Just Silver And Maybe Breaking It~

I'm a little bit crazy about silver and I'm a little bit crazy about history!

Silver In History                    The mining of silver began some 5000 years ago. Silver was first mined in about 3000 B.C. in Anatolia (modern day Turkey). These early lodes were a valuable resource for the civilizations that flourished in the Near East, Crete, and Greece throughout antiquity. In about 1200 B.C., the center of silver production shifted to Greece’s Laurium mines, where it continued to feed the region’s burgeoning empires. In about 100 A.D., Spain became the capital of silver production. The Spanish mines were the major supplier for the Roman Empire and an essential trading component along the Asian spice routes. With the Moorish invasion of Spain, the practice of silver mining migrated to a broader range of countries, most of them in Central Europe. Several major silver mine discoveries occurred between 750 and 1200 A.D., including the Germany and Eastern Europe. The 500-year period from 1000 and 1500 A.D. was one of significant growth thanks to an increased number of mines as well as improvements in production and technology. However, no single event in the history of silver rivals the importance of the discovery of the New World in 1492. This momentous finding and the years that followed reinvented the role of silver throughout the world. The Spanish conquest of the New World led to mining of the silver element that dramatically eclipsed anything that had come before that time. Between 1500 and 1800, Bolivia, Peru and Mexico accounted for over 85 percent of world production and trade. Later, several other countries began to contribute more substantially, notably the United States with the discovery of the Comstock Lode in Nevada. Silver production continued to expand worldwide, growing from 40 to 80 million troy ounces annually by the 1870s. The period from 1876 to 1920 represented an explosion in both technological innovation and exploitation of new regions worldwide. Production over the last quarter of the 19th century quadrupled over the average of the first 75 years to a total of nearly 120 million troy ounces annually. Similarly, new discoveries in Australia, Central America and Europe greatly augmented total world silver production. The twenty years between 1900 and 1920 resulted in a 50 % increase in global production, and brought the total to about 190 million troy ounces annually. These increases were spurred by discoveries in Canada, the United States, Africa, Mexico, Chile, Japan, and other countries. In the last century, new technologies have also contributed to a massive rise in overall silver production. Major breakthroughs included steam-assisted drilling, mining, mine dewatering, and improved haulage. Furthermore, advances in mining techniques enhanced the ability to separate silver from other ores and made it possible to handle larger volumes of ore that contained silver. Such methods were critical to the increased volume of production, as many of the high-grade ores throughout the world had been largely depleted by the end of the 19th century. Today, more than 5000 years after ancient cultures first began to mine this precious metal, yearly global mine production averages 671 million troy ounces. https://www.silverinstitute.org/site/silver-essentials/silver-in-history/

It is Spring Break in our neck of the woods...

Hope to be breaking it!

We are empty nesters, but I still think it's time for a break-

When and where is yet to be determined!

I'll see what Mr. Notes pulse is like this morning!

 

Will you be entertaining the thought of a little break?

 

 

Pencil Sketch Creations~

Oh my heavens, I was awake most of the night. Don't ask about my Monday nights. Do you ever just sit there with your eyes wide open and think too much?

Blogging and Pinterest helped this insomniac last night.

By the way, are you a Pinterest fan? Please share your board with me and leave me your link.
Here's my link. http://www.pinterest.com/nan4852/

Well, last night, yours truly started to play with photographs in Picasa and that sort of thing...this is what happened-

Some pencil sketches of my photographs that I've taken.

 I love this of my mother~



And I love this one of my dad~

Now I'm happy I was awake most of the night...

 I would not have thought of working on pencil creations.

Linking....
Inspire Me Tuesday~

Hope you are having a great week~





Dark Thirty~

Dark thirty photograph-

 

Have a great day!

 

A Sweet and Special Sunday!

HaPpY BiRtHday!

Reagan Caroline!

I do not know if you will be a vet,  an accountant, an engineer, an architect, a teacher, or scientist or the next president, but I know that you are such a smart little girl and the cutest, prettiest, funniest, most brilliant and happiest girl in the world!

March 2, 2008 was a blessed day~

 

 

A blessed little angel and in the same Baptism gown that was worn by me.

And worn by my daughter, her precious mommy and her sister too!

 

  

Reagan loves to play dress up!
 

She loves all kinds of animals.

First thing she loves to do at the ranch is see all the animals! Like her sister and brother!
 

Hoping to catch a big one!

 

Sweet hug....

 

Loves riding horses at the ranch and her Uncle Jimmy loves to watch her ride! 
What a great uncle!

She's crazy about her older sister and little brother!

 And she loves her mommy, daddy, brother and sister!

(My baby, her mommy is just the cutest, isn't she?)

 

Okay, my favorite and yes, it's an old collage I created of Reagan.

I just have to share! Cracks me up!

She was totally enjoying her ice cream and when she realized I was taking her picture...
she started to giggle! That smile...melts my heart!

 

I love you sweetie pie!

Slow down, you are growing up way to fast!

 

 

Nana

xoxoxo

 

 

 

So, I Brought Her Home~

Oh, this charming little girl looked so adorable sitting in this old antique shop and I must say, she looked like she was really ready to get out of there!

Must have been there way too long and think they were happy to get rid of her too. Poor thing.

They practically gave her to me! I thought she was just so adorable. 
So I brought her home~

The oval frame is nice, right?

I like her little hat.

Don't you love her little basket of flowers?

Her pretty little dress is precious, don't you think?

Now the question I posed to myself-

Where are you going to put her?

Certainly not in a very prominent place...shhh, poor little sweetie.

Anyhow, I got to thinking about one small spot... 



Here she is!

In my Mackenzie-Childs Bathroom-

See the reflection in the mirror- is that not great?

I like the colors-

I just like her-

What do you think?

Keep her?

Good spot?

Bad spot?

Okay, does she scream cheap? 

 

Joining

How Sweet The Sound~

Have a fun weekend~