​We are each on our own path in this life.
If we have met and walked together for but a moment or two,
or even days upon days,
then we are blessed to have known each other even for so brief a time.
May your days be filled with blessings and cherished moments beyond our time.
Until we meet again my new, old, friend.

©mmhickman

This stone can come in a four colors (that I'm aware of).
Blue is what I find most, but have also had green, red and black.

It is said...
-to stimulate the intellect and to help realize that our strengths occur through both love and spirit, helping to dissolve aloofness and negativity
-using it with others can bring results with greater ease
-to be a stone healings, balancing energy, of service, storing information, communicating and teaching
-to help one recognize and experience information used by oneself or in a group
-to help with manifesting by helping to apply insight and focus between mind and matter and with expanding the knowledge base
-to help coordinate balance and integrate the emotional with the intellectual, physical and etheric bodies

​-to also be good for those who suffer over/underactive, blocked, or congested chakras.
-to be a helper of the spiritual with discipline, deeper states of meditation, reflection, balancing and raising energies, insight, inner clarity, peace with ones higher self
-to be used to help stimulate development with clairvoyance, clairaudience, clairsentience and telepathy as well as provide access to information on past lives.
-to be a good for creativity by helping clear mental confusion and awakens the finer, inner self by brining knowledge.
-that wearing/carrying apatite can help suppress or increase hunger as needed (good for both needed gain or loss)
-and using at a physical level can help focus healing on the glands, meridians, and organs.

References come from the books:
Love is in the Earth, Melody
Crystal Bible 1, Judy Hall

​          So the daughter comes in, she's been cleaning up, clearing out, and says, "You want this...?"
          THIS is an empty box, on the small side...... perfect for shipping in, complete with a bit of bubbly wrap.
          Well, of course I want it. Around here we recycle... and reuse if we can. Recycling is not just a fad... not to me. At one of our favorite shows we do, they put out bins for recycling. It's nice to not have to throw everything into the trash bin, aka... landfill. I like to think I'm good about it. I save what I can when I can. I regularly clean and sort my plastic, glass and metals as well as all kinds of paper items. There's even a corner in the garage for overflow so the house doesn't look like the recycle yard on a busy day. LOL

​          Sometimes I feel a bit like a hoarder with some of the stuff I save to just reuse, not recycle. Spice bottles.... great for powdering a body with some nicely scented homemade powders, or simply bulk purchased spices (this is where the reduce comes in). Glass bottles from sauces can be used for oil blends like rosemary and garlic olive oil or polishing grits in the workshop. Plastic to go containers for storing leftovers in the fridge...  or storing and beads, tumbled rocks...  or sending leftovers home with guests. You can start seeds in cans, plastic or paper.  Say you're packing things to ship for the grandkid, leftover newspaper is great, clean plastic bags from the grocery store are great for stuffing in two a little nooks and crannies of the boxes so that things don't shift. Never throw bubble wrap away, it's great for wrapping our unique jewelry in before shipping out to that unique somebody.

          An important part of recycling is the reducing. By choosing to reduce the number of boxed, bagged, and bottled items we purchase we can cut down on the amount of recycling needed. Granted, that isn't always easy, we have to eat and purchase shampoo, but finding ways to keep from buying more than is needed is helpful. I recently purchased a large bottle of powdered garlic, we'll use it as we like it... and cooking. The reason for the larger bottle was so that I can later refill it with bulk bagged herbs while using another smaller rescued spice bottle to make it more manageable by being filled by the larger bottle. I blend stuff all the time. Liquid soaps, oils and butters, scents and herbs so almost all those small ones get kept for storing them. Once in awhile I actually have to fill the glass or plastic bin from the storage boxes in the bottom of my pantry to offset this accumulation but it never goes in the 'TRASH'.

