Three tiny flakes.

Photo copyright Aji, 2026; all rights reserved.

This is what it looked like all day. And we got maybe three tiny flakes out of it here.

Until ten minutes ago. Now we have a blizzard.

That doesn't mean we'll have any accumulation. We might; might not. My guess is not much. but what it does mean is that right now we have gale-force winds, blowing and drifting snow, and flakes coming so hard and fast that it'll be white-out conditions on the roads, so I'm glad we're in for the night.

But we need the snow, so we're grateful, even in spite of the winds.

But good god, do they ever jack my pain levels up way past anything manageable.

And I need to get something to work. I'm already under unspeakable pressure this year, never mind the need to make up for the last two terrible ones. Our floor for sales and breaking even is making a minimum of one sale per week for the year, and we're still two weeks in the hole now. I don't have enough hours in the day as it is, and I can't afford what's been happening to me. Regardless of side effects or disease progression, I've got to do something to bring in sales. We need to bring in a lot more, because it's grim. Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here [priorities are the LaminaSaver, because apparently Miika's out of it again; and the rugs, to replace those destroyed 2 years ago by the leachfield collapse and ensuing septic disaster];
• 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 to begin this year on a better footing than the last two, and so far, it's been impossibly grim.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2026; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

The Cold-Season Blues of Creation

Photo copyright Aji, 2026; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a masterwork of traditional Indigenous silversmithing in necklace form, one that reminds us that we are witness at the birth of new worlds. It's an extraordinary vintage-style work, a spectacular royal lapis cabochon framed by freehand ingot overlays and strung from beads hand-selected to match, all of them manifest as the cold-season blues of creation now.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. It's a new calendar year, and we very much need to make this a better year than the last two have been. That begins with a minimum of one sale a week, without fail. It's February already and we're still more than two weeks behind on what, it's become clear, is going to be a hard and costly year.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2026; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.        

Nope. Not a flake, not a drop.

Photo copyright Aji, 2026; all rights reserved.

Good lord, what a horrible day. The gale-force winds did indeed materialize. The snow and rain? Nope. Not a flake, not a drop. 

All the pain did, though. Now that Wings is developing osteoarthritis, he's beginning to understand what I've meant all these years [me with the inflammatory, rheumatoid variety] about wind being absolutely the worst thing for my body. I have hurt from head to toe, every single joint system, every fiber of my being, all day long. My pain meds have done nothing. And I've had virtually no sleep two night's straight, courtesy of that same pain, so today was much worse than it needed to be.

Nothing works. And I"m so tired of all of it. I need to get something to work. I'm already under unspeakable pressure this year, never mind the need to make up for the last two terrible ones. Our floor for sales and breaking even is making a minimum of one sale per week for the year, and we're still two weeks in the hole now. I don't have enough hours in the day as it is, and I can't afford what's been happening to me. Regardless of side effects or disease progression, I've got to do something to bring in sales. We need to bring in a lot more, because it's grim. Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here [priorities are the LaminaSaver, because apparently Miika's out of it again; and the rugs, to replace those destroyed 2 years ago by the leachfield collapse and ensuing septic disaster];
• 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 to begin this year on a better footing than the last two, and so far, it's been impossibly grim.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2026; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Red Willow Spirit: Winter's Post-Storm Beaded Blues

Photo copyright Wings, 2026;
all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's an edition of Red Willow Spirit for what should be a week of winter weather instead of the harshest conditions that spring has to offer. It's two images from just over seven years ago exactly, linked by an all-new [and already sold] work of wearable art, all of them illustrating the ethereal beauty of winter's post-storm beaded blues.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. It's a new calendar year, and we very much need to make this a better year than the last two have been. That begins with a minimum of one sale a week, without fail. It's February already and we're still two weeks behind on what, it's become clear, is going to be a hard and costly year.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2026; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.        

Wave clouds.

Photo copyright Aji, 2026; all rights reserved.

Wave clouds late this morning, although most of what's up there was contrails. Real clouds this afternoon, and supposedly rain, but no. I do believe them about the extreme winds forecast for tomorrow, though, and that's gonna suck. There's nothing as hard on my joints and connective tissues as wind. Not cold, heat, snow, rain, nothing. If it manages to bring the snow to us, though, I'll put up with it for a day.

