Day of mindfulness

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Linda and I enjoyed a moment with tea in between sessions during our Day of Mindfulness at the Plum Village Buddhist retreat center, just 10 minutes from Duras. Here, we are sitting on the temple steps near the giant gong. I would love to ring it, but I'm sure that would be frowned upon.

Along with the Buddhist monks and nuns of the village, we made a walking meditation through the plum orchards and to the top of the hill where we all sat in silence for a while gazing back at the undulating landscape in a peaceful state.

A very nice vegetarian lunch was served in the dining hall consisting of rice, tofu, various sauteed veggies, a salad, and a very weird dessert we later learned was "grass jelly" topped with yogurt.

Overall it was a very pleasant experience.

Le vieux moulin

Sitting well off the road between Duras and Pinheuil is this perfectly charming old wind mill. I have passed it, near the village of Villeneuve de Duras a few times, but today I had some extra time and I decided to see how close I could get to it.

I took an old dirt road past vineyards and plum orchards which dead-ended in a field and got about 200 yards from the mill before realizing that it sits in the middle of a vineyard on private property.  Oh well, at least I got a closer look.

Le demi-parasol

Today I went shopping for items I thought would make the house more pleasant. I headed to Bergerac and stopped in at Gifi, Casa and Maisons du Monde, which happily are all in the same shopping center.

At Gifi I found a wonderful thing: a demi-parasol. Yes! Half an umbrella for my petit terrace that sits in full sun from about 2-6 in the afternoon, or just about the time I am ready for that daily dose of rosé. 

I put together the iron base and the stem of the umbrella and muscled them outside to see how it all looks. The taupe fabric blends in with the historic structure and the size is perfect--as if it were made just for me.

Here's my view sitting under it.

The view from inside.

The view when standing under the clock tower.

At Casa, I bought a portmanteau, which is a free-standing clothes rack for the small bedroom that doesn't have its own closet. I have not attempted to put that together yet. It will be a project for tonight.

At Maisons du Monde I found some lovely taupe linen curtains for the small bedroom and some tchatchkes to decorate. I am sleeping in that room this week, which is giving me new perspective on what a guest would need or want in that space.

The flavors of spring

Sometimes simple is just better. Especially when the ingredients are so fresh and natural and go together like sun, air and water.

At the market in Duras I bought a handful of fresh asparagus, a bunch of baby leeks, some free-range eggs and a couple of portions of runny day-old goat cheese.

To the average eater this collection might not sound like the makings of an exceptional dinner, but I couldn't wait to get them together into the most perfect of culinary creations--the omelette.

With a few of my very sweet, local strawberries, this was a dinner par excellence!

My work is never done

I arrived in Duras yesterday and everything was great--except this array of pots full of weeds. Lucky me--today was market day in Duras so I was able to get everything I needed to fill the pots.

There were so many healthy and colorful plants at the market, I had trouble deciding on a color scheme. Finally, I chose pink cascading geraniums, white upright geraniums, purple petunias and yellow nemesia. I also tucked seeds of "capuchine" nasturtiums in some of the pots so there will be a nice surprise later on.

It was a perfect day for gardening. About 85 degrees and sunny. I put on my painting smock and proceeded to entertain the entire neighborhood. Several people stopped to say "tres jolie" and offer encouragement.

Just outside my door, a vendor was selling shrubs and fruit trees so I also picked up a spirea and a fig tree to make things interesting.

Oh, wait! We need herbs. We need a tomato!

I drove to the Gamm Vert garden center to pick up another clay pot and a bag of soil. There were some Sweet 100 cherry tomatoes there too. If all goes well, that tomato should feed the entire street. 

Fun and French

I bought my first pair of real French espadrilles today. They sell them at the supermarket for 7.99€!!

I am fashionable AND frugal!!

My new favorite food

I discovered coffee-flavored sheep's milk yogurt today. My life may never be the same.