KK Chat -- 26 March 2017

[DesertRose]

Mar 26 19:12:34 *   KK has joined
Mar 26 19:12:37 <DesertRose>   Hi KK!
Mar 26 19:12:37 <The_Bee>   What would Cardiel understand?
Mar 26 19:12:38 <Jemler>   hi kk
Mar 26 19:12:42 <Jerusha>   Would you mind holding this while I plug in the new one?
Mar 26 19:12:43 <The_Bee>   Hi KK!
Mar 26 19:12:47 <KK>   Hello, all.
Mar 26 19:12:49 <Derynifank>   Hi KK
Mar 26 19:12:49 <DomMelchior>   Hi KK
Mar 26 19:12:50 <Jerusha>   Hi KK
Mar 26 19:12:53 <Evie>   Hi KK!
Mar 26 19:13:04 <Evie>   I suspect Duncan doesn't usually do his own dishes, DR.  :-D
Mar 26 19:13:10 <DesertRose>   Probably not. 
Mar 26 19:13:42 <Derynifank>   About the ring
Mar 26 19:13:45 <Evie>   We're talking about bishop's rings, KK, since I just made a new ring for Duncan's new hand.
Mar 26 19:13:51 <Evie>   https://www.flickr.com/gp/9573389@N08/2jQ446
Mar 26 19:13:57 <DesertRose>   But I expect he'd rather say a few Paternosters and Aves over having taken off a ring he's supposed to leave on than lose the silly thing entirely!
Mar 26 19:14:00 <The_Bee>   I doubt if any nobles did their own scut work.
Mar 26 19:14:04 <Jemler>   why not? then he can bless the dishwater.
Mar 26 19:14:23 <DomMelchior>   Holy Housework!
Mar 26 19:14:30 <Evie>   BTW, do Archbishops as well as Bishops in your world all wear amethysts, or do some of them wear sapphires?  ISTR in our world, some used sapphires rather than amethysts in their rings.
Mar 26 19:15:15 <Jemler>   what color is an amethyst?
Mar 26 19:15:19 <DesertRose>   Usually purple
Mar 26 19:15:21 <DomMelchior>   purple
Mar 26 19:15:23 <The_Bee>   purple
Mar 26 19:15:25 <Jerusha>   Purple
Mar 26 19:15:42 <Dennis>   Hello!
Mar 26 19:15:47 <Evie>   Likely not, though as Duncan was a Border duke, I'd think he'd be more likely to do menial labor in a pinch than a lowland duke.
Mar 26 19:16:09 <Evie>   Varying shades of purple, Jemler. Some are quite light, others are a deep, dark purple.
Mar 26 19:16:09 <Jemler>   then, as purple is a royal color, and them being princes of the church, wouldn't they all be amethysts?
Mar 26 19:16:12 <Jerusha>   Morgan might pitch in
Mar 26 19:16:29 <KK>   I think in Roman practice, Cardinals wear sapphires and bishops wear amethysts.  at least that's the way it used to be.  TOday who knows?
Mar 26 19:16:30 <Derynifank>   Duncan coukd use Deryni magic to wash dishes  and never n3ver have dishpan hands
Mar 26 19:16:35 <Evie>   In KK's world, that's all that is coming to mind, but in our world, sometimes they favored sapphires
Mar 26 19:18:10 <DomMelchior>   I'm not sure, but I think the use of the stone is more convention than mandate.  In practice, the purple of amethyst matches a bishop's cassock, and, as gemstones go, they're fairly inexpensive.
Mar 26 19:18:18 <The_Bee>   What was the symbolic significance of various gems back then?  In KKB, when Kelson chooses a sappphire for Araxie, he says it's a symbol of fairhtfulness.
Mar 26 19:18:19 <DesertRose>   Amethysts are the birthstone for February, and I used to wish I'd been born a couple of weeks later so it would be my birthstone, not that I dislike garnets.
Mar 26 19:18:24 <KK>   Some don't use stones at all; just a signet ring.
Mar 26 19:18:28 <Evie>   Ah, OK.  I wasn't sure who it was that wore sapphires, but I remember seeing some photos online of sapphire rings when I was looking up photos of bishop rings. Granted, they could have had cardinals' rings mixed in with bishops', since I did a Google search.
Mar 26 19:19:22 <KK>   In engagement rings, a sapphire is a symbol of faithfulness.  Adam Sinclair and his folk wear sapphires.
Mar 26 19:19:31 <Jerusha>   Sapphires, garnets, diamonds, I'm OK with them all
Mar 26 19:19:45 <Jemler>   does anyone here use the amazon fire tv stick?
Mar 26 19:19:56 <The_Bee>   ?
Mar 26 19:19:58 <KK>   Cardinals are usually bishops as well, even if the see is only honorary.
Mar 26 19:20:07 <DesertRose>   Speaking of engagement rings, my cousin, who has been dancing around this for months, FINALLY officially proposed to his girlfriend.
Mar 26 19:20:24 <Jerusha>   Woo hoo
Mar 26 19:20:29 <KK>   Congrats to the oug ocuple.
Mar 26 19:20:34 <The_Bee>   Very good!
Mar 26 19:20:35 <KK>   young couple
Mar 26 19:20:36 <DesertRose>   Like, I saw the stone and the engagement ring design pictures back at Thanksgiving.
Mar 26 19:20:57 <DomMelchior>   Garnets are actually quite versatile.  They are found in almost every color, they're durable, and reasonably inexpensive (depending on the type).
Mar 26 19:20:58 <Derynifank>   Good for him. Hope he got a yes
Mar 26 19:21:02 <Jerusha>   That was a bit of a wait, then
Mar 26 19:21:02 <DesertRose>   So when it showed up on Facebook today, the reaction was, "About darn time!"
Mar 26 19:21:05 <DesertRose>   Yup
Mar 26 19:21:18 <DesertRose>   They've set a date in December.
Mar 26 19:21:29 <Evie>   My engagement/wedding ring is a claddagh with a garnet heart
Mar 26 19:21:31 <DomMelchior>   Congrats
Mar 26 19:21:34 <Dennis>   Congratulations to them!
