A Message, and a Medicine, of Love

Photo copyright Aji, 2021; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a masterwork wrought in a traditional style but with a wholly unique identity and sensibility, one manifest as the children of Mother Earth herself, and of less readily apparent forces and spirits. It's a butterfly concha belt in the literal sense of the phrase, here to remind us of the strength of our roots and branches and wings, too, of our capacity for surviving, spreading, reaching for the sky, able, even, to fly: a gift of abundance, and a message, and a medicine, of love.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. We are still going to need to make consistent sales to make it through the rest of this terrible second pandemic-ridden spring (one that has already been bitter indeed for our communities), as well as the rest of the year, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2021; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.     

Nothing here.

Photo copyright Aji, 2021; all rights reserved.

That was yesterday. Seventy-four degrees here, and snow coming down on the peaks simultaneously. Monsoonal cloud patterns are here as of yesterday, more today, plenty of rain and snow falling around us, but nothing here.

More clouds today, and almost seventy again now, but you wouldn't know it by my joints. The dislocation rate seems to be getting worse, and I don't know if I'm just forgetting how bad it is every spring, or it's actually measurably worse because I'm another year older, or it's an artifact of the vaccine, but the pain now is overwhelming, and nothing touches it. Add to that that I cannot get time to do everything I need to do, and I still have to find a way to bring in sales, so expect me to be scarce pretty much all of April. It looks like we're going to be able to cover the tiller, thank all that's holy, but then there are taxes and the well and everything else.

So, yeah. I have to make sales.

The taxes are the big thing still hanging over my head, as well as a bunch of other stuff for the year to come.  And then there's Wings's hearing aids, because I think he's finally convinced that we need to make the investment. And, of course, we have to get hold of Pojoaque Pueblo's bison program to see how much it will cost to buy a share of a buffalo. Early research suggests around ~$2K, so we may need to crowdfund that. The thing about it is that it won't feed only us; it'll get shared with other folks.I 'm going to need to set up PayPal pools to fund all of these things if we can't make a whole bunch of sales now. It's endless, and I am so tired just thinking about it.

We need sales. Sales, sales, SALES.

SALES. NOTHING ELSE MATTERS RIGHT NOW, AND I CANNOT GET ANY TIME TO MAKE SALES.

The last couple of years have required us to dig deep and ante up to help others at a level we've never done before. This year? The first two and a half months of 2021? Has already buried that. But as I said about that being why we do what we do, especially now in these days of pandemic, it's become abundantly clear that too often, there IS NO tomorrow, and the only chance you might have to help someone stay alive is TODAY. Things are bad locally; no economy, nothing. No vaccines for most folks dependent on the state system, either. We have lost SO much to 2020 (and already in 2021), so very, very many people, and the gifts and the talents and the knowledge and the wisdom they carried too often lost with them. People have needed so much more help than we could give them, but we did as much as we could, even when it put us in a bind, and we will need to do much more of that this year. People continue to need help, and we give it, but we're up well over $2 grand in just that one week, and a whole lot more before and since. 

I've got to find it again somewhere. Part of my work involves me reorganizing the Web site and then promoting the hell out of everything again. That's on top of all the other work I need to do around here, and I have been mostly useless, largely due to the recent flurry of episodes with my health. For every episode, it takes me multiple days to recover, all while hoping that another one doesn't set me back even further. That's not good. Too many people need help, and the government remains determined to see us die. There's work to do. This is why I've had to stop doing some things; there are just not enough hours in the day anymore, and I've got to make it all of this up somewhere. So:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (priorities are LaminaSaver for Miika & metal/glass cleaners);
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

And if you've been contemplating a purchase? This would be a very, very good time to do it; I've got to make up this staggering outlay somehow. There's even new work, here and here and now here, among other new pieces from 3 weeks ago, too, so please watch for them and share the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2021; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.        

Words of Wind and Light

Photo copyright Aji, 2021; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a pair of earrings in the form and shape of two of the small sacred spirits of the summer season, holding all its hope and promise on their wings. It's a pair of butterflies, wrought the old way, a chrysalis sun carried on each pair of wings, arriving soon to deliver words of wind and light.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. We are still going to need to make consistent sales to make it through the rest of this terrible second pandemic-ridden spring (one that has already been bitter indeed for our communities), as well as the rest of the year, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2021; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.     

