One of these pieces of artwork is a chalk drawing on tile done by S. Hatch in our back yard.The other is a meditation in marker on paper towel by M. Hatch.

Just in:
A letter from Paul Newell, candidate
for New York State Assembly

Senator Clinton,

Thank you for your years of hard work representing New Yorkers. I have proudly voted for you twice. Thank you as well for your hard fought Presidential campaign. American democracy, and the Democratic Party in particular, require the dynamic exchange of ideas that this primary season has brought. It has been exciting and inspiring to have a woman and a New Yorker contest the Presidency so credibly. We are a stronger nation and party for your candidacy.

But that time has past. After Senator Obama's 10 straight wins this month, no realistic path remains for you to win the nomination without thwarting the clearly expressed preference of Democratic primary

voters. While it is clearly your "right" to continue this debate until the convention, as a New Yorker and a Democrat I ask you to withdraw.

The campaign has become increasingly negative. I fear that you are permanently damaging your relationship with Senator Obama, the likely nominee of our party, and the likely next President of the United

States. Poisoning this relationship will not only harm our party, but may harm New York State as well. It may also do harm to the goals of social justice and working families for which you have worked for so many years.

In light of that, I ask you to end your candidacy for President this week. I look forward to your continued representation in the Senate. Thank you.


Sincerely,


Paul Newell

Wouldn't it be wonderful if good manners made a comeback? Can someone send this man's parents a fruit basket or something?

These primaries are killing me! I feel like I am back in school waiting for test results. There was an embarrassing moment on cnn last night with the Texas senator Kirk Watson. When asked to cite some of Barack Obama's legislative accomplishments he went blank. Poor guy. You can read about it in the blog jackandjillpolitics.

I set up the crib today, not without the occasional &*%$ but it makes our bedroom look so...domestic. It gives me a squishy feeling. And now all of Sanbate's clothes are in the drawer. After all those years of being a nanny, a day care provider and teacher, I can launder my own child's clothes.

I have been a little weepy this week, first with the Humane Society investigation and then tonite with the wrenching Israeli movie, Kadosh, starring Yael Abecassis. We rented it because she was also in the beautifully moving adoption film, To Live and Become, (about an Ethiopian boy who pretends to be Jewish to escape his ravaged country).

13 days left to do everything.
And a list to prove it. What are those things Hamish? The black ground covering you put around your garden to keep the weeds at bay? I think they are made of fiberglass. I don't know but I have got to get on the garden before the girl comes home. Our landlord is being pretty cool about letting us go month to month if we need to and I want the garden to look good for the new tenants.

There is this beautiful adoption blog called 3 continent family and the photographs in it are just... can I say it? Delicious. The blogger uses some kind of filter on her camera, probably a very commonly used device, to make her photos storybook pretty.

I just need to say it.
I love the H****'s. Melanie is gone this week and her Mr. has the flu so I invited the kids over for pancakes and a walk at Point Isabel. I knew it was a mistake to leave the camera. It was rainy and wet but they didn't care. At one point I turned around to see them, all 4 children, attached sleave to sleave (no hands showing)as one big monster.

You get extra points when you eat ALL the pancakes.

How is Obama going to win the Democratic primary? I have no idea. Although he is ahead by delegate counts, one needs 2,025 delegates to win the primary. Even if he wins the rest of the states by a healthy margin he still won't have that winning number. Maybe you politicos can help me. Is it the superdelegates that will throw him the needed numbers to get him to the magic 2,025? So, whoever is closest will get the superdelegate support?
Help me somebody.

New link added for the Ceo and President of The Humane Society below right. Why did I add this link? Without going into detail, the Humane Society investigation of the Hallmark/Westland Meat company in California and revealed heart ripping cruelty done to cows that were unable to walk to the slaughterhouse. I think it is important.

Nobel Peace prizewinner Dr.Wangari Maathai speaks about Resources and Conflict.

The second sock has finally joined the first today.
Mr. D was given the first for Christmas and now his gift is complete. The question still remains whether he will wear them.
But more important to me, I know how to knit socks!

LANGUAGE is a powerful tool:

"At First Baptist Church of DeKalb, members passed out red ribbons to several dozen people who attended a morning service. The Rev. Joe Sanders offered prayers for the families of victims and relatives of the gunman who killed five students and wounded 16 other people in a lecture hall Thursday before taking his own life."

FAMILIES of victims and RELATIVES of the gunman.
Family implies people that love you and care for you.
Relative implies only that you were legally tied to another by name.

Until we can change this kind of thinking-that we are not responsible for each other (strangers and friends alike) we will continue to experience these kinds of tragedies.
Blame Divides.
We must learn to belong before we can conquer alienation.
I believe it is the thoughts of "I am alone" that lead to these acts of violence. I look at myself when I am committing small acts of violence (on the road, in the grocer's) and I recognise that I am acting out of an impulse of disconnection.

I want to make life easier for others, even people I don't know.
Even people who don't think like me.
This is my prayer.

Shoes for Horizon House

My bud Melanie and I have been gathering donations and supplies for a project, (woven bag shown here) to offer to the waiting children at the orphanage. I am going to need to make the cardboard "looms" and draw out instructions as these children don't speak much english. I hope this little handwork project is fun for them.

We are also bringing beeswax and kite paper for stars, just in case.

Happy Valentine's Day!
My two loves are in Ethiopia
and India.
I hope they are having a heart day.

Last night before turning in I checked my email just to see if the early birds at the US Embassy in Ethiopia had responded to my plea and lo and behold. They had! Our V37 isn't lost after all.
Roller.
Coast.
Her.

