Ajijaakwe: April 2017

Sunday, April 30, 2017

Weekend weather and cold have put us way behind. Shares needed.

The first color coat is on the spare room. Wings did the ceiling; I did the edging. Yes, it looks very dark right now, but it's actually a beautiful rich brown, one that manages to be both warm and cool simultaneously, and next weekend, it will brighten up considerably thanks to the second and third color coats.

That's all that got done this weekend. Sherm (that's Jr.) is, as far as we all know, going to be on his excavation job all week, so there will probably be not much more on the plasterwork until then (save the finishing of the scratch coat, which his father, Sr., can probably do). Yesterday's terrible weather will have the effect of setting us back far more than a day, a weekend, or even a week.

In all honesty, I'm wiped out. Our pace has been absolutely punishing, and I just don't have the physical health to deal with it anymore. The stress is getting to me, too. I'm not sure how much I'll be around and engaged this week; at the moment, I feel like sleeping for three days straight, but there's no hope of that. Mentally, I'm not ready to have the crew back in a few hours; I'm too far behind, but so is the work thanks to this weekend being lost entirely, and we have to keep pushing forward. We need shares:

Wings's PayPal account, for donations to the house fund. [Thanks to some incredible folks yesterday, I think we are at around $9,600 thus far on this $30K stage. $7K+ of that is going to have to be reserved for the septic, and labor's eating us alive on the daily, so that's going to mean a lot of juggling.] If that link doesn't work, it's tied to his e-mail address: wingsoftaos [at] newmex [dot] com. Also, that link? It's a direct one now, rather than via the "Donate" button, so it should work better.
His Web site, for sales (always preferable, and the base upon which the whole project hinges anyway, along with paying our day-to-day living expenses) — and just by the way, he's got some really incredible new works up now.
Our Amazon wishlist, which contains Lowe's cards that will allow us to purchase some materials more cheaply than here in town, and also allow us to divert the extra funds to labor costs.

Profound thanks and much love to everyone for your support, moral, financial, and every other kind. I'm sorry I don't have more to report, nor more energy for making it look positive, but maybe May will be a better month.

Coming Full Circle

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a pair of earrings that remind us what it really means when life comes at us from all directions. Today's featured work embodies the balance and focus we need on our journey around the hoop, and the powerful gifts of coming full circle.

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

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Saturday, April 29, 2017

A day off, of sorts. Bad weather, an injured dog, and simple exhaustion. Shares still needed.

At long last, a "day off."

Yeah, around here, that's always relative, so it's not really "off," but it was too cold for Jr. and Sr. to plaster today, so we told them to wait and try tomorrow. In the meantime, both of us really needed some rest. The last two weeks, in particular, we've maintained an absolutely punishing pace, both physically and mentally, and the stresses have been enormous (in the original sense of that word, and the more recent one). It's cold, windy, flurrying, and generally miserable; I have posole in the crock pot; and we've decided to give our bodies and minds and spirits a few hours to regroup.

Oh, and to top it all off? Raven and She-Wolf decided to chase Shade. Not unusual; the dogs and horses all troll each other. This time, though, Raven got too close, and he got kicked in the head. I didn't see it; just the aftermath. So I've had to spend the day monitoring him and keeping him quiet. He's resting at my feet right now, and he's moving normally and his eyes are focused, although he no doubt has one hell of a headache. We have our fingers crossed that that will be the only result — well, that and a new respect for the horses' hooves, finally.

If they're right about tomorrow's forecast, Jr. and Sr. will be here to plaster. Then Sr. and Tony will be back on Monday (and possibly Jr., too, depending on his excavation gig). This week, they'll have to get some stuff done upstairs on the doorframes, because the bathroom tile job is slated for about ten days from now; the fixtures can't be hooked up until that happens, and it's way behind schedule. There's a lot of expense ahead, so please share the links below:

Wings's PayPal account, for donations to the house fund. [Thanks to some incredible folks yesterday, I think we are at around $9,600 thus far on this $30K stage. $7K+ of that is going to have to be reserved for the septic, and labor's eating us alive on the daily, so that's going to mean a lot of juggling.] If that link doesn't work, it's tied to his e-mail address: wingsoftaos [at] newmex [dot] com. Also, that link? It's a direct one now, rather than via the "Donate" button, so it should work better.
His Web site, for sales (always preferable, and the base upon which the whole project hinges anyway, along with paying our day-to-day living expenses) — and just by the way, he's got some really incredible new works up now.
Our Amazon wishlist, which contains Lowe's cards that will allow us to purchase some materials more cheaply than here in town, and also allow us to divert the extra funds to labor costs.

