Interior doors! Also delivery schedules, lighting, doorknobs, and tile sorting. Sales and shares needed.

Photo copyright Aji, 2017;
all rights reserved.

I walked up the stairs late this afternoon to find this. Yes! Our bedroom has a door! It seems like a very small thing, but you wouldn't believe how far it goes to make this place start looking like a real house.

Tony and Reynaldo got all the frames installed upstairs, and got both this door hung and one door to the master bath, below: 

Photo copyright Aji, 2017;
all rights reserved.

It goes really well with the colors of both tile and paint. They've got one more to hang here, between bath and spare bedroom, as well as the spare room's own door and the door to our closet, and then the upstairs will be done; downstairs, it's only the bath, the utility room, and then two smaller odd-sized doors for coat closet and pantry that Tony is going to make for us.

I have not been idle, either: I got the doorknob assemblies on order (they'll arrive in one to three business days, free shipping); the last two of the lights special-ordered (at a lower price than listed and all of $5.99 for shipping); learned that the wood flooring for upstairs is supposed to arrive on Wednesday; and mostly cleared one of the big pallets of slate tile with regard to checking for cracks and breaks, organizing by color, and reboxing, taping, and labeling accordingly. That last worked out to about sixteen cases. There are eight remaining on the first of the two large pallets (River had carried them inside, but they'll need to come back out to the carport where the rest of it is so I can sort, and Wings has already gotten them ready for tomorrow). Then there is another large pallet, a medium-sized one that also includes the bathroom tile, and one very small one of the slate. Tomorrow. Along with a thousand other things. 

I have a lot of other stuff to get done tomorrow, too, and Tuesday is always my worst day with regard to workload anyway. And as I've been saying, there's also a lot of expense yet remaining, and given what the labor is going to run us, we need to save on materials wherever we can. So: shares of Wings's site for sale, and shares of our wishlist for Lowe's and Home Depot cards. the latter are not actually on the Amazon wishlist (they're only available direct from the company), but the link is below along with the others, so please share them all:

• Wings's site, for sales;
• Lowe's cards (the physical version) via our Amazon wishlist;
• Lowe's e-cards (delivered via e-mail) here; and
• Home Depot cards via the company site. The e-version using my e-mail address is great; I take the tablet to the store with me, and they scan it off the screen.

More rain last night; more rain tonight. No way of knowing whether we'll have Internet service from one moment to the next in this kind of weather (or electricity half the time, either). Im going to be on the run at least for the next two days, so expect to see me only when you see me.

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.

Monday Photo Meditation: Growth

Photo copyright Wings, 2017; 
all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a photo meditation for the midpoint of summer, that extended moment between planting and harvest. It's a reminder that between the two is growth, and, as the corn knows, growth is both means and end in itself.

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 very 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.

Torrential rains, flash flood watches, and a long, long way to go. Shares still needed.

Photo copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved.

Yes, I'm using that photo again, partly as a placeholder and partly because I just love it, dammit. I had intended to show something different, but I didn't get into the house to get shots, and now it's all torrential rains out there. We're under a flash flood watch until at least tomorrow morning, with warnings that it could turn very rapidly to, well, a flash flood warning. The wind keeps shifting, 180 degrees in the blink of an eye, so it could move out very fast, or we could be here a while.

Yes, all this rain is ultimately good for the land, but it also means that nothing will get done on the septic system this week. On the plus side, it may mean that Floyd and Gary are rained out and can work here; on the minus side, I'm way behind, because I haven't been able to spend time sorting through tile to weed out all the cracked and broken ones. That may mean that I'm nose to the grindstone on that all day long tomorrow, rain or no.

This is going to be another fraught week. As I've been saying, repeatedly, too much to do, too little time, too few resources, as always. And still, everything's got to get done, on the house and otherwise. There's also a lot of expense yet remaining, and given what the labor is going to run us, we need to save on materials wherever we can. So: shares of Wings's site for sale, and shares of our wishlist for Lowe's and Home Depot cards. the latter are not actually on the Amazon wishlist (they're only available direct from the company), but the link is below along with the others, so please share them all:

• Wings's site, for sales;
• Lowe's cards (the physical version) via our Amazon wishlist;
• Lowe's e-cards (delivered via e-mail) here; and
• Home Depot cards via the company site. The e-version using my e-mail address is great; I take the tablet to the store with me, and they scan it off the screen.

