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All My Wedding Rings!

I just had a pair of rings commissioned for us! I love all my wedding rings (below), but I wanted a set that was matched for us. It only took 18 years to get around to it! LOL



We got married in the first ring, then got the thinner one soon after (matched), but I never cared for them much. The third and fifth rings are the ones I wear the most. I usually have a blue stone, usually a blue topaz, but the third one is a Mystic topaz in Peacock and the seventh one is opal. The fourth one is a really large adjustable ring that I got at Decatur Arts Fest when I was fat and couldn’t wear my peacock ring (also an arts fest purchase). The cool antique one (#6) is off ebay and I adore it, but it’s a tish big. The last one, the current one, I’ll tell you all about below!

Here is the pair of rings! Cool, right? Here are the sexy pics taken by the artist:

I’ve been stalking the artist, Dominic Rossi, on IG for a while now (IG: @Dom_Ross) and one day he posted some reticulated silver rings that caught my eye. Reticulated silver is cut to size, then fired until the silver starts to bubble – that’s what gives it the texture. So I contact Dom via IG message and we started discussing a plan. He showed me some Burmese spinels in several colours and I decided to break with tradition and get a purple one. Now we we’re off to the races!

I had to devise a way to get a good measure of Nick’s finger. Since the accident, it is larger than before and a rather hard fit. He’s been wearing my size 10+ bubble ring and it’s too big, so I was concerned he’d lose it. (I’d been thinking about getting him a new ring when this awesome artist popped up.) I told him the bubble ring was too big and he needed something else. I got my ring sizers and got a measurement of his finger. Armed with this info, Dom and I calculated what size was needed – it is actually pretty complex when you take into account the width of the ring (8mm) and the thickness of the ring (2mm, VERY thick). We settled on 9.75 for his and 8.5ish for me. We were amazingly accurate – both rings fit PERFECTLY!

Dom turned around the commission in just a couple of weeks and his price was excellent. Nick saw the first PP payment and asked what it was and I said “it’s for a thing”, which worked! The second payment I intercepted the email, so he was none the wiser! HA!! Waiting for the rings to arrive was torture! I told everyone about the rings EXCEPT Nick and I kept it off FB, natch. Last night I presented him with the ring and he LOVES it! I am very pleased with my ring, too. The spinel changes colour in different lighting. Lovely!

If you are thinking of a commission or just looking for some really cool jewelry, I HIGHLY recommend Dominic Rossi! He’s in CO and you can find him on his IG: @dom_ross or FB (new page coming): https://www.facebook.com/domb.bomb1

And here are the rings on our old hands:


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Inspiration comes from many places…

and this post is inspired by Wil Wheaton’s book Still Just A Geek, which I just started.

This book is a annotated and updated version of his first book Just A Geek, written in the early aughts – about 20 years ago.

He has three intros to this book: the original, one by Neil Gaiman (for the original) and one for this version of the book. In the third one, he goes on quite extensively about what I different person he is now and how his original words (from his blog and the book) are NOT representative of him now, and he’s horrified and embarrassed by them now.

Well, I want to make a post about this blog and its longevity, and how I, too, have grown as a person and don’t think like I did in 1999. I do not feel the need to vomit apologies and regret (sorry, Wil), but I will say that if you deep dive into this blog, you’ll probably come across some questionable content of various stripes. I’m OK with that.

I will say this: 1999 was a long time ago. I was prone to calling out bullshit here, regardless of who it might involve. I also wrote about many opinions I had at the time that I no longer have. It was a badge of honour to be called out on my blog! LOL

ALSO: I will not apologize for holding various people and/or companies accountable for their actions. There’s a difference between blaming and holding accountable. For instance, that major asshole Realtor™ who fucked us over on the pub lease. That guy refused to look at the lease AT ALL, did not come to the closing and whined about how mean we were to him afterwards. That guy is a fucking rich (working for father in law’s company) fucking asshole who’s had $$ and privilege handed to him. He saw no fault for not doing a goddam thing he was supposed to do as our Realtor™. I still despise him to this day and will spit in his face if I ever run into him. We take 100% of the blame for the pub debacle, but there were definitely people involved who did NOT do their jobs they were paid to do. I have no problem calling out jackasses when they need it. No regrets about that.

So if you are here, trolling or just looking for proof that I’m a terrible person, you just might find it. I can’t change who I’ve been or who I am. But I strive to be better all the time.

I am a human. I am a work in progress. Just like everyone else.

I think the beauty of having a longterm blog is seeing the changes and growth that people have. I am not ashamed – but I am also glad that I’ve grown up and gotten past much of the bigotry, biases and other bullshit. It’s what it means to be a person. Change is the only constant.

So, trollers or others who are just here looking for my bullshit: go for it. It’s probably here and I own it. I am a VERY VERY different person I was in 1999. I was 34 then and 56 now! That’s a LOT of growth. And that is why I leave everything up on this blog – that is now way past drinking age. It’s the story of my personal growth and it’s MINE. Love it or don’t. :)

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If I Leave Here Tomorrow

I just watched the Lynyrd Skynyrd doc on Netflix (If I Leave Here Tomorrow: A Film About Lynyrd Skynyrd, 2018) and it was excellent.

