A long, hard week.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

I only caught the tail end of that bolt; it started on the far left and flashed all across the sky in one long crack, ending on the slope of Pueblo Peak. No, I was not out in it; I was working upstairs and caught that from the bedroom window (and I was lucky to have my camera at hand to grab that much of it).

We had an absolutely violent display of lightning yesterday, strikes from one end of that range to the other, often in multiple places moments apart. I woke up at 1:30 this morning, because the distinctive smell of forest fire was pouring in the open bedroom window. I still don't know whether it floated in from some fire elsewhere, or whether there actually was an ignition up in the mountains from the storm.

Supposedly no heavy weather today, but I wouldn't bet on it.

It's been a long, hard week on multiple fronts, not least of which was the downing of our Web site last night for three hours-plus. It happened to all the sites our host manages, and he got no notification of server work from the company nor any response to his query, but at least it's back up and running. I was preparing myself for a very bad day today, and I'm glad it didn't come to that.

As I've been saying, I will soon have a fundraising post up on behalf of someone very important to us (maybe tonight or tomorrow; depends on when he's got things set up). We'll be giving, and I'm going to be asking everyone else to give, too, and to share it with your networks. It's for Wings's son, who is working hard at making a go of his own business, but who needs to be able to invest in the single most essential component of it, and the price tag is, of course, out of reach. This is what keeps a roof over his head in a place very far away, and we need to help him do that.

Meanwhile, Wings is still cranking out new inventory when he can. I will have a new piece later today; it's one of his heavy silver cuffs, but this one is set with a fantastically old freeform Skystone that's been in his collection seemingly forever, and the smithing on the band is incredible. Also the last in his gemstone bead Elementals series posted two Sundays ago, here (and you do want to click through each entry and see the other angles), and subsequently four brand-new pieces, one cuff and three rings (one of which is already sold), here. And he's got a whole host of other pieces in the works. But he's suddenly having to be much more mindful of what he creates, given the crisis-level spike in silver prices.

As I said earlier, we just learned that both silver suppliers in this state have more than tripled their silver prices (for some types of silver, much more), which has left me pretty badly shaken. And it's across the board; even small things, like findings and earring wires and backs, have gone way, way up. He's got enough for now to do what he needs to do, but nothing's going to change anytime soon, given that the justifications for it will be "supply-chain issues," "fuel prices," "war in Ukraine," and "inflation"; these prices are here for the foreseeable future. It's going to put a lot of Native smiths and jewelers completely out of business, and to make sure that Wings does not become one of them, I have GOT to make some sales. That's especially true with the holidays coming; these silver spikes are going to make this fall a crisis point for a lot of jewelers. Unfortunately, I'm being hobbled by everything else, not least of which is this flare that is making the progression in my illness much worse: numbness, contractures, crippling pain, another side effect that has forced me to discontinue my lupus meds entirely (dangerously low BG, and now I'm getting the muscle-contracture effects of doing without it). I'm going to need help to do this. All the links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (priority is first and foremost, the other ladder; also sheets);
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

We're still hoping to put aside enough for a new well when the ground thaws enough to drill in the spring, too, Nah, we've given up on the well. No one's available to drill before late next year at the earliest, and this year's tax burden means we would never be able to afford it anyway. But it's even more of a good time to make a purchase, because Uncle Sam is a vindictive colonizer, and my current stress levels about paying it all are off the charts. And there's lots of fabulous work, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2022; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.