Hello faithful readers!
I have not entered the witness protection program, become incapacitated nor am I dead if you have been wondering why I have not posted anything new on the blog for a while.
So here's the story. A few weeks ago, I turned on my computer to look at pictures to choose what I was going to write for my next post. I had new restaurants, villages and wineries to choose from.
I clicked on the picture file and instead of seeing lots of picture, all I saw were black images. As you can imagine, I had a sick feeling in my stomach. I bravely clicked on one of the pictures to see if an image would appear behind that black mask.
What opened was a message telling me that I needed to follow the instructions if I wanted to get my pictures back. The instructions were essentially I had to send them $2,000 in bit coins. I had been hacked and my pictures were being held hostage.
After speaking with our IT consultants at work, I decided the only thing I could do was have them clean my hard drive which meant the pictures I had not saved to an auxiliary drive were forever lost. So I won't be doing too much blogging until we get to France in June.
I am really down about the photos I have lost but it was really my own fault since I wasn't backing them up to a secure environment like I should have been. It is hard to replicate the good scenes which occur spontaneously when you are with family and friends.
I have been blessed the last few weeks to hear from several readers with questions about Provence or nice feedback about the enjoyment and travel help they get from reading the blog. So I can't let you down, I will be back very soon.
Until then, à bientôt mes amis.
Showing posts with label Blogs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blogs. Show all posts
Monday, May 16, 2016
Monday, July 1, 2013
Oh, I Meet the Nicest People Through Blogging and a Wonderful Provencal Style Lunch in the Backyard!
It has been 3 1/2 years since I started telling you about the places we discover during our sojourns in Provence. During that time, I've had the chance to meet some of you who read this blog as well as some of the bloggers I follow. I think the first person I met through this blog was Kathy from Camano Island, Washington who came to dine at our Bistro des Copains in Occidental, CA and then later rented our Sablet house.
Since then, we have met more of you at the Bistro, several of you at the Tuesday morning market and at Le Festival Café in Vaison-la-Romaine, a couple who were riding bikes through Sablet and a group shopping at a brocante market there, and at a lunch near Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. This blogging has resulted in friendships with some amazing people including Barbara who teaches aspiring cooks at Cuisine de Provence.
This past week, I met Liza from Provence in Ann Arbor and her mother who were on their way to visit family in Northern California but detoured to dine at our Bistro Des Copains. Liza somehow finds time to write about food and Provence between her day job teaching Spanish and French to high school students. I'm sure kids like language classes at Liza's high school more than we liked them at mine; sorry Mrs. Butler.
Recently we met Aidan from Conjugating Irregular Verbs near the cousin's house in Clapiers France. The lead up to meeting our new friend began when I stumbled upon her charming blog a few years ago. Much more recently Aidan was interviewed on Blog Expat about living in the South of France where she said among other things that she wished there was more peanut butter in France.
Having just been to Costco and seen big jars of Skippy peanut butter, I sent an email to Aidan to tell her we would be happy to bring her peanut butter if she would meet us when we came to visit the cousins. So on a Sunday morning a few weeks ago, we met Aidan with two big jars of creamy (her preference) peanut butter in hand.
I develop an impression of blog authors based upon their writing styles and stories they tell. So I wondered if we would recognize Aidan and if she would be like the person I imagined from her blog. I can answer yes to both; I recognized her at quite a distance and she is just like I thought; someone we really like.
Aidan and her husband P-Daddy came to the South of France from Texas by way of Ireland. Unfortunately, Aidan doesn't write as frequently as she used to but give her a break, she is a busy mom with three kids and a dog. Besides running kids around, she was on House Hunters International, the HGTV reality show and she is finishing up a novel set in the South of France.
Aidan came bearing a gift. We didn't expect anything but I shouldn't have been surprised based upon the type of person she is. I commented on a post about how I like the wines of Domaine L'Hortus and she arrived with a bottle of 2012 Domaine de l'Hortus Bergerie de l'Hortus Rosé. We decided to carry the bottle back to California and drink it at a Provencal style lunch in honor of our new friend.
Saturday, we invited the kids to come over for lunch. I cooked inside but we dined outside in true Provencal fashion despite it being one of the hottest days of the year; 103 degrees Fahrenheit (39 Celsius for my European friends). The four grand kids splashed in the big wading pool while we ate and drank Aidan's rosé.
Because of the heat, I kept the menu simple:
No pictures of dessert. Lunch was delicious if I say so myself. A la vôtre Aidan. Thanks for the wine! It was delicious on a very hot day.
