Economic Whoas

I've been teaching and cleaning more than hunting lately, so other than one great piece (white gold in the silver tray again) I have few stories to tell yet.  The economy has me mesmerized, the politicians disgusted, and the spirit (of most of the people I see) sad - they're not crazed or fearful but ... shell-shocked.  And yet, I see a determination I don't think I've ever seen before.

Funny that we're all prepared to buckle down and fix this, and without the finger-pointing, excuse-making, and bitch-slapping our elected officials are doing.  We are ready to roll.

Wouldn't it be nice if our our respresentatives would represent that?

Speaking of Thrift Shops

To the lady next to me earlier today, the one who said, to the clerk, "One hundred and fifty dollars is too high for this piece.  It's plated, see?  Fourteen-kay here but five-eight-five on the tag.  It's gold plated sterling."

I love you.  When you have your yard sale, give me a call because I really, really want to buy your stuff.

Seriously.

To the Honorable ... Whoever

Over the weekend, gold went nuts on eBay - bullion and coin sales were in the high 1600's and low 1700's per ounce.  I thought things would level out once it looked as if the debt ceiling was rising, and since it's already passed the house ... but, no, not only is gold still rising as I write this, all the index futures are tanking.  Yes, Europe is in trouble, and yes our GDP (etc.) numbers aren't all that.  But it really looks as if no one around here is really certain that all the "Honorables" in government can actually pull it off.

I'm one of them.  So far all I've seen is 537 people who are thinking of the next election rather than the fact that our economic boat is filling with water and they're arguing about whether we should scoop or suck.  I've seen much (too much) grandstanding, pontificating, and bluster; tons of set jaws, narrowed eyes, and finger-pointing; mountains of threats, promises, and in-fighting; but action?  Not so much.  And I think I might know why:  how many of our elected officials has ever had to (personally) dig him-or-herself out of debt?

I'm not talking about doing without lattes in order to pay the education loans they incurred for law school or foregoing a new car to pay down the mortgage on the vacation house on the beach.  I'm talking about being in a hole so deep you can't see up, that you're so far underwater you have to use one card to pay another, that you search couch cushions for change to buy milk for the kids and babysit to get your car payment.  I'm talking cold sweats every night for months (or years) and wondering if your life insurance would come soon enough to help the rest of the family to survive.

Well, guess what?  I've been there.  I got out.  And I have the scars to prove it.  And as someone who's had some actual practical experience, I have some advice for our lawmakers.

1)  Stop treating government as if it's a business.  It is not a business.  Business gets to do something with profits (actually generates them) and is, or should be, responsible for its own debt.  (And, by the way, outsourcing isn't "cutting the size of government."  Admit it's stupid - on so many levels - and get back to civil service, for all of you.)

2)  Lending money with no requirement of repayment is only for people related to you by blood, and then only if you have it to lose.  I will respond in kind, if necessary (starving = feed them, evicted = a place to stay ... for days, not weeks) but I will not hand cash to a money drunk.  Not any more.  I owe them nothing that will enable bad behavior.  (And borrowing that way is illegal for real people - it's called "fraud.")

3)  There is no such thing as "good" debt, only "acceptable" debt, and you cannot grow consistently by borrowing to gamble on, well, anything else.  If I must borrow, I have an asset to back it up (like a car), and I still pay it off as fast as I can.

4)  I had to cut expenses, sell some assets, and work more hours to get us out of the hole.  That meant I cut my own allowance and I raised more money in addition to trimming the household expenses that weren't constants.  Everything was on the table when it came to both cuts and revenue.  Everything.  No exceptions.

5)  I had to put my name on our debt.  My name.  If you had to put your names on all of those ancillary (and bullshit) Pork Barrel riders that attach to every single bill that goes through your houses (including the one that authorized emergency funds to pay our troops!), I'll bet the budget would cut itself by 20% in its first year.  (And if it doesn't, then shame on all of you.)

