Deadly conditions.

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

All clear blue skies, except for in the west. Even that isn't clouds; it's a smoke plume, although there is no reported burn today. Either there's a new one not being reported, or the ones from eleven days ago have reignited; either way, everything's dry as dust, far too warm despite the bitter winds, and there's no precipitation in sight.

Deadly conditions.

Meanwhile, I am beat. I have refused to go anywhere at all today and tomorrow. My joints are screaming at me, and despite the pain, I'm going to have to help Wings unload the first trailer-load of hay in a bit. That is the ONLY thing that's not my own work that I'm doing this weekend; I'm too far behind, and tomorrow is December first, and we have yet to make a single holiday sale. And I still have to create those shower passes that we funded earlier this week, which is going to take a big chunk out of tomorrow, probably.

But all this needs doing because the housing crisis worsens daily here. On that note, also go here, buy something, or several somethings, off the outreach group's wishlist, and you will literally be saving a life, probably more than one [BUT THROUGH MONDAY, BUY IT ELSEWHERE, SO THAT YOU'RE NOT CROSSING THE AMAZON EMPLOYEES' PICKET LINE; I HAVE THE SHIPPING ADDRESS IF YOU PURCHASE ITEMS ELSEWHERE]. It's not really possible to overstate how bad it is out there, nor how great the need is. I've sorted it in their Priority order, but they've given out so much stuff this week that they now have new priorities: hand warmers, snacks, tarps, duct tape, two-person tents [only $22 each! and they've given out all the existing tents already], the safety stuff like flashlights and pepper spray; they also need large-size men's stuff, socks, and large- and extra-large-size dog stuff, like collars and harnesses and dog coats, further down on the list.

And then there's my own actual work. WE NEED SALES. As always at this time of year, I'm already putting in 12- to 16-hour days every day, 7 days a week, because the work won't wait, and for us, being able to help anyone else starts with us making those sales, of course. But beyond that? I also am finding myself unexpectedly under the gun on another front; besides needing to bring in enough in seasonal sales to repay a big chunk on our '24 taxes, the election has made the need to replace my laptop NOW absolutely mandatory, before the end of the year, because the price, already hellish for the one I need, will skyrocket at the first of the year. So if you're contemplating buying? Now would be a really, really good time. Our laptop is our whole work, everything, and it fails me on the daily now.

Today's feature is classic Wings, a horse giving a very old traditional style his own inimitable twist. It's a naja necklace set with and strung from absolutely phenomenal Skystones. And there are four other naja-style works in current inventory, a second necklace, two pendants, and a pair of earrings:

• "The Arc of an Evergreen Earth," a necklace perfect for this season, with a similarly saw-cut and stamped dual-naja pendant, sterling silver set with malachite, suspended from a bead strand consisting of malachite cubes; new jade; ultra-high-grade rainbow moonstone; rainbow moonstone; sterling silver; and genuine emerald, here;
• "Meeting On the Bridge of Stars" a pendant that's a personal favorite, heavy gauge sterling silver triangle wire stamped freehand on both upper angles and the apex, with an internal pendant formed of a rare local material, a staurolite, here;
• "The Breath of the Light," another pendant formed of slightly lighter-gauge sterling silver triangle wire, again, stamped freehand on upper angles and apex, set at either end with amber and with an internal naja pendant saw-cut and stamped freehand, here; and
• "Held In the Light," a stylized pair of earrings saw-cut freehand in vintage style from sterling silver, internal pendants set with round, highly domed gray moonstone cabochons that have an incredible amount of color shift depending on the light, here.

There's more on the way very soon; he's got something like four more cuffs [one hopefully going up tonight, and it's incredible, with a stone like pure foxfire; another with old green turquoise in an electric shade], a couple of pendants, several new pairs of earrings [again, one, a small tiger iron pair, done yesterday and slated to go up by tonight, really, this time, or not, depending on how long I last tonight], and eventually all the new coils he'll need for holiday inventory. And I need to sell them all, because I still need to make sales weekly for us to catch up on the year and cover all the stuff still in the pipeline that needs covering [laptop, roof next year, more medical, always prepaid taxes, etc.]. So: GO BUY! Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (Priority is the liquid soaps and Amazon cards, probably most useful at this point); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim year, this one already far worse than the last, we really need to get what's left of 2024 onto a better footing before it ends, 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.                                          

To Share the Blessings of the Spirits

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's one for our fellow horse people, a reminder that the Spirit Horse rides the arc of the sky, here to share its beauty and light with us from worlds beyond our own. It's an old-style naja set with, and strung on, absolutely dazzling Skystones, work to remind us of the world's gifts to us and of our obligation to share the blessings of the spirits with all.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. November's done; at midnight, it cedes this space to December, and Christmas is now fewer than four weeks away, so get your order in now for timely shipping. We need to bring in consistent sales at least weekly for the rest of the year, 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.   

A disgrace.

