Wow, today is one of those precious gems that you wish could just last forever. The weather here is about 70 degrees, sunny with a nice breeze. The kind of weather that makes you want to lie down on the lawn and just soak up the last of the good summer rays. I've always heard about 'Carolina Blue' skies, but today our sky's in a class all by itself. More of an infinitely deep turquoise.

 If I was the Native American jewelry collector that I wish I was, I'd be able to tell you just what mine the color of turquoise that I'm seeing comes from! While we think of turquoise as being an 'American' gemstone, it was first mined in the Sinai Peninsula, by the ancient Egyptians. Turquoise is usually a by-product of a copper mine, and though there are small deposits in many countries, most stones today come from the Americas. Many people can look at a ring or bracelet and tell you exactly which mine it came from, by the color and matrix, which is the black webbing found in some stones. I can't keep up with that, I just know whether a stone pleases me or not! Some of the prettiest pieces I've seen have been greenish stones set in gold. Too rich for my blood, but a girl can dream! Especially on a day like this.

What do you think of my new header picture? I got it with my phone!