Some repercussions from Ljubljana JH Camp

What is a Bula?

This last week the girls and I traveled to a little city nestle in the midst of the Alps for a National Lace competition. Meagan took first place at their school competition and proceeded to nationals. It was quite an interesting day. We had a great day entering into Slovene culture.

Slovenia is known for the ancient art of hand made lace. Our girls have had the chance to learn how to do this at school. It is quite beautiful and take time to learn how to do it.


At the beginning of the competition all the competitors gathered at the "lace-making grade school" and then they paraded around the town. Where they ended in one of the town squares. There Meagan competed for 45 minutes with 150 other students in 5 different levels. She didn't place in the competition, but it sure was fun to see her fitting into this cultural event that I wonder how many Americans have ever been to, let alone competed in. I was so proud to see her fitting into this culture that we have embraced and love.









So the answer to the question - What is a bula? A bula is a hard round cushion used for making handmade lace.

The value of a garden

We have lived in our home for almost 6 years now. In our backyard we share a "fence" with an older couple who has turned their very large yard into a garden. We have tried to talk to them and make eye contact with them. Over the last 6 years, I have talked to them maybe 2 times. I have wondered how to just start a conversation with them. Well, this year I figured it out.

We have a small backyard, and one corner of it was quite a mess. This year we decided to turn it into a very little garden, just so it would look nice and so it would be something fun for me and the girls. Well, our neighbors, all of them, joined in the project. Slovenes love to garden and are quite good at it. Needless to say, our backyard neighbor joined in and now we have had many conversations about "how to garden". I wouldn't have thought of doing that to start a conversation, but it worked.