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

The world's most contented dogs . . . for the moment, anyway. Yes, Cricket got a bone, too, but he likes to carry his off and bury them so that they get nicely fermented, then dig them up later and go all dog-in-the-manger over them.

Because what fun is it if you can't make anyone else jealous, I guess?

He is outside in his fully insulated and very warm doghouse on the deck; these two are indoors on their respective beds. Wings is snoozing in his recliner, and I am at long last getting to my work, which seems to come in dead last to everything else these days. I pout my foot down tonight; I am not going anywhere over the next two days. Period. I have to much to do, too few hours already in which to do it, and I have spent the last three weeks at everyone else's beck and call and I'm just done. My body can't take it, for one; my pain levels have skyrocketed in ways for which there just aren't words.

Because I had to spend yet another day walking and standing and being out in the cold running errands, and I am just done. There was a young man huddled up outside the pharmacy, woefully underdressed, sign indicated that he's unhoused. I gave him the last of my cash, a five-dollar bill, and asked him what he could use in terms of gear. He asked only for gloves and a hat, but I had a neckwarmer and handwarmers and wool socks and mylar blankets and snacks in the truck, so I threw them all in a bag with the hat and gloves and  took them back to him. 

This country is a disgrace.

But all this needs doing because the housing crisis worsens daily here. On that note, also go here, buy something, or several somethings, off the outreach group's wishlist, and you will literally be saving a life, probably more than one [BUT THROUGH MONDAY, BUY IT ELSEWHERE, SO THAT YOU'RE NOT CROSSING THE AMAZON EMPLOYEES' PICKET LINE; I HAVE THE SHIPPING ADDRESS IF YOU PURCHASE ITEMS ELSEWHERE]. It's not really possible to overstate how bad it is out there, nor how great the need is. I've sorted it in their Priority order, but they've given out so much stuff this week that they now have new priorities: hand warmers, snacks, tarps, duct tape, two-person tents [only $22 each! and they've given out all the existing tents already], the safety stuff like flashlights and pepper spray; they also need large-size men's stuff, socks, and large- and extra-large-size dog stuff, like collars and harnesses and dog coats, further down on the list.

Oh, and I also need to raise another $54.17 [odd amount, but that's where we are] for a local elderly woman on a very fixed income whose only family are her cat and dog. The cat became ill, and she paid money she couldn't afford to try to save it; it had to be euthanized today, and that's more cost, too. All we need is $54.17, so hit the PayPal link below and put "Sylvester" [the cat's name] in the notes section, and let's see if we can take the cost off her shoulders, at least.

And then there's my own actual work. WE NEED SALES. As always at this time of year, I'm already putting in 12- to 16-hour days every day, 7 days a week, because the work won't wait, and for us, being able to help anyone else starts with us making those sales, of course. But beyond that? I also am finding myself unexpectedly under the gun on another front; besides needing to bring in enough in seasonal sales to repay a big chunk on our '24 taxes, the election has made the need to replace my laptop NOW absolutely mandatory, before the end of the year, because the price, already hellish for the one I need, will skyrocket at the first of the year. So if you're contemplating buying? Now would be a really, really good time. Our laptop is our whole work, everything, and it fails me on the daily now.

Today's feature consists of two works from the same category, both bolos made the old way, both featuring extraordinary freehand silverwork and smithing, plus equally phenomenal stones. I think belts and buckles also qualify as accessories, so two of those here, and selling the belt would make our year:

• "Illuminating Skies," a very old-school concha belt, all the work freehand and meticulously even, with 25 conchas [12 ovals set with Skystones; 13 butterfly concha spacers] plus the buckle, all sterling silver, what are likely Montezuma and Royston turquoise, and heavy brown-black leather, here;
• "From the Heart of the Sky," a big, bold, but classically tailored rectangular buckle, all freehand score- and stampwork, with a fabulous cab at the center; sterling silver and what we believe to be old Sleeping Beauty turquoise with a quartz inclusion, here.

There's more on the way very soon; he's got something like four more cuffs [one hopefully going up tonight, and it's incredible, with a stone like pure foxfire; another with old green turquoise in an electric shade], a couple of pendants, several new pairs of earrings [again, one, a small tiger iron pair, done yesterday and slated to go up by tonight, really, this time, or not, depending on how long I last tonight], and eventually all the new coils he'll need for holiday inventory. And I need to sell them all, because I still need to make sales weekly for us to catch up on the year and cover all the stuff still in the pipeline that needs covering [laptop, roof next year, more medical, always prepaid taxes, etc.]. So: GO BUY! Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (Priority is the liquid soaps and Amazon cards, probably most useful at this point); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim year, this one already far worse than the last, we really need to get what's left of 2024 onto a better footing before it ends, 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: The Gift of Perspective

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

It's our Friday Feature at The NDN Silver Blog, with a pair of masterworks that come from the same category, two traditional old-style bolos wrought in similar yet utterly distinctive designs. one is big and bold, the other smaller, both manifest in the animating spirits of the distant night sky, affording us the gift of perspective in a world forced out of balance now.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. Christmas is now fewer than four weeks away already, with half of the winter holiday creative season already over, so get your orders in now. We need to bring in consistent sales at least weekly for the rest of the year, 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.           

