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Here I would love to share with you our travels and adventures as international mushroom consultants. MEMOIRS about husband Pieter Vedder, who was a SCIENTIFIC PIONEER in Mushroom Cultivation Education. His practical handbook is in 9 languages and is called the MUSHROOM BIBLE: https://mariettesbacktobasics.blogspot.com/2020/08/modern-mushroom-growing-2020-harvesting.html

Tuesday, December 11, 2018

My 2nd trip to India - Consulting Together with Husband Pieter

On Valentine's Day, 1991 we were on our way to Delhi with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. The start was not too good, there was a defect on the plane so we had to grab all our belongings and board another plane. We arrived on Friday morning the 15th in Delhi, with 3 hours delay. A person from Pond's India picked us up and we went smooth through customs and everything.
Then we got dropped off at the luxurious Taj Palace Hotel for a welcome shower after 2 nights on the plane, coming from Atlanta to Amsterdam and on to Delhi, India. 
We relaxed and by 14:00 they picked us up for some sight seeing.
Now I too, got to see the famous 2nd tallest minaret in the world, the 72 m high Qutb Minar from 1206.
 Also the Iron Pillar of Delhi, standing within the Qutb Complex in south Delhi. It never rusts and it brings you good luck if you can put your arms around it, backwards! NO LUCK...
Taken from ThamesTv as it seems now to be sheltered by a fence!
So both of us, husband Pieter and I, belong to the people that still were allowed to touch it and try to hug it backwards.
We also visited the Lotus Temple in New Delhi one of the world's greatest attractions click for short video.
It is like walking through a botanical garden in order to get to the steps that lead up to the Lotus Temple, built in white marble.
Quite impressive, also from the inside!
The design resembles very much the style of the Sydney Opera House.
Marvel of architecture by Iranian born Fariborz Sahba, a Canadian citizen now.
We enjoyed our sightseeing trip of several hours and via the Rashtrapathi Bhavan (where the President resides), Secretariat building, Parliament, Connaught Place, and India Gate, we got again dropped off at the Taj Palace Hotel.
A short time for relaxing and then to the airport for our flight to Madras, now Chennai.
Around 23:00 we got greeted by someone from Pond's India and brought to our Trident hotel.
We finally went to bed - tired...
On February 16, we have to be at the airport again by 13:00 for our flight to Coimbatore, via Bangalore.
Security only wants to know what those dark spots in Pieter's briefcase were. They were the batteries of our flash lights (like the police used) and for the camera.
In Coimbatore there is a person from the Mushroom project and at 17:00 we start our ride op into the Nilgiri Mountains to Ooty at 2,100 m altitude.
The old Ambassador (early Austin-Morris) needs some 2.5 hours for this climb, with once adding water and we drank coconut milk.
We got dropped off at the Southern Star, a Quality Inn hotel in Ooty.
The mushroom project's manager, Mr. Balu, was there to great us, en route to his Rotary meeting.
All we wanted is going to bed... I'd developed a bronchitis and thus sleeping was not the best with my constant coughing.
On Sunday, we slept in till about 11:00, both were feeling tired, also due to the 10.5 hours time difference.
We ordered some food for our room, also fresh mango with tea and it helped me feel somewhat better.
We read in the sunshine that entered our room and we got ourselves an ice cream.
Pieter did walk around, to explore the surroundings of our hotel that is high against the hills.
The weather was gorgeous and beautiful mountain landscape with a lot of flowers, flowering broom, cannas and unknown wild flowers.
Photo taken from Pieter, outside our hotel.
Most of you don't know, but this was only 310 km or 193 miles away from Madurai, where the Google CEO, Sundar Pichai was born less than 19 years ago at that time...
He studied in Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu State, where we just came from.
And one from me with my long braid on one side...
Lovely surroundings of our hotel in Ooty, nestled in the Nilgiri Mountains!
We ate in our room and when Dr. Ram called if we needed anything, we again opted for staying in and going to bed early.
Sleeping was difficult due to my coughing and that made it past 3:00 till we finally drifted off for a couple of hours...
Stay tuned for more when we started our actual Consulting Work.

Thanks for your visit and comment!