Hello Representative Miller,
We know you are busy so we will keep this short.
We are adopting our FIRST child from Ethiopia and our V37 visa has not arrived at the US Embassy in Addis Ababa,Ethiopia.
The National Visa Center has informed us that it WAS sent on February 6, 2008.
We are scheduled to fly on March 6 but we cannot adopt our child (we have been waiting for 17 months) without this confirmation.

Our agency is not able to step in to this governmental matter but has suggested to us that perhaps you can.

Thank you for your time,

*****************************
Here is the email we received:

Dear Family:
I wanted to inform you of a situation that needs your immediate attention. The US Embassy in Ethiopia has informed us that they have NOT received your updated fingerprint clearance. We do understand that you have had your fingerprints recently updated AND that the new approval (called a V 37 cable) should have been sent from the NVC (national visa center) in New Hampshire to the US Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The problem is that the US Embassy in Ethiopia is stating that they have NOT received confirmation of this amended V 37 cable for your family.

Why is this important? The US Embassy in Ethiopia will not issue the visa for your Ethiopian child unless they have this cable for your family. This would then mean that a family would need to either delay travel to Ethiopia OR understand the possibility of an extended stay in Ethiopia.

What now? The agency has emailed the US Embassy to ask them if the cable has arrived for your family. Unfortunately, we have not had a response from them. Therefore in order to prevent any delays, we would like to recommend that you take the following actions:

Contact the NVC in NH immediately and request that they please recable your approval and fingerprint clearance as soon as possible to the US Embassy in Ethiopia. Please ensure that you ask them for your case number AND the date that the cable was resent to Ethiopia.

Did this.

Send an email to the US Embassy in Ethiopia. Please provide them with your family name, your date of travel and appointment at the US Embassy. Please ask them to check the status on the amended V 37 cable that was sent from the NVC for your family. If you have your case number (the NVC can give you this number) and the date the new approval was cabled, please include this info in the email.

Did this.

You may also want to contact your local Congressman to advocate on your behalf w/the NVC.

See letter above.

WASHINGTON - The Senate has joined the House in voting to prohibit the CIA from using waterboarding and other harsh interrogation methods.

The Senate approved an intelligence bill Wednesday that restricts the CIA to the 19 interrogation techniques outlined in the Army field manual. That manual prohibits waterboarding, a technique that makes a suspect feel he is drowning.

CIA Director Michael Hayden has said waterboarding may not be legal under current law. President Bush has threatened to veto any bill that limits CIA interrogation techniques.

If P.Bush thinks waterboarding isn't torture why doesn't he try it out for size and be the judge?

The doctor's appointment has been made for our return.
All the paperwork we need to submit to the Ethiopian embassy is complete.
Our home study agency has sent all the readoption paperwork necessary to finalize the US readoption.
Our landlord has agreed to extend our lease in case we need more time.
Have I forgotten anything?

I purchased a car seat today. I chose the type and brand on the advisement of my youngest sister, who is the pro in matters of children and children's products. I say this in seriousness as she is a school social worker, mother of 2 and was a co-worker of mine at a home day care.

She is someone I like to talk to about raising children, which is I admit my favorite subject. Perhaps it is hers as well. I also spoke to my mom and oldest sister in Maine yesterday about buying clothes for our long but underweight child.

You know, I felt somehow included in our family circle for the first time. I finally had a reason to discuss mothering with my mother and sisters. Not that my longtime teaching and caregiving experience didn't count. It is just different.

And I like it.
I YIKE it mummy.

Today we received our travel dates:
We leave for Ethiopia late on March 6 and arrive Saturday morning March 8! It is a 23 hour journey and Addis is 11 hours ahead of us so...

My trembling hands and racing mind can't stop to believe we are moving closer and closer to Sanbate.

We will have one week to start our relationship in Addis Ababa before we take her away from her country, her understanding of life. I am so sad for her and so excited for us.
Is this feeling even possible?

Here is my first Youtube video.
I made it after I got home from dropping Mr. D off at the airport. We were supposed to be flying to Ethiopia today to visit Sanbate but instead he is gone to India for 3 weeks. It is a gorgeous day here, warm and sunny, which makes it worse for missing Mr. D and Sanbate.

Hatchje's new bag.
My design.
Wide eyes in class 3.
"You made that!"
"I did."

Hilary Clinton better back off the "superdelegate" count.

Pledged delegates are those won in primaries and caucuses. Superdelegates are party big-shots. Superdelegates are designed to protect front-runners and make sure dark horses don’t run away with things.

Superdelegates grow in number as the party gets more successful: They include all Democratic members of Congress, members of the Democratic National Committee, Democratic governors.

They also are the party warhorses and include “all former Democratic presidents, all former Democratic vice presidents, all former Democratic leaders of the U.S. Senate, all former Democratic speakers of the U.S. House of Representatives and Democratic minority leaders, as applicable, and all former chairs of the Democratic National Committee.”

Being a superdelegate is usually just a way of getting to go to the convention, cast a meaningless vote and have a good time.

But that could change this year.

And that’s because superdelegates make up one-fifth of all the delegates at the convention, and this year they could determine the nominee.

Full article here.

The system of superdelegates was invented not just to reward party fatcats, but to make sure “fairness” did not get out of hand.

HA HA HA the Gods are having a hootenanny with us!
We just received word that Sanbate's adoption will be finalized within the next day or two. Which means we WON'T be travelling to Ethiopia this weekend and we WON'T be getting the IR3 visa.

This doesn't necessarily mean that we will be travelling within the next month to bring Sanbate home because California's CIS cable did not go through on the first sending.

MERCY!

