Ajijaakwe: September 2023

Saturday, September 30, 2023

Something on the way.

Last day of September. Also San G, but it's a pandemic, so we're not there. Also, my feet wouldn't handle it right now anyway.

No clouds whatsoever that way this morning; that's what that stretch of sky looks like now. The wind has risen in the last half-hour, too. There's something on the way, but whether that translates to rain remains to be seen.

This business with the dislocations in my right hand is really old. It's been going on for months, but last night hit a new low, and it's the same today. I'm doing everything with my left hand, which is not my dominant one, which means that 1) I'm really, really slow, 2) I'm really, really clumsy, and 3) I'm screwing up everything. And I don't have that kind of time right now.

In addition to the inability to type properly, I also just don't have enough hours in the day to push sales the way it needs to be done. We have been blessed with a couple of sales now, and some breathing room that we haven't had in a long while. But he will still need to stock up on supplies (silver, stones, etc.) for building that holiday inventory. We have a whole winter to get through, too, which lasts much, much longer than that, and we'll need firewood. Wings has already abandoned any notion of getting the dental work that he so badly needs to have done properly; I canceled last week's medical appointment for myself; and we're focused solely on the sales, on making it ourselves, and on helping other folks to make it if and when we can.

We have to make up a LOT of ground financially over the next three+ months. A LOT. And I cannot maintain the pace or workload I have in years past; hell, I can barely walk, and I have to limit my typing time now, too [constant dislocations in my dominant hand]. That means that we need help with shares, and with testimonials, too. If you have some of Wings's work and are willing to have a testimonial published on the site, send it to me via the Contact form (we will list you however you wish, by name, name and initial, initials only, some other way that doesn't identify you; you can see an example n our newest, here). All the links are listed below, so please share:

Sales here;

Testimonials here;

Amazon wishlist here (apparently the sponges are unavailable, but the other two things I need that I can't get here are the Bar Keeper's Friend coffeemaker cleaner and descaler; we're entirely out of both [or Amazon cards, and I can order them myself]);

Patreon here;

Ko-fi here.

There's lots of fabulous work on the site, and the five new pairs of concha earrings went up the other day, here (one is sold, but the other four remain available). The way this year has gone, things will still be grim for a good while, so please share all of the links.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2023; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Jewels In the Light

Photo copyright Aji, 2023;
all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a work wrought in an old traditional style to honor the truth that from the heart of the earth our whole grows, including one of the delicate now-departing spirits of the season. It's Dragonfly in simple, spare, but powerful form, here to impart wisdom and warnings alike, and a reminder that these days, like these tiny beings, are important — in a world wounded and readying for winter, they are jewels in the light.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. We will still need to make consistent sales in this fourth year of pandemic and loss, and we are facing enormous expenses in the middle of our worst sales year in a very long time, so shares are desperately needed and much appreciated.

Friday, September 29, 2023

It's all wind and smoke

More smoke haze. They say we'll get rain tomorrow, but for now, it's all wind and smoke.

And pain. My right hand and wrist continue to deteriorate, and the pain is absolutely unspeakable. No, there's nothing they can do. And you don't realize 1) how much you rely on your dominant hand for seemingly unrelated things, and 2) how the tiniest movement of the fingertips implicates muscles and tendons all across the hand and halfway up the arm . . . until you don't have proper use of it anymore. The pain is agonizing, and it's really made all my work grind to a halt.

Sales here;

Testimonials here;

Patreon here;

Ko-fi here.

Friday Feature: A Last Dance On the Light

It's our Friday Feature at The NDN Silver Blog, with a matched pair of works that, unusually for Wings, are sold as a set. It's necklace and earrings wrought of ingot in an old traditional style, all three pieces created to honor Dragonfly, a spirit messenger here for a last dance on the light.

Thursday, September 28, 2023

High and thin.

Lots of clouds, high and thin. I, unfortunately, am neither of those things. Besides, there's no way to get high enough to deal with this level of physical pain, nor to deal with the absolute evil that Elon Musk is perpetrating via Twitter. I'm seriously considering smoking both accounts entirely [not that kind of smoking], rather than try to work around his fucking theft.

