Dee Olson

[dee-olson]

I have

a degree in zoology

that part's real, btw

BSc zool spec

the spec is specialisation, in that

I couldn't be bothered with

the extra effort that meant oral defence

of

an honours degree

even though I took the honours courses

and was on the Dean's list

I thought it was stupid.

Yes

[dee-olson]

For Fossil Friday, some slightly abstract photography with a slice of fossil bone. A bone from what? No idea. I've had it since I was a kid and bought it with my allowance. It was labelled... fossil bone.

Considering that I was in Drumheller at the time, it's probably some sort of dinosaur.

Yep, that narrows it down.

[dee-olson]

For International Rock Day, here are some polished and rough specimens of #labradorite. The camera flash is making them look more yellow than they are; in person they're largely grey with patches of iridescence known as labradorescence, which is what makes them special.

Labradorite is named after a type specimen found in Labrador, Canada, but it's found in many other places. It's a feldspar with a Mohs number of 6 - 6.5, and... I'll leave you to look up the rest of the technical stuff yourselves.

I don't generally go into the mystics of rocks, but I will say that labradorite is sometimes said to be a physical form of the Aurora Borealis (the Northern Lights). Kind of a boring stone in photos, but a lot of fun in hand when you can see the colours changing.

Happy Rock Day.

[dee-olson]

It is, apparently, National Notebook Day (presumably in the States. I'll abscond with it, as usual). Here are three of mine.

One of these has a few notes and sketches. One hasn't even been opened. The smallest one is about 3 cm in length, and believe it or not, I do have plans for it.

So here's the question: do you journal, sketch, a combination... or just can't resist buying notebooks that probably won't be used?

Guilty of all in the past, but in the last few years I've curtailed. Still have that one unused book, though. I should at least scribble in it.

[dee-olson]

Consider this your Mother's Day content-free post.

Today is National Watch Day in the US. It was started by a department store to sell watches, but I'm going to talk about it anyway.

These are some (yeah, some) of my watches. Viva the cheap quartz watch. Hidden amongst them, though, is a not-cheap watch that makes me sad. It was a great solar watch that I wore for years. Now, the solar face still works but the battery died. That means it stops if it gets hidden by a sleeve or something like that. I looked it up and the battery lasted far longer than it should have, so there's that. Still, it's too bad that it would cost more to service the watch than to buy a whole new one.

The pocket watch on the bottom left is actually mechanical, meaning no battery at all and you have to wind it. I'm nerd enough to think that it's neat.

"Fun" fact: back in the peak years of watches and clocks, it was customary to set the hands at 10 and 2 for advertising photos. And why? Because, subliminally, the watches looked "happy".

Brains work in mysterious ways.

[dee-olson]

I'm not that much of a Star Wars fan. I saw the original three in theatres and was just the right age at the time to be playing with Star Wars figures. I've only seen part of one of the... er... prequels, though, and having had the misfortune of being introduced to Jar Jar Binks I never sought out any of the others.

That won't stop me from saying May the Fourth Be With You and having the appropriate socks to go with, obviously.

[dee-olson]

It's National Bugs Bunny Day in the US. He first appeared on 30 April 1938. I've always been more into the Warner Brothers stuff than Disney, to be honest. I suppose that says something.

Sometimes people wonder if I have a pair of socks for every occasion. I don't.

Just most occasions.

[dee-olson]

Re-stickered the Contigo in honour of British National Tea Day. Why did it need re-stickering? Because I remove them as they wear out. Why does it need stickers in the first place? Erm, because. Why am I celebrating Britain's tea day? Because International Tea Day isn't until next month.

Tea of the moment is "Morrocan-style mint", with green tea, spearmint, peppermint, and liquorice root. Not sure how accurate that liquorice root is (or any of it, really, since I've never had Morrocan tea), but it does add some sweetness.

And yes, tea bags at the moment rather than loose tea. I need to restock.

[dee-olson]

For the US's National Garlic Day, here's an old pen & ink sketch I did of a head of garlic, complete with a medieval recipe for curing a cold and hearing loss (a two-fer!) by coating a garlic clove with honey and sticking it in your ear.

For the record, I don't recommend following medieval medical advice in most cases.

I can't remember where I put this sketchbook, but I do remember that the scanner at work needed a cleaning. That's why there's a weird smudge at the bottom left.

[dee-olson]

It's Respect Your Cat Day in the US. Honestly, though, do they really need a dedicated day for that, seeing as they pretty much demand it anyway?

This is a no-pets apartment so no cats here, but here are my Dad's Turkey Brothers hanging out. And, presumably, being respected.

[dee-olson]

Random gemstone of the day: Ammolite.

What you're looking at here is more or less fossilized mother-of-pearl from ammonites. I'm oversimplifying, but you get the idea. Fossilized shell.

Ammolite is Alberta's provincial gemstone. Most of the world's ammolite comes from quarries near Lethbridge, Alberta. Prized for its colour shifting qualities, ammolite itself is thin and fragile, so for jewellery it is always mounted as a doublet (ammolite glued to a stronger backing stone) or triplet (clear stone in front, ammolite in the centre, and a backing stone).

The free-form stone at the top of the photo is considered lower quality because it only has a red to green shift, but that's the only way I could have afforded that size of a piece. With ammolite, more colours usually equals more expensive, but I kind of like this example's Christmasy vibe. The lower stone was a gift, and is a mid-range stone mounted as a triplet with faceted quartz. It adds yellow to the mix, but it doesn't have much of the blue that would make it more costly.

For me, that means I actually wear it instead of just worrying that it will get damaged...

Anyway, the reason that you're seeing ammolite today is that it also counts as a Fossil Friday. Always multipurpose your pointless photos, folks. 😉

[dee-olson]

Well, I live in a part of the world where it won't properly be spring for a while yet, but that doesn't mean I can't work on my own bouquets. Happy #equinox, everyone. #origami #flower #traditional (at Red Deer, Alberta) https://www.instagram.com/p/CqBWjEHPeLY/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[dee-olson]

For #WorldWildlifeDay, a mule deer in my Dad's yard from a few years ago. Please note that this was taken through a window! #UrbanWildlife is still wildlife, and shouldn't be approached. For the safety of both of you... #deer (at Ponoka, Alberta) https://www.instagram.com/p/CpVt3MSP6xv/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[dee-olson]

Happy Turn Your Old Calendar Page Into A Boat Day! Wait. Is that a thing? Well, I guess it is now. #origami #boat #calendar https://www.instagram.com/p/CpQWu1yPdBM/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[dee-olson]

It's #NationalDonorDay (in the US. In Canada, Organ Donor Awareness is in April.). Are you a donor? Here in Alberta we have the option of putting our donor status right on our driver's licences, but you should always talk to your family about your wishes because families can override the declaration if they want to. And yes, my Dad knows that I'm a donor. Oh yeah. February 14th is that OTHER day too, which must be why I've been sitting here making paper hearts. Have a good one, no matter how you celebrate. Or don't celebrate. Whichever works for you. #OrganDonor #origami #hearts #ValentinesDay #Valentines (at Ponoka, Alberta) https://www.instagram.com/p/CopmeGRPsfY/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[dee-olson]

Forgot to mention that I'm visiting Bob the Incredibly Large Tabby and his brother for a couple of days. Oh yeah, and my Dad... #cats #catstagram #CatsOfInstagram #TurkeyBrothers (at Ponoka, Alberta) https://www.instagram.com/p/Conya8lP2zM/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[dee-olson]

Happy Superb Owl Sunday! Photo credit: Don Green via Wikimedia Commons https://www.instagram.com/p/ColbX_6p03s/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=