Thinking about Mom and Dad on Saint Cecilia

 Saint Cecilia is the Patron Saint of Musicians

Above video from Easter Saturday, April 6, 1996 is a nice musical medley with Mom & Dad and Pieter first playing the keyboard and later playing the organ.Keep in mind, this is just IMPROMPTU...The video can best be viewed on YouTube, so you can read the text below, where I've better explained with clickable points.
Songs being partly sung are: Thank You Lord (Dad) with Pieter playing the organ.Dad with Mom and our friend singing 'Ich bete an die Macht der Liebe', a German song 'I pray to the power of love' by Russian composter Dmitri Bortniansky (1751 - 1825) and text by Gerhard Tersteegen (1697 - 1825).Next is Guten Abend, Gute nacht (Good evening, good night – Brahms lullaby (1868).German – Strophe 1:  Guten Abend, gut' Nacht,mit Rosen bedacht,mit Näglein besteckt,schlupf unter die Deck':Morgen früh, wenn Gott will,wirst du wieder geweckt.
Strophe 2:Guten Abend, gut' Nacht,von Englein bewacht,die zeigen im Traumdir Christkindleins Baum.Schlaf nun selig und süß,schau im Traum 's Paradies.
English – Stanza 1:Good evening, and good night,With roses adorned,With carnations covered,Slip under the covers.Early tomorrow, so God willing,you will wake once again.
Stanza 2:Good evening, and good night.By angels watched,Who show you in your dreamthe Christ-child's tree.Sleep now peacefully and sweetly,see the paradise in your dream.                                                 Pieter also gets summoned by our friend to play How Great Thou Art (which Dad never had heard...).Video is ending on Easter Sunday at home and it shows that Pieter could not refrain from pulling some weeds!!! 

HIGH TEA in November

 With my passion for cooking, baking and fine table setting...

Once again I offered to do a HIGHT TEA for the bi-annual local Rotary Club's fundraiser.

Pieter wearing his Gianni Versace jeans and I wear my sewing creation Silk Batik bolero jacket, hand painted with gold and made from Indonesian formal shawl on Escada skirt.

If you watch on YouTube you will be able to see all the text with explanation as to what was being served in detail.At 1:25 you see my Tea Cups with paper doilies and also Demitasse Coffee Cups.

Lydia is the lady in white silk blouse...

A happy group of ladies and we both enjoyed hosting them!

Tablecloth used is our Portuguese Guimarães white work, we bought in Coimbra in 1994 while on tour through Spain Portugal for 19 days.

Related links:

High Tea Prepared and Baked by Me | previous post

Merry Christmas and My Previous High Tea | previous post{Our Japanese Diospyros Kaki Persimmon} | previous post showing our Persimmon which was on kitchen table for High Tea...From Singapore to Jakarta and SURPRISE upon arrival at our Villa | previous post of when I bought the hand painted silk batik stole from which I created the bolero jacket{Angels engraved on lucky calendar coin of 1969} | final photo shows the hand painted with gold silk batik jacket...

Big Trees Down and others Trimmed Continued

 Next morning we had this as our view from the bay window breakfast area...

The 🌳BUCKEYE PREFERRED SERVICES LLC truck was right in front of us...

Our very LAST morning of seeing the huge Oak Tree standing!

This Google image is from 2014 and the oak tree is shown on the left.

The Black Gum tree got cut in 2015, seen to the right...

These 11 seconds give you a clear sight of how the pulley got fastened on a limb, for letting the branches land safely.

Limbs that were above our home, are off already...

That huge oak tree split into a V-shape.

All the branches are already off, of one half of the V-shape...

Took this video of 1 minute and 22 seconds, for showing the GREAT EXPERTISE and PRECISION for getting those tall limbs moved above our side of the vinyl picket fence, and then lowering them.You once more can see clearly the pulley being used.The left side of the tall oak's V is completely off here.All is being done while saving the Holly tree to the right!You can hear me talk when dew drops fell down onto me, from the shaking of the branches...

Pieter was studying the KUBOTA as it proved so perfect for removing all the limbs and branches and dumping them into the truck alongside the road.

Here you clearly see that our Southern Magnolia did get trimmed up quite a bit!

More and more of the limbs are being lowered down via pulley...

Once down, they were being cut by one of the three team members.

Photo taken from the road, you clearly can see the limited space we had for letting this tree fall.

This short 56 second video showed the precision skill with a long handled saw!

And yes, those two men were in constant communication via their headsets.

The one below operating the rope for the pulley and the one in the cherry picker.

Here is the other half wearing the headset and the rope is being tightened around our big Holly tree.

This 41 second video shows you exactly their great team work and skilled precision!

The backside of our home looks so much better without the huge Live Oak Tree!

A bird house is standing on the table outside on the little patio at the Rose Suite entrance.

Next day, they did use the stump grinder for taking all this out.

We're now ready for the pressure washing of the home and gazebo and then the exterior painting.

Exactly: Cowboys throw a lasso but 🌳BUCKEYE PREFFERRED SERVICES LLC throws a pulley rope with precision!One has to admire their skills.

Now they went up with two men, inside the bucket from the cherry picker.

Meanwhile the Southern Magnolia is being trimmed.

And branches being hauled off to be loaded onto their truck...

The very top of the 2nd V-section is skillfully being taken down by 2 men inside the bucket. Now the lead man by himself tackles huge sections, till he reaches the beginning of the V-section.

Here the beginning of the V-section has been reached...

A rope gets fastened for helping pull the tree down after having cut out a wedge below...

Too bad I missed this final part as I had to meet with someone and Pieter was taking his nap.

But down it came!

Here you view the top of that V-section till where they'd cut it down segment by segment.

Wonder what the Japanese Magnolia is thinking now his huge neighbor is down?

And now, our Holly tree has full freedom and it will probably take a couple of years till it has restored itself.

Still some mistletoe left in this tree as well.

A large poplar tree with a broken branch hanging down.

The one to the right is on our neighbor's property and right above our greenhouse!

BUT he did not give us permission to cut it... 

Pieter just was going to dump some fruit and veggie peels in our compost bin when he stopped near the downed Poplar tree. Another huge one, with a broken top hanging down on its bark...

And way too close to our green house!

Pieter let them stack this wood near the creek in the back, for woodpeckers to enjoy and chipmunks to roam around in.

We both were so pleased that finally those big trees had come down!

From April on, the weather was not cooperating, too wet for such heavy equipment to come into a soggy garden...

Now it is DONE!

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Big Trees Down and others Trimmed