New family!

Photo copyright Aji, 2020; all rights reserved.

New family! Say hello to Cricket's little sibs (from whom he is hiding, entirely predictably). They had to come home a few days early, because apparently the shelter was picking them all up on the day they turned 6 weeks old, which is tomorrow [There were . . . six? seven? total.] So we have one girl (dark, on the right), and one boy (ivory, on the left); we're testing out names now, currently looking at Talon (right) and Tusk (left), but that could change. Wings fell in love with the boy, who was, as he put it, an Energizer bunny; the little girl they described as "the scared one," but she settled right into my arms a few weeks ago.

They've been home for all of two and a half hours, and their personalities are already VERY different. Suffice to say, they've made themselves right at home. She's going to be a boss. He's just a little bundle of love and attachment. You're seeing them (or rather, their noses) post-bath; they've had plenty of water, puppy food, and one long nap already, and they're working on the second nap now. Both extremely smart and eminently trainable and already completely bonded. Once Cricket realizes that he's not going to get in trouble over them, he'll take over and that will be that; instant pack with him as alpha.

And maybe his heart will be a little less broken soon. He still cries to me, every single night, because his sibs are gone.

The rescue folks will help with the vet stuff. They arranged this for us (it's been in the works since shortly after they were born, because we've been so worried about Cricket's mental well-being), because they've worked with us, and we with them, for years now, and they know the pups are safe here (well, as safe as anywhere these days). And the house won't seem quite so empty as it has these last two months since Chinook and Kit were stolen.

In the meantime, there's still the work. As I said yesterday, thanks to y'all, and you know who you are, we'll make it out of July and on into August in one piece. Yesterday afternoon, I called and paid the two insurance premiums that have bedeviled my every waking moment this month, and we'll be okay. January and July are just . . . ugh, every year (I mean, April's not great, either, but that's one of the reasons July is bad; quarterly taxes for the next year).

Which is not to say that we don't still need to bring in sales; we absolutely do. Time was, we used to make at least one small sale a day, on average. Even after we closed the gallery and switched to a nearly-all-online model, we generally averaged a sale a week. Now? The economy, such as it is under the Orange Nazi, has killed most of it. The pandemic killed what was left (for us, and for everybody). And I feel like every day, every hour, every moment has to be spent chasing sales just to bring us . . . not close to even, but at least not quite so far below where we would normally be by now.

So. As I've been saying, if you have discretionary funds that you want to donate? Please pick someone who is unhoused, or whose position is precarious enough that they could soon be unhoused. Rent's due this weekend for an awful lot of folks who don't have it. Failing that? Someone who needs food, needs to take a child to the doctor or pick up a scrip for an elder. Someone struggling to keep the lights and the water on, or the gas tank filled to get to and from work. 

But if you want to BUY? Specifically, if you're in the market for what Wings creates? I'm your girl. I will sell you anything and everything from his inventory, and if you want to commission something special, I'll arrange that, too. But he's got some gorgeous new work already posted. New piece just the other morning, here. Two brand new and purely phenomenal works from the other day, here. Lots of other new works, too, cuffs and earrings and one new necklace. So please continue to share the links; they're here:

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

[Also, the wishlist is back in force. There are things I absolutely cannot get except through Amazon, and I can't add that stress onto all the others now.] Please share everything. Thanks.

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