Breathing room.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

Two more works in progress, these for inventory. He's got some commissioned/honor gifts in the works that are taking a lot of studio time, but he's filling in inventory around them as he can. And yes, these will be two different pieces, both of them dual-strand cuffs, one with the turquoise focal and another (the first of the cuff strands is out of camera range in the foreground) with a focal out of tiger iron.

No idea yet when they'll be available for purchase, but I posted five new pieces last night, here. The Spirit Lines barrettes have already sold, but the other four works remain available, as well as a lot of other extraordinary Indigenous fine silverwork in inventory. If I could sell the other four works, plus another three or four, I could take care of what's left to pay and be able to breathe a little bit. Breathing room is something I haven't had this year.

My whole focus now has to be on making sales. All of it. If I don't bring in more income soon, we're done, and there is no way around that. Not this month, not next month, not the rest of the year. This has been a spectacularly bad year for sales (and my Patreon, too, which is down several hundred dollars a month [one patron kindly gave me a few months' heads-up, but the rest is just cancellations and attrition courtesy of a terrible economy]), and between last year's installment payments (now done) and next year's quarterly payments (not done), the tax burden is killing us. 

As I said yesterday, my health is killing me, too, and the financial stresses are only compounding that. I know people don't understand what my illness actually does. The constant barrage to my immune system from the COVID vaccines is only making it worse, and there's nothing I can do for any of it. I would like to catch a break on something in this mess, but apparently that's going to be denied me yet again. The financial stuff has me at the absolute end of my tether, and I need help.

All the links are here; please, share them, too (and there's a new wishlist priority, the automatic composter, which will do wonders for saving on waste and allow Wings to compost the land and trees regularly even through the winter; my physical function is impaired enough now that things can only get done if I have the help of equipment like this):

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (priorities are, first and foremost, the automatic composter and the wheelbarrow, then the other ladder);
• 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.                                                             

Monday Photo Meditation: Invisible Fires

Photo copyright Wings, 2022;
all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a photo meditation for a Monday this is October's end, and for the markers and traditions of these days that carry us through the year. It's a contemplation of the masks we wear, and why, and of the invisible fires that keep our hearts and spirits committed to the work.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. As always, his photos are available in any of the usual three formats; simply inquire via the site's Contact form. We urgently need to make consistent sales to make it through the rest of this third year of pandemic and loss, and the holiday sales season is now officially under way, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.

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.        

Finally, tonight, five new works by Wings.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022;
all rights reserved.

All right, I've been promising a couple of these for . . . what? a week? It's just the usual holiday creative season chaos here, and I have about three times as many tasks on my to-do list every day as what even the most energetic and efficient person could ever get done, and Spirit knows I'm no longer that. 

Finally, tonight, five new works by Wings.

First up is the necklace shown up there; it's more modestly priced than most, a reflection of its smaller pendant size and [mostly] less costly stones. This is Smoke and Light:

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

That trillion-cut pendant looks like smoky quartz, but it's not: It's silver-sheen obsidian, and it is fabulous. It also refracts the light all the way through, because Wings excised part of the back of the bezel to allow it. The beads are a mix of white-lip mother-of-pearl shell and smoky quartz rounds and high-grade moonstones, the latter in gray tube-bead and peach/gray faceted cube forms. You can read its full description here.

The second of te new works is oone you've already seen if you read Friday's NDN Silver post. If not, it will be entirely new to you. This is Where Worlds Meet:

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

Why, yes, you have seen one like this recently anyway, but this one is a little slimmer, with a smaller stone, hence the somewhat lower price. It's nine-gauge sterling silver, stamped freehand and set with a staurolite, a rare stone found only in a few places on earth, and this is one of them. You can read its full description here.