Expensive day today, well over $400 cash at the doctor's office. Most of that was what Medicare is suddenly refusing to cover for him, but even my own was over $125. It's all more than we could afford given what else is in the expense pipeline, but there wasn't a choice.

The good news is that maybe part of my current problem is not too little medication but too much. My inflammatory markers are at their lowest level probably ever in my life, and that's due entirely to the immunosuppressants, particularly the chemo. [The steroids do wonders for my joints but the headache is a nonstop nightmare, and it carries with the risk of intra-ocular pressure that can lead to glaucoma, so I got clearance to stop the steroid bursts a week early.] But on the theory that if my SR and CRP are that low now, my regular chemo dose might now be too much, I've been unilaterally backing off on it since last week. Even last week's lower dose had me feeling like death, but today [chemo day] I titrated down one more level, and so far, it's better than last week. Not great, but at this point, any improvement is a big deal, because the last several weeks [months, actually, now] have been pure misery.

And I need to get something to work. I'm already under unspeakable pressure this year, never mind the need to make up for the last two terrible ones. Our floor for sales and breaking even is making a minimum of one sale per week for the year, and we're still two weeks in the hole now. I don't have enough hours in the day as it is, and I can't afford what's been happening to me. Regardless of side effects or disease progression, I've got to do something to bring in sales. We need to bring in a lot more, because it's grim. Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here [priorities are the LaminaSaver, because apparently Miika's out of it again; and the rugs, to replace those destroyed 2 years ago by the leachfield collapse and ensuing septic disaster];
• 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 to begin this year on a better footing than the last two, and so far, it's been impossibly grim.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2026; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Monday Photo Meditation: The Electric Blues of Winter

Photo copyright Wings, 2026;
all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a Monday Photo Meditation for the strange weather and stranger seasons that now characterize this place. It's an image that dates back just over seven years, to what seemed a winter storm but was actually fog out of season, the willow branches spangled with crystalline frost against the electric blues of winter.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. It's a new calendar year, and we very much need to make this a better year than the last two have been. That begins with a minimum of one sale a week, without fail. It's mid-February already and we're still two weeks behind on what, it's become clear, is going to be a hard and costly year.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2026; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.         

Winter Blues For Summer Spirits

Photo copyright Aji, 2026; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a masterwork to take us from the cold season to warmer winds, and the messenger spirit of the waters, on the winds, that is a sign of delicate power. It's Dragonfly as you'e never seen him before, in three separate iterations on a single work of wearable art, the embodiment of winter blues for summer spirits of the water, and the light.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. It's a new calendar year, and we very much need to make this a better year than the last two have been. That begins with a minimum of one sale a week, without fail. It's February already and we're still more than two weeks behind on what, it's become clear, is going to be a hard and costly year.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2026; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.        

One more tree dead in this drought.

Photo copyright Aji, 2026; all rights reserved.

Our of order today.  The dragonfly cuff is done [as are the three pairs of earrings], but I need tog et the photos chosen, resized, and uploaded, and write the description, before I can do today's NDN Silver post with it.

So everything will be late.

The photo up there? That happened night before last, when we got the rain and a tiny dusting of snow that was gone by dawn. That tree has been separating at the trunk from the other one for maybe 4-6 weeks now, and I guess we had enough to fell it completely. One more tree dead in this drought.

In theory, we're getting more rain and/or snow Tuesday through Thursday. Not that whole time, you understand; just intermittent showers. Whatever; it's welcome. But it's never enough. not for this level of damage.

Today is also the ninth [9th!] anniversary of the day we lost the matriarch of our horses, Cree, right about this time [5:30-ish], when she went down a final time and there would be no getting up.  On top of last week's marker [Wings's mom; it doesn't matter how many years it's been]; Major on the 3rd, and Hunter two days from now? The only month that's worse for grief is April.

