Diamond geezer

Ever since Pete could walk he's been filling his pockets with stones.  Probably because we refuse to buy him toys, but also because he seems to have a genuine interest in the geological.  I keep telling him, theology is the family business, but he won't be deterred, so we have lots of rocks everywhere, and Auntie Emily bought him some geodes for Christmas.  Cue Daddy smacking a hammer against a stone for several hours to try to break it apart.

So when I heard that Houston Gem & Mineral Society were having a free expo and trade show, I thought it was only fair to take the little boy along.  Hannah prefers her rocks porous and full of hydrocarbons, but even she was impressed by the pretty minerals that ran the gamut from abelsonite to zirconium.  Stibiopalladinite is a girl's best friend, as they say.

I was shocked by how much money a chunk of rock can go for.  It might be time to transition into prospecting, and if I don't hit gold - black or otherwise - it seems like I can sell whatever I dig up for a tidy sum.

Pete came away with an ammonite fossil and a polished quartz sphere, which is very beautiful but looks like an evil force might start trying to communicate from it at any moment.  I imagine it would tell him to fill Daddy's house with even more *$&#%* rocks.

Checking out the merchandise.

$250 for a bit of stone?  I'm in the wrong business.

These are a bit more impressive, admittedly, but I don't think they were dug up like that.

Rock star.

Shiny shiny.

My precious!