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Here I would love to share with you our travels and adventures as international mushroom consultants. MEMOIRS about husband Pieter Vedder, who was a SCIENTIFIC PIONEER in Mushroom Cultivation Education. His practical handbook is in 9 languages and is called the MUSHROOM BIBLE: https://mariettesbacktobasics.blogspot.com/2020/08/modern-mushroom-growing-2020-harvesting.html
Showing posts with label Maximum Baggage Weight. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Maximum Baggage Weight. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 3, 2021

Bought at the QVC in Sydney Australia, more Gumnut Stories

 

On September 3, 1993 we did spot these books with more GUMNUT children's classics by writer May Gibbs and others.
This was at the Banquet, the day before... see link below From Hong Kong to Sydney, Australia
Pieter being very happy after doing that day a summary of the AMGA/ISMS International Workshop and Seminar and that went very well; great applaus from the audience.
Pieter also was a speaker.
These two books, inside a hard case, were traveling home with us... We enjoyed this relaxed shopping experience after all the business was taken care of.
Lovely kitties on the back of each book...
Visions of Fantasy for Volume One and Through the Magic Door for Volume Two
LOVE these GUMNUTS by May Gibbs!
A darling GUMNUT bookmark as a gift!
Other side of the cute GUMNUT bookmark...
To the right inside the 'mushroom shaped' drawing it reads: 
Humans
Please be kind to all 
Bush Creatures
and don't pull flowers up by the roots
~
Those were heavy books, but we never shied away from carrying our load when traveling.
Of course, those were the years before the Maximum Baggage Weight...!
~
Soon these will be read to some favorite little girls that we LOVE!

Related post:
From Hong Kong to Sydney, Australia | previous post by me showing the QVB, Queen Victoria Building

Friday, September 18, 2020

Floriade 1992 on a Cold and Windy Day after Earthquake in Limburg

So, on April 11, 1992 we arrived on KLM Royal Dutch Airlines in Amsterdam, with our 92 kilos of luggage, coming all the way from Jakarta, Indonesia.
No problems checking in with our courtesy cards in regard to Maximum Baggage Weight...
The customs inquired about the boxes and upon showing once again the photos from the robbery and explaining that all that was left we bring home, they let us pass.
Putting things in the locker and then traveling once more by rail to the South where my Parents lived.
This is husband Pieter posing in front of the tulips at my Parents' place.
Keep in mind that all our clothes got robbed; shoes and everything. Except what we had on our back and inside our luggage, coming from work in India...
We gave away both our hightop shoes to the people working in the hot compost, barefooted. You find link below post from previous adventures.
On April 13, during our 2nd night at my Parents' in my former bedroom, we woke up at 3:22 AM by an earthquake! The rattling and shaking lasted for 20 seconds.
Pieter said very calmly: 'Now THAT is an earthquake!'... Wow.
~
Yes, in my Province of Limburg... With 5.5 on the scale of Richter!
The above article appeared in the then bi-lingual Dutch/American newspaper the Windmill, a bi-weekly publication.
On April 15, I had my hair cut, the LONG braid got snatched off with the hairdresser's scissors. See post below about it where I show it being framed.
Happy at home and with short hair!
The weather is still inclement and rather cold.
We enjoy a nice Easter weekend and on April 20, on 2nd Easter Day we went to the Easter Concert of Dad's choir with a youth choir; very well. 
On Monday we went to the city for buying a Sharp microwave for Mom & Dad as a gift.
We went to brother Piet's birthday on the 23rd.
On Saturday, April 25, we went with the early train of 6:30 AM to Zoetermeer for the Floriade. The biggest international Garden Exhibit that the Dutch hold every 10 years.
But oh, it was such inclement weather and cold and miserable...
We did not have the clothes for it, aside from our newly purchased leather jackets from the Leather Garment Factory in India.
Above, I'm admiring Begonias.
Cape violets...
I'm happy for being indoors in an orchid greenhouse and out of the chilling wind!
Wearing my newly bought sandals from Malioboro, Yogyakarta/Indonesia...
Remember ALL shoes got stolen. Those leggings were certainly not warming me much!
We both decided then and there to stock up on some warmer clothes, shoes and, all for keeping in The Netherlands...
Pieter was not as cold, even though wearing a short sleeved shirt was also not sufficient...
So typically Dutch with red tulips and lots of fragrant hyacinths.
Being indoors was a lot better, I see that here I swapped my sandals for shoes!
But we certainly enjoyed being there for the Floriade.
~
On April 26, brother Harry treated both of us and Mom & Dad on a dinner to celebrate his belated 12.5 year wedding anniversary. 
Brother Harry on the left, with his wife and their three little ones...
It was very special, together.
We also celebrated Pieter's Birthday with family on the 29th.
That year, we'd come to The Netherlands early February, en route to our work to Indonesia, for celebrating my Birthday with my Parents and family and next day brother Harry's and also Mom's Birthday five days later.
So now fate had it, that due to our early leaving from Indonesia, also Pieter's Birthday got celebrated in our birth country.
Very special time this visit, for being with family and friends!
On May 1, on Friday, we go by train to the airport.
We had dropped off all the excessive luggage the day before, by car, and placed it in a locker.
There we go on May 1, with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines finally going home to Atlanta, Georgia/USA

