Hope is a stupid, stubborn thing.

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; al rights reserved.

Welp. Today showed us very clearly where the snow line is now. Not even a third of the way down the mountains.

At this point, I guess we should just be grateful there's a snow line at all.

We had a light frost this morning, but no snow. The forecasts are always, always wrong these days. I'm not convinced we'll see anything more at all, in any real way. We do have moderate cold, though; supposed to. hit single digits here tonight and tomorrow night, with tomorrow night colder than tonight. 

But hope is a stupid, stubborn thing.

And we need it after this year, which has really done us some damage, and not just financially. A few more days of "holiday" season, and then it's back to the regular grind, but we're going to try to take it relatively easy until then [which means all our regular daily work, but not killing ourselves over all the other stuff]. The work, though? The work never ends.

And there's still all the sales stress. We were blessed with a really good sale last week, so the pressure to cover immediate things would have been off in a few days when the payment cleared, were it not for the thieves that shoved our account into negatives. But even aside from that bullshit, there's still all the rest, all the stuff we couldn't cover all year because of one catastrophe after another, the taxes that still need to be prepaid, all the January bills that will be here in under four days {!] [which include truck insurance and a whole bunch of business-related expenses that come due once a year, but total well into four figures]. So we still need to make the equivalent of a sale a day now, on average. And he has so much new work!  I'm hoping to get his two latest up. Yeah, I know, I shouldn't being pushing myself, either, given the precarious state of my health now, but it has to be done, because the last two years have all but killed us financially, and we're very literally almost out of year. To that end, links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here [priorities are the thermos [for me, because I always have water with me, no matter what, and the rugs, to replace those destroyed 2 years ago by the leachfield collapse];
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

And we do still need to make those regular weekly [daily now, really] sales, so please share all of the links. We really do need to end this year on at least a slightly better note.

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 Winter's Prayer For the Light's Return

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's an all-new work by Wings, completed only yesterday, and both beautifully seasonal and an instant personal favorite. It's a pair of earrings in his new informal series of multi-stone drops with scalloped sterling silver embrasures, this pair a perfect embodiment of a winter's prayer for the light's return.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. This is it: three days left in the year to catch up. The last two years have been nightmares of catastrophic repairs and other astronomical costs, and the damage has been incalculable. We now need to bring in multiple sales virtually daily just to break even on the 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 work never ends.

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

Finally, some rain. No snow; not cold enough. But it should be snow on the peaks, and if this actually continues into evening, maybe the mercury will fall enough to turn it into a dusting.

Whatever; it's beautiful, and we're grateful for it.

Slow start today. We were up early; we're just both too exhausted to move very fast right now. This year has really done us some damage, and not just financially. A few more days of "holiday" season, and then it's back to the regular grind, but we're going to try to take it relatively easy until then [which means all our regular daily work, but not killing ourselves over all the other stuff]. The work, though? The work never ends.

And there's still all the sales stress. We were blessed with a really good sale last week, so the pressure to cover immediate things would have been off in a few days when the payment cleared, were it not for the thieves that shoved our account into negatives. But even aside from that bullshit, there's still all the rest, all the stuff we couldn't cover all year because of one catastrophe after another, the taxes that still need to be prepaid, all the January bills that will be here in under four days {!] [which include truck insurance and a whole bunch of business-related expenses that come due once a year, but total well into four figures]. So we still need to make the equivalent of a sale a day now, on average. And he has so much new work!  I'm hoping to get his two latest up. Yeah, I know, I shouldn't being pushing myself, either, given the precarious state of my health now, but it has to be done, because the last two years have all but killed us financially, and we're very literally almost out of year. To that end, links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here [somebody got the vacuum! which makes priorities now the thermos and the rugs];
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

And we do still need to make those regular weekly [daily now, really] sales, so please share all of the links. We really do need to end this year on at least a slightly better note.

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 the Shades of the Winter Light

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a quartet of works of pure light, four pairs of traditional concha earrings inscribed with freehand stampwork and set with beautifully glowing gemstones. Each pair is set with a different kind of jewel, from full sun to palest dawn to sunset fire to the storm's own glow, all the shades of the winter light brought together in four classic and powerful pairs.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. This is it: fewer than four days left in the year to catch up. The last two years have been nightmares of catastrophic repairs and other astronomical costs, and the damage has been incalculable. We now need to bring in multiple sales virtually daily just to break even on the 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.       

All about the exhaustion.

