Big day at Lhomont
Posted on May 12, 2008
Filed Under All, Photos, New Life, Travels | Leave a Comment
Today is a banner day for ‘news’ here at Lhomont. As I set out on my walk around midday (after cooking tomato, avocado and Emmental omelets for lunch), virtually the entire tribe of cross-the-street neighbors came over to greet me.
Upon returning to the mill house, I noticed fishermen had taken their places along the La Sane Vive, the river that runs under the moulin. Shortly afterwards, two carloads of locals arrived and set up their grand pique-nique nearby, as well. A really big day for Lhomont… meantime I am preparing to do Tagliatele with fresh tomatoes for dinner. Such excitement…
French machines
Posted on May 12, 2008
Filed Under All, Photos, Technology, Green Tech, Travels | Leave a Comment
A feature here at Moulin de Lhomont is one of the mill’s original gear shafts, which has been left in place as a dining room curio. It occurs to me that we have actually been staying inside a big French machine, and one that can lay a very early claim to ‘green’ efficiency (and this isn’t even the first time we’ve stayed in a big European machine).
Some photovoltaic panels spotted on a centuries-old roof in Granges sur Baume, were identified by friend Peter Bostock as polycrystaline cells (Peter’s firm, Solaicx, has perfected a process for making the more-efficient monocrystaline cells), share the ‘green’ tag and possibly point to the future of power here in pleine compagne. Meanwhile, speaking of French machines, I’ve been wrestling with an Alcatel ADSL modem, trying to get past a forgotten WiFi password, to no avail…
Pentecost at Taizé
Posted on May 11, 2008
Filed Under All, Photos, Taking Faith, New Life, Travels | Leave a Comment
Linda has become quite the expert chauffeur (shown driving earlier this week), as evidenced this morning when we rose early to make the 90-minute journey to celebrate Pentecost with the Taizé Freres, an ecumenical order of monks who maintain a faith community, including a giant church, in the tiny village of Taizé.
As it happened last year, we were staying at Ige, in the Maconnais region, to the west of Bresse, at the same time as good friend, retired priest David Perry and wife Ricki were staying at Ameugny, walking distance from Taizé. So we’ve attended Pentecost 2 years running at Taizé.
The liturgy was joyous and simple, Taizé hallmarks. We stopped in Tournus for lunch, then made our way on backroads back to Lhomont. We should just continue the tradition, going forward, no?
Beau temps a Lhomont
Posted on May 10, 2008
Filed Under All, Photos, Dawn Community, New Life, Travels | 2 Comments
While Linda made her way cross country on a local randonee, I headed out, with my more limited range, first to the crossroads with adjacent new-looking country house that mark the actual center of Lhomont and then back up the gentle hill that appoaches the Moulin from Montpont-en-Bresse.
The day was beautiful, and I walked determinedly (I don’t think ‘briskly’ applies in my case), squeezing 3300 steps into an hour’s walk (good distance for me). Tonight we’re off to Louhans and another good restaurant that also is in an old watermill…
Potager at Pont de Vaux
Posted on May 9, 2008
Filed Under All, Photos, New Life, Travels | 1 Comment
It’s high spring in the Burgundy/Jura region, and we see many newly-planted potagers, or kitchen gardens tucked into various spaces - as seen here in the village of Pont de Vaux where we lunched and Linda shopped for granddaughter Grace. Not a lot of shops open this weekend of Armistice Day and Pentecost…
Cuisery
Posted on May 8, 2008
Filed Under All, Photos, New Life, Travels | 3 Comments
The village of Cuisery was the goal of this morning’s foray into the French countryside, both for lunch at one of its recommended restaurants “L’Atmosphere” and a walk through its “Village du Livres,” actually a street where nearly every shop is a bookseller.
One wonders about the viability of print businesses in the age of the Internet, but the French are quite literate compared to Americans, and seem to read a lot. Newspapers abound, even in small country towns. It’s 7 Mai, a national holiday, and nearly everything is closed…
Tough life
Posted on May 7, 2008
Filed Under All, Photos, New Life | Leave a Comment
Oui, c’est moi enjoying the patio at Seize Quartiers, a very nice restaurant in the hilltop village of Chateau Chalon. Linda offers more details about today’s day trip. Somebody’s got to do it…
Quiet day at Lhomont
Posted on May 6, 2008
Filed Under All, Photos, Technology, New Life | 2 Comments
I am a bit under the weather today, so we’ve taken the opportunity to enjoy our rented house and the countryside. Linda finished up some work she brought along, and I’ve been reading and took a short walk.
Wired Magazine has an article about Piotr Wozniak, creator of the program Super Memo which exploits a ‘forgetting curve’ that cognitive psychologists have long known about to dramatically improve memory. Next up, an article about the global water crisis…
Market day in Louhan
Posted on May 5, 2008
Filed Under All, Photos, Dawn Community, New Life | Leave a Comment
Louhans has the biggest market day hereabouts, every Monday. Nearly every shop in the surrounding towns closes Monday, presumably so everyone can do their weekly shopping in Louhans.
On our host’s advice, we rose early and arrived at the market by 8, and watched a lively trade in everything from llamas to (live) chickens to vegetables to clothing and furniture. Our haul included bread, cheese, fruit, date-palm hand lotion and a toy wooden train for granddaughter Grace. I walked a bit over a mile, albeit slowly amidst the throng…
Off to Romenay
Posted on May 5, 2008
Filed Under All, Photos, New Life | Leave a Comment
We headed out from the Moulin de Lhomont yesterday to lunch at the Lyon d’Or in Romenay. Sitting on the restaurant’s terrace we were treated to small slices of village life - boys playing soccer, a mother rounding up her wayward children, a couple walking.
Today we’re off to Louhan for market day…
— keep looking »