Poor Mr.D had purchased his plane tickets through work and they are non-refundable.

There is a mumps epidemic at the orphanage and we are feeling a little paranoid now that they have called off our trip. Did they push the case through just so we wouldn't come out? Were they worried about the legal implications if we came down with the mumps and became very sick?


HA HA HA!

I went to vote this morning and the ballot box got jammed.

And no one is calling us back from the adoption agency.

WE are getting the distinct feeling that many people don't really understand that adoption is "having a baby". That the process of adoption is as fraught with pain and difficulties as childbirth. That sometimes you will be unavailable or need to change your schedule at a moments notice.

But if my husband told his new colleagues and boss at work that I was pregnant and due next month they would understand completely and give him all the room and allowances possible.

Instead, they just conveniently "forgot" that we are in this adoption process and became upset today because Mr. D is flying into a "Not safe for business travel" zone.

One who adopts must be in a constant state of vigilence, educating people whether they care or not. Like those that have different physical needs-

Today I had tea with a friend who is deaf, and has a severe physical ailment that is not always active. When she lived out east she had a collie that was a certified assist dog.She was very well known in the community and didn't have to explain herself when she went into shops or needed to take time off. She misses this and is planning on training her sheltie puppy to get certified.

People who are adopting need this sort of thing- a button or something that says, "I am going far away very soon to bring home our child from ***". That way if people want to discuss it they can, if not they will notice the pin and keep it in mind.

I believe in Obama. I am trusting that, yes we can make sacrifices too as Obama clearly suggests. And that those that are on fire with his words will continue to carry the flame when we are slogging through the work of repairing the damages brought on by the current administration.

Here we come Addis Ababa!
There you are
waiting for us.
Children of this earth
Soon we will carry one of your own.

And never before have we seen this homeland.
And never before have taken such risks of the heart.
For surely we will be touched and moved by the pulse of yours.
Ethiopia.

****************************************
We have booked flights to Ethiopia for Saturday the 9th, flying from San Francisco to Washington, DC to to Rome and then to Addis Ababa arriving Sunday night. We plan to visit with Sanbate on the following Monday-Thursday.

I am going to bring some crafts as well for the older children; clay, beeswax, kite-paper for making stars, weaving boards. We won't be bringing the fine child home with us this trip but soon (next month?) we will. yes, say it is so.

I will return home on the 15th and Mr.D will travel on to Bangalore returning home at month's end.

>

My friend Melanie is a marvel.




She started the Abundance Committee at the school just by inspiring others with her positivity. The kindergarten has been expressing their need for funds for doll and puppet making and voila! Melanie gathered together a group of women to make table puppets. If you know me, I am ALL OVER the puppets. In my first class we spent three quarters of a year making marionettes for our Ramayana puppet play. So, of course I was glad to help make puppets at the school.
30+ puppets made and counting!


Here are the lady puppets I am working on. I am keeping the one dressed elegantly in red.

This entire blog post is lifted with permission from the blogger
No Sleep Til Mysore

FAIR IS FOUL
AND FOUL IS FAIR







The Washington Post recently ran a piece called, "In India's huge marketplace, fair skin sells."

It discusses how Eastern European models with dark hair and light skin are being featured in Indian adverts.


"Indians have a longing for that pure, beautiful white skin. It is too deep-rooted in our psyche," said Enakshi Chakraborty, who heads Eskimo India, a modeling agency that brings East European models here. "Advertisers for international as well as Indian brands call me and say, 'We are looking for a gori [Hindi for white] model with dark hair.' Some ask, 'Do you have white girls who are Indian-looking?' They want white girls who suit the Indian palate."

Indians' color fixation is also evident in classified newspaper ads and on Web sites that help arrange marriages. The descriptive terms used for skin color run the gamut: "very fair," "fair," "wheat-ish," "wheat-ish-medium," "wheat-ish-dark," "dark" and "very dark."

Family elders here commonly comment on a newborn baby's color, after checking out the gender. One of the best-selling skin creams in India is called Fair & Lovely. A men's version, Fair and Handsome, was launched last year.

"The Indian mind-set prefers light skin. My pictures are routinely Photoshopped to make me look a bit lighter -- a lot lighter, actually," Riya Ray, 23, a dark-skinned Indian model, said with a laugh. "But when I work in Britain and France, my color is praised as exotic. It is a two-way trend: Indian models are going abroad, and foreign models are coming here."


I can't help but think of Raj, from my first trip in India back in 2002.

He made frequent trips between Mysore and Bangalore on his silver Honda Hero Super Special motorcycle, and was seriously thinking about getting a helmet.

To protect your head? I asked.

"No, Cadda. To protect face from sun."

Huh?

"So I do not become too dark."

Even Desi TJ - who's lived here for eight years - was concerned last month that his skin looked darker after two months in the Subcontinental sun.

Silly man. Doesn't he know that gori girls dig that sh-t?

Apparently not.

It looks like we will travel out to Addis during the second weekend in February.If Sanbate's adoption is finalized before that, we will save the flight for when we travel her home in March.

Seeing her
sitting there
will be such a feast.
Leaving her there will be an impossible puzzle
but every moment can't be defined.
Let time make us hers.

If she uses it,
it ain't landfill.

Did you notice the cloth diaper and plastic "drop in" bottle liners?
A little contradictory ay?
My excuse is that we will be doing a lot of traveling and uh... how to disinfect the bottle?
You ask, "How to clean the diaper?"
I confess I will be buying "landfill" diapers for travel.

