Ajijaakwe

Wednesday, January 3, 2018

Making peace; heeding messages. New work by Wings, and a lot of expense right now. Sales/shares badly needed.

They've more or less made their peace with the electric fence. Miskwaki thought he'd pull a Cree and go bulldozing right through it the other day. Yesterday, though, he led with his nose, and that was very different thing from a small zap on the chest through a heavy winter coat. He's still stubbornly insisting on hanging right at the very edges, as though if he glares at it it'll disappear, but he's not trying to kick it, at least.

Busy day today. A friend came over this morning; then a few errands this afternoon (wherein I ride along and walk slowly, while Wings does the work). In between, he finally got some decent studio time, and he has some good momentum going now. There's a new pair of earrings up today (already sold, hallelujah and thank you), and a couple more pairs done and ready, plus a ring, a cuff in the works, and a Warrior Woman. And more to come.

At my site (issues still unresolved, of course), there's a new post with a very short but powerful message for the new year from a very small but powerful messenger. You can also buy me "coffee" here (or several cups, if you're so inclined) until I get the subscription thing figured out. Tomorrow will not be that day, guaranteed. Among other things, I have to renew the rental on the oxygen concentrator in the afternoon.

So, yeah, that's another big expense, although thankfully we have today's sale to help with that. But there's a lot of uncertainty with the new year now (and a lot of worry on more fundamental levels than just paying bills and so forth). For now, we still need to make sales, and they will be harder than usual not merely because Christmas is essentially over, but because there is no real tourist traffic, much less spending. We made it through the last week of the year, but looking ahead for this year, we don't have what normally gets us through the rest of the winter (and the weather will change, even if it's only to get really, really cold), much less for the emergency medical expenses of the last six weeks (which included a new bill two days ago for nearly five figures). Forget what remains to be done on the house for now; it's all the rest. But sales are not just what's going to keep me alive and Wings healthy; it's going to help other folks, too. Given the circumstances, I'm leaving up the donation link, too, and the registries have some new items on then, mostly lower-priced, to replace stuff damaged by the RV or given away when we first moved into it seven years ago. And as soon as I can get the folks at Wordpress who were happy enough to take my money to correct their various errors, I'll have a means to subscribe, donate, and eventually buy some things outright on the new site. So please share our links, because we've got to make some sales:

Wings's direct PayPal link;
Wings's site, for sales;
Wayfair gift cards, to replenish all the furnishings that the RV has destroyed in one way or another.
Partial registry #1, from Bed, Bath and Beyond. There are new kitchen-y things on it now, stuff that I didn't realize we'd need to replace (either because the RV ruined it or because we gave it away when we had to downsize).
Partial registry #2, from Wayfair. Still waiting for them to resolve this fulfillment/shipping problem they have with their site. Even so, I've added some things (kitchen/dining room stuff mostly), most of which are comparatively reasonably priced. Now, it's going to be mostly odds and ends that make this place more liveable, because of the sheer volume of stuff destroyed by too many years in the RV (e.g., by the oven and stovetop, by the wiring, by the water, by the mold, etc.), or that we simply gave away seven years ago because we had no room and no place to put them and despaired of ever being able to use them again.

As I've also been saying, I am still catching up, and will be now for a while. But this is the holiday season, and the sales/commissions from these few weeks are what keep us alive throughout the whole long winter and spring months (to say nothing of what's in the offing medically), so please continue to share the links. And please refer folks to Wings's site (and if you have an endorsement, too, so much the better). I'll be trying, slowly but, I hope, steadily, to get caught up over the course of this week. We have some massive expenses coming down the pike, and a lot of testing yet to be done before I'm out of the woods. So please keep sharing all our links. For now, I'm just so damn grateful to be alive, to have a healthy heart, to be back home with the love of my life and our dogs, the whole world is beautiful, even in spite of my terrible depression. Thanks again, to everybody; we love you all. And, if wishes can make dreams come true, a blessed Spirit Moon, the ability to sit atop the mountain and face the world below, and a happy, healthy new year to all of us.

