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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 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
Showing posts with label Our Gazebo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Our Gazebo. Show all posts

Saturday, May 21, 2022

We Almost Grew BANANAS

 Well, living in the tropics and also having friends from India, Thailand and Vietnam, makes one appreciate exotic things.
So from our Thai friend we got a young banana tree...
Both of us were thrilled to see it BLOOM!
Quite a sight on July 25 of 1993!
We just had completed adding the balcony with storage room below.
What do you think about our banana tree?
Of course we never got to harvest the mature fruits.
They grew but then before maturity we had frost and a banana tree can absolutely NOT handle any frost.
Yep, less than a month after the little greenhouse got completed, we had SNOW!
That banana tree was way too big for transplanting into the greenhouse...
So it wilted away and in the spring it started again from the roots up.
Our Home in the Snow... only in the morning for a couple of hours as it melts away FAST.

Related links:
Pieter Built our Greenhouse | previous post by me
{RARE Icicles in Our Garden} | previous post by me

Tuesday, May 17, 2022

Pieter's Outfit from Khazana at Taj Palace New Delhi Hotel

 On February 29 of 1991 we were at the Taj Palace New Delhi hotel after our two–week consulting work for Pond's India. This before flying to Indonesia where we worked and lived at the time.
With a guide from Pond's we did go to the State Emporia where we found a whale for Uncle Bo Whaley, and for us a sandalwood carving with balls inside. 
Also a bird painting on rice paper. 
Back at our hotel we found for Pieter a very nice fitting greenish cotton pair of trousers and a striped shirt.
This was on our patio in Wonosobo, Indonesia where Pieter put on the entire set.
Perfect fit!
Admiring our orchids that just hang on wood wool planks against the wall.
Happy times during our life in Indonesia!
The climate was so perfect for our hair...
We also found a perfect pure silk black tie at the Taj Palace New Delhi Khazana Shop.
India has so much!
It is real black, the shine of the silk made it look a bit different... 😉
Pieter wearing his Khazana trousers on his 69th Birthday in our front porch.
The same guy, same trousers only 31 years later... 
And yes, those comfy eco friendly Loints sandals are still alive as well!
Notice the Moonflower vine, to the left of Pieter's knee?
Home grown by Pieter from seeds and it is opening its very first flower!
They too are HUGE and bloom at night mainly; hence its name Moonflower — Ipomoea alba.
Photos taken around 9:00 so it was closing.
Pieter on the back step of our gazebo. The white gingerbread from Vintage Woodworks looks so nice after it got painted again.
From inside of gazebo facing the pond area.

Related link:
COME Cross the Tengger Sand Sea to Volcano Mount Bromo, Indonesia | previous post by me both wearing our Loints sandals
True Indigo Indigofera Tinctoria in Pieter's Favorite Color | previous post by me with Loints sandals
Blissful Relationship in the Tropics of Indonesia | previous post by me with Loints sandals
P.J.C. Vedder on Mushroom Cultivation during Technology Transfer Seminar part 2 | previous post where Pieter is wearing his Khazana trousers...

Sunday, August 8, 2021

Digging out Part of the Mountain of Dirt left under the House by Contractor

 Yep, after living and working in Indonesia, we still did continue doing consulting work but no longer than 2 or 3 weeks at a time.
So we finally since early May of 1992, could start working on home & garden...
Our contractor left us with a huge mountain of dirt UNDER THE HOUSE!
While we were working/living in Indonesia, he started constructing the house, which Pieter had designed, by making the drawings all himself.
Two levels on the driveway end and one level on the kitchen side.
The contractor did ask if we wanted a wine cellar but we said no, we don't need that.
Not realizing by not wanting that, he also bypassed any concrete flooring...!
Oh dear, when you're not physically present at times; big problems can arise that need to be dealt with later. 
Neither was there Internet for quick communication...
Always harder too, for correcting a problem like that later, as you barely can access the area for a fast and efficient excavation.
But we needed to get rid of the musty heap of 60 tons of dirt!
In August of 1991, I've dug out already a big section, as much as we needed to fill in for washed out dirt that Pieter rode then out in the wheelbarrow... See: The FIGHT of Growing Grass in Subtropical Georgia/USA ←click it.
This time, Pieter himself dug out a lot more, as we planned to build our pantry.


You can best watch this on YouTube, and use the clickable points that I've inserted and written about, below video.
You can see the start of the digging and wheeling out, in the beginning, on a nippy cold February day (my Birthday) and next the construction of our pantry in progress.
Having a dirty house, at least downstairs, I only kept up with the extra laundry and also captured our Garden Critters in-between filming Pieter's hard labor.
Pieter indeed has been a worker bee; all his life and he's done it ALL.
At the end of the video, you also see at clickable 38:07 after 20 days of labor, the completion of the construction of our pantry. 
At clickable 39:16 Pieter lets the viewers peak behind the added door from the pantry underneath the house, where the remainder of the mountain of dirt remained, till he dug it all out in 2004 for constructing our Rose Suite.
With those 60 tons that came out, we could nicely grade our garden.
At clickable 42:18 showing garden with wooden walkway, our wood trail on the left of our gazebo. 
You also get to see the ditches, dug for draining the swampy section! They were by then nicely clad with mosses!

