{Part I of Husband Pieter's Trip to East Asia}

Let's start with these series of husband Pieter's Trip to East Asia on his People to People Citizen Ambassador Program.

On Friday, March 20, 1987 we both left for the Atlanta airport to leave the USA.

Pieter was flying west bound to East Asia and I was flying east bound to Europe...
So we hugged each other goodbye for 3 weeks and Pieter left with Northwest Airlines for Seattle, Washington state, via Minneapolis/St. Paul in Minnesota.
My plane left some 7 hours later so I stayed with some elderly friends till than.

This is an actual photo from Pieter at his final destination in China!
~ 
Everything on Pieter's Northwest flight went well, and upon arrival in Seattle, they did have a briefing with the entire delegation.
They also had to practice eating peanuts with chopsticks, followed by dinner.
They stayed at the Four Seasons Olympic Hotel in Seattle

The Four Seasons Olympic Hotel is now the Fairmont Olympic Hotel, Seattle but the address and even phone number did not change! 

Next morning after breakfast they again had some briefings, with Max Gerber of the Citizen Ambassador Program and guest speaker Karl Lo, Director of the University of Washington East Asia Library. 

After that we went by bus to the airport for check in.

Pieter got an upgrade with Northwest Orient and had seat # 12 in Executive class from Seattle to Tokyo, Japan on Northwest Orient flight 07.

Than somebody made a mistake and the evacuation slide came out and got inflated!

That caused two hours delay...

The flight to Tokyo was about 10-½ hours and it was a strange experience for having daylight the entire time. 

It was Pieter's first time, flying over the North Pole but he could not see anything because of cloudy weather.

To be continued...

Related links:

{People to People Citizen Ambassador Program - Husband Pieter's Trip to East Asia} | previous post by me

{The Most Poisonous THREE-Letter Word... "EGO" - Overcome it}

 Here is another quote about the Most Poisonous Three-Letter Word... "EGO" - Overcome it.

We better let go of this "EGO" and become a more lovable person!

That makes us a little more 'angelic'

Like seen here on this Italian silver Giovanni Raspini Charm, with alphabet letter "E" and Angel for wearing your Name's First Letter.

Buy this 925/1000 silver 'E' alphabet angel for only USD 33.25 and FREE shipping within the USA:


Other alphabet letters are available at Spectrenoir ←just click.

Related links:

{The Most Selfish ONE-Letter Word... "I" - Avoid it} | previous post by me
{The Most Satisfying TWO-Letter Word... "WE" - Use it} | previous post by me

{People to People Citizen Ambassador Program - Husband Pieter's Trip to East Asia}

It has been quite a challenge for finally working out this incredible East Asia journey to Japan, China, Hong Kong and Taipei...

Yes, after husband Pieter's actual trip on March 20, 1987 till April 10, 1987!

But it meant so much to him and due to his age, I wanted to get this out of the way before anything else!

Archiving things!

Pieter, being a world renown mushroom expert, got chosen for joining a group of 10, to visit Universities and lecturing and making field trips on behalf of the Mushroom Industry. 

His employer Campbell Soup did fully cover his expenses.

How much I would have loved to join him but we had absolutely no funds for doing so.

Paying for daughter Liz who studied at the Royal Academy of Arts and Design in Den Bosch, The Netherlands and also paying off the mortgage of our home at a hefty 9% rate for the time. As well as paying off my Ford Escort...

We also opted to fund the biggest part of Mom & Dad's FIRST flight to the USA...

So I did fly in opposite directions, to The Netherlands, when Pieter started his trip with a flight to Seattle, Washington.

This also proved to become our LONGEST time apart as Pieter had to go to Europe for about a week, right after Taipei.

In–between we had Mom & Dad for 3 weeks staying with us in the USA and I did most of the sight seeing with them as Pieter only had the weekends available.

I flew back with Mom & Dad to The Netherlands, as I had to do consulting work in Germany for 2 weeks...

All this while Pieter went to Australia and New Zealand for Campbell Soup.

We did have a very close blissful relationship via phone... 

PEOPLE TO PEOPLE

Fostering International Friendship... founded by Dwight D. Eisenhower

CITIZEN AMBASSADOR PROGRAM

Advancing International Communication

HONORARY CHAIRMEN

People to People International
At that time it was President Ronald Reagan...

AIR SCHEDULE

People to People Mushroom Production Delegation to East Asia

ACCOMMODATIONS

Bear in mind that at that time we had no digital cameras yet and thus photos are not dated with information from area taken etc.

Due to our very turbulent life style at the time and an upcoming move from Georgia to Pennsylvania we never found the time for exchanging thoughts and viewing together his slides from this mega trip.
Also one box with slides etc. ??? got lost in that move... Making the puzzle only harder. 

