Peggy R: poppies for a new Poppy

Robyn P.  has a new grandchild, Pénélope, whom they are calling Poppy.

She asked for some pictures of french poppies... so I sent her these.

 

Not great art I fear, but our opportunity to say welcome to little Poppy.

Poppy, a big welcome to this world from your grandmother's friends in France. 

Maggie: St George's Day celebration

Il y a les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, et maintenant il y a les Trois-Maris-de-Saint-George.

How amusing to see three Frenchmen who are married to three Americans, and were celebrating England's patron saint, St George, at a BCA (British Cultural Association) event.

Mary-Catherine's Michel L, Maggie's Serge P, and Cerese's Nicolas C

Katharine writes:  Good ol' St George needs a better PR manager.  One person commented that
they've always loved the Swiss flag (white cross on red background), and another said they
admired the Danes for their devotion to their flag (red cross on white background, as per St George, but a different cross design).   St George's Day is April 23, also Shakespeare's Day (birth/death - 1564 - 1616).  

Linda: news from La Bergerie at Poussan

Appolline celebrates her 21st birthday .......

...... she is an AWG baby - Jan C and Linda used to push her in her pram at AWG events

and Christophe is dealing with a swarm of bees who have taken up residence.  Swarm seems an understatement.

Maggie: Garden Group's visit to the Silk Museum

I thought the museum visit and the film were very interesting, but I am perhaps biased.  One of the looms is just like the one I brought back from Québec, where I learned to weave, and much of the equipment was familiar to me. 

My loom is at the farmhouse in Lot-et-Garonne, just waiting for us to return there. And the museum reminded me of our visit to the silk factories in Suzhou, China, almost exactly 30 years ago.  I’ll look for some photos at the farmhouse next week.   I never worked with silk thread though.  Mostly wool or synthetics.

 

Sue took photos of me, in order to have a photo of the giant moth on the overhead shelf.  

  

She also asked me to take photos of the 7 low-warp (“basse lisse”) silk tapestries by Sarah Perret, inspired by the anatomical charts of André Vesale, a Flemish Renaissance doctor who was one of the first to practice dissection of the human body.  His book De Corporis Human Fabrica was published in 1543.  The “Fabrica” expo by Sarah Perret at the Musée is not a permanent one (it opened on April 2^nd) so we were lucky to see it.   

 

You can read more on the Musée website http://www.museedelasoie-cevennes.com/actu.html .

Publicity poster encouraging farmers to plant mulberry trees, and grow cocoons

Joyce wrote: 

Thanks Sue, for organising such a brilliant outing & you even booked great weather too.

Thanks Maggie, for the photos & all that information about the plants we saw. One photo that you might also have taken was that of the "règlement intérieur" for the factory workers (Anne bought a postcard of it); given a choice between prison & the factory, a young woman might have just hesitated - horrific!

best, Joyce.

It appears that the men are the bosses and the women are the workers

Maggie: Garden Group outing to Jardin du Mazet

 Editor:  Maggie has a full list of the many medicinal plants seen or discussed during the visit.  If you'd like a copy, send her an email.

The visit was to the Jardin du Mazet, between St. Hippolyte-du-Fort and Monoblet.  

These beautiful huge pink blossoms were seen between Monoblet and Mazet Pailhes

 



Our guide, Mélanie, mentioned the crop rotation in the gardens, and explained that there are three types of rock in the area: limestone (“calcaire”), schist, and granite.

Thyme and rosemary are more aromatic if collected before the flowers have appeared.  

In general, leaves are collected in the morning, flowers at mid-day, and roots at the end of the day.  And never when it’s raining.

 


Thanks once again to Sue for organizing the outing, and to PeggyFat for suggesting the photo op on the beautiful big rocks.  And thanks to everyone for the delicious picnic.  As Jan said, we never go hungry with AWG.

l to r:  Anne, Maggie, Louise, Joyce, Leslie, PeggyR, Jan, SueRich, PeggyF

Joyce and Peggy make friends with the donkeys

Maggie: it's Derby Day!

Time to take down the Easter egg tree and start putting up Kentucky Derby decorations.

Source:  www.kentuckyderby.com

Kentucky Derby fashion

The Kentucky Derby is unlike any other sporting event! With a crowd of more than 150,000 people, unparalleled history and tradition and its unique spectacle, the Kentucky Derby has been described by Forbes as one of the "Greatest Bucket-list Sporting Events" in America. Every year, on the first Saturday in May, thousands of guests gather under the Twin Spires at Churchill Downs to create lifelong memories with their friends and family.