We've come a long way with the remnants from our Life in Indonesia as baggage... Our Exodus!

BUT we sure got a Royal treatment with an upgrade to Business Class on our Courtesy Card with KLM
Menu card reads: Inspired by 'Floriade', the greatest flower show on earth.
Our lunch menu
Cold meal
KLM's Wine Cellar in the Sky
Wine
Champagne and wine...
Liquors and Aperitifs
Discover Holland flowerland... at Floriade 1992! The World Horticultural Exhibition is the most colorful and breathtaking event of the year. A unique show of flowers, plants, trees, vegetables and fruit. Held only once every ten years, Floriade will greet the world from April 11 to October 11 in Zoetermeer near The Hague.
KLM Royal Airlines is main sponsor and official carrier of Floriade 1992.

They sure did carry us back home in a very comfortable way with our upgrade to business class, thanks to the courtesy card we each had. We felt quite pampered in the upper deck.
A very appropriate way for sealing off our Life in Indonesia..


Related links:
{Did I loose my strength?... Like in Samson and Delilah?} | previous post by me showing my long braid

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

{205 Countries Visited - Welcome Mayotte & Message to Incognito Relatives}

Already on September 13, the 205th Country Visited my humble blog - Welcome Mayotte!
Mayotte is a little Island, West of Madagascar and belongs to FRANCE.

My Dutch relatives, that visit me Incognito, I do wish PEACE!
Mom is in heaven... please find solace by her last words: 'Oh wàt zijn ze lief allemaal!' or 'Oh what are they all sweet!' 
Such a blessing to have this on video...
No, we were not crazy for toting cans with dinosaur soup & cast iron muffin pans for our nephews. We loved them and still do!

Related link:
{Mom Lived 16 Days Short of Her 91st Birthday} | Previous post by me with added message to my relatives...
{Airline Baggage Weight and Campbell Dinosaur Soup} | Previous post by me about carrying cans of dinosaur soup and heavy cast iron gifts for our nephews.



