2020, 2021, Art, Business, Fantasy, holidays, Mysteries, Uncategorized

Dangly

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Pre-pandemic I used to go to two craft shows a year in the Twin Cities – one on the State Fair grounds and one out at the Shakopee race track.  Hard to believe but with 40 vendors or so each, there wasn’t much duplication.  Except for Craft Fantastic.  They sell the makings for jewelry and they always have an inexpensive “make `n take” at each show. You start by choosing a piece of artwork, then you glue a glass tile on top of it.  After the glue dries, you trim off the excess and stick your tile onto a tray.  Then if you want a necklace on which to hang your goodie, they’ll give you one and if you want more components for other jewelry, they certainly have those as well.  I’m sure at some point I signed up for their emails but I don’t remember seeing them before pandemic. 

I have at least 10 of these necklaces from over the years although I don’t wear them often.  I like rings and I adore earrings, not as big a fan of necklaces and bracelets.

The emails started to seep into my consciousness a few months into pandemic.  Every month or so, they offer a “weekend designer” kit.  It is all the items you need to make a variety of things – usually in a theme.  I’m having a hard time keeping away from these, especially the earring collections.  They must be assuming that folks are making and selling these items because each kit makes WAY more than anyone needs.  I have given away quite a few pairs of earrings, necklaces and bracelets but that still leaves me with at least 30 more pairs of earrings than I had at the beginning of pandemic (and believe me when I say, I already had way too many earrings at the beginning of pandemic).  All dangly.  Chinese New Year earrings, Fourth of July earrings, Valentine earrings, Winter/Christmas earrings, Halloween earrings and then a large assortment of floral patterns.  Did I mention that they are all dangly?

I’m trying to cut back – most of the emails get deleted without being opened – but every now and then I spot a kit that is a little different than a kit I’ve had before.  I’m hoping that now I’ve made earrings for all the major holidays, I won’t be tempted.  That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!

What would you want buried with you so you could use it in the afterlife?

60 thoughts on “Dangly”

  2. When I was in college I was home one Christmas vacation and got really sick with huge swollen glands in my neck. The local clinic insisted I enter by the back door and go directly to an exam room and not sit in the waiting g room in case I had the mumps. I protested that I had already had the mumps. The doctor said I was allergic to the metal in my earrings, hence the swollen glands, and told me I couldn’t even tolerate surgical steel earrings. I haven’t worn earrings since. I don’t mind necklaces, but I really dislike bracelets. They bug me.

    I want to be buried with our French press coffee pot.

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  4. Rise and Shine Baboons,

    I don’t have any ideas of what to bury with me, especially because I have arranged to be cremated and all will be ash. HOwever, the minute I read this title, the old song “Dang me” hit my brain and became an ear worm. Thank you very much VS.

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      1. Roger Miller’s Dang Me and You Can’t Rollerskate in a Buffalo Herd take me right back to Søndrestrømfjord where they both were on constant rotation on the base radio.

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      1. I’ve considered “natural burial” but there are local zoning regulations that make that difficult. And locally, the cost is nearly $4000 without any funeral/Memorial arrangements.
        The high cost of dying!

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        3. I have two burial plots in the cemetery where my parents and several other relatives are buried. I inherited them when my uncle moved to Arizona. I don’t intend to use them, since I will be cremated, but it meant a lot to my father at the time so I accepted them.

          I’ve attempted to sell them but there are no takers. I’ve seen the prices quoted for plots in this particular cemetery drop progressively over the last few years. It appears that traditional burial is on the way out.

          Probably many of the regulations on natural burial are the product of lobbying by mortuaries.

          Liked by 3 people

        4. I am absolutely sure you are correct Bill. I read a book about the mortuary industry several years ago by one of the Mitford sisters. It was fascinating.

          Liked by 3 people

    5. i think taking roger miller with me may be a possibility

      my former mother in law insisted on having a christmas list to work from so that she got something she knew you’d like
      the last year it was an issue i requested roger miller albums as my only item in the list . it was before albums got stupid expensive but i would guess it was $100 worth of lp’s 8-10-12 of them

      i think i’ll have all the music i need in the life ever after
      either gershwin and copeland and bernstein both lenny and elmer will be there or they won’t and if they are cool we’ll hang out together and if it’s not a thing it doesn’t matter

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  5. Doing an assessment of all her stuff. Overwhelming part is 1) jewelry and 2) every card or pointless little gift from her girlfriends. Threw out tie large garbage bags of #2. Jewelry. Daughter and grand daughter want none of it, or the jewelry box I made. Must be 200 earrings. Keep a bit of jewelry and throw box and rest I guess. Every place I look in her drawers and cabinets, and there are many, I find more jewelry.