In many ways, the Kentucky Derby is the world’s largest and most entertaining fashion show, with spectacular hats and outfits!

The size and energy of the crowd at the Kentucky Derby is a huge part of the event’s appeal. With on track attendance of over 150,000 people, the Kentucky Derby is significantly larger than comparable US sports events such as the Super Bowl, the World Series, or the NCAA Final Four. However, this also means that even seemingly simple tasks, such as finding friends on the other side of the track or making a trek to the Paddock, can take some time.

One of the unique characteristics of the Kentucky Derby, and its sister event, the Kentucky Oaks, is that they are sports parties that showcase the finest in spring fashions. Both female and male attendees pull out all of the stops when selecting their Kentucky Derby and Oaks apparel.

There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to Derby dressing, in part because what you wear has much to do with where you plan to spend the day. In the reserved seating areas (grandstand, clubhouse, suites and corporate hospitality areas), ladies typically wear spring dresses, pastel-colored suits, or bold separates that coordinate with their Derby headwear and accessories. The Kentucky Derby is a chance for every female to express her inner Southern Belle.

Since the hat is the focus of Derby fashion, there's not much need for large, statement jewelry. The hat should be the attention grabber and jewelry should be kept simple, unless it is Kentucky Derby themed jewelry.

Wearing a hat to the Kentucky Derby is believed to bear good luck! The long-established fashion was started by the women, however, over the last few years, many men have taken part in the tradition as well.

Within the seated sections of Churchill Downs, one will find hats of elegance and style. Generally speaking, women wear wide-brimmed, “Southern Belle” inspired Kentucky Derby hats. The hats can be decorated with flowers, feathers, bows and ribbons of any color to express creativity and individuality. In the Churchill Downs Infield, hats are a bit more eccentric!

A more recent trend in Kentucky Derby headwear is the fascinator. Smaller than a traditional hat and just as stylish, this piece of headwear has become more popular among Kentucky Derby attendees over recent years. Recently popularized by Kate Middleton, these chic, headpieces are made from a woven disc topped with feathers and netting and secured to your head via a comb or headband. They can be simpler to wear than a hat, and won't give you hat hair!

      

In the world of sports, there is not a more moving moment than when the horses step onto the track for the Kentucky Derby post parade and the band strikes up "My Old Kentucky Home" and 160,000+ people sing along.

Although there is no definitive history on the playing of the Stephen Foster ballad as a Derby Day tradition, it is believed to have originated in 1921 for the 47th running. The Louisville Courier-Journal in its May 8, 1921, edition reported: "To the strains of 'My Old Kentucky Home,' Kentuckians gave vent their delight. For Kentucky triumphed in the Derby." The story refers to the popular victory of the Kentucky-owned and bred Behave Yourself.

The actual year the song was played as the horses were led onto the track to begin the Derby post parade is also unclear. A 1929 news account written by the legendary Damon Runyon reported that the song was played periodically throughout Derby Day. A report by the former Philadelphia Public Ledger provides evidence that 1930 may have been the first year the song was played as the horses were led to the post parade: "When the horses began to leave the paddock and the song 'My Old Kentucky Home' was coming from the radio, the cheering started."  Since 1936, with only a few exceptions, the song has been performed by the University of Louisville Marching Band as the horses make their way from the paddock to the starting gate.

As for Stephen Foster, the composer of the song, he died a pauper in New York’s Bellevue Hospital after suffering a fatal cut while living in a hotel in the city’s Bowery district.  He died January 13, 1864, at the age of 37.

“My Old Kentucky Home,” by Stephen Foster

The sun shines bright in the old Kentucky home,
Tis summer, the people are gay;
The corn-top's ripe and the meadow's in the bloom
While the birds make music all the day. The young folks roll on the little cabin floor
All merry, all happy and bright;
By'n by hard times comes a knocking at the door
Then my old Kentucky home, Good-night! Weep no more my lady. Oh! Weep no more today!
We will sing one song for my old Kentucky home
For the old Kentucky home, far away.

  

 

Jane: Les Balconnades singing group

Les Balconnades

Great afternoon on Sunday 10 April) at ZAT. This was the tenth ZAT - The ‘Zone Artistique Temporaire de Montpellier’ - which took place in Figuerolles.  Theatre, art, world music, dance and singing took place in various locations around the ‘quartier’.  

Les Balconnades are thirteen singers from Montpellier who ‘squat’ on the balconies of private homes and perform to the public in the street below.  We saw them in a delightful little road called rue Tour Gayraud where they occupied one long balcony on one side of the road and two on the other.  Not too sure why they wore swimming hats but very colourful and fun.  Good stuff!