We look forward to meeting more of you in the coming months and years. I hope to meet some of you who regularly comment about posts including Sara and her band of characters over at Sara in Le Petit Village, Tuula at Belle Provence Travels, Camille who writes from Paris over at Croque-Camille, Diane who writes from the Charente at My Life in the Charente, Heather who has a magical way with words and pictures at Lost in Arles, Meredith who lives near cousin Annick at Talking Story in Provence, and last but not least Veronique who writes from Seattle at French Girl in Seattle.
Bonne journée mes amis et à bientôt.
Since then, we have met more of you at the Bistro, several of you at the Tuesday morning market and at Le Festival Café in Vaison-la-Romaine, a couple who were riding bikes through Sablet and a group shopping at a brocante market there, and at a lunch near Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. This blogging has resulted in friendships with some amazing people including Barbara who teaches aspiring cooks at Cuisine de Provence.
This past week, I met Liza from Provence in Ann Arbor and her mother who were on their way to visit family in Northern California but detoured to dine at our Bistro Des Copains. Liza somehow finds time to write about food and Provence between her day job teaching Spanish and French to high school students. I'm sure kids like language classes at Liza's high school more than we liked them at mine; sorry Mrs. Butler.
Recently we met Aidan from Conjugating Irregular Verbs near the cousin's house in Clapiers France. The lead up to meeting our new friend began when I stumbled upon her charming blog a few years ago. Much more recently Aidan was interviewed on Blog Expat about living in the South of France where she said among other things that she wished there was more peanut butter in France.
Having just been to Costco and seen big jars of Skippy peanut butter, I sent an email to Aidan to tell her we would be happy to bring her peanut butter if she would meet us when we came to visit the cousins. So on a Sunday morning a few weeks ago, we met Aidan with two big jars of creamy (her preference) peanut butter in hand.
I develop an impression of blog authors based upon their writing styles and stories they tell. So I wondered if we would recognize Aidan and if she would be like the person I imagined from her blog. I can answer yes to both; I recognized her at quite a distance and she is just like I thought; someone we really like.
Aidan and her husband P-Daddy came to the South of France from Texas by way of Ireland. Unfortunately, Aidan doesn't write as frequently as she used to but give her a break, she is a busy mom with three kids and a dog. Besides running kids around, she was on House Hunters International, the HGTV reality show and she is finishing up a novel set in the South of France.
Aidan came bearing a gift. We didn't expect anything but I shouldn't have been surprised based upon the type of person she is. I commented on a post about how I like the wines of Domaine L'Hortus and she arrived with a bottle of 2012 Domaine de l'Hortus Bergerie de l'Hortus Rosé. We decided to carry the bottle back to California and drink it at a Provencal style lunch in honor of our new friend.
Saturday, we invited the kids to come over for lunch. I cooked inside but we dined outside in true Provencal fashion despite it being one of the hottest days of the year; 103 degrees Fahrenheit (39 Celsius for my European friends). The four grand kids splashed in the big wading pool while we ate and drank Aidan's rosé.
 |
| 2012 Domaine de l'Hortus Bergerie de l'Hortus Rosé |
Because of the heat, I kept the menu simple:
Heirloom Tomato Salad with Cucumbers and Fresh Basil from Shirley's Garden
Vegetarian Stuffed Mushrooms
Vegetarian Stuffed Zucchini with Farro
Oven-Roasted Wild King Salmon Over a Fresh Sweet Corn and Cherry Tomato Salsa
Sliced Organic White and Yellow Nectarines Over Vanilla Ice Cream
Vegetarian Stuffed Mushrooms
Vegetarian Stuffed Zucchini with Farro
Oven-Roasted Wild King Salmon Over a Fresh Sweet Corn and Cherry Tomato Salsa
Sliced Organic White and Yellow Nectarines Over Vanilla Ice Cream
 |
| Heirloom Tomato Salad with Cucumbers and Fresh Basil from Shirley's Garden |
 |
| Vegetarian Stuffed Mushrooms |
 |
| Vegetarian Stuffed Zucchini with Farro |
 |
| Oven-Roasted Wild King Salmon Over a Fresh Sweet Corn and Cherry Tomato Salsa |
No pictures of dessert. Lunch was delicious if I say so myself. A la vôtre Aidan. Thanks for the wine! It was delicious on a very hot day.
 |
| Shirley and I say "A la vôtre" |
We look forward to meeting more of you in the coming months and years. I hope to meet some of you who regularly comment about posts including Sara and her band of characters over at Sara in Le Petit Village, Tuula at Belle Provence Travels, Camille who writes from Paris over at Croque-Camille, Diane who writes from the Charente at My Life in the Charente, Heather who has a magical way with words and pictures at Lost in Arles, Meredith who lives near cousin Annick at Talking Story in Provence, and last but not least Veronique who writes from Seattle at French Girl in Seattle.
