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.