gem show revisited

so today . . . i went back to the gem show. it was fun to be there yesterday with rollie, but when i'm with someone else, i look at things differently than when i am alone. i notice things that are unusual or that i think they will find interesting, but i move through pretty quickly and don't really get to spend the time i want just looking at things. so today i went back by myself to wander about alone.

(photo disclaimer--i know these photos are not very clear, but there was a "no photos" sign at the gate, so i had to sneak these pictures with my phone--i should be a spy!)

as i entered the gate, i was handed a fabric shopping bag. i thought, "how nice," and put it over my shoulder. but as i walked up and down the aisles, i knew why they gave me that bag. it was just begging to be filled up!as i said yesterday, gem shows are different now than they used to be. this show had lots and lots of finished jewelry, ranging from inexpensive silver rings to very expensive gold and gemstone pieces. at this booth, i saw a little girl, who was about 5, choosing a ring to take home. this vendor had tiny little silver rings with stones in them for just a few dollars. she looked and looked, finally making her choice, and then bounced up to the cash register to hand over her money so she could head home with her treasure. and then there were the beads . . . they were everywhere . . . rows and rows of them. there were beads made from every stone i know, and some that were new to me--and they came in all shapes and sizes. there were pearls dyed in every color of the rainbow--large pearls, small pearls, coin pearls, baroque pearls, button pearls, and mabe' pearls. there were faceted gemstone beads and swarovsky crystals (which, btw, were blinding!) it was amazing and overwhelming all at once, but i managed to choose a few strands to bring home.

another thing i noticed was how often organic materials were used. as i said, there were miles and miles of pearls. and many different kinds of shells. this is the coolest thing i found--although i was very tempted by the pendants and bracelets made out of spotted shells . . .the best thing that happened to me occurred right before i left. i had been looking at moonstones all day, but they were just too expensive for me--i was on a limited budget. but on my way out, i found a silver ring with a nice sized moonstone for only $10. i was so excited, until i found out that the vendor couldn't process debit cards, and i only had $8 in cash. he kindly took my $8, and i left with an empty wallet and a cool moonstone ring. (i tried to take a picture, but it just didn't capture the luminescence of the stone.)

but my favorite moment of the day happened at a real rock booth. this little area was different from the rest of the show. the tables were covered in black cloth with natural crystals on display. there was a boy about 11 or 12 looking at the rocks. he picked up a piece of iron pyrite and handed it to the owner of the booth. when he found out he could own that excellent rock for only $4, he was ecstatic! it's been a long time since i've seen a kid so excited about a rock--even a very cool rock like iron pyrite!

rock shows seem to be in the process of being taken over by people looking for finished materials to use in jewelry making. and that's ok, i guess--there were a lot of pretty things to look at. but i like that sometimes, rock shows are still about kids (and maybe some grown-ups) getting excited about rocks.

rocks, rocks everywhere . . .

so today . . . rollie and i went to the gem faire out at the orange county fairgrounds. this event lands at the fairground three times a year, i think. it has been a long time since we have gone, but i had tickets for free admission, and we had time, so off we went . . .

i LOVE rock shows. my dad is a "rock hound," and i remember going to rock shows with him when i was a kid. the venues weren't as big as they are now, but every single booth was stuffed with rocks--REAL ones--not glass beads or carved bone or silver charms and chains, but ROCKS! and these were not all cut and polished and set into jewelry--these rocks were raw and just waiting for US to cut and polish them and set them into jewelry. and we did. my dad would use his big rock saw (that had belonged to HIS grandfather, who shared his love for rocks) to cut the chunks into slabs. then i would look at piece after piece to find just the right one to cut into just the right shape, and then smooth and polish it so my dad could make it into a ring. i loved rings . . .

when we would go on vacation--the drive back to visit relatives in iowa--my dad didn't stop for much besides gas and food. but if we saw a good rock shop along the way, we could usually convince him that it was time to stretch our legs and check it out. and again, many times we returned to the car with a new rock in our possession.

one christmas, there was a huge box under the tree with my name on it. but the puzzling thing was that it was from my little brother. this box was big, and heavy, and it rattled. i was pretty sure it wasn't little shaped and scented soaps. it was too mysterious! on christmas morning i opened it without a clue about it's contents, and found . . . a bunch of gravel and crumpled up newspaper. it was pretty disappointing, because i had high hopes for what might be in that box (even if it was from my little brother.) and then, he pointed out the tiny wrapped bundle taped to one corner of the box. i opened it up, and there was a silver ring in the shape of a dragon, clutching a piece of polished sheen obsidian! it was a ring design i had fallen in love with, but hadn't been able to buy. and there it was, complete with a beautiful stone, in disguise, and under the tree just for me.

