I was sitting on the couch late at night surfing when I saw a listing on eBay for sea glass earrings. Sea glass? What is that? I clicked on the listing and proceeded to read all about it. I was instantly mesmerized! What a great idea for an article, I thought.  I landed assignments with The Globe & Mail, Acreage Life, and Antiques and Collecting Magazine.

I interviewed Richard Lamotte, author of Pure Sea Glass, and numerous sea glass collectors and artists. They had a lot of really interesting things to say, but the bug hadn’t bitten me. Not yet.

Sure, I found it fascinating, but I wasn’t exactly living in an area known for its sea glass. Why would I get involved in something that might only lead to frustration?

Fast forward two years to August, 2009. It’s a balmy Sunday morning  and a damn fine day to take the family on a picnic. My husband and I loaded up the kids and headed to the beach.

While we were there, I thought it wouldn’t hurt to take a walk along the beach and see if there was any sea glass.

“Hey, there’s a piece of brown. Look! There’s a piece of green! And look at all the white!” Two hours later, my beach bucket was filled.

I got it home and began sorting my gems. Most of them weren’t ‘cooked’ (they had nics or sharp edges), but there was a good handful of smooth, well-frosted pieces.  I wanted more. I wanted blue ones. Yellow ones. I wanted red.

It’s nearing the end of September now and I’ve got just about every colour of the rainbow. With every wee treasure that I bring home, my fascination grows.

I am a full-fledged beach gem junkie.

Photo: Blue and white sea glass by Christina Friedrichsen