Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Alive and Happy In the Auvergne

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The Auvergne: fields, forests and hills, as far as the eye can see.
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Max and Lucy on their way to get the morning bread.
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The little creek where I used to bathe as a child.
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Poppies growing on a pile of manure.
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A cow lazily gazing in my direction.
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The bouquet of flowers my neighbor Claudine left in the house as a welcome.
Merci, Claudine!
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Stocking up.
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Heirloom tomatoes and a jar of apricot jam I made.
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and apricot almond tarte Lucy and I made from fruit we brought back from Provence.

You probably were wondering if I had dropped off the face of the earth.  In some way, I have.
After a few sunny days in the South of France, I arrived at our family house in the Auvergne on Sunday.  I can not adequately describe the joy I feel about being back in my little village, of finding everything the way I left it in August of last year and of reconnecting with my dear friends and neighbors, Claudine, Michel, Marinette and René.
In just a few days, I have slipped into the day to day of country life. There is weeding to be done in the garden, laundry to hang on the clothesline, fresh bread to be fetched from the baker and most importantly, there are fires to be made in the fireplace at night, when the sun falls and the temperature goes down to the 40's.
Brooklyn, you ask?  It seems far away, but hardly forgotten.




9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Your photos have ironed the creases out of my rather crumpled day in the city. Really beautiful.

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful photo-essay of your experience! Thank you for sharing - I feel I am there. What is the history of this village and your house? When was it built?

Anonymous said...

Fantastic! We just spent a week in my wife's old home in Largentière (just South of you, in Ardèche) a couple of weeks ago. It was so incredibly good to be back, and reminded us that we as much as we love Carroll Gardens, it's time to escape Brooklyn for the countryside again.

Looking forward to more photos, and perhaps we can share stories over some pastries when you return!

Sophia said...

Beautiful pics, Kati. Love the duckies and the jar of Nutella :)

Katia said...

Jeremy, I love the Ardèche. Yes, please, let's get together. I am sure that I will be suffering from withdrawal when I come back.

Katia said...

Good morning Sophia,
Of course, Nutella was one of the first things in our shopping bag. You know us too well.

Cynthis said...

I noticed the Nutella. The older kid just returned from Italy with half a jar of Nutella. One or two of the other kids he was with had "budget" issues so they had to figure out how to be resourceful.

That tart looks delicious and the countryside beautiful.

Anonymous said...

40 degrees???! So jealous! ;-)
It all looks so beautiful and calm...

Bruce McD. said...

I thought the tarte was some sort of white pizza or quiche at first, but still: sounds like yum!