Monday

Today I spent the cool part of the morning in the kitchen. Potato salad, cole slaw, all home made..no such thing as store bought here...roasted the last pork roast for the barbecue..strange, there is no smoked pork shoulder, or boston butt here it would seem. If you ask for a pork shoulder you get a center cut roast...and the price is always right.  anyway..the barbecue was a great success, most here had never had it.. We had 14 in all, Marion(American) brought corn bread, Jo brought a greek salad, Val brought cruditeies, all brought wine...and Aurie(Spain) brought a wonderful cake, and for us figs, fig jam and blackberry syrup that she made while here. She and Pete will head back to Alicante Spain on Friday. Sad to see them go, but Michael and I will visit with them when we stop in Alicante in Nov. It is cool tonight with a hint of autumn in the air. The dinner went really well, and everyone got plenty to eat and the conversation was flowing everywhere. Our guests were Mike the American Jazz man been here 10 years, Marion the American who came for a month and didn't go home3 years ago, Jo and Stewart from Brighton, been here 2 years, Val and Martin ? British, Paulo and Didier, Jean Loui,Pete and Aurie, Alicante Spain,  cool lots of different experiences around the tables tonight. We ate on the terrace, it was wonderfully cool, I am tired... I made baked beans, something new and different to many here and what a hit..I had to go from scratch with the only bean in town  Harricott blanc..but a little brown sugar and molassas will make it work...LOL   tomorrow I will clean the house and get ready to go to Barcelona for Kim and Billie Kaye. can't wait...

Sunday August 28?

I never know what the date is, I am lucky that I know the day...oh well I had plenty of years that I had to mark the day so I am just going with the flow. This summer has flown by...it seems that it was just a few days ago that I arrived in France and now the summer has passed and Autumn is upon us.  On Wed. Sept. 1, Kim and Billie Kaye Robinette will arrive for a two week visit..I can hardly wait..on Sept. 8 we will take the train to Montpelier and there catch the TGV (fast train)to Paris. Exciting times..I am sure
Today our friends Gerard and Monique came for lunch...it was a lovely visit, even though I was the only one not talking...though Gerard trys to teach me Spanish, I am having enough trouble with the French thank you..LOL  Gerard is a jeweler in Quillan and Perpignan and all over the place really..he makes some wonderful pieces, especially with amber.  Monique brought an apricot tart and two hugh bouquets of lavender from her garden..the house smells great...I guess someone told her that Michael put the gas can for the scooter in the kitchen last night and it smelled to high heaven this morning..I does not anymore..
We went blackberry picking after they left, but the weather has been soooooo dry, no rain for weeks, so the berries have dried up..down the road there are some hanging like grapes, but up so high on the side of  the hill that noone can reach them..I want to take the "loppers" down and just cut the whole thing..they are all ripe, hundreds of them if we could just get to them..ughhhh..
We picked plums from the roadside last week and I made jam and plum cobbler...it was great..and didn't cost anything...you might find most any fruit or nut growing along side the road here...thought they did cut down alllll of the pomegranates on the Rue de Pomegranates making it now the Rue not of the Pomegranates!! disgusting...I will say..
Great weather , hot during the day and cool at night...loving it...
On a sad note, I found out that my friend Nancy Williams Brown passed away in late July, I am glad that I was able to meet with her before I left. We were friends since about the 4th grade, maybe even before...Nancy was born with a heart defect, she was not expected to live for 6 hours, then 6 days, and 6 months or 6 years..when we were in grade school, she was slender and willowy..huge blue eyes, but a lot of times dark circles under them due to here condition..Well Nancy made it well past the 6 hours into the 60s, Bravo...She was good and kind and will be missed by her family and friends.  Her death is a reminder to spend your life living not waiting to die...
Tomorrow whe have a crowd coming for barbecue...most probably have never had it...will be interesting... barbecue, potato salad, cole slaw, baked beans, a lot of work...ha ha...but fun
Yesterday I made zucchini bread...no one has ever heard of it here and wild about it..Didier said if I could make it he could sell 10 loaves a day...but in this tiny oven it would take all day to make 10 loaves..ha ha....very few ovens here large enough to cook a turkey in for sure...maybe a chicken...  anyway  that was cool...something new....squash here is translated to courgette. sounds so much nicer than squash..ha ha   I have been eating a lot of it since it is in season and plentiful...zucchini, tomatoes,onions in a little olive oil....a little garlic....ummmmmm.... off to bed now, tomorrow is a busy day...more later

Riding along

I like to just ride and see where the road takes me...so does Michael  so along we go..Monday we went to pick up the car from the safe spot in Couisa and he said "do you have somewhere to be?' and I said no...so off we went, through a couple of villages we had not visited and up the mountain,,,and up and up and up!!!
at one point we came to a curve on this road that was just wide enough for one car..and there on the other side of the road was  a bus stop!! Oh no I hope we don't meet a bus coming down....but we did not. Yeah.
We did meet several cars and at the top of the mountain way way way up there was a RV, how in the heck he got up is a mystery to me..we then went down the mountain and into another village with a beatiful stream and a castle and all the surrounding buildings...awwww for the money to buy...
Today was an exciting trip to the grocery store...Wow..  oh well some days are more exciting than others!!

