Thank You Della

Today when I got home there was a package laying on my kitchen counter.  I saw that the return address said "Della" and I immediately knew it was from my sweet friend Della over at Del's Shells.  I stopped and thought for a second, trying to remember if I had ordered something from her recently.  Then I tore open the package and had such an unexpected and pleasant surprise!

Inside was a beautiful handwritten note, a large sand dollar and a gorgeous necklace that Della created just for me!  My favorite shell is a Sharks Eye, so Della used a perfectly formed Sharks Eye and attached 2 colored beads, each one representing my children's birthstones.....

Isn't it divine?  Here's another shot, although I admit I look pretty bad in this photo, so just concentrate on the necklace.  I don't know how she did it, but the necklace is the perfect length too.....

Della has a real flare for decorating and I have to show you how she wraps her treasures.  The necklace came wrapped inside this cute little blue, gauze bag.  Everything was bubble wrapped and placed inside a white sleeve that she had hand stamped and then wrapped with the blue ribbon.  I have to tell you, it's a lovely presentation.

While I'm on the subject of Della, let me show you some of the new items she's created for her Etsy Shop in the past few weeks.  She's been one busy lady!

An Olive Bolo.....

Leather & Olive Bracelet.....

Scotch Bonnet Necklace......

Limpet Barrette

This leather, seashell & pearl cuff has a special history, and you should read about it here. Isn't it dreamy?  The leather looks so soft that I just want to touch it!

A barnacle & pearl ring set....

Della is so talented and I fall in love with practically everything she makes.  With Mothers Day just around the corner, you should go check out her Etsy Shop and order a treasure of the sea for the special woman in your life.

Della, thank you again for such a generous gift.  You gave from the heart and I will treasure it!

Treasures Are In the Eye of the Beholder

The other day when we were beach combing on the shores of Kentucky Lake, it got me to thinking about the different little "treasures" we find there.

We find a lot of sea glass, or maybe I should call it lake glass.  I was asked why we find so much of it here.  I mean, Kentucky Lake is not an ocean, so why do we find so much of it here?  There are actually only 2 specific beaches here that we seem to find it on.  At one time there were several different towns on the land where Kentucky Lake is now located.  Starting in 1938 they built the dam, emptied the towns and flooded the region to form Kentucky Lake.  I'm guessing that some of the glass is from the homes and businesses that used to be in this area.  Another possible explanation is that this is a very recreational lake.  There is a lot of camping on the shores, tons of boats on the lake, and lots of people who, unfortunately, toss their pop and beer bottles in the water.  At any rate, here's some (just a fraction) of the pieces we've picked up....

This next picture shows what looks a lot like an arrowhead, crinoids, (which we find by the hundreds) and a piece of quartz.....

The crinoids are interesting.  They are fossils and you can read about them here.  They look like little cheerios.              We take the crinoids and string them into necklaces, which we found out are actually called "St. Cuthbert's Beads."

We also find a lot of shells, although they aren't nearly as plentiful or as beautiful as the ones I find in Florida.  We still use them to decorate picture frames and wooden boxes....

We also find geodes on occasion.  It's fun to look inside them and see the tiny crystals.

But my absolute favorite find so far is this hunk of sea glass that my son found a couple of years ago.  I know the exact spot we were at when he found it and I can still picture him running out of the water, clutching it in his hand, so excited at finding this for me.    It's the bottom of a Diamond Crystal shaker salt jar, it's a beautiful green color and you can clearly read all the words....

We have gone back to that same spot numerous times, searching through the water, trying to find more, but so far, no such luck.  I just think it looks really cool.

I also like driftwood, so we made this with a couple of pieces and a huge clam shell that we found.....

Another favorite find is my turtle shells.  I placed a quarter there so you could get an idea of the size of them.  We found all of them around the lake, after the turtle had died, and in various states of decay.  We place them in the garden for a few months and let the ants pick them clean, then wash them up.  I love looking at them.

So there you have it - a glimpse at some of my treasures.  Some day I'm gonna be dead and gone and people are probably going to say "What the heck was she collecting all this crap for?"  LOL!  I don't care.  It's what I like, it's interesting.  I'll find stuff and then look it up on the internet and learn more about it.  I just never know what I'm going to find on my next little excursion around the lake.

A Special Guest Blog - Isabella's First Geocaching Adventure Part 2

This is part 2 of one of my favorite posts from Bloodhounded over at CacheCrazy.

Hello! My name is Isabella Pants On Fire Magpie, Izzy for short......

I’m 4 months old and I live with the nicest family in the whole world. They take very good care of me and they love me very much. I have a gigantic yard to play in with my brother, Otis and when Otis is crabby, I always have someone else to play with.

