Friends from afar.....

Beautiful Autumn card from across the miles.

When I had the pleasure of meeting blogger/writer/lover of the brocante, Corey Amaro, in Aix-en-Provence last Autumn, that pleasure was doubled.....no actually tripled.....because I also met her cousin Judy with husband Chris who were visiting.

Funny how one sometimes gets the feeling an acquaintance may become a friend. Despite separation by vast continents and thousands of miles, we may be lucky enough to meet again the people who briefly crossed our path. This happened when we visited Judy and Chris at their lovely home in California in late July. An all too brief stop, full of warm welcome and hospitality, made possible on our way to stay with lifelong friends at Lake Almanor. Hopefully we'll meet again along the way some day.

Inside Judy's lovely card was attached a verse from

Keats' poem To Autumn.

This Time Last Year.................

...........I was getting ready for a trip to the South of France. This year no such luck, but I do have some Autumn travel plans closer to home, including meeting up with some dear blog friends in October.

Images taken last October in the quintessential French village of Caunes-Minervois where my English family now live.

The family house at dawn ~ Caunes Abbey in the background.

If you would like to visit this lovely area, close to the city of Carcassonne, see my sidebar for B&B particulars.

My Friends Always Share.......

Make sure to visit my sweet friend Jeanne's fun blog Backyard Neighbor by this coming Wednesday. Not only will you enjoy reading posts from her beautiful North Carolina mountain home, you can leave a comment that will automatically enter you in her wonderful giveaway pictured above. Jeanne and I have met a couple of times and are planning another get together very soon. Know we'll have fun antiquing, treasure hunting and eating in Asheville, NC........and, even more exciting, another very well known blog friend is going with us! More on all this later. Hurry on over to see Jeanne.

Let's snuggle up with a good book.....

...............now that Autumn is almost knocking at the door. Thoughts of finding some great books to read are on my mind. There are several blog friends sharing titles and reviews of both new and older books. Many sound interesting. Sweet friend Jenny, co-owner of SuzAnna's Antiques, recently posted the list of 100 Books. Many I have read, the remainder I should.


How do you choose what to read when snuggled in your favorite chair on a chilly afternoon, or tucked in bed when the wind is whistling around the darkened windows?

Peter (Pierre), Peter, Pumpkin Eater

The word pumpkin comes from the Greek pepon for a large melon. The English termed it pumpion or pompion. This term dates back to 1547. In all honesty, I don't ever remember having pumpkin growing up in England.........not until my first Thanksgiving in the US did I try pumpkin pie, and loved it!
The pumpkin was one of many foods used by Native American Indians in the new world and was a welcome discovery by the Pilgrims. The Indians pounded strips of pumpkin flat, dried them, and wove them into mats for trading. They also dried pumpkin for food.
The new Americans heartily embraced the sweet, multi-purpose fruit which became a traditional Thanksgiving food.

I was surprised to find such beautiful pumpkins, squash and gourds in France. Apparently they are very popular and the French make wonderful dishes with them. Seemed to be a greater selection available than what we have here. These images are from the Pumpkin Fete we visited in a small village last October.......such fun.

Village wandering one beautiful October day, I noticed this old rusting wheelbarrow. Close by, the biggest pumpkins were waiting patiently for their journey to the kitchen, hopefully to be turned into something delicious, and placed lovingly on the farm table.....that's what French cooks do!

My dirty little secret........

Something you probably don't know about me. I'm one of those.........you know..........bag ladies!!

Not talking fancy designer handbags, purses or pocket books.......

............rather simple little cloth bags which specify their usefulness in no uncertain terms.

Do you travel with your shoes in bags?

How about your pegs (clothespins). Do you hang them in a cute bag near the washing line, or are you an electric dryer person? I have to admit, sadly, I haven't pegged anything out since in France last Autumn!

Potatoes quickly sprout little appendages if left in the light - but stored in a dark lined bag like this they're OK for much longer. Do you have one of these?

All these useful bags were purchased in England and I love them.

Pommes d'amour..................

We know they will soon be as precious as gold! That's if we can find any once the first frost visits the garden.

Tomatoes in southwestern France seem to hang about longer, an extended season to enjoy a fresh picked one. These beauties growing in huge clusters were still ripening in my brother's garden last October.

Pommes d'amour, love apples................aaah, the romantic French named them such believing them to have aphrodisical properties.

The English word tomato comes from the Spanish tomatl. A member of the deadly nightshade family, tomatoes were erroneously thought to be poisonous by Europeans ~ their leaves are!

The tomato is native to western South America and Central America. In 1519, Cortez discovered them growing in Montezuma's gardens and brought seeds back to Europe where they were planted as ornamental curiosities, but not eaten.

Caunes-Minervois - October 2008

The honor system ~ with scale perched on a tomato color stool ~ outside a village house.

Basket of just picked tomatoes, figs and peppers ~ I peeked in and asked 'monsieur' if I could snap a pic as we passed by in the village street.

Tuh-MAY-toh or Tuh-MAH-to? Pronunciation doesn't matter when it comes to this fabulous fruit known as a vegetable..................

................and I'm off to my kitchen right now to chop, mince and prepare a bowl of Gazpacho to use up some of my tasty, locally grown toMAHtos!!!!