Plaster prep; glass costs; impending weather; and shares needed.

Photo copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved.

So, we were down a man today; José had personal business to attend to. The guys will not be here tomorrow; it's All Souls', and it's not the time for this kind of activity here.

Even so, they made some progress today on the plaster prep work: They got the exterior east wall covered in stucco paper (which is a heavy-duty industrial paper used as a vapor barrier) and chicken wire, and got the metal lath applied to the bottom. They'll also roll the lath from the windows over the edges of the wall. Since they'll have a full crew on Wednesday, they should make some good progress then, and once they get to the upper story, it'll go much faster that laying it all over the adobe brick.

Raven approves:

Photo copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved.

So does She-Wolf:

Photo copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved.

And so does my baby, even if he's looking out at it rather than posing in front of it:

Photo copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved.

Yeah, that last is mostly because I felt like it.

Actually, he's been hard at work in the studio for much of the day, working both on commissions and on building inventory. And for those folks who want to commission holiday gifts, now's the time to contact me so that I can get your orders into the queue on his workbench. Tomorrow is November 1st, and creative time is officially short.

Speaking of which, we need daily shares of Wings's Web site. The holidays are our busiest period, and the sales we make now are what keep us going through the long winter. This year, they're also helping to fund the construction, and we're under the gun now, trying to beat the weather (the forecast seems to change hourly, but it's now slated for this Friday instead of next week).

We also need daily shares of our YouCaring page via the widget on it, especially the widget code at lower right that produces this:

We are, at some point, going to have to visit Home Depot for glass, it appears. No matter how hard we try to keep our business with local vendors, there are times when the cost (and limited options) make that impossible. We hate giving such companies our business, but the numbers that we've gotten are simply not workable. Either way, We're going to need to raise several grand to cover this (and to get the house covered, as in completely closed in, before the real winter weather hits). So please keep sharing the links; this last multi-phase stage is going to be a killer.

Many thanks to everyone for your help thus far. I am going to be stretched incredibly thin again this week (I am already, one business day into it), and I'm extra slow with typing and everything else, with this bandage on my left hand. Bear with me, please. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Disintegration

Photo copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved.

And that which is disintegration, decadence in its purest form, falls apart until the center vanishes . . . until the center rises, reconstitutes itself, rebuilds, reintegrates.




All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Monday Photo Meditation: When Spirits Walk

Photo copyright Wings, 2016; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a photo meditation for the last day of October, a day whose night will be when the threshold between the worlds is especially permeable. It will also be All Souls' Night, the night when spirits walk.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. As always, Wings's photos are available in any of the usual three formats; simply inquire via the site's Contact form. Also as always, sales are much needed, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2016; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Plastering starts in just over 12 hours. Snow forecast -10 days out. Shares needed.

Photo copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved.

Yes, that photo's from Thursday morning. It's still kind of a cool shot.

They'll be back at it bright and early tomorrow. Which makes me feel like snarling, because I got literally nothing extra done this weekend; just the basics took all my time and energy and resources.

But tomorrow morning, the plastering materials get delivered. The first round, anyway. My beautiful bricks are about to get covered. Yes, the adobe plaster will be beautiful, too, but I've grown fond of the bricks. This time next week, the photos are going to look very different.

Meanwhile, we still need to take care of the glass. And a thousand and one other things, too. The weather is supposed to change rather drastically next Friday, with snow predicted for the following week. The septic system is weighing heavily on my mind right now.

So: As always, shares. Shares of our YouCaring page via the widgets on it. Shares of the widget code from lower right, which produces this running tally:

Shares of Wings's Web site, to pay the bills and help fund ::waves upward:: all this. And for folks who want to commission holiday gifts, November is just over a day away; that's not much time for the creative process. You'll need to get hold of me to get your orders into the queue on his workbench.