Mar 26 19:21:54 <Jerusha>   Nice, Evie
Mar 26 19:21:59 <KK>   Dom Melchior can be considered an expert in this.  He's a gemologist.
Mar 26 19:22:14 <Derynifank>   Christmas weddings  are lovely
Mar 26 19:22:14 <DomMelchior>   (blushing)
Mar 26 19:22:27 *   Jerusha bows to the gemologist
Mar 26 19:22:27 <DesertRose>   Yes, that's one of the nice things about garnets; I have a garnet ring I bought myself because I liked it and thought it was pretty, and I bought it long enough ago that I no longer remember the exact price, but it wasn't particularly expensive.
Mar 26 19:23:03 <DesertRose>   And garnet is my birthstone, since my birthday is in January.
Mar 26 19:23:32 <DomMelchior>   I'm quite fond of them myself, and have several rhodolite garnets.
Mar 26 19:23:49 <The_Bee>   Does a birthstone go with the calendar month, or the Zodiak sign?
Mar 26 19:23:54 <DesertRose>   Calendar month.
Mar 26 19:23:57 <DomMelchior>   month
Mar 26 19:24:28 <DomMelchior>   There are zodiacal assignments too, but almost no-one uses them.
Mar 26 19:24:53 <DesertRose>   My cousin's fiancee's engagement ring actually features HER birthstone, aquamarine, as the main stone (which means her birthday is probably sometime this month, if I'm remembering my birthstone-to-month correspondences correctly).
Mar 26 19:25:07 <The_Bee>   What's March?
Mar 26 19:25:17 <Jemler>   aquamarine for march.
Mar 26 19:25:20 <DesertRose>   Aquamarine.
Mar 26 19:25:22 <Derynifank>   Garnets are a lovely deep redm always loved  that color 
Mar 26 19:25:26 <Jerusha>   Aquamarine, I think
Mar 26 19:25:41 <The_Bee>   ah, ok.  I think my Aries stone is a bloodstone.
Mar 26 19:25:44 <DesertRose>   Garnets can actually be any of a number of colors, but the classic color is dark red.
Mar 26 19:25:54 <DesertRose>   Bloodstone is an alternate for March.
Mar 26 19:26:08 <DesertRose>   A couple of months have alternate birthstones.
Mar 26 19:26:17 <DomMelchior>   Not always red, Derynifank.  Some are purple, green, orange, or even color change.
Mar 26 19:26:31 <Derynifank>   My daughters birthday is March and it is aquamarine 
Mar 26 19:26:37 <Jemler>   actually bee, both are correct.
Mar 26 19:26:49 <Jerusha>   What is bloodstone?
Mar 26 19:27:00 <Evie>   Like December, which can be turquoise or blue zircon (I think? Something with a blue-green color)
Mar 26 19:27:09 <The_Bee>   I'm fascinated by what I've read of tourmalines, and their trichroic properties.
Mar 26 19:27:24 <DesertRose>   My kiddo lucked out.  She was due in August (birthstone is peridot, which is usually a light green stone, and is my mother's birthstone and she doesn't really like it much), but she was operating on her own sweet time and didn't show up until early September, so her birthstone is sapphire.
Mar 26 19:27:36 <DomMelchior>   It's a dark green jasper with red spots, Jerusha.
Mar 26 19:27:53 <Jerusha>   Ah, I have seen that
Mar 26 19:28:11 <Jerusha>   Interesting
Mar 26 19:28:19 <Evie>   My grandfather-in-law gave me a ring with a gemstone that he set himself in a simple gold setting. I think it was aventurine?  It was a stone that is either blue or purple, depending on the light it's viewed in. 
Mar 26 19:28:31 <DomMelchior>   Tourmalines are also lovely, though if you want a Paraiba blue one be prepared to pay a bunch.
Mar 26 19:29:07 <DesertRose>   My stepdad has the expensive one.  His birthday is in May, so his birthstone is emerald.
Mar 26 19:29:35 <The_Bee>   Pearl for June?
Mar 26 19:29:42 <DesertRose>   I think so, yes.
Mar 26 19:29:45 <Evie>   I don't wear the ring currently, as one of the prongs broke off and the stone won't stay in it, and I haven't checked yet to see what it would cost to repair it. But it was a lovely ring.
Mar 26 19:30:20 <DomMelchior>   Pearl or Moonstone, Bee
Mar 26 19:30:36 <DesertRose>   I don't know a lot of people with June birthdays.
Mar 26 19:30:51 <DesertRose>   Festil is a June baby, and I think revanne and Demercia are as well.
Mar 26 19:30:53 <Evie>   revanne and Demercia
Mar 26 19:31:08 <The_Bee>   Is there an expensive stone and a less expensive stone for each month?
Mar 26 19:31:13 <DesertRose>   I don't think so.
Mar 26 19:31:19 <Dennis>   I'm confused by all this. I think my birth stone is Charlie Watts.
Mar 26 19:31:28 <DesertRose>   April is diamond, and I don't think it has an alternate.
Mar 26 19:31:33 <The_Bee>   My younger sister is a June child. 
Mar 26 19:31:36 <DomMelchior>   not always, but jewelers are creative.
Mar 26 19:32:01 <DesertRose>   I think July is ruby.
Mar 26 19:32:05 <DesertRose>   November is topaz.
Mar 26 19:32:12 <Dennis>   My god-daughter and my niece are both June children.
Mar 26 19:32:20 <Jerusha>   Yes, it is,though some say citrine
Mar 26 19:32:30 <DesertRose>   October is opal, and I think it has an alternate but I can't for my life think what the alternate is.
Mar 26 19:32:35 <Jerusha>   I prefer topaz
Mar 26 19:33:02 <DesertRose>   My middle brother and my (late) biological father are/were both November babies.
Mar 26 19:33:18 <DesertRose>   Plus I've got several cousins with November birthdays.
Mar 26 19:33:29 <Derynifank>   Also saw alexandrite for June
Mar 26 19:33:32 <DesertRose>   My family does clusters of birthdays.
Mar 26 19:33:39 <The_Bee>   My oldes niece was born in November.
