Ahhhhh, Vacation! (and souvenir beads)

The family and I took a quick trip to Arizona for my son to play baseball.  I can't imagine many places hotter than Phoenix in July, but here we are and he has been playing baseball in 110 degrees everyday.  (and yes, it's a dry heat - except when it's humid as all get-out and raining - which describes yesterday and today).

A Silver Lining in Every Cloud (And Lots of Turquoise)

Maybe not a silver lining, but a silver setting - with lots of turquoise.  It was extremely difficult to fit in bead shopping between running to the baseball fields, carting around a load of 14 year-olds for food and entertainment - but yes - I managed to squeeze it in.

The store itself was not very exciting, but I found turquoise strands (real turquoise) for $25 per pound.  I figured it would be wrong of me to drag my fellow baseball Mom's and our daughters (who were double buckled in the back of a rented Audi) to a bead store and not buy anything - so a pound of turquoise strands are now mine.  I also purchased a couple of strands of shell beads.

Do you have any idea how many strands of 16 inch beads are in a pound of turquoise?  I do - it's about 13.  Oddly enough - I wish I had purchased more.  Don't ask -