The third, fourth, and fifth items are all barrettes: pairs of them, to be precise. These are smaller in design than what he usually makes, intended mostly as decorative barrettes for, say, one's stray front or side locks, but . . . the French clip assembly on the back of each is full-size, which means that most people can probably fit their entire ponytail's worth of hair into it. That's partly because he uses only genuine French clips for the barrette assemblies, and they are sturdier than the knockoffs.

First up is a fabulous lapis-set pair. These are Thunder At Twilight:

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

Solid, yet lightweight; all 20-gauge sterling silver, cut freehand and stamped freehand in an old traditional symbol representing conjoined thunderheads. The lapis squares at the center of each are nothing short of incredible: a deep blend of cobalt and violet blues, banded with shimmering lines of pryite that look like clouds of stardust. You can read their full description here.

Next up is a pair for this colder season (but frankly, for all seasons, at least around here). These are An Evergreen Medicine:

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

I love the stampwork on these: old-style, very deep, heavily oxidized, and capable of representing so many things. In this context, they remind me of an aerial view of snow-covered stands of evergreens and the shadows they cast. The jade cabs atthe center of each are highly domed and the exact color of winter spruce and Ponderosa pine needles. You can read their full description here.

Fifth and finally is the third par of barrettes, these slightly smaller, all silver, and wrought a bit differently. These are called Spirit Lines:

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

The gallery description explains the nature of spirit lines; it has to do with humility, with a necessary lack of hubris, with the recognition that only Spirit can create true perfection. These were not experimental, precisely, but perhaps . . . a bit casual, intended as a throwback, a vintage-style one-shot freehand work that represents, among other things, a  refusal to let leftover bits of silver go to waste. You can read their full description here.

All five works are gorgeous; all would make great holiday gifts, to others or to yourself. And there's plenty of other extraordinary inventory, which you can find by navigating from Wings's main page, here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. And we do urgently need to make consistent sales to make it through the rest of this third year of pandemic and loss, and the holiday sales season is now officially under way, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.

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.       

That shot I never get.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

This is that shot I never get (never have until now, anyway): Cricket, the traumatized feral, calm and contented enough to sleep in the sun, in the open, on the deck and in front of everybody. Yes, I took it through the window so as not to disturb him, but it's still one of the sweetest photos of him that I've ever been able to take. [If you're new-ish here, you won't know that Cricket was one of a pack of six ferals who showed up here almost five years ago, starved nearly to death, all bones, and in his case, horribly, unspeakably abused. The other five had happen to them, one by one, what tends to happen to ferals; they wander off and don't return (and in some cases you know why and mourn and in others you never get to find out but you still mourn because you know, really). All except Cricket. And all these years later, he still can't get past the trauma response enough to let us pet him, but he loves us and the pups, he knows this is his home, and he protects us all. It's vanishingly rare to see him feeling safe enough not to have to be on alert.]

I didn't fare so well. After waking up repeatedly, I finally gasped awake a little after three. There's nothing so terrifying as that moment when you first breathe again. [No, it's not sleep apnea; they can't figure out what the cause is, but it's dangerous.] Anyway, not much sleep at all, for me, obviously, and the financial stresses and the unending physical pain are not helping with that.

My whole focus now has to be on making sales. All of it. If I don't bring in more income soon, we're done, and there is no way around that. Not this month, not next month, not the rest of the year. This has been a spectacularly bad year for sales (and my Patreon, too, which is down several hundred dollars a month [one patron kindly gave me a few months' heads-up, but the rest is just cancellations and attrition courtesy of a terrible economy]), and between last year's installment payments (now done) and next year's quarterly payments (not done), the tax burden is killing us. 

As I said yesterday, my health is killing me, too, and the financial stresses are only compounding that. I know people don't understand what my illness actually does. The constant barrage to my immune system from the COVID vaccines is only making it worse, and there's nothing I can do for any of it. I would like to catch a break on something in this mess, but apparently that's going to be denied me yet again. The financial stuff has me at the absolute end of my tether, and I need help.

