Clasps and Airplanes

“How beautiful it is to do nothing, and then rest afterwards.” — Spanish Proverb

I always know I've had a good holiday if, when I return, I feel like I've been away for longer than I actually was. It's a true sign that I've left work behind. Time moves more slowly, not because I'm having a hard time, but because I feel like I'm living in each moment.

We arrived home yesterday in the evening - not too late, but late enough after a long enough day to warrant a quick dinner and early bedtime. I'd booked myself another day off today, because I've learned that it's always nice to re-orient yourself at home after time away. A day off after a vacation is just the ticket.

Today, I pulled out some treasures I discovered while on vacation:

To back up a step: on Sunday, the hubby and I visited Santa Monica airport - for him, to go on a flight with an instructor there (he's an amateur pilot) and for me, to visit the Santa Monica Antique Market. We'd both been to each respective place before, and so we knew that we would both be entertained for a couple of hours each doing things we loved.

I was on the lookout for something, but I wasn't sure exactly what. I wanted something to close the sweater I'd blogged about earlier. Most people suggested a clasp for it, which made sense to me, but I knew two things:

1. I knew I didn't want a brand new, manufactured clasp.
2. I wasn't sure if I'd find a vintage clasp that I liked. Did such things exist?

After wandering around the entire market on my first exploratory circuit, it dawned on me that a pair of clip-on earrings might just be the ticket. And I came upon a seller that I'd met a couple of years earlier, and from whom I'd purchased a necklace before... and I came home with the clip-on earrings above.

Today, I pulled out a couple of pairs of jewelry pliers from my old jewelry-making days, and three strong jump rings. After a couple of tries, I came up with this:

They're pretty, aren't they? But would they work?

Turns out they work great. Gosh, I'm smart.

Yeah, these are bathroom selfies. I had no patience to set up the tripod today.

I did get a few other things, which I'll save for a later post - I can't share all the good stuff at once! But I enjoyed my day in the sunshine at the market. In the meantime, the hubby was enjoying sights like this:

These are the kinds of sights I prefer to look at on solid ground. It's a good thing there are such things as digital photos these days, eh? Small planes just don't seem to agree with me. Good thing there are markets to keep me busy.

Tonight, I'm off to do a bit of knitting before I get ready to go back to work tomorrow. Two day work week after vacation? I'll take it!

Happy Wednesday, all.