Part II of where we are.

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

More work in progress. He's finally getting the chance to get caught up on everything that's been on his workbench in various stages of the creative process, some of it for months [even back into last year]. These are both going to be very Art Deco-ish, which makes me very happy; it's my favorite art/architecture style.

I'm beat. The hell of it is, I don't even know how much of it just general autoimmune crap, how much of it is stress from all the money worries; and how much of it is something new I should be worrying about. Restabilizing my chemo dose has helped with the first somewhat, although not as much as I would've liked; I suspect that, my condition having regressed while I couldn't get the right dose, t's now taking longer to build me back up to where I was. 

The third, though, is bedeviling me now. In the last 7 years, I've been through a couple of episodes of nearly dying [three hospitalizations, many more episodes that didnt' get treated because who can afford that?]; initially they thought it was my heart, but that turned out to be in perfect shape, so everyone just gave up trying to DX it. Then there were the thyroid and liver tumors, the latter never biopsied because they decided [assumed] form placement they were hemangiomas, and biopsying can be more dangerous than not, while the former was biopsied multiple times, and like every breast-tissue biopsy I've ever had, absolutely no one could read it. Yes, the inflammatory breast cancer scare, too, and that was put down to the lupus, like everything else, because no one can read the results and no one knows what it really is.

But lupus and RA are progressive. Both can do real damage. Both can damage the heart, both can increase the risk of cancer, and now with COVID making it unavoidable to address, they're finally acknowledging that people with chronic EBV Syndrome, like me, are at far greater risk of certain other cancers, too. Lupus puts me at risk for all of those, as well, plus endo-, myo-, and pericarditis, various lung cancers, lymph cancers, Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin's lymphomas. And aside from all the autoimmune pain and fatigue that never goes away, I now have had, for a few months, this constant pain and swelling on the left side of my chest, underarm, shoulder, and upper back.  Could be nothing.  Could be . . . well, pick one. Could be any of them. 

I've literally just been advised that we have now made a sale I didn't know about and wasn't expecting, so I can breathe when it comes to this week's medical bills for both of us. Next months's imaging is something else entirely; it's likely to run well into the multiple four figures before it's done. It has to be paid in cash, up front, before they'll do the scans. I Haven't even made the appointment yet, because there's no point doing it if I'm not going to be able to pay for it.

So this is Part II of where we are, and maybe it goes some distance to explaining why I keep harping on the need for sales, and also why I'm so scattered mentally. [We also have a niece in the hospital, and a ton of other concerns pressing on us, so it's not purely my own medical issues and lack of money to pay for them; it's everything all at once.] The one saving grace is that I expect Wings's follow-up this week to be nothing more than that, with very good results. Amazing what a change in providers can do.

Anyway. I am buried under all of this for the foreseeable, so if it's not related to bringing in sales, I'm likely not doing it. Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (Amazon cards are probably most useful at this point); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim year, this one already even worse than the last, we really need to get 2024 onto a better footing, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                              

An Earth Thriving In a Cosmic Light

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a work to remind us of the gifts of sun and moon and morning star in this season of unsettled conditions and extreme weather. It's a pair of earrings wrought in traditional concha style, with extraordinary freehand stampwork that evokes an earth thriving in a cosmic light.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. It's now summer in this no-longer-new calendar year and facing complications and costs, some carried over from the end of last year, some all new, that have completely wiped us out. We need to make consistent sales urgently, so shares are very much needed and much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.   

This is where we are.

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reerved.

It looks like clouds around the Andes here today. Well, this morning, anyway. Now, most of the peaks are visible, but the skies are still almost entirely gray . . . and yet, no rain.

None of the other kind, either.