All the links are here; please, share them, too (and there's a new wishlist priority, the automatic composter, which will do wonders for saving on waste and allow Wings to compost the land and trees regularly even through the winter; my physical function is impaired enough now that things can only get done if I have the help of equipment like this):

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (priorities are, first and foremost, the automatic composter and the wheelbarrow, then the other ladder);
• 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.                                                             

A Renewing Fire of Night

Phoot copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a work light on physical weight but heavy on spiritual power. It's a tribute to the spirit beings of the skies, of the purifying flames of their feathers and a renewing fire of night.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. We urgently  need to make consistent sales to make it through the rest of this third year of pandemic and loss, and the holiday sales season is now officially under way, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.

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.       

Pretty while it lasted.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

Mid-morning yesterday.  It was pretty while it lasted, but it was all gone by noon. There's still a little on some of the peaks, but even that's just the barest dusting.

We're gonna need a lot more snow than that for the land to make it through the end of this year, never mind the whole winter.

And we're gonna need a lot more rain, of the metaphorical variety, to make it out of this year (hell, out of this month) as well.

I can't get done even a fraction of what I need to be doing, and first and foremost among that is making sales. If I don't bring in more income soon, we're done, and there is no way around that. Not this month, not next month, not the rest of the year. This has been a spectacularly bad year for sales (and my Patreon, too, which is down several hundred dollars a month [one patron kindly gave me a few months' heads-up, but the rest is just cancellations and attrition courtesy of a terrible economy]), and between last year's installment payments and next year's quarterly payments, the tax burden is killing us. 

As I said yesterday, my health is killing me, too, and the financial stresses are only compounding that. I know people don't understand what my illness actually does. The constant barrage to my immune system from the COVID vaccines is only making it worse, and there's nothing I can do for any of it. I would like to catch a break on something in this mess, but apparently that's going to be denied me yet again. The financial stuff has me at the absolute end of my tether, and I need help.

All the links are here; please, share them, too (and there's a new wishlist priority, the automatic composter, which will do wonders for saving on waste and allow Wings to compost the land and trees regularly even through the winter; my physical function is impaired enough now that things can only get done if I have the help of equipment like this):

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (priorities are, first and foremost, the automatic composter and the wheelbarrow, then the other ladder);
• 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.                                                             

Weaving a Way Forward

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a simple, slender traditional-style work wrought with the imagery of guidance and direction, visions and dreams. It's a cuff bracelet that embodies the reckoning required of us all, one that honors memory and prophecy and the work of weaving a way forward.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. We urgently  need to make consistent sales to make it through the rest of this third year of pandemic and loss, and the holiday sales season is now officially under way, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.

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.      

Never enough hours in the day.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

New mini barrettes in the works. They'll probably be done tomorrow. The new cuff is in today's post, and I still have to write the description for the new necklace, but there are never enough hours in the day.

And this one began early, with Wings's clinic appointment (just routine, and it's ridiculous that I feel the need to clarify that, but I'm tired of colonizer white women badgering me about Wings's health when, one, it's none of their business, and two, they make it clear they don't give a shit about mine). Then I spent the day packing up some commissioned/honor and other work, which took a very long time, and we got it all to the post office mid-afternoon. I'm extra slow today, because of internal joint swelling and the kind of pain that the meds don't even touch. It's bad, it's getting worse, and there's evidently nothing I can do for it (or more, accurately, there's nothing American medicine will do for me, because this government believes people with pain should suck it up and suffer rather than be treated properly). The snow was gone by noon, and there apparently won't be anymore until next week, but its disappearing act doesn't do a thing for my pain levels.

I can't get done even a fraction of what I need to be doing, and first and foremost among that is making sales. If I don't bring in more income soon, we're done, and there is no way around that. Not this month, not next month, not the rest of the year. This has been a spectacularly bad year for sales (and my Patreon, too, which is down several hundred dollars a month [one patron kindly gave me a few months' heads-up, but the rest is just cancellations and attrition courtesy of a terrible economy]), and between last year's installment payments and next year's quarterly payments, the tax burden is killing us. 

