Blue skies and bare bones.

Photo copyright Aji, 2021; all rights reserved.

It's been all blue skies and bare bones here for the last week or two. I really, really hope that changes this week. I theory, we could even get a small dusting of snow late in the week, but I won't hold my breath. It is, at least, supposed to get significantly colder, bringing us not quite in line with normal temperatures, but only 10-20 degrees too high rather than 40-50.

And maybe I can start to feel a little more normal myself, because this last week I've been in absolute hell, pain-wise, and today is no exception. Today, I woke up with the worst migraine I've had in a good long while. It's rare anymore that they're so bad that the nausea is uncontrollable, but I'd already thrown up twice before sunrise. When I got up shortly after that point, I couldn't keep my balance. It's a perfect storm of autoimmune problems: a bad migraine in and of itself, aggravated by the damage to my neck and the pain ad swelling and stiffness of lupus and inflammatory arthritis, PLUS the now-chronic sinus and lymph problems this vaccine and booster have given me. Wings spent the morning pouring strong coffee into me and switching out icepacks on my neck and cedaring me thoroughly, and now I'm slightly functional, if only just.

And the work just keeps piling up. I made some small progress yesterday and the day before, but there's just so much of it, and so little of me to go around (ha, I wish; the pred has taken care of that, too). And I still have to get those beads sorted today for Wings for the piece he's currently finishing, a commission; I'm also waiting for delivery of the other beads and cabs that he needs for his next set, and for several other things in the pipeline. 

And added to all that, I need to bring in enough to cover all that outlay, because the supplies don't come cheap.

Yeah, it always comes back to that: more sales. A lot more, because we have two years' worth of a shattered pandemic economy to make up for, by which I mean we need to gain more ground ourselves financially to be able to be sure of making it through the winter. And again, if you're planning on commissioning gifts for the holidays, DO IT NOW. [And that includes just ordinary orders for the holidays, too.] Yes, I mean NOW. We're dealing with the same supply-chain issues as everyone else, and at some point soon, Wings is going to have to get silver and stones to produce holiday inventory, and I'm hearing that the price is already spiking on the metals. More to the point of what customers care about, we also can't guarantee shipping times this year, because see above. But I've posted a ton of Wings's new work lately, and there will be more in the days and weeks to come. If I could sell one of the big works, like one of the belts, maybe I could get us on the drill list for the well that is the only thing that's going to keep this land alive. But I've got way too much to do and too few hours and other resources to do it. 

Anyway, I have GOT to continue to make sales, so links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (priorities are first and foremost, the ladders, because see above);
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

And if you've been contemplating a purchase? This would be a very, very good time to do it; I've got to cover all this staggering outlay somehow and get us through what's left of the year. And right now? I have no way to do it.  But there's lots of fabulous new work, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2021; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.