Causticum:

Manifests its action mainly in chronic rheumatic, arthritic and paralytic affections, indicated by the tearing, drawing pains in the muscular and fibrous tissues, seems to choose preferable dark-complexioned and rigid-fibered persons. Restlessness at night, with tearing pains in joints and bones, and faint-like sinking of strength. Burning, rawness, and soreness are characteristic.

Intensely sympathetic
mind; insecure, uncertain, scared; fear; evening;
mind; hysteria;
mind; hurry; while eating;
eye; pain; burning, smarting, gnawing, biting; as if sand in eye;
mouth; teeth; looseness;
abdomen; bladder; urging to urinate;
cough; sensation as though unable to cough deep enough to start mucus;
back; pain; pulling; coccyx (bottom tip of spine); ;
back; pain; in women; during period;
extremities, limbs; skin; itching; like insects crawling on skin;
extremities, limbs; cramps; foot; sole; toes;
Restless legs at night;
sciatica, with numbness;
extremities, limbs; movements and positions; constant movement during sleep;
chorea (convulsive twitching, involuntary movements of limbs);
skin; pain; excoriated (as if grazed, chaffed);
skin; blisters;
skin; varicose;spider veins;
generalities; pulse; frequent, accelerated, rapid; evening;
generalities; twitching;involuntary movements
generalities; flabby feeling;

This is my homeopathic remedy and it is "wicked cool" to see it covers just about ALL of my aches and tendencies. These are "tendencies" or extremes of a type not the full picture of me just the inbalances I occasionally suffer. Laid open for your witness.

Now I know why I have always liked the brown over the pink! And a new word CHOREA! And although I don't have arthritis or paralysis it is amazing to know that many of my complaints are shared with others with similar constitution- I am not dying, I am just caustic.um.

No wonder our adoption agency has a difficult time with me.

Holy Day Doshi.
Ethiopia rebelled against the catholic church, (when requested to change the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday) and moved to a 49 hour Sabbath to include the eve of Friday to Sunday night. Sanbate was named for the sabbath or holy days of the weekend.

Her name will mean when translated,

Daughter of the sun/born during the Holy Days/ Defies the tyrant.
Elianshu Sanbate Doshi

BAD PARENTS!

When the director of the Ethiopia program from our placement agency found out we were moving to India for three years she told us,

"One thing also to consider is that it's very hard to have major transitions while you are in the adoption process. I know you moved from MA to CA in the process - Moving to India would be another stressful challenge for your family. That may not be an optimal way to begin parenting.

I hope this is helpful."

Actually, it's not.

We have decided, despite assurances that we can obtain a passport for Sanbate within 6 months, to travel to Ethiopia in February to secure the IR3 visa. Whether or not we actually go depends on the ok from Dr. Tsegaye the director of the orphanage. He will be able to check and see if we will make it in time to travel BEFORE the baby's court date. But from the estimates (6-12 weeks from referral) we should have plenty of time.





We have been
"down sizing"
since we moved from New Hampshire to Massacusetts to California. But this is the big daddy in the story of our stuff. We just hope we can continue to keep it simple once we move.

To IR-3 or not to IR-3?
That is the question.
Whether it is nobler to
suffer the slings and arrows
Of Immigration slogging or the
two flights to Ethiopia.

We are in a state. It may behoove us to fly to Ethiopia soon before Sanbate's court date and secure an IR-3 visa so that she will be granted citizenship upon arrival.To do this you need to create proof that both parents have met the child before they petition to adopt the child.

"In simplistic terms, children entering the U.S. on an IR-3 visa are automatically granted U.S. citizenship upon immigration. Those entering on an IR-4 visa are NOT automatically granted U.S. citizenship without finalization of the foreign adoption under U.S. state law."

AS things stand she will be returning home on an IR-4 visa which means we need to finalize the adoption which can take up to 1 year! But flying out now means coming back and flying out again. The flight takes about 20 something hours. Not counting lay overs.

Moving to India will be a problem if little girl does not have a US Passport.

So we are trying to work out the logistics with Mr.D just new on the job. Chances are we thinks he will be required to fly out to India soon anyway and what is a little hop over to Ethiopia? Addis to Mumbai is only 4 hours.And unlike US airlines, it is relatively easy to buy a flight in India at the airport for an Indian destination.

We finally made it to Stinson beach, a sleepy little beach town on the coast of Muir Woods.

I know I have said this before but in time this whole adoption process will be a good deal easier, cheaper and more efficient.

According to my research and info. our agency has shared with us we will have to "re-adopt" our child when she comes home. When she arrives in the US she will be a legal resident but not a citizen. That is, unless the Ethiopian gov. issues her a IR-3 Visa which grants automatic citizenship to her 4 weeks after she arrives. Unfortunately, I believe she will be getting a IR-4 Visa which means we need to do an official re-adopt, apply for state issued birth certificate, apply for naturalization and citizenship and only then will she be a US citizen.













BREAKING NEWS

Mr. D has accepted a job from a large multi-national corporation and will be relocating our family to Bangalore, India.Here is the supposed best of Bangalore but we haven't arrived yet so the best is yet to come.
We move in July. That is, if all of the above is finalized between March and July. In the meantime, Mr.D will be working here and there, flying to and fro and in general "Taking Care of Business".
WE have a safety net. The Hatches. Who live here and have offered their home to me and Sanbate if we get held up by the powers that be. So.

This adventure continues.

Martin Luther King


We baked a cake,
We blew it out
Happy Birthday Martin Luther King, we shout
"I had a dream." he said,
People hand in hand,
Working and singing throughout the land.

My mentor and boss from the day care days in Chicago just sent this to me. It was the song her daughter and I wrote when she was 4. The tune is the same from the old spiritual that goes like this:

"Went to the river.
Couldn't get across.
Got in trouble with my boss.
Hy-yo, Hy-yo, Hy-yo-o-Hy-o.