And grief affects everything, for both of us. I also can't seem do anything to fix this latest flare. I was really hoping for a decent day today in terms of pain and fatigue, but no; more of the same that the last however many weeks [months?] have been, and it's impairing my ability to work. Medical stuff coming this week, again, and we'll see, but given the way things have been going, I'm not at all hopeful. It'll probably be more big expenses with no result. But I have to try, because I need to get something to work. I'm already under unspeakable pressure this year, never mind the need to make up for the last two terrible ones. Our floor for sales and breaking even is making a minimum of one sale per week for the year, and we're still two weeks in the hole now. I don't have enough hours in the day as it is, and I can't afford what's been happening to me. Regardless of side effects or disease progression, I've got to do something to bring in sales. We need to bring in a lot more, because it's grim. Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here [priorities are the LaminaSaver, because apparently Miika's out of it again; and the rugs, to replace those destroyed 2 years ago by the leachfield collapse and ensuing septic disaster];
• 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 to begin this year on a better footing than the last two, and so far, it's been impossibly grim.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2026; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

One more day.

Photo copyright Aji, 2026;
all rights reserved.

One more day, and he should have it done. With luck, I'll be able to get photos then and have it up by tomorrow night. For now, you should click on the image above to enlarge it to regular size, so you can truly see the textures and the ultra-fine freehand saw-, score-, stamp- texture-, hammer-, and overlay work. This one is a phenomenon unto itself.  [And yes, it'll be priced accordingly.]

He's also got some simple dangle earrings set with single small stones in the works; three pairs, I think. Those might also be done tomorrow. For once, he was able to get some decent studio time today, despite everything else that has to get done every day around here. Me? Not so much, but whatever. This is more important, provided, of course, that I can get enough time thereafter to get the photos taken, downloaded, edited, uploaded, descriptions written posts sent live, etc., etc. It's a huge amount of work.

Which all just reinforces that there are no holidays. Every day is work. I'd be a lot more enthusiastic about that if I could feel at least minimally decent, but that's not happening right now. I'm basically limited to one type of pain medication, the only that one that both 1) works for me, at least a little, and 2) doesn't actively make me sick, and even that's not working these days. Nope, no MMJ for me. Or even non-M MJ. I can't even get high. My body just reacts horribly to it, and it makes all my autoimmune issues worse.

But I need to get something to work. I'm already under unspeakable pressure this year, never mind the need to make up for the last two terrible ones. Our floor for sales and breaking even is making a minimum of one sale per week for the year, and we're still two weeks in the hole now. I don't have enough hours in the day as it is, and I can't afford what's been happening to me. Regardless of side effects or disease progression, I've got to do something to bring in sales. We need to bring in a lot more, because it's grim. Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here [priorities are the LaminaSaver, because apparently Miika's out of it again; and the rugs, to replace those destroyed 2 years ago by the leachfield collapse and ensuing septic disaster];
• 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 to begin this year on a better footing than the last two, and so far, it's been impossibly grim.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2026; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

The Love of Desert Spirits

Photo copyright Aji, 2026; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a work for this day dedicated to love, for its post-storm winter's twilight, and for the medicine of desert spirits. It's a cuff built around a truly unique focal, a mix of natural and human-made materials that catch and refract and channel the light, a wearable reminder of the love of desert spirits that blesses us here in all seasons.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. It's a new calendar year, and we very much need to make this a better year than the last two have been. That begins with a minimum of one sale a week, without fail. It's February already and we're still more than two weeks behind on what, it's become clear, is going to be a hard and costly year.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2026; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.        

Just done.

Photo copyright Aji, 2026; all rights reserved.

That right there?  Is a full-sized horse trough, and that's less than an hour's worth of rain in it. Two hours and a big lull in the storm later, and it was over half full. We have another lull now, and we're supposed to get snow overnight, but who knows?

I'm exhausted, in pain, and fed up. We have half a dozen big cash expenses coming up, and no sales. Money lent that I was assured would be repaid today? Of course not. And I am doing all of this impossibly late tonight because it has been one goddamned derailment after another all day today, and what everyone else wants matters more than my own work, as always. I'll be back to it all tomorrow, but right now? I'm just done.

Nothing makes me feel even the slightest bit better [yes, I sais steroids, but there's the steroid headache to contend with, every damn night], and yet I have to maintain this pace. I'm already under unspeakable pressure this year, never mind the need to make up for the last two terrible ones. Our floor for sales and breaking even is making a minimum of one sale per week for the year, and we're still two weeks in the hole now. I don't have enough hours in the day as it is, and I can't afford what's been happening to me. Regardless of side effects or disease progression, I've got to do something to bring in sales. We need to bring in a lot more, because it's grim. Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here [priorities are the LaminaSaver, because apparently Miika's out of it again; and the rugs, to replace those destroyed 2 years ago by the leachfield collapse and ensuing septic disaster];
• 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 to begin this year on a better footing than the last two, and so far, it's been impossibly grim.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2026; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Friday Feature: Love In the Low Winter Half-Light

Photo copyright Aji, 2026; all rights reserved.