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

It looked like a dusting of snow this morning, but it was actually just our heaviest frost this year. A little new snow on the peaks, though, which is valuable, if nowhere near enough.  You shouldn't be able to see the earth through the snow up there.

Today was all about the exhaustion.

We run on adrenaline for three months straight, so the first day that doesn't involve that to as significant a degree? Yeah. I'm sicker than the proverbial dog besides, but it's nothing microbial, just the usual autoimmune crap when the flare is off the charts, which it is. And there work is still there, and we both had plenty of it to do today.

And there's still all the sales stress. We were blessed with a really good sale last week, so the pressure to cover immediate things would have been off in a few days when the payment cleared, were it not for the thieves that shoved our account into negatives. But even aside from that bullshit, there's still all the rest, all the stuff we couldn't cover all year because of one catastrophe after another, the taxes that still need to be prepaid, all the January bills that will be here before we know it [which include truck insurance and a whole bunch of business-related expenses that come due once a year, but total well into four figures]. So we still need to make the equivalent of a sale a day now, on average. And he has so much new work!  I'm hoping to pull another late night to get five of them up yet. yeah, I know, I shouldn't, but it has to be done, because the last two years have all but killed us financially, and we're almost out of year. To that end, links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here [somebody got the vacuum! which makes priorities now the thermos and the rugs];
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

And we do still need to make those regular weekly [daily now, really] 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: Winter Messengers of Light

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

It's our Friday Feature at The NDN Silver Blog, with an all-new matched set, necklace and earrings in the form and shape of dancers of light. It's a set completed only within the last week or so, small fragile spirits of summer become powerful winter messengers of light.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. This is it: less than one week left in the year to catch up. The last two years have been nightmares of catastrophic repairs and other astronomical costs, and the damage has been incalculable. We now need to bring in multiple sales virtually daily just to break even on the 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 good day.

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

That was early this morning, shortly after midnight — what I was given to understand, as a child, to be the holiest hour of the most sacred night.

It felt like an accomplishment, because I did it all yesterday, all before dark. It's just the trappings, but they're beautiful, powerful trappings, ones that hold all the magic of memory, and of hope.

The hope is for a world that actually prizes peace and generosity, that finds success in helping, in giving, in creating a world where everyone can thrive, and no one goes hungry, unhoused, or without the other necessities of a decent life.

Instead, we're spiraling into the exact opposite of that, which is what makes the work on the ground by ordinary people so much more important now. 

But there's time enough for that before year's end, and in the new year. Today, we took it easy, in the sense that the pace and focus were very different. It probably wouldn't have looked "easy" to anyone watching, but compared to recent weeks, it was much more relaxed, at least. And it was a good day.

But there's still all the sales stress. We were blessed with a really good sale last week, so the pressure to cover immediate things would have been off in a few days when the payment cleared, were it not for the thieves that shoved our account into negatives. But even aside from that bullshit, there's still all the rest, all the stuff we couldn't cover all year because of one catastrophe after another, the taxes that still need to be prepaid, all the January bills that will be here before we know it [which include truck insurance and a whole bunch of business-related expenses that come due once a year, but total well into four figures]. So we still need to make the equivalent of a sale a day now, on average. And he has so much new work!  I'm hoping to pull another late night to get five of them up yet. yeah, I know, I shouldn't, but it has to be done, because the last two years have all but killed us financially, and we're almost out of year. To that end, links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here [somebody got the vacuum! which makes priorities now the thermos and the rugs];
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

And we do still need to make those regular weekly [daily now, really] 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.           

#ThrowbackThursday: Winter's Sacred Medicines of Snow and Light

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all right s reserved.

It's #TBT at The NDN Silver Blog, with a #ThrowbackThursday work that dates back just over a month, to a very special multi-work commission by a dear friend. This is one of four that that group comprised, and this one seems to embody the beauty, and the power, of winter's sacred medicines of snow and light.

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.  This is it: less than a week left in the year to catch up. The last two years have been nightmares of catastrophic repairs and other astronomical costs, and the damage has been incalculable. We now need to bring in multiple sales virtually daily just to break even on the 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.         

Did it.

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

Did it. All of it. Got the tree decorated; got gifts wrapped; got everything ready for tomorrow, all essentially in one day. At right center is one of my own hand-made ornaments, beadwork from a half-dozen years ago. Beadwork takes me a lot longer these days, thanks to the damage to my hands from the RA.