For us, it starts with each breath.

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

That was this morning. Nothing down here, despite yesterday's stormy weather, but a dusting on the peaks, clouds still clinging to them early today. By now, the skies are perfectly clear, and it's going to be bitterly cold tonight. Not a problem for us, but for those less fortunate, and unsheltered [or insufficiently so] tonight? Deadly cold. Three grafs down, and you can find a way to help.

We haven't eaten yet; we do so-called "holiday" meals as dinner, which is our evening meal. Everything's in the oven, and will be ready in another hour or so. We have all of that to be thankful for, but that's an everyday kind of thing for us; no need for a colonial holiday built on the ugliest, most evil of lies to do it. [And no, there's no laundering this kind of lie. You can see why at the link below.] For us, it starts with each breath. After all, on this day seven years ago, I wasn't sure I'd survive the operating table, given that we didn't know what was wrong with me. I was in Albuquerque, having been trucked down by ambulance seven years ago last night, after the previous day's trip to the ER here and subsequent admission. By this time on this day in 2017, I was waiting for them to spring me, my heart having checked out okay and no one having any other interest in why I had nearly died twice in two weeks, and we drove all the way home in the cold dark.

But I defied everything they threw at me, even in subsequent years. And we know all too well what it means to be grateful for literally every breath. It's also, as I've had cause to say elsewhere today, a worldview, a way of life, a way of being. And it's why we do what we do, including all of yesterday's errands that so wiped me out for today [PEM is a thing; in this country, it's a stupid acronym, natch, but PENE or PESE, which they use in less punitive societies, is more accurate, and it existed long before LongCOVID, and has bedeviled me every day of my life].

But all this needs doing because the housing crisis worsens daily here. On that note, also go here, buy something, or several somethings, off the outreach group's wishlist, and you will literally be saving a life, probably more than one. It's not really possible to overstate how bad it is out there, nor how great the need is. I've sorted it in their Priority order, but they've given out so much stuff this week that they now have new priorities: hand warmers, snacks, tarps, duct tape, two-person tents [only $22 each! and they've given out all the existing tents already], the safety stuff like flashlights and pepper spray; they also need large-size men's stuff, socks, and large- and extra-large-size dog stuff, like collars and harnesses and dog coats, further down on the list.

And then there's my own actual work. WE NEED SALES. As always at this time of year, I'm already putting in 12- to 16-hour days every day, 7 days a week, because the work won't wait, and for us, being able to help anyone else starts with us making those sales, of course. But beyond that? I also am finding myself unexpectedly under the gun on another front; besides needing to bring in enough in seasonal sales to repay a big chunk on our '24 taxes, the election has made the need to replace my laptop NOW absolutely mandatory, before the end of the year, because the price, already hellish for the one I need, will skyrocket at the first of the year. So if you're contemplating buying? Now would be a really, really good time. Our laptop is our whole work, everything, and it fails me on the daily now.

Today's feature is a #TBT work that dates back a decade and a half, one that's obviously long since sold. It's late, I'm beat, and frankly, as terrible as this year has been, I know that I should be pushing sales literally every second. But with every year that passes, I get more and more tired of the lie that "Thanksgiving" actually is. So tonight, instead of looking at silverwork that's for sale, go read about the actual origins of this holiday [and the rest of this country's mythology], one that I wrote on our site eight years ago, specifically for this season. Again, none of the silverwork in it remains; it all sold long ago. But the history? The history is all the truth, if worded in ways the colonial world will find more palatable than how I would probably phrase it today. So go read; learn your actual history:

• "The Fire Within," here.

There's more on the way very soon; he's got something like four more cuffs [one hopefully going up tonight, and it's incredible, with a stone like pure foxfire; another with old green turquoise in an electric shade], a couple of pendants, several new pairs of earrings [again, one, a small tiger iron pair, done yesterday and slated to go up by tonight, really, this time, or not, depending on how long I last tonight], and eventually all the new coils he'll need for holiday inventory. And I need to sell them all, because I still need to make sales weekly for us to catch up on the year and cover all the stuff still in the pipeline that needs covering [laptop, roof next year, more medical, always prepaid taxes, etc.]. So: GO BUY! Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (Priority is the liquid soaps and Amazon cards, probably most useful at this point); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim year, this one already far worse than the last, we really need to get what's left of 2024 onto a better footing before it ends, 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.                                          

#ThrowbackThursday: Spirit, Celebration, Ceremony, Medicine

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

It's #TBT at The NDN Silver Blog, with a #ThrowbackThursday work that dates back to late 2007 or early 2008, one of Wings's earlier examples of extraordinary freehand saw-work and capacity for turning asymmetry into balance. It's a cuff set with an unusual square Skystone focal, atop a band that was a masterwork of Indigenous silversmithing, embodying the sacred manifest as Spirit, celebration, ceremony, medicine.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. As always, this work will never be duplicated exactly, but if the possibilities it suggests speak to your spirit, simply inquire via the site's Contact form; Wings can create something uniquely your own. Christmas is now fewer than six weeks away already, with half of the winter holiday creative season already over, so get your orders in now. We need to bring in consistent sales at least weekly for the rest of the year, 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.             