Profound thanks and much love to everyone for your support. moral, financial, and every other kind. And please, support LauraLee's fundraiser, with shares at the very least. She and her girls and their dog are seeing their house on the auction block, the people foreclosing treated her the same way those repossessing ours treated us, and he needle hasn't moved on her crowdfunding page in two days. I know how demoralizing that is, and right now, she needs hope.

Thanks.

In the Shadow of the Storm

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a work that turns out to be better-suited to the feel of this day in this place than I could have anticipated. It's a reminder to seek illumination where it may be found, at night, in the eclipse, or in the shadow of the storm.

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

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Friday, April 28, 2017

Snowstorms and vendors and errands and labor and enormous outlays. And gratitude.

That shot is from yesterday; I had to lighten up the exposure a lot, hence the glare, but it's a slightly closer approximation of the actual color. The only thing I got accomplished today was the next layers on the samples; we had to be out much of the day dealing with errands and vendors and materials and supplies, and when we got home (in the middle of a snowstorm, which subsided but whose second wave will be upon us soon), we had to deal with a major plumbing repair and some other stuff. My schedule has been shot all day.

On the plus side, Clarences Jr. and Sr. will be here at 9:00 tomorrow morning to finish the scratch and start the color coat on the interior plaster. With luck, I'll have some photos. Also with luck, I'll also have photos of the room above with both ceiling and edgework done in brown, and subsequently with the second color coat on at least the walls. Final coat will likely have to wait for Sunday (and it will look very, very different from the way it looks now). Even so, the brown is beautiful. When I went upstairs this afternoon, I was taken aback by how much darker the room suddenly seemed now that it was no longer all white . . . and how much warmer it seemed, which, on a day like today, is a very good thing.

It's entirely due to some of y'all that we were able to get anything done today, and as it happens, we got it all done. Well, the weekend's labor is obviously not paid, since it hasn't been performed yet, but we'll be able to pay them at the end of the day on Sunday. It was an enormous outlay, but thanks to our friends, it's done. But there's so much left to do (and therefore to fund, which is the bane of my existence anymore but there's no choice). So please share the links below:

Wings's PayPal account, for donations to the house fund. [Thanks to some incredible folks yesterday, I think we are at around $9,600 thus far on this $30K stage. $7K+ of that is going to have to be reserved for the septic, and labor's eating us alive on the daily, so that's going to mean a lot of juggling.] If that link doesn't work, it's tied to his e-mail address: wingsoftaos [at] newmex [dot] com. Also, that link? It's a direct one now, rather than via the "Donate" button, so it should work better.
His Web site, for sales (always preferable, and the base upon which the whole project hinges anyway, along with paying our day-to-day living expenses) — and just by the way, he's got some really incredible new works up now.
Our Amazon wishlist, which contains Lowe's cards that will allow us to purchase some materials more cheaply than here in town, and also allow us to divert the extra funds to labor costs.

I truly do not have words to express our gratitude to everyone who gave us a hand yesterday. All I can do is say thank you, and send our love, to all of you. And as I've been saying to folks all week, if you can, please support LauraLee's fundraiser, because she and her girls and their dog are seeing their house on the auction block, and the people foreclosing treated her the same way those repossessing ours treated us.

Friday Feature: Buffalo Spirits

It's our Friday Feature at The NDN Silver Blog, with a small and seemingly unassuming work in an old traditional style. But it's that tradition that gives the piece its power, one that in dark days reminds us to be strong of heart — to become Buffalo Spirits.

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

Thursday, April 27, 2017

Thank you all.

