The Book that Ruined Me

When I had left my elementary school teaching career behind to seek adventure plus make better money working construction on the Alaskan oil pipeline, my mother mailed me a zebra striped book titled, I Married Adventure. She said, "Here is the book that ruined you." I read it you see at age six whilst recuperating from a bout of measels and mumps and it put a yearning in my heart that still to this day leads me to get involved in wild and wonderful doings.I followed my dreams and my family members each cocked one eyebrow, shook their heads, but wished me Godspeed.This addiction to adventure has not always been a frolic but with youth and beauty and the belief that Life is grand, I sailed thru relishing every moment. Now that I am older it is harder but the addiction is still so rewarding I continue the life.I must sign off now to once again sell off the rest of the "stuff" that even we gypsy types begin to acrue.I sell now on the net as www.ParchedEarthOpals.com so I no longer wish to sell Yowah opal at rock and gem shows and am selling the cases and tables and cloths and lights and props that go along with the opal vendor on the road lifestyle. 'Till later

Waht a Crap Shoot

Dressed like a chain saw massacre killer type, in garbage bag slipover and knitted wool cap, I am covered in brownish red ironstone stains splashed from my saw job. Four days of sawing these Yowah nut opal concretions in half in the blowing cold wind of Santa Fe, New Mexico at my sons home. My hands froze in the cold water that I use while using the rock saw. Maybe I found a hundred dollars worth of opals? This mining game is not easy and never was. I am almost positive now it is a gambling addiction that keeps me in the game. I do not go to casinos. This outdoor casino in the opal fields of Yowah, Koroit, and Lightning Ridge in Australia is all I can afford. Whew...maybe tomorrow I will open one of the splits and be rewarded with a dazzling crystal opal fiery beauty...To see what I do and why I do it go to my website at www.ParchedEarthOpals.com

Treasure with Breakfast in Yowah Opal Land

Brekkie (breakfast) is usually a couple of googs (eggs) and a snag (sausage) or bubble and squeak (leftovers from the night before fried in with a lot of leftover mashed potatoes on toast) or low fat stewed tomatoes (tomahtoes) on toast. I buzz over to have a morning cuppa with my opal cutter friend, Gwen. She shouts to me from the back to have a look as she flips on the halogen lights in the opal sorting room and spreads out the gems she has freshly popped off their dopsticks (the small sticks that roughly shaped opals are waxed onto in order to handle the opals with deftness in the shaping and polishing process). As usual their variety, color, and personality keeps us gasping with delight and surprise. These Yowah nut opals, a form of ironstone boulder opals, capture our interest as we move them around and make their colors and patterns dance in the light. Just the day before they were buried in the brown ironstone rock and looked only like brown rock. Now they are gems with every color of the rainbow twinkling back at us, displayed in never ending every changing patterns; little apostrophes of bright electric color, swirls in concentric circles, speckles of fire, and bubbles of crystal opal. There's nothin' like a cup of coffee and opal in the morning.To see what I do and why I do it visit me at www.parchedearthopals

Outback Yowah Opal Adventures Cheating

Okay guys, I used to be at another blog site and am going to cheat now at this difficult time for me with putting up past blogs written there onto this site...