Right now, the weather shows no signs of letting up. This may man that we lose all Internet access; our cell signal is already useless, and has been for about an hour. Fingers crossed that I can get online tomorrow morning; if you don't see me, you know why.

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.

A Road Made of Water

Photo copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a work that reminds us of the need for harmony and balance in the most powerful of seasons. It's a piece that suits this day especially well, too, as we here in this place make ready to travel a road made of water.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. And, as always, sales are very 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.

No tilework for another week. Other delays, too, including rain. Shares needed.

Photo copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved.

Well, I didn't get back to tile sorting today. That up there is what we're dealing with, but too many other things got in the way today. It's supposed to rain most of tomorrow, so maybe Wings and I can sit down and haul through the rest of the pallets together. It's a huge amount of work, because each case only holds five per, and "case" is me being absurdly generous with the label. Those plastic ties that have to be cut apart? That's all that holds them together — no staples, no glue, no nothing — and so I have to tape them all up thoroughly each time I go through/refill one. 

Too much to do, too little time, too few resources, as always. It seems that I misunderstood, and Floyd and Gary's current job is running overtime, so it looks like it'll be week after next before they get out here. And still, everything's got to get done, on the house and otherwise. And as I said last night, there's also a lot of expense yet remaining, and given what the labor is going to run us, we need to save on materials wherever we can. So: shares of Wings's site for sale, and shares of our wishlist for Lowe's and Home Depot cards. the latter are not actually on the Amazon wishlist (they're only available direct from the company), but the link is below along with the others, so please share them all:

• Wings's site, for sales;
• Lowe's cards (the physical version) via our Amazon wishlist;
• Lowe's e-cards (delivered via e-mail) here; and
• Home Depot cards via the company site. The e-version using my e-mail address is great; I take the tablet to the store with me, and they scan it off the screen.

And also as last night, I have a lot more to get done tonight, and more rain looks to be on the way, so I need to get at it.  Thanks, everybody.

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.

Blue Skies and Silver Rain

Photo copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's one of my favorites among Wings's current inventory of rings, a work that manages to be both simple and iconic. It's the embodiment of the season, and of this day here particularly, a time of blue skies and silver rain.

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.

More rain, more pain, more tile, more shares needed.

Photo copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved.

If you click on the photo, you can see a close-up of what tile for the main living space will look like. It's slate (yeah, real slate, which means lots of sealer before anyone can walk on it), in natural desert shades to complement the interior plaster — purple, red, orange, gold, bronze, brown, gray. Also extraordinarily inexpensive compared to everything else we looked at, including saltillo. Unfortunately, I didn't get very far today on sorting on the broken ones to return; stuff took up the whole morning, and I got only two cases done before the weather started to move in in a serious way, and I needed to hobble around covering some things and closing others. On the plus side, it looks like Floyd and Gary will be available to start on it next week, but that means that I have just over 100 cases yet to haul through between now and then.

And yes, the foot is still a mess. Worse than the toes is everything else: foot, ankle, calf, knee, all swollen and stiff and sore; sprained and strained arm and side and back muscles from trying to grab for the damn thing before it landed on my foot. I'll be limping for a while yet, which of course means that I'm that much slower at getting everything done.

And there's a lot to get done, on the house and otherwise. Also a lot of expense yet, and given what the labor is going to run us, we need to save on materials wherever we can. So: shares of Wings's site for sale, and shares of our wishlist for Lowe's and Home Depot cards. the latter are not actually on the Amazon wishlist (they're only available direct from the company), but the link is below along with the others, so please share them all:

• Wings's site, for sales;
• Lowe's cards (the physical version) via our Amazon wishlist;
• Lowe's e-cards (delivered via e-mail) here; and
• Home Depot cards via the company site. The e-version using my e-mail address is great; I take the tablet to the store with me, and they scan it off the screen.

