Back To Brooklyn By Way Of Paris And Düsseldorf

After almost seven weeks, it was time to leave our small village in the Auvergne to come home to Brooklyn.  It had been a wonderful vacation, full of sun, new encounters, and new discoveries. 
The last few days passed way too quickly. There was just so much to do.  And as if to make leaving even more difficult, a warm wind from the South brought blue skies and high temperatures.

I won't lie, saying good-bye was hard.  "We will be back in ten months," we promised.  "Have a great fall and winter. And stay in good health."  A last wave to Michel, Claudine, Marinette, René and our other neighbors, and a special farewell to our little friend Evans...

...and we were off to Paris.

But before getting back to New York, we had one more day in Düsseldorf, Germany.

The stop-over made the transition to city life just a bit easier.

So, here we are back in New York, ready to get back to work and to life in Carroll Gardens.
Give me just a few days to make my way through the pile of mail that was waiting for me, to restock the fridge and to start weeding my garden, and I will be posting about the neighborhood again.

Hope your summer has been a good one as well.





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Picture Of The Day: Early Morning Encounter

As I approached, all four came to the fence to pose for the photograph. 

They were stunning.

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A Very Long Summer To-Do List

I don't mean to give you the wrong idea about our summer vacations in the Auvergne, dear Reader.  Sure there are the get-togethers with old and new friends. 

Sure there is wine. This 1956 Sauternes must have been the most spectacular bottle of the summer. (Merci, Alain!)

But there is also the yearly maintenance work on the house.

The iron gate needed to be sanded and repainted. 

 (Having an audience makes it less of a chore.)

There were tree stumps that needed to be removed because their roots were growing out of the foundation. (Merci, Michel, pour votre aide.)

There were the tries at removing the old lime between the exterior wall stones in order to replace it.  (How much did they want to do this work?" my husband Glenn asked after doing just a patch.
"Whatever the estimate was, it's worth it.")

Wood floors needed to be sanded and sealed.

And though it took a long time, it was worth it, don't you think?

An absolute must this year was to replace a badly rotted shutter with a new one .
"Is your husband a carpenter by trade?" asked Mme . M as she passed by.
"Non, non, Madame!" I replied. "Mais il a beaucoup de talents."

There were also some small projects that sneaked onto the list like this one,
just because Mr. Pardon Me wanted a round planter.

It looked so good that I suggested he could build me that tour I always wanted.

Our neighbor Michel chimed in: " Then you might as well build four towers and turn your house into a chateau." I like that way of thinking.

I did my own share of work, of course.

Between cooking, cleaning and tending to my garden, I white-washed a very rough wall with a small brush until my wrist hurt.  The result is spectacular

But would you like to know what was the first thing on our to-do list for the summer of 2012?

It was to dig a hole through many rocks to...

...intsall a post...

...to hang a hammock.

Unfortunately, there wasn't much time to relax in it at all.
Perhaps next summer.

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Picture Of The Day: Perfect Fountain

Water fountain, watering cans and petunias in the courtyard of an old priory.

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The Yearly Pétanque Tournament

A summer in our Auvergnat village wouldn't be the same without the yearly pétanque tournament. Some of you might remember that my husband, together with Mr. J and Mr. M,  two of our neighbors, unexpectedly beat all the other teams at last year's event to walk away with the winning trophy. So you can imagine that there was much riding on the 2012 competition.  Mr. J and my husband had even practiced ahead of time.
The event was supposedly going to start at around 2 PM, but, as usual, most of the players only started gathering at about three.  By the time they had stopped at the 'buvette' and had gotten a beer, said hello to the others, it was a quarter to four.
The sky may have been blue as the players began throwing their boules, but as the teams battled it out, dark clouds appeared on the horizon and thunder could be heard in the distance.
"Perhaps the storm will pass" some said optimistically. "The météo has predicted hail" said some others.  Just minutes later,  sheets of rain and lightning scattered everyone.  Sadly, no winning team could be named and no one took home the trophy. Apparently, the mayor of the village is holding on to it till next year.
"Since there is no clear winner, I suppose we are still the village champions," my husband joked with his team mates.  They readily agreed.



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Our New Neighbors In The Auvergne

They just showed up early one evening, marched onto the field behind the house and settled right in. They seem friendly enough.



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Market Day In Ambert, Auvergne

As you may have gathered, food becomes very important during our stays in the Auvergne.  Perhaps it is the fact that our house is deep in the countryside and that we have to drive a bit to get to the nearest store, or because, as you can see, the selection is so overwhelming.  Just take a look at the cheese.  can you blame us for planning our menu first thing after we get up in the morning?
Shopping at the weekly market in Ambert, a pretty little town about half an hour away from our village, is always a pleasure.  It's every Thursday morning, come rain or shine.
What can I say?  The French know how to live....

On market days, (and on most other days as well), we build a wood fire at night and feast.

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