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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 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
Showing posts with label Birthdays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Birthdays. Show all posts

Saturday, May 13, 2023

Mother's Day and Missing In Action

First off, a few words since my final posting shortly before 8:00 PM on my Pieter's 94th Birthday.
By 10:15 PM while brushing my teeth, I got the most excruciating pain in my left chest, mainly from the back area and also front.
Barely could breath.
Pieter got up and brought me to the local ER.
They did a Nuclear Stress Test on Monday around 11:00 AM and 24 hrs later got the results as being negative and no blockages.
Got discharged on Tuesday afternoon.

Called 911 at 6:00 AM on Thursday and by ambulance (same lady that took me to ER on February 21) to the local hospital.
Got a very active and alert doctor and after a CT Scan of the Spine area he ordered the Air Evac Lifeteam to transfer me to Savannah Memorial University Hosptial.

We got 3 x start problems warning — so off I came from this helicopter and another, bigger one got ordered in.
Enough time for having a CT Scan with contrast done to get more insight in the tear in my Aorta (in the back as it crosses from the chest into back and then down to legs to supply them with blood.
But it took me till Friday afternoon to press for the results of this final CT Scan—it did not transfer to Savannah.
But finally they had insight and the Vascular surgeon decided on Saturday afternoon to do a Stent Graft in my Aorta through my groin area both sides.
Surgery went well and I have been for 6 nights in ICU and then got sent to another room.
My Pieter came with a driver on Friday,  still being in lots of pain and in the unknown...
A 3–hour drive one–way. 
Rough on all of us and I felt constantly so exhausted.
Yesterday my Big Sis did come to pick me up!
Such LOVE is a good life elixer and makes you feel ready to fight.
My first quiet night home in a comfy bed was pure bliss.
Had to take my pain meds, strong ones... but they've helped me.
Typing this after breakfast on my lap—quite an accomplishment!
Sorry for no visiting nor commenting or replying....
Need to REST
Thanks for your LOVE and PRAYERS!


 Mama Thelma, the biological Mother of our adopted daughter Liz was a most pleasant lady.
Since we found her after Pieter's lecture at the 12th NAMC in Vancouver.
Just one of her special cards
From Vancouver
One of her special writings
2002 May 14

Hi Mariet Pieter & Spooky
I want to thank you for those two wonderful home video tapes of your beautiful home and the gardens. I watched it twice... Once by myself, and once with my kid sister (youngest) Ginny, we both enjoyed it, so much.
You have quite a spread.
I watch the before and after tapes! And you have done a fantastic job on your land.
It's just marvelous, beyond words, what else can I say...
Your house inside is gorgeous I might say, you do have a lot of precious, costly things...
Did you buy them at different places that you have worked at, and on holidays?
It's just spectacular the whole house.
It's always nice to have good friends like yours too...
It always helps when you're feeling down and out, (Don't you think so).
My son James and I are going to the Inland for the long holiday to visit my oldest sister Dorothy, maybe spend a couple of days with her. Get away from Vancouver for a while. Besides there is nothing really exciting going on around this old town.
Today, you won't believe it, the sun has come out to smile at us, but it's too cold to run around in shorts... usually every other day it rains and rains.
Well, my dears I really don't have any exciting news for you, except that my health has improved a little and that makes me happy, and now I'll have to close with all my regards and love, hugs and kisses to all including your beautiful Spooky.
May God bless you all.
With love,

Mama Thelma
Mama Thelma wrote the above, the day following Mother's Day.
Previous years I even got Mother's Day cards from her—meaning a lot to both of us!
She thanked us for taking care of her daughter and for giving her a Royal Academy education.
Yes, we both lived quite frugal in order to manage that, but feeling proud for having done so.
Loyalty has a deep meaning for both of us.
An entire box, filled with letters and cards from Mama Thelma, we passed on to Liz and therefore I no longer have them... only this one I had left.
Did not have a scanner yet, at the time we passed those letters on to Liz...