A visit from the neighbors.

Photo copyright Aji, 2021; all rights reserved.

We had a visit from the neighbors yesterday. All three of the ones in this extended family unit, although I couldn't get all three into one shot. These are welcome anytime, because they adhere very strictly to social distancing.

Seventy degrees now, but you wouldn't know it by my joints. The dislocation rate seems to be getting worse, and I don't know if I'm just forgetting how bad it is every spring, or it's actually measurably worse because I'm another year older, or it's an artifact of the vaccine, but the pain now is overwhelming, and nothing touches it. Add to that that I cannot get time to do everything I need to do, and I still have to find a way to bring in sales, so expect me to be scarce pretty much all of April. The sales thing is particularly urgent; if we are going to plant this year (and we need to be able to; it's our first real shot in 5-6 years, and we need to be able to grow our own food and hay again), we have to replace the tiller. It died in 2019, I think it was, after many years of repairs and replacement parts, and there was no point to trying to resurrect it one more time last year, because there was no water. But we've got to be able to plant now, and it's dead, and the kind we need (think soil hardness, land area, etc.) is going to set us back $1,100+. And we don't have a choice; it's sold out everywhere, but Tractor Supply can get it, and it's cheaper to have them it to the local store than to pay for delivery.  And it's still $1,100+.

Yeah, I have to make sales.

The taxes are still hanging over my head, as well as a bunch of other stuff for the year to come.  And then there's Wings's hearing aids, because I think he's finally convinced that we need to make the investment. And, of course, we have to get hold of Pojoaque Pueblo's bison program to see how much it will cost to buy a share of a buffalo. Early research suggests around ~$2K, so we may need to crowdfund that. The thing about it is that it won't feed only us; it'll get shared with other folks.I 'm going to need to set up PayPal pools to fund all of these things if we can't make a whole bunch of sales now. It's endless, and I am so tired just thinking about it.

We need sales. Sales, sales, SALES.

SALES. NOTHING ELSE MATTERS RIGHT NOW, AND I CANNOT GET ANY TIME TO MAKE SALES.

The last couple of years have required us to dig deep and ante up to help others at a level we've never done before. This year? The first two and a half months of 2021? Has already buried that. But as I said about that being why we do what we do, especially now in these days of pandemic, it's become abundantly clear that too often, there IS NO tomorrow, and the only chance you might have to help someone stay alive is TODAY. Things are bad locally; no economy, nothing. No vaccines for most folks dependent on the state system, either. We have lost SO much to 2020 (and already in 2021), so very, very many people, and the gifts and the talents and the knowledge and the wisdom they carried too often lost with them. People have needed so much more help than we could give them, but we did as much as we could, even when it put us in a bind, and we will need to do much more of that this year. People continue to need help, and we give it, but we're up well over $2 grand in just that one week, and a whole lot more before and since. 

I've got to find it again somewhere. Part of my work involves me reorganizing the Web site and then promoting the hell out of everything again. That's on top of all the other work I need to do around here, and I have been mostly useless, largely due to the recent flurry of episodes with my health. For every episode, it takes me multiple days to recover, all while hoping that another one doesn't set me back even further. That's not good. Too many people need help, and the government remains determined to see us die. There's work to do. This is why I've had to stop doing some things; there are just not enough hours in the day anymore, and I've got to make it all of this up somewhere. So:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (priorities are LaminaSaver for Miika & metal/glass cleaners);
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

And if you've been contemplating a purchase? This would be a very, very good time to do it; I've got to make up this staggering outlay somehow. There's even new work, here and here and now here, among other new pieces from 3 weeks ago, too, so please watch for them and share the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2021; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.       

Friday Feature: The Work of Smoke and Song and Shimmering Light

Photo copyright Aji, 2021;
all rights reserved.

It's our Friday Feature at The NDN Silver Blog, with an old-style work by one of Wings's relatives, carved in the traditional way and glowing like the sun itself. It's an equally traditional elder, in a posture engagement with the world and the spirits, reminding us that the work includes gratitude and celebration, the work of smoke and song and shimmering light.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. We are still going to need to make consistent sales to make it through the rest of this terrible, pandemic-ridden second year (one that has already been bitter indeed for our communities), as well as the rest of the year, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2021; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.    