Many thanks to everyone for your help thus far. This "final stage," which is actually several stages rolled into one, is going to be bedeviling us badly, trying to beat the weather and get as far as possible. I'm completely frazzled by now, with no free time and in a constant state of worry. Bear with me a while longer, please.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

A World In Past Tense

Photo copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved.

By now, it’s more a Fallen Leaves Moon, a world in past tense, self gone, yet waiting, waiting . . . .



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Thankful for the Light

Photo copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a work that honors that increasingly scarce resource in these days leading up to the Time of All Souls: the light. It's also a tribute to a spirit that was light to Wings and me, one who no doubt helps it to shine just a little brighter for us in these darkening days.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. And, as always, sales are much needed, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Sharp Objects and Share Requests

"Tired" is not the word for it.

I sliced my hand open this morning (no, no stitches needed, and I have traditional medicine packing the wound; half-inch long, but quite deep), and developed a bad reaction to some bizarre and completely unrelated toxin later in the day.

Yes, I'm clumsy and stupid. No, you don't need to remind me of that. It's that whole sharp objects thing.

So no spiel tonight; I don't have it in me. Just links: YouCaring page and widget code; Wings's site; Contact form for inquiries or commissions for the holidays. My sister-in-law. The husband of Wings's niece and my friend.

A pain-addled thanks to everyone. I'll see you tomorrow, although possibly not for more than putting up the posts. For now, I might just have a rare beer (or, more likely, half a one) and call it quits.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Road Unfurls

Photo copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved.

Road unfurls.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Aspens and Evergreens

Photo copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a work from one of Wings's recent collections in miniature, one that holds the light even in the middle of the storm. On this day, it also shows me the power that is embodied in simply standing in that light, whether tall and strong like the evergreens or bent and bowed beneath the gale like the more slender aspens.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. And, as always, sales are much needed, so shares of the site links are much needed.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Friday Night Share Request

Photo copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved.

Update: Of course, I am so beat that I completely forgot to include the link to belinda ridgewood's diary for us tonight, which is here. Please T&R and share it around.

I really do need to update the photo on our YouCaring page to reflect what the house looks like now. Even that one shown above, from just a few days ago, is slightly dated already, believe it or not. I just haven't been able to get the most current ones onto my laptop yet — and by Monday afternoon, it's going to look very different yet again.

The roof is done, save for painting it silver for cooling purposes, something that can be done anytime. I'm waiting on the final tally on the glass, and the amount of the deposit that will be needed. And on Monday, they begin the prep work for the exterior plaster.

It's a lot. It's also a lot of expense. We're current at the moment (the materials for the first stage of plastering), but there's a lot yet to do. The glass will be hugely expensive. The septic system bedevils my thoughts daily.

We still need daily shares of our YouCaring page via the widgets provided, especially the widget code from the purple box at lower right, which produces the image I need to change, i.e., this: 

We also need continued shares of Wings's site, which pays the bills and helps fund the construction, too. And folks who plan on commissioning holiday gifts should get hold of me now, so that Wings can get your order in the pipeline.

Many thanks to everyone who has given us a hand, and also to those who have given a hand to our family members who are also in need of assistance.  We're profoundly grateful.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Beautiful Madness

Photo copyright Aji, 2016;
all rights reserved.

And what lies between upon the threshold, in the interstices, is the beautiful madness, the fiery frenzy of the will to live out every second that remains. 




All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

My sister-in-law's family needs a hand. We're in.

This beautiful woman is my sister-in-law, Nes. She's Wings's younger sister, and grandmother to the three equally beautiful little girls in the photo. I love them all very much. And Nes, her husband Daniel, and the girls need our help. 

Nes and Daniel are raising all three girls, ages 7, 8, and 9, full-time. That means everything from ordinary parenting to school, student-teacher conferences, extracurricular and other activities and lessons, and traditional education and cultural and spiritual practices. Nes sews all the girls' traditional clothes, and she and Daniel make sure they're raised wholly immersed in their culture and language. For a woman in my age cohort (50s), that's a lot, especially considering that Nes works full-time as a home health aide, which is heavy labor that requires a lot of lifting.

