{First Advent Week 2014}

Already Advent Season for 2014... 

Can't believe it but it is TRUE. 

Wishing you all a Meaningful First Advent Week.

Just using a red Point A la Ligne candle from France with fresh Rosemary sprigs from the garden.

Rosemary emits such a lovely fragrance!

The beautiful pineapple doily was hand crocheted by my sister-in-law Elly VandenMunckhof, she is a loyal reader of this blog.

The red rose ribbon is French too.
And so is the Baccarat vase...

For such a Perfect French Baccarat Crystal Candle Holder with etched mark including the fragrant red candle, you can have a look on my online Boutique. Just click the above link.

Sorry all sold out...

Related link:

{Point A La Ligne the Rolls Royce of Candles} | previous post by me

{Gratitude for Thanksgiving 2014 - Like the Mayflower Pilgrims in 1621}

Yes, we both being 1st generation immigrants, do have a lot of Gratitude for Thanksgiving 2014! 

Being alive and healthy and living in freedom with new found Friends that became Family, is a Blessing. 

'Friends are family members without kinship'. -- Ronald Giphart Dutch writer

Like those 1621 Mayflower Pilgrims who celebrated Thanksgiving for God's goodness.

Thanksgiving By Jennie A. Brownscombe ←click it

What a fate for half of those passengers that survived the sea and the first harsh winter...

And what a FEAST after those Mayflower conditions:

Sleeping with 80 persons in a cabin made to hold 30 people...

Food - Ship's biscuits that were infested by roaches, weevils and maggots...

Warm meals were too risky because they would set the sails at fire due to winds blowing those flames...

For 66 - Sixty Six days living like that!

The Pilgrims Come to the New World - Mayflower Conditions ←click it for excerpt above and below.

Indeed, after a Prosperous Growth during the Summer of 1621 they had a Thanksgiving Celebration for God's goodness... Only 50 pilgrims survived of the original 102

The Food - Wild turkey etc.

No wonder that this became a NATIONAL FEAST - Thanksgiving History (←click it and just scroll down)

as early as 1777 but without an official Proclamation. Franklin Delano Roosevelt did just that in 1941.
PILGRIMS, NOT PURITANS...

Often those early Mayflower PILGRIMS are being confused with the later PURITANS

Pilgrims, Not Puritans ←click it

     The story behind the first U.S. Thanksgiving  ←click it to link of the above

Wishing all American readers a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Related links:
Samoset 1590-1653 | information about this great Native American Diplomat!

List of Mayflower passengers | check those names of passengers that came from Leiden, South Holland in The Netherlands

Mayflower Compact | list of 41 male aboard and list of those that died at sea 

Mayflower passengers who died at sea November/December 1620

List of Mayflower passengers who died in the winter of 1620–1621

Thanksgiving Day: Pilgrims were a surprisingly worldly, tolerant lot | Great Information!
The Red Friends of the Pilgrims
{No fewer than 7 American Presidents are Direct Descendants of the Leiden, Netherlands PILGRIMS}| previous post by me
{Happy Thanksgiving - From Pilgrim to President} | previous post by me

{Black Gum Nyssa Sylvatica Cut Down}

On November 5, I thought why not make some photos of our Black Gum Nyssa Sylvatica before it will be cut down... Later in the day, indeed Rodney from Soles Tree Service, did call to let us know they would start first thing in the morning at our property! 

We can call that JIT = Just In Time; I captured this large tree!

The reason we had to cut it down was obvious; it did clog up the entire gutter from our tiled patio.
Also leaving lots of leaves between our pot plants.

No more leaves that clog up the gutter or fall on the patio and even getting blown into our garage...

You can see where the gutter is, to the left of the tiled patio...
That was part of our extensive Water Control project.

Bye bye Black Gum Tree; you stayed with us since 1990!

Rodney Soles is a certified Arborist and his crew of five did an excellent job!

Removing the tree's limbs on the one side, on which they would let it fall down...

SOLES TREE SERVICE has the equipment needed. Here the rope gets tied to the machine...

The man climbs into his seat for starting to pull it down...

He is backing up the machine, while his colleague starts to cut the tree on the other side...

Our Black Gum Tree is being toppled...

There it goes...

Almost down...

Totally down!

Grinding up the stump...

Photo taken six days later, on November 12, and you cannot even tell we once had a large Black Gum Tree or Nyssa Sylvatica in that spot!

Did you notice that the front patio is nearly empty?
Our pot plants reside inside the greenhouse till spring comes.
We have to climb the ladder for getting some leaves out of the gutter as you can see between the two windows. No more leaves that can cause problems in that area.

Related link:

{65 Year Old Pine Tree Cut Down} | previous post by me from December 2013
{Our Patio Tiles in the Front} | previous post by me about the completion of our Water Control project

{Happy Weekend from Our Pond Area}

Wishing you all a cozy and happy weekend! 
Photo is taken on August 12, from our Pond Area.

This shows still the low hanging branches of the huge oak tree, hanging deep over the pond...

