My French Valentine

Last evening when the man who loves me arrived at my place, he came bearing groceries, as he often does.
"Brussels sprouts? Would you like some brussels sprouts for dinner?" he asked. I laughed and asked him if that was a Valentine's Day thing because earlier I'd noticed that my chic neighborhood market had displayed brussels sprouts prominently and that there were people in line with wine and fancy cakes....and brussels sprouts.
"No," he said. "It's a Korean thing."
But still, it left me wondering. And remembering that, in France, "mon petit chou," is a term of endearment.
It translates to "my little cabbage." And isn't that what brussels sprouts are? Little cabbages?
If they're not a Valentine's tradition, perhaps they should become one, mon petit chou.

Sunday in the Country

We drove into the province called Le Lot yesterday and saw another of France's most beautiful villages--St. Cirq Lapopie.

But it was the apple orchards in the countryside that captured my imagination. The rows of trees have a framework of wooden poles over them from which are hung vast sheets of white netting that can be used to cover the trees. But when the netting is pulled back, it's gathered and anchored to the poles at the ends of the rows. It looks like grand draperies made of white tulle--like the apple trees are having a wedding.

C'est La Vie

I like to say that I'm currently living in France. I'm here for a month, thanks to the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. http://www.vcca-france.com/index.php?page=2009-2 This first week has already concluded, and so far I've awakened every morning in my charming room in an old stone house thinking, I'm living in France! It's a bit of a fantasy because it's pretty unlikely that I'll continue to live here, but for now I do live in Auvillar which has the distinction of being one of the 100 most beautiful villages in France.

http://www.les-plus-beaux-villages-de-france.org/en