But last year I managed to scan all available slides and now I also managed to scan some photos that Pieter had developed from his trip.

So in some upcoming posts you will get to see some of his incredible journey.

I also will try to visit some of your blogs...

Thanks a lot!

Related links:
{Hand Made Easter Egg Gift by Friend Ellie} | previous post by me showing the silk brocade table cloth
{Silk Embroidered Birds from China Trip} | previous post by me

{Silk Brocade for our PRINCE OF PEACE} | previous post by me showing the silk brocade table cloth that Pieter purchased in China...

{The Most Satisfying TWO-Letter Word... "WE" - Use it}

One more quote that is so valuable and even more so right after Valentine's Day we should remember this; year round. Also as a family or as a team with colleagues or in sports. 

Yes, keeping our Moral Compass pointing in the right direction is a healthy thing!

We better adhere to The Most Satisfying TWO-Letter Word... "WE" and Use it!

That makes us a little more 'angelic' when clinging to the "W"...

Like seen here on this Italian silver Giovanni Raspini Charm, with alphabet letter "W" and Angel

Alphabet letters are available at Spectrenoir ←just click.

Related link:

{The Most Selfish ONE-Letter Word... "I" - Avoid it} | previous post by me

{Lunch with Lovely 97 Year 'YOUNG' Role Model}

After a week with funerals and such, for the Lovely 97 Year 'YOUNG' Role Model Maryan, as well as for us, we managed to have our Lunch together on Saturday at Deano's Italian

Maryan Harris has been a true American Patriot as well.

She graduated from the Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia a First for Women colleges.

Being already a teacher, she did however join the WAVES, the women's section of the US Naval Reserve. She had a very interesting duty of coding and decoding.

You could read about this American Patriot but it has been removed...

She still is very sharp of mind and also a witty person to converse with, here with my husband Pieter.

And more important: YOUNG at heart.

Her choice was Pizza as they don't serve that very often at the nursing home where she resides...

There was enough left for taking back to her place to enjoy next day!

My choice was this Italian salad with olive oil and vinegar and added shrimps, which were so delicious and served warm!

Yes, we can brag about several great restaurants here in town and Deano's even got voted Georgia's #1 Pizza Place in 2013 and continues to earn high places.

Here I hug Maryan for her 90th Birthday and she celebrated that with Bubbly!

She also had my Mom & Dad over at her place in 2005, for Tea.

Many fond memories...

We do hope that we will be able to share many more together.

Thanks Maryan, for being such a great 'YOUNG' Role Model!

{Happy Valentine's Day}

Wishing you all a Happy Saint Valentine's Day!

Toi & Moi

{Gift Amaryllis Fully Blooms on Mom's Birthday in Heaven}

A rather sentimental day... We went to the funeral of a dear friend June and February 12 is also Mom's 2nd Birthday in Heaven.

A sunny day however and a beautiful Gift Amaryllis from sweet friends, given on my birthday, was fully blooming.

Such beautiful flowers really do lift up ones spirit!

A little miracle to see one by one 5 huge flowers unfold.

Sitting on the window sill in our Kitchen.

There is even a second bud, a bit lower, so we might see again an outburst of multi flowers!

Their stamens are very beautiful too.

What a joy such a gift!

In regard to my previous post, about living now with a Pain Free Back, I can add that also this Youtheory Turmeric supplement is available via Costco in the U.K. So for my European readers, that is another option to get it or mail order it through amazon.co.uk (just click on the hyperlink above) for a very reasonable price. Far better priced than the ones offered at amazon.fr and amazon.de as they ask outrageous prices around € 200 per bottle!

{Happy Birthday with a Pain Free Back} | previous post by me about my Auto Immune Disease

{The Most Selfish ONE-Letter Word... "I" - Avoid it}

We just start a period of the year where our Moral Compass could use some cleaning and attention...

Here a very inspirational quote:

The Most Selfish ONE-Letter Word... "I" - Avoid it

So very true in many ways!

We better let go of being Selfish!

Instead, we try for becoming a little more 'angelic' when clinging to the "I"...

Like seen here on this Italian silver Giovanni Raspini Charm, with alphabet letter "I" and Angel

Buy this 925/1000 silver 'I' alphabet angel for only USD 33.25 and FREE shipping within the USA:

Look for other available charms at Spectrenoir ←just click.

{Happy Birthday with a Pain Free Back}

Good news is that I was able to celebrate my Birthday with a Pain Free Back!

That in itself was the BEST gift one could wish for after more than a week of excruciating pain.

Because of my chronic kidney disease I cannot take any over the counter medication and neither did I want to start again on opiates, prescribed by my doctor. 