It's our Friday Feature at The NDN Silver Blog, with a trio of related works that all embody the haunting beauty of dusk at this season, strung with colors perfect for this week to honor love in all its forms. It's three from Wings's signature series of gemstone-bead works, a necklace, pair of earrings, and coil bracelet all created to coordinate ins substance, shade, and spirit, all embodying the beauty of love in the low winter half-light.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. It's a new calendar year, and we very much need to make this a better year than the last two have been. That begins with a minimum of one sale a week, without fail. It's February already and we're still more than two weeks behind on what, it's become clear, is going to be a hard and costly year.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2026; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.        

Newest iteration.

Photo copyright Aji, 2026; all rights reserved.

The dragonfly cuff, newest iteration. What you can't see in the photo are the two wholly separate dragonfly overlays on either side. This one is big, and it's going to be costly [and phenomenal]:  all freehand stampwork, hammerwork, cutwork, overlays, bezel, etc. Might be done on Saturday; might be Sunday.

I woke up this morning a little before six, to find that it had rained. Not in the forecast, although you could smell it on the air at midnight when I was out putting the heated frisbees in the feral dog's house. Trouble was, you could also see stars everywhere, so I didn't think we'd actually get anything. But on the southeast slopes, there was a faint new dusting of snow this morning.

Labs are in, and everything falls within normal ranges [story of my life; sero-negative for lupus and RA for literal decades, while all the joint and tissue damage proceeded apace, but no one would treat it because . . . sero-negative, so now I have a half-century of unnecessary damage and constant pain], except . . . wait for it: BG. Which was 100.  Which is absolutely fine.  Yes, it's high for me, because my norm is 70s-80s, but I am not remotely prediabetic. What I AM is on week #3 of a steroid burst for my autoimmune progression, and steroids raise BG in everybody. So yeah, I'm more than a little annoyed at the label when it has nothing to do with reality. Next week, I think, will be the last week of upping the steroid dose like this, at least for now, so it'll drop precipitously and very, very rapidly.

I'm annoyed by everything right now, because other than the steroids, nothing makes me feel even the slightest bit better, and yet I have to maintain this pace. I'm already under unspeakable pressure this year, never mind the need to make up for the last two terrible ones. Our floor for sales and breaking even is making a minimum of one sale per week for the year, and we're still two weeks in the hole now. I don't have enough hours in the day as it is, and I can't afford what's been happening to me. Regardless of side effects or disease progression, I've got to do something to bring in sales. We need to bring in a lot more, because it's grim. Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here [priorities are the LaminaSaver, because apparently Miika's out of it again; and the rugs, to replace those destroyed 2 years ago by the leachfield collapse and ensuing septic disaster];
• 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 to begin this year on a better footing than the last two, and so far, it's been impossibly grim.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2026; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

#TBT: Love of the Earth, to Nurture the Tree of Life

Photo copyright Wings, 2026; all rights reserved.

It's #ThrowbackThursday at The NDN Silver Blog, with a #TBT work that dates back just over thirteen years, to January of 2013 — a pair of earrings in one of Wings's classic Tree of Life designs. It's a pair perfect for a winter's twilight, a manifestation of the love of the earth, to nurture the tree of life in all its forms.

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. It's a new calendar year, and we very much need to make this a better than the last two have been. That begins with a minimum of one sale a week, without fail, and it's already February and we're still more than two weeks behind.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2026; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.    

Bare tundra.

Photo copyright Aji, 2026; all rights reserved.

Look at all that bare tundra.  In early February. Meanwhile, our esteemed governor has courted a DARPA-contracted corporation to build a fucking quantum computing center in ABQ [and they're doing it] in a state without enough water for the most minimal basics. The pols are going to be the death of us all.

God, I'm tired. I have felt so unremittingly awful for so long [months, now] that as soon as I have a couple of days where I feel slightly more human, I have no choice but to overdo it, and now I'm completely wiped out again. I'm so sick of this. Of everything, including this stupid genocidal society that wants us all dead.

