Singer Sewing Machine Ad From Another Time

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: center; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } In a very old Auvergne village,On a weathered wood doorThat no one has opened in years,An old Singer Sewing Machine si...

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Picture Of The Day: Sunset Through The Forest

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: center; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } photo by guest photographer Glenn KellySunset in the Auvergne as seen through a pine forest. It is hard to imagine that after such a spectacular end of the dayThe French weatherman is predicting severe thunderstorms for tomorr...

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A Strong Sense Of Pride And History

Photos taken in Ambert, AuvergneNot everything in the Auvergne is old. There are new houses on the outskirts of most little towns. However, in the center, history is ever present. Here a doorknob, there a gargoyle, over there a three hundred year-old house made of gray volcanic stone typical of the Auvergne, these are all traces of the past.Here in France, it is self understood that old, crooked buildings are worth preserving for future generations.There...

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Rain And Sun At Once In The Center Of France

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: center; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } .flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: center; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } Photos By Guest Photographer Max KellyStrange weather patterns swirl over our mountaintop,Deep in the heart...

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A Moment In Time: Cows Grazing...

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: center; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } Yesterday, sheep grazing,Today, cows doing the same.Will you forgive me, dear Reader?But, you see, I never tire of such scenes.Sometimes, when I am in Brooklyn,I try to remember how such a green fieldsmells after the rain, but I cannot.I find it sad,That most of the days of...

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A Trip To The Store In The Auvergne

Today, dear Friends, I am taking you shopping with me to one of my favorite stores in Issoire.It is just a small place, but it sells some of the freshest produce, cheese and meat.The food selection is amazing. Just look at the photo of the cheeses. That is just a very, very small sampling of Bleu D'Auvergne, a local blue cheese and of Saint Nectaire cheese.And the fruit? How can I describe the taste of the strawberries and of the red currants?...

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A Moment In Time: Sheep Grazing In The Auvergne

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: center; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } Can you imagine, dear Reader,that such places still exist?Time seems to stand stillDeep in the Auvergne.1808?1908?2008?It matters little he...

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Picture Of The Day: Waiting For New Owner

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: center; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } The landscape here in the AuvergneIs full of these old farmhouses.Slowly tilting with age,This little beauty was builtAt roughly the same time as some Brownstones in Carroll Gardens.The roof will need to be replaced, But many a house such as this oneHas been lovingly restored.You...

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Stormy Night Over The Mountains

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: center; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } After a spectacularly clear and sunny day yesterday, a terrifying thunderstorm passed over our house. Thunder and lightning accompanied pounding wind and rain. A few times, the electricity went out. In the complete dark, we fumbled to find the candles and the flashlights.In...

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How Does A Brooklyn Blogger Fill A Day In France?

How, dear Reader, do I fill my days here in the Auvergne? Well, you see, part of it, much like back home in Brooklyn, is spent in the kitchen. However, here, I look at a little bouquet of poppies collected in a cornfield by my husband.When he came back with these delicate little beauties yesterday, my neighbor looked at him with the air of bemusement a country resident reserves for city people who venture into nature."But, poppies don't keep in...

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Picture Of The Day: It's Sunflower Season In the Auvergne

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: center; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } The sunflowers are in full bloom, In the Auvergne, Dear reader, And I envy the farmer who has The glorious job of tending such a field. ...

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Hello, Brooklyn! All Is Fine Here In France...

From the traffic nightmare around Paris to this:Dear Reader,This jet-lagged Blogger landed in Paris early on Friday morning, stored the suitcases in a rental car and headed for a little spot far away from her usual life in Brooklyn.Four hours later, I finally reached my destination: the Middle of the Auvergne, one of the most beautiful and relatively untouched areas of France.And it is glorious here. I had forgotten that there are places in this...

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The Story Of An Old Auvergnat Church And A Violin

A very old picture of Condat's main square.The church is the building all the way to the back on the left.Condat's Main Square 2007If you take the car's away, not much has changed over the decadesFirst Posted In July 2007 An old church stands in Condat -lès-Montboissier's main square, its bell tower plainly visible from all corners of this little village. It is in a sad state. Held together with huge blocks of local stone, the structure is slowly...

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Pardon Me For Leaving...

....But This Blogger Is Going RuralIn France.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: center; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } .flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: center; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } .flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment...

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Pardonnez-Moi, Mais...This Brooklyn Blogger Is Off To France

By the time you read this today, I may already be on my way to the airport. Yes, I am leaving Brooklyn behind for exactly 5 weeks. I know! Isn't it decadent to take so much vacation? But you will never believe if I tell you the truth. I have to take a vacation in France. See! You don't believe me, right? The reason for the trip is simple. Since 1971, my parents have owned a stone farmhouse right in the center of France, four hours south of Paris....

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Picture Of The Day: Summer Stoop Planters

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: center; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } I had already walked by this stoop,But something made me backtrackTo take a photo ofThese delicate blue plantsAgainst the ornate rail...

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