Mar 26 19:33:44 <Evie>   I wonder if they have the custom of birthstones in the Eleven Kingdoms, and if so, if they use the same stones we do?
Mar 26 19:34:12 <Jerusha>   Shiral would work for November. 
Mar 26 19:34:18 <Evie>   Probably in cabochon form, at least earlier in period
Mar 26 19:34:32 <KK>   Alternative for October is a pink quartz--or something that's a vivid, icky pink.
Mar 26 19:34:34 <DomMelchior>   I think Europe (or at least the continent) uses a different list, but as it's all superstition I never really paid it a lot of attention.
Mar 26 19:34:34 <DesertRose>   There's the January cluster (which includes me and my newly-engaged cousin and his dad), the April cluster, the August-September cluster, and the November cluster, and then a few others scattered in other months.
Mar 26 19:34:46 <KK>   (Sorry for the long pause.  I got a phone call.)
Mar 26 19:34:55 <DesertRose>   No worries, KK.  All well?
Mar 26 19:35:06 <Jerusha>   Any writing news, KK, or still doing taxes?
Mar 26 19:35:24 <DesertRose>   Oh, that's right, YOU'RE an October baby, KK!
Mar 26 19:35:27 <Evie>   Just don't get confused and send the IRS the first draft of Killingford. :-D
Mar 26 19:35:56 <DesertRose>   Duly noted.  KK prefers opals if one is getting her birthstone jewelry.
Mar 26 19:36:16 <Jerusha>   That would be death taxes
Mar 26 19:36:40 <Evie>   Any opals KK doesn't want, you can reroute here. Not that it's my birthstone, but I adore opals, and I don't buy into the superstition that it's unlucky for me to wear them since it's not my birthstone. :-D
Mar 26 19:36:52 <KK>   No writing news.  We've gotten the boiler sorted, and now we need to have the whole house treated for carpet beetles.  That happens Wednesday a week.  And I just discovered late this afternoon tht one of our big pine trees came down sometime in the past week or so, far in the back right corner of the yard.  Fell in the best possible direction to not do any damage, but it still needs someone to come and cut it up and haul away the pieces.
Mar 26 19:36:56 <Jerusha>   I agree, Evie
Mar 26 19:37:30 <Jerusha>   No need of firewood, KK?
Mar 26 19:37:33 <DesertRose>   Oh good grief, re the tree!
Mar 26 19:37:34 <KK>   Dom Melchior will remember the very large and lovely opal I used to wear--sadly stolen inour 2007 burglary.
Mar 26 19:37:44 <Derynifank>   Glad  the tree missed everything
Mar 26 19:37:46 <The_Bee>   
Mar 26 19:37:48 <DomMelchior>   There's always next winter's fire wood?
Mar 26 19:37:51 <DesertRose>   At least it didn't do any damage.
Mar 26 19:37:53 <Dennis>   Are you getting ready to work on the Killingford book or would you be working on something else, KK?
Mar 26 19:37:54 <The_Bee>   fpr the robbery
Mar 26 19:37:56 <KK>   So I currently have no particularly nice opals.
Mar 26 19:38:07 <KK>   Killingford.
Mar 26 19:38:10 <DomMelchior>   Oh no.  That was a nice one KK
Mar 26 19:38:11 <Jerusha>   Burgler never caught?
Mar 26 19:38:19 <Dennis>   Also, sorry life is being irritating and getting in the way, especally the carpet bombing, which is no fun at all.
Mar 26 19:38:50 <KK>   Yes.  And I'd had it reset in a plain bezel with a bale so I could wear it as a pendant, and put a hunk of lapis in the old ring setting.  Both gone.
Mar 26 19:38:56 <Evie>   A friend of mine found a lovely antique ring at a flea market that was a large, fiery opal encircled by sapphires.  Either the seller didn't realize the stones were real or didn't know their value, since my friend bought it for about $35 and had it appraised at quite a bit above that.
Mar 26 19:38:57 *   Jerusha pictures drones flying into KK's house with carpet bombs
Mar 26 19:39:06 <DomMelchior>   Look for some Welo (Ethiopian) ones.  They can often be had quite reasonably, and many are spectacular.
Mar 26 19:39:21 <DesertRose>   Oh wow, Evie!
Mar 26 19:39:32 <KK>   Never caught.  We're pretty sure we know who did it, but knowing and being able to prove are two different stories.
Mar 26 19:39:44 <Jerusha>   Too true
Mar 26 19:39:44 <DesertRose>   That stinks, KK.
Mar 26 19:39:46 <Derynifank>   Lucky friend 
Mar 26 19:41:20 <Evie>   Mini-Duncan says you can borrow his carpet while you get yours fumigated.  So if you have an area of floor the size of a half sheet of paper that needs covering....  :-D
Mar 26 19:41:27 <DomMelchior>   I was at an opal show last November and bought a very nice Ethiopian opal, about 3.5 carat oval, IIRC, for just over $100.  A great bargain.
Mar 26 19:41:55 <KK>   That sounds wonderful, DM.  I've sort of been looking, but no luck so far.
Mar 26 19:41:57 <DesertRose>   The tree thing kind of makes me think of the "damage" done by Hurricane Matthew at my parents' house.  A few tree limbs fell into the yard (as in on the grass), and the light on a post in the back yard (why is that even there? no idea) fell, as in the post wound up flat in the yard, but the light was still working.
Mar 26 19:42:21 <DomMelchior>   Of course setting it cost a fortune, but there is one of the great truths of life: Art is Cheap--Framing is Expensive.
Mar 26 19:42:29 <DesertRose>   LOL, I hear that.
Mar 26 19:42:36 <Jerusha>   Oh yeah
Mar 26 19:42:44 <Derynifank>   So true
Mar 26 19:42:55 <Jerusha>   Set in gold, DM?
Mar 26 19:42:59 <DomMelchior>   yes
Mar 26 19:43:11 <DesertRose>   I've been trying, somewhat idly, to find a frame for a cross-stitch thing I completed a couple of years ago, and it's a slightly unusual size but not something so unusual as to have to be custom-made.