And there's not going to be any break in the workload for me. We are nowhere near where we thought we would be now, or where we need to be, and I have to change that, because we have huge expenses coming up over the next two months, and right now? Absolutely no way to cover any of it. So I'll be over here killing myself with the workload, with everyone else piling on, and I'm getting to the point where some people are very soon going to be dealing wth another side of me. I don't work for you, I don't answer to you, and if you want anything from me at all, you best learn very fast not to jerk me around, because it won't end well for one of us, and that one will be you, guaranteed. I am kind, I am actually quite nice most of the time, but don't ever mistake that for me being your fucking doormat.

I'm already under unspeakable pressure this year, never mind the need to make up for the last two terrible ones. Our floor for sales and breaking even is making a minimum of one sale per week for the year, and we're still two weeks in the hole now. I don't have enough hours in the day as it is, and I can't afford what's been happening to me. Regardless of side effects or disease progression, I've got to do something to bring in sales. We need to bring in a lot more, because it's grim. Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here [priorities are the LaminaSaver, because apparently Miika's out of it again; and the rugs, to replace those destroyed 2 years ago by the leachfield collapse and ensuing septic disaster];
• 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 to begin this year on a better footing than the last two, and so far, it's been impossibly grim.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2026; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

For Love of the Winter Night

Photo copyright Aji, 2026; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, with a masterwork wrought in old-school Indigenous Art Deco style with a fabulous old stone, like our twilight world now sitting at angles to the night. It's a focal in shades of rose and crimson and mulberry and black plum, framed by handmade ingot work above some of the finest freehand scorework you've ever seen, the whole an inspiration for the work needed for love of the winter night.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. It's a new calendar year, and we very much need to make this a better year than the last two have been. That begins with a minimum of one sale a week, without fail. It's February already and we're still two weeks behind on what, it's become clear, is going to be a hard and costly year.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2026; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.        

The famous cuff.

Photo copyright Aji, 2026; all rights reserved.

The famous cuff that last week was going to be finished by Saturday. Trouble is, as with so very many pieces, it keeps undergoing design shifts as he works on it, and so it might be done this weekend, if we're lucky. To be clear, that's a good thing: He has always said that his work is best when he lets Spirit guide his hands, rather than trying to force an initial idea one something that clearly wants to go somewhere else.

Also, he didn't get as much studio time today as needed. We did finally get labs done. His were just the standard annual stuff that he always has done as a baseline; mine were . . . something a little more, shall we say. And I now have a very sore bruise in the crook of my left elbow, which is absolutely absurd, because my veins will pop out perfectly beneath a harsh glare, never mind a tourniquet. But this one hurt, and it took longer than it should have, and here we are.

Anyway. I don't have any strong feelings about the results, other than that if there's a way for them to explain these months of abject misery in a way that can be fixed, I want them to do that. I mean, it's not like we can afford for me to have enforced downtime. I've got to get this fixed, because this year has already gone drastically sideways and I have GOT to bring in a lot more than what we've been doing, and I can't do that if I can't even function enough to get things uploaded and live in a timely manner.

Because we don't have anything like the sales we need this year, never mind to make up for the last two terrible ones. Our floor for sales and breaking even is making a minimum of one sale per week for the year, and we're still two weeks in the hole now. I don't have enough hours in the day as it is, and I can't afford what's been happening to me. Regardless of side effects or disease progression, I've got to do something to bring in sales. We've made two this weekend, which at this point are an indescribably blessing, but we're so far in the hole from this ear so far plus the last two years of utter crap that it's only the barest floor. We need to bring in a lot more, because it's grim. Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here [priorities are the LaminaSaver, because apparently Miika's out of it again; and the rugs, to replace those destroyed 2 years ago by the leachfield collapse and ensuing septic disaster];
• 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 to begin this year on a better footing than the last two, and so far, it's been impossibly grim.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2026; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Red Willow Spirit: Moments of Magic as Expressions of Love

Photo copyright Wings, 2026; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's an edition of Red Willow Spirit for this week in midwinter devoted to love, and for the love between earth and sky that sustains us, as well. It's two images of twilight from this very week thirteen years ago, linked by a mystical work of wearable art, all of them illustrating moments of magic as expressions of love.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. It's a new calendar year, and we very much need to make this a better year than the last two have been. That begins with a minimum of one sale a week, without fail. It's February already and we're still two weeks behind on what, it's become clear, is going to be a hard and costly year.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2026; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.        

