A Special Ring For Me.

When I was in my 40's my grandmother told me she wanted me to have her engagement ring when she left this world for the next one.  I didn't really want her to talk about giving up her ring because it meant that I would have to think about her dying which I wasn't ready to think about.  She was in her mid 60's I believe when she told me this.  She had a daughter who already had several diamonds and had ask her if it would be okay for her to give it to me, since I was the oldest granddaughter.  This ring was her most prized possession, the only thing that she felt had any real value.  She had rhinestones and other pieces of costume jewelry but her engagement ring was one of the few things she held close to her heart.

My Grandmother's Ring

I was to be the only grandchild who's name was mentioned in her will because she was afraid that somehow something would happen and I would get lost in the shuffle of "who got what".  I felt weird about that...that I would be the only one mentioned as she had many grandchildren and I worried that they might feel slighted at the bequest and mention of my name in her will.  But that was her decision.

There is also a bit of history surrounding this ring and a story to tell about how my grandmother received it.  When she and my grandfather were married, he gave her a wedding band but no engagement ring.  There wasn't enough money for him to purchase her a proper engagement ring at the time so years later when my aunt, her daughter, was stationed in Germany (my uncle was in the military and they lived there) she came home for a visit and my grandfather gave her $500.00 and ask her to purchase her a proper engagement ring as a surprise.  So, my aunt found a lovely 1/4 carat blue diamond in a white gold setting.  It was so beautiful and sparkled so brightly that my aunt purchased one for herself as well.

My grandmother was so surprised and happy when she received it that she never took it off. When I look back and think about all that she and her sweet hands did for us over the years I can feel the love in that very ring that she never removed except for the occasional prong tightening and cleaning.  Some years later, she noticed that one of the prongs seemed loose and asked my grandfather to take it to a jeweler to have it checked.  Growing up in the depression, he developed a habit of being very conservative with his money and was always looking for the most inexpensive ways to do things so instead of taking it to a reputable jeweler he chose instead a cheaper jeweler, one not so trustworthy.  When he brought the ring back to my grandmother she noticed that the ring didn't sparkle like it used to, something she would mention many times over her remaining years.

It then came to light that this jeweler, who my grandfather trusted my grandmother's ring with, had gotten into trouble by removing expensive diamonds from the settings and replacing them with cheap stones that were chipped and not worth anything.  He was prosecuted, convicted and sent to jail but not before the many people he scammed found out about it.  My grandmother's ring was one of them.  She didn't know about this but my aunt did and she told me the story.  My heart ached for my grandmother and how she would feel knowing that the only thing in her entire life that she felt was worth something, something she thought should be handed down to future generations was worth nothing.  I'm so very glad she never knew. (At least I don't believe she knew...she never mentioned it if she did)  After she passed away and I had the ring, I took it to a reputable jeweler who confirmed that the diamond in the setting was worth less than the setting itself. He told me that they didn't make a setting like this anymore and that it was very old.  I kept the ring in the box that my grandmother gave me for several years trying to decide if I should replace the diamond with a good one thus restoring it to what she had before the incident.

Then one day I decided I would do that for her...give her back the ring she thought she had.  I went to a jeweler that my dad recommended knowing that I was leaving it in good hands.  I didn't want to make the diamond any larger or do anything that would compromise the ring from its original look.   I knew the band needed to be re-shanked because it was very thin and so worn I was afraid it would break into. So, I had this done and a very good diamond put in place of the old one.  I kept the old diamond and gave it to my sister so that she could have a necklace made out of it, giving her something of my grandmother, too.  It took about a month before the ring was finished.

When I walked out of the jewelry store that day with her ring on my finger I had the most amazing feeling, a tingling sensation.  I could see my grandmother's face in my mind's eye beaming with light all around it, the sweet smile she always had on her face and I knew then that I had brought back to life the ring that sparkled so brightly in the sunlight, the ring that she held as the most important earthly possession she had ever had and the love that came with the ring that she bequeathed to me.  No other piece of jewelry would ever come to mean as much to me as her ring and the love that it represented.

Bleu

Bleu...

