to wait.

At this point, enforced time at home becomes enforced time chasing sales. Because this has just been a stupidly expensive year already [on top of last year being the same]. If we could just continue to make regular weekly sales, we'd be fine . . . but we need to make those sales now, and so far, that's not happening. There's a lot of gorgeous new work up, but I've got to sell it for it to make any difference. This kind of stress is also not helping my health. I need that to change now, and fast. And to that end, links are here [with the LaminaSaver back on the wishlist, because Miika goes through it at a rapid clip]:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here [priority at the moment is more of the LaminaSaver for Miika];
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

And we do still need to make those regular weekly sales, so please share all of the links. We really do need this to be a better month than what we've had so far this year.

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 Fall of Distant and Dancing Light

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a work for these days of lengthening dark, illuminated for us by a long rain of stars. It's a pair of earrings built around an old and timeless form and shape, one layered with meaning and here stamped with tiny stars, perfect for this season of a fall of distant and dancing light. 

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. We have another big household repair that finally began last week and that needs to be handled before the first snow [and we are out over $3K, cash, last week alone, plus another ~$1,200 this week], and we'll need to bring in consistent sales each and every week to make sure it's covered in time.

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.        

Might as well just get on with the work.

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

All those beautiful dark clouds, and not a single drop of rain.

Maybe it's for the best; there's been no update that I've seen on the tritium venting, but it was supposed to be occurring daily for two weeks, and I assume it has been, despite the intermittent night rains we've been getting. [If you haven't been following it, even they, insisting that it's completely safe, had to postpone the start last weekend, because it's unsafe to do it in the rain; when it mixes with water, that activates the radioactive nature of the isotope.] But the government clearly is happy to have us all dead, so there's no recourse for any of it anyway.

Might as well just get on with the work.

For us, that involved a bunch of errands today, including one that we couldn't do because they were unexpectedly closed, and one that we abandoned after I had to spend an hour on my feet and in line for another. I couldn't face the grocery shopping after that; my pain levels have been completely out of control all week, and nothing works.

That's also why everything is late tonight, because once again, here we are. And there's still the problem of sales. With last week having set us back more than $3K, cash, and this week costing us around $1,200, I've got to change this somehow, but I can't even get enough time lately to devote to chasing sales in the first place. We are fortunate that we've gotten a reprieve today, with a payment on an outstanding order that did not need to be made yet, but we are profoundly grateful for it. Because this has just been a stupidly expensive year already [on top of last year being the same]. If we could just continue to make regular weekly sales, we'd be fine . . . but we need to make those sales now, and so far, that's not happening. There's a lot of gorgeous new work up, but I've got to sell it for it to make any difference. This kind of stress is also not helping my health. I need that to change now, and fast. And to that end, links are here:

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

And we do still need to make those regular weekly sales, so please share all of the links. We really do need this to be a better month than what we've had so far this year.

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.