Fitting, I suppose.

Photo copyright Aji, 2026; all rights reserved.

That's Jade, boss bitch of the Australorps [and of the two Americaunas, too], apparently looking for something else to boss around. In the absence of anything more obvious, I suppose the hose will do. Or the water. Or whatever.

Fitting, I suppose, because I did say yesterday that today was guaranteed to be a bitch and a half, and wow, was I ever right, on multiple counts [including the human kind]. The one of them all that actually bothers me is the chemo effects, because I feel like death again, not even warmed over. Just death.

I scaled it back today, too, but no change for the better. Maybe I just need to stop it entirely. Couldn't even get my labs done today, and I'm fast running out of time to get that done, so I've got to do it at some point.

Whatever, I've got to get this fixed, because this year has already gone drastically sideways and I have GOT to bring in a lot more than what we've been doing, and I can't do that if I can't even function enough to get things uploaded and live in a timely manner. I was up until 2 AM this morning doing exactly that.

Because we don't have anything like the sales needed to do that. Our floor for sales and breaking even is making a minimum of one sale per week for the year, and we're still two weeks in the hole now. I don't have enough hours in the day as it is, and I can't afford what's been happening to me. Regardless of side effects or disease progression, I've got to do something to bring in sales. We've made two this weekend, which at this point are an indescribably blessing, but we're so far in the hole from this ear so far plus the last two years of utter crap that it's only the barest floor. We need to bring in a lot more, because it's grim. Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here [priorities are the LaminaSaver, because apparently Miika's out of it again; and the rugs, to replace those destroyed 2 years ago by the leachfield collapse and ensuing septic disaster];
• 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 to begin this year on a better footing than the last two, and so far, it's been impossibly grim.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2026; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Monday Photo Meditation: As the Sun Kisses the Earth

Photo copyrightWings, 2026; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a Monday Photo Meditation for what should still be the very heart of winter. It's an image that Wings shot on film some twenty years ago, capturing the magic of twilight, either dawn or dusk, as the sun kisses the earth with its light.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. It's a new calendar year, and we very much need to make this a better year than the last two have been. That begins with a minimum of one sale a week, without fail. It's February already and we're still two weeks behind on what, it's become clear, is going to be a hard and costly year.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2026; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.        

No snow.

Photo copyright Aji, 2026; all rights reserved.

Look at that. February 8th, and there's no snow. That's what the mountains should look like in early June.

It's terrifying.

It's been a frustrating day. First day I've felt even marginally functional in weeks, months, even, and I've had to overdo it on so many fronts that tomorrow's going to be a bitch and a half. It didn't help that the smoke detector assembly started beeping at top volume at 5 AM, and it took me at least a half-dozen trips up the ladder to figure out that it was not in fact the detector itself, nor was it the connected night light in our bedroom, but rather, the light assembly itself, which is apparently now toast. And they don't make it anymore, natch, so there are now wires poking out of the ceiling while I figure out whether we can do the necessary work ourselves for the way they've changed these suckers, or we have to pay an electrician to do it. If it's the latter, it ain't getting done for a good long while.

Because we don't have anything like the sales needed to do that. Our floor for sales and breaking even is making a minimum of one sale per week for the year, and we're still two weeks in the hole now. I don't have enough hours in the day as it is, and I can't afford what's been happening to me. Because regardless of side effects, I've got to do something to bring in sales. We've made two this weekend, which at this point are an indescribably blessing, but we're so far in the hole from this ear so far plus the last two years of utter crap that it's only the barest floor. We need to bring in a lot more, because it's grim. Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here [priorities are the LaminaSaver, because apparently Miika's out of it again; and the rugs, to replace those destroyed 2 years ago by the leachfield collapse and ensuing septic disaster];
• 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 to begin this year on a better footing than the last two, and so far, it's been impossibly grim.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2026; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Love's Fire, Twilight's Passion

Photo copyright Aji, 2026; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a work perfect for this week that ends in Valentine's Day, with all the mystery and magic and romance that occurs as the night falls across the land. It's an extraordinary necklace featuring spectacular freehand Indigenous silverwork  and the artistry of Mother Earth's own gems, manifest in the shades and spirits of love's fire, twilight's passion, and the power they create together.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. It's a new calendar year, and we very much need to make this a better than the last two have been. That begins with a minimum of one sale a week, without fail. It's February already and we're still two weeks behind on what, it's become clear, is going to be a hard and costly year.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2026; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.     

