213 Countries Visited - Welcome Sint Maarten and my Pinterest + Yucca Lily

On April 15, my humble blog got visited by the 113th country - Sint Maarten

According to the World Factbook, Sint Maarten is situated in Central America.

It has been Dutch but in a 2000 referendum, the citizens of Sint Maarten voted to become a self-governing country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
~

During this LOCKDOWN, it is obvious that a lot of people are reading more...
Not that I'm very active on my Pinterest but there are a LOT of viewers every month.

Another rise...
Our Variegated Yucca Lily is blooming again!

A dreary, cloudy day...

Last time it bloomed in the rain, see link below.

Our big Magnolias are also blooming...

Such exotic beauties!
Glad husband Pieter captured these photos on May 8.

Thanks for your visit and comment!

Related link:
212 Countries Visited - Welcome American Samoa + UPDATE Fairmont Château Lake Louise | previous post by me
Variegated Yucca Lily Blooming | previous post by me

Artistic Chromolythographs on 23 Kt Gold Leaf from Friend Gerard Derks in Italy

While living in Cornuda, Italy, we invited our friends Gerard and Pauline Derks over for dinner at our apartment.

Gerard gifted us with a set of three Artistic Chromolythographs made by hand press on 23 Kt Gold Leaf.

Such precious work in miniature... all with artist signature as well.

Living in Italy, you know that you are in a world with medieval buildings all around you...

Such medieval arches you can find everywhere...

With each having a certificate on its back about the chromolythography made with hand press on 23kt gold leaf from Jewellery store Pasa

Gold Engraving in Italy by Gioielleria Pasa, Via Piave, 14 32026 Lentiai - Borgo Valbelluna (BL) click through to their FB Page as they still do exist! Look at their masterwork here...

LOVE the Italian skills!

We read in the 1995-5 English Mushroom Journal, courtesy of Gerard Derks about the passing of our long time friend Bruno Sartor and co-founder of Funghi del Montello, the company we worked for in Italy. Click the uploaded ISMS link.
Bruno and his brother Valentino Sartor used to be wood traders.
Through contacts in Canada, they got to see how they constructed mushroom houses from wooden planks. That's how they too started in the mushroom business.
Valentino Sartor established in 1977 ITALSPAWN ITALIA, for use on their own mushroom plants, also selling it all over Europe as well as to Korea and Israel.

The Mushroom Journal 1979-1 click link to ISMS pdf. Gerard Derks is shown to the left.

The International Society for Mushroom Science (ISMS) has now uploaded most of the issues.

In The Mushroom Journal 1984-2 the MGA conference lecture by Gerard Derks has been published.

Maybe his sons would love to read it... And another article about Mushrooms in Mexico by Gerard Derks I found in the 1993-8 just click. 

~

1991-6 The Mushroom Journal 

1991-7 The Mushroom Journal click to open links to ISMS Pdf.

Gerard Derks also became te recipient of the prestigious Sinden Award from the English MGA (Mushroom Growers Association) in 1991. Well deserved!

The Funghi del Montello mushroom operation published in 1992-1 The Mushroom Journal click to ISMS Pdf.

The Sinden Lecture Part 1 by Gerard Derks

Published by ISMS in Pdf format 1992-5 The Mushroom Journal click link

The Sinden Lecture Part 2 by Gerard Derks

Published by ISMS in Pdf format 1992-6 The Mushroom Journal click link

Once again, courtesy of Gerard Derks, a TRUE GENTLEMAN!

Uploaded now by ISMS in 2001-4 The Mushroom Journal

~

Sadly in 2002, when we visited Italy with our best friends from Dublin, Georgia, we made a stop at the hospital in Feltre, in the Province Belluno on June 6, for seeing Gerard one last time... he died of pancreatic cancer.

2003-12 The Mushroom Journal published this ten months after his death; click for ISMS uploaded link.

~

Gerard was a very active man in the Mushroom Industry, son of the school principal of Overasselt, The Netherlands

We did rightfully mention him in this post and in our book on page 219, which you find an image of in link below:

Pieter Co-Speaker at ISMS in Amsterdam-Wageningen 

Related link:

Visiting A.G. Linfield Mushroom Compost Facility in England | Showing Mr. Jan Thielen from the above obituary, courtesy of Gerard Derks

Our Precious Silver Engraving from Church in Cornuda, TV - Italy

From 1989 we still have a lovely 800‰ silver etching from our then Roman Catholic Church in Cornuda, Treviso - Italy.

As pointed out in a previous post about Cornuda, the bell tower is always being constructed separate from the Church building due to the earthquake region.

Such lovely artwork done on an 800‰ silver slab.

With a certificate inside a protective pouch in the back of the frame.

Guerrini is proud to present on the precious metals market a new exclusive technique: "THE GUERRINIENGRAVER" on the 800‰ silver slab. This precious work is handcrafted by valuable silver masters, and you will find it in the best jewellery stores, our dealerships. The work is mounted on a frame expressly designed for this collection. 
Well, we both lived across from said jewellery store, called Becevel...

This is a screenshot, taken from our only video from Italy and this was the view from our balcony down.

See link to video below post 

Becevel
From 1946
Goldsmithing - Watchmaking
Via 30 Aprile, 19 - CORNUDA (TV)

Becevel Jewelry store in Cornuda TV - Italy where we lived across the street... click through for going to their FB Page
Their goldsmithing service created a beautiful 18kt gold frame for my free-stone black opal that I'd being gifted in Australia for my training at the mushroom plant.
Sadly the 18kt chain, with said black opal set in 18kt gold, got brutally ripped off my neck in Santiago City, Chile...

From Becevel I only have their 18kt goldsmithing work of the white opal stones set into earrings.

This is their version with City Hall (Municipio di Cornuda) TV, Italy engraved in silver... click through
Happy to learn that they still exist and are selling their lovely Italian Gold and Silver Jewellery- the BEST design in the entire world!

Related link:

Christmas Eve in Italy our Apartment View and Madonna di Rocca | showing you the video taken from apartment