geeking out on Christmas Eve ...

     I'm working today, and as to be expected, the calls have become so infrequent that my computer keeps timing out.  So I'm on an archeology geek trip ...

     A little while ago I saw a story online about [click here> a beach in Japan that was made up of stars.  My attempts to find a contact in Okinawa or Japan to send me some sand to look at failed.

     But then I was unpacking and came across a small bottle of beach sand from Guam that a past co-worker had sent me, and I wondered if the sand in Guam was close enough to Japan. (and to be totally transparent, she was super sweet to have sent it to me, but for the life of me now, I can't even remember where I was working at the time.  I blame trying to be more green and recycling my brain cells on a frequent basis)

     So today I dumped it into a crystal coaster, grabbed my magnifying glass with a bifocal, and began to explore!

     One sore neck and back later from trying to get as close as I can with my one good eye, I found stars!  And teeny tiny baby sand dollars!  And itsy bitsy teeny tiny seashells!

     As soon as I can remember where I put my macro lens for my phone camera (have I mentioned a gazillion times yet how much I hate packing, moving, and unpacking?), I'll update with better pictures, but for now, feast your eyes on this!

     I also have two other small bottles of sand from Thailand and the Philippines, but the grains are soooooo small, that I'm not sure I'll be able to see anything unless I get a much stronger magnifying glass.  I'm not even sure I'd be able to pick anything much smaller than these with my tweezers!

     In other not-as-exciting news, it is looking less and less like a white Christmas for me this year.  YAY!  It has been raining all day, and temps are in the low 50's.  Overnight, temps will drop to the upper teens, however, the rain should be ending and any snow before then may not stick because of how damp the ground is.  Ice, however, is another story.

      Charlie, the cats, and I have no plans for tomorrow except to sleep late, take naps, make phone calls, and maybe go to bed early.  Oh, and geek out over sand stars, watch dysfunctional family Christmas movies and laugh at how much they remind me of my own.

     Merry Christmas, happy holidays that you choose to celebrate, stay safe and healthy...  and be kind out there.  It's been a hard year for everyone.