Good Thing: A Beach-Stone Basket

Every summer as a boy, my parents would take us to the seaside. Whether it was Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, British Columbia, Florida or Maine, I can scarcely recall a summer when I didn't have an adventure with my family by the sea. My father is something of a beachcomber and we would always find room in our trunk for a little bucket of the beautiful stones that he would find on his walks along the beach. Over the years, with more and more trips, this collection began to expand. Several years ago my parents decided to place all of their collected beach stones in a basket and display them in their living room. In addition to the places mentioned above, the basket now contains beach stones from New York, Scotland, England, Puerto Rico and France.

Tip: Look for stones with unusual markings and details. To enhance these marking, my father applied a light coating of varnish to some of the rocks to help them maintain that shiny, wet look. This drastically improves the appearance of the markings and special details. Once coated, let the stones dry on a wire rack for at least 24 hours before placing them in any sort of vessel.