{Gift Amaryllis Fully Blooms on Mom's Birthday in Heaven}

A rather sentimental day... We went to the funeral of a dear friend June and February 12 is also Mom's 2nd Birthday in Heaven.

A sunny day however and a beautiful Gift Amaryllis from sweet friends, given on my birthday, was fully blooming.

Such beautiful flowers really do lift up ones spirit!

A little miracle to see one by one 5 huge flowers unfold.

Sitting on the window sill in our Kitchen.

There is even a second bud, a bit lower, so we might see again an outburst of multi flowers!

Their stamens are very beautiful too.

What a joy such a gift!

In regard to my previous post, about living now with a Pain Free Back, I can add that also this Youtheory Turmeric supplement is available via Costco in the U.K. So for my European readers, that is another option to get it or mail order it through amazon.co.uk (just click on the hyperlink above) for a very reasonable price. Far better priced than the ones offered at amazon.fr and amazon.de as they ask outrageous prices around € 200 per bottle!

{Happy Birthday with a Pain Free Back} | previous post by me about my Auto Immune Disease

{Happy Birthday with a Pain Free Back}

Good news is that I was able to celebrate my Birthday with a Pain Free Back!

That in itself was the BEST gift one could wish for after more than a week of excruciating pain.

Because of my chronic kidney disease I cannot take any over the counter medication and neither did I want to start again on opiates, prescribed by my doctor. 

That's what I took in the end of 2009 when I was diagnosed with severe mid back arthritis...(?)

It resulted in being completely paralyzed, due to a rare auto immune disease and only with  Prednisone I was able to move again. But after taking that for about two years, my kidneys paid a price for curing this Polymialgia rheumatica.

So I'd rather tough it out and take nothing, except my daily supplement from Costco Wholesale the Youtheory Turmeric capsules that come with 180 in a pot.

Will show more below...

First a few Birthday dinner pictures...

Sorry for the poor quality... snapshots taken by husband Pieter with my iPhone, he even left out a friend...

I wore two layers of cashmere, a sleeveless mock neck and the very thin sweater with poetry that I showed in a previous post: {Cashmere Words of Wisdom & Update} 

Feeling doubly warm with this score from Last Call by Neiman Marcus that I also wore when I did FaceTime with Mom, two days before her death...

Since we had to arrange things last minute, due to my condition and not knowing if I would be able to sit through such a 5-course dinner, we were in a cozy group of four friends. Very special evening though!

At Ristorante da Maria from Dublin Farm "Come Home To The Country" I always do eat the dessert as well. Even being diabetes type 2... 
Here they just served mine with the birthday candle on top.

This was the choice of dinner and Pieter and I opted for the salmon.

Turmeric by Youtheory from Costco. Just click the hyperlink to go to my Pinterest board for further info after clicking on the photo!

This is what I have been taking during the time of my excruciating back pain and it sure did give me some relief! Usually I take one tablet per day but I went to two.

Turmeric seems to be an excellent anti-inflammatory support and also is good for your kidneys. Just click the hyperlink.

We might indeed be able to learn a great deal from countries where this has been used for centuries, such as India, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and as part of Ayurveda and other branches of traditional medicine.

Youtheory® Turmeric Advanced Formula features Curcumin C3 Complex® - a patented turmeric extract that contains minimum 95% curcuminoids.

Costco just had as discount on these and I did stock up and will also mail some to my youngest sister in The Netherlands who suffers from Fibromyalgia. 

{Outlet Scores}

Always a pleasure to find great Outlet Scores and we are often successful in Florida.

This Escada jeans suit we found at Escada Outlet Store in Florida, right after I came out of the hospital, when I got almost completely paralyzed because of a rare auto immune disease. I had lost so much weight that I barely could keep any pants on my hips...

Here I wear it again with two new Oultet Scores from the Wolford outlet.

Yes, those Outlets are great for Men's clothes as well.

Here husband Pieter is wearing his favorite jeans brand: Zegna with a nice vest from Last Call by Neiman Marcus.

Pieter captured me laughing at one of our cats; they always follow us like doggies!

You can see the Cotton Velvet Wolford top with the leather belt.

Lovely belt with roses... that was a pre-surgery gift when we were in Florida for a relaxing vacation in September of 2013, but with horrible weather.

