Welcome friends to Hoo-Doo Pharmaceuticals.  This is not your average local drug store, but a fantastic market place where colorful organic beauty abounds.  Here the vendors do not merchandise small plastic bottles with difficult to open lids, but an amazing array of natural splendor.  One will see beautiful boulders and crystals, prehistoric artifacts and fossils that took millions of years to create.  Each gem and mineral has its own history and composition; its own story to tell. It is fundamental for the reader to have open eyes for discovery on this journey.  Information, not persuasion, is the endpoint of this adventure.  So, open up those eyes and jewelry boxes and prepare to see the world in a different way! My husband and I live in a small Midwestern town.  We own a family bowling center.  Carved out in a quiet corner of the bowling alley is where my display and work area is.  Even though it is an odd location for a studio, most days find me there creating jewelry with the sound of the constantly vibrating speakers from the jukebox and the splintering bowling pins in the distance. Being a rural area, many people know that I make, appraise, and am engaged in a torrid affair with jewelry.  They also know that I study gems.   Many of my friends call me a “rock nerd.”  A title I proudly wear!  One day, a friend came in looking for a few special one-of-a-kind jewelry gifts.  While we were visiting, she asked me if I knew of any gemstones associated with helping a person to conceive. Hmmm…most jewelers would answer with the default gem, the diamond.  It often leads to some lovin’ for the giver, and it makes the seller (me) happy too! However, I took her question seriously and did some research.  What I found was that rubies have a storied reputation for being the stone of love, passion, and creation (recreation).  So I beaded a beautiful faceted blood-red ruby necklace which was simple and elegant and could be worn every day.  I said a positive prayer over it as I do to all the pieces I make and sold it to my friend.  She sent it on its way.  Long story short (too late, I know)…within a few weeks, the recipient became pregnant. Coincidence, maybe; I have no mystical powers! I do believe that Father God can use any means at his disposal to create miracles.  To that end, I believe in energy (positive and negative), that elements (and compounds made up of elements) may produce and/or possess energy, that living things produce and spend energy, and that energy attracts energy. (How’s that for a compound sentence?!)  Thanks Mr. Einstein, these are not just the good ideas of physics, they are the LAW!!! I believe in the power of prayer.  People who are open to good things in the Universe believe they are worthy of happiness and goodness, and have faith that they will attract abundance…WILL. It’s not just a bumper sticker, prayer changes things!  Most of the world’s religions believe this too, they just say and practice it in a different way. I also believe in what I call the power of the “talisman.” Individuals invest an abundance of personal energy and power into symbols that they believe represent their unique personal journeys and pathways. For me, it is the cross. It is a daily remembrance, a touchstone, if you will, of what I believe and why; for another it may be the Star of David, and for another a well placed piece of rock or rose quartz. So, here’s to the journey!  Here’s to beauty and sparklies in all their forms.  Get ready to learn more than you might have wanted.  If you ever have any questions or concerns, please contact me via e-mail at violets4gigi@gmail.com.  If I do not know the answer, I will do my best to research and find one.  Remember; don’t let anyone or anything steal your peace and joy. Shalom. ***Buy More Beads*** Next Issue- Tourmaline and Opal]]>