Bonne journée mes amis et à bientôt.
Monday, May 13, 2013
I got the Liebster Award.
Hey guess what readers, unbelievable news! My blogger friend Sara over at Sara in Le Petit Village just presented the Liebster Blog award to me. Thank you so much Sara for the award. I am thrilled that you read what I write and honored that you like my blog.
Sara lives in Le Petit Village somewhere in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. She was born in New York City, moved to Texas where she lived until she moved to Dublin and worked in the banking industry. One night she ran into her future French husband in a club and followed him back to Le Petit Village in Provence.
Sara sees the world through a unique lens and most everything she writes makes me smile. She may well get her writing skills from her mother who has a blog and is the author of two books. I just found out from Sara that her mom reads my blog too and that makes me very happy.
When I read that Sara had passed the award to me, I went to Google to see what I could find about the award. Here is what I found, "The origins of the Liebster Blog award are somewhat unclear but the general consensus is that it originated in Germany, Liebster meaning favorite or dearest."
If you're familiar with the blogosphere than you know that an award like the Liebster comes with rules and these are the rules for the Liebster:
1. Thank and link back to the blogger who presented you with the award.
2. List 11 random facts about yourself.
3. Answer the 11 questions you were asked.
4. Write 11 questions for your nominees.
5. Present/nominate a Liebster blog award to 3-5 other bloggers.
Here are eleven random facts about me:
1. I have dual United States and Swiss citizenship through father Daniel, born in Lausanne, Switzerland. The Swiss family town of origin is Langnau in the canton (like a state) of Bern. My father’s mother was 100% French from near the Pont du Gard so I think I could get French citizenship too.
2. Once upon a time, very inadvertently, I behaved like a cad and stood up Shirley on what was to be our first date. Let me explain; I met Shirley during freshmen registration and asked her out. Shirley‘s maiden name is long and unusual, and by Saturday night, I had forgotten her name. I knew she lived in a dorm but not the room # so I couldn't get her.
3. I was drafted into the US Army after freshmen year, the next to last year the US conducted a lottery draft before the army became all volunteer. In case you are interested, I escaped Vietnam and was stationed just outside Washington DC at Ft. Detrick, MD where I was the company clerk (think Radar O'Reilly in Mash) for a medical research unit.
4. I missed the birth of our first child. Wife Shirley went into labor on the day a final test was scheduled my last semester of college. I spoke to the professor and shared the happy news and he told me that if I didn’t take the test at the scheduled time, he would give me an F for the class. So I took the test and by the time I got to the hospital, I was a father.
5. Despite multiple faux pas (see #2 and #4), Shirley still likes me and this summer we will celebrate our 40th anniversary. My life would have been very different and not in a good way if she had not overlooked my many screw-ups along the way.
6. I officiated at a wedding, one of the scariest things I have done. Writing a meaningful homily that didn’t offend the Jewish family of the groom or the Christian family of the bride was hard to do. They are still married and have a beautiful little girl so I guess I did OK.
7. My favorite candy is Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. If you haven’t tried them, you really must do so.
8. For the first part of my life, I was a vegetarian like the rest of my family. My brother, mother and sister still are and my father would be too if he was still alive. Thankfully, my family in the Tarn region of France introduced me to tasty alternatives. You can read about it here.
9. I am afraid of heights. I am afraid for myself and for anyone up high. I had a fight (verbal only) with my friend when we visited the Pont du Gard in 1995. He took our daughters to the top level (the barriers had not been put in place yet back then) and they walked on the top. I freaked out. Clearly some French official must be afraid of heights too as they now have barriers which stop people from walking on the top. I am glad I am not the only one.
10. I met former first lady of the United States, Laura Bush a few days ago and had my picture taken with her. She asked me about the origin of my name, so we had a little moment while we talked about that.
11. I don't like beer or ale, although to be honest, I have not tried very many. On the other hand, I love wine and I have tasted many different ones. My favorite wines are California Pinot Noirs and red wines from Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Gigondas. I like dry crisp pink wine too.
Here are the answers to the 11 questions that Sara gave me:
1. What movie or TV show do you hate that everyone else loves? There are several but the TV show I hate most is "Survivor."
