Problem... not a joke

Yesterday, in between playing on the computer and cleaning out closets, I cut out little tiny seed packs and taped them together and filled them with seeds. I also prepared 20 plants to ship. This morning I hurriedly stuffed the seed packs into preaddressed envelopes and I filled up the plant boxes with Styrofoam peanuts and sealed them all off. I brought this all to the office and had my secretary take them all to the Post Office.

Bad news, she just got back and handed me delivery confirmation notices on the boxes and asked me where my wedding band was. I have no idea. I know I had it last night before I went to bed so it’s not in any of the boxes going to Salvation Army or Good Will that I packed up yesterday. At this point, I suspect I rammed it in a bubble mailer or it came off when I was filling the boxes with the packing peanuts. I’ve got rheumatoid arthritis and the pressure has been fluctuating wildly so my fingers were swollen but this morning they were back to normal… cold front came in, ring came off.

I’ve sent out about 25 bubble mailers of seed and 20 boxes of plants to friends here at DG so if any of you get a wedding band in with your seed or plants… would you please D-Mail me. I’d describe it but that would be moot. It would be the only wedding band in with what ever else you receive. Those with boxes from me, please empty them carefully.

The only other place it could be would be at home in the bag of packing peanuts or maybe somewhere on the counter top or on the floor in the kitchen where I was working so I’ll check that at lunch.

Thanks all,
Lauren

OMG! Lauren...I'll definitely be on the lookout! Hope *I* am the one to get it...then you'd *have* to give me your address. LOL

~julie~

Oh, Lauren! Praying here that it shows up!!! Hopefully, at home, but somewhere!!

Lauren, I hope you find it!! I'll be on the lookout this end.

Sandy

Lauren, I really really hope that it turns up.

And after you have found it, and are ready to joke around again....you have Sandy's address??

*Bingo*

Busted!!!!

Lauren,

That's terrible, I sure hope you find it. You know everyone you sent to will be looking very carefully when they open your envies and boxes and you Know you will get it back if they find it.

Please keep us posted.

Kelly, hav eyou NO mercy??? Poor Lauren is sweating her marriage at the moment...and you're *threatening* her? Shame, shame, shame! Tsk tsk tsk.

~julie~
(Lauren...on the serious side, hope things are improving for your Dad. You and your family are high in my thoughts right now.)

Oh I do have a very merciful heart and feel very bad for Lauren right now. Alas, I am sure she is not sweating her Marriage,,,just the loss of her beloved wedding ring, of which I already said I really truly do hope she finds. Wedding rings are very dear to the heart,,,not the material side,,,, the wonderful meaning to the ring itself,,,circle of love.

How come no shame, shame, shame and tsk, tsk, tsk for Gayle and Kylee,,,I just followed their posts.

I just wanted to get her mind on something a little lighter. I'm sure her ring Will be found.

I consider myself shamed and tsk'd,,,,*goin' to pout in my room for awhile, sniff, sniff*

Kelly

This message was edited Nov 14, 2005 3:47 PM

I'm new here. People are always nicer to newbies. LOL.

Kylee...I don't think being a newbie had a thing to do with it. LOL

Now, Kelly....I apologize for seemingly isolating you for your behavior. That was never my intent. But...can WE come watch you pout? (That's always a fun thing to do on a dull dreary day. LOL)

Ahhhhhhh Here's some (((( ~hugs~ )))) for Kelly...that should fix it.

~julie~
I keep coming in here hoping to see that Lauren found her ring.

Kylee,

Thanks for trying to cheer me up,,,,but, I subscribed after you did. sniff, sniff

Julie,

Sure, you all come and watch me pout,,,,I stick my lower lip way out and everything. Thanks for the hugs,,,I feel all better.

I sure hope Lauren finds it in her bag of peanuts or in her home,,,,would Hate for her to have to wait til everyone gets their goodies to see if it's in one of them.

I keep checking also. But maybe she is at the Hosp. with Grandpa


Kelly

Yes, I was at the hospital pretty much all afternoon and evening. We're pulling in the reins and there's going to be a change of surgeons and a change of hospital. I feel better already about a medical team change.

Nope, no ring. That's ok though. Here's hoping it shows up in one of the bubble mailers or a box. I truly can't think of anywhere else it could be. We pulled out the stove too just to make sure it wasn't under there. Oh boy do I feel as if I am piggie housekeeper after pulling out the stove. I swear there were new unidentifiable life forms under there. Probably wasn't a good idea to let it go for 3+ years. I mean I stuck the vacuum nozzle under there but there was all this crud just out of the reach of the attachments. Even my husband thought it was pretty bad.

I guess I just flunked the "Susie Homemaker" test!

Lauren,

Glad to hear you are feeling better about Grandpa's care with the change of medical staff.

Wish you were able to tell us that you found your ring. It'll turn up. Everyone you sent to is on the lookout.

