Small fragile spirits.

Photo copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved.

The small fragile spirits are here: hummingbirds, goldfinches. At least two of the latter, males both, although I thought I also glimpsed a female. The hummingbirds have only come one at a time, but based on size disparity, there are at least two, possibly three so far.

Speaking of small fragile spirits, it's a good description of myself these days. Physically, medically (and therefore financially), I've been under siege for so long that I don't remember how to be without feeling the cracks and anticipating the breakage. I slept a little last night, finally, likely a product of the heavy-duty antibiotics. Which, of course, are making me sick in other ways today because my body is so unused to them, but whatever it takes for us both to be finally rid of this thing, I guess.

I've also had to halt my inhaler, which means more time on the O2, especially at night. I've been breaking out intermittently in hives, badly, and I thought at first it was a food allergy. The first instance occurred on the way home from the second biopsy, and I thought maybe it was a reaction to commercial peanuts, since there wasn't anything else it could have been. But it's been happening repeatedly since then, with no common trigger . . . except for the inhaler. The manufacturer doesn't list it as a side effect, even a rare one, but other medical sites do, although it's labeled "uncommon." I finally put it together yesterday, and so while I wait for the welts to disappear, no more inhaler. So I'm going to have to contact my doc on Monday and see about a different one for my asthma. It just never ends.

And while there's been no respite from the health problems, as I've said, there's no break from the medical and financial pressures, either. That big bill last week I put off last week because of the tax thing? I had to pay it this week. Then there was Wings's medical appointment, and scrips for both of us. And those other bills, the two hospital ones that still amount to $30K specifically, are killing me. I'm breaking under the weight of the financial pressures right now. I have to raise that $30K very fast, because that, too, is coming to a breaking point, and we can't do it without making some very big sales. [If we could sell the new concha belt and the butterfly maiden necklace, that would take care of what remains on the heart hospital bill. Then I could focus on the local one with the much higher balance, because they are the ones who are killing me with the stress.] We also can't do it without help. Here are the links:

• My Patreon, The Interstices (Writing Between Worlds) (and if you subscribe today you won't be billed until May 1st for April);
• Wings's site, for sales, with lots of new items posted;
• Wings's direct PayPal link;
• A way to buy me coffee (which actually goes to all of our medical bills, which continue to mount);
• Amazon wishlist, which mostly consists of animal and household stuff, with the kibble back off it, because Wings can't lift the boxes right now with his shoulder;
• Partial registry #1, from Bed, Bath and Beyond. I've added two or three new kitchen-y things on it now, stuff that I didn't realize we'd need.

Sales, sharing Wings's site (and testimonials, if you got 'em, please) — that's what we need. Also good vibes for Raven for everything to be easy and pain-free and comfortable for him for whatever time he has, which is pretty clearly not long. We thought perhaps it might be the other night, but he made it very clear that he had decided against that, and so we will support him as long as he chooses to be here. Thanks.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Silent Pool or Percolating Stream

Photo copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's one of my favorites among Wings's inventory of rings, one that embodies the gifts from the waters. It's an example, too, of the beauty and power and spirit of water in all its sizes and shapes and forms, whether silent pool or percolating stream.

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 (thousands out the door last week on taxes, thousands more since the first of the year on medical tests and hundreds each of the last two weeks on appointments and meds, $30K remaining in hospital balances, and the prospect of more of the last very soon), so shares of the site links are much appreciated.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Marginally human.

Photo copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved.

The fence is nearly done, and Chinook can now run loose. She's giving Cricket a run for his money, literally; it's the first time he's faced a dog that's actually faster than he is. They already love each other. Not enough, you understand, to get near us humans, but he accepts Chinook as a new best friend. [For those for whom this is new: Cricket is the dog on the right, a half-feral who was essentially abandoned, with five others, to starve, and found his way here. He was so badly abused at such a young age that he has an old hip injury and a deep and abiding distrust of all humans. He loves us enough to stay here, to eat the food and drink the water and use the doghouse we provide, but he will not get close enough to any human for them to touch him.]