I'm so far behind. It's hard when my hands are not functioning, and they're not. I also just don't have enough hours in the day to push sales the way it needs to be done. We have been blessed with a couple of sales now, and some breathing room that we haven't had in a long while. But he will still need to stock up on supplies (silver, stones, etc.) for building that holiday inventory. We have a whole winter to get through, too, which lasts much, much longer than that, and we'll need firewood. Wings has already abandoned any notion of getting the dental work that he so badly needs to have done properly; I canceled last week's medical appointment for myself; and we're focused solely on the sales, on making it ourselves, and on helping other folks to make it if and when we can.

We have to make up a LOT of ground financially over the next three+ months. A LOT. And I cannot maintain the pace or workload I have in years past; hell, I can barely walk, and I have to limit my typing time now, too [constant dislocations in my dominant hand]. That means that we need help with shares, and with testimonials, too. If you have some of Wings's work and are willing to have a testimonial published on the site, send it to me via the Contact form (we will list you however you wish, by name, name and initial, initials only, some other way that doesn't identify you). All the links are listed below, so please share:

Sales here;

Testimonials here;

Patreon here;

Ko-fi here.

#TBT: Tiny Messengers of the Light

It's #ThrowbackThursday at The NDN Silver Blog, with a #TBT work that honors tradition's keeper, the fragile but powerful wingéd spirit of wind and water, wisdom and warnings. It's Dragonfly, one in Wings's irregular but longstanding signature series of necklaces and pendants, one wrought in tribute to these tiny messengers of the light.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. As always, this work will never be duplicated, 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 will still need to make consistent sales in this fourth year of pandemic and loss, and we are facing enormous expenses in the middle of our worst sales year in a very long time, so shares are desperately needed and much appreciated.

Wednesday, September 27, 2023

A shift in wind direction.

New gold through the haze. Yeah, we've got a smoke pall again, and while there's clearing to the northeast now, the western sky is a dirty white. It appeared suddenly at sunset last night, a gigantic, dark, heavy plume that stretched from northwest to southwest and beyond. Supposedly it's a prescribed burn west of here a good way, but given the size of the plume and the winds we've had day and night since before they ignited it, it's unlikely to be a controlled burn.

And after the Forest Service's repeated deadly destructive negligence of last year (and before, and since, too), no one's going to take their word for anything now.

Anyway, the air last night was hideous. It wasn't a lot better this morning, either, but at least we've had a shift in wind direction that has cleared out some of it. Now, we just need the kind that brings some rain (of both kinds).

Because no, I have not recovered from the [further] damage Monday's errands has inflicted on my joints, and I just don't have enough hours in the day to push sales the way it needs to be done. We have been blessed with a couple of sales now, and some breathing room that we haven't had in a long while. But he will still need to stock up on supplies (silver, stones, etc.) for building that holiday inventory. We have a whole winter to get through, too, which lasts much, much longer than that, and we'll need firewood. Wings has already abandoned any notion of getting the dental work that he so badly needs to have done properly; I canceled last week's medical appointment for myself; and we're focused solely on the sales, on making it ourselves, and on helping other folks to make it if and when we can.

We have to make up a LOT of ground financially over the next three+ months. A LOT. And I cannot maintain the pace or workload I have in years past; hell, I can barely walk, and I have to limit my typing time now, too [constant dislocations in my dominant hand]. That means that we need help with shares, and with testimonials, too. If you have some of Wings's work and are willing to have a testimonial published on the site, send it to me via the Contact form (we will list you however you wish, by name, name and initial, initials only, some other way that doesn't identify you). All the links are listed below, so please share:

Sales here;

Testimonials here;

Patreon here;

Ko-fi here.

The Mystical Fire of the Autumn Light

Photo copyright Aji, 2023;
all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a work to honor one of the last few fragile spirits whose presence transcends the early boundaries of this season, Butterfly Maiden as you've never seen her before. It's a necklace, big, bold, beautiful, and simultaneously both gentle and powerful, robed in the colors of fall and the mystical fire of the autumn light.