Got so lucky that this was in the Wolford Outlet at Orlando, FL

On our latest trip we learned that they closed in February.
But there is one in Fort Lauderdale at The Colonnade!
With Last Call by Neiman Marcus and Escada Outlet store at the Colonnade Outlets at Sawgrass, that makes it super...

Do you also treasure such Outlet Scores?

Related links:

{# 148 and my blog is 1 year old today!} | previous post by me with mention of being paralyzed

{Our Citrus Aurantifolia - Key Lime} | previous post by me from stay at Key West after being paralyzed

{My Angel Sister & Mariette's Back to Basics Explained} | previous post by me
{The Colonnade Outlets at Sawgrass} | previous post by me

{My Angel Sister & Mariette's Back to Basics Explained}

January 11, marks the date that my Angel Sister Mariet was still born... She would have been my older sister and my entire life I've wondered how she would have been like. In an earlier post of November 23, 2010, I did write about her Birthday and I will repeat it here:

By the end of the year I was walking on crutches...

On January 9 of this year (2010) I was in the hospital being almost totally paralyzed with very high fever that they couldn't knock down at first. 

It was on January 11, that I cried in my hospital bed; on the birthday of my still born sister 'Mariet' who would have been almost 13 months older than I am. 

I told her that I was NOT yet ready to see her in heaven...

After four days in the hospital they put me on Prednisone and the pain went away.

Again I could MOVE! What a joy.
Being diagnosed with a very rare auto immune disease, I was now on the mend!
♥

For my sister Mariet, trying to live for her as well, I've added 'TE' behind my name.
♥♥

That's the story behind my Zen Cart powered on line boutique: Mariette's Back to Basics. 

Anyway, most people here in the US had difficulties pronouncing Mariet, so this works well.
They have chewed it out like Muwrit or Muwreet... A good example is: 1993 February 8 — Ma Hawkins Group in Dublin, Georgia ←click link for YouTube video

A name is very special and I'm proud for adding something for an Angel I Know By Name; MY SISTER

Related link:
{# 148 and my blog is 1 year old today!} | previous post about my sister

{16th Blog Award + Challenge & Personal Update}

On May 18, I did receive my 16th Blog Award from Melanzana but I had no time to post about it right away. Also on May 11, I received a Challenge from Elna Sudden. Thanks ladies but frankly, I am not at all in the mood for passing them on... Got back on medication for my auto immune disease. That puts a bit of a damper on the 'happy' feeling. Let's hope that in a week the inflammation will be gone.

At the time when Elna listed my name on May 11, I was facing the challenge of getting the garden ready, together with my husband Pieter, before going on a 5-day cruise to the Bahamas. That is fun but you work your tail off prior to 'relaxing' time. Garden care, house cleaning, laundry, packing and off we went. Our best friends had asked us to join them and their clinic personnel, as we've also done so in 2009. A great team and we had a fantastic time. Lots of reading, healthy food and elegant dining as a group of 13 together. From Port Canaveral, Florida we first went to CocoCay Island, Bahamas. Strolling around this secluded little paradise in the sun was nice. Next day we arrived at the harbor of Nassau, also in the Bahamas. This 'Sunny Smiley' as Blog Award is therefore perfect for a cruise to the SUN!

Thanks again Melanzana!

This was our 4-night trip from Port Canaveral in Florida to Cococay Island and than to Nassau, both in the Bahamas.

Those Islands like CocoCay are like a tropical Paradise!

Hope you all are doing well.

THANKS for all my new followers and for your visits and comments.

As soon as I feel better (side affect of my medication also...) I will visit more blogs.

Yeah, let's hope it will soon be: Mariette's Back to Basics...

Related article:
Challenge Accepted + Easter Photos previous post by me

{My Hand and Dupuytren's Contracture}

• While on vacation at the Hyatt Regency in Curaçao I did discover two lumps in my left palm... 
• Very strange and it did worry me of course. 
• After coming home I did check in with my internal medicine doctor and he put me on Mobic, against the inflammation as it felt hot too. But it didn't do anything. 
• Next was a visit to my specialist, the one who has been treating me since I got paralyzed ←(click it) almost completely from a rare auto immune disease, early January 2010. 
• They diagnosed me with Polymyalgia Rheumatica and treated it with Prednisone and I also have to take weekly the Atelvia for preventing bone loss (side affect from the Prednisone). 
• Got so happy for being completely off the Prednisone in November of last year. 
• But now I got a new dose of Steroids injected into one of the lumps. 
• It didn't go away though, it slightly hardened. My specialist suggested to monitor it as the x-rays didn't show him anything that would make him nervous. 
• But it started to bother me more and more and not knowing what it actually is, created a knot in my stomach. 
• So this Thursday I did go to see a hand surgeon at the Orthopedic Center in the next city. 
• Well, as it turned out there is NO cure for the condition that I have and it is called Dupuytren's Contracture. ←(click it) Named after French surgeon Guillaume Dupuytren (1777-1835) ←(click it) who discovered it.

