Quelque chose cette semaine (Something this week) part 4

In which I share a short snippet each week throughout 2015

WEEK #52 (24-30 dec)

There are a dozen definitions of the word grace in The Free Dictionary by Farlex. For this final post of the 2015 edition of "Quelque chose cette semaine — something this week," I choose this meaning: 

A disposition to be generous or helpful; goodwill. 

The past year has included some alarming events. For me, the deterioration of the political discourse in the United States may be the most discouraging trend of all. There seems to be nothing but hate spewing from the mouths of those on the right. There is no hope, compassion or peace in what they say. No goodwill. No grace.

I am not pessimistic enough to think that they will win the presidency, but the majority the Republicans hold in congress and in many states, is terrifying. (I am not scared of Isis or immigrants, Mr. Trump, Mr. Cruz, Mr. Rubio, et al. I am scared of racism, sexism, religious fervor, climate change, ignorance, hypocracy ...).

I resolve to show a little more grace this year. And lose 10 pounds. Bonne année et bonne santé à tous!

We find a little grace on a Christmas Day hike in Monbahus.

WEEK #51 (17-23 dec)

It's been surprisingly busy for this time of year. We took our friends to the airport in Limoges and hosted two dinner parties. The days have been unseasonably warm and we try to walk or ride bikes (well, I ride) each day. The fields are plowed and ready for spring planting providing a different kind of landscape. On this day, the field provides a canvas for a shadow selfie.

Un baiser à la campagne

WEEK #50 (10-16 dec)

Well, we're good for another year in France. After picking up our visas in Agen, we head south and visit four villages in three departments in five hours. The village of Auvillar in the Tarn-et-Garonne dept. is described as "small but perfectly formed/" A haven for the arts in the summertime, it is nearly deserted on this late autumn afternoon. 

Christmas decorations and this little sentinel on a brick building in Auvillar

WEEK #49 (3-9 dec)

First week back in France and I have a new friend: a fellow writer, cyclist and North American who is house-sitting for les canadiens. We took at late-afternoon ride to Serignac-Peboudou and were greeted by a brand-new colorful mural. One of the villagers stopped and explained the significance of each panel. 

Une vache

Récolte des prunes

Un résident de notable

WEEK #48 (26 nov - 2 dec)

Our last week in the U.S. and we celebrate my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving, with the family in Windsor, Calif. I have taught myself to knit this past year so I am delighted to give scarves to each of mes six belles-soeurs.

I'm grateful for my sisters-in-law Janet, Mary, Karen, (me) and
Lesia. (Janine and Chaaibia weren't there but received a
une écharpe anyway.) 

WEEK #47 (19-25 nov)

There could be nothing I want more than to spend my birthday with my most favorite three men. The youngest accompanies me on a walk through the Wilbur D. May Aboretum at Rancho San Rafael Park in Reno, Nev.

WEEK #46 (12-18 nov)

Ken and I visit the place where it all began ... for him and for us. He grew up in Sausalito, perhaps one of the most beautiful towns in the U.S. I lived there and met him in the 1980s. 

The Sausalito seal, with San Francisco in the background.

The next day, we hike out to Tennessee Valley where Ken's grandparents used to live, and beyond to the Pacific Ocean. Our guides are Ken's sister Karen and her husband Jack.

Ken, Jack and Karen, "the Mod Squad."

WEEK #45 (5-11 nov)

We've left France for a month long visit to the U.S. This is the view from just up the street where our sons live in Sparks, Nevada:

And this is the amazing macaroni-and-cheese (made with Irish cheddar, truffle oil and apple-smoked bacon, which our dear friend Chef made for us:

WEEK #44 (29 oct - 4 nov)

Bonbons et carrottes for these trick-or-treaters.

WEEK #43 (22-28 oct)

It's citrouille season. On Sunday we checked out the market in Issigeac. Lots of people, lots of pumpkins. Wonder if we have enough Halloween candy on hand; last year we nearly ran out. Costumed kids who knock on our door here tend to say "des bonbons, s'il vous plaît" and are confused/amused when we say "trick-or-treat."

Une personne fait des citrouilles et des courges at market in Issigeac

WEEK #42 (15-21 oct)

Two highlights of this week: We renewed our visas in Agen — an annual event. On Saturday we went to Toulouse for a short visit with a couple of Ken's old Sausalito friends.

Ken enjoyed spending time with some old and new friends from California
in Toulouse.

J'adore this sign outside an Agen disco.

WEEK #41 (8-14 oct)

Feeling fallish.