As I said yesterday, my health is killing me, too, and the financial stresses are only compounding that. I know people don't understand what my illness actually does. The constant barrage to my immune system from the COVID vaccines is only making it worse, and there's nothing I can do for any of it. I would like to catch a break on something in this mess, but apparently that's going to be denied me yet again. The financial stuff has me at the absolute end of my tether, and I need help.

All the links are here; please, share them, too (and there's a new wishlist priority, the automatic composter, which will do wonders for saving on waste and allow Wings to compost the land and trees regularly even through the winter; my physical function is impaired enough now that things can only get done if I have the help of equipment like this):

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (priorities are, first and foremost, the automatic composter and the wheelbarrow, then the other ladder);
• 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.                                                             

Friday Feature: Traversing the Angles and Scaling the Peaks

Photo copyrigth Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

It's our Friday Feature at The NDN Silver Blog, with a pair of works built around rare gifts of the earth that seem to match but also stand in their own identity and spirit. It's two cuffs of differing sizes built around the local gems known as staurolites, reminding us of the potential and power to be found in the work of traversing the angles and scaling the peaks.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. We urgently  need to make consistent sales to make it through the rest of this third year of pandemic and loss, and the holiday sales season is now officially under way, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.

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.  

Not happening.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

I wish I could do like this youngster: just sit in the light for a while. Of course, I'd like to fly, too, but that's not happening, either.

I'm discouraged. The pain never lets up; neither does the fatigue, but the pain is the cause of that. I'm moving so slowly now that I can't get done even a fraction of hat I need to be doing, and first and foremost among that is making sales. If I don't bring in more income soon, we're done, and there is no way around that. Not this month, not next month, not the rest of the year. This has been a spectacularly bad year for sales (and my Patreon, too, which is down several hundred dollars a month [one patron kindly gave me a few months' heads-up, but the rest is just cancellations and attrition courtesy of a terrible economy]), and between last year's installment payments and next year's quarterly payments, the tax burden is killing us. 

As I said yesterday, my health is killing me, too, and the financial stresses are only compounding that. I know people don't understand what my illness actually does. The constant barrage to my immune system from the COVID vaccines is only making it worse, and there's nothing I can do for any of it. I would like to catch a break on something in this mess, but apparently that's going to be denied me yet again. The financial stuff has me at the absolute end of my tether, and I need help.

All the links are here; please, share them, too (and there's a new wishlist priority, the automatic composter, which will do wonders for saving on waste and allow Wings to compost the land and trees regularly even through the winter; my physical function is impaired enough now that things can only get done if I have the help of equipment like this):

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (priorities are, first and foremost, the automatic composter and the wheelbarrow, then the other ladder);
• 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.                                                            

#TBT: Braiding History and Time

Photo copyright Wings, 2022; all rights reserved.

It's #ThrowbackThursday at The NDN Silver Blog, with a #TBT work dating back to 2008 or so, an old traditional style given a contemporary twist, one to show us what was and what could be again. It's a wristband wrought vintage-style, with all the symbolism inherent to conchas made from coins, braiding history and time to remain alive in memory and imagination alike.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. This work obviously will never be duplicated exactly, but if the style speaks to your spirit, simply inquire via the site's Contact form; Wings can create a version uniquely your own. We urgently need to make consistent sales to make it through the rest of this third year of pandemic and loss, and the holiday sales season is now officially under way, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.

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.      

It's cold.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

Two days ago, those leaves were all gold, still with some hints of green near the bottom. That's what they looked like yesterday. Today? Most of them are gone. More clouds moving in again today; supposed to be winter weather again tomorrow. It's cold, and it's windy, and I have so much to do and so few hours in which to get it done.