I love going for walks but the other day, mom, dad, and my sister, Andie, took me on a rather unusual walk. I was sitting in the yard and I saw dad putting my crate in the car. I was a little nervous because I thought I was going to the doctor again but then I heard Andie say something about going Geocaching. I had no idea what that meant but everyone else was eager to leave so I was excited to embark on this new adventure.

After we all climbed in the car, I saw that dad was holding a bag of treasures. Then I noticed dad was also holding a hand held devise which was evidently telling him where to go. I listened closely for clues as to where we were going. I heard dad say something about a place called Moosehead Lake. I hoped it wasn’t much further because I was too excited to sit in my crate any longer.

We finally arrived and mom let me out of my crate. I couldn’t wait to get going. Andie was kneeling down petting me when dad came over and smiled at me. “Are you ready Izzy?” he asked me, “This is a big day. We’re taking you on your very first Geocache!” he said proudly. Sometimes I wonder if they know I can’t respond to them but if I could, I would have asked dad to tell me more. I couldn’t handle the anticipation any longer.

We walked onto a nice trail in the woods and Andie started telling me I had to help her find the Geocache. She told me there are treasures in the Geocache and something called SWAG. Dad was still carrying that device he had in the car. Now he was looking at it very closely and he kept shouting out numbers. I was sure my family had gone crazy. Suddenly we stopped walking. “This is ground zero!” dad exclaimed. He kept saying we had to find this thing called Killing Time . It sounded scary to me but they weren’t afraid. They started looking everywhere! They dug around in logs and looked in trees and under rocks. “I found it!” I heard Andie yell and then something really strange happened. Andie started howling! Just like I do! Why did the container make her howl like that? What was in it? And why was it just sitting in the middle of the woods? I had so many questions but they were all forgotten when mom gave me a treat and everyone started taking pictures. I still wasn’t sure about this Geocache thing but I knew that I wanted to find another one!

My wish was granted when I heard mom ask dad how far until the next “cache”. Dad said it was half a mile away. I was ready to find it. On the way there I smelled that there had been other people and dogs on this trail. I wondered if they had been looking for the cache that dad called Moosehead Bound (GC395Y7) as well. Soon dad said we were at ground zero again and my bloodhound nose went to work! I sniffed around the ground and suddenly I smelled something unusual. I immediately knew it was the cache. I found it in a hollow stump! “Izzy! You found it!” dad said. He was so proud of me! Andie gave me a treat. Mom took my picture. This geocaching thing was great!

Dad said we had one more to find. This one was called Moosehead Lake (GC394F4). I was exhausted from all the walking but I didn’t even care because I was having so much fun! I wanted to find the last geocache and make dad proud again! We got to the spot where the cache was but there was no lake. I thought maybe the device lied to us until I smelled that unusual smell again. I found the last cache in seconds. This cache had that thing Andie told me about inside it. I think she called it SWAG. I thought maybe it had treats in it so I stuck my heads in the bag but they weren’t the kind of treats I could eat. Dad must have known I was disappointed because then he gave me a treat and patted my head.

We put all the treasures back in the box and started walking back to the car. The whole way back, dad kept calling me his little geodog. I could tell he was really proud of me. This geocaching thing wasn’t so bad and I was really good at it thanks to my nose. We finally got back to the car and I hopped into my crate and slept the entire way home.

When I got home, I curled up on the couch with my brother Otis. I dreamed about being the best geodog in the whole wide world. I hope we go geocaching again soon! I am so happy my family has made me the newest member of Team Bloodhounded. Who knows, maybe I’ll even meet some of you out on the trail! Keep on caching! –Izzy the Geodog.

I hope you all enjoyed Bloodhounded's guest post.  I sure did.  Personally, I'm looking forward to more guest posts by the adorable Isabella.

A Special Guest Blog - Isabella's First Geocaching Adventure Part 1

Please welcome my friend and fellow geocacher "Bloodhounded" as I re-post one of my favorite blog posts from over at CacheCrazy.  This is part 1 of a 2 part post.


Authored By: Bloodhounded

Guest Blog Authored By: Isabella  

Have I ever told you why my geocaching name is Bloodhounded?

Well you see it all started with a little Bloodhound puppy named Molly, a trip to New York City and the Westminster Dog Show. Molly was of noble breed and came to us by a breeder whom was showing at the Westminster. My wife and I drove down and met her there. It was love at first sight and we carried that little girl under my wife's coat down Madison Ave to where we were parked. Molly gave us great joy and love so when the breeder called me and said she had a displaced male, we were happy to also get Otis, our male Bloodhound.

I think I describe it best in my GC profile; "Bloodhounded is more than just a handle, it’s a way of life when you own two bloodhounds. For instance, when you let the dogs in before you go to work and out of nowhere they get you all slobbered up, you've been “Bloodhounded”! When a 120lb. dog thinks he’s a lap dog and totally immobilizes you, you've been “Bloodhounded”. You get the picture."

