Kinder than is necessary

"Shall we make a new rule of life ... always to try to be a little kinder than is necessary?" from The Little White Bird by J.M. Barrie as quoted in Wonder by R.J. Palacio.

One tremendous bonus I have during this year off is the opportunity to devour books. There never seems to be much time for pleasure reading when caught up in the vortex of life, so I am especially grateful to have time to read AND process stories. While processing, I just had to write about this one:

Just finished the book, Wonder. I have never before read a book where just about every page left me with foggy eyes and a considerable lump in my throat. Despite the dread that portends, it was a fabulous story filled with persevering courage, an abundance of love, and most pleasingly, a profusion of optimism for the kindness and goodness of our fellow humans. As painful as are the circumstances of the main character, Auggie, the story never made me feel as if I couldn't read any more. I believe that is solely a result of the love that is conveyed so realistically and so unremittingly throughout the tale. Auggie's parents and sister embrace him with the type of love most of us will never experience because it is a love born from a cruel and tragic roll of the genetic die. It comes from people who have been bestowed not just with the gift of love for their child and brother but of the raw anguish and instinctual protectiveness that rolls over them anew each time Auggie greets the world. Auggie is born with profound facial malformations which no amount of surgery or reconstruction can reverse. I imagine that few have their love for someone tested as wholly and relentlessly as those who love someone whom others of us may view as "abnormal." This love has a rare depth and complexity that is impossible not to admire. The author, R.J. Palacio, does not preach nor does she make sappy the emotions Auggie and his family experience. Her matter of fact story made my reactions to the cruelty of the universe and of some of the characters in the book feel authentic despite knowing that I could not possibly comprehend what Auggie's struggles meant to him and his family. I felt a wealth of compassion for what every social interaction meant to Auggie, his parents, and his sister even knowing I could not possibly understand the extent of the emotions triggered by these events. Auggie's story is told through different perspectives: his, his sister's, his sister's boyfriend's, and several of his friends'. They all express an intelligence, maturity, and reasonableness that is remarkable as they reveal their own struggles and their involvement with Auggie. Would that we all had that capacity! It was hard not to marvel at the subtlety of the underlying message that helping each other is the most foolproof way through this thing we call life. In the end, kindness trumps any mean spirit that rises in the story. As a witness to this, the head of Auggie's school invokes the quote from above to encourage Auggie's classmates to make this a guiding principle by which they should live. I think we all should embrace it and, by doing so, proliferate it. Super read!

Toulousian Thanksgiving

Over the canal and through the streets to the Mingotaud's house we go...to do Thanksgiving in Toulouse! Luckily, Dan, Christophe and Anne-Francoise had a connection at work to get us a turkey. Don't worry--it was not chemically manufactured, microstructurally developed, or biotechnologically engineered. As boring as it may sound, our bird was raised on a farm with a carefully timed diet planned for peak plumpness. In fact, we were quite lucky to get a turkey because the farmers time the raising and feeding of their livestock so that they will be ready for their season. Turkeys, or dindes, are a Christmas bird, so it was touch and go whether or not Tom (or shall I say Tomas (don't pronounce the "s") Turkey would be ready for us. In the end, the cereal and milk he gorged on did the trick to fatten him up so we could have Thanksgiving!

I managed to make two pies: pumpkin made all the way from scratch--meaning, believe it or not, that I actually started with a pumpkin, and my grandmother's Fudge Pecan Pie since the chocolate in France is outrageously delicious. I will admit that I purchased a Tarte Tatin since Claire doesn't eat nuts nor does she like pumpkin, and everyone should have some dessert to enjoy on Thanksgiving! Dan made a superb turkey that was cooked to perfection. We tried our best to have all of our regular "fixin's" and managed to fill our plates with turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, spinach casserole, creamed onions, and gravy. As if that wasn't enough, we kicked it all off with foie gras and a creamily delicious chilled bottle of Monbazillac.

