By Lisabet Sarai
[I'm writing this on September 25th, preparing for a foreign trip. No topic has been posted yet for this week, so I'm sharing a post from my personal blog which might give you a bit of insight into my personality.]
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.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq7YET3pq4k5KVVTtzS0_Xx70BpK1RD33Wb66VCutOwsIQbqG9J2sHd33QUVYMymsidTqRpicSxWjXI73hBIcAYBc7qR4or3NgjfBh2YKYxBEZ7jHIDD1uu-No5Z4l_epD_vB-9vxjpZvq/s320/Rhodes.jpg)
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.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijPC8rQtxnGzlLSqiX5oB2z2K55vAWykteHZJUGOjGDCgUM5oO1uklBQOThCAB_Vkl1plFz-FmBZxh0ZHIBz3qLK_zLiaMOZ9yiFptFjNvgBxDoG01hqF-G8C0Grn8UTZCgpbdaQqaI6qh/s320/Turkey.jpg)
These come from the Grand Bazaar in Instanbul, Turkey.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcuTRg6khQIeGDCyU80X4mY5DsL-txLIvbhzINmGinZS1h7EGmvdp4By1NvBsDP9LE5XmvGrZqYmx1grgQwjh-CTQ5FzWRO-Qx6r6lWMM_g4akp5VZl5-lea37IOehwJBtpeksXKDgJUYg/s320/Thai.jpg)
I bought these in a market in northern Thailand.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIfD7iRFwd-TKKU2EMY4lJBthtYu7EANYKvK6WAjbCFrCurdraHfGQ5UMUxUcYantJDA3-UYmf4T24SWpmW3Grkni9l-mlFhqsT-_w0DsEwNLiQ0yRaS_xIbRHsocz8Bp6g5rB83hYwA6M/s320/CelticKnots.jpg)
These small Celtic knots were actually made in Tibet (which I haven't visited - yet).
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYvkUdxxat-XIHwe8_vUdJNN9UDpVxV-E6pwu_E4HOiO6KIL0t8B_XYaEuaoVVy0Tfr5CNDiTOU6MHO-EPFxOE30hhkaY9T92LzYljVanx_dsIaU8JQiDI6CqW4tF0a4p5j3kCiL1jf8Aw/s320/AbaloneShell.jpg)
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.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidaL1eaws5ta83zAvYv6hIDlPZGUcdHDCPoo-vSO13kjcYF8tStHvEr4oKVYdqJ5v_sOtS_LP2uFPh0FzXpxKzfQr0SsT2ND5bnfU6t63Wupf0Mn21FXjb5XvpUlNdHEyNlFdEoiwQjRDz/s320/Sister.jpg)
My sister recently gave me these green and gold beauties.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnnqPZsaPO2OF50wYTQYfrvjD7Ns2xphyphenhyphenHFteTHaoQhEjk4DDIqreQNGaxlzc8dfysGk-M8IX_F2DVrtacUThsNyOnsdzRCfDv-OkGazVg3RbvI0nMEBtpwzU1fbs7TqFp2zOW8rNA83v3/s320/ModernArt.jpg)
These modernistic items were a Christmas present from my sister-in-law.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCUyNyGWUSPUgWl2Or1683JK5bkkCgLOx8DtRl1zyWEEdgoaAWciIiRki57gvuBOlp9vX0oKDMTeyNiNnsXk0GXDQfKUw_Y7WE8Z2lE4zJ1mZ9VpUbIuk97EbdBSDGgzn0pqIWmtAkxboU/s320/Books.jpg)
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!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6tk4S-jkRI5_DKFSshqVUY6Kbe8OZQ4DIkwfQPitsiDM_h3H_i5rdigRLIsDxle8ph8bo1ifa8YGZW8aTrTmZH7vF2ZJRlU-UJQFZXzR15RtsocZ6vALII4HvwfLZwdw8uBV4qDt7-37t/s320/Inheritance.jpg)
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.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif7Q9d8028EOTh9sZL-EPmqQjB_yql4Muj9__ooCZVNeMKcEedypwled_b3TZrwou_iNLno3evWreig0DnlwYexO9dmUKg5pRJvXwJutyBbCQ0-2nevNtiPCKX_0AoucaCrKuNg3cEQzWC/s320/GoldHoops.jpg)
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!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKiqVZ-p3sf9HCS5h_6Gla0MjdAD2kPkEdjAaPOOzGvfEHv6wLnPFIUrG6ZXLJCqSzlk1OESUOZe-tQjcLsUyalW5AubtTuTbwlLTUbgFsYn-Zn9vKIh-7xcozxJqH_ZcS5-t3WWZAmuZI/s320/Egypt.jpg)
Very cool. My wife likes earrinjgs too, but goes for the very simple pearl ones. It makes me think that earrings are a symbol of the self.
ReplyDeleteMy favorites are the little book earrings,
Garce