Not everything is for burning.

Photo copyright Aji, 2020; all rights reserved.

Old growth. Sometimes you find some jewels among the kindling. Not everything is for burning.

Only one stove going today as it is, because it's nearly fifty degrees. But the wind is now kicking up, gearing up to bring us that next snowstorm due tomorrow night, so I'll have to relight the other stove soon enough. Fortunately, there's plenty of ordinary firewood outside, so we can leave the jewels unburnt where they belong.

The weekend was constant motion for both of us, and this week will be more of the same. His next three pieces of gemstone bead jewelry are awaiting only findings now, and I think he might actually have finished this afternoon. If so, I'll post them then. There might also be another three, because he wanted to get through two sets this weekend, but I haven't had to chance to trawl through his bead inventory and lay out the ones for the next concept he has in mind; maybe today or tomorrow. Either way, look for some new, moderately priced informal sets (necklace, earrings, coil bracelet) to appear in the next day or two.

Meanwhile, not much is changing on the pain front for me. I'm at an end for the moment, and with the spring winds apparently nearly here, it's only get to worse (much, MUCH worse). The pain and the breathing problems these last two or three weeks have buried me. About two weeks ago, I had the first really terrifying episode I've had in while, since switching up my meds and getting the ibruprofen entirely out of my system. I've had a number of smaller ones since, and it's probably mostly down to the asthma, but nothing's working. The headache is rooted in equal parts pollen and pred, and nothing's working. January was, quite frankly, a hell month, and this one is shaping up to be much like it. In the meantime, I have to navigate the weather and pain and expense and find a way to bring in income. There's a lot of year ahead of us, and we have to make steady sales.

Also unfortunately, I'm still reduced to trying to get work done with a torn ankle and subluxed forearm, hips, and knees, and now two barely functional hands, and a laptop that continues to deteriorate by the day (a camera, too, and both are essential for our work — not just mine, but his). The pain is . . . very bad these days. It's not a function of weather or cold, mostly, but of deterioration. In desperation, I've added one last supplement, a costly one, in hopes of getting it to ease off even a little; I won't know if it's going to work for at least a month yet. I'm also trying to plan for all the expenses of winter to come. The Pueblo closure started two weeks ago, and as I said above, is slated to last two full months this time, so it will be worse than usual. In that period of time, there will be taxes to pay, his scrip to keep refilling, his dental work to try somehow to get done, and forget about my own follow-up tests, to say nothing of plumbing/wall repairs or all the work still unfinished on the house; I'm scrapping everything, because we can't afford it. Yes, I'm due for follow-up scans and biopsies already, and they're not going to happen, because we don't have five figures' worth of scratch to waste on it. I've still got to make sales, try to drum up new Patreon subscribers, do whatever I can to bring in more money, all on top of everything else. Folks can help in several ways (sales are always preferred). Oh, and I posted four new works a week or so ago, here and here, and I added something new, seasonal, and absolutely fabulous a few days later, so please share the links (also, BUY! they're all perfect for spring, Easter, upcoming festivities of any kind):

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

Please share everything. Thanks.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2020; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.