I'm almost afraid to blog this, in case I jinx it (no, I'm not normally superstitious, but read the story...)
Long-time readers might remember me mentioning this, my jade fang earring ->
It's an inch and a half long, and I bought it when I was seventeen (or maybe eighteen, you know me and numbers) when I was in my first year of sixth form college: I've had it for almost as long as I've known Wendy and a little longer than I've known Ken. It was originally a pendant, but I converted it into an earring when I had my ear pierced for the first time, and since then have worn it almost non-stop, only taking it out to clean it. It's been everywhere with me - Scotland, Wales, France, Denmark, Italy, US... In the last ten years it's developed the irritating habit of getting 'lost', usually when my hair pulls it out. GoodTwin might remember me talking about this, as it happened once when she was staying over, and she pointed out (at Weston-super-Mare beach) that it was hanging from my plait. It has always come back to me though, usually between an hour and several days later, and almost always without me searching for it. (Looking for it has usually proved counter-productive, as I've not been able to find it and that in itself has proved stressful.)
About a month ago I suddenly realised it was missing
again. I made a cursory search indoors - very occasionally it pulls out when I'm asleep and I find it in the bed, usually by lying on it! - but as usual there was no sign. My greatest fear was that it had dropped in the garden while I was working out there: given the size of the garden the chances of it turning up were pretty slim. I've been wondering, unhappily, about what I could find to replace it since then, though not taken any steps to look, hope springing eternal and all that.
Today I decided to plant the snowdrops (which are in a very sad state, somewhat waterlogged and snail-nibbled) in front of my jasmine in the newly dug meadow. Two small pots' worth of potting compost and corms, in one precise part of what is a rather large area of bare earth. As I troweled a small hole for the snowdrops, something green caught my eye...
Yes, it was the fang. Unbroken, undamaged, perfectly fine. It had escaped Ken's thorough digging, forking and raking, and had I been planting a few inches to the right I'd never have known it was there. To say I'm gobsmacked and overjoyed is putting it mildly!
Hence my reluctance to jinx the peculiar luck associated with the charm. When Ken gets home (he's out on a walk to Stockwood with Kai) I'll see if he can bend the hook end a little closer to the bead, make it more difficult to pull out. (Ideally I'd love it on a sealed hoop so it wouldn't
ever come out, but I don't think the tech exists to do that safely yet.)
Other news in brief: I've shunted things around in the greenhouse a little, after finding out how much room cucumbers need! The tomatoes have recovered from having the side-shoots pinched out and are looking very happy, as are the peppers, and the melons... ah hell,
everything's looking good out there! And the Jangyu story is rather fun. Should be able to finish it tonight.
Off to make dinner - K&K are on their way back.
Labels: garden, jade, jewellery
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Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor
pontificated this at 4:45 pm
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