{The Short Suit for Men - Now and Back Then}

As often is the case with fashion, things come and go over time. So back again is the Short Suit for Men! 

Husband Pieter as a young boy, wearing his Short Suit with argyle knee socks!
To the right is his Mom's favorite 'Keesy' a little white German Spitz.
Have you already seen the MODERN SHORT SUIT?

Brave Jesse Watters showed off his legs as a Fox News' First!

Funny Fox News' First #OneLeggyGuy Is Jesse Watters ←click to see more...

J. Crew is selling them...

According to Business Insider; The 'Short Suit' Is Finally Going Mainstream ←click it
Do any of you have a male relative that joined this fashion fad?
~0~

The men in my life already DID wear them!

Easter Sunday, March 29 in 1929...

My Dad is sitting in the center, bottom row with his hands folded.

Dad's younger brother is on his knees, far left, showing off his SHORT SUIT

Dad's cousin is to the far right, wearing his SHORT SUIT, even being peg-legged...

To the left of my Paternal Great-Grandmother (with the white Lace Toer - see more info below post) is my favorite Great-Uncle 'Heeroom'...

MORE Short Suits...
My Paternal Grandparents showing off their 11 children in the spring of 1935!
My aunt Mia to the left, followed by my Dad in his Short Suit and lined up are three more of my uncles; each also in their Short Suit. The little ones are wearing shorts with a sweater.
The family was not yet complete here; there was to follow one more boy... 12 children total!

To the left is my husband Pieter with his elder brothers; All wearing their Short Suit!
The eldest is without jacket but also showing the long black, above the knee socks like my Dad and his brothers wore in the above photo...

Here again husband Pieter (left) is showing a more casual version of Short Suit with knee socks. Guess he escaped the period of having to wear those long black, above the knee socks!
He proudly stands next to another bee keeper with his four bee hive boxes in the late summer of 1944.
It looks like the present Short Suits got their origin from this Youth version...

Related links:

{My Paternal Great-Grandmothers wearing their Lace Toer} | previous post by me 

{Museum Lace Factory - Antique Lace Toer or Poffer} | previous post by me where I wear one...
{March 14, Written Life Message for me by my Favorite Great-Uncle} | previous post by me about Heeroom
Museum de Kantfabriek Horst aan de Maas | Youtube video

{Little Me Grocery Shopping in the Frost & Candy of my Childhood}

On Tuesday, January 15 of 1957, I had to do my usual chore of Grocery Shopping, in the Frost. This was Little Me back than in Horst, The Netherlands, with typical low skies and kind of foggy weather. Standing next to the driveway fence, at the age of almost 6. My Mom was pregnant with child #6 and my brother Harry was born 3 weeks later. It always fell upon me, to do the shopping chores, on foot or on my kick-bike. I do remember getting frosty white fingers when toting the heavy shopping bag home with me for one kilometer or 0.6 mile one way over a cinder street on foot. That's what life was like, back than. A kick-bike is no good on icy cinder roads!

It was quite an adventure to go to our local Albert Heijn grocery store.

Do you remember that they had to weigh the beans, the flour, the sugar etc. and taking it out of those wooden bins into a paper bag?

This photo below, I just bought and down loaded, from Nationale Beeldbank in The Netherlands and it shows the very first Albert Heijn grocery store in The Netherlands. The one I walked to, looked very similar.

If you would like to have a better view, look at this video clip from the→(click) Beeldbank in The Netherlands with a good showing of the interior at such a local grocer kruidenier in the 50s. 

This was before Super Markets came along...

The actual Albert Heijn where I went, at Schoolstraat 5 in Horst.

That very store got opened in 1936...

Every time when I went shopping I did get a paper cone with candy. Most of the time it were cinnamon or peppermint cushions.

My younger siblings were eagerly waiting for my return as I did bring home this loot of candy.

At those days there were no sweets for us otherwise.

