...shiny souvenirs from my life & National Jewelry Day...

Let us not be too particular.

It is better to have

old, second hand diamonds

than none at all.

~Mark Twain

 If it seems particularly quiet over here, it’s because *shocker* I’ve been sick. I hate February and February hates me. I came down with the flu the Tuesday after my last post and pretty much slept for the next seven days. The next three weeks have been a rally for me to get up when I’ve needed to and then back to bed the rest of the time. Even yesterday I watched four movies straight. I don’t recall the last time, if ever, that I watched four movies straight.

So we pretty much canceled my birthday plans. Oh, yeah, I’m 43 now. (Shrug) I had to save my energy for  the Wicked Women of Richmond panel on February 26 in connection with Women in Horror Month. I was so heavily medicated in order to make it there, and then I drank cider while medicated (Kids, don’t try that at home) that I fear how I will sound (or what I even said) when the podcast comes out tomorrow. My fella has been the best possible nurse/ driver/ doctor/ everything. If I don’t say that I adore him to pieces enough… well, I adore him to pieces.

 

This weekend, he even attended the RVA Horror Book Club with me. We met at the oldest pet cemetery in the area since we read Stephen King’s Pet Sematary, and I had planned to take a picture of the grave and write about Richmond’s Lady Wonder, a psychic horse. But there was poorly scribbled signage “No Trespassing: Violators will be prosecuted” so the book club moved our location because we’re all pretty much rule-following weirdos.

But today is National Jewelry Day and since I love jewelry, I thought I would take a moment from hacking (well, I’m still coughing but still) to talk about how much I love jewelry.

From antiques to contemporary collections, from junk to rare stones, I pretty much love it all. I believe that its worth comes from the sentimental value of the pieces. I have jewelry boxes, a jewelry armoire, and I display jewelry throughout my bedroom. When it’s not decorating me, it can still be décor!

I’ve written about my love for the sentimental before, but today I am going to share one of my oldest pieces that I purchased (not necessarily the oldest made but the one that I bought for myself when I was a teen) and some of my recent bracelet beads because I also like tiny things!

It was probably in 1989 when I bought this amethyst attached to the Eye of Horus. The Eye of Horus is an ancient Egyptian symbol of protection and good health. The amethyst is my birthstone and as it is known as the “all-healer” it is another piece of protection especially against psychic attack. I went through a phase where I wore numerous protection stones. At the time, I thought I needed them, and because I thought they looked cool. I remember that I was going out with a guy (Joel for those of you who have known me long enough) and we were in Newport News, Virginia. There was a store called The Pyramid and I’m pretty sure that I purchased this pendant there. Through the years it has been one of my most cherished pieces and it has witnessed so many life events and met so many of my friends, the late ones and the ones I loved who are no longer in my life. I remember certain loved ones handling the stone, mixing up their energy with mine. Now I'm much more protective of such things.

 

Moving along, my most recent jewelry purchase is a bead that I purchased from W. Hamond in Whitby. It’s the silver and jet fang charm that is now on my Trollbeads bracelet. I have a Pandora and a Trollbeads bracelet but I’m really not loyal to any of the companies since I have Pandora, Chamilia and OHM beads on the Pandora bracelet, and Trollbeads and the new Hamond piece on the Trollbeads bracelet. I’ve wanted the little fang charm for a while now and since I have been sick and stuck at home, in my weakened state I bought myself a gift. Well, that's the excuse that I'm using. 

I started collecting the beads for the bracelets years ago and I think that they’re now complete. If I add any more beads, they’ll just be too heavy or bulky. I remember an associate in Pandora stating that each of our bracelets tell a story about us and then after asking to see my beads seeming a bit flabbergasted when she wasn’t quite sure what my spooky story could be. Oh, they do all have their own stories.

On National Jewelry Day, I hope that you're wearing or at least thinking about some of your favorite pieces. Perhaps you might consider sharing their stories.