So far beyond tired there aren't words for it.

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

This day, I swear.

I didn't even go to bed until well after midnight, and despite being exhausted, my autoimmune disease decided it was on some bullshit again, and I got exactly zero sleep all night. Pain, yes, but more than that, just the fuckery that these diseases inflict on my brain, shutting down all capacity for sleep when it's the one thing my body needs most. I finally gave up somewhere before five, got up in the dark, let the dogs out and made fires, and I've been up ever since. I am so far beyond tired there aren't words for it.

I got the NDN Silver post written during that period, but I needed the pair photo, and by the time that was done, we had to get out of here for everything else. So much for not going anywhere this week.

And so much for the forecast, which has given us a tiny bit of sleet and nothing more, just bitter winds and damp that make the too-warm conditions actually seem ridiculously cold now.

As I said yesterday, I have some things in the works that I'm was going to be asking people to help with with regard to our local population of unhoused/unsheltered folks [and their animals]. This is supposed to be the week for gratitude, so it would involve asking folks to put their money where their mouths are, quite literally. Not gigantic amounts; just enough to cover 100 shower passes and 30 hot meals, plus some kit-bag stuff to keep on hand to give to folks as we encounter them. The kind of money that can be raised in $10 increments, but enough that would be $300 for the shower passes and $350 for the meals.

And y'all did me one better: We raised just shy of $700 in under an hour Monday night, thanks to several of y'all. We shocked the folks at the diner, who were SO pleased.  We made up the difference and purchased 35 meals instead of 30. Then we bought the shower passes, and apparently they reduce the price if you buy them in increments of 10 or more, so I think we got 150 instead of 100 for the $300 raised. That one involves more work for me; I have to create the passes using the number they assigned me, but hopefully I can do that over the long weekend. And we also met up with outreach campaign's founder, who stocked us up with what I think is the last small pup tent, some tarps, some mylar blankets, hand-warmers, socks, gloves, hats, some dog food, and snacks to distribute as we encounter folks who need them.

But all this needs doing because the housing crisis worsens daily here. On that note, also go here, buy something, or several somethings, off the outreach group's wishlist, and you will literally be saving a life, probably more than one. It's not really possible to overstate how bad it is out there, nor how great the need is. I've sorted it in their Priority order, but they've given out so much stuff this week that they now have new priorities: hand warmers, snacks, tarps, duct tape, two-person tents [only $22 each! and they've given out all the existing tents already], the safety stuff like flashlights and pepper spray; they also need large-size men's stuff, socks, and large- and extra-large-size dog stuff, like collars and harnesses and dog coats, further down on the list.

And then there's my own actual work. WE NEED SALES. As always at this time of year, I'm already putting in 12- to 16-hour days every day, 7 days a week, because the work won't wait, and for us, being able to help anyone else starts with us making those sales, of course. But beyond that? I also am finding myself unexpectedly under the gun on another front; besides needing to bring in enough in seasonal sales to repay a big chunk on our '24 taxes, the election has made the need to replace my laptop NOW absolutely mandatory, before the end of the year, because the price, already hellish for the one I need, will skyrocket at the first of the year. So if you're contemplating buying? Now would be a really, really good time. Our laptop is our whole work, everything, and it fails me on the daily now.

Today's feature is normally one of Wings's larger items, but this week, it's a pair of them. It's a necklace [here] and a cuff [here] that were created half a year apart, without any thought of them matching, but they do, and it's clear that they really belong together. The former is built around a spectacular ultra-high-grade turquoise cabochon, ringed with an "overlay" of very old tiny polished nuggets from Wings's private collection; the latter is a big, bold band with nuggets from that same old parcel "overlaid," again, all across the very center. So, for today's features, it's accessories to match, including the single buckle, and the equally solitary belt, in current inventory:

• "Illuminating Skies,"  is the concha belt, and absolutely extraordinary masterwork featuring 25 separate conchas [12 classic oval conchas set with Skystones; 13 solid silver old-style butterfly conchas] plus the buckle, all the work freehand and absolutely perfectly matched; sterling silver; old natural turquoise, likely Montezuma [buckle] and Royston [conchas], and hardened brown-black leather, here;
• "From the Heart of the Sky," a bog, bold, beautifully tailored rectangular buckle, all freehand scorework and stampwork, including repoussé work in sterling silver, around a giant oval of what we believe to be old Sleeping Beauty turquoise, a soft sky blue with quartz matrix, here;
• "Orbital Resonances," a compact but absolutely stellar bolo and my own personal favorite, with phenomenal freehand stampwork embracing an old round highly domed focal cabochon; sterling silver, old blue-green spiderweb turquoise that we believe to be Royston or Montezuma, and braided brown-black leather, here; and
• "The Night Serpent," a larger, more elaborate bolo with similarly freehand saw-cut, scallop, score- and stampwork in concentric rings on the sterling silver face, around a freeform focal of what is not turquoise, but very nearly a Skystone all the same: New Lander's ultra-high-grade Royal Web variscite in ivory and indigo, the whole on braided brown-black leather, here.

