First Quarter Moon and Venus over Les Bassacs

French Conversation

This splendid manual of conversation was published in 1912 and was found by us on a local tip.  It harks back to a delightfully archaic form of conversation, polite but also frank.  I include a bizarre conversation about a horse which sets the tone!

A French traveler setting out on holiday to England was apparently expecting to paint and write.  There are two pages of vocabulary devoted to writing and painting and three pages of conversation about painting.  Its hard to imagine this being included in a modern phrase book.

Essential vocabulary for a painter

Amsterdam, plein hiver!

Just as the ice is finally starting to melt here, Terry Thompson sent me this beautiful photo of the frozen canal near his studio.  When the canals freeze over, the whole of Amsterdam gets out on the ice to skate.  In Terry's picture you can see two people doing just that. Terry tells me he wasn't tempted, but Bea was out there enjoying it while it lasted. 

The thaw has arrived in Les Bassacs, I am so glad to be able to go outside without being blasted by the icy mistral.  This morning the sun had some real warmth to it and I'm hoping that this is my last snowy blog.

Pistache by the fire

For cat lovers everywhere, Pistache enjoying our wood burning stove.

The Singing Ringing Tree

I am indebted to our friends Will and Bea Rae-Smith

for news and photos of this oak tree near Rustrel which was caught by a farmer's irrigation system as the cold air arrived in the valley.  Will tells us that if you shake the tree the icicles jangle together making a beautiful sound.