At the end of a terrible week, month, year so far, this is where we are. The bloodwork is done, and while we won't know the results until the end of next week, I expect that Wings's labs will show good things. Mine? Not so much. I'm in the unusual position of having to worry about what they'll show. Normally, my only concern is that the autoimmune patterns show through strongly enough forr DX and treatment, because I've always fallen into the 25% of patients who continually show sero-negative, despite having all the symptoms, and a world that prescribes and treats only by what insurance companies will approve won't treat people like me, no matter how bad the symptoms are. So the last few years of [finally!] sero-positive results have been useful to me, and I hope that continues.

My worries now are something else entirely. In the past, my baseline health markers [glucose, lipids, thyroid, etc.] have always been better than perfect: either right smack in the middle of normal, or, as with the lipids, perfect triglycerides with extraordinarily high good cholesterol and extremely low bad cholesterol. But I can't depend on that anymore. Lupus damages all of those things, and I could find that, despite feeling no differently on any of those fronts, something's gone horribly wrong. More, given the tumors in my thyroid and on my liver, and the repeated breast cancer scares and the new symptoms in my chest and upper back on the left, I could find out that something's gone horribly wrong on that front, too. It's why I have to get the imaging done next month [although Spirit knows how, since I don't have four figures' worth of scratch to throw at it; I don't have enough to cover next week's medical bills, never mind the taxes that need to be paid still].

So on top of all the rest of it, I have a week's worth of immediate stress ahead of me, and several weeks' worth thereafter unless and until I can get the scans done and they tell me there's nothing to worry about. And of course, I can't do any of it without bringing in more money.

Yeah, I keep saying that we've GOT to make sales now.  Desperately.  I need help; I can't do this alone. I posted three of his priciest works on social media yesterday, and if I could sell all three? I could at least get a couple of these things off my desk and off my shoulders, too. But absent that level of sales, we're screwed, and I have no way of fixing any of it.

Nothing I have done for the last year has worked. Our sales have tanked, while prices keep going up, and so do our bills, and everybody wants something from me [and there's always a new disaster somewhere that needs fixing immediately]. I don't have anything left. I've put up a bunch of new work lately, including a new pair of extraordinary Skystone earrings the other night, plus something around a dozen other new pairs in the gallery now. There's more to come, including possibly a new cuff soon [he's not satisfied with it currently] and several additional new pairs of simple bezel-set gemstone earrings, plus some small sterling silver hoops and two new slender silver cuffs, all four of which I hope to have posted on the site later today [yes, I keep saying that, but I've had no time and even less bandwidth, but it has to get done today], plus potentially a couple of pairs of siple silver tab earrings, too. But it's hard to work the pain and fatigue, never mind through the depression that accompanies them and this level of external stress. Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (Amazon cards are probably most useful at this point); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim year, this one already even worse than the last, we really need to get 2024 onto a better footing, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                              

Scattered Storms In a Summer Sky

Photo copyright Ai, 2024; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a work for the warm season, and for the weather patterns that, while heavily altered, still have returned with a bit of normality now. It's one of Wings's newest pairs of earrings, a simple design built around bold and elegant turquoise cabochons, their shades and spirits like scattered storms in a summer sky.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. It's now summer in this no-longer-new calendar year and facing complications and costs, some carried over from the end of last year, some all new, that have completely wiped us out. We need to make consistent sales urgently, so shares are very much needed and much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.        b

No rain yet.

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

Beautiful skies today. No rain yet, but that's supposed to arrive this evening.

I just hope I can make the other kind of arrive simultaneously.

So here's where we are. A sale two nights ago made it possible to get our labwork done, for both of us. Mine was double the cost of his, natch, but then, it's a lot more individual tests. We have more medical expenses coming up next week, and then I've got to try to schedule my imaging/scans for sometime next month. They're going to run us into four figures, cash.

On top of the medical stuff, we still have to pay off our fucking TAXES, for chrissake, and they're hounding me now; I need to send payment in full before the 24th to avoid more penalties and interest, and I can't, because there's no money. Wings did pick up a cheap microwave so that at least I can heat Cricket's frisbees at night. But I can't pay for anything else unless I bring in some sales. And yes, that includes my other medical tests. We're so far behind on this year it's terrifying.

