@Lori Dee
Dear Lori:
I love seeing your photos of the final polishing...  reminds me of myself during my transition,
a little polish can provide astonishing results.  HRT and surgeries are not the only solutions.

Thank you for sharing and posting.
HUGS, Danielle

Quote from: Northern Star Girl on August 15, 2024, 06:16:14 PM@Lori Dee
Dear Lori:
I love seeing your photos of the final polishing...  reminds me of myself during my transition,
a little polish can provide astonishing results.  HRT and surgeries are not the only solutions.

Thank you for sharing and posting.
HUGS, Danielle

So true! We all start out with a cold, rough exterior. But with a little polish, we can SHINE!

Lori those stones are amazingly beautiful!

I agree Danielle, they are a great analogy to transitioning.  Every stone starts rough but in the end each is different but all are beautiful.

That last picture looks as if you're seeing a bird's eye view of a rainforest through a wizard's magical scrying stone, lol.

Amazing.

Quote from: Sephirah on August 16, 2024, 01:06:44 PMThat last picture looks as if you're seeing a bird's eye view of a rainforest through a wizard's magical scrying stone, lol.

Amazing.

That is why I love Moss Agates. I'm still working on getting some close-up pics. The stereoscope doesn't have a strong enough light (to prevent blinding the observer). I am using a super-bright LED flashlight but the camera wants to focus on everything except the stone. I have an idea and if it works, I should be able to get some really cool shots.

Quote from: Lori Dee on August 16, 2024, 01:47:06 PMThat is why I love Moss Agates. I'm still working on getting some close-up pics. The stereoscope doesn't have a strong enough light (to prevent blinding the observer). I am using a super-bright LED flashlight but the camera wants to focus on everything except the stone. I have an idea and if it works, I should be able to get some really cool shots.

Please do, Lori. Everything you've posted shows the natural, raw beauty of the world. You nurture that and show it in a kaleidoscope of light and a multitude of facets of things that... very few people ever see, let alone appreciate. We take so much for granted... and often miss the things right in front of us. That you see the beauty in this and show it to others is a real gift. To allow them to see it too. You show that what someone might consider mundane, is actually quite beautiful in the right light. And this applies to life.

Thank you for illuminating the often hidden depths of things. And showing that to others. Not all that sparkles are diamonds. Not all that glitters is gold. So much of this world, and what's in it, is inherently beautiful. Just needs the right encouragement to show it.

Quote from: Sephirah on August 16, 2024, 01:59:12 PMNot all that glitters is gold.

Wait. Wut?

< rethinking my activities over the past decade >

Quote from: Lori Dee on August 16, 2024, 02:40:44 PMWait. Wut?

< rethinking my activities over the past decade >

Lol.

In your case, Lori... it's your eyes, your smile and your words that glitter. Funding that is something else. What you do is bring the beauty of everything around us to people who may not have ever seen it. That is honestly priceless.

Quote from: Sephirah on August 16, 2024, 02:42:33 PMLol.

In your case, Lori... it's your eyes, your smile and your words that glitter. Funding that is something else. What you do is bring the beauty of everything around us to people who may not have ever seen it. That is honestly priceless.

I think it is just a matter of the things I have learned about life, the universe, and everything. @Sarah B will say it is 42, but it is so much more than that. I'm just an old soul that has seen a few things. 

My experiments with getting a picture of the Moss Agate under the stereoscope failed. So I lit it up with a bright LED flashlight. After dozens of photos, only one turned out half okay. I might need to make a lightbox of sorts that I can use for pics of stones and jewelry.

Thanks for sharing.  It's nice that you don't need to pay for film.  You couldn't have done this just 15 years ago.   

Hi Everyone

Lori you said in your post above:

Quote from: Lori Dee on August 17, 2024, 12:22:32 AMI think it is just a matter of the things I have learned about life, the universe, and everything. @Sarah B will say it is 42, but it is so much more than that. I'm just an old soul that has seen a few things. 

