The day before yesterday we went to our neighbor M's 90th birthday party. She has seven children and innumerable grandchildren, as well as many friends and acquaintances. She grew up in the village of Noyers-sur-Cher, just across the Cher river from Saint-Aignan. She married a man from Blois who was in the wine business and they lived up there in a house he had inherited from his parents. Then in the 1960s they bought a little house in the country just outside Saint-Aignan to use as a summer place.
They used to spend the out here in the country, but a few years ago M.'s husband passed away at the age of 94 after a fairly long illness and decline. We now see M. and her children less than we used to. She doesn't drive and never has. When we came to live here in 2003, we had bought the house across the street from theirs and met them as soon as we got here in June, before we were completely moved in. They knew about us because they were close friends of the woman who sold us this house we still live in, so they immediately invited us over for a glass of wine. I think they were happy that their new neighbors spoke French and were interested in getting to know them.
There were about 100 people in attendance in at the recent birthday celebration, which was an outdoor event. The weather cooperated, and even though it was far from hot, it wasn't too chilly and we only had one afternoon rainshower, which didn't last more than five minutes. M's sons-in-law and grandsons had set up two huge tents (called barnums in French, after P.T.) with, under them, long tables and many chairs for guests. We went over there at noond and had a few glasses of wine and some finger foods for a couple hours. Many of M's children and grandchildren sought us out to say bonjour. We've known them since 2003, when some of them were still very young, and we've watched the granchildren grow up. Some of them have children of their own now.
Lunch was served at a about two o'clock. It was catered and the food had been delivered in a refrigerated trailer by the local Super U supermarket catering department. Wine flowed freely, including local sparkling wines and numerous bottles of local red wines. Conversation was loud and lively. I wish I had remembered to take my smart phone with me, and I thought above going back across the street and getting it, but finally decided I preferred to talk to people rather than take pictures of them. I've taken and posted pictures of similar events hosted by M. and her family over the past 20+ years. Tasha was invited to the party, and she was well behaved.
What was the food like? First there were several different big bowls of pasta, bean, and couscous salads with vinaigrette dressing and little cubes of cheese, mostly feta, and tomato in them. The salads were served with plenty of good French bread. Then the main course came out at about three o'clock. There were platters of cooked chicken drumsticks (cuisses de poulet) and thinly sliced rare roast beef (rosbif), also served cold (room temperature). The one hot dish was a big bowl of small, whole roasted potatoes that were really tender and lightly browned. They were excellent.
It was all pretty tasty, but not especially fancy; it was more like a picnic than a dinner. After the meat course, there was cheese: several good local goat cheeses, big wedge of brie, and a few Alpine (Swiss) cheeses, with more of the good bread. Then dessert, a platter of little rum-soaked cakes (cannelés, a Bordeaux speciality), and a little squares of a kind of pound cake, lightly frosted with a sugary white icing, and little cups of chocolate mousse. Wines were still flowing, white sparkling ones and nice reds from a couple of different local wineries. And then good expresso coffee to wake us all up.
By the time lunch was finished, it was about 5:30 p.m. People started to leave. One guest was the mayor of our village, with her husband. I hadn't seen them much this year, even though they are close neighbors of ours. The reason is that one of their daughters, who lives three hours from here near the Atlantic coast, has been in poor health for months now, and the mayor and her husband have been going there frequently and spending time with their daughter and her children. They also have a daughter and grandchildren who live in Southern California. It was nice to catch up with all their news and comings and goings. Both of them are just a year or two older than I am (late 70s).