In just over two weeks, that all changes.

On November 10th, Maya, the 8-year-old on the left in the photo, has to have corrective eye surgery. On November 15th, Nes herself has to have surgery to repair three giant tears to the rotator cuff of her dominant arm. She will be out of work for quite a while. In the meantime, Daniel, who was working as a tour shuttle driver, lost his job (a casualty of the economy here), and while he's lined one up as a school bus driver, he has to get training for an amendment to his CDL — and the first day of training is the same day as Nes's surgery.

Being Native is expensive. It's especially expensive for traditionals, and Nes and her family are very much traditional. Add to that the expense of raising three girls, and money is always tight at best. We always try to help them out as we can, but given our own situation, it's never enough. Now, when both of them will be temporarily out of work just as we head into winter and the holiday season, things could easily turn very grim indeed, and very fast.

Just over two weeks from now, she'll be in for surgery, then going to physical therapy and working on her recovery, and money will be more scarce than ever because she'll be out of work. Around that same time, we can expect the weather to turn exceptionally cold, and the snows to begin. Nes and Daniel and the girls are going to need help keeping the lights and heat on and food on the table, not to mention all the other expenses of raising three girls in elementary school. So we're trying to raise $10,000 over the next seven weeks or so to try to get them through the end of the year, in the hopes that by the new year, she'll be fully recovered and back to work, and Daniel's job will be well under way. I've set up a YouCaring page for their family. I'm listed as the organizer, because Nes wants the e-mail notifications to come to me; she doesn't have ready access to a computer. But that's the only thing that will come to me; the page is set up to route all donations straight to her checking account. 

We've started the process off with $50. We were blessed a few days ago with a commission for some work by Wings, and this is coming out of that. We'll be helping in other ways, too, in the weeks to come. This is family, so we're asking everyone to help us share the link to their page, and if you're able and feel so inclined, to kick in a little, too. Nineteen people matching our donation puts them 1/10 of the way there.

Many thanks to everyone who helps, whether by donating or simply by spreading the word.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2016; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner

Friday Feature: The Season of the Spirit Bear

Photo copyright Wings, 2016; all rights reserved.

It's our Friday Feature at The NDN Silver Blog, with a tribute to one of the spirits of the season we are now entering, and the one that lies beyond. It's the Spirit Bear, a being that transcends boundaries of biology and of the barriers between the worlds.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. And, as always, sales are much needed, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2016; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Roof done; windows coming; plastering up next. One foot in front of the other.

We have a few new shots, but I'm too beat to try to battle with getting them off the camera (or Wings's cell phone) and onto my laptop. Today was a short day anyway; Toney was off, and Buffy and José only worked until noon, given that they are at a bit of a stopping point until the materials for the prep work for the plastering can be delivered on Monday.

The one thing we did get accomplished today was settling on a glass vendor. After checking out different options locally and elsewhere, we're going with one of the local guys. He came out today to walk through the site in person, and we really like him; he's the kind of guy you trust instantly, open, frank, and funny. He looks like a biker, long ponytail, bandanna, tats, chains, etc. He obviously knows his stuff, and we were both comfortable with him immediately (as were the dogs, and if they're not comfortable with someone, it doesn't matter how great the deal is; we won't use them). We're supposed to have the final figures by the end of the day tomorrow, and we already knew it's going to be expensive, but we're getting what we want, and what works for our needs, from someone we feel like we can trust.

At the end of the day tomorrow, Buffy's ordering the materials for the plastering, beginning with the prep work: netting, metal lathe, cement for the scratch coat, the material for the brown coat and float of the adobe.  They'll be starting on that Monday (they finished the last of the torchdown on the roof today; once it's set completely, they're going to paint it silver for purposes of cooling). What this means is that next week, things will begin, once again, to look very different on a day-to-day basis. It also means a hefty deposit on the glass, and while some will be special-order and therefore take a few weeks, we still need to budget for both deposit and balance.