Autumn colors in Castelmoron-sur-Lot

WEEK #40 (1-7 oct)

Maybe it's my ankle that's making me "crane-key," or maybe it's this huge monstrosity that has been parked in the middle of downtown Lauzun for nearly a year. Quel dommage!

There's no good excuse for our beautiful little village's
rue principale to look like this.

I've been publishing quelque chose chaque semaine (something each week). See Part 3 here.

Quelque chose cette semaine (Something this week) part 3

In which I share a short snippet each week throughout 2015

WEEK #39 (24-30 sept)

I hurt my ankle when I fell off a curb. 'Nuff said.

Je me suis foulé la cheville quand je suis tombé sur un trottoir.

WEEK #38 (17-23 sept)

We travel to Madrid with an overnight stop in San Sebastián. While ma belle-mère plays in an international Pickleball tournament, we see the sights. Especially notable is an amazing dinner with Miriam, a friend we met at the English immersion program last spring, and her husband. Juan-Luis takes us on a hair-raising spin through Madrid before dinner, where we spot this kind sign on city hall.

Palacio de las Comunicaciones in Madrid

WEEK #37 (10-16 sept)

Ma belle-mère's second week in France includes her first trip to Paris. Two out of three days are crystal-clear. The third day we receive a dose of the famous Paris pluie, which provides us an excuse to linger in a cafè for a few hours before we catch our train. We pack a whole lot of memories into notre brève visite. 

Arlene admires the view from the steps of Sacré Cœur

WEEK #36 (3-9 sept)

It's easy to pick a highlight for this past week. Ma belle-mère arrives for a visit: her first trip to France. After a good night's sleep, we head to the Eymet market where she sips café allongé avec son cher fils.

WEEK #35 (27 aout - 2 sept)

Mon amie Viviane and I attended a concert at Église de Lugagnac, an ancient converted church on a hilltop near Saint-Eutrope-de-Born. The performers, Maxime and Krystel Barthélémy, sang French standards during their cabaret style 90-minute set (including two encores). I found out afterwards that Maxime is a famous composer/lyricist who penned many of the songs. I also found out later the couple was married (I thought it was a father/daughter duo). Si sublime!

Composer Maxime Barthélémy and his wife Krystal
perform French standards.

WEEK #34 (20-26 aout)

To celebrate T-Rex's birthday and to entertain our student staying with us to improve his English, we visited Grottes de Lastournelle. Our guide was kind enough to provide a fascinating bilingual tour deep below the surface of the earth.

Grottes de Lastournelle

WEEK #33 (13-19 aout)

We invited our neighbors for aperos: a retired headmaster, his wife and adult son, who are from Picardy and live here in the summers. Usually these French cocktail hours last for .... well ... an hour, and they stayed nearly two (un succès!). We had an enlightening conversation about French politics. They aren't very optimistic about France's future and suspect that the radical right Front National party may continue its rise. Ce qu'une pensée terrifiante! 

Un tableau préparé pour des amis.

WEEK #32 (6-12 aout)

A busy week with house guests, but we did have time for a few bike rides. At one point I felt surrounded by fields of corn. Le maïs is high and almost ready for la récolte. So much corn, but corn-on-the-cob is a rarity here in France, at least the tender sweet type that has been engineered in the U.S. perhaps due to France's restrictions on GMOs. Je peux vivre avec ça.

WEEK #31 (30 juillet - 5 aout)

Crazy weather this week (hot, cold, rain, hot again), but it was perfect for Bastid'art, the annual arts fest that takes place in Miramont. We rode our bikes there on Saturday and returned again on Sunday (twice!). A lack of funding threatened the event's cancellation, which would have been a shame. We particularly enjoyed the band Sugar Bones -- probably the best live music we've heard in France.

Ken catches the eye of Matteo Galbursera,
a comedic performer from Italy, at Bastid'art 2015.

WEEK #30 (23-29 juillet)

We didn't get around to planting vegetables this year. Luckily we have plenty of markets and farms at which we can buy fresh produce. Ken uses soil from our compost in our planter boxes and we were surprised to find a tomato plant in one, a squash in another ... both are "volunteers" from the compost soil. Hope no one pilfers them before harvest.

WEEK #29 (16-22 juillet)

I took this selfie at the summer exhibition, Plus que parfaits...Corps augmentés en scène at the Grand-Théâtre in Bordeaux. Our opera house tour was in French so much was confusing; but I'm sifting through my notes and photos, doing some research and plan to write about it for an upcoming blog post on AngloInfo. (If you've never seen my Lot of Livin' blog, click here.)   

