Paris Lockdown: Today I sponsored a goat
Day 18 (I think)
In my last post I mentioned that a neighbor was hospitalized with COVID-19, on a ventilator and recovering. He passed away suddenly on Friday and all of us in the building are grieving. To respect the family’s privacy I won’t give details, but he wasn’t elderly, was the breadwinner and pillar of his family, devoted father, always smiling.
Of course we must stay positive and focused, on our gratitude for every day blessings and on dreams for the future.
So today, I sponsored a goat. Her name is Larmes de Joie (Tears of Joy) and she lives in La Drome Provençale, a department (state) of southern France, halfway between Lyon and the Riviera. It’s in the valley of the Rhone river, foothills of the Alps. (Geography buffs please chime in?)
We’ve been supporting our local essential shop owners and workers as best we can, but feel helpless in the face of hardships endured by farmers and fishermen in France and everywhere, losing their markets, their seasonal helpers and workers… so many tragedies.
When I saw a post by Larmes de Joie’s owner on Facebook and all the pictures of her and her herd sisters on their website, it was love at first sight. Sponsorship is not cheap, but you get 2k (5 lbs!) of cheeses delivered to your door, some fresh to eat right away and some that can keep for a long time. Raw milk goat cheese is so essential to France’s lifestyle, culture and endangered microbiome that I decided to go for it. Claudia, the goat farmer has given me permission to share her website:
Her story is very inspiring:
More to come, with translations in English :-)
xxxxx Aliss
