My Long Lost Rocks

I'm going to warn you right now – I have a strong inclination toward collecting rocks. I also enjoy admiring rocks. I think I inherited this trait from my mother. I'm the kind of person who sees something interesting on the ground and feels an overwhelming impulse to put it in my pocket. When I go for a walk on the beach, I come back about 20 pounds heavier because of all the stuff I've picked up, most of it rocks. My husband doesn't feel this way at all, but he tolerates my idiosyncrasies and only teases me when it is absolutely necessary :)

Two years ago we went camping near Bandon, Oregon, on the coast. While we were exploring, we met a rockhound. He gave us some tips on where to hunt rocks. The kids were really excited, thinking they would find gold and get rich. We didn't find any gold, but we did pick up some cool rocks.

After we got home, I picked out 4 rocks to try out for props when I photograph my jewelry. You may recognize some of these guys from my shop pics!

The rest of the rocks were in a big bag together... and then I lost track of them :(

Fast forward to today. I took a day off work so our whole family could work together on clearing one of our storage rooms. We found lots of great stuff we had thought was lost – including my rocks!

I'm so happy, I'm going to share some of them with you. If you are not the kind of person who likes rocks (for example, my husband), I understand if you skip the rest. If you like rocks, read on!

The one on the left is a big rock I love because of its beautiful reddish tone, and it's soft, slippery feel. On the right are my two best shells.

I found several rocks with circular depressions or holes in them.

I picked these rocks up because I thought they had interesting patterns on them.

Last but not least, I found a bunch of agates.

How about you? Is there something you love to collect?