Amber

[MsAli]

Sitting on a flashlight

[hummingbirdstones]

Yay!  Hope you find some critters in there.  Hope your cold gets better, too. 

[MsAli]

Critters would be nice. I lit the others and couldnt see anything in them
One thing I noticed is it gets really hot when rubbing it. Fleece works well to polish
This cold wont go away. It's a mix of allergies too and the air quality doesnt help

[vegasjames]

Nov 20, 2018 20:56:57 GMT -5 MsAli said:

Critters would be nice. I lit the others and couldnt see anything in them
One thing I noticed is it gets really hot when rubbing it. Fleece works well to polish
This cold wont go away. It's a mix of allergies too and the air quality doesnt help

Allergies stem from adrenal glad dysfunction. This is why we are all exposed to the same allergen yet do not all have allergies and allergies can come and go throughout life. I have not had allergies since I was 5 years old.

When we are exposed to allergens the adrenals will release epinephrine (adrenaline) increasing cAMP to counter histamine and leukotrienes that lead to allergic reactions:

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1699987

www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S132389301400015X

In response to exposure to allergens the adrenals also release anti-inflammatory and immune modulating corticosteroids.

Therefore if the adrenal glands are underactive from atrophy, under development , over use (adrenal exhaustion) or autoimmunity  then there is a lack of sufficient epinephrine and corticosteroids to counter allergic responses to allergens.

As an example some children are born with allergies or the closely related asthma.  If not aggravated with certain medications such as steroids or stimulatory drugs the children generally outgrow their allergies around the age of 5 when their adrenals finally mature sufficiently to do their job properly and counter allergic responses to allergens.

Another way to look at this is if you go to the doctor for allergies or asthma what drugs do they use to counter these conditions?  Epinephrine, or other stimulant drugs that have the same effect, and steroids. Therefore the doctors are actually substituting for what the adrenals are failing to put out in sufficient levels.  In the case of asthma they may also use theophylline. The role of theophylline is as a cyclic adenosine monophosphate phosphodiesterase inhibitor (cAMPPDEI). Long name but simple to explain. Epinephrine, ephedrine and similar drugs raise levels of a chemical messenger known as cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP).  The increase in cAMP counters histamine and the more potent leukotrienes.  But there is an enzyme called cyclic adenosine monophosphate phosphodiestersae (cAMPPDE) that breaks down the cAMP shortening its duration.  So the theophylline blocks the cAMPPDE prolonging the effects of the epinephrine or similar drugs.

Coffee is a source of thophylline and other xanthines that block cAMPPDE. This is why an old folk remedy to stop an asthma attack is to drink a strong cup of coffee. Regular use of coffee , or other caffeine sources, though actually worsens these conditions though by overworking the adrenals, which are designed for short term use, not hours and hours at a time.

More info on building the adrenals:

medcapsules.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=152

Something else that can help is the supplement trimethylglycine (TMG). TMG is a methyl donor with three methyl groups making it stronger than our own methyl donor SAMe, which is a single methyl group.  Hypomethylaiton can contribute to allergic responses and asthma among numerous other problems:

journals.plos.org/plosgenetics/article?id=10.1371/journal.pgen.1004059

[MsAli]

I always get bad this time of year and it isnt bad, bad, just enough to be hacking and sinus issues.
One thing I'm horrible about is taking my vitamins. Even though I know I need to. My diet has been crap lately as well and I have an allergy to the gym right now as well.
I'll get back on track
You reminded me I need to get bee pollen and its
interesting about the caffeine as in drink more coffee than I'll admit to you and I attribute my fatigue to no thyroid.
Thank you for sharing.
PM me if you have anything to share about a positive SCL70 but no symptoms (yet)

[vegasjames]

Nov 21, 2018 0:37:08 GMT -5 MsAli said:

I always get bad this time of year and it isnt bad, bad, just enough to be hacking and sinus issues.
One thing I'm horrible about is taking my vitamins. Even though I know I need to. My diet has been crap lately as well and I have an allergy to the gym right now as well.
I'll get back on track
You reminded me I need to get bee pollen and its
interesting about the caffeine as in drink more coffee than I'll admit to you and I attribute my fatigue to no thyroid.
Thank you for sharing.
PM me if you have anything to share about a positive SCL70 but no symptoms (yet)

Yes, have information for you on SCL70. Heading off to bed right now so if I forget remind me and I will send you the information when I get a chance. Or if you get a chance send me a message of why they ran the test to begin with if you are asymptomatic.

[MsAli]

Lots of fractures in these
Interesting there is some black "material" all throughout
They are quite a dark Amber
Keep polishing and leave the fractures or should I cut them along fracture line then polish? I wanted to leave them as big as possible

[MsAli]

You can see all the black stuff inside

[NRG]

I would simmer in mineral oil per vegasjames link. One of the things it does is lighten the material.

[MsAli]

Nov 22, 2018 9:45:32 GMT -5 NRG said:

I would simmer in mineral oil per vegasjames link. One of the things it does is lighten the material.

Exactly what I was going to try today

I'll start with a small piece and post results later

[MsAli]

Well that was interesting
I very slowly brought up the heat. Heard popping and a few broke up along the fractures
You can see the air bubbles comming out

[fernwood]

Too bad on the breaks. Now you have some amber chips.
How much time did it take to do the hand polishing?

[MsAli]

A couple of hours on this piece
The chips will be put in a vial with the Amber dust

[fireforged]

That last one is a nice size and shape for a bead. All you would have to do is drill a hole in it. I wonder how hard that would be. I really enjoy seeing your experiments with this material.

[MsAli]

Nov 23, 2018 12:23:19 GMT -5 fireforged said:

That last one is a nice size and shape for a bead. All you would have to do is drill a hole in it. I wonder how hard that would be. I really enjoy seeing your experiments with this material.

Thank you. It has been fun and I just cant stop polishing pieces
I think it would drill pretty easy, but not sure I want to do that 

[fernwood]

Nov 23, 2018 9:27:22 GMT -5 MsAli said:

A couple of hours on this piece
The chips will be put in a vial with the Amber dust

My thought exactly on the vial.

[fireforged]

alikat218

After looking at your pictures again this morning, I must say that your polishing is as good as any on amber I have seen offered commercially. You have obviously figured out how to do this. Thanks for sharing. Now I will not be so reluctant to buy some amber myself.

[MsAli]

Nov 24, 2018 11:24:20 GMT -5 fireforged said:

alikat218

After looking at your pictures again this morning, I must say that your polishing is as good as any on amber I have seen offered commercially. You have obviously figured out how to do this. Thanks for sharing. Now I will not be so reluctant to buy some amber myself.

Thank you 
I just start with 80 and work my way through the stages till 1500 then toothpaste and a piece of jeans I cut up
Fairly easy, but the toothpaste gets sticky

[MsAli]

A couple of tiny pices
Need to work on them some more

[hummingbirdstones]

What's in the bottom right yellow one?  Is it a critter?