I have a lot more to get done tonight, and more rain looks to be on the way, so I need to get at it.  Thanks, everybody.

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 Feature: A Song for the Water

Photo copyright Aji, 2017; 
all rights reserved.

It's our Friday Feature at The NDN Silver Blog, with an eminently traditional work by one of Wings's cousins. It's a sculpture coaxed from cedar and stone in the form of an elder, eyes upturned and mouth open, perhaps singing, in this rainy season, a song for the water.

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.

Tile and injuries and serious rain. Sales and shares helpful now.

Photo copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved.

Close-up of the bathroom tile. I love this stuff so much, I don't even have words for it. Here's what the other octagons/squares look like:

Photo copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved.

That sort of terra-cotta shade is basically the same color as the interior plaster on the walls/bancos/bathroom ceiling. It would fabulous on the whole floor, but even on sale, far too expensive.

It turns out that today's Taos-area Home Depot delivery was not us after all. We learned this very early, because Mike the delivery guy very kindly texted Wings to let us know, so that we wouldn't have to disrupt our day waiting. That guy is amazing.

And so, given that we got inundated with a HUGE storm last night, with more on the way today (one wave of which has already gone through here; the next is in sight out the window), and also given that I'm lamed up with three probably-fractured toes and a badly swollen foot/ankle/calf, I spent much of the day sitting under the carport where the tile was off-loaded, sorting through each case of the much less expensive slate tile to pull out the cracked and broken ones. There are a lot of those, natch. And I only got about fifteen cases repackaged and labeled, plus one case of broken ones to be returned and a couple of other broken ones awaiting a full case (which amounts to five tiles). So you know what I'll be doing the next few days.

In the meantime, we're waiting to hear from Floyd about when he and Gary can come and get started. Also waiting to find out when the upstairs flooring will be delivered. I also need to find out whether Minwax is sufficient as a sealant for this engineered hardwood stuff. It's SO much less expensive that we didn't have any choice but to go with it, but given its construction, it will definitely need to be sealed, and really well, too. So will the slate tile, for that matter. We've put off the plumbers for a couple of weeks with regard to the septic mess, because the rains are supposed to continue past next week. The ground is far too soft for them to bring an excavator out here right now. after that, though, they'll need to get it done.

And we need to get the rest of the materials for the interior soon: water heater, other appliances, cabinetry. That stuff all needs to come from Home Depot or Lowe's, which is far less expensive than buying them all independently up here. Gift cards for those places also mean that we can devote our cash to the stuff that has to be done here: remaining exterior plaster coat, lumber and woodwork, installation of our old woodstoves (our only heating source), installation of appliances and plumbing fixtures, labor (always with the labor). For all of those things we need shares of both Wings's site (for sales) and our wishlist (for the cards), so please share the links:

• Wings's site, for sales;
• Lowe's cards (the physical version) via our Amazon wishlist;
• Lowe's e-cards (delivered via e-mail) here; and
• Home Depot cards via the company site. The e-version using my e-mail address is great; I take the tablet to the store with me, and they scan it off the screen.

Oddly, despite the injuries and my ever-present state of exhaustion, my crankiness continues to abate. Maybe it's partly that the rains are cooling it off here, even if they are putting us at risk of flash floods. Maybe it's just resignation; I don't know. Whatever it is, I'm welcoming it with open arms. Many thanks to everyone, with special shout-outs to the dear souls who sent us one e-gift card this morning and one physical one that arrived in today's mail, and another dear soul who sent a delivery this afternoon. We love you all more than we can say.

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.

#ThrowbackThursday: In a season of fire and water, the weather is a sacred clown.

Photo copyright Wings, 2017; all rights reserved.

It's #TBT at The NDN Silver Blog, with a work from about eight years ago that fits these days of an altered rainy season perfectly. It's the Fat Man, a joker, a trickster spirit for a time and place where, in a season of fire and water, the weather is a sacred clown.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. This little Fat Man is one of only a pair of these that Wings created long ago, about three years apart, and of course sold long ago, but if he speaks to your own 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.

