Reading: Salman Rushdie, Midnight's Children

Moving: Walked 2.7 miles

2 August 2001: Down the Lane

A few weeks ago I bought new jewelry box at T.J. Maxx. About the size of a cigar box, but twice as tall. It has a lower drawer and an upper comparment under a lid that folds up to display a picture. I was hoping that RDC's aunt and uncle could take a good picture of us at Rocky Mountain National Park, but they could not.

For years I had my earrings on a piece of stiff cardboard covered with black velvet, on display. That look doesn't work for me anymore, and seeing the earrings arrayed neatly in pairs didn't make me any more likely to the Greek dramatic masks or the teardrop paua shells. I have worn, almost exclusively, my goddess earrings for years. Occasionally my stick figure people. Rarely the Janus frogs.

Getting dressed for the Ren Faire, I dug through my jewelry for the ear cuff, which I did not wear as it now lodges firmly in the category of Too Much Stuff on my head.

Between the two upheavals, new storage and searching for seldom-worn pieces, I reconsidered a lot of my jewelry. Some earrings I moved to the top compartment where I would notice them. Already, in the month since, I've worn the sun symbol ones I bought at Lilith Fair in 1998 two or three times, which is twice or thrice as many times as I've worn them in the years I've owned them.

Today I am wearing a pair of round Thai coins with square holes through the center, from whose bottom edges three short strands of other beads dangle. Were these a gift from SEM or did I buy them myself? It surprises me to forget. They also make noise, a slight rustle as I move my head. I wore these all the time throughout grad school along with two pendants not meant for ears through the second holes. HEBD gave me an amethyst pendant, and I had a really heavy silver Gemini symbol pendant. I'm surprised the holes in my ears survived and didn't tear through.

Anyway, moving stuff from here to there and digging through boxes for my cuff--which ended up in not nearly as obscure a place as I thought--ended up being quite a forced march down memory lane, with many pieces meaning Something and often More than I would prefer.

Harmless stuff that just made me smile included a(n alleged) silver cross with a wee turquoise bead that our elderly neighbors gave to me (and a similar one to my sister) after their trip to Arizona when we were wee ourselves. The turquoise is in the center and on the arms are bits of turquoise-colored material that I didn't realize was plastic for years. I used to want to wear that with my choir robe, which was also turquoise-colored. I remember not understanding why the choir director didn't want anyone to wear jewelry. Also a tumbled rose quartz pendant an elementary-school penpal named Mandy gave me. And the wee gold cross I received for being a flower girl when I was five. Are there people who are not only desirous but capable of getting rid of such mementos?