Clean Bill of Health - and a Ring on the Horizon

I had yet another dermatologist visit today, and the doctor said I was all better and didn't need to come in any more. That was, unfortunately, not the case for Russell, who has developed a number of itchy patches all over his body (neck, forehead, tummy, etc). On closer inspection, what we had assumed to be a ringworm that was being spread by a towel, was actually three different skin diseases (all in the same family, though). The dermatologist referred to Russell as a "department store" of mycology. He then laughed heartily. Russell is thrilled. The dermatologist assured him that all the patches were 100% treatable, and our medicine cabinet is now better stocked than ever. Russell is currently all shiny with ointment and on the mend. Thank goodness we found such a nice doctor. Its nice not having to worry about some aspect of the medical system.

Russell's woes aside, my finger is all better! Which means it is time to get serious about a new ring. Today, after my Japanese lesson, Russell and I started going through all the jewelers we could find. We probably walked through ten shops or more. We discovered several different sales pitches in our adventures. In some cases, the shop person would compliment Russell's (or sometimes even MY Japanese). In others, they would compliment my engagement ring. One lady even referred to Little House of the Prairie when she heard we were from Oregon. All of the rings were pretty much the same, though, so we ended up going back to a shop we had found on a previous day that had some more interesting designs mixed in with the standard wedding rings. The lady who was helping us was using super super polite Japanese (on a level we haven't even begun to study) so we weren't following so well. Pretty soon one lady at the counter went in the back and emerged with one of the artisans who makes the rings. His English was much better than theirs, so he helped with translation. Between his English and Russell's Japanese, most of the communication problems were solved. I had seen a ring in their catalogue from before that I liked, so once we indicated interest, they invited us upstairs to talk about price, etc.

To make a long story short, the design lady got involved too, and we ended up customizing the design. It was pretty cool. She kept drawing pictures and incorporating things I said I liked until she had come up with two designs I liked equally. We were at the shop for at least an hour, drinking tea and working out the final ring shape, size and expense. It ended up a little bit more expensive than the original ring I had taken an interest in, but it will be way cooler and far less expensive than a custom ring would have been in the US. I'm excited. When I left this evening I couldn't decide between the two designs. In the meantime, however, Russell and I have talked it over more and we will go back tomorrow and make the final order. Exciting!

Russell and I are also both happy we met the artisan who will make the ring. The more we got to know him, the more he seemed like Russell. He was far more laid back than the sales people and he and Russell had about the same level of foreign language ability. At one point when the designer and the sales lady were working especially hard, I looked over and was somewhat embarrassed that Russell was slouching over lazy fashion on the sofa. Then I realized the jeweler was in pretty much the same pose. Two peas in a pod. We asked to take the two designs I liked home, and the sales lady was clearly not going to let it happen. The Jeweler's response was, "aw, just let them take it." It still didn't happen, but we appreciated the gesture.