Heirlooms

With the royal wedding occurring such a short time ago, I thought it would be a good idea to talk about heirloom jewelry. Don't royalty and heirlooms go together? Especially heirloom jewelry?

What did you think about the ring that Prince William gave Kate Middleton when he proposed? This ring was easily recognized as the ring that Princess Diana, Prince William's mother, wore as her engagement ring. I thought it was a very sweet gesture. This is a great example heirloom jewelry; beautiful piece of jewelry with history of making it very special.

Handmade Peach Lacework of Pearls Necklace

I think most people would love to have some heirlooms of their very own. I know I would, wouldn't you? And, even though I concentrate on jewelry, jewelry isn't the only type of article that can be an heirloom. Heirlooms can range from a serving dish or platter that your mother or grand-mother used, to furniture and clocks.

Being expensive is not required for something to be an heirloom, in my view, but the linking of an item with a special person. Even better is having this item be linked to a special occasion as well.  And, I believe that the quality of an item helps; poor quality items usually are not kept or cannot last. And, in the latter quality, pearls are a good example - poor quality pearls will just wear away.

The Black Tie Affair
Handmade Pearl Earrings

In the end, I believe that we should try to purchase items that not only are special for ourselves, but also will be cherished for a long time after. That is why I make the jewelry I do, I want to make jewelry that can be worn for a special day, like your wedding, your graduation, a prom or an anniversary. Jewelry that is of great quality, what I call heirloom quality, that you will be proud to wear now and can pass down through the generations.

Musings on this week

As I look back on the events this past week, especially the one the United States will always remember, which is the death of Osama bin Laden. I do not want to celebrate the death of a fellow human being, but this case is different. He attacked us; took scores of innocent lives for his warped ideology and bragged about it. We, as a nation, needed to fight back. And only his death would sufficient punishment for his heinous crimes.

In addition this raid showed that the ben Landen of the medias was not the actual ben Lauden. through this raid, we showed ben Laden as the fraudI Not for him the life of the brave commander of his troops, the ascetic who lives simply with only a bedroll and his gun in a cave. No, he lived in a $1M villa in a resort community outside of ?????, Pakistan, with his youngest wife and their sons. There was no view from outside into the grounds; shielding bin Laden from view. For if you could see into this compound, you would see Coca-Cola and Pepsi and other products from a "decadent" society.

For in the end, what really took him down was us; our life, our dreams and our successes. He thought we were weak because we did not behave the way he thought we should and therefore, in his twisted mind, it was his duty to find and destroy the infidels. He thought it would be easy; bomb a few major targets and we would not be able to recover. What he didn't take into account, was the fact that for all our rhetoric against each other, we could and would pull together to fight him. There may be detours and some failures alone the way, but in the end, we knew what to do and pulled off this surgical strike agains him and his closest aids.

And, in the end, we are left with these words from the Preamble to the Declaration of Independence. Reading thee words always gives me chills. For almost 250 years, our country is unique because it was founded by men of ideals. The Preamble is simple, but what other country makes it the purpose of the state to allow its individuals "the pursuit of Happiness."

These four little words, "the pursuit of Happines," means that you and I can do what we want to do. If we want to collect figurines, we can, if we want to collect shot glasses, golf balls, jewelry, we can! We can start businesses to sell what we make or collect and no one can stop us!

So, what do you think about this momentous occasion? Did you do anything to celebrate? Let me know; I'd like your thoughts on this.

Thank you for letting me express myself. I look forward from hearing from you.