{1834 Félicité Parmentier Alba Rose}

Tell me, is any of you also as much in love with WHITE roses? Two years ago I could snap just ONE photo from a single bud on our antique 1834 Félicité Parmentier Alba Rose. Link from that post you find below. This year we were so happy to see that it survived the heat of 2011 and rewarded us with a perfect rose on April 17. Have a look at it...

This is on the fence of our adjacent garden, across the creek - over the bridge.

The bud is pink but it opens to a white rose.

 Hope you enjoyed this beauty!

{INTRODUCING 5 EARLY BLOOMING SPECIAL ROSES TO YOU} | previous post by me

{3 New Suncast Outdoor Trash Containers}

Who thought that Trash Containers could not look stylish?... When ours were going bad and needed to be replaced I went on line in search for some stylish looking varieties, instead of the ugly dark ones. At Wayfair I did find them, in a nice taupe color and in a 33 gallon size. Look for the item link below this post. They were half price of some competitors and with free shipping. Are you thinking the same way about Outdoor Trash Containers, let me know how you solve that problem. At least let me show you what we ended up with here below.

Our Spunky girl thinks they are raised feline couches...

Photo is taken on March 31 when the Fiberglass Window Boxes were not yet re-filled. 

Pieter had emptied them in order to clean them up entirely.

Below you see them with the verbenas still inside, a week earlier.

When these 3 Suncast Outdoor Trash Containers got delivered, one tab was missing but we received a replacement in no time. Wayfair's customer service is excellent!

New tab already put on and neatly they are lined up. Our driveway is on a slope, in case you are wondering if the fiberglass window box is not hanging straight. It does, but the driveway goes downhill.

If you lock these latches by pushing them inside, those containers are locked. 

No raccoon will be able to open them. 

BUT which critter would want to come near, with our Spunky girl on top of them?

{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 diatonic 21 button one with only 8 bass (two rows of 2 on right side). 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...

Pieter's Music Booklet from WWII Era | how Pieter learned to play his first accordion