Katharine: notary public in CA available via Skype

 

  Kyle Stephenson

  Direct  919-395-7750    
  Email: kyle@notarycam.com

 

Linda L was kind enough to give me the coordinates for Kyle Stephenson, a Notary Public based in Southern CA,  who will notarise documents using Skype, and obviously record them in his book.  This is legal and acceptable in CA.   The initiator sets up a Skype call, and then holds up a copy of his/her passport to demonstrate that the requestor is genuine,  and is who s/he says s/he is, and then the documents can be viewed over Skype and recorded.

This is particularly useful now since neither the US Embassy in Paris, nor the Consulate in Marseilles will notarise (even though there is a notary public on staff) certain documents that US citizens may need (in our case, it was to validate a request for a birth certificate in the state of CA). 

I have only ever had the need for a notary in CA, and do not know whether this process (via Skype) is available in other States.  If anyone has any knowledge, please email me, and I'll post it here.  

thanks, Linda. 

Katharine: Cook&Eat's Tour of Asia

 Photo credits:  Maggie

Orla kept us busy all morning in preparing a varied selection of Asian food.  

We divided into teams, 

in order to get the work done.  For the sushi team (Jan, Kim and Katharine), practice didn't make us perfect, but there was improvement after the first fumbling attempts at rolling the sushi rolls, which were subsequently cut into 8 pieces (sharp knife required). 

Orla had already prepped a pot of sticky rice, which was a smart thing to do, since it was cool and ready to be shaped (by Kim) into the base of the salmon, tuna and shrimp sushi.  

Orla had instructed us to be creative, so our sushi rolls comprised a variety of combinations of tuna, salmon, cucumber, mango, red pepper, leaving some as vegetarian.    We learned (some of us are quicker learners than others) how to fiddle about with California rolls - I think I'll stick with the rolls made with nori (seaweed) on the outside in the future (Practice! Practice!). 

Tuna, salmon and shrimp sushi, decorated with nori and coriandre (the latter courtesy of Jan's nimble fingers)

Katharine - not about to apply as a sushi chef. 

Likewise, there was a lot of fancy finger-work in preparing the spring rolls.

Sue Rich, Anne and Leslie prep Vietnamese spring rolls

The Vietnamese spring rolls were fragrant and delicate in taste with an accompanying dipping sauce

    

Spiced indonesian potato cakes (perkedel kenteng)     Indian dahl with garlic and coriander pita chips

I thought we had already eaten lunch, but No!  those were merely the starters.  Next up were
three distinct curries - 

l to r:  Malaysian Chicken korma;  Prawn Rogan Josh;  Green Thai vegetable curry, served with accompanying rice

Maggie commented on how much she liked the aroma and flavour of the kaffir lime leaves in the Thai curry. 

For dessert:


     Exotic fruit salad, cardamon and ginger spiced rice pudding, sesame seed brittle.

l to r:  Jan, Kim, Hostess Orla;  Sue, Katharine, Leslie, Caroline (not pictured:  Leslie L, Maggie, Anne)

Everyone liked everything - and it was a full morning's work to prepare each dish.  Our thanks go to Orla for the opportunity to learn new skills while having fun. 

Maggie: awayday to Saint-Jean-de-fos

Another very interesting and informative Sunday thanks to the MDE.  This time it was an away-day, as the visits and workshop were in the pottery village of Saint-Jean-de-Fos.

In the morning we visited Oyas Environnement, a small 2-year-old start-up that produces an ecologically autonomous watering system using micro-porous clay pots which, once filled with water, progressively release the required humidity.  Plants absorb the water they need; watering is less frequent and less water is used, and there is no ‘hydric stress.’  The pots are made by local potters, and the material is 100% natural and biodegradable.  (Don’t worry.  They don’t biodegrade right away.)

We learned that there are almost no clay quarries left in France.  (And I had never made the connection between clay quarries and the village of Argelliers.)  There is still a bit of clay left near Anduze, and there is a quarry at Salernes, near Toulon, in the Var, but most clay is imported (from Spain, I think he said).

The association in Saint-Jean-de-Fos makes pots and « oyas » (from the Spanish word ollas, meaning ceramic cooking pots) for all types and sizes of plants, whether in gardens or in pots, inside or out.  You might have seen some on sale in Botanic, and the company, which also sells on-line, is working with INRA and projects in India and Burkina Faso.  An oya can irrigate a circle of about 3 times its diameter.  An oya planted on the soil can water up to 30cm, and one planted beneath the surface can water up to 90cm, according to the particular model.  The XL 10-liter pot will irrigate one square meter.

