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.