Fete Lunch

         

Main Course                                                                    

Today we went to Renne le Chateau for the vide granier..I got some books and a Boggle game and Yahtzee game in French but those you play the same in any language so it doesn't matter.. when we got home we went up to the Community lunch for the fete..I had a ball..there were about 250 folks gathered there at noonish for aperitif( wine, soft drink, beer, etc..) then at about 2 the salad came..and it was delicious..and cold..it was over 100 degrees under the tents of nylon so anything cool was welcome. If you like wine all you want is included with the lunch, but great icey water was there too. It was so hot that our plates were all heated lol.. after salad was a local dish like Paellas( I hope I spelled that right)only it was made with noodles and not rice.. well I am not much on octopus or mussels, but the taste was good...just a bit heavy for the type of heat we were having.. then about 3 came the cheese and at 4:30 the dessert and the Blanquette..a local wine that I will drink in small portions.. we did not stay for coffee..it had reached about 107 degrees and we needed to move the car to safer grounds before the partying began so we left. Some time after the main course was served we began to feel water flying... the water fights had begun..and it felt good to get caught in the line of fire!  Also the "kids" were jumping in the fountain... and some newbys were being thrown in...a tradition that I escaped due to age and size I am sure LOL..It was so much fun to see all the families together, having fun.. most of the folks of all generations had grown up together, gone to school together and now gather once a year to have fun again...
After we left Michael and I went up in the mountains to find some cool...and came across a French resistance camp..way up in the mountains, on a trail that reminded me of Sherando before the hard surface road was put in...we drove up and up and up and I thought that surely there was no monument there and then in a clearing we saw a little house that had been reconstructed, as the Germans had destroyed the original one...

There were a lot of pictures of resistance members and such..there is an American soldier..Paul Swank buried along the road near us.. he was killed when he was acting as a decoy for the resistance and had asked to be buried where he fell, so after interment in the military cemetery in Arlington, his parents had him moved to the side of the road between Limoux and Couisa, where he fell. Last week they had a memorial for him here..There is so much interesting history here, it is hard to take it all in...I am going back and write in the book at the resistance museum about my Dad being in Normandy..there were so many pics of young men  just like him..

I was a great day even if it is hot as ..... and we had to park the car in Couisa and walk up the hill so that it will not be damaged by revelers...

Water fight                                  Girls in fountain

Kids in fountain

new stuff

No blogging for a while, was a little under the weather so did not do anything worth blogging..
Better now thank goodness.  This is the weekend of the Montazels Fete...much ado about nothing...we have taken in our pots of plants and the table and chairs from the terrace..battoned down the hatches so to speak. the bandstand is up in the square and the music began last night at 11pm..I am not sure how long it continued as it was not so loud that we could really hear it...That is what happens when there is an ancient church and two rows of stone houses between you and the music! The fete in Couisa was at the bottom of the hill and the music came right up the hill and into the house ughhhh...anyway the only "damage" was someone came down the alley and turned our downspout up..a kids prank...The fete is it would seem a giant family reunion for the villagers, their kids and grandkids return for the festivities and there is a big communal dinner on Sunday afternoon. Many of our friends will be there..We have met a couple from Alicante Spain that come up here for the summer to escape the heat..He is 80, quite active , American she is Spanish. She gave us a thyme plant and a bay tree for the garden and blackberry jam that she had gone into the hills to pick the berries that day...it was wonderful...they will be at the fete dinner as they live in the new Montazels...for the summer. We will pass through Alicante in the fall so maybe we will see them there..
Friday was a mad dash trip to Toulouse to Ikea..I would love to go sometime when we can spend the day!
We went to a vide grandnier today and I found a set of dishes with a lovely design so now we have matching dishes..yeah for me but Michael and Pat do not care if things match so they are not nearly so thrilled as me!
I also found a mirror and a nice big basket..the bargin of the day at 3 euro!
Tomorrow after lunch I think we will go to the vide grandnier at Renne le Chateau...last one was good, maybe a repeat!  Did I mention that the heat has finally arrived? I hope it does not stay..but the night does cool off after 10ish..so at least you can sleep.got a care package from Bonnie and Jamie and Unity this week, mayonise and baking soday, customs sent back the salad dressing, I guess you might blow something up with a bottle of Kens honey french!! The Brits still are holding our belongings hostage in the UK..Now Pat is trying to get it sent..so much red tape...over simple household goods..customs wants to charge another 20% of value for the goods, like we are going to sell the old sheets and towels and the used mixers..oh my...Hopefully we will get the stuff before we come home..
Pics of fete..in the square!