Tuesday, September 26, 2023

Astonishing speed.

Another beautiful day. This is the most colorful season of the year, too, and we're starting to see it appear, finally. Ironically, there was at least as much, possibly more, in town yesterday than here, and given that it's lower elevation there, it should be the other way around.

Speaking of yesterday, I was right. The errands destroyed my feet and knees and hands, too. I'll be like this for a few days, which is to say, not all the different from any other day, except that the pain is even worse. My life has imploded with astonishing speed.

I just don't have enough hours in the day to push sales the way it needs to be done. We have been blessed with a couple of sales now, and some breathing room that we haven't had in a long while. But he will still need to stock up on supplies (silver, stones, etc.) for building that holiday inventory. We have a whole winter to get through, too, which lasts much, much longer than that, and we'll need firewood. Wings has already abandoned any notion of getting the dental work that he so badly needs to have done properly; I canceled last week's medical appointment for myself; and we're focused solely on the sales, on making it ourselves, and on helping other folks to make it if and when we can.

We have to make up a LOT of ground financially over the next three+ months. A LOT. And I cannot maintain the pace or workload I have in years past; hell, I can barely walk, and I have to limit my typing time now, too [constant dislocations in my dominant hand]. That means that we need help with shares, and with testimonials, too. If you have some of Wings's work and are willing to have a testimonial published on the site, send it to me via the Contact form (we will list you however you wish, by name, name and initial, initials only, some other way that doesn't identify you). All the links are listed below, so please share:

Sales here;

Testimonials here;

Patreon here;

Ko-fi here.

Red Willow Spirit: When the Leaves Love the Light

Photo copyright Wings, 2023;
all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's an edition of Red Willow Spirit for the full range and beauty of fall in this place, for the fire of the aspens and the maples and the jewel tones of the season. It's a collection of four images linked by three related works of wearable art, all of them ethereally beautiful examples of what happens here at this time of year when the leaves love the light.

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 will still need to make consistent sales in this fourth year of pandemic and loss, and we are facing enormous expenses in the middle of our worst sales year in a very long time, so shares are desperately needed and much appreciated.

Monday, September 25, 2023

Don't have time for that.

The larger fire maple is showing signs of the first red of the season. Just a little at the very top, but it's visible.

The mercury, of course, had other ideas today: a good ten degrees hotter, and after the recent cool, very uncomfortable. Particularly when stuck on my feet on a hard floor, crowded too closely in a pharmacy line with ten people ahead of me, no air conditioning, the staff run off their feet, and error after error keeping me stuck there the better part of an hour.

I'm in agony now, of course. It's amazing how little walking (or standing) I can do anymore. I'll really pay for it tomorrow. And it's not just my feet; it's really demoralizing to realize that you can't do really basic stuff anymore. Packing two orders for shipment today? Just trying to put the rubber bands around the gift boxes was agonizing (and incredibly clumsy). Writing? Forget about it; it's illegible now.

And tomorrow I will be mostly nonfunctional, and I don't have time for that.

Of course, I still physically can't do everything that needs doing on any other front, either, and I just don't have enough hours in the day to push sales the way it needs to be done. We have been blessed with a couple of sales now, and some breathing room that we haven't had in a long while. But he will still need to stock up on supplies (silver, stones, etc.) for building that holiday inventory. We have a whole winter to get through, too, which lasts much, much longer than that, and we'll need firewood. Wings has already abandoned any notion of getting the dental work that he so badly needs to have done properly; I canceled last week's medical appointment for myself; and we're focused solely on the sales, on making it ourselves, and on helping other folks to make it if and when we can.