• It seems to be rare for having those lumps in the palm of the hand, not directly under the little or ring finger. 
• Maybe I'm lucky?

• This is how it looks when those nodules are formed under the little and ring fingers.
• We do know one gentleman who has this problem in his right hand, exactly like on the photo to the left in this brochure that I received.
• Well, there is no cure and I don't need treatment as long as I can place my hand flat on a surface.
• Let's hope it will stay that way for a long time to come!

Former President Ronald Reagan is among 5 Famous People With Dupuytren's Contracture ←click it -
I also shared my Birthday with him!

• By checking the Internet on the Causes, ←(click it) I also learned that it may be associated with an autoimmune reaction, where a person's immune system attacks its own body tissues. 
• That happened in January 2010 when I ran a high fever and had a SED rate as high as it possibly could get, due to inflammation somewhere in my body. The Prednisone performed miracles for me.
• A body is a tricky machine!

• Risk factors... People from Northern European descent, they call it even the Viking Disease.
• Diabetes also seems to be a risk factor. I do did have Diabetes Mellitus, or Type 2 but keep it under control by diet. 

• Here they again list that it occurs more frequently in patients with diabetes mellitus←(click it).

• How it is diagnosed? ←(click it)
• Good to read that it may be painful in the beginning... so I might get rid of that after a while.
• I also have noticed that with rainy weather it will be felt more. 
• Not a real pain but some nagging feeling.
• Well, it is nothing to applaud about but I thought it might be helpful for sharing this with others.

As is evident, lots of people have read here...

♥♥

Let's enjoy the weekend as it will be my husband Pieter's Birthday on the 29th! 

Related link:

{Fighting the Water + Scanning Slides} | other post by me showing my hand

A quick fix for 'claw hand': New injection gives hope to millions of sufferers article in the Daily Mail.com

{My Hand with Dupuytren's Contracture - Update} | newer post by me

{Post # 484 and my blog is 2 years old today!}

Today marks a very special day as on November 23 of 2009 I did launch my first blog-post about {Romancing the Home}.

At that time I was very sick, in excruciating pain and could not even get to my PC... Only a second blog-post I launched on December 13, 2009 showing our blooming {Fragrant Paperwhite Narcissus flowers in early December}. Together with a reply to Johanna Gehrlein about her question.

By the end of the year I was walking on crutches...

On January 9 of 2010, I was in the hospital being almost totally paralyzed with very high fever that they couldn't knock down at first.

It was on January 11, that I cried in my hospital bed; on the birthday of my still born sister 'Mariet' who would have been almost 13 months older than I am.

I told her that I was NOT yet ready to see her in heaven...

After four days in the hospital they put me on Prednisone and the pain went away.

Again I could MOVE! What a joy.

Being diagnosed with a very rare auto immune disease, I was now on the mend!

♥

For my sister Mariet, trying to live for her as well, I've added 'TE' behind my name.

♥♥

That's the story behind my blog's name: Mariette's Back to Basics.

Anyway, most people here in the US had difficulties pronouncing Mariet, so this works well.

~~0~~

GREAT NEWS...

As of today, I no longer need to take Prednisone!

Had my check up yesterday and things just looked fine.

Now, let's have a look at last year and this year.

Post # 148 I wrote last year on November 23.

Post # 484 is today's...

6,544 Visits came from 74 countries/territories on November 23 last year.

40,701 visits came from 146 countries/territories since last year; almost double the countries and more than 6 x as many visits.

On July 10, 2011 I did put the Flag Counter on my blog and since than it shows 138 countries.

Thank YOU for all the visits from so many countries!

Thank YOU for all the comments!

Thank YOU all 281 followers!

Looking forward to the next Blog Anniversary...