But tonight, we're [mostly] taking it easy, and plan to do the same tomorrow. It's been a very, very hard year, by any and every measure, and this particular holiday season, business-wise, has been especially difficult. We'll still be working every day, but it's a relief to have the pressure of this pace off us now.

Even if we didn't have anywhere near the sales season that we needed.

But there's still all the sales stress. We were blessed with a really good sale last week, so the pressure to cover immediate things would have been off in a few days when the payment cleared, were it not for the thieves that shoved our account into negatives. But even aside from that bullshit, there's still all the rest, all the stuff we couldn't cover all year because of one catastrophe after another, the taxes that still need to be prepaid, all the January bills that will be here before we know it [which include truck insurance and a whole bunch of business-related expenses that come due once a year, but total well into four figures]. So we still need to make the equivalent of a sale a day now, on average. And he has so much new work!  I'm hoping to pull another late night to get five of them up yet. yeah, I know, I shouldn't, but it has to be done, because the last two years have all but killed us financially, and we're almost out of year. To that end, links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here [somebody got the vacuum! which makes priorities now the thermos and the rugs];
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

And we do still need to make those regular weekly [daily now, really] 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.           

On a Sacred Night, By the Moon's Cold Light

Photo copyright Aji, @025; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a work for the cold season, for the deep dark hours of winter, and for the magic that is part of it. It's a cuff wrought in an old traditional vintage style, an embodiment of the gift we are granted now: on a sacred night, by the moon's cold light, a gift of comfort, of power, and of medicine.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. This is it: one week left in the year to catch up. The last two years have been nightmares of catastrophic repairs and other astronomical costs, and the damage has been incalculable. We now need to bring in multiple sales virtually daily just to break even on the 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.       

Except by swearing.

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

More from the studio, with the vanishingly small amount of time he got in there today. He was going nonstop until almost 3 PM, but it was all outdoor work. Part of it is this terrible weather [and if I hear one more person describe it as "beautiful," I'm going to scream]. Everything is deadly dry; it's a tinderbox. We should have three feet of snow on the ground by now, and more falling from the sky daily. Then, come the new year, we should get the deep freeze, until the next winter storm a week or so later.

Instead, it's fucking April. The catkins emerged this morning on the aspens on the north side of the house. That shouldn't happen until April; in a bad year, the last week of March. Except they're ALL bad years now, and worse than we could ever have imagined.

Yeah, bah! humbug. I have no holiday spirit. None. It's impossible when it's 50 degrees too warm [not 20, not 30; FIFTY], and when I can get nothing done for us because this has been a second year of ungodly expensive hell, and we have no practical help on the physical stuff that I cannot do anymore. My pain levels are indescribable these days.

Well, except by swearing.

And then there's all the sales stress. We were blessed with a really good sale last week, so the pressure to cover immediate things would have been off in a few days when the payment cleared, were it not for the thieves that shoved our account into negatives. But even aside from that bullshit, there's still all the rest, all the stuff we couldn't cover all year because of one catastrophe after another, the taxes that still need to be prepaid, all the January bills that will be here before we know it [which include truck insurance and a whole bunch of business-related expenses that come due once a year, but total well into four figures]. So we still need to make the equivalent of a sale a day now, on average. And he has so much new work!  I'm hoping to pull another late night to get five of them up yet. yeah, I know, I shouldn't, but it has to be done, because the last two years have all but killed us financially, and we're almost out of year. To that end, links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here [somebody got the vacuum! which makes priorities now the thermos and the rugs];
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

And we do still need to make those regular weekly [daily now, really] 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: In the Cold Light of Winter

Photo copyright Wings, 2025;
all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's an edition of Red Willow Spirit for this post-solstice light, for the snow that doesn't come and the storm that cannot midwife itself into being. It's a contemplation of where our small world finds itself in these waning days of the calendar, and a reminder that in the cold light of winter, we have no alternative but to look for hope.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. This is it: just over a week left in the year to catch up. The last two years have been nightmares of catastrophic repairs and other astronomical costs, and the damage has been incalculable. We now need to bring in multiple sales virtually daily just to break even on the 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.             

Finally up.

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

It's finally up. Not decorated; that will come tomorrow. But I manhandled it [girlhandled it?] into the house and into the stand this evening.

Now, if only someone would come and put up our electric farolitos on the deck. I learned the hard way last year that I can't do it anymore. I certainly couldn't do it this year. And I miss them terribly at this time of year, but there's nothing I can do about it, absent a volunteer.

