Living in the moment....

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Ahhh! What a glorious morning! Bright and sunny, crisp and clear, the perfect day to start into my work. I had plans for the day and one of them way to buy another heater for the farm. It was 38 degrees F outside and only slightly warmer inside the stone farmhouse. Still I had not installed an outdoor shower for nothing, so braving the cold (it wasn’t really so bad) I went outside and turned on the shower. Nice hot water came pouring out and I stepped into it. What joy! What rapture! I lingered under the stream for several minutes before shampooing and soaping up, rinsing off in a glorious dichotomy of crisp cold air and steaming hot water. It did the trick, my blood was flowing and a light breakfast of yogurt and tea set me up properly for the day.

The first thing I wanted to do was to visit the farmers market in Sommieres, a fair sized town just about 10 minutes drive away. It is held every Saturday morning and is an experience I am loath to miss. Sommieres is an old Roman garrison town with many Roman architectural elements still in place. The Roman bridge crossing the Vidourle is still in good repair and used all the time. Inside the old town you can see how the old Roman buildings, which had stood separately when originally built, had been overtaken by the medieval town when a variety of wars ravaged the region from 400 AD to 1600 AD. You can see the arcades of a coliseum disappear into the side of a building knowing full well that they are still inside it. Its quite amazing.

And through the streets of this town winds the market with its broad assortment of items sold in ways we can’t even imagine. Spices in mounds, cheese in whole wheels, freshly baked breads and fresh roasted meats, shoes of all sizes and lingerie to bedazzle even the most hard boiled centurions. In fact it is reported, despite the reputation for haute couture enjoyed by France, that fully 30% of clothing purchased in France is bought in these country markets. Given the number of people looking through the offerings I found that easy to comprehend.

I myself purchased some merguez, a type of north African sausage and some garlic sausage, both of which I like to barbecue. I also purchased two large climbing rose bushes and a Camelia for the farm. Each trip to the market there I like to buy something to plant. The vendor was very helpful trying to speak English for me after I began in my poor French patois…”Ma francais est tres mauvais…” “My French is very bad…”. I think this is the key to disarming the French…simply try to speak their language in their home and they appreciate the gesture. I have found virtually universal success with this approach and today was no different. Not only was he helpful but he insisted that he could come to help me with the “soil problem”.

“Zee soul, eet eese moost be acidic pour ze Camelia. Here, ze soul eese calcium, ppptt!” This last sound made by pursing the lips and spitting, indicating that of course Camelia could not grow in calcium rich soil. Thereafter followed a detailed exhortation of the importance of preparing the hole for the planting of the Camelia to protect it from the calcium in the soil. This included digging a hole 2 feet deep and 2 feet wide. If you’ve ever seen the soil here you know that that is a monumental task, it being full of clay and rock and roots. In the end he summed up by saying, “Or you cooed plant eet een a pot. C’est meilleur! (It’s better!)”

After getting my plants and making my way home I went with Christian to visit the man I had bought the little Opel Corsa from. His name is Francois and of course he knew some very good wines that I should try including one he poured right there at 11:30 am. And it was very good! A wine that is made by putting it in a large glass jar outside in a field for a year. It reminded me of a port but was I should say, more complex in its flavorings with strong tobacco and leather accents, both flavors lingered pleasantly on the palate.

We signed some papers and he gave me another bottle of wine to seal the deal, an AOC St. Chinian made by a friend of his. He thinks it a superb house wine for less than 6 Euros a bottle. I promised to have him over to try it.

After that I went back to the farm, which was warming up in the 65 degree F day. I put on a pot of water and proceeded to make a beef stew. Turnips, potatoes, carrots, mushrooms, cabbage, some local olive oil and some very nice stewing beef diced up in cubes. A handful of rosemary, thyme, oregano and a laurel leaf (bay) all from outside in the village square and some salt and pepper, and Voila! A hearty evening meal ready to eat with some rustic pain de campagne. It was delicious…I had a big bowl surrounded by the heaters with all the candles in the farmhouse blazing and my little IPOD pumping out the Gypsy Kings.

I had also decided that I wanted to get all the shutters redone on this trip so I went to Leroy Merlin (France’s Home Depot) and bought all the materials for the work. Now, it can be said that if wine, cheese and bread are cheap in France wood is like gold. It is so expensive and often the only choice is bent and twisted like the worst you might find at Lowes. Still they have systems to do most things and this is true for shutters. Unlike North America, shutters are still a practical consideration here for both weather and security. They also have a decorative role in these old stone houses. The shutters at the farmhouse were probably circa 1850 and were in bad shape. I’ve replaced most inside the farmhouse but the ones facing the village square had not been done. This is the task for this trip.

The day ended with my materials for the work secured and a full stomach of stew with a nice rye and ginger (a toast to my dad who very much liked his rye and ginger) to wash it down. And then some more reading of “The Wind From All Directions” regarding Captain George Vancouver’s voyage to the Pacific Northwest. Its getting quite good now…I’ve met the Spanish and the natives he encountered. They don’t seem like a bad lot.