Unbreakable Amazonite and Howlite Rosary

The striking 8mm by 14mm howlite Pater beads are the focal point of this beautiful rosary. These beads have a beautiful brown matrix on an off white background. Complimenting these beads are the 8mm round amazonite Avé beads. These beads are slightly different shades of blue and are accented by a swirl of silver wire going up one side. The heart shaped center features a Miraculous Medal and is made of lead free pewter. The crucifix is also lead free pewter.   This rosary is 32 1/2 inches long.  The crucifix is just a smidgen over 2 inches high including the bail.  This is a substantial rosary and it has a nice weight. It would make a wonderful gift or would be great to keep for yourself! :)

It is important to note that howlite is often mistaken for white turquoise. They are two entirely different stones. To learn more, please check my blog: http://strengthen-your-brethren.blogspot.com/2012/05/white-turquoise-vs-howlite.html

ABOUT UNBREAKABLE ROSARIES: This rosary was constructed in such a manner as to make it unbreakable with normal wear and tear. The tarnish resistant, silver plated wire is coiled 2 1/2 times at either end of each bead. Furthermore, the interlocking loops prevent the type of breakage you find with most rosaries. It is the last rosary you will ever need to buy. You may want to buy another rosary...hopefully from me...but you won't ever need to buy another rosary. In fact, you will be able to hand it down to your children and they in turn will be able to hand it down to their children.


Please visit my shop, Laude Arts and Gifts, to learn more about this rosary and to view my other rosaries

White Turquoise vs. Howlite

White Turquoise from the Dry Creek Mine
note the slightly green hue

 For a long time, I referred to the howlite in my rosaries and jewelry as white turquoise.   I knew it really wasn't actual turquoise, but I thought it was okay to call it that because I thought genuine white turquoise was non-existent.   I thought of it in much the same way as I thought of that sweet white candy made from milk solids which is often called “white chocolate”.   In reality, the candy doesn't have any relationship to chocolate whatsoever.  But, since genuine white chocolate does not exist, and since everyone calls it that, it has come to be known as white chocolate.  In my mind, the same concept was true when it came to referring to howlite as “white turquoise”.

White Buffalo Turquoise

Then one day I got curious and googled “white turquoise” and to my surprise discovered that genuine white turquoise does exist and it is much different from howlite.   Genuine white turquoise, at this point, is quite rare and only comes from mines in Arizona and Nevada.  Some of those mines are the Dry Creek or Sacred Buffalo Mine, the Tortoise Turquoise Mine, and the New Landers Mine to name a few. 

Genuine white turquoise will test the same as blue and green turquoise and will register 5-6 on the Mohs scale…which is the same register for blue and green turquoise.  Also, white turquoise, in reality, is not truly white.   In general, it will have a slight blue or green hue.    This comes from the minerals that actually identify it as genuine turquoise.  Furthermore, the matrix or chert in white turquoise is the same as the matrix found in colored turquoise.  To learn more about this beautiful stone, please visit this site hosted by Durango Silver.

Example of white howlite beads which has been stabilized

Howlite on the other hand is a completely different stone.   Often used as a substitute for turquoise and sometimes passed off as turquoise, it is tempting to overlook its inherent beauty.  But let’s take a closer look.   In its natural state, howlite is generally white with a brown and/or gray-black matrix. The contrast between the white stone and the brown/black matrix is quite attractive making it a desirable stone in its own right.   Rarely, deposits of natural tan howlite can be found.   In this case, the matrix is a beautiful bluish-gray color. 

Howlite is much softer than genuine turquoise, registering only 3.5 on the Mohs scale.  Because of its softness, Howlite can easily be dyed and often is dyed almost every color of the rainbow.   Because of this, dyed howlite can go with almost anything making it an extremely versatile stone.  Also, because of its softness, it is usually stabilized with resin to give it extra hardness and also to fill in the little dings and dimples found in the natural stone.   Because howlite is less expensive than turquoise, it has greater availability making it accessible to almost anyone who would like to have it.   To learn more, please visit this site hosted by WiseGeek.

Natural tan Howlite which has not been stabilized with resin
Note the dimples and dings and the softness of the stone

Both turquoise and howlite are beautiful stones in their own right and both can be used to make exceptional jewelry, rosaries and other items.   As consumers, it is important that we be able to make informed decisions regarding the items that we purchase.   To this end, I have tried to share what I have recently learned about these two similar, but very different stones.

Got Milk?

I don't!  At least I'm not supposed to have milk.   Truth be told, I have a quart of that wonderful, white liquid tucked secretly away in a dark corner of my refrigerator just waiting for that moment when I simply can not handle another cup of tea mixed with that substance affectionately known as "alternative milk".   You know...that stuff they make with soy beans or almonds or some such that they try to convince us is as good as milk?   It isn't.   I can honestly say that I don't mind the taste of almond milk...but it leaves one heck of an after taste.  Yuk! 


Honestly, I never realized what a big part of my diet included milk and milk by-products, and I truly never realized how much I love that white stuff in all its many and varied forms.  So why, you may ask, am I writing this lament?   It isn't because I am lactose intolerant...that's the hard part.   I can tolerate lactose quite well thank you very much.   It's because, according to my chiropractor, milk causes inflammation.   Who knew?  Apparently, I didn't.   My doctor delivered this information after I had pinched the L5 nerve in my back and was in so much pain I could barely walk.  Apparently, inflammation and arthritis is running ruin with my spinal column rendering me structurally unsound.  


