NOW or NEVER — Travel WEST with us

 Yes, in all 39 years we have been looking at, talking about and 'dreaming' about the Midwest and West.

BUT with our total 67 trips to The Netherlands, also having done international consulting work through 2004, and being the tour guide and designated driver for house guests—it never got realized.

Due to our declining health, it was NOW or NEVER!

Pieter's heart condition since his open–heart surgery on September 3, 2010 and my chronic kidney disease in stage IV.

Off we both went, on Saturday, July 16 around 8:00; heading for our 1st destination for the night:

Holiday Inn Express & Suites Marion, IL←click link.

This was at 8:08 in our driveway and the mileage was at 13,633 or 21,940 km.

At 11:49 we had Atlanta and Marietta, Georgia behind us, and were now in Chattanooga, Tennessee on Interstate-24 W.

Nickajack Lake, created from Tennessee River by Chickamauga Dam, around 12:13 past Chattanooga, Tennessee

Pit stop along Interstate-24 in Tennessee, almost halfway for the day...

The Luther Draffen Bridges carry Interstate 24 over the Tennessee River in western Kentucky

This was around 14:50.

Keep in mind, that my photos, made with one hand while driving, are NOT the best.

Pieter cannot handle it at the speed of Interstate driving, due to his eye sight problems.

Luther Draffen Bridges ←click link

Those Bridges are SO IMPRESSIVE to cross...! 

Around 15:13, I was crossing yet another marvel; the Paducah Bridge on the Interstate 24 over the Ohio River between Paducah, Kentucky and Metropolis, Illinois.

Yes, large rivers often are the state border!

Paducah Bridge ←click link

Actually two subsequent arches!

This is excellent, as seen from up high in a truck; Crossing the Ohio River on I-24 into Illinois ←click for short video

Around 15:59 Pieter was gassing up, for next day at gas station right across from our hotel.

License plate RUN8632 but the maximum speed that Relive shows is NOT accurate!

Right across from our destination for that day, the Holiday Inn Express & Suites in Marion, Illinois.

We had a relaxed night in room 303

Timely arrival after 8 hours and 37 minutes driving and covering 910.8 km or 566 miles.

We went from Georgia, through Tennessee, Kentucky and into Illinois

Enjoy this short 2 minute Relive video below:

Stay tuned for our next day...

French Lit-Clos/Dutch Bedstee/Box-bed or Closet-Bed all late medieval Western European Furniture

From my previous post about our visits to Netherlands Open Air Museum with Mom & Dad and American Colleague's Wife, I got an interesting comment

For that reason, I like to come back on the Dutch Bedstee again.

This is the photo that shows the Parlor from Hindeloopen in Friesland.

Notice the steps to the 'Bedstee' (cabinet bed)?

Also called Box-Bed or Closet Bed and in French Lit-Clos

Katie Isabella wrote: A cupboard bed. That is unusual I think outside of your Country?

No it actually was quite common all over Western Europe as late medieval furniture, also in Scandinavia, England, Austria, France and of course The Netherlands as pictured here above.

Rembrandthuis - Main Living and Bedroom with Fireplace and Curtained Box Bed (Photo P. Hunt 2012). This is the actual desk and bedroom from Rembrandt as captured at the Rembrandthuis Museum in Amsterdam!

When Pieter and I did visit the Netherlands Open Air Museum on our own, we were told some rather shocking facts.

Those Box-beds are rather short. One could argue that people some 600 years ago were shorter. True but the main reason was that people in those days slept almost 'seated' because of kidney problems mainly!

They all used wooden barrels for keeping their meat or bacon through the winter period, in layers of salt. So the sodium intake on average was extremely high during that time.

No wonder that seldom a high age was reached...

As a child I too remember Mom keeping the bacon in the cellar salted inside a wooden barrel.

So even post WWII that was still going on. Till in the 60s and 70s we had access to freezers, locally, where you could rent a compartment for storing the fresh meat and such and from the 70s every household had meanwhile a fridge and a freezer. 

But back in late medieval times, there was nothing else to keep meats fresh or to store other things.

Still remember as a girl that also ceramic pots, inside and outside glazed, used for making Sauerkraut.  The salted Sauerkraut got weighted and pressed down inside those crocks. 

Here you also see dried meats hanging from the ceiling, just to let them cure.