Gimme a nickle,
gimme a dime,
see my honey baby all the time.
Hy-yo, Hy-yo, Hy-yo-o-Hy-o."

Here is what is happening in Oakland for Martin Luther King Jr. day:
click on Oakland Celebrates.

From the Boston Globe:

"Mayor Thomas M. Menino, with Martin Luther King III at his side, announced this morning that the city will build a statue commemorating King's parents, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King."

Here is a kitty movie I found on my Chicago/Mysore friend's blog which was actually made by among others an old co-worker of mine at The Chicago Diner. It is cool man and brought to you by Alliance for Human Action.

This morning I made myself a cup of coffee and toasted a bagel (which I rarely eat nowadays) and the smell of the everything bagel started me on a long reverie about Virginia's coffee shop in Logan Square in Chicago. My sister and I worked there and Virginia always bought the best bagels. One regular to the coffee shop was a house painter and rottweiller owner named Luke. A beautiful guy who drove a toyota land cruiser and became a close friend for a while until he moved to Alaska and I lost touch with him. He left me a gorgeous antique wing chair and the cool retro mug I was using for my coffee. My reverie was interrupted by the unmistakeable sound of a cat about to vomit. That moaning, unearthly sound. Quickly I scooped Sissy-the-pisser up, hoping to get her to mess into the sink. On the way to the sink my coffee mug, still in hand, hit the granite counter and shattered, coffee everywhere. We made it to the sink but there it was. My broken cup. My Luke reminder. and coffee everywhere.

There is a saying, "Let sleeping dogs lie".
I will add, "Let gagging cats puke".


Yesterday, I was on the phone trying to get vaccinated for yellow fever, which is required for travel in Ethiopia.

The Travel Doctor in Oakland has recently posted a note about yellow fever vaccinations:

"As of November 27,2007 , there is nationwide shortage of
yellow fever vaccine in single dose vials.
We only have the multidose vial available and we have to have 5 people who need yellow fever vaccine in the office at one time
If you need or think you need yellow fever vaccine please let us know before you make an appointment so that we can group people together. If we do not have 5 people there will be a surcharge per person based on the number of people who show up."

And they have yet to call me back about scheduling a "group shot session".
None of the other clinics that I called have called me back either.

Mr. D is in Banglore, India on business. It is very quiet here. Especially after our family in Ohio just left. No screaming girl, no torturing boy, No bellowing father, no wheedling mother. How I Miss Them So!

So I finished the photo album we are supposed to send to Sanbate. She is a little young to be understanding the pictures but... Maybe it helps the caregivers to transition the children.

The letter to the birth family will be more difficult as Sanbate's birth mom is still alive. I wonder if we will get to meet her. I hope we will. And perhaps she will allow me to take her picture. It will be so important later.


Bye Spartikus.
You held my attention
with your focused antics
and your regal cat acts.
You left us.
Now miss sister has no orange hunk
abiding therein.

Yeah I know I was ranting about stuff yesterday but I HAVE to talk about stuff today because I went out to buy some for Sanbate for her trip home. Now I know she is underweight but she is not under height so she is going to need clothing her size 12-18 months. Jayshree gave me some of Sujaya's clothing and I am so thankful as it is perfect and also mostly the right size. But don't get on my case for going into Berkeley and buying an outfit for Sanbate.

There is also more stuff we need to bring; bottles, diapers, blankees etc. which will be so exciting to pack.

When we "get the call" that says she is ready to come home we need to do several things:

Buy flights
Apply for Ethiopian Visas
Make appointment at pediatrician for 24 hours after we arrive home
Notarize any necessary documents
Finish Dear Birth Family letter
Buy donation items
Make reservations at hotel if needed
Finish travel document package
Buy last minute medication and diapers etc. for Sanbate
Traveler's checks

It isn't so much is it?

I went back to The Story of Stuff today and read more information about how the corporations are selling us this bag of *#@. I have decided to add Annie Leonard's blog onto my link site.

I am sick of this stuff.

Here is an interesting article published in Harper's by Mark Schapiro about the toxic chemicals in our stuff.

I recently got back in touch with a friend and employer who adopted a baby from
Brazil (who is now a full grown woman!!!)and she has recommended some important resources:

The Primal Wound by Nancy Verrier (also visit her website)
Coming Home to Self by Nancy Verrier
Real parents, Real Children by Holly Von Gulden
Are These Kids Your's? which is about raising a child of a different race
Marcy Axness (adopting.org)

These are the books I have read so far:
The N word ( A great book for its expansive look at racism)
Transracial Adoptees Tell their stories (Very personal and very diverse)
Inside Transracial Adoption (I haven't finished it yet)
Black Baby White Hands ( A wonderful biography with perfect anecdotes of how a loving and educated family can make some BIG mistakes)

All the CUTES have been delivered and presented to their new friends;
Black and White Kitties, Terry, Twin Bunnies, Flower Fairy, Bear and shy Lizard, Bad Guy and his buddy "Sideways".


There were also a wild assortment of aprons I made for my lovely sisters, beautiful moms, neices and gracious sister-in-laws.

This is Mother Nature, not a war zone.

We have officially accepted the referral for Sanbate.
It will now be 1 1/2 to 3 months before the adoption is cleared.
When this happens we book a flight and fly out to meet our child.
All told we will be bringing home a 1 year old as her birthday is in the middle of March between Mr.D's dad's b-day and my dad's.

