{188 Countries visited and I forgot my 3rd Blog birthday...}

On November 23, was actually my 3rd Blog Anniversary and I forgot... Well, I was having severe back pain and was away from my PC so it passed by. That would have been my 761st post, up from the 484th the previous year. And 148th for the very 1st year. Quite some writing and sharing with lots of loyal readers. A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL! Also a BIG WELCOME to my 2 newest countries since November 9. 

December 4, the Republic of the Congo was my 187th Country visited. WELCOME!

December 5, the Newest Country visited was Curaçao, making the total 188. WELCOME!

Wishing you a happy December week.

Related links:
{# 148 and my blog is 1 year old today!} previous blog post where I explain WHY I changed to  Mariette
{# 484 and my blog is 2 years old today!} previous blog post
{Romancing the Home} my very 1st blog post... November 23, 2009
{186 Countries Visited - Welcome Burkina Faso} my previous blog post

{Meaningful Christmas Cards Arrived}

From Joan who writes the blog: Gods Little People, I received my parcel on Monday with her special and Meaningful Christmas Cards. Just the PERFECT CHRISTMAS CHARITY! She has her second batch ready to go, if you love to get some, below my post you find her link.

The lavender emits such a fragrance...

Loved the felted red star. 

Under the red ribbon was written: With love from us all. How sweet!

Receiving this all the way from Greece and wrapped with LOVE & CARE is a Christmas Gift in itself. 

Knowing that those little kittens will benefit from the proceeds makes me happy.

Joan from the blog Gods Little People is a great photographer.

Look at TODDY to  the left and BELLISSIMA to the right.

Who could not want to get such cards?

The recycled envelopes are great too.

This is the text on the back of the folded cards... 

Love to quote from Joan's blog:

"ANIMALS SHARE WITH US THE PRIVILEGE OF HAVING A SOUL" - Pythagoras

Related link:
{God's Little People | Meaningful Christmas Cards} my previous post
Meaningful Christmas Cards God's Little People blog by Joan
{Parcel from Greece with Regal Gift} previous post by me about Joan
{YOUR Christmas Charity - Fabulous Felines Fundraising} previous post by me about Joan

{Chocolate Letter LOVE}

In my previous post: {Since 1896 Dutch CHOCOLATE LETTERS - Have YOU Tried Them?}, I did mention towards the end that we gave two years ago a package with the word LOVE to a very special extended family member... It meant so much to him. And there was not much more we could give him, other than true LOVE and this symbol written out in CHOCOLATE...

Great idea for Santa Claus!

LOVE

Sweet Chocolate LOVE... to a dear extended family member.

The son of my dear friend Natacha, who is like a younger sister, and her sons are like our own.

Sadly they moved away and we managed to visit still; Miami is not the end of the world!

Below this post you find a story about: Our EVERGLADES ADVENTURE with friend NATACHA.

In that EVERGLADES ADVENTURE post you will see photos of their cute sons.

The sad  thing is that their eldest son lost the battle of brain cancer, just last month.

Young; just turned 30 and only married for a couple of years.

Such a tragedy and it did hit hard.

It was Natacha's son that received the word: LOVE in chocolate...

Because otherwise we both were at a loss for words. What to say? What to do?

He fought the battle for more than two years but he lost it.

Now he is in heaven, a new Angel that probably is even closer to all of us as before.

Christmas is a happy time of the year; sure.

But with the loss of several loved ones, it also is a melancholic time of the year...

Certainly there are others that feel like I do.

May we all find the strength to open our hearts again and to trust the Angels for guiding us on our earthly journey. 

For the same reason I do love those silver alphabet Angels from Giovanni Raspini, Italy | they can express so much sentiment.

Chocolate can be bittersweet and I even like it that way.

Life can be bittersweet but we never like that part.

Together  we can do it.

LOVE heals...

Related links:

{Our EVERGLADES ADVENTURE with friend NATACHA} a previous post by me

{Since 1896 Dutch CHOCOLATE LETTERS - Have YOU Tried Them?} a previous post by me

{Chocolate and Silver Alphabet Letters for Saint Nicholas} a previous post by me

Mariette's Back to Basics my Zen Cart powered on line boutique for Giovanni Raspini Angels in silver

{Saint Nicholas | Sinterklaas}

For 3 years and 1 month, I have done free lance writing and features for our local newspaper The Courier Herald, Dublin Georgia. So why not share one of my articles with you here today, as it is the perfect time. 

