I have a travel companion! :)

Well, with the help of the wonderful online friends I've made, as well as the advice of our adoption agency's director, we have finally come to a decision about our travel plans to Ghana. Since he confirmed that it is not really necessary for Don to go, he is going to stay behind, and instead plan to take some extra time to spend with our new daughter once she gets home. Elena will stay with him, but hopefully with some visits to grandparents as well. She's just not really sure she would want to go.  Hopefully, we'll all go to Africa together someday in the not-too-distant future - maybe to Kenya or Tanzania for a safari adventure!

But, Lydia, our (very emotionally mature) 8-year old, is going to accompany me to Ghana.  I think this will be a great choice for all of us. Lydia will learn a lot (and yes, it will count as social studies and geography lessons for her schoolwork), she describes herself as "not a fancy girl," and is prepared for roughing it quite a bit, and she has a great desire to help others in need.  It will be an experience of a lifetime for her to be able to bring books, paper, crayons and other things to the orphanages in person. She is so socially conscious at her tender age - she's like a little Peace Corps volunteer in the making!

I will benefit from having the extra company along with me - plus, she will be great at keeping our new daughter occupied when I'm doing the boring paperwork and all, and helping learn to just be a kid!  We'll apply for her passport tomorrow, and schedule her for her travel vaccinations. She's very happy to be going, but prepared for the reality of it (to the extent I'm able to prepare her) - we've talked a lot about the not-so-pleasant things that will be part of the trip, pictures from online and all.  She's up for it, and I'm glad...and proud of her! We're in for such an adventure!

I have to say I am SO grateful for the wonderful people in the Ghana adoption groups I've participated in. The advice from those who've already been there is going to make it so much easier for us to plan our journey.

And, through one of their blogs, I learned about the Ghanaian delicacy of bushmeat.  Look it up if you want to know what it really is...if you dare...   I'm starting a poll (see the top of the blog) to find out if any of you have ever actually eaten bushmeat! LOL

-Jeanie

My first lesson in Ghanaian cooking

The take-home message here is: be sure to prepare your cassava properly!!!

I had been trying to figure out how to cook some Ghanaian foods, and had no clue what cassava was.  So, I Googled it, and was led to a Wikipedia article on cassava.  Started out with a lovely botanical picture, then a photo of peeled cassava roots in a bowl.  Fair enough.  Then came trouble - I started reading...here's what I found, directly from Wikipedia:

"

Processing and toxicity

Cassava root peeled

The leaves cannot be consumed raw because they contain free and bound cyanogenic glucosides. These are converted to cyanide in the presence oflinamarase, a naturally occurring enzyme in cassava. The roots, however, are eaten raw everywhere in Africa. Cassava varieties are often categorized as either "sweet" or "bitter", signifying the absence or presence of toxic levels of cyanogenic glucosides. The so-called "sweet" (actually "not bitter") cultivars can produce as little as 20 milligrams of cyanide (CN) per kilogram of fresh roots, whereas "bitter" ones may produce more than 50 times as much (1 g/kg). Cassavas grown during drought are especially high in these toxins.^[8] [9] One dose of pure cassava cyanogenic glucoside (40 mg) is sufficient to kill a cow.

Societies which traditionally eat cassava generally understand that soaking and/or cooking is necessary to avoid getting sick.^{[citation needed]} However, problems do occur—konzo (also called mantakassa) is a paralytic neurological disease associated with several weeks of almost exclusive consumption of insufficiently processed bitter cassava. Dr Jasson Ospina, an Australian plant chemist, has developed a simple method to reduce the cyanide content of cassava flour.^[10] The method involves mixing the flour with water into a thick paste and then letting it stand in the shade for five hours in a thin layer spread over a basket, allowing an enzyme in the flour to break down the cyanide compound. The cyanide compound produces hydrogen cyanide gas, which escapes into the atmosphere, reducing the amount of poison by up to five-sixths and making the flour safe for consumption the same evening. This method is currently being promoted in rural African communities that are dependent on cassava.^[11]

For some smaller-rooted "sweet" varieties, cooking is sufficient to eliminate all toxicity. The larger-rooted "bitter" varieties used for production of flour or starch must be processed to remove the cyanogenic glucosides. The large roots are peeled and then ground into flour, which is then soaked in water, squeezed dry several times, and toasted. The starch grains that float to the surface during the soaking process are also used in cooking.^[12] The flour is used throughout the Caribbean. The traditional method used in West Africa is to peel the roots and put them into water for 3 days to ferment. The roots then are dried or cooked. In Nigeria and several other west African countries, including Ghana, Benin, Togo, Ivory Coast, and Burkina Faso, they are usually grated and lightly fried in palm oil to preserve them. The result is a foodstuff called 'Gari'. Fermentation is also used in other places such as Indonesia (see Tapai). The fermentation process also reduces the level of antinutrients, making the cassava a more nutritious food.^[13]

The reliance on cassava as a food source and the resulting exposure to the goitrogenic effects of thiocyanate has been responsible for the endemic goitres seen in the Akoko area of southwestern Nigeria.^[14]

"

(I do recommend reading the rest of the Wikipedia article - there's a lot of fascinating stuff about cassava!)

