Dad is One Year in Heaven Now

On June 30, it will be one year since Dad went to Heaven for joining my Angel Sister and Mom, who died on January 27, 2015.

1982 Photo of huge Oak named in our dialect 't STRUUKSKE
Brother Martin made this photo and together with brother Piet, they created a Calendar for 1983 which got printed with photos and information about the beautiful local nature.

Dad's handwriting where he stated that after Easter 1940, he got to serve at a Homestead from P. Janssen-Tielen in the hamlet of Veld Oostenrijk in Horst, The Netherlands.
He stayed there till Easter 1942.
Easter time was always the time (planting season I guess...) for changing location while in servitude.
There he got to know Mom, who was in servitude at the Geurts Homestead, just a couple of houses apart.
In August of 1941 they met for the very first time...
This big oak was the spot!
There was the beginning of a long and blissful relationship...

My Sister-in-love Wilma Van den Munckhof made this special photo on April 17, when she went biking together with daughter (niece) Caro.
It shows so beautifully the entire area.
The beautiful fencing has been placed by: Pieter Jacob (Sjaak) Van den Munckhof (1896-1995 Horst, Limburg, The Netherlands)
He was a far relative, as there are numerous Van den Munckhof in Horst
~

Photo by Geert Van den Munckhof used by permission from his blogpost: Eiken en eikels...
Hail cross at the Gortmolen
In 1915, Gortmolens Hannes had this cross placed out of devotion and in the hope of being spared from natural disasters.
The terracotta corpus was bought in Italy in 1930.
MONUMENT OF PIETY NO. 9
~
There are several field crosses in my birth town!

1930 Corpus from Italy
The sign below the Corpus reads:
My Jesus Mercy
Photo from blogpost: Klein mysterie 557 – Christus' lendendoek (Small mystery 557 – Christ's loin cloth)
~
My eldest brother Martin, the photographer of the 1st photo, suggested that Mom & Dad's ashes would be dispersed of right here, at this historical spot.
So five of my six siblings met there on Holy Saturday and it was a very warm and meaningful gathering; however complying still to social distancing...
Only my younger sister did not join for whatever reason.
Wish I could have been there!
~
This made for a perfect Easter!

See short video about Estate de Gortmeule: Jac Hanssen - De Gortmeule mien Landgoed

Related link:

Our Dining Room where we have a large format of Martin's photo hanging next to the cross from Pieter's Parents

Manuscript Writing and Our Office Manager

Yes, it takes quite an organization for writing the updated version of Pieter's world famous book:

Modern Mushroom Growing...

Original content from Pieter's writings (and one chapter by me).

We finally could proceed after archiving all our slides, photos etc.

Here she is: OFFICE MANAGER Speckie Vedder!
She is tough and she notices the tiniest detail...

Watch her peer over Pieter's corrections and/or notes...
YES—she reads and even upside down!
AND she stays on TOP of things - literally, see the finished papers under her hands?!

Don't you think that I might escape her watchful eye!
She's keeping taps on me and my typing as well...

Mom, can't you type faster with ten fingers?!
She DEMANDS high pay in LOTS of foods + Snacks...
But she EARNS it!

Thanks for your visit and comment!

With Speckie's help we finished this mega task: modern mushroom growing 2020 harvesting

A True Love Story NEVER ENDS

Again something light for today...

BUT BEAUTIFUL!

A True 

Love Story

Never 

Ends

This Gift of Six Coasters Contained ONLY Two in English...

But that is enough for a Blissful Relationship!

Thanks for your visit.

Gift by same friends was this coaster: I May Not Be Perfect But My Cat LOVES ME

I May Not Be Perfect But My Cat LOVES ME

Today just something LIGHT...

🐾 I May Not Be Perfect But My Cat LOVES ME...  🐾

🐾

Sweet Gift of Coasters from Dear Friends in The Netherlands...

They too have a cat fur baby!

🐾

Pieter's Solo Trip to Santa Rosa de Osos, Antioquia in Colombia...

On Sunday, September 26 in 1993, we both got up early at 6:00 AM as I had to drop Pieter off at the Atlanta airport for his flight to Medellin, Colombia.

