...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. 

"...muddle through somehow"...

“December, in my memory,

is white as Lapland,

though there were no reindeers.

But there were cats.”

~ Dylan Thomas, A Child's Christmas in Wales

 

We had hoped that December would be better than November. It started off with a cemetery tour at Hollywood Cemetery with the River City Cemetarians and then led into the annual Krampus walk. It was a day full of friends, raucous fun, and happiness. I had been planning my outfit for quite some time; and, I had planned my latest extravagant Krampus necklace since January when I purchased a Krampus brooch from the Czech Republic. Along with a Weiss Christmas tree pin and a gorgeous garnet brooch, I was all set my favorite jewelry necromancer, Kay Adams to work some magic. She did.

I added a little mask on my underage friend so creepers can move along elsewhere while I protect the young ;D

That day the temperature was a bit too warm for my original outfit. I’m glad that I have a closet versatile enough that I could create a back-up outfit for the Krampus walk.

We had a great deal of fun and then headed to dinner. Hours later when we arrived home, we were ready to snuggle in when our little four-paw family member meowed that something was wrong. Within hours, everything went terribly wrong and our household has gone quiet as we’ve lost a loved one. All I want to write about is how much I have hated 2016 and how all the magic is gone, and no one wants to read that. I started to write holiday cards because I really, really like my cards this year (I usually do but this year they make me laugh). I wrote the first card and it came across as so dreary that I had to stop and set them aside. We’re just going to mourn for a while… and then a while after that. 

We both have given each other flowers. I gave my fella a Christmas cactus not yet in bloom; he gave me roses with a candy cane stick. 

We did not feel like it but we put up our Christmas trees and decorated the house (including our Krampus ornaments below).

One day we will feel normal again. "Until then we'll have to muddle through somehow."

Apologies on the moppiness.  I promise that my next post (about a candy historian's lecture) will be much more lively.

...more valuable than diamonds...

Every tooth in a man’s head

is more valuable than a diamond.

~Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote

I love jewelry and I think that it can be transformative. By definition, that means that our accessories have the ability to “cause a major change in someone, especially in a way that makes them better.”  I like when there are eclectic and unexpected statements of jewelry that reflect who someone is. Maybe it’s my Lit professor side or simply how I’m wired but I adore the idea of symbolism and I love when something has a story behind it. I assume this is why I adore my jewelry necromancer, Kay Adams’ work so much. A story makes it that much more personal.

Some get tattoos, I tell my life in my jewelry sans the needles.

During the week of my birthday, I briefly mentioned that I broke my tooth. In fact, one-fourth of my tooth cracked. It actually didn’t come out until I arrived at the dentist, which was one week later. That week, I dined on soup and mushy foods only. I knew it was bad and I didn’t want to chance making things worse. 

When you're 42, the tooth fairy no longer drops in but I still asked my dentist if I could keep part of my tooth. I wasn’t sure what I would do with it but losing a good chunk of one’s tooth seems significant. 

Later that week when I went into Anthill Antiques, I saw one of Kay’s necklaces. I’m pretty good at deconstructing her designs to make them more me and she’s always up for that. This time (pun not intended), I noticed a hollowed out watch piece that had been transformed into a pendant. I simply asked if I could change the chain. 

I shared my plans; then I went home, gently placed my broken tooth piece inside the watch shell, and hammered (HAMMERED!) some cinnamon imperials into bits to add them into the shell as well. Voila! 

Thus ends my life as a hard candy chomper. It pains me because while I do not necessarily have a sweet tooth (i.e. I'm rather *shrug* about dessert in general) whenever I have the opportunity to chomp a lollipop or red hots, I do. Of course, the cost of the tooth repair AND the fact that I have destroyed a tooth are more painful! It's time to move forward, I decided.

Originally, I was looking for some kind of crown since I’m in the process of getting a crown on my tooth (not exactly the crown a girl has in mind) but an old watch with diamonds is even better. 

Now I'll carry these red hot candies close to my heart... along with the piece of tooth. I love how dainty the piece looks. I've already received a few compliments; and, I've already learned that people get incredibly grossed out by the idea of necklaces with teeth. Noted: you all are the last I'll tell ;D