So, of course, we'll need daily shares — all through the weekend, all of next week, on beyond. That means share of our YouCaring page via the widgets provided, especially via the widget code from the box at lower right that gives you the image shown above. It also means shares of Wings's site, which pays both daily bills and construction costs. And for folks considering commissioning holiday gifts, November's nearly here; the creative process takes time, so now's the time to get hold of me to get your order in the queue.

Many thanks to everyone who has helped us reach this point (HUGE thanks, in fact). I am still battling a bug, still stretched in twenty directions, still trying to help out some other family members (more on that tomorrow), still way, WAY behind on everything. And I need to keep pushing to get us through this multi-phase stage before the snow finally decides to show up. One foot in front of the other. [Yes, yes, Winter Warlock, I know. But his pointy-toed self turned out all right. He's not here yet, anyway; it's 70 degrees every day.]

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2016; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner

Saffron Spirits and Saffron's Spirit

Photo copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved.

Yes, that color is much on my mind tonight. It was her name: Saffron, for the red-gold color of her feathers. 

We lost her last night, and then lost her all over again this morning.

She was just over 2.5 years old, roughly 2 years and 7.5 months. She was one of two remaining Yellow Sex Links (no, there's nothing like that about the name; all it means is they are bred to emerge from the egg in differing colors, sorted by sex, so that you can instantly tell them apart). We had four originally: Amber, Topaz, Sunny, and Saffron. Two winters ago, Coyote got both Amber and Topaz, along with a few others, despite the best efforts of the magpies and ravens to run him off. These were guerrilla incursions by the Trickster, far closer to humans that they are normally willing to get, and he got lucky (and we got smarter about it).

Sunny herself no longer lays; she became egg-bound last year, and developed a fistula. It took quite a bit of work to save her life, but she's happy and healthy again now, despite the permanent damage done by the egg binding. Saffron, however, was one of our best layers, and a tough girl besides.

Or, rather, a Mean Girl. Chickens are the original Mean Girls, bloodthirsty bullies not above a spot of cannibalism, either literal or metaphorical. And for some reason a few months ago, Saffron decided she felt like bullying Spice, one of the Rhode Island Reds. When one starts in and manages to submit the other, the whole flock gangs up on the Beta Girl. This is, sadly, normal flock behavior. And so we had to pull Spice out and give her her own condo in an old Dane crate to keep her safe. She's happy in there, if a bit lonely, and the filed mice are now her friends. She also gets special privileges, with a broader free range space daily than the others sometimes get; Spice has to be allowed out all day every day, while the others can be consigned to the big open run behind their coop.

At any rate, Saffron could be a little monster, but she could also be affectionate. She was also bloody independent, and would go do her thing under the RV or in the flower garden or over by Carter's tree, and come when she bloody well felt like it. Of course, if she waited too late, she'd freak herself out a little, and come running to me like a puppy on sight.

[Sigh] and last night, she didn't come when called. Neither did two others, and that's not at all unusual. They come drifting up over the course of the last half-hour or so as I'm doing evening chores, and get put in as they do. We'd seen her right up by the RV not long before, so we weren't concerned.

By dusk, I was out searching the land. She was nowhere to be found, but neither was there a single sign of struggle anywhere, not so much as a feather. We knew, logically, that the worst had happened, if with unusual neatness, but the lack of evidence permitted us to hope.

I went outside just after dawn for prayers, the dogs with me. Still no Saffron. Still no feathers. I have to keep my eyes on the ground, especially at that early hour, because my balance is so bad that I'll fall if I don't. And so there was no chance of missing any evidence of her having been taken.

I had just begun my morning prayers at my usual spot, but the dogs didn't stay nearby as they virtually always do; within seconds, She-Wolf was over by the pond, feet braced, barking from deep in her chest. Raven ran to join her, and the two became dervishes, hunting something only they could see. To be clear, I could see the space in front of what they were chasing; I just couldn't see anything in the space. And it was full light.