That's what I took in the end of 2009 when I was diagnosed with severe mid back arthritis...(?)

It resulted in being completely paralyzed, due to a rare auto immune disease and only with  Prednisone I was able to move again. But after taking that for about two years, my kidneys paid a price for curing this Polymialgia rheumatica.

So I'd rather tough it out and take nothing, except my daily supplement from Costco Wholesale the Youtheory Turmeric capsules that come with 180 in a pot.

Will show more below...

First a few Birthday dinner pictures...

Sorry for the poor quality... snapshots taken by husband Pieter with my iPhone, he even left out a friend...

I wore two layers of cashmere, a sleeveless mock neck and the very thin sweater with poetry that I showed in a previous post: {Cashmere Words of Wisdom & Update} 

Feeling doubly warm with this score from Last Call by Neiman Marcus that I also wore when I did FaceTime with Mom, two days before her death...

Since we had to arrange things last minute, due to my condition and not knowing if I would be able to sit through such a 5-course dinner, we were in a cozy group of four friends. Very special evening though!

At Ristorante da Maria from Dublin Farm "Come Home To The Country" I always do eat the dessert as well. Even being diabetes type 2... 
Here they just served mine with the birthday candle on top.

This was the choice of dinner and Pieter and I opted for the salmon.

Turmeric by Youtheory from Costco. Just click the hyperlink to go to my Pinterest board for further info after clicking on the photo!

This is what I have been taking during the time of my excruciating back pain and it sure did give me some relief! Usually I take one tablet per day but I went to two.

Turmeric seems to be an excellent anti-inflammatory support and also is good for your kidneys. Just click the hyperlink.

We might indeed be able to learn a great deal from countries where this has been used for centuries, such as India, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and as part of Ayurveda and other branches of traditional medicine.

Youtheory® Turmeric Advanced Formula features Curcumin C3 Complex® - a patented turmeric extract that contains minimum 95% curcuminoids.

Costco just had as discount on these and I did stock up and will also mail some to my youngest sister in The Netherlands who suffers from Fibromyalgia. 

{Madison Square Park and 1909 Metropolitan Life Insurance Tower in New York City}

In my previous post about the Steel Framed Flatiron Building in New York City, I wrote that I will take you just across the street to see what is there...

Beautiful Madison Square Park and also the tall 1909 Metropolitan Life Insurance Tower!

Considering that those tall buildings are over a Century old, it is even more incredible.
This tall tower and building is located on Madison Ave and 24th Street.
The Flatiron Building is not visible but it is to the right of it...

Using the New York Public Library Digital Collection (see link below post) we can see the Flatiron Building (to the right of the center bare tree) and also the Madison Square Park with its Metropolitan Life Insurance Tower in the 1911 photo at the top. 

In the 2015 photo below, you can see the Flatiron all the way to the right but the tower is being partly blocked out by the sun...

Another Library of Congress photo below, shows the entire building.

Metropolitan Life InsuranceBuilding, Madison Square, New York, N.Y. when it was the world's tallest building!

Madison Square Park is on the corner of Fifth Ave and E 26th Street.

Here a beautiful Oakleaf Hydrangea or Hydrangea Quercifolia. These flowers do turn from white into pink as they age.

New York City is full of beautiful parks; the lungs of the city!

Related link:

Street View, Then & Now: New York City's Fifth Avenue just click the hyperlink and than on Take me to 1911! and go 10 clicks to the south for finding the Flatiron image. Now click on cross the street to see image from above... via NYPL Digital Collections

{Steel Framed Flatiron Building New York City}

On August 28 of 2015, we also did view the Flatiron Building with its Steel Frame, on Fifth Avenue and West 25th Street in New York City.

Here it is! Constructed in 1902.
When the traffic light was red, I dared to stand in the middle of the road, for taking this photo.
Love that type of architecture and for sure I'm not the only Blogger who does.
Marianne from Biebkriebels did mention it in her post about Buildings and she's also seen the real Flatiron in NYC.
Don't know if the triangular building from Amsterdam she is showing in her first photo is also made with a Steel Frame.
Janey from Thick and Thin (air) did mention the Flatiron in her post Architecture where she also shows a triangular building in Fort Worth, Texas only 5 years later in 1907.
In Sevilla, Spain we can admire another triangular building Edificio La Adriática o Filella which you can see by clicking on hyperlink. Click on the photo again for seeing it larger.



Just taking you back in time with the New York Public Library Digital Collection where you can see the entire Fifth Avenue and its buildings on photos from 1911 and 2015.
Too bad that the Flatiron is left out in the 1911 capture... Not visible in this photo.
But the building across the street you can clearly see.
Next time I will take you just across the street to see what is there!