6)  I don't start a project unless I know I can pay for it.  In other words, I not only "balance" my budget, I don't even base that budget on what I don't have.  Not only that, but when I earn less I IMMEDIATELY cut things (to make my emergency fund last longer, if necessary).  And I plan ahead for vacations and renovations, save even for things that might be expenses in the future (like for an air conditioning system that's now nearly 20 years old).

7) The biggest help for me was to change my attitude toward the money:  you are not in charge of our finances, you are responsible for it.  We succeed or fail based on what you decide - all of us, including your own families - and you will be remembered for your actions (or lack of them).  And though we (people) seem to not care sometimes, we really do, especially when you cut into our lives.  I hate to say this, ladies and gentlemen, but the worst thing we can do to you is NOT to vote you out. Your current actions (or lack of them) are stirring even us moderates out of our (possibly) apathetic, (seemingly) sheep-like fog.  Do you really want to see what happens when your "flock" turns on you and your parties? (Hint - anyone seen a Whig lately ...)

By the way, I'm not saying government is a household any more than it's a business but it's closer to the latter and you know it.  And that means you don't need economists to fix this problem but people who've actually crawled out of the muck.  See, we who have stared down this particular abyss (and lived to tell the tale) know that what you really need in order to survive (and thrive) is not theory, not storm and fury, and not great sound bytes - you need common sense, calm resolve, constant vigilance ... oh, and a really, really good thrift store.

Okay, maybe that last one was just my secret weapon.

Carpe Interruptus

So, my research (which I shoulda done before jumpin' to that conclusion) has turned up the fact that Chanel always signs pieces "Chanel," and that the back-to-back C's are just on the front of the jewelry.  A field trip to a galleria is scheduled as soon as my student rush subsides, but until then I feel like such a drug company right now.  (Jumping the gun with the announcement?  Get it?)  Plus, I saw the mark again on a pair of 14K clutchbacks on a pair of studs that were probably consigned by the same person.  Either there's a lot of Chanel around or I goofed.

::retreating with an awkward bow and rather pink cheeks::

Carpe Chanel

Indianapolis was so much fun I almost can't stand just the memories of it.  I went to meet with my two best friends from high school.  Over the (many, many) years, we've kept in touch and seen each other separately, but not all together since our ten-year reunion.  Why choose Indy?  One lives east, one lives west, and one in Indy.  Seems like the halfway point, yes?

In between getting busted for noise (I haven't laughed that much in decades) and running around eating out, we all had some down time.  I saw my cousins (did I mention most of my dad's side lives there?) and I did some touristy stuff, but mostly (duh) I hunted.

Three pairs of gold earrings (studs are white gold) and 14K ankle bracelet (it had the sterling heart attached so was priced to that), two pair sterling (screwbacks, heavy) earrings and bracelet (big one), the freshwater-and-sterling collar, plus a couple of gambles.  The ring and sterling necklace in the back were the highest priced, and I sigh over paying so much but I knew the former wasn't stainless steel as the clerk said, and I thought the latter had diamonds in the goofy- looking pendant.  Wrong on both.  And the dangly onyx things weren't even plated.  But all were within my risk-budget, and the heaviest pair of gold earrings were very, very inexpensive (plus 20% off that day), so I'm happy.

The ring actually had me going, though - it had no mark so I scratch-tested it, through the platinum acid with no deterioration.  My heart ka-thunked ... even though I have a platinum watch and this didn't quite look right ... and who would put a CZ in platinum (a dishonest husband or a sticky-fingered jeweller?) ... but I hoped ...

So, since last Saturday was our quarterly antiques show, the only time I see my best-paying gold guy, and I was already planning to go with a bagful of broken, awkwardly designed, or just plain ugly gold and silver jewelry (really, what were we thinking in the last few decades????) I asked him to give it a look.  "Not platinum" he said immediately, then told me palladium tests the same ("but it's not that" ... dammit!) and so does stainless steel (not magnetic, though, I checked).  He says it's likely titanium (cheapest of the list) but he can't verify because he doesn't know if it also tests that high.  (Kind of a stupid acid test, then, huh?)