Life if interesting...  try to enjoy it while you are here...see you all soon..

I dont know what day it is....

I have been off for a while as I have been a little UNDER the weather..I am feeling somewhat better today, but I seem to have picked up a flu bug somewhere..
We went down to Barcelona on Monday to pick up Pat.. We actually left at 3 am...Michael couldn't sleep so he said comeon we will get a head start...yeah..We arrived in Barcelona at about 7AM, so we had the rest of the day to hang around..we rode down the beach and found a little village and had coffee and croissant..then rode on toward Tarragonia..then we turned around and came back to the beach and he took a nap, while I read.  I woke him up, made some sandwiches and then we were off to the airport..the plane was delayed about an hour..what fun..

The beach was nice.                                        

I got sick almost immediately when we arrived home...so have been laying low..will be off to bed soon...feeling better and want to keep it that way.  More later!!

Sunday

On the ridge between the house and Limoux are a line of wind turbines..about 10 of them I think.

we went on the back road last week and came upon a rode that took us up to the ridge. it is quite beautiful there and no people there either...The wind was blowing hard that day and they were spinning!

We decided to go back up there on Friday night to see if we could see the stars..Unfortunately there are street lights everywhere in the towns so it is not so easy to see the stars even at our house..boy did it get dark up there...dark as the inside of a cow..dark...and when the sun went down it was spectacular..and when the stars came out it was awesome...the milky way went right over our heads..and we saw several shooting stars and one satellite!

Below is the view looking from the wind turbines..across the valley.

We went to the marionette fete, didn't see many marionettes..just places that sold them..I guess the festivities began at night!! took a couple of pics.

This picture was taken at a place called Palmier..we just happened upon this fete of farming..the lady in the picture is putting bread into a French army bread oven. It is a trailer that is an oven. cool

there were a lot of tractors and farm equipment, food and old cars..this village had a canal running through it and everyone had a little bridge to get to their home..cool looking..

heading for Barcleona tomorrow morning..to pick up Pat...

The Gorge of Galamus

The Gorge of Galamus is not too far from here. We rode out with Adam when he was here. At first I thought that there was not much to it.. but then we got to the place where traffic was stopped as they only let you go one way at a time..when we followed the lead car in WOW!! It is amazing..we got out on the other side and walked back so that we could see it all. The wind is soooooo strong that I had to move to the inside sometimes to make sure that I stayed upright. The pic below is of canyoners..you have to put on a wetsuit and go down in the gorge and go from pool to pool all down the canyon..it probably takes all day. There was an American girl about 11 there when we were. She was having fun.  Ok girls I expect to see you down there one day!Thats all for today  I am tired and will post about the Marionette Fete tomorrow. Left the camera in the car..LOL

Friday night

Today was cleaning day..I kind of like cleaning day  especially if Michael makes himself scarce.. For one I can get about what needs to be done without working around him, and 2 if he is here sitting at the computer as I clean the house I tend to get Cinderella syndrome..LOL anyway the house is clean from ground floor to 3rd , beds changed, wash done and floors scrubbed..and everything smells good too.. Oh yeah, I made chocolate chip cookies.. not heard of over here..but the chocolate is great..so you just make cookies..
Michael came home from a day with the guys, and we went to Limoux for a night market that was not there, so we came home and had dinner then went out to a place near the Windmills. on top of the mountain and waited for the stars.. The sun was setting behind the mountain and was beautiful..the red faded to royal blue and then to black and the stars came out brilliantly..along with a satellite a number of falling stars and many airplanes! (and a car load of teenagers probably looking for ....well you know)
Tomorrow we go to Mirepoix for the marionette fete, supposed to be fab! more pics I hope/

This is St. Martin's church on the main square in old Limoux. Limoux is called the flower city. There are pots of flowers on every fence,bridge rail,in all the round abouts and hanging from the air everywhere!

