Just as I am a sprinter with alcohol, I am something of a sprinter when it come to sun. I am always terrified I will not be brown enough, and spend my vacations working out just how many hours of sun-tanning I have left.

We were very lucky with the weather in the Bahamas, and I was surprisingly careful, not going anywhere without a minimum of factor 15, and more often factor 30. I only managed one IPL treatment to remove sunspots, which didn’t really do anything as you’re supposed to have a few, but the pain was so bad I can’t imagine it will be an experience I’m likely to repeat, so I did my best to keep the sun off my face. The result was, I turned a lovely golden brown. A paleish sort of golden brown. Paler than I would like.

But because I’m a big believer of, when in doubt, fake, I woke up this morning deciding that my tan had faded, so sprayed a little Neutrogena sunless tanner on. I think I went a bit overboard. I am now a dark shade of orange. However, as long as I’m not in bright sunlight, I think I look pretty damn good, particularly in a white T-shirt

For Christmas Beloved gave me the most stunning pair of earrings, that have been passed down through generations of his family, first from his Great-Grandmother to his Grandmother, then to his Mother, and now to me. They are glorious, and more so because of the meaning and history they hold. They have the old-fashioned screws, and I need to have them turned into posts.

I was about to take them into the jeweler behind Main Street, but then remembered I’d read a story about the landlord trying to get rid of the jeweler by kicking a hole in their wall in a fit of…something. It clearly worked, because the jeweler is no longer there.

I have heard they are elsewhere in town, and am now on the hunt for them. I also have a few very old gold pieces that I want to remodel. I got the idea from my mother. When I was trawling around the Internet looking at vintage jewelry recently, I came across a collection of vintage 70’s Tiffany zodiac pendants, now collector’s items and selling for a fortune. I got very excited, because my mother has one, and they are clearly all the rage, so I thought I might get a look-in.

‘Oh that old thing?’ she said. ‘I had it melted down.’

Bugger. But that’s where I got the idea from. I am gathering all bits of stray gold to have remodelled into a thin gold chain, and possibly a ring, if I’ve got enough.

But in gathering old gold together, I am surprised at how many things I cannot find. I don’t think they’ve been stolen, I just think I’ve moved so many times, things have a habit of being misplaced. Even large furniture. I grew up with an antique blanket box at the bottom of my bed. I remember it in my flat on Abbey Road, and then in my first house. I think it came to America with me, but I realise I haven’t seen it for years.

There’s also an emerald ring that appears to have gone AWOL.

If you happen to live locally and know of a decent jeweler, do let me know, just in case I can’t find the hole in the wall people…

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 6th, 2009 at 4:25 pm and is filed under Miscellaneous. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.