These days, you can't bank on anything except trouble.

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

Snow on the peaks, even as I write. The mercury down here says just over sixty, but it feel more like forty, courtesy of the wind chill. In theory, we'll have rain yet today, although who knows? We certainly know better by now than to bank on it.

These days, you can't bank on anything except trouble.

I do wish the weather would actually hit; my bones and joints would feel a lot better. It's less that the rain and snow aggravate them than that the run-up to them, the up-and-down of temperature and barometric pressure, make them much worse. Once a storm arrives, I generally feel a hell of a lot better.

Then again, I haven't felt great for a very long time. I don't have time for this, but I also don't have any options.  All this makes it impossibly hard to work, and I need to be working. I need to be bringing in sales. I need to make up Saturday's almost $800 outlay, more than half of which I had no way of anticipating, and I needed to do it over the weekend, because the weekend has wiped us out. But even with two Indigenous People's Days, [actual and official], we did not make a single sale over the weekend, and well into four figures' worth of checks, the smaller of which dates back two months now? Still have not arrived. I'm going to have to start limiting people to electronic payments only, because we can't afford this kind of thing. [And Venmo has STILL kept the $1,850 from two full years ago; they're going to make sure we never get our money, apparently, and I don't have endless hours in endless months to keep fighting them on their bullshit. We don't use Venmo as a result, so don't even bother asking.]

Because, of course, all of the pressures we're facing mostly haven't changed in any meaningful way, and a couple of extremely welcome sales that are helping us catch up still don't have us breaking even on the year yet. To that end, I've updated the list below, striking through the items no longer available, because, as always?

I have got to bring in sales. NOW. Our traffic is down to almost nothing, and I can't conjure the money everyone's demanding from us out of thin air.

Also, buy: I posted two new pairs of earrings the other day, one incredible chrysocolla in malachite, here [sold], and another equally fabulous Red Creek jasper, here [sold just this afternoon]. I posted four new pairs of earrings last week, here [also now sold as of today], here, here [these are also sold now], and here. Last week, I posted the four new pairs of sterling silver tab earrings, all with Deco-infused stampwork and at a lower price point than most of his earrings: here, here, here, and here. That new necklace I've been talking about [it's phenomenal] became Wednesday's feature, and its gallery entry is here. In addition, his new naja pendant is up, here, and his new cuff, here. The former features both an interior pendant and amber cabs at the ends; the latter is extraordinary, two strands of Deco butterflies set with something that's not a stone, but is phenomenal all the same. The first links are the four pairs of sterling silver tab earrings with amazing stampwork that I promised. If I could sell them all, I'd feel a lot more confident about the next several weeks.

The rest of the month [hell, the rest of the year] is going to be geared around making sales, because I don't have a choice about that. I'm so tired after all the nonsense of this year to date, but I can't let up, because so far, we're not even breaking even on the year, and I will have to worry about next year's tax bill soon enough. But there's tons of new work on the site, in addition to all that's coming up shortly [including three new pairs of Picasso jasper earrings possibly tonight, but more likely tomorrow], so go look:

• Completed just a couple of weekends ago, two absolutely phenomenal new cuffs, here and here;
• Completed the previous weekend, an all-new wristband, here;
• One extraordinary new belt buckle set with an incredible Skystone, here;
• Another new vintage-style cuff with a mysterious Skystone, here;
• Three new pairs of earrings in his gemstone-bead series, here, here [sold]. and here;
• Three new cuffs from last week, two set with incredible turquoise focals, one solid silver; go here, here, and here.
• Six pairs of new concha floral earrings in the Earrings Gallery here [larger are garnet, golden rutilated quartz, and malachite; smaller are amber, carnelian [sold], and iolite];
• Art Deco Labradorite cuff here;  
• Triangle wire youth bangle here; 
• Art Nouveau vine pattern-wire youth bangle here; 
• Small Art Nouveau pattern-wire bangle pair here; 
• Malachite butterfly/leaf-wing earrings here; 
• A big solid silver classic cuff here; 
• Ten Five remaining new pairs of the gemstone-bead earrings are also up in the Earrings Gallery;
• And another new cuff is also here. 

