Molly Update

I got an email late last night with new pictures of Molly! She has grown and changed so much - still has big eyes and lots of hair. But she's still CUTE, CUTE, CUTE! And she looks happy and healthy.



It's been a bit strange today - it feels like I have to get to know a new baby. The only thing I've had these last few months is the pictures of her taken when she was 3 months old. It's an adjustment to see her at 7 months old.



These pictures came with no other information. I don't know if she is teething, if she can sit up, crawl or stand, if some of her medical tests have been repeated, or even if she is sleeping through the night. So I'm considering once again going early and waiting with her there.

I'm still here

I couldn't make all the arrangements to travel to Vietnam before Christmas, so I'm still here. Plan B is to wait for 'THE CALL', and hope it comes early in January. Things in Vietnam shut down for 2 weeks for Tet, which is their New Year celebration on Feb 14th. It would be nice to be there to see the celebrations!

I gave my bee hives the winter mite treatment today. It was a mild, dry day, so I took the hives apart and drizzled treated sugar syrup over the backs of the bees. They didn't seem to mind too much, although the Sophia hive is pretty agressive! I constantly had to back away from the guard bees that kept coming at me. I didn't get stung, though - thick clothing and the veil saved me.

The Sophia hive still has LOTS of bees. I saw some mold on the inner cover, and the bottom board was pretty wet around the edges. The Belle hive was drier, but they have a smaller ball of bees. However, I'm happy with what I saw today. I have comfort in thinking both hives will survive the winter. I have no idea how I'm going to be able to take care of the them once Molly arrives, but with a little help from my friends, maybe I can handle it.

The newest offerings from the hives are now candles. My bee club had a candle-making day last month, where I learned how to make molded and hand-dipped candles. I picked up a few supplies afterwards and made some tea-lights and votives for Christmas presents. I'm keeping the cracked and crooked candles for myself, but proudly wrapped up a bunch of tea-lights for my friends and family.

Baby Shower for Molly and Me

What a fantastic group of friends I have! A friend of mine offered to host a baby shower for me this weekend, and we had a wonderful time! There were so many great moments. I am really lucky to have such a great group of women supporting me, plus it was great to get together with everyone before I head off to Vietnam. Here are some highlights:

• Poetry was composed, and a song was sung about adopting Molly
• Gifts were passed down to me that friends had used for their children
• A hand-stitched baby quilt was made for Molly
• She now has lots of bibs and socks
• She will wear lots of pink!

I was very touched with the thoughtfulness of the gifts. Thanks to all of you for being part of this journey with me, for all your support, and your generosity.

And a big THANKS to Julia, Vera and Doug for hosting the shower in their lovely home!

Waiting for Molly

Well, it's been 12 weeks since I got my proposal for Molly, and I still haven't heard when I'll be able to go get her! I've been busy getting ready, but it's hard to plan my life with so much uncertainty. My family wants to know about Christmas, my friends want to know about New Years, and my employers want to know how long I'll be working. So, I think I'll just go to Vietnam and wait with her there. She is 5 1/2 months old now. I've missed so much.

I have invited my nephew to travel with me, and his parents will let him come if he doesn't miss any school. So we could leave a week before Christmas, land in Hanoi, kayak for a few days in Ha Long Bay, then go south to spend Christmas day with Molly in Vung Tau. I think it's a good plan. If the adoption order gets delayed for any reason, we are staying in a resort area on the South China Sea - stuck for a few days/weeks. It won't be terrible! I'll be with my baby and have family and friends with me.

People have been asking me what I need for Molly, and I find it hard to answer. I have picked up almost all the basics to take with me, and to have on hand for when we get home. It's been a lot of work finding items that fit with my lifestyle choices. I have tried to stick with products that are natural, organic or used. I'm conscious of chemicals and toxins that might end up in her mouth. I try to avoid products made in China, but it's nearly impossible. I'm also trying to avoid plastic in all forms, but that too, is almost impossible. So I compromise - plastic toys are OK if they are second-hand! I've been finding great children's consignment stores around town.

