Valsts valoda

For English, please see below

Nesen rakstiju par savu pienākumu kā Latvijas pavalstniece balsot Latvijas vēlēšanās. Secināju, kas ir tie iemesli kamdēļ man, kā latvietei ārzemēs, ir svarīgi balsot. Tos atkal neskaidrošu šodien, vienīgi vēlos izteikties par valodu.

Bez latviešu valodas nebūtu latviešu tauta. Varam cept cik daudz pīrāgus un dzeltenmaizi mēs vēlamies, dejot tautas dejas līdz apreibstam, bet valoda ir iemesls kamdēļ Latvijas valsts šodien pastāv.

Latvijas Saeima 2011.gada 22.decembrī noraidīja likumprojektu „Grozījumi Latvijas Republikas Satversmē”. Šis likumprojekts tika iesniegts ar pieprasīto vienas desmitās daļas vēlētāju parakstiem; viens no katriem desmit balstiesīgiem Latvijas pilsoņiem atbalstija ar parakstu šo grozījumu, ievest krievu valodu kā officiālo valsts valodu (līdz ar latviešu valodu). Ar to, ka Saiema šo noraidija, 18. februārī tiek rīkota tautas nobalsošana.

Jautājums vienkāršs, bet komplicētāka nozīme šai nobalsošanai un tās rezultātiem. Ar to, ka vismaz pusei no visiem balstiesīgiem Latvijas pilsoņiem ir jābalso par šī grozijuma ievešanu lai tas īstenotos, gandrīz ir šaubu, ka tā puse balstiesīgo pilsoņu balsos; noteikti vēl mazāk balsos par šādu grozījumu. Tomēr lielākas raizes ir par to, ka šī balsošana varētu būt munīcija Latvijas valsts ienaidniekiem. Pasaules politikā tas Latviju neatspoguļotu labā gaismā, ja balsošanā puse balsis būtu par šādu maiņu satvērsmei, pat ja tās balsis būtu tikai 2% no pilsoņiem!

Tātad mīļie Latvijas pilsoņi! Lūdzu balsojiet pret šiem grozījumiem Latvijas Republikas Satversmē! Ja esi balstiesīgs pilsonis un nespēsi 18. februārī balsot vēlēšanas iecirknī, piesakies balsot par pastu pirms 2012.gada 4.februārim. Visa informācija par tautas nobalsošanas kārtību, ieskaitot vajadzīgās formas, ir atrodama http://www.cvk.lv/.

Nav aizbildinājuma nebalsot; kaut vēlēšanās jautājums bija grūtāk atbildēt, šoreiz jautājums vienkāršs – par, vai pret.

Not long ago I wrote about my responsibility as a Latvian citizen to vote. I discussed my reasons, and although I will not rehash all that, I have a quick point to make.

Without a Latvian language there would be no Latvia. We can bake as many pīrāgi and kliņģeri as we can stomach, and dance Latvian folk dances until we fall, but the reason Latvia and Latvians exist today is the common language of the country.

On December 22^nd of 2011, the Latvian Parliament voted against a proposed amendment to the constitution that would make Russian an official language of Latvia, along with Latvian. This vote was the result of the gathered signatures of 10% of Latvia’s citizens in support of such an amendment. Because the Parliament voted against the amendment, it automatically goes to a public vote which will occur on February 18^th.

The results of this vote seem predictable; 50% of Latvian citizens must vote “yes” for the amendment to pass. I have my doubts whether 50% of Latvian citizens will even vote, much less vote to institute this change in the Constitution. But the repercussions of this vote may extend further, even if only 5% of the citizens vote that day, if half of them vote in favor of the bill, it will provide ammunition that can be used against Latvia in the future in campaigns to further fracture the country into ethnic blocks.

There is no excuse for not voting. The questions I had to answer before the Parliamentary elections were harder to answer, but this time it’s easy – yes, or no.

* If you wish to read more about this topic, please visit http://www.cvk.lv/.

40 weeks

So, no baby, no refrigerator. At least the refrigerator will supposedly be here tomorrow, the baby has been unavailable for scheduling an appointment.