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        4. And Clyde, pace yourself, take your time. Try to find a way to make this a meaningful exercise rather than a chore. I know you’re dealing with a lot at the moment, so be sure you prioritize your own mental health as well.

          Liked by 1 person

        6. Aack. VS does not need more earrings. Ha ha. Part of the reason I have way too many is that over the years friends have gifted me piles of earrings when they’ve cleaned up. About 20 years ago a friend of mine passed away from breast cancer. She and I shared the earring crazy and about a year after she died, her husband gave me a grocery bag full of her earrings. There were at least 126 pairs of earrings in the bag. Ya and I sorted them all out, I kept too many and the rest I gave to Chrysalis. Not sure if Chrysalis is taking donations anymore but I can check.

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    2. You are right. But next big step after getting her settled is for me to move apartments.
      Sitting here waiting to be checked out, sandy silent, understands but not happy, has my mind working, writing lists. Daughter living there in farm country has borrowed a pickup and trailer and are moving over furniture. She has a studio apartment, large one too, with full nursing home service

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  6. In the afterlife I’ll be doin’ great so long as I have a computer and a good cable connection. If I end up in Hell I expect a lot of frustration with passwords, but if I land in that other place passwords will not be an issue. Like Wessew, I plan on cremation, and cremated people have modest jewelry needs.

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    1. Ha! From my understanding, once you’re liberated from your body you’ll need neither a computer, cable or passwords. You’ll be able to navigate the ether effortlessly and your bandwith will be limited only by your imagination. At least that’s how I imagine it, and I’m counting on it.

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      2. The cremated remains I’ve seen look like beige sand. I’m thinking that, for jewelry, a great match would be turquoise bracelets or necklaces. I’ll pass on earrings. Post-cremation is kinda late in life to take up earrings.

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  8. We will both be cremated. Daughter will probably throw ashes in a ditch.
    Ten years ago I noticed that cremated sounds like it means treated with cream. Wonderful thoughts in that. Wrote a poem punning off that. Oops here we go

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      1. That scene exactly duplicated the last moments of my mother-in-law. She wanted to be chucked into the Atlantic Ocean near Newark. Think about that for a moment. There is almost always an onshore breeze hitting bluffs that overlook an ocean. Esther ended up loading up everybody’s hair to the point the burial crew badly needed a shower.

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  9. Sorry if today’s topic has turned out to be a little gruesome. I just thought it was funny question considering I have so many earrings and would I want them in the afterlife..

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  11. Since the books I buy are all ones I want to read, and since, as I have mentioned before, I can’t possibly read the ones I already have in my remaining lifetime, I want them with me in the afterlife, where I’ll presumably have all the time I need. (Cue the Twilight Zone).

    And since, in my experience, one book leads to others, I need a way to order more plus a delivery address.

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        2. You are correct PJ. Even though Hennepin County has discontinued late fees, I somehow still feel that it’s part of my societal contract to get them back on time!!

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        3. I’ve always felt that way, too, vs. Except for one time when Charlie, our Portuguese Waterdog puppy, chewed to smithereens an old Danish book I had borrowed. I really didn’t want to go to the library and confess to that. I felt terrible about the book, but my guilt was somewhat assuaged when I had to pay $65.00 to replace it. This was twenty-eight years ago, and I still cringe to think of it.

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        4. I have felt that pain as well PJ. This is probably 30 years ago now but one of the dogs (I was never sure which one) demolished a beautiful large picture book that I had from the library. It cost me $85.

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  12. I know that at least tim and I enjoy listening to Ted Talks. This one by Dr. BJ Miller was my initial introduction to him and his work. If you can find the time, I encourage you to listen to it in it’s entirety, it’s 19 minutes long.

    BJ has also published a book entitled A Beginner’s Guide to the End. It’s chock full of useful information on how to prepare for the end of life, your own or someone else’s. I might add that it’s actually a good read, not dour or depressing as you might expect, and full of practical steps you can take to make the end of life less stressful for yourself and your loved ones. I highly recommend this book.

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  15. i love the question and i am torn between my humanist inclinations that say here and now is the total picture and the sermon on the mount which don’t necessarily contradict each other but i think my ability to sit down and savor all the things i love and am driven by.
    i was pleased by my near death experience to know i will be cool with being a journey of infinite timeless chilling
    ok
    but later eh…

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