Molly's room is taking shape. I have a friend lined up to hang curtain rods and put in baseboards. I bought some material for the curtains, and will ask my Mom is she wants to sew them for me. After I painted the walls, I realized that I still have to paint the closet. The walls are a light bubble-gum turquoise color. The first coat was too dark, so I went back to the store a total of 3 times to get the color right. Anything for my baby!

My friends are giving me used clothing, accessories and toys that their kids have outgrown, which is fantastic. Everything is so cute!

I bought a car seat, diapers, cleaned the garage and got my travel shots. Here is the updated list of what I still need:

High chair

Sleepers

Diaper bag

Toys/books

Winter coat

Baby music

Bathtowels and facecloths

Not bad, with 4 weeks to go! I feel under control at the moment. If I get 'THE CALL' tomorrow, I'll be ready!

Sophia Hive

I realized I didn't have any pictures of the Sophia hive posted yet. This was my first hive, populated with a package of bees purchased from Vancouver Island, and installed on May 4, 2009.

I found a neighbor who's back yard was filled with vegetable plots, surrounded by fruit trees and bushes. I thought it would be a perfect spot for a bee hive. As the summer progressed, the garden thrived into a lush green jungle, blossoms and flowers decorated with bright color, and my neighbor harvested food for his dinner table. However, the bees didn't fare so well.

I still don't know exactly why the bees didn't thrive earlier in the summer, but each weekend I checked on them, their numbers were smaller, and they just didn't seem as vibrant as compared to my other hive. I conferred with other beekeepers who advised that they wre probably starving! In the middle of a thriving garden! Who would have thought? Anyways, I started feeding them sugar syrup and pollen patties mid-summer, came back a couple of weeks later, and BOOM! suddenly the population had exploded! Lesson learned - the bees will let you know what's wrong - don't assume they will eat what I think is a nectar flow.

By the time the bees had recovered enough to put on a honey super, it was late in the season. They started to fill a fresh box of frames with comb and nectar, but very little of it got capped over. We took only two frames off to extract, and got a really dark, coffee colored honey. It had a richer taste than the honey from my other hive, but a thinner consistancy. Here is a picture of the Sophia honey next to the Belle honey:

The hive is doing very well now. It has a strong population, no diseases, and no varroa mites. I have finished all my fall management treatments, and can only hope that they are healthy enough to survive the winter.

Adoption Update

I was out of town for a few days this week, and came home to lots of great news! Two families have come home this week with their daughters, another one will be home soon with a son. And a waiting mom just got word she can travel at the end of this month.

Things seem to be moving fast. Not nearly fast enough for me, but I know my file is in process. Here are the things I have to do before I go to Vietnam:

Paint Molly's room - I have the paint, a light turquoise color.
Steam clean the carpet
Find and hang matching curtains
Buy a dresser
Buy a carseat

Buy a highchair
Buy cloth diapers
Buy a diaper pail
Buy a baby bathtub
Clean the garage - I need room for her stroller!
Get my travel shots

I'm sure there are many more things I haven't thought of, but it will all fall into place sooner or later.

Seasonal Management

The season is coming to a close - the honey is off, flowers have stopped blossoming and preparation for over-wintering the bees begins. I have noticed a large number of drones sitting outside the hive on the landing pad, and an uncomfortable number of wasps hanging around eating them. The drones get kicked out of the hive to die at this time of year - they have served their purpose and become unnecessary.

I treated the hives for varroa mites and nosema, and am feeding pollen patties and sugar syrup again. I left a fair amount of honey in the hives for the bees to eat over the winter. I could have taken it off, but I would rather they eat honey than syrup.

I found that the Belle hive had a HUGE number of dead mites drop onto the bottom board after the varroa treatment. However, I couldn't find any on the Sophia hive - good news. I'll keep an eye on them though, as they had a rough summer.