lol. What a bunch. And TM, it sorta being a chemistry question, I am disappointed!! You all seem to have gotten it: Jet Jewerly! All this history and cultural heritage is condensed and confined to just seven and a half miles of North Yorkshire coastline! In the light of this it is surprising to find that there has been and still is much conflicting and erroneous information concerning Whitby Jet. It has been called the 'Black amber of the North' a possible allusion to some of the properties that both these fossils share. Even its organic roots have been denied when it was suggested that Jet had nothing to do with wood (Tate and Blake 1876). It has been likened to a mineral deposit similar to turquoise and the most consistent misrepresentation is that it is a by-product of coal formation. The web site author has even been asked if his Whitby Jet jewellery came in any other colours! Well, sort of...it does comes a bit brown sometimes, due to the iron pyrite content of some jet. During the mid Jurassic period some 150-180 million years ago what was to be the British Isles was located further south in the area of Northern Spain and Portugal. It was thus much nearer the equator and had a climate to match. The dominant species of tree was the Araucaria very similar to the Araucaria araucana we see today. Its common name is the Monkey-puzzle tree or Chilean pine. Long story short, it fell into the ocean, alluvian silt settled, et voila, 182 million years or so later we have this interesting mineraliod, aka a minor gemstone. There are two forms: hard jet, formed under pressure with salt water, and soft jet, formed under pressure with fresh water. Hard jet is just that, and can be quite brittle; soft jet is easily carvable, so the two can be incorporated into the same piece of jewelery. It is apparently incorrect to assume that jet is related to coal, though it does have a petroleum oil content, and smell when heated. Oh yes, and there is some jet in Spain, which has an aluminum content, as opposed to the iron pyrite. So, for Ginny, Cyn, Annette, Lorna, mnwsgal: , although, Cynthia, maybe I should deduct a star for the hair reference?? Ewww, I always found that to be a creepy trend, to be honest!! Thanks for playing, that was fun, and it helped me get through my cold-marred day. I leave you with a poem, and a link to the Whitby Jet Cnetre - just remember if you shop One pound sterling = US$1.54 and CA$1.61 - hey, that Canadian conversion it pretty good!! lol, somebody hide my credit card. Ah! Black as jet, but long ago In dignity and lace, The ladies wore around their necks A flash of ebon grace. But oh! To-day Great Broughton mourns Still waves the merry corn, The beer flows at Jet Miners' Inn, But jet's no longer worn. Still, fashions change, mayhap some day Again the craft will thrive, And Yorkshire jet will ring the earth, Black, flashing and alive. Here is a link that might be useful: Whitby Jet

Yes we are sweltering. I'm sitting at the 'puter with 2 fans, my feet in a dishpan of cold water and an icepack on the back of my neck. I keep soaking my head and I am MISERABLE. Tried to get out to a local mall today for respite and wouldn't you know.....they had to evacuate the entire mall because a transformer or circuit board blew up. You should of seen the gridlock with everyone trying to drive away at once. I just hung out in the "shade" of the building for about 40 minutes 'til traffic congestion eased. I'd hate to see what would happen in a real emergency. Last night I drove 30+ miles to a 24 hour Walmart and hung out there 'til around 4:00 am. Stopped to attend a party at a watering hole along the way. Drank one beer and a lot of water and went on to breakfast and then Walmart. When I got home it was STILL hot. Never got those cooling ocean breezes we're famous for.:0( Today was supposed to be cooler but was actually hotter than the day before. This evening is a bit better so hopefully..... In the meantime I am staying in a holding pattern of weight control. Best I can do for now.

Didn't someone (Pal?) have a post a few years back about why we hated some trends, and that one reason revolved around what we grew up with? Because I honestly don't care for MCM - at least the stuff that I grew up with -- the starburst wood clock, formica countertops, the hanging chained light fixtures, the gold carpeting, specific colors such as harvest gold, avocado green, some tones of rust/orange, etc. Meanwhile, a friend of mine who is 12 years younger loves MCM. And, it's that I don't want to live with those things (and they don't fit into the style of my house) but I don't mind seeing them in other people's houses as long as those things "fit" the style and are well-done. Then, I can appreciate the style... but I still don't want to "live" in the house with the style. Also, now that I'm older and have traveled, I don't like things that just purchased to "pull the design together" - like when stagers are trying to neutralize a room with objects that pull the colors together but don't have any real "worth." Stuff that doesn't really have any meaning or purpose. I like to decorate with things that remind me of places that I've been or that are made by artists/craftsmen (doesn't have to be expensive) rather than mass-produced. When I was just out of college, I had more of those decorating pieces from Target, etc. because I hadn't traveled and lived enough (plus, no money) to have accumulated many items that had personal meaning, yet.

I dont mind the hot weather as long as strong wind isnt with it. I put up umbrellas and shade cloth over small potted plants or move them under trees. I have a friend who teaches history to kids at Rileys farm near Riverside CA and they wear 1770s clothes there even in 90+ temps. What they do is to soak the white cloth "tucker" that goes around your neck at the top of the bodice before they put it on and then wring it out. When its dry, they just wet it again. I do the same thing with a bandanna or a light cotton blouse and wear it over a swim top. I can do all kinds of things in the shade and when the sun moves, I go to another spot thats shady. We were at Los Encinos State Park for a Victorian Picnic during the last heatwave. Everyone in bustle dresses and suits sitting in the shade of a 98 F day. I cheated and wore an Edwardian white lawn/lace dress. Thats an interesting place and has a very old adobe from the Mission times. It has its own spring water source ( now a duck pond with fountain ). The drought of the 1860s caused the ranchers to start raising sheep instead of cattle. I did feel a lift in my spirits when the weather cooled in to the 70s for a time. We even got some morning mists and cloudy days. The cool temps and humidity brought on some lovely roses with good perfume. PJPII is having a flush of near perfect blooms and yesterday there was a very fragrant Rouge Royale. It's nice to have a break from the heat and the plants think so too.