Tour of Quarries

Today Lynn and I went on a tour of several local quarries. It was sponsored by Parks and Rec and a local land trust. We went to 1) the Empire Quarry, where the limestone for the Empire State Building was quarried, 2) the Evans Quarry where we got to see a diamond saw cutting into limestone, 3) the Mitchell Quarry where limestone is quarried and then crushed for gravel, asphalt, and other commercial purposes, and 4) the Dishman Hindostan Whetstone Quarry, which is now part of the Sycamore Land Trust and is known for fossil tidal records.

Empire Quarry

Empire Quarry

Evans Quarry (the white box-like thing at the end of the track is the diamond blade cutter used to cut into the limestone)

Evans Quarry - stacks of limestone blocks

Evans Quarry - blocks marked with where they're going, where they came from, and the dimensions of the block

Evans Quarry - Lynn wants one of these

Mitchell Quarry

Fossil palm tree trunk at Dishman Quarry

Layers of Limestone at Dishman Quarry

Life in Pictures

I can't believe it's almost July. It seems like time for vacation, but that's not really happening until maybe August, for a bit, before classes start again. Here are some pictures of things in my life at the moment.

Okay, this first picture is not in my life.... It's the bag I did and mailed to Montana. It's safely there. I thought I'd share the photo since some of you have seen pieces and parts of it. Here's the completed thing.This is a photo of the gates I pass through on my way back and forth from home and the library. They're always open. I liked the allium skeleton next to the stone and metal.This is my latest procrastination venture - chain mail. This will eventually be an ankle bracelet. The pattern is called hana-gusari, and it originates in Japan. I'm hoping to work my way up to some of the complicated patterns using double and triple rings. We'll see. It's a good stress reliever in that once you get the pattern, it's repetitive, but requires enough concentration to block your mind from thinking about things, like homework and whatever else....

Summer

Today was the first day of class, second summer session. I'm taking government information, in which we unravel the mysteries of government documents. I really like the instructor, and it seems like it will be a really interesting and informative class.

The bag is finished and mailed, as of yesterday. Woo hoo! It certainly took longer to finish than I'd expected. School did get it the way, but it took between 35-45 hours of work total. I always forget how long these things take. And it's not like you sit down and work for that many hours straight, either. It's something I enjoy, but I think it's not something I'd want to do on a regular basis, especially as a job.

Now that the bag is done, I'm hoping to have more time for other beading projects. I probably won't tackle anything too complicated until class is done in August. I'm thinking earrings are always good, and I still have beads from my Montana visit.

(The picture is of a bouquet I got at the farmers' market about 3-4 weeks ago. The white flowers are mock orange blossoms. They made the whole apartment smell so nice....)

Updates (yes, finally...)

Summer session 1 ended Thursday. Summer session 2 starts Tuesday. In my tiny break between the two, I have a list a million miles long of things to do. First on the list is finishing the beaded bag that I had intended to have finished already. Man, school does get in the way of almost everything. (yes, it is almost done, and will be finished and in the mail tomorrow. Pictures will be posted eventually)

I am not underwater, though, unlike other parts of the midwest. So that's a good thing. This is a photo of what happens when you forget that you've taken the ubiquitous umbrella out of your bag.Have I forgotten the umbrella since? Oh no, not even on the 90+ degree, sunny days ('cause that's what it was like when I left without it).

Callie is happily hanging out in the new rocking chair we bought from Bonnie when she ran away and deserted us... Oh, um, yeah, when she graduated and left for gainful employment (it's all in the perspective :- )

Other than school and work (one place or another), I've had a few excursions to places like the farmer's market, the library, and some local restaurants with Lynn. This is the absolutely beautiful cake I had at a restaurant callled Farm.
How pretty is that? And just as yummy as it looks!