Life in a small French village for an old American

[corkybstewart]

I started looking, but then the empty glasses in the first and third photos quite put the willies up me!

A proper French meal requires lots of glasses

 

[corkybstewart]

It's Wednesday again, the day a sister in law and her friend come by for dinner nearly every week. Lately a couple of brothers have been coming by for dinner as well. I tend to criticize my wife for her "I need to feed the world" approach to life, it gets expensive to feed anyone who stops by. But this group is always welcome. Last Wednesday the sister brought a bottle of rhum, her friend brought 2 goat cheeses, one brother brought another bottle of very old port, and a magnum of 2015 local red wine, and the other brother brought 2 bottles of wine.
So if you are ever passing through our village, stop and ask for directions-my wife won't release you until you've finished the dessert she just made for you.

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

It's Wednesday again, the day a sister in law and her friend come by for dinner nearly every week. Lately a couple of brothers have been coming by for dinner as well. I tend to criticize my wife for her "I need to feed the world" approach to life, it gets expensive to feed anyone who stops by. But this group is always welcome. Last Wednesday the sister brought a bottle of rhum, her friend brought 2 goat cheeses, one brother brought another bottle of very old port, and a magnum of 2015 local red wine, and the other brother brought 2 bottles of wine.
So if you are ever passing through our village, stop and ask for directions-my wife won't release you until you've finished the dessert she just made for you.

With all that going on why would anyone want to leave your place, other than to restock?

 

[corkybstewart]

With all that going on why would anyone want to leave your place, other than to restock?

We're home for days at a time, like during Covid we go to the store when we run out of fresh veggies.

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

We're home for days at a time, like during Covid we go to the store when we run out of fresh veggies.

I can relate to that too, it can be a week or more before I leave my property and that's all of the time!

 

[corkybstewart]

Saturday was crepe day next door, all sweet toppings like Nutella (nasty stuff), jams and honey. Yesterday we ate backstrap of the local deer, a German shepherd sized critter that had been hunted out of existence around here but was reintroduced 20 years ago.

 

[An Ankoù]

Looks good and I agree that Nutella is complete goblin vomit.
If you want a decent crêpe, try a galette de sarrasin, La Complète. Speciality of Brittany, it's a main course to be washed down with cider or lait ribot. Then followed with a sweet crêpe, but never with Nutella.

 

[corkybstewart]

Looks good and I agree that Nutella is complete goblin vomit.
If you want a decent crêpe, try a galette de sarrasin, La Complète. Speciality of Brittany, it's a main course to be washed down with cider or lait ribot. Then followed with a sweet crêpe, but never with Nutella.

I'm somewhat fortunate to be allergic to hazelnuts so that's a great excuse to avoid Nutella. My nephew married a woman from Rennes last year, they had a 3 day wedding party here. On day 3 her family made about 500 galetes de Bretagne, served with meats and other real food-I grilled 240 sausages to put in the galettes.

 

[An Ankoù]

I'm somewhat fortunate to be allergic to hazelnuts so that's a great excuse to avoid Nutella. My nephew married a woman from Rennes last year, they had a 3 day wedding party here. On day 3 her family made about 500 galetes de Bretagne, served with meats and other real food-I grilled 240 sausages to put in the galettes.

I, too, married a woman from Rennes. Yes, galettes are very versatile, but after a galette saucisse, you don't really need much else. They're very filling. There must have been a good few guests. Makes me think of Jesus feeding the 5000! He could have done with a few galettes !

 

[corkybstewart]

I, too, married a woman from Rennes. Yes, galettes are very versatile, but after a galette saucisse, you don't really need much else. They're very filling. There must have been a good few guests. Makes me think of Jesus feeding the 5000! He could have done with a few galettes !

By that point there were still 125 people more or less. But the locals were just eating sausages and saving the galettes for dessert. There were probably 175 people there for the wedding, mostly from Rennes.

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

By that point there were still 125 people more or less. But the locals were just eating sausages and saving the galettes for dessert. There were probably 175 people there for the wedding, mostly from Rennes.

I'm still picturing the 240 sausages on the grill.

