Blues of a special sort.

Photo copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved.

Blues of a special sort. Specifically, a blue grosbeak, rare around here. He was seated atop one of the arbor poles in the slushy snow late yesterday.

Today, the slopes are dusted with white again. The winds are vicious, and it is cold. May twenty-first, and we have snow.

A lot going on today, and a lot to do that will keep me mostly offline likely until this evening. Some of it is catch-up; some of it is anticipatory. It's all a heavy load right now, and I need to get on it. 

We'll see if our blue friend returns late in the day again.



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.

Red Willow Spirit: Spring Crimson

Photo copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's an edition of Red Willow Spirit for an unsettled season, when it's easy to lose sight of brilliance and beauty in the scattered snows of an altered climate. it's a reflection on the reds that adorn our world, feathers, flames, and petals alike, a time of still-scarce and stunning reds that part and parcel of spring crimson.  

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. As always, Wings's 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, 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.

What's missing.

Photo copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved.

Yeah, besides my spot. I came down from the shower this morning to find that my seat on the couch had been bogarted. New owner, name Chinook. So hard to be a dog around here.

I feel about like that myself right now, after weeks of virtually no sleep and being on the run all day today — i.e., ready for collapse. But for once, in a good way: paperwork done and returned, enough in sales to cover us until it's cleared, tax man paid for this month, and we are (for now, as I knock wood superstitiously) safe. Next week or so, I will be sending out some very big checks to two hospitals for a bunch of different bills, and the next time one of their collectors calls, I can tell them to shove it with a clear conscience and no repercussions.

You have no idea the size of the boulder that rolled off my chest today. It's been camped out there for more than 18 months, and as of next week, it's gone, even the tiny little pebbles from underneath it.

Now, none of this means that we can sit back and take it easy. We still have to make sales, and make them consistently. And as various expenses arise (the utility room plumbing repair comes to mind), I will still be asking folks to push our Web site links so that we can make enough sales to cover everything and keep us safe. There will also be a lot more testing for me later this year on the medical front, but the priority for the moment is getting the asthma under control, and fortunately, that's mostly pharmaceutical trial and error, not biopsies and so forth. But you see what's missing here tonight?

Yeah. That.

To the folks who got us here, thank you, thank you.



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.

Monday Photo Meditation: A Scarlet Season

Photo copyright Wings, 2019; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a photo meditation for an unseasonably cold and snowy Monday on the downward slope of spring. It's a reflection on how a changed climate has altered the patterns of those with whom we share this space, even as they remind us of the value of resilience, and of persistence, and of the beauty of a scarlet season, one of petals and feathers and fire.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. As always, Wings's photos are available in any of the usual three formats; simply inquire via the site's Contact form. And, as always, sales are very much needed, 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.

Light at the end of the tunnel, but not quite there yet.

Photo copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved.

Light at the end of the tunnel, but not quite there yet.

I hope this will be the last (or very close to the last) time I have to write this post for a good long, long while. But for today, things are urgent. I need to make at least one good sale today, in the neighborhood of $1K, so that I can transfer the PayPal monies before tomorrow. We're at nothing (less than nothing, actually; in the red, thanks to something that I thought had cleared long ago but instead showed up Friday night), and there is one very specific payment that I have to make tomorrow that is not optional. 

Once we get through this week, we should be mostly safe. And I can turn this post's slot over to funny shots of the animals and cool images of our world here and no constant posting of links to share

But we're not there yet, and dealing with tomorrow is the only thing on my mind right now. So here are the links, because I have to make these sales today somehow:

• 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);
• My Patreon, The Interstices (Writing Between Worlds) (and if you subscribe today you won't be billed until June 1st for May);
• Amazon wishlist, just updated with a bunch of cleaning and writing materials that we can't regularly find locally (yes, I do my research notes by hand, always);
• 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.

I'm ecstatic to be able to forget, at least for now, about my thyroid (yes, there's still some swelling and so forth, but it's not nearly as noticeable as after the first botched biopsy). Now I have to work on the asthma/respiratory and autoimmune stuff, as well as ruling out anything malignant in the liver tumors and making sure there are no other masses lurking anywhere else. Wings dropped an amazing new necklace yesterday, plus two new works last week, in addition to the new cuff and two new pairs of earrings that I posted here a couple of days before that. I will also have a fabulous new piece by him shortly, so be sure watch for it. Please share the links around, offer recommendations and testimonials, consider purchases, and help me be able to breathe, literally.

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.

To Bring the World Into Flower

Photo copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's one of Wings's newest works (and one of my favorites), a pair of earrings milled in the form of high-desert wildflowers. They are a lesson to us, too, for surviving this cold snap and the longer battles ahead, that resilience and persistence are obligations, and that we owe it to future generations to work to bring the world into flower again.  

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 today; I hope this will be the last time I need to write this for a good long while, but before tomorrow, I urgently need to bring in about $1K in sales to cover what's due before loan monies clear and become available and I don't need to write this anymore), so shares of the site links are very 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.

New by Wings, a work to complement other recent pieces.

As promised, now at NDN Silver: new by Wings, a work to complement other recent pieces. Or, of course, to stand perfectly on its own. It's a bit of a throwback to a piece he created some 12 or 13 years ago, but this one is starker, more spare, in hauntingly rich shades. It's called The Flames of Night, and you can read the full description here. 

It also coordinates spectacularly well with two of his new works from last week: the cuff found here; and the earrings shown here. All feature motifs of petals, feathers, and flames, all in rich reds, some with deep black and mysteriously translucent white shades, all evoking the visionary powers of spirit beings.

Inquiries via the site's Contact form.



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.