The root beer ring is one of my most cherished bits of history. It was given to me by Nanny Ryan (at least that's the story I remember). It might be hard to tell by this picture, but it's small-- a child's ring. Must be I used to wear it once in a while as a child because I recall it got lost once and we all looked feverishly for it--it was recovered by miracle in the sandbox! For the longest time I had it on my charm bracelet. One day I realized I did not wear that bracelet very often but I missed wearing the ring so I had it resized. They couldn't get it very much bigger but now it does fit on my pinky.
Oddly, the stone itself seems too big for the setting so it is my guess that this may have been Nanny Ryan's ring to wear at one time. I don't know what the stone is, but it could represent the January birthstone garnet. Nanny Ryan was born January 7 so that's the story I'm going to stick with.
Apparently at one time there were poetic verses to go with each month's birthstone:
By her who in January was born
No gem save garnets shall be worn
They will ensure her constancy
True friendship and fidelity.
We didn't get to know Nanny Ryan very well but I like to think she was a good friend as well as a constant in other lives. Another little piece of bling that I treasure is this pin. It was once part of a set which also included a ring (long gone). Nanny Ryan gave me this pin and that's a memory I have of my own. It's the only thing I can remember her giving me. I don't think it has more than sentimental value but I like to wear it especially around Valentine's Day and it's very precious to me.
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