There's more on the way very soon. And I need to sell them all, because I still need to make multiple sales daily for us to catch up on the year [and that's just breaking even] and cover all the stuff still in the pipeline that needs covering [roof, more medical, etc.]. So: GO BUY! PLEASE! Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (Priority is the liquid soaps and Amazon cards, probably most useful at this point); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

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

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

Red Willow Spirit: What Grows From a Fall Storm Gathering

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's an edition of Red Willow Spirit for the first real storm of the fall season, and for what land and weather have to teach us now. It's two photos from about a dozen years ago that suit this day here perfectly, linked by a single equally apt work of wearable art, reminding us that what grows from a fall storm gathering is nothing less than breath, life, rebirth.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. As always, his photos are available in any of the usual three formats; simply inquire via the site's Contact form.  It's a new month, and for us, the official start of the winter holiday creative season, and we are so far behind on sales this year we're not even close to breaking even. And after a full year of absolutely astronomical emergency expenses, we badly need to bring in consistent sales at least weekly for the rest of the year, so shares are very much needed and much appreciated.

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

Time to get it done.

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

One of Wings's projects this weekend. That pear tree has sometimes yielded more than a thousand pears by itself. There aren't that many this year, because the birds have gotten to some of them, and the high heat has done some damage. Still, we have more than enough for ourselves, plus that bucket and crate [on top of previous buckets and crates of them] to give away.

And since we are, theoretically, in for a hard freeze later this week, now's the time to get it done.

For me, the weekend has been a wash, at best. As I said yesterday, I hate times like this. I hate being reminded. Most of the time I can put all of it out of my mind and focus on now. It's not working this weekend. The last two days, I've been unutterably sad. Today I'm just angry, which I suppose is an improvement, but not by much. And none of it is helped by the pain, nor by the fact that I got no sleep again last night. I took two muscle relaxants; my pain levels are so high that all they did was wake me up and make me more alert. This is what autoimmune disease is, what it does, and there's no fixing it. 

But it does make it impossibly hard to work, and I need to be working. I need to be bringing in sales. I need to make up Saturday's almost $800 outlay, more than half of which I had no way of anticipating, and I need to do it TODAY, because the weekend has wiped us out. I mean, it is Indigenous People's Day, [official], so people should be buying from Natives now.

Because, of course, all of the pressures we're facing mostly haven't changed in any meaningful way, and a couple of extremely welcome sales that are helping us catch up still don't have us breaking even on the year yet. To that end, I've updated the list below, striking through the items no longer available, because, as always?

I have got to bring in sales. NOW. Our traffic is down to almost nothing, and I can't conjure the money everyone's demanding from us out of thin air.

Also, buy: I posted two new pairs of earrings the other day, one incredible chrysocolla in malachite, here [sold], and another equally fabulous Red Creek jasper, here [sold just this afternoon]. I posted four new pairs of earrings last week, here [also now sold as of today], here, here [these are also sold now], and here. Last week, I posted the four new pairs of sterling silver tab earrings, all with Deco-infused stampwork and at a lower price point than most of his earrings: here, here, here, and here. That new necklace I've been talking about [it's phenomenal] became Wednesday's feature, and its gallery entry is here. In addition, his new naja pendant is up, here, and his new cuff, here. The former features both an interior pendant and amber cabs at the ends; the latter is extraordinary, two strands of Deco butterflies set with something that's not a stone, but is phenomenal all the same. The first links are the four pairs of sterling silver tab earrings with amazing stampwork that I promised. If I could sell them all, I'd feel a lot more confident about the next several weeks.

