Seeding Life, Light, Water, Breath

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a work to pay tribute to the origins of medicine, from its ancient, distant genesis in the stars to that which flowers here below. It's a cuff wrought in a deceptively simple, spare, classic design, one that honors the work of spring, of seeding life, light, water, breath, and all that will grow from it.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. It's now almost summer in this no-longer-new calendar year and facing complications and costs, some carried over from the end of last year, some all new, that have completely wiped us out. We need to make consistent sales urgently, so shares are very much needed and much appreciated.

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.       

Ungodly levels of stress.

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

Some green [weeds, all], some shadows, some bare [dead] limbs, and no water in the pond whatsoever.

Probably no chance of it, either.

It's dry and arid, with gale-force winds again today. Which means that this day, like the whole week, has been nothing but misery. Of course, I don't actually know how to allocate it, percentage-wise: I mean, how much is just the winds, how much is the side effects of last week's chemo dose [not happening today, not at that level], how much is my illness progressing on all fronts, and how much is the result of the ungodly levels of stress I'm being forced to carry right now.

I feel like those bare branches; those that aren't already dead are dying, and it's entirely preventable, except that no one is willing to make it possible.

This has been an absolutely awful day at the end of an equally awful week. No sales. No improvement in my symptoms, but plenty of drastic worsening, some likely temporary, some very surely not. No improvement in Wings's dental issues. This was supposed to be the week I got things caught up, because next week will be a mess again, but I've been too ill to keep up with anything, and everything else has made it impossible anyway, because what everyone else wants always seems to have to take priority. I've spent a good chunk of the afternoon fighting off tears, and at this moment, I am at the end of my rope, because there's no help for me, and none is ever going to be forthcoming, either.

And we still have major medical other expenses later this month [and throughout, "we" means that I am the one who has to figure out how everything gets covered]; there's Wings's ongoing dental; we have some bureaucratic nonsense to take care of; and somehow, and I have GOT to bring in something for taxes. And the other demands on me are just as relentless [the ones that don't, directly, anyway, have to do explicitly with money]; there is no help for any of it, and I am at my wits' end over the latter ones especially. Combined with my illness progressing? I need help.

And my Patreon is still down by more than $700 a month over last year, and as our most consistent source of income, that is what pays our monthly bills like utilities and groceries and gas and so forth. [Oh, and we gave away $1,800 worth of inventory as honor gifts for a young person dancing (traditionally) for the first time. Which is fine, but now I have to make up for what we haven't sold] It's not going to be enough even for that, never mind the taxes and everything else. Somehow, I have to bring in sales. If you're in the market, now would be a really, REALLY good time.And as always, all the regular links are listed below, with sales, as always, being the most important:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (Amazon cards are most important now, because they go to buy things we can't get locally, like the protein mixes for Wings and GF stuff for me and all the cleaning and other household products that people in cities can get but we can't); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim 2023, and with this year starting off MUCH worse (and given that we're already approaching the half-way mark), we really need to get 2024 onto a better footing, 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.                         

Friday Feature: Cultivating Storm and Light

Photo copyright Aji, 2024;
all rights reserved.

It's our Friday Feature at The NDN Silver Blog, with a quartet of works from the same category, all wrought in the same old traditional style. It's four pairs of earrings in a similar design, each set with a different pair of stones, all of them seasonally apt, and all of them cultivating storm and light and their beauty and medicine.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. It's now almost summer in this no-longer-new calendar year and facing complications and costs, some carried over from the end of last year, some all new, that have completely wiped us out. We need to make consistent sales urgently, so shares are very much needed and much appreciated.

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. 

A lot of haze.

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

Some new green; a lot of haze. Can't tell whether the latter is just dust and pollen, or there's smoke coming from somewhere; last night, it seemed like smoke. There's nothing reported, certainly not officially, other than the possibility yesterday of prescribed burns down south at Magdalena, but 1) that's southwest of Albuquerque, halfway to T or C, 2) anyone who ignites a burn in THESE winds needs to lose their job with a quickness.

The winds are making my life a misery as it is; it's the single worst weather condition for my particular complex of autoimmune diseases. Maybe not in everybody, but certainly in me, this is how it manifests; I can deal with heat, cold, aridity, humidity, rain, snow, sleet, hail, virtually anything but wind. But this week and next are going to be hell in that regard.

