Digging into the past:

After the recent gifting of some family flatware heirlooms to Janelle I just had to go on a little archeology mission to try and find out what I could about the gorgeous set of spoon that Lisa was so generous in passing along to us. A little history of the spoons within the family is as follows. Engraved with the letter "T" they originally were the property of Alice Odell Tracy, Janelle's Great-Great-Grandmother. They were passed along to her daughter Alice Merle Tracy Parker. This was continued with the passing along to Dave and Donna Parker, Janelle's paternal grandparents. From there they moved to Lisa and on to Janelle. Amazing to have something passed through 5 generations of related women!! I certainly felt like I was on Antique Roadshow as I looked for any marks, patterns, or whatever I might be able to find as clues to the origin of the spoons manufacture. What I found was quite satisfying and a cool little chunk of history from my point of view. ;-) Using the cameras here in the lab I was able to get some really nice close-ups of the impressions on the back of the spoon's neck, and was then able to match these with patterns I found online. Both the lettering and the small impression of the Stag's Head matched a famous American-made flatware company that has been around since the early 1800's; R. Wallace & Sons Mfg. Co. Started in Chesire, Connecticut in the 1833 the company has gone through several permutations within the Wallace family and remains today as Wallace Silversmiths and can be found in Boston, MA. At one time it was the largest producer of table flatware in the world!! I was even able to find the specific pattern engraved on the spoons. It is called the "Louvre" pattern, a pattern that was discontinued in 1893. By my calculations that makes the spoons at the very least a mere 115 years old!! Not too shabby I would say. In any case it was a great chance to do a little historical searching and learn a little bit more about my soon-to-be in laws at the very least. Hope you enjoyed the facts as much as I did!

Another crazy weekend:

The fun never stops in our busy lives as we cram every available moment until the wedding with any event and or activity that you can imagine. On Saturday I helped to host a reverse 4's coed tournament that raised some $$ for Seattle Children's Hospital. we were able to donate a bag of toys and a few hundred dollars the worthwhile local cause. We played a modified "Express" tournament with great success. 11 teams on 2 courts and we were able to get in a TON of games and still have the gym completely empty prior to 5pm. A really nice step in the right direction in terms of getting folks home at a more decent hour from these events. From very good play and balanced competition on the whole with 2 competitive elimination brackets to finish off the day. Congrats to Tim Dozal's team for winning the upper bracket and to Sergey Royt's team for winning the lower bracket. My team of Stacey Terry, Sherry Leeson, Sean Smith and myself played quite well, going 4-3 on the day and losing a nail-biting 3-game semifinal to the eventual tournament champs. Good times with some good friends. Janelle and I got to lounge around the rest of the evening and on through the next, taking time to visit relatives for a fine Easter meal and good conversation. It was nice to see all of the familiar faces and get an opportunity to celebrate a joint, early b-day for both Amy (April 14th) and Janelle (April 25th). Janelle got a very special gift from her mother, a set of spoons that has been handed down through generations of mother-daughters, well over 100 years old!! It is so amazing to have family heirlooms like this that bridge across many generations. A host of desert options and the usual great food was packed away by all in attendance. Great fun. The plans continue for a busy week as we get ready for the big event, look forward to our Puerto Rico honeymoon and just keep life in check as we roll along!!

Fun in the sun!!

Finally we seemed to have a taste of real Spring this last weekend here in Pacific Northwest. Lucky for Janelle and I we had a scheduled trip to our intended wedding site (less then 3 weeks remain!!) to meet with our caterer at the facility and go over wedding plans. What a treat to see the boathouse in all of it's glory on a sunny day as lots of the Bellingham folks flew kites in the park directly adjacent to the building. The scenery could not have been better as we watched ships rolling in and out of Bellingham Bay in the bright sunshine. No if only we could order up the exact same weather with an added dash of about 10 degrees of heat or so and I think we will be all set. The rest of the day we also got to hit some of the local shops that we like in this neck of the woods and I was able to buy a few goodies at one of my favorite outdoor/gardening spots "A Lot of Flowers" in town where we admired their array of seasonal plants, unique garden items, and a fun blend of various items for home and garden. All of that while spending the day outside with a little fresh air. I could spend so much $$$ in this type of store!! We did locate some great blooming shrubs (hellebore) with gorgeous flowers and some various colors. Best part, they flower in the winter to early spring to add some much-needed punch to the garden in what is typically considered an "off" season for blooms and anything showy out in the yard. Something to look for as a possible addition I think. The shopping in B-ham is quite eclectic, certainly a reflection of the town, university that calls it home, and the people that make up this gem of the Northwest. We came across some favorites but perhaps none made us laugh/smile more then this. It is answered in one simple question, what could be creepier then one of those porcelain-faced dolls that always seem to come alive in horror movies and nightmares? The answer, one you know it, seems just as simple.....That same doll wearing a flamingo costume!! Only in Bellingham faithful readers!! After a few additional stops where we were able to get our banquet license and some other errands done we capped off the trip with a great lunch at one of our favorite local places, the Colophon Cafe & Deli. Filled up with some great sandwiches and soup we had a leisurely drive home and some nice time just relaxing there. We finished the night renting Slumdog Millionare and just chilling in the house for the evening, felt really good. Sunday we were able to get quite a bit of yard-work done, the inaugural mowing of the season, and some additional plant rotation, trimming, etc.. Such a nice way to spend the day in the mid/high-60s. I think the entire block got the memo as the trimmers, weed whackers, and mowers could be heard from close to 9am until 6pm all around the neighborhood. Janelle and I also had a chance to run some errands including getting some new sheets, returning pants, grabbing a new started shrub from my co-worker Gail, and generally continuing to try and check things off our list. Some much to do so little time!! I sure hope the weather holds.