Mar 26 19:43:20 <Jerusha>   Not cheap, but likely worth it
Mar 26 19:43:21 <Evie>   LOL, yes!  I had a poster mounted on foamcore board and framed.  The artwork cost me $10 to print.  The frame cost an arm, a leg, and would have cost a firstborn child except I bartered them down to something I could afford.  :-D
Mar 26 19:43:27 <KK>   I didn't even know that ree was weak. I'd had several dead or dying ones in that area removed several years ago.  This one was nearly a yard across, and just snapped, about 2-3 ft. from the ground.  Must have been a whale of a wind.
Mar 26 19:43:37 <DesertRose>   Holy crap!
Mar 26 19:43:40 <DesertRose>   Seriously.
Mar 26 19:43:48 <DomMelchior>   You don't want to do opals in silver.  Polishing it will ruin the stones--they're very soft and fragile.
Mar 26 19:44:02 <DesertRose>   Yeah, opals have to be babied.
Mar 26 19:44:15 <DesertRose>   My mom has a very pretty opal ring but she has to be so freaking careful with it.
Mar 26 19:44:16 <Evie>   I finally had to say, after two hours of haggling, "I only paid $10 to print the artwork, and I am NOT paying your original quote to get it framed!  So give me a reasonable quote on your lowest, no-frills offer."
Mar 26 19:44:27 <Jerusha>   Good point, And an opal just wouldn't look right in silver
Mar 26 19:44:47 <Evie>   Nearly a yard across, and it snapped? Yikes!
Mar 26 19:44:57 <DesertRose>   Turquoise, on the other hand, looks wrong to me in anything other than silver.
Mar 26 19:45:06 <Jerusha>   True, DR
Mar 26 19:45:17 <Derynifank>   And did you get  a reasonable  quote.?
Mar 26 19:45:35 <KK>   Yep.  Jaggedly bits sticking up, still attached on the downwind side.  Haven't got a quote yet.  Just discovered it a couple of hours ago.
Mar 26 19:45:38 <DesertRose>   That probably has to do with me having grown accustomed to Navajo-made turquoise-and-silver jewelry when I was a kid in Arizona.
Mar 26 19:46:16 <Evie>   "reasonable" for framing artwork that large, but still higher than I would normally pay for anything. I had to save up a few months to afford it.
Mar 26 19:46:55 <KK>   I'ven a couple of tiaras with creamy, pale turquoise set in gold with diamonds.  Somehow opaque stones in a tiara just don't do it for me.
Mar 26 19:47:03 <KK>   I've seen
Mar 26 19:47:15 <DesertRose>   That sounds...interesting.
Mar 26 19:47:24 <Jerusha>   Not that I will ever own a tiara
Mar 26 19:47:28 <DesertRose>   I'm not sure it would look right, though.
Mar 26 19:47:32 <DesertRose>   Me neither.
Mar 26 19:47:40 <Derynifank>   I have 2 turquoise  pendants, one set in silver and the other  gold  I have ti ssy I like the  silver  better
Mar 26 19:47:50 <DomMelchior>   Andy and I used to buy art at the SciFi conventions all the time, but it cost a bundle to frame, and after a while we ran out of wall space.
Mar 26 19:47:52 <DesertRose>   I'm not likely to ever remarry, so I won't need one to hold a wedding veil.
Mar 26 19:48:26 <Derynifank>   To say
Mar 26 19:48:54 <DesertRose>   And I really can't imagine as an American having any other use for a tiara.
Mar 26 19:49:02 <KK>   That's the thing: wall space.  We have oodles more framed artwork in the box room, but no room to hang it.  Holybrooke had LOTS of wall space.
Mar 26 19:49:07 <Jerusha>   I have a bunch of needlepoint to have framed, but I keep putting it off
Mar 26 19:49:11 <The_Bee>   The only valuable piece of jewelry I have is a necklace of gold beads that belonged to my mother, and to her aunt before her.
Mar 26 19:49:26 <KK>   That sounds pretty, Bee.
Mar 26 19:49:35 <Jerusha>   Sounds nice, Bee
Mar 26 19:49:57 <The_Bee>   It is.  It was appraises at $200 or $250.
Mar 26 19:50:03 <Jerusha>   Framing is getting crazy expensive
Mar 26 19:50:06 <DesertRose>   I have a double strand of pearls that belonged to my maternal grandmother that are probably worth a little something, and a very pretty diamond ring that belonged to my paternal grandmother that I need to get repaired and get a ring guard for before I can wear it.
Mar 26 19:50:23 <DesertRose>   One of the prongs on the ring is loose.
Mar 26 19:50:29 <DomMelchior>   I still have several pieces that belonged to my mother.  I'm too sentimental to have the stones reset.
Mar 26 19:50:40 <Evie>   I have a nice mat and frame for one of my Duncan photos, but it came off some art that a former colleague of mine was getting ready to throw out when we moved offices, so I rescued the frame and mat since it was perfect to go with the colors of my photo art.
Mar 26 19:50:41 <Derynifank>   Sone decorators recommend  thatvyiu rotate your artwork  for  a fresh look  that way you get ti enjoy more of it
Mar 26 19:51:52 <Evie>   <joke> Why would you want to see the back of the artwork? </joke>
Mar 26 19:51:57 <Derynifank>   Fingers not behaving wrll
Mar 26 19:51:58 <DesertRose>   The ring that was my paternal grandmother's, on my hand that direly needed some hand lotion, LOL! http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a43/AZDesertRose/Pics%20I%20Took/Pretties/Nanas%20ring%20on%20my%20left%20fourth%20finger%2012.01.2016%20crop_zpsi4pywbqe.jpg
Mar 26 19:52:48 <DomMelchior>   Very nice, DR
Mar 26 19:52:59 <Evie>   Pretty
Mar 26 19:53:12 <KK>   Very nice, DR. 
Mar 26 19:53:15 <DesertRose>     Thanks!
Mar 26 19:53:50 <DesertRose>   Drives home the fact that I probably shouldn't ever move back to Arizona, if my hands get that dry living in Florida, LOL!
