Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Wooden Warships



On June 10, 1926, thirteen World War I era wooden warships lay at anchor in one of the shallow inlets of Henderson Bay. The vessels had been built by the Foundation Co. in Tacoma for the French and intended for service during World War I, but when the war ended, the work was stopped and none of the remaining ships were completed. They previously were moored in Lake Union, Seattle. They were purchased for salvage by Washington Tug and Barge Co. and towed to the mouth of Minter Creek and then out into the inlet at high tide. The cabins and super structure were broken up, doused in kerosene and at 11:45p.m. would be set on fire.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Buddies


Jacob is now 1 1/2 and such a dear.
He climbed up behind me in my chair at dinner on Thanksgiving and cuddled up to my back. Luckily son had his cell phone in hand and snapped this shot.
Oh, and I got this in my email this morning.....another Hallelujah Chorus ,and this time it's in Ontario, Canada at the food court. How fun it would be to be a part of one of the groups and watch the looks on people's faces.

Friday, November 26, 2010

Coin Flatware


Yesterday, while setting the table for our Thanksgiving dinner, I needed a small spoon for the bowl of sour cream. I finally decided on an old, silver spoon that was my mothers and probably her mothers. I polished it as shiny as I could, then, as I was about to set it on the table, I noticed the initial. Tipping the spoon this way and that, I still couldn't decide whether it was a C, a G, or a J. Then I began wondering if it was silver, how much and maybe it would say on the back. Course, me, with my pathetic eyes, I had to haul out my reading glasses and then the magnifying glass. What looked like 100m from one direction turned out to be COIN from the other and a bit farther down the handle it said J. Emery. Of course the next thing anyone does in the age of google was to start searching. What I found, and maybe you already knew about COIN, but I sure as heck didn't, was this..........
In colonial America, silversmiths decided to forge their own silverware and goods to avoid patronizing British purveyors of sterling silver. They collected useless European coins, mainly Spanish reales and melted them down. Because coins were an alloy of metals, their silver content was lower than that of sterling, only 90 percent. America did not adopt the Sterling standard until 1870. Coin silver was made in the United States from the earliest colonial times until just after the Civil War. There were some coin silver manufacturers who continued to produce after the Civil War, but most silversmiths changed to the use of the much more popular sterling silver.
The maker's mark on coin silver usually included the first initial and last name of the silversmith, as well as the city and state of manufacture.
In 1859, silver mines were discovered in Nevada and coin silver dropped out of favor. It was no longer cost prohibitive to acquire sterling silver.
So there ya have it...I hope you learned somthing new today as I did yesterday. Oh...and I never could find anything about J. Emery, the silversmith, but the more I think about the initial, it looks like a J...maybe it was J for J. Emery, or tipped the opposite direction it looks like a C and we did have Campbells in the family.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Neighbors


How nice to have neighbors when the snow flies. The two little girls on the left live up the hill and through the woods, not far from the two on the right. Canceled school and plenty of snow on the ground made for a fun day.

Monday, November 22, 2010

Winter is here


The thermometer has been at 29 degrees all morning and this is what we have so far....let's hope this is it !!!
It's supposed to get down into the teens tonight so that should be the end of all the beautiful flowers on the porch. Aaaaackk.
Oh...and this is fun. Are you one who takes the stairs more often than the elevator or escalator. Do you park way far away from the store so you can get your exercise? Watch this, it's cute. And, so is this.

Friday, November 19, 2010

Try not to cry


I doubt you can watch this video and not cry.

Sunday, November 14, 2010

School


In 1851, the East Maine Conference Seminary was opened by the Methodist Church as a preperatory school, but closed in 1933 when Bucksport opened its first public secondary school. Wilson Hall sits atop Oak Hill. Given its current state of disrepair (a result of long-term neglect by its current owner) and the Town’s efforts to have it condemned, the old building may not be long for this world.
The reason I posted this picture is because my dad grew up across the street from the building and I remember walking down the hill in front of the building when I was 3 years old. It was fall and the color of the leaves and the water below are imprinted in my mind forever.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Pauline and Pat


I was "surfing" the net and found this picture of my sis in law and a friend of ours. It was in the Gig Harbor Weekly, a small paper that comes free each Friday. Pauline grew up in the house in the background and has lived there most of her life.
Here is the complete article with only a few errors...her dad wasn't born in that house..he was born in Croatia on the island of Brac.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Cousins are such fun.


Jacob and Ingy got to stay at granny's house yesterday and did they ever have fun. He is now 1 1/2 , she is 3 1/2 and they really got a chance to get acquainted. When all was said and done...all three of us needed a good nap :o)

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Happy Birthday


Happy 78thth birthday Nick. As you can see, he had to darn his own socks because my mantra was, toss them cause they're cheap. He lost his dad when he was 7 years old and things were not easy for his mom and sis so that is probably the reason for his frugilness.
There's no way I would darn his darn socks, so I did the next best thing: provided him with needle, thread and scissors. I was happy to sew him a new shirt or jacket, but don't ever ask me to darn a sock.

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Hallelujah


The Hallelujah is the one song in Handel's Messiah that I like and here you can see it being done by some very beautiful voices at Macy's in Philadelphia.
I am so glad I live in america where folks can sing praise to the lord above, wherever and whenever they so desire.
On Saturday, October 30, 2010, the Opera Company of Philadelphia brought together over 650 choristers from 28 participating organizations to perform one of the Knight Foundation's "Random Acts of Culture" at Macy's in Center City Philadelphia.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Rooflines and water


The election is over and I have nothing more to say other than I am so glad Nancy Pelosi has had her gavel ripped from her :o)

Monday, November 1, 2010

Scary Stories


Halloween was a fun day for the cowgirl and witch in our family. It started at the new Gig Harbor museum with a scary story read by one of their volunteers, plus a hands on art project. After that came the walk through the harbor to the businesses which handed out candy and last of all, to the close friends and relatives for more. Even granny was treated to a treat by Ingy. The best treat of all was the warm sun that shone all day and kept all the little ones dry.