However, not one to be easily duped and definitely not wanting to be parted from my substance of preference so quickly, I went to the internet to see if this alarming news could possibly be true.   Sadly, it is according to this website:  http://www.livestrong.com/article/348549-foods-that-cause-arthritis/    Reading this article brought no comfort whatsoever.    Imagine my surprise and alarm when I discovered there are other foods I deeply love that cause inflammation and arthritis.


Listed in this article are all of my top faves: potatoes, sweet potatoes, sweet peppers, the list goes on and on and sadly, on.  They described these foods as "nightshade" vegetables which led me to conjure up images of people furtively meeting in dark alleys for their veggie fix.  Even beef is considered to be a culprit in the conspiracy of foods that can cause pain and swelling in our joints.   It looks like my diet is about to change radically.


With that in mind, I trucked off on my weekly jaunt to the grocery store.   With a heavy heart, I bypassed my favorite brand of Raisin Bran.   I think I heard it sniffing as I reached for container of oatmeal and a box of something called Mixed Grain cereal with flax seed.  At least it sounds healthy!   According to the description, it is rich in Omega Fatty Acids, another substance my nutrition conscious chiropractor told me to take.   With strength and courage, I entered the produce department and forged past the potatoes, sweet potatoes and peppers and went to the broccoli, beans and spinach.   Well...at least no one can accuse me of not going green.  I left the market and drove with determination past my favorite hamburger stand on the way home.   I mean...why foil my all my valiant efforts in the market with a healthy...or should I say unhealthy...dose of cholesterol?


So now, here I sit at my computer, bidding a fond farewell to my delicious, but wretchedly unhealthy diet and welcome with open arms my new, healthier diet and, hopefully, pain free future.

Lot's Wife

Genesis 19:15-24

            When morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Get up, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or else you will be consumed in the punishment of the city.”  But he lingered; so the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and left him outside the city.  When they had brought them outside, they said: “Flee for your life; do not look back or stop anywhere in the Plain; flee to the hills or else you will be consumed.”   And Lot said to them; “Oh no, my lords; your servant has found favor with you, and you have shown me great kindness in saving my life: but I cannot flee to the hills, for fear the disaster will overtake me and I die.   Look, that city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one.   Let me escape there-is it not a little one?- and my life will be saved!”   He said to him, “Very well, I grant you this favor too, and will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken.   Hurry, escape there, for I can do nothing until you arrive there.”  Therefore, the city was called Zoar.   The sun had risen on the earth when Lot came to Zoar.
             Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the Lord out   of heaven: and he overthrew those cities, and all thePlain, and all the inhabitants of the cities and what grew on the ground.  But Lot’s wife behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

For years, I have wondered why the Lord turned Lot’s wife into a pillar of salt.   It seems to be an incredibly severe punishment for such a human and understandable behavior.  Who among us hasn’t looked back when we were leaving someone or something behind?   It seems almost as though we need to look back to have some kind of closure.   Yet, the angels were very clear: “Do not look back.”

Now, as I re-read the scripture, it doesn’t really say that the Lord turned Lot’s wife into a pillar of salt.  It says, “But Lot’s wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.”   Why on earth would that happen?   A fundamentalist might say “Because the Lord said it would.”  Perhaps that’s true.   However, I think there is a deeper, yet elegantly simple reason.   It is impossible to move forward if you are looking back.

When the Lord called Lot and his family to leave Sodom and Gomorrah, He was not only trying to save them from the physical destruction of the cities, He was also saving them from a destructive and deeply sinful culture.   He was calling them into a new life of trust in Him.   This type of call is difficult for anyone.   Lot himself struggled with leaving everything behind.  Yet, in the end, he managed to do it.  Sadly, his wife did not.  She needed to hold onto what was left behind and it immobilized her.

The underlying truth of this story has as much meaning for us today as it did for the people who experienced it thousands of years ago.  In our lives, we are often called to leave the old life behind, to grow and to move into a new life.   Sometimes this change takes the form of a new job, moving to a new city or state, getting married or having a child, to name a few things.   Other times the change comes in the form of a conversion experience, or simply an understanding that we have to allow ourselves to let go of our old behavior and to grow.   However, it is impossible for us to be successful in this transition if we do not let go of the past completely and, with trust in the Lord, move forward into the unknown.   Anyone who has experienced this knows how hard it is to do and how extremely difficult it is not to look back to see where we have been.   However, if we cling to the past, like Lot’s wife, we too will become immobilized.

Blog Give Away Contest

I know I haven't posted in a long time, but I came across something that I just have to tell you about.   There is a great blog give away featuring 3 beautiful patterns by KnotSewCute on Etsy.  The first two prizes come with enough yarn to complete the project.   Here is a link to the contest: http://knotsewcute.blogspot.com/   The picture above is the first prize.  :)

Don't Worry...Be Happy! ;-)

My thought for today comes from this old Irish saying:


There are only two things to worry about: either you are well or you are sick. If you are well, then there is nothing to worry about: but if you are sick; there are two things for you to worry about: either you get well or you will die. If you get well then there is nothing to worry about. if you die: then there are two things to worry about: either you go up or down. If you go up, then there is nothing to worry about. But it you go down you will be so busy shaking hands with old friends you won't have time to worry

Wrap Around Rosary Bracelet

Wrap Around Rosary Bracelet

This beautiful wrap around bracelet is a full 5 decade rosary.   The focal point are the clear 8mm  Czech beads with a vitrail coating.  They sparkle and reflect almost every color in the rainbow.   Complimenting the Czech beads are 11mm clear faceted crystal beads.   Silver plated spacers and Tibetan silver bead caps add a finishing touch.   Please click here to learn more about this bracelet and to view my other handcrafted rosaries and jewelry.  Free shipping offered on all rosaries and jewelry.