In many countries, tomorrow is the 'big' day for children. By MARIET(TE) VEDDER (read below the story WHY I changed my name)...

The wooden shoe with the red heart is actually my personal shoe when I was 3 years old...

Below this post you find a link: {Our Living Room} where you can see those wooden shoes in front of the fire place.

In the Netherlands, families decorate their homes for Christmas and have Christmas trees just like in the United States. The big difference between the celebration of the two countries is in the gift–giving. In Holland it is not done on Christmas day, but on Dec. 5, Saint Nicholas Day. This is the name day of St. Nicholas who was the Bishop of Myra in Turkey. As legend goes, he bathed and fed and gave each of the 500 poor children of Myra a gift on his day. 

See video about the true history below post — The Origine of Santa Claus

Now Saint Nicholas Day is celebrated in many countries. In Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Germany and Belgium, as well as in the Netherlands, this is the day when gifts are exchanged among family members, and for the children in particular there are all sorts of other rituals connected with Saint Nicholas.

Every night from Dec. 1 on, Dutch children put in front of the fireplace a wooden shoe filled with hay and a carrot for the bishop's horse and cookies and candy for Saint Nicholas and his helper, Peter.  They also write a letter to Saint Nicholas wherein they mention their 'wishes' for the 5th of December. To make sure that it gets his attention, it goes in the wooden shoe, too.

Every morning the children find the wooden shoe empty, which means to them that Saint Nicholas, who rides on his white horse over the rooftops, sent his helper, Peter, down the chimney to pick up the goodies. Saint Nicholas always used a Moorish 'Peter' as a helper because he had to go down the chimney, for this is a 'black' job. 

Then on the evening of the 5th of December, Saint Nicholas personally visits the families and Peter hands out the gifts from a big burlap sack.

If the children behaved all year, they are praised. But if a child has misbehaved, Peter threatens to put him or her in the burlap sack and take them back to Spain. The children sing a song for the charitable duo, and Peter throws little cookies (pepernoten) at them -- not to hurt them but to reward them for their sweet serenade. 

And the nice thing about all this is, that when Christmas Day finally comes, there is another little present under the tree.

Could it be that the expression 'Double Dutch' comes from this?

For those that don't read English I have typed the entire text again, so they can translate it.

Funny is that in 1985, December 4, was also on a Wednesday...

My writing at that time got edited by the editor of the news paper.

So now you know the story of Saint Nicholas. It were the Dutch that brought Sinterklaas to the New World, to New Amsterdam. Present day New York in The New Netherlands. The Dutch word Sinterklaas morphed into Santa Claus... See link below about the origin of Santa Claus.

Lots of people seem to be searching for TRUE HISTORY! 

Related links:

LinkedIn Mariette VandenMunckhof-Vedder scroll down for reading: Free lance writer and features 

{Our Living Room} previous post where you can see my wooden shoes in front of the fire place
The Origin of Santa Claus Video about history, listen till the end to hear how Sinterklaas morphed into Santa Claus...
{# 148 and my blog is 1 year old today!} previous blog post where I explain WHY I changed to  Mariette

{First Week of Advent 2012}

We already have started in our First Week of Advent for 2012... On Sunday morning the 1st candle got lit at Church and this brings us into the Advent mood; leading towards Christmas.

Traditionally the mood of Advent is expressed in the liturgical color of violet but I used red...

In its earliest form, beginning in France, Advent was a period of preparation for the Feast of the Epiphany. 

Fresh rosemary twigs emit a lovely fragrance...

Candle is French from Point A La Ligne.

Red rose ribbon is also French.

Vase is French, by Baccarat

Pineapple doily is hand crocheted by my sister-in-law Elly.

Wishing you all a meaningful First Week of Advent for 2012.

Related link:

{Point A La Ligne the Rolls Royce of Candles} my previous post

{Our Rose Suite Kitchenette}

Let's go back to Our Rose Suite and continue the tour... This time I would love to show you Our Rose Suite Kitchenette that is built into our Rose Suite Living Room. If you missed any of the previous posts, all links you find beneath this post.

