Christmas. Time.

New York City. Columbus Circle. The time for Christmas shopping arrives.

Williamsburg

In the window of a funny sort of shop on my Willamsburg walkabout.

I think they must repair mannequins or something like that.

The eyes in these are wonderful.

Broadway

"The Kids" and I went out to a Broadway show, "Fela". It's a musical about Fela Anikulapo Kuti (/feˈlæ ænɪkuˈlæpo ˈkutɪ/; 15 October 1938 — 2 August 1997), or simply Fela (/feˈlæ/), a Nigerian musician and composer, pioneer of afrobeat music, human rights activist, and political maverick. You could bring drinks into the theater in "go cups" and the band was on the back of the stage and fabulous. The only musical I've ever seen that encouraged the audience to get up and dance and to sing along.

Standin' Up!

And ready for mischief...

Who, me?

Under Way

40 minutes from the Upper West Side to Willamsburg Brooklyn. I take the B to the A to the M and Wham BAM I am there with the Grand Boy. It is Good. x0x0 N2

Another Starling phenomenon

What isn't clear here, is that a hawk is crashing through them, like a crazy coffee break.

A Room with a View

16th Floor, Central Park West, the morning view from the room at a friend's where I am staying. The leaves stayed on the trees until I got here. I got to hold the Grand Boy yesterday. Dinner with "the kids" tonight. Happy Autumn in New York.

x0x0 N2

Beginning Again!

They're gathering!  A hawk was bothering them so they were all spread out, made a turn and flashed silver!  Wow.  Fortunately, I pulled off the road before I leapt from the car.

Le Chemin du Retour (The Road Home)

This is the road back to Soreze from Revel. And I am on the road back to the Burg from Soreze.

Au revoir! Which, literally translated, means "until we see again".

xoxo N2

To Market, To Market

I don't think she was for sale. How could one sell such a perfect hen wife?

Dogwood

At Sarah's gate.

Question!

Are you filling the feeder?  Right now?  Zzzzzoooooommmmm!

Un Ciel Glorieux

The changing weather has made for spectacular sunsets. This from along the

country road just outside the village as Monique and I took an afternoon walk.

Wet keeses.

N2

Couleurs de l'Automne

A little bit of the village autumn color in this rear view of the bell tower-choir,

the only remnant of the 14th century Soreze parish church, St Martin, which

was destroyed during the wars of Religion in 1573.

Clattering Yellow

Golden stars!  Ever wonder what "My stars and garters!" meant?

Centre-Ville

Houses along the Agout River in Castres (Castras in the Languedocian dialect of Occitan) ~20km from Soreze. Castres grew up around the Benedictine abbey of Saint Benoît, which is believed to have been founded in AD 647, possibly on the site of an old Roman fort (castrum).

Bon nuit,

N2

Vitre Embuée

The window as seen from the morning bath. I do love this light!

Steamy Kisses,

N2

Cottage Window

The view from the living room window, Stacey's new cottage in Wareside, England.

That's a cobb nut tree turning golden, otherwise known as hazelnuts.

We had cobb nuts as a hedge at the house we lived in, Hollins Hall in Flaunden,

while stationed in England when I was 9-12 years-old.

Sweet memories!

N2

Les Feuilles Rougissent

Just so! here I was thinking I might have to force Google translate to give me an equivalent to "the leaves are reddening" and it translated "the leaves are turning red" to what basically means "the leaves are blushing/turning red in the face". Bon, non?

Rougissant baisers!

x0

N2

à Mazamet

Went over to Mazamet for Ken McAdams and Maryanne Binghampton's book reading/signing with Derek and Monique yesterday. It was quite the nice event at a B&B au centre ville called La Villa Mazamet. Ken's book is called "Bon Courage" after my house here on rue Ferlus, which he and Bing and a raft of local workers renovated.

Bisous from the cultural capital of southwestern France!

N2

art form

A tenative return to posting daily, in that I am JUST DOing IT.  

Life picked up a couple of notches,

and All Is Well.

xoxoLC

Au Royaume-Uni

Ms Stacey in motion at her cottage in Ware, England, Sunday night.

Bon Voisinage

These are the flowers that my neighbor Claude gave me for helping out a bit in her potager (kitchen garden, though in Claude's case it is a big yard down the lane just outside the village). Belle, non? I have to try again to get dahlias to grow in my CA garden. They are such beautiful blooms to have at the end of the season when it seems all else has given up. I must have planted them four times already there along the driveway in Healdsburg, and they never come up. As Mauro would say, pequeños animales, meaning the gophers musta' got 'em. But then I'm mixing my cultural metaphors.

