I don't have it in me to pretend right now.

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

Look at that nonsense. Bone-dry. Everything should be covered in white right now; instead, it's gray and dying.

Strike that; not simply "dying." It's being killed, systematically exterminated. And there isn't a damn thing we can do about it.

Apparently nothing we can do about the jackasses like the one this morning who had a fire going in the foothills to the south. Gale-force winds yesterday, with the possibility of more today, and some dipshit is lighting fires, and if that's your relative at the Forest Service, it doesn't change the colossal jackassery of it, or them, in the slightest.

I don't even know how we make it through this month. Then again, who knows how much of our world will be around by year's end. It's been a hard weekend, and the week ahead's going to be harder. I don't have it in me to pretend right now.

I have four figures' worth of expense to cover this week. That will wipe us out completely. If the sales logjam doesn't break soon, I don't know what we do. And none of that four figures includes the two hellishly expensive repairs [well pressure pump and roof] that need to be made sooner rather than later, nor the fact that I still need to replace my laptop, plus all the usual medical, plus the fact that taxes will due before we know it, and last year's sales were so terrible that I couldn't prepay anything. This is all just all the shit that comes due every January, and goes up very single year.  January, April, and July are hell months. 

We need sales, and we need them now. Or a miracle. Or both.

And yes, I know we're lucky. The housing crisis worsens daily here. On that note, 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 once again there's a new order of priorities, not yet entirely reflected in the list itself. This is from the organizer herself [I've italicized the three that I'm told are the most urgent at this moment]:

• The bulk backpacks - at least six 12 packs
• Pepper spray
• Bulk packs of work socks
• Whistles
• Money/document belts (look like tan fanny packs, worn under the clothing  to hide and keep documents safe and protected.
• Bulk dog leashes
• XXL dog harnesses
• Chapstick
• Packs of wipes

The outreach program is giving gear out as fast as they get them, and being mostly housebound now, it's hard for me to get out to pick up any before they're gone. That's why I put some of those essentials on our own wishlist, with a note that they're for the outreach effort; soon, I'll adjust those priorities accordingly, too.  Right now, they really, REALLY need pepper spray for the safety kits, and backpacks. I know a lot of people get weirded out by the idea of pepper spray, but if you're alone on the streets, assault of every type is always a possibility that's with you every single moment, and here, we also have wild animals that venture into town [a mountain lion spent a good share of the summer walking the streets downtown, and those of the nearby residential areas] This is a non-lethal way of stopping an attack in time to get away.

For us? SALES. PLEASE. THERE'S SO MUCH NEW WORK ON THE SITE. There's also a new bolo and a new pair of earrings coming, maybe tonight. And I need to sell them all, because I still need to make a ridiculous amount of sales to cover all the stuff still in the pipeline that needs covering [laptop, roof AND now the well pressure pump, more medical, always prepaid taxes, etc.]. So: GO BUY! PLEASE. [Yeah, I know; I don't know why I bother, either. As I said, hope is a stupid, stubborn, fucked-up thing sometimes, even if it's also very thin and half-broken.] 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 far worse than the last, we really begin 2025 on a better footing before taxes take every cent, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2025; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.