One of the local potters gave us a demonstration, and then we walked to the nearby picnic area below the Pont du Diable for lunch along the banks of the Hérault.  The weather was gorgeous.

In the afternoon we visited the Argileum and Maison de la Poterie, which opened a couple of years ago in the former home and workshop of a local potter, Elie Sabadel, which is classed as an historic monument.  The museum contains many old potters’ tools and items of pottery dating back to the 19th and early 20th centuries.  The walk-through follows the different steps in the process of creating the glazed terra cotta pieces that are characteristic of Saint-Jean-de-Fos.  It was enjoyable for the children as well as the adults in the group.

The museum visit ended with a workshop, and each of us “a mis sa main à la pâte.”  Our pieces will be left to dry and then fired in the kiln, and we’ll be able to collect them at the MDE at Domaine de Restinclières in a couple of weeks.

AWG made a visit to Saint-Jean-de-Fos several years ago, but neither Oyas nor the Argileum existed then.  I would DEFINITELY recommend another trip, perhaps Garden and Cultural combined, and I would be the first on the list to sign up.  I loved it.

I also liked the “Un Mois, Un Geste” poster at Oyas.  For the month of April, it’s “Je fais du composte,” and for May, “Je répare, ou je fais réparer.”

      -m

Maggie: hiking the parcourse in the Domaine Saint Sauveur

What a month !  Wellness Day at the beginning, and now a “parcours de santé” (Fitness Trail) on the hike.  I wonder what the Garden Group outing to see medicinal plants next week holds in store for us.

 

Today the weather was gorgeous for a walk that was up and down, and up and down, and then up and down again, before once more (or maybe it was twice or even four times) going up and down the looping trails in the Domaine Saint Sauveur, near the high school in St. Clément-de-Rivière.  

Mariannick with GPS and map in hand

It was only 7 or 8km, and meant to take about two hours, but we stopped for photo op’s at a couple of the pieces of equipment along the parcours sportif (I obviously have a few kilos to lose before I can compete with Mariannick and our newest AWG member, Hannah, leaping over the hurdles), and then for our picnic near the Source du Lez, so it took us a little over three hours, but they were totally enjoyable.  

The wild thyme and rosemary were in bloom, as was the beautiful grémil ligneux .

 We found a stand of trees that appeared to have been gnawed at, and since all three of us had been at the Book Group discussion of State of Wonder last Friday, we wondered if there were Amazonian Lakashi in the vicinity.  The damaged bark was above the level for wild boars, and closer examination showed resin, which could be scraped away, so perhaps it was just a case of tapping, as in the Landes de Gascogne, and, to a lesser extent, in Provence.

All in all, a really fun day.  Thanks to Mariannick for organizing.

Hannah and Mariannick

Maggie: Les temps des sucres of Québec

It’s the “temps des sucres” in Québec, better known in Vermont and upstate New York as sugaring-off season, when the sap rises in the maple trees during the sunny days, and sinks back down during the freezing nights.  So on Saturday, April 2^nd,  “on a sucré le bec,” as they say in Québec.  

We started with an apéro of “réduit au petit blanc” which translates to gin mixed with the almost-maple-syrup that is produced when the eau d’érable is boiled for a couple of hours to reduce it, and remove some of the water.  (The eau d’érable that flows from the tree is 97% water.)

There was no snow in Montferrier on which to pour maple taffy (produced after the syrup has been reduced even further) for “la tire,” but we had most of the other items that one finds on the long, shared tables for the traditional meal in a Cabane à sucre.  Even the French guests needed a translation for some of the items.

Tourtière maison

                                   Ragoût de boulettes de porc

                                                           Jambon au sirop d’érable

Oreilles de crisse

                                                                                              Fèves au lard 

                                                                                  Omelette

                                                                       Patates « steamées »

                                                           Marinade verte

                                               Salade de chou

                                   Ketchup maison

                        Œufs cuits dans le sirop

There was a pitcher of maple syrup from a friend’s Cabane au Canada so that guests could add even more syrup to the dishes if they so chose.

The highlight was the “cockroach pie” made with pecan halves, which replaced the traditional tarte au sucre.

It was a FUNdraising evening, and the money is being donated to help fund the new FAWCO Development Grant for nutrition, though too much maple syrup on a regular basis is probably not very good for the health.  On a once-a-year basis, it’s delicious.