Two sales, one installment on a commission, and three donations later, and we are good for tomorrow and the weekend. Wings has already notified Sherm that, weather permitting, he and his helper can finish the scratch and start the color coat first thing Saturday morning.

I say weather permitting, because we now have a winer storm watch for all of Saturday and the early hours of Sunday, and we supposedly have smaller amounts of rain and snow on the way tonight and tomorrow, too. The wind is howling, and the violet-blue clouds are massing in the west, so it looks as though they may be right. If so, it may not be warm enough this weekend for them to do the work, even with heaters on in there; the guys tell me that the Structo's consistency is different from what it used to be (along with color, dry time, and some other things), and it's hard enough to work with on a warm day.

I couldn't get away today to run any errands, but while I was stuck here this afternoon I was at least able to start the base color coat in the small bedroom, which is what you see at top. I managed to get all four walls done, except for edging; that and the ceiling will have to be done tomorrow, but it looks like we'll need another gallon of paint. The texture on the drywall is such that it used up just enough more than I could predict, and I think we will be just slightly short.

The image just above is my scrap drywall that I'm using to determine the order of the layers, so the brown and red are on it (along with the sunlight from the west window, which turns the paint to that golden glow). The brown is a rich warm brown with some cool cadet blue undertones; the red is brilliant crimson. Tomorrow, my scrap will be dry, and I'll be able to figure out whether the bronze will be the second coat and the red the final one, or vice versa. We'll also be swinging by the post office to ship some orders, and by the clay colorist's to pick up the pigment for the plaster. The mica showed up today via UPS, so I think we're set for the weekend, if the weather cooperates.

Thanks to y'all. If it hadn't been for you, I'd be trying to explain to a bunch of different people why they should be willing to wait until next week for payment, and they would be very unhappy (because I'd be unhappy, too — hell, I was already unhappy, because we hate being late or making people wait for what they're owed). But thanks to you, and you know who you are, right now my biggest obstacle going into this weekend is battling my remnant pneumonia, and I'm starting to get used to that, I think. Much gratitude, and much love, from both of us.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Update X2: We're good. Emergency $2K mini-goal by end of day. Shares badly needed.

UPDATE X2: We're good. Thank you all, from the bottom of my heart.

We're in a bind. Costs this week far outstripped what we expected. More, I thought I had funding lined up already for what would be needed for all eventualities this week, but . . . not yet, apparently. Unfortunately, vendors have to be paid, and I can't ask them to wait. The weather also means that Sherm (that's Clarence, Jr.) can't work at his other job right now, and he's ready to start the plasterwork here — but he can't do that until the materials are ready. That's slated for later today, but obviously, that happens only if we can pay the vendors. Right now? We can't.

I need to raise ~~$2K~~ TODAY. I have to be able to get it transferred by end of day, so that we can turn around and pay vendors tomorrow. Otherwise, I have upset people, and no work happening this weekend, and neither pf those things helps us get this work done. [UPDATE: We just made a great sale (thank you, thank you!), and our mini-goal is now down to $650.] So please, PLEASE share the links below:

Wings's PayPal account, for donations to the house fund. [We've raised another $115, putting us at $7,860 thus far on this $30K stage. $7K+ of that is going to have to be reserved for the septic, and labor's eating us alive on the daily, so that's going to mean a lot of juggling.] If that link doesn't work, it's tied to his e-mail address: wingsoftaos [at] newmex [dot] com. Also, that link? It's a direct one now, rather than via the "Donate" button, so it should work better.
His Web site, for sales (always preferable, and the base upon which the whole project hinges anyway, along with paying our day-to-day living expenses) — and just by the way, he's got some really incredible new works up now.
Our Amazon wishlist, which contains Lowe's cards that will allow us to purchase some materials more cheaply than here in town, and also allow us to divert the extra funds to labor costs.

$2K in a day is a lot. I'm going to be running all day long trying to raise it any way I can. Please give us a hand with shares, because I've got to make this work, for us, for our crew, for our vendors. And as I said last night, much love and gratitude to everyone — and if you can, please support LauraLee's fundraiser, because she and her girls and their dog are going to see their house on the auction block today, and the people foreclosing treated her the same way those repossessing ours treated us.

