John is here!

Arrived yesterday.
Very well-packed (seller: Mary mean, Amazon), and for its age (51 years) in great shape.

I`ve only read a few pages but I feel so much wiser already! Especially when it comes to associations (what minerals can occur together and in what type of rocks), which is the area I`m the most interested in.

John has one huge disadvantage- pictures. For an obvious reason, all photos are black-and-white, which doesn`t help much with identification of specimens. Look at the below example. The mineral in the first picture, on the left side, could also be Malachite (for example). Fortunately, we all have the Internet nowadays :)

Without any doubts, this is the best choice I could have made when it comes to my birthday gift. I am so happy with it! I`ve also asked for a chisel and a good hammer :) Right now I work with my father`s chisel and a hammer meant for construction workers, and a few E1.5 screwdrivers as well. I am in need of buying some equipment ASAP.

Other news?
One of my students is a photographer-hobbist. She is coming next week to take photos of my specimens. After moving back to Ireland, we currently live with my parents (until we buy a house), so all our things are scattered around the house: a box here, a box there. I have two boxes with my minerals, but I`ve only found one. I have no idea where the second one could be, so we`ll only photograph one. After that I`m going to have hands full of work uploading the photos to this blog ;)

See you again,
Monika xxx