Our fishing report, Texas 2025

I never thought of retirement as time to relax. One friend, a retired English teacher told me to never sit in a rocking chair as you will end up rocking your life away. You may also think you have lots of time, but when you retire you find out that time is the most precious thing you have left, so don’t waste it! I haven’t posted a new blog in a while because there is never enough time, so here is a brief catchup post. My time for the first half of December has been spent fishing and making jewelry for next year’s shows. The fishing was good, for the most part. My friend Dave and I have been concentrating on black drum. He did catch and release a thirty-six-inch red fish, one that big is a spawner and must be released) My big fish so far is a thirty-five-inch black drum, about 21 pounds. Thats too big to keep and so it was released unharmed. We have caught and eaten slot sized black drum, which is between fourteen to thirty inches and they taste great. Many anglers here in Texas prefer Red Fish but we like sheepshead, black drum, and speckled trout, (I don’t even mention flounder because its rare for us to catch a keeper.

The cold fronts are driving the speckled trout away from the shore, where we have been catching them on crankbaits. Our friend Dan did catch a beautiful 20-inch sheepshead which will feed two to four people. Today a cold front with winds from 20-30 mph is coming through so it’s a good time to catch upon the blog (which is our journal about retirement, its a way for us to remember and we have now been retired for eighteen yaers). I also have some repair work to do on our rv, if you didn’t know the initals rv, stands for repair vehicle. So hopefully I will get the work done early and go back to having fun, making jewelry while we watch the Broncos play the Green Bay Packers. Go Broncos! Clear skies

The Gulf Coast Gem and Mineral Society Show, Robstown 2025

Each year our first major show is the Gulf Coast Gem and Mineral Societies show at Robstown, the first week of March. We look forward to displaying our new pieces of jewelry and we also look forward to it as a buying opportunity. Last year, our sales at this show decreased, leading to some uncertainty about future expectations. Would people still enjoy our work? Will the show be financially successful, (gold and silver prices have dramatically increased our costs)? It is after all one of our most expensive shows of each year.

Still the reason we have learned to work stone is because of the training and friendship of members of the Society. We extend our deepest gratitude to all of our club members, with special acknowledgment to the memory of our mentor, Dick Cline, who passed away at the age of ninety-three. Our friends Linda, Jerold Simpson, (Jerald taught us how to grind and polish cabochons), Mark Wolbrink, and all past club presidents and shop foremen whom have taught us how to slab rocks and maintain our own equipment.

The show opened with a short line of people, but attendance improved. We did learn that while the numbers were slightly down, Sunday’s attendance was much larger, and by the afternoon it was crowded! We both had some time to do a little shopping, (I bought some slabs, and Renita found some Jewelry). Still, we were barely breaking even until the last couple of hours when two different buyers showed up. They were both buying and purchasing multiple pieces, (our pieces are expensive), enough to make it a good show. Where before we were not sure if we would do the show again but we will definitely show again in 2026! Clear skies

The club had just elected a new president, who did an outstanding job in the set up and showed a great ability in attracting volunteers! Most importantly the club has rented a place for our club to set uo its equipment and reopen its doors to a rock lab. Classes will be offered in silver smithing, lapidary, and wire wrapping. The club is also planning on buying new equipment and the Grand Opening is scheduled for March 20! The club is looking for land and hopes to build its own building in two years! Outstanding!

Cabbing Time

It’s cabbing time and so in the cooler mornings we grind stones, (it reached 91 F for the past three days). A front has passed through, and the temps are now down into the eighties. Our humidity is usually about ten percent and so it’s pleasant without needing air conditioning. Each year, after all our shows, we make an inventory of what we have sold. Next we locate the rough rocks and saw them into slabs, (using a slab saw). From there we draw the shapes before using a trim to saw rough shape them into what we call preforms. These are now ready for us to grind into finished pieces, called cabochons, before giving them a finish polish.

To do this we select the preforms and then grind them on diamond wheels. The first wheel has a grit size of 100, wheel two is 220, and the third wheel is the special wheel that we think of as a magic wheel with 400 grit. Thie first two wheels are rigid, but the third wheel has a pliable backing that takes the edges off the preforms and cuts them into their final shape. we grind these by hand, as using dop sticks is unnecessary, (unless the stones are too small to grip, which are used for rings or earrings).

After washing the cabs, we inspect them for any scratches before finishing them. Wheel number four has a grit size of 600, wheel five is 1200 and the sixth wheel is 14000, (we also have a wheel coated with 50,000 diamond grit but it is rarely used.

