{THANKS to 166 Followers from 113 Countries!}

First of all I want to let you know that our Oxalis NEVER do yield a 4-leaf 'lucky' clover...

BUT, I certainly feel very lucky for being healthy again and being happy! Officially I did start my blog in November of 2009, but soon I got that ill that I had to halt my blog till I was no longer paralyzed from a rare auto immune disease. But now things work well and I enjoy reading all your comments and blogs; if time permits. You all know by now that our garden and home do take up quite some time and attention.

On April 2nd of 2010, I did put Google Analytics on my blog. Just did capture this history of one year for you to view. Sincerely I want to THANK all of you, for reading my blog and for visiting our garden, home and events. Tomorrow I will list a GIVEAWAY as my token of appreciation! Stay tuned...

Just on one single day there were 35 countries visiting...

I feel honored for seeing that many countries. Far more than the countries I've traveled to or worked in as a consultant. You can see my countries visited at the top of my blog, under Followers. 

113 countries in one year with 15,849 visits, according to Google Analytics.

One special Thank You to dear Friend Johanna from Silber-und-Rosen-Shop (Silver+Roses) who was the VERY first to leave a comment on my blog and has been a regular ever since. She is the author of a great book that she did autograph for me with a special message... I've done my 3rd blog about her, you can read that here: {Splendid book about Silver Rose Flatware} 

That's a lot of page views: 59,025...

Looks like our lives are going uphill again. Me being paralyzed in January, last year and slowly getting on track and Pieter having his open heart surgery in September...

THANKS ALL FOR READING MY HUMBLE BLOG!

{Splendid book about Silver Rose Flatware}

In November 2010, after Thanksgiving I went ahead and purchased a book from Germany, written by Johanna Gehrlein. She just did publish her first book about silver flatware with Roses. Johanna, like me, did fall in love with these pieces of art long time ago and started collecting them. She too has been searching all over Germany to find other pieces and then she wanted to know more about them. What is the pattern name? What company do the silver marks stand for? So obviously she got into it head over heels. It took a lot of research and some four years of work but the result is superb! A very informative book and a joy to read as well. Just check her website Rosen-Bestecke or find her on Rosen-Bestecke as well as Silber-und-Rosen-Shop. 

You don't need to worry about the language barrier as she is fluent in English!

Both of us became almost instantly friends; the kind of kindred spirits that seem to have found each other after having shared half a life together with so many common interests! What a joy when her book arrived in the mail! I was hospitalized at the time with a rare auto-immune disease, diagnosed later with polymyalgia rheumatica and giant cell arteritis but what a treat to finally come home and dig into this fabulous book. She was so gracious for writing an added personal inscription page for me... That I will treasure forever!

Just want to show here a photo of her book and also some of my rose silver flatware that I’ve collected over the years. Together with some solid silver and silver with enamel pill boxes in varies sizes.

For those of you searching for Hildesheimer Rose Silver Flatware, I do have several pieces for sale... not yet all photographed and listed on my Boutique but please do ASK!

Quite remarkable is the pierced pie and cake server which is on the cover of the book's bottom, and at the very top in my photo above. In that pattern I also have 6 pastry forks, a butter knife and some two-toothed forks.

When comparing those gorgeous pieces that are photographed so well in her book, one has to think about the favorite Alvin, Bridal Rose pattern here in the USA. Replacements Ltd. does have it and one can check the pictures on line from the different items. That Bridal Rose Pattern I love very much but it is rather expensive, also due to it being very popular and sought after. For anyone wanting to start out with a collection, email me as I do have lots of different and beautiful pieces from Germany.

Why is silver tableware with a rose pattern so popular in Germany? It came all about because of a legend and a thousand year old rose bush. You can read more on this Unesco World Heritage Site where one can still visit the remarkable rose bush.

Tausendjähriger Rosenstock

• The 1000-year-old rose tree in the apse of the Hildesheim cathedral which is connected with the establishment legend of the diocese. It belongs botanically to the native wild kind of Rosa canina, literally Dog Rose and blossoms delicate pink.
• So over the ages many a silversmith got inspired by this legend and each one of them tried to capture the beauty of the rose into a silver art form. Some pieces are truly breathtaking! I have to warn you that you might get addicted to roses too… After all, it is the most popular flower in the entire world!
• Happy collecting and if you need more info; ask me anytime!

The very last rose from our garden on December 09, of 2009 in a silver vase with rose...

{Post # 148 and my blog is 1 year old today!}

Today marks a very special day as on November 23 of last year I did launch my very 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, showing: {Fragrant Paperwhite Narcissus flowers in early December}. Together with a reply to Johanna Gehrlein  from Silber-und-Rosen-Shop about her question.

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

On January 9 of this year 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.

So there came my next blog on March 21, about dear Friend Johanna Gehrlein's: {Splendid book about Silver Rose Flatware}. That is about my passion: Silver Rose Flatware.

Only since April 4, I know my statistics as I was way behind with everything and slowly did catch up on my daily life's routine.

Not bad for only seven-and-a-half month of data:
6,544 Visits
34,859 Pageviews

6,544 Visits came from 74 countries/territories

It just so happened that recently, country # 73 is Georgia! Living in Georgia/USA this is special.
The First Lady of Georgia is Dutch born Sandra Roelofs.
So this is a double-Dutch connection...

Related links:

{My Angel Sister & Mariette's Back to Basics Explained} | previous post by me