Chrysocolla – What is it?

Chrysocolla is another one of Copper's crystal offspring. This hydrated Copper crystal has two distinct personalities. In its purest form, Chrysocolla is brittle, soft and unsuitable for jewelry and such, without undergoing enhancements. However, if silica is available to "agatize" a Chrysocolla specimen, the resulting crystal is an enchanting stone, hard enough to cut into jewelry, spheres and unique carvings. These Chrysocolla silicates are also known as gem silica.

Colors in Chrysocolla range from greenish blues, like Turquoise, to a Robin's egg blue in clear gem silica specimens. Like Azurite, Chrysocolla often occurs mixed with Malachite, Turquoise and the above, resulting in unusually beautiful gemstones.

Where is it found?
The stone forms after Copper deposits are diluted by hydrothermal solutions, often rich in silicates (Quartz) and other minerals. This material deposits in surface stones, where it is weathered away by rains and winds. Ultimately it leaches back into Mother finally crystallizing into Chrysocolla, as well as Turquoise, Malachite, Wulfenite, Azurite and dozens of other sedimentary gems.

Some of the finest specimens of Chrysocolla Gem Silica are found in the Arizona mines. The deposits in the Keystone mine were first discovered in 1905. Though Native Americans had mined similar material from nearby locations hundreds of years earlier.

It is believed that the Copper deposits that created this vast array of mineral and crystal specimens originated in the Arizona area between the middle of the Mesozoic era and the beginning of the Cenozoic. If you remember the history of Petrified Wood, at one time Arizona was a vast shallow sea that became buried. Eventually colliding land masses heaved plains into mountains, pushing the area's primal past back to the surface and creating ideal conditions for Copper to weather and recrystallize.

Similar occurrences of these Copper crystals are found in New Mexico and Sonora Mexico. Outside the US, Chrysocolla is also mined in Israel, Zaire, England, Russia, Namibia, Australia, Chile, Greece and China.

How it got it’s name?
The Greek roots of this gemstone's name seem to have little to do with the crystal itself. Chrysos is Greek for ‘old’ and ‘kolla’ means glue. Originally the term was applied to a substance used for soldering Gold. Not a single reference indicated how this name became stuck to the stone we call Chrysocolla.

Healing & Spiritual Properties
The healing properties of Chrysocolla are said to be used for easing heartache and stamina in health. For the inner self it provides wisdom, peace, love, communication, vitality and inner strength. It is an excellent gemstone used for meditations; holding a piece in your hand one could visualize peace and health emanating form the stone. It is also highly recommended for the treatment of arthritis and believed to have detoxifying properties as well as aid in digestion.

Reprint from Ore’s Featured Gemstones.

[New?!] House Stalking in the Heights

They just don't build homes like they used to...or do they?

Over the weekend my husband, his brother, and I went to a bar in the Heights, one of Houston's oldest neighborhoods. Driving through the neighborhood, I was struck by how well the neighborhood had managed to rebuild while still staying true to its Craftsman and Victorian roots. In fact, the new builds are barely distinguishable from the old builds. My neighborhood (Montrose) on the other hand is a mishmash of 1920s Arts and Crafts bungalows, 1960s apartments and modern townhomes (some of which are very, very modern). While the variety could be deemed eclectic, it makes the neighborhood feel less...well...like a neighborhood and more like a bunch of random homes that just happened to find themselves situated on the same block.

But I'm not here to whine about the "lost charm" of my neighborhood -- I'm here to share some pictures from my virtual stalking. Can you believe the house to the right was built in 2007? Even the size (a moderate 2300sf.) is more in line with original builds and -- unlike new construction in my neighborhood -- this hasn't been built out to the lot line. Why can't they do this where I live?

[Actually, that's a rhetorical question with a depressing answer: because builders aren't required by law to. You see, while Montrose is roughly the same age as the Heights -- and in very close proximity to it -- the diverging fates of the neighborhoods is largely the result of the fact that the Heights is a designated historic district and Montrose is not. Thus, it's not that homeowners in the Heights have some greater sense of history or style -- it's just that, by law, all new construction has to comply with a ton of restrictions from lot size to style that are not similarly imposed on most Houston neighborhoods.]

