especially if you happen to be in Chicago in the 1920s.

Or visit an alien society based on a book about Chicago in the 1920s.

especially if you happen to be in Chicago in the 1920s.

Time machine!

You know, I think Christians and Jews (religious or just cultural) should start a big ecumenical ancient Roman bashing-society.

Or visit an alien society based on a book about Chicago in the 1920s.

Oh, of course. I had forgotten about that.

Time machine!

Well, if any of us could build a time machine, it'd be Nilly....

Butt-pats all around!

Emeralds are bad choice for a ring that's designed to be worn daily, as are opals, pearls, and other soft stones.

Huh. My mom's engagement ring is an emerald, and she wears it every day. Granted, the stone is teeny, and surrounded by the setting.

Well, emeralds aren't prone to crumbling on touch like a fresh cookie or anything, but there are lots of substances around the house that are harder and could crack one if an impact occurs. Odds are a diamond gets inherited by your kids or grandkids unless your hobbies include working with explosives.

I figured I couldn't say anything to my mom when she bought a replacement diamond engagement ring a few years ago, as she lost the original catching me before I fell out of a pontoon boat as a toddler.

Melissa Etheridge has always been my possible exception, and I think she kicked ass on the song tonight. Not Janis, but still fucking awesome.

She rocked hard. She made the song her own rather than just trying to mimic Janis. I'm pretending she did a solo.

Oh! Thanks for the butt pat.

DH cautiously asked if I wanted to do anything for Valentine's Day. I told him I really needed some time off and would like to take a weekend in the Keys without kids next month for our anniversary. He endorsed the plan.

I am hiding in my office today - V-Day? on a Monday? what could be worse? Well that would be being in a school where people are sending each other flowers and candy and singing telegrams. The inevitable teary student is what I dread. Being an emotionally detached teenager I didn't have much wrapped up in V-Day (NYE is my big emotional holiday). Yet every year I would dread it for the angst it caused so many others. Even in college I remember seeing a friend bawling because no one had sent her a flower.

Already I see the girls with one carnation giving the girl with the bouquet of roses the fisheye. sigh.

How awful msbelle. I don't recall ever stressing over the day. My February 14 is mostly spent remembering my dad on the anniversary of his birth. I noticed a number of balloons and flowers when I dropped off at middle school this morning. I asked Brendon if he wanted to bring candy to school for a bowl in his homeroom or something, but he declined.

I have a diamond engagement ring, and seven little diamonds on my wedding band. I was blissfully ignorant of the ethical dirt when I got them, so I'm going to keep on loving them.

My s-i-l has an emerald, and wears it daily. She's had no problems for 10 years. That said, they just aren't that durable. It's also hard to find the natural ones (and one of the things I think is so pretty about hers, is that it has diamond accents, which set off the green so nicely, which brings us right back to the diamond problem. I also like sapphires so much better when they're set with diamonds). On the other hand, my mum lost her diamond right out of the setting, one Christmas. We never did find it, either. It was a beautiful, flawless, colorless (nearly blue looking) stone. She was heart broken.