The rest of the month [hell, the rest of the year] is going to be geared around making sales, because I don't have a choice about that. I'm so tired after all the nonsense of this year to date, but I can't let up, because so far, we're not even breaking even on the year, and I will have to worry about next year's tax bill soon enough. But there's tons of new work on the site, in addition to all that's coming up shortly [including three new pairs of Picasso jasper earrings possibly tonight, but more likely tomorrow], so go look:

• Completed just a couple of weekends ago, two absolutely phenomenal new cuffs, here and here;
• Completed the previous weekend, an all-new wristband, here;
• One extraordinary new belt buckle set with an incredible Skystone, here;
• Another new vintage-style cuff with a mysterious Skystone, here;
• Three new pairs of earrings in his gemstone-bead series, here, here [sold]. and here;
• Three new cuffs from last week, two set with incredible turquoise focals, one solid silver; go here, here, and here.
• Six pairs of new concha floral earrings in the Earrings Gallery here [larger are garnet, golden rutilated quartz, and malachite; smaller are amber, carnelian [sold], and iolite];
• Art Deco Labradorite cuff here;  
• Triangle wire youth bangle here; 
• Art Nouveau vine pattern-wire youth bangle here; 
• Small Art Nouveau pattern-wire bangle pair here; 
• Malachite butterfly/leaf-wing earrings here; 
• A big solid silver classic cuff here; 
• Ten Five remaining new pairs of the gemstone-bead earrings are also up in the Earrings Gallery;
• And another new cuff is also here. 

There's more on the way very soon. And I need to sell them all, because I still need to make multiple sales daily for us to catch up on the year [and that's just breaking even] and cover all the stuff still in the pipeline that needs covering [roof, more medical, etc.]. So: GO BUY! PLEASE! Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (Priority is the liquid soaps and Amazon cards, probably most useful at this point); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

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

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

Monday Photo Meditation: The First Snow's Healing

Photo copyright Wings, 2024;
all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a Monday Photo Meditation for a season whose song has been stolen by climate collapse, but whose rhythms seem poised to return. It's a tribute to the first snow's healing, an event that appeared early in the year the photograph was taken, but is suddenly forecast, this week, to arrive right on schedule now.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. As always, his photos are available in any of the usual three formats; simply inquire via the site's Contact form. It's a new month, and for us, the official start of the winter holiday creative season, and we are so far behind on sales this year we're not even close to breaking even. And after a full year of absolutely astronomical emergency expenses, we badly need to bring in consistent sales at least weekly for the rest of the year, so shares are very much needed and much appreciated.

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

A hell of a weekend, and not in a good way.

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

Look at this mess. Contrails everywhere, worsening the drought. [No, I did NOT say "chemtrails," I used their actual term, and as for the drought part, it's a fact; they do, and yet no one gives a shit about the way they add to climate collapse].

We've had four fires locally in forty-eight hours, one on the mountain late Friday that's still unexplained, one elsewhere on the mountain yesterday that is explained [no, I'm not going to], and two house fires since midnight in the south end of town, neither of which is likely to be anything to do with a firebug, but rather, old houses with people unable to get to the maintenance required, because colonizers are hell-bent on forcing everyone local out now.

It's been a hell of a weekend, and not in a good way.

It's been bad on a deeply personal level, too, but yesterday's date is always bad for me. [If you don't know why, it's in yesterday's post.] Today began with me remembering all the reasons that yesterday's marker was made SO much worse at the time, culminating with my parents disowning me because I refused to tolerate the interfering bullshit from my other sister's criminal boyfriend, meddling in the investigation, lying through his teeth repeatedly, creating havoc and harm and abuse everywhere, because he was a raging narcissistic sociopath. No one, and I mean no one, will make me accept that kind of bullshit. So my parents refused to speak to me for a year or more. When shit went bad for them, though, who was it who dropped everything to help? It sure as fuck wasn't my surviving sister.

You wonder why I'm not all that sorry to be alone? Why I don't consider myself an adult 
"orphan" like so many white folks do when their parents are gone [and all my siblings, too, in my case]?  Those are only a few of the reasons why.

I hate times like this. I hate being reminded. Most of the time I can put all of it out of my mind and focus on now. It's not working this weekend.

And I need to be working. I need to be bringing in sales. I need to make up yesterday's almost $800 outlay, more than ha;f of which I had no way of anticipating, and I need to do it this weekend. I mean, it is Indigenous People's Day, both yesterday [actual] and tomorrow [official], so people should be buying from Natives now.