We have to make up a LOT of ground financially over the next three+ months. A LOT. And I cannot maintain the pace or workload I have in years past; hell, I can barely walk, and I have to limit my typing time now, too [constant dislocations in my dominant hand]. That means that we need help with shares, and with testimonials, too. If you have some of Wings's work and are willing to have a testimonial published on the site, send it to me via the Contact form (we will list you however you wish, by name, name and initial, initials only, some other way that doesn't identify you). All the links are listed below, so please share:

Sales here;

Testimonials here;

Patreon here;

Ko-fi here.

Monday Photo Meditation: A Last Gift of Air and Light

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a Monday Photo Meditation for September's end, and for a final visitation by summer spirits in the first few days of official fall. It's a lifer shot of butterflies, twinned, captured on a post-storm late summer's afternoon, their very being echoed today by two of their cousins whose presence seems a last gift of air and light.

Sunday, September 24, 2023

More fall colors.

More fall colors, these from my honey. It's nice to add a little brightness to the house, especially since none of our wild sunflowers or my beloved glads made it this year. But these colors and this combination are among my favorites.

We can both already feel October breathing down our necks, though. Personally, it's a month of mixed good and very bad (and this year, the very bad is a 30-year marker, and those 10-year points always seem somehow worse), but the fact that it also essentially marks the start of his holiday creative season means that I don't have much time to dwell on either one. That's going to be all the more true this year, given how much more disabled by autoimmune disease I am than I was even just last year.

Of course, I still physically can't do everything that needs doing, and I just don't have enough hours in the day to push sales the way it needs to be done. We have been blessed with a couple of sales now, and some breathing room that we haven't had in a long while. But he will still need to stock up on supplies (silver, stones, etc.) for building that holiday inventory. We have a whole winter to get through, too, which lasts much, much longer than that, and we'll need firewood. Wings has already abandoned any notion of getting the dental work that he so badly needs to have done properly; I canceled last week's medical appointment for myself; and we're focused solely on the sales, on making it ourselves, and on helping other folks to make it if and when we can.

We have to make up a LOT of ground financially over the next three+ months. A LOT. And I cannot maintain the pace or workload I have in years past; hell, I can barely walk, and I have to limit my typing time now, too [constant dislocations in my dominant hand]. That means that we need help with shares, and with testimonials, too. If you have some of Wings's work and are willing to have a testimonial published on the site, send it to me via the Contact form (we will list you however you wish, by name, name and initial, initials only, some other way that doesn't identify you). All the links are listed below, so please share:

Sales here;

Testimonials here;

Patreon here;

Ko-fi here.

In Flight, Upon the Light

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a masterwork to honor the last of the warm-weather spirits, bearing messages on wings of the sun. It's Butterfly as you've never seen her before, an extraordinary example of freehand silverwork manifesting beauty and medicine in flight, upon the light.

Saturday, September 23, 2023

We'll take it.

It's a perfect first official day of fall: some sun, plenty of dark clouds, an edge to the wind, and lots of color emerging now.

We'll take it.

After all, days like this give us hope for a real winter, with plenty of snow.

A real winter, too, would be one with a more normal holiday sales rate, and yes, it's that time of year again. All we can do on that score is cross our fingers and pray a lot. We're already working flat-out.

Of course, I still physically can't do everything that needs doing, and I just don't have enough hours in the day to push sales the way it needs to be done. We have been blessed with a sale now, and that gives us breathing room we haven't had in some time. But October is now just around the corner, and that's the official start of our holiday sales season, and he needs to stock up on supplies (silver, stones, etc.) for building that inventory. We have a whole winter to get through, too, which lasts much, much longer than that. Wings has already abandoned any notion of getting the dental work that he so badly needs to have done properly; I canceled last week's medical appointment for myself; and we're focused solely on the sales, on making it ourselves, and on helping other folks to make it if and when we can.

We have to make up a LOT of ground financially over the next three+ months. A LOT. And I cannot maintain the pace or workload I have in years past; hell, I can barely walk, and I have to limit my typing time now, too [constant dislocations in my dominant hand]. That means that we need help with shares, and with testimonials, too. If you have some of Wings's work and are willing to have a testimonial published on the site, send it to me via the Contact form (we will list you however you wish, by name, name and initial, initials only, some other way that doesn't identify you). All the links are listed below, so please share:

Sales here;

Testimonials here;

Patreon here;

Ko-fi here.