          At least, not on my watch... LOL

​When all else fails, I recycle. It's not just the packaging that I buy things in either. I recycle my veggie trash by putting it in a pile of dirt out back, the compost heap. I put in waste and get great planting dirt in return. It takes time and work but it's worth it. You don't have to have a fancy-schmancy bin, though they are nice, you just need a spot you can let pile up and decay. You can even do it right in the garden bed, Google it, you can. We have our regular trash service and I have to pay for it, for now, but it's mostly wasted money if you ask me. We used to throw out bags and bags on a weekly basis. Large bags of waste. Now we are likely to take a small one out every couple of days.
          In my business, I am very careful what I choose to recycle. Boxes, paper and bubble wrap are the main things I save to reuse, so don't be surprised when you see a stray bit of tape in an odd spot on your paper or bubble wrap. I package well but I also recycle....
          Do you?

​A little- helps... A lot- makes a difference.
Links for further info...
https://www.recyclingcenters.org/    ....Find a Recycling Center
https://www.recyclingcenters.org/Top_50_Things_To_Recycle_and_Reuse.php    ....Top 50 things to Recycle & Reuse
http://www.conserve-energy-future.com/Why_Should_We_Recycle.php​     ....Why we should Recycle

 ​     Several years back I was given a stone that needed a new polish. The surface had become scratched and had what appeared to be cracks in it. It was about the size of my thumb print, oval and around a quarter of an inch thick. This kind of damage is normal for a stone that is worn frequently and/or an older stone. The cracks, however, were not a good sign in this particular stone for you can't easily polish those faults out and not loose the beauty of it. I worried over that and told the person who'd given it to us that it could be an issue, yet I still took it home to let our stone cutter tell me the exact same thing... the things I've learned over the years...

     It wasn't the surface looks that eventually grabbed my attention after that though. Even on the drive home, every light, every stop sign, I'd glance into the box, the stone's beauty staring at me all the way despite the surface damage. At home I couldn't resist and whipped out my best loupe to have another, closer gander.

     It was while I was studying it so closely that I began to realize I was feeling emotion I shouldn't have been feeling. After all, I'd had a good day that day, had picked up a beautiful stone and was currently ooohing and aahhhing over the marvelous thing. Setting it aside I moved away from it, took my attention away, to do something I don't remember now, and felt my mind settle back into it's happy groove of the day. Not until after I returned to the stone did I realize what was happening.

     You have to realize, at this point in my life, working with the healing side of stones was still a learning thing, I was barely aware of my own personal stones, let alone picking up things from them. I knew they helped me and I loved them, however, nothing like this had happened to date. Since, is a different story for another day. :)

This stone, despite it's damage, was utterly magnificent. Easily expected being it was a Black Opal with plenty of color despite it's dark surrounds. I'd never seen a Black Opal in person before, let alone held one in my hand. It was truly a thing of beauty. Definitely made by a more creative and loving artist than any other alive or passed. Even as I marveled... and did I... over this beautiful stone, my eye glued to the loupe once more, I felt the same intense emotion return and knock at my mental door, demanding attention again. So, okay, while enjoying my rare unexpected guest, I gave myself over to the emotions and quickly found my interest in the stone drawing back.

     That poor stone was just so bereft, lost and despairing. It was horrible. The emotions were just so deep and heartrending. And it wasn't just that. That stone was old, the sadness went on forever in it, as if it had born it for ages, gathering more and more of it. I'm talking the mother who lost not just her husband and five sons, but five daughters as well, something too horrible. Am I exaggerating? I might be a smidge, but only that wee bit. I wanted to cry great gulping tears. Not a good thing for such a good day!

     Setting the stone aside, I'd risen again and took myself away from it. I didn't get too close to it again the rest of the night. The next day it was returned to the gentleman who'd requested our attention, as it was, too damaged for the kind of care he'd wished. We could've re-cut the stone, but he'd wanted it the same and chose to seek different, imitation, means of breathing new life into the old stone. Too bad I didn't know then that I probably could've cleared the sadness from the stone for it sure needed it.

     Much, much later, I learned many things about that kind of stone. You can look into the stone yourself for more depth, but I'll give you a shorten bit that fits with this story...

     The Black Opal is one of the more valuable of the Opal varieties. Most of it comes from New South Wales, Australia. No surprise there as most Opals come from there. However, they also are getting some lovelies out of Mexico and Ethiopia as well.

