FRENCH WORD-A-DAY

Yesterday morning. Do you remember the lively scene, last June, when we picked the almonds from this tree? Click here for those pictures and the story: "A food that guarantees happiness, luck, health, and offspring."

arrosage (ah-roh-zazh)

    : watering, spraying

Improve your French pronunciation with Exercises in French phonetics. Click here. 

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Arrosage. Ici, à Mas des Brun, on préfère l'arrosage à la main.
Watering. Here, at Mas des Brun, we prefer to water by hand.

France and Monaco Rentals: short-term holiday rental properties throughout France. Click here for pictures.

A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE... by Kristin Espinasse

Several pictures for you today, and an update on the last four or five days...

While Jean-Marc continued to water his new mourvedre, cinsault and ugni blanc vines last week, we had some memorable visits with friends.

On Thursday, Beth and Guillermo came for lunch. Beth is one of my very first blog sponsors.  Was it around 2004 when she began advertising her lavender and lavender tours in Provence? Beth  is currently living in Marseilles, where she got those mouth-watering Arabic pastries.

• See Beth's blog here
• And her Facebook page for her tours, "Experience Provence and Beyond"

We ate them when she and Guillermo returned from the cellar visit with Jean-Marc. See him again, two photos up, using his earth-stained hands to talk about his favorite subject: le vin! 

Jean-Marc had to excuse himself from the lunch table, to return to his just-planted vines near the restanque or stone terrace wall. With a morning and evening arrosage à la main, he is able to water 1200 vines per day. 

 After picking a bagfull of kale in the potager (to send home with my guests), Guillermo (kale-chip lover), Beth and I walked down to the new parcel (right) just beside the one we planted last year (see it, left? With the tall stakes). Beth asked if she could return again, to paint among the vines and olive trees. This brings me to my next guest, Tess! Let's meet her next, after our sponsor's message...

SOUTH OF FRANCE RENTALS: An elegant Aix apartment or a seaside village home – make France your home for a week!

Provence Dreamin'? Maison des Pelerins, Sablet. A Vacation Rental Dream in the heart of the Côte du Rhone. 

I know Tess from the time Jean-Marc and I lived in Les Arcs-sur-Argens. If you've read this blog a while, you've already met Tessa here, in the ancient village of Séguret, and in many other stories.

Tess is an artist and chef, so when she came on Friday we enjoyed cooking together, long walks with the dogs, and painting the blossoming almond tree you saw at the top of this letter.

When Tess told me about her upcoming Paint in Provence classes, I thought of a few readers who have contacted me, inquiring about an all-inclusive trip.

I cannot recommend Tess enough! What a treat to spend a week with her at her farmhouse in Lorgues! And to eat homemade food from her French kitchen! 

You must check out Tess's Paint in Provence website. I'm linking, now, to the activities page, where you will see a day-trip to our vineyard - where you will be painting in between the very vineyards that Jean-Marc is tending, now.

 If you  have been looking for a very personal and unique trip to Provence, where you will be taking care of from the moment you step off the airplane to the moment you are driven back to the airport, then please contact Tess today. She has four openings total for this very special artist vacation. 

Click here to check out Tessa's Paint in Provence, and see you on May 21st!

                                             Parapluies and kumquats.

And Sunday we had the chance to meet Gail and Fred! (I don't have a picture for you yet, but here's a snapshot of the table waiting to be dressed for lunch. There is so much sun out that we needed a covering for shade... The parapluies, or umbrellas, were a whimisical solution!)

Gail is the lady who wrote in, following my "Help Max find a room in Portland!" post. Apparently she was not put off by the post's title "Logis, nourri, blanchi" (or housed, fed, and washed!) and she went ahead and reached out to us, offering to let Max stay in her apartment. Hmm. Did she tell husband Fred?...

"It's serendipidous!" Fred said, when he arrived at our home for lunch. It turns out that Fred's son is a friend of ours! Mark and his wife Debbie were unaware of Max's séjour in Portland, until Gail mentioned, "I have a French boy coming to stay at our home." A few details later and the coincidence was discovered.

Always good to sign off on a serendipidous note. It leaves the rest of the day open to so much possibility. Enjoy your Monday and see you next time!

Amicalement,

Kristi 

And watering... and watering... and watering! Bon courage, Chief Grape! More pictures at my Instagram, including a mother-daughter moment with Jackie!

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