TWO ENTRIES

Friday Morning. I am sitting outside the Immigration Office this morning – at least a building called the Application Support Center where we are sent for the official beginning of the agreed Card process. There are quite a few of us foreigners sitting here, waiting in the freezing cold for the office to open.

I am to have my biometrics exam here. They take fingerprints and pictures and I have brought documents to prove I am who I say I am. All this stuff goes off to the FBI so they can check that I have not accrued some kind of criminal record since I last applied for a green card.

Phones must be powered off and inspected.

Later: Well, after a lovely 30 minutes with a really nice group of people, immigrants and staff I have a stamp on the back of my Green Card that is not really green, giving me a 12 month extension. The nice lady told me that if all goes well with their investigations into my behavior in America during the previous ten years, I should have my new ten year green card by next February.

My overriding feeling as I went through the process of mild questioning, fingerprinting and photo was a surge of joy for the little children running about the offices. No-one hushed them or shooed them back into line – they were safe. Safe and warm and happy.

After all they will have gone through I could not help but smile for them.

I read American Dirt while I was away. That book reverberated all through this day.

Sunday Morning. Today has dawned clear and sunny with a proposed temperature of 53f/11 – warm – we will hang the washing on the clothesline. It won’t last long enough to bother the trees but I am glad I don’t have bees because by next week we fall back into the 20’s.

All the animals are present and correct and will love this warm sunny day.

Now I am going to start two new loaves. We are rolling out a new rye. Bono. I baked a fast yeast loaf yesterday and it filled the house with the scent of honey. It is pretty low in protein and really light and fluffy to bag but has a delicate rye taste, with some really sweet notes hitting in with the rye. I really like it. I have a rye sourdough starter ready for this morning so we will see how it goes.

The glass house is waking up.

Plus as an experiment Jill the Miller ran a small batch of oats through the flour mill. Without a sifter. With the stones wide. We made a kind of rough oat flour – really rough. I am going to bake it into a loaf ( with raisins and walnuts and honey scented rye) and see what we think. The crushed oats are Not for Sale at this point but I think it has real potential.

So into the kitchens with me! Then out into the farm.

Take care! If I can I will collect more farm photos today and put them up tonight before the work week descends! Still working on a routine that suits my hours!

Cecilia