There's more on the way very soon; he's got something like four more cuffs [one hopefully going up tonight, and it's incredible, with a stone like pure foxfire; another with old green turquoise in an electric shade], a couple of pendants, several new pairs of earrings [again, one, a small tiger iron pair, done yesterday and slated to go up by tonight, really, this time, or not, depending on how long I last tonight], and eventually all the new coils he'll need for holiday inventory. And I need to sell them all, because I still need to make sales weekly for us to catch up on the year and cover all the stuff still in the pipeline that needs covering [laptop, roof next year, more medical, always prepaid taxes, etc.]. So: GO BUY! Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (Priority is the liquid soaps and Amazon cards, probably most useful at this point); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim year, this one already far worse than the last, we really need to get what's left of 2024 onto a better footing before it ends, 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 Abundance Granted Us By Earth and Sky

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a pair of masterworks created independently of each other but clearly meant to belong together, a cobblestone sky and a world born of the waters, hope and gratitude made tangible and real. it's a necklace and cuff bracelet wrought in extraordinary style, both making use of old, old materials from Wings's private collection, together embodying the abundance granted us by earth and sky, even in times as dark as these.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. Christmas is now fewer than six weeks away already, with half of the winter holiday creative season already over, so get your orders in now. We need to bring in consistent sales at least weekly for the rest of the year, 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 hope we get some real weather.

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

I said elsewhere that last night's red skies were in fact a sign of a storm coming, and I was right. Now, whether we'll see any rain or snow out of it is another matter, but those clouds up there? They've been clinging to the peaks all day, so there'll be some snow falling right now.

We'll take what we can get, but I hope we get some real weather.

It's going to be a busy week despite the impending holiday. Today is actually another one of those markers: Seven years ago today was the second time I almost died, and the one that kept me hospitalized here, then carted by ambulance down to a hospital in Albuquerque to have surgery there [cardiac cath], only to find that my heart was perfectly healthy and that no one had the faintest idea why my body kept trying to die on me. It's not an experience I'd recommend to anyone [the dying part, I mean], but despite the fact that I had another episode just last week, for whatever reason, I'm relatively unbothered by the memory now. Probably because I'm too busy to spend much time thinking about it. I used to get those episodes multiple times a day, and just . . . bit my tongued and forced myself to breathe until it passed and said nothing to anyone. Now, they're rare, thank all that's holy, and I might finally have solved the cause on my own [but there's no real treatment for it, natch, at least none that I can afford, so I'm not sure what that's worth, but here we are].

As I said yesterday, I have some things in the works that I'm was going to be asking people to help with with regard to our local population of unhoused/unsheltered folks [and their animals]. This is supposed to be the week for gratitude, so it would involve asking folks to put their money where their mouths are, quite literally. Not gigantic amounts; just enough to cover 100 shower passes and 30 hot meals, plus some kit-bag stuff to keep on hand to give to folks as we encounter them. The kind of money that can be raised in $10 increments, but enough that would be $300 for the shower passes and $350 for the meals.

And y'all did me one better: We raised just shy of $700 in under an hour last night, thanks to several of y'all. We'll make up the difference and purchase 35 meals instead of 30. Hoping to be able to do all that tomorrow, and THEN I hope to be home, period, for the next . . . what, five days straight?

But all this needs doing because the housing crisis worsens daily here. On that note, also go here, buy something, or several somethings, off the outreach group's wishlist, and you will literally be saving a life, probably more than one. It's not really possible to overstate how bad it is out there, nor how great the need is. I've sorted it in their Priority order, but they've given out so much stuff this week that they now have new priorities: hand warmers, snacks, tarps, duct tape, two-person tents [only $22 each!], the safety stuff like flashlights and pepper spray; they also need large-size men's stuff, socks, and large- and extra-large-size dog stuff, like collars and harnesses and dog coats, further down on the list.

And then there's my own actual work. WE NEED SALES. As always at this time of year, I'm already putting in 12- to 16-hour days every day, 7 days a week, because the work won't wait, and for us, being able to help anyone else starts with us making those sales, of course. But beyond that? I also am finding myself unexpectedly under the gun on another front; besides needing to bring in enough in seasonal sales to repay a big chunk on our '24 taxes, the election has made the need to replace my laptop NOW absolutely mandatory, before the end of the year, because the price, already hellish for the one I need, will skyrocket at the first of the year. So if you're contemplating buying? Now would be a really, really good time. Our laptop is our whole work, everything, and it fails me on the daily now.