Toversleutel sells them still ←(click it)

These are the old fashioned cinnamon cushions or kaneelkussentjes in Dutch.

It is quite interesting to see the Old Dutch candy that got sold by the scoop.

 Eucalypta > Oud Hollands Snoepgoed > Schepgoed ←(click it)

Was the Dutch selection of candy in above link different from what you grew up with?

My French born American friend Véronique from the blog: French Girl in Seatle just did a great post: Les bonbons de mon enfance. Candy of my childhood.

Véronique inspired me to do this post...

Hope you enjoyed this sweet journey of nostalgia!

{Humble Gifts of the 1950s}

Which makes a child more happy? Loads of toys, gadgets and candy; or a simple gift that is given with lots of LOVE? Looking back onto my own childhood, I do remember many warm and fuzzy moments. One of them was when Dad took all of us on a Sunday in December, to a local restaurant where he sang with all the choir members. The PROTECTRESS (wife of one of the wealthy Chairmen) of the 'Horster Mannenkoor', male choir, gave each year, to all children of the choir members, a bag with candy and a thick orange. That was quite a treat for us. At that time children got no candy. The sugar consumption was still not so drastically high...

Here we walked just home on that Sunday in 1957. I was almost 6 years old (I'm to the right).

Sister Diny nibbles on her Spekkie = Marshmallow in a double diamond shape.

Martin is eating maybe a caramel and the stick of his lollipop peaks through the bag...

Little brother Piet is like me, still holding on to the entire bag of sweets.

We also got given an orange into our hands by the PROTECTRESS, that was very special, the smell alone was great as we seldom got any oranges at home.

We had to walk all to town = almost 2 km or 1 mile 427 yards, one way.

Baby Harry in the carriage... Two siblings not yet born.

This photo is taken in front of the chicken barn, away from the house.

Earlier in April of 1957, I was playing with my doll and the doll carriage that Diny and I had to share.

We usually got some clothes for Saint Nicholas but no sweets and very few toys.

Dad hand made for brother Martin, a beautiful wooden truck trailer, as he had to live frugal with his large family. So they only bought the truck, without trailer. 

Each evening after supper, when the little ones went to bed, Dad went to his work bench in the barn part of the house. There was no heat, nothing... His fingers must have turned blue from cold. But proudly it sat there, for my brother Martin as a complete gift on Saint Nicholas day.

That is giving with LOVE! My Parents, and no doubt many others at that time, gave all they could afford but always keeping in mind that it was not about the volume of gifts but about loving and caring for their children. How much have they sacrificed themselves? There were no luxuries at that time...

Do you have similar childhood memories?

Certainly several countries are still living like that because there are no means for giving that much.

The question remains would that be better? 

I learned to be grateful for very little! 

Some thoughts for Santa Claus...

Related link:

{Saint Nicholas | Sinterklaas} previous post by me

{The Little Black Dress & My MOM}

Ever since I read this page in The Costco Connection of May, 2012 I had this post in mind. Writing about The Little Black Dress and fond Childhood Memories of my dear Mom.

It is so true that FASHIONS COME and go but the timeless little black dress has survived decades of trends.

My Mom got married in a black dress in February of 1949. After WWII there was not much, therefore they had to postpone everything. Working hard and saving for their big day, finally after dating for seven years, my Parents could marry. 

My sister Diny still has that wedding dress, a beautiful black rayon georgette.

When I was about 9 years old I had to travel by bus with my Mom each year for a check up for my eyes. That was in the city of Venlo, The Netherlands at the hospital where the eye doctor was. Afterwards Mom always went with me to the large department store of V&D, for a cup of coffee with something sweet. It was also for her a special day off. That was so much fun; just the TWO of us... At the next department store of C&A she found a beautiful Little Black Dress in velvet (also available in a Bordeaux color). Mom asked me to zip up the long zipper in the back, which I did. She loved to be elegant but it was nearly impossible with seven kids, me being the 2nd born and eldest alive out of eight. But I can close my eyes and see her turning proud and pretty in front of the mirror...