We also kept a Curing Cabinet for hams and other meats. 

That's how we used to survive... and of course eating eggs as they were available year long!

Please click for some interesting photos from: French Lit-Clos/Dutch Bedstee/Box-bed or Closet-Bed late medieval Western European Furniture on my Pinterest board.

It is quite interesting to go back in time for getting an idea of how our ancestors survived!

Thanks for your vist and comment.

Netherlands Open Air Museum with Mom & Dad and American Colleague's Wife | previous post by me

{Wearing my Escada Sheath Dress with Jacket}

On January 5, blogger friend Marie-Thérèse from The French Touch wrote about: Something Old, Something New and Something Essential and in the commenting she asked me how many Sheaths I have in my wardrobe...

Okay Marie-Thérèse, here is one of them!

On April 9, it was a rather cool day for Georgia standards so I loved wearing my Cashmere Wool Escada Sheath with Silk Leopard trim + Jacket!

Also wearing my thick Majorica pearls with this outfit.

Here you can see the comments about the very subject and some funny language details as well.

A Classic Sheath Dress in Dutch we call: 'Nauw Aansluitend Jurkje' or Tight Fitting Dress if translated. But if you search for 'Sheath' in Dutch it also will show a condom... only emphasizing the tight fit! 

But let's go back to Fashion...

Just love to wear this soft and warm Cashmere Wool with Silk Escada outfit. It is lined too.

Together with my Wolford tights and Escada suede pumps it works fine.

I also got to wear my Majorica pearls...

Come to think about it, since we both retired, we don't attend Congresses anymore so the need for dressing up is a lot less. 

Frankly, I'm more of a jeans and shorts wearing girl...

What do you like to wear mostly?

This was on April 9, with our Rose Arbor and soon our two white Eden roses will be blooming!

Things are always growing and time is going fast.

Proud for having scanned now 25 of my 33 photo albums; so there is light at the end of the tunnel. 

What looked like a mega task is diminishing now.

With perseverance and will power.

BUT, in tackling this job, I'm a bit too sedentary for my health...

In a week that too will change and we get back to walking and biking together and hope that will improve my health.

Went to see my Nephrologist on Wednesday and learned that both of my kidneys are functioning for 48%.

That hit me real hard; thinking about my Mom who died last year, after almost 8 years of kidney dialysis.

This means that my stage CKD (Chronic Kidney Disease) went from 2 to 3A.

Let's hope I will be able to reverse it somewhat! 

At least keeping it steady and not progressing...

Related link to previous post by me showing a Sheath Dress:

{My Lace Crocheted Gloves}

{Diabetes Type 2, & Iranian Medicine about Sesame Seed Paste or Tahini}

It does not matter if you are Pre-Diabetes, Diabetes or even Type 2 Diabetes but we all should educate ourselves about Healthy Living by Simple Lifestyle Changes...

Sesame Seed Paste or Tahini...

NO Sugars, NO Cholesterol and low Sodium are some great Nutricion Facts!

In Vietnam, Sesame is known as the king of oil seeds and all over the Middle East it is a very popular seed.

We ALL can learn from those healthier diets in the Far and Middle East, like from Persia!

Read more helpful information here: November 2013 Archives of Iranian Medicine about Sesame seed paste or tahini as it does lower the blood sugar level in Diabetes Type 2 patients.

Diabetes-proof for life Reduce your risk with simple lifestyle changes.

The National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse (NDIC) estimates that 79 million American adults have pre-diabetes, defined by above-normal blood sugar levels. That's 35 percent of adults 20 and older, and half of adults 65 and older.

Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the US and a major cause of heart disease, stroke, kidney failure and blindness, so a diagnosis of pre-diabetes is serious.

For reading this on page 72 and 73 in the Pdf click here: Costco Connection November 2011 

Vitamine D is important!

Cinnamon is such a healthy spice...

Avoid low fiber 'white' carbohydrates such as white pasta, white bread and white rice.

Mayoclinic - Living with diabetes Kidney disease: No early symptoms. Just click this link to learn that unfortunately early kidney disease has no symptoms. Guess that's why I do have Chronic Kidney Disease stage II...
Being diagnosed with Diabetes Type 2, can be quite shocking, as I know from personal experience in 2007, but we can continue to live healthy!
Will share more posts on the subject as there are so many people facing this health issue.

