Sunday at St. Antonin Market

I rode my bike into St. Antonin on Sunday morning for the market. It was a beautiful day, sunny but not too hot.


The market is still a bit quiet as the season has not fully gotten started.


There are cherries, strawberries, asparagus & peas as wells as bunches of fresh garlic & onions.


This gentleman sells the most beautiful lettuces. Looking a bit gruff here, he flashed a lovely big smile just after I snapped the photo. He is very kind & proud of his luscious "salades".



This year, there seem to be more stalls with hats, baskets, clothing, jewelry & trinkets of all kinds.


I bought a kilo of petits pois which I enjoyed shelling in the afternoon once I got home.


I hope all of you are enjoying your summers & all of the bounty that summer produces.

Thoughts

I have been reading Rainer Maria Rilke's Letters to a Young Poet. In the introduction it is said, that after an extended stay in Russia, Rilke for ever after, considered Russia, " that remote & sorrowful land" as his "his spiritual home."


This thought resonated with me. I am often at a loss to explain the emotional attachment that I feel for my home in France.


I am drawn to the simplicity of life here, the sky, the birds joyful song, the gardens, & the fields.


And the hundreds of years of history, of lives lived & lost, the joys & sorrows of a millennium.




I also see in my little corner of France a remoteness, like stepping back in time & at times I see a sorrowful sort of beauty.

As Rilke felt about Russia, I too feel about this lovely place. It is my spiritual home.

Merci!

The only time I can use the internet is when I can get myself to the cafe in St. Antoine. A week or more had gone by since the last time I was there & able to use their wifi. When I finally was able to check my blog, I was over whelmed by all of your kind comments. I have never been very good at leaving responses. Instead I have always tried to go to your blogs to say hello. But sadly, now with so little internet time I will have very little chance to do that. So I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you all, both as a group & individually.



I appreciate your comments so much & it means the world to me to know that you are following along. Merci beaucoup!!



Pie Lady Pat, Yes, the cherries were a delightful surprise. I am most appreciative of how thoughtful & generous my neighbors are.

Emile, Yes, all of the rain has left everything so lush & beautiful & you are right that my little village is a very meditative & peaceful place to be.



Arctic Mom, How wonderful you will be in Bretagne in July. I am quite a bit further south near Toulouse & not so far from Spain. My tiny village is so small that it does not show up on many maps, but the next largest town is St. Antonin Noble Val. The climate here is much warmer than in Bretagne, it can be very hot indeed. I have visited Bretagne & it has its own unique beauty & charm, which I loved. I know you will have a marvelous time taking walks, eating croissants, & practicing your French. Bon Voyage!!

Tomoko, I have missed you & am glad to hear from you again. I hope you are doing well. Thank you for your thoughtful wishes. I hope you will enjoy a beautiful & happy summer as well.



Ruby, Thanks so much for your well wishes. I wish you a wonderful summer too!

Dawne, Thanks so much, I hope I can take a few nice photos this summer, but I am sure they will not compare with the lovely photos that you take, when in France.



Menthe Blanche, Merci beaucoup pour tes commentés en français. C'est bon pour moi. Et oui, j' espère que le soleil va venir bientôt aussi.

Coco, Hi, yes, I am back in my little house in south west France. Thank you for your sweet thoughts & wishes. I hope you have a wonderful summer too.



Paulita, Thank you so much! You were my most devoted follower last summer & I always appreciated your comments. It was great to know that you were following along.

Sandra, Thanks. I feel very blessed. It is really pretty idyllic here in the French countryside in my little village!



Wether you left a comment or not thanks everyone for stopping by! Wishing you all a very happy summer!

J'arrive!

I have arrived. I had a safe journey.
Thank you so much for all your well wishes.


I have opened all of the windows to let in the fresh air. Alas, no sunshine at the moment. The weather is over cast & rainy, but no matter I am very happy to be here.



I was greeted by my rose in full bloom.



There are flowers everywhere!

The roses seem particularly beautiful this year.

Here are just few examples from this little village alone.


I have not done much other than clean, sweeping away cobwebs & dust....


.....and a walk around the village when the sun decides to peep out.


I was so happy to see a little sun on the wheat fields & through the trees to the river.

When I got home I found this lovely bowl of cherries from my neighbors cherry tree waiting for me. What a happy surprise! I feel as if I am home.

It's That Time Again...

It is time to say good-bye to my Boston life & bonjour to my summer life. I will be leaving soon & heading over to France. I am happy, of course, to see my little stone cottage & all of my wonderful friends in my tiny village. But it is also sad to say good-bye, especially to my three sweet grandchildren. 

They have an exciting & busy summer planed. So I know that they will be having lots of fun. To tell the truth, I probably would not be seeing them all that much if I stayed. Still I will miss them. We will be seeing each other again in the fall, & after all there are some fun aspects of being apart as well.  We will have a chance to write to each other. I like to write them letters filled with funny drawings & stories & I love to receive their letters in return.

I will be saying good-bye to my blog for a short time too, while I transition into my French life.

The next post I make will be from France

so 

au revoir & à bientôt!