Related links:
{Our Daughter Liz} | previous post by me

Saturday, April 29, 2023

Another Birthday for my Pieter is Ending

 Pieter's 94th Birthday started with sunshine for breakfast!
That was the perfect setting...
It does bring you IN THE MOOD!
On Sunday evening, October 25, in 1998, Pieter was in a happy mood so he played Glenn Miller's In The Mood which was recorded in 1939

Tuesday, February 21, 2023

Mom & Dad's Trio of Crucifix with Corpus and Plaques with Red Copper Relief Statues

 When I did fly solo to The Netherlands—one last time in June of 2022, it was for a very special reason.
Bringing home some treasures from their estate in Limburg...
Mom & Dad's Trio of Crucifix with Corpus and Plaques with red Copper Relief Statues on oak, now hangs above our bed...
Dad's Maternal Uncle — Heeroom blessed the marriage of Mom & Dad but also this special trio.
It hung above their bed till the very end—now it resides in our home in the USA.
My photo seen hanging to the right here below—also came home...
This photo I took on February 21, 2014 when we flew to The Netherlands for Mom's 90th Birthday and Mom & Dad's 65th Wedding Anniversary.
That was the LAST time I got to see Mom alive... see post below about Mom's Hand Knitted Bedspread as Window Display.

Related link:
Limburg — The Emotional Part | previous post by me

Tuesday, February 7, 2023

And Another Birthday with Pearls

 On Monday, January 9, I would make my rounds to Atlanta and to Marietta also for having my Rado watch's battery replaced.
BUT on Sunday evening when brushing my hair and removing the Chanel barrette I noticed that its spring got half broken away...
So, we made another stop at Neiman Marcus at their Chanel Boutique for having it repaired.
Will be so happy when it will be ready with a new spring.
It was right there at the store on the counter, that I noticed some earrings, longer model and with a pearl...
SO... Pieter bought those for me as an early Birthday gift—and I did NOT object 😉
They got nicely gift wrapped with the famous white Chanel Camélia...
Our white hyacinths from Trader Joe's were blooming nicely in our bay window area.
Lovely white Camélia and ribbon...
A card with embossed white camélia and gift box...
Inside the gift box...
Tada...! 
Nice Strass Crystals and the CC logo with pearls.
Photo taken outside in bright sunlight on Sunday, February 5.
Metal & Strass
Gold, Pink & Iridescent Crystals and Pearl
I'm very happy with those earrings as a gift from my Pieter—even though they're not of gold...
Chanel manages to make very elegant costume jewelry as well!
Wearing my Escada silk and cashmere twinset and when looking back, this is what I wore to Mom & Dad's 55th Wedding Anniversary 19 years ago...
Now you also can see my Escada jeans and our Japanese magnolias that are almost open.
Pieter's shade as the sun was really strong with a temperature of 19°C or 66°F.
Both of us are grateful that the –2°C or 28°F last week did not make them turn brown!
Usually these would bloom on Mom's Birthday—February 12, but now she's in heaven, they seem to bloom earlier on my Birthday. 
You can see the white vinyl picket fence in the background...
And the green tree on the left is the Southern Magnolia.
Here I wear the very same Escada twinset on February 15, 2004 when I am happy to see and greet my 2nd brother Piet at the restaurant where we all met for Mom & Dad's 55th Wedding Anniversary.
Wearing also the same Escada jeans...
Piet's kids and wife in the background.
Of course having phone calls on my Birthday and then late breakfast while observing our birds from our bay window.
Here the Eastern Phoebe on the bird bath.
Pieter just added meal worms inside the feeder for them and the Carolina wrens to snack on...
Temperature in the SUN!
40°C or 104°F...
We got this 6" Conant Custom Brass Thermometer from Monticello but now Amazon still has it.
You can see our vinyl picket fence in the back with the blooming magnolias.
Nothing more enjoyable than having breakfast in the sun!
We selected our lot for having our kitchen facing east—for that purpose.
Ending this post with some REAL white camellias that Pieter brought me for breakfast...
Using one of my creamware cachepot, as a vase for them.