 

[corkybstewart]

I'm still picturing the 240 sausages on the grill.

It took 2 hours, my grill is good for about 40 at a time, maximum. Since I don't know many of the guests(and I generally dislike groups of more than 10 people), I was happy to hang out in the BBQ shed by myself watching the festivities across the courtyard. And people made sure I always had a fresh beer in my hand.

 

[An Ankoù]

You miserable old bugler!

I know exactly how you feel. Best thing is to do something useful to avoid babbling inanities with complete strangers who, with any luck, you'll never meet again.

Can't stand big gatherings, personally, either. Funerals are OK, people tend to leave you alone and you can be grumpy while getting quietly ratted.

 

[corkybstewart]

We ate lunch with a sister on Thursday, wild boar pate for the appetizer and then boar meat cooked 4 times in red wine sauce, her specialties. But because she doesn't live in our village I drove and couldn't have more than 2 glasses wine. Luckily when we got home a brother showed up to work on a car in our barn so he brought a bottle of good wine. Obviously a bottle is not enough for 4 people so I went to the cave to get a couple more. I have 3 bottles of the 2014 and needed to check to see if it was still good, 10 years old is pretty much the limit for the local wine. It was perfect.

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

We ate lunch with a sister on Thursday, wild boar pate for the appetizer and then boar meat cooked 4 times in red wine sauce, her specialties. But because she doesn't live in our village I drove and couldn't have more than 2 glasses wine. Luckily when we got home a brother showed up to work on a car in our barn so he brought a bottle of good wine. Obviously a bottle is not enough for 4 people so I went to the cave to get a couple more. I have 3 bottles of the 2014 and needed to check to see if it was still good, 10 years old is pretty much the limit for the local wine. It was perfect. View attachment 875727

Good thing you rescued those bottles! Perhaps you need to review your stock?

 

[corkybstewart]

Good thing you rescued those bottles! Perhaps you need to review your stock?

I took a 2016 off the shelf last night for some friends, one's family has been making wine for 6 generations. Her reaction to the first sip was the French equivalent of "Danm, that's some fine stuff"
I'm testing these older wines because it's time to drink them-I put a lot of money into them 10 years ago(most of them cost about $3 back then) and I don't want them to turn bad.

 

[An Ankoù]

Encore une que les Boches n'auront pas !

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

I took a 2016 off the shelf last night for some friends, one's family has been making wine for 6 generations. Her reaction to the first sip was the French equivalent of "Danm, that's some fine stuff"
I'm testing these older wines because it's time to drink them-I put a lot of money into them 10 years ago(most of them cost about $3 back then) and I don't want them to turn bad.

Letting them go to waste is alcohol abuse. Smart move and shouldn't be a problem considering all your guests. Wish I could swing by to help!

 

[An Ankoù]

Wish I could swing by to help!

Regrettably @OakIslandBrewery , I think you might have difficulty getting in. Especially if you fell foul of the Appalachian Contrôlée rules.

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

Regrettably @OakIslandBrewery , I think you might have difficulty getting in. Especially if you fell foul of the Appalachian Contrôlée rules.

I should stay home anyway, I got too much work to do.

 

[corkybstewart]

When I came her in 1981 I was a college student, all my in laws were at most in their 30's, life was a party. And that's how my inlaws knew me-party animal, no substance. When my father in law died the family agreed that the youngest so would get the house, and we agreed on a price and deadline. If he didn't meet it, we had the right to buy it. 2 weeks after the deadline he called us and said he couldn't get a loan because of the cost of renovations since the house had been deliberately left to fall apart(taxes). We called the notaire(real estate/inheritance lawyer) and he told us the brother had the loan but was just trying to cut the price by 20%. I wired the money that nigh, and on Monday morning we had a house in France. It split the family in half between the ones who wanted us to have the house (Team A)and the ones who wanted "Bob" to have it(Team B). we've never had any backlash from Bob, he gambled, lost, and accepted it. He takes care of the house when we're gone. I've made a bunch of improvements, gaining a lot of respect(finally) from Team B.
Last year I built a raised garden in our courtyard, in front of our porch, that got a lot of derision-a "roundabout pile of dirt". But with the help of sisters in law giving plants from their gardens, me being able to resurrect my mother in laws barely alive rose bushes, and just a boatload of work, we now have a flower garden that the most hardcore family doubters are praising. This past weekend a brother in law and his wife, master gardeners, brought me some shrubs to plant in the "family" garden.