Fortunately, the inside of this house is just as wonderful. Just look at that detailing! This house isn't just dressed up like a Craftsman from the outside: from floor to ceiling, it is one. Just look at the inlaid border in the wood floor! To quote Rachel Zoe -- I die. The master bedroom even boasts a double tray ceiling. And thanks to the falling oil prices and the swooning economy, the house can be yours for under $500k. We never found a deal that good two years ago when my husband and I were house hunting. But then again, it looks like this house has been sitting empty since it was built in 2007. Perusing HAR.com (a thorough and completely addicting housing resource for Houston that almost renders Realtors useless), it looks like there are quite a few completely adorable Craftsman/Arts and Crafts bungalows sitting empty in the Heights just looking for a home. Above is another one I found particularly appealing -- and at $469,000 and over 2900sf., it looks like an even better deal (though I do think the interior is not quite as exquisitely finished). But that's a matter of taste -- I vastly prefer dark wood and more masculine interiors to the "light and bright" spaces Realtors often blather on about.

If Craftsman isn't your style, never fear. The large percentage of the houses (both new and old) in the Heights are Victorian in style. For roughly the same price, you can buy a brand new 2400sf. Victorian on a corner lot with an absolutely beautiful front/side porch. This particular house is forcing me to revise my opinion on Victorian houses (too stuffy, too ornate, choppy rooms, etc.). Love the yard in particular, which is absolutely covetable "inside the loop". Unfortunately, the interior pictures of the house were horrible shot (perhaps to make up for a mediocre interior?). If I were the owner or listing agent, I would take more pictures immediately. You can't sell a house in this market with too-dark pictures that aren't even formatted correctly. I also noticed that the Heights is starting to build some New Orleans style homes as well -- perhaps an acknowledgment of the many 'Nawlins transplants that now call Houston home post-Katrina? In any case, I am absolutely loving the red paint on this house. I do wish more folks in my neighborhood would paint their homes something other than white, gray or pale blue. If my house weren't brick (bleh), I think I would either go for red like the house on the right or a very dark blue-gray (like Benjamin Moore's "Phillipsburg Blue", which I have in my master bedroom, and am still completely in love with 2.5 years after painting it).

In general, what attracts me to all of these houses -- and the Heights neighborhood as a whole -- is the detail that is so often missing in modern construction (particularly modern suburban construction). Unless a house is a custom build, you just don't get detailed woodwork, stained glass, elaborate tile work, etc. in most modern homes -- and I think that's a shame. I think most people would sacrifice a little bit of square footage for some personal detail and quality that makes the house feel special. But perhaps even more importantly, you're giving your neighbors something pretty to look at and something to take pride in. Who wouldn't want to walk their dog down a tree-lined street filled with houses whose styles have stood the test of time? Talk about keeping your neighborhood desirable.

Wrapping Up the Holidays

I know the holidays are over and most folks are completely turned off even thinking about having to giftwrap any more presents, but I have to plug one of my new favorite sources for giftwrap, cards and even gifts that I stumbled onto over the holidays.

Whimsy Press is a great e-commerce site with some of the most creative and high quality giftwrap that I've ever seen. To make it even more versatile, most of their giftwrap is printed on both sides so you get two coordinating options in one.

Some of my favorite giftwrap include:

The last one is even made out of 100% recycled paper. If you're feeling especially creative, these papers would also be great as drawer liners (they're really thick) or matting for photos/art -- actually, they're pretty enough to be framed on their own if you're so inclined. In addition to wrapping paper, many of their giftwrap prints also come in coordinating cards, wine tags and even notepads and journals. They also have a cute selection of smaller, inexpensive gifts (tote bags, make-up bags, onsies) and stationary. Some of my favorites:

I know I must sound like an advertisement for them but honestly everything I've purchased from them has been great quality and they ship really quickly. Plus, I got a ton of compliments on my giftwrapping this year -- so that's always nice. I really do think that nice packaging makes even small gifts something special.

