December 17 - The Outsider

I asked yesterday if you could spot the figure in my Christmas crib that really does not belong there. What I had in mind was this little red horse - correctly identified by Meike as a Dala Horse (or Dalecarlian Horse); a traditional carved and painted wooden horse from the Swedish province of Dalarna. I have a bigger one as well, once upon a time blogged about here. I think I have had this little one since childhood too, even if I can't recall exactly when I got it or who from.

The Dala horses are not Christmas ornaments - actually usually more associated with summer. This little one just happened to already be on the shelf where I was going to set up the crib... And on a whim I decided to let him stay for Christmas this year. 

Janet spotted something else as well, though - and quite correctly, even if it was not what I had in mind when I asked the question. The star on top of the stable is really a starfish. To be more precise, it is a little brooch... And as it happens, I have seashell one too. They're not real gold, just cheap trinkets.

 
 

Circles of Gold

Scriptor’s recent post with a ring in it reminded me that I have not yet posted about this one, which I had made (or re-made) recently.

I had my parents’ rings just lying in a drawer, not knowing what to do with them. Mum’s rings did fit me, but since they were just plain gold rings (i.e. obvious engagement/wedding rings and nothing else) it felt weird wearing them as they were. 

But then recently a friend of mine inspired me by what she did (or had a goldsmith do!) with her inherited rings. So I decided to do something similar with mine, and had mum’s plain rings soldered together with a brand new one (in white gold with gemstones) which I picked out for myself; and traded dad’s rings in to pay for it (or part of it).

I’m pleased with the result. It no longer feels like wearing someone else’s rings, and yet my parents’ names and dates are still preserved in the inscriptions.

Doing it justice with the camera turned out to be another matter, though. Any reflections on how to avoid reflections (of oneself and the camera)??