Ten minutes later, I retraced my steps. Where I had just walked, there were suddenly two separate piles of Saffron's feathers. I went to the studio; nothing. A little later, another pile appeared on that same route. A half-hour later, the dogs became frantic again, and I followed them. They found the kill site. It was fresh.

Whatever took her last night kept her overnight, then carried her around the land, right up by the RV, to three separate sites, and only after that, found a fourth site in which to commit the kill.

What kind of animal does that? Especially within sight of me, and yet not visible?

All Souls' is only days away. Spirits walk at this time of year, and not all were once human. What drove me to get out of bed in the dark this morning was the sound of a near-accident, the telltale scream of tires swerving in repeated S patterns at the point where so many accidents occur on this highway. Apparently the driver managed to pull it out, but my heart was already in my mouth at the sound of the skids, and there was no returning to sleep. That's far from the only incident in that spot; some have not ended so well. I don't know what caused the driver to swerve, any more than I know what took Saffron and held her alive overnight only to take her life this morning, any more than I know what caused the haunting wail we heard two weeks ago from the same spot on the highway, any more than I know what Raven fought the time he tangled with a spiral of smoke with a pair of red eyes.

But I miss our tough little golden girl, the girl with feathers and a spirit the shade of saffron. Feathers we buried today. 

My heart hurts. 




All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Saffron and Amber

Photo copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved.

All she needs is a curtain of sky, a stained-glass window of saffron and amber, an evergreen throne in the embrace of the sun.




All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

#TBT: Equinoxes and Evergreens

Photo copyright Wings, 2016; all rights reserved.

It's #ThrowbackThursday at The NDN Silver Blog, with a work from about seven years ago that was a stunning entry in an informal series of cuffs. This one evoked the spirits of equinoxes and evergreens, and it's one especially well-suited to the colors and senses of this day in this place.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. This one sold years ago, of course, but if the style speaks to you, simply inquire via the site's Contact form; Wings can create a version uniquely your own. And, as always, sales are much needed, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2016; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner

We have a roof! Well, mostly.

Photo copyright Wings, 2016;
all rights reserved.

Yes, we have a roof. Most of it, anyway. If I'm understanding correctly, Buffy and José got all but the final row, the one on the southeast side at the front of the house, torched down today. If I'm also understanding correctly, it's only one roll's worth of BRAI left to apply.

I could only watch from below. My illness has made my balance so shaky that I've had several falls in recent weeks on flat surfaces alone; there's no way in hell I'm going up that skinny extension ladder onto the roof. Wings climbed up there with the guys and snagged these shots today.

For those who've never seen this, here's what the process entails:

Photo copyright Wings, 2016;
all rights reserved.

Apparently BRAI stands for "bitumen rolled [something-or-other]," an essentially, it's like a gigantic roll of dried tar in a compound with something a bit like a composite shingle. The tar substance is the bitumen, and I'm sure it's an environmental horror, but some things simply aren't practical anymore, particularly when you're having to balance what's available and doable with both short- and long-term costs and an environment of extreme weather.

At any rate, the rolls are dry when taken out of the package. The guys set a roll on the roof, fire up the propane torch, and hold the torch just past the roll as they slowly unroll it. The torch melts the tar straight onto the roof, and gives it a comprehensive seal. José's manning the torch, using the 1X2 to control the speed at which it unrolls and keep the application consistent.

Photo copyright Wings, 2016;
all rights reserved.

Here, Buffy's rolling it straight up the sides of the roof (there's a bit of a curvature to it), and tamping it into place so that it can be sealed just as hermetically. This is the big advantage BRAI has over sheet metal (or ProPanel) in this environment: There are zero gaps to allow water to seep in and start doing damage. If, years from now, the tar dries out sufficiently in a patch for it to start lifting, they simply retorch it. If that ever happens, it'll be a very long time down the road, though.

