Cynthia St. Charles Store

Saturday, February 28, 2009

Shiva Lingam

Shiva Lingam that I purchased in Tucson.

Shiva Lingam’s are a naturally formed stone that come only from the Narmada River in India.

The Narmada has an extremely strong current during the high season.
The stones are naturally tumbled to form an oblong or egg shape.
During the dry season they are collected from the river bed by hand by only those who have been taught by their families what to look for in each stone.
The tradition of hand-polishing with a special wax created from herbs has been passed down for generations and is applied only to protect the stone’s natural markings and shape.

The Shiva Lingam is very helpful for transformation, opening a path to new life, and to feel a sense of unity.

Each Shiva Lingam contains sacred markings of deep red’s and brown’s, and are said to have been come from a meteor striking the ground millions of years ago.

Shiva Lingam’s have been used in traditional Hindu ceremonies for centuries.
They are placed in temples as a symbol of the feminine and masculine.

The Shiva Lingam can work with all chakra’s, and is connected to all of the elements (earth, air, water, fire).

The Shiva Lingam is very helpful for transformation, opening a path to new life, and to feel a sense of unity.

The Shiva Lingam’s are here to teach us. Peace, patience, quiet listening. These qualities are the balance of the masculine and feminine aspects within ourselves.

They are quietly creating a space for us to open our hearts to do our healing, our work, our creating, wherever it is we need assistance energetically.

Friday, February 27, 2009

Tucson Gem, Mineral and Bead Show


We had an opportunity to take in a little bit of the huge and impressive Gem, Mineral and Bead Show in Tucson. This takes place over a period of 2 weeks. It is spread all over the city in warehouses, tents, hotels, convention facilities, etc. We only went to three venues, and were amazed. We didn't have time for more venues, but would love to come another year with our own vehicle.

The minerals in this building were all shipped from India. The merchants were lingering around. Wholesale prices - this is a wholesale show and some of the venues require an application process, etc.

There were crates containing enormous geodes. Some over 6' tall. Amazing.

These amethyst geodes were selling by the pound. Amazing. We were very tempted. The biggest obstacle - getting it home on the plane.

I find it hard to imagine that stalagtites can be sold like this! According to the salesman, a road construction project in China was routed through this cave, so they harvested the stalagtites and stalamites for sale.


The fossils were amazing - the ones above are some sort of seaweed. The pink geode below came from India. It was about 4' across.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Joshua Trees


Joshua Trees on the scenic drive between Phoenix and Las Vegas.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Arizona Desert


I realize my pictures of my vacation seem to be going on and on. I hope you don't mind. Fact is, I came down with the flu a few days after we got home and I have not been doing anything whatsoever in the studio. I have barely been out of bed, as a matter of fact.

These pictures were taken from the road between the Mexican border and Gila Bend.

We so enjoyed the landscape in the southwest!

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Death Valley in the Rain


We only had one day for our drive from Las Vegas to Death Valley, and it happened to be a stormy one.

The weather gave us an opportunity to see the area from a very different perspective.
I had been to this area before in the heat of August - suffocating heat. A real desert.

I had no idea that water would collect at the lowest point in the valley! There was a lake that I never knew existed! But of course, where else would the water go? There is no outlet and the valley is below sea level!

About 200 feet below sea level in this picture. The lake in the background, and it was sprinkling when I took all my pictures of Death Valley.

I suppose we should count ourselves lucky to have seen Death Valley this way.

And how about these red needles on this cactus? We only saw these on the hillside as we climbed up from the valley floor. We had snow on both mountain passes - we drove a loop through the park and into the valley.

Monday, February 23, 2009

Zapotec Indian Weavings


One of my planned stops in Puerto Penasco was the Zapotec Indian Rug Weaver's shop.
He is only there intermittently, but I was lucky to find him there during our visit to the area.
These 100% wool rugs are dyed with vegetable dyes. I already had one that my sister had purchased for me a year ago. I want to eventually scatter them throughout my Spanish style home

This large one will go in the living room. I just love the vibrant colors!

These runners will go down the hallway.

Friday, February 20, 2009

Puerto Penasco Fishing

Puerto Penasco is a Mexican fishing village, so we had to experience a fishing trip!

Leaving the harbor, we saw many shrimp boats.

Mike caught the first fish.

Joe enjoyed the fishing trip. We had dolphins and seals hanging around the boat, but they were impossible to photograph. Fun to watch, though.

On the way home, they started cleaning the fish, which attracted many seagulls and pelicans. They flew behind the boat, allowing us to get a lot of good images.





As we tied up to the pier, the birds started to calm down and just swam along behind us.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Cholla Bay and Las Conchas Sunset


Sunset at Las Conchas, Puerto Penasco, Mexico.


Our friend, Alex looked right at home on the rocky beach at Cholla Bay. She is 100% Greek American. This region has an old world flavor that really appealed to us.

We enjoyed a wonderful picnic on the rocks in the sunshine. Fresh shrimp - yum!

A different view of the Sea of Cortez from the Cholla Bay area. So different from the sandy beaches of Las Conchas.

Peurto Penasco Beach - More


We really enjoyed exploring the tide pools at low tide. You can see the Las Conchas beach houses in the background.
We had two days of high winds which brought us crashing waves. Really fun because these huge waves corresponded with the highest and lowest tides of the month! Very fun!


Joe and Mike get their feet wet.



Mike and Joe had to take a nap in the sun after playing in the surf.



We had a full moon while we were there. This picture was taken from the patio of the condo at sunrise and low tide. Beautiful!

Puerto Penasco Beach


The pelicans were wonderful to watch.


Sunrise

Sunset

Whale skeleton