I'm also battling absolutely god-awful pain levels now, so I'm not going to be worth much online these days. I will, I hope, have those two new pieces uploaded and presented here this evening, but it depends on how much I get done on other fronts. This is our busiest season of the year, even if sales are absurdly slow (as they've been all year, so that's not new, but now it's coming to the breaking point on stuff that needs to be paid before the year's out). The rest is all cut-and-paste and likely will be for a while. It's all still relevant. We were privileged to make a sale last night, which helps, but I need to make about four more of like size (or twice as many smaller ones) to cover everything I need too cover right now. So if I don't make more sales soon, we're still screwed.

Without those sales, or more income from somewhere, we don't make it. Not this month, not next month, not the rest of the year. This has been a sepctacularly bad year for sales (and my Patreon, too, which is down several hundred dollars a month [one patron kindly gave me a few month's heads-up, but the rest is just cancellations and attrition courtesy of a terrible economy]), and between last year's installment payments and next year's quarterly payments, the tax burden is killing us. 

As I said yesterday, my health is killing me, too, and the financial stresses are only compounding that.

The long and short of it on that front is that there is, at the moment, nothing to be done for me. I can't take the meds that keep certain symptoms under control, because the meds create other symptoms that frankly have the potential to kill me, too. I've been off them for a couple of months now, and I'm still enduring the nasty side effects (it takes several months to get them out of your system) plus all the returning problems of having absolutely no protection for my connective tissue. You may think that means joint pain, and it does, excruciatingly so, but what you probably don't know is that it also means organ function. I can already feel an increase in esophageal and tracheal issues. The tumor in my thyroid seems to be aggravating neck function, and Spirit alone knows what the tumors on my liver are doing. No, there isn't anything, in practical terms, that I can do for all of this except deal, and it's getting harder and harder to do that.

The financial stresses of this year have damaged my mental health, which is already reeling from the physical issues. And all of it combines to make the stress levels worse, and around and around we go in a vicious circle with no end to it.

I am at the end of my tether, though. I need help. I need to bring in enough sales to cover the rest of the tax burden (into four figures), and another four figures' worth to enable Wings to get the silver he needs to fulfill commissions and create holiday inventory. It all crashes to a halt without those two things covered, and right now, there's not a hope in hell of covering either one. A couple of really good sales for the holidays would do it, but I'm not convinced the economy is good enough for that.

All the links are here; please, share them, too (and there's a new wishlist priority, the automatic composter, which will do wonders for saving on waste and allow Wings to compost the land and trees regularly even through the winter; my physical function is impaired enough now that things can only get done if I have the help of equipment like this):

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (priorities are, first and foremost, the automatic composter and the wheelbarrow, then the other ladder);
• 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.                                                           

A Gift of Season and Spirits and Sacred Spaces

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a masterwork for the medicine of this unsettled climate and time of year. It's a tribute to ancient ways and powers older still, a gift of season and spirits and sacred spaces.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. We urgently  need to make consistent sales to make it through the rest of this third year of pandemic and loss, and the holiday sales season is now officially under way, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.

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.      

Already gone.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

Some of that snow is already gone. Even so, what was still gold yesterday has gone brown today, and what leaves remain on the branches are being stripped away fast by the wind. It's cold, made more so by that wind, and perfectly clear.

And it drove me into an asthma attack, which is how I woke up this morning: coughing, unable to breathe, dealing wtih all this crap all over again. I am tired, my head hurts from the attack, and my body hurts more, too, so I'm not even bothering with the rest; I have too much offline work to get done, so the rest is all cut-and-paste. It's all still relevant, and if I don't make some sales soon, we're screwed.

But there's still the problem of sales, or more to the point, the lack of any this past week. Without sales, or more income from somewhere, we don't make it. Not this month, not next month, not the rest of the year. This has been a sepctacularly bad year for sales (and my Patreon, too, which is down several hundred dollars a month [one patron kindly gave me a few month's heads-up, but the rest is just cancellations and attrition courtesy of a terrible economy]), and between last year's installment payments and next year's quarterly payments, the tax burden is killing us. 

