On Tuesdays, We Rock

 Firstly: my dearest Swistle has full permission to skip this post as I imagine if she has to hear about this topic one more time, I fear she will run screaming into the abyss.  

I have become Liz in Shrinking, I fear.  

I was given a the rock tumbler for Christmas and I'm obsessing, like the proper nerd I am. What had happened was my Nephew drew my name and wasn't sure what to give.  My Niece came in clutch and chose a rock tumbler.  Nephew was Very Skeptical and relieved when he saw that I was so happy. SO HAPPY.

So, I started it like the 27th of December, we'll say.  It's run almost non-stop since then.  The other day I switched it around and it threw an error code.  I tried a few things then searched the interwebs. ZERO SHADE to the gift giver, but it turns out that this is a cheap tumbler.  (Again: ZERO SHADE because really it's a good thing because who knew if the alphabet brain was going to be satisfied after doing it once or twice)  

One of the suggestions I found was essentially "You can just wire around it" and I laughed.  "Cause of house fire: a sketchy wired rock tumbler".   Oh, and I have it in Monica's Closet.  Yeah, it's a little noisy but not as bad as one would think. Kevin said it sounded like running water, which he did not enjoy.

Kevin said to just go get another one at the hardware store and I dragged my feet.  It's only $70 (only, sigh) but I just couldn't do it.  So he called the store and there was only one in stock so he asked them to hold it.  Then he called me and said Go Get It Now.  So I stopped my Spring Break binge-watching and got it.  I am so neglected and abused by that man, LOL.

The new tumbler is not effing around.  It's more industrial and it has two barrels instead of one.  It's louder and accumulates heat so we moved it from my office out into the garden shed.  I started a new batch and had one batch that was on the last cycle.  On a whim, I tried the gift one and it started again.  Luckily, I had gone to Deception Pass the day before so I had another new batch of rocks. (this is adorable because, really: I always have a batch of rocks)

I started those then will switch it to the new one when the first cycle finishes.  Kevin mentioned that while it's good that it works again, it's probably not worth risking burning down the house. #buzzkill. See: "cause of fire"  

I'm having fun learning which rocks will polish and not polish, which rocks just reduce in size, and which ones come out REALLY GOOD.  Instead of trying to find rocks of a specific color or type, now I will search for ones that might polish.  Now instead of finding new trails to take Lucy walkies, I'm looking for places where I can find cool rocks.

This is what I've learned so far: green ones smooth and are pretty but don't shine.  Black ones significantly reduce in size and are pleasingly smooth.  White ones from the ocean turn out MAGICAL, smooth and round and shiny. And often agates that glow when you put light under them. Purple does shine and shows veins.  (this is the level of nerd I have become: veins, not lines)  I just started a batch of orange rocks and we'll see.

Right now, I have a tray of polished rocks on the table next to my chair because it's just so pleasing to look at them.  I will need to find a way to display the next batches though, or start giving them away.  But right now, they're My Precious.

While learning all about this, I realized that this has become one of those Healing Childhood Wounds.  Over the holidays, there were videos on the clock app about parents or grandparents receiving gifts of toys from their childhoods that they wanted and never received. (if you need a good cry, go watch) This is absolutely that.

  I have always collected rocks and have wanted a tumbler since I was a kid. Growing up on a lake and running through the woods, you always found treasures. I would often be disappointed when once dried, the rocks appearance changed and I knew a tumbler would fix that.  Alas, decades later, here we are.

The cycles run in about seven days per so now on Tuesday afternoons I can go play with my rocks.  I bought a specific strainer to rinse them, I use an old soup pot that I brought home from my parents house, and even have a scale that Kevin gave me to make sure I don't overload the new tumbler (like I probably did with the gift one).  There's a bin to keep all the supplies.  I have a system and am In It. 

There are rocks that can be cut in half to show agates and I have (so far) drawn the line at using power tools (probably)  Maybe once I get bored with this tumbler.  Like that's going to happen. Because, LOOK: