Bonne Année, Bonne Santé!

"Good year, good health!" is the perennial French greeting this time of year.

Christmas and New Year's are over, and Epiphany has begun. In France that means "Galette des Rois" -- King's Cakes. These large cake-pastries filled with frangipan are sold everywhere imaginable, always with an accompanying 'gold' crown -- which is to be worn by the person who finds the small trinket hidden within the cake. It is an old tradition celebrating the gifting of the Christmas Magi, the 'three kings.'

So yesterday we celebrated with strong coffee and Galettes des Rois at the home of M. Pierre (Pappy) and Madame Josephine, with some family. Once again I mourned my slow language-acquisition, as they discussed old farming traditions: "best time to harvest new wood growth is during a full moon; absolute wost time (for the tree) is three days before the full moon" ; what used to be called a "foster brother" in Britain is more straightforwardly called a "milk brother" in France; and if you want a real treat, cut the sheep's head in half, season with nutmeg and pepper, and leave it in your salting box for anywhere up to 5 years (freezers aren't so good, as they only keep meat for about a year, you see) -- then pop it in the oven.
...Of course all of the detailed questions that come rushing to my brain even now never got asked, for it would have been far too complicated at the time. Bother! I hope someone, somewhere, is collecting these treasures, for even in France I doubt conversations like this will be held for many more years. Increasingly infrequent in rural Britain, they have vanished from all but the deepest recesses of North America.
But,
before I get too distracted: that was "Galette des Rois." A feast in many senses.
And a fine way to draw to a close our Christmas festivities.

And it was a fine Christmas indeed!


First, though, because we have been so very remiss, a few photos from the autumn:

It seems apt to include here some shots from the local Farm Fair which we attended: "Foire de Beaucroissant" (the latter word being a place, rather than an eatable...a place, furthermore, which seems to have come into existence for the pure perpetuation of the Foire -- as far back as the beginning of the 8th century -- if not earlier. Hard to beat, that!)
Food and animals were the foci and the highlights...


Cheese and 'saucisson', the staples....
Then, of course, Garlic...



in seemingly endless supply.


















This is, of course, la France -- and so it must follow that
Fair is Fowl, and Fowl is fair...






(the dog-in-basket -- *so* typical...though not of French farmers, it must be said!)


Other haberdashery....

Greg is becoming ever more an animal person, though he did not have the weak spot this lama expected of him.... Contrary to expectation, and with nary a twinge for lengthy batting eyelashes, the doughnut was *not* shared.


There were some admirable bovine present, and some truly beautiful horses. This nursing foal was but one of the latter.




Autumn also included a quick trip to Provence with Greg's parents...
(below: some of the sights on the streets of Arles, including ripening olives, and Mark the Lion)


































It was truly a gift to be able to celebrate Christmas this year in France, with both of us on our feet and able to function! And it was a thoroughly delightful time. Greg was saddled with three more Canadian women throughout the festive period...and I think he handled it quite well (!)
Friend Kim, a former housemate of Greg's from Montreal days (who now lives and works in Rome), and Thena & Judith, friends who are fête-ing their retirement with a caravaned 'Grand Tour' of one corner of Europe, joined us both in celebrating, and in co-hosting celebrations. Kim helped Greg prrress juice from our autumn apples; Judith pounded and powdered the sugar to try to come as close as possible to creating icing sugar (not readily available here), so that we could make Nanaimo bars; Thena persevered with me to the very end in hanging the tree ornaments, delighting in them all...as the others shook their heads at us. ;)
For those of you who have shared Christmases with us before, most of the essentials were there: the 'Swedish' Coffee Cake on Christmas morn, the Swedish meatballs, the Advent candles, the evergreen-boughs on the stairs, the hot spiced cider. But there were new things too: the first goose Greg/Thena/Kim had ever eaten, a traditional Bûche de Noël, and Oysters. My, were there oysters!

As they are traditional Christmas fare around here, a small village near us has them brought in for a morning (9a.m.) Oyster Fête a few days before Christmas.
So,
after Judith made us swell lattés, and tempted us to add chocolate truffles to the mix (not yet fully awake, most of us were weak and gave in...), we trundled into the car, and went off to discover raw oysters with lemon & shallots in red wine vinegar, washed down with a glass of white wine. Which woke us up.

The fishermen delighted in giving oyster shucking demonstrations, and in discussing the differences between Pacific North West Oysters, and Mediterranean Oysters (most, of course, preferring the latter!). An experience not to be forgotten!

Some of the oysters made it back here for Christmas eve, to be eaten before the fresh ham (which we salted, but only for a few days!) and Swedish meatballs. A family of five, friends who live in the Chartreuse mountains, joined us for Christmas eve. After Mass in the medieval church (with traditional medieval temperatures, and hence frosted breath!), we gathered to watch Thierry de-cork the Champagne the 'real' way: removing the glass neck with a knife.



Then, the oysters again!































Once well-feasted, we sat around the tree and listened to the children and Cathy perform music for us, sang some carols together, and learned -- under Cathy's tutelage -- two Dauphinois folk dances!
Truly, we had a hard time keeping our eyes open longer than the children, so that we could put out the Christmas stockings!

...

















...

First thing, Thena and Judith were up,
helping me crush cardamon and measure out walnuts for the coffee cake, so that it could bake while we all opened stockings.
(For several years Stephen Prokopchuk was my Christmas morning cardamon crusher; so many good people are entwined with our Chrismas memories and actions!)







It is always so fun to have the delight of children around at Christmastime -- and on that day we were doubly blessed with both childlike children, and childlike adults.




















