My son and grandson paid me a visit today. They brought some heirloom tomatoes, picked up at a local produce stand -- Smith Family Farm on Sellers Avenue.They let me know they were coming so I rushed around to make some bread. I didn’t have much flour and decided to make a very small loaf. Kneading it was very hard because it was so sticky and I didn’t have enough extra flour to smooth it out. I created a real mess on the butcher block counter. I scrubbed everything down and washed the bowl and utensils while I waited for the dough to rise in a small pan.
Just before their car pulled into the driveway, I noticed that my engagement ring and wedding band were missing from my finger. I searched everywhere. The kitchen sink drain openings were too small for the ring set to slip down. I looked through the kitchen garbage. I checked the upstairs sink. I tried to review all my morning’s movements. No luck.
I told Davis I had misplaced my ring. He and Victor helped me search around the house. He took the towel off the bread pan and asked if I had taken the ring off when I was kneading the dough. “No, I never take it off,” I said. The dough had doubled in bulk and was ready to go in the oven.
The tomatoes were beautiful. He prepared plates of slices and topped them with balsamic vinegar and a few grains of sea salt. What a delicious treat.
Guess where the ring was? Yes, in the bread. You may be able to see it in the top picture, but here is a close-up:
The wedding set isn’t an heirloom (yet), but the stone came down from my grandmother. There is a story about its design. As a child I loved the book So Dear to my Heart by Sterling North. A famous racehorse named Dan Patch figures in the tale. Dan Patch’s blacksmith bent a horseshoe nail into a circle and gave it to the little boy in the story as a good luck ring.
A horseshoe nail bent into a circle was a dream of mine. When Robert and I were engaged, we found a custom jeweler at a street fair in San Francisco and she designed the engagement ring and a matching wedding ring for us. (After we were married I had the two rings soldered together so they would not slip around each other.)
I’ll put the ring set away in my safe deposit box at my bank.
soooo glad you found the ring....and soooo glad someone didnt eat it :) if the ring slips off your finger that easily, maybe you need to eat more...i like that idea better than putting it in a safe deposit box. :) Thanks for sharing the ring design story...i loved it!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you found the ring. I wondered what that was in the first picture. Perhaps a resizing by a reputable dealer so you can still enjoy the ring would be an idea.
ReplyDeleteWell, I knew right a way where it was going to be. I have had this happen in my skinnier days. Great story about the ring.
ReplyDeleteHeirloom or not --- you have the most beautiful story to go along with your ring. If you are truly ready to put it away, go ahead and do so. But if you're not quite ready, consider having it sized to fit, or wear it a little longer on a chain. My momma wore hers like that until the day she passed. Daddy had passed away 22 years earlier. Momma said she had promised him that she would always 'go steady' with him.
ReplyDeleteI am so happy that your ring turned up! Beautiful story.
ReplyDeleteNow that's what you call a loaf of bread! Good thing you were eating it yourself! Glad you found your ring.
ReplyDeleteI knew where it was hiding too. You make a classy loaf of bread Christine! My mom had the same thing done with her wedding and engagement rings, and we have talked about dividing them and letting Ashley make a ring from some of it. And then there would be some stones left for Steph if she wanted it. I have my grandmothers stone on a necklace.
ReplyDeleteas a kid I had a horseshoe nail ring...not sure where it came from. My engagement ring has a 2 caret pink ruby that came from my hubby's grandmotherl. I love it! Don't be so quick to put the ring away....unless you "need" to do it. Hugs to you. I think of you often!
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