Wow. Addie and I had a spectacular time at the Tucson gem shows. (It was Addie's first trip out, and my second.) We met so many incredible jewelry artists, vendors, attendees, and AJ readers. Plus, we even were able to hook up with some of our contributors.

Oh yeah -- we did a bit of shopping too. Tapping into Addie's expertise and knowledge of gemstones, I made my precious stone purchases with confidence and no regrets.  When it came to the quirkier things I tend to be drawn to, I just followed my instincts. Do I have plans for every piece I bought? Not exactly. But that's why I picked up a nifty case with a glass cover that lets me organize and ponder my loot in one glance. I'm more likely to work up sketches for finished pieces if I have instant visual access to all my pretties.

After four days of intense show-going, I headed up to a much more sedate Sedona to decompress a bit. Nothing like a little hike through red rock country to mellow you out some. Yes, Sedona is known for its Vortex sites and a New Age take on life. And for the inside scoop on this community and the folks it attracts, I had the perfect local contact -- AJ reader, Sherry Bell, who makes one-of-a-kind jewelry using gemstones and crystals (http://www.sedonarocksjewelry.com/001aa_oct07index/001aa_pages/page07.html). Sherry served up a warm welcome (and freshly baked brownies!), and then gave me a tour of her studio. She too had just been in Tucson for the shows. One of her work areas was devoted to sketches and works in progress. When Sherry lead me to the sitting area where she meets with clients, I noticed that she had posted the gemstone periodic table pull-out from our sister publication, BeadStyle magazine, http://www.beadstylemag.com/bds/default.aspx. After a casual conversation and a lot of laughter, Sherry dropped me off in town so that I could browse through some galleries. Really, does it get much better than that?