Monday, May 23, 2011

Dangly Bits

Every now and then you become aware of your own peculiarities. That happened to me a few days ago.

I came home from work, tired and sweaty, and stripped off my business clothes - a straight, navy blue skirt and navy and red striped blouse. Instead, I put on a comfortable, tropical print shift in shades of turquoise. I was planning to cook dinner at home,then spend the rest of the evening reading.

I headed for the kitchen to get the meat out of the freezer, then stopped short. I had realized something. My earrings didn't match my dress. I had worn my Egyptian cat themed earrings to work, the ones with the navy and red glass beads. Those earrings clashed terribly with my current clothing!

I hurried back to the bedroom and switched to a pair that had clusters of silvery beads. After that I felt much better.

I do a lot of my work at home, not just my writing, but my regular job as well. There are days when I don't go out at all. The only person who sees me is my husband. I'll wear shorts, or drawstring pants, or a wraparound skirt with a teeshirt, really informal. Sometimes in the interest of comfort I'll skip the bra. But I'm never without a pair of earrings. I feel naked when the holes in my earlobes are empty.

I've had pierced ears since I was eleven. My mother pierced them using a sterilized sewing needle, with a block of ice to numb the flesh first. Since then, I've always worn earrings. I put them on when I get up in the morning and take them off right before I go to bed.

When I had hip replacement surgery a year ago, I made sure to pack at least three pairs of earrings for my five day stay in the hospital.

I don't have many worldly goods, and don't want many. However, I probably own at least a hundred pairs of earrings. They're a great thing to collect - they take up almost no space! When I travel, I tend to buy earrings as souvenirs, and now, when I look in my jewelry cases, I remember all the great places I've visited.

Here, for instance, is one of the earrings I bought on the ancient island of Rhodes, Greece. They're made of flattened gold wire and they're heavy. I only wear them for parties or to go to the opera, but they're possibly my current favorites.

These come from the Grand Bazaar in Instanbul, Turkey.

I bought these in a market in northern Thailand.

These small Celtic knots were actually made in Tibet (which I haven't visited - yet).

These are made of abalone shell. I bought them near Coit Tower in San Francisco many years ago.

My friends and family know that when they want to buy me a gift, something to dangle from my ears is almost always a good bet.

My sister recently gave me these green and gold beauties.

These modernistic items were a Christmas present from my sister-in-law.

It's difficult to imagine a more appropriate gift for an author than these, a gift from a friend who loves earrings as much as I do. You can actually flip the pages!

And these - well, I inherited them from my mother, believe it or not. They're just costume jewelry, but they're more than forty years old. She loved to wear earrings, too.

Of course not all of my earrings dangle. I call these my "gypsy hoops". I even have a few pairs of studs, but I rarely wear them. My hair is so bushy and thick that small earrings will simply be invisible.

I'm not a vain person, and I'm too impatient to spend much time on my appearance. I generally don't wear make up. My hands are bare aside from my silver wedding band. My watch is a no-name brand whose only function is to tell time. When it comes to earrings, though, I guess I'm a bit crazy. In the rare case that I leave the house with naked ears, I'll take the time to buy a new pair rather than going without.

Peculiar, I guess. But then, we all have our quirks. Mine just tend to hang from my ears.

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By popular demand... here's a not-very-clear photo of the Egyptian cat earrings that started this post!

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Lisabet, I completely understand your obsession. I also have earrings from places I've visited, and though I haven't travelled as extensively as you, I've picked up some great pairs in various towns and cities throughout Britain, and from a shop in Amsterdam that I always try to visit when I holiday there. Some of my favourites, though, are ones that have been made for me by a very talented friend, because there's nothing like the personal touch. Keep on dangling!

Liz xx

Witchy Woman said...

I'm like that with my silver rings and bracelets. I feel naked without them. Oddly enough, earrings? Not so much.

Kate Richards said...

I love earrings and I love yours. How lovely. I am currently wearing a pair of dangly handcuff earrings that my friend Valerie Mann made me when she edited something for me that related.

Thanks, it was my kind of fashion show and if you have to have a quirk I can't imagine a less harmful one. Oh...can we see the Egyptian cats?

Rhobin said...

LOVE the earrings.

Elizabeth Delisi said...

I completely understand the earring fetish. For me, it's rings, or necklaces/bracelets that I bead myself. And perfume. Never go through a day without a ring, and perfume.

Anonymous said...

I have had pierced ears but my ears have not fared too well. I could never wear earrings like you have as i have a short neck but I do like seeing what other people wear.

I really like the Celtic Knots. It's amazing to think that they were made in Tibet.

Colleen said...

When I was younger, I loved the variety of earrings I had... for the past 15 years I decided to just wear studs... now for the second time in my life I have gone a year without wearing any... I am not much for jewelry, but I will always be wearing a necklace and anklet that I have made for myself...

Lisabet Sarai said...

Hello, everyone! Thanks for dropping in to see a few of the highlights of my collection!

Kate - I'll try to post a photo of the Egyptian cat earrings. It turned to be surprisingly difficult to get good pictures of these earrings. The cats came from the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, which has a huge collection of Egyptian artifacts.

Liz - I've always sensed from your writing that we have a lot in common!

Witchy Woman - I love silver bracelets, but only wear them occasionally because they get in the way. However, I've known a number of people who felt about their bangles the way I feel about my dangles.

Rhobin - thank you!

Elizabeth - Perfume. Yes, I could see having a similar feeling about perfume. I can't afford to, though LOL!

Hi, flubber2kool - When my ears were first pierced I had a lot of trouble with infections. And now although I like dangling earrings, I can't wear heavy ones. One of my ear holes is really stretched and I always worry htat it might tear. One reason I love the Celtic knots is that they are very lightweight.

Hello, Colleen - I love ankle bracelets. I find them quite erotic. I used to have one, but I don't remember what happened to it. Sigh. My ankles aren't really worth adorning anyway!

Simone Eden said...

All your earrings are beautiful. I don't have pierced ears and I usually get irked after wearing a pair for more than a few hours. I seldom wear them, or jewelry of any kind. People are so different. But I must say, those book earrings would almost make me pierce! :)

Larion aka Larriane Wills said...

I have boxes of earrings though for day to day, i wear simple studs. I have to 'talk myself out' of buying them I see so many i would love to have.

Janice Seagraves said...

Oh, your earrings are so nice. I have double pierced ears and love earrings too.

One of my daughter friends had a BF with sticky fingers, after his last visit at our house my favorite pair of real emerald hoops vanished.

Lisabet Sarai said...

Hi, Simone - I'd never wear earrings if my ears weren't pierced. Because they've been that way, almost forever, earrings have just become part of who I am.

Larriane! Yeah, lately I've been trying to hold back, too. I tell myself I've already got so many pairs - some that I hardly ever wear. My husband knows, though, that if we're walking down the street and pass a shop with an earring display, he has to give me time to at least look.

Greetings, Janice - Sorry to hear about your hoops. Most of my earrings aren't valuable, because it's inevitable that some will get lost. I had a pair that was made of blue glass, really lovely. I wore them all the time. But then I dropped one of them, and the loop that held the ear hook broke off. Typical. Actually, my husband's great about fixing broken earrings for me, if it's at all possible. The glass ones, though, were a lost cause.

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