Dust Storm Designs

In addition to being 110-115 degrees this past week - the Phoenix/Scottsdale area has been graced with not one, but two of these lovely dust storms!  For those of you that have never experienced this weather phenomena - consider yourself lucky.  They usually occur late in the day (rush hour is a favorite time) and kick up winds and DUST like you cannot imagine.

My faithful design assistants - Asher & Olivia

Of course, both my little King Charles Spaniels consider this the absolute best time to ring the bell indicating they need to go outside - ugh!  They get so excited by the wind blowing everything around the yard (makes for a great game of “chase”) and don’t even seem to mind all the dust in their faces.  These dust storms or “Haboobs” usually occur right after I have had the patio furniture dusted and vacuumed.  I guess it is the law of probability - like when you finally have your car washed and it rains the same day!

The best plan of action when a storm approaches is stay inside and pray that the storm does not knock out your electricity and AC!  It is also a good time to work on new jewelry designs.

Sconset Market - filled with little gourmet goodies.

Hydrangeas grow in profusion on Nantucket

Sadly, this magnificent sculpture will be washed out to sea at high tide

Can you tell I have been dreaming of past summers spent on Nantucket?  Walking down to the Sconset Market early in the morning to pick up the newspaper and a pastry for breakfast - running into town to pick up some fresh flowers for guests arriving on the next ferry and strolling along Jetties’ Beach while enjoying some of the amazing sand sculptures.

Judy Dinnick's Sailor's Valentines are some of the most gorgeous I have ever seen.

Seychelles Sailor's Valentine Necklace consists of stick and baroque pearls and champagne citrine.  There is a glass crystal, but it is easier to photograph without!

It was during our 10 year sojourns to Nantucket that I discovered Sailor’s Valentines and I have been smitten ever since.  These little shell mosaic designs encased in old pocket watches allows me to  indulge two of my favorite things - shells and gemstones.

Sucrée Necklace - rough tourmaline nuggets and pink topaz

My last trip to the Tucson Gem Show resulted in finding some beautiful nuggets which I have been saving for a summer design.  Unique pink and green rough and organic tourmaline nuggets - several with crystals embedded in the nugget - are paired with delicate pink topaz rondelles to create a delicious necklace that looks good enough to eat!

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Lesson of the Week: Don’t Fool With Mother Nature (or the Queen Bee)

Things had been going rather smoothly after the holidays and it seemed like a good week to begin some new jewelry designs for the spring. Over the week-end, I began putting together the blueprint of a new necklace that was intended as a little “thank you” for a friend. Dana had requested something clear, black and/or grey and I was thrilled to finally have the chance to use some of the gorgeous tourmilated quartz gemstones I had acquired at the last Tucson Gem Show.

On Monday, our pest control company was attending a colony of bees that had been making a home in the facade wall of our garage. This visit was round two of three and involved the application of a neurotoxin for the bees that would render the hive inactive. Visit three was planned to remove the honeycomb after the bees were killed in order to keep another hive from becoming attracted by the pheromones of the first honeycomb. Obviously, the bee specialist was very knowledgeable in his science as well as the culture of the bees. Monday came and went with nothing unusual except for a few quiet hours that were spent uninterrupted – allowing me to complete Dana’s beautiful necklace of rock crystal, black onyx and unique tourmilated onion briolettes peppered with black straws.

Tuesday was spent running errands in the morning and working on the computer late into the afternoon and early evening. Just before dinnertime, I looked up from the computer after hearing a strange noise only to realize there was a bee in my office buzzing around. I called Olivia & Asher (my King Charles Cavaliers) out of the room and closed the door. As we moved closer to the kitchen, I could see that not only were there at least a dozen bees circling the lights in our 12’ ceiling but another dozen or so had landed on the floor and were buzzing around there as well. With no door to close, it was “retreat #2” for us and off to the Master Bedroom we went. Apparently, the bees had not discovered that area just yet.

After a quick call to my hubby to inform him we would be staying at a hotel that night, another call to the bee specialist and gathering up our necessities, we took off for “retreat #3” – the local Residence Inn. So far, the bees seemed to be winning the war!

Wednesday morning I met the bee specialist and dressed in a full bee suit, he applied yet another application and warned me that we might want to stay at the hotel another night just to be safe. According to the specialist, Thursday morning was determined as the date and time we would have won the war of the bees. On Thursday morning, I entered the house very quietly to make certain I was not hearing the hum of the bees as they circled the rooms looking for a hostage. All was quiet and I felt relieved that we might be able to finally check out of the hotel and come home again.

Much to my shock, when I entered the Kitchen and Family Room I was confronted by not just a dozen or two dead bees. . . but more than 100+. Needless to say, all day Thursday was spent cleaning up bees and listening for their return. After all, we had executed their Queen and the little workers had no one to give them orders in addition to being poisoned.

In retrospect, I should probably have called out a beekeeper when I was informed by the specialist that the bees in my facade were “just Honey Bees – not Killer Bees”. But, living in Arizona, all bees are guilty until proven innocent and I suspect have gotten a bad rap from their gang member cousins – the “Killer Bees”. Lesson learned – don’t fool with Mother Nature or the Queen Bee!

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