L- I know from experience how unfunny this situation is. My duaghter lost her class ring *somewhere* in the kitchen, I know it's not a wedding ring, but my sister paid for it, because we couldn't afford to, made it even worse. Sometimes the place you purchased from keeps records, and if there is insurance...:-(

Hope it turns up. Once, I thought I lost the necklace I was given for confirmation, it turned up at the bottom of the closet on moving day.

guess I should have posted this in this thread

Lauren,

My Gran had a special thing put on her ring for just such a reason. It's Gold or White Gold or whatever your ring is made of. There's a lever that you pull down and the ring slides apart to make it bigger. The slide goes into the band so you can't see it when it's closed. They make them for just that purpose, it opens to slide over your knuckle and then you close it so the ring isn't too big,,,fits perfect when closed. She had it done at a jewelry store and it's absolutely wonderful.

Maybe it's time to think about having something like that done,,,with all the times it has flown off your hand.

Kelly

I'm sentimental like most of us here. The class ring purchased by your sister would have been a big hurt.

The jeweler most of the jewelry was purchased from closed up shop and retired a few years ago but we do have appraisals and insurance on all of it. Not that I'd want to turn in a claim for this though.

I have to giggle a little bit about finding things when one moves. Isn't it amazing what reappears while we pack? Although we never found anything good like a necklace, I did find about 20 pacifiers. I was constantly buying those things back when we used them around here and never did understand where they all disappeared to. I found them all. Shame it was at least 5 years after we had a need for any of them.

Kelly, a long time ago I had a piece of 10K yellow gold (stronger than 14 or 18k gold) that fit into the ring that attached and had a little spring. After many years, it finally wore thin and fell out somewhere. My Mom had purchased it for me from her jeweler which is also now out of business. It was great. I have never been able to find another one and every time I think to ask, I get this deer in the headlamps blank stare. What do you know about the one your grandma had? You don't by any chance know what jewelry store it was that did that for her do you?

I do believe it was Kay Jewelers,,,but I'ld have to check to make sure. Remember the old kind of keychains that had that lever that loosend the hook and it would open up so you could put more keys on. The lever is kind of like that. flips open and then there's a band inside the band that expands to make the ring bigger,,,when you put it on and close the band and hook the lever it is a good fit,,,Can't fly off your finger..

When she gets back from vacation, I'll get pics of it for you. It's really a nice thing for people with bigger knuckles or arthritis.

Kelly

Lauren, here's hoping that you find your ring and if does end up in one these lovely DG'ers packages, you know it will find it's way home; good souls here...

Erynne

"Remember the old kind of keychains that had that lever that loosend the hook and it would open up so you could put more keys on" BINGO! I could use two (one for a spare) of those in yellow gold.

"It's really a nice thing for people with bigger knuckles or arthritis" BINGO again! Yes please do let me know anything you can find out about it. We don't have a Kay's Jewelers around here. If you have a Kay's Jewelers up by you would you be in a position to buy two of them for me if I gave you my credit card number? I could also send you a blank check to cover the cost. I have been looking for one of these for over 7 years.

Hey Erynne... I know I'll get it back if it ends up in somebody's mailer or box. What concerns me is if it went down the hvac. We were down in the basement with a broom handle tapping the vents that ran under the kitchen trying to hear something. Doing that reminded me of dorms in college and my first apartment in the low rent district... if I wanted to sleep and there was a party I had to bang on the ceiling and even then they ususally couldn't hear me so I had to walk up to their floor to bang on the door to stop the vibrations.

Lauren,

Check around with a jeweler by you. I'm sure one of them would offer it. The ring has to be left there as they replace part of the band on the underneath side. If you can't find that service anywhere, I'll check with that jeweler and let you know what the cost would be..

I'll get you some pics to see,,,as soon as my Gran decides to come home,,,LOL My Mom, Aunt, Uncle and Gran went on vacation,,,have been gone for 2 1/2 weeks,,,,I'm starting to feel like an orphan,,,LOL

Kelly

Never had an hvac before....does it empty somewhere?
I remember I lost my wedding band and the fella that I was married to at the time was so hard on me about it for ever afterwards. I took it off to scrub at work(hospital) and when I came out of the sterile room, it was just gone. Theft was never an issue in this place and I just never thought someone that I worked with could steal from me. I never lived that one down and it's so nice to hear that your hubby is understanding. Lucky gal!
Funny, I'd take a piece of equipment over jewelry too! I'm after an electric lawnmower for xmas; I couldn't get those gas ones going if my life depended upon it.

Erynne

Hey Kelly, I did check with a few jewelers. The few who knew what I was talking about stated they hadn't offered them in over 10 years and didn't even know where they'd go to get them. I have no problems sending the ring out.

Hey Erynne, hvac stands for heating, ventilation and air-conditioning. I should have written plain old vents and ductwork. We have three floor vents in the kitchen. I checked the spacing on the grates that cover them and the ring could have bounced down one of them.