2. Where were you when you ate your first Chicken McNugget? I don't know for sure but I assume it was somewhere in Montgomery County, Maryland outside of Washington, DC.
3. Who are your five dream dinner guests (alive or dead) and what would you cook them? My dinner guests would be Diana, Princess of Wales (first wife to Prince Charles), Alice Waters(chef/author), Warren Buffett (billionaire entrepreneur), Neil Armstrong (first man to walk on the moon), and Walter Cronkite (news anchor). All the dishes would be typical of Provence and would come from the cookbook "Lulu's Provencal Table" by Richard Olney. The dishes in the cookbook are from Lulu Peyraud, the proprietress and fabulous home cook at Domaine Tempier in Bandol.
4. What is your favorite book or author? My love of Provence began with the book "A Year in Provence" by Peter Mayle so I would have to say that is my favorite book.
5. What is your favorite tipple? Pastis, bien sur!
6. What's your middle name? André. My father's middle name was André and his best friend's name was André.
7. If you were given €4000 for a holiday, where would you go and what would you do? Shirley was born in Tanzania near the border with Kenya. She has fond memories of the animal parks and would love to go back there. I would use the money and take her back to where she was born and visit the vast animal parks of Africa.
8. What song do you hear, that when you hear it, takes you right back to your childhood/teenage years? It would have to be "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" sung by B. J. Thomas and written for the movie "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" or "Sweet Caroline" written and performed by Neil Diamond. Both songs were written in 1969.
9. What's your favorite sport and favorite team?I like quite a few sports, in fact my first major in college was physical education. But if I have to choose, my favorite sports would be baseball and football and my favorite teams are the Detroit Tigers baseball team and Detroit Lions football team.
10. McDonald's or Burger King? I rarely eat at McDonald's and never at Burger King. I have no idea where there is even a Burger King within 50 miles of our house in Northern California.
11. What is your favorite city in the world? I think San Francisco as I told you here is probably my favorite city in the world. A close second would be Paris.
Here are the bloggers that I am presenting with the Liebster Award: Belle Provence Travels, 2KidsinWineCountry, French Girl in Seattle, Sipping Espresso and Cuisine de Provence.
11 questions I have chosen for you to answer are:
1. If you could have dinner with anyone in the world, alive or dead, real or fictional, who would it be and why?
2. Describe the circumstances under which you met your spouse or the significant person in your life?
3. Name your very favorite restaurant, in what city/town/village is it located and what kind of food do they serve? I am always looking for recommendations for restaurants to try.
4. What is your favorite dinner meal or "comfort food?"
5. Who is your favorite author?
6. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would that be?
7. What is your favorite movie of all time.
8. Tea or coffee?
9. What is your guilty pleasure?
10. Are you a morning person or a night owl?
11. What would be your dream job?
Bonne journée mes amis et à bientôt.
Sara lives in Le Petit Village somewhere in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. She was born in New York City, moved to Texas where she lived until she moved to Dublin and worked in the banking industry. One night she ran into her future French husband in a club and followed him back to Le Petit Village in Provence.
Sara sees the world through a unique lens and most everything she writes makes me smile. She may well get her writing skills from her mother who has a blog and is the author of two books. I just found out from Sara that her mom reads my blog too and that makes me very happy.
When I read that Sara had passed the award to me, I went to Google to see what I could find about the award. Here is what I found, "The origins of the Liebster Blog award are somewhat unclear but the general consensus is that it originated in Germany, Liebster meaning favorite or dearest."
If you're familiar with the blogosphere than you know that an award like the Liebster comes with rules and these are the rules for the Liebster:
1. Thank and link back to the blogger who presented you with the award.
2. List 11 random facts about yourself.
3. Answer the 11 questions you were asked.
4. Write 11 questions for your nominees.
5. Present/nominate a Liebster blog award to 3-5 other bloggers.
Here are eleven random facts about me:
1. I have dual United States and Swiss citizenship through father Daniel, born in Lausanne, Switzerland. The Swiss family town of origin is Langnau in the canton (like a state) of Bern. My father’s mother was 100% French from near the Pont du Gard so I think I could get French citizenship too.
2. Once upon a time, very inadvertently, I behaved like a cad and stood up Shirley on what was to be our first date. Let me explain; I met Shirley during freshmen registration and asked her out. Shirley‘s maiden name is long and unusual, and by Saturday night, I had forgotten her name. I knew she lived in a dorm but not the room # so I couldn't get her.
 |
| While we were dating |
3. I was drafted into the US Army after freshmen year, the next to last year the US conducted a lottery draft before the army became all volunteer. In case you are interested, I escaped Vietnam and was stationed just outside Washington DC at Ft. Detrick, MD where I was the company clerk (think Radar O'Reilly in Mash) for a medical research unit.
 |
| Radar O'Reilly |
4. I missed the birth of our first child. Wife Shirley went into labor on the day a final test was scheduled my last semester of college. I spoke to the professor and shared the happy news and he told me that if I didn’t take the test at the scheduled time, he would give me an F for the class. So I took the test and by the time I got to the hospital, I was a father.
