No worries

 I joined a group for breakfast this morning in Trego, about 45 minutes North.  Rick & Mary meet Rick's brother there for breakfast quite regularly.  Always ordering the same thing,  sitting at the same table.  We had some pleasant conversation over a tasty plate of breakfast.  Occasionally, I changed the subject to avoid the pitfall of complaining about politics, but generally it was enjoyable.  My eggs and bacon were delicious. A nice change from my routine of cereal & blueberries, which I love,  but a change is nice too.

I brought a number of items to Mary for her to donate to the thrift shop where she volunteers. All proceeds from the shop go to the Chequamegon Humane Society.  It's a nice way for me to unload a few things that could still be useful, but I no longer need. I like knowing that I am helping the cats (and dogs of course).

The drive was a beauty, the leaves are really starting to turn. There are splashes of red, orange & yellow that hurt your eyes in the bright 🌞. 

Once back in Rice Lake, I stopped at the mall to see the jeweler.  My ring has started to catch a thread from time to time,  I wanted to be sure that the prongs were tight on the rubies & diamonds.  

My old beau Garfield gave me this ring for Christmas and my birthday,  was it in about 1984?  I think that sounds close.  

The goldsmith, Pat Patterson, was the artisan. Back in those days,  Pat had a store in Boulder, Colorado. My girlfriends and I were frequent customers.  I almost always had some thing(s) on lay-a-way.  Last I heard,  Pat moved his business to Glenwood Springs, Colorado. I still have many gold pieces that he made. This ring is my all time favorite.  I can still vividly remember the first time I saw it,  of course under the lights in his shop, the diamonds were dazzling.  I was also quite a lover of rubies back in those days, the deeper red, the better. I would say that I was very surprised and stunned when Gar gifted it to me.  Not only was that out of character for him,  but he could not have given me anything I would have loved more.  It did not come with any meaning,  other than it was a birthday a gift.  

I still love it and wear it all the time.  Gar is still a friend and he reaches out occasionally.  He still lives in Colorado. 

Anyway,  the verdict today was that all the prongs are good,  so I will continue to wear it without worry.

🚵‍♀️

Day 7 of the bike ride ✅