This day has had us both going absolutely nonstop [and I still am; dinner's cooking, and I've got ALL my usual work to get done tonight, because today was taken over with everything else]. Most of today was heavy labor, too; there's literally only one place in the house where the tree can go, which means rearranging the entire living room to make it happen, and that's what I spent the day on. That and packing an order and boxing up a bunch of stuff, and I'm not going to be able to move tomorrow, because every joint system in my body will be on strike.

But there's no time; there's SO MUCH I have yet to get done tomorrow.

And then there's all the sales stress. We were blessed with a really good sale last week, so the pressure to cover immediate things would have been off in a few days when the payment cleared, were it not for the thieves that shoved our account into negatives. But even aside from that bullshit, there's still all the rest, all the stuff we couldn't cover all year because of one catastrophe after another, the taxes that still need to be prepaid, all the January bills that will be here before we know it [which include truck insurance and a whole bunch of business-related expenses that come due once a year, but total well into four figures]. So we still need to make the equivalent of a sale a day now, on average. And he has so much new work!  I'm hoping to pull another late night to get five of them up yet. yeah, I know, I shouldn't, but it has to be done, because the last two years have all but killed us financially, and we're almost out of year. To that end, links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here [somebody got the vacuum! which makes priorities now the thermos and the rugs];
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

And we do still need to make those regular weekly [daily now, really] 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: Spirits That Grow In the Winter Light

Photo copyright Wings, 2025;
all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a Monday Photo Meditation for a week of multiple wintry markers, for the return of the light, one of the holiest of nights, and the biggest celebration of them all. It's an image from just shy of thirteen years ago exactly, of a subject that no longer exists in the same form, and a contemplation of the power and strength of spirits that grow in the winter light.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. This is it: just over a week left in the year to catch up. The last two years have been nightmares of catastrophic repairs and other astronomical costs, and the damage has been incalculable. We now need to bring in multiple sales virtually daily just to break even on the 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.           

Return of the light, indeed.

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

This year's winter solstice ain't playin'. The dawn sky was flawlessly clear, not a mark anywhere on it save the last fading stars; return of the light, indeed. By 8 AM or so, that had all changed, but those aren't clouds. Oh, no, every single mark, line, puff in the sky now is from the crisscrossing contrails, diffusing in the cold upper atmosphere.

And sucking every drop of water out of it in the process.

The chemtrail nonsense is just that — nonsense. But contrails do actually deepen an existing drought.

And it's much too warm; I've been outside without a jacket multiple times now. It's depressing, and it's dangerous, and it's hard to get into any kind of holiday spirit with the way the land looks now.

I'm so far behind on everything to do wit it [and everything else, too]. And yesterday as apparently the last straw for my body to be able to cope; I'm in full crash now, and feel absolutely terrible, and I'm guessing that won't change for weeks now, because I've had to push everything too far. Right now, we're just looking forward to the holiday, because it means we finally get a little time to relax just a little bit.

Now, if only I had someone to put up our electric farolitos on the deck, because I learned the hard way last year that I can't do it anymore. I certainly couldn't do it this year. And I miss them, but there's nothing I can do about it, absent a volunteer.

We were blessed with a really good sale last week, so the pressure to cover immediate things would have been off in a few days when the payment clears, were it not for the thieves that shoved our account into negatives. But even aside from that bullshit, there's still all the rest, all the stuff we couldn't cover all year because of one catastrophe after another, the taxes that still need to be prepaid, all the January bills that will be here before we know it [which include truck insurance and a whole bunch of business-related expenses that come due once a year, but total well into four figures]. So we still need to make the equivalent of a sale a day now, on average. And he has so much new work!  I'm hoping to pull another late night to get five of them up yet. yeah, I know, I shouldn't, but it has to be done, because the last two years have all but killed us financially, and we're almost out of year. To that end, links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here [somebody got the vacuum! which makes priorities now the thermos and the rugs];
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

And we do still need to make those regular weekly [daily now, really] 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.           

In the Light's Return, a World Reborn

Photo copyright Aji Wings, 2025; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's one of Wings's newest works, perfect for this first "official" day of winter and a reminder that our world is of solstice light reborn. It's a truly extraordinary pendant, formed of suns and moons and a cosmic spiral of stars, an embodiment of the gift the universe offers us on this day: in the light's return, a world reborn.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. This is it: fewer than two weeks left in the year to catch up. The last two years have been nightmares of catastrophic repairs and other astronomical costs, and the damage has been incalculable. We now need to bring in multiple sales virtually daily just to break even on the 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.      