Today's feature is a series of three gorgeous fall photos linked by two recent cuffs, both of them fabulous, with equally fabulous turquoise cabs as their focals: one here, the other here. So what goes with turquoise cuffs? How about turquoise rings? Ungendered, all of them solid and substantial, all of them resizeable. There are four:

• "The Storm At the Edge of the Sky," sterling silver and old Morenci turquoise from Wings's private collection; freeform rolling surface, electric color, and phenomenal mirror-image silverwork around the band, here;
• "Where the Eagles Gather," sterling silver and boulder [ribbon] turquoise, likely Kingman; a bright sky-blue patch in rich golden-brown host rock, with eagle-feather mirror stampwork on the band, here;
• "Love Spiral," sterling silver and natural American turquoise that is most likely Turquoise Mountain [AZ], with gorgeous golden "raindrop" stippling through brilliant sky blue, with a hand-forged asymmetric wrap band, here; and
• "Freeform Skies," sterling silver and OLD natural American turquoise from Wings's private collection, possibly Royston or I think more likely Fox, with a deeper blue veining through sky blue material and a gorgeous band sculpted and hammered by hand, here.

There's more on the way very soon; he's got something like four more cuffs [one hopefully going up tonight, and it's incredible, with a stone like pure foxfire], a couple of pendants, several new pairs of earrings [again, one, a small tiger iron pair, done yesterday and slated to go up by tonight, really, this time, or not, depending on how long I last tonight], and eventually all the new coils he'll need for holiday inventory. And I need to sell them all, because I still need to make sales weekly for us to catch up on the year and cover all the stuff still in the pipeline that needs covering [laptop, roof next year, more medical, always prepaid taxes, etc.]. So: GO BUY! Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (Priority is the liquid soaps and Amazon cards, probably most useful at this point); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim year, this one already far worse than the last, we really need to get what's left of 2024 onto a better footing before it ends, 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: Early Winter Medicine

Photo copyright Wings, 2024; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's an edition of Red Willow Spirit for late autumn days, and for the gifts of life and light that they bestow. It's three images linked by two recent works of wearable art, all of the manifest in the beauty and blessings of early winter medicine.

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. Christmas is now fewer than six weeks away already, with half of the winter holiday creative season already over, so get your orders in now. We need to bring in consistent sales at least weekly for the rest of the year, 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.      

A change to come.

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

So much for "not going anywhere this week." That got blown right out of the gate this morning, which is why everything is late. Not my choice, you understand, but it also wasn't optional.

By this afternoon, the bitterly cold wind [despite too-high temps again] had blown in some dark skies from northwest to northeast. Red skies [very red] tonight notwithstanding, this does herald a change to come, and hopefully it will bring the snow they promised originally, both tomorrow and the next day or two.

With the luck this place is having? It'll probably be all trickster winds and not even a little rain.

It's going to be a busy week despite the fact that I'm still hoping to go almost nowhere, so I'm scrambling. And I have some things in the works, I hope, that I'm going to be asking people to help with with regard to our local population of unhoused/unsheltered folks [and their animals]. This is supposed to be the week for gratitude, so I'll be asking folks to put their money where their mouths are, quite literally. Not gigantic amounts; just enough to cover 100 shower passes and 30 hot meals, plus some kit-bag stuff to keep on hand to give to folks as we encounter them. The kind of money that can be raised in $10 increments, but I need to people to step up now.

Because the housing crisis worsens daily here. On that note, also go here, buy something, or several somethings, off the outreach group's wishlist, and you will literally be saving a life, probably more than one. It's not really possible to overstate how bad it is out there, nor how great the need is. I've sorted it in their Priority order, but they've given out so much stuff this week that they now have new priorities: hand warmers, snacks, tarps, duct tape, two-person tents [only $22 each!], the safety stuff like flashlights and pepper spray; they also need large-size men's stuff, socks, and large- and extra-large-size dog stuff, like collars and harnesses and dog coats, further down on the list.

And then there's my own actual work. WE NEED SALES. As always at this time of year, I'm already putting in 12- to 16-hour days every day, 7 days a week, because the work won't wait, and for us, being able to help anyone else starts with us making those sales, of course. But beyond that? I also am finding myself unexpectedly under the gun on another front; besides needing to bring in enough in seasonal sales to repay a big chunk on our '24 taxes, the election has made the need to replace my laptop NOW absolutely mandatory, before the end of the year, because the price, already hellish for the one I need, will skyrocket at the first of the year. So if you're contemplating buying? Now would be a really, really good time. Our laptop is our whole work, everything, and it fails me on the daily now.

Today's feature is a photo only, so about the only "matching" possible is via color. Also, it's late, I'm beat, and my pain levels are off the charts, so it's going to be the one item that actually does match the image just about perfectly:

• "Berry Moons and Blue Skies," a pair of earrings from Wings's signature gemstone-bead series, one of the most popular of the new ones, so maybe it'll find its home tonight; made with sterling silver, a mix of old spiderweb and Persian turquoise, natural American turquoise, likely Sleeping Beauty, and so-called South Sea shell "pearls," shown here.