 

Related links: 

{Post # 148 and my blog is 1 year old today!} | previous post by me
{THANKS to 166 Followers from 113 Countries!} | previous post by me

{Our Dinner with + Gift to our Medical Friends}

After quite a wait we finally managed to get together with all our medical Friends. Yes, Friends with a capital F! They went the extra mile for both of us. First in January of 2010 when I got almost completely paralyzed and ran for days a high fever that didn't want to go down, they all came together to see me at the hospital. Two Internal Medicine doctors and one Radiologist. The latter traveled after work the two hours to my bedside, with his wife. I was even given some delicious home cooked Indian food from the other friend, the Internal Medicine doctor's wife. We know each other for 28 years! It feels so good to leave your well being in the hands of caring, true Friends! They found a cure for my rare auto immune disease and I was quickly on the mend and therefore forever grateful to them.

In September when Pieter had his heart attack, without the usual symptoms, he was sent off per ambulance to the next big city for treatment by a good heart surgeon, who did his quadruple bypass surgery. Once again, I felt secure for leaving Pieter into the hands of dear medical Friends.

So naturally, we wanted to do something for them in return, something special and from the heart. Due to all sorts of family circumstances we could not sooner get all together than July 19. We made reservations at Ristorante da Maria with Lady Chef Maria and Heinz. This time we had her cook vegetarian Indian food, for all of us. We worked in India for over ten years for Pond's India and for another company in Poona, so we LOVE the spicy food.

Now to the special gifts that I found in Germany, in the north near Hamburg. Elvira from the blog Rosengärtchen (Rose Garden) not only creates fabulous Christening gowns and such but she also designed very unique handbags with Peacocks, which she called Secret Garden.

This one caught my attention in her blog: Tasche Secret Garden and in her online shop. Knowing that the Peacock is a very special symbol in our Friends' culture, I contacted Elvira after she made me a Rose Bag: Tasche Romantic Rose und eine Uberraschung and shown also here: {Introducing YOU to Romantic Rose Handbags from RosenRomanze Germany}. Asking her if she would be able to make three of those. She wrote back yes; all unique items and thus different, but she was more than happy to make them for me. That was in October of 2010...

Elvira used blue seed pearls, semi precious stones and metal rose bead buttons for a closure on this luxurious bag. She designed it such that one looks through a window of an old Palace into its secret garden, where peacocks proudly show their beautiful feathers, between the flower beds...

Also the inside of the bag shows this romantic floral paradise, with on its trails here and there a peacock feather... like on the inner-bag with multiple compartments for cell phone etc.

Elvira made this unique design by using different materials such as linen, cotton batting, wool, and decorated it with fancy embroidery and lace.

On a string, attached to the bag, is a pouch that closes with mother of pearl buttons, for securing money or keys.

Secret Garden Bag 2 with a tassel.

Secret Garden Bag 3.

With a lot of thanks towards Elvira for letting me use her photos!

Which bag would you like most?

{Our Citrus Aurantifolia - Key Lime}

Most readers from the USA will no doubt know the delicious Key Lime Pie. The botanical name is Key Lime 'Citrus aurantifolia' and they are available at Logee's Greenhouse, just click again on hyperlink. 

Now that being said, let's look at the blossoms of this famous Citrus Aurantifolia "Key Lime" which is on the patio in front of our greenhouse. They're certainly worth a Garden Tour to see and  for their fragrance to be smelled.

Pieter took these excellent photos on June 2nd. And by the way; yes both of us went to Key West, the southern most island of the USA. That was last year in early February when I just was out of the hospital and could walk and move again after having been paralyzed because of a rare auto immune disease. The last photos are from there. We did stay at the Hyatt Key West Resort and Spa where I'd booked a year in advance, a free stay for 5 nights from our Hyatt points. So glad we made it, thanks to my timely recovery! 

Heavenly fragrant blossoms, like all citrus trees.

Very long thorns too!

Citrus trees do have very long thorns on their branches.

Top left you can see already a Key Lime being near maturity. To the right is our greenhouse, where they reside during winter time.

Growing well...

Photo from our balcony at the HYATT CENTRIC KEY WEST RESORT & SPA.

That's me standing in front of the Guesthouse where our German 'son' with his family stayed in 2008.

I have gained already 3 kg or 6.6 lbs in this photo; up from 46.8 kg.

There is much to be grateful for as I've come a long way!