A warm welcome to you, Tricia!!!!!!!

 

I love being here too!  Everyone is friendly and makes you feel like family, glad you joined!!!

 

Sorry to hear about your crystal, that's a real bummer.  Strega here is really good about crystals, you really should check out her website, she has a lot of beautiful items available and her prices are extremely reasonable!

 

Again, welcome!!!!!!

 

((((((((((TRICIA))))))))))

Tricia,

Thats too bad about your crystal.  I've always had a fascination for them.  I have always wanted to make them.  The two types I am interested in creating are corrumdum and quartz.  Corrundum is the base crystal for all saphires and ruby.  It is just under diamond in hardness and lasts forever.  It can be grown using a technique called flame fusion.  Quartz crystal is the base crystal for amethyst and citrine and rose quartz.  Quartz can be made in a pressure vessel called a bomb.  I've pretty much worked the details on how to do both (I happen to work at a research laboratory).  My only problem is I don't have the support of my wife (you're aware of that issue).  I kinda got started with this when my son asked me if we could grow crystals.  I ended up buying one of those cheap crystal growing kits for kids.  After we grew the crystals he was quite disappointed.  He wanted a real crystal; not some cheap piece of salt.  He asked me if we could grow real crystals.  I told him I didn't know, but I would find out.  I researched it for months!  Eventually I had it all worked out. in my head how to do it.  However, those two tools will probably never be built.  Anyway, I would have to look up any healing aspects to each crystal.  But I do know more about creating them synthetically than the average guy.  They happen to be one of my favorite subjects.

          Mike

Tricia,

I think you have shown a lot of guts to deal with everything you have had going on.  To change careers is not an easy thing to do.  That took guts.  Keeping it going when your business partner left took guts.  Leaving your marriage took guts.  It seems to me you will come out of all this knowing a lot and feeling confident that you are a survivor.  Most of us wouldn't begin to know how to go about opening a store.  I know I wouldn't.  Taking on all of this and still trying to be a mother makes you quite a hero.  You are also playing things smart by looking into a legal means of obtaining what you are rightfully entitled to.  I admire you a lot for all you have gone through.

 

It rains a lot where you live huh.  I have a friend who lives in the state of Washington.  He tells me the Washington state bird is a fish.  Does it rain that much where you live?

 

By the way, I found everything you had to say very interesting.  Your writing style usually leaves me wanting to know more.  Maybe you should write novels.  I know, in what spare time?

    Mike