Fall 2011

You've all wondered what ever happened to me, right? Nothing, actually. I've just been living here, doing the things that one normally does; picking grapes, drinking wine, visiting with friends, working on the house and the grounds, visiting Provence, entertaining visiting friends from the U.S. Impossible to remember everything that has gone on since the last post.

I did discover that my house (or possibly the medieval house beneath it) was built against the outer medieval wall of the village. I've done some digging outside and about 3 feet down discovered large lintel stones and what looks like the beginning of a stairway. Been too busy to keep digging, but will be very interested to see if I can uncover portions of the old village wall.

Spring was very welcome, particularly the Wisteria blooming alongside the Iris. I've posted a photo of an amazing wisteria, which is about 50-70 feet long, very ancient, down near the river. It gets cold enough here for there to be a real spring, with the land springing back to life. I got my vegetable garden by the river planted somewhat late, and did minimal things: courgettes, eggplant, tomatoes (photo). I was very busy with renovations to the house and the garden that the vegetable garden was somewhat neglected. However, the garden surrounding the house looks very good, considering there was nothing there to start with. I had a number of weed trees removed and replanted with well-adapted shrubs like sage and rockrose. I also planted two citrus in a warm corner. I've included a photo of the corner of my entry terrace.

Along came summer, and my new roof. I've enjoyed working with my French contractor (known as a maçon here), and the roof looks great. I've posted a photo of the bridge from the road over to the attic -- many wheelbarrow trips have been made over it I walk over it, but not with a wheelbarrow, as it is ten feet at least above the ground. There is also a photo of me helping unload. The windows are in on the sides, most interesting watching how they remove the stones and prop the walls up during the process. The room will be wonderful when its finished, probably some time next spring. The view is stunning.

I've made a number of new friends with people who have vacation homes here - Dutch, German, Irish, Scottish, English. As in San Diego, I now have keys to several neighbors houses. The Germans and Dutch tend to speak good English, so its easy to get to know them. A new couple arrived from England in the spring, and have rented a house for a year. They have become friends also, so I am not without English-speaking opportunities here. The French people are friendly and generous, and when my French improves I'm sure I will get to know more of them better.

The Caldwell family, Dave, Becki and young Nick, were here in June. Becki and Nick were here for 3 weeks and Dave was able to get away from work for a week toward the end. I'm proud to say that I did not allow Dave to do one single handyman thing! I really enjoyed Nick's view of life here, seeing it through his young eyes. I'm hoping they will make it an annual event.

Pat, who many of you know, was here for a couple of months in the late summer. We made a trip to Provence, but mostly did day things in the area. With work ongoing on the house I didn't want to be away for too long.

The big news is that I'm returning to San Diego for a visit during the month of December. To be honest, I would rather just stay here, but I have business to conduct there. I will, of course, be delighted to see my many friends but would rather see them here. I've grown to love this gorgeous landscape, and its people, and don't see myself leaving here any time soon. I hope to see many of you in December!

Winter 2010-2011

Winter 2010-2011

I just realized that I have not posted for six months! I thought I had posted my winter tales but apparently not. In mid-November it got very cold, and then it got colder. And the heat did not seem to be working properly. Right about then my friends from Paris, Ellen and Jean-Pierre, arrived for a long weekend -- and we froze. In spite of that we really enjoyed ourselves, as expected, and had some great meals. Then Mike and Rob arrived for Christmas and New Years, the best Christmas present one could hope for. We had the minimally useful new heat pump, and numerous plug in heaters, and we were still freezing. The fireplace was disassembled in preparation for its renewal as a hearth for a wood burning stove. Open fires are great to look at, but they don't heat well. The fireplace was not done right, as former owners had put in a wood stove, then the owners I bought from had changed it back to a fireplace by just putting some big blocks on the floor and a sheet of steell on top -- I called it campfire on the floor. Not unsafe because everything is masonry, but it didn't look very good or work well without smoking. I've posted a photo of the current fireplace, with a new stone hearth and a new massive mantle made from a 200 year old mantle from a salvage yard. I had an English mason I know do the work, which required cutting big new holes in the wall to support it, and a new joint to connect the corner. Half of the joint was there from its earlier use, and Simon made the other half. It turned out very well, I think.

Back to Mike and Rob's visit. In spite of the cold, we had a wonderful time. We visited Carcassonne, Beziers, the St. Chinian market, the Canal du Midi, Lamalou les Bains and other interesting things in the area. It was too cold for much outdoor sightseeing, but being together was the important part. They cooked many good dinners for us, and got my little old stove working well. They went through and cleaned and adjusted and I'm quite happy with it. It fits perfectly into my narrow kitchen. I'm including a photo of the salvage sink, black and white marble counter (a dresser top which has lost its dresser), black marble backsplash (another orphan marble top) and antique floor tiles -- all second hand stuff but it looks good in here. We were invited out to the home of friends for New Years Eve dinner. The hosts were Hanni and Frans, a Dutch couple who have retired here, and the other guests were my friends Horst and Daria who I wrote about in the Vendange posting. We had aperitifs, then a meal of many courses, each with a specially selected wine, and twenty year old port at the end. None of us spoke a language in common, but there was french, spanish, english, dutch, german and polish to choose from, so we managed. It was a truly unforgettable evening A very sad note is that in mid-January Daria was diagnosed with a brain tumor, and she died in April. She will be missed terribly by her many friends, and how Horst will cope I don't know. He has not yet returned to Roquebrun from Germany, but is due any day.

Mike and Rob also got the heat pump working right -- unbelievably I had not thought to clean the filters, and I had been doing very dusty work in the house -- sanding, grinding, etc. The filters were so clogged no heat was coming out to speak out, and once they were cleaned the unit worked much better. Still cold, but nothing like it was before. As if all this was not enough, hey helped me move furniture from a used furniture place in Beziers and carried it down to the house for me. They brought me fuzzy pajamas, a taxidermy frog with a guitar (no, really), a California wine cookbook (no wine cookbooks here?), the ultimate oven thermometer, Sees candy (unavailable here and I love it), other things I’m sure I’ve missed, but best of all themselves.

Finally, an interesting discovery: Under my “cave” which is a cellar, is another cave. The cave of my present house is obviously a former house, fallen into ruin at some point, and used as the foundation for this house about 1850. One can see where there was a fireplace, under the current one. The floor is slightly higher in the center and I wondered if there was a vaulted cave underneath. As it turns out, the answer is Yes! This is kind of difficult to describe, but back in the old days, animals lived in the cave below the house, and openings were created to drop food scraps down to them. In a vaulted room, there would be a hole with stone blocking on each side to keep the vault from being damaged. The holes were about a foot square. So, there was a large piece of stone, a black stone rather like slate, called Lauze, in the cave as part of the flooring. It measures about 2’ x 3’, and I wanted to use it as a part of the floor in the hearth. So I had the mason bring it up. Underneath there was a small hole. The hole, upon a little digging and enlargement, proved to have sides and is one of those animal food holes. We dropped al ight down, and there is a vaulted cave below, about 15’ x 15’, with a ceiling of 10’ more or less. It appears to be empty.

Mike and Rob left right after New Years, and the weather improved immediately. The sun was out when I left them at the train station. I will continue with an entry for spring!