Saturday, February 14, 2026

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 formIt'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.        

Friday, February 13, 2026

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 formIt'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.        

Thursday, February 12, 2026

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 hereThis 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.    

Wednesday, February 11, 2026

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.