5. Despite multiple faux pas (see #2 and #4), Shirley still likes me and this summer we will celebrate our 40th anniversary. My life would have been very different and not in a good way if she had not overlooked my many screw-ups along the way.
 |
| Near Marseille after nearly 40 years of marriage |
6. I officiated at a wedding, one of the scariest things I have done. Writing a meaningful homily that didn’t offend the Jewish family of the groom or the Christian family of the bride was hard to do. They are still married and have a beautiful little girl so I guess I did OK.
7. My favorite candy is Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. If you haven’t tried them, you really must do so.
8. For the first part of my life, I was a vegetarian like the rest of my family. My brother, mother and sister still are and my father would be too if he was still alive. Thankfully, my family in the Tarn region of France introduced me to tasty alternatives. You can read about it here.
9. I am afraid of heights. I am afraid for myself and for anyone up high. I had a fight (verbal only) with my friend when we visited the Pont du Gard in 1995. He took our daughters to the top level (the barriers had not been put in place yet back then) and they walked on the top. I freaked out. Clearly some French official must be afraid of heights too as they now have barriers which stop people from walking on the top. I am glad I am not the only one.
10. I met former first lady of the United States, Laura Bush a few days ago and had my picture taken with her. She asked me about the origin of my name, so we had a little moment while we talked about that.
11. I don't like beer or ale, although to be honest, I have not tried very many. On the other hand, I love wine and I have tasted many different ones. My favorite wines are California Pinot Noirs and red wines from Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Gigondas. I like dry crisp pink wine too.
Here are the answers to the 11 questions that Sara gave me:
1. What movie or TV show do you hate that everyone else loves? There are several but the TV show I hate most is "Survivor."
2. Where were you when you ate your first Chicken McNugget? I don't know for sure but I assume it was somewhere in Montgomery County, Maryland outside of Washington, DC.
3. Who are your five dream dinner guests (alive or dead) and what would you cook them? My dinner guests would be Diana, Princess of Wales (first wife to Prince Charles), Alice Waters(chef/author), Warren Buffett (billionaire entrepreneur), Neil Armstrong (first man to walk on the moon), and Walter Cronkite (news anchor). All the dishes would be typical of Provence and would come from the cookbook "Lulu's Provencal Table" by Richard Olney. The dishes in the cookbook are from Lulu Peyraud, the proprietress and fabulous home cook at Domaine Tempier in Bandol.
4. What is your favorite book or author? My love of Provence began with the book "A Year in Provence" by Peter Mayle so I would have to say that is my favorite book.
5. What is your favorite tipple? Pastis, bien sur!
6. What's your middle name? André. My father's middle name was André and his best friend's name was André.
7. If you were given €4000 for a holiday, where would you go and what would you do? Shirley was born in Tanzania near the border with Kenya. She has fond memories of the animal parks and would love to go back there. I would use the money and take her back to where she was born and visit the vast animal parks of Africa.
8. What song do you hear, that when you hear it, takes you right back to your childhood/teenage years? It would have to be "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" sung by B. J. Thomas and written for the movie "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" or "Sweet Caroline" written and performed by Neil Diamond. Both songs were written in 1969.
9. What's your favorite sport and favorite team?I like quite a few sports, in fact my first major in college was physical education. But if I have to choose, my favorite sports would be baseball and football and my favorite teams are the Detroit Tigers baseball team and Detroit Lions football team.
10. McDonald's or Burger King? I rarely eat at McDonald's and never at Burger King. I have no idea where there is even a Burger King within 50 miles of our house in Northern California.
11. What is your favorite city in the world? I think San Francisco as I told you here is probably my favorite city in the world. A close second would be Paris.
Here are the bloggers that I am presenting with the Liebster Award: Belle Provence Travels, 2KidsinWineCountry, French Girl in Seattle, Sipping Espresso and Cuisine de Provence.
11 questions I have chosen for you to answer are:
1. If you could have dinner with anyone in the world, alive or dead, real or fictional, who would it be and why?
2. Describe the circumstances under which you met your spouse or the significant person in your life?
3. Name your very favorite restaurant, in what city/town/village is it located and what kind of food do they serve? I am always looking for recommendations for restaurants to try.