Related link:

Street View, Then & Now: New York City's Fifth Avenue just click the hyperlink and than on Take me to 1911! and go 10 clicks to the south for finding the Flatiron image from above... via NYPL Digital Collections

{WHY are our spring bulbs NOT blooming?}

Happy to be feeling a LOT better and after one week I had a complete night sleep without excruciating upper/mid back pain. What a relief!

While walking yesterday around our property we were discussing WHY in the world we don't see flowers on our Snow Drops; Crocus and Daffodils?!

Pieter thinks it is because of some interaction between the roots of trees...

Makes one sad as we had hundreds of bulbs that performed so well the first couple of years.

We miss seeing our vases filled up with fragrant daffodils.

Even though we do have the chocolate letters with our cup of chocolate...

Does any of you have this problem of only having daffodil foliage but NO blooms?

And NO, we have NEVER EVER cut the foliage off!

Happy February!

Hate to say that my back pain is back again after just one day of relief...

Planting & Care | Bulbs need phosphorous being mixed into the soil below where the bulbs will be located! Bonemeal or superphosphate...

{What Greater Gift than the Love of a Cat ~Charles Dickens}

Thank you all for your sweet comments!

Today, Sunday the 31st of January was a lovely sunny day and we did go for a walk.

Yes, my back is a little better, only around 4:00 AM, I wake up because it hurts but let's hope that it will soon quit on me.

In Horst, The Netherlands there was a Mass for Mom's 1st Anniversary in heaven.

Can't believe it is already a year now since she passed away on the 27th.

January 31, was actually the day she got cremated...

For today just another quote with a photo of Mama cat, Spicy who disappeared.

Guess she got kidnapped... It caused me to grieve for her as we only had her for 9 months!

We still have four of her babies living with us, one of the girls got hit by a car and died of internal injuries.

Our Spicy sitting so regal in a chair in our veranda.

She sure was a beauty with silky fur and oh so svelte!

~

Perfect quote for her:

'What greater gift than the love of a cat.' ~Charles Dickens

Wishing you all a good start into February!

{Highly Fragrant 1939 Sweetness Daffodils}

Due to my severe back pain, I just recycle this 2012 post of January 28...

~

• Yesterday we had two big nosegays of fragrant 1939 Sweetness Daffodils. One for a dear friend and one for us to fill a white ceramic vase. What a bliss for having those in January. That is extremely early. Do any of you have bulbs blooming right now? 

• 1939 Sweetness Daffodils and china from the Daffodil of Royal Albert Friendship series...
• This china pattern can be found at Replacements Ltd, click the above link.

• Fragrant Sweetness Daffodils; Sunshine and Tea...

• Dark chocolate Pomegranate from Costco.
• Amaretti cookie hearts from Mariette's Back to Basics

• Teapot is a French Pillivuyt

• The ceramic spoon to the right is an American Favorites Porcelain Spoon from Avon. It is the 1988 pattern with Daffodils.

• The sterling bon bon or nut spoon is a H44 H J Howe with daffodils.

• 1988 Avon Daffodils spoon

• Matching cocktail napkin with daffodil embroidery.

Sorry that you cannot smell their fragrance...

Related links:
{DAFFODIL OF ROYAL ALBERT FRIENDSHIP SERIES} | Previous post by me

{Cheerfulness and Contentment are Great Beautifiers and are Famous Preservers of Good Looks ~Charles Dickens}

Since I'm having severe back pain (upper/center/left) there is no chance for doing much.

After the flu and a lingering bronchitis I worked really hard for having the house clean and laundry done and cooking a dinner for 12 for Pieter's Monday Night Club.

Guess that was too much; too soon.

As I already mentioned to Giga in a comment, I did serve a Polish Red Cabbage for which I got lots of compliments. A Lowell Red Cabbage Salad from World Market.

Their sugar content is 0 and also their sodium content is very reasonable with only 13%.

Together with pork loin strips and red skin potatoes pre-cooked and stir fried, it made for a good winter meal.

A healthy salad from Costco and I did make Tiramisù for dessert with Dutch Douwe Egberts coffee.

Also today the 27th is the 1st Anniversary of Mom being in Heaven...

It is a very dreary and rainy day.

'Cheerfulness and contentment are great beautifiers, and are famous preservers of good looks.'

~Charles Dickens

Hope you all stay warm and well, wherever you are!

{Architecture is Frozen Music ~Goethe}

LOVE Goethe's quote: ARCHITECTURE IS FROZEN MUSIC...

HUSBAND PIETER against the beautiful Architecture of Willemstad, Curaçao during one of our vacations.

Like music, this lifts up our spirit and memories are often music for the soul!