We have tile!!! Also some broken toes, most likely. No, not from the tile. Sales and shares needed.

Photo copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved.

Yes, we have tile. As of . . . sometime after 4 PM. None of this was a sure thing; the tankers started lining up outside out gate at 6 AM, and after well over a decade of nothing by way of highway improvements, and work that commenced last Monday (the 17th) halted by the end of the next day, the Highway Department picked today of all days to screw up the stretch of road on either side of (and obviously in front of) us. All tar this morning; now all gravel.

Add to that the fact that our delivery driver stopped to refuel at Buffalo Thunder (after apparently having trouble finding a station with working diesel pumps), and only AFTER filling his tank did they decide not to take his corporate credit card . . . . It apparently took them an hour and a half to contact whomever needing contacting and get whatever approvals needed approving, and they wouldn't let him leave until it was all done. And the kicker? He's probably coming back tomorrow, with the wood flooring. He's coming up here, at any rate; we assume it's ours, since the computer shows that it was to be delivered today, but obviously wasn't.

In the meantime, Home Depot Corporate sent me an e-mail tonight informing me that delivery of the tile was now scheduled for Friday, so ::throws up hands:: whatever. The store will be hearing from me tomorrow anyway, because we have at least several broken tiles. Yes, slate is fragile-ish, which is why you do not stack them on the dock with a full-sized, full-weight pallet of tile on top of a smaller one of open-topped boxes of slate. Yes, that's what they did; we know this from our kindly driver, who asked them about the broken ones and was informed that "she" (meaning me) would have to call and report it. So he made sure I knew about the visible broken ones. Guy was great; if we had to wait, at least we got a hell of a nice (and skilled) delivery guy out of it.

That up there is one of four pallets of slate tile (2 full, 1 about 2/3, 1 half that and half the other stuff). It'll need some serious sealing, but it's beautiful. It'll be the whole of the downstairs floor except the bath. That will be this:

Photo copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved.

That will also be the shower walls and curb (the shower base will be an off-white pebble tile that matches it). ::Sigh:: I would have loved to have had this throughout the whole downstairs, but it's too expensive for that kind of square footage (for us, at least), even though we did get it at a really good price. That said, we did buy a couple of extra cases, because we had to buy one anyway (the square footage was just a fraction over for the bathroom), and we added one case so that all the overage can become my kitchen countertops. MUCH cheaper than even the "cheap" granite or quartz countertops, much less the Silestone and stuff like that, and all it will need is Hardeebacker, a layer of plywood, and some good grout and sealant.

Tony and Reynaldo are done for the week; they've gotten all the upstairs door frames built, stained, and sealed. Next week, they'll likely be able to hang them and maybe even begin the flooring. If all goes as Floyd thought it would, they'll be able to start our tile next week. How we're going to pay for all of this I have no idea: In addition to the suckery, literal and otherwise, that is this damn septic system (and all the other expenses), we are taking care of truck repairs for the mother of the kid who's working for us helping with the heavy labor. They're fighting to stay above water, and when she was bringing him here to work this morning, they lost a tire (and wheel, and brake drum). It took a while to get the whole picture, but we had her get it towed to a mechanic in that part of town where it blew apart (luckily not harming either of them, thank all that's holy), and we'll pay for it. We need her son's help; he's a fabulous worker, and he can do all sorts of heavy stuff that's beyond me now (especially since, like tonight, I have gotten so clumsy that I drop fifty pounds' worth of something on my toes and now have my left foot taped). And they simply need the help; they need the truck for work and basic getting by, and school starts in two weeks, and she needs to be able to get him there. To be clear, Wings and I agree that this needs to be done; there's no question about that for either of us. It's just one more thing that is going to take funds away from the house.

