Waiting for Mamie

We are on pins and needles over here. Minou is off to fetch Mamie.
Minou's intrepid Maman will have traveled a day and a half, on trains, planes, and automobiles, to see us. She is 82 this year.

We are so looking forward to seeing her. I know that she won't mind, but I was hoping that our house chaos would be put back together before she arrived--it was not to be, since the drywaller are still working upstairs.

I want Mamie to feel comfortable and at home. We will do our best in other ways however.

The floor is mopped. The range and sink are scrubbed. Tomorrow I will buy some of her favorite treats.    What a blessing to have this visit at holiday time. I'm grateful that she was willing to make the difficult journey.

conques

Another snapshot of summer warmth.
A day trip from our home base in Luc, Aveyron, a hamlet of maybe 24 people.
I loved the cathedral St. Foy (not so much the windows by Pierre Soulages).

I loved the details of the stonework.

I loved wandering around the medieval town.

 

 

I loved the time with Mamie. It was very hot and steep for her, but she was a good sport, always.

 

 



I loved the patient streams of pilgrims coming and going from every direction, like lines of ants, with their backbacks and walking sticks. Someday I'd like to walk that route with Minou.

minou & me

The boys, p'tit minous un et deux, have requested to not be visibly present in this space.

Minou has made no such request.

He is such a cutie.

 

 

Sometimes a little silly though...

 



 

senanque

I look back with pleasure on the pictures of last summer at Senanque. We took a day trip through windy roads on a very, very, very hot day from Lattes to the lavender fields of Provence, a place my mother particularly wanted to visit during her time there. It was so lucky that thanks to the weather, the blooming season was late and we were able to enjoy the purple fields.

 

 

Besides filling my eyes with the colors, what I remember most from that day was the fact that we had not one but two ice cream stops, one of them for lavender ice cream (it was good, but the chocolate noisette was better), and that we were rationing water by the end of the day despite the eight bottles we'd brought for the five of us--it's difficult to find free drinking water in France. I also remember the Japanese tourist who was sitting in the shade of an olive tree, painting a beautiful landscape of the abbey at Senanque.

 

 

sunday sniffles

Sniffly days around the maison des minous this week, but we have not let it stop us from embracing the coziness of a rainy November three-day weekend at home. PJs and bathrobes were worn all day by some. Much reading and studying, lounging in bed, and perhaps a little too much computing, took place.
We baked apple muffins (using the last red apples hanging from our tree like globular jewels), and drank lots of tea.
We installed pine tongue-in-groove decking as attic flooring.
It looks lovely, rustic and simple, like a Swedish county cottage.
(where are those pictures I promised you? so sorry.)

We also put on our fancy shoes and took Grammy Minou out to dinner, sniffles or not, because we will soon be losing her to the monastics. She is leaving for a six-month stint at Plum Village in France. We are excited for her, but also feel a little sniffly about our upcoming long separation.

And my mantra for the week: Be nice to yourself.

Oregon in France

Because I can't resist, here are some little glimpses into the enchanted land my sweet boys and Minou visited with M1 and some good friends last weekend. A hamlet northwest of Montpellier that the boys dubbed "Oregon in France" (for the green & mountainous landscape).

It never hurts to dream....right??

Beauty in France

Let me share some beautiful pictures forwarded to me by my beautiful boys. Minou is a very talented photographer. Sorry for the small size; when I try to enlarge them the quality diminishes. Any ideas why?

Cityscapes:

Ending nuclear energy is possible

eating ice cream next to the cathedral

Farmer's market:

Family...lovely Minou and his lovely Maman:

Nature scenes:

Palavas

canals of the Midi

wild bulls in the Camargue

Find beauty where you are today....

I'm off to hear my talented co-worker sing tonight.