{New Heater for Greenhouse}

Sure it is that time of the year again that our pot plants have to stay inside the greenhouse, due to frost at night. A sudden drop in temperatures makes tropical plants very sensitive, because they do not have time to harden. 

A brand new Heater for our Greenhouse...

Outside you can see a blooming rose peaking through the door in this November 5, photo.

You can also see the steel utility cart that is being used to transport the pot plants down hill, into the greenhouse and up hill back to the gazebo and patios around the home in the spring.

Husband Pieter added additional shelves on the sides, so we can store more pot plants.

He also put bark on the floor.

Repairs to the greenhouse have been made.

Shelves also on the other side.

A wooden walk way on the floor in the center.

There is the old heater, now functioning in the addition, that Pieter build last year, for sheltering some bigger pot plants.

Meanwhile all plants have been brought inside, all our jasmines, hibiscus and geraniums.

So once more, we are ready for winter!

And yes, our new heater performed well as we had our deeper frost, due to the Polar Vortex hitting the South.
As you can see, November 19, 2014 at 7:34 AM it was -8°C or 18°F.

Related links:

{SHATTERED Winter Dreams...} | previous post by me
{Fall & Winter Preparations} | previous post by me

{Gift from T's Daily Treasures}

Early in August I did receive a surprise in the mail... A lovely card with a sweet hand crocheted gift from Tammy author of T's Daily Treasures blog.

Tammy, who lives in Kuwait, never did crochet before but about a year ago she started creating and LOOK what she is up to now.
This makes such a lovely doily for my little Japanese wooden tray for tea.
How did you know the exact size Tammy?

Enclosed was a lovely card from Tammy!

Thank you ever so much dear friend!

Just playing with it outside on the little table in front of the Rose Suite...
I've added the little Kyusu teapot for one.
Also for fun I  added the Red Buckeye nuts (Aesculus pavia), that are family of the horse chestnuts. They might look like chestnuts but they are deadly poisonous when eaten! Click above link.

On the table are some fallen down acorns and hulls from our live oak tree...

Those Red Buckeye nuts are huge this fall.

Playing with nature... Look after two days how much those hulls have opened up!

Shiny nuts, not edible but very nice looking ones!

Hope you also liked this lovely doily...

Related link:

{Our last Datura Angel's Trumpets and TEA with a Twist} | previous post by me showing my Kyusu teapot from Japan, pictured above

{TEA = Superb Fat Fighter} | previous post by me showing Kyuso teapot

{Scottsdale Arizona's Skyline Solar}

While driving to The Boulders, we did pass some impressive solar carport structures on N. Scottsdale Road in Scottsdale Arizona. That looked really neat and just imagine with those high temperatures how 'cool' it will be to get into your car. So back home I did some research because in our town, right here in Dublin, we do have a company that produces Photovoltaic Solar Power Panels. The company is from Germany and is called MAGE SOLAR USA. This company no longer exists...
 Jewish Community Center, Scottsdale, AZ ←click it and you can enlarge photo # 4 which I used here above. This is the Scottsdale Arizona Skyline Solar we saw when passing by.

Yep, this is the one we drove past, I googled it and it sure shows the Going Solar: JCC Scottsdale, AZ ←click it. 

For such a sunny state as Arizona it is of course no surprise to find that AZ Top in Nation for Solar Energy… ←click it.

 Power Parasol provides energy and shade to ASU campus ←click it.

Here above you also can see that the Arizona State University is having a huge parking space that has solar panels installed!

ASU solar-panel structures provide shade for students ←click it.

Both of us were very impressed with Arizona!

Clean energy and in general very clean environment.

Kudos to female Governor Jan Brewer! 

Related links:
{Lunch at The Boulders A Waldorf Astoria Resort in Carefree, Arizona} | previous post by me
{1987 Scottsdale Arizona versus 2014} | previous post by me

{French Bernardaud Votive Roses}

Lovely gift item this French Bernardaud Votive Roses, and again available at my on line Boutique:

 Mariette's Back toBasics

Had to bring it outside, for better light... 

Of course, Bernardaud does create far better photos of it, this from when its votive is lit...

Lovely Bouquet of Roses!

Really hard to capture its beauty!

We do have one ourselves and it is almost fairy like when it is lit at night...

Bernardaud Limoges - France

Bernardaud started in 1863
Bernardaud Limoges Votive Lights click it

In the worlds of French decor and art, Bernardaud is considered a symbol of elite refinement and luxury. A porcelain creation signed Bernardaud is always appreciated and recognized the world over.

The measurements are 4 IN - height: 2 ¾ IN or 11 cm and 7,5 cm.
Comes with booklet.

Sorry Sold out...

This is another Curved Porcelain Lithophane Night Light - Rose Petals  ←click it, that we have in our Rose Suite as a Night Light.
Don't you love such lights?

Related link:

{Rare Antique Léonard Bernardaud (1856-1923) Limoges Lamp} | previous post by me

Bernardaud US | link to company with also this very Bouquet of Roses Votive