I learned a lot about the band and the crash that killed six passengers. For one thing, I did not realize that the plane was a medium sized prop, and that there were 20 some odd people on board. In my mind, it was a crash like Buddy Holly’s or Patsy Cline’s. But it was not, the plane was quite large and there’s still speculation about what happened. Some say it ran out of gas, but the surviving band members said that the engine was not right from the get-go. It was very sobering to hear the accounts of the crash from the surviving band members who were interviewed for this documentary. Only six people died of the almost 30 on the plane, so that is a good thing, but the band died that day for sure. Ronnie Van Zant, Cassie Gaines and Steve Gaines were integral to Skynryd – especially Ronnie, of course.

It was good to hear from the only remaining members of the band, well, really only ONE of the original is left: Gary Rossington. Johnny Van Zant has been fronting the band since the 80s, but he is not an original member (he’s Ronnie’s little brother). All the rest have since died. If you’re interested in the details, watch the doc on Netflix and read the Wiki entry.

As you all know, I’m from E TN, so Southern Rock was a big part of my formative years. I was a little too young for Skynyrd in their heyday, but they were a big part of my high school years, which happened a few years after the crash. All the boys in band were huge fans. One guy had tickets for the Knoxville show from that fateful ’77 tour. They were sacred to him. One of the guys also had the Street Survivors record with flames on it, original release. (They removed the flames after the crash.)

We listened to Skynyrd and Led Zeppelin about equally, along with plenty of Journey and for me Fleetwood Mac/Stevie Nicks and Pat Benatar.

I wish I’d seen Skynyrd in their heyday. I saw Rossington Collins Band for my very first concert – I think it was 1980 – so, that was part of Skynyrd, anyway. I remember the band boys dissing them for having Dale Krantz (female) as lead singer, which pissed me off.

What surprised me was the feelings hearing all that music brought up. It was a meaningful time for me, like all teens in High School. Hearing all that music brought back the times we sat in cars smoking and drinking, listening to Skynyrd. I’m not prone to nostalgia, so it’s a rare thing!

So, yeah. Interesting to me that I feel this way. I did not expect it! But, it’s true that music speaks to your soul, not your brain, so I guess I should’ve known it would affect me. I think I’m going to flesh out my Skynyrd collection.

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The Tale of the Smoking Poodle

SO, it was in the 90s, probably around ’95 or so (if anyone remembers the year, tell me in comments!). It was July 4th and all of us at Derrydown were out in the yard drinking and smoking and passing a doob. We’d probably cooked out or something before and we were all WAY into our cups!

Someone had brought fireworks, so they started firing them off. Lots of Roman candles, which I love.

We were all pretty wasted and definitely high AF, when one of the Roman candles fell over and shot right into Darbi’s porch. We all just kinda stood there, hoping nothing caught fire. Too high and drunk to really DO anything about it! (Luckily, no fire!)

Soon after that, another firework malfunctioned and shot the load horizontally into the crowd. There was much fuss, but when the smoke cleared, a neighbor who’d been holding her white poodle Tristan, was like AAAHHH!! We turned to her and that dog had a black, smoldering spot where a candle load had hit his ass. He wasn’t hurt, but it was definitely crispy.

Now. Just sit with that visual for a second. Then think about the name: Tristan.

I can’t even type this without cackling! And I hope I never meet anyone named Tristan because I just giggle every time I hear that name.

Keep in mind, we’re all high AF and here is this little POODLE named TRISTAN, with a smoking divot on his ass… ::CACKLE::

It is one of my fondest memories of Derrydown! We had a great group of people, several of whom I’m still friends with today! This post is dedicated to Darbi, who has been in CA for decades, but we have kept in touch. She’s having some medical issues and I wanted to post this little tale to give her a chuckle and to remember simpler times.

Also, remember the Table of Pain! How many Camels were smoked and cheap beers drunk there? Innumerable!

Good times!

I salute Derrydown! I lived there 13 years and loved every minute of it. <3

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S&H Green Stamps

I was posting about using coupons today, and had a memory triggered! I was wondering how much money I’ve saved over my lifetime by couponing at the grocery and wondering where I got the idea to coupon at all, since my mother never used a coupon. Then I remembered sticking Green Stamps into books with my Gran, and I thought that perhaps THAT was what got me into couponing. I can’t remember why I did it, but I’d really love to know the tally of all the money I’ve saved! I’ll bet it would buy a nice house!

photo of S&H Green stamps
S&H Green Stamps

Anyway, about those Green Stamps. They were S&H Green Stamps and they were the first loyalty program ever invented, running from the 30s until the 80s. I remember them in the 70s when I was a kid. My Gran got them for shopping at White Store (grocery in E TN). We’d stick them into books then cash them in for merchandise, but I can’t remember anything in particular that she got with them.

I was wondering if Green Stamps were still around, and THEY ARE!! They are now called GreenPoints and they are offered at a few stores in the NE only. They used to still cash in the old stamps if you find your grandma’s stash and it’s over 60 books, however, according to greenpoints.com, they no longer accept them. Boo!

It’s always nice to have childhood memories pop up. I especially like it when I remember things about my Gran. She was quite a lady! Please go read a little about her in my tribute to her!