Pictures from December 2007 taken around the Renaudière vineyard make it look like the weather was pretty nice that month. I remember that we had had a lousy summer. Rain, rain, and more rain. I remember because we had brought home our new puppy, Callie the border collie, thinking we'd be able to spend most of our time outdoors with her as she outgrew her destructive puppy behavior. We ended up spending the whole summer indoors. Our vegetable garden was taken over by weeds.
Then at the beginning of September the rain suddenly went away and it turned bright and sunny. That was good because my sister was coming to France that month with a good friend of ours for a first visit to Saint-Aignan. The day they left to return to the U.S. the rains came back. It was like some sort of miracle.
We still had four apple trees in our back yard and we were overwhelmed with apples in 2007. Two of the trees died a few years ago, but we still get plenty of apples off the two that remain.
I have been reading your blog for many years, but rarely comment. Just wanted to let you know how much I enjoy it. At one time I had many French blogs on my reading list, but yours is one of the few that I continue to read. Up until the pandemic we used to travel to France almost yearly .. our last visit was in 2019 and we miss it so much .. your blog helps me to overcome the sadness of not being able to visit in person. So, thanks, Ken, much appreciated.
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking the time to post this nice comment. I know what you mean. Until 2019 I made annual trips to the North Carolina coast to see family and friends. I sorely miss those trips. I remember that when I left N.C. in Oct. 2019 to return to France, I told my sister I didn't know when I might come to N.C. again. Little did I know how true that would turn out to be. With Covid19 surging again in China, France, and the U.S., I'm afraid it might be a while, and I'm not getting any younger.
DeleteThe photo of the pile of apples covered in what appears to be hoar frost is stunning. I keep studying it and seeing so many different things like the range of color and overall composition. Thanks for posting it.
ReplyDeleteI was just thinking that I would be remiss if I did not mention how much I have enjoyed the past 2 weeks or so of your blogging. I have been in hospital for a medical emergency that came on with no warning. I have undergone some testing that has required long hours of being still and spending time on my back. I was advised to close my eyes and go to my "happy place" and that the time would pass quickly that way. I thought happy place? I know just the place, Ken's blog postings. The content is wonderful. I am, among other things, a classically trained chef. The food you prepare and the care given to it is so wonderful. Your interpretation of French,and American cuisine are interesting and what it is all about. Just as it should be. You study a recipe and adjust it to your liking and what ever you have on hand and what you find in the market place. Homemade as it should be. And with pride. You and Walt work and play off one another very well. And as one of you has said many times, planning ahead, preparing a menu and putting up things in the freezer makes for happy cooking and mealtime. Thank you for your wonderful blogs. Keep those archived photos and your commentary coming to this happy place!
ReplyDeleteI hope you are well asap, Woody. Ken's blog is my happy place too. Each post is a gift. Merci bien, Ken.
DeleteLike Evelyn, I too hope that you are well and feeling well, Woody. Thank you for your comments. Some days I feel like I've kind of run out of steam but I keep going. Blogging replaced work for me when I started posting in 2005, and I guess it still does. Processing photos and writing blog posts are activities give a little structure to my day.
DeleteIt's lovely to see the comments of appreciation-- thoughts shared by all of us.
ReplyDeleteJudy