Mar 26 19:53:55 <Jerusha>   Very nice
Mar 26 19:54:31 <Evie>   I have my garnet wedding/engagement ring and my garnet 20 Year ring from my workplace on my left hand, and on my right are a tourmaline and a shiral...um, amber ring.  :-D
Mar 26 19:55:08 <Jerusha>   Shiral, Evie, definitely shiral.
Mar 26 19:55:14 <Derynifank>   Done any scrying with your shiral?
Mar 26 19:55:27 <DomMelchior>   What flavor of tourmaline, Evie?
Mar 26 19:55:49 <DesertRose>   Someone I know from Harry Potter fandom took a trip to Arizona to research an original story she's writing, set in the Flagstaff/Grand Canyon area, and she's from Wisconsin originally but lives in Ohio now, and when she got home from the AZ trip, she was saying, "Not enough water, hand lotion, and chap stick in the world, OMG SO DRY!"
Mar 26 19:55:59 <Derynifank>   Way to keep track of the kids
Mar 26 19:56:12 <Evie>   Let's see here.... "Focus...focus....an image appears before me...I see...inclusions and a cloudiness in the background that says 'Clean your ring!'"  :-D
Mar 26 19:56:16 <DesertRose>   LOL
Mar 26 19:56:28 <Evie>   It's green, DM.  It's my fake emerald, since I can't afford a real one.  :-D
Mar 26 19:57:16 <DomMelchior>   Cool.  That's a good color for tourmalines.
Mar 26 19:57:35 <Evie>   It's set in a band with Celtic knotwork
Mar 26 19:57:47 <Jerusha>   Sounds lovely
Mar 26 19:58:04 <DomMelchior>   Always a good design choice.
Mar 26 19:58:24 <DesertRose>   My mom has a little bitty emerald on her "family" ring, which was originally her birthstone ring, but then my stepdad had his birthstone and mine added to either side of the teardrop-shaped peridot that's the main stone.
Mar 26 19:58:35 <DesertRose>   I've been meaning for years to try to get a sapphire added for Kiddo.
Mar 26 19:58:36 <KK>   Better chance of getting one with fewer inclusions.  I hadn't realized until relatively recently that very clear emeralds are relatively rare.
Mar 26 19:59:07 <DomMelchior>   Very, KK
Mar 26 19:59:41 <DesertRose>   Well, the reason that the one on Mom's ring is so small is that a big one would have a. looked silly and b. been hideously expensive.
Mar 26 20:00:17 <DesertRose>   As it was, the emerald was several times the cost of the garnet.
Mar 26 20:00:20 <KK>   Even the big ones in the big-gun tiaras have visible inclusions, for the most part.
Mar 26 20:00:41 <DomMelchior>   If you want a clear stone that's emerald green, go for a tsavorite garnet instead.  Of course it won't be much cheaper than the "real thing" but it's brighter, hardier, and usually much cleaner than an emerald.
Mar 26 20:01:03 <Evie>   I have a ring from the Philippines in my safety deposit box.  It's a ruby, no inclusions (that I can see with the naked eye, anyway), rectangular cut, about half an inch high and slighly less wide, set in 22 carat gold. I don't wear it since I'm terrified of anything happening to it. It will probably end up going to DD someday.
Mar 26 20:01:17 <Evie>   It belonged to my aunt, and then my mom.
Mar 26 20:01:28 <DesertRose>   Holy crap!  Yeah, I'd be afraid of something happening to it too.
Mar 26 20:01:39 <DomMelchior>   They call that "Jardin" in emeralds.  "Garden."  The triumph of marketing.
Mar 26 20:02:27 <KK>   I'd wear it.  Nice gems should be worn.  Usually things <don't> happen to them, and you get to enjoy them.  I wear my grandmother's diamond everyday.  Don't even take it off to shower.
Mar 26 20:02:33 <DesertRose>   My stepdad used to own a 1965 Mustang, and I got to drive it a few times, but, while it was beautifully fun to drive, I was incredibly anxious driving it because if anything had happened to it while it was in my care, it would have been my hide on the barn door, figuratively speaking.
Mar 26 20:03:10 <Evie>   It's in there along with the main diamond from my grandmother's engagement ring, which Mom had set into a cocktail ring with a platinum setting. That one may go to DS for his future bride, but not sure yet. Might depend on whether he shows good sense in his future bride.
Mar 26 20:03:16 <DesertRose>   LOL
Mar 26 20:03:32 <Jerusha>   Yes, I agree, KK, although I have a couple of nice pieces that live in my jewelry box and never seem to come out
Mar 26 20:03:37 <KK>   It's like, we use our good china and crystal regularly.  Occasionally one does get broken, but if it's locked away and a cabinet and never used, why have it?
Mar 26 20:04:08 <DomMelchior>   I agree with KK.  A treasure you can't use is a millstone.  Enjoy it.  Be responsible, but by all means let it see the light of day from time to time.
Mar 26 20:04:10 <DesertRose>   Well, there is that.
Mar 26 20:04:38 <Jerusha>   Agreed.  It's like having a sofa that is always covered with a sheet so it won't fade. 
Mar 26 20:05:09 <DesertRose>   I'm just not wearing the ring that belonged to my grandmother until I get that prong fixed and get a guard to wear around it, because Nana's fingers were slimmer than mine, and she wore it on her third finger but I'm going to have to wear it on my pinkie.
Mar 26 20:05:12 <Evie>   The thing is, the gold is so pure on that ring and on the gold and pearl cross that my Mom gave me that when we had to have the cross repaired, it was difficult for the jeweler to find pearls that looked right and gold that matched. So I'm wary of damaging them (or in the case of the cross ring, harming it further).
Mar 26 20:05:42 <Evie>   I have worn them, but usually on very special occasions.
Mar 26 20:06:00 <Jerusha>   Kind of like the Furstan emerald. 
Mar 26 20:06:13 <Jerusha>   emeralds, that is
Mar 26 20:06:24 <Evie>   LOL, yes, I could wish I owned the Furstan emeralds! 
Mar 26 20:06:35 <DesertRose>   LOL
Mar 26 20:06:50 <Jerusha>   And have that prong fixed, DR. I lost my original engagement diamond because the prong was loose
Mar 26 20:06:52 <KK>   What do you mean by "ring guard", DR?  Like, a slim band that goes on after the ring?