Images left to right:
Inspirationlane.tumbir.com via ~ Pinterest
Inspirationlane.tumbir.com via ~ Pinterest
Inspirationlane.tumbir.com via ~ Pinterest
Inspirationlane.tumbir.com via ~ Pinterest

Mere colour, unspoiled by meaning, and unallied with definite form, can speak to the soul in a thousand different ways. ~ Oscar Wilde


Have a wonderful weekend! ♥♥

Another Tale From The Crypt

Image via ~ herronrail.com

When I was a little girl, I was able to ride a passenger train because my grandfather worked for the railroad as an Inspector.  He was the one they contacted whenever there was a train accident.  This tale is about one such ride with my Grandmother and my brother.  We were on our way to Ft. Benning, Georgia to visit my grandmother's daughter, my aunt. Her husband was in the Army at the time and they lived on base.  My brother and I were going to get to spend the summer with her.  I don't remember how long the train ride took but it was long enough (when you are a child everything seems like it takes a long time :).

Anyway, my brother was glued to the window and was so fascinated by the passing scenery that he wouldn't leave his seat, not even to eat!  All he could say was "Georgia here we come".  I remember the train was crowded and the only time anyone ever got up was to go to the bathroom in the back of the train car.  Grandma always brought crayons and color books and things to keep us occupied on these journeys because as you know there is nothing worse than kids that are bored and misbehave, something you didn't do when you were with my grandma.  She never missed a trick and had eyes behind her head because she pretty much knew when we did something we shouldn't have.

Image via ~ chuckmancollectionvolume9.blogspot.com
This is pretty much the way I remember the train looking on the inside

There were a lot of poor people on the train at the time, and because we lived in the country I didn't see a lot of what I would consider poor people.  We weren't rich by a long shot but we always had food, clean clothes and were always made to take a bath every night. Some of these people wore old, dirty and raggedy clothes, clothes that did not fit them and some had a terrible odor as viewed through the eyes of a 7 year old.  You ask me how a child of 7 would even be aware of something like that and I don't know what to tell you...just that I noticed things like that.  I was very honest and straightforward and was always taught to tell the truth and it seemed to me that telling the truth on this particular trip wasn't the best thing to do, so I learned.  I was told many times after I was grown that my honesty created some pretty embarrassing situations for my grandma and other relatives that I stayed with. This story is about one such situation.

Riding a train was exciting especially for two 7 and 8 year old kids.  We had been on the train for what seemed like a long time.  We were sitting a little past the middle of the train car and because the bathroom was behind us  everyone who had to use it had to pass by us.  I was sitting on the aisle seat that sat two in a row.  There was a lady who must have had some stomach trouble (now that I think about it ) and had to make several trips to the bathroom.  She was a rather large woman and every time she sashayed by I got a whiff of the most unpleasant odor that I believe I have ever smelled.  I didn't connect the smell at the time with her, only that I smelled something horrible.  In a voice that was way too loud (I didn't think so at the time but now I do) I said to my grandma "PeeU, something stinks, Grandma can you smell that"?  She told me to "hush" but I kept asking her if she smelled something.  Well, everyone who went to the bathroom had to come back past us to get to their seats and this same lady who had sashayed past to go was returning to her seat and again I smelled the odor.  Again, I said to my grandma " PeeU, something stinks". Grandma, don't you smell it"?  She grabbed me by my arm and in no uncertain terms told me to "shush"  "But...no but's about it you are being rude"  Be quiet.  Being a child is hard and after this lady passed by for about the 4th time I again repeated what I had said the other times.  I could tell that my grandma was really starting to get embarrassed because people were turning around in their seats looking at me.  You would have thought I would have stopped there but NO, I had to humiliate and embarrass her some more.  After we finally reached our destination and were queuing in line to get off the train, there was another lady in front of me who was very disheveled looking with dirty ill-fitting clothes who also had an odor.  This time I looked at her and said, very nicely  "If you don't have any decent clothes my mother will make you some", then I smiled thinking I was doing something good.  When I turned to look at my grandma her face was as red and the color of the devil.  Other people standing in line turned to look at me and my grandma who was clearly as embarrassed and as angry as anybody I had ever seen.  This was going to be "the end of the road" for me.