 

[corkybstewart]

The early days of the Roundabout Garden

 

[An Ankoù]

The early days of the Roundabout Garden

Bravo. French inheritance laws are a nightmare. Notaires, too, are a pampered anachronism who, except when it comes to extracting taxes, make it up as they go along. We've consulted four on a minor land issue and had four different answers. The early pictures seem to show the outbuildings in very good order although we can't see the house.
I'm beginning to get the impression this is your real home, while earlier in the thread I had thought you were a regular visitor. The garden's looking good.

 

[SaisonMan]

I live vicariously through your reports about life in France. Keep them coming!

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

When I came her in 1981 I was a college student, all my in laws were at most in their 30's, life was a party. And that's how my inlaws knew me-party animal, no substance. When my father in law died the family agreed that the youngest so would get the house, and we agreed on a price and deadline. If he didn't meet it, we had the right to buy it. 2 weeks after the deadline he called us and said he couldn't get a loan because of the cost of renovations since the house had been deliberately left to fall apart(taxes). We called the notaire(real estate/inheritance lawyer) and he told us the brother had the loan but was just trying to cut the price by 20%. I wired the money that nigh, and on Monday morning we had a house in France. It split the family in half between the ones who wanted us to have the house (Team A)and the ones who wanted "Bob" to have it(Team B). we've never had any backlash from Bob, he gambled, lost, and accepted it. He takes care of the house when we're gone. I've made a bunch of improvements, gaining a lot of respect(finally) from Team B.
Last year I built a raised garden in our courtyard, in front of our porch, that got a lot of derision-a "roundabout pile of dirt". But with the help of sisters in law giving plants from their gardens, me being able to resurrect my mother in laws barely alive rose bushes, and just a boatload of work, we now have a flower garden that the most hardcore family doubters are praising. This past weekend a brother in law and his wife, master gardeners, brought me some shrubs to plant in the "family" garden.

Such a beautiful place! Can you live there year round and would you want to?

I would think it's tough having two places so far apart. I love my property but couldn't imagine having two properties.

 

[Broothru]

I took a 2016 off the shelf last night for some friends, one's family has been making wine for 6 generations. Her reaction to the first sip was the French equivalent of "Danm, that's some fine stuff"
I'm testing these older wines because it's time to drink them-I put a lot of money into them 10 years ago(most of them cost about $3 back then) and I don't want them to turn bad.

When I'm not brewing beer (or traveling), I also make wine. I've fallen quite far behind in my duties, at least according to SWMBO'd, our daughter, and our daughter-in-law, all of whom are wine affectionados but who don't drink beer. I've had four wines bulk aging in a darker cellar since 2021-2022, but still haven't gotten around to bottling. They have been aging Sur lie and on French oak spirals for 3+ years. A recent barrel tasting showed all to have aged quite nicely with no oxidation or off-flavors.

In the past I've aged my wines for one or more years, but never this long, though we recently uncorked a 'lost' bottle of Merlot from 2016 that proved to be very good, notwithstanding what Paul Giamatti said of Merlot in Sideways. But just like the character he played in the movie, SWMBO'd is a lover of all things Pinot Noir.

 

[corkybstewart]

Bravo. French inheritance laws are a nightmare. Notaires, too, are a pampered anachronism who, except when it comes to extracting taxes, make it up as they go along. We've consulted four on a minor land issue and had four different answers. The early pictures seem to show the outbuildings in very good order although we can't see the house.
I'm beginning to get the impression this is your real home, while earlier in the thread I had thought you were a regular visitor. The garden's looking good.