As I said yesterday, my health is killing me, too, and the financial stresses are only compounding that.

The long and short of it on that front is that there is, at the moment, nothing to be done for me. I can't take the meds that keep certain symptoms under control, because the meds create other symptoms that frankly have the potential to kill me, too. I've been off them for a couple of months now, and I'm still enduring the nasty side effects (it takes several months to get them out of your system) plus all the returning problems of having absolutely no protection for my connective tissue. You may think that means joint pain, and it does, excruciatingly so, but what you probably don't know is that it also means organ function. I can already feel an increase in esophageal and tracheal issues. The tumor in my thyroid seems to be aggravating neck function, and Spirit alone knows what the tumors on my liver are doing. No, there isn't anything, in practical terms, that I can do for all of this except deal, and it's getting harder and harder to do that.

The financial stresses of this year have damaged my mental health, which is already reeling from the physical issues. And all of it combines to make the stress levels worse, and around and around we go in a vicious circle with no end to it.

I am at the end of my tether, though. I need help. I need to bring in enough sales to cover the rest of the tax burden (into four figures), and another four figures' worth to enable Wings to get the silver he needs to fulfill commissions and create holiday inventory. It all crashes to a halt without those two things covered, and right now, there's not a hope in hell of covering either one. A couple of really good sales for the holidays would do it, but I'm not convinced the economy is good enough for that.

All the links are here; please, share them, too (and there's a new wishlist priority, the automatic composter, which will do wonders for saving on waste and allow Wings to compost the land and trees regularly even through the winter; my physical function is impaired enough now that things can only get done if I have the help of equipment like this):

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (priorities are, first and foremost, the automatic composter and the wheelbarrow, then the other ladder);
• 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.                                                           

Red Willow Spirit: Limbed, Limned, and Shadowed

Photo copyright Wings, 2022; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's an edition of Red Willow Spirit for a season of cold newly arrived amid an ever-shortening path of the light. It's a contemplation, too, of the particular gifts of this season, of the medicine of Father Sun who still makes his jounrey daily to deliver to us an earth limbed, limned, and shadowed in his glowing embrace.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. As always, his photos are available in any of the usual three formats; simply inquire via the site's Contact form. We urgently need to make consistent sales to make it through the rest of this third year of pandemic and loss, and the holiday sales season is now officially under way, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.

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.    

Works in progress.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

That was yesterday: two more works in progress. He's out in the studio now, because it's too cold and windy to do any of the thousands of outdoor tasks that need doing. He's also in the middle of some commissioned piece and honor gifts that are bigger projects; there are always multiple items at every conceivable stage of the creative process on his workbench at any one time.

But there's still the problem of sales, or more to the point, the lack of any this past week. Without sales, or more income from somewhere, we don't make it. Not this month, not next month, not the rest of the year. This has been a sepctacularly bad year for sales (and my Patreon, too, which is down several hundred dollars a month [one patron kindly gave me a few month's heads-up, but the rest is just cancellations and attrition courtesy of a terrible economy]), and between last year's installment payments and next year's quarterly payments, the tax burden is killing us. 

As I said yesterday, my health is killing me, too, and the financial stresses are only compounding that.

The long and short of it on that front is that there is, at the moment, nothing to be done for me. I can't take the meds that keep certain symptoms under control, because the meds create other symptoms that frankly have the potential to kill me, too. I've been off them for a couple of months now, and I'm still enduring the nasty side effects (it takes several months to get them out of your system) plus all the returning problems of having absolutely no protection for my connective tissue. You may think that means joint pain, and it does, excruciatingly so, but what you probably don't know is that it also means organ function. I can already feel an increase in esophageal and tracheal issues. The tumor in my thyroid seems to be aggravating neck function, and Spirit alone knows what the tumors on my liver are doing. No, there isn't anything, in practical terms, that I can do for all of this except deal, and it's getting harder and harder to do that.

