A Really Good Day

I'd planned to post about sterling and various other silvers, complete with some great pictures of some great pieces I've found, but life intervened.  In a good way.  In a very good way.  The silver will have to wait.  For this:

Okay, technically, it's a "these" but still ...

Yesterday, Mama Angel gave me a big kick to leave early for a tutorial, hit a place south of the classroom, before going to my "real" job.  That was around 12:45.  I ate some toast.  I watched the rest of Being Human.  I combed my jewelry box for just the right earrings.  Then I left ... at 1:30.  When I got to the store I immediately zeroed in on a fantastic oak flatware box (for the Tiffany & Co Chrysanthemum silver I'm going to find someday), and then went to the jewelry.  As I was searching, I found ... very little.  Figures.  I've been finding a bit here (a 10K service pin for $1 at a yard sale Saturday) and there (10K earrings for $1 at a thrift shop three weeks ago) over the past two months, but mostly not too much.  And this was no different.  Truthfully, until a friend approached me and told me I'd just missed several 14K and 18K chains that a woman had simply snapped up ... within the last hour ... I didn't think anything of it.  But, of course, after that helpful information I obsessed.  And cursed myself for not listening to the interfering Feathered One.  (Hey, I can't tell the difference between "really, Honey" and "psyche!" lately, maybe because she seems to lead me into the latter so often ... for a lesson ... for my own good ...)

Anyway, today I finally gave up and just decided that with all the gold hunters around, possibly even educated by yours truly, the means were much more important than the ends so why obsess about a few chains?  And I also vowed to Listen next time, and to act on it.

So when I knew that I needed to hit my favorite consignment store, and suddenly realized I also needed to refill my HBP meds (the ones that help my head) before the Big Ugly heading our way hits us with a foot of snow (seriously, I had to get it two ways) I didn't hesitate: I made tracks, right then.  (Well, after my shower ... c'mon, not even Mama Angel is that gross!)

When I walked in the door, I saw a table full of Valentine's Day stuff, just inside the door.  The earrings weren't the first thing I looked at, but once I picked one up, felt its heft, heard it clink against itself in just that tone (oh, shut up, they're hollow!), I smiled.  When I saw the $3 price tag, I thought I was wrong, especially since it was dated 1/13/11.  No visible marks of any kind, however, so, being me (and trusting my nosy guardian) I looked more carefully.  Just inside the backclasp (they're pierced, posts, but with the spring-loaded self-locker) was "14K."  Crap!  I held on tight, and went to the display by the register, hoping this consigner had more.  No luck.  The clerk brought out the rings for me, though (I didn't even ask!) and one caught my eye.  $60, but just brought in today, and it was heavy.  (And no, that's not a diamond - the mark not only says "14K" but "CZ," and it is.  Makes changing out the stone problematic.)

Anyway, in the time it took to wait for my refill, I picked up over a half-ounce of 14K gold.  Then I taught a class, cleaned the pieces up, tested them (YES!) and weighed them, all before dinner.

I love the ebb and flow of the seasons (even the snow!).  But it's the erratic, cyclic nature of the Hunt that keeps me on my toes.

That, and my lesson-loving, hammer-over-the-head, Winged One.