Four years ago, in April 2018, I had the honor and privilege to go to Moldova. At that time I was on the Board of Trustees at our regional hospital and was asked to present on health care administration and board related topics. I accompanied a good friend, a medical librarian with strong contacts in Moldova and we had an amazing trip. No one at that time knew much about this country in Eastern Europe. In fact, most people had never heard of Moldova or erroneously pronounced it as Moldavia or Moldovia.
Fast forward four years and Moldova is in the news daily as it borders Ukraine. Moldova is the smallest and poorest country in Eastern Europe, with a declining population of about 2 million. In the past weeks, since Russia invaded Ukraine, Moldova has seen about 400,000 refugees enter the country. The population has increased 4.5% as I type this. We have many contacts there and worry about their safety of course.
After that trip in 2018, I was asked to become a member of the NC/Moldova Bilateral Partnership which commenced after the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. I have enjoyed my time and have met other folks in NC who are big proponents of helping Moldova. I write all of this today because yesterday I was privileged and honored to be a participant and speaker at the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) Moldova Session “Local Bond Matchmaking USA-Moldova.” I was selected because I’m a creative entrepreneur and brought my knowledge of paper crafting and card making, along with writing and book publishing. As a demonstrator with Stampin’ Up! for 17 years, and the CEO of simply francis publishing company for 8 years, I was hoping to help out some Moldovans.
The program lasted almost three hours and it was nice to meet people who create products such as wedding gowns and other home made items. I’ve already made a few contacts on social media so we’ll see if I can help these gals along. I’m going to try and post some photos from the event which of course was done via Zoom.
Now to get back to stamping, writing, and baking. Here’s an update: I’ve made 118 banana nut breads since the pandemic began. I’ve cut back now as I said but bananas go bad pretty quickly. I’ve made 48 harvest breads and must do a YouTube video before my daughter heads off to places unknown. I’m still baking everything cookies and weekly pizza dough which also needs a video done. As for stamping, the Last Products/Retiring list is now live. The new annual catalog will go live on May 3. Sadly, shipping costs will increase and that has always been a pox on the company as they can’t seem to compete with 2 day free shipping.
I continue to make cards and was hoping to partner with a local charitable organization here as I have hundreds of cards just sitting around waiting to be sent out to brighten one’s day. I’m no longer donating cards to my Rotary club as things have changed due to the pandemic and I’m no longer a Rotarian.
I have refocused my efforts nowadays. I spend most of my time copyediting and helping authors achieve their dreams of being published. We’re even working with an illustrator from Ukraine who I worry about daily. My sequel to “Orange Glow Stampers” is being edited now and I’m hoping it will be ready for publication this summer. I changed it up and made it into a murder mystery. I’ll post more on this as time progresses.
Let me leave you with this. If the crazy stuff in the world has gotten you down, please consider paper crafting and stamping, or start writing your novel or memoir, or even a children’s book. I can help you unleash your creativity. Don’t delay. Time is of the essence. Make every day count. Please reach out to me if I can help you or any friends that might be looking for a creative outlet. Check out my new card creations on Pinterest. That’s where I’ve been posting all new cards. Stay safe and healthy!