Related links:
The FIGHT of Growing Grass in Subtropical Georgia/USA | previous post 
Non Glamorous Wheelbarrow Job for Filling and Raising Swampy Parts | previous post
{The Construction of Our Rose Suite - Part I} | previous post by me where Pieter dug out the 60 tons of dirt
{The Construction of Our Rose Suite - Part II} | previous post by me

Wednesday, August 4, 2021

Non Glamorous Wheelbarrow Job for Filling and Raising Swampy Parts

On May 1 of 1992 we had come back home following our Exodus from Indonesia after being robbed and we thus quit instead of going back a few more times for 2 months. See links below post.
That meant that here on May 23 of 1992, we both started developing our Estate.
Me in my SWAMP UNIFORM... Haha!
Dumping load after load, that got dug up by husband Pieter. To fill in this really SWAMPY PART around the gazebo where you would sink into before.
There seem to be several underground springs that caused these excessive wet spots.
Also keep in mind that both of us were the very first human beings ever cultivating this lot. Nobody ever had lived there and we never found any native American artifacts either...
So we really did some land reclamation!!!
Pieter was digging up some dirt here, where the pipe from the pond overflow would end into the creek.
All I had to do is wheel the wheelbarrow uphill and dump it around the gazebo.
Lucky Pieter for being able to work in the shade but I got exposed to the sun and hence my SWAMP UNIFORM
Ready to go uphill again.
Wearing the hand knitted socks done by my Mother-in-law! 
Putting them to very good use.
Wearing my Campbell cap...
As you can see on the table in the gazebo, we did stop for a break in-between our hard labor!
On May 27, a pallet with square exposed aggregate concrete step stones lay already waiting to be worked in...
First on May 29, Pieter had to build a little patio at the end of the stairs from our veranda for starting the walk towards our gazebo...
Yes, he also was digging in all the piping for the lawn and garden for being able to use with hose and portable sprinklers. Since we live on a slope, fixed sprinklers would not work.
A short break after I did bring him some refreshments to enjoy...
Hard work and mostly back breaking!
Working in the square exposed aggregate concrete step stones...
Now on May 31, it was my turn for getting on my knees and washing them in with sand...
Step by step we accomplished all the heavy jobs!
July 17, 1992 Pieter started painting the ginger bread from Vintage Woodworks, high on a ladder on the driveway side...
Fighting the elements in a subtropical climate is not easy.
Here you see that our pond is too high, as the overflow into the creek is not working with the flooded creek, visible in the back.
Later, with the 60 tons of dirt dug up from under the house for creating the Rose Suite, we did fill in that low area behind the pond, for avoiding flooding.
😉Oh, those glamour jobs before you turn your land into an estate as shown on the video below in link...

Related links:
{Pieter’s Tanner Krolle Attaché - Royal Gift purchased at Harrods by English Friend} | previous post after we quit work in Indonesia because we got robbed three times...
Floriade 1992 on a Cold and Windy Day after Earthquake in Limburg | previous post about stop in The Netherlands after our Exodus from Indonesia, before flying back to Atlanta, GA on May 1st
Our Garden at the Time we had Access to Spent Mushroom Compost | previous post with video where we mention the Vedder Estate
The FIGHT of Growing Grass in Subtropical Georgia/USA | one year before; fighting to grow grass...

Sunday, November 15, 2020

R.I.P. Sweet Barty Boy

 On October 28, 2020 we had to let our sweet Barty boy go...

Tried hard to comfort him and to keep him healthy, with some more meds from vet Amanda.

He did not eat his wet food with the antibiotics after two days of 'accepting' it being added.

Other meds, I managed but there was no improvement.

I'd stayed with him for a total of two weeks, in the Rose Suite, a kind of a kitty hospice... for letting him have his rest, feeling loved and cared for. Yes, like a baby, feeding him many times little meals.

But on Wednesday, October 28, we had vet Amanda come to our home and inside the Rose Suite, in my arms he went to eternity... peacefully.

I'd carried him outside one final time to meet all of his siblings by adoption and for being one last time inside the gazebo, his favorite spot. 

Then I let him lounge on the lawn, close to the walkway from the driveway towards the Rose Suite.

He was so happy, so at peace and that felt good!

~

Before supper time for his siblings, I placed him inside the kitty bed in the garage so they all knew he was gone... We have done so also with Sacha girl before.

After having our tea and mixed nuts, we went together to the spot behind the greenhouse, for his burial.

That was it. 

Barty Vedder: March 17, 2004 - October 28, 2020

16 years and 7 months...

