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 Commercial 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
Yes, today is a very special day as my Pieter turned 93!
Thanks to a great Cardiologist and complete change of medications he lived beyond the grave message we received from our previous cardiologist; who actually neglected him.
Prayers also DO help!
Just to show you our ABUNDANCE of fresh flowers back then...
All varieties of Calla lilies and sweet smelling white Lathyrus.
I used all kind of Baccarat crystal vases for them, also Baccarat perfume bottles.
Below is a 1:33 minute short video from our vases with garden flowers on Pieter's 74th Birthday.
At 0:46 you see our white fragrant peonies.
Immediately followed by pink roses in my Rose China with sprigs of Forget–Me–Not.
A DREAM!
We have no roses left, and if you see how many we had back then...
Guess the competition of the now huge oak trees and others is way too fierce.
And we miss the spent mushroom compost already for two decades!
That was the very best from mushroom cultivation.
A Happy Pieter on his 81st Birthday on Dutch Queen's Day celebration in Atlanta.
This was good 4 months before his heart attack and open heart surgery on September 3. 2010.
Wearing my Escada suit that we saw while in Budapest but could not afford it then, at full boutique price.
Found it later on eBay.
Around Pieter's Birthday, our Quercus Virginiana Grand View Gold is at its BEST.
One of our Palm Trees is right in front of it in this photo.
Sadly today was the funeral of the late Georgia Congressman, the Honorable J. Roy Rowland who had a special U.S. flag flown over the U.S. Capitol for both of us on December 30, 1993...
April 23, was Pieter's 29th Birthday as a United States Citizen!
Already quite a while ago I've promised a dear friend from India, to show our Solid Silver Diyas, that we received as a precious gift while doing Consulting work in India for then Pond's India.
So Finally I made some photos...
Not easy to find the ingredients for making photos!
For me that is FLOWERS with the object and good light.
Here you see our Camellias in a Baccarat vase and the two solid silver Diyas in front, complete with some incense cones.
Very tricky to make photos against the light from a window on the south side.
You can see the gazebo through this window from our living room.
Love the scent of these incense cones, this is Jasmine.
Or Sandalwood!
Taking this beautiful solid silver Diya somewhere else without direct sunlight.
There are 5 openings for such an incense cone.
Here are the solid silver Diyas on their own.
You noticed that I've not polished them before making photos.
This only becomes obvious when looking at the photos later!
One more photo against the closed indoor shutters from our arched living room window.
Yes, inside our home we do have a lot of fine gifts from India and we treasure them!
Having done Consulting in India for over 10 years, the country has a special spot in our hearts and we loved not only its delicious food but also its culture.
When we had to go back and forth to Costco several times for husband Pieter's hearing aid test and adjustments, I had spotted their great King Crab Legs and we brought some home...
A previous supper for friends, I completely forgot to take pictures...
So here we are for an Al Fresco Supper on our Balcony!
Complete with Crab
This was the evening before we left for Florida...
June 26
Those legs were really huge
Haha, having to bring everything to the balcony and avoiding that one of our felines would slip out... was quite a task!
We even had an Oriental Lily 'Belgrado' in a small Baccarat vase.
Something is missing...
Something missing was not the utensils for cracking those crab legs... like our Rösle Nut & Seafood Cracker and the Lobster Picks from Italy.
Snapping away with my iPhone 6 Plus I still did not notice...
Oh my goodness I forgot the Diablo Sauce! Click link for recipe.
Here it is straight from the fridge and not looking good for the photo.
Only one week after we got our new Miele Dishwasher installed I had to prepare a dinner for 12 at our home.
For Pieter's Monday Night Club as we were to host the 3–course dinner...
Imagine, cleaning all that mess and having a neat home, shopping for the ingredients and cooking... Shopping means a 2 ½ hour drive to Atlanta, one way!
This is one table setting, in our dining room for 9. Tabecloth is French Le Jacquard Français.
And 3 more in our bay window section in the kitchen. Tablecloth is French Yves Delorme. Monday, January 25...
At Costco Wholesale we did buy this great and very healthy salad.
It comes with dressing, variety of nuts and seeds! That helps for making things easier...
These delicious wheat rolls are from Whole Foods Market
Snow Flake Rolls they are called...
(Added this photo later)
Tira-mi-su I made the evening before... A favorite dessert at our home.
I would prepare a German style dinner and as meat choice I had Pork Tenderloin, baked in the oven.
Red potatoes, just pre-boiled and then pan fried.
I did keep them warm in my 30" Miele Convection Food Warming Drawer with dual heating system. drawer in the staircase area.
It is great, getting things out of the way and ready to clean up the cook top and kitchen counter.
From Cost Plus World Market I did have this Red Cabbage Salad from Lowell foods.
And yes, I did for once cover the Le Jacquard Français tablecloth with a soft plastic that I have... This is a HUGE tablecloth, I've added a small table at the end, from the Rose Suite downstairs.
Not easy for ironing such size so this saved me from doing that.
My Pillivuyt Sancerre serving plates combined with Cream Colour on Cream Colour by Wedgwood for salad and later also the bigger round dinner plates for the main course. I kept those in my Miele plate warming drawer...
Cups & saucers from the same Wedgwood Cream Colour on Cream Colour and dessert plates for the Tira-mi-su.
Table setting for 3 in the kitchen.
Often I use the round teak table from the balcony for ourselves, set also in the kitchen.
Here no Wedgwood china is used but instead the Pillivuyt Sancerre dinner plates.
Those Pillivuyt dinner plates also went inside the plate warming drawer for the main course. Seltmann Weiden Mirabell White plates for the salad.
I've also learned not to use my French Baccarat crystal but instead a cheaper crystal for glasses...
Hard to capture such a longer table from above...
Flatware is Gero Zilmeta 528 Menuet and for dessert spoons silver Alvin Bridal Rose.
Sorry there are no further photos as it was only Team Vedder that did wait on these guests and no time for snapping any pictures from main course and such.
My French trolley from La Redoute, France that Pieter used in the veranda for creating a little bar...
The Baccarat crystal ice bucket with thong always comes in handy.
So that's my duty for Pieter's Monday Night Club as it is our turn to host the dinner.
The maximum I've done is cooking for 15.
I was sure glad when all was done and I also enjoyed the compliments about the food.
Next day I had severe back pain. That was mainly because that entire week, since our Miele dishwasher got finally installed and working, I had done the cleaning etc. It is as I said above, for our home and garden, only Team Vedder!
