Ewwwww scorpions, stinging and crawly 
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Nooooo…I chose not to think about them when we were in the bottom of the canyon. But I almost stepped barefoot on one stuck in the carpet at my friend’s house in Phoenix.
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I told my sister not to worry. It’s only the sting and the aftereffects that hurt. 
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I used to live in rural Pa- Amish country.
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Nice 
I’m in PA too. Moved here in 2006.
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We live really close now to IN Amish country; I grew up right in Amish country. Used to see Amish buggies in the car wash and Dairy Sweet drive through in my hometown 
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Am I only the only one that thinks they look absolutely adorable?
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Hmmmm…I’m thinking you might be 
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This is a good topic, it’s interesting to see how everyone got here.
I’m another horse person. Grow up in South Carolina and have lived in the Carolinas my entire life and had horses almost all my life also. I guess it was a cross of interest in cowboys and Indians, horses, and the love of my local nature museum, which had some very comprehensive displays about Native Americans across the continent. As a child, I found the artwork and masks and other Native American gear in those display cases so bizarre and fascinating, that it was always an area of interest.
I never got to travel out of the South until I was an adult, and really love the West. I could never leave my beloved South but I really feel a connection to the Western States, the national parks and the culture out there, too. But I’m also quite a beach bum! Guess I’m a woman of many tastes. Haha
If I can find pictures, I’ll post some! My horseback riding pictures are crazy because I did everything… Western, trails, gymkhana, hunt seat, saddle seat, dressage… I would try and learn everything I possibly could on the back of a horse.
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@Xtina, I am a curious person, so that’s why I started this thread. I love my family and friends, but I’m the only one with a turquoise passion.
Lucky you owning horses! But I have been blessed to ride my whole life, and had I owned, maybe I’d have never skated, which is now my job. Dad always said he would pay for lessons but not a horse
I’m a bit of a beach bum too, but fresh water! Thanks for sharing.
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I had two questions with this thread, what drew us to Native jewelry, and also what was one of our earliest purchased pieces. I posted my Hopi cuff up above, although it might not have been the very first item I purchased, that would prob have been earrings, but it was one of them. Anybody else?
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@ziacat
When I was a kid, dad used to attend various gun/military shows in PA.
There was a jewelry vendor from Arizona who always had a big display at these shows.
When I was about 10, dad bought me a little turquoise ring, pendant and earrings from this vendor. I wore them all the time!
Always curious about how jewelry was made, I pried the turquoise stone out of the pendant. What? Sawdust?
I was so surprised!
Then I got yelled at.
Then dad had to reset the stone.
He did a pretty good job fixing the piece since his hobby was gunsmithing!
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And now you make your own!
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Stracci’s last post got me thinking about what was the first piece of Native jewelry I got, not that I bought. I think it was these necklaces. I believe dad bought them for me in way western Ontario in a town called Sioux Narrows. We used to go to pow wows there, but I was really little then. Later we would stay much father east in Ontario. You can see the one is broken, but I still wear the other. The picture with my brother and me was taken in that area. Maybe the little headdress isn’t PC, but my family meant no disrespect, and possibly bought it at a pow wow, Idk. Mom and dad also had a big beautiful headdress hanging above our fireplace, but when mom passed we kids decided to give it away. Prob got that in Canada also.
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@Ziacat I no longer have space or time for horses at this point in life and I miss riding badly. Hopefully when my job and family don’t require as much attention, I can pick it up again. For now I have cat and some chickens and enjoy the horses others have.
The first piece that I bought myself was a dead pawn cuff at Yellowstone, which I mentioned in another thread. The first turquoise I had…fake or not, was a little chip inlay horse necklace I got at Tweetsie Railroad, a tourist attraction in the NC mountains when I was 5 or 6. They did ( and still do, I think) have an old West town-front and stage a cowboy and Indian show and the gift shop sold native crafts. I still have that thing!
My buddies!
…and one of me in high school riding. I made the newspaper!
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Like so many others my interest started when I was a kid. My cousin married a veterinarian and they lived in Arizona; I would go to live with them during the summer and work at his practice. During the weekends we would hit the road and sleep under the stars in places like Canyon de Chelly ( it was the mid-70’s with little restrictions ). I became hooked on all things Southwest and Native American. My 1st summer I purchased an Acoma pot, that I still have today. It was perhaps my 2nd summer when I “commissioned” a ring to be made from an artist in Scottsdale named " Elias ". Occasionally, when I see his jewelry around with its distinctive " by Elias " stamp I smile. Since that time my love affair with all thing Native has continued and through collecting various forms of Native art I have received so much joy.
August
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Maybe I was 6 or 7 when my father brought me a little-girl’s native-made silver bracelet with a turquoise in the middle. Then, in mid-60s New York City, I was walking in the West Village and spotted a turquoise ring in a jewelry shop window. It was just the shade of turquoise that I love most, a shade right in between–you can’t say whether it is more green or more blue. I tried it on, but it was too expensive–$17! My friend urged me to buy it, and I did. Because of my arthritis, I can’t wear any of my rings anymore–except this one. I wear it on my pinkie. I’m drawn to the southwest and collect Hopi pottery. Also, I am drawn to Tibet and have traveled there. They love using turquoise and coral together, just as in the southwest.
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I answered the first part of Zia’s question earlier, but wanted to share my first two pieces of turquoise jewelry. On the left is the ring I wore for a few years starting when I was around 7 years old (1968). When I grew out of it in the early 70s, I remember I wanted something more “cool”, more “Indian”. The ring on the right was it. It was my favorite. I was so proud of this ring. For years, I wore it daily until it didn’t fit anymore. 
40 years later, our daughter wore both rings when she was young and she still occasionally wears the bear paw ring as she knows it makes me happy to see it. 
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Thank you all for responding; this has been fun!
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