I found her SO beautiful, she radiated such happiness, just for a moment enjoying the other, more elegant world. Then she would ask me to open up the long zipper again and she stepped out of her Little Black Dress. Gone was the moment of glamour and luxury and with the bus she rode back into her own world of hard work in the greenhouses, on the fields and in the house. Never an escape, no vacations, pure devotion to her family. Nothing luxurious, but wearing her apron with pride and only on Sundays she would dress up, complete with an elegant hat for going to Church with us. Guess that I'm the only one with my hats to enjoy the same...

We are blessed for still having her with us, even with her limited freedom due to the kidney dialysis three times weekly.

My Mom... She lived a hard life, as during the Great Depression she was sent to a big farmstead as a maid; at the tender age of 14. Just imagine... being away from your Parents and on your own in servitude.

She worked hard and long days, and her dream of studying and becoming a seamstress, never materialized. No money, no time and with WWII coming all dreams were shattered.

NO FREEDOM...

Everybody at that time had poverty, there was absolutely no luxury.

The young generation would not be able to live through such times.

In a way, my Parents have been away from their Parents as a teen. Dad too, at the age of 15 he went into servitude, and they worked long days and for that they got food and shelter, a simple bed and a little pocket money. They still managed to save. 

I have always admired Mom's skills, from her great hand writing, to knitting sweaters and socks. Also crocheting fine lace doilies or baking the most delicious pies for us on Sundays. She was a great cook and when we came walking home from school for lunch (12:00-13:30 o'clock) the smell of her home made tomato soup with sauteed onions made us put a spring in our steps. 

On Sundays she cooked a soup that is still being served at fine restaurants and for weddings. 

She felt so proud for feeding her family and I learned a lot from her!

A true role model and of course I wish she could have enjoyed her younger years more.

But she was not alone... so many of her age never had any luxuries.

There are even today many countries where there is nothing but the basics of life.

A good thing for pondering about, as once again our Thanksgiving is coming close.

A feast for family, for being grateful to God for the love, the strength and high ethics that stayed with our Parents and Grandparents and let us pray we will keep their exemplary culture alive.

Closing with a photo where Mom is proudly wearing a beautiful brocade suit that we together found in Atlanta at the Outlet of JC Penney when they were in the USA with us. And I, with my Apriori7 suit from the Escada Company Store.

Mom also wears her Majorica pearls that we gifted her in December of 1983.

This was at my Parents' garden.

Fond memories...

{Since 1896 Dutch CHOCOLATE LETTERS - Have YOU Tried Them?}

Hah, today I managed to get my order for Dutch CHOCOLATE LETTERS placed on line with Vander Veen's, The Dutch Store in Michigan, USA. For decades we've been ordering them as a gift to our friends. Or bringing them home with us, in the suitcase at the time we were able to buy them in The Netherlands. In 2008 we did so when we were in The Netherlands with our foster daughter Anita from Indonesia. She got so excited, searching for each letter on my shopping list! Everybody loves them and they are SPECIAL! Look at the great design on the box they come in, that looks so different from any other chocolate. It is a fine Dutch lifestyle tradition since 1896 and fond childhood memories for me. For my Canadian readers, I too have an address for getting those CHOCOLATE LETTERS: at The Dutch Market Ltd. Sorry for all other countries, they might be able to obtain them from The Netherlands and there could be some Dutch import into Australia as well... You let me know.

Not only for the traditional Dutch St. Nicholas or SINTERKLAAS, on December 6, but they make fine gifts for the Christmas season or for Santa Claus. As a matter of fact I would enjoy them year round with a cup of coffee... How about you?

Sure, I do LOVE dark chocolate! It is said that: A Dark Chocolate a Day Keeps the Doctor Away!

