A Moment out of Now....

Ok, so in the midst of trying to catch everyone up with the last 8 wks here at La Maison, I have to take a commercial break and share some of Now. Because now is amazing...more amazing then May or June you ask, which I may have hinted were great in a few conversations, and I shall have to reply--Oui. Just a couple quick snapshots, nothing special--ok, I lied, it's special, and I think T may be tired of every phrase coming out of my mouth ending with an exclamation point--but what's a girl to do, I (heart) our home!! (Brief sidebar: T may not be exclaiming, but there are an awwwful lot of deep, contented sighs escaping his mouth at every turn...)

First, let's discuss the weather. Sunny, but not too hot. Breezy, but not too much wind. Big puffy clouds floating by, but not black rain. For a hottie like myself (and here I refer strictly to my always higher then normal body temp--Merci Papa!--not any narcissistic tendencies) I believe I have found nirvana. I'll get back to you on that perfection after winter, but for now....Check out that sky behind us on a recent exploration with visiting friends to a local, private chateau (and what you see in the photo on the right is their..pffft....guest house!)

Freya would like to pass on her two paws' worth as well: Every morning she wakes us up licking and loving, gone is the post-lick cuddle and snooze, replaced with pacing at the bedroom door and an ever so pitiful, dramatic sigh with a slight whine at the end begging us to begin the day tout-de-suite. Once she reaches the front door, the most god-awful sound erupts from her mouth--to the Freya-unknowns it might sound like we were torturing her, ripping out toenails one by one. When in fact it is her sheer excitement to get that door open and explode out into her Blissworld. One day maybe I'll get enough sleep and remember to record her so everyone can relate to our new audio wake-up...akkkk! It's all worth it when she comes bounding up to your lap smelling like warm grass and a bit of fresh dirt, tail wagging top speed, gives you a round of Freyping (you have to live it to love it!) and then leaps off to other adventures...a quick thank you we can never repay.

Which brings us to our simple daily pleasures which to others are a rote of daily living. This weekend some friends came by for lunch (tomato & mozzarella on homemade flaky crust mini-pizzettes, with a pesto sauce & herbes de provence sprinkled on top, grilled pork chops straight from the farm,

white wine & a tarte-tatin with thick creme fraiche also from the region--and yes, it tasted as good as it sounds!) and just before they arrived I zipped to the back of the house and put this little flower arrangement together for the table...in Paris this little 'rien' would have cost 15E! (I think that might just qualify as a Martha Stewart moment!) One night, neither T nor I had the desire for dinner, so instead a quick Brie-en-croute (brie baked in a crust)

with a zip of jalapeno paste inside and a chilled Chablis sufficed to satisfy the appetite as we said goodbye to the day...(I in fact took a photo of the meal for my cousin Eric, a little long distance reminiscing for him ;) )

Life here just brings such a sense of calm and well-being into our lives. We haven't even looked at a TV in months, as a matter of fact, don't have one here (yet), and by the time the sun sets at 10:30PM and we drag ourselves inside, we are all ready for bed. So, I hope your nows are as zen as ours...I shall return to the regularly schedule catch-up (as our internet bouncing allows)....I leave you with a couple of other photos from our chateau visit.