Yeah, I keep saying that we've GOT to make sales now.  Desperately.  I need help; I can't do this alone.

Nothing I have done for the last year has worked. Our sales have tanked, while prices keep going up, and so do our bills, and everybody wants something from me. I don't have anything left. I've put up a bunch of new work lately, including a new pair of extraordinary Skystone earrings the other night, plus something around a dozen other new pairs in the gallery now. There's more to come, including possibly a new cuff soon [he's not satisfied with it currently] and several additional new pairs of simple bezel-set gemstone earrings, plus some small sterling silver hoops and two new slender silver cuffs, all four of which I hope to have posted on the site later today [yes, I keep saying that, but I've had no time and even less bandwidth; today's chemo day, though, so maybe I'll have more energy]. But it's hard to work the pain and fatigue, never mind through the depression that accompanies them and this level of external stress. Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (Amazon cards are probably most useful at this point); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim year, this one already even worse than the last, we really need to get 2024 onto a better footing, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                              

Friday Feature: Weaving the Web of Summer's Sky

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

It's our Friday Feature at The NDN Silver Blog, with a pair of masterworks created wholly independently of one another, yet clearly intended by Spirit to belong together as surely as do the elemental forces they represent. It's necklace and earrings set with truly extraordinary gems, together weaving the web of summer's sky and enfolding earth and waters in its protective embrace.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. It's now summer in this no-longer-new calendar year and facing complications and costs, some carried over from the end of last year, some all new, that have completely wiped us out. We need to make consistent sales urgently, so shares are very much needed and much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.     

Packed already.

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

Thunderheads everywhere now. It rained from probably 3 AM-ish to after dawn, and there's supposed to be more on the way. I wish I could've gotten shots of the dawn sky: alternating sections of sunrise and storm, all the way around, and it was positively otherworldly. But it was also pouring rain directly overhead, and I'm not steady enough on my feet at that hour of the day to be outside shooting in it.

Today's been packed already, albeit not with anything like metaphorical rain [i.e., sales], only more [non-optional] spending. There's a lot more to come, and while the lab work will be covered by the one sale we were blessed to make yesterday, I have no idea how we'll cover everything else that's looming.

And on top of the medical stuff, we still have to pay off our fucking TAXES, for chrissake, and they're hounding me now; I need to send payment in full before the 24th to avoid more penalties and interest, and I can't, because there's no money. And now, replacing the microwave . . . ? The worst part of not having it is that I can't heat up the frisbees for Cricket's doghouse, because it's still getting into the low fifties, even the forties, at night. He has an arthritic hip from the abuse he suffered before finding his way here, so I heat them up and put them in the layers of his dog bed every night [he's still too traumatized to come in and sleep in the house]. But I can't pay for anything unless I bring in some sales. DAILY at this point, basically; we're so far behind on this year it's terrifying.

Yeah, I keep saying that we've GOT to make sales now.  Desperately.  I need help; I can't do this alone.

Nothing I have done for the last year has worked. Our sales have tanked, while prices keep going up, and so do our bills, and everybody wants something from me. I don't have anything left. I've put up a bunch of new work lately, including a new pair of extraordinary Skystone earrings the other night, plus something around a dozen other new pairs in the gallery now. There's more to come, including possibly a new cuff soon [he's not satisfied with it currently] and several additional new pairs of simple bezel-set gemstone earrings, plus some small sterling silver hoops and two new slender silver cuffs, all four of which I hope to have posted on the site later today. But it's hard to work the pain and fatigue, never mind through the depression that accompanies them and this level of external stress. Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (Amazon cards are probably most useful at this point); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim year, this one already even worse than the last, we really need to get 2024 onto a better footing, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                              

#TBT: Bits and Pieces of the Blue Summer Sky

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

It's #ThrowbackThursday at The NDN Silver Blog, with a #TBT work that dates back just slightly over three years exactly, to one of a pair of commissioned works created for a relative. It's a pair of classic studs made with old matched cabochons from Wings's private collection, what we reliably believe to be old Morenci, manifest as bits and pieces of the blue summer sky.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. As always, this work will never be duplicated, but if the general style speaks to your spirit, simply inquire via the site's Contact form; Wings can create a version uniquely your own. It's now summer in this no-longer-new calendar year and facing complications and costs, some carried over from the end of last year, some all new, that have completely wiped us out. We need to make consistent sales urgently, so shares are very much needed and much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.    