There's more on the way very soon; he's got something like four more cuffs [one hopefully going up tonight, and it's incredible, with a stone like pure foxfire], a couple of pendants, several new pairs of earrings [again, one, a small tiger iron pair, done yesterday and slated to go up by tonight, really, this time, or not, depending on how long I last tonight], and eventually all the new coils he'll need for holiday inventory. And I need to sell them all, because I still need to make sales weekly for us to catch up on the year and cover all the stuff still in the pipeline that needs covering [laptop, roof next year, more medical, always prepaid taxes, etc.]. So: GO BUY! Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (Priority is the liquid soaps and Amazon cards, probably most useful at this point); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim year, this one already far worse than the last, we really need to get what's left of 2024 onto a better footing before it ends, 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: Blue Skies Blessed By Sun and Moon Together

Photo copyright Wings, 2024;
all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a Monday Photo Meditation for a week ostensibly devoted to gratitude. It's a reminder that this earth delivers gifts to us on a daily basis, and that in this month, the rarity of blue skies blessed by sun and moon together is worth our notice, and our gratitude.

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. Christmas is now fewer than six weeks away already, with half of the winter holiday creative season already over, so get your orders in now. We need to bring in consistent sales at least weekly for the rest of the year, 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.        

Some things in the works.

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

Phenomenal skies this morning. Those are called asperitas clouds, a relatively newly-named variety, and they used to show up here only in mid- to late spring. Of course, we have no norms anymore; things show up at all seasons and in all weather. And our weather right now is profoundly off-kilter.

I'm so glad last week is in the rear-view now. It was a nightmare on multiple levels, and the physical damage it did me is incalculable. I'm finally start a feel a slight rescission of my pain levels [it's never gone, and it's never not bad, but there's bad, and then there's BIG BAD]. It's going to be a busy week despite the fact that I'm hoping to go almost nowhere, so I'm scrambling. And I have some things in the works, I hope, that I'm going to be asking people to help with with regard to our local population of unhoused/unsheltered folks [and their animals]. This is supposed to be the week for gratitude, so I'll be asking folks to put their money where their mouths are, quite literally. Not gigantic amounts; just enough to cover 100 shower passes and 30 hot meals, plus some kit-bag stuff to keep on hand to give to folks as we encounter them. The kind of money that can be raised in $10 increments, but I need to people to step up now.

Because the housing crisis worsens daily here. On that note, also go here, buy something, or several somethings, off the outreach group's wishlist, and you will literally be saving a life, probably more than one. It's not really possible to overstate how bad it is out there, nor how great the need is. I've sorted it in their Priority order, but they've given out so much stuff this week that they now have new priorities: hand warmers, snacks, tarps, duct tape, two-person tents [only $22 each!], the safety stuff like flashlights and pepper spray; they also need large-size men's stuff, socks, and large- and extra-large-size dog stuff, like collars and harnesses and dog coats, further down on the list.

And then there's my own actual work. WE NEED SALES. As always at this time of year, I'm already putting in 12- to 16-hour days every day, 7 days a week, because the work won't wait, and for us, being able to help anyone else starts with us making those sales, of course. But beyond that? I also am finding myself unexpectedly under the gun on another front; besides needing to bring in enough in seasonal sales to repay a big chunk on our '24 taxes, the election has made the need to replace my laptop NOW absolutely mandatory, before the end of the year, because the price, already hellish for the one I need, will skyrocket at the first of the year. So if you're contemplating buying? Now would be a really, really good time. Our laptop is our whole work, everything, and it fails me on the daily now.

Today's feature is earrings again, but a single pair this time. They are, however, a pretty phenomenal pair; you can see the gallery entry here. So for other features, it'll be the remaining turquoise and silver earrings in inventory, five additional pairs:

• "Sacred Waters, Sacred Sky," sterling silver and Cripple Creek turquoise with hand-made ingot drops [this pair has a matching cuff, sold separately], here; 
• "An Atmospheric Love," bold Skystone hearts that look matched, but we believe one to be Royston and the other Bisbee [set into sterling silver, of course], here;
• "Where the Rivers Meet," sterling silver and boulder [ribbon] turquoise, likely Kingman, with both cabs a matched mirror-image pair, here;
• "Wild Rivers," sterling silver and ribbon [boulder] turquoise, again, likely Kingman [with a really unusual manifestation of the ribbons], here; and
• "Blue Skies," sterling silver and bright sky-blue Kingman turquoise, small, spare, simple, lightly-domed conchas, here.

