Diamonds are Forever

Oh James...

I'm not going to lie: Sean Connery is my favourite Bond.

And how fitting that the very week that I get my first pair of diamond earrings happens to be the very same week that Mr. Bond on film turns 50.

While I did not have a Bond film fest like my friend GetFresh, I may yet have one and I can assure you that Mr. Connery, he of the old country and devilish grin, will figure prominently...As will my earrings.

So, to borrow the musical phrasing of my beloved Frank Sinatra: "Why For Did I Get Diamond Earrings in the October of my 49th Year?"

Well.

27 years ago, I married very young and wanted a pearl ring, since (and i am not kidding here!) a pearl ring was what Anne Shirley wanted from Gilbert.  I know, I am a romantic and I was REALLY a romantic when I was 22 years old!  Hard to imagine as I am such a smart ass now!

So I got my pearl ring, which had two wee diamond scraps (I don't think you could describe them as diamonds - you had to squint in the right light to see that they were in fact diamond-like?  Or was that diamond light?) on either side of the pearl.  My husband paid $125 for the ring.  I could show you the ring, but it fell apart many years ago.

So recently, his parents decided to gift all of their children with a small amount of money.  It was not so great a sum as to be invested or to pay off debt.  It was not so small as to be insignificant. After much discussion, we decided to divide the sum equally between  practical matters and ones more prosaic.

So - we will invest some to finish the laundry room reno.  I will not bore you with that reno, as frankly, it deserves its own post and when the time comes, I will cast myself in the role of Barbara Stanwyck in some weepy 40s melodrama.  But that is not for today, but for antother day when I will warn you in advance and you can put a little Baileys in that coffee..

And husband asked if he could begin the journey of getting his pilot license.  While I have natural tendencies to be a dreamsucker (oh blame my mother - she perfected this!) and am not thrilled with him spending scads of money over the next three years to fly through the air with the greatest of ease, and am afraid to fly (though I do) I agreed, since it has been his dream for his whole life.

In return he wanted us to use some of the money to buy something frivolous for  me as well.  I digress here for a moment - him getting his pilot's license may not prove frivolous in 10 years when our pilot has a massive heart attack on our way to the winter place in Gstaad and he steps in and takes the controls.  Who will have the last laugh then  Not the pilot, that's for sure! 

What did I need?

Well.  I always kind of hankered for diamond earrings.  I wanted a simple pair.  I wanted solitaires and I wanted them to be expensive and not large.  Fortunately for me, the son has taken up with a lovely girl whose mother runs the nicest jewellry store in town.  And while I do not know anything about diamonds, I felt I could trust her to steer me right.  And she did.  And furthermore, she gave me a 30% discount, which meant that my money went further (she must think we could be in-laws someday!)  And I turn 50 in January, so it seemed kind of appropos (appropos of what?  You decide!) to get nice earrings now.

They are lovely little beauties:

It is amazing how something so small can be so expensive?


And here they are on:

They sparkle and shine and make me very happy!!

So - I waited till I was 49 to get real diamonds.  And I grabbed them whilst I could before I had two in university at the same time!

I am not sure if they are, in fact, frivolous.  We were not a family that could afford significant gifts after I gave birth to our two children (and one of them was over 10 pounds at birth!) so I think this is the reward of being married quite awhile and raising two good people.

I know what James thinks of all of this:

"No need to wear anything but the diamonds, dear"  I will leave the door of the stateroom unlocked, James.

Have a most happy Tuesday and stay safe out there!