We had a perfect day for it today: completely clear, air perfectly still, temps cool to warm but not hot. They'll finish it up tomorrow morning, then get stuff ready for Monday, when they begin installing the netting and metal lath preparatory to plastering.

And then there's the glass.

Buffy's getting some estimates for us out of Albuquerque, but we'd rather go local if it's possible, and whatever we might save on the price tag would probably get negated by the delivery costs anyway. But it's still good to have options in your back pocket. In the meantime, a local guy is coming out to spec it tomorrow morning. One of the big considerations is time — how long it will take for them to get the larger windows in, since they'll likely have to be special orders. But that means, at a minimum, a hefty deposit soon; we likely only have about one more week of this kind of unseasonably perfect weather remaining to us, and we need to get the plastering done.

Which means we continue to need shares of our YouCaring page, particularly via the widgets provided. Especially helpful is the widget code from the box at lower right, which produces this:

We also need shares of Wings's site, and just as consistently, of course. And if you're planning on commissioning one or more holiday gifts, time is getting a lot shorter than any of us wants to acknowledge; now's the time to get hold of me so I can get your order into the pipeline on his workbench.

Many thanks to everyone for your help thus far. I am fighting a bug right now, so I'm extra-slow, but I promise not to breathe in your direction, even over the Internet. In the meantime, I still have to push us through this multi-phase stage before winter socks us in, so I need to keep at it.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2016; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner

Stars Fall

Photo copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved.

It tells them when it is time.

The time when the stars fall.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Spirits That Are Evergreen and Ever Green

Photo copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's one of my favorites among Wings's current body of work, a piece that evokes both the colors and symbolism of the mountains. It's especially fitting right now, a reminder that some things are eternal, spirits that are evergreen and ever green.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. And, as always, sales are much needed, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Shares Needed: Full-Blown Fatigue Edition

Yes, there are a few new photos, but I can't show them to you. No matter how much I delete, my laptop insists that it has no space, and I'm so exhausted at this point that if I try to fight with it any more, I will completely lose it. I'm not equipped to battle technology when I'm already battling this level of fatigue and pain.

I have to try to find a way to get window and door costs compiled tomorrow, but it's not looking promising. I need more hours in the day, and instead, I'm getting fewer every day, given that we're at about ten hours of official daylight now. The upshot is that I'm going to need to raise quite a bit by early November, and that means shares. We need an all-out push on sharing the link to our YouCaring page via the widgets on it, particularly the widget code at lower right that produces the image above.

We also need an all-out push on shares of Wings's site. Given his current workload, folks who plan on commissioning holiday gifts should get hold of me now to get their orders in the pipeline. The creative process takes time, and he'll be juggling multiple orders between now the drop-dead date in December after which it becomes too late to ship them in time.

Many thanks to everyone who's helped in one way or another (or many different ways) to get us to this point. I'm sorry I'm not more use right now, but the change of weather has blown my autoimmune disease into full flare: I can barely walk, can't keep my balance, and my brain shuts down as much as my body. I'm not going to be good for much of anything until it settles down again. Even so, I have to maintain this pace where these late phases of construction are concerned, because we need to have it closed in before the first storm. Bear with me, please.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2016; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

A Different Kind of Sight

Photo copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved.

The gift of the Eye of Spirit, the gift of a different kind of sight.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Indigenous Arts: To Pine for Tradition

Photo copyright Wings, 2016; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's the last entry for October in our series on Indigenous Arts. Today, we close out our month-long exploration of indigenous plant life in Native art with a look at what it means, in this place especially, to pine for tradition.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Photos are available for purchase in the usual three formats. I believe all of the silverwork pictured today has been sold, but if an item speaks to you, simply inquire via the site's Contact form; Wings can create a version uniquely your own. And, as always, sales are much needed, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2016; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

For family, a little will go a long way. Please share.

Photo copyright L. Gallegos, 2016;
all rights reserved.