Because, of course, all of the pressures we're facing mostly haven't changed in any meaningful way, and a couple of extremely welcome sales that are helping us catch up still don't have us breaking even on the year yet. To that end, I've updated the list below, striking through the items no longer available, because, as always?

I have got to bring in sales. NOW. Our traffic is down to almost nothing, and I can't conjure the money everyone's demanding from us out of thin air.

Also, buy: I posted two new pairs of earrings the other day, one incredible chrysocolla in malachite, here [sold], and another equally fabulous Red Creek jasper, here [sold just this afternoon]. I posted four new pairs of earrings last week, here [also now sold as of today], here, here [these are also sold now], and here. Last week, I posted the four new pairs of sterling silver tab earrings, all with Deco-infused stampwork and at a lower price point than most of his earrings: here, here, here, and here. That new necklace I've been talking about [it's phenomenal] became Wednesday's feature, and its gallery entry is here. In addition, his new naja pendant is up, here, and his new cuff, here. The former features both an interior pendant and amber cabs at the ends; the latter is extraordinary, two strands of Deco butterflies set with something that's not a stone, but is phenomenal all the same. The first links are the four pairs of sterling silver tab earrings with amazing stampwork that I promised. If I could sell them all, I'd feel a lot more confident about the next several weeks.

The rest of the month [hell, the rest of the year] is going to be geared around making sales, because I don't have a choice about that. I'm so tired after all the nonsense of this year to date, but I can't let up, because so far, we're not even breaking even on the year, and I will have to worry about next year's tax bill soon enough. But there's tons of new work on the site, in addition to all that's coming up shortly [including three new pairs of Picasso jasper earrings possibly tonight, but more likely tomorrow], so go look:

• Completed just a couple of weekends ago, two absolutely phenomenal new cuffs, here and here;
• Completed the previous weekend, an all-new wristband, here;
• One extraordinary new belt buckle set with an incredible Skystone, here;
• Another new vintage-style cuff with a mysterious Skystone, here;
• Three new pairs of earrings in his gemstone-bead series, here, here [sold]. and here;
• Three new cuffs from last week, two set with incredible turquoise focals, one solid silver; go here, here, and here.
• Six pairs of new concha floral earrings in the Earrings Gallery here [larger are garnet, golden rutilated quartz, and malachite; smaller are amber, carnelian [sold], and iolite];
• Art Deco Labradorite cuff here;  
• Triangle wire youth bangle here; 
• Art Nouveau vine pattern-wire youth bangle here; 
• Small Art Nouveau pattern-wire bangle pair here; 
• Malachite butterfly/leaf-wing earrings here; 
• A big solid silver classic cuff here; 
• Ten Five remaining new pairs of the gemstone-bead earrings are also up in the Earrings Gallery;
• And another new cuff is also here. 

There's more on the way very soon. And I need to sell them all, because I still need to make multiple sales daily for us to catch up on the year [and that's just breaking even] and cover all the stuff still in the pipeline that needs covering [roof, more medical, etc.]. So: GO BUY! PLEASE! Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (Priority is the liquid soaps and Amazon cards, probably most useful at this point); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

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

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

Medicine Made By Land and Light

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a masterwork for reminding us of the healing and sustenance that the light of the world provides us daily, gifts we take far too much for granted now. It's a cuff wrought in an old traditional style, big and bold and infused with power, an incredible Damele gem set within hand-scored rays to the four directions, together manifest as medicine made by land and light.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. It's a new month, and for us, the official start of the winter holiday creative season, and we are so far behind on sales this year we're not even close to breaking even. And after a full year of absolutely astronomical emergency expenses, we badly need to bring in consistent sales at least weekly for the rest of the year, so shares are very much needed and much appreciated.

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

Not a good thing.

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

Welp. It appears that the fire that birthed that smoke plume we saw yesterday was not properly doused, because it's back. Either that, or it's a second ignition; if the latter, it would mean that there's a firebug trespassing on closed tribal lands up the mountain. See that little pointy wisp in the center at the ridgeline? That's the current one.

Whichever it is, it's not a good thing.

