How odd. My trouble is that I have to log in completely every time now, whereas the computer used to remember at least part of my log-in info. Must be a problem with my computer.

When I get home from work tonight I want to check the dates on mine. Not only did I find pennies everywhere I also started finding dimes. I was careful to keep them separate from my other money in my change purse; it finally got to be too much to carry there so I'm keeping those coins in a pretty tin that I bought at a yard sale the morning before Bob died. The most strange thing was this: When I was switching out my winter clothes for my summer clothes earlier this year I had carried about 20 items upstairs - they were on hangers in the basement closet. I laid them on my bed and went through them one by one so I could eliminate what didn't fit, I didn't like, etc. When I got about halfway through the stack there was a dime. It was laying on a sweater! OK, maybe I was holding the clothes up against me and the pressure kept it from dropping out. BUT - if that was the case how did it stay there while they were hanging in the closet downstairs? And I had already been finding dimes instead of pennies for a few weeks at that time. No doubt in my mind where it came from.

Even "normal, every day wear" can vary a lot from person to person. I haven't asked my brother-in-law his opinion, but in my opinion (and I think he'd agree) -- I don't necessarily consider Zales to be high-end jewelry store. I just took a look at the Zales web site -- which leads me to this question/comment regarding the stone that Zales replaced for the woman you mentioned... When looking at diamond jewelry on the Zales site, you can narrow the choices by selecting carat weight, metal color, etc. One of the choices is "certified." Allegedly, their certified diamonds are the best ones. I saw stones that were listed as "colorless" that are also "certified." As you most likely know, the color ratings for diamonds are by alphabetical letter, with "D" being a totally colorless diamond. Diamonds with a color rating of "E" and "F" are also considered to be colorless, yet an experienced professional can tell there is color to them. Diamonds with a color rating of "G" through "J" are considered to be "near colorless." Obviously, the closer to "D," the less color in the stone, although most folks wouldn't be able to discern color in any of them unless they were unmounted and placed side-by-side for comparison. Then, there is clarity... Diamonds are graded when viewed under 10x magnification. The very best diamonds are Flawless -- there are no internal or external flaws or blemishes. Next is Internally Flawless -- at 10x magnification, there are no visible inclusions, although there might be some surface blemishes. There is a wider range of clarity designations once any flaws "come into play." The rating that would be one step under Internally Flawless is VVS1 -- Very, Very, Slightly Inlcuded 1, which means there's an inclusion but it's very, very difficult to see when viewed under 10x magnification. VVS2 means essentially the same thing, except there would be more than one inclusion. Then we get to VS1 and VS2 (very slightly included) -- still difficult to see under 10x magnification, but more noticeable than the inclusions rated VVS. Anything in the VVS and VS ratings is considered a "minor inclusion." Next step down is SI1 then SI2 -- these are "slightly included" and the flaws are easily seen at 10x magnification. The are considered to be "noticeable inclusions." The lowest clarity ratings, I1, I2, and I3, are "obvious inclusions" -- these flaws are obvious to the untrained eye, even without magnification. OK, so the point I was getting to is this -- Zales is advertising "certified" "colorless" diamonds that have a color rating of H and a clarity rating of SI1 and SI2. I don't have that big a problem with the H color rating, because it IS in the top half of the "nearly colorless" range, but I have a huge problem with a clarity rating of SI1 and SI2. Any diamond, no matter how lousy it is, can be a "certified" diamond. All it means to be "certified" is that someone who is qualified to appraise diamonds has appraised that particular diamond, and you are given a certificate with a photograph of the diamond, the stated color and clarity ratings, a carat weight, the cut (round brilliant, emerald, oval, etc.), and a chart showing the location of any and all flaws. So, this woman who told you about Zales replacing her diamond might have had a diamond that really wasn't the best quality, and it didn't cost Zales a whole lot to replace it. Remember, there is at least a 300% markup on jewelry. At least 10 years ago, my hubs asked his brother how much it would cost to get a 1 carat oval diamond for me. Brother-in-law gets them at the lowest possible cost. At that time, my brother-in-law's cost for a 1 carat oval diamond for the color and clarity that I want (color no lower than F, clarity no lower than VVS1) would have been $10,000. Right now the Zales web site has, in the "loose diamonds" category, a 1.06 carat oval diamond -- it's "certified" -- on sale for $2,400, normally $6,800. You KNOW that they're still making a profit at $2,400, so you know that it can't be great quality. The color rating is stated to be "F," which is one of the three in the "colorless" category; but the clarity is rated "I1." Yuck.

Y'all are so very sweet. Yes,it has been painful to relive so many wonderful memories of our precious daughter, but it's also been a good thing. I kind of had a meltdown sitting in her closet last night as I was going through her things and reading letters that people wrote to her. We put many of them in the coffin with her. Her room and closet is pretty much the same as it was when she left us. We haven't needed it, so I have just left it as it was. The name of the book is "Christin, Forever 19" We are about half way finished now and would like to get it printed by April 5 which is Christin's heaven date. It's great to hear from all of you again. So many kind people here. I LOVE to look at all of your pictures when I can. Take care! Will try to come back again before too long. Lu Here is a link that might be useful: Christin Cosby Memorial Website