and then there were the rock tables. i don't know how many rock tables my dad made, but i wanted one so badly! so he said i could make a small one. he gave me some rocks to sort through and drew a circle the size of my little table so i could lay out the design. i picked the prettiest rocks, but what i really wanted was tiger's eye and i couldn't find any. when we started my table, my dad poured the resin into the form, carefully followed my "rock layout," added the crushed glass, and poured in more resin. we waited the requisite 10 days (i think) that seemed like forever for the table to dry. when the time came to pop it out of it's form, a miracle had occurred--there was a piece of tiger's eye in my little table after all!
several years after we were married, rollie bought me a beautiful amethyst ring for my birthday. we have a good friend who is a jeweler, and he and rollie had tracked down a lovely lilac colored stone cut in a very unique way and set it into a ring. it quickly became my favorite piece of jewelery, and my love for rocks began to take on a different look as rollie started collecting gemstones for me to wear.

when we were at the rock show today, looking at all those rocks in different colors and designs, i said to rollie, "you know, when God was creating the earth, He could have just made all the rocks the same--gray or blue or white--but He didn't. He used all these vibrant colors in all these different designs and forms, and then scattered them all over the world." when i think about it, the details of creation astound me. really. once, my goal was to collect one of each kind of rock and gemstone known to exist, but now i think that is an unattainable goal. new rocks are being discovered all the time--i can't keep up!

i love rocks. i feel all happy when i am looking at rocks. when i was little, i'm sure it was partly because of the connection i felt with my dad and his love for rocks, and i think that is probably still a part of it. i have a lot of good rock-related memories of my childhood. rollie continues to indulge my love for rocks--today, by going to the rock show with me and looking at rocks until his eyes were probably rolling back in his head. after we had walked up each and every aisle in the show, i said, "ok, we can go now." but he said, "no, we need to buy something to prove you were here!" because he knows that besides looking at all those beautiful stones, part of the fun of a rock shop is choosing something to take home to remind you of the fun you had looking at all those rocks . . .

table talk

so today . . . i was sitting at a table with my two little kindergarten boys. they were working on an art project and talking to each other. i was doing some computer stuff, so while i heard their voices, i wasn't really tuned in to what they were saying. as i sat there, staring at the computer, i realized how tired i was. "i'm tired!" i said. and joshua said, "of us?"

i just sat there for a minute. and then i laughed and said, "no! not of you!"

they do talk a lot. and it is easy to just let their voices just sort of flow around me and not really listen to what they are saying. and sometimes i do that, because as i said, they talk ALL THE TIME. it's language development run amok. but i find that when i am listening to them, they just crack me up! they are the sweetest little boys. they complete their work carefully. they usually make good choices. they hug me for no reason. and yet, they draw pictures of tyrannasaurus rex and great white sharks with bloody teeth. i guess that's a boy thing--diandra drew rainbows!

let this be a warning to all you health nuts

so today . . . i ate a whole wheat hot dog bun. i will never do it again.

for the last few years, we have been making some changes in the way we eat. we eat less sugar and more vegetables. we don't eat french fries (unless it is a special occasion!) we eat more chicken and fish and less hamburger . . . i even eat broccoli.

and we eat whole grain products instead of white. i have discovered that you can find bread in almost any form made with whole grains--not just sliced bread, but also english muffins, bagels, rolls, pasta (although i still haven't found whole grain lasagne noodles,) and pita bread. so when i found whole grain hot dog buns, i thought, "yeah!" i mean, i eat quesadillas made with whole grain tortillas, pizza with whole grain crust, and steel cut oatmeal (the kind that takes 40 minutes to cook.) so i thought whole grain hot dog buns were going to be great--another win in the carb war. but i was wrong. tonight i ate one, and trust me, it isn't a win.

when it comes to hot dog buns, that is apparently where i draw the line on whole grains. it is just not right. really, who are we kidding?!? if i wanted to eat something good for me, would i even be eating a hot dog? NO! hot dogs are fun food. you eat them at ball games or the zoo or the swap meet (or at costco--yum!) if you want something healthy to eat, you order a veggie burger or (horror!) a tofu burger--or at least chicken. there are just some foods that should be left alone, like bar-b-que potato chips or fruit loops or croissants.

so the next time i decide to eat a hot dog, i am just going to eat it slowly and enjoy every (bad for me) bite. i won't do it too often, but when i do, it will include a squishy white bun . . . and maybe even french fries or bar-b-que chips . . .