On Thursday afternoon, June 17, 2004 over a cup of tea, we spotted this adorable kitten 'SALEM'... (right) in our local newspaper.
He so resembled my Dutch kitten Bartje...
So next day, after Rotary Club lunch, Pieter went to the Humane Society to look at them, he got to see also NOISY, his sister.
Then we both went back to get SALEM!
It was love at first sight, Barty as we called him instead, did suck on my earlobe while holding him and also on my pinky... 
We took  this 1.4 kg (3 pound) kitten home with us.
I held him and never put him back in his cage. His sister already got adopted, so I've never seen her.
We took him home to our other Spooky boy, who met his baby brother with such love.
He gave him a 'bath' and cuddled him like he was his Mama, and that for a male cat.
June 27, Spooky our tuxedo boy with Barty-baby on the oak hocker with cotton mat, in front of our veranda door.
SO ADORABLE!
On July 08, 2005, Pieter holding our now mature Barty boy...
He had big eyes!
August 11, 2005, me holding Barty
His big eyes could look right into one's soul...
Barty had a few white hair on his chest and also his whiskers on one side were lighter.
Here he is on March 29, 2007 on the wood trail in our garden.
This is so adorable!
Barty holding and comforting his baby brother Bandido on August 13, 2007 after Bandido got neutered...
Like: 'Come here; I know how that feels!'
Seen here is Barty's white pluck of hair on his under belly...
June 30, 2008 shows Barty on top of the oak wall unit in the living room.
He jumped on top, from the backrest of our leather love seat!
Barty was quite an artist in jumping high...
September 12, 2008 Barty in the gazebo, his favorite spot...
Photo taken by Anita, our Foster Daughter from Indonesia, who stayed with us at the time.
She also stayed with us when Barty still was a young kitten and they both loved each other very much!
Barty on his 5th Birthday, March 17 of 2009, in front of the  open window with screen, in our bathroom.
He sure loved that spot, where he could hear and watch the birdies...
August 16, 2011 on the walkway to the Rose Suite with our gazebo in the back.
Just about 20 minutes before his death, I had let him lounge in the grass, exactly in this spot, seen to the right...
Whenever we were in the garden, most of our kittens were following us.
So did Barty on October 7, 2011 when he wanted to show off his climbing skills.
He rushed up into this Crepe Myrtle tree, behind our gazebo.
Here too, you clearly can see his white spot on the underbelly...
October 7, 2011 after Barty jumped down and looking like; did you see this Mami?
Yes, we saw you do this and we also see your white underbelly...
A pensive Barty on August 18, 2012 on the lawn...
Here Barty is in dreamland... underneath the wooden cherubs.
He slept on the European square pillow, which is under our standard pillow.
Photo from July 13, 2012
July 13, 2012 closeup of Barty smiling... He sure was a happy kitten!
March 10, 2013, once again on the wood trail...
Barty lounging in front of our gazebo on April 3, 2014. 
He also loved to lounge on the two side benches or on a chair.
Barty on his Birthday, March 17 of 2015, on the tiny brick patio below the stairs to our veranda.
In the evening, Barty very much was my office kitty!
Here he lounges on my previous office chair on August 24, 2015
Barty was a perfect lap kitty!!!
Barty on February 20, 2016, on top of the retainer wall alongside the driveway.
Lounging inside the gazebo on April 2, 2017...
Barty lounging on top of the guest bed, on one of their kitty blankets.
This was April 5, 2018
This is Barty on May 5, 2020... already a lot skinnier and you clearly can see his white whiskers.
On his final day his weight was 3 kg or 6.6 pound...
This very sweet and gentle boy will be so missed!
He has been my special cat nurse, see post below: Angels Birthdays & Fortunes.
No doubt they do have a great sense for feeling someone's well being!
He could literally put his 'arms' around my neck, so comforting... Will sure miss that but we both are grateful for having had him this long. 
He was like a special black angel; almost hard to believe that he was a kitty!
Those that never have had such a special pet, probably can't understand, but those that do know, will recognize this special affection and their loyal love.

R.I.P. Sweet Barty Boy

Related links:

{You like to meet our 3 Feline Boys?} | previous post also about Barty with Anita

{Our Felines - Sweet Barty...} | previous post with daughter Anita and Barty

{Our Copy Cats} | previous post about Barty the alpha male cat

{World Cat-Day 2013} | previous post showing our cat dining room with Barty in front...

{Pipe under Brick Walkway & Trench for Water Control} | Helping their Papi out with dirty work, Barty leading...

{Angels Birthdates & Fortunes} } Cat nurse Barty... the sweetest thing EVER!

{CATWALK} | previous post as they followed us through the wood garden and rolling in the sand...

{Cat Dining Room} | All six kitties lined up...

Daycare for Kitties | previous post showing Barty

LOVED singing in Händel's Messiah | bottom photo of Barty at Christmas day...

Spoiled Fur Babies Chilling Out | Barty on Pieter's lap...

{Our Rose Suite Bedroom} | Where Barty stayed his final 14 days with me, exactly with the same rose bed linens... 

{Goodbye Gibson...} | Barty dreaming that he too would live as long as Gibson... and HE DID!

Copyright:

MARIETTE'S BACK TO BASICS © 2009. All rights reserved - Text and images may not be copied for distribution or sale.

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