So as I said last night, we need sales, and badly. So we need shares of his site, and we also need shares of our wishlist, because we'll need giftcards for Home Depot and Lowe's, or we will not be able to finish off the interior and move in this year. It's literally that simple; we don't have the cash flow to buy all the materials and fixtures and thousand and one things that need buying to make it habitable. So please, please share the links:

• Wings's site, for sales;
• Lowe's cards (the physical version) via our Amazon wishlist;
• Lowe's e-cards (delivered via e-mail) here; and
• Home Depot cards via the company site. The e-version using my e-mail address is great; I take the tablet to the store with me, and they scan it off the screen.

I am no less exhausted than I have been the last two days, but I feel less cranky tonight, possibly because at least one thing can be checked off the list now, even if a whole bunch of other things just got added to it. I have soaked my foot three times already, and my most-likely-fractured toes are taped. Once I'm done here, I'm going to put my foot up, and hope that I can walk  — okay, okay; hobble — at least a little bit tomorrow. We have a hell of a lot to get done, and there is reportedly a massive flooding storm system on the way for tomorrow and Friday (which means I may lose my Internet access, so be warned).

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.

Caught Between Water and Sky

Photo copyright Aji, 2017;
all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a work for sacred space, and a lesson about appreciating it. It's a pair of earrings aptly named for our days here, where we are less between a rock and a hard place than caught between and sky.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. And, as always, sales are very 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.

More woodwork. Tile allegedly arrives tomorrow. More setbacks, and more shares needed.

Photo copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved.

They're working on the upstairs doors now: doors, frames, and trim. No, nothing else today; the tile will allegedly be delivered tomorrow sometimes (I'll believe it when it's sitting on the floor of our not-yet-habitable house), and at some point very soon, we'll have to make a trip to Lowe's to solve this other problem that is entirely of the store's creation, but we are having to deal with it. Setbacks at every turn.

My fatigue levels have not improved; despite my exhaustion, I got almost no sleep last night, which is what happens when it's too damn hot in this tin can and my brain is overloaded with too much worry. I can't do anything about either of those things right now. All I can do is emphasize that we need sales, and thus we need shares, and we also need shares of our wishlist, because we'll need giftcards for Home Depot and Lowe's, or we will not be able to finish off the interior and move in this year. So here are the links:

• Wings's site, for sales;
• Lowe's cards (the physical version) via our Amazon wishlist;
• Lowe's e-cards (delivered via e-mail) here; and
• Home Depot cards via the company site. The e-version using my e-mail address is great; I take the tablet to the store with me, and they scan it off the screen.

As I said last night, I'm not fit company for anyone these days. Although Wings seems not to mind at all, but when you've been through some of what we have together and come out the other side still together, I supposed my being tired and cranky is kind of the least of it right now. 

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.

Red Willow Spirit: Pooling Rain

Photo copyright Wings, 2017; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's this week's edition of Red Willow Spirit, featuring the last of the elements for the last week of an elemental month. It's a tribute to the monsoon season, to the life sustained by pooling rain (and pooling light).

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. It's all images today, all but two of them by Wings, whose photos, as always, are available in any of the usual three formats; simply inquire via the site's Contact form. Also as always, sales are very 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.

It's all a mess. Sales and shares needed.

Photo copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved.

The events of the last two weeks have wiped me out completely — physically, mentally, emotionally. I've been worse than useless all day; the fatigue is so bad that I feel like I do when I'm on the threshold of a mono relapse, including all the other symptoms besides the exhaustion. Maybe I am. The daily all-out push is wearing me really thin (except not, you know, on my hips or anything useful like that).

We found out today that Home Depot fucked up our whole order completely. They were apparently going to deliver it Friday, but the people who followed up after the service rep scheduled it apparently didn't. Follow up, that is. And so it was never on a truck in the first place. Today was Day 4 of waiting, and we found out around 10:30 AM that it was still in the fucking dock. The earliest they can get it here is Wednesday. 

Then the electrician showed up and demanded a grand (2/3 of the second half of the total). The rest of the lighting fixtures are being ordered, some on backorder, and he's up in here trying to push me to buy others sooner elsewhere, and I. AM. NOT. HAVING IT. I am sick unto death of men talking over me, dismissing me, thinking they know better than I do, trying to control what I do or say or the choices I make or erase and rewrite my life experience. [Not a syllable of that, BTW, refers to Wings. Plenty of other men, though, and every last one of them can take a flying you-know-what at this point.] The next guy who mansplains anything to me about any of this process (or anything else) gets tossed out on his ear with an invitation never to return.