End of year; longest night.

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

End of year; longest night. The winter solstice is at 8:03 AM tomorrow morning, which means that by this time tomorrow evening, we'll already be [infinitesimally] closer to the sun again.

Not that we had any time to think about it or enjoy it today. It's been chaos from dawn onward. But I did manage to see three friends today: one brought us some of her homemade baklava [glorious]; the other two I got to see at their fundraiser this afternoon.  And I realized then how much I've missed them in recent weeks;; this time of year is always like this, with no time to think never mind anything else.

But we did get to the post office and the grocery store, and we did finally get our tree. Still gotta find the tree stand; that's for tomorrow. We'll let it sit for a while so its branches can settle, then slowly decorate it. If we're lucky, it'll be done by Christmas Eve, LOL. But we've taken to approaching Christmas that way, which is to say, the old way: the 12 days of Christmas way, where we celebrate from Christmas Eve through Epiphany.

And by "celebrate," I mean we finally get a little time to relax a bit.

Now, if only I had someone to put up our electric farolitos on the deck, because I learned the hard way last year that I can't do it anymore. 

We were blessed with a really good sale last week, so the pressure to cover immediate things would have been off in a few days when the payment clears, were it not for the thieves that shoved our account into negatives. But even aside from that bullshit, there's still all the rest, all the stuff we couldn't cover all year because of one catastrophe after another, the taxes that still need to be prepaid, all the January bills that will be here before we know it [which include truck insurance and a whole bunch of business-related expenses that come due once a year, but total well into four figures]. So we still need to make the equivalent of a sale a day now, on average. And he has so much new work!  I'm hoping to pull another late night to get five of them up yet. yeah, I know, I shouldn't, but it has to be done, because the last two years have all but killed us financially, and we're almost out of year. To that end, links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here [somebody got the vacuum! which makes priorities now the thermos and the rugs];
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

And we do still need to make those regular weekly [daily now, really] 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.           

From Cold Coniferous Forests to the Earth Below

Photo coyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a work for winter's greatest raptor, here to remind us that Eagle carries the medicine of earth and sky upon his wings. Here, he evokes a bit of the spirit of his atmospheric relative, Thunderbird, and like him, he carries his gifts from cold coniferous forests to the earth below.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. This is it: fewer than two weeks left in the year to catch up. The last two years have been nightmares of catastrophic repairs and other astronomical costs, and the damage has been incalculable. We now need to bring in multiple sales virtually daily just to break even on the 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.        

There's no end in sight to any of it.

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

Yesterday's shot wasn't great for actually showing what these will look like; this one's much more indicative.  Upper left, malachite above gray-brown sand-dune-like jasper; upper right, blue-flash Labradorite over the same jasper, bottom will be rainbow moonstone over Picasso jasper with tiny hematite beneath.

And then he'll move on to the others.

There's no end in sight to any of it.

Today's been a zoo; almost no studio time for him, and no time for any of my work for me. The pace is killing us both, but that's what it's like this time of year. Looking forward to being able to breathe again in a few weeks; I just wish we could have snow with it. Today looked like a change in the weather might be in the offing, but we know better than to believe it until we see it.

We were blessed with a really good sale last week, so the pressure to cover immediate things would have been off in a few days when the payment clears, were it not for the thieves that shoved our account into negatives. But even aside from that bullshit, there's still all the rest, all the stuff we couldn't cover all year because of one catastrophe after another, the taxes that still need to be prepaid, all the January bills that will be here before we know it [which include truck insurance and a whole bunch of business-related expenses that come due once a year, but total well into four figures]. So we still need to make the equivalent of a sale a day now, on average. And he has so much new work!  I'm hoping to pull another late night to get five of them up yet. yeah, I know, I shouldn't, but it has to be done, because the last two years have all but killed us financially, and we're almost out of year. To that end, links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here [somebody got the vacuum! which makes priorities now the thermos and the rugs];
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

And we do still need to make those regular weekly [daily now, really] 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: In the Cold, an Evergreen Rebirth

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

It's our Friday Feature at The NDN Silver Blog, with a pair of old-style traditional works created wholly independently of one another, yet very clearly meant to belong together. It's a naja-style necklace and an Art Deco cuff, all featuring extraordinary freehand work, all perfect for the winter season . . . and in the cold, an evergreen rebirth.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. This is it: fewer than two weeks left in the year to catch up. The last two years have been nightmares of catastrophic repairs and other astronomical costs, and the damage has been incalculable. We now need to bring in multiple sales virtually daily just to break even on the 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.        

