Rock Party Follow Up

You won't believe this.

I was a winner in the Huntsville Gem & Mineral Society's drawing.

Not one prize, but TWO! Whoo-hoo!

I was very excited, and humbled, to get the call from the member in charge of the raffle. Lori was very kind in apologizing that she was calling later than she expected with the news. Yes, this is still a good address to mail them to. (I could hardly wait.)

I cannot not be more tickled with what I (well, we, since my son helped) won. I made sure that I wrote thank you notes to the society and the prize donors.

Lemme' show you!

Can you see them? Those two wine-colored drops hanging on my crystal bowl? Those are one of the pairs of garnet earrings I wanted!!! Garnet is my daughter's birthstone; this pair has a pronounced plum tone, set off nicely by the sterling silver settings. I'm daring to hope they are "native" Carolina stones. They were donated by Dwight D. Sebastian and Judie R. Sebastian of Sebastian's Jewelry in Hays, NC. (They don't have a webpage that I can find, but the phone number is 336-696-4058 and business address
POB 143, Hays, NC 28635)

This specimen was donated by Bill Mitcham of Kudzu Minerals ("We've got you covered!") They are based out of Fayetteville, GA. For those who want to find their own specimens, they also operate Hogg Mine and Smith's Crystal Field. (Phone number is 678-763-1409) (I wonder if I can talk my husband into a day-trip one spring weekend-- just the crystal field.)

These pics don't really show off this dark specimen to it's best effect (the shiny part on top is my bowl-- ignore it.)
Let me quote the insert:

"Name: Iridescent Hematite Goethite (Turgite)
Location: Graves Mountain Mine, Lincoln County, Georgia
Size: 2 3/8" x 2 1/4" x 1"

This is a very nice specimen of goethite. The color is mostly blue and green but it also has some green and pink mixed in.

Graves Mountain Turgite is both goethite and hematite mixed in the regrowth process. Turgite from this mine went through a massive alteration and produced an intermediate between hematite and goethite which makes it impossible to determine which mineral is more dominate." (The pink is more apparent in the top photo; the blue and green are more "peacock pyrite" evident, actually, in the darker parts.)

I am still very tickled to have won these! (My family "luck" is more busy getting us through day-to-day than garnering me prizes. The luck of my grandmother & her sisters is renowned.) These will be cherished treasures to pass on to my kids.

Thank you.