Previous post was about Our Rose Suite Living Room. You are facing the door to the Rose Suite bedroom here.

Before turning to our Rose Suite Kitchenette I want to show you this remarkable wood carved wreath with roses from the artisans of Tyrol in northern Italy. Paired with some romantic wall hangings.

In order to show all the details I used the flash but that reflects in the lady's hair...

the little oval is under glass and it is mounted on velvet in an ornamental frame.

This came from a Dutch estate.

Back to my favorite wooden wreath with roses. Can you imagine that such a piece has been hand carved out of a single piece? Its bows are all gilded and that is about the only touch needed here.

Those long snowy winters in the mountains of Tyrol, northern Italy, do have their people produce quite some unique wood carvings. All done by hand!

Here you see the gilding on the bow...

Are those roses and leaves not perfectly done?

We always bought such a unique piece after doing consulting work in Germany. 

Near my home town in The Netherlands, there is a Pilgrimage place, Kevelaer ←click link) and they have loads of wood carvings from Tyrol. Right now it would be a treat to go and see all the wooden Christmas villages they have.

Our foster daughter Anita, from Indonesia, did go with us to Kevelaer, in November of 2008 and she snapped so many photos of the Christmas villages...

Now let's turn to the Kitchenette... Between two pillars we could just place our toilet and the kitchenette is partly on top of the big pillar. They tapered down towards the top but the problem was, they were not straight-walled. Our cabinetmaker did however manage to make a cabinet against the tapering wall. Guess in all, we pretty well managed to build in everything that is necessary for a little Suite where guests can live on their own with complete privacy and even manage to have breakfast and coffee or tea independently; if needed.

A large fridge with freezer part is around the corner in the pantry. There is an Atag stainless steel sink with Danish Damixa faucet with hot and cold water. A water cooker and also a single hot plate is available and small microwave.

Plates, cups & saucers and glasses are in the cupboards.

Here you see the door to the corridor...

Paper towel holder and underneath are a mixer, cutlery box and also dish rack.

Table for two is nearby and it has a drawer under neath.

Glass shelves we built into the corners, using Danish Damixa chrome holders.

Towel holder is also a chrome Danish Damixa.

Round stainless steel Atag sink and the counter is Corian.

Coffee made can also be carried on the tray to the little bistro table and chairs, on the patio at the entrance...

Sure, tins with roses for coffee and cookies. Those I found in Kevelaer, Germany one time and they came home with us on the plane.

Goose egg with rose, on a stand.

Nice Rose Silver Napkin holder...

Okay, let's have a coffee or a tea and relax together!

Did you like our Rose Suite so far?

Dear husband Pieter literally went the extra mile for creating all this.

We have slept here the last couple of weeks while our bathroom got remodeled upstairs.

So it is convenient not only for guests but at times even for ourselves.

Have a lovely weekend!

Related links from previous posts by me:
{Our Rose Suite Living Room}
{Our Rose Suite Bedroom}
{Welcome to Our Rose Suite - Entrance}
{The Construction of Our Rose Suite - Part II}
{The Construction of Our Rose Suite - Part I}
{Our Rose Suite with Angels + a REQUEST}

{Our Oak Tree after 22 Years}

When we did purchase our lot to build the home we live in, there were several trees we wanted to preserve. Just like to show you what a difference time and space can mean for a solitary tree. This is Our Oak Tree after 22 Years...

Strong, solitary and HAPPY. It is a semi-evergreen variety and gives us pleasure year round.

Our Oak Tree's humble beginnings... Home not yet finished and the pond got dug already.

This in order to fill in other areas where it was too wet, taking soil from the pond digging.

You see all those black drain pipes? Those are dug in, for draining into the pond area.

To the left, the little tree with the green leaves on, is Our Oak Tree. Just a baby then.

All others around it have been cut down to give it space to grow up solitary.

To the left it is, ten years later and heavy from snow and ice... but growing!

YES, we can have winter time, if only for a day.

Reaching for the skies, to the left again. The willow opposite the pond died meanwhile...

Five years ago a photo taken from our balcony and Our Oak Tree looks majestic.

