Pieter a Former Motorcycle Guy ALWAYS Remained one at Heart!

 When we were on vacation in Florida we did stop at the Colonnade Outlets at Sawgrass and visited Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5th...

Pieter LOVED this soft as butter motorcycle jacket!

Sharp looking at almost 93...

And this $ 1,400 jacket was on sale for $ 199... a steal and size Medium fit perfect!

Nice look together with shorts; don't you think?

Both of us were SHOCKED by seeing the stores so poorly stocked...

WHAT IS GOING ON WITH OUR ECONOMY?!

No, we did not bring this jacket home.

Pieter's former Dutch A = Motorcycle + C = Car Driver's License + E = Trailer

In Italy he had the very same for Motorcycle and Car except for a trailer = E

Norton WWII motorcycle like husband Pieter rode 1947... together with brother Toon who went as a Marine to Indonesia in 1948.

This is NOT Pieter's Norton but it is very hard to find an image.

It was a very rickety motorcycle from WWII and Pieter had it only for a brief period...

BSA that husband Pieter and brother Toon rode in early 1950s. Jan Rutgers helped them tune it up.

Pieter also served in the Dutch Military from 1950-1952

Motor Scooter "Rumi Scoiattolo", 1953 - one that my husband Pieter rode till mid 50s and he also went to the University in Wageningen on it.

Again, not a photo from his Rumi...

This one was manufactured by Rumi in Bologna, Italy. A 125 cc two-stroke motor with two cylinders, 5 Hp and 4 gears.

When husband Pieter lived in Bergen in 1956 he rode a Heinkel (NOT RED!). It was a 4-stroke engine.

That was the time when Pieter was a Dutch Government extension service officer, to help develop the horticultural industry, in the southern part of the Netherlands.

From then on Pieter rode a new Fiat 600, as his boss managed to secure mileage compensation for a motorcycle with sidecar and that helped pay for the mini car!

Pieter did not drive this: {2013 Fiat 500 versus Fiat 500 Topolino}... previous post.

Have any of you driven a motorcycle?

Related links:

{The Colonnade Outlets at Sawgrass} | previous post by me

{Outlet Scores} | previous post by me

More Trees Cut Down

 With such a vast property as we have, there is always lots of work to be done.

Trees need to be trimmed, or removed entirely.

So, it was time again on February 15, for our tree man, David Yoder to get the job done!

Since these could not fall freely, everywhere, some had to be done by climbing up to get the limbs and the top off...

Strong legs for doing so!

This huge 'leaning' monster was another candidate as we did not want it to ever fall on the road and over the creek...

With the cherry picker, some branches got cut off and also a rope tied around the tree top for pulling it the other way with the use of their Kubota.

Rather tricky for placing the cherry picker from 🌳BUCKEYE PREFERRED SERVICES LLC close to the recently patched up creek area.

The County has attempted numerous times to keep it from caving in during heavy rain and flood waters.

You clearly can see that the tree was leaning towards the road and it was tall enough for hitting all across...

Showing you this image to give you an idea of how much underbrush comes up over the years...

Do you see the stack of underbrush wood piled up on the left of this bridge?

Pieter has been vigorously clearing a lot!

Here you see how the Kubota removes one of the sawn off side branches, done from the cherry picker...

It needed to be cleared off the Wood Trail where we walk.

A Tree Felling Wedge gets driven into the tree trunk...

Finally this leaning monster is FORCED by pulling the rope tight, to fall the way we wanted it to fall.

Another big tree got cut down as we wanted to create space for our four Beech trees and also give our Mexican Live Oak more light and space, as well as the Japanese and Chinese Live Oaks.

Bird houses are temporarily down for finding a new spot, some of them at least.

The Beech tree also got trimmed up.

We both love the much more open view and those branches and trunks will rot away within a couple of years.

Yes, the uptake of our Estate is at times a costly one and requires a lot of hard work!

Related links:

Big Trees Down and others Trimmed  Continued | previous post from cutting on November 2, 2021

Big Trees Down and others Trimmed | previous post from cutting on November 1, 2021

Yummy 5-Course Italian Dinner at Ristorante da Maria in Dublin, Georgia

 We sure are glad that friend and Lady Chef Maria Runggaldier got FINALLY back home from Italy after having been stranded there for almost 1.5 year...

So, we once more enjoyed her excellent cooking at Ristorante da Maria.

Arriving at the elegant Ristorante da Maria...

Pieter wearing his navy Burberry blazer and I wear my Escada silk blouse and wool vest with red roses.

And still in my soft leather boots, gift from Italy.

It would have been Mom & Dad's 73rd Wedding Anniversary on February 26.

Appetizer:

Zuppa di granchio al pomodoro

Tasty Tomato Crab Soup, English peas, pearl onions and celery leaves

Such a YUMMY and spicy soup...

First dish:

Involtini di pasta con cariofini

Oven baked home made Pasta Rolls stuffed with baby artichoke cream, topped with Parmesan cheese and butter flakes, served on a zucchini veloutée

Fish–Entrée:

Cuore di merluzzo alla mediterranea

Pan seared Cod Fillet, served in a Mediterranean sauce with fresh tomatoes, oregano, shallots, olives and capers

Sorbet:

Sorbetto ai lamponi

Raspberry/Lemon Sorbet

Pieter also did wear his Brioni shirt (Last Call Neiman Marcus score...) for which he also needs to wear his cuff links.

Heinz always knows how to serve an espresso coffee for Pieter, with his dessert...

For both of us, it is very much like being back in Italy.

Maria is an authentic Italian Lady Chef and the only one in our region.

She has an excellent staff as well, they learned so much from her over some 18 years!

At least, her sous chef and staff managed to continue with serving delicious meals on Friday and Saturday nights, while Maria was stuck in Italy.

Dessert:

Crema catalana allo zenzero con frutti di bosco

Ginger flavored "Crema Catalana"

It was indeed a yummy 5-course Italian Dinner...

Related links:

Lovely Birthday Dinner at Ristorante da Maria | wearing my same Escada outfit...

{ROSES} | showing you the back of my Escada wool rose cardigan...