Just a shell...

I am brutally tired today so this will be quick. Today's offering is the shells of two different types of ladybug beetles (ladybirds) that I found in our garden today. I thought it interesting how different in size and coloration they are.

And this photo of their empty shells seems to fit my mood today. I mentioned yesterday that I'd lost something very precious to me during our trip home from Alabama. What I lost was the diamond from my engagement ring...when we were on the tram from Newark to the car park, I looked down and the setting was empty. I can't really describe the feeling that I had at that moment - I felt my heart lurch and then a wave of sadness. My hubs immediately called the airline to have them check the aircraft (both flights) and the car rental company to check the car ... but I know in my heart that it is gone forever. You may recall from a blip several weeks ago that this ring was my great-grandmother's and was over 100 years old. So, it's value was to me went way beyond any monetary amount. It is part of my family history, priceless. I'd just had the setting checked, so isn't it ironic that somewhere in the day's travels, I snapped two of the prongs and lost the stone?

I shed some tears yesterday, and then I tried to remind myself that a diamond is a thing, not a life. And as sad as losing it makes me, it is still just a thing. I think that I will eventually use the gold from her ring to make a new engagement/wedding ring - hubs and I both like the idea of keeping her history alive and having it be part of my wedding ring. But for now, I can't look at that empty setting - it looks like an open wound.

A year ago, our cherry trees were just past their peak blooms - this year the buds are still closed up tight. The temps the rest of this week are going to be below average with nighttime temps below freezing. I wonder if spring will ever arrive...

Hoping to spend a little time on blip tonight...

xxoo
Debbi