Dark Chocolate Covered Peppermint Altoids Atop a Croatian Table Topper

Today, I completed six options trading classes, and I've moved beyond the easy, beginner ones to the wicked, harder ones.  I have been using yoga deep breathing and popping Dark Chocolate Peppermint Altoids for the past three hours, as a means of coping with trying to get straddles, strangles, condors, butterflies, puts, calls, long, short, bull, bear, debit, and credit into my brain.  I passed six tests (let it go).  What I'm learning is that there are so many things an investor can do to lower risk of stock ownership.  Shoving your money in a mutual fund and forgetting about it (aka "buy and hold") is a strategy you may pay for when the market goes into wild gyrations as it has done since January. Think of it as your retirement being postponed. Ouch.

The table topper on which the Altoids are shown was one of my favorite finds from Split, Croatia.  Only 70 kuna ($11.67 in today's USD but I think about $10 when I was there).  All handmade.  In the summer, I use this lovely without an under table cloth (worrying, of course, that the table might get hot and sweaty, too).  At Christmas, I compliment the topper with festive red underneath.  Either way, the topper reminds me of a fun morning spent shopping at the outdoor market near the Diocletian Palace in Split.  I wish everyone could feel how soft and light the fabric is, and really see the intricacies of the crocheted sections.