Protect Your Jade

Life here has been crazy the past few days because of the weather.  Thursday we went out with a friend to celebrate her birthday at Disney Springs.  We left the restaurant around 7:15 PM and saw what looked like a big storm coming, and very soon.  But people were pouring into walkways so we didn't think it would be that big of a storm.  We walked quickly to the car, and just when we got inside, the rain poured, and poured.  It took us an hour to get home, just in time to hear a tornado warning for our area.  We later saw photos of how threatening the clouds looked.  We were lucky to escape the tornado, but it was quite flooded here. Of course, I worried about all the jade I have stored in our home, and in Florida, it's rare to have a safe basement.  We have no safe space.

Then last night we heard a storm was coming, and it was the most terrible storm I every experienced.  I don't think we ever had anything like this in central Florida.  The winds were almost tornado speed, but the worst was the 40 minutes of hail.  First the hail was small, then golf ball size.  It looked like snow outside.  In fact, it was 4 inches deep at the height of it, and still on the ground mid morning today when it was 80 degrees outside.  And that hail did a lot of damage to our home.  Our skylights in the kitchen in bathroom are cracked and leak, our roof is bare to the wood in places, and there are holes torn into the siding.  Windows and screens cracked.  it's a mess. 

I spent today cleaning up outside.

I'm hoping all the good jade qi energy will protect it.  And keep our home from falling apart and taking the jade with it.  Three hurricanes came through in six weeks when we moved here in August 2004.  I put the jade in the car during the storms, and it stayed safe there.

For most people, taking care of your jade is easy.  If it gets dirty, you can wash it in warm water and soap.  If it needs polishing, you can use a spray wax cleaner like Pledge.  If it really needs a good waxing because of nicks, you can melt a candle and use the wax when it cools slightly, let it get hard, then polish with a soft cloth.  If you wear a jade bangle all the time and want to wear another jade bangle next to it, you can put a bead bracelet or other kind of metal "spacer" bracelet between the two. 

Most people who break their jade do so when they either knock their wrist with a jade bangle on it on a hard surface, or when taking it off, dropping it on the floor or a hard surface.

Don't leave your jade in direct sunlight, and don't ever put it in boiling water to clean it.  If you need to store your jade, store it in a dark, cool place.  That's how I store all the jade on the web sites.  And jade likes moisture, so dark, cool and moist keeps jade in good condition.  I have seen jade, here in Florida, kept in warm, light storage, and it changes so much that it looks like color treated jade.  In fact, that's how gemstones are often color treated: with heat and light.

You can't always choose where you will live, and you don't make your choice of where to live based on keeping your jade safe.  And I'm still looking for a safe place to keep all this lovely jade inventory during stormy weather.