#TBT: Visions In the Storm

It's #ThrowbackThursday at The NDN Silver Blog, with a work from about nine years ago that hints at dark nights and stormy skies. Even so, it summons the light, literal and metaphorical, and reminds us that there are visions in the storm, if only we look for them.

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

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2017; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Escher. Snow. New crew member; new cash expenses, too. Shares needed.

Escher house, Pueblo version.

This was supposed to be an easier week. Unfortunately, it's not. The materials expenses far outstripped what we had expected, and there's more to come between now and week's end (and not things that we can order from Lowe's; this is all cash on the barrelhead). The power company wanted all of the past due in the space of about a week, which wiped out the sales we made last week (in the cold months, electric alone runs us about $400/mo. in this tin can; partly because of the extraordinary measures required to keep the plumbing from freezing). Oh, and did I mention the 3-4 inches of snow on the ground when I got up this morning? It all melted with astonishing rapidity, but the winds today have been absolutely brutal, at least out where we are.

And then there's labor.

Our new crew member showed up an hour early this morning, when I wasn't even dressed properly yet. He's Clarence, Sr. (yes, Clarence the mason's father), and he's got decades' worth of expertise. Our crew shake-up issues lasted less than one day. Between him and Tony, they got all the remaining lath work done for Junior to finish the scratch this weekend (some minor but really tightly-placed stuff around the vigas, etc.) before he starts the second coat. But there's payroll, and the plaster pigments, and this weekend's work. So we need shares:

Wings's PayPal account, for donations to the house fund. [We've raised another $115, putting us at $7,860 thus far on this $30K stage. $7K+ of that is going to have to be reserved for the septic, and labor's eating us alive on the daily, so that's going to mean a lot of juggling.] If that link doesn't work, it's tied to his e-mail address: wingsoftaos [at] newmex [dot] com. Also, that link? It's a direct one now, rather than via the "Donate" button, so it should work better.
His Web site, for sales (always preferable, and the base upon which the whole project hinges anyway, along with paying our day-to-day living expenses) — and just by the way, he's got some really incredible new works up now.
Our Amazon wishlist, which contains Lowe's cards that will allow us to purchase some materials more cheaply than here in town, and also allow us to divert the extra funds to labor costs.

I had reason to think we'd be in better shape by today, but circumstances have left me scrambling, and we need to push sales, so please share the links. And as I said last night, much love and gratitude to everyone — and if you can, please support LauraLee's fundraiser, because she and her girls and their dog have just over a day to get housing lined up, and the people foreclosing treated her the same way those repossessing ours treated us.

The Light That Illuminates the Dreams of Night

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a work that embodies the power of visions and dreams, and their shape and shade as well. It's a pair of earrings that call forth the spirit of the light that illuminates the dreams of night.

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

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Changes, expenses, time crunches. Shares needed.

Welp, I had planned to get photos of what Tony did today, but this day was nothing but a long series of five-minute waiting sessions twiddling my thumbs on Twitter, interspersed with even longer derailments onto nothing that was actually on my to-do list. We've also had another crew change, because once someone walks off the job because they feel that they can both ignore and speak to me in a way they'd never do with Wings, we're done. Verbal attacks coupled with an announcement he'll leave? We said, "Seeya."

It's not a big deal. Our two experts remain, and we have more being lined up by them for specific needs even now. Oh, the photo? That's the one we settled on. It's a beautiful shade.