Related links:
Those who feel Happy with the HAPPINESS of OTHERS | previous post by me showing creamware cachepot

Saturday, May 7, 2022

Grateful to Friend Gil for Capturing Pieter's 93rd Birthday

 We sure are grateful to photographer friend Gil Gillis for capturing Pieter's 93rd Birthday Dinner with Friends.
Pieter is ready for Mass and for his special Birthday Dinner following...
Wearing the very same Escada silk dress with roses, Escada patent leather sandals and Majolica pearls, that I wore for Pieter's 80th Birthday dinner with friends and family. 
Pieter's Goddaughter then flew over from The Netherlands, for being here!
Wearing my special handmade bracelet, a gift from Blogger Friend: {Rose Bracelet from Enma in Spain - Blogger I Admire} ←click on link.
We were greeted by friend and Lady Chef Maria Runggaldier from Ristorante da Maria ←click on link.
She hails from Bolzano, the capital of the Province of South Tyrol in northern Italy.
Both of us were quite surprised to find our invited friend Gil Gillis, the previous owner of our local TV station, with his professional camera...
How precious for having these photos as a lasting memory!
Thank you so much Gil for you thoughtfulness!!!
Now Gil is in the group as well, standing next to me, as Tara, the young lady on the right, took over his camera.
He personally has trained Tara, to become a professional photographer herself with TheFurgPhoto ←click it.
Pieter received his dessert with a Birthday candle on it and we of course sang Happy Birthday to him.
As a Dutch touch, some white tulips in vases with pebbles, graced the table.
Ristorante da Maria
Our Menu 
All in all, it was a perfect evening.
This text on a towel, wrapped around a wine bottle that Pieter received as a gift from our friends, sums it up perfectly:
THE SOUTH
Where tea is sweet
and accents are sweeter.
Summer starts in April.
Front porches are wide
and words are long.
Macaroni & Cheese is a vegetable.
Pecan Pie is a staple.
Y'all is the only proper pronoun.
Chicken is fried and 
biscuits come with gravy.
Everything is "darlin"
and someone's heart is
always getting blessed.

FOND MEMORIES! 💖

On my FB Page Mariette's Back to Basics
1,249 views on Pieter's LinkedIn profile.

