My Mom is a Psychic Decor Savant

Do you subscribe to House Beautiful?  I just received my April 2013 issue yesterday and perused most of it this afternoon.  I stopped on page 136 (yes, there are only 140 pages). Here is what I saw...

Sorry for the crappy phone picture.  If you have Superman vision you can see that these are going for the ridiculously steep price of forty clams a piece.  What what?!  As a geologist I value rocks more than the average person, but a slice of dyed agate is hardly worth $40 when affixed to a night light. I love how blue is 'azure' and purple is 'fuschia' for the design elite.  Lucky for me (again) my mother saw some of these at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show and bought two of them for me.  She even showed them to me on skype this morning and they are beauts!  I believe my mom gave the savvy sum of six bucks a piece for each night light. (If it was cheaper you can leave the price in the comments Mom and be my first commenter. Ever.)

My parents are visiting in late Spring.  I'll try to put up a picture of these geo-tastic night lights in action when they arrive. Until then, enjoy any drink on the rocks because ice is a mineral!

Time Out: Deployment Blues and Harlan County

I realize that I'll be MIA around here for a couple of weeks.  The Chief is home briefly before leaving on an eight-plus month deployment.  Did I mention that I love the Navy?!  Actually, I do love a lot of the Navy life.  I've lived overseas in Spain, we'll be able to fly around the world for free (on standby) when The Chief retires and the USN provides more defense for the U.S. than the average citizen realizes.  Anyway, we're spending time together with our cats and just soaking up the last few minutes of togetherness that we can enjoy...

We don't indulge in cable TV.  I often think about doing it, but then realize that I could do something much more productive with eighty bucks a month.  I've lined up some post-deployment but pre-return entertainment.  I forked over for Amazon Prime today (eighty bucks a YEAR) so that I can watch the show Justified.  The Chief and I are both Timothy Olyphant fans.  I've seen Seasons 1 & 2 (from the library) and was hooked. He's no Chief, but he'll work in this pinch!  Who knows?!  I might travel to Harlan County on my way to visit family in the next year!

Why my family rocks! (That's sort of a pun, BTW.)

This week is the 59th Annual Tucson Gem and Mineral Show.  I'm 39 (barely).  And, I'm a geologist by degrees (BS & MS) and in my heart of hearts.  I love rocks, fossils, the Law of Superposition, unconformities, stable isotopes, the idea of Jurassic Park, the Moab area of Utah, Carlsbad Caverns and Mt. Vesuvius.  I grew up in Tucson and my family (Mom, Dad and dear Sister) are all at the TGMS today.  I've gotten a few calls...  "is this ring cool?  Do you know about this mineral?  I got you a surprise!"  It all warms my heart.  When I know that my peeps are at this show, I know that I am a geologist at heart because of my childhood even if I don't work as one.

Anyway, mushy mush aside, they got me a couple of agate slabs so that I can DIY/copy Freckles Chick (whose hubby is also a geologist) and these framed slabs.  At six bucks a piece for these beauties, I wish I had an extra family member to hug.