I have GOT to bring in some sales today, without fail.

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

A lot of haze, and only white clouds so far, but they're building up in the east. More than that, we have very high winds coming from the east, and a warning of a "marginal" chance of "extreme" weather. 

It's the leading edge spinning off Tropical Storm Alberto in the Gulf, and it's completely distinct from the monsoonal pattern from the west that's supposed to arrive tomorrow afternoon.

I'm beat. This week is taking, taking, taking, and I don't have any bandwidth left, and there's still half of it left. Still the other hideous expense to come, and I don't even know whether we'll have enough money to pay for it. If not, I don't get my labs done. I have GOT to bring in some sales today, without fail. [And then for the rest of the month, because the imaging and tests next month will easily run into four figures. The pain's increasing, so I have to get it done. Somehow.]

We still have to pay off our fucking TAXES, for chrissake, and they're hounding me now. And now, replacing the microwave . . . ? The worst part of not having it is that I can't heat up the frisbees for Cricket's doghouse at night. And it's still getting into the low fifties, even the forties, at night. He has an arthritic hip from the abuse he suffered before finding his way here, so I heat them up and put them in the layers of his dog bed every night [he's still traumatized to come in and sleep in the house]. But I can't pay for anything unless I bring in some sales. TODAY.

Yeah, I keep saying that we've GOT to make sales now.  Desperately.  I need help; I can't do this alone.

I reaching the point where I don't care anymore. Certainly not last night. I'm just exhausted, and I'm done. Maybe I'll skip all the tests and appointments.  Who wants to be poked and prodded and billed ridiculous amounts for it anyway? Wings can get his done. I can skip mine.  And if I die? Oh, well. I am literally too tired to give a shit right now. that's how I felt then, and I'm not far off that now. If I don't make sales today, I'll skip mine, because we literally have no way to pay for it.

Nothing I have done for the last year has worked. Our sales have tanked, while prices keep going up, and so do our bills, and everybody wants something from me. I don't have anything left. I've put up a bunch of new work lately, including a new pair of extraordinary Skystone earrings the other night, plus something around a dozen other new pairs in the gallery now. There's more to come, including possibly a new cuff soon [he's not satisfied with it currently] and several additional new pairs of simple bezel-set gemstone earrings, plus some small sterling silver hoops, the last probably available later today. But as bad as sales have been, I've lost hope. The rest is just going through the motions, and that might be all I do for the foreseeable, given that I can't get any traction on anything except more pain and more fatigue and more inability to function even minimally.

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (apparently the FlexTape is also the priority now, so I'm told; otherwise, Amazon cards and the filters for the air purifiers [if you need our physical address for the filters, let me know]); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim year, this one already even worse than the last, we really need to get 2024 onto a better footing, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                              

The Farthest Sky

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a masterwork of traditional Indigenous silversmithing, one for the orbital resonances of a cosmos in constant motion. It's a bolo wrought with extraordinary freehand work and set with a small but stunning old Skystone, the whole manifest in the spiraling path and animating spirits of both the nearest atmosphere and the farthest sky.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. It's now summer in this no-longer-new calendar year and facing complications and costs, some carried over from the end of last year, some all new, that have completely wiped us out. We need to make consistent sales urgently, so shares are very much needed and much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.        

It's always the little things that break you.