Finally. we give them a final polish on a buffing wheel. The last step is to inspect them for any flaws or scratches before saving them in glass cases. We only finish about fifteen cabochons every third day, this gives us a few days for my back and hands to rest/recuperate). The cabs are then stored and taken on our winter travels. We turn them into jewelry when the weather is too bad for fishing, birding, or hiking. Clear skies and rock on!. I still enjoy making cabs even though we have made thousands. It’s still amazes me that we can take a rock and turn it into a stunning cabochon/piece. For safety all cabs are ground with water to minimize dust. We do not wear jewelry and also wear a N 95 respirator/ mask, a lab apron, and a safety shield. Our cabbing machine is a Genie, which was made by Diamond Pacific, a company in California.

Alpine Mountain Days 2024

Our summer shows schedule started with the Alpine Mountain Days, in Alpine Wyoming. It’s a well-run three day event and we look forward to it each year. One of the highlights is the Native American dances.

This year we were so busy at our booth that I couldn’t break way to watch as many dances as I would have liked. Still, I was able to watch the Children’s dance where Native American invited nonnative children participate! The kids had fun and it was a great dance that everyone enjoyed.

Later I was able to watch a traditional family dance, followed by a nontraditional dance. The main difference was that the outfits in the nontraditional dance contained modern materials and designs. The dance I was able to watch was the Women’s Dance.

The last dance was a male dance. It was obvious that all the dancers were caught up in the excitement of the performances. Thank you to all the dancers and drummers, for sharing your culture! Finally, a thank you to all the people of Alpine, Wyoming who made the show such a success! Clear skies

Back to Wyoming

It’s a long drive from Grand Isle to Jackson, Wyoming, about 1900 miles. The plan was to drive it in five days as we can no longer jump in the car and drive eight hundred miles in one day. So the first stage was from Grand Isle to Shreveport, LA. The main attraction in Shreveport was whole deep-fried catfish! Severa years ago, we stopped there, and I had the best catfish ever, (ones I did not cook)1 Getting a room we next drove across town. The catfish was good, but it was overcooked. I still ate the three whole catfish, (drawn and headless), and it reminded me of when we would go to the Waterloo Fish Market and order whole deep fried bullheads.

The next morning, we planned a long drive to Wichita, Ks. It was about five hundred and forty miles, and it was a brutal day. This time we ate at another fast-food restaurant and the food was ok, but typical fast food, mediocre/bland. Leg three was a shorter drive from Wichita, KS to Ogallala, NE. If you ever go there be sure to stop at the Petrified Wood Museum. It’s from the collection of two brothers and is filled with western petrified wood. They also made miniature stone houses, churches and other structures from pieces of petrified wood. Some were also music boxes. As we have gone to the museum on three previous trips we did not make a fourth visit.

Day four was from Ogallala to Casper, Wyoming. Before we reached Wyoming we passed through a small town and Renita noticed a Rock Shop! Of course we had to stop! Had lots of beautiful specimens but the ones we wanted were not for sale. As we searched through the shop I found a small case of Larimar! It was rough precut slabs. The time to buy something is when you first see it. I made an offer for the case with eight small pieces, and he jumped at my offer. Darn, I offered too much. So now when we get back to our place in Star Valley I need to set aside a day to turn the precut slabs into finished pieces. Then we will hopefully wrap them in sterling silver and sell enough to make some money.

The sale made their day and his wife yelled from the living room, buy more! Passing Chumney Rock in Nebraska, We cheered when we read the welcome to Wyoming sign. By this time, we were tired of fast food and bought two tv dinners. When we were first married, we ate them as a treat and they were just as good, much better and cheaper than food. Finally on day four we left Casper and drove to Jackson. We had heard that the grizzly bears were out and so we hoped to have a repeat of 2022 when we took pictures of grizzly 399 and her four sub adults, (she released them three weeks later).

The Sixty-First Gulf Coast Gem and Mineral Society Show

Each year we only sell at six shows. One of the biggest is the Gulf Coast Gem and Mineral Societies, (GCJMS), annual gem and mineral show. This year the show was held at the usual site, the Fair Grounds, in Robstown Texas. This year twenty-seven dealers showed their fossil, mineral, rock, and gemstone creations. It so nice to see so many of our friends in the Society and to reconnect with other dealers. Last year the show’s attendance had dropped a little and so we were concerned about the numbers that walked through the door. We should not have worried!

Both Saturday and Sunday’s sessions were well attended. We make virtually everything we sell. Each summer I saw grind and polish the cabochons and in the winter months I wire wrap the pendants and bracelets. Often, we compete with booths in which the dealers don’t make any of their wares, (resellers). One of our friends, Cecil knaps and makes arrowhead, knifes and other Native American artifacts. His work is exceptional!

Our niche is that because I am a geologist, we aren’t just selling jewelry, but we are telling the story of almost every one of the stones. We even prospect some of the materials! One of my favorite stories involves a rattlesnake that Renita encountered while hunting Sweet Water Moss Agates. That time she spotted the snake and told me to get a good picture of it. The prairie rattler had just shed and was a beautiful greenish color! As I neared the snake it rattled and reared up. After taking a couple of pics she yelled at me to get closer, and I always do what she says. Happy wife happy life! I could fill the blog with stories but back to the show.