Mar 26 20:06:58 <DesertRose>   Yes.
Mar 26 20:07:40 <DesertRose>   Something to protect the ring from any impact, since being on my pinkie, it's going to be more in harm's way than it would on the third finger or middle finger.
Mar 26 20:07:45 <Jerusha>   I went to have it fixed, but the jeweler's shop was closed. I lost it the next day.
Mar 26 20:08:06 <DesertRose>   In the interim, the ring is living in the velvet box with my university class ring.
Mar 26 20:08:24 <Derynifank>   I would like to have a lapis ring, the stone has so many meanings and is beautiful
Mar 26 20:08:37 <KK>   I'm trying to picture a ring guard that also allows the ring to be seen.
Mar 26 20:08:40 <Jerusha>   Yes, I like lapis
Mar 26 20:09:01 <DesertRose>   Lapis is very pretty.
Mar 26 20:09:25 <Evie>   My wedding/engagement ring (started off as two rings, but DH modified them) and my 20 Year ring:  https://www.flickr.com/gp/9573389@N08/j372D5
Mar 26 20:09:25 <DesertRose>   And also, I don't dress up enough to wear jewelry that often anyway.
Mar 26 20:09:44 *   Jerusha pictures a very tiny, tiny knight perched atop DR's ring to keep it safe
Mar 26 20:09:48 <DesertRose>   LOL
Mar 26 20:10:01 <Evie>   LOL
Mar 26 20:10:15 <DesertRose>   Pretty, Evie!
Mar 26 20:10:41 <Jerusha>   Very pretty, Evie
Mar 26 20:10:49 <DesertRose>   Carys says hi.
Mar 26 20:10:57 <Jerusha>   Hi Carys
Mar 26 20:11:12 <Derynifank>   Purrr
Mar 26 20:11:31 <KK>   One of the diamonds in my original engagement ring got loose on our honeymoon, and came out when I poked it, so I took it off and didn't wear it for the rest of the trip.  When we got home and took it back to the store where we'd gotten it, we decided that the design was flawed, so they swapped it out for a different ring--and wedding band as well, because the original was set with baguettes, and the new design had brilliants.  In all, I' hap
Mar 26 20:11:41 <Evie>   I had a catalog of gifts I could choose from, but most of them were things like coffee pots, sandwich grills, etc.  Then I spotted the pyramid garnet with the Celtic setting and thought that would be something that would last longer than a kitchen appliance or whatnot.
Mar 26 20:11:41 <The_Bee>   My dad didn't give my mom a diamond ring until their 25th anniversary.  He said he wanted to try her out for a while before giving her an engagement ring.
Mar 26 20:11:45 <Dennis>   Fed the cat. She is now pleased
Mar 26 20:12:02 <DesertRose>   LOL, Bee.
Mar 26 20:12:11 <DesertRose>   Carys got her supper before chat.
Mar 26 20:12:12 <Evie>   LOL, Bee!
Mar 26 20:12:24 <Jerusha>   Oh my!
Mar 26 20:12:41 <Dennis>   I was going to try that with my wife, Bee, but I decided I wanted to get *married,* not *murdered.*
Mar 26 20:12:42 <The_Bee>   The depression was on when they married, so he gave her a ring his folks had given him.
Mar 26 20:12:44 <DesertRose>   My mom wouldn't let my stepdad get her an engagement ring.
Mar 26 20:12:53 <DomMelchior>   Very funny.  Except to your mother, I bet.
Mar 26 20:13:03 *   KK has quit (Quit: CGI:IRC)
Mar 26 20:13:09 <The_Bee>   No she laughed.
Mar 26 20:13:16 <Jerusha>   Mibbit got KK?
Mar 26 20:13:22 <DesertRose>   She told him to save the money for a down payment on a house, since it was a second marriage for them both anyway and they made very little fuss about it.
Mar 26 20:13:26 <Dennis>   Jeez was the joke that bad?
Mar 26 20:13:30 <DesertRose>   Looks like.  We'll see if she comes back in.
Mar 26 20:13:38 *   KK has joined
Mar 26 20:13:45 <DesertRose>   Rehi KK.
Mar 26 20:13:46 <The_Bee>   rehi KK
Mar 26 20:13:52 <DomMelchior>   Rehi
Mar 26 20:13:57 <Derynifank>   Mibbit  strikes again
Mar 26 20:13:57 <Evie>   Hi KK
Mar 26 20:14:09 <Dennis>   Oh good. Welcome back, KK.
Mar 26 20:14:13 <KK>   Ack, lost the chat page while clicking back and forth with rings.
Mar 26 20:14:17 <DesertRose>   Oops
Mar 26 20:14:28 <Jerusha>   Rehi KK
Mar 26 20:15:18 <Evie>   For some reason Flickr is having trouble uploading my other ring photo.  Oh well. I guess you don't get to try scrying with my shiral. :-D
Mar 26 20:15:30 <Evie>   Or seeing how dirty it is.  LOL!
Mar 26 20:15:45 <Evie>   I really need to figure out some safe way to clean the underside of it
Mar 26 20:16:00 <DomMelchior>   Amber
Mar 26 20:16:03 <DomMelchior>   ?
Mar 26 20:16:05 <Evie>   Yes
Mar 26 20:16:10 <Jerusha>   IIRC, amber (shiral)is rather delicate
Mar 26 20:16:44 <Evie>   It is. And I'm hard on the poor thing and put it through things no amber ought to have to put up with.
Mar 26 20:16:52 <DomMelchior>   Mild soap and cool water, use a cotton cloth, don't rub hard.
Mar 26 20:17:19 <DomMelchior>   No sonic cleaners!
Mar 26 20:17:27 <KK>   Can you get at the underside at all?
Mar 26 20:17:27 <Evie>   I can't get to the part that's dirty with a cloth, since it's the underneath part that is pretty deep inside the silver setting
Mar 26 20:17:39 <DomMelchior>   Q-tips?