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

It's a hot and deadly sky. That whitish haze at the horizon? Smoke from all the fires. Down in Lincoln County, it's nothing short of a catastrophe. And it's a reminder that all it would take here is one damn spark to do the same.

It's been an exhausting, terrible week, and it's only Tuesday.

It's always the little things that break you. It's not the big, terrifying, overwhelming things; you get blindsided by them, and you put your head down and somehow you find away over, under, around, or through, accumulating various injuries along the way, and probably having your lifespan shortened by several years from all the fear and the pain and the stress, but you do it. And them some relatively small thing comes along, and it's the proverbial straw.

That was this morning. We came downstairs to a dead microwave. 

I'm guessing there was a power surge during the night, because I also spent the first hour or two this morning with my laptop trying repeatedly to die on me. But the microwave is, yup, dead. And now I have to order a new one. But we just shelled out more than we were expecting on the annual flue maintenance yesterday [not optional; no one wants a chimney fire, and especially not in these conditions]. We have to pay for our labs this week.  We have to pay for doctor's appointments next week. And next month, I'm supposed to be getting some absurdly costly imaging done. You know, to make sure that my seemingly on-point symptoms of 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7 years ago have not, in fact, developed into the cancer they couldn't definitively rule out then. And also to make sure that these scary new symptoms that have no explanation are not, in fact, a symptom of such cancer[s].

I can't afford any of it.

NONE of it.  We still have to pay off our fucking TAXES, for chrissake, and they're hounding me now. And now, replacing the microwave . . . ? I'm done. I'm so tired. Every second. So much pain. Everywhere. Every second. I don't ever get any respite.  Not ever.  And I'm just . . . for tonight, I'm just fucking done.

I give up.

Yeah, I keep saying that we've GOT to make sales now.  Desperately.  I need help; I can't do this alone.

I don't care anymore. Not tonight. I'm just exhausted, and I'm done. Maybe I'll skip all the tests and appointments.  Who wants to be poked and prodded and billed ridiculous amounts for it anyway? Wings can get his done. I can skip mine.  And if I die? Oh, well. I am literally too tired to give a shit right now.

Nothing I have done for the last year has worked. Our sales have tanked, while prices keep going up, and so do our bills, and everyfuckingbody wants something from me. I don't have anything left. I've put up a bunch of new work lately, including a new pair of extraordinary Skystone earrings the other night, plus something around a dozen other new pairs in the gallery now. There's more to come, including possibly a new cuff soon [he's not satisfied with it currently] and several additional new pairs of simple bezel-set gemstone earrings, plus some small sterling silver hoops. But as bad as sales have been, I've lost hope. the rest is just going through the motions, and that might be all I do for the foreseeable, given that I can't get any traction on anything except more pain and more fatigue and more inability to function even minimally.

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (apparently the FlexTape is also the priority now, so I'm told; otherwise, Amazon cards and the filters for the air purifiers [if you need our physical address for the filters, let me know]); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim year, this one already even worse than the last, we really need to get 2024 onto a better footing, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                              

Red Willow Spirit: Beneath a Hot Blue Sky

Photo copyright Wings, 2024; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's an edition of Red Willow Spirit for these dangerously hot days of early summer. It's two photos linked by a single work of wearable art, all of them powerful illustrations of our small world here now, powerful and starkly beautiful beneath a hot blue sky.

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. It's now summer in this no-longer-new calendar year and facing complications and costs, some carried over from the end of last year, some all new, that have completely wiped us out. We need to make consistent sales urgently, so shares are very much needed and much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.      

Now, one more big expense this week.

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

Two giant bales of grass hay for Miika.  Johnny was here a little after nine this morning to drop them off. It's a relief not to have to worry about that for several months now.

The guys are already here [an hour early] to clean the flues; fortunately, I was up early and already had stuff moved out of the way and everything that could attract dust covered with blankets. No matter how good they look, the stoves and the flues both put out a HUGE amount of ash when they're being cleaned, and I learned the hard way that it's better to have everything covered.  the blankets can just be shaken out and then tossed in the washer, but it' a lot harder to get it off stuff on my desk, and this way I don't have to wash all the linens and stuff, too.