Wednesday, May 28, 2014

{Airline Baggage Weight and Campbell Dinosaur Soup}

Thinking about HOW much we have carried inside our suitcases over the years... it is hard now for bringing anything besides your clothes and toiletries for the total allowed baggage weight of 1 piece of 50.5 lbs or 23 kg at present. We did the lion share of our travel on KLM and back then it was 2 pieces of 70.5 lbs or 32 kg each! In the mid 90s when flying from the USA to The Netherlands, we did even have CANS of CAMPBELL DINOSAUR SOUP + CAST IRON DINOSAUR MUFFIN PANS as a gift for our Dutch nephews...
Courtesy of Campbell Cares is this original photo from such a can of Dinosaur Soup.
Thanks guys +Campbell Soup Company your courtesy is highly appreciated!
Having been both International Consultants, we did spend a lot of time aboard KLM Royal Dutch Airlines.
Just slightly tagging behind husband Pieter's total Mileage...
We always have valued KLM's Royal Dutch Airlines Courtesy Card!
Above is the one we had in Italy, while working and living there, just like we had before in the USA.
And again, continuing with our Royal Wing card in the USA...
We had so many benefits because of that.
Getting an upgrade to Business Class whenever Economy got fully booked.
Being allowed to check in at the Business Class counter, even with others that traveled with us.
Making use of the Business Class Lounge, we also did on the way over to the USA when all 4 of us used the Van Gogh Room at Schiphol Amsterdam Airport.
Mom & Dad even got an upgrade to Business Class, just like I had, when flying to Amsterdam from Atlanta, USA in May of 1987.
Mom & Dad sat in two seats next to each other and I shared a seat with a widow traveling back home after having stayed with her ailing brother in the USA.
Always easy for getting out of the roomier chair instead of sitting with 3 or even 4 passengers in narrow chairs.
But the Coach Class did allow Two (2) pieces of 70 pounds / 32 kilograms each!
Can you imagine?
That's how we could afford to travel with One (1) piece filled with gifts and things for relatives and friends.
Can you imagine the anxious recipients upon our arrival?
There was snow upon arrival in The Netherlands, on March 2, 1995 and we did tote all this weight into the train, with 2 stop-overs along the way.
Muscle power...


Hand delivered on March 8, 1995. Our 7 and 5-year old nephews loved their Dinosaur soup!
Were we crazy or what?
This is unthinkable for present time travel with its luggage weight restrictions!