Click on the link (all colored ones are links) to find out more... I surely live by it.

Those silver Giovanni Raspini Charms & Co alphabet angels from Italy are available on my Zen Cart powered boutique on line: Mariette's Back to Basics - worldwide shipping. 

Below post is a link where you find them.

If you want to order CHOCOLATE LETTERS for the USA or Canada, you better do so early, as later on maybe not all Letters will be available... First come; first serve!

Today I got all mine secured; all 41 that is. Yes, my orders have been growing steadily as they are so much LOVED. That brings JOY to the giver as well.

Only 3 out of 41 are dark chocolate letters; including mine. 

What is your preference? Milk or Dark...? 

You might have gotten an idea.

Oh, we gave two years ago a package with the word LOVE to a very special extended family member... It meant so much to him. And there was not much more we could give him, other than true LOVE and this symbol written out in CHOCOLATE...

Related link:

{Chocolate and Silver Alphabet Letters for Saint Nicholas} a previous post by me 

{Chocolate Letter LOVE} | post by me

{Unique Accordion LOVE Story}

On April 29, it was my husband Pieter's birthday and this time he got an ACCORDION. Let me share with you this TRUE and Unique Accordion LOVE Story... First I like to show you his birthday gift. Does any of you have a relative that also plays or played the accordion? Tell me about it in your comment.

When Pieter was a little boy, he did visit his Dad's eldest brother, Hendrikus Johannes Vedder, who was a widower and lived in Duiven, in the province of Gelderland in The Netherlands. That uncle Drikus had an accordion, a Hohner, Vienna Style. Pieter loved to play on it and when his uncle gifted him the beloved Vienna Style Accordion, he was in heaven. A dream come true, although this was an old diatonic accordion from the 1920s probably, as Hohner build the Vienna Style Accordions from the 1910s till 1930s.

During WWII, Pieter began DREAMING about a real Piano Accordion with 48 bass, instead of this old button one with only 8 bass. There was no money, but he never gave up dreaming about his German Soberano Accordion. As the war lasted longer, all sorts of products were becoming scarcer. Coffee for instance almost had the value of gold. Pieter's family had skipper friends, the Van Megen family from Doornenburg, who transported coal and iron ore with their boat on the Rhine into Germany. Pieter's older brother Toon was befriended with Piet Van Megen. Knowing also that they smuggled, by hiding stuff under the remains of coal or ore. In Germany, products such as coffee got even scarcer than in The Netherlands. Mentioning an accordion, the Van Megens knew how to find one in Germany, if we could exchange it for coffee. Pieter's Mother had some stock of coffee, as she always knew how to find some via her former work connections. 

Very much like this vintage Soberano piano accordion with 48 bass that is on Pinterest just click for additional photo.

Pieter said: 'If I remember correctly they brought me one for 5 pounds of coffee; a red flamed Soberano 48 bass. It was my favourite instrument with a nice soft tune.'

ACCORDION ←just click through

Of course that one was left behind in The Netherlands when we immigrated in 1983, it was old and not perfect anymore. BUT, he got his third one for his recent birthday and all the fond memories from years back are being relived. I was so impressed that he could play it right away after so many years!

Pieter J.C. Vedder playing his new accordion 1st time with a 40 year lapse! ←click for 14 seconds of video!

In our veranda, happy on his birthday!

The last time I've heard Pieter play his accordion was when we had the Grand Opening of the Practical Training College for Mushroom Growing. My husband Pieter set that up in 1969 in Horst, The Netherlands. That was a special and festive day and I loved his playing! 

So we're back on track and I can TANGO to his tunes...

Pieter is wearing a silk bowtie that I made, see link below post.

As is written in gold on the side: 'Del Sol'... It truly does bring sunshine.

Related link:

{My Burda Pattern Silk Skirt - Bow Tie & Scarf Creation} | showing the silk bowtie that I made for Pieter...