Now, one more big expense this week, and another big one next week [and a far, far bigger one next month].

Unfortunately, our sales have been abysmal for months — for the better part of a year now, actually. And that has to change, because the rest of this year is shaping up to be as costly as the first half, and that first half has damn near killed us.

The chimney cleaning is today. I've already paid the truck insurance, and a year in advance on our new Web host [unless we wind up having to upgrade to more space, in which case it goes up by another $400]. No chance of replacing my dying laptop, not with four figures' worth of medical bills coming up this week and next and next month for all the imaging I now have to have done. The stress of all this is what's killing me now [and the insomnia [no sleep night before last; none, which renders completely unable to function], and the pain, and the fear of what this other thing might be]. I keep saying that I refuse to entertain the notion of the new pain and other symptoms being anything other than autoimmune complications, but that's getting harder to do know that I know that suppressing my immune system isn't stopping them. It's already abundantly clear that reverting to the proper chemo dose has accomplished exactly nothing on that front, and that's worrying in the extreme. It's clearly not muscle or bone. Yes, it could still be all lymph, but given the location, that in itself isn't exactly without worry, either. And the persistence of the pain and other issues . . . well. Meanwhile, the expenses won't wait.

So we've GOT to make sales now.  Desperately.  I need help; I can't do this alone.

I've put up a bunch of new work lately, including a new pair of extraordinary Skystone earrings the other night, plus something around a dozen other new pairs in the gallery now. There's more to come, including possibly a new cuff soon [he's not satisfied with it currently] and several additional new pairs of simple bezel-set gemstone earrings, plus some small sterling silver hoops. And as always, all the regular links are listed below. I've added some new items to the wish list; Wings needs the Flex-Tape and we need the filters for the air purifiers imminently. But as always, sales are by far the most important:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (apparently the FlexTape is also the priority now, so I'm told; otherwise, Amazon cards and the filters for the air purifiers [if you need our physical address for the filters, let me know]); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim year, this one already even worse than the last, we really need to get 2024 onto a better footing, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                              

Monday Photo Meditation: A Season of Gathering Sky

Photo copyright Wings, 2024; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a Monday Photo Meditation for a week already too hot and dry and dangerously windy, when wildfire conditions have free rein. It's a contemplation, too, of the work of summer, a season of gathering sky, work that the forecast insists will call to us in a matter of days.

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. It's now summer in this no-longer-new calendar year and facing complications and costs, some carried over from the end of last year, some all new, that have completely wiped us out. We need to make consistent sales urgently, so shares are very much needed and much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.      

Not the only kind of drought.

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

The two days of rain at the end of the week have sent the grass and weeds into overdrive. It was still too wet to mow this morning, but tomorrow might be doable . . . if it's not too hot, too windy, and otherwise too overloaded with other work. Likewise, the spruce cones are no longer purple, which means they're starting to mature; they're now light green. And with that many? What must be some kind of record? You'd think it was a sign of abundance, right?

Nope. It's a sign of drought.

That's how they reproduce when there's not enough water to ensure their own survival. We've lost the other big blue spruce already, plus a number of other conifers, weeping willows, red willows, and seemingly countless aspens. No amount of rain will bring those back; all we can do is try to save what's left, but the drought persists.

And that's not the only kind of drought.

Our sales have been abysmal for months — for the better part of a year now, actually. And that has to change, because the rest of this year is shaping up to be as costly as the first half, and that first half has damn near killed us.