But . . . we have an increasingly tight schedule with a lot to pack into it, and a lot of associated expense. I also am going to have to order three (for us) biggish-ticket items this week: the pigment; the mica; and a second form of tile for one spot (both a laying issue and a safety issue). And the first two don't come from Lowe's unfortunately. So we need shares:

Wings's PayPal account, for donations to the house fund. [We've raised another $245, putting us at $7,745 thus far on this $30K stage, and leaving a balance yet to raise of $22,255. $7K+ of that is going to have to be reserved for the septic, and labor's eating us alive on the daily, so that's going to mean a lot of juggling.] If that link doesn't work, it's tied to his e-mail address: wingsoftaos [at] newmex [dot] com. Also, that link? It's a direct one now, rather than via the "Donate" button, so it should work better.
His Web site, for sales (always preferable, and the base upon which the whole project hinges anyway, along with paying our day-to-day living expenses) — and just by the way, he's got some really incredible new works up now.
Our Amazon wishlist, which contains Lowe's cards that will allow us to purchase some materials more cheaply than here in town, and also allow us to divert the extra funds to labor costs.

We're alternating between wind and rain and hail and sleet and snow and now once again sun with more precipitation on the way, and I'm still coughing, and I need to get caught up on half a million or so things, beginning tonight. In the meantime, much love and gratitude to everyone — and if you can, please support LauraLee's fundraiser, because she and her girls and their dog have just over a day to get housing lined up, and the people foreclosing treated her the same way those repossessing ours treated us.

Red Willow Spirit: Night Worlds and Dream States

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's this week's edition of our Red Willow Spirit series, with a look at the darker hours of the day. It's a contemplation of night worlds and dream states and the mysterious visionary power they occasionally afford us.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. The one silverwork collection featured in it was a very special order, entirely unique, but his photos, as always, are available for purchase 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, 2017; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Monday, April 24, 2017

Plaster moved to this weekend. Meanwhile, we have more cased doors and windows. Shares needed.

Well, more best-laid plans and all that. Clarence has had another job coming up, and he's needed for excavation and trenching this week, and maybe for a few weeks to come. So today it was just Tony and Carlos, and Clarence came by after his other job knocked off for the day to make arrangements for this weekend. He (and probably Carlos) will be here on Friday and Saturday to work on the float, assuming the pigments and mica are here.

So no plasterwork today, but Tony and Carlos got the casing done on the master bedroom doors (above ) and windows (here):

I think Carlos is going to take care of some additional touch-up lath work tomorrow, and Tony's going to work on the casing for other upstairs door, among other stuff. And we need to order the plaster pigments and mica, which is, of course, more immediate expense. So of course we still need link shares:

Wings's PayPal account, for donations to the house fund. [We've raised another $245, putting us at $7,745 thus far on this $30K stage, and leaving a balance yet to raise of $22,255. $7K+ of that is going to have to be reserved for the septic, and labor's eating us alive on the daily, so that's going to mean a lot of juggling.] If that link doesn't work, it's tied to his e-mail address: wingsoftaos [at] newmex [dot] com. Also, that link? It's a direct one now, rather than via the "Donate" button, so it should work better.
His Web site, for sales (always preferable, and the base upon which the whole project hinges anyway, along with paying our day-to-day living expenses) — and just by the way, he's got some really incredible new works up now.
Our Amazon wishlist, which contains Lowe's cards that will allow us to purchase some materials more cheaply than here in town, and also allow us to divert the extra funds to labor costs.

We can use shares on all fronts. I'm apparently still fighting this bout of pneumonia, and I have a ton of work to get caught up this week, even while I try to figure out how to fit all these rapidly-moving pieces together. For now, much love and gratitude to everyone.

Monday Photo Meditation: Dreams of a Darker Dawn

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a photo meditation for a season when time itself is manipulated and unstable. It's a contemplation of the beauty of the night, and of dreams of a darker dawn.

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, 2017; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Sunday, April 23, 2017

Plaster pigments, paint colors, and shares needed.

Those are the color samples for the interior plaster top coat. It's a good thing we brought them home; what looked perfect in the artist's studio look far too dark and red next to the red fir of the support beams and the lintels. We think we've narrowed it down to Sanderling, on the far left, or Hawthorn, the one with gray undertones second from right. At the moment, Hawthorn's edging ahead.

We have to look at them in the bright sunlight tomorrow morning, though. We also have to decide on a color for the exterior plaster. This is the one we brought home:

Yeah, I know; it's almost impossible to tell what color it is in that bright sunlight. Ironically, that may be the very thing that settles it. In the shade, it looks far too red. In the light? It looks like the walls of the thousand-year-old village homes, and you can see why the Spanish thought they'd found the so-called Cities of Gold. Wings likes it; I'm a little less sure, but I'm also absolutely ready to defer to his preferences on it.

