We're lost, but we're making good time.

This is another "I'm not sure where this is" shot. At first, I thought it might be Lauris, not far from Lourmarin. But after looking at some photos of the town on the internet, I don't think that it is. It could be Gordes. Yesterday's wrought iron belfry looks similar to one in Gordes, but I need to find a close-up to be sure. I'll keep investigating.

Somewhere in Provence. Digitized color slide, September 2001.

Looks like rain is moving in over the next couple of days. This morning's low is around 10ºC, so there's no chance of wintry weather. Just rain.

Your guess is as good as mine

Or better. I haven't really tried to identify this wrought iron belfry in Provence. I don't remember it, and its position in the slide order isn't helping me. If any of you recognize it, please speak up!

Somewhere in Provence. Digitized color slide, September 2001.

The title of this post is one of those expressions that our friend CHM was amused (or annoyed) by. We Anglophones toss it around without thinking but it makes some Francophones scratch their heads. Or at least one that I know of.

Olive

I don't remember this place, but the sign is a little strange. The smaller print says, "Company Les huiles du Monde." I would translate that as "Oils of the World Company." First of all, "company" is an English word. The equivalent in French would be société or even compagnie. However, I know that using foreign words (and often English) in advertising is common in France. Then there's the odd capitalization. Why is the major informational word, huiles (oils) in lower case? I think the article les (the plural form of "the") is capitalized because it's the first word of the company's name. But why is huiles not capitalized while monde is? I'm neither a language expert nor a marketing expert, but it all seems a little strange to me.

A sign in Provence. Digitized color slide, September 2001.

None of this is a big deal, of course. It's just one of those (many) things that makes you scratch your head when you're trying to learn another language.

RIP CHM

Our friend of many years, Charles-Henry (CHM), died on Friday. He was 99 years old. Charles-Henry was Ken's boss in Washington, DC, back in the early 1980s and we've been friends since. A native Parisian, he loved the southern California deserts and lived there for many years after he retired. Thanks to Charles-Henry, we got to visit many of the desert places he knew and loved.

CHM, pointing out a cactus (or something like it) in the desert near the Salton Sea. Digitized color slide, 1997.

Crêpes de la Chandeleur

Friday's savory crêpes were delicious despite our having used supermarket crêpes. We filled each of them with a slice of ham, sautéed mushrooms, grated cheese, and an egg. But when we folded them before baking, they kind of fell apart. I may try again in a few days, and maybe heat the crêpes before stuffing them to see if that makes a difference. We'll see. But I think that next year I'll go back to making my own.

Sorry about the dirty plate. This was the second helping. You can see that the crêpe itself broke along the fold lines. But it tasted great!

The home-made dessert crêpes worked marvelously and were also delicious. The recipe comes from an old book by a woman named Monique Maine and I've been using that recipe for years, decades even. I didn't take any pictures of those, of course. D'oh!

I shutter to think

I think this window is in Lourmarin. The photo is among those from there, so it's a logical deduction. I wonder if it's still there and, if so, what color it is now.

Window and shutter in Lourmarin. Digitized color slide, September 2001.

I mentioned yesterday that today, la Chandeleur, is crêpe day. I'll make the batter for the dessert crêpes this morning so it can rest in the fridge until I make them. We're going to use store-bought crêpes for the savory course. My last few attempts at making buckwheat crêpes from scratch have not been very successful. I'll let you know how it goes.

A close up

This is the bell tower of the church of Saint-André-et-Saint-Trophime in central Lourmarin. I can't find much about it on line. One site I looked at said that the building's history is mal connue (not well known). Interestingly, the belfry is not made from wrought iron as many belfries in this area are, but from a more traditional masonry. The blue-green color suggests to me that it's sheathed in copper.

Saint-André-et-Saint-Trophime, Lourmarin. Digitized color slide, September 2001.

Tomorrow is la fête de la Chandeleur (Candlemas) and the tradition in France is to eat crêpes on that day. We're planning, as usual, savory buckwheat crêpes for lunch, garnished with ham and cheese, and sweet dessert crêpes for after. Yum!