An Earth Still Capable of Abundance

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a work to remember the spirits departing now, the ones who help ensure that we live in a prospering world. It's Serpent as you've never seen him, robed in the greens and golds visible outside the window now, reminding us, as he heads for his long winter's rest, that this is an Earth still capable of abundance.

Friday, September 22, 2023

Visibly gold.

Last full day of official summer, and the aspen line is visibly gold. Wings's phone sent him his morning reminders of photos he's taken, and one was from tomorrow's date five years ago — much more gold already visible. Why? Because that was the first brutal year that transformed a 500-year drought into a 1,200-year one, the year that we got a summer of no rain. Which means that we're a little better off this year in that respect . . . but worse off in terms of the longer view, because the damage has been done and is accelerating now.

Still. It's fall, has been for more than a month now, and official fall shows up around midday tomorrow, so it's a time of hope. Yes, I know, most people find hope in spring, but for us, fall and winter children that we are, it's this time of year, and we both found our moods already lifted a bit this morning with that knowledge. Today is beautiful, bright clear skies and technically ten degrees warmer, although the temperature feels at least as cool thanks to the knife-edge on the wind. The lack of rapid-fire changes in barometric pressure that we've had this last week or two also means that our joints are suffering that little bit less, and as bad as it's been, for both of us? Even a little bit of improvement is noticeable.

Of course, I still physically can't do everything that needs doing, and I just don't have enough hours in the day to push sales the way it needs to be done. We have been blessed with a sale now, and that gives us breathing room we haven't had in some time. But October is now just around the corner, and that's the official start of our holiday sales season, and he needs to stock up on supplies for building that inventory. We have a whole winter to get through, too, which lasts much, much longer than that. Wings has already abandoned any notion of getting the dental work that he so badly needs to have done properly; I canceled last week's medical appointment for myself; and we're focused solely on the sales, on making it ourselves, and on helping other folks to make it if and when we can.

We have to make up a LOT of ground financially over the next three+ months. A LOT. And I cannot maintain the pace or workload I have in years past; hell, I can barely walk, and I have to limit my typing time now, too [constant dislocations in my dominant hand]. That means that we need help with shares, and with testimonials, too. If you have some of Wings's work and are willing to have a testimonial published on the site, send it to me via the Contact form (we will list you however you wish, by name, name and initial, initials only, some other way that doesn't identify you). All the links are listed below, so please share:

Sales here;

Testimonials here;

Patreon here;

Ko-fi here.

There's lots of fabulous work on the site, and the five new pairs of concha earrings went up yesterday, here. The way this year has gone, things will still be grim for a good while, so please share all of the links.

Friday Feature: A Gentle Embrace of a Changing Earth

It's our Friday Feature at The NDN Silver Blog, with a coordinated trio of works from Wings's signature series of gemstone bead collections. These are works that move seamlessly from summer into fall, manifest in soft shades and a gentle embrace of a changing earth.

Thursday, September 21, 2023

Five new pairs of concha earrings by Wings.

Yesterday I said I would have five new pairs of earrings. It took an extra day, but here they are: five new pairs of concha earrings by Wings.

These are all offered at lower price points: $325 each for the first four pairs, and $315 for the fifth, which is 1/8" smaller than the others.

First up is my personal favorite, the Art Deco-influenced pair shown above. Here they are again [you can enlarge the photo by clicking on it]:

This pair is called Points of Light [and no, it doesn't reference that Republican colonizer; we've used such terms long before they ever thought of and then took credit falsely for them]. These are hand-scored in sharp right angles, with deep, repeating freehand micro-stamping over their domed surfaces. Florentine finish on this pair, and they really do dance. You can read their full description here.