Introductory Matters

Hi. I'm Averill and this is my first blog. Since I've been keeping a journal since the sixth grade, I figure this is one New Year's resolution I may actually end up keeping.

First up: a little bit about me. I'm a twentysomething lawyer with a large energy company in Houston, Texas. I have a husband (an engineer with a large oil field services company), two cats (that I'm allergic to), and a miniature dachshund named Olivia whom I am often accused of being completely obsessed with.

But wouldn't you be obsessed with something this cute?

I thought as much. Moving on. As an undergraduate I majored in Classical Civilization and my favorite poet was Catullus (and not just because his poems were short, relatively easy to translate and typically bawdy). His shortest poem is actually only two lines and is the inspiration for this little blog's name:

Odi et amo. quare id faciam, fortasse requiris?
Nescio, sed fieri sentio et excrucior.

This roughly translates as follows:

I hate and I love. Why do I do it, perhaps you ask?
I don't know, but I feel it happening to me and I am tormented.

A wee bit dramatic? Yes of course, but at the age of 19 it seemed like Catullus was reaching through nearly 2,000 years of history and speaking directly to me in that way that only teenagers can be self-centered enough to believe that they are the first to experience love and loss. I chose to name my blog after this poem because the central theme (if you can call it that) of this blog will be to discuss all the people, places, and things that both hate and love (typically not at the same time, but sometimes a girl is that torn).

In any case, I used to think that blogs were just a forum for intellectual masturbation. Of course, that was long before I'd ever bothered to read any. When I left my demanding job at a large law firm last July, I found myself with significantly more time on my hands. After tiring of limiting my web surfing to shopping or "news" sites, I stumbled upon the first blog I ever got hooked on (Elements of Style). A few days later, I'd exhausted its archives and began branching out to other blogs (Urban Grace, Making it Lovely, In(side) the Loop, and Door Sixteen being my favorites). Within a month, I was visiting a dozen blogs during my breakfast and lunch breaks. I was hooked.

Once you start reading blogs regularly, I think it's inevitable that you want to start your own. Not that you think you can do it better. Just that you start wanting to put your ideas out there, too. It seems unfair to expect others to share their opinions, their advice -- even their lives -- without being willing to reciprocate.

And so, here I am. I'll do my best to keep things interesting, fresh and fun.

Getting Inspired

Mary Poppins by averillh1


January blossoms by averillh1

I thought I might kick off this blog with a couple of collages (virtual mood boards?) I made over at Polyvore. If you haven't visited Polyvore and played around with their site, I highly recommend it. It's an excellent time killer for anyone struggling to get back into the swing of things after an extended holiday break.

I'll be back later with a proper introduction -- but for now, I couldn't stand the thought of creating a blog and then just leaving it empty. It just looked way too sad.

New Year Growing Pains

As Timeless Designs experiences growing pains, everything goes through development, expansion and upgrades. Our website and blog are no different and as a significant part of our business, we’ve spent some time working to create a website and blog that reflects Timeless Designs. We did research looking at all different kinds of websites, read numerous articles, books and gathered website developers-programmers-usability analysts insight and finally……we are ready to release our re-designed website!

Ushering in the New Year, we have done some significant re-design to both the blog and website. First, we launched the re-designed blog last week with a few miner changes. But today, we (nervously) begin the 1st week of January with the release of our newly re-designed website.

Some re-design highlights:
Softer background and easy to read text
Added a gallery on the front page – no more staple single pictures
Simpler navigation – we’ve combined, added and deleted a few buttons
Made it easy to find information such as policies and links
Links now have a few details added about each site
Revamped the tags and descriptions for better results in search engines
And more……….

Just like our jewelry, our website is an evolving entity and will continue to grow as does Timeless Designs.
So what are you waiting for, come on over and check things out --- we hope you like it, we sure do!

Happy New Year

The New Year is here and we at Timeless Designs are gearing up and ready to go for an even BIGGER and BETTER 2009!

After a much needed vacation that energized us, the creative juices are starting to flow! We can’t wait, so watch our blog and website over the next several weeks as we release new designs, more business and industry articles, and vendor reviews…and these are just a few of the new things we have planned for 2009!