One hundred percent natural

At last, I have pearls. Faithful Reader might recall my past pining for these one hundred-per-cent-natural items of personal adornment. And I doubted I would ever have any to call my own. But, while in Buenos Aires, S and I nipped across the vast, muddy River Plate to Colonia, Uruguay, and I bought these from a nice man in a shop on the main street.

Certainly, they are not your pricey salt-water examples - they're river pearls, probably Vietnamese. But I love their irregular shapes, and their quiet gleam (they're not the nasty yellowish tone my poorly lit photo suggests). Thank you, all you oysters. 

S and I were both suffering from the monstrous BA cold we all went down with, and that quiet day in Colonia was a lovely respite from the noise and pollution of the city across the river.