Meltdown and a Mannequin

Unbelievably, the weather report says it's to be in the high 90s today.  As usual, they are wrong.  At the moment, in the shaded front yard, it's 100.8* at just 12:30 in the afternoon, so by the hottest part of the day--around 3:00--it will be several degrees above that.
 
And seriously.  Are you kidding me?  It's nearly mid-September and the temps are over 100 degrees?  I am sooooo frigging sick of the heat, and the sun, and sweating, and the never-ending blast of lava breath from the Gates of Hell, which appear to be located just below my house.
 
In light of the temperature, I have had to walk the dogs very early, get what chores done I could before the house turns into an inferno, and make plans to do as little as possible until midnight.  When it might be cool enough to sleep on the kitchen floor with the dogs.  Crap.

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Moving on (don't I wish?)

 

Here's a girl thing...

 

I was out yesterday running errands and stopped at Pier 1 to see what was on sale as they're making room for the holiday stock.  Normally, I have to exert supreme willpower whilst wandering through the store as they have such great things that seem to siren call out to me: take me home, you know you want to.   Luckily there was only one little irresistible item that was too cool to pass up, totally cheap, and I could actually use it--and by that I mean it wasn't just an objet d'art, but had a functional purpose.

 

I have a jewelry box where, for the past few years, I have tossed all my earrings, bracelets and rings.  It's a jumble of French wires tangled with rings, bracelets wound around hoops, studs impaled by fish hooks.  A mess, in other words.  Lately I've just been wearing the same silver hoops every day because I can't be bothered to dig through the heaps of entanglement.

 

Until yesterday...

 

My new, ever-so-efficient earring mannequin:

 

 

It was great to dump out all the jewelry, sort through things, reminisce...

 

...about the pair of earrings I bought at Covent Gardens in London years ago; the pair I found in a tiny little shop in San Francisco; another pair from Italy that Alan surprised me with after I drooled over them in a shop window.  I usually buy a pair of earrings wherever I travel as they make such great, easy to transport, keepsakes.  So, there I was yesterday, looking at, touching, little pieces of my travels, moments in my life, memories stored in each hoop, stone and gem.

 

How cool is this?

 

 

It was so much fun to arrange the earrings like decorations on a dress, or baubles on a Christmas tree.  I had the best time.  And my earrings are now in plain sight, ready to wear, without digging or sorting or untangling. 

 

I guess I bought an objet d'art after all...