We also picked up the paint for the spare bedroom/office today: warm rich brown, metallic bronze, and brilliant chile-pepper red. I doubt I'll have a chance to get to it before Wednesday at the earliest, and more likely Thursday, but you never know. In the meantime, the crew comes back tomorrow to finish up the scratch coat, and we may have a short hiatus between that and the second coat, since we still have to order both pigment and mica. There's plenty for them to do, regardless, and it's supposed to rain most of the week, beginning Tuesday, so it might wind up being for the best.

But it's all still extremely costly, and so we still need link shares:

Wings's PayPal account, for donations to the house fund. [As I said last night, my best estimate on what's been raised so far on this $30K stage is $7,500, leaving a balance yet to raise of $22,500. $7K+ of that is going to have to be reserved for the septic, and labor's eating us alive on the daily, so that's going to mean a lot of juggling.] If that link doesn't work, it's tied to his e-mail address: wingsoftaos [at] newmex [dot] com. Also, that link? It's a direct one now, rather than via the "Donate" button, so it should work better.
His Web site, for sales (always preferable, and the base upon which the whole project hinges anyway, along with paying our day-to-day living expenses) — and just by the way, he's got some really incredible new works up now.
Our Amazon wishlist, which contains Lowe's cards that will allow us to purchase some materials more cheaply than here in town, and also allow us to divert the extra funds to labor costs.

Right now, one of the things that will help us the most is the Lowe's cards. We have to order flooring soon, and the water heater (which I think we can get through them; if so, it'll be cheaper than trying to do it locally). But there's plenty left to do on all fronts (and I have to get back to some of my own work right now). Much love and gratitude to everyone.

On Warmer Winds

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a work that embodies the contradictions of spring, and its synthesis, too. It's also a reminder to learn to walk with and within them, and to rise above them to fly on warmer winds.

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, 2017; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Saturday, April 22, 2017

It's a turquoise master bedroom! Yes, it's done.

The master bedroom is done (in terms of painting, if nothing else). Bedroom, closet, hall, and of course the master bath, which was done weeks ago. This is what it looks like as of tonight.

Below is not exactly a close-up, but it shows the texture and depth of the colors a little better:

Next up will be the guest room, which essentially will do most of its duty as a small office/studio space. Warm dark brown, hot chile red, and bronze. Probably not until next weekend, though.

For now, I'm beat. It was only the two walls shown in the upper photo, and the edging of the ceiling there are elsewhere, but I'm not really "back" yet, and days like this remind me of that. Every single thing I did today wound up delayed, pushed back, or halted entirely, so I'm running really late on this and on everything else. At least the chicks are doing well ::knocks wood superstitiously::. They are the liveliest, most confident bunch we've ever had, and they're eating like crazy.

Clarence comes over tomorrow to go over a few things related to the next stage of the plasterwork. We have to pick a pigment, order the mica, and generally get everything lined up for them to get started. At some point, we need to get down to Santa Fe for something other than medical stuff and see about the next round of materials purchases: Water heater? Interior doors? Flooring? Who knows? There's a lot. So we still need link shares:

Wings's PayPal account, for donations to the house fund. [As I said last night, my best estimate on what's been raised so far on this $30K stage is $7,500, leaving a balance yet to raise of $22,500. $7K+ of that is going to have to be reserved for the septic, and labor's eating us alive on the daily, so that's going to mean a lot of juggling.] If that link doesn't work, it's tied to his e-mail address: wingsoftaos [at] newmex [dot] com. Also, that link? It's a direct one now, rather than via the "Donate" button, so it should work better.
His Web site, for sales (always preferable, and the base upon which the whole project hinges anyway, along with paying our day-to-day living expenses) — and just by the way, he's got some really incredible new works up now.
Our Amazon wishlist, which contains Lowe's cards that will allow us to purchase some materials more cheaply than here in town, and also allow us to divert the extra funds to labor costs.