Sunday night spent at Hotel Inter Continental in Medellin, Colombia
Now it is spelled: INTERCONTINENTAL just click it.
On Monday morning the 27th, Pieter arrived at Santa Rosa de Osos, Antioquia which was about 2 hours north of Medellin.

The road through the Andes Mountains took Pieter to Yarumal where the SETAS mushroom farm was being built.
The reason Pieter got asked to go there, was for assessing the situation for a USA importer of mushrooms, Fred Giorgio for Giorgio Foods.

The mushroom farm was being designed by Gerard Derks and built by an Italian company.
Here it is coming into sight...

Coming closer for getting a better overview...

And still closer...

There it is...

Pieter had to evaluate its layout and technical functionality and write a report later.

Pieter stayed at the hotel near this Cathedral.

Catedral - Parroquia Nuestra Señora de Chiquinquirá Santa Rosa de Osos, Antioquia, Colombia. click for info
The hotel Pieter slept for one night (luckily!) was a kind of a prison room. A hatch with bars in the door and no windows. That's what they called a hotel?!
The shower was with a kind of submersible element, which hung from a wire under the water that came out of a curved pipe.
Because the water ran over the element, it got a little warm. Of course, you had to watch out for not touching that wire, it could have shocked you...

Quite an experience, the mushroom farm was also heavily guarded... Pieter got to see lots of guns!
Like entering a military camp.
The layout did show several shortcomings, technical errors but in the end, they got it sorted out and at present they seem to have a good operational business.
You can view a short video here: Setas Colombianas SA click it for seeing the actual finished mushroom farm.

On Tuesday night Pieter was back at the Inter Continental Hotel in Medellin and on Wednesday, I picked him up at the Atlanta Airport.

Happy to be home, that was quite an adventure and one for not repeating...

Pieter Giving Seminars at Various Campbell Farms

Such visits across the Atlantic were always very hectic for my Pieter!

They used his time for having him do several Seminars at their Mushroom farms in the area.

That is typical for the USA, using huge billboards and welcoming the staff members from Camsco Mushroom Co (then Campbell Soup's Mushroom Division).

Pieter standing next to it makes him dwarf...

Michigan

Indeed the Great Lake State.

Whenever you were on such a job, you had to cover a huge distance, either by flight and/or lots by driving!

Delaware, The First State...

Being at the Napoleon Ohio Research Laboratory, Pieter also visited the Rotary Club's meeting!
They even had him published in the local newspaper.

Here Pieter is seen checking out the former Blue Mountain mushrooms farm in Pennsylvania...
Carrying the famous flash light for having pure white light inside the often dark mushroom growing rooms.
Analyzing problems...
This was a typical American Double, rather high rooms with two layers for standing/walking/harvesting.

Related post:
My Pieter is SO LUCKY for having viewed Mt. St. Helen Before its BIG Eruption | previous post about the very same trip

My Pieter is SO LUCKY for having viewed Mt. St. Helen Before its BIG Eruption

Pieter always told me the story about how Campbell Soup invited him to fly to the USA and for evaluating a mushroom farm in Washington...

So, Pieter agreed, to flying across the Atlantic on Good Friday, April 4, 1980.

Little did he know that Washington was the STATE Washington, all the way to the West!

So upon arriving in Philadelphia, he next flew there early April in the Campbell Company Jet...

Due to some eruption on March 27, 1980 the pilot had to fly around it, avoiding being over it and sucking up some of the volcanic particles still in the air.

Here is the once majestic Mount Saint Helen with its peak still at 9,677 feet or 2,449 meter.

In the back to the left you can see Mount Rainier with its 14,410 feet or 4,392 m, the highest in the Cascade Mountain Range.

Both are a Stratovolcano, just as we know them from Indonesia.

On May 18, 1980 it caused one of the greatest volcanic explosions ever recorded in North America...

Some 57 people lost their lives.

Campbell Soup always has had a company jet for being able to reach its approx. 90 plants across the entire USA.
Here Pieter stands with Campbell colleague Ben Penturelli in Minneapolis/St. Paul where they made a stop.

Aron Kinrus also flew with Pieter...

Yep, from Philadelphia all the way to Seattle, in the State Washington.

It was quite fascinating for seeing all those circles where huge crop irrigation sprinklers turn around.

Entering the Cascade Mountain Range...

