Polishing the Stones and Disaster...

Last Sunday we went to James' factory and worked at polishing the stones that we found during our two outings of rock hunting. The stones need to be polished to bring out the Taiwan jade and the metal. I'm not sure what the metal is but it could be zinc or brass.

After polishing we drill a hole in the stone so it can be worn around your neck.

There is one more step. We need to heat and wax the stone. This is where I made my big mistake. I heated the stone for too long. I put it in the oven for 15 minute and the Taiwan jade turned brown. the metal also dulled. I''m bummed. The stone you see sitting on the cardboard is so much more beautiful now than after I stuck it in the oven.

Apparently, I misunderstood and should have only put it in the oven for a few minutes. We'll polish it again this week and see what happens. Bummer.

Back to Bloggin

Well I miss blogging so after a break here I go again.

On April 5 we went rock hunting with some friends. It was a great way to spend the day. I really mean the day. We left our house at 5:30 AM and returned at 8:30 PM. Whew, and the only nap was in the van.

I only found one decent stone. Just getting an eye for it. However, the time slipped dreamily away. It was so peaceful to hear the river all day long.

By the way, the photo of the bridge shows women doing laundry the "old way" in the background, not rock hunting.