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!