Sorry, getting ahead of the timeline (and needing to calm down).  I flew back Wednesday night, and, despite my laughing-and-talking-sore throat, and my holy-crap-is-everyone-but-me-a-night-owl? exhaustion, headed out bright and early Thursday morning.  Only one thrift "drew" me, and it turned out they were having a sort of grab-bag day. There were a dozen or so sitting in a basket on a long, loaded table.  I bought 5, plus a pair of mismatched earrings I'd seen before but never looked at.

The result almost filled a gallon-sized Ziploc bag.  I sorted into "good enough to donate," "keep for my own nefarious purposes," "give away to friends and family," and "total crap."  Most (shock) fell into the last category (and so is in a landfill somewhere).  The stuff on the right is mostly donate.  The black necklace is for my daughter.  The stones, etc., for DragonBunny.  This stuff is mine.

Gold at the bottom, sterling at the top from grab bags, mismatched pair were one of each.  Score!

And it was even better than I knew when I took this picture.  See the stud just above the big, WG hoop?  The one that has a more substantial setting?

It's that probably-titanium ring with the earring in it.  See, I didn't test things until after I took the initial pictures, gold, silver, and stones.  When I thought the metal was platinum I decided it would look better if I replaced its small, fake stone with what turned out to be a quarter-carat-plus (and very, very clean) diamond from the single.  I took another picture to check it out.  Would've looked cool, no?  But, alas, now the earring will go in the safety deposit box until I find something it belongs in (or another just like it).

Then the week got even better.

After my disappointing (but honestly unsurprising) news on Saturday, I decided to focus on the emptiness of my jewelry box and the nice chunk of change I'd gotten to put toward my outrageous retirement plans (and maybe a storage locker?).  I also decided the Lug and I deserved bonuses - non-allowance based presents - so I bought the Lug three beautiful pipes and myself a rare milk glass egg.  Then, since I had classes scheduled in a couple of hours, I left early to hit a store I hadn't hunted for two weeks.  Armed with a bit more cash for my own treat (hey, I did all the work, yes?), and finding a trove of new vintage stuff in the cases, I was like a guy in a tool shed - I grabbed a stunning necklace, a pair of amethyst studs, and a fairly pricey bracelet in rapid succession.  But when I turned to check out, Mama Angel slapped me with a reminder to check everything, including the separate brooch display thingie (sterling sometimes but almost always costume).  I sighed, but as usual, I listened.  And found a gold-priced-as-metal piece ... which reminded me I don't need to spend more to get more ... which meant I put the bracelet back ... but not the necklace because it was so, so gorgeous (and under $50) that I wore it out of the store.

Seriously, isn't it amazing?  14K, onyx, and two small diamonds.  I've already worn it a lot.  And all three pieces had been sitting there for at least five days.  I was in a serious case of stun, but I just kept thinking what if?

So yesterday, I went back to the grab-bag place first thing in the morning, and I took a bunch of silver studs to donate.  In the back of my mind I hoped to find another plastic sleeve full of beads and whatever - with one, particular earring in it - but the grabs were all gone. Ah well, check everything anyway.  A fabulous sterling necklace for a friend, a pair of cheap, junk earrings with a 14K and 18K clutchback on the beat-up metal posts, and there, in the back of a case that was still hidden by the sale table, a ring.  A class ring from 1964.  10K and heavy.  And not only priced well to begin with but everything was more than a third off because it was the last Monday of the month.

The ring (Monday) and the brooch (Saturday).  Each $10 or less.  And each had been sitting in its respective case for five to fifteen days.  The ring is simply heavy, engraved, and a great deal intrinsically.  The brooch is heavy, too, but ... well, I didn't choose the title of today's blog at random, now did I?  Yep, the pin holds both its 14K mark ... and two C's, linked, back-to-back.

Check everything.  Have fun.  And leave no gemstone unturned!

I love my life!

Happy hunting to all!!!