She can get above it.

Photo copyright Aji, 2021; all rights reserved.

It would be nice to be able to sit so comfortably. No chance of that these days, though.

The last few weeks have been absolutely miserable, courtesy of the winds. Not much wind today, and it's fairly warm, but I woke up feeling literally sick: sore throat, sinus congestion, a throat that absolutely would not clear, and all the heightened pain that goes with an out-of-control inflammatory response.

And then I looked out the window. 

I don't know whether the state/feds stupidly kept to their announced prescribed-burn schedule, always dangerous this time of year, or if this is from that apparently colonizer-ignited fire down at Cochiti Lake, or it's blowing in from points further still, but we have a dirty, rusty haze of smoke and dust and pollen everywhere. The hawk can handle it, because she can get above it. I, on the other hand, won't be good for much beyond the minimum, and I cannot get time to do everything I need to do, and I still have to find a way to bring in sales, so expect me to be scarce pretty much all of April.

The taxes are still hanging over my head, as well as a bunch of other stuff for the year to come.  And then there's Wings's hearing aids, because I think he's finally convinced that we need to make the investment. And, of course, we have to get hold of Pojoaque Pueblo's bison program to see how much it will cost to buy a share of a buffalo. Early research suggests around ~$2K, so we may need to crowdfund that. The thing about it is that it won't feed only us; it'll get shared with other folks.I 'm going to need to set up PayPal pools to fund all of these things if we can't make a whole bunch of sales now. It's endless, and I am so tired just thinking about it.

We need sales. Sales, sales, SALES.

SALES. NOTHING ELSE MATTERS RIGHT NOW, AND I CANNOT GET ANY TIME TO MAKE SALES.

The last couple of years have required us to dig deep and ante up to help others at a level we've never done before. This year? The first two and a half months of 2021? Has already buried that. But as I said about that being why we do what we do, especially now in these days of pandemic, it's become abundantly clear that too often, there IS NO tomorrow, and the only chance you might have to help someone stay alive is TODAY. Things are bad locally; no economy, nothing. No vaccines for most folks dependent on the state system, either. We have lost SO much to 2020 (and already in 2021), so very, very many people, and the gifts and the talents and the knowledge and the wisdom they carried too often lost with them. People have needed so much more help than we could give them, but we did as much as we could, even when it put us in a bind, and we will need to do much more of that this year. People continue to need help, and we give it, but we're up well over $2 grand in just that one week, and a whole lot more before and since. 

I've got to find it again somewhere. Part of my work involves me reorganizing the Web site and then promoting the hell out of everything again. That's on top of all the other work I need to do around here, and I have been mostly useless, largely due to the recent flurry of episodes with my health. For every episode, it takes me multiple days to recover, all while hoping that another one doesn't set me back even further. That's not good. Too many people need help, and the government remains determined to see us die. There's work to do. This is why I've had to stop doing some things; there are just not enough hours in the day anymore, and I've got to make it all of this up somewhere. So:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (priorities are LaminaSaver for Miika & metal/glass cleaners);
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

And if you've been contemplating a purchase? This would be a very, very good time to do it; I've got to make up this staggering outlay somehow. There's even new work, here and here and now here, among other new pieces from 3 weeks ago, too, so please watch for them and share the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2021; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.       

#TBT: The Healing of the Light

Photo copyright Wings, 2021; all rights reserved.

It's #ThrowbackThursday at The NDN Silver Blog, with a work that likely dates back well over a decade, here to inspire us and strengthen our spirits now. It's one in Wings's signature Warrior Woman series, this one wrought in an exceptionally powerful design, reminding us to do as she does: to stand strong, holding medicine and the sun itself, ready to put to work the healing of the light.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. This work obviously will never be duplicated, but if the style speaks to your spirit, simply inquire via the site's Contact form; Wings can create a version uniquely your own. We are still going to need to make consistent sales to make it through April and the rest of this still-terrible, still-pandemic-ridden year (one that, like last year, has already been bitter indeed for our communities), as well as the rest of the year, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2021; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.