We can't post any beauty shots because she is protected by the orphanage until we gain custody, but believe me people are going to know she didn't spring from my angular white flesh. What a peach she is, despite the concern in her big brown eyes.

Double wammy on the gingerbread houses.
Nights of Bollywood movies including Om Shanti Om.
Home made dosas are unforgettable to taste and later
in their next reincarnation to smell.
So many drawings so little wall space.
Sibling squabbles and fart wars.

What you get when your niece comes to visit:

"Ah, Bull" International woman

We received the call in the afternoon of Wednesday, December 26th for a 9 month old girl named Sanbate. We have sent her referral off the University of Minnesota for a report and await a "good" assessment. In other words, if the doctors feel that she is "reasonably" healthy or has medical issues that are treatable we will accept. She is a stunningly beautiful baby and we hope that she will be our child.

Steady hearts.

This year I made most of my Christmas presents.
I asked my husband for one thing (boots) and one thing from my mom (clothes steamer so we could do our dry cleaning at home).

Well, after seeing this really cute short film I feel a little guilty for asking for any
STUFF.

http://www.storyofstuff.com/

Today we performed the Shepherd's Play. I was Mary. It was lovely.
We are next on the waiting list for referral.

The Hatches strike again!
Gingerbread house making with Hatches really puts me in the mood for Christmas despite the fact that our cats peed on the box of ornaments this morning.

" President Bush declared an emergency in Oklahoma on Tuesday, ordering federal aid to supplement state and local response efforts."

"This is a big one. We've got a massive situation here and it's probably going to be a week to 10 days before we get power on to everybody," said Ed Bettinger, a spokesman for Public Service Company of Oklahoma. "It looks like a war zone."

Excuse me?
A war zone?
I am sorry have you seen a war zone lately?

This is because the midwest was hit with a whopping ice storm and many states, especially Oklahoma have lost power.
Can I remind you that many people in the world live without electricity? That a war zone is not a place where winter is happening but when human beings are being maimed and killed and tortured.

Please folks! A little perspective!

Today is the last day of our long kriya meeting in Berkeley until after the Holidays and I just don't feel like going. I like staying home on Mondays. I don't like driving at night. Mr. D is gone into the city to meet a friend and attend a workshop. I am still making Christmas presents.

All excuses. Sometimes I buy the excuses and sometimes I don't. I wonder what I will do tonite.

The darkness closes in.

Every couple of months or so we hear a knock on the door and there are young people collecting money. The child at risk "programs" they are collecting for don't sound fabricated but there is never any literature or a phone number that verifies the organization's existence. In fact, usually what they do have, doesn't add up.

For example a young man of say age 19 came today as the trainer of young woman who shook my hand. I understood they were collecting money for children in Richmond who are at risk and also for those children's Christmas presents. They young man said he was once a youth who benefited from this program and he handed me his identification. His id was old and water stained and looked very low tech and uh...sketchy.

When I questioned his lack of literature and poorly maintained id he said he had collected 400 dollars just the other day. I confided to him that I generally didn't give money at the door but often sent money to organizations I had researched and further that his id looked like it had been swimming on numerous occasions and that didn't give me confidence in him.

As he walked down the stairs he mumbled the website of the organization but I didn't catch it.

Is one obliged to give money to avoid the ire of those at risk young people?

What does it mean when the families who obtained their immigration (I-600A) approval one month ahead of you, are at the top of the referral list?

Perhaps it means you will receive your approval in two, three or four months.
Perhaps it means that the list is real and people really do finally reach the top.
Perhaps it means we may be given the chance to adopt after all.

Or am I just playing mind games?
This wait time has become a game of Maya (illusion).

We had a little run in with the law at the beginning of this week.
No, we weren't pulled over by the cops. In California, the surveillance cameras installed at many intersections will take your picture if you are crossing an intersection at a yellow light and it turns red before you have finished crossing. This week it happened to me on Sunday after getting Dosas in San Francisco and to Mr. D while going to Satsang in Berkeley. Just another reminder that the long arm of the law has just gotten longer.

For more information on this new fascist trend in traffic regulation check out Highway Robbery, which includes this great quote,

"Traffic rules account for most of the contact by average citizens with law enforcement and the courts. Enforcement of laws which are widely perceived as unreasonable and unfair generates disrespect and even contempt toward those who make and enforce those laws."
The Appellate Department, in People vs. Goulet


The National Motorists Association agrees that Red Light Tickets do not improve road safety.

Mr.Traffic feels the same way I do.

Tonite
while driving from rehearsal
the setting sun and lights from the city
were especially vivid
I don't know
it made me feel its beauty
but sad
because you and Jonathan weren't here
to see
that on the western side
of our huge and troubled country
things are beautiful too
and shouldn't we be together?

The kids are rioting in the suburbs of Paris again and from what I can read it seems that it is a resurfacing of old wounds. Two Algerian boys were killed very recently in a motorcycle "accident" involving a police car. Two other boys were killed escaping the police in 2005 which also sparked a riot.

The last time our oppressed American brothers rebelled against the police Fred Hampton was shot to death (in his sleep) with multiple rounds by the police.

It makes me ask many questions.

FROM AMERICAN GANGSTER TO GREAT DEBATER, WHICH ONE YOU WANT?
I am pleased Denzel Washington is also doing a movie, "The Great Debaters" that can be inspiration to African Americans who are sick of being portrayed as violent or lazy in the media.