Related posts:
Brindavan Gardens Mysore with Luxury Heritage Hotel | previous post by me


Friday, December 7, 2018

Pearl Harbor Hawaii

On November 27, 1998 we both flew on Delta Airlines to Oahu, Hawaii.
Will show more later about that part...
On December 2, we were ready to go on the bus for E NOA Pearl Harbor Tours by 8:45 AM.
A very interesting tour with a movie of December 7, 1941.
We went with a Navy boat to the USS Arizona Memorial which is placed on top of the sunken wreckage.
Over 1,100 names on the wall; all from this ship.
The captain's name was Franklin Van Valkenburgh (a Dutch name!)...
Also a Father and his Son...
Many Brothers...
A chilling experience to stand there!
The USS Arizona Memorial is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987.
Every American ought to visit here...
It is mind boggling to read the history...
The Visitor Center is open every day from 7:30 A.M. to 5 P.M. 
Only on Memorial Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's day it is closed.
Day of Infamy... 7 December 1941
USS Arizona as she appeared before destruction, December 7, 1941.
May PEACE prevail as this is so devastating...

Has any of you ever visited the USS Arizona Memorial in Oahu, Hawaii?

Related links:
Oahu Hawaii Majestic Circle Island Tour | post by me about yet another tour we took

Monday, December 3, 2018

1979 Mushroom Harvest BLUES

Found an old film reel and it turned out to be about mushroom harvesting at our C.C.O. the Practical Training College for Mushroom Growing in Horst, The Netherlands.
Costco had it converted in August...
Mushroom Harvest
Mushroom Harvest 10 chapters (total time 0:13)
Translated from Dutch: EFFECTIVE MUSHROOM PICKING
IMAG - The Institute of Mechanization, Labor and buildings of the Agricultural Research Service of the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries
The old film is from 1979 and meanwhile things have changed.
IMAG-DLO wijzigt naam (change name)

The entire IMAG video is in BLUES... I have no idea why?!
My baby sister Gerd to the left, Els and me with short, straight hair. The older I get the more curls!
Me, powdering hands and putting on surgical gloves...
Chapter 1 - 0:43 min. Getting our aprons on and me showing powdering hands before putting on surgical gloves...

 Link for FAR BETTER COLOR VIDEO that I found later!
1979 IMAG HARVESTING C.C.O. HORST/THE NETHERLANDS  ←click for a better copy in color!

Just added the above for all those that have problems viewing the other chapters.
We can view it, using flash, but apparently not in all browsers.
FOUT means wrong.
Niet zoeken maar voor de voet wegplukken means not searching for mushrooms but picking steadily from the outside and advancing inward towards the center of the bed.
Keeping reaching distances short.
Niet 1 of 2 champignons maar 3 of 4 - not 1 or 2 mushrooms but 3 or 4
Me, showing the ideal picking knife in Chapter 2
Me, getting the boxes for harvesting from Chapter 2
Me, putting the boxes on cart - Chapter 2
Me, pulling the cart into growing room for harvest - Chapter 2

Chapter 2 Me showing knife, loading and pulling the cart 2:13
Hanging the picking rack onto the lorry and cranking it up to the correct height.
Using the stools on wheels for the lowest bed.

Chapter 3 showing 'FOUT' = WRONG 1:01
Lorry has not been cranked up high enough and we are not supposed to touch the bed surface.
Ergonomically it is also not the best position and one tires more.

Chapter 4 baby sister Gerd picking the 2nd bed from bottom 0:38

Chapter 5 1:42 my sister Gerd's hand...
Separating twin mushrooms and picking 3 or 4 in each handling.

Chapter 6 Els picking lowest bed while sitting on a stool with 4 wheels 0:56

Chapter 7 Els 1:44
Putting a cluster back on the bed as it is too much to handle at once.
Fout means wrong - too much into one container.
Els also shows how she is cleaning the bed surface, removing stumps and debris to avoid infections.

Chapter 8 cleaning of the beds for hygiene and showing 'Fout' = wrong with trash on floor 0:47

Chapter 9 grading by size and quality 0:33

Chapter 10 about stem length: too short, too long and the correct way.
Also about sizing not good 0:39 


Related link:
modern mushroom growing 2020 harvesting | post about our newest publication
{What YOU should LOOK for when Buying Fresh Mushrooms} | previous post by me and my publication


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MARIETTE'S BACK TO BASICS © 2009. All rights reserved - Text and images may not be copied for distribution or sale.

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