There's more on the way very soon; he's got something like four more cuffs [an incredible one posted here Saturday], a couple of pendants, several new pairs of earrings [again, one, a small tiger iron pair, done yesterday and slated to go up by tonight, really, this time, or not, depending on how long I last tonight], and eventually all the new coils he'll need for holiday inventory. And I need to sell them all, because I still need to make sales weekly for us to catch up on the year and cover all the stuff still in the pipeline that needs covering [laptop, roof next year, more medical, always prepaid taxes, etc.]. So: GO BUY! Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (Priority is the liquid soaps and Amazon cards, probably most useful at this point); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim year, this one already far worse than the last, we really need to get what's left of 2024 onto a better footing before it ends, 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 Gifts of an Open Sky

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a work for remembering the blessings that result when the sky opens, from the medicine of the rain to the beauty of the light. It's a pair of earrings wrought in simple, spare, classic style, set with extraordinary matched cabochons that embody the gifts of an open sky.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. Christmas is now fewer than six weeks away already, with half of the winter holiday creative season already over, so get your orders in now. We need to bring in consistent sales at least weekly for the rest of the year, 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.           

Looking less likely by the day.

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

That sight is what greeted us this morning: smoke rising from some sort of fire just up the road around the curve from us. It as probably either part of the prescribed pile burn from last week, or someone burning their own weeds or trash or whatever, but in this tinderbox, it's still too close for comfort. Fortunately, it seems to be out now. Still hoping for snow from the bomb cyclone/atmospheric river, but it's looking less likely by the day, certainly with it getting up to 60 degrees every single day when it should be, you know, 30 with five inches of snow on the ground.

I've spent the day trying to catch up on the most basic of tasks right now. This week was entirely disrupted bu the whole jury summons/medical exemption nonsense, as well as a couple of other things that kept me on the go and on my feet, whether out in the cold or indoors on too-hard surfaces. My whole body is screaming at me, and while there are technically a couple of errands we should have run today, I'm glad we didn't. I need some down to recover from all of this, because this kind of pace is very literally killing me.  The idea that I could go into town every day for weeks  and stand in lines and sit on hard seats packed in like sardines with unmasked people spreading COVID and everything else is laughable; my body wouldn't make it through the first day. But that's what this world expects.

One interruption from yesterday could turn out to be good, IF we can make enough in sales to swing it. One of Wings's old friends stopped by; he's got really good quality grass hay, a little alfalfa mixed in for flavor, for sale.  Grass is running $18-20 a bale here now, thanks to the drought and winter coming, and he'll let us have it for $10 a bale . . . IF we take his whole supply. Which would set us back $800. So I need to bring in $800 in sales tonight, if possible.

And the housing crisis worsens daily. Go here, buy something, or several somethings, off the outreach group's wishlist, and you will literally be saving a life, probably more than one. It's not really possible to overstate how bad it is out there, nor how great the need is. I've sorted it in their Priority order, but they've given out so much stuff this week that they now have new priorities: hand warmers, snacks, tarps, duct tape, two-person tents [only $22 each!], the safety stuff like flashlights and pepper spray; they also need large-size men's stuff, socks, and large- and extra-large-size dog stuff, like collars and harnesses and dog coats, further down on the list.

And then there's my own actual work. WE NEED SALES. As always at this time of year, I'm already putting in 12- to 16-hour days every day, 7 days a week, because the work won't wait, and for us, being able to help anyone else starts with us making those sales, of course. But beyond that? I also am finding myself unexpectedly under the gun on another front; besides needing to bring in enough in seasonal sales to repay a big chunk on our '24 taxes, the election has made the need to replace my laptop NOW absolutely mandatory, before the end of the year, because the price, already hellish for the one I need, will skyrocket at the first of the year. So if you're contemplating buying? Now would be a really, really good time. Our laptop is our whole work, everything, and it fails me on the daily now.

Today's feature is a collective one again, four pairs of traditional concha earrings with extraordinary freehand work [two round, two oval; two set with blues, two with golden tiger's eye], all shown here. We have lots of other concha earrings available in the Earrings Gallery, particularly on page 2, but here, I'd like to feature two unusual ones set with the color of the dawn:

• "Prairie Evening Primrose," is a pair that is hand-domed like traditional conchas, but these are saw-cut freehand into big, bold, petaled blossoms [1"-plus long and wide], sterling silver set with glowing pink mussel shell, here; and 
• "A New Light," a pair of small silver medallions, only barely domed, with spare sunrise stampwork above shimmering rose quartz cabochons, here.

There's more on the way very soon; he's got something like four more cuffs [an incredible one posted here Saturday], a couple of pendants, several new pairs of earrings [again, one, a small tiger iron pair, done yesterday and slated to go up by tonight, really, this time, or not, depending on how long I last tonight], and eventually all the new coils he'll need for holiday inventory. And I need to sell them all, because I still need to make sales weekly for us to catch up on the year and cover all the stuff still in the pipeline that needs covering [laptop, roof next year, more medical, always prepaid taxes, etc.]. So: GO BUY! Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (Priority is the liquid soaps and Amazon cards, probably most useful at this point); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim year, this one already far worse than the last, we really need to get what's left of 2024 onto a better footing before it ends, 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.