WEEK #28 (9-15 juillet)

Hoping to finally learn how to use my camera to its fullest, I took an excellent photography workshop this week led by Canadian expat Ian Cook. He helped to bring back some of the knowledge that was hiding in the recesses of my brain. I tried out some nouvelles techniques during our village's annual Comice Agricole, where I snapped this photo of une jolie jeune fille enjoying un saut sur le trampoline.

WEEK #27 (2-8 juillet)

Why would I post a picture of a credit card as a highlight of the past week? After three years of complaining and begging, our credit card company FINALLY bent the rules and sent us our new cards containing THE CHIP. (Cap One was in the process of converting and said we'd likely get the new cards by the end of the year anyway, but enough was enough and I refused to hang up until they agreed to send them.) The chip allows us to shop in the many stores which no longer accept non-chip credit cards. We don't have to carry a lot of cash, and we're back to earning points for purchases. We can buy train tickets, too. Best of all: We can now get gasoline anytime: lunchtime, nights and even Sundays, because we no longer have to strategically fill up when an attendant is on duty to take our cash. Ah, the sweet thrill that comes when an American company enters the 21st century.

I've been publishing quelque chose chaque semaine (something each week). See Part 2 here.

Quelque chose cette semaine (Something this week) part 2

In which I share a short snippet each week throughout 2015

WEEK #26 (25 juin - 1 juillet)

It's been hot here in France. I won't call it "unseasonable," but it's much hotter than it was this time last year or the year before. Ken had the excellent idea of spending some time on the water, so joined by our friends, les canadiens, we canoed a few kilometers of the Dordogne. 

Ian and Susan, fellow North American expats

View from the bow

WEEK #25 (18-24 juin)

After last summer's trip to the Auvergne area of France's Massif Central region, I vowed to explore more of this beautiful area, full of breathtaking views of volcanic landscapes. First up: a hike in Gorges de la Jordanne in the Cantal department. 

Under a bridge in Gorges de la Jordanne

WEEK #24 (11-17 juin)

Last Friday we went to the end of the school year spectacular. Nos deux enfants préférés performed and were brilliant, bien sûr. I include this picture of the le petit roi who stood on his chair blocking my view. But he was cute, so all is forgiven.

WEEK #23 (4-10 juin)

Frederic Brosson, our local honeymaker, invited me to tag along to check his beehives. His website is rucherdelauzun.com.

Me and les abeilles

WEEK #22 (28 mai - 3 juin)

The weather has been gorgeous with the temperatures reaching the 30s, we've been out and about exploring sites in the Lot-et-Garonne and Dordogne départements. This week I share an impulse item: an adorable colt spotted in a field near Villereal. Très mignon, non?

WEEK #21 (21-27 mai)

It's vide greniers season. One never knows what one will find at these village "old attic" sales.

Barbie bargains at the massive vide greniers in Eymet last weekend.

WEEK #20 (14-20 mai)

Spotted during my return to France, the plane wing offers some good advice: DO NOT WALK OUTSIDE THIS AREA. 

WEEK #19 (7-13 mai)

I celebrated Mother's Day a few days early at the Cheesecake Factory in Reno with Luke, Jake and Jen. Sweet!

WEEK #18 (30 avril - 6 mai)

Being stuck in Paris may sound kind of glamorous, but when my flight was cancelled because a food service truck ran into the plane's door and damaged it, I (and 300 nouveaux amis) were put up for the night at the Ibis near Charles DeGaulle airport. This was the view from my room. Nice, eh? And to top it off, my luggage would be stuck in Paris for another week. 

WEEK #17 (23-29 avril)

We enjoyed some farm visits with our friends les canadiens during this year's annual de Ferme en Ferme weekend.

Un épouvantail greets us at a nearby farm.

WEEK #16 (16-22 avril)

In Pamplona, of course ... Olé!

WEEK #15 (9-15 avril)

We're off to Spain for 11 days, and I'll be writing much more about it in separate posts. For now, here's a moment from our first stop: Burgos.

WEEK #14 (2-8 avril)

We enjoyed a performance by the Leeds University Big Band. It was great to hear some jazz and the vocalists were stand-outs. But alas, the band couldn't hold a candle to the Reno Youth Jazz Orchestra.

I've been publishing quelque chose chaque semaine (something each week). See Part 1 here.

Quelque chose cette semaine (Something this week) part 1

In which I share a short snippet each week throughout 2015

WEEK #13 (26 mars-1 avril)

Joyeux poisson d'avril! Like in the U.S., this is a day of jokes in France. One of the many French language blogs to which I subscribe suggested several blagues to use today, such as telling people, "J'ai apprs le français en un mois" (I learned French in one month), or "Vous avez gagné un billet gratuit" (You won a free ticket). I think I will just stick some paper fishes on the backs of unsuspecting children instead. 