     The Black Opal can range from dark gray to black, a great background for the fire of colors that can be brought forth. Black Opal has traces of iron oxide and carbon elements that aren't found in your Common Opals, giving it unique traits belonging only to the Black Opals.

     The cracks or fixtures in this stone is called Crazing and is due to the Opal drying. This can make the stone worthless. If you already own the stone, however, there are a few techniques that can be done, but they will need to be done again as those techniques tend to wear over time. If you are going to buy an Opal, especially a Black Opal, be sure to get it from a good source as they are treating these precious stones with different enhancing techniques without explaining the facts when they sell it. To read more about these issues, you may check my links below. I found some really nice articles for reference that won‘t bore you to tears.

     According to all the reading I've done on Opals, they help stimulate creativity and originality, great for artists of all kinds. These stones are porous, so be careful with them as they can be very sponge-like in their absorbing of chemicals (reread the part about crazing...) As such they are also said to pick up feelings such as this stone did, taking on the pain. It is suppose to replace it with healing light and I can only hope this stone did this for it's owner/owners.


     So, the stone I met was returned, unpolished, uncleared -sadly, but I was glad to have met it. Like some of the people we meet in our lives, they come and go, most quickly, leaving behind the memory, the lesson. Hopefully we will learn from these chance meetings. I have, over the years now, learned much. Next time I meet a sad yet beautiful stone, I will give it some clearing and love so that when it's owner greets it again it will be with greater gladness, even if it can't be polished to it's former glory.

     By the way, your Opal, or any stone for that matter, doesn't have to be perfectly clear or fiery or luminescent to help you. Some flaws are not flaws at all but rather another mineral that has come along to give it uniqueness, something we like around here at The Hanging Pendant. Through my never-ending learning about stones, I find I like them best. Reminds me of friends, coworkers, customers and, of course, my crazy family.

     Blessings to you and yours. I hope you meet an interesting stone soon. Hugs! :)

Links...
https://www.gemselect.com/gem-info/black-opal/black-opal-gemstone-information-and-education.php     A little more on black opals...

​
    Some days you just gotta get out of the house, ...get some fresh air, ...take a hike, ...get some 'D'....
    We are blessed in that our home is not far from a National Forest, ...among other blessings.
    So, one day not too long ago, the youngest daughter (Knotwork by Kay) and I decided to take a hike. Rule #1, no flip flops! Rule #2, take the camera. You never know what you will find.
    Our walk lasted an hour and sixteen minutes at a pace of about twenty minutes per mile doing a grand total of 3.71
miles. (MapMyWalk- phone app)  :)
    Okay, not a lot, I know. Refer back to rule number one... and number two.
    We both like to shoot pics and only had one camera between us... next time she can take her own (HA!). So, the going was slow and yet eventful.
    Have you ever wondered how Amber was made. I kinda knew, but this really put it into perspective for us. God was working this day while we were out there... and not just to burn my hide. It was hot, well up into the hundred mark. As will do when the earth heats, the tree saps flows easily within... and without. Today we got some pics of the sap forming outside of the bark on some pine tree roots dipping in and out of the dirt along the path. Amber is a translucent fossilized resin produced by extinct coniferous trees. Of course, what we saw was just the beginning, however, it was a neat find and an interesting subject to start our blog with.

​    Pine resin wasn't the only thing we saw that day. We caught this pair of robberflies and thought it was cool. It took a few shots before we were able to get a close enough hit without spooking the one on top, Promachus bastardii (?), who was apparently in charge. Not sure if the one on bottom, Efferia pogonias (?), was alive or dead. Either way, that's nature and how life in the wild can be. Right?

​... "Y" you might ask?
'Cause we could!
...besides, Nature put it there for us to find. :)

Where life dies, life grows.
 And, lets not forget the smallest treasures. This last image is of a pair flowers that were just over and just under a quarter of an inch each. :)

​Hope y'all enjoyed our first blog. Hugs to you! :)