Still can't get rid of this bug. I keep calling it that, but I know from hard experience that it's strep, and with me, it holds to an absolutely predictable pattern. If it's not caught, it turns inevitably into bronchitis, and with my breathing issues now, that could be very bad indeed. But since Wings saw our doctor yesterday, and she knows that we both have the same thing and have been battling it for too long now for it to be merely viral, she transmitted scrips for us. [It helps that we are the type of people who never, ever take antibiotics unless there's absolutely no other choice, like when that falling finial sliced my wrist open last year.] So when Wings takes me in to ship a couple of things this afternoon, we'll pick them up, and maybe I can start feeling marginally human again relatively soon.

And while there's been no respite from the health problems, as I've said, there's no break from the medical and financial pressures, either. That big bill last week I put off last week because of the tax thing? I had to pay it day before yesterday.Yesterday, it was Wings's medical appointment, and today it'll be scrips for both of us. And those other bills, the two hospital ones that still amount to $30K specifically, are killing me. I'm breaking under the weight of the financial pressures right now. I have to raise that $30K very fast, because that, too, is coming to a breaking point, and we can't do it without making some very big sales. [If we could sell the new concha belt and the butterfly maiden necklace, that would take care of what remains on the heart hospital bill. Then I could focus on the local one with the much higher balance, because they are the ones who are killing me with the stress.] We also can't do it without help. Here are the links:

• My Patreon, The Interstices (Writing Between Worlds) (and if you subscribe today you won't be billed until May 1st for April);
• Wings's site, for sales, with lots of new items posted;
• Wings's direct PayPal link;
• A way to buy me coffee (which actually goes to all of our medical bills, which continue to mount);
• Amazon wishlist, which mostly consists of animal and household stuff, with the kibble back off it, because Wings can't lift the boxes right now with his shoulder;
• Partial registry #1, from Bed, Bath and Beyond. I've added two or three new kitchen-y things on it now, stuff that I didn't realize we'd need.

Sales, sharing Wings's site (and testimonials, if you got 'em, please) — that's what we need. Also good vibes for Raven for everything to be easy and pain-free and comfortable for him for whatever time he has, which is pretty clearly not long. We thought perhaps it might be the other night, but he made it very clear that he had decided against that, and so we will support him as long as he chooses to be here. Thanks.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Friday Feature: Drops Stored, Life Shared

Photo copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved.

It's our Friday Feature at The NDN Silver Blog, with what remains of a collection of small works by a member of Wings's own family. It's the last four keychains of the group shown above, formed out of the local cholla cactus that is a steward of rain and water in this high-desert habitat — drops stored, life shared, and an example set for us to follow.

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 (five figures' worth of taxes last week; a few hundred more yesterday and today on current medical costs and scrips; $30K in hospital balances still outstanding; and the possibility of a like amount looming for surgery and treatment), so shares of the site links are much appreciated.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Still looks and feels like winter.

Photo copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved.

It still looks and feels like winter. Yeah, the redness at the end of the branches are buds, and the stormy blues are rain instead of snow (mostly), and today's clear and sunny. But the winds are viciously cold, and there's no break in the other kind of clouds right now.

Wings is at his doctor's appointment; this is all out of pocket. I'm still sick, but I'm not going; for one, she's so overloaded that you have to make appointments five or six weeks out, which does me now good now, and two, this is the kind of thing that's going to have to wear itself out. I'm accustomed to  my chronic illnesses, but anymore, I almost never get "sick" in the sense of catching some kind of bug, and this is twice in two months now. This was the fourth morning in a row that Wings was up before I was; normally, I'm up before it's light, and before either him or the dogs, but I've had so little sleep that, when my body finally gives out form sheer exhaustion around three or four, I can't get up again. So he's been taking care of dogs and fires and coffee the last few days, and I've been getting up anywhere between 6:45 and 8 AM, which is late for me. Still running a fever; the body aches and fatigue are making rest and work both impossible. It's all just miserable, and I'm ready to be done with it now.