Yes I do say that which I have highlighted in pink. I have also been around and seen a few things and I'm a spring chicken compared to you by two years. I said previously:

Quote from: Sarah B on August 14, 2024, 06:16:17 AMYou are right Iztaccihuatl, "The answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything" is of course 42.  However, the question is why 42?

Well in computer programming 42 is represented by the character '*' and the '*' represents the wild card or what ever the user would like the '*' to be.  This is why 'Deep Thought' gave the answer of 42.  This leaves the symbolic meaning of 42 as the answer to life, the universe and everything, is anything the user would like it to be.

So answering their question with 42, my answer could be anything and still they would not understand.

You are right I do say the 'answer' is 42 and I do note that 42 is so much more by me saying "This leaves the symbolic meaning of 42 as the answer to life, the universe and everything, is anything the user would like it to be."

Which I have highlighted in Green. Means 42 can be so much more in the eyes of the beholder.

Love and Hugs
Sarah B
Official Greeter
@Lori Dee

And here I am, brain the size of a plant parking cars. sigh-------

Quote from: Sarah B on August 17, 2024, 02:42:29 AMYou are right I do say the 'answer' is 42 and I do note that 42 is so much more by me saying "This leaves the symbolic meaning of 42 as the answer to life, the universe and everything, is anything the user would like it to be."

I wasn't being mean, just yanking your chain, Sis.   

OK I just add that the Moss Agate and your eyes are just stunning.

Hi Lori

Quote from: Lori Dee on August 17, 2024, 09:44:33 AMI wasn't being mean, just yanking your chain, Sis.   

You did a good job.  You got me got me good and proper.  Sis, thats what Aussies do!!!

Love and Hugs
Sarah B
Official Greeter
PS  I know you were not mean.
@Lori Dee

My best friend's sister and niece have been in town visiting from Georgia. They are building a cabin in the north end of the Black Hills. Today, my friend said her niece wanted to buy a few pieces of my jewelry. I told her the Friends & Family Discount means she only pays for shipping.

Ten minutes later, they pulled into my parking lot on the way to the airport. "Sold" five pieces. She insisted that I should charge something. I told her to wear them often, it is free advertising for me. She said she would be watching my Etsy shop and would be back this way for Thanksgiving to buy more.

I already have a handful of customers and no jewelry listed on Etsy yet. I am building anticipation and hopefully, they will go fast once I start listing them. I better get on the ball and start making more. I've been slacking lately. 

Hi Everyone

Quote from: davina61 on August 17, 2024, 03:15:19 AMAnd here I am, brain the size of a plant parking cars. sigh-------

Marvin the Paranoid Android, my all time favourite in the HHGTTG.

Love and Hugs
Sarah B
Official Greeter
@davina61

Hi Everyone

How can one not like Marvin with quotes like:

Quote"Here I am with a brain the size of a planet and they ask me to pick up a piece of paper. Call that job satisfaction?"

and

Quote"Life', said Marvin,'don't talk to me about life"

and

Quote"It's the people you meet in this job who really get you down. The best conversation I had was over 34 million years ago.
- Oh, dear!
- And that was with a coffee machine."

That last one always cracks me up.  God rest is soul.

Love and Hugs
Sarah B
Official Greeter

Quote from: Sarah B on August 17, 2024, 02:42:29 AMYou are right I do say the 'answer' is 42 and I do note that 42 is so much more by me saying "This leaves the symbolic meaning of 42 as the answer to life, the universe and everything, is anything the user would like it to be."

Which I have highlighted in Green. Means 42 can be so much more in the eyes of the beholder.

The meaning of life, the universe and everything passed me by a couple of years ago. Almost three now.

I am ashamed to say, I know nothing of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. It's something I never got into. I know it's a cult thing, where if you know, you know. Kind of like everything by Terry Pratchett. But... it was just never my thing.