And we are in a bind, because the septic system is just an ongoing disaster, and we paid out a huge chunk of our cash on hand to get it functional. They will fix it. But for now, our reserves are dwindling fast, and there's a long, LONG way to go. [BTW, on that septic system? I took a good long look at all of it over the weekend. A year ago, they dug literally an inch from where they dug in June and hit groundwater less than a yard down. That whole rerouted spring and change in the water table? It all happened sometime between last August and now.] But whatever; there's nothing we can do about it except work around, which is costing us several fortunes at this point. So we need sales. And we need shares of our wishlist. And we'll need giftcards for Home Depot and Lowe's, or we will not be able to finish off the interior and move in this year. So here are the links:

• Wings's site, for sales;
• Lowe's cards via our Amazon wishlist;
• Lowe's cards via the company site; and
• Home Depot cards via the company site. The e-version using my e-mail address is great; I take the tablet to the store with me, and they scan it off the screen.

Now I think I need to go be cranky by myself. I'm way past exhausted, and I'm not fit company for anyone.

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.

Monday Photo Meditation: Summer Waters

Photo copyright Wings, 2017; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a photo meditation for the rainy season. Today, it's a contemplation of the summer waters, those that fall from the sky and those that pool and flow, all of which make the corn grow.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here.  As always, Wings's photos 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 (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.

Still no tile, and no info, either. Expenses start up again in a big way tomorrow. Shares needed.

Photo copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved.

Those up there are the light fixtures in the downstairs bath. In other words, one of the few visible things that got done the other day.

Still no tile. No delivery, after three days of waiting, and no word, and no response from Home Depot, either (excluding the person who sold it to us, who has knocked herself out on our behalf but who has her much deserved "weekend" on Sundays and Mondays). It is not remotely possible that they cannot track the truck, but then again, it should not be remotely possible that their Web site has no e-mail or online means of contact, but here we are. Yes, we are going to have words tomorrow. If things go well, my earrings will stay in my ears. If not . . . .

And it alls tarts up again tomorrow. Except, in all likelihood, the septic repairs, natch. Too much rain in the forecast. Even so, they need to get this clusterfuck fixed, too. The constant problems and screw-ups and foot-dragging delays that led to this weekend's cancellation have left me without mercy any longer. 

In the meantime, we've just bade farewell to one of our dearest friends, who was here this week for specific purposes that never materialized, thanks to said screw-ups and delays. We are planning to have her here again soon, and the people to whom we are paying ungodly amounts of money are now going to have to make that happen, and on our time frame, because we are done being jacked around.
Expenses begin to mount anew tomorrow, too. Lots of labor costs upcoming, and plenty of materials costs that require cash outlays, too. We need to make some sales, and badly. We will also need to buy a lot of materials from Home depot and/or Lowe's, and soon, to finish this off, so here are the links:

• Wings's site, for sales;
• Lowe's cards via our Amazon wishlist;
• Lowe's cards via the company site; and
• Home Depot cards via the company site. The e-version using my e-mail address is great; I take the tablet to the store with me, and they scan it off the screen.

This week is going to be absurdly busy for reasons entirely different from last week, but the pace will be about the same. Which is to say, punishing. I have more work to do tonight, and I will have to be up and running early tomorrow. Many thanks and much love to everyone who has gotten us this far; we just need a little more help, a final long hard push, to finish this off.

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.

Ice Born of Fire

Photo copyright Wings, 2017; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a work of oppositional elements and elemental oppositions. As is ice born of fire, so, too, does it embody extremes that nonetheless deliver balance to the world. 

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. And, as always, sales are very 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.

No delivery yet. No end point, either. Sales and shares needed, though.

Photo copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved.