This was our destination
Image via ~ clarkkentslunchbox.com

She yanked me off the train and took me aside after she made me apologized to the lady and if we hadn't been on a platform she would have spanked me right then and there.  So, she did the next best thing, she scolded me and gave me the "the evil eye".  She told me what I said was cruel and that I should be ashamed of myself for embarrassing that woman.  She also told me that just because people are poor was no reason to make them feel bad about the way they are dressed...maybe they didn't have anything better to wear or maybe they didn't have money for a bar of soap.  Sometimes people have hard lives and you shouldn't be looking or saying anything bad about them for circumstances that they may not have had a choice about.  I felt so bad about what I had done that I kept all my negative thoughts about things to myself after that.

When we finally got to my Aunt's house my grandma proceeded to tell her what I had said and how embarrassed she was.  My aunt looked at me with the same "evil eye" that my grandma had given me (I guess my aunt got it from my grandma)  and told my grandma in front of me "Maybe we shouldn't take her anywhere anymore"?  Thats when I realized at the age of 7 that you just can't tell people what's on your mind without suffering consequences and that we should never "judge a book by its cover" or make cruel statements about people "when you have never walked in their shoes"!  An example of this was a farmer who lived down the road from us who always wore old beat up overalls and didn't have any teeth.  You would have thought he was a poor as a church mouse but in fact he was a very wealthy man. So you can never tell just by looking!

My grandma taught me a very important lesson, one that I have taught my own kids and grandkids and one that I hope parents remember to teach their own children. The lesson we all need to learn is "it's easy to make rash assumptions and laugh at the misfortunes of others based on their outward appearance."  It's much harder to withhold judgement and look at others with charity and love.

Do you have a tale to tell about a lesson you learned...do tell!

Lovely Aged & Shabby Guest Post By Joanna of Design Shuffle

Hi Everyone,  I'm so excited about this post.  Joanna, a writer for Design Shuffle, an online portal for interior designers to show their portfolios, is here to show us a post she created, Lovely Aged and Shabby based on my personal design style.  So, grab a cup of your favorite beverage, find a comfortable chair and sit back and enjoy the show!

Hi! I'm Joanna, a writer for Design Shuffle, an online portal for interior designers to show their portfolios and for design enthusiasts to view. I love my work! I get to spend my days online searching for the most beautiful decorating images and ideas. I get to share them with blog readers like you. Today, I bring you some of the loveliest spaces with aged and shabby dÈcor. I hope you enjoy and get some interior design inspiration of your rooms.

By far one of my favorite aged decors, this space is so quaint and serene. In particular, I love the charming chandelier.
 The patinaed walls and herringbone floors of this European living room give character to the space. The lighting fixtures are stunning!
The aged stone floors and rough hewn wood accents of this passageway imbue it with a sense of history.
 
Shabby chic furnishings are quite at home in this lovely eat-in kitchen. Wouldn't it be such as charming place to sit for a cup of tea?
 A beautiful and elegant dining room has its own touches of aged decoróthe iron garden table and chairs and various architectural elements. Does this space inspire any decorating ideas for you?
This sleeping porch is so very inviting with its aged architecture and sumptuous textiles. Can you just imagine taking an afternoon siesta here?
 A French country space is inviting with its rustic chairs and harvest table. The bare windows bring nature indoors.
 One of the smallest kitchen designs I've seen is tucked away behind folding doors. A tiny kitchen in this Italian apartment is adorable and a bit rustic. The weathered paint and stone wall add to its aged appearance. I love it! Images 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 Which inspiration is your favorite? Be sure to check out Design Shuffle where you'll find a great assortment of design inspiration here!

Please feel free to include your favorite inspiration in your comments :)

Thank you so much Joanna!

Simone of Fleaning France, one of my favorite blogs, is having a wonderful giveaway to celebrate the opening of her new online shop on June 20, 2012.  Her giveaway is fantastic and you won't want to miss it.  You can enter her giveaway   (HERE).  You won't want to miss this!



Now, for a bit of Eye Candy....Enjoy!

