Look at this nonsense.

Photo copyright Aji, 2026; all rights reserved.

No, seriously. Look at this nonsense. See that gray down near the ground, looks like fog? That's smoke. I don't mean the kind of hazy pall that's been around all day, since the middle of last night; no, that's the actual tendrils and wisps of smoke. That's what's here now; this was taken maybe 2.5 hours ago, just before twilight.

I'm on no sleep, because the smoke was so bad I had to get up hours before dawn to shut the windows and our door. It's remained that way, and it's still that way out there, even while it's raining. Okay, sprinkling; it's hard to take this seriously as a real rain, but you get the point: water coming out of the sky, and yet this suffocating pall is everywhere. 

Which means that we both feel pretty crappy, myself in particular. In his case, it's mostly that it ignites an inflammatory response, which in turn makes his knees hurt more.  With me, it's a full-body experience, and not in any good way. Today was chemo day, but I also wound up doubling the dose of my other immunosuppressant just so I could breathe. 

And it's been a day. Good in some ways; clients were visiting, and they're going home with a ring, a pair of earrings, a repair to a different ring [not one of Wings's], and the gift of one of Jack's walking sticks [Comanche carving]. And it's much needed; losing our doctor has meant that she's refilling all of our scrips at once so we're stocked up until the new practitioner is in, and between that and one device, we're already up over $1K. Just on scrips. That we're going to have to shell out this week.

I also need to make up all our other expenses from the last week, which was costlier that I expected on the medical front, particularly. Of course, 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 week, because I've had to order some supplies for him already, but I also need to order silver for him, which 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. 

Monday Photo Meditation: A World Where Smoke Heals

Photo copyright Wings, 2026; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a Monday Photo Meditation for what once was the heart of the rainy season, but now is the heart of the wildfire season. It's an image that dates back eighteen years almost to the very day, to a world where smoke heals even in the dog days of summer.

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.

Something he's needed for literal decades.

Photo copyright Aji, 2026; all rights reserved.

 

The new workbench. It's absolutely amazing, and it will enable him to work a lot more efficiently than the old cobbled-together tables and pieces of wood.  Nano still has to cut out two crescents in the lower shelf: a smaller one where the cane is hanging, to accommodate his acetylene tank; and a somewhat wider one on the far right, for knees, because that's where he sits to assemble findings on the bead pieces, and it's where I sit to sort beads and cabs for him.

This is something he's needed for literal decades. 

Of course, it wasn't cheap. Nor should it have been; it's master workmanship. And it's SOLID; this thing will last generations. But it was a big expense, and one that we were anticipating, because it's needed to happen for so many years, but now I need to make that up with sales.

I also need to make up all our other expenses from the last week, which was costlier that I expected on the medical front, particularly. Of course, 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 week, because I've had to order some supplies for him already, but I also need to order a silver for him, which 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 Lush World of Summer

Photo copyright Aji, 2026; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a work for what should be the rich green abundance of the hot season here. It's one of Wings's newer pairs of earrings, an classic style built around emerald-green stones with dancing pendants, manifest in the shades and spirits of the lush world of summer.

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.

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.