{Anna Burda Crocheted Table Topper}

From the Anna Burda's June 1988 magazine this hand crocheted table topper must have been made by my friend Marianne's  Mom, in Germany. Whatever its background, I received it as a gift and I'm very pleased with this linen and crocheted treasure. Have a look...

In our veranda on the oak coffee table with some blooming hyacinths on January 18...

No doubt that Marianne's Mom did crochet it after this Anna Burda pattern from June 1988!

Just lovely...

Pure linen is being crocheted around in a very perfect way with an impeccable steady hand it seems.

Guess Marianne's Mom will be smiling down from heaven when she sees it still is being loved!

{French Pewter Taste Vin}

Do you know a Taste Vin? Ancient Greeks used already its forerunner for wine tasting as a glazed clay krater or wine cup. In medieval times they got made of faience, ceramic and pewter. In Louisiana, USA they briefly served another function as taste-indigo for testing the crystallization of indigo dye.

Shown here is our French Pewter Taste Vin with a a Royal Selangor pewter vase.

Royal Selangor is established in 1885 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

 Our lovely daughter Anita inside metal frame...

This French Pewter Taste Vin from ETAINS DU MANOIR was a gift from our French colleagues.

Inside you read the French Wine Quote: Beuvez toujours ne mourrez jamais...

Beuvez toujours, vous ne mourrez jamais. Loosely: Drink always and never die. Also: Drink constantly; never die. Widely attributed to François Rabelais.

Meanwhile I am the lucky owner of the hardcover book: The Epicurean Collector: Exploring the World of Culinary Antiques by Patrick Dunne from Luculluss Antiques in New Orleans, who did write this book together with the Editors of Southern Accents. The photo below is on page 109. Available at Amazon.

Patrick Dunne does explain a lot better than I ever can but he is writing about some pure silver Taste Vins...

These are Patrick Dunne's silver Taste Vins...

There is one thing in common with our French Pewter Taste Vin however; the coiled serpent loop handle is similar to ours! You can read more about that in the last copy of Patrick Dunne's pages.

His book is a very valuable piece of information for serious collectors.

Sadly the beautiful magazine of Southern Accents is no more but this book is as close as you can come to that!

Above is the mention of the use for taste-indigo in Louisiana.

One of the enigmatic motifs that frequently appear on taste-vins is a loop handle formed by a coiled serpent...

Hope you enjoyed this Taste Vin post. Do you have one at your home?

{1999 with Brother Jan, I Saw The Best of Michael Flatley's Lord of the Dance in Orlando, Florida}

Who has ever seen a show of The Best of Michael Flatley's Lord of the Dance? Well, on August 5, 1999, I was fortunate for being at Epcot Center in Orlando, Florida where Michael Flatley did bring his high-energy step-dancing Troupe to perform for my youngest Brother Jan Van den Munckhof, my sister-in-law Wilma and me and of course a lot of other people! WOW; that was real high energy. Never seen a show like that one. Michael Flatley is my youngest brother's age but that's the only comparison...

 'Very excited' Michael Flatley to return to Lord Of The Dance for first time in 12 years

The above photo is from 2010 where Michael Flatley played himself at age 51.

In total his troupe has played for 60 million people in 60 countries!

So glad that I got to see them play too...

Lord of the Dance (musical) link for the above text - click on the above for easier reading...

Flatley signed a contract with Disney for Lord of the Dance to perform at Epcot in Walt Disney World in the summer of 1999 and Lord of the Dance was asked back the following summer in 2000. 

How lucky we were for JUST being there in 1999!

Lord of the Dance link for photo from FB Fan Page

Did you know that Lord of the Dance was written, devised, produced and choreographed by Michael Flatley within just 8 weeks of its inception?

By the end of the opening night, the show had received several standing ovations and such rave reviews that it was to become the most talked about, most written about, and the most critically acclaimed show in musical history.

Michael Flatley - Lord of the dance finale YouTube video at age 51 from the top picture

 The Best of Michael Flatley's Lord of the Dance | June 4, 1999 The Orlando Sentinel

Michael Flatley - Whispering Winds | where he is playing the flute and his Mom cried...