"From two-time Academy Award winner Denzel Washington and an ensemble cast lead by Washington that includes Academy Award® winner Forest Whitaker, comes "The Great Debaters." Inspired by a true story, "The Great Debaters" chronicles the journey of Professor Melvin Tolson (Denzel Washington), a brilliant but volatile debate team coach who uses the power of words to shape a group of underdog students from a small African American college in the deep south into a historically elite debate team. A controversial figure, Professor Tolson challenged the social mores of the time and was under constant fire for his unconventional and ferocious teaching methods as well as his radical political views." Rotten Tomatoes review

Thank You Mask Man


While my brother and sister were here we went to Amoeba Music and purchased many items. My brother and sister bought movies from our past like Planet of the Apes, Wizards and The Poseidon Adventure. I bought a Lenny Bruce DVD which included the short animated feature Thank You Mask Man written and performed by Lenny Bruce.

Thanks
for giving me
the worst pecan pie ever made.

The day my brother and sister were expected to arrive we suddenly had hours to wait as their first two flights were "rescheduled". As a gesture of forshadowing, we used that wait time to see the movie "Darjeeling Limited" which is about three brothers and their family dysfunction. Once my siblings arrived we were able to witness our own interpersonal trials.

Their trip included a hike around Muir Woods(pictured here), tour of Alcatraz,the hills of San Francisco and Haight St., Berkeley, Wildcat Canyon, an al fresco thanksgiving dinner and the worst pecan pie ever made.

Volunteers continue to clean up the remaining live birds oiled by the container ship crash but its business as usual for the tourist industry.

Patriotism: Here is what I am talking about.
Keith Olbermann on waterboarding, if you care to hear an American for whom you can be proud.

Another beautiful Waldorf Harvest (Holiday) Faire!

Happy Diwali!
Happy Birthday to my mom and sister-in-law!
Unhappy day for the birds in our neighborhood, many of whom will die. Another d**ned oil spill. Please see the article in the San Francisco Chronicle: Container Ship Oil Leak.

Oiled Wildlife Care Network is an organisation that is trying to help.

My question is, If people can't be trusted to navigate these precious waters why are they being allowed to do so?

NOTICE OF FAVORABLE DETERMINATION CONCERNING APPLICATION FOR ADVANCE PROCESSING OF ORPHAN PETITION:

IT HAS BEEN DETERMINED THAT YOU ARE ABLE TO FURNISH PROPER CARE TO AN ORPHAN...

We are officially off hold.

Oh yeah. Finally.

We just received a notice from our agency stating that parents picking up their children in Ethiopia who are not staying at the orphanage cannot bring their children back to the hotel while the adoption is in process.

I guess some people are creating some bad press with the locals in Addis Ababa. I am so curious what went down. What did the Americans do this time?

The
Coolest
coin by far
is the Wyoming quarter.
A smooth, elegant outline of a rodeo rider.

It made us think, my Chicago comrade and I.
What would our coin look like? What would our symbol and few choice words be?

As for me my coin would contain these words:

Belongingness
Responsibility
Generosity

It would be simple like the Wyoming coin with a picture of an adult holding a child's hand overlooking a garden. At least one is a person of color.


Now onto my Rock album...

Prayer vigil for Dunbar Village

Although Dunbar Village in West Palm Beach is still Hell on earth for many African Americans, especially women and children at least some community members are trying to bring some healing to this place and there is a fund for the victims of the Dunbar Village torture.

Dunbar Village Victim's Assistance Fund
Checks can be made payable to the Dunbar Village Victim Assistance Fund-St. Ann. They can be dropped off at any Wachovia branch or mailed to: St. Ann Catholic Church, 310 N. Olive Ave., West Palm Beach, FL 33401. The church’s phone number is (561) 832-3757.

CHILD.
We are still waiting. I thought for sure the I-600A would arrive by now since we were already cleared by the state of MA. And the wait time for Ethiopian infants continues to increase every month. Sometimes I wonder. Sometimes I stop and feel as though I am disappearing.

Last night we went to a sports bar/brewery pub to watch the Patriots play the Colts since we don't have cable and Mr.D is into football (a little).It seemed we were surrounded by Colts fans and when the Colts jumped ahead toward the end of the game we were deafened by the cheers. Unfortunately for them their joy was short-lived. The Patriots pulled ahead during the last few minutes and won the game.

When we arrived home I insisted on watching the Marx brothers movie, The Cocoanuts because there are auditions for this show at the Contra Costa Civic Theater and I wanted to see if there are any good parts.

I am totally taken by Harpo, who I think was an absolute genius, (not to take away from the brilliance of Groucho or Chico). But how many actors (Not MIMES) can communicate intensity without speech? I really dislike the three stooges but not because I don't like physical humor. I appreciate the art of physical comedy (Peter Sellers, Charlie Chaplin etc.) but I don't enjoy cruelty or stupidity (3 Stooges). The Marx brothers aren't dumb or even out of touch. I am. For just having discovered them.

Mr. D discovered last week that in San Francisco if you find yourself involved in a fender bender you DO NOT CALL THE POLICE! They do not have the funding to attend to fender benders unless someone is injured and needs an ambulance. My theory is that there are so many minor traffic accidents (because of the lawlessness of the California driver) the police could not possibly staff the reporting. I have not been a fan of intersection cameras in the past (having fallen victim in Canada during our honeymoon) but in California I believe it is necessary. Who is at fault when both parties claim innocence? Mr. D needed a photographic record or witness to vouch for the recklessness of the driver passing him (on the left)in an intersection as Mr.D was turning left.

The driver who met fenders with Mr. D was a US Postal Worker speeding to keep up with the demands of the job, (or Netflix).

California,
CALIFORNIA! (sung by Joni Mitchell)

Today I drove to El Sobrante to work on crafts for the Waldorf Harvest fair.
I made lanterns from old paintings. I handed over some sweaters that had been felted in the washing machine and turned into vests. I made 10 blossom fairies. And gnomes. Other people were making jewelry or labeling items for the fair.

