Worth it, though.

Photo copyright Aji, 2026; all rights reserved.

I've been waiting for these for almost a month. I ordered them for him in mid-July, but they're imported from India, so it takes a while. Thank all that's holy there was no extra tariff. I got these on a flash sale for half off, and they were still prohibitively expensive. Worth it, though: from left to right, raw orange kyanite; natural faceted Tanzanite; raw rainbow moonstone; lightly polished natural blue chalcedony; raw ruby crystals; Lightning Ridge blue opal from Australia. These will go into his gemstone-bead collections, but also get used to hold silverwork pendants.

It's been an expensive month. Today's been an expensive day, including an unholy amount of money for something he's needed badly for many years now: Nano built him a new workbench. It's all one piece instead of cobbled-together tables and shelves, and while he's going to have to make a couple of alterations still to the lower shelf [to accommodate knees in one section and his acetylene tank in another], it's basically done, it's in, and it's solid.

But now I need to make all that up with sales, and we've had lots of expense just this week alone [and I do mean LOTS; my medical appointment yesterday alone was well over $300, never mind his and our scrips and and bunch of other things, including one massive business expense]. And it's been a hellishly costly year, on top of several recent years that have been the same, and there's a lot more expense to come. We very much need it to rain in the metaphorical sense, at the monsoonal level. I need to bring in several more sales this weekend, because I've had to order some supplies for him already, but I also need to order a bunch more for him, and silver is absurdly expensive now [gouging; it's gouging, and no, I have not been able to order it yet], and will only get more so as we head into fall. We've also got a couple of other big-ticket things to take care of early this month, and that only happens if we make some sales now. And we can still use help with shares, testimonials, wishlist stuff I can't get to yet, etc. To that end, links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here [I'll be adding some new items soon, things we could really use but that I can't justify spending money on right now, like some sheets and towels];
• 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 get this year onto a better footing than the last two, a year that, so far, has been very 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 Sunbird's Feathers As Rays of Light

Photo copyright Aji, 2026; all rights reserved.

 

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a work for the changeable conditions of the skies, and of the light that illuminates our world. It's a pair of earrings saw-cut freehand, hand-milled, and set with orbs of glowing golden fire, the sunbird's feathers as rays of light.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. We still have to ensure that we break even on the year, and that begins with a minimum of one sale a week, without fail.

 

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.

Long hard day at the end of a long hard week.

Photo copyright Aji, 2026; all rights reserved.

That front hovered over us for a good long while this afternoon, then skated al the way around us. It brought us something, all right, but it wasn't rain, not even a drop; no, it was wave after wave of windstorms, a wall of dust and dirt and smoke everywhere.

Long hard day at the end of a long hard week. Early-morning doctor's appointments for us both, and we knew that would be difficult simply because we're losing our doctor. It's a fantastic move for her, new practice area, better conditions, the ability to set her own hours, more time with her child, and we're thrilled for her, but on a purely selfish level, damn, it's hard to lose the person who has, very literally, helped us both stay alive. But it's the right thing for her, and that's what matters, and she gave us good advice on choice of successor. She also did an unbelievable number of trigger-point injections on me today, so my back and shoulders should be a little better for a few weeks, at least.

But then it was other errands, and lots of expense [and I do mean LOTS; my appointment alone was well over $300, never mind his and our scrips and and bunch of other things, including one massive business expense]. And since we got home late, I've had no time to make sales. But it's been a hellishly costly year, on top of several that have been the same, and there's a lot more expense to come. We very much need it to rain in the metaphorical sense, also at the monsoonal level. I need to bring in several more sales this weekend, because I've had to order some supplies for him already, but I also need to order a bunch more for him, and silver is absurdly expensive now [gouging; it's gouging, and no, I have not been able to order it yet], and will only get more so as we head into fall. I've also got a couple of other big-ticket things to take care of early this month [that's in addition to what we had to shell out today], and that only happens if we make some sales now. And we can still use help with shares, testimonials, wishlist stuff I can't get to yet, etc. To that end, links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here [I'll be adding some new items soon, things we could really use but that I can't justify spending money on right now, like some sheets and towels];
• 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 get this year onto a better footing than the last two, a year that, so far, has been very 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: A Portal of Fire In the Sky

Photo copyright Aji, 2026; all rights reserved.