The second pair is all about the daylight:

This pair is called, quite simply, Blue Skies. They're classic old-style conchas, each with an arc of four traditional sunrise symbols linked across the center, each topped by a single round cab of perfectly clear blue Kingman turquoise. the cabs are both offset from center, in mirror images of each other. You can read their full description here.

The third pair, though, is all about the night:

This pair is called At Each End of the Night. They're the same size as the two above (when domed, 1" across in all directions), and with the same radiant four-stamp motif as the turquoise pair. But these are set with he perfect glossy black of the night, small round onyx cabochons, again, offset and mirror images of each other. You can read their full description here.

Fourth is the last of the larger-sized pairs, with slightly different stampwork:

This pair is called The Way of the Moon, and they differ in a couple of respects. Same size, similar but not identical stampwork: This stampwork is a linked trio of a kiva-steps pattern inside a radiant motif. Here, the rainbow moonstone cabochons are placed below the stampwork line, and deliberately offset even from each other, showing the path the moon takes through the night. You can read their full description here.

The fifth and final pair is slightly smaller, but similar to the others in style:

This pair is called A New Light, and domed, they are 1/8 of an inch smaller than the four pairs above. It's not much; the doming makes it look more significant than it is. These share in the sunrise stampwork of second and third pairs — here, a trio — but with the cabs placed below like those of the fourth pair. These cabs, though, are centered, and they're rose quartz in a lovely soft pink (they're visibly pink, although they don't render that way on the screen). You can read their full description here.

As always, Wings's main page is here. You can order them via the site's Contact form. And we still need to make consistent sales in this fourth year of pandemic and loss, and we are facing enormous expenses in the middle of our worst sales year in a very long time, so shares are desperately needed and much appreciated.

A death economy.

More unseasonal clouds, low and heavy. That was this morning; most of them are gone now, but whats left in their wake are far too many bare spots on the peaks, where whole stands of trees are now gone. And no, I don't mean gone in the temporary seasonal sense, when it's just the dormancy of leaf loss; I mean GONE, in the literal sense, where all that's left is tundra, soil, and rock.

I wish people would stop talking about climate change or even crisis. We're already in collapse, everywhere, even if people don't want to admit it. We're well past the point of mere "emergency." This is literal life and death now, and people want to pull deadly lithium out of sacred lands instead of cutting their conspicuous consumption and call it "green." It's not green, it's the opposite, and those pushing this bullshit are not environmentalists, no matter how much you pretend to style yourselves as "movement leaders." You're the problem.

When the land and waters die, so does everything else. No amount of self-delusion will make that anything but the simple truth. But these lands are being destroyed daily by rampant colonial destruction. The people of this place can't even afford to live here anymore. A tourism economy is a death economy, the only question is the rate at which the dying occurs.

And I no longer have the ability to get around that by simple work. I physically can't do everything that needs doing, and I just don't have enough hours in the day to push sales the way it needs to be done. And with half a dozen sales so far this year? We are not going to make it. It's the middle of September; we have three and a half months to get through, and he needs to stock up on supplies for holiday work. We have a whole winter to get through, which last much, much longer than that. Wings has already abandoned any notion of getting the dental work that he so badly needs to have done properly; I canceled last week's medical appointment for myself.

But ultimately, none of that matters if I don't bring money in, and I'm failing spectacularly at that this year. I'm stretching myself too thin, trying to update numerous platforms daily, and none of it's working; our Web site hits are still at record lows (save for the hack attempts, natch), and sales, of course, are abysmal. And this, going into our supposed busy season of the year. We have to make up a LOT of ground financially over the next four months. A LOT. And I cannot maintain the pace or workload I have in years past; hell, I can barely walk, and I have to limit my typing time now, too [constant dislocations in my dominant hand]. I need help, but there isn't any, and there's nothing to be done about illness except try to adapt to it worsening rapidly now. All the links are listed below, so please share:

Sales here;

Testimonials here;

Patreon here;

Ko-fi here.

There's lots of fabulous work on the site, and the five new pairs of simple concha earrings I mentioned yesterday will in fact be up later today. Things are not just grim here, they're desperate, so please share all of the links.