It is a sight to see.  We went to the square to show Adam a typical city square, and he wanted to take us to dinner so that took care of two things at once. There are restaurants and cafes all around the square and they post their menus for you to see so that you can make a choice before you sit. As we were walking around the square we saw that there was a free concert at St. Martins. Two trumpets and an organ, it said, so we went in to check it out..WoW..what an organ..and how beautiful was the church..The music was Baroque and beautiful and lasted about an hour and a half. Adam did not think that he would like it but was pleasantly surprised, but after he was starving, so we went onto the square for dinner.We all got cassolet, which is a regional dish..duck, sausage and white beans in a casserole..It was ok, Adam did not like it too much, but gave it a try..this pic was taken at about nine forty-five as the sun was striking the church tower

When we came to the house there was a small garden to the left of the terrace. It was over grown with weeds that fell over to the terrace. I did not want to offend anyone by weeding their garden so I just pulled back to where our terrace began and left it. The garden was about 4 feet wide at the widest part angling back to about 2 feet at the end of the wall. A large mock orange had been somewhat topiaried into a ball, but needed trimming and the roses were not looking too well...one day when our American friend came for coffee I asked him to whom it belonged. Harold had been friends with the previous owner so I thought he might know. He said, "why, you, this goes with the house...Well that day Michael went to work and got all the weeds out and clean..while he was clearing he found a small rustic bench that had been covered with vines..I have been at work on it ever since.. there are new flowers added about every week. We now have the roses, zinnias, a hydrangea, cleome, and a border of lavender that hopefully next year will be brilliant! A few herbs have been added and the yellow rose of Texas, yes that is Texas right here in Montazels...has been moved to a better location and hopefully that will flourish..

Tuesday

Along the primary highways that connect the small villages of France(not the motorway) you will oftentimes see Plantain trees, lining at least one side if not both. They are beautiful to see and shade the traveler as you pass under them. I am told that Napoleon had them planted to shade his troops when they marched.. many have been cut in the name of progress, and there are long stretches without any, but there are a number of "new" plantings giving hope that the tradition will carry on..the village of Chalebre near Limoux is one of the villages that still have good stands of the trees as you approach the village.

Near Chalebre is the village of Camon also known as the Little Carcassone,and the village of roses. Every house in the village has roses, somewhere...it is very lovely and quiet. There are also about a million sunflowers on the edge of the village, close competition!

Monday Market day

Wow, Mirepoix marche is amazing..we got there at about 10:30 and could not find a parking space. After riding all the way around town we finally saw something open and grabbed it. We walked, along with about 3 dozen others, about 5 blocks to the square..and it was elbow to elbow for about 5 blocks around the square and back.  Michael bought me a beautiful coffee mug from a local potter. He does really fine work and I am sure we will be visiting him again. The first fruit and veggie vendor was half a block long, then cheeses and goods from India, live guineas and chickens, toys and books,bread and pastries, etc. It is interesting to me that at most all markets there is at least one vendor playing the pan pipe CD and selling "authentic" Native American goods..LOL
It is still cool here even on this second day of August.
Here is an observation: The French supermarkets have a way of seeing that the grocery carts are brought back to the drop off place. All the baskets are locked together with a coin slot on each basket. In order to get a basket you must put in your 1 euro coin, then the coin unlocks the chain on that basket and off you go, when you return it and push the chain lock into the slot you get your euro back..handy dandy  and no baskets in the lot.
The drive back from Mirepoix is very beautiful, the sunflowers in the upper elevations are still in full bloom. Along the way are farming communities where you can see the fruit trees and corn and such growing.There is one village that is called "The Rose village", every house has roses growing in front, in rose gardens, in pots in the windows..it is spectacular.
 On the way home we stopped in a pull off and had a little lunch overlooking the mountains across the valley..very nice. I am looking forward to sharing all of this with you all.. Steve I always listen to you when you have good ideas.

Sunday afternoon

Esparaza marche today, always good..plenty of fresh fruit, veggies and cheese and sausages etc..and the sites..oh my. It is a social event as well as a shopping experience.
We spent the afternoon with Paulo and Didier in Quillan, always fun.(Paulo also serves as my shrink, a no nonsense sort of approach) and Didier...makes a simple meal a delight..lunch of sausages,salad,and cheese..superb..and an afternoon of conversation, excellent!
This afternoon I will try to make a skype connection with family in the States at my family reunion..
first one that I have missed in many years.
Tomorrow we will go to Mirepoix for the marche..an all day affair.
 Lazy Sunday afternoon...ummmm it will get noisy later with the BIO fete down in Couisa, but they finished up last night at about 1 am, so hope that will be the case tonight!
We finally got some rain this afternoon. We probably could use a good bit more, but I am glad to see any. Oftentimes we can see the rain falling over the mountain in Limoux, and down the valley in Quillan and we don't get any. Today we are in luck!
I did get the connection with the reunion this afternoon. They had a full house! I was so glad to see so many gathered, especially so many that had been away for a while. It is good to get together and catch up and share a meal and conversation. Sorry to miss my Uncle Sonny and his family who traveled from Alabama to Virginia for the event. I guess that makes me the one that "traveled" the longest distance! 
It sure was good to see my kids and grandkids faces.
by the way, the fete probably wont be so loud since it is raining..we can only hope!