Thursday, May 5, 2022

By Husband Pieter: MY LIFE AS A TEEN DURING THE WWII ERA

 May 5 is Dutch Liberation Day, as it is 77 years ago today. 
May 30 is Memorial Day here in the USA, so it is appropriate for sharing Pieter's story.
First presented, without any images, to the Monday Night Club in Dublin on February 23 of 2009, where Pieter has been a long–time member through March of 2017.
Pieter made this presentation with slides for the Rotary Club of Dublin, Georgia USA on December 3, 2010.
Dublin Rotary Club
Pieter gave a very heartfelt and moving presentation to the club about his experiences growing up in The Netherlands during World War II.
Map of Western Europe
Now I like to take you back to the period of the mid–1930s and 1940s in the 20th century, now some 90+ years ago.
What you see here is part of the map of Europe and in the center top you can see The Netherlands; a small but densely populated country; one fifth of the size of Georgia/USA.
I am born in 1929 in a small village near the city of Arnhem, in the Eastern part of the country; close to the German border.
Liemers
The soil in that area is rather fertile, because of the sediments of the numerous flooding of combined rivers in the past; the Rhine, the Neder Rhine; the Ijssel and their branches. Therefore, a number of people in that small village were Market Gardeners, as my hard working parents were too.
Vedder Family (Pieter center) during the Depression years 1930s
We for sure were not rich, but at least not as poor as most other families, especially those with more children; six or seven was quite normal then and ten or eleven no exception.
As you can see, I am the youngest of only three boys.
Greenhouse with Boston lettuce at my Dad's with my late husband
My Dad's produce business was somewhat ahead of most of his colleagues, we had greenhouses and some of them even heated by a big coal boiler.
As you perhaps all know, the economical situation in Europe, and likewise in the U.S., at that time, was really bad; there was a lot of poverty.
I remember that my Dad once came back from the vegetable auction with a full load of Boston lettuce, grown in our greenhouses, almost in tears because nobody was interested in buying the product. There was however a government program that in such a situation one got one cent per had and a box with 12 cans of corned beef. The product then had to be destroyed.
There also was quite a bit of tension in Europe. The instability of Europe was for the biggest part the result of the political deals, made after WWI in Versailles in 1918–19, a Treaty very unfavorable for Germany.
Ijsselstein – German war cemetery
You know that after four years of fierce fighting from 1914 till 1918; resulting in ten million casualties and twenty million wounded, after many flattened cities and industries completely destroyed, finally, with the help of the U.S. the Germans had been brought to their knees. For almost one hundred years, The Netherlands had been able to be neutral, mainly as the result of the fragile balance of power in Europe, after WWI. However, that balance was crumbling; big powers like Germany, Austria, Hungary and Turkey had lost their influence in Eastern Europe; the Balkan.
There were new, strong nationalistic movements rising up which were creating political tensions. Also, for the problems in the Middle East, there were solutions created which were sure guarantees for new conflicts which still exist till present day.
I remember that my Dad and his friends often were discussing the situation in Germany.
Based on the limited information they obtained about the situation in Germany, it didn't sound too alarming because almost everybody was hoping for some change and some foreign leaders were just promising that.
Hitler
There was an upcoming leader in Germany, named Adolph Hitler, who gave thunderous speeches and he was telling the people exactly what they liked to hear. He was gaining a lot of power and surrounded himself by a group of loyal but also very fanatic men. He also built up a very efficient propaganda machine. There were however also some people, who had their doubts about his intentions; they did not trust that guy. What he did in e.g. Poland was for sure not right. And what he did to the Jewish people was also not correct. Still, my Dad and his friends, and most of the people however were not so much concerned. Again, at that time they did not have all the info we have nowadays and Czechoslovakia and Poland were far from our bed anyway. Okay, there was a problem with the Jews, but they for sure were not so popular in our area anyway.
The Dutch government was watching what was going on with our big neighbor with suspicious eyes, especially when Hitler was building up such a strong army and why he was constantly talking about the need for more, Lebensraum (living space) for the German race. In Hitler's eyes, Germans, that means the pure race with blond hair and blue eyes, were a superior race and therefore Jews, Gypsies, the handicapped and homosexuals were disturbing elements. On the other hand, Hitler indicated that The Netherlands had nothing to worry about; we, the Dutch were also of the Germanic race. We would be part of a peaceful, prosperous bigger Europe. Besides that, the British prime minister, Chamberlain, went to Germany and came back with the assurance from Hitler himself that nobody had anything to fear. Also, most politicians were naïve, asleep, or just too focused on their own career. I clearly see some similarities here between our politicians, the upcoming Nazi movement at that time and the fast growing influence of the (extreme) Islam nowadays. Despite all the nice propaganda, the tension within Europe was growing. One thing I have to mention here, that a number of Dutch businesses, including my Dad's and his friends', were profiting from the situation because Germany was buying more and more of our products. At that time, I suppose, people did not realize that Germany was preparing for something and stocking up on materials and food for their growing army.
