Volume 4 Issue 9 September 1, 2011

Dear Friends,

August in Florida can be quite boring. Most of the part time residents have fled to the north and the tourists are reluctant to come with the prospect of hurricanes. It is, however, a perfect time for grandchildren to visit. What do grandparents do? Disney is, of course, the obvious answer. Unfortunately, for our grandchildren that isn't always the option. The National Park Service sells passports for children. It was a secret, happily discovered. We discovered the 2 parks in St Augustine this year. Fort Matanzas is most interesting. It is on highway A1A. Originally, the Spanish built the wooden structure in 1569 on Rattlesnake Island on the Matanzas River. In 1740, the Spanish built a permanent structure using coquina, a natural shell stone. The fort protected the city of St. Augustine from the south. The guide is excellent. We even learned that Andrew Jackson was a governor of Florida. Maybe, the passports should be for adults rather than children?

THE MYSTERY CLASP

This is another brilliant creation by Jorg Heinz. It is a "quick change". One can wear either a white diamond center or a black diamond center. A gemological fact of note is that a natural color, black diamond isn't really black. The diamonds contain crisscrossing fissures filled with black deposits. These deposits are primarily sulfides. These black diamonds, natural in color, are difficult to cut and polish as they break off where the fissures reach the surface. Most "black" diamonds sold in jewelry are irradiated for color. They are natural diamonds, but in specific lights are green, not black. As a purist, I love the irradiated diamonds, for without the treatment they wouldn't exist in jewelry.

Anemone Shrimp

~Happy Labor Day~

Thank you again for your patronage and friendship. We appreciate all of you.

With love,
Lornie and Rose