Hey, hey it’s time for some more sights from around our ‘hood!
I’m always passing this old ‘cave co-operative’, ‘Costos Roussos‘ – the date on the facade always reminds me of some special people back home(!), and now there’s always this lovely old Renault ‘4L’This was a first for me… the ladies in the market vans had old quilts and blankets protecting their produce on a recent market morning. It was below freezing and bloody cold… and on this morning it was -4 degreesIt’s starting to snow, approaching Chateau Violet – a beautiful old wine property near usSaturday morning at the supermarche… preparing delicious ‘Aligot‘ – yes, a delightfully light, refreshing dish, composed of cheese, cream, potatoes, cheese, garlic, butter and then some more cheese. Come on, it IS light – really!Wine of the Month in our house: the recently bottled ‘Boulevard Napoleon‘ with local smallgoods (where are you Dad?!)the local hospital for the old metalheadsSunday night and pooch is hangin’ at the pizza vanHot drinks at the cafe after playing in the park …but check out the tele! – the kids are getting clued-up on winemakingDowntown NarbonneCarcassonne marketMeat, anyone? Delicacies at the Carcassonne market… lungs, heart, tripe. Note: bottom right in the tripe corner, the butcher has his Rose ready and chilling…and another glass of Rose. One of the many perks of living around here is the access to delicious, cheap wines served from tap straight out of the wall of our cave co-ops – simply BYO your own bottle…I love this – it’s Pierre the baker’s price list at the Olonzac marketCheck out the airbrush work on the hot rod … a Renault 4L vanOur school celebrates ‘Carnaval‘ each year, where everybody accompanies the school kids on floats in a tour of the villageA few things from last weekend’s ‘vide-grenier’ (village garage sale): some keyrings and an old “Science et Vie’ magazine from 1944. Ashamed to say I get obssessed with many things, advertising keyrings from the 60s for eg! And hang on, I’ve even discovered there’s a name for it – ‘Copoclephliie‘ (!!)my favourite view coming out of Olonzac…and a favourite close to home, this wall in our hamletFavourites, favourites… now I promise this one wasn’t planned! I think I have a thing about apples? (you started it Mum!)on the road, yesterdayShort, back and sides in lovely Toulousethe old ‘manege’ (carousel), Toulouse
One minute you’re here, in a flash you’re there and suddenly and wonderfully, it feels like you’ve never left. The brown grass is the same, the clean grid of houses is the same, Mum and Dad are at the airport to pick us up and cruise us home, their dog is at the door, all the smells are the same, the beautiful trees are the same, the coffee is a lot better than you know where… A lot of things have never changed and I love it.
But there is a weird part to coming back and this part is where you fit in with people. Being away for most of the year means you have to step back and accept the distance from these loved people on an everyday level. Sure, I make calls home and speak to my parents often, but it isn’t the same and I’ve had to sort of ‘train’ myself to endure the distance by allowing myself to let go. It’s too hard for me to keep it up 100% in two places at once. My heart is in both, but I take a step back and act less wherever I am not. Then suddenly, I come back and have to get a handle on my excitement – near-hysteria – over seeing all these adored people in person again. This can be really strange. I act either overwhelmed and vague or like a babbling idiot, wanting to toast every moment with everyone with gallons of bubbles. Not good for the head.
Look, sorry for the blah it’s hard to explain. I’ll try and explain it better later.
For now I want to celebrate having new eyes on home. Images and places I always took for granted seem to be so exotic now! Australia can be so tres chic – and oh so wonderfully tres kitsch. I always knew this I guess about home, but now I love it even more.
flying in to Adelaidearound Aldinga beach – a favourite placeYellow Flowering Gumaccommodation on a friend’s farm, New Year’s EveNew Year’s day 2013yeah, yeah, a kangaroon crossing. yawn yawn!classsheep shedbbq’d sausages and sauce on bread (Lilas consumes a couple of hundred each Christmas)…and Mum consumes this…and this (next time K and H!!)spookyoh what the hell, I love this so here it is again…road to nowhereheading to some of my favourite places in South AustraliaAldinga Beachcould do with this in FranceThe Capri – a much-loved movie theatre around the corner from where I used to live. Each Friday and Saturday night, ‘The Mighty Wurlitzer’ makes its appearance. As the ads finish, an oompah loompah of noise begins and there, rising up through the floor before the screen, emerges the mighty organ with its pianist banging waywardly on the keys with his legs flying across the foot pedals, providing the pre-movie entertainment.interior at the Capri
A big Hip hip to this New Year, 2013! May it be a good one for all and a happy and healthy one.
Just thought I’d say I haven’t forgotten about the blog, just busy cruising the streets in S.A. (South Australia) and lapping up as much quality time as possible, before the annually dreaded departure. Gotta make the most of it!
But somehow there’s those petite ‘mon Dieu’ surprises that always bring France back to mind…
les geants… as seen at the Adelaide Central Market
I’m starting to get the jitters about the plane flight – but HEY, I’m heading home!
I can’t get there fast enough, with everything that’s been going on… Just can’t wait to hit the ground, feel and smell the dry air and see all those beautiful eucalyptus trees and give my family and friends a hug (sorry for that cringe, but I mean it).
my favourite tree – a Eucalyptus (gum)
It’s a long long way to get there – a huge, bon voyage – and I’ve been revving myself up with some tunes that remind me so much of home (and hey, don’t get stuck into me that they’re not new – my finger’s not on the pulse anymore out here).
These songs are giving me a great buzz right now… but I’ve gotta say that sometimes some Aussie songs reduce me to a sobbing mess! (as well as all the others: Natalie Merchant, Antony and the Johnsons, Adele et al…). I can be driving in my car, playing the music real loud and suddenly I find myself choking with huge, involuntary sobs – a blithering wreck trying to see the road with tear-filled cloudy eyes. And I love it. I think of home, think of my family and have a great, big, cry. It feels SO good. I’m almost joyous. I’m sort of between happy, ecstatic, thankful and sad, all at once. And would you believe it, I’ve cried to Kylie Minogue and Tina Arena. Eeeewww. Better stop there.
The Vigneron's Wife 