We spend 6 months here, 6 months in New Mexico. This has been the family home since it was built in 1830, it's possible that before then there was some sort of lodging here. Half of the house belongs to us, half to the youngest brother. The dividing line is the grey rain gutter, just to the right of the white chimney-that's the fireplace in the original kitchen. The barn is ours but leased to the brother. The enclosed part on the right is my workshop. Nobody is sure if it is included in the lease, my father in law created the lease just before he died but kept it secret. There's speculation that the lease is not legit. Regardless, he pays enough to cover either our property tax or heating fuel for the winter.

 

[corkybstewart]

Such a beautiful place! Can you live there year round and would you want to?

I would think it's tough having two places so far apart. I love my property but couldn't imagine having two properties.

Winter here sucks bigly, especially compared to southwest New Mexico. We love gathering mushrooms, chestnuts, walnuts and fruit in the fall. The fall festivals in the small villages are absolutely wonderful. BUT, come mid December the sun goes down by 4 PM, sunrise is at 8 AM. Temps hover around freezing with 95% humidity and endless fog. In 2022 we went 3 weeks without seeing the sun or the house across the street. Depression and serious drinking kicked in, it was a killer for me. My wife had always told me she never wanted to go back for the winter, but she had not spent Christmas with her family since 1976 so we decided to try it. Never again unless we can't handle the political situation in the USA.

 

[An Ankoù]

You surprise me. I had thought that the winter weather was less harsh south of the Loire. But I've never overwintered there. I suppose it's due to being inland. We're further north, but close enough to the sea for our weather to be moderated by it. January and February are gloomy months anyway, but we don't get much fog and it's either crisp sunshine or pouring rain. I have one of these little stoves which you can pile the wood on like a funeral pyre and there's nothing I like better than to sit outside on the terrace with this thing blazing with a good pint and a good book.

 

[An Ankoù]

OK, I've just discovered where New Mexico is. Last place I would have looked: well, New England isn't right next to England; New York, New Orleans, New Jersey etc.
No wonder you find the climate more amenable.
I'm thinking of shooting down to Spain next winter, just for a month to take the edge off. Hate cities, but Madrid rocks al year round and Ive got a son down there who needs a good visiting.

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

Winter here sucks bigly, especially compared to southwest New Mexico. We love gathering mushrooms, chestnuts, walnuts and fruit in the fall. The fall festivals in the small villages are absolutely wonderful. BUT, come mid December the sun goes down by 4 PM, sunrise is at 8 AM. Temps hover around freezing with 95% humidity and endless fog. In 2022 we went 3 weeks without seeing the sun or the house across the street. Depression and serious drinking kicked in, it was a killer for me. My wife had always told me she never wanted to go back for the winter, but she had not spent Christmas with her family since 1976 so we decided to try it. Never again unless we can't handle the political situation in the USA.

The political situation is very easy to handle; turn off the news and change the conversation when the subject comes up.

Doesn't help with the weather though.

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

You surprise me. I had thought that the winter weather was less harsh south of the Loire. But I've never overwintered there. I suppose it's due to being inland. We're further north, but close enough to the sea for our weather to be moderated by it. January and February are gloomy months anyway, but we don't get much fog and it's either crisp sunshine or pouring rain. I have one of these little stoves which you can pile the wood on like a funeral pyre and there's nothing I like better than to sit outside on the terrace with this thing blazing with a good pint and a good book.

View attachment 876363View attachment 876376

Very nice, I love a nice fire too when the weather is right. There's just some nice about a fire, reminds me when camping with my folks. We would sit around a fire at night and dad would tell stories. Mom made pizza pudgy pies. Life was great!

 

[corkybstewart]

The political situation is very easy to handle; turn off the news and change the conversation when the subject comes up.

Doesn't help with the weather though.

I'm more concerned with the financial issues this regime is contemplating. If Social Security and Medicare get cut we may have to sell our house and move here. I'm due for a hip replacement soon and RFK has made
comments about slashing money for hip and knee replacements for senior citizens. Over here it's nearly free if I become a permanent resident.