Anyway, the economy in the Low Country was doing well. But, like on a clear blue sky, suddenly dark clouds can show up; in October 1929, Black Thursday was the first indication that the party was over; that we were at the beginning of a deep, worldwide depression.
Soldiers Dutch mobilization
The Dutch government kept watching what was going on at the other side of the border and our intelligence warned that it would be better to mobilize our troops and prepare for a German invasion. So I remember, soldiers everywhere around and also that heavy, concrete barriers were being built over the dikes; that pieces of railway rails, so called asparagus, were put in little holes into the main roads so that not any vehicle could pass, that bridges were wired with explosives etc. Also the so–called water line was prepared. I have to explain this perhaps a little bit more.
You might know that a big part of The Netherlands is below sea level. The philosophy therefore was that we could easily prevent an intruder from the east by inundation, which means flooding, certain parts of the country by closing sluices in the river and canals.
It was in the early morning of May 10, of 1940, shortly after my eleventh birthday, that we woke up by the noise of low flying airplanes and some thunder in the distance. The German army invaded our country and simultaneously Belgium and France. We were at war.
Although there was some fierce fighting, our relatively poor equipped army was not a match for the well trained and equally well equipped German forces. Besides that, there has been quite a bit of corruption on the Dutch side. Members of the National Socialistic Party collaborated with the Germans wherever they could. To give you a few examples, the anti–tank guns in the fortress, where the bridge was crossing the River IJssel, were all at once taken off their base for maintenance. The wired explosives to destroy that particular bridge failed, for whatever reason etc. The Dutch army held their positions in the heart of the country for a mere five days and then capitulated. One of the main reasons was the German superiority in the air. Also the Fallschirmjäger/paratroopers which they dropped behind the water line, but even more so because they bombed the city of Rotterdam and almost erased it from the map.
Rotterdam bombardment 1940
Immediately after that, they threatened to do the very same with the city of Utrecht. Belgium also had to give up soon after the Dutch and even the French, despite their famous Maginot fortifications, had to capitulate after only 18 days. The Dutch government including the Queen, fled to England. In the first couple of weeks after the invasion there was quite a bit of bitterness because our queen and big part of the government had abandoned its people. There also was bitterness because people were convinced that the early capitulation was for a part the result of the treachery through the members of the Dutch National Socialistic Movement.
Did the German occupation change our personal lives? Really not that much during its first year. The Netherlands was not under military control but under civil management, under a special appointed Reich's Kommissar (National Commissioner); Seys Inquart. He tried very hard to win the sympathy of the Dutch people; mainly for two reasons. The first one being materialistic; the Germans needed a strong industrial economy in The Netherlands as well as our food production and also our harbors to support their war machine. The second reason was more ideological. The Germans were looking to the Dutch as their neighbor–brethren, part of the Germanic race and should therefore be a part of the new, big Europe. Part of that ideology, in Hitler's vision, was also that the population had to be cleansed from foreign elements like Jews etc. Hitler mus have been very disappointed because the Dutch in general did not cooperate at all. So the tension was growing and Hitler then decided that from now on the brutal Waffen SS would be in charge. That drastically changed the situation. It worsened even more after June of 1941 when Hitler started the war against the Soviet Union; a war that didn't go very favorable for the Germans. Hitler seemingly did not study the lesson from Napoleon; who made the same mistake before. On top of that the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor with the result that from then on also the US was involved in the war. From that moment on, the Germans started a complete exploitation of the occupied countries, under the brutal leadership of Albert Speer. Coal, steel and all kind of products and even complete industries were transported into Germany and, as the result of that; there was a shortage on almost everything.
Jews Boarding Trains for Chelmno