Then, as our Chartreuse friends trundled off to join other family, our Christmas dinner guest arrived: M.Tronel (do you remember the wood-cutter, who first showed us sanglier/wild boar? and came for a 6hr tea?).
M.Pierre (Pappy) arrived the same time as M.Tronel, to wish us 'Joyeux Noël', so it was a busy next little while. He was delighted to see Kim again, and very pleased to meet Thena and Judith. And, in his enthusiasm, he nearly deafened Greg. ;)









By the time it was just us five and M.Tronel again, it was time to prepare the goose and trimmings. The goose was from a farm down the road, and was stuffed with pinhead oats, Canadian wild rice, our own walnuts, herbs from the garden, and wild chives from the lawn. Truly multi-national!
Thena & Judith went out and picked brussels from the veg patch, and we also cooked our last squash of the season.
M.Tronel & Kim chopped up potatoes for roasting. M.Tronel was having a hard time figuring out what was 'French,' what was 'Canadian,' what was 'Quebecoise,' and what was just Us. (He also wanted to know why Nanaimo bars have 3 layers, instead of just mixing eveything together!) To be frank, he mostly just watched -- bemused -- as the rest of us faffed about!








Finally, time for a rest. Well, the women rested -- Greg & M.Tronel went off for a spin on the semi-recumbent tandem!














The meal was splendid.
The initiates were converted to the gastronomic pleasures of goose.
M.Tronel had plundered his own cellar for some exquisite aged wines, which complemented the meal marvellously.
Folk were similarly impressed with the ancient Champagne he produced (complete with cobwebs!) for afterwards. He apparantly drinks only water or coffee, except for very special occasions -- and he was obviously sharing some very special gifts with us that feast day.
(remember, you sommeliers may appreciate clicking on the photo for a closer view!)




Apparantly for Champagne, the crystals are one evidence of its quality. Regardless of visual aids, however, the tasters were firmly convinced. A very fine 'goût' indeed.

(Kim concurs)


After the meal, we retired to the tree -- further delighting in the good people in our lives. Gifts can be such a wonderful way of sharing each other!
And then, after a rest and some more Nanaimo bars (yeah Judith and Thena! I needed help to make those happen this year, and they made them happen -- and how thoroughly they were enjoyed!)....
then...
Dutch Blitz.

My mother gave us a new deck of Dutch Blitz cards for Christmas. G&I haven't played for years, but with a brand spanking new deck, how could we resist teaching our poor duty-bound guests how to play? Especially considering M.Tronel's complete lack of English, and only some of the rest of us having adequate French, it was a perfect choice.
What an evening ensued!! [ and no, despite the gimpy hands, I haven't lost the touch...just slows me down a wee tad! ;0 ]

I will spare you the details.

Suffice it to say,
it was fun. ;)
[And: Kim and Judith made for a scary team!]
And ...... for any other recently retired Canadians out there -- beware of running into M.Tronel: his current expectations of 'retired Canadians' are...
well...
let's just say that Thena & Judith have raised a considerably high bar!

(a week later we taught the game Dutch Blitz to our neighbours...what a great way to ensure 'unwinding'!! [the children were all jealous!])


There, a bit of a glimpse into some of the joys of our Christmas. There were many more share-able moments, laughs, quiet chats and coffees, sharing of photos and stories and friends. Adventures out, and adventures in. (The above photo of Greg and our guests is taken just before diving into our final meal together: a Fromagier's Fondue.) But hopefully this will do for now to assure you that we are indeed alive and well over here in Pré Borel. Greg's working hard, we spend more time than we'd like dealing with the fall-out of supressed immune systems (and are still learning how to politely avoid sick friends!), but we are laughing, and living, and being loved too.



Our big material presents this year -- from birthdays, anniversaries, and Christmas --have all been well-used already:
the espresso-maker is an integral piece of 'furniture.'









The other two items sate our ocular senses, but we delight in sharing what they offer just as much: a new camera lens, and a birding telescope.
Greg has the latter set up so that on 'bad days' I needn't move at all: I sit in 'the chair', with the viewer right before my eye (thanks to the tripod), and the bird-feeder in perfect alignment outside my window. I can sit all day and enjoy the delights of the outdoors (and bore you silly with details about each species that alights!) Greg's keen to jerry-rig a camera combination at some point.
But for now, here below is a sample of what the new lens can do...
being Epiphany, I'm ever reminded of George MacKay Brown's incredible "An Epiphany Tale," in which he writes: "How could any human being endure such ravishment of the senses, every hour of every day for many winters and summers?"
May we not forget how to use that with which we are graced....


























































































Greg goes in for a 'final MRI' in a month or so, and, while still having much facial paralysis, he amazes doctors and friends alike with how much more 'like-the-old-days' his face looks, than it did a year ago. As he can intentionally close his eye now, there is no longer further need for surgey -- something that, a year ago, we were still fearing. Each day he now sees with both eyes. Will further change actually happen? The answer remains, that no-one knows. But far more change has happened than the doctors ever expected.




And so we end, aware of our title: "Bonne Année, Bonne Santé."
We have come to regard such hopeful sentiment differently than once we did. We do wish you a good year; we do wish you good health. But acutely aware that good physical health is not something some of you have, or will have, and acutely aware that some of you know already that you will have a year with little jollity, we seek a deeper sense in these words we use.
Good physical health is a gift; laughter is an even greater one. But deeper and fuller yet are the goodnesses of shared family and friends, shared stories and memories. From these comes Joy. Deeper and fuller yet is the health of the heart and the soul...a health that comes from journeying together, a health that often comes slow, seldom without a mixture of both tears and laughter. It is with thoughts of this type of goodness, this type of health, that we wish you "Bonne Année, Bonne Santé," as we begin the season of Epiphany -- one traditionally set apart for celebrating illumination, revelation, Gifting ... as we ourselves struggle to better understand the gifts of Life and Love.