And I know I said yesterday that I was glad that at least April is done, but . . . . I swear, I thought that month would never end. It's one of the worst of the year, maybe the worst, every single year, but this one set some kind of record. Not one I ever want to repeat. But May is already, two days in, shaping up in all the wrong ways. Wings had to get a long-overdue oil change in the truck today, and they found that the hose to the radiator thermostat is damaged and needs replacing. They reconnected it, for what that's worth, but it's going to have to go to the mechanic next week, and I have no idea how much that's going to cost. Hose prices are all over the map, depending on the subtype, but it's the labor that worries me. And we still have major medical other expenses later this month; there's Wings's ongoing dental; we have some bureaucratic nonsense to take care of; and somehow, and I have GOT to bring in something for taxes. And the other demands on me are just as relentless [the ones that don't, directly, anyway, have to do explicitly with money]; there is no help for any of it, and I am at my wits' end over the latter ones especially. Combined with my illness progressing? I need help.

And my Patreon is still down by more than $700 a month over last year, and as our most consistent source of income, that is what pays our monthly bills like utilities and groceries and gas and so forth. It's not going to be enough even for that, never mind the taxes and everything else. Somehow, I have to bring in sales. If you're in the market, now would be a really, REALLY good time. I posted four new pairs of earrings recently, here, all at lower price points than his usual, and three new all-silver cuffs, here. And a week or so ago, I got the new naja [it's extraordinary] posted and sent viral, and it matches an existing cuff! and you can find them here and here. And as always, all the regular links are listed below, with sales, as always, being the most important:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (we'll always need the dog treats for the monsters, and especially Amazon and Lowe's cards [the Lowe's cards are probably going to have to go on a new fridge, so I'm hoarding them; the Amazon cards go to buy things we can't get locally, like the protein mixes for Wings and GF stuff for me]); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim 2023, and with this year starting off MUCH worse, we really need to get 2024 moving onto a better footing, 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.                        

#ThrowbackThursday: Recovering a Place of Prosperity

Photo copyright Wings, 2024; all rights reserved.

It's #TBT at The NDN Silver Blog, with a #ThrowbackThursday work that dates back almost two decades, to 2006 [sold in 2008 or '09], and an old traditional work wrought in vintage style and set with ten extraordinary old Skystones. It's a ring wrought in a classic old-style blossom design, one perfect for this season in new leaf and flower, as we do the work of recovering a place of prosperity.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. As always, this work will never be duplicated, but if the general style speaks to your spirit, simply inquire via the site's Contact form; Wings can create a version uniquely your own. It's now almost summer in this no-longer-new calendar year and facing complications and costs, some carried over from the end of last year, some all new, that have completely wiped us out. We need to make consistent sales urgently, so shares are very much needed and much appreciated.

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.       

Greening up.

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

Finally, our world is greening up. That was this morning, facing east/northeast. Just out of camera range, the first of the aspens that are still alive at this point began opening their first leaves this morning.

A lot of them, of course, didn't make it, including the one in the photo, which died suddenly about four years ago, when this drought transitioned from a 500-year one to a 1,200-year version. A lot of others are gone, too.

There is so much to worry about in this wounded world right now, and somehow, dealing with climate collapse always has to be kicked down the road.

At least April is done. I swear, I thought that month would never end. It's one of the worst of the year, maybe the worst, every single year, but this one set some kind of record. Not one I ever want to repeat.

But May is still going to be hellishly costly: In addition to all the usual, we both have major medical expenses near month's end; there's Wings's ongoing dental; we have some bureaucratic nonsense to take care of; and somehow, I have to squeeze out a big chunk for taxes. And the other demands on me are just as relentless [the ones that don't, directly, anyway, have to do explicitly with money]; there is no help for any of it, and I am at my wits' end over the latter ones especially. Combined with my illness progressing? I need help.

And my Patreon is still down by more than $700 a month over last year, and as our most consistent source of income, that is what pays our monthly bills like utilities and groceries and gas and so forth. It's not going to be enough even for that, never mind the taxes and everything else. Somehow, I have to bring in sales. If you're in the market, now would be a really, REALLY good time. I posted four new pairs of earrings recently, here, all at lower price points than his usual, and three new all-silver cuffs, here. And a week or so ago, I got the new naja [it's extraordinary] posted and sent viral, and it matches an existing cuff! and you can find them here and here. And as always, all the regular links are listed below, with sales, as always, being the most important:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (we'll always need the dog treats for the monsters, and Amazon and Lowe's cards [the Lowe's cards are probably going to have to go on a new fridge, so I'm hoarding them]); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim 2023, and with this year starting off MUCH worse, we really need to get 2024 moving onto a better footing, 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.                        

Illuminating a Land Reclaimed By Spring

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a masterwork for all seasons, but especially for the illuminating skies of a spring racing headlong toward summer now. It's a day of first aspen leaves, of the foxfire glow of the sun shining through them, and of the light's medicine, illuminating a land reclaimed by spring.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. It's now almost summer in this no-longer-new calendar year and facing complications and costs, some carried over from the end of last year, some all new, that have completely wiped us out. We need to make consistent sales urgently, so shares are very much needed and much appreciated.

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.