It's all cut and paste again. I thought I was battling only allergies but it appears to be something else, so I'm extra-tired, and also incapable of much in the way of concentration at the moment. For now, much love and gratitude to everyone.

A Prayer for Our World

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a work that teaches us simultaneously of blessings and of responsibilities. It's a pair of earrings in the form of a tool of prayer, one that reminds us that part of our obligations in praying for ourselves is to offer a prayer for our world, too.

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.

Friday, April 21, 2017

Chicks and dogs and horses and wild birds. Also pigment samples and plasterwork. Shares needed.

Fourteen new and hungry mouths to feed.

Actually, they pay for themselves many times over in the amount of food they give us, and we're down to only seven chickens now, at least one of which is old enough to be no longer really laying. And the eggs are chickens provide feed a lot more than just us: We give them away by the dozen to people who need help with food, and to those for whom genuinely fresh eggs are out of reach for whatever reason.

That's not all we do, of course. The neighboring dogs know we won't allow them to go hungry, and the female puppy (who I suspect is already pregnant) now shows up daily. A few weeks ago, she was apparently attacked by another dog while penned up, and aside from bites to her nose and right leg, her left foot was nearly shredded, badly swollen and infected, and we were afraid she might lose it (or her life). We keep vet antibiotics on hand for the animals, and we managed to get some into her along with healthy food and water, and while she will have a great deal of damage and scarring, and possibly a permanent limp, she now can run on it again. She's very afraid; we finally figured out that a woman has abused her, because for probably the first time ever, she's been more wary of me than of Wings. Tuesday was our breakthrough, though: She finally came up to me and put her snout in my hand. The next day, I came out of the house after talking to the crew to find her waiting patiently for me; I crouched down, and she walked straight up to me and kissed me under the chin.

Then, of course, there's the horse down the road, the one whose owner is a disabled vet; he and his wife love the horse, but it's tough to make ends meet, so Wings has been taking it hay since last fall. And then there's this:

She apparently managed to lay her eggs in the hole earlier this week. She and Daddy have been trading off on egg-sitting duty, it seems, for several days now. They were flying off when the crew arrived, but not now; with us, they mostly stay more or less put now. Flickers are spirit birds, so there's no question of depriving her of room at the inn, so to speak.

In the meantime, work continues and expenses mount. We met with the woman who creates the plaster pigments, and she kindly allowed us to borrow some of her color samples to compare against our walls. I meant to take photos, but this entire day has been more running flat out with no time to spare, and I forgot until now, so you get another view of the utility room they finished on Wednesday. We need to choose a pigment fast, because they'll be ready to begin that coat probably by Tuesday at the latest.

So we need link shares:

Wings's PayPal account, for donations to the house fund. [As I said last night, my best estimate on what's been raised so far on this $30K stage is $7,500, leaving a balance yet to raise of $22,500. $7K+ of that is going to have to be reserved for the septic, and labor's eating us alive on the daily, so that's going to mean a lot of juggling.] If that link doesn't work, it's tied to his e-mail address: wingsoftaos [at] newmex [dot] com. Also, that link? It's a direct one now, rather than via the "Donate" button, so it should work better.
His Web site, for sales (always preferable, and the base upon which the whole project hinges anyway, along with paying our day-to-day living expenses) — and just by the way, he's got some really incredible new works up now.
Our Amazon wishlist, which contains Lowe's cards that will allow us to purchase some materials more cheaply than here in town, and also allow us to divert the extra funds to labor costs.

It's all cut and paste; I'm wiped out and really not feeling very well after yesterday's trip. However, if you have a moment, please go check out the diary Avilyn so kindly posted on our behalf while we were out dealing with appointments and errands all day; please T&R and share, and maybe take a look at the examples of Wings's work she's included, because it's all available. And for now, much love and gratitude to everyone.

Friday Feature: When Work Is Required

It's our Friday Feature at The NDN Silver Blog, with a somewhat different spirit to inspire and guide us. Today, it's one familiar with hard labor, whose example we would do well to emulate when work is required.

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

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

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