1948 Gevaphone Record with Young Pieter Playing his Accordion for Brother in Uniform | Short video

1948 Gevaphone Record with Young Pieter Playing his Accordion for his Marine Brother | Short video

Our 3rd Cabin Stay at The Hill on Cherokee Lake in Tennessee | Pieter playing at The Hill by Cherokee Lake in Tennessee in their newly erected Pavilion

September 9, 1969 Grand Opening practical Mushroom Training Center in Horst | where Pieter did play his accordion...

{Chocolate & Silver Alphabet Letters for Saint Nicholas}

Back in my birth country, Sinterklaas was celebrated again on December 6. This custom has been brought to the New World by the Dutch and continued here as Saint Nicholas before it morphed into Santa Claus. For more history on Saint Nicholas you can look The Origin of Santa Claus. One of the nice customs that come from the Dutch Sinterklaas is the giving of chocolate letters from Vander Veen's The Dutch Store. Click on the fore mentioned hyperlink as they are available in the US too. The availability is only around December. In Canada you also can get them  at The Dutch Market. 

For another Alphabet Letter in pure 925/000 silver from Giovanni Raspini Charms & Co Italy, you can look here at Giovanni Raspini. Available at Spectrenoir ←click it. 

At least we did have a wonderful Sinterklaas, together with our daughter Liz.

Chocolate letters are fond childhood memories...

What do you like; milk or dark chocolate?

Related article:

{Chocolate and Silver Alphabet Letters for Saint Nicholas} | previous post by me

{Cuddle up to stay warm}

December creates the urge to cuddle up and stay warm. Be it on the couch, or in bed with a book or a DVD... Even for nursing a cold one can fill a hot-water bottle and just cuddle up inside a soft woolen blanket. Sipping a hot tea or a hot chocolate. I do love both and they are so soothing! That's the good part of this month, and the following months. Are you feeling the same urge?

Luckily I'm not that cold natured any more. But I've used this hot-water bottle quite often for feeling warm, especially my feet.

This Italian wool throw from Cecchi e Cecchi is my favorite for winter time. To wrap around knees and legs or just to cuddle up in it on the sofa. The matelassé coverlet is French Yves Delorme Outlet in a rose pattern. We are fortunate to live only 4 hours away from an Outlet Store in Chattanooga, Tennessee. On line they don't always have all the items, but it is worthwhile trying!

Pillow sham is also French Yves Delorme in a rose pattern matelassé in 100% cotton. We always prefer natural fibers!

The hot-water bottles are from SIGG Switzerland.

Below you will see a surprise hot-water bottle image from my childhood...

100% wool throw is from Cecchi e Cecchi, Italy.

Pottery Barn shows this Entry Bench with a vintage hot-water bottle.

The very same I was cuddled with as a baby! It had a brass screw-on top and this is still at my parents' home. Fond memories.

Mom would fill it up whenever we had a cold, wrap a towel around it and tuck it behind our backs or feet. We had two of those bottles.

How such an add can trigger fond childhood memories...

These are almost antique hot-water bottles from SIGG Switzerland, from the link I've used under the 2nd photo.

Do you still have any of those old hot-water bottles?

Or any fond childhood memories to share?

{Museum Lace Factory - Antique Lace Toer or Poffer}

On September 13, my dear friend Ellie and I did visit the Museum de Kantfabriek 'Lace Factory' in my birth place, Horst in The Netherlands. Quite an interesting guided tour we got, with some tea afterwards. Photos were also made with us wearing an antique lace Toer or Poffer. These were head covers that I still do remember as a child, worn by the eldest women in town. Click here for some info and scroll a bit down. For mourning they did wear  a black lace toer. When clicked on the magnifier glass, you get to see also the info/beschrijving, to the right of each photo; just click again on it! More old photos from my hometown Horst and surrounding towns, you see here.