Fascinating to always see the snow covered peaks.

More and more rugged upon nearing Seattle...

Quite a thrill on such a private jet!
The pilots circled around Mount Saint Helen due to its activity since March 27, see first photo for its view.

Overview of a residential area of San Francisco, California

A view of the Monterrey Royal Oaks Mushroom Farm in California...
Pacific Ocean seen at top left.

This is a Google Maps view of the same Mushroom Farm. Royal Oaks how it looks many years later!

That mushroom farm is not far from the Pacific coast

Upon descending into Philadelphia again, the Delaware River with its Ben Franklin Bridge connecting Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Campbell Soup Headquarters are very near the bridge, in Camden, NJ.

 Hope you enjoyed this historic flight experience!
Thanks for your visit.


A good video of 6 minutes lets you see the initial peak and eruption: Mt. St. Helens Eruption May 18, 1980 just click it.
Mount St. Helens Eruption of 1980 with Photos & Video: click link

From Santa Cruz to San Francisco for the Weekend

This was our PLAN to begin with, a weekend together in San Francisco...

With my Mauzie girl at the San Francisco Fisherman's wharf...

We did make a Golden Gate Bridge cruise and San Francisco Bay and saw Alcatraz Island.

We had checked in at the Hilton San Francisco Union Square at 333 O'Farrell St.
Staying at the 25th floor.
And, my Mauzie girl who was super smart, sat in her sports bag with zipper over her back. I held it with my Burberry trenchcoat concealing her - she never said a word!
It was just for a brief moment a bit tense, when the bell boy tried to relieve me from my bag... he was tugging it but I firmly said; no Sir, I can handle that myself!
Mauzie had a pep talk in the room where I told her that we have now neighbors above, below and on both sides - don't 'speak'.
No wonder Mauzie's Daddy was then Champion in The Netherlands!
We woke up in the morning to the Carillon playing 'Dancing Mathilde'... oh the atmosphere of Union Square!

The view from our 25th floor was absolutely stunning!
It was a pricy hotel for both of us at the time, $ 123.00 per night as Pieter was not yet on the payroll, due to both of us waiting for the green card...
To the right you can see San Francisco - Oakland Bay Bridge

Here an even better view of San Francisco - Oakland Bay Bridge
Macy's was right in front as of course were all major stores around Union Square!

That's where I found two wool skirt suits, one I wore on my Civil Wedding day in November...
We did waste so much of our precious time that Friday at a travel service for changing our flight back to Atlanta, into a flight to Philadelphia as Pieter was requested by the CEO of Campbell Soup, to give a presentation...

But we managed to go by taxi to the Fishermans wharf and view an old submarine and a sail ship.
That is me standing in front of said sail ship, with my Mauzie girl.
Top photo also got taken at the Fistherman's wharf.

We did walk back to the hotel and it was rather steep.

Cable cars were OUT - due to repair!
Not today... but Mauzie got carried for some segments.

This is from a postcard... We had to do this on foot; both ways.

Yes, San Francisco fog is famous and it can be rather chilly there in the evenings!
On Saturday, October 22, we had to stay in our room merely because Pieter was writing his presentation for the CEO but we managed to walk in 45 minutes to the Fisherman's wharf again and made a 2 hour trip by boat; via the Bay Bridge to Alcatraz Island.

Google.com/maps

Red dot is where Hilton Hilton San Francisco Union Square is. To the left you can see Alcatraz Island.
We walked back to our hotel, via China Town, the oldest in North America and largest Chinese enclave outside of Asia.
No photos from that trip... later I would take my Dad by boat to Alcatraz Island and got some photos.
Will show that in a future post...

On Monday, October 23, we all flew in seven hours from San Francisco via St. Louis, Missouri to Philadelphia and with a taxi went to the Hyatt Regency hotel in Cherry Hills, New Jersey.
On Tuesday morning Pieter got picked up by a colleague and had his meeting and presentation with the CEO at the Campbell Soup Headquarters, 1 Campbell Place in Camden, New Jersey.
I read while the men met and by 16:00 we went by taxi to the airport for take off to Atlanta and home by 23:00

Yes, our Mauzie girl has been to several States and Countries!

Related link:

My First Trip to California, Santa Cruz | Previous post by me