Images from left to right via the following:  Inspirationlane.tumbir.com, zsazsabelagio.blogspot.com, 1dropofjupitor, inspirationlane.tumbir.com via ~ 53.amazonaws.com,zsazsabellagio.blogspot.com,coffee-island.tumbir.com, inspirationlane.tumbir.com, zsazsabellagio.blogspot.com, inspirationlane.tumbir.com ~ pinterest

Stay tuned...for a guest post by Design Shuffle, an interior design social media website who is going to create a post based on my favorite design styles of French and Farmhouse Chic. She calls it Lovely Aged and Shabby.  Should be interesting!

The Plight Of The Poor

image via google ~revnadinedraytonkeen.wordpress.com

I try not to mention the word "politics" anymore, it seems to invoke a firestorm depending on party views.  But, it's been on my mind lately and I wanted to express my opinion on the fact that in this country, the wealthiest nation on earth, there are literally millions of people who are desperately poor and struggling daily to survive.  When I think about the number of people who have lost their jobs, homes and savings, who have lived by all the rules, paid their taxes, saved for retirement, helped the needy and suddenly find themselves in a position of a needed "hand up" only to be told they aren't "poor enough" or they aren't "trying hard enough," I am so saddened that our national discourse has become so polarized that no meaningful assistance is forthcoming.

It seems to me that collectively we have lost our perspective and insight on what is important.  I don't begrudge anyone who has worked hard and has "made it to the top," on the contrary, I am very happy for them.  But, when I see the people who have been blessed turn a blind eye and refuse to share in their good fortune with people who, through no fault of their own are less fortunate, I become upset. Overall, it appears that national sentiment is currently focused on reducing governmental assistance to the poor.  Corporations and the wealthiest among us feel that they are currently paying too much so where will the needed help come from?

Men and women of a "certain age" often become the target of cutbacks partially because they have become more expensive and, in today's economy with a surplus labor pool, much cheaper younger labor can be used to replace them. This causes older people to have to take early retirements with reduced benefits which normally does not include any health care, often forcing them to choose between food or medicine. The working poor, and more importantly perhaps, their children, are deprived of security, good nutrition, adequate shelter and educational opportunities. All of this weakens the social fabric and threatens the future of our country in many ways.

The free market advocates who currently dominate the public conversation and are influencing the course of government say people should pull themselves up by their bootstraps (even though a great majority of these folks were handed their fortunes by their ancestors) but it is impossible to do this when you don't have any boots!

When I go to bed and after I say my prayers, I often ask God what he must be thinking when he looks down upon us and sees the sadness and desperation in so many of the eyes of his children and I have to think that he struggles too in trying to understand how selfishness, greed and apathy have become the new reality on how we live our lives.

I was hungry and you gave me no meal,

I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,

I was homeless and you gave me no bed,

I was shivering and you gave me no clothes,

Sick and in prison, and you never visited.

~ quote from revnadinedraytonkeen.wordpress.com

Things That Make Me Want To Go Humm...

Image via http://naturespathphotography.com/Flowers/BlueSummer.html

I was just sitting here thinking about a few of the little things that I see that cause me to wonder why?  You know, those pesky little things that you see that can cause you to pause, reflect and wonder what is going on.

Like...when leaving a comment on a blog that has one of those codes that you are supposed to type in to prove you aren't a robot.  I must be the only person on the planet who has to try three times before I get it right.  I wondered who came up with the idea and for what purpose?

Or....While at the gym (using my peripheral vision) I see people getting on a treadmill right next to me, some with socks and no shoes on and some without any socks or shoes on proceed to  run or walk on it?  Whatever are they thinking?  Doesn't that hurt their feet? Aren't they afraid if they are running barefoot that they will fall or hurt the bottoms of their feet?

Or how about...the mystery sales ladies who appear when you first enter the store, ask if you are being helped, need help or are looking for anything special?   When you tell them you are just looking, they smile and tell you to let them know when you need something and when you finally figure out you can use some help, they mysteriously disappear and you can't find anyone around.(This happens all the time)

How about when you have an appointment, you arrive on time, sign in and look up to see people who arrived after you called as next in line after you have been sitting there 45 minutes later?

How about you...what quirky things make you go humm?