Related links:

The Pre-Diabetes Diet Everyone Needs | Barbara Borcik (quoted in above Costco article): Pull back on portions. You still can eat many of the foods you like, just have smaller amounts of them. Borcik says, adding that this is especially true for starchy foods like white rice, white potatoes, and pasta.

Eating white rice daily ups diabetes risk, study shows | Study author Dr. Qi Sun, a diabetes researcher at Harvard School of Public Health, told WebMD that eating white rice could cause a sudden spike in blood sugar. White rice also doesn't contain as many nutrients as brown rice, which is packed in fiber, magnesium and vitamins. The researchers said not getting enough of these nutrients could contribute to type 2 diabetes risk.
Diabetes in Japan: a review of disease burden and approaches to treatment | In recent years there has been rapid growth in diabetes in Japan which now is one of the nations most affected by the worldwide diabetes epidemic.

{Mom's 6th Dialysis Anniversary}

March 18, was the 6th Anniversary of Mom's Kidney Dialysis! 

We are so grateful for still having her with us. This is a photo, taken on Friday, February 14, on Saint Valentine's Day when we were in The Netherlands and visiting Mom during her long hours of Dialysis. 

We did visit her 5 times, one afternoon we missed as I was visiting a cousin but that was when Dad was with her.

Mom has been a great role model all her life and I pray that I too will reach her blessed age of 90 and not get problems sooner with my own kidneys.

Let's try to keep my chronic kidney disease in stage II for a long time to come!

Well, in 2017 I moved from stage II to stage III...

As of August 2019, I moved into stage IV...

Related links:
{HAPPY Mom on her 90th Birthday - THANKS TO ALL OF YOU} | Mom on her B'day at Dialysis
{Mom's 5th Dialysis Anniversary} | previous post by me
{Mom's 4th Dialysis Anniversary} | previous post by me with childhood photos Mom & me...

{Angels Birthdates & Fortunes}

All of us know that there are often ANGELS among us, they can be two- or four-legged.

They know when we need them MOST...

This gorgeous 'Fashionista' bouquet got delivered while I was in the hospital for major surgery on October 7. Dear friend Celia M. High Heeled Life & Resilientista proved to be one of those Angels among us. Thanks again dear! Flowers do always pick us up in a special way...

This photo is made by Pieter at 3:50 AM when I just was one day out of the hospital and look...

Cat Nurse Barty is nursing me back to health... Barty is almost 10, on March 17 we celebrate his would be birthday; guessing from the Humane Society's adoption papers.

What a difference a down duvet bed makes compared to a hospital bed!

Love my Yves Delorme US cotton duvet cover with roses woven into it...

Drinking lots of water and using on and off my Spirometer (to the left of Barty).

This is the 2nd time Barty did care for me in a very special and soft way. When I got home from the hospital in January of 2010, after being almost completely paralyzed, Barty was there with me as a Cat Nurse...

When husband Pieter delivered a kidney stone some 13 years ago, our than feline girl Spooky sat next to him, keeping him comfort while pressing herself against him. They sense that their human is in great pain.

Guess that animals have a very special 6th sense and they can read our body language far better than humans can.

Barty knew that I had not been taking pain medication the entire time; due to my chronic kidney disease.

Sure it does help for getting human love and pet love. Such flowers do send a very strong message.

Like these gorgeous sunflowers that came from our Church Women.

Very sweet and they sure do help you mend...

Time heals and time also is passing very fast. Birthdays hit us at a much faster pace than it used to be!

Does any of you have the same problem?

But there is so much to be grateful for; for being healthy, for having a loving husband and loving pets.

For having numerous friends that lovingly bridge the gap between the ocean for being far away from family.

It is said about my Birthday that I have this Fortune:

Feb.6 ----You have a keen sense of humor, are witty, fond of fun, economical and prudent. You are inclined toward sensitivity which worries and annoys you. You should practice poise. You are demonstrative and loving, and should have a very happy marriage.

Husband Pieter's:

April.29 ----You live within yourself. Rather than make any of those you love unhappy, you keep your troubles and worries to yourself. You have determination of purpose and always do what you plan.

Pieter sure does what he plans!

Related links:

{Our Felines - Sweet Barty...} | previous post by me
{Our Felines - Sweet Spooky I...} | previous post by me