So, difficult as it is to fathom, one of Ghana's most important staple foods can poison you with CYANIDE if not prepared properly!  Luckily, the article also states that people in cassava-dependent societies generally understand the need to prepare it so as not to cause problems - but still, a good thing to know ahead of time.  I think I will NOT be making cassava as my first Ghanaian recipe - yams, anyone???

Kids can say the most adorable things...

Hi, everyone! First of all, I wanted to tell you how I spent the weekend - I was SO dreading making up the family photo pages for our dossier, but finally faced my fears and did it.  I had thought I would never find a usable photo with me in it, but I decided that as long as I have a cute child as a prop for the photo, it detracts enough attention from my own face that it's tolerable.  Plus, my face looks happier and nicer when I'm being deeply mommy-like, anyway.  It's just my element. The thing turned out to several pages of collages, but I think it gives a pretty good idea of family life in the Hertz household.  So, I made a slideshow out of it to share with all of you - you can find it at the bottom of the page. For those of you not familiar with blog slideshows (yes, Mom and Dad, that's you!), you can click on the little black square at above the slideshow to stop/start. Also, you can click on any of the small images at the bottom of the slideshow to go directly to an page you want to see.

More importantly, I wanted to share with you something sweet that Lydia said to me tonight.  I was tucking her into bed, and she had a thoughtful look on her face as she stroked the back of my hand.  "Mommy," she said, "that lotion that you put on your hands - will the company go out of business sometime?"  I paused and puzzled before finally asking her what on earth she was talking about...  She told me, "Well, you said that it comes from dinosaur bones, so what happens when the dinosaur bones are all gone???"  Bless her heart, she was listening!  Last week for her homeschool studies, we were discussing interdependence among people, but also the interdependence of humans with the environment.  We learned about renewable vs. nonrenewable resources, including extensive discussion of fossil fuels (the "lotion" she was talking about was petroleum jelly!)  

I just love it - it shows that she is really learning from her lessons - not just the actual things I'm telling her about, but also learning to apply them in a broader way to her everyday experiences, and learning to think about environmental impact, etc.  Plus, the fact that she cares if the Vaseline company goes out of business when the dinosaur bones run out shows what a caring person she really is.  

Of course, I did explain to her that if the dinosaur bones run out, everyone will have a lot bigger problem on their hands than the financial downfall of Vaseline...LOL

Akwaaba! ("Welcome" in the friendly country of Ghana)

Welcome to Lemon Grove Lane.  For my first post, I'm just going to give you a little hint of what is to come.  I expect to keep this blog updated with progress on Lydia and Elena's homeschooling, our impending Ghana adoption, my latest crafting adventures, and more.  For today, first of all, I wanted to tell you about Lydia and Elena.  We have been having a very happy time together - the homeschooling has turned out to be such a bonding experience.  Lydia is in third grade, and has become very adept at reading and math.  She devours long, classic books faster than I can keep track.  She has learned long division already, and really enjoys math.  Elena zoomed through the Oak Meadow kindergarten curriculum, and so this week, I decided to have her graduate to first grade.  She seems to really thrive on and enjoy the extra bit of challenge - make it all the more interesting.  She is learning the difference between short and long vowel sounds, and is suddenly becoming quite good at reading.  

We have busy preparing for the adoption of our 8-year old soon-to-be daughter from Ghana, in West Africa.  Our homestudy is nearly finalized, after which we will quickly submit our dossier documents for review by the agency.  Once that occurs, we'll get everything notarized and sent to Ghana.  Hopefully, I (or we) can get over there soon.  Initially, we planned that I'd be the only one traveling for the anticipated 2-week trip.  But, a few days ago, we found out that things have changes, and it is more likely going to be a 4-6 week trip at least.  Because we want to keep the momentum with the girls' lessons, because we don't want to impose unduly on family for babysitting, and because it would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, we are tossing around the idea of bringing the girls.  It's possible that Don will need to go for the first 4 or 5 days, and we might just have the girls there for that time, or have them stay with me.  A family that just returned from there brought their 3 young children, and were very glad they did.  I'll chat more with them about their experiences, particularly their impression of safety issues.

 

I wanted to share with you a photo of the Waldorf doll I made for our new daughter - I plan to bring it to her when I travel over there.  I hope she will like it...

That's all for now - lots of cleaning and organizing to do today...

Jeanie