My cousin Angie and her husband Pete traveled down to the show and helped us both days. Pam and Roy, Renita’s sister and her husband also attended and helped us on Saturday. Thanks to them and all the GCGMS members who worked at the show! It was a good two-day show, and it met our expectations. Not only do we sell but we also buy supplies and fossils for our own collection. This year several dealers were retiring so we purchased larimar, red tiger eye, dinosaur eggs shell fragments. We also bought a large fragment of a woolly mammoth skull for our private collection. Now we are preparing for the summer shows in Wyoming. Maybe we will see some of you down the road, (full time rvers never say goodbye). Clear skies

Blue Lagoons Craft Show February 3, 2024

Each year Renita and I organize a Craft Show. The purpose of the show is to allow the crafters in our rv park to display their craft/art, (what the difference between Crafts and Arts is that the term craft is used to denigrate traditional women’s work/skills). This year we had eight people who requested tables, (one of our usual persons had a bad harvest of maple syrup and did not attend). Still, we filled all the tables with everyone’s work and had a good turnout. Not everyone sells, and this show gives all the opportunity to share their passions.

Of course, we set up our usual two tables. Pam and Roy also filled two tables.

Sue’s table was filled with her oyster jewelry and Jim sold both rough slabs and his own wirework and cabochons, (I taught him how to wire wrap).

One new person, Renee and filled her table with her beautiful handmade quilts

. Diana’s work is always appreciated, her work includes silverware holders that many use for our weekly buffets.

Joe, who age is in upper eighties/lower nineties has started a new passion and makes art by splashing paint on blank canvases he purchases at a local retailer. He sold eleven pieces of his work!

A new person, Kay offers wellness classes and Maureen sells skin care products.

All in all, it was a great chance for all of us to spread the word about what we do, besides fishing. Clear skies

Making Jewelry for the 2024 Season

It’s been a long time since I have updated our blog/journal. December is such a busy month with Christmas and New Years Activities. Among them was a Christmas Eve, Dirty Santa event, A Christmas Day Feast, a New Years Eve Shrimp and Crab Boil, and finally a good luck New Years Day meal, (all the meals main courses were cooked, grilled, or boiled by Alan and Zita, our parks Activities Directors. They are the best and are one of the main reasons we return to the park! Meanwhile our 2024 show season will soon begin, and I have been frantically making jewelry. I grind the pieces in the summer, bring them here to South Texas and then finish them. Of them the Larimar cabochons were purchased finished so I only wire wrapped them, (larimar is a rare expensive stone that often breaks apart while grinding, A dealer we buy from said she loses about two thirds of the rock slabs as they often break, as did the rough we bought).

Larimar is found only in one place in the world, the Dominican Republic, and the mine has been closed due to safety concerns. Its price has skyrocketed. So much so that it is now often faked by mixing colored stones with molten glass, (true larimar, blue and white pectolite, does not transmit light and is softer than a knife blade). Having finished almost all the cabochons, other cases are of Kingman Tourquoise,

and several that contain a plethora/mixture of other stones.

I have now switched to making bracelets.

Each one, including the rock grinding, take about five to six hours. My goal is to make nineteen before the March show, I have only finished one. Enjoy the pieces. prices vary from 25-375 dollars. All are for sale. (We also have about ten more large cases, numerous rings and even earrings, over 90% made by us. If you need something specific we do take custon orders) Clear skies (If you wish to purchase send us an email at markandrenita@yahoo.com. You can id the piece by returning the picture with the piece circled or descibing it. We will send you pictures of both sides with a quarter for scale and price. If you decide to buy it we will ship USPS First Class Insured/priorty. You can call us to pay with a credit card or mail a check. If after reciept you don't want to keep the piece we will refund you the money and you ship the piece back. (We used to sell on etsy but were not happy with their policies)

The Houston Gem and Mineral Show, Humble, Texas

Each year we attend rock and fossil shows. One of the purposes is to purchase rough rock, slabs, and even finished cabs to turn into jewelry, (over 90% of our cabs are ones we grind ourselves). One of our favorite shows is th Houton Gem and Mineral Society’s show held in Humble, Texas. It’s about two hundred plus miles from us. We were delighted when Angie and Pete,(cousins), invited us to stay at their home, (Pete is a retired Petroleum Geologist and has a lifelong passion for rocks)

. Arriving at their house we ate a quick lunch, visited a bit and then headed to the show! We try to attend all three days for any special rocks or sales taking place and this year it was a great plan. Arriving at the show Renita and I hurried to one of our favorite dealers.