I would like to wish a Happy Chinese New Year to all. Monday was the first day of the Year of the Dragon, which is considered the luckiest year in the Chinese Zodiac. My father pointed out that it is the Water Dragon year, which if the 12-year cycle of animals is considered together with the Five Elements, only occurs once every sixty years. The significance of this, is that grandfather will share with grandchild not only Year of the Dragon, but Water Dragon Year as the year of birth.

As long as the baby arrives before February 9^th of 2013.

The days seem longer, and I’m not referring to the increased daylight. We’ve been out walking quite a bit, the fresh air providing a welcome distraction. I just have to be careful that I don’t look into the windows of too many patisseries and bakeries…

Lauris vēlās novēlēt savam krusttēvam Mārim daudz laimes dzimšanas dienā. Daudz baltu dieniņu!!!

Kouign Amann

It was a rare occurrence that I was the lone customer in the bakery on Saturday morning. Without the long line of people impatient for their pain I felt more comfortable taking my time making a decision, as well as asking a few questions. There were no almond encrusted pain de chocolats that morning, however on the top shelf was a beautiful looking pastry marked Kouign Amann, spécialité de Bretagne.

Kouign Amann from Le Pistore bakery

Lena explained their Breton baker had decided to bake this regional specialty, that it isn’t for a special holiday but instead is an everyday staple in boulangeries in Brittany. The translation is “butter cake,” and was supposedly invented by accident in 1860. It is made from dough bread covered with a butter-sugar mixture which is then folded like a pastry. While cooking, the sugar-butter permeates the dough and caramelizes, resulting in a crisp, delicious pastry. The cake I brought home (a pregnant woman passing by a “butter cake”? not going to happen…), was round with four individual units, but in my understanding they are baked for up to twelve people, sometimes in rectangular dishes, or just as individual cakes which are called kouignettes. Different from our usual breakfast pastries but delicious nonetheless, maybe next week they will have the beurrée variant, which is topped with crunchy caramel…

We also braved the soldes crowds. As I explained around this time last year, the French government authorizes stores to use the word les soldes only twice a year (January and July), in order to foster economic growth and consumption. This year they kicked off on January 11^th and last until mid-February, with escalating markdowns every few weeks. I find it funny that stores are allowed to have discounts, special offers and promotions throughout the rest of the year, but cannot use the descriptor soldes outside of these two time periods.

The irony is that although many clothing and furniture stores have discounted merchandise, appliances seem to be full price year-round, with no end-of-year markdowns on old models or sales to bring in the customers in the New Year. But as our refrigerator has been freezing the eggs and milk recently (and according to Roberts’s research on our fridge this is a problem particular to our model after 2-4 years of use, and expensive to fix) I got to stand in the kitchen section of Darty and choose a refrigerator, one much more beautiful, energy-efficient and with a more convenient layout than the temperature-challenged, funny-noise making thing in our kitchen at the moment.

The delivery date for the new refrigerator is January 25^th. Sound familiar? That’s because not only is it my brother’s birthday, but it is also my due date. (Well, my due date was I living in the US, but that is a different story.) Should we be taking bets on what arrives first, the baby or the fridge?*

*The saleswoman did not find this amusing, and instead pointed out the telephone number on our invoice that we call should we need to reschedule.

Parc Montjuzet and 39 weeks

Roberts’s name day comes right on the heels of his birthday, and we celebrated with a trip to Parc Montjuzet, the 65-acre hilltop park visible from our living room windows. Our first visit was in January of last year on his birthday, and so it was only fitting to return this January (although we have been there since). Other than the occasional dog walker and jogger, we had the whole park to ourselves.

LŪK helping his dad blow out the candles on the kliņģeris

On our first visit we had approached on foot (and in stroller) from the south end, not knowing the layout or what we would find. After an exhaustive climb up a narrow passageway of stairs we found ourselves in a very under-developed section of the park with muddy paths and not much else. The view of Clermont was unbeatable however (you might recognize it from the background of the blog!), and we picnicked on the hillside before wandering around a bit more. From what I remember, we did find a section of the Mediterranean garden; although the climate is much different, the south-facing terraced slopes have a riviera feel. And then we headed back, without an inkling of what we had left unseen.