In May of 1942, the Germans decided that all Dutch Jews were losing their citizenship and should be deported. Their possessions should be used to finance that operation. Over 100,000 Dutch Jewish men, women and children have been transported to destruction camps in Auschwitz, Dachau, and Buchenwald etc. Only a few survived. Also more than 250,000 Dutch men over 18 years of age were forced to labor in the German war industry. As the result of that approx. 300,000 men including some Jewish, were hiding (you perhaps know the Anna Frank story) often in rural areas on farms, living in barns and places where the Germans hopefully couldn't find them. If they got caught, it meant execution for them and also for the enablers of those hiding places. In 1943 the German exploitation changed into complete straight robbery. For example; all the copper wiring from the above ground electricity network was taken down and likewise all Church bells; some of them with great historical value. We literally lived in the cold and the dark since there was no electricity anymore and everybody had to darken the windows completely, to make sure that the navigators from the allied bombers could not use them as beacons on their way to bomb the German industrial areas.
Armada of planes – Market Garden lineup planes
As young boys you can imagine that we liked those armadas of big bombers flying over. Laying on our backs in the grass, we for sure enjoyed the often fierce dog fighting between the escorting Mustangs, the Spitfires and the German Messerschmitt. I have seen many of those bombers being shot down or crippled. We even had a Bristol bomber crashing into our back yard. My elder brother Toon and his friend Willy knew the marsh area between the dikes and the rivers, covered with reed and willow bushes, as their pockets. They helped several shot down pilots to hide and smuggled them on Dutch river barks that were on their way from Germany to harbors in Rotterdam or Antwerp to escape from there, to England. Very dangerous business. 
My Dad and one of his neighbor friends, did the very same, hiding some crew members between two locks in a river branch, where they built a small wooden platform under the overpass for that purpose. They got caught (somebody more than likely talked too much) and my Dad ended up in jail and his younger friend got deported into Germany and never came back.
Map of EISENHOWER'S 'WIDE' PLAN
Some hope came about when an immense number of allied troops and equipment landed on the coast of Normandy in June of 1944. Everybody started enthusiastically talking about the war being over very soon now. 
Were we ever wrong!
The troops from General Eisenhower and Patton fought their way through France, Italy and Belgium and then got stuck in the Ardennes and later at the big rivers in the southeastern part of The Netherlands and that is exactly where we lived as I have mentioned earlier. To cross those rivers, the allied forces needed bridges and therefore the British General Montgomery came up with the idea to drop paratroopers behind the front line to save the important and crucial bridges near Arnhem; the famous operation Market Garden. 
It was September 1944. If they could save these bridges, the main force advancing from the south, could join them and then the road into Germany would be open. General Eisenhower was not in favor of Montgomery's plant but gave in. It for sure as a spectacular happening.
Arnhem 1944 Paratroops
September 17, 1944
We were lying in the ditch and watched the armada of airplanes and clouds of paratroopers and gliders come down. What a disaster. Perhaps you have seen the movie 'A Bridge Too Far'?
The paratroopers were dropped too far from those bridges first of all; did not have transport material or heavy weapons. As the result of talking to the German soldiers (by the way we were forced to speak German at school!) we knew that there was a concentration of German troops and heavy equipment just in that particular area. Another problem was that the big force from the south was not able to advance because of underestimated heavy German resistance. After days of heroic and fierce fighting, and heavy losses, the operation ended in disaster. No bridge and no river crossing. It was a very bad situation; for us as well. We lived already for the biggest part of the day, and each and every night, in self built bunkers but from that moment on we got the full load of air raids and artillery attacks from you guys 🇺🇸, from the opposite side of the river. We had in our home a family, actually friends, who lived closer to the river and they therefore had to be evacuated. Part of that family were two sons, the age of my eldest and middle brother. On one afternoon they left with my middle brother for their daily chore to pick up fresh milk at a nearby farm. This was absolute forbidden (as the Germans claimed all produce!); therefore they walked with their blue milk jug through the fields.
Plane wreck – crashed German plane
Halfway a heavy dog fight started, all hell broke loose and the one after the other came down, actually three on a two–acre lot, two German ones and one allied, not that far from the farm the boys had yet to reach. Being nosy young boys, they went to the spot to see the burning wrecks and they were not the only onlookers. The half drunken SS Germans were furious and shouted that everyone had to leave the scene. The three boys made a wrong decision; and went the opposite direction because they still had to reach that farm. Therefore they were sneaking through the ditches. At the end of the ditch the brothers were detected by the drunken SS soldiers. They were forced on their knees, and both got executed; the one after the other. My brother escaped. The Germans stated that the boys were partisans and had stolen weapons from the wrecked planes; my brother however said that they only had put some instruments into their pockets. Unnecessary to mention that everybody in our home was devastated, especially of course the parents of the two boys. A couple of days after that incident we again had a heavy artillery bombardment from the opposite side of the river. We