Mar 26 20:17:43 <KK>   Would a wet q-tip fit?
Mar 26 20:17:49 <DesertRose>   I'm aggravating Carys by touching her feet.  She's flipping an ear back but otherwise not dignifying me with a response.
Mar 26 20:17:54 <KK>   (Great minds!)
Mar 26 20:18:01 <Evie>   I couldn't fit a Q-tip in there, but maybe I can put some cotton on the end of a toothpick.
Mar 26 20:18:11 <KK>   THat could work.
Mar 26 20:18:17 <Jerusha>   That might work
Mar 26 20:18:24 <Jerusha>   
Mar 26 20:18:28 <DomMelchior>   A very soft toothbrush might work too
Mar 26 20:18:29 <DesertRose>   Gauze pad on a toothpick, maybe?
Mar 26 20:18:53 <KK>   A q-tip with most of the cotton pulled off?
Mar 26 20:18:57 <Evie>   The hole on the underside of the setting is only about 3 mm by 4 mm, at rough guess, so quite small.
Mar 26 20:18:57 <DomMelchior>   but test first in an inconspicuous area to make sure it won't scroth
Mar 26 20:19:18 <Derynifank>   Toothpick with a little  cotton on the end sounds good
Mar 26 20:19:30 <KK>   By chance, to you have a waterpic?  That might work, provided the preseure isn't too strong.
Mar 26 20:19:44 <DomMelchior>   Excellent idea, KK
Mar 26 20:19:48 <Evie>   I think the stem of the Q-tip might barely fit in the hole if the cotton was off, which is why I thought just twisting a bit of cotton to pad the end of a pointed toothpick might work.
Mar 26 20:20:07 <Evie>   Hm. I think we do have one.  I could try that.
Mar 26 20:20:24 <DomMelchior>   be sure to stopper the sink
Mar 26 20:20:33 <Evie>   Mild soap, you say?
Mar 26 20:20:34 <Jerusha>   Yes!
Mar 26 20:20:37 <DesertRose>   Oh gosh yes.
Mar 26 20:20:47 <KK>   If it were a diamond, I'd suggest soaking it in ammonia water--takes the gunge right off--but I don't know that amber and ammonia would get along.
Mar 26 20:20:53 <DomMelchior>   yes, like dish detergent
Mar 26 20:21:02 <DesertRose>   I lost a makeup pencil sharpener down a bathroom sink because of cat shenanigans once.
Mar 26 20:21:11 <Evie>   Yes, I might need another amber/shiral to scry where it ended up in the pipes, otherwise!
Mar 26 20:21:13 <Jerusha>   Nope, I don't think that would be good, KK
Mar 26 20:21:26 <KK>   A little soapy Dawn?  THey wash oily seabirds with it.
Mar 26 20:21:47 <Jerusha>   Dawn would be a good choice. 
Mar 26 20:21:51 <Evie>   I have a jewelry cleaner solution I use on my other rings, but haven't dared try it with the amber.
Mar 26 20:22:14 <KK>   It's organic, so you have to be carefl.
Mar 26 20:22:22 <Jemler>   google cleaning amber
Mar 26 20:22:24 <DomMelchior>   No solvents.  Remember amber is basically natural plastic.  Use nothing that would harm plastic, resin, varnish, etc.
Mar 26 20:23:17 <Evie>   Finally uploaded:  https://www.flickr.com/gp/9573389@N08/90B569
Mar 26 20:23:27 <Jerusha>   Perhaps there is a Deryni spell to keep shiral's sparkling fresh?
Mar 26 20:23:42 <DesertRose>   Pretty rings, Evie, and LOL, Jerusha
Mar 26 20:24:11 <Jerusha>   Both are very nice, Evie
Mar 26 20:24:30 <DomMelchior>   I just use a man cloth on mine.  You remember it KK...the pendant amber you got me for my b'day down at Ports o'call?  I still treasure it
Mar 26 20:24:45 <DomMelchior>   damp cloth
Mar 26 20:25:06 <DomMelchior>   I hate auto correct combined with rented fingers
Mar 26 20:25:13 <Evie>   I have a piece of Dominican Amber that used to be a pendant, and it's about the size of a pecan--quite lovely--but the loop broke off, leaving the part that was screwed into the pendant stuck inside of it.  Is there any way to fix that other than gluing a finding over that bit and adding some other bit to it so it can be used as a pendant again?
Mar 26 20:25:21 <Jerusha>   man cloth did sound interesting....
Mar 26 20:25:23 <DesertRose>   LOL
Mar 26 20:25:32 <Evie>   LOL
Mar 26 20:25:55 <The_Bee>   I was wondering what kind of cloth you'd use to clean a man.
Mar 26 20:26:06 <Jerusha>   Oh, tee hee
Mar 26 20:26:12 <DomMelchior>   Let's just not go there
Mar 26 20:26:13 <KK>   Terrycloth?
Mar 26 20:26:19 <DesertRose>   Same as you'd use to clean a woman or child?
Mar 26 20:26:27 <KK>   Peoplecloth.
Mar 26 20:26:30 <DesertRose>   LOL
Mar 26 20:26:36 <Jerusha>   sandpaper
Mar 26 20:26:47 <DesertRose>   That's only when the men forget to shave their faces.
Mar 26 20:26:51 <Derynifank>   GIA says clean amber with  warm, soapy water. Use mild soap 
Mar 26 20:26:53 <Evie>   The pendant was given to my mom as a gift when she had an exchange student from the Dominican Republic for a few weeks.  She never cared for it, thinking it looked too much like gold plastic, but that was just when I was discovering the Deryni books, so I asked for it and wore it as my "shiral crystal" for years until the jewelry finding broke off inside it.
Mar 26 20:27:34 <Jerusha>   I don't think I would trust glue.  Might have to have it re-drilled, so to speak
Mar 26 20:27:48 <DesertRose>   I hate that.  Either shave or grow a beard, but don't do that in-between stubble crap.
Mar 26 20:27:49 <DomMelchior>   A jeweler should be able to repair that, Evie.
