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.