Theft is not an issue where I work either. You would have a heart attack if you saw the stuff laying around as well as what some people use to personalize their offices. Now about that fella you were married to... nice to know he went the way of your ring... gone.

hhhmmmm, that's odd that they wouldn't offer those anymore,,,,more and more people are having problems like that,,,,next time I go to the mall in Eau Claire I'll check into it for you.

Kelly

Hey Kelly...I'd like to know if that ring expansion is available too. I haven't worn my wedding rings for decades. Arthritic knuckles, here too...but just the plain old stuff. :-)

DH gave me a beautiful 3-stone anniversary ring for Christmas last year...and the best I could do was wear it on my little finger for two days after I opened it. That expansion would be super for me!

~julie~

I'll check it out,,,get prices times etc. and let you both know

Thanks GG_WI!

You're welcome

Kelly

Here's an option that was just D-mailed to me-
http://www.aaajewelry.com/tips.html

scroll down toward the bottom and take a look see!

Works for me until I can get info on something permanent and it's very affordable!

Woo hoo!

Lauren,

Yep, something like that would work well and would be way more affordable. Then you wouldn't have to be in such a hurry to get the other thing done. With winter coming, your hands will be cold and your finger will be smaller and your ring will be flying off again.

Kelly

Yup, winter is coming and my fingers don't swell nearly as much which means... flying ring season. I've found it in my bed, in the bathtub, and in the strainer in the sink. Once I found it in the cushions to the couch. Normally I catch on real quick that it fell off and put it back on.

Thanks Kelly. We are still talking about those 'key-chain' type closures for rings, aren't we?

Lauren...those guards are what I had in mind but didn't know whether they were abailable any more or not.

I've worn *through* the backs of my wedding rings several times. I tend to have very strong hands and it seems that every ring I wear, even for a short time ends up with a bent "flat" area on the back. I think having my rings over sized and using the guards might just allow me to wear them again. (Just thinking "out loud".)

~julie~

julie,

Yep, from what I can remember though I think it was kind of pricey to have that put on my Gran's ring. She only had it put on one, her Diamond Anniversary ring. Those wrap things Lauren put that link to would work great for the time being and I suppose for a long time if one were to just stick with that.

I will Definitely get pics of it when she gets home. My Gran, Mom, Aunt and Uncle went on vacation,,,Branson, Florida and then on the way home, stopping maybe in TN to see some sites and who knows where else,,,LOL,,,They have been gone 2 1/2 weeks and I'm really starting to feel like and Orphan,,,LOL.

Kelly

Awwwww....Poor Kelly! Left all alone to fend for herself. :-D You'll make it. After all, you still have US!

~julie~

AW, Thanks Julie,,,,actually it's been kind of nice,,,,my Gran isn't calling all the time telling me something is wrong or "You have to come now".

I told my Mom she Has to move up here 'cause my Aunt and I have all we can do to keep up with Gran (she's 85) and it'll start to take 3 of us to keep up with things she wants and needs done. As soon as one of us gets something taken care of,,,she comes up with something else,,,,

I Still have to get down there and plant her Tulip Bulbs,,,LOL,,She'll have a fit when she see's they're not in when she gets home...

We joke now as to who's turn it is,,,She'll ask me to do something and I'll ask her if it's my turn,,, or, I'll call my Aunt and tell her I just took care of something for Gran and now it's her turn,, Told my Mom she Has to move up here so she can have turns too,,LOL We all joke about it and everyone gets a good laugh out of it,,,,especially Gran.

Well gotta go,,,customer here

Kelly

Lauren...I got my package a few minutes ago and before I looked at anything I checked the checked the box. NO ring!!

Now...Thanks for the seeds, can't wait to get those started. The "surprise" pot was completely dumped out in the bag...what should I do with it? HEAAAALPPPPP! (I got a couple of the shoots back where they are standing upright and I'm scared now that I'll kill the little bitty seeds that are just starting to germinate. (Hmmm...they must have enjoyed their trip. LOL)

Is this surprise something that I need to give *lots* of room? Or would it be safe to put it at the edge of one of my beds?

TY TY TY!!!

~julie~

I stick them in a ziplock, I tape them to the bottom of the box, I load them with peanuts... and they still came to you in that condition??? If they don't live, I'll send you more.

Your plants don't need a lot of room. They are a native species and were threatened but they're being elevated to endangered now. They are from a site where they are now extirpated.

The plants were very healthy and were in the process of going dormant anyway so I doubt any harm has come to them. I'd fill back up the pot and plop them back in the medium and handle them as you would any other temperate species. If your ground hasn't frozen, go ahead and stick them right in the ground somewhere- part sun to full sun. I would not put those at the edge of a garden bed but more toward the back because of their height which will be about 2-3' if their new Mommy talks to them and tells them how wonderful they are. No need for amending anything for those. They can handle sand.

And that's enough clues for you. You are on your own with figuring out what the mystery plants are.