It's a lot.

Photo copyright Aji, 2025'; all rights reserved.

Settings for the new earrings. He's got three pairs at or beyond this point: the two Willow Creek pairs and the Picasso jasper pair. The two Red Creek pairs will come after that. 

It's a lot. And there hasn't been much time for him to get into the studio this week, unfortunately.  Anything done by Monday can ship Priority Monday, and it MIGHT get there by Wednesday evening. [There's always Express, but that's hellishly expensive for the client; we ship Priority as a matter of course.]

And tomorrow will be more chaos. Hell, so was today; I spent the day assembling two different things [not Christmas stuff; equipment], and aside from making me late getting to everything else, I hurt all over. The pace is killing us both, but that's what it's like this time of year. Looking forward to being able to breathe again in a few weeks; I just wish we could have snow with it.

We were blessed with a really good sale last week, so the pressure to cover immediate things would have been off in a few days when the payment clears, were it not for the thieves that shoved our account into negatives. But even aside from that bullshit, there's still all the rest, all the stuff we couldn't cover all year because of one catastrophe after another, the taxes that still need to be prepaid, all the January bills that will be here before we know it [which include truck insurance and a whole bunch of business-related expenses that come due once a year, but total well into four figures]. So we still need to make the equivalent of a sale a day now, on average. And he has so much new work!  I'm hoping to pull another late night to get five of them up yet. yeah, I know, I shouldn't, but it has to be done, because the last two years have all but killed us financially, and we're almost out of year. To that end, links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here [somebody got the vacuum! which makes priorities now the thermos and the rugs];
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

And we do still need to make those regular weekly [daily now, really] 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: A Winter's Prayer For the Pines

Photo copyright Aji Wings, 2025; all rights reserved.

It's #ThrowbackThursday at The NDN Silver Blog, with a #TBT featured work that dates back just under a month, to late November, and one part of a very special multi-piece commission from a friend. It's a hair cuff set with a beautifully banded old malachite cabochon, framed by freehand stampwork perfect this moment, the embodiment of a winter's prayer for the pines, and for the rest of our evergreen world.

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.  This is it: officially fewer than two weeks left in the year to catch up. The last two years have been nightmares of catastrophic repairs and other astronomical costs, and the damage has been incalculable. We now need to bring in multiple sales virtually daily just to break even on the 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.         

More elaborate.

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

Well, the earrings just got more elaborate, LOL. Top left is Picasso jasper topped by rainbow moonstone with hematite at the bottom; top center is Red Creek jasper topped by carnelian, with orange-red spiny oyster and carnelian below; top right is more Red Creek jasper with amber at top and natural Oregon sunstone at the bottom; lower left is Willow Creek jasper with malachite at top and hand-made ingot sunbursts below; lower right is more Willow Creek jasper with blue-flash Labradorite at top and more ingot sunbursts at the bottom.

So not done today, obviously. The Willow Creek ones might be done tomorrow; more likely early Friday.  The others, probably the weekend. IF people want them for Xmas, we can still ship as late as Monday, Priority, and possibly have them there on time. Better to ship Saturday, though. The new coils are up and awaiting descriptions; probably late tonight, along with the dragonfly set [which is just absolutely ethereal].

And the pace is killing us both, but that's what it's like this time of year. Looking forward to being able to breathe again in a few weeks; I just wish we could have snow with it.

We were blessed with a really good sale last week, so the pressure to cover immediate things would have been off in a few days when the payment clears, were it not for the thieves that shoved our account into negatives. But even aside from that bullshit, there's still all the rest, all the stuff we couldn't cover all year because of one catastrophe after another, the taxes that still need to be prepaid, all the January bills that will be here before we know it [which include truck insurance and a whole bunch of business-related expenses that come due once a year, but total well into four figures]. So we still need to make the equivalent of a sale a day now, on average. And he has so much new work!  I'm hoping to pull another late night to get five of them up yet. yeah, I know, I shouldn't, but it has to be done, because the last two years have all but killed us financially, and we're almost out of year. To that end, links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here [somebody got the vacuum! which makes priorities now the thermos and the rugs];
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

And we do still need to make those regular weekly [daily now, really] 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.