The chimney cleaning is tomorrow. I've already paid the truck insurance, and a year in advance on our new Web host [unless we wind up having to upgrade to more space, in which case it goes up by another $400]. No chance of replacing my dying laptop, not with four figures' worth of medical bills coming up this week and next and next month for all the imaging I now have to have done. The stress of all this is what's killing me now [and the insomnia [no sleep last night; none], and the pain, and the fear of what this other thing might be]. I keep saying that I refuse to entertain the notion of the new pain and other symptoms being anything other than autoimmune complications, but that's getting harder to do know that I know that suppressing my immune system isn't stopping them. It's already abundantly clear that reverting to the proper chemo dose has accomplished exactly nothing on that front, and that's worrying in the extreme. It's clearly not muscle or bone. Yes, it could still be all lymph, but given the location, that in itself isn't exactly without worry, either. And the persistence of the pain and other issues . . . well. Meanwhile, the expenses won't wait.

So we've GOT to make sales now.  Desperately.  I need help; I can't do this alone.

I've put up a bunch of new work lately, including a new pair of extraordinary Skystone earrings last night, plus something around a dozen other new pairs in the gallery now. There's more to come, including possibly a new cuff soon [he's not satisfied with it currently] and several additional new pairs of simple bezel-set gemstone earrings, plus some small sterling silver hoops. And as always, all the regular links are listed below. I've added some new items to the wish list; Wings needs the Flex-Tape and we need the filters for the air purifiers imminently. But as always, sales are by far the most important:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (apparently the FlexTape is also the priority now, so I'm told; otherwise, Amazon cards and the filters for the air purifiers [if you need our physical address for the filters, let me know]); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim year, this one already even worse than the last, we really need to get 2024 onto a better footing, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                              

World Made of Sky

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a work for the cosmic truth that, like us, stars too are born of water, and as we share in their origins, so do we share in their medicine and power. It's a dual-strand bracelet set with a truly phenomenal Skystone, a classic cuff of cosmic beauty and dazzlingly apt silverwork to remind us that we inhabit a world made of sky, and we are truly all related.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. It's now summer in this no-longer-new calendar year and facing complications and costs, some carried over from the end of last year, some all new, that have completely wiped us out. We need to make consistent sales urgently, so shares are very much needed and much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.        

The haze is back.

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

A [nearly] cloudless sky, but the haze is back. 

At least it's warm without being hot, and my second chemo dose at the proper level seems to be kicking back in at long last, so maybe I can get a few things caught up around here. But through it all I have to do what I haven't been able to accomplish all week, and bring in some sales this weekend. Sales, plural. We've got to pay out about $1K in maintenance and medical costs at the start of the week [beginning Monday], and I really need to bring in enough to cover at least that.  

Because on top of the taxes, the chimney cleaning coming up in two days, the change in our Web hosting [a year already paid in advance, unless we wind up having to upgrade to more space, in which case it goes up by another $400], the need to replace my dying laptop, and all the other nonsense? Four figures' worth of medical bills coming up fast. The stress of all this is what's killing me now [and the insomnia, and the pain, and the fear of what this other thing might be]. I keep saying that I refuse to entertain the notion of the new pain and other symptoms being anything other than autoimmune complications, but that's getting harder to do know that I know that suppressing my immune system isn't stopping them. It's already abundantly clear that reverting to the proper chemo dose has accomplished exactly nothing on that front, and that's worrying in the extreme. It's clearly not muscle or bone. Yes, it could still be all lymph, but given the location, that in itself isn't exactly without worry, either. And the persistence of the pain and other issues . . . well. Meanwhile, the expenses won't wait.

So we've GOT to make sales now.  Desperately.  I need help; I can't do this alone.