Friday, December 20, 2013

{Like Princess Diana, I also Tried to Tackle the Leprosy Stigma}

So many people have told us that they envied us for all our travels. Well, let me share with you our trip # 3 to Indonesia for Consulting. That's right - NOT vacation!
It was the exact same day that Princess Diana was staying in Jakarta, she did visit the Sitanala Leprosy hospital to shake hands with those patients in order to tackle the stigma.
1989, November 04, Princess Diana at the Sitanala Leprosy Hospital Indonesia—below you will see link to short video.
We flew on KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, from Treviso, Italy where we were living at the time, via Amsterdam, The Netherlands to Dehli, India and on to Singapore for one last stop before reaching Jakarta, Indonesia.
By 18:00 o'clock we sat in our taxi on our way to the hotel and we departed Jakarta on the 7th of November, 1989 to the center of Java where we actually worked.
We had no idea that we were spending those two nights in Jakarta while Princess Diana was there at the same time.
Below you see me, at the very same Leprosy hospital where Diana visited, only several years later...
This is on November 16, 1997 and trip # 19 to Indonesia for work.
From Atlanta, USA to Amsterdam, The Netherlands where we had a layover of 12 hours.
We killed that time by making phone calls with my Parents. Called my youngest sister Gerd and obtained from her the telephone number of the hospital where my sister Diny just had had surgery on her shoulder. Calling with Pieter's brothers and on to Singapore, non-stop in some 13 hours.
One hour layover and the last 1-½ hour to Jakarta, Indonesia. Two nights on the plane...
You bet that once we arrived at the hotel by 19:00 o'clock we only needed some fruit, a good shower before finally hitting the mattress.
Next day around noon we went to the Jakarta leprosy hospital and to the compound where about 800 leprosy families were living. We knew a German Jesuit, Siegfried Binzler, with whom we worked for handing him the money we collected from our local Rotary Club, Rotary Club of Savannah West and friends. I say 'our' even though I myself have never been a member but for decades I've always supported husband Pieter with these international projects. Pieter has been a Rotarian since May 11, 1976.
We did hand Father Binzler US $ 9,030 on November 16, 1997 and he was quite surprised.
This was on June 3, 1997 when we did hand over the very first US $ 1,000 in cash to the administrator of the Leprosy compound, an ex leprosy patient himself. Look at his hands... He was lucky that they saved his fingers and hands by surgery. Splitting the tendons in two for functioning in another finger, with lots of therapy over the duration of several years. Most people don't have the money for it so they just have no choice other than to amputate...
Here the ex-leprosy administrator is signing the receipt for the US $ 1,000 for us to carry back home to our Rotary Club. Mission accomplished...
100% being used for the cause!
Now back to November 16, 1997...
This poor soul has one leg amputated and the other foot is severely infected, and also both her hands... Just imagine having to live like that!
We never complained about jet-lag after sitting two nights in a row on the plane; that is pure luxury compared to the life of all people with leprosy!
We did this always the next day after arrival, to get the money and other goods to safety first. Then we would travel on to our work area.
Talking about luxury, me happily wearing the Majorica crema rosa pearls, that Pieter gifted me at the Amsterdam tax free shop...
It really hurts when you see a girl covering her face (that too was affected!) so I signaled to Pieter that he had to put the camera away... But we HAD to bring home material in order to raise more awareness for the need of money to support the poorest of the poor for giving them a prosthesis.
This girl had had surgery on her leg.
Speaking their language, I engaged in conversation in order to distract them from the camera.
Husband Pieter had to zoom in as you absolutely cannot hang with your camera above their misery. 
This hurts like hell and when you return to the hotel, with a mega headache you need time for getting all that misery out of your system. And yet, you want to SCREAM at the world for awareness. These poor souls become OUTCAST of society due to the stigma around leprosy. Also their family becomes outcast. But behind the hospital there are only a few square kilometers where already at that time about 800 families lived... and how can they make a living?! 
Do you recognize the exact same beds and room? Mind you, there is NO air conditioning and only the bare minimum as you can see.
Diana Princess of Wales was Patron of The Leprosy Mission England and Wales... ←click link. Princess Diana made huge strides in tackling the stigma surrounding leprosy by touching those affected by the disease. She brought the plight of leprosy affected people to the world's attention and dispelled one of the myths surrounding it – that it can be passed by touch – by visiting hospitals and touching patients.
Below post you can also see a video from Princess Diana's Leprosy hospital visit in Jakarta, Indonesia... 
Back again on New Year's Eve of 1998.
That's right; December 31, 1998.
This girl lie there moaning, just out of surgery on her hands... Look at that foot.
A beautiful teenager and so mutilated for life!
Worse; being OUTCAST for life...
This woman received a new prosthesis from our Rotary Club.
In 1989 she received one through Princess Diana's visit and it was worn out.
We did deliver US $ 8,500 this time and $ 1,100 from other friends.
We also had started to collect those toiletry bags from KLM which we received aboard our flight when we got an upgrade into business class when economy was sold out. We saved them up and brought them all with us to hand out to these poor souls.
BUT, how you want to dissolve after having handed out the LAST one...
You would need a truck load for actually giving something to all!
Yet, they always smiled and were so happy and when I asked them they were quick to reply: 'We believe in a better life after this!'
Those leprosy patients taught us so much. 
They really understood to give back so much with their gratitude.
Sorry for the poor quality scans, this is not from an actual slide as I have yet to find it.
This is Sanah, she had her leg amputated and was told the other foot had to go and also her hands.
That is when we stepped in for saving her hands at least through surgery and tedious therapy and more surgery by splitting the tendons.
Speaking the language has proven to be very beneficial.
Who would have thought that I would be in the country of my Great-Uncle 'Heeroom'; guess he has guided me from heaven, many times! See post about him below...
 What can you do?
What to say... there is so much suffering and it looks like the entire world is looking the other way... ostrich politics. When you don't want to see it; it is not there.
These poor souls have no voice and their disease is not political correct for receiving aid; like for HIV. 
This New Year's Eve of 1998 was quite shocking for us.
There were still military on the leprosy compound for protection.
Also near our hotel were military patrolling and they had their tents set up.
To me that Thursday trip looked closest to a war zone that I ever saw. Of course, husband Pieter lived through WWII but the video tape we took from some 6,000 burned and vandalized banks, shops, car dealers (mostly Chinese Christians) made quite an impression. The riots from May and November totaled 1,200 deaths.
We did go shopping, for my niece Maartje I got 2 dresses and we were in bed by 21:00 o'clock after a little bite - WORN OUT! That was our non-glamorous New Year's Eve for 1998...
Saturday, November 20, 1999 with German Jesuit Siegfried Binzler.
Back again for delivering some Cashier checks and US $ 13,120 this time. Our local Rotary Club has supported the Leprosy victims in Jakarta for years. Photo shows US time, hence the different date as Indonesia is 12 hours ahead.
You bet that I felt so relieved each time for arriving safe with all that cash in my purse... quite a responsibility.
Again, making the rounds in the Leprosy hospital as so many times before...
Aside from cash money we always did carry as many clothes and things we could take with us. 
Our allowance with the Royal Wing Card from KLM was like that for business class and we did carry each 2 heavy suitcases (at that time 32 kg each was allowed!) + heavy carry on + totes etc. 
We never did shun the load as it brought so much joy to so many. Here are lots of clothes we received from a Jewish friend. for taking with us; some were new and all in a small size, so the Leprosy male could wear them. 
Most US sizes nowadays would be way too large.
We no longer went to Indonesia after 2001, our trip # 21 but the Dublin Rotary Club has continued for many years to send funds, now using our liaison John H. G. Soe from Rotary Club Jakarta Sentral. 
Photos posted on Flickr ←click link our combined Leprosy Project for which we earned a Matching Grant from Rotary International in 2010, you can see when clicking on the hyperlink. Many wheel chairs and prosthesis could be provided in order to make life more bearable for those poor souls.

