Pieter playing THEME 7th symphony 2nd movement by Ludwig van Beethoven

 Another of my fond memories of Pieter J.C. Vedder playing his organ... 

As an amateur, without a single lesson ever! 

Pieter was very happy on Thursday, July 25, 1999 and played the organ.Next day, we both drove to Atlanta airport, for picking up my youngest brother Jan Van den Munckhof and his wife Wilma...
Pieter started practicing on the organ again last year, after having had topical surgery on his right hand's ring finger at Ortho Georgia in Macon.

Day after surgery, looking bruised and blue... You can still see where they went inside for doing the topical surgery.

No anesthesia... just an injection and it did not prevent him from feeling the pain.

Yes, his ring has been cut... when he needed open heart surgery they tried to remove it and started cutting it! No success and now it is damaged but still cannot be taken off.

For several hours each day, Pieter had to wear this splint.

It worked out well and his finger moved again!

So... the organ downstairs got visited again.

Pieter had somehow lost the music of THEME 7th symphony 2nd movement by Ludwig van Beethoven but I found it  on line for him and he is happy again.

Our old, Dutch organ, is no longer in the home... it died after over 30 years of activity.

Pieter did once perform some brain surgery on it, by soldering tiny wires on its back board, with the actual builder on the phone. He lived in Florida at that time, during his retirement.

And it worked; Pieter always has been quite a handyman and tackled almost everything himself.

Our Amaryllis Bloomed Beautifully

 Amaryllis can be so REWARDING!

On April 3, I made this photo of our Amaryllis in the veranda.

It had three blooms on a rather thick stem!

You can see our Delftware houses on the ledge in the window.

A collection from KLM Royal Dutch Airlines over the years...

On April 16, this photo got taken.

 After we'd returned from Charleston, a second stem had come up with three more huge blooms!

Amaryllis are so rewarding and we got this already for years, see links below post.

Related links:

{Gift Amaryllis Fully Blooms on Mom's Birthday in Heaven} | previous post by me

{Amaryllis Stargazer Blooms in Our Wood Garden} | previous post by me

Arthur Ravenel Bridge and Angel Oak Tree

 When staying in a lovely hotel and enjoying day after day exciting trips, time is FLYING...

Our departure day did arrive...

Just had to capture this Arthur Ravenel Bridge.

 So I crossed the Cooper River by car onto Mount Pleasant and turned right for standing behind Embassy Suites by Hilton Charleston.

The height of the two pylons is 175 meters and the total length of the bridge is 4 kilometers. 

It is the 3rd longest such span for a cable–stayed bridge in the Western Hemisphere.

The design is done with the frequent natural disasters in mind; the bridge can withstand gusts of wind in excess of 480 km/h and earthquakes rated 7.4 on the Richter Scale.

Taken while driving over the actual bridge...

There are 8 lanes, four in each direction and also lanes for pedestrians and cyclists.

What a marvel; it got opened in 2005.

In about half an hour, we arrived at St. John's Island at the ANGEL OAK TREE

It is HUGE and you can read more about it here: Angel Oak® | Charleston, SC – Official Website ←click link.

Circumference is 25.5 feet or 7.77 meter. 

It is the largest Live Oak Tree east of the Mississippi estimated to be 300 to 400 years old.

It is named after the owners Justus Angel and his wife, Martha Waight Tucker Angel whose family owned the land in the 1800s and 1900s.

Charleston County purchased the land in 1991.

Houmas House the Sugar Palace in Darrow, Louisiana | ←click previous post by me with huge Quercus Virginiana or Live Oak Trees

Oak Alley Plantation in Vacherie, Louisiana | ←click previous post by me with huge Live Oak Trees

Same photo but now cropped...

Me in front of this giant wearing my Escada stretch pants and boots; seen here: →click {Happy with my Escada Stretch Pants}

It was quite dark from this giant!

Now Pieter stands in front of one of the branches that are laying down.

Do you see to the left those two wooden poles, to support these huge branches?

It is really hard to capture its enormous size...

Pieter wore his Zegna summer jeans.

There were lots of people when we were there.

Again, perfect blue sky.

Now the 3.5 hour drive home for picking up our tax papers at the CPA and for making it in time for early choir practice for Holy Thursday...

Below is the short Relive video from drive over bridge and to Angel Oak Tree; enjoy!

Got to cross the Cooper River and the Ansley River...