Today is my busiest day of the week, which means that the post for Wings's site (and my own) will not be up until late. It's also raining, which means the crew will not be able to do the torchdown today, but they'e got interior work to keep them busy. For this morning, I need to promote our family member's YouCaring page here, and I need y'all to share it.

The photo above is of a very few of the cows in Lorenzo's herd. He's got a bunch of calves, too, who will need extra food as the cold weather arrives (as will their mothers). If you've read the story on his crowdfunding page (or here), you already know that extreme weather wiped out his hay crop this summer, and his grazing lessor revoked the lease on a whim, with no warning, so he spent the warm months scrambling just to feed his herd. He lost virtually all of his summer income as a result.

His crowdfunding goal is set at $30K, which is designed to get him and his family through the long haul of the winter months. For now, his immediate goal is raising $2,100 to buy some good-quality hay for his herd. And when I say "some," I'm talking about the massive bales designed to feed, well, a whole herd, not the small 50- to 80-pound individual bales that we use to feed our horses.

Here's the widget code, which you can get from the box in the lower right-hand corner of his page:

First and foremost, he needs shares of the link. But if you can kick in a few bucks, too, that will go a long way toward raising enough to feed the herd for the short term — $2,100 is really not a huge amount, and we've raised far more in very short periods of time, so I know this is doable. The link just needs to get in front of enough folks who might be inclined to donate.

So please: Spread this around for me today while I'm stuck on other tasks. Thanks, everyone.

All text copyright Aji, 2016; all photos copyright Lorenzo Gallegos, 2016; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Whisper

Photo copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved.

A whisper, a murmur, a susurration of the spirits … the gentle sound of the earth coming to life even as she bends toward dormancy and rest. 



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Work is moving fast, and so are costs and a change in the weather. Shares needed badly.

Photo copyright Wings, 2016; all rights reserved.

This is what the guys spent the day doing: tacking felt to the roof to protect the wood before they start torching the tar onto it tomorrow. Those black rolls in the background? Those are the rolls of BRAI, the torchdown roofing material.

I began my day thinking we had a little more time. Turns out we're going to need to order about $2K worth of materials before week's end, because once this is done, they'll be ready to put the scratch coat on the exterior next week. That means netting, metal lath, and the layer of cement; next comes a brown coat, and then they'll float the finish on. Before they can do the last coat, though, and before they can do the interior, they'll need to hang all the glass (save, perhaps, the front door, which will be wood anyway). Given the way the week's already playing out, the absolute earliest we can get the estimates on the windows will be Wednesday, which crunches our lead time even more.

I had set a mini-goal for myself of $2K to $3K raised by November first. It's now apparent that that will be woefully short; we'll need to raise the $2K before the end of this week, and probably another $3K on top of that between week's end and next week. If we don't? Work halts, and we lay off the guys until we do. And then there's the question of getting them back, if they find something else in the interim to keep the bills paid. We've got enough from recent sales to cover this week's labor. Beyond that . . . ?

So, yeah, I'm starting off my week trapped in a massive bundle of stress.

We need an all-out push on shares of our YouCaring page. I mean ALL OUT. Daily. Consistently. Shares that use the widgets, especially the widget code from the purple box at lower right that produces this:

We need an all-out push on shares of Wings's site, too. Again, daily. Consistently. Preferably with testimonials. And we're fast getting down to the wire on holiday commissions; normally, he's booked pretty solid through the entire month of December, so now is the time to contact me to get your order in the queue.

Many thanks to everyone who has helped us get to this point. I'm going to be wrapped up in trying to get this work wrapped up, at least enough to beat the weather when it comes to closing it in. That means that I will be frantic, distracted, lacking any free time and very, very overwhelmed. We have to push through these phases, get them done, or we're stuck for the winter. The weather has changed rather drastically in the last hour or so (I told you my joints are never wrong), and so we're already going to be scrambling tomorrow. I'll get to what I can as I can, but best to expect me to be barely visible for most of the next several days, at a minimum.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2016; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.