The financial stresses of this year have damaged my mental health, which is already reeling from the physical issues. And all of it combines to make the stress levels worse, and around and around we go in a vicious circle with no end to it.

I am at the end of my tether, though. I need help. I need to bring in enough sales to cover the rest of the tax burden (into four figures), and another four figures' worth to enable Wings to get the silver he needs to fulfill commissions and create holiday inventory. It all crashes to a halt without those two things covered, and right now, there's not a hope in hell of covering either one. A couple of really good sales for the holidays would do it, but I'm not convinced the economy is good enough for that.

All the links are here; please, share them, too (and there's a new wishlist priority, the automatic composter, which will do wonders for saving on waste and allow Wings to compost the land and trees regularly even through the winter; my physical function is impaired enough now that things can only get done if I have the help of equipment like this):

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (priorities are, first and foremost, the automatic composter and the wheelbarrow, then the other ladder);
• 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.                                                           

Monday Photo Meditation: The Lines of the Storm

Photo copyright Wings, 2022;
all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a photo meditation for the first faintly snowy Monday of the season. It's a contemplation of the the geography and geometry of seasonal gifts, of the lines of the storm in the spaces we inhabit, and the medicine of hope that they bring.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. As always, his photos are available in any of the usual three formats; simply inquire via the site's Contact form. We urgently need to make consistent sales to make it through the rest of this third year of pandemic and loss, and the holiday sales season is now officially under way, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.

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.        

Vicious winds.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

That was a couple of hours ago. Now, the sky is mostly white, and it's snowing on the peaks, but down here, it's just a smattering of rain. If you look at the tree on the left side of the photo, though, you'll see what we do have: vicious winds, the kind that make everything impossible.

The whole world is riven by vicious winds now. And I am at a loss; without sales, or more income from somewhere, we don't make it. Not this month, not next month, not the rest of the year. This has been a sepctacularly bad year for sales (and my Patreon, too, which is down several hundred dollars a month), and between last year's installment payments and next year's quarterly payments, the tax burden is killing us. 

My health is killing me, too, and the financial stresses are only compounding that.

The long and short of it on that front is that there is, at the moment, nothing to be done for me. I can't take the meds that keep certain symptoms under control, because the meds create other symptoms that frankly have the potential to kill me, too. I've been off them for a couple of months now, and I'm still enduring the nasty side effects (it takes several months to get them out of your system) plus all the returning problems of having absolutely no protection for my connective tissue. You may think that means joint pain, and it does, excruciatingly so, but what you probably don't know is that it also means organ function. I can already feel an increase in esophageal and tracheal issues. The tumor in my thyroid seems to be aggravating neck function, and Spirit alone knows what the tumors on my liver are doing. No, there isn't anything, in practical terms, that I can do for all of this except deal, and it's getting harder and harder to do that.

The financial stresses of this year have damaged my mental health, which is already reeling from the physical issues. And all of it combines to make the stress levels worse, and around and around we go in a vicious circle with no end to it.

I am at the end of my tether, though. I need help. I need to bring in enough sales to cover the rest of the tax burden (into four figures), and another four figures' worth to enable Wings to get the silver he needs to fulfill commissions and create holiday inventory. It all crashes to a halt without those two things covered, and right now, there's not a hope in hell of covering either one. A couple of really good sales for the holidays would do it, but I'm not convinced the economy is good enough for that.

All the links are here; please, share them, too (and there's a new wishlist priority, the automatic composter, which will do wonders for saving on waste and allow Wings to compost the land and trees regularly even through the winter; my physical function is impaired enough now that things can only get done if I have the help of equipment like this):

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (priorities are, first and foremost, the automatic composter and the wheelbarrow, then the other ladder);
• 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.