The Alchemy of the Cosmos

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's Wings's first work of the new calendar year. It's simple, elegant, and especially fitting: one that embodies the dust of creation, the alchemy of the cosmos, and first dawn of that attends the birth of a brand new world.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. And, as always, sales are very much needed (especially now), so shares of the site links are much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2018; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Tuesday, January 2, 2018

Escorts and guides. Bills. We have GOT to make some sales; new inventory tomorrow. Sales/shares badly needed.

Yeah, she saw me taking her photo out the window of the truck. She always seems to know where I am, just like I can always feel her presence. I forgot to mention that yesterday, she arrived just as we were preparing to lay Ember to rest, and while we got everything ready, she circled and circled and circled directly overhead, returning again and again as though just waiting for the moment when it would be her turn to escort Ember on her journey. Hawks are escorts and guides, among other things. The moment we laid her little body in the ground, this girl vanished.

She was back today, and while we were at the post office, her man swooped and soared overhead, allowing the raven behind him to believe that he was actually chasing him. The harrier showed up, too, but she's always too fast for me; I almost always get a blur, and such was the case today. I'm feeling completely incompetent, for that and so many other reasons right now, not least because I can't do anything. Living in fear of triggering another attack is not a way to live, and I'm doing the best I can to navigate the line, but without knowing the cause, I can't always avoid it.

And there was another bill in the mailbox today. Not a big one, but the last several have been more than enough on that score. And no sales. I don't know what we're going to do. Wings has new inventory in this works (as well as a few non-time-sensitive commissions nearly completion, folks, so they're on their way shortly), and tomorrow I'll have at least one new item on offer, possibly more. But they have to sell, and we've had precious few sales over the last few weeks as it is. Now that Christmas is over? It feels grim.

There's also something small but new up at my site, which is a complete clusterfuck at the moment, with no response from the platform. Somehow they managed to screw up my site name, not process the redirect, and then set up a new one that does none of those things (and also doesn't include the paid theme), which is what everything goes to at the moment. So I'm going to have to get them to straighten it out, but I have no idea when they'll trouble themselves to get around to it. Until they do, you can "subscribe" via the usual PayPal link below, or you can buy me a coffee (yes, that's a euphemism) here.

So there's a lot of uncertainty with the new year now (and a lot of worry on more fundamental levels than just paying bills and so forth). For now, we still need to make sales, and they will be harder than usual not merely because Christmas is essentially over, but because there is no real tourist traffic, much less spending. We made it through the last week of the year, but looking ahead for this year, we don't have what normally gets us through the rest of the winter (and the weather will change, even if it's only to get really, really cold), much less for the emergency medical expenses of the last six weeks (which included a new bill two days ago for nearly five figures). Forget what remains to be done on the house for now; it's all the rest. But sales are not just what's going to keep me alive and Wings healthy; it's going to help other folks, too. Given the circumstances, I'm leaving up the donation link, too, and the registries have some new items on then, mostly lower-priced, to replace stuff damaged by the RV or given away when we first moved into it seven years ago. And as soon as I can get the folks at Wordpress who were happy enough to take my money to correct their various errors, I'll have a means to subscribe, donate, and eventually buy some things outright on the new site. So please share our links, because we've got to make some sales:

Wings's direct PayPal link;
Wings's site, for sales;
Wayfair gift cards, to replenish all the furnishings that the RV has destroyed in one way or another.
Partial registry #1, from Bed, Bath and Beyond. There are new kitchen-y things on it now, stuff that I didn't realize we'd need to replace (either because the RV ruined it or because we gave it away when we had to downsize).
Partial registry #2, from Wayfair. Still waiting for them to resolve this fulfillment/shipping problem they have with their site. Even so, I've added some things (kitchen/dining room stuff mostly), most of which are comparatively reasonably priced. Now, it's going to be mostly odds and ends that make this place more liveable, because of the sheer volume of stuff destroyed by too many years in the RV (e.g., by the oven and stovetop, by the wiring, by the water, by the mold, etc.), or that we simply gave away seven years ago because we had no room and no place to put them and despaired of ever being able to use them again.