I've put up a bunch of new work lately, including two new pairs of earrings the other day and four other pairs of earrings, all posted on the NDN Silver site, the other night [for the second time; the Web migration glitchiness wiped them out all the first time around several days ago]. There's more to come, including possibly a new cuff soon [he's not satisfied with it currently] and several additional new pairs of simple bezel-set gemstone earrings, in addition to the pairs from the other day. And as always, all the regular links are listed below. I've added some new items to the wish list; Wings needs the Flex-Tape and we need the filters for the air purifiers imminently. But as always, sales are by far the most important:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (apparently the FlexTape is also the priority now, so I'm told; otherwise, Amazon cards and the filters for the air purifiers [if you need our physical address for the filters, let me know]); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim 2023, and with this year starting off MUCH worse (and given that we're already approaching the half-way mark), we really need to get 2024 onto a better footing, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                              

The Medicine of Every Storm

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a work for the elemental powers of summer, and for the truth that of sun and earth is fire born, a partner to the rain. It's a contemplation, too, of such forces' penchant for collaboration and conspiracy now, and for the truth that we honor the medicine of every storm, however it chooses to manifest, for it offers our world breath and life and being.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. It's now summer in this no-longer-new calendar year and facing complications and costs, some carried over from the end of last year, some all new, that have completely wiped us out. We need to make consistent sales urgently, so shares are very much needed and much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.       

Storms coming.

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

We had to run several errands this morning, including a trip to the grocery store, and just as I walked out of there to the truck, it started to sprinkle. In the ten or so minutes it took us to get home, it became a heavy, windy rain, and it looked like that. We didn't quite make it before the storm really hit.

It rained almost all afternoon, and we're supposed to get another line of storms after 7 PM. Right now, it's sunny and mostly clear, but I can see the dark haze starting to build again to the west, so for once, the forecast might actually be right.

For now, of course, I'm way behind on everything I needed to get done today, and the weekend's going to be ore of the same. And through it all I have to do what I haven't been able to accomplish all week, and bring in some sales this weekend. Sales, plural. Because there are storms coming of a far more dangerous sort.

Because on top of the taxes, the chimney cleaning coming up Monday, the change in our Web hosting [a year already paid in advance, unless we wind up having to upgrade to more space, in which case it goes up by another $400], the need to replace my dying laptop, and all the other nonsense? Four figures' worth of medical bills coming up fast. The stress of all this is what's killing me now [and the insomnia, and the pain, and the fear of what this other thing might be]. I keep saying that I refuse to entertain the notion of the new pain and other symptoms being anything other than autoimmune complications, but that's getting harder to do know that I know that suppressing my immune system isn't stopping them. It's already abundantly clear that reverting to the proper chemo dose has accomplished exactly nothing on that front, and that's worrying in the extreme. It's clearly not muscle or bone. Yes, it could still be all lymph, but given the location, that in itself isn't exactly without worry, either. And the persistence of the pain and other issues . . . well. Meanwhile, the expenses won't wait.

So we've GOT to make sales now.  Desperately.  I need help; I can't do this alone.

I've put up a bunch of new work lately, including two new pairs of earrings yesterday and four other pairs of earrings, all posted on the NDN Silver site, the other night [for the second time; the Web migration glitchiness wiped them out all the first time around several days ago]. There's more to come, including possibly a new cuff soon [he's not satisfied with it currently] and several additional new pairs of simple bezel-set gemstone earrings, in addition to the pairs from the other day. And as always, all the regular links are listed below. I've added some new items to the wish list; Wings needs the Flex-Tape and we need the filters for the air purifiers imminently. But as always, sales are by far the most important:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (apparently the FlexTape is also the priority now, so I'm told; otherwise, Amazon cards and the filters for the air purifiers); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim 2023, and with this year starting off MUCH worse (and given that we're already approaching the half-way mark), we really need to get 2024 onto a better footing, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                              

Friday Feature: Atmospheric Storm and Celestial Light

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

It's our Friday Feature at The NDN Silver Blog, with six works from the same category, all of them wrought in classic concha style, and all glowing with the power and medicine of summer. It's six pairs of earrings wrought by hand, each set with its own pair of jewels, a collection manifest in all the seasonal power and breathtaking beauty of atmospheric storm and celestial light. 

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. It's now summer in this no-longer-new calendar year and facing complications and costs, some carried over from the end of last year, some all new, that have completely wiped us out. We need to make consistent sales urgently, so shares are very much needed and much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.