My Preciousssss!

Yesterday I acquired a treasure I never thought I would actually own.

Four or five years ago, I spent a year working in a jewelry store. Store associates were encouraged to try on the merchandise and have favorite pieces so we would have "show and tell" items to share with potential customers.

One of my very favorite pieces was a ring. The sturdy gold band is inset with rectangular-tapered opals, with small round diamonds channel set between the opal bits. Above the band is a sweep of gold holding a large trillian-cut purplish-pink sapphire. I loved this ring, and tried it on often, but there was no way that I could afford it, even with my employee discount.

( Saturday afternoon I stopped in the store to visit with L, who had worked there with me. )

So I'm keeping the ring. And every time I look at it I smile. It's colorful and fun and elegant -- and it's unique and unusual, the same way that my diamond wedding ring (lost or stolen last summer, as some of you will recall) was. I didn't buy it as a replacement for that ring, but it actually works out that way psychologically and stylistically. This is my one, special, expensive ring that's not like anything else.

I'm happy I have it.

3 and 3 Meme

originally via mam_adar and oakmouse

1) Comment and ask to be tagged!
2) I will pick THREE of your interests and/or user pics I find odd or nifty!
3) You post, explaining in detail about the three I chose!
4) People comment on your post!

For oakmouse

9 Chickweed Lane is the name of a comic strip drawn by Brooke McEldowney. I fell in love with it years ago because two of the principle characters resonated strongly with me. Edda, the highly-intelligent teenager whose best friend was a geeky boy named Amos, could have been me in high school (if I had been a ballet dancer!), and her mother Juliette, a divorced college professor was very much like the woman I was becoming. Both Edda and Juliette have rich fantasy lives as their alter-egos Superlative Girl and Panther Woman. "9 Chickweed Lane" was the address of the home where Edda and Juliette lived with Gran, Juliette's mother. After years of Peanuts-like stability, McEldowney decided to let his characters grow up. Edda and her now-boyfriend Amos now live in NY where he attends Julliard playing the cello and she dances in the Metropolitan Ballet and shares an apartment with her gay dancing partner.

Hero's Journey refers to the archetypal motif in which a young person leaves his or her home, goes "into the woods" and has an adventure which causes them to discover their own wits, courage, or other heroic virtues, and then returns home to share the gifts of the quest with those back in the community. I am interested in archetypes in general, and the hero's journey is one which plays out in many, many stories throughout the world. It's also a good reminder that to truly be a hero, it's not enough to go out and have adventures; you have to return home and share the rewards.

The Underworld oakmouse asked which underworld this was: shamanic or faery. My primary association is with The Descent of Inanna to the Underworld from Sumerian myth (see icon with this post). Recently, via a spontaneous scene with uncrowned_king, I've been exploring the myth of Hades and Persephone which also, of course, involves the Underworld.

She didn't select any icons.

3 x 3 Meme for 9thMoon

( The Rules )

9thmoon asked about the following:







These are both Katherine Hepburn playing Queen Eleanor in The Lion in Winter, which I highly recommend. ( Read more... )

It's interesting that you chose these three, because in some ways Wendy, from Peter Pan is at the opposite pole from Eleanor. She's young, inexperienced, not yet aware of her own budding sexuality, but ready for her first adventure. In the recent film version, from which this is taken, Captain Hook invites her to join his crew, and she confides that she has indeed dreamed of being a pirate and always liked the name "Red Handed Jill." This combination of schoolgirl innocence and pirate fantasy appeals to me and reminds me of the girl I was. It's about dreams and fantasies and all the hidden things we are.

Arthurian Legends I am a priestess of the Holy Grail, and so a significant element of my spirituality is based in these legends. I am also fascinated by themes of sovereignty, which are also present. And Guinevere is one of my favorite figures out of legend, and I love to find new versions of her story which illuminate her complex character. (Unfortunately, there are very few really good ones.) Two of my all-time favorite novels are Arthurian stories: Firelord and Beloved Exile, by Parke Godwin, which are almost more historical fiction than fantasy, and are set in a Roman Britain version of Camelot.

Civilian Space Program I am old enough to remember watching the first moon landing, and like many I have been disheartened by NASA's failure to do anything more but send shuttles up and down again. I suspect that the next significant push out into space will not be done by the government, but through private enterprise, and I am excited that there are a number of smart, well-funded people working on this right now.

Transformation "We know what we are, but know not what we may be" - Shakespeare. We are always becoming. Situations are always changing. It's important to me to remember that everything changes. I've been through long, long periods when I've felt myself to be "chrysalis soup" -- no longer what I was, but not yet come to my new self. I love seeing transformation in the lives of others as well.

3 x 3 Meme - Part 3

This time the answers are for new friend caersidi

9 Chickweed Lane I already discussed.

Mirabai is a poet in the Hindu bhakti tradition. Like Rumi, she was ecstatically in love with the Divine (in the form of Krishna -- who she called "The Dark One")and wrote poems about her passion.

He has stained me,
the color of raven he's stained me.
Beating a clay
two-headed drum at both ends
like a nautch girl I dance
before sadhus.
Back in town I'm called crazy,
drunkard, a love slut -
they incited the prince,
who ordered me poisoned,
but I drained the cup without missing a step.
Mira's lord is the true prince;
he stained her the color of raven.
Birth after birth
she is his.

Vorkosigan is the family name of the primary characters of a series of space opera books by Lois McMaster Bujold. Cordelia Naismith Vorkosigan is one of my favorite heroines, and her husband Aral is the Fictional Hero I Would Marry in a Heartbeat. Their son Miles is born with brittle bones and never grows to his full height, which is a huge liability in a culture ruled by a warrior caste, but his genius and unconventional tactics make him an entertaining hero. The Vorkosigan books are usually fast-paced, frequently funny, frequently moving, and dedicated to celebrating the essential value of individuals no matter what their physical shape, psychological condition, or orientation. I highly recommend them, beginning with Cordelia's Honor, and omnibus version of the first two books: Shards of Honor and Barrayar.




I was raised in a non-denominational Protestant household, and was extremely devout until an existential crisis during my sophomore year of college drove me to atheism, then reverent agnosticism. I am a spiritual journeyer, and while I have reverence for the wisdom and revelation that can be found in all faiths, I refuse to be bound by ancient words that are not relevant to our current conditions. I don't use this icon much these days, but did so frequently during my two years of seminary.




This is a quote from the movie Moulin Rouge. Christian is telling the first part of his story, how he came to Paris to write and be part of "the bohemian revolution." He was sitting at his typewriter, struck with writer's block, when "Luckily, at that very moment, an unconscious Argentinian fell through my roof." And we see it happen. This icon is for wild, unexpected occurrences -- or just feeling silly.




This is a small piece of a larger image. I frequently refer to the "Pentacles" aspects of life, and that symbolism usually works well, but there's something about the cube shape that speaks to me of order and stability. I use it for posts about creating more order, usually in my home.

( original painting by Henning Ludvigson behind the cut )