4. What is your favorite dinner meal or "comfort food?"
5. Who is your favorite author?
6. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would that be?
7. What is your favorite movie of all time.
8. Tea or coffee?
9. What is your guilty pleasure?
10. Are you a morning person or a night owl?
11. What would be your dream job?
Bonne journée mes amis et à bientôt.
Monday, May 21, 2012
The Sunshine Blogger Award
Guess what? My friend Ashley over at BACKYARDPROVENCE has nominated me for The Sunshine Award. Thank you Ashley, that is very sweet of you. I am very honored!
Ashley is from Southern California and living her dream with husband Dude and daughter Tinki in Provence not too from the Mediterranean in a house which they are renovating. I really felt bad for them this past winter as they struggled to stay warm in their house without heat while they waited for pipes to thaw and dry while they waited for the man to come and fix their roof.
When we started our search for a house in Provence, Shirley stipulated that she did not want to experience what Peter Mayle and his wife went through as described in "A Year in Provence" about fixing up an old house; so no fixer uppers. I think she would have felt even stronger about this decree if she had read some of Ashley's posts about fixing up their house.
In addition to writing about fixing up her house (somehow she sees humor in tragic situations), Ashley also writes and posts pictures about her exploratory visits along the Mediterranean and to nearby towns and villages. I hope we will have a chance to meet up with Ashley and her family during one of our future sojourns in Sablet.
Like most awards, there are rules that come with winning the prestigious Sunshine Award. Here they are:
1. Thank the person who gave this award and write a post about it.
2. Answer the questions about your favorites below.
3. Pass on the award to 10 fabulous bloggers, link their blogs, and let them know you awarded them.
Here are a list of my favorite things:
Favorite Color – I don't think there is any question that blue is my favorite color, like the beautiful blue sky in Provence or Mediterranean Sea. The vast majority of my dress and leisure shirts are blue as well.
Favorite Animal – Sheep. I have loved sheep since I was a kid going to visit my family in the Tarn. That's me below with Mémé's sheep.
.jpg)
Favorite Number – 7, lucky 7 like my birth date.
Favorite Drink – Red wine from the Southern Côtes du Rhône, especially wines from Gigondas.
Facebook or Twitter – I have accounts on both but I really only understand Facebook. I don't really understand Twitter so I rarely tweet.
Your Passion – Besides my wonderful family and especially 4 darling grandkids, I would say Provence and food. I love being in Sablet and really all of Provence. I am a different person when I am there; much more relaxed! I don't think anyone who knows me would be surprised that food, eating, cooking or reading about it are things I love to do.
Giving or Getting Presents – Giving, no question.
Favorite Day – Saturdays. The start of the weekend, enough said.
Favorite Flowers – Roses. Something I got from my dad. He planted a huge number of roses at their home in Michigan, he also planted quite a few at our house here in California. I take roses to our Bistro Des Copains every week. Shirley thinks I should mix it up as she gets bored with the roses. Oh well.
Here is the hard part, selecting bloggers to nominate for the Sunshine Award. I don't get a chance to follow lots of blogs and generally limit myself to those who write about France and especially Provence. Ashley nominated a couple of bloggers who I would nominate and others I know ask that they not be nominated for awards.
So what I am trying to say or justify the reasons that I can't nominate 10 bloggers. It is quite posible, that some of the bloggers I nominate may have already been nominated previously. So here goes. Please check out these wonderful blogs.
1. Cuisine de Provence
2. A Seasonal Cook in Turkey
3. Talking Story in Provence
4. Sara in Le Petit Village
5. Farmhouse in France
6. Conjugating Irregular Verbs
7. French Girl in Seattle
8. An American in Provence
Thanks again Ashley for nominating me for the Sunshine Award. Bonne journée et à bientôt.
Ashley is from Southern California and living her dream with husband Dude and daughter Tinki in Provence not too from the Mediterranean in a house which they are renovating. I really felt bad for them this past winter as they struggled to stay warm in their house without heat while they waited for pipes to thaw and dry while they waited for the man to come and fix their roof.
When we started our search for a house in Provence, Shirley stipulated that she did not want to experience what Peter Mayle and his wife went through as described in "A Year in Provence" about fixing up an old house; so no fixer uppers. I think she would have felt even stronger about this decree if she had read some of Ashley's posts about fixing up their house.