He had a sign up, “Going out of business, 60 percent off”. He didn’t have much left,

but he did have a Mexican opal and a 300-gram piece of polished Larimar, (that’s about two thirds of a pound). One of the mail reasons we went to the show was to purchase Larimar cabs. Stopping at another of our favorite dealers we saw she had a case of larimar cabs. Deciding to wait till Saturday, we quickly walked around and then headed back to Pete and Angie’s house. The next morning, we had breakfast before heading to the show and didn’t get there till about ten thirty.

Our first stop was at the business with the case of larimar cabs and we saw she had sold some. Now Larimar is only found in one place, the Dominican Republic, and the one mine in the world has been closed. The price is going up and so we bought eight nice cabochons. We next went to another dealer and bought two more larimar cabs, spending more than we wanted, (larimar is tough to grind and we spent a lot for a piece of rough that shattered). From there we split up and looked for whatever caught our eye. A new dealer specialized in wooly mammoth teeth, wooly rhinoceros’ teeth, and other fossils.

They were the best we have ever seen and so I had to buy the best wooly rhinoceros’ tooth in his shop. They were all from Siberia. I also wanted to buy one of his wooly mammoth teeth, but I had already blown through our budget.

Lunch time came and passed so we left the show and ate at our favorite café, The Humble Café. The serving size was more than we could eat and we ended up taking home almost half of what they had served us, (I managed to eat all of the four fillets of my catfish). The third day of the show and we returned to find out that several dealers had sold all out and were and packing up. We ran into members of our Gulf Coast Gem and Mineral Society.

Still Renita did find several pieces for her own collection,

and I bought several of the Moroccan fossil sand dollars.

Joining forces, we walked around and bought a slab of Mexican Crazy lace agate.

It’s one of our favorite materials and we should be able to make three or four cabs from the large slice. The next day we said our goodbyes, and headed south ot our place in Rockport, Texas. It was a great show, and we will soon start wire wrapping the pieces for next year’s shows. Our first Texas show is in February and then the Gulf Coast Gem and Mineral Society show. It’s always the first weekend in March! Clear skies

Kingman Turquoise

We had just about worked and sold all our turquoise and so we went to our favorite turquoise rock shop in Rockport, Texas. It’s the only place we purchase turquoise as it is often faked. Previously we had purchased old stock Sleeping Beauty Turquoise at that store and some Morenci Turquoise from our mentor. At the store, we learned to our dismay that the store was closing. The owner had planned on retiring and his son was going to take over the store. Sadly, his son suddenly passed away. As he told us he showed several pictures of his son working in a turquoise mine and showed him holding a huge slab of the rock he had helped to unearth. The owner still had some turquoise that he had not sold. It was Kingman turquoise, from Kingman Arizona. Realizing that our source of authentic stone rough was going to disappear, we bought all that he had.

I so wanted to work the stone in Texas but our clubs rock shop had closed and so I had to wait until we got back to our studio and equipment shop in Wyoming. A few weeks after we got back, I was able to finally take time to cut some of the stone, grind it, polish it, and finish it into jewelry. To finish the cabochons, (the finished pieces), I wire-wrapped them using sterling silver twenty-two -gauge wire. I did not wire wrap all of them as some clients prefer to simply have bails attached to them as the wire pieces can get entangled in long hair and fuzzy sweaters.

The finished Kingman Turquoise pieces all took an exquisite shine and represent the best examples of our shop. Next week our summer shows start, with the Alpine Mountain Man Days Show. Our schedule continues with the Fourth of July Festival on the fourth of July in Cody, Wyoming. Our last scheduled show is a small show at the Star Vallet Rv Park Craft show, which is at our RV Park in the large log Barn.

As with all our work we guarantee that the stone, rock or fossil is correctly identified, and we will gladly refund any purchase. We also tell our customers that we will repair or replace any piece that is damaged with a lifetime warranty, (my lifetime). We have never had any piece returned and we have repaired a few pieces including a wire wrapped bracelet that had been stepped on. Clear skies If you want to test your turquoise to see if it is real. Take a cotton ball and wet it with acetone, (fingernail polish remover). Then rub it on the stone. If the cotton ball turns blue it is fake. For example the mineral howlite, a white stone, is often soaked in tidy bowl cleaner and turns blue. Almost all turquoise, (97%), is stabilized as the matrix in the turquoise can react with humidity and weather badly. You can often see this in old pieces. All of ours has been stabilized, (always ask). Also ask the dealer which mine the stone comes from. If they don’t know be careful. We have bought old necklaces, taken them apart, and repurposed the stones, but again ask for a guarantee. Sleeping Beauty Turquoise used to come from the mine in Arizona. The name is now patented, and it can come from anywhere. We have been told that most comes from a mine in Mexico. Ask before buying