 

[An Ankoù]

I'm more concerned with the financial issues this regime is contemplating. If Social Security and Medicare get cut we may have to sell our house and move here. I'm due for a hip replacement soon and RFK has made
comments about slashing money for hip and knee replacements for senior citizens. Over here it's nearly free if I become a permanent resident.

Yes it is. I had a knee replacement and all I paid for was the initial consultation of about €40 which was reimbursed.
Even if you have to pay, the costs are not excessive.

 

[An Ankoù]

Very nice, I love a nice fire too when the weather is right. There's just some nice about a fire, reminds me when camping with my folks. We would sit around a fire at night and dad would tell stories. Mom made pizza pudgy pies. Life was great!

You're a gem OIB. I had never heard of pudgy pies. Seems it's a cheese toasty cooked on the fire. I've camped more times than I've had hot dinners, too, but I've never heard of or seen "pie irons" I'll be getting some as soon as I can figure out what they're called in French: machine à croque monsieur de camp ??
In fact I'll ask a lass I know in Montréal. She'll know.

 

[corkybstewart]

OK, I've just discovered where New Mexico is. Last place I would have looked: well, New England isn't right next to England; New York, New Orleans, New Jersey etc.
No wonder you find the climate more amenable.
I'm thinking of shooting down to Spain next winter, just for a month to take the edge off. Hate cities, but Madrid rocks al year round and Ive got a son down there who needs a good visiting.

We live near the Mexican border. Our house sits at 1980 meters elevation(6200 feet) so in the winter we get snow, but it melts in a couple of days and the sunshine lets us wear tshirts at 5C. In the summer the elevation moderates the heat and we rarely have days over 40C. There is always a breeze so we have AC but rarely use it. Where we lived in eastern NM for almost 40 years summer temps have now normalized at 45C, generally starting in May and not cooling off until September

 

[corkybstewart]

Very nice, I love a nice fire too when the weather is right. There's just some nice about a fire, reminds me when camping with my folks. We would sit around a fire at night and dad would tell stories. Mom made pizza pudgy pies. Life was great!

I had also never heard of a pudgy pie but I can see some on the grill in the near future. We're always looking for something unique to feed the family over here. They have so many silly strict "rules" for traditional dishes so they enjoy something totally new.

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

You're a gem OIB. I had never heard of pudgy pies. Seems it's a cheese toasty cooked on the fire. I've camped more times than I've had hot dinners, too, but I've never heard of or seen "pie irons" I'll be getting some as soon as I can figure out what they're called in French: machine à croque monsieur de camp ??
In fact I'll ask a lass I know in Montréal. She'll know.

The pie irons were a staple in our camping kit growing up. I have two that I bought when I started camping with my girlfriend. Now I use them in the beer garden fire pit. Pizza was made the most but mom tried getting us to try other fillings. She wasn't convincing enough.

I had also never heard of a pudgy pie but I can see some on the grill in the near future. We're always looking for something unique to feed the family over here. They have so many silly strict "rules" for traditional dishes so they enjoy something totally new.

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

I'm more concerned with the financial issues this regime is contemplating. If Social Security and Medicare get cut we may have to sell our house and move here. I'm due for a hip replacement soon and RFK has made
comments about slashing money for hip and knee replacements for senior citizens. Over here it's nearly free if I become a permanent resident.

Those are very real concerns. New knees are in my future. I can appreciate your option to live somewhere else, a very beautiful and welcoming spot! Just pull the plug and go.

 

[An Ankoù]

I had also never heard of a pudgy pie but I can see some on the grill in the near future. We're always looking for something unique to feed the family over here. They have so many silly strict "rules" for traditional dishes so they enjoy something totally new.

Traditional "rules" are just a way of formalising and standardising peasant recipes for people with little imagination and culinary skill. Proper peasants use what's available at the time and don't follow recipe books. That's my opinion, anyway.
On arrival in Béganne, we astonished my in-laws with two "local" dishes they'd never heard of: Chili Concarneau and Spaghetti Bégannaise. Of course, I'd made them up, but they didn't know. They had driven for a whole hour into the very wilds of southern Brittany where civilisation is scarce, where we speak Gallo and write in bog runes.
Silly buglers!