Ha ha! I stole this picture from my chicago comrade's blog!

Halloween
When you were young:
Dusk approaches.
There is a chill in the air
and you are becoming someone or something else.
A witch with a green store bought mask three years in a row (ages 7,8 and 9)
A hobo with a sac on a stick (I didn't even know what hobo meant, age 10)
One of the members of the band Kiss (lots of black and white make up age 11)
A detective (overcoat for hiding eggs and such age 12).

And then each progressing year it became more and more
"What your parents don't want you to turn into".

Favorite Halloween:
Milwalkee ave. Chicago (age 27 Puss-in-boots)loft party.
Mr. Cates is talking to a man in a chicken mask. The man in the mask is from France but he did not learn english and speaks in small sentences. Mr. Cates does not know it but the masked chicken man is his brother, just flown in from Scotland for a surprise. Those of us who do know are painfully giddy. We are good friends with Mr. Cates and his brother. I am doubled over laughing until my stomach aches, tears streaming. It is unbearably funny.

(Skip forward 15 years)
Halloween
A middle aged woman, tasteful head-scarf, real jewelry, cardigan sweater and off-white pants.
Its dark.
You are sitting in your parked car under the BART tracks waiting...
to pick up your husband returning from a late meeting in the city.
Scary.

DAY

You woke up today
on your birthday
but it wasn't a day
you wanted

You wanted a day
that woke you up
with bright sunshine
not overcast and dreaded
like today

the well empty
running out of friends
who can help you
enter back into a life
of usefulness

But you are still sleeping
love!
You are a shaft of golden light
imbued with cosmic mysteries
and earthly blessings.

And Very Necessary.

Happy Birthday love
Wake Up!

Sunsets. And saying goodbye.



Why am I such a sap? Every time I say goodbye to a friend or family member (I like) I always get that, "No! Don't go!" feeling. I am sure it has to do with my "issues".
Anyway, it was hard dropping my longtime friend off at the airport and coming home to her empty bedroom.

Can someone show me how to use our camera? I would like to be able to take pictures of the full moon and other night time glow things.

Another torturous night of loud rock music in San Francisco,(earplugs not included), this time at The Independent to see Meshell Ndegeocello. Our friend Chris Bruce, recently extricated from Seal's "band", is now touring with Ms. N.and it was his playing (magnificent) that made the evening possible. Ms. N sings about the things I thought about when I was in college, i.e. sex and lies.

The next morning Mr. D and I woke with non alcohol related hangovers. To make things better Chris and I went for breakfast at a french soul restaurant, Brenda's. They served the best grits and biscuits I have ever eaten.

In the afternoon I drove to Oakland to pick up another long-time comrade from Chicago, who is here now among us.

Big Star (Not at Fillmore) singing "Why don't you come back from way out west..."

Good question.

The Fillmore on Geary Street in San Francisco is known for its psychodelic posters and its intimate rock shows. On October 20th Alex Chilton's Big Star played to a civilized crowd.

We sat in the balcony and I enjoyed the show, as it brought back fond memories for me of the Metro in Chicago and all of the wonderful rock and power pop I imbibed. Mr. D used makeshift earplugs and plastered on his most tolerant face.

Last week at the East Bay Waldorf School was very exciting,(and exhausting). I followed around the Handwork teacher and assisted in the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grades. It was extremely hard not being the "I" in the class and I am glad for the experience. Although I hope my after class comments to the handwork teacher aren't offensive. As a class teacher one forms a pretty clear boundary line, while subject classes need to be a little less disciplined. It is also very hard conducting a "traveling show" instead of having the classes come to the teacher. Handwork is especially hard to carry around.



Last night while we ate quesadillas on the back porch there was a dear little hummingbird keeping us company. I tried to catch her in flight but only caught part of her.


Yesterday I finished a dreadfully written fantasy story, INKHEART. I do not recommend it even if it is being made into a major motion picture. The characters are poorly written and the descriptive passages are weak and repetitive.

Example:

Meggie sees her mother after 9 years and stares
(end of page 444) "as if nothing else in the world existed".


Meggie's father finds a photo of his wife and realizes she is alive and it seemed
(page 491)"as if nothing else in the world existed".

The use of quotes at the beginning of each chapter from classic books like Huck Finn or the Tolkien trilogy does not make this book more credible. It makes it more desperate for credibility.

Why did I read the entire book if I disliked it so? Because I have a plot driven nature and needed to see it through to the end.

It is Monday and I am off to the East Bay Waldorf School to help the handwork teacher make lanterns with the school. The Lantern walk is coming up soon and I am ever so curious to see what kind of lanterns we will be making. Something like this?

I have forgotten how to use the windshield wiper. It has not rained for 4 months, (since we moved) and when it finally started raining this week I was like a new driver. This lever does what?



I also have forgotten how to knit, (see the beginning of my first sock here)and was reminded this morning at The East Bay Waldorf School where I will be volunteering as an assistant to the handwork teacher (who is married to Spencer Hatch). I am glad to be back with "my people".

On Tuesday we were fingerprinted and now we are waiting for our approval and I-600A orphan petition document from California's immigration office.

My Vashon Island friend just informed me that someone received a fine for boating dangerously close to 2 Orcas off the coast of San Juan island. This is good news for Orca friends because this kind of behavior happens daily and goes unpunished. An earlier blog of mine stated that Orcas are negatively affected by the multitudes of boaters in their habitat and that they can't hear each other over the din of the boats. See article for more details.

Last Night Bad guy dropped by...