There's always something.

Photo copyright Aji, 2026; all rights reserved.

Punch-outs. 

They'll be earrings soon, just one of many things he has currently in the works. The big cuff ran up against a momentary obstacle, so he set that aside long enough to do this; the cuff may be done tomorrow, or it might be early in the week [I personally think the latter is more likely]. These might be done tomorrow night.

Or not. It all depends on how the day goes, and there's always something.

Today, that something was me, yet again, feeling like death. I can't keep this up. Six days of pure misery for one halfway-decent, halfway-functional day is not worth it to me. I'll keep on with the steroid burst in the short term, but I'm dialing back the chemo to my previous level. And if that still doesn't work, I'll drop one tablet of that five. Because I can't function this way, and I don't have time for this nonsense. If the rest of these new symptoms turn out to be not-lupus and not-RA but instead the worse thing that they are known to mimic, well, then we can revisit it. For now, I'm proceeding on the assumption that it's all autoimmune, and if I can't feel more functional, I ain't doing it.

Our floor for sales and breaking even is making a minimum of one sale per week for the year, and we're still more than a week in the hole now. I don't have enough hours in the day as it is, and I can't afford what's been happening to me. Because regardless of side effects, I've got to do something to bring in sales. We've made two this weekend, which at this point are an indescribably blessing, but we're so far in the hole from this ear so far plus the last two years of utter crap that it's only the barest floor. We need to bring in a lot more, because it's grim. Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here [priorities are the LaminaSaver, because apparently Miika's out of it again; and the rugs, to replace those destroyed 2 years ago by the leachfield collapse and ensuing septic disaster];
• 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 to begin this year on a better footing than the last two, and so far, it's been impossibly grim.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2026; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Love, With No Regrets

Photo copyright Aji, 2026; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a work for love in all its forms, and for all the rejection and heartbreak and beauty that are elemental to it. It's a necklace built around an extraordinary and utterly unique material, reminding us always to love, with no regrets.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. It's a new calendar year, and we very much need to make this a better than the last two have been. That begins with a minimum of one sale a week, without fail, and it's February already and we're still two weeks behind on the year thus far.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2026; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.    

Stripped of any pretense.

Photo copyright Aji, 2026; all rights reserved.

A couple of brief hours of beautiful clouds, and then nothing. Too much sun, too much heat; it should not be 72 degrees in the first week February, but that's what we had here today. Yes I know the weather service says it was 62, but 1) that's still 40 degrees too warm for what should be normal here now, and 2) they never report accurately, especially on this. Hell , they're not even allowed to say "climate change," and we're long past change into collapse.

And the pace of this week, and the last one, and the last several months and all the stress I'm having to carry daily right now . . . all flattened me today. I feel like I have a full-blown case of mono, that's how bad the fatigue is. I don't have active mono, of course, although I do have a constant case of chronic EBV syndrome and always have had, which just makes the lupus and RA worse and vice versa. But today has me stripped of any pretense of functionality, and I can't afford it. I'm so tired that I'm skipping the rest, because I have so much weight on me over all the medical stuff and I honestly don't want to think about any of it. I can't escape the weight of bills and the lack of sales, and that's much more than enough right now.

Our floor for sales and breaking even is making a minimum of one sale per week for the year, and we're still more than a week in the hole now. I don't have enough hours in the day as it is, Monday was chemo day, the first higher dose [and a lower one Wednesday, too], and I definitely haven't felt very well. Yesterday, third of this week's 3-day steroid burst. Today, I feel half-dead from fatigue, never mind the pain. Because regardless of side effects, I've got to do something to bring in sales, although damned if I know what at this point. It's grim. Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here [priorities are the LaminaSaver, because apparently Miika's out of it again; and the rugs, to replace those destroyed 2 years ago by the leachfield collapse and ensuing septic disaster];
• 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 to begin this year on a better footing than the last two, and so far, it's been impossibly grim.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2026; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.