It's our Friday Feature at The NDN Silver Blog, with a work built around a rare material, one for the kind of haunting skies that have closed out recent days here. It's a pendant with a focal of spectrolite, found in only place on Earth, shown from four perspectives and manifest as a portal of fire in the sky.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. We still have to ensure that we break even on the year, and that begins with a minimum of one sale a week, without fail.

 

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.

#ThrowbackThursday: Refracting the Rainbow's Fire

Photo copyright Wings, 2026; all rights reserved.

It's #TBT at The NDN Silver Blog, with a #ThrowbackThursday work that dates back 16 or 17 years, but whose story begins 20 or more years ago, a first and last of its kind for a very specific reason. It's a pair of earrings built around a pair of synthetic, or lab, opals that nonetheless did a superb job of the work of refracting the rainbow's fire.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. This work will never be duplicated exactly, but if the style or stone speaks to your spirit, simply inquire via the site's Contact form; Wings can create a version uniquely your own.  We still have to ensure that we break even on the year, and that begins  with a minimum of one sale a week, without fail.

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.

 

It really is easy to believe the world's ending.

Photo copyright Aji, 2026; all rights reserved.

These feel like days and nights of apocalypse. Yes, there's another new fire nearby, this one in Carson National Forest north of TP. We've had the smoke all day long [and the sinus issues and coughs and itchy eyes to go with it]. We've also had more hellishly high heat, and between the two, and the skies we're getting as a result, it really is easy to believe the world's ending.

That's especially true given how insistent those in authority and control are on making it happen.  Climate collapse, fascism, 1,200-year drought, no water anywhere, no regulation, Dark-Ages levels of risk, literal Nazis trying to kill us all . . . yeah, it's not much for inspiring hope in the longevity of the planet, never mind humanity.

And I have been slammed all day long with so many things that all should have been so much easier and much less time-consuming, but we can't have that anymore, apparently. I also apparently have a functional body, so here we are, and everything 's absurdly late, and I'm running it out of order because it's the only way to get anything done right now.

Time to make sales today? Are you kidding? But it's been a hellishly costly year, on top of several that have been the same, and there's a lot more expense to come. We very much need it to rain in the metaphorical sense, also at the monsoonal level. I need to bring in several more this week, because I've ordered some supplies for him already, but I need to order a bunch more, and silver is absurdly expensive now [gouging; it's gouging, and no, I have not been able to order it yet], and will only get more so as we head into fall. I've also got a couple of other big-ticket things to take care of early this month, and that only happens if we make some sales now. And we can still use help with shares, testimonials, wishlist stuff I can't get to yet, etc. To that end, links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here [I'll be adding some new items soon, things we could really use but that I can't justify spending money on right now, like some sheets and towels];
• 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 get this year onto a better footing than the last two, a year that, so far, has been very 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. 

I'm so far beyond tired there's not a word for it.

Photo copyright Aji, 2026; all rights reserved.

Those hideously expensive cabs I ordered for that cuff. He's planning on using the group on the left for it; the ones on the right are brilliant and beautiful, but there's too much color variation to be able to string all six together in an aesthetically coherent way.

That will likely be done tomorrow; possibly the four pairs of earrings, too. And I still have two cuffs that I haven't gotten up on the site yet, because I never have any time. I'm so far beyond tired there's not a word for it.

I cannot deal with these 100-degree temperatures. It's killing me now. And it's not like I don't already have more than enough to worry about on the health front, in addition to finding out that we're losing our doctor again, and a bunch of medical stuff I'm not even going to talk about out loud, because there's not a damn thing I can do about it. And I have too many friends in worse situations this summer, so the only thing to do is shove it down and worry about them instead. 

But it's been a hellishly costly year, on top of several that have been the same, and there's a lot more expense to come. We very much need it to rain in the metaphorical sense, also at the monsoonal level. I need to bring in several more this week, because I've ordered some supplies for him already, but I need to order a bunch more, and silver is absurdly expensive now [gouging; it's gouging], and will only get more so as we head into fall. I've also got a couple of other big-ticket things to take care of early this month, and that only happens if we make some sales now. And we can still use help with shares, testimonials, wishlist stuff I can't get to yet, etc. To that end, links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here [I'll be adding some new items soon, things we could really use but that I can't justify spending money on right now, like some sheets and towels];
• 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 get this year onto a better footing than the last two, a year that, so far, has been very 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.