The clocks finally sprung forward on Sunday, so we took advantage of a mid-morning matinee in Marmande and saw "Birdman." No line, and we had our choice of seats.

WEEK #12 (19-25 mars)

A sign of spring in this part of France: the bright yellow mimosa flower, pictured here in ma salle à manger.

WEEK #11 (12-18 mars)

We received a private tour of artist Tomaž Furlan's exhibition "Wear Series" at the Musée d'art contemporain in Rochechouart. Furlan's industrial-like sculptures/machines are incongruous and crazy ... in a good way.

With the help of our guide, Ken tries out a
steel tipping platform, designed by artist Tomaž Furlan

WEEK #10 (5-11 mars)

I celebrate the springlike weather of this past week with two pictures of a nest of red bugs in our garden. (I call it a nest, but it's more like a million bugs nestled in some fencing). Some around here call them Ladybugs, but I think they may be Striped Shield Bugs (graphosoma lineatum). In any case, they are kind of cute and harmless ... and are said to taste much better than their cousin, the Green Stinkbug, but that's for the birds to decide.

WEEK #9 (26 fevrier-4 mars)

Sandy and I are treated to a private magic show at a Mexican restaurant while on une petite visite à Paris.

Rien dans ma manche de chemise!

WEEK #8 (19-25 fevrier)

In honor of the many plowed and ready-to-plant fields in our neck of the campagne, something this week is a photogenic piece of matériel agricole ancienne, passed on a recent promenade.

WEEK #7 (12-18 fevrier)

Ken and I stopped over on our way back from taking friends to the airport in Limoges. We stayed at a lovely B&B near the village of Sorges in the northern Dordogne. This fountain is in Brantôme, a village some have compared to Venice.

A fountain in Brantôme

WEEK #6 (5-11 fevrier)

J'ai eu un rhume cette semaine (I've had a cold this week), so I haven't gotten out much. Therefore, I'm cheating and posting a photo from the previous week. 

My train ride to Marseille was five hours long, and since I had used the restroom in Agen before I left, and since les toilettes à bord des trains can be kind of skanky, I waited until I reached my destination. Imagine my surprise when I found the toilets -- THE TOILETS! -- were on strike at the Marseille train station. This was all the more alarming because I had to wait another hour and a half for my sister to arrive on the TGV from Paris. (And yes, I could have left the station and looked for a restaurant or even gone to our hotel, but as I was alone in a big city with a somewhat menacing reputation (the city, not me), So, I timidly stayed put, crossed my legs, and chided myself for ignoring my own advice: When you have a chance to go, go!

A grève situation: The toilettes were on strike
at the Marseille train station.

WEEK #5 (29 janvier-4 fevrier)

Here's a teaser of upcoming blog posts on Away to Live. My sister and I met in Marseille, France's second-largest city, and one neither of us had visited. 

Notre-Dame de la Garde as seen from Marseille's port.  

WEEK #4 (22-28 janvier)

Last weekend was the Foire de Saint-Paul in Lauzun, an annual celebration of ... well ... Saint Paul. I couldn't find anyone who could explain why we honor this particular saint in this particular place. The day included children decorating cupcakes (made by yours truly) and ended with un bon chanteur Français at our favorite local restaurant.

French girl named Cassandra draped in an American flag
scarf decorating an American-style cupcake as part of a
very French foire.

WEEK #3 (15-21 janvier)

A highlight of the third week of the year was a visit to the atelier de l'artiste (studio) of painter/sculptor Armando Bergallo. My friend Viviane, an art teacher, invited four of her students (et moi) to visit Bergallo in his spectacular converted barn in Lalandusse. The brilliant Uruguay-born artist will be the subject of a future blog post. 

Painting by Armando Bergallo with brushes and paints
in the foreground

WEEK #2 (8-14 janvier)

It has been a devastating week here in France with the assassinations at Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris and the subsequent hostage and killing dramas. We needed a little getaway on Saturday and went to Sarlat for la fête de la truffe. The weather was drizzly, and the truffles were odoriferous, but we enjoyed revisiting one of the towns Ken and I stayed in the first time we visited France together several years ago.

"Le Badaud" ("The Onlooker") by sculptor Gérard Auliac sits in
Place de la Liberté in Sarlat. He is holding a "Je Suis Charlie" sign.

WEEK #1 (1-7 janvier)

Ken and I help nos amis jeunes préférés (our favorite young friends) learn to ride their bikes: cadeaux du père Noël. (So, I already have stretched the rule about one picture per week, but how could I choose just one?)

Within minutes, Aliénor is nearly ready for the Tour de France.

Tristan, too, is riding! Regardez devant!