Red Willow Spirit: Worlds Between and Beyond the Lines

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's the first edition of Red Willow Spirit for the new calendar year, and the new world(s) born of it. It's a reminder, too, to us to look more closely at that which purports to bound or border us, to seek, and find, worlds between and beyond the lines.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. It's three in a series of Wings's photographs from the new world of a January past, and as always with his work, they're available for purchase in any of the usual three formats; simply inquire via the site's Contact form. Also as always, sales are very much needed (especially now; new medical bills in a season of few sales), so shares of the site links are much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2018; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Monday, January 1, 2018

Spirit Moon Sits On Top of the Mountain Facing the World. New work for a new year.

In my language, January, and New Year's Day. [Yes, that's how the words translate: This is the Spirit Moon, no wolf anywhere in sight; and the point of the new year is that we are the summit, facing a world spread out below. Do my words recently make more sense now?]

I have a lot in the works. Had I not fallen so ill, I would have had it all operational by now, but of course, that's not the case. I have a new site, one that will eventually be monetized for subscriptions and other things, and I will increasingly be doing more of my so-called serious work over there. I can't get the payment button up tonight, because as seems to be the case with every single corporate entity out there, their sites are not coded to work, in real terms, for real people. I've paid for the Premium version, and now it tells me I must upgrade to the Premium version to be able to add the button. I expect no results for a couple of days, so anyone interested in kicking in funds will need to use the usual PayPal button, which is linked below, of course. [Yes, this is my response to the Patreon mess, the people I was urged by several folks to use, and who promptly got my info hacked. I'll be using self-monetizing methods that don't involve paying people who give my info to hackers a share of the proceeds.]

In the meantime, I have managed an unusually high number of chores for today, given my health, and have just gotten myself through my second mild episode (although last night's was bad). I don't know what this is, I don't know how long it will take for someone in charge of such things to get around to finding it out, but for now, it appears that I can rely only on my own ability to survive them, so that's what I'm doing. As I said elsewhere tonight, I resolve to live.

So there's a lot of uncertainty at year's end (and a lot of worry on more fundamental levels than just paying bills and so forth). For now, we still need to make sales, and they will be harder than usual not merely because Christmas is essentially over, but because there is no real tourist traffic, much less spending. We made it through the last week of the year, but looking ahead for this year, we don't have what normally gets us through the rest of the winter (and the weather will change, even if it's only to get really, really cold), much less for the emergency medical expenses of the last six weeks (which included a new bill two days ago for nearly five figures). Forget what remains to be done on the house for now; it's all the rest. But sales are not just what's going to keep me alive and Wings healthy; it's going to help other folks, too. Given the circumstances, I'm leaving up the donation link, too, and the registries have some new items on then, mostly lower-priced, to replace stuff damaged by the RV or given away when we first moved into it seven years ago. And as soon as I can get the folks at Wordpress who were happy enough to take my money to correct their various errors, I'll have a means to subscribe, donate, and eventually buy some things outright on the new site. So please share our links:

Wings's direct PayPal link;
Wings's site, for sales;
Wayfair gift cards, to replenish all the furnishings that the RV has destroyed in one way or another.
Partial registry #1, from Bed, Bath and Beyond. There are new kitchen-y things on it now, stuff that I didn't realize we'd need to replace (either because the RV ruined it or because we gave it away when we had to downsize).
Partial registry #2, from Wayfair. Still waiting for them to resolve this fulfillment/shipping problem they have with their site. Even so, I've added some things (kitchen/dining room stuff mostly), most of which are comparatively reasonably priced. Now, it's going to be mostly odds and ends that make this place more liveable, because of the sheer volume of stuff destroyed by too many years in the RV (e.g., by the oven and stovetop, by the wiring, by the water, by the mold, etc.), or that we simply gave away seven years ago because we had no room and no place to put them and despaired of ever being able to use them again.

A little spark goes out, and Ember flies on.

That's a photo from almost four years ago, when our second group of chicks were first released into the coop. There were four of the black sex-links, all pictured. One of those four was Ember.