Newly-sealed bathroom tile.  Well, "new" as of Tuesday or so. In theory, the rest of the tile will arrive today, but it hasn't shown up yet. Wings thinks they won't show at all, but as usual, I am foolishly optimistic, even though I am also usually wrong.

Today is the archetypal example of that tendency on my part, of course. It's been a difficult summer, with a couple of hard markers for Wings last month and this, and my own of two days ago. Today is harder yet, a day that was supposed to be devoted to one endeavor, and is instead once again stuck in a holding pattern while we wait out circumstances beyond our control. I'm having a hard time with it, although on this, Wings is the optimist, insisting that he will make everything happen, and even better than originally planned.

For now, I'm reduced to jumping up and going outside every time I hear a large truck (which, on this highway, is practically every other vehicle), because if they do show up, the rain and the torn-up turf from the septic system mess mean that they can't just drive in and turn around anywhere they want. In the meantime, I'm trying to figure out how to juggle our funds to pay for labor and materials that can only be bought here, while trying to stretch our remaining gift cards as far as possible. Unfortunately, there is a LOT more to go, so we need to  make some sales, and I need to share the links:

• Wings's site, for sales;
• Lowe's cards via our Amazon wishlist;
• Lowe's cards via the company site; and
• Home Depot cards via the company site. The e-version using my e-mail address is great; I take the tablet to the store with me, and they scan it off the screen.

Not much has changed the last few days: I am going to be mostly unavailable — not for some of the reasons I expected, but still mostly unavailable nonetheless. It's also still true that I'm also mostly not very up for talking at the moment, not until we make enough progress that I can see that 1) there's actually an end point, and 2) we get to have a life out of it. Right now, it's not feeling like very much of either, and the fatigue is overwhelming for 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.

Born for the Fire

Photo copyright Wings, 2017; 
all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a piece for child and adult alike, for those of this land, its past, present, and future. It's a work named for those born of a red sun, those who are also born for the fire.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. And, as always, sales are very 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.

Light fixtures, sealed tile, impossible delivery schedules.

Photo copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved.

Welp, today was kind of a loss, at least in terms of getting anything actually, you know, done. Home Depot helpfully provided truck-tracking info for the tile delivery, which unhelpfully listed both all day today and 8:02 AM tomorrow as potential delivery dates. Yeah, I don't know how they can pinpoint it at two minutes after eight, either. But the upshot is that one of us had to be here all day just in case, and since they predictably did not arrive, we'll have to be here all day tomorrow, too.

That said, we got some of the smaller stuff done this week, too, that I hadn't had time to photograph until today. One is that up there: a few of the light fixtures. Not many; a few are still undelivered, even. But it's a start. Floyd also came and sealed the upstairs tile; if they get rained out of their current job this coming week, they may even be able to start our downstairs earlier than expected.

And then there's all the rest. And, of course, our plans for this weekend completely upended and postponed for the moment (only for a few weeks, though). And we're still working full-tilt on everything ourselves, too.
Getting through this last push is going to take a lot. And as I've been saying on a nightly basis, it's very expensive, all of it, and our cash is going for labor and materials that have to be bought here, which means that sales and cards are both extremely helpful in reaching the end of this incredibly long process. So here are the links:

• Wings's site, for sales;
• Lowe's cards via our Amazon wishlist;
• Lowe's cards via the company site; and
• Home Depot cards via the company site. The e-version using my e-mail address is great; I take the tablet to the store with me, and they scan it off the screen.

As I also said last night, I am going to be mostly unavailable for several days. Not for some of the reasons I expected, but still mostly unavailable nonetheless. It's also still true that I'm also mostly not very up for talking at the moment, not until we make enough progress that I can see that 1) there's actually an end point, and 2) we get to have a life out of it.



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 Feature: Sun's Fire, Blues of Sky and Storm

Photo copyright Wings, 2017; all rights reserved.

It's our Friday Feature at The NDN Silver Blog, with a work from one of Wings's fellow artists that suits our day here perfectly. It's sun's fire, blues of sky and storm, all brought together in a medicine bear that may yet bring us the gift of the rain.

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