A STROLL DOWN MEMORY LANE

 

Posted on December 29, 2012 by Gale

DID I MENTION I LOVE BLING?

 

 This post is a little different.  It is not a health update because I felt like I needed to not talk about that tonight.  Come with me as I take a relaxed little stroll down memory  lane.

I had a laugh on Christmas Day at a comment one of my daughters made.  She said she and her sister only had one rule when they bought a gift for me this year.   It had to be shiny stuff.  Anyone who knows me knows I like bling.  I’m referring  to anything shiny, glittery or sparkly.  I love it.

You can probably tell that I’m easily amused and I came to the realization earlier today that my obsession with sparkle started in my childhood.   It’s all your fault Ma!  *grin*

I was reflecting on my childhood fascination with all that glitters.  Many of my favourite toys and possessions were bright and sparkly.  This is where I start reminiscing so you may want to get yourself a drink and something to eat before you continue reading.   No, no, just kidding, it won’t be that long, I’ll try to be succinct.

By the way, I happen to  like the word succinct so NO complaints about it please, and you two know who you are!

One of my favourite memories is from when I used to visit my Grandma Ferguson as a kid and this one time she decided to sort out her jewellery box. I think she was trying to think of ways to keep me from being bored although usually just feeding me did the trick.  LOL   She had so many pretty things and I was fascinated with all the sparkly jewellery she had in there.  She had a brooch with one or two of the small rhinestones missing but it didn’t matter because I still thought it was the prettiest brooch I had ever seen.

She asked me if I would like it and I pounced on it with great enthusiasm.  I couldn’t believe my good luck!  I wore it all day and when I got home  I pinned it on my doll’s dress so I could watch it when the light caught it.  When I think about all the gifts she must have given me over the years and yet the one I remember best is a sparkly brooch with a couple missing rhinestones.

Another time my mom bought me and my sister Bonnie these toy high heels
that were held on by sliding your foot through two lengths of elastic attached to each shoe.

There were also matching earrings.  Mine were bright red and I think Bonnie’s were blue but the best part of them was that they were really vibrant colours and they had these little gold flecks embedded into the plastic that would make them glitter.   The earrings would clip on and dangle so you could shake your head a lot and really catch the gold fleck in the sunlight.  Oh I used to love those things.  We would prance up and down wearing our high heels and earrings and making ourselves a dandelion necklace and bracelet

to go with it.   I even had a shiny red purse with a quilted pattern on the front that someone gave me as a gift so I would wear that to complete my ensemble.  Oh did I know how to shine!

Another really nice memory is the year we got teenage dolls for Christmas which were just an earlier version of Barbie dolls but about twice, maybe even three times the size of the modern day Barbie.  Mine came with a very pretty party dress, nylon stockings complete with a seam up the back and she was also wearing high heels; but the kicker for me was that she had on a pair of  dangly earrings that looked like diamonds and which were actually attached somehow right to her ears.  She also wore  a matching pendant necklace.  I thought she was just the prettiest doll I had ever seen and I played with her a lot. 

Eventually the necklace broke and one of the earrings fell out and I just kind of lost interest in her after that.  In fact I think I cut her hair off which of course would have ruined it.  Hmph!  Serves her right, that’s what she gets for being careless with her jewellery!

Eventually I graduated from dolls to dating and when Eric and I  had been dating for awhile,  he bought me a beautiful black diamond going steady ring for my birthday and for Christmas he got me a bracelet and earrings that were all yellow and green and gold  rhinestones that shimmered so beautifully when I wore them.  On our wedding day  I wore the most glittery crystal earrings and a matching crystal tiara I could find.

 

Over the years I have worked on filling my own jewellery box.  I got on a Fifth Avenue jewellery kick for awhile (they really do have pretty jewellery) and now when my grandchildren watch me open my jewellery box to sort it out it fairly pops and sparks with glitz and bling and I can see the same look in their eyes that I had in mine all those years ago.

So my daughters know  me well when they decided to buy me shiny stuff.  I got a jewelled compact and an owl brooch with gold rhinestones for wings and crystal glasses that are too sparkly to be hidden away so I’m going to put them in my china cabinet.  My hubby even got me two t-shirts with designs on the front made from sequins.

I am a happy woman and I even promise not to get too close to your car mirrors on a sunny day so I don’t blind you.

May all your days be bright and shiny. *smile*