When as a child, I went to Church it made me quite nauseating when sitting behind such an enormous lace Toer, that hung from the back down quite a length. In order to preserve those pieces of lace art, they kept them in the moth-balls. I have come to hate the odor of moth balls ever since I was a little girl. Okay, here comes a picture (very poor quality though) with me wearing one. We had to step with our foot on a pedal for initiating this photo shoot...

That's me with an antique lace toer and Ellie is standing to the right...

First we had to put a black 'muts' cap underneath the lace toer. All that without a mirror...

Ellie looks rather good in it, the photo is for some reason sharper.

Another visitor is wearing a toer here and Ellie stands to the right...

This is how those photos were listed on their website for downloading...

Indeed this was quite an interesting guided tour and one should realize that up till the end 2006 here was machine made lace being produced!

Tomorrow I will show you photos from my Great-Grandmothers, wearing such a lace toer... Stay tuned!

Museum de Kantfabriek Horst aan de Maas | video Youtube

{Childhood Memories - Rainier Cherries}

On July 1, I did write the blog Nature's Candy - Sweet Cherries in which I also mentioned 'Spekkersen' yellow Ranier cherries with a red blush. That was one of the three varieties my Dad had in his garden. On Tuesday, when we went shopping in Atlanta I found my 'Childhood Memories - Rainier Cherries' at Trader Joe's. That made me very happy and of course they went home with us in the cool box!

Rainier Cherries with a blush. My childhood 'Spekkersen'...

Shown here in a yellow/white French Pillivuyt bowl.

From Trader Joe's comes this delicious product grown in the State of Washington

You noticed the condense on those cherries? Look what the difference was between the fridge and our outside temperature where I took the photos in our gazebo...

At 2:50 PM it was 36°C and RealFeel®: 45°C

Cherries are 'Nature's Candy' and just yummy!

What is your favorite fruit on hot summer afternoons?

Do you have some childhood memories that are fruit related?

Love to hear them...

{Mother's Day & Pelargonium Childhood Memories}

On April 12, before we did go on our trip to Florida, all the potted plants came out of the greenhouse. Our Pelargonium were already blooming inside the greenhouse so I filled a vase full. Instant memories came back to mind about my Mom and it is quite appropriate to post this for Mother's day. 

Join me for a Garden Tour.

When I stood there with the beautiful salmon red and white geraniums in my hands, all of a sudden by its very smell I went back to my early childhood...

Are they not lovely? Well, I wish you too could pick up its typical geranium scent. Because of that, I did travel back in time... to The Netherlands.

Here I am, a little girl of maybe four or five years old, watching Mom cleaning our windows. The house had narrow tall windows with smaller panes inside and they were being opened from the center by pulling down a shiny brass handle so they came inwards into the room... There were indoor shutters to close for privacy and a rather wide window sill on which Mom kept her prized red geraniums. They could remain between the window and the shutters, once they got closed, there was enough space.

At times the condensation did make the windows all wet and water had to run down into a special carved out mini-gutter which had one rounded opening in the center, that let the water out through the wall outward. At times we had to poke the hole free of some dirt or a fly that got trapped in there, using a knitting needle... We were quite inventive at that time!

Watching Mom do the window treatment was quite something! She used water with vinegar in it, a sponge (a real one from the ocean which vendors sold door to door at that time!) and a chamois. The geraniums were taken down and were put on the table, making the scent fill the air even more so by the movements. Mom also vigorously did polish the brass handle of each window with Brasso. Yes, Brasso we were accustomed to in the Old World as well - at least this remained the same after immigrating! I still can sniff all these special scents of the vinegar in the water, the sour smell of the Brasso used on a cotton cloth and then the geraniums... oh I just LOVED them!

They will stay deeply engraved into my memory forever and that's why they live with us still today.

Wishing you all a Happy Mother's Day with fond memories too!
Too far for me to visit Mom, but we've visited her 63 times; so no regrets so far...