Soar-Dream-France

There is a Friend Upon my Road-Madame Véra

Madam Véra Volmane has been very much on my mind. She's never very far away, but these last weeks she's been even closer. With many of those we love and lose and find again, I love that she's here. But, I still have so many questions that may never be answered.

When we last saw each other, I told her that she had such an interesting life that someone should write her story. She did that hand in the air "Ma" thing-a dismissive why would anyone want to do that expression? But the thing was, I did. And, I wanted to know more.

I loved being surrounded by Véra's writing when I came to stay with her. I didn't know I was at first, until one night I opened a cover and discovered it was a play she had written. It was like finding hidden treasure. My room at Véra's was full of hidden treasure, but I needed a key I didn't have at the time...French.

 

Recently, I searched Véra on amazon.fr and discovered a number of her books and newspapers/magazines that included her articles. Some of the books were Russian translations to French and others were in French. I chose two books to start. When her books arrived last week, it was as if Véra had moved into the Chatette with us. My French still isn't great. I struggle. I'm not quite sure yet, but little by little (sometimes even word by word) I'm beginning to think that I am reading Véra's story.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Easy to Please With Cheese

I opened this Rustique Camembert and screamed for joy! The last one I'd opened did NOT have the tiny "Rustique" sticker that you see on the cheese on the left. I'd feared they'd gone the way of some cost-cutting measure, never to be seen again. They are such a nice touch and make this wonderful camembert even more special for me. As you can see: I'm beginning my days with cheese, fruit and walnuts for petit dejeuner; I put these stickers in my journal to dress them up a bit; and when I'm finished with the cheese-the lids are thick enough to become great drink coasters or platforms for dripping memory bottle candles. I've even discovered that Jane and Yves use the bottoms with the sweet red and white checked papers as olive pit and nut shell holders at parties!

I sure hope they keep doing what they're doing over there at Le Rustique in Normandy. Their camembert is already my favorite, but with all these little perks it's become a regular part of my life in France. Having just rearranged the kitchen, I've been looking for something to cover the newly configured counter space. I'd sure love to have some oilcloth with every inch covered in graphics of these great stickers for my counter. Sounds like a great advertising scheme to me! Don't you think that Rustique oilcloth would blend in beautifully with the rest of my Babar and Buddy Lee motif? Happy Weekend!

Compadres en France

When do blogging buddies become friends? That has always been a hard one for me. So far, I've met two of my blogging buddies face-to-face. Is that a requirement?

It is only right that Monsieur Winkelmann brought Evelyn Jackson and I together. Evelyn first commented on my blog on February 28, 2009. I was so new to all of this it took me into March before I even knew how to respond to those of you who had commented on the blog. Evelyn and I were off and running. Pretty soon we were emailing too. Struggling to make a living in 2009, I came up with my Mélange-ing Magic idea. It was an interesting process to say the least. But, the best thing I did was to offer a "pilot" Mélange-ing Magic experience to Evelyn... come for a month, do as you please, and then just give me feedback about the experience.

Evelyn arrived to spend the month of September with us. During that time we had the second vernissage and I was offered the barn at a very good price. Our friendship continued to grow after Evelyn headed back to Iowa. As Evelyn's life changed, it became possible for her to come for a longer stay and to take care of Dali and Sam while I went off to work 2-month contracts around Europe. I'll never forget the day that she and Lucie arrived. Our lives are the richer. And now, we are neighbors!

Blogging brought Evelyn and Lucie to us. No blog-no Evelyn and Lucie. I often say that Evelyn and Lucie are the magic that was mélanged. To say that Evelyn is a friend is an understatement. A friend of mine used the word "compadre" in a recent post of his when he was talking about a mutual friend of ours who'd traveled, shared and explored the world with him. That's Evelyn-my compadre!

 

On the Road Again-Breaking on the Blog

Today's the day. It's Friday here. I head out to the train station to spend the night in Frankfurt, and then on to Paris on Saturday and HOME on Sunday evening. Three countries in as many days...Holland, Germany, and France. I'm almost ready in the packing department, but I'm totally ready in the psyche department. Beyond the countries and the "ground travel" there's another kind of travel that takes me to a dimension that may as well be on Mars compared to here. My other worldly travel carries me to peace, silence, love, history, romance and magic. I know it's all waiting for me at home in the Lot. I'll be back when I'm there! A bientot!

Leaving you with a Paris Pit-Stop Memory from last year...

 

Painter at Work

One of the things I love walking around the streets in Montmartre in Paris, or Royal Street in New Orleans; is how sometimes artists stand/sit in the windows of their shops and paint for passersby to enjoy. You can imagine how excited I was when I asked Brigitte if she would consider painting for us the night of the vernissage and she said "Oui"! It was a challenge finding the best location and getting enough light to her, but as you can see...none of that got in Brigitte's way one bit. And then, I discovered that her finished work was a cadeau for me! Lucky girl!

For Paris Lovers Partout

For anyone who loves Paris, this sheet of four stamps is a must. Like the chocolate ones I loved, these only have enough postage to cover letters in France. But then, who would want to tear them out and leave holes in this beautiful sheet? (I had enough trouble parting with the chocolate ones that came in the standard format.) Dad told me about these. Evelyn and I searched all 3 Postes within distance of here with no luck. She did, however, hit the jackpot ordering on-line. I'll share more of our beautiful purchases and discoveries with you tomorrow. Paris is always a good idea.

Overalls and More

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back home and writing in my overalls, I must share this shop with you. Go to the corner of Rue de Turbigo and Rue Française and you will find the Hippy Market...that's right-in Paris. After a red wine/potty break at Le St. Eustache, Evelyn and I stumbled in here and had a blast. Our music, our era (or at least a part of mine), and a real trip down memory lane. We were tempted to buy, but didn't. Evelyn would have had to have squeezed it in her luggage to the states. I was still shell shocked from 2 months of stressful work to feel like buying anything. But boy, it was fun. Niels would have loved this place...overalls and more! I know I'll go back!

 

 

Liquid Lessons Learned

This glass of wine is one of the best. I know exactly how much it costs. There are no surprises. I've already shared our 10€ Montmartre Biére Pression story with you. Time for true confessions- I should have learned my lesson from the weekend before in Luxembourg. I was so happy to find a place to sit and write my postcards to the states. I asked for a glass of red wine.

The waitress offered a "demi", which in France is usually a pichet  and  runs about 5 or so euros. She returned, poured my glass of wine, and said 18 euros! She noticed I was shocked and asked if it was too much? I told her it was more than I expected, as she went on about what a great Bordeaux it was. My rationale was much the same-I'm on vacation-I'm in Luxembourg-but I have to tell you-I drank every last drop. Evelyn and I were sure to check the price on our cider at the Creperie Beaubourg in Paris that Saturday night following our Montmartre Beers and I'm now happy to be home where I know I can sit on the terrace and enjoy a very good red wine for just one euro-and leave a euro tip!

Colorful Carousels

Coming up from the metro at the Place Jules Joffrin, I've seen this tiny carousel every time. Prior to this trip, it has always been closed. This time, I was in luck and so were the tiny ones who were having a ball. The color here was striking. And of course, the one at the Abbesses Metro was just as colorful as I remembered.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Heartbreaking Visual Violations

Having already shared these beautiful murals on the walls following the staircase up at the Abbesses Metro Stop, those that follow below are hard to share. Evelyn and I almost cried when we saw what you can see a hint of in the top corner of this shot. I don't know what is going on, but the metro station was not the only surface visually raped. It was pervasive beyond Montmartre and could be seen everywhere we walked in Paris.