A Day in our French Life

Our daily routine goes a little something like this. We sleep entirely too late, til around 10 am. We open all the windows and the top of the Dutch door in the kitchen. We brew coffee and toast a baguette, slather it in French butter, top it with either Speculoos (graham cracker paste that we thought was peanut butter), then top it with fig or fruit jelly. Most days we do a load of laundry and hang it out to dry, then sit at the long farmhouse table and plan our day. Should we tour another castle? Should we look for depot ventes to shop for junk, or go to the daily street market? Maybe, we could visit another ancient church and look through the cemetery for our ancestors.

Some days, we don't plan. We just choose a direction and have an adventurous day, just see what we see. Those have been some of our best days.

After our daily adventures, back at home in the afternoon, we sit outside and each do our thing. I blog, Chelsea Facebooks, and Kurt usually plays the guitar until dinner time. One day, he took his guitar down to Redon Espic, the church we love that has the most resonant sound. He recorded some hauntingly beautiful music there.

Commissioned painting by Jenni Dickens

Kurt is chef, Chelsea and I assist with cutting vegetables and bread. Chelsea sets the table and I clean up afterward. Kurt is such a good cook that I am happy to do the dishes.

Kurt is chef, Chelsea and I assist with cutting vegetables and bread. Chelsea sets tahe table and I clean up afterward. Kurt is such a good cook that I am happy to do the dishes. , and slow paced living is all I could have hoped for. There are roosters crowing, chickens and cats wandering around the little town square, donkeys braying, sooo many birds singing and stunning country views all around. There are old stone houses, tile roofs, roses at every turn, small but full garden plots, bonjours here and bonsoirs there. Baran is quiet, save the birds, donkeys and roosters. Boyntanac is lovely and I am happy here.

Back to the Brocante

We went back for the last day of the Brocante Salon Sale, hoping that the piece I'd found and wanted on Friday was still there. It was! I have no idea how I will get it home, but in my home it will be. It is a Louis XVI style tapestry frame. The tapestry is now gone, the frame is stripped down to bare wood. It is a lovely find, indeed. I purchased a few more gifts, more linens, a chandelier and a bracelet. Chelsea had taken a liking to old silverware on Saturday, but some of the sets were $800 just for the spoons, so when I saw a pretter silver plated fancy fork and spoon set for $10 euros, I swiped it up for her.

I bought from several of the dealers, but a lot from one couple in particular. I had purchased a few things from them on Saturday, and they had the frame I wanted. They were kind and friendly and so very helpful. Her husband, who spoke a little English, wasn't around when I arrived on Monday. His wife spoke no English at all, so she took my hand and lead me to the opposite end of the hall to a lady who could translate for us. Kurt and Chelsea had dropped me off for the day to go do their own thing, so I had packed a backpack full of supplies, prepared to sit on a hillside and paint the lovely view from Domme. I asked, through the interpreter, if I could leave my backpack under table while I shopped. Of course, she agreed. From then on, when she'd see me purchase something from another vendor, she would walk over, take it from me and put it under the table in her booth. So sweet. Lots of "Mercis".

After going through each booth with a fine-toothed comb, I was back at their booth to complete my shopping. I was down to my last $100 bill that I had taken with me that day. Her husband was back then and would quote me on each item that I was interested in which added up to more than double what I had left to spend. I even opened my purse and showed him that it was all the money I had. He asked me which pieces I wanted to purchase , to which I replied, "Hmm, I don't know. I want them all." To my great surprise, he thought for a second, smiled and said, "D'accord" which means "ok". I asked, "Really?". He said, "Really, Madame." Oh, how I love these wonderfully kind French people.

I left my purchases there, strapped on my backpack and hiked up the hill to Domme. I spent the rest of the morning browsing through the little shops and with the coins I had left, I was able to buy a coca and a croissant for lunch. I didn't care. Who could be anything but at peace, sitting in the perfect weather, gentle breeze blowing, having my snack and watching the vacationing families speaking their lovely language while going about their days. It was so crowded there that I decided not to try to paint. I just sat there counting my ever mounting blessings and thanking God for this once in a lifetime, if you're lucky, experience. Thank you, God. Thank you!

My frame

Back at home, the three of us laid out on blankets in the back yard, listening to quiet music and soaking up the sun. The air really is different in France, even without the smell of flowers, the air smells sweet and clean. Then we made a quick trip to the grocery to pick up some needed items for dinner. It just so happens that the grocery is next to a McDonalds. Kurt said that it sounded good, and Chelsea had really been wanting to try the McBaguette. We sat there, like the Americans that we are, eating our fast food and fiddling with our IPhones. (They had weefee) We even had ice cream for dessert, which I tried to pay for by swiping my driver's license. More laughs at Mom's expense. We had planned to watch Coco Before Chanel, but hadn't realized there were no English subtitles, so we watched Sherlock Holmes again, instead, before turning in for the night.

The next morning, Kurt and Chelsea went off on another adventure, leaving me a day at home to sit outside and paint or write.

French Culture, St. Cyprien, and Watering Flowers

No clothes dryer in France, just sweet-smelling country air. This was one of the many lessons in how the French live differently than we are accustomed to. As with most of those differences, we enjoyed and appreciated a different way of life.

Although, sometimes we've been confused, like the day we followed the signs to a brickabrack in Le Bugue. Lots of signs, lots of people, but the brickabrack...not much. As far as we could tell, there were just some small carnival-type rides. Hmmm.

Two children on bicycles asked us for directons to a fete in Finsac. I was able to direct them "a gauche." A little later, we were driving and came up behind them pushing their bikes up the steep hill to Finsac. We all smiled and waved. A sweet little moment.

We drove past the fete in Finsac. Again, not much. A few of the houses had small wooden rides set up in their front yards. Hmmm.

St. Cyprien

In the afternoon, we took Chelsea to the lovely church in St. Cyprien. Such a special place.

Then home for a leisurely afternoon.

Suki, your roses are in full bloom!

Just gorgeous.

Watering Monique's Jardin

These pictures of me watering my new friend's garden are the cherry on top of my trip. I had found a place to fit in and just for a little while, I became one of them.