Still reaching up to the heavens it is HUGE and HAPPY.

What a joy it is to witness a hardwood tree grow up!

Lovely to sit on the bench, beneath Our Oak Tree.

Do you have any similar experiences with a favorite tree in your garden?

{The Winner of the Lanarte Cross Stitch Kit IS...}

Okay, by midnight the final for my Worldwide GIVEAWAY of the Lanarte Cross Stitch Kit was over with. There were 20 valid entries and using Random.org the number selected was: 9. The lucky winner gets this Lanarte Cross Stitch Kit...

And here comes...

Number 9 = Claudia from NuNu's Garn-und Stofflabor in Germany... Congratulations!

Please let me know your address so I can send this kit your way.

Thanks to all that participated!

{Keeping My Giovanni Raspini Clients HAPPY}

We all know the feeling of being some place in another city, country or even continent and looking at a desired object. Only to find the shop or boutique being CLOSED. My husband Pieter and I had that numerous times, all over the world and during our vacation through Spain and Portugal... Strange is that those memories never leave your mind. Do you have a similar experience?

Feeling fortunate for offering my clients help in still obtaining a special gift, which they saw and admired in the window at one of Giovanni Raspini's Boutiques in Rome, Italy. This is a new and special line with Cabochon Pendants on a long silver chain. The flower they fell in love with is a NINFEA, which is Italian for Water Lily and it is a green stone, set in silver. The silver chain it comes with is 90 cm long. Gorgeous indeed and I was lucky for holding it in my hands before mailing it out to the new owner. It made my day as well. 

Any jewelry coming from Giovanni Raspini in Italy is looking gorgeous! For my clients I can always obtain any desired piece they want, if I don't have it on my Zen Cart powered on line boutique: Mariette's Back to Basics. 

One can only admire the silver masters of Giovanni Raspini Charms & Co in the heart of Tuscany, Italy. 

Not easy to capture the light in this green Water Lily Cabochon Pendant...

But you clearly can read: Giovanni Raspini on the lock. It is also on the back of the NINFEA Cabochon Pendant.

Both pieces are in 925 silver.

Gorgeous length of the silver chain...

Sorry Sold out...

Have you had any similar experiences with window shopping?

{God's Little People | Meaningful Christmas Cards}

Another Blogger I Admire is certainly dear friend Joan from Greece. She writes the blog: God's Little People. Being both animal lovers, and very much loving and caring for felines, I love to share Joans initiative for Meaningful Christmas Cards. Please do visit her blog and follow her amazing rescue stories. She is having a fund raiser in order to support her 30 something rescued felines. The veterinary costs are of course quite a big part. Look at her incredible photos she's taken from those lucky felines that got a new LIFE through her love and care.

This is how she mails them out; gift wrapped for Christmas with a sprig of lavender from the felines' favorite garden. A felted star...

See those 'CAT PAWS'... like they understand it is about them!

Don't let them down and buy a lovely card from her with a recycled paper envelope (the one you see at the bottom...).

I've already ordered mine and we look forward to receiving them.

You find the link to her post below and also a previous post about a fabulous purse she made me!

Joan is a very talented lady and she's doing all she can for so many needy felines.

Thanks for your attention and let's share the LOVE.

By the way; my back is perfect again  and I had such a good rapport from my specialist today.

Happy and our bathroom remodeling is coming along fine.

Soon I can tackle all the dust!

Don't forget my last day for the worldwide GIVEAWAY!

Top right of my blog; click it and good luck.

Meaningful Christmas Cards God's Little People blog by Joan

{Parcel from Greece with Regal Gift} previous post by me about Joan

GOD'S LITTLE PEOPLE | previous post by friend Anna about Joan's generosity towards rescuing kittens

{Brain Boosting Foods}

Each month we do receive the Costco Connection magazine and it provides useful information on health and life style. The Costco Connection from June 2012, had a great article: Tuning up the brain | Healthy ways to protect your memory. 

Eat smart by adding olives, nuts, avocados and dark leafy greens to the diet. Spinach sautéed in olive oil may be the ultimate brain food. Serve it with fish and a glass of red wine... You can find the link to this Costco Connection edition below this post.

Under Eat smart, you find the above mentioned info...