In addition to writing about fixing up her house (somehow she sees humor in tragic situations), Ashley also writes and posts pictures about her exploratory visits along the Mediterranean and to nearby towns and villages. I hope we will have a chance to meet up with Ashley and her family during one of our future sojourns in Sablet.
Like most awards, there are rules that come with winning the prestigious Sunshine Award. Here they are:
1. Thank the person who gave this award and write a post about it.
2. Answer the questions about your favorites below.
3. Pass on the award to 10 fabulous bloggers, link their blogs, and let them know you awarded them.
Here are a list of my favorite things:
Favorite Color – I don't think there is any question that blue is my favorite color, like the beautiful blue sky in Provence or Mediterranean Sea. The vast majority of my dress and leisure shirts are blue as well.
Favorite Animal – Sheep. I have loved sheep since I was a kid going to visit my family in the Tarn. That's me below with Mémé's sheep.
.jpg)
Favorite Number – 7, lucky 7 like my birth date.
Favorite Drink – Red wine from the Southern Côtes du Rhône, especially wines from Gigondas.
Facebook or Twitter – I have accounts on both but I really only understand Facebook. I don't really understand Twitter so I rarely tweet.
Your Passion – Besides my wonderful family and especially 4 darling grandkids, I would say Provence and food. I love being in Sablet and really all of Provence. I am a different person when I am there; much more relaxed! I don't think anyone who knows me would be surprised that food, eating, cooking or reading about it are things I love to do.
Giving or Getting Presents – Giving, no question.
Favorite Day – Saturdays. The start of the weekend, enough said.
Favorite Flowers – Roses. Something I got from my dad. He planted a huge number of roses at their home in Michigan, he also planted quite a few at our house here in California. I take roses to our Bistro Des Copains every week. Shirley thinks I should mix it up as she gets bored with the roses. Oh well.
Here is the hard part, selecting bloggers to nominate for the Sunshine Award. I don't get a chance to follow lots of blogs and generally limit myself to those who write about France and especially Provence. Ashley nominated a couple of bloggers who I would nominate and others I know ask that they not be nominated for awards.
So what I am trying to say or justify the reasons that I can't nominate 10 bloggers. It is quite posible, that some of the bloggers I nominate may have already been nominated previously. So here goes. Please check out these wonderful blogs.
1. Cuisine de Provence
2. A Seasonal Cook in Turkey
3. Talking Story in Provence
4. Sara in Le Petit Village
5. Farmhouse in France
6. Conjugating Irregular Verbs
7. French Girl in Seattle
8. An American in Provence
Thanks again Ashley for nominating me for the Sunshine Award. Bonne journée et à bientôt.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Blogger Meet-up and Sablet à la Belle Epoche
We have just returned from a wonderful time in Sablet. Niece Leslie was with us and we were on the go day and night. We took day trips, watched the Tour de France, visited with French family, went to festivals, shopped the markets, caught up with friends and enjoyed great food and wine; and I took lots of pictures.
We also had a blogger meet-up at our house in Sablet. Back in January, we were graciously invited for aperitifs to Barbara and Robert's beautiful home in nearby Vaison-la-Romaine, Barbara is the author of the wonderful Cuisine de Provence where she writes about food and life in Provence.
We really enjoyed our visit with Barbara and Robert and we decided that when we returned to Sablet that we would have them over to our house for aperitifs. Happily, we were able to find time to get together. As you might guess, our conversation covered food, restaurants, and summer festivals.
I prepared some food for us to nibble on while we sat on the terrace including eggplant caviar, bruschetta with diced tomatoes and basil I bought at the Vaison market that morning. We sipped on white and rosé Cassis wine from Domaine du Paternel. We had a great time, laughing and telling stories, probably aided by the refreshingly chilled wine on the warm summer evening.
Shirley, Robert, Barbara, and me on the terrace of our house in Sablet.
I should also mention that Barbara gives cooking classes in her fabulous kitchen at their home in Vaison-la-Romaine. If you are coming to the area and would like to take classes to learn how to prepare classical dishes from Provence, check out her Cuisine de Provence web site. I can attest to the fact, she is a wonderful cook.
As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, we had a chance to experience a number of summer events, most we had never been there for until this visit. Unfortunately, the very special "Sablet à la Belle Epoche" took place on Sunday after we left for our return to California.
Barbara and Robert came to Sablet that Sunday and took in this unique event and shot some great pictures which she posted and you can read about on her Cuisine de Provence.
Barbara said, the theme was "Sablet à la Belle Epoche" and started with a mass in Provençal at the village church, followed by the blessing of a winestock by Father Pierre Granier and Provençal dancing. All through the village there were demonstrations of old arts and crafts and the villagers strolled about in their traditional Sunday finery. I wish we could have been there.
