Ingredients for Soup

Yesterday, I received the ingredients for the Lori Anderson Bead Soup Blog Hop Party!  
Agnes Shapiro, my Bead Soup partner, sent me an eclectic mix of beads that did not gently nudge me out of my comfort zone. Not at all. Not even nudge me. Instead, Agnes did a really good thing and SHOVED me out of my comfort zone! 

Yes, she did shove me. And yes, that is a good thing! Seriously! I was getting rather complacent and some may even call me jade or cynical--well may be not cynical but definitely jaded--in my beading. In fact, I was starting to feel downright bead-cocky. You know what I mean. When the Bead Addict starts thinking "There's nothing I can't work with because I'm *pauses to breathe on curled fingers before polishing them on the lapel* THAT good!" I needed someone to knock back down to reality. Because in reality, I may be THAT good, but that's only because I'm THAT comfortable with my materials. And it's possible that I'm THAT comfortable because I'm in a zone, a groove, a habit, a...A Rut!  
Yep! That's what it's all about--being stuck in a rut!

 Hello. My name is Cathryn and I'm a stuck-in-a-humdrum-rut bead addict. 

The group says, "Hello Cathryn. Welcome to Beaders Ruts Anonymous." 

Because there's no cure for bead addiction...I know because I've been researching for one on the Internet. And I'm digressing and it's only Tuesday. Digression is reserved for Thursdays. 

Thank you Agnes!  Thank you for sending me materials that have KICKED my out of my self-imposed rut! 
  
So you wanna see what she sent me? I'm warning you now I'm not sure my photography skills are up to the task of capturing the colors, the textures, the vividness of these lovely beads....

Told you, didn't I??? Can you see them well? 

May be this will help you out a bit...

Third time's a charm!  

Can you see all those lovely colors ranging from peachy gold to slatey blues and flecks of sage?

I'm not sure what those stones are...I'm thinking feldspar but I'm not exactly sure. However, they rich in color--Taupe is the background but there's streaks, striations, tiny blotches of colors interspersed! This IS exciting! I recognize the shell and the mosaic turquoise and the porcelain beads...But those stones...they are alive and vibrant in a subtle way. If that makes any sense.

So now that I have the bead soup--I need to get back into the kitchen and begin making my soup. Thank you again Agnes for kicking me right out of my comfort zone and giving me a unique beading challenge!  

As for the soup tasting, stop by starting on February 26th for the biggest Bead Soup Party!