To view photos as a slide show, click on the thumbnail after allowing the whole page to download.
You can then browse backwards and forwards. In Windows, Press F11 to view full-screen, and F11 again to exit.
To return to this screen (with thumbnails), click on the photo or press Esc.
To view videos click on the thumbnail with the arrow, and to exit click on the X upper left. If some thumbnails are only showing as little icons, you may need to refresh the page multiple times
and/or return to this page later.
Please do not post links to this site in social media or other websites.

At the beginning of 2023, Emi, Greg and Mina were in Krupnik with our Baba (Emi’s mother) who continued to need continuous care. There was the usual competition of elaborately costumed “kukeri” in Krupnik at the beginning of January. On 18 January, Gregory and Merle returned to Dublin, and on 28 January Mina returned to Bard in upstate New York. In April, spring came to Krupnik.

In March Greg shared some stories from his round-the-world Bahá’í teaching trip in a Zoom series organized by Jennifer Wiebers (0h52):

From 23 April to 3 May, Greg attended the International Bahá’í Convention in Haifa, Israel, as a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the Czech Republic. Delegates came from all over the world.

In May, there was more work to be done in the garden in Krupnik and making strawberry jam. We said hello again to the turtle in our “orchard”.

Later in May, Emi and Greg flew to the U.K. and then, with Joyce, to attend Mina’s graduation ceremony from Bard College in Upstate New York. Merle had health problems and needed Gregory to stay with her, so they weren’t able to join us.

We then drove together to Washington, DC, for the girls to see where they were born.

In June we flew to Portland, Oregon, to visit our new home across the river near Vancouver, Washington and to have some medical checkups. Joyce then returned to London, while Emi, Greg and Mina flew to Prague to attend the Townshend International School graduation, and then back to Bulgaria where they celebrated Greg’s birthday.

Later in June, Emi, Greg and Mina flew to Prague to attend the Townshend International School graduation, and then back to Bulgaria where they celebrated Greg’s birthday.

In Krupnik in July, the storks were nesting, and it was good weather to visit Diado’s grave and to celebrate Baba’s birthday.

Greg flew to Portland again in early July to prepare for a major surgery, joined by Emi a week later. The surgery took place on 11 July. Emi had to return to Bulgaria to look after Baba, but Ian came from Chicago and then Mina came when Ian had to leave, so Greg had continuous family support during his surgery and recovery.

In August, Emi put the finishing touches on her translation into Bulgarian of The Dawn-Breakers, the more than 700-page history of the early years of the Bahá’í Faith, and it was time to make blueberry jam. In early September Greg gave a course at the Romanian Bahá’í Summer School in a rural vacation spot in the hills north of Bucharest, where his brother Arthur was also giving a course. Mina visited Gregory and Merle in Dublin and then attended her matriculation ceremonies for her Master’s course in creative writing at the University of Cambridge.

Back in Krupnik, the roses were in full bloom. Emi, Greg and the girls attended the lavish wedding of the daughter of Emi’s cousin Mina which took place on the Black Sea coast, and then relaxed for a few days at our vacation apartment in Vlas nearby.

Then, in October, it was time to make purzhenitsa.

Greg returned to Washington State in the middle of October for another medical procedure on 1 November to remove stones from a kidney. Mina accompanied him and took the opportunity to get her driver’s license there. Ian and Sam also came for a few days to help out.

In the middle of November, Joyce and Mina took a touristic trip to Venice and Rome.

On the way back from Italy, Mina had another module of her master’s course at the University of Cambridge.

Between November and December, Greg went to the Czech Republic for a week for a Bahá’í National Spiritual Assembly meeting and to take care of some business. There was a heavy snow. Greg then joined Joyce and Mina in Croydon to help Joyce pack up her things in preparation for leaving the U.K. and her move to Auckland for a master’s program there in the practice of physical therapy.

Back in Bulgaria, Emi was playing some traditional Bulgarian music while making dinner and the girls got into the mood to dance the hora (1.31):

On 20 December, Gregory and Merle arrived in Bulgaria from Dublin, and Merle’s parents arrived from Germany followed three days later by Merle’s brother Jurit. Things got complicated when Merle’s family all came down with COVID, but we all went to the Hot Springs Spa near Bansko anyway for three days except for Joyce and Mina who stayed behind to take care of Baba.