She walked on, or perhaps flew on, about 9:30 PM last night. Little girl fought hard, but she didn't make it to the new year.

There are only four girls remaining from that group now: her sister black sex-link, Dahlia, and three of the reds, Cinnamon, Spice, and Pumpkin. Spice is the little girl with nine lives and no social skills, and she took off out the gate this morning after we'd laid her sister to rest; the other three were more hesitant, emerging only slowly, looking from her resting place, out of their line of sight, to me and back again and again. Dahlia in particular seems to know she's gone.

I have close-ups of Ember herself, but they all seem to be on my old laptop, currently unreachable. So it's the photo above, and this one, which in its way is the cause of her early departure last night:

A couple of years ago, Ember became badly egg-bound. That was, unfortunately, not unusual for that particular group of chicks; it's a breeder issue, and these were apparently bred carelessly, to say the least. Too many of them suffered from genetic predispositions to it. We fought like hell to save ever single one of them, but absent costly surgical intervention that, as far as I know, no vet around here handles anyway, there's not much that can be done aside from some external efforts and a lot of luck. We still tried. And with Ember, we fought for days to save her.

And we did. We knew she was out of the woods when she laid the egg shown above. That was hers, and proof that she'd conquered the condition. Then.

But it puts them at greater risk for future incidents, and she and her cohort were getting older, and it's cold now and they're more vulnerable. And on the 29th, Wings came and found and asked me to take a look at her, because she was standing huddled up with one leg lifted. That's usually a sign; the egg is in the wrong place, and they lift or stretch a leg trying to shift the weight to a more comfortable position. I checked her over, worked on her for a bit, and she put her leg down and started moving around again. I monitored her, and she spent the rest of the day happily scratching and pecking, as engaged as all the rest. She was the same on the 30th . . . until evening, and then she put herself to bed inside the inner part of the coop (they normally sleep stubbornly on top of it) in the corner where she and Dahlia have always gone when they don't feel well and want to be safe.

Yesterday, she didn't come out, although she did get herself to her feet. By evening, she had moved to the other side, but she was clearly unsteady and uncomfortable, her internal heater just as clearly not working properly. So we got an old plastic shopping basket and put an old throw rug in it, and I lifted her out and placed her carefully in it. We brought her indoors and set her near the larger woodstove, and she settled in comfortably, happy to be warm. I checked on her every few minutes. A bit before 9:30, she was still responsive, if too tired to do more than move her head and chirp in acknowledgment. At 9:40, she was gone, and clearly had been gone for a few minutes, her head nestled into her chest. She simply went to sleep in the warmth, and kept going.

We buried her this morning, out by some of the sisters who predeceased her, near a dwarf blue spruce that we planted in honor and memory of a warrior who has walked on; his anniversary was less than a week ago. She has everything she needs for her journey. And yes, it broke my heart — it always does — but in this instance, it seemed she was relaxed, at peace, in no pain and now content to join her sisters.

And still, a little spark has gone out of the coop, and our lives. We love you, Ember.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2018; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Monday New Year's Photo Meditation: A Year of Dreams and Wonders

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a photo meditation upon and for the new year and the new world that is born of it. Built around an image named twice, once Between Worlds and simultaneously Snow Globe, it's a call to action for this new world, to make it a year of dreams and wonders and a world in robust harmony.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. As always, his photos are available for purchase in any of the usual three formats; simply inquire via the site's Contact form. Also as always, sales are very much needed (especially now), so shares of the site links are much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2018; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Ajijaakwe

Wednesday, January 3, 2018

Making peace; heeding messages. New work by Wings, and a lot of expense right now. Sales/shares badly needed.

The Alchemy of the Cosmos

Tuesday, January 2, 2018

Escorts and guides. Bills. We have GOT to make some sales; new inventory tomorrow. Sales/shares badly needed.

Red Willow Spirit: Worlds Between and Beyond the Lines

Monday, January 1, 2018

Spirit Moon Sits On Top of the Mountain Facing the World. New work for a new year.

A little spark goes out, and Ember flies on.

Monday New Year's Photo Meditation: A Year of Dreams and Wonders

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