Molly passed away last summer and our hearts still ache from her loss. She loved to swim, take naps with her tongue hanging out and she loved to go for walks, particularly when everyone joined in and we were searching for local geocaches. Team Bloodhounded, est. 2009 and Molly was the founder.

Fast forward to last September 2011. Guess what? We found an awesome breeder with a noble breed of black and tans in NJ! Just a short drive from us ironically and what a wonderful gal. She is the most knowledgeable person I know when it comes to Bloodhounds and her breeds have won many accolades in shows and in the field as trained K9 heroes. Jess, her female, was having puppies and guess what, one of then was going to be ours! Jess delivered three beautiful puppies. Two females and one male. We had our hopes set on a female and sure enough it was to be. Red Girl (as the breeder called her) was our little Izzy and we would pick her up just before Thanksgiving and welcome her to our home......

Izzy is a dream come true, a real live miracle and has brought so much joy to my family. I could go on and on about her but rest assured, she is carving her own love into our hearts. One look at her and you just melt. She has the look of an angel but she is actually a little devil. You know, typical puppy stuff but she is so smart and just loves to be loved and loved she is. I figured it was about time she go one her first geocaching adventure and my wife, Dawn and daughter, Andie said they wanted to go too so, off we went to Moosehead Lake to initiate Izzy into Team Bloodhounded. 

Since this was her first geocaching adventure, I'll let her tell the rest of the story from her point of view. So ladies and gentlemen, I present to you a unique guest post from my geodog, Isabella Pants On Fire Magpie and her first geocaching adventure at Moosehead Lake.   


Ok, come back tomorrow to read the rest of the story.  I promise you won't be disappointed!

Beachcombing in Kentucky

Beach combing in Kentucky is a little different than beach combing in Florida.  For starters, there isn't miles of beautiful white sand.  Second, the shells here are way smaller and a lot fewer.  On the bright side, we do find a lot more sea glass in Kentucky for some reason.

Today we spent over 2 hours walking the shoreline, picking and poking for treasures.  The water level is extremely low yet, in fact, it's probably still at winter pool, so we like to walk the shoreline while we can.

In some areas the lake is so low that we had to climb down the swim ladders to get to the beach...

I love this tree.....

The lake is still rather empty and quiet.  I don't think we saw another person the entire time we were out.

We found a cute little turtle.....

We also found 3 fishing lures and some sea glass, but I forgot to take a picture.  We wash the lures and hang them on a seining net in the basement bathroom.

I also found a brand new pair of needle nose pliers, laying on the beach.  I snapped them up quickly too.  These are going right in my tackle box and will be perfect for removing fish hooks.  I was really quite excited about this find!

Afterwards we admired my azaleas, which look beautiful....

Then we dragged the kayaks out.  Like I said, the water levels are really low, so our dock is still sitting on the bottom of the lake, except for the back end of it, which is on about 6" of water.  Just barely enough to launch the kayaks, but we made do...

We paddled around our bay a bit, happy to just be out on the lake.....

We also had to do some work around the house.  It was 86 degrees and the A/C wouldn't go on.  My husband took a look at it and wisely decided that he had better call the "A/C guy."  Some things are just better left to the professionals.  Anyway,     $ 130.00, a new thermostat and a new sensor something or other, and we were back in business.  Altho I swear, the minute it got fixed, the temperatures dropped and its about 50 degrees now.

Also on the agenda was a new faucet for the sink in our bathroom.  This is something we have been putting off for forever!  The biggest reason being that this is an old lake house.  Things are rusty.  Like the pipes under the bathroom sink.  Louie didn't want to mess with the water lines under there.  So here was the problem.....  the faucet dripped.  Badly....  We tried taking the handles apart numerous times and tightening the nuts.  We installed new washer thingy's.  It still dripped.  Then the drip turned into a slow, steady stream of water.  I had a hammer next to the sink and I'd bang the handles until the dripping stopped.  Then the next time I wanted to turn on the faucet, I'd have to use the hammer and bang the handles until the water came back on.  Finally I got fed up with it and just filled up a gallon jug of water and left it on the sink to use to wash my hands and brush my teeth...  for the past 8 months!   God, I hope you all aren't laughing at me now!    So when we got here this time and turned on the main water supply, the water started dripping out the faucet and no matter how much I pounded it with the damn hammer, the steady stream of water was not stopping.   I just looked at Louie and told him he was going to have to fix it.  So out came the saw zaw, which is never a good sign in this house.

He ran to town, got a new faucet and water lines, hooked it up and ... ta-da.....

Please ignore the rust spot in the sink.  I love this sink - it's big and deep.  Maybe one of these days we'll be able to afford to fix all the stuff that needs fixing around here, but for right now, I'm thrilled to have a bathroom faucet that works!  Next on the list is a new toilet, but I don't think Louie really wants to hear about that this trip.