But it is distracting, which is useful for my brain today. It's been thirty-one years this afternoon since my sister's life was ripped away by a murderer, and time and distance don't make it any easier. When you come from a background as impoverished as mine, both financially and in terms of love, having one person in your life who loves you unconditionally is sometimes all that keeps you going. For the first two decades-plus of my life, she was that person. Very often, the only person. So whatever else is going on today, Indigenous People's Day, genocidal colonizer day, some birthdays, I'm sorry, but this is who's in my mind today: trying hard to remember her from childhood, rather than in death.

Meanwhile, it's already been a day, and a costly one.  We're awaiting two separate payments, neither of which has arrived yet. In the meantime, we shelled out $325 on something I was expecting this morning . . . and another $450 on something I wasn't. Which mostly wipes us out for the month, unless those two payments arrive, and/or we sell something in the meantime. I need to make up that almost $800 outlay this weekend. I mean, it is Indigenous People's Day, both today [actual] ad Monday [official], so people should be buying from Natives now.

Because, of course, all of the pressures we're facing mostly haven't changed in any meaningful way, and a couple of extremely welcome sales that are helping us catch up still don't have us breaking even on the year yet. To that end, I've updated the list below, striking through the items no longer available, because, as always?

I have got to bring in sales. NOW. Our traffic is down to almost nothing, and I can't conjure the money everyone's demanding from us out of thin air.

Also, buy: I posted two new pairs of earrings the other day, one incredible chrysocolla in malachite, here [sold], and another equally fabulous Red Creek jasper, here [sold just this afternoon]. I posted four new pairs of earrings last week, here [also now sold as of today], here, here [these are also sold now], and here. Last week, I posted the four new pairs of sterling silver tab earrings, all with Deco-infused stampwork and at a lower price point than most of his earrings: here, here, here, and here. That new necklace I've been talking about [it's phenomenal] became Wednesday's feature, and its gallery entry is here. In addition, his new naja pendant is up, here, and his new cuff, here. The former features both an interior pendant and amber cabs at the ends; the latter is extraordinary, two strands of Deco butterflies set with something that's not a stone, but is phenomenal all the same. The first links are the four pairs of sterling silver tab earrings with amazing stampwork that I promised. If I could sell them all, I'd feel a lot more confident about the next several weeks.

The rest of the month [hell, the rest of the year] is going to be geared around making sales, because I don't have a choice about that. I'm so tired after all the nonsense of this year to date, but I can't let up, because so far, we're not even breaking even on the year, and I will have to worry about next year's tax bill soon enough. But there's tons of new work on the site, in addition to all that's coming up shortly [including three new pairs of Picasso jasper earrings possibly tonight, but more likely tomorrow], so go look:

• Completed just a couple of weekends ago, two absolutely phenomenal new cuffs, here and here;
• Completed the previous weekend, an all-new wristband, here;
• One extraordinary new belt buckle set with an incredible Skystone, here;
• Another new vintage-style cuff with a mysterious Skystone, here;
• Three new pairs of earrings in his gemstone-bead series, here, here [sold]. and here;
• Three new cuffs from last week, two set with incredible turquoise focals, one solid silver; go here, here, and here.
• Six pairs of new concha floral earrings in the Earrings Gallery here [larger are garnet, golden rutilated quartz, and malachite; smaller are amber, carnelian [sold], and iolite];
• Art Deco Labradorite cuff here;  
• Triangle wire youth bangle here; 
• Art Nouveau vine pattern-wire youth bangle here; 
• Small Art Nouveau pattern-wire bangle pair here; 
• Malachite butterfly/leaf-wing earrings here; 
• A big solid silver classic cuff here; 
• Ten Five remaining new pairs of the gemstone-bead earrings are also up in the Earrings Gallery;
• And another new cuff is also here. 

There's more on the way very soon. And I need to sell them all, because I still need to make multiple sales daily for us to catch up on the year [and that's just breaking even] and cover all the stuff still in the pipeline that needs covering [roof, more medical, etc.]. So: GO BUY! PLEASE! Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (Priority is the liquid soaps and Amazon cards, probably most useful at this point); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

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

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