Paris in February

I am in Paris. I arrived yesterday and only have one more full day before departing Tuesday. I have been teaching in Montpellier in southern France for the past week and before I headed home I wanted to pop into Paris for a few days. I am staying on rue Cler (see photo) which is a great pedestrian street absolutely full of fromaggerie's, butchers, vin and pain shoppes and other sidewalk cafes. A great slice of Paris couched just outside the business district in the 7th arrondissment and around the corner by 10 minutes from Ecole Militaire metro stop and the Eiffel Tower. Did I say it was a great location? Today I spent time at the Versailles palace. I met a man from Montreal on the metro who was also headed there so we made the trip together. After 3 hrs at the palace, I headed to Notre Dame in the cld city. Tomorrow - the Louvre and Champs Elysees are on the itinerary. No need to rush. I will be back in mid April so what I miss on this trip I can check out in April.

Arrival

I received an e-mail from Chris yesterday (Nov 25) notifying me that my dossier arrived in Sofia and he had received word that they were pleased with it and beginning the translation. After it is translated from English into Bulgarian it will be forwarded to the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). The MoJ is the regulatory body that makes the match - selects a child to go with the parent. I have been told they are behind in this process - doing better - but still behind in matching people. But they think I will be waiting 9-12 months for a referral. I am the first person to submit their dossier to Bulgaria from my agency which means there is little advice or evidence indicating what I might expect from this process. The Bulgaria program only reopened to Americans recently (Aug I think) so my agency has just started a modest pilot program before opening it up to the larger public.

Dossier to Sofia

Finally! My dossier is finished, approved and on its way to Sofia November 18. The wait begins!

Lesson of the Week: Bulgarian Symbols: The Flag

The Bulgarian flag is comprised of three stripes - red, white, and green - a popular flag color combination (Hungary and Italy are also fond of this combo). According to Bulgarian Tourism, "a legend associates the origin of these three colours with the colour symbols of the Old Bulgarian Army. Its left wing was set apart by white strips on the spears, the right one by red, while arranged in the centre were the elite troops with a green strip, the traditional colour of the ruler. The three-colour flag had first been used by the First Bulgarian Legion of Georgi Raklovski (1861). By force of the Turnovo Constitution (1879), the three-colour flag - white, green and red, was confirmed as Bulgaria's national flag."

Сбогуване Dossier

I had all my materials for my dossier apostilled Nov 7 and mailed it to my agency Monday Nov 10. They received it yesterday Nov 12. They wrote today to say there was a problem with three documents (date typo). I redid the three documents, had them notarized,and went to the Sec of State for an apostille. Took most of the afternoon but I put them back in the mail today. They should leave the US next week. Where is it headed? Bulgaria!!!

Minnesota Yurt

My friend Barb and I had a lovely dinner last night at Red Cedar and she filled me in on her plans to visit Earthrise Farm in Madison, MN. Earthrise is an organic community supported agriculture (CSA - subscription farm) run by Kay and Annette Fernholz School Sisters of Notre Dame on their 240 acre family farm. Kay and Annette are also bio sisters and returned to the family farm in 1996 to develop a CSA to use it as part of a spiritual 'green' ministry. They do an amazing job and are part of a thriving local food and artisan culture in western Minnesota. I used to take my students there for field trips. They have a small building on the farm called the Rachel Carson house where they prepare meals for guests and provide environmental education. They also have a 'yurt' on the property for overnight lodging. Barb is going to stay in the yurt and do a little farm work for a little R&R next week. I look forward to her interpretation of the experience. You can learn more about CSA's or Kay and Annette at their web site: http://www.earthrisefarmfoundation.org/index.html

Jam Days

My friend Betty and I hit the Farmers' Market in Meriden Township on Saturday morning and came home with 10 quarts of fresh picked organic strawberries. Four quarts went into making homemade strawberry jam! We produced 24 4oz jars and 5 6 oz jars. Quite the morning's productivty if I do say so. My sister is the queen of jam - she makes a 'lot' each summer - typically blackberry. She lives in Kentucky so access to blackberries is easier. She also makes strawberry and pear from time to time. This is her recipe, thanks Penny!

Recipe:

2 qts berries

7 c. sugar

1 pkg pectin (Sure-Jell)

1/3 c. lemon juice

Don't double this recipe. If you want to increase the amount, it is advised to make two (or more) batches.