Rings

Both Hallie and Lily know exactly where Grandma Brenda keeps her jewelry. I don't think Grandma Brenda minds that the girls periodically go through her stash; if she did she'd probably move the small jewelry "dresser" (for lack of a better word) off the floor in her bathroom where it sits at exactly their level and just as surely beckons to them as Culver's crinkle-cut french fries beckon to me.

On a completely unrelated (but soon to be related) note, Grandma Brenda's feet are in pretty rough shape and she regularly wears toe-pads on some of her toes to help her shoes fit a little more comfortably.

Now, to connect the dots...

When Grandma Brenda takes off her toe pads at night, she often sets them on the top of her jewelry dresser.

One morning over Christmas vacation, Hallie joined us in the kitchen with a smile on her face. "What are you so happy about?" we asked. "I'm wearing bee-you-tee-ful jewelry," she replied, her smile getting bigger.

I asked her to show me what she was wearing, hoping that she hadn't chosen something expensive or breakable. (Seriously, Mom, you might want to rethink where you keep your jewelry when these little girls visit.) She held up her hands, and on her fingers were Grandma's toe pads. "I found these bee-you-tee-ful rings on Grandma's jewelry box and now I'm going to wear them all day long!"

Eww.