Our next visits revealed the numerous playgrounds, grassy picnic areas, hiking paths and vistas (located closer to the car park!) and in addition to exploring and playing we also did a little geocaching. A beautiful park, once the weather is nicer I hope to spend a lot more time there with the kids.

Otherwise the past weeks have been uneventful (considering how pregnant I am!). This time around is a much different wait from last time; with Lauris I was on high-alert starting with 38 weeks, evaluating every Braxton-Hicks contraction as a possible start to labor and agonizing the next four weeks. With the second I’ve mentally prepared for a 10 month pregnancy, and so having the baby still feels very far off. I’m also glad for the more laid-back approach from the doctor here, it is allowing me to enjoy the last weeks. In Greenville we were pressured to schedule a Cesarean starting with week 36 or 37 (estimates put Lauris’s birth weight at about 11.5 pounds, in reality he was under 9 when born at 42+) and I was visiting the clinic every couple of days for additional monitoring and stress.

Mom getting a break

I probably jinxed myself last week after telling the doctor and friends that this pregnancy has been a piece of cake. And it had been, compared to my first; this time the morning sickness wasn’t to be ignored, but on top of that my last pregnancy brought severe back pain, nausea almost the entire length of the pregnancy and general misery. So I’m not too surprised that some of the more typical symptoms are finally catching up to me, the acid reflux and difficulty sleeping being at the top of the list. But, at this point I’m committed, right?

Creative Blogger Award

Way back in November Barbara at Footprints in the Sand passed on the Kreativ Blogger Award to me. Please don’t let the amount of time that has passed be an indicator of my thanks! I’m honored she thought of Femme au Foyer when passing it on, and as always I’m a little floored by the knowledge that someone other than my mother (and now my grandmother, on her own personal iPad!) is reading this blog.

Barbara also lives in Clermont-Ferrand and gave birth to adorable little Noah in December just before Christmas, so it was informative and reassuring following her blog and her pregnancy as I was embarking on my own last year. Stop by her blog to see some adorable newborn and maternity pictures or just to say “hi”!

For the record, it does bug me a bit that Kreativ is spelled wrong…

Anyway, I'm supposed to share seven random things about me and pass on the award to other lucky bloggers. So here goes!

1. I’m Latvian. As if you haven’t figured this out already from the posts in Latvian. But I think this rates the number 1 slot because I’m actually from Chicago, so credit for being able to speak Latvian fluently and having such an affinity for Latvian traditions and culture goes to my family. My grandparents originally came to the US after WWII, but somehow I’ve managed to end up married to a Latvian with a son whose only words currently are in Latvian, go figure!

At the International Festival in South Carolina in 2010

2. I’m 39 weeks pregnant. Again, not exactly headline news, but definitely tops my list of current events. At this point I do want to add that Lauris was perfectly content to hang out until 42 weeks, so maybe hold off with the “is the baby here yet???” for another month or so.

3. I’m 6 feet 3 inches tall. This is 1.905 meters. Wreaks havoc on my pants-shopping trips.

4. I wear a size 13 shoe. My most recent pair of boots has the European equivalent listed as size 46 ½. Can you blame me for having to buy my shoes in the US?

5. In my former life I was a wildland firefighter. My forestry degree led me to five years with the US Fish & Widlife Service and the Forest Service, conducting prescribed burns and fighting fire in over 10 states. I can run a chainsaw, have flown half-hanging out of a helicopter, know how to drive a type 6 fire engine and have sucked my share of smoke. Now I eat baguettes and cheese, change diapers and hike volcanoes.

Yep, that's me hooking a load up to the Bell Jetranger...

6. I would love to hike the Appalachian Trail. There was a point while living in Georgia that I could have taken the 6 months needed to give it a shot, but life took some unexpected turns and I might have to wait some years until I get my next chance.

7. Roberts and I dated for more than 10 years before finally tying the knot. Guess we had to make sure, huh sweetie?

Now for the fun part! I pass this award on to:

Chunk and KJs Adventure

Conjugating Irregular Verbs

Inga Vītols Photography

Kimberly Cabe Photography 

Our Adventures…

For your creative photography, creative blogging and creative approaches to life!