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How To Keep Traditions, 6,000 Miles Away.

How To Keep Traditions, 6,000 Miles Away.

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The week before Thanksgiving, and the day before I teach a Zoom Thanksgiving Favorites cooking class, I go searching for fresh cranberries to make my Cranberry Chutney, a staple at Thanksgiving for the past 30+ years, and an essential layer to my day-after-Thanksgiving turkey sandwich. To an American, this might seem ridiculous- cranberries are everywhere at this time of the year in US markets. But, the French don’t really know about fresh cranberries. They eat them dried (les canneberges séchée),…

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How I Became An Expat Here in France!

How I Became An Expat Here in France!

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One of my friends here in Nérac, Colin Usher, had the idea of collecting stories from people who had made small decisions that led to big changes in their lives.   If you would like to read more inspirational stories from people who have opened up life possibilities by responding to a Wave in their direction, check out the site Somebody Might Wave Back. And, here is my contribution to that site: The year 2011 was a big one for…

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Lockdown in Gascony

Lockdown in Gascony

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  Here in France, like so many other places in the world, as of noon on Tuesday, the 17th, we are on lockdown/quarantine/shelter-in-place for at least 15 days, needing an Attestation De Déplacement Dérogatoire (a form) stating who we are, where we live, and our purpose for being out.  Luckily for me, my friend Luke decided to come here last week from Switzerland rather than going back to his home in Italy,, which was already experiencing a mass quarantine, and…

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Finding My Place

Finding My Place

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I just spent a wonderful week in Tuscany with family, a week full of music in the kitchen while we cooked, great explorations out into the countryside, uncounted bottles of wine, some moments of high drama, and lots of laughs.  We managed the extreme heat by plunging into the pool, and then enjoyed the cooler air and the light show of a Tuscan storm on our last night here as we grilled steaks over an open fire under the shelter…

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