As usual, our day with the Mingotauds was filled with laughter and fun and memory-building. We played board games, Christophe took the girls down to the park to play an outside game with large blocks, and we watched almost all of the original Pink Panther movies. More laughter! We definitely felt the holiday spirit filling us up--even sans football to watch!

Below are pix of the day--the food coming together and a shot of my plate before I dug in, not necessarily in any order. As much as we missed our traditional Thanksgiving, we were lucky to spend it with the Mingotauds and build special memories of our fabulous Thanksgiving in Toulouse!

My pumpkin before prep. I loved the look of it so much, I saved
some seeds to see if I can grow one in FL!!

Isn't it pretty inside??

Charlotte and Anne-Franoise admiring the pumpkin pie
before it goes in to bake.

Always happy at the Mingotaud's!

Charlotte stuffs...

Claire stuffs...

and Corinne stuffs!

Christophe ties that turkey tight!

The chef with the finished product.

The table including Christophe.

The table including me, and ready to dig in!

Strange Weather

20 January 2013

What a peculiar day—or better yet, past few days. It turned surprisingly cold on Thursday and, fulfilling our anticipation, the snow God made sure we woke to the fluffy white stuff on Friday. Unfortunately, early on in the day the precipitation turned to a dull and predictable rain. Saturday was not much better—rain, gray, and cold but not cold enough to turn the rain into falling flakes. Claire checked on the weather and proclaimed that the rain would continue with no hope for snow because it was warming up! Ugh. I needed to do laundry, and getting it to dry in the humidity would be problematic since I have to string up clothes all over the apartment (five people make a ton of dirty socks) since we are sans dryer. Dan was getting up early to catch a train to Nantes so I decided I would get up with him. My plan was to get to the Laundromat early and snag a dryer that would have the laundry done in 30 minutes or less. I had heard rain all through the night and, based on Claire’s weather report, I pulled on a fleece to fight the morning chill and headed out with my sack of laundry. Stepping off the elevator, I headed to the front door and saw enormous, frosty flakes tumbling and accumulating! I looked at myself and knew I was not dressed for that. I ran back up to the apartment, grabbed a hat, jacket, and gloves and made my way back out. The first problem was that all the rainfall that had collected on the sidewalks and streets was now a couple of inches of slush. Although snow piled up on the grass, trees, and roofs, on the ground it seemed like a horrible accident that dumped gray 7-11 slushies all over had occurred. It was eerily quiet. No cars, no buses, no people hurrying off to the market. Since the snow was coming down at a steady clip, I became hopeful that eventually the slush would be frozen in place and the flurries would continue to accrue. I slogged back home once my clothes were dry. Charlotte and I had a plan to get some exercise at the pool. I told her to pull on her rain boots to schlep through the streets, and off we went. Of course, now it was half raining-half snowing! I got ahead of her, which was my first mistake. She managed to scoop off of a car enough snow to make a snowball and pelted me in the back with it. I just have so much fun with her! She got me again before we got to the pool and managed to knock some hard fought for snow out of my hands before I could form a ball and launch it. We were greeted at the pool with a note informing us the pool was closed for competition! So, through the slurry coating the roads and sidewalks, we made our way to the metro to go to another pool. No surprise here, there were delays due to “climat exceptionelle,” but we waited. We finally got to the pool. The temperature inside was perfect. There are three pools in an enormous space that has two walls made of windows. How surreal it was to be standing in a bathing suit looking out at the snow. I've been in Florida for too long, now! We made our way back home in the drizzle, which didn't much matter since our heads were wet already. We walked in and I told Claire and Corinne to get on their rain boots cause it was a mess out there. They were marveling at the magical snowfall from up high and had no idea of the state of the ground level. Pictures follow of us in our rain boots. We headed out to get brunch but stepped out onto somewhat clear sidewalks. I don’t know where all the slop went, but they were beginning to believe what a mess it must have been when we came across occasional piles of muck that had yet to be washed away. I say washed away because the enchanting snowfall had morphed back into a dreary rainfall. Sigh. By the time we got to the salon de thé, the sun was shining and the gutters were gushing with melting snow. When we headed home, now looking foolish in our rain boots, the sky was completely blue and the sun felt warm through our jackets. The buses had been suspended at the start of the day but were now lurching back into service. People were starting to move about, and it was beginning to feel like an ordinary day again. Charlotte and I changed into normal shoes before I walked her to catch a bus to a friend’s house. Now I’m sitting inside watching the sky become heavy with gray clouds again. There is no more snow on the roofs across from us. The forecast for tonight is 2˚ with spotty showers. I am sure the girls were hoping to wake up tomorrow to what greeted me today. That might mean a snow day, and they’ve never experienced that! Truthfully, I wouldn’t mind a day like that either—drifting back to sleep while the flurries fall, the buses stand still, and life pauses for Mother Nature sounds like an exceptional Monday.