All those years of involvement in charity for the poorest of the poor, did change us quite a bit.
We cannot participate in the hype for shopping and more shopping around Christmas. 
It is a harsh world with too stark contrasts and most people never even stop for a moment from their ongoing rush to more, bigger, better—their Credo for the twenty–first century.
There is more in life and being content and trying to share and reach out provides us with real happiness.
We always have shared and given to others freely. Since we do live off one pension with three adults; Pieter's ex and both of us, we no longer can afford to generously gift relatives the way we used to. 

What we learned from it is that they became kind of dependent on it and more or less expected us to bring each time special gifts for them. They smiled but did it foster gratitude? 
I doubt it, as we seldom hear from any of them. They are all so involved in their own little world of racing with all others through the never-ending WANT...
May you all have a blessed Christmas in the true meaning and may you find Peace!


Related links:
{March 14, Written Life Message for me by my Favorite Great-Uncle} | previous post by me about my Great-Uncle (Heeroom) who spend 30 years in Indonesia
{Winter Sale | At the time we were Millionaires} | previous post by me when I bought those 2 dresses for niece Maartje on New Year's Eve in Jakarta, Indonesia + Versace jeans on January 1st
{World Polio Day - Nobody's child everybody's man - Jakarta Post} | previous post about John H.G. Soe our liason from Rotary Club Jakarta Sentral
{3 Hibiscus Varieties 'KONA' - 'CONFEDERATE ROSE' and a RED variegated} | previous post about our stay at the Hyatt Regency Pier Sixty Six, Fort Lauderdale, FL at the time of Diana's funeral...
Former Lepers struggle to survive after crackdown | The Jakarta Post article from 09 09 2009
Leprosy sufferers face social stigma | The Jakarta Post article 01 28 2009
Plans leprosy center tangerang rejected | The Jakarta Post article 08 18 2009
{We saw FOUR Armadillos at Lunch Time!}Humans can acquire a leprosy infection from armadillos by handling them or consuming armadillo meat, and are a presumed vector and natural reservoir for the disease in Texas and Louisiana. - previous post by me
{World Leprosy Day} | previous post by me
{My 6 Min Presentation The Truth About Leprosy for GDPLI, AtAmerica U.S. EMBASSY JAKARTA} | post by me with video + Pdf link of presentation
{My 8th Blog Award - Sunshine from Japan} | previous post by me mentioning our fight for the underdog

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