09.14.20 It's Been Six Months...

Brunch with the family

My, how things have changed...

my last pre-Covid post was March 6...we had just returned from a weekend trip to DC full of family celebrations and a quick trip to the museums.

A week later, my husband was working from home, events - including SXSW, here in Austin - were cancelled and we were headed into an unknown future for an indeterminate time...

I suspended the blog for a while, because I wasn't going to be in the jewelry studio, and frankly, I wasn't sure what to say.

More recently, I've accepted that it is the "new normal" for the foreseeable future.  I'm still not back in the studio...

but I keep hoping that people will wear masks and the transmission rate will come down to a level where I feel safe returning.  

Source: Austin Public Health

After peaking at more than 70 new hospital admissions per day in mid-July, the curve is trending down again...but last Monday was Labor Day, some schools have started and not only have University of Texas students returned to campus, there were roughly 18,000 fans in the stadium at a football game over the weekend...so we watch and wait.

My collection of masks continues to grow, along with my vintage earrings...

I keep picking up shiny things on Etsy and eBay, even though I really have no place to go...so I've been coordinating them...vintage opals, for example, with my Irene Neuwirth mask...

I'm not posting them on Instagram with #todaysearrings every day, but I love earrings, and missed wearing them...

even if I'm only going to pick up curbside groceries or drop things at the post office...so they are popping up again on a more regular basis.

It may sound silly, but putting on earrings makes me feel better...so does polish on my fingers and toes.

Through the wonders of Zoom, I'm able to take regular yoga classes with some of my favorite instructors (even though one lives in Los Angeles, and another in Manhattan)...

the first couple of time I got back on the mat, I noticed that it really bothered me to look down at my unpainted toes.

So, I plunked down $80 for an Olive & June Everything Box (there are less expensive sets, too) because I knew that it was going to be a looong time before I visited the nail salon again...ever?

For what it's worth - the hype is true...their polish is great, it lasts, and their "Poppy" attachment for painting with your non-dominant hand really makes works! Definitely worth it, as I am no longer vexed by my naked nails...on my hands or feet. 

What I'm really saying here is...this is what life is going to be like for a while...maybe a long while, and we are all going to have to adapt.

I would love to be in the jewelry studio, or the yoga studio.

I would love to get a mani-pedi, or a facial or massage.

I would love to have dinner with friends at a favorite restaurant...

but right now, we can't.  

What we can do is try our best to take care of ourselves and each other...

We can stay home.

We can wear a mask when we go out.

We can shop small and local.

We can Zoom with our friends and family to stay connected.

If everyone will do these things, then we just might be able to go back to doing the things we all miss...but we have to be in this together.

Until next time.

10.05.15 O is for October...

Opals in the Gem Room at the Smithsonian

...and opals and overdrive.

Around our house, mid-October marks the beginning of a multi-month frenzy of birthdays, anniversaries and holidays that leaves me winded just thinking about it - thank goodness the summer heat is showing signs of abating. By the time the mayhem subsides, we'll be a couple of weeks into 2016.

Since birthdays are a big part of all that craziness, I'm starting this month with a post about October's birthstones - opal and tourmaline.

Photo Credit: Able Ground

I find opals fascinating - they are unlike any other gem I can think of, in that they are composed of stacks of silica spheres, as opposed to most minerals which have a linear crystal structure. Opals are very soft - around a 6.0 on the Mohs scale (a diamond is a 10) - which makes them delicate, and better in earrings or pendants than rings, just because of wear and tear.

Most of the world's opals come from Australia, and another jewelry loving friend recently told me that there is an Aboriginal legend about their origin. There are variations on the story, but they all involve a rainbow being sent to the earth as a message of peace - certainly something we can all use in these tumultuous times.

In some versions, the opals were formed where the rainbow touched the ground, in others it is where the creator stepped. The details of the legend may vary, but is clear why the Aborigines believed these gems were the embodiment of a rainbow - the finest ones contain every color.

Most opals are cut as cabochons rather than faceted - in part because of their softness - and because they are somewhat opaque faceting doesn't add as much as it does to a clear stone.  I have couple of pair of opal earrings that I love - both with cabochon stones.  The filigree pair was given to me by my colleagues when I left my state job and went into consulting (to the dark side, as some of them said) almost 20 years ago, and the other is a pair that I bought in Marblehead, MA as a souvenir when I attended my cousin's wedding.  

October's other birthstone is the tourmaline - and like opal  it is a
silicate, and comes in a rainbow of colors - but it has a more typical gemstone crystalline structure.   My favorite tourmalines are the "watermelon" ones, so named because of their combined pink and green colors.

This pair of watermelon baguettes is one of my go-to choices in the summer - just wearing them makes me happy.

So, if you know an October baby, and you want to get them some "pumpkin spice" - hop on over to my October birthstone Pinterest board and look for something shiny!

Tourmalines in the Gem Room at the Smithsonian

Until next time.