had quite a number of casualties in our village and also dead cattle and farm animals everywhere. The Germans had their artillery pieces and anti aircraft guns hidden inside the orchards surrounding us and that attracted all that fire from the allied forces. On a certain evening I was inside our family–bunker with my parents; my two brothers decided to sleep that night in the house, very much against the will of my parents but they couldn't stand the most and narrow, musty smelling bunker. After that heavy attack they came to the bunker to show my Mom a skillet and a blanket with holes in. I have told you that we had greenhouses. My eldest brother told me that our greenhouses also had been severely hit because he had heard the shattering of glass. He insisted that we together assess the situation. It was a moonlit evening and, as normal after such a heavy attack, it was very quiet. My parents were pleading with us to stay inside the bunker but we went anyway, insisting that for now the bombardment was over. Our greenhouses were approximately one hundred yards away from the bunker. At the very same moment that we were near them we heard a whistling sound of incoming shells and having experience, we of course dodged into a shallow ditch. For me too late; I got struck by a piece of shrapnel, passed out and was bleeding heavily. My brother dragged me inside the bunker in that condition. Can you imagine how my Mom was feeling?! They had of course heard the impact of the exploding shells.
Exodus – evacuation
This was the drop in the bucket; the next day we got ordered by the Red Cross to evacuate to safer grounds away from the dangerous river area. 
We could grab only a few limited items and clothes and stashed it onto the little horse wagon we had. Covered by a white bed–sheet so that we didn't get shot from the air.
It looked almost like the Exodus from the land of Egypt. 
After two days of walking, we arrived at our new destination, some 25 miles or 40 km away!
My parents and eldest brother got separated to stay at another farm location and my middle brother and me at a neighboring farm. 
The war went on, but at least we felt safer.
It became Christmas Eve and we longed to go to Midnight Mass at a Catholic Church in a neighboring village. We had to walk through the fields because nobody was permitted to be on the road after 20:00 o'clock. My brother and I celebrated Christmas, singing out loud; Peace on Earth.
On our way back after Mass, again walking through the fields, we saw something burning and of course we wanted to further investigate. It seemed to be an airplane shot down during Mass. Walking up to the burning wreck, we got halted by a barb wire fence. We then were deeply shocked when our eyes met a head and other human parts hanging on that barb wire. That scene remains forever engraved onto my retina for the rest of my life; Peace on Earth.
Living on a farm meant that we at least never got hungry but not everybody in The Netherlands could say that. Especially in the bigger cities of the western part, The Provinces North and South Holland, people suffered a lot because of famine. That period for most of the Dutch has been tagged the Hunger Winter. No food, no soap, no gas or electricity, no coal, no fire wood, just hungry, cold, sick and even dying people.
We didn't have much information about how the war was going; nobody had a radio anymore, they all got confiscated. From the underground however we knew that the Germans were losing this war and they paid a high price!
In April of 1945 we saw the demoralized, surviving German soldiers destroying their vehicles and equipment and for the very first time we saw American and British tanks and soldiers.
Hitler committed suicide and we could not believe that the war was finally over. 
But FREEDOM IS NOT FOR FREE!
Margraten – American war cemetery in Limburg, Mariette's Province
It really came as a shock. After a couple of days we were allowed to return home, to find out what would be left of it. My Dad, middle brother and I made the trip back to our village. What we encountered there was devastating; most houses destroyed or heavily damaged, including ours, greenhouses shattered, trees uprooted and so on. That very night we all three slept inside an old carpet, we of course didn't have a bed. When we woke up in the morning, a couple of days before my sixteenth Birthday, the sun was already shining and as we stood there, overlooking the ruins what once we called home, my Dad put his arms around our shoulders and hugging us tightly said: 'We are the happiest, luckiest people on earth–we are free and all alive!'
THANK YOU AMERICA
The war in Europe was over but not for our family, because the Dutch were still at war in Indonesia.
My oldest brother served there for three years.
My second brother, a marine, for two and a half year.
And I served in The Netherlands for two years as a commander with the 155 Howitzer battalion.
I did not have time to go into all the detail but believe me; this period had a big impact in my life.
One very important lesson I have learned is that FREEDOM IS NOT FOR FREE but is ONE OF THE BIGGEST GOODS IN LIFE.
GOD BLESS AMERICA! 🇺🇸
Pieter J.C. Vedder

Friday, April 29, 2022

My Pieter Turned 93

 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!
Post shared on FB Page
Shared also on my FB...
Pieter had a very special and happy Birthday!


Related link:
Our Garden at the Time we had Access to Spent Mushroom Compost | previous post by me with video from Middle Georgia Magazine
{1993 Today, the American Flag was flown for both of us...} | previous post by me 

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