-
The Paddler
Yesterday afternoon I went for a walk in a torrential downpour and returned home with a kayaker from Florida. Karen has been travelling, paddling and visiting up here since late June. She completed sections of the Trent-Severn Waterway then discovered the Rideau Canal. She parked her car in Ottawa and caught a train back to Kingston,…
-
A Rich Interior Life
Based on the storybook exterior, I anticipated a magical interior. And knowing the artists/potters Claire and Andy Squire, I expected it would be personal, handmade, intriguing and fun. Their living space, workshop and gallery are housed in La Maison des Sangliers, an iconic 15th-century, half-timbered building bordering the village square in Noyers-Sur-Serein, France. Like most…
-
Dear Mr. Gopnik
16 September 2012 Mr. Adam Gopnik, Author, “The Table Comes First: Family, France and the Meaning of Food” c/o The New Yorker, New York, NY Dear Mr. Gopnik, I discovered Through the Children’s Gate on a trip to New York for Number Two Son’s 6th birthday. So it seemed fitting that I bring along The…
-
Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn
I don’t care that the official last day of summer is the 21st of September or that it is still hot as Hades here in Rome. For me, once the calendar flips from August to September, fall begins. The kids prepare for school, marking the start of my new year. Two more sleeps and we…
-
Celebrating Happiness
It seems the entire population came out for the annual summer celebration of village life in Noyers. I took the little ones home around midnight and my eldest wandered in around 1:00am. Apparently there was still a crowd of people in the square until 3:00am, when they shifted to the local after-party. Getting together en…
-
The Beginning of All Things
Although Marco told me stories about his village, I tucked them away until I arrived in Noyers. Then I tugged on a thread and the people came tumbling out. * “Are you from New York?” I asked the young girl cycling towards me. I explained who I was and my train of thought. I told…
-
The Sounds of a House
I’m in bed and Husband’s downstairs making coffee when we hear a jangle of keys and the turning of the front door handle. A young man lets himself into the house and is startled to find it occupied. He hastily explains that a neighbour told him that the house was empty and it was okay…
-
Night Wanderings
I’m sweaty, Husband is coughing and hacking, and I can’t sleep. But this is a large house and there are empty beds upstairs. In the blackness of our unfamiliar bedroom I shuffle across the floor, toward the spiral staircase and a sliver of light. The stairs are stone, wedge-shaped, five hundred years old and lack…
-
French Architectural Eye Candy
There’s little point in snapping pics of Marco and Rod’s house here in Noyers-Sur-Serein, Burgundy, France when there’s a ShutterFly page crammed with great photos. Not a bad shack, I think. And here’s a sneak peek at the greater village.