And while there's been no respite from the health problems, as I've said, there's no break from the medical and financial pressures, either. I put off one big bill last week because of the tax thing, but I have no choice but to deal with it this week. Like, today. Four figures' worth. And those other bills, the two hospital ones that still amount to $30K specifically, are killing me. I'm breaking under the weight of the financial pressures right now. I have to raise that $30K very fast, because that, too, is coming to a breaking point, and we can't do it without making some very big sales. [If we could sell the new concha belt and the butterfly maiden necklace, that would take care of what remains on the heart hospital bill. Then I could focus on the local one with the much higher balance, because they are the ones who are killing me with the stress.] We also can't do it without help. Here are the links:

• My Patreon, The Interstices (Writing Between Worlds) (and if you subscribe today you won't be billed until May 1st for April);
• Wings's site, for sales, with lots of new items posted;
• Wings's direct PayPal link;
• A way to buy me coffee (which actually goes to all of our medical bills, which continue to mount);
• Amazon wishlist, which mostly consists of animal and household stuff, with the kibble back off it, because Wings can't lift the boxes right now with his shoulder;
• Partial registry #1, from Bed, Bath and Beyond. I've added two or three new kitchen-y things on it now, stuff that I didn't realize we'd need.

Sales, sharing Wings's site (and testimonials, if you got 'em, please) — that's what we need. Also good vibes for Raven for everything to be easy and pain-free and comfortable for him for whatever time he has, which is pretty clearly not long. We thought perhaps it might be the other night, but he made it very clear that he had decided against that, and so we will support him as long as he chooses to be here. Thanks.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

#ThrowbackThursday: Drops of Water, of Life and Light

Photo copyright Wings, 2019; all rights reserved.

It's #TBT at The NDN Silver Blog, with a work from some dozen years ago, give or take, in the shapes and shades of this season of essential spring. It's a necklace wrought in layers, each as indivisible from the next as the natural world is from our spiritual ways and life itself, manifest here as drops of water, of life and light. 

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. This one sold many years ago, but if the style speaks to your spirit, simply inquire via the site's Contact form; Wings can create a version uniquely your own. And, as always, sales are very much needed (on top of last week's tax bill and the $30K in extant hospital bills bedeviling me, there will be more medical bills today and next week, and the prospect of surgery and treatment still looming), so shares of the site links are much appreciated.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2019; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Hope is hard come by.

Photo copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved.

First, a special thanks to certain tweeps (and one in particular) for boosting my thread on Wings's work last night, among other things. We're profoundly grateful.

I finally got a photo of one of the meadowlarks last night; there were, unusually, three of them on different sides of the land, doing their sunset call-and-response. [Most often it's two; one on the east side and one on the west.] They've been remarkably shy this year; it took me forever to find this one, and the other two remained stubbornly hidden. This is a youngster, so maybe they were all siblings, or maybe parents and one offspring. As sick as I was last night (and still am today), hope is hard come by, but maybe their sunny shirts and melodious songs are a sign of better things to come. 

I hope so, because there's been no respite from the health problems, and no break from the medical and financial pressures, either. I put off one big bill last week because of the tax thing, but I have no choice but to deal with it this week. Like, today. Four figures' worth. And those other bills, the two hospital ones that still amount to $30K specifically, are killing me. I'm breaking under the weight of the financial pressures right now. I have to raise that $30K very fast, because that, too, is coming to a breaking point, and we can't do it without making some very big sales. [If we could sell the new concha belt and the butterfly maiden necklace, that would take care of what remains on the heart hospital bill. Then I could focus on the local one with the much higher balance, because they are the ones who are killing me with the stress.] We also can't do it without help. Here are the links:

• My Patreon, The Interstices (Writing Between Worlds) (and if you subscribe today you won't be billed until May 1st for April);
• Wings's site, for sales, with lots of new items posted;
• Wings's direct PayPal link;
• A way to buy me coffee (which actually goes to all of our medical bills, which continue to mount);
• Amazon wishlist, which mostly consists of animal and household stuff, with the kibble back off it, because Wings can't lift the boxes right now with his shoulder;
• Partial registry #1, from Bed, Bath and Beyond. I've added two or three new kitchen-y things on it now, stuff that I didn't realize we'd need.

Sales, sharing Wings's site (and testimonials, if you got 'em, please) — that's what we need. Also good vibes for Raven for everything to be easy and pain-free and comfortable for him for whatever time he has, which is pretty clearly not long. We thought perhaps it might be last night, but he made it very clear that he had decided against that, and so we will support him as long as he chooses to be here. Thanks.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.