 

Perigord Noir

In November we visited the Perigord Noir region where the Dordogne and Vézère Rivers flow through this southwest part of France. The Dordogne used to be the border between England and France. This is a marvelous area for several reasons: an abundance of prehistoric caves; the main battlegrounds of the Hundred Years War between France and England exist here; hundreds of fortified castles that are French and English in origin (because of the HYW); and the gastronomy is unequaled (if you like duck, goose, foie gras, trufffes, and walnuts). 

We stayed at a B&B called Le Lys de Castlenaud where our host, Nathalie, has created a magical, medieval atmosphere. Her inspiration seems to come from two castles that are visible from her property, Château de Beynac (French) and Château du Castlenaud (English) and down the river from each other. She dresses in medieval style and will regale you with the story of Joan d'Arc. She provides wonderful advice on where to go and what to see. We enjoyed a regional treat the night we arrived at the inn: Vin de Noix, an aperitif made from walnuts! So yummy we brought several bottles of it back to Toulouse.

We ate as if the food was going to run out! Nathalie told us visitors have to plan on gaining 2-3 kilos for a week's visit. We ate regional specialties like walnut cake, cassoulet (casserole containing pork, goose, duck, and white beans), foie gras, and confit de canard (a rich and delicious dish made with leg of the duck). Luckily, we had to climb cliffs to enjoy the castles and venture deep into a cave to see prehistoric markings. We considered ourselves well fortified, just like the castles!

Lots of pix to share, so I will begin with that and leave it to the captions. Visit this region if you can. You will not be disappointed!

Another view from Castlenaud.

View from Castlenaud to the valley below.

First stop: Sarlat. Fabulous town!

Dining room in Reignac

Château de Castlenaud towering over the valley.

Had to cross the river to get to Château de Castlenaud.

A river view from Castlenaud

Reignac--cliff caves used in prehistoric times, eventually castle was
built into the side of the cliff incorporating the caves into its rooms!

 

We were there, too!

Fun at Castlenaud!

More fun at Castlenaud!

The fun at Castlenaud continues...

Did I mention truffles? We visited this gentleman's truffle farm to
learn about them and how they are cultivated and harvested.

Corinne and the truffle dog bonded!

At the Gardens of Marqeyssac--magical, stunning gardens
belonging to a chateau also looking over the Dordogne.

Charlotte along the garden path at Marqeyssac

Claire and Corinne found a fine resting spot at Marqeyssac.

View over the river from Marqeyssac

Discovered this unique structure along one of the walking paths at Marqeyssac

These fellas added merriment to our walk through the gardens. 

Natural canopy

Puymartin

Château de Beynac from Marqeyssac

One more chateau: Puymartin, built during the 13th century

We also visited Rocamadour--an incredible town built in a gorge and home to pilgrimage churches.
The pilgrims undoubtedly suffered to get there, but it's worth it. Also home to one of our favorite cheeses!

Schedule

Claire and the goats made friends when we visited a Rocamadour cheese farm. 

The pure joy of discovery on this face confirms
for me that this year is being well spent!