Here are Barbara's pictures.
Thank you so much Barbara for the pictures and for yours and Robert's friendship. We look forward to our next meet-up in the Vaucluse.
Bonne journée et à bientôt mes amis!
We also had a blogger meet-up at our house in Sablet. Back in January, we were graciously invited for aperitifs to Barbara and Robert's beautiful home in nearby Vaison-la-Romaine, Barbara is the author of the wonderful Cuisine de Provence where she writes about food and life in Provence.
We really enjoyed our visit with Barbara and Robert and we decided that when we returned to Sablet that we would have them over to our house for aperitifs. Happily, we were able to find time to get together. As you might guess, our conversation covered food, restaurants, and summer festivals.
I prepared some food for us to nibble on while we sat on the terrace including eggplant caviar, bruschetta with diced tomatoes and basil I bought at the Vaison market that morning. We sipped on white and rosé Cassis wine from Domaine du Paternel. We had a great time, laughing and telling stories, probably aided by the refreshingly chilled wine on the warm summer evening.
Shirley, Robert, Barbara, and me on the terrace of our house in Sablet.
I should also mention that Barbara gives cooking classes in her fabulous kitchen at their home in Vaison-la-Romaine. If you are coming to the area and would like to take classes to learn how to prepare classical dishes from Provence, check out her Cuisine de Provence web site. I can attest to the fact, she is a wonderful cook.
As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, we had a chance to experience a number of summer events, most we had never been there for until this visit. Unfortunately, the very special "Sablet à la Belle Epoche" took place on Sunday after we left for our return to California.
Barbara and Robert came to Sablet that Sunday and took in this unique event and shot some great pictures which she posted and you can read about on her Cuisine de Provence.
Barbara said, the theme was "Sablet à la Belle Epoche" and started with a mass in Provençal at the village church, followed by the blessing of a winestock by Father Pierre Granier and Provençal dancing. All through the village there were demonstrations of old arts and crafts and the villagers strolled about in their traditional Sunday finery. I wish we could have been there.
Here are Barbara's pictures.
Thank you so much Barbara for the pictures and for yours and Robert's friendship. We look forward to our next meet-up in the Vaucluse.
Bonne journée et à bientôt mes amis!
Friday, July 30, 2010
A Taste of Garlic
I got up this morning just after 5:00 as I do most days: Abbi isn't too keen on sleeping in. As I have told you before, Abbi is a 150 pound Newfoundland. She is as sweet and loving as she can be; but she can be quite persistent when she decides it is time to get me out of bed in the morning.
When I get down stairs, the first thing I do is switch on the lap top and catch up on emails and blogs. One of my favorite's is A Taste of Garlic written by Keith Eckstein. Keith is a Brit who now lives in Brittany and writes a number of blogs including Welcome to BretonDiary and the aforementioned A Taste of Garlic.
In A Taste of Garlic, he writes that prior to moving to France, he read blogs about living in France and continues to read these blogs. A prolific blogger, he has now taken up writing reviews about other people's blogs about life in France on A Taste of Garlic.
Well this morning when I switched on the lap top and checked in on A Taste of Garlic, I was thrilled to see that Keith has reviewed Our House in Provence on his blog. In the review he states "The author not only loves food but it’s also clear that he loves Provence as well."
How true Keith! I do love food and I love Provence and all things Provençal. In my blog, I just try to share with readers, known and unknown, the things about Provence that I think make it such a magical place, not the least of which is great food. Thanks Keith for your nice review.
When I get down stairs, the first thing I do is switch on the lap top and catch up on emails and blogs. One of my favorite's is A Taste of Garlic written by Keith Eckstein. Keith is a Brit who now lives in Brittany and writes a number of blogs including Welcome to BretonDiary and the aforementioned A Taste of Garlic.
In A Taste of Garlic, he writes that prior to moving to France, he read blogs about living in France and continues to read these blogs. A prolific blogger, he has now taken up writing reviews about other people's blogs about life in France on A Taste of Garlic.
Well this morning when I switched on the lap top and checked in on A Taste of Garlic, I was thrilled to see that Keith has reviewed Our House in Provence on his blog. In the review he states "The author not only loves food but it’s also clear that he loves Provence as well."
How true Keith! I do love food and I love Provence and all things Provençal. In my blog, I just try to share with readers, known and unknown, the things about Provence that I think make it such a magical place, not the least of which is great food. Thanks Keith for your nice review.
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