Mar 26 20:28:24 <Evie>   I'll add it to my growing list of jewelry to be repaired if/when I have enough disposable income again.  *sigh*
Mar 26 20:28:40 *   KK has quit (Quit: CGI:IRC)
Mar 26 20:28:52 <DesertRose>   Drat.  Mibbit is not being nice.
Mar 26 20:28:55 <Jerusha>   Oops
Mar 26 20:29:15 <DesertRose>   Or KK accidentally closed the wrong tab.
Mar 26 20:29:34 <Derynifank>   Too many men doing the stubble thing. Don't understand it. Looks  like  they didn't bother to  shave,
Mar 26 20:29:45 *   KK has joined
Mar 26 20:29:51 <Jerusha>   Rehi, KK
Mar 26 20:29:51 <DesertRose>   Re-rehi, KK!
Mar 26 20:29:53 <The_Bee>   WB KK
Mar 26 20:29:55 <Evie>   Alexandrite, I think that's what I meant to say earlier that my grandfather-in-law gave me, not aventurine
Mar 26 20:30:09 <KK>   Did it again.  Alexandrine is beautiful!
Mar 26 20:30:14 <Derynifank>   Drat mibbit
Mar 26 20:30:15 <Jerusha>   Oh, I like Alexandrite
Mar 26 20:30:16 <KK>   Also Morganite.
Mar 26 20:30:37 <Jerusha>   Morganite?
Mar 26 20:30:51 <KK>   It's usually a palish pink.
Mar 26 20:30:54 <The_Bee>   Isn't alexandrite the gem that's green by natural light and red by artificial light?
Mar 26 20:31:14 <Jemler>   i'm asking for evie; Duncanite?
Mar 26 20:31:14 <DomMelchior>   A lot of what used to be sold as alexandrite is actually synthetic color change sapphire.  Genuine alex is very expensive and rare.
Mar 26 20:31:27 <KK>   I think so, Bee.  My original bishop ring was Alexandrite.
Mar 26 20:31:53 <KK>   That got stolen out of my luggage, and my current one is a pale amethyst in a celtic setting.
Mar 26 20:32:19 <Evie>   Mine is blue/purple, depending on the light, but yes.
Mar 26 20:32:27 <Jerusha>   Good heavens, KK. You have had a lot of thefts!
Mar 26 20:32:41 <DesertRose>   In my high school physics class, we did a lab that involved lasers, and after we'd finished the actual work, we were screwing around (because high schoolers) shining the lasers into each other's class rings.
Mar 26 20:32:44 <KK>   Just the two, but I lost several nice things.
Mar 26 20:33:22 <KK>   I liked that the alexandrite changed colors, because it wasn't a traditional stone and I wasn't a traditional bishop.
Mar 26 20:33:24 <Jerusha>   Two too many
Mar 26 20:33:26 <DesertRose>   My lab partner had a faceted topaz in his class ring (it was his birthstone) so the red laser hit the yellow topaz and the facets and did a disco-ball type thing that we thought was cool.
Mar 26 20:34:15 <DesertRose>   My high school ring has a cabochon garnet with this starburst effect behind the stone, so that looked pretty cool when we shone the laser into it, too.
Mar 26 20:34:17 <KK>   I've also recently become aware ofr green sapphire.  Very pretty.
Mar 26 20:34:45 <DomMelchior>   The objective of any cut gem is to reflect and refract the light.  They are mirrors and prisms.
Mar 26 20:34:49 <KK>   Or maybe it's green topaz.
Mar 26 20:35:19 <DomMelchior>   Sapphires come in every color except red
Mar 26 20:35:24 <Jerusha>   I haven't seen green topaz, though blue topaz is quite nice
Mar 26 20:35:47 <DomMelchior>   (Only because red ones are called rubies...but it's the same mineral)
Mar 26 20:35:49 <KK>   And I hadn't realized until recently that aquamarine also comes in shades nearing green.
Mar 26 20:35:57 <DesertRose>   I bought my mother a pair of blue topaz earrings that I had thought were aquamarines when I first noticed them in the jewelry store.
Mar 26 20:36:50 <The_Bee>   corundum ,isn't it?
Mar 26 20:36:55 <DomMelchior>   yes
Mar 26 20:37:04 <KK>   Ack, look at the time.  I need to go throw together some supper.  My poor husband is starving.
Mar 26 20:37:14 <DesertRose>   Oh noes!  Go feed the Scott.
Mar 26 20:37:19 <DesertRose>   Early chat next week?
Mar 26 20:37:23 <KK>   See you guys next week, at our earlier time.
Mar 26 20:37:24 <Jerusha>   Yes, dinner would be good
Mar 26 20:37:30 <Evie>   DH is cackling over an online photo that shows a wall built to bisect a toilet for some inexplicable reason.  I told him that was for folks who do things half-assed.
Mar 26 20:37:32 <DesertRose>   Okay, thanks for coming to hang out with us!
Mar 26 20:37:38 <Jerusha>   Night KK, and thanks for coming
Mar 26 20:37:38 <DesertRose>   Have a good week,
Mar 26 20:37:40 <DomMelchior>   I gotta go too.  G'nighters all.
Mar 26 20:37:43 <DesertRose>   LOL, Evie.
Mar 26 20:37:43 <Evie>   Goodnight, KK!
Mar 26 20:37:47 <DesertRose>   G'night, KK!
Mar 26 20:37:49 *   DomMelchior has quit (Quit: http://www.mibbit.com ajax IRC Client)
Mar 26 20:37:50 <Derynifank>   Night kk
Mar 26 20:37:56 <Jemler>   nite kk
Mar 26 20:37:59 *   KK steps onto her Portal, waves good night, and disappears in a shower of green sparkles.  (Or maybe aquamarine, or green topaz, or....)
Mar 26 20:38:08 <DesertRose>   Well, shucks.  I was going to tell DomMelchior G'night but he just vanished.
Mar 26 20:38:08 <Jerusha>   Well, it has been a gem of a conversation, tonight. 
Mar 26 20:38:15 <Evie>   LOL, yes!
Mar 26 20:38:17 <KK>   Indeed.  Nighters.
Mar 26 20:38:21 *   KK has quit (Quit: CGI:IRC)