It feels a bit like summer again in these parts. The nights are cool, I need a blanket, but I was wading in our pool this weekend, desperately trying to salvage the water for another couple of weeks. It is not the kind of pool we thing of, but a bassin- a dunking pool. Nonetheless, it provided endless hours of entertainment for the kids. But, there is no filtration system, it is emptied and refilled as necessary. Well, now it is green and gross. I worried that that water would not warm up again, hense my reluctance to drain and refill it, but Landlord suggested I try it. The days may very well be warm enough to make it worthwhile. Yippee! Maybe the summer is not over after all.
We checked out yet another nearby village this weekend called Aups. My motive was to go to the market, but I can never tell that to Youngest Child as he hates the markets. It is way too much strolling, something he is not particularly good at. The markets are funny because among the artisanal cheeses, salamis, vegetables, fruits and handmade things, are tables of "stuff"- baseball caps, plastic trinkets, fake Gucci purses and plenty of other junk. There are also stands with nice clothes at affordable prices, which is otherwise hard to find. The kids love these tables strewn with toys which my answer to all of the pleading for purchases is always the same- no! Mean, mean Mom, I know.
We bought some gorgeous chevres, tapenade, cherry tomatoes, and a baguette and headed off to the Lac de St. Croix for the afternoon. The water at this lake is turquoise blue- gorgeous. We had plenty of reading material, drawing supplies and snacks to sustain us for the remainder of the day, and to our delight, the water was perfectly agreeable. We were lucky to have an invitation to a friend's house for the evening to celebrate their recent marriage. Even though the kids(and I) are thrilled to be invited to someone's house, it is stressful and tiring to communicate. Nonetheless, it was a wonderful evening of good company, comparing countries an of course, food, and I so appreciate the wonderful people who include us!
Believe it or not, we had another invitation for afternoon tea and cake on Sunday. We meandered back on this little lane, further and further through grapevines, goats and on and on, then came to an adorable house tucked into the hillside. It is the home of my best friend's father and his wife who welcomed us like family. Another family came and I was happy to see all of the kids playing together despite the lack of common language!
I can't imagine what winter is like around here. Our days and evenings are exclusively outdoors, under a blue sky or the stars. I feel like every day brings us some adventure, bright experience or otherwise lovely feeling on this crazy sabbatical of ours.
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| Spices at the Aups Market |
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| Salts and other Spices |
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| Various Meat Options |
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| gorgeous.... |
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| Clear water of Lac de St. Crois |
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