Thought this is useful and interesting info to share.

Not your usual Black Friday or Cyber Monday sales but nevertheless...

Don't forget my Worldwide GIVEAWAY: top right on my blog | just click it and GOOD LUCK!

Related link:

The Costco Connection June 2012 article page | Tuning up the brain

{FRIENDS are ANGELS of LOVE}

• FRIENDS are indeed ANGELS of LOVE! We both are blessed with having great friends who are at our side during happy and sad moments and vise versa. 
• Thanksgiving we had once again a very happy 'Family' time over delicious food. Nourishing our body and also healing my severe back pain. 
• Thanks to our friends I could stay rested and today I feel so much better. So glad that I don't need to start taking Prednisone again! 

• FRIENDS are ANGELS of LOVE!
• I did spell it out on a piece of silk ombré velvet with my 925  silver alphabet angels from Giovanni Raspini Charms & Co, Italy. Those and more are available at Spectrenoir.

So appropriate...

Don't forget my worldwide GIVEAWAY. See to the right at my blog; click it...

Related link:
{FRIENDSHIP by Elizabeth Barrett Browning} | earlier blogpost

{OUR EXCEPTIONAL VOSSEN INTERNATIONAL TERRY TOWELS}

Due to my severe back pain I have recycled this interesting post...

This is an exceptional post about something that got initiated by my husband Pieter, while he was taking care of laundry at the time I was too ill to do anything. He told me that I had to get back in touch with the company that made such extraordinary terry towels that held up for decades. TRUE, they have had at least their 34th birthday all together and lived up perfectly to the name in their label, which reads Vossen International. We took them from The Netherlands to the USA, from there to Italy and also they went with us to Indonesia and back home again to the USA. All the time happily together, lending us a soft and eager absorption any time we needed to towel dry. Well, let's start from the beginning... In The Netherlands at De Beddenspecialist in Venlo on Parade 37 we bought these kind of moss green towels, probably in 1978. Also wash hands (not the usual cloths they use here in the USA) and one large beach towel. Guess I got a total of some 18; one large beach towel and from several guest towels my seamstress in Indonesia did sew together more wash hands. Clever idea, they're just a tad longer than the original hands.

So there we go... I did look up on the Internet the company and found them in a heartbeat still producing their quality Vossen towels.

So I did contact them and got the nicest reply from Ms Nicole Neuhold in Austria, on March 29, 2009; requesting to send her some pictures... Well, that sounds like easy done but NOT so at our home for that time. My German build Miele washer had just quit working and my towels were all in the laundry bin; not ready for such a glamour shot! Pieter, being the handy man he always has proven to be, did change a fuse and it worked again! Only to quit a second time but he did find the problem and did bypass that for occurring ever again. My, was I glad for not yet having to give up on my Miele. So after all, there is a chance it will stay healthy and happy till past its 16th birthday on August 29, 2009. Talking about German quality; WOW!

Back to the terry towels, after they got their Miele treatment, I did fold them, brought them into the freshly cleaned bathroom and started putting them out for the glamour shots. After all, they will be presented to the very cradle where they came from long time ago, before traveling with us the world. But with some sunshine peaking through the windows and with putting my best foot forward, using all my newly-learned photo-lessons from Pieter, I did capture them nicely I think. First I want to introduce them to my blog readers and next, Nicole will get them delivered to her by electronic mail. It is super that my letter with photos will get a place in a kind of Vossen Museum!

Let's start with the year 1978 in which they got adopted... because we had green tiles in the bathroom then, it was the green theme for which the towels were chosen! These photos were taken in May of 1983 so the towel on the rack had already done five years of service then. We immigrated in August of 1983 to the USA.

Below, underneath the two old photos, taken at our home in Horst, The Netherlands, follow the ones taken now at our home in Georgia, USA. So all these towels are living proof to SUPER quality and we wonder IF they ever will give in at all...

Our Bathroom in Horst, The Netherlands with the moss green Vossen towels.

In our present bathroom... our Vossen wash hands.

Rolled up, ready for use...

Luxurious soap bars within reach

White Pelargonium in our Silver Rose Vase...

Ours indeed LIVED to be international, in three continents...

White pelargonium in silver rose vase.