Nachty nacht!

N2

Juste Assez (Just Enough)

This is 1€ worth of shitake mushrooms from the Revel market. A sweet shy young man works with his mother at the market stall where I buy them and he knows just what I am after when I ask for "un morceau de les petits" (literally: a morsel of the small ones). The long fingers on his right hand picks les petits out of the tray until the palm of his left hand is filled. He puts them in a small paper bag and takes my silver coin.

And this is enough. Enough to make a sauce for pasta -- sautee shitakes in un morceau of good butter with Guérande salt and fresh ground pepper until their juice flows, add ~1 cup of creme fraiche at the end. Enough to give a subtle twist to a spinach and mushroom quiche.

Baisers Crémeuse!

N2

Samedi Matin

This is where morning pages take place on Saturday.

Hugs from Here!

N2

Geez. Busy.

My cousin has explained to my how to bake pine cones.  Look!  No flour or sugar!

While outside on the power pole, a sentinel.  Watch those ingredients.

:-)

xoxoLC

Saint-Félix-Lauragais

Over in St Félix, as it is known to its familiars, last night for a delicious and entertaining

dinner a' chez Bing & Ken. Speaking mostly in French. Oui, c'est vrai!

This is not their house, but is just down the street on the square.

Bisous,

N2

à la Tombée de la Nuit (At the Fall of Night)

I took a walk around the center of the old town in Castres at twilight the other evening.

(Hey! This could be another entry in the "moving water" series =o)

This fountain is in the Place de Jean Jaurès. Jaurès (born in Castres in 1859 – assasinated 1914) was a French Socialist leader who's "eloquent speeches made him a force in politics as an intellectual champion of Socialism." Wikipedia

Bisous, N2

Le Brunch Chez Moi

Had a simple brunch with spinach/shitake mushroom quiche, pears& rasberries, local yogurt, some orange crepes that Claude brought and tart plum jam from Bing. It was a Sunday sweet spot. Hope your Sunday was sunny and fine. xx00 N2

Shining up his little friend

After a long day in town, Wayne is washing and preparing his bike "For Sale."

La Bohème

Mural at the Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse where we went to see La Bohème this week. Young singers in the roles of students! Clear strong voices! Beautiful theater!

Good orchestra!

Love to you. xx00 N2

Evening at the River

The sun just dipped behind the hills, the water still shimmers, strangely full.  Incidently, I dove right into this brush in my kayak earlier this summer.

Chemin du Parc

On a walk along the outside of the Abbaye Park in the fading sun.

Graphiques Amusants

This bookmark was the handout advertising the performance by local choral groups at the Abbaye this coming weekend. I picked it up because I thought it was cute, then read about the performances after the fact. Keeses! N2

Châtaignes (Chestnuts)

Chestnut trees are very common in the forest here. You just have to roll their prickly shells with your shoe and out they pop. I am looking for new recipes that include fresh chestnuts.

x0x0 N2

Water let out from the dam, the river's up!

A little strange to see the river swollen, brown like its been raining.  Supposedly this is good for the salmon.  I wonder if the dunes are opening to let this all flow to the ocean?  This is from the Summer Bridge this morning.

Nuit Pluvieus (Rainy Night)

Sunday night under the platanes in front of the Cafe du Promenade.

Big Smile!

A whole wheelbarrow full, curing in the sun.

Mmmm, happy.

xoxoLC

l'Évolution de la Saison

Head bowed yet regal. Bracing for what is to come.

Changement de Temps

View over the Lauragais from Puylaurens (Occitan: Puèglaurenç) at 1300 today.

Fall Flowers

Fall bouquet of Helianthus (Jerusalem artichoke flowers)

and Chinese Lantern (Physalis alkekengi) in the back room.

Fall weather is beeeeutiful today

Reminding me to get out the orange bicycle

xoxo

LC

La Gloire du Matin

The morning glory in the courtyard does not feel the harsh autumn wind.

It's star shines as if indian summer will never disappear.

La gloire du matin dans la cour ne se sent pas le vent d'automne difficiles.

C'est étoiles brille comme si l'été indien ne disparaîtra jamais.

The Mountain Thief

Another image of life lived next to and on a mountain of trash, from the film The Mountain Thief.

Tournesol

Though most of the sunflowers have been chopped or are brown and bowed down, you sometimes drive past fields that have a random sprinkling of late bloomers. Gabi had Klaus stop by one of those fields where she cut these three to bring home for me from their day trip to Castelnaudary.

A smattering of rain today

Down the Lane.