Une citrouille, in French, is a pumpkin (and a pumpkin is also a potiron). But in today’s story, une citrouille is a mode of transportation…and we’re not talking about a Citroën!
TODAY’S WORD: Une Citrouille
: pumpkin
: head (synonym, in French, for citrouille)
la citrouille d’Halloween = jack-o’-lantern
la tarte à la citrouille = pumpkin pie
SABLET HOME – for high quality vacation rentals in the heart of Provence. Click here for pictures.
FRANCE & MONACO We offer exclusive short-term holiday rental properties throughout France and Monaco. Click here.
YOUR AD HERE. Reach 26,000 readers. Place an ad in the French Word-A-Day newsletter. Click here.
ECOUTEZ hear Jean-Marc pronounce Citrouille Download MP3
Une Citrouille. Et si Kristi et moi, on vous rendait visite dans un RV ou dans une citrouille?
Pumpkin. And what if Kristi and I visited you in an RV or in a pumpkin?
French Country Diary –
everyone’s favorite calendar and it makes a great gift: Click here to order
A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE
A realtor and some interested buyers showed up Saturday, to visit our home and vineyard. This latest development threatens to throw a clog, or sabot, into Plan B
–sabotaging my chance to rent this farmhouse, and so keep it for ourselves!
Standing beside our withering bougainvillea which once boasted bright fuchsia leaves, I pasted a welcoming smile on my face as I studied the buyers. She was a brunette, a natural beauty à la Jacqueline Bisset. He was a tall, boyishly handsome CEO. Both around our age (not yet 50). The Parisians spent an hour visiting our home and vineyard at which point the man looked at me and said,
“Vous avez fait de très très bon travail ici! You have done some very good work here!”
I wished Jean-Marc were around to hear that compliment! It might have revived his dream of creating this vineyard in Bandol. Hélas, my husband was away working part-time at a wine shop in Marseilles. (Most people don’t earn a living owning vineyard. It helps to have a side job. Jean-Marc has two of them!)
The couple turned to leave. I watched them walk happily down the driveway, past the row of blueberries I planted last spring, past the lilacs and the felled mimosa (which reappeared last year in a most hopeful display of new growth). The buyers disappeared behind the burgeoning mimosa and I could not see what kind of car they got into. But it might as well have been a golden carriage! For I was keenly aware of just how quickly my fairy tale French dream could be given to another to enjoy endlessly!
I needed to sit down. The edge of the garden beds offered a familiar perch. As I rested beside the strawberries, carrots, and ciboulette, I inhaled the familiar earthy perfume and ran my hand over the green leafy bed. “This is an experimental garden,” I had offered, earlier, as the couple looked around the unruly jungle. All those “experiments” were my joie de vivre, my new-found raison d’être. Like Willy Wonka in his Chocolate Factory, I thrived among my garden’s quirks, wonders and grand possibilities! With its backdrop of a stone farmhouse and, beyond, the sea, this environment has been, for four years now, a real life fantasy.
I was staring at one of the pumpkins which had wrapped its vine around an antique chair of my belle-mère’s… when a Willy Wonkian possibility came to me: PLAN C !
(“C” for Citrouille!)
Plan C honors Jean-Marc’s need to see new horizons–along with my need to be anchored to the sweet-scented earth.
Plan “C” rhymes with RV (and, come to think of it, with “citrouille“)!
Staring into my garden pumpkin, it became at once a globe and a vehicle (it worked for Cinderella, could it work for JM, Smokey and me?). I could see us traveling across America, as you readers have suggested. Because I will miss my organic garden and the fruits of the harvest, why not make GARDEN HOPPING the theme of our voyage?
My dream would then be to visit organic gardens across the USA! Jean-Marc and I could stop by your garden or potager and sink our hands into the good earth. Would you let us take a few supplies for the road? An apple? Some parsley? A rutabaga (something I’ve never grown!) And therein lies the magic – to continue to grow and learn. To expand this experimental garden from one end of the States to the other!
Can you just picture our RV with a row of plants (aloe vera, rosemary, and why not a lemon and an avocado seedling?) tied behind the windshield and a smiling driver and copilots just beyond? Can you see Smokey, buckled into the back seat?)
So what do you say, Dear Reader? Can we come dig in your garden? (We want to see you even if you don’t have a garden, in which case we’ll share some canned green-beans from the previous garden visit!)
Now to deck out this pumpkin-on-wheels, below, with some plants, some cots, a shower, a W.-C., and my dear family! In the comments (link below) let me know your thoughts. Mille mercis! In case I haven’t told you lately, That’s a thousand thanks in French!
FRENCH VOCABULARY
hélas = unfortunately
la ciboulette = chives
joie de vivre = joy of life
raison d’être = reason for being
la belle-mère = mother-in-law (also step-mother)
le potager = kitchen garden, vegetable garden
Smokey, on the road. “Oh the things we will see!”
Discover more from French Word-A-Day
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Beautiful, like my lovely wife
Kristen, I cannot imagine life in an RV after the wonderful life you have had while Jean Marc pursued his dreams and you became an organic gardener. BUT maybe for a month of traveling across the USA wouldn’t be too bad. You can always stop at our home in Indiana. We have entertained our French friends when they visited the States, so we are experienced in hosting. Whatever you decide to do, may God bless you and guide you on your journey!
Kristen, the idiots presently running Washington may make Plan C of living in a RV illegal.
You are welcome to visit us in Grayson Georgia. I can promise you roses and dahlias, southern hospitality, a precious german shepherd named Max to pet, amazing food prepared by my husband and warm fellowship! We might even break out a bottle of wine saved from our trips to France!
Blessings over you and your family as you determine your path.
Oh dear Kristi, you have really put your roots down where you are …….. I know how that feels ……
But whatever you do it will all work out. It’s just the being in limbo period …… Then the transitional period …… That are so hard.
I have a friend who never, ever plans anything. She ‘just wings it’ …… she does not worry if she loses a job …. Something will turn up she says …. And it always does.
So perhaps my advice to you and Jean Marc should be …….. ‘just wing it’!
Not much gardening here, but i would be so disappointed if you didnt come spend some time with us here on lake powell, the colorado river, & canyon lands. Drive what you want, but you’ll stay inside with us, As long as you like, so you can take your time seeing the american southwest! We are 4-5 hours from phx, vegas, durango, colorado.
Traveling through the States in an RV and visiting people along the way could be quite wonderful. But, in terms of taking growing plants along with you, it could prove problematic. There are laws about not taking live plants over State borders. I would be worth checking into.
Love plan C. Internally working on that option myself (the rental part-26 years in Paris raising my daughter -with 2 months back in USA per year-a bit torn between the two…identifying with your moments angst). My first reflex was to sell sweet abode in Paris but now thinking in terms of renting it out. Hard to let go and maybe not necessary, or maybe better in mini steps? Have been following your blog, attending book signings, but always behind the curtains….wishing you a grand tour in your citrouille, with hopes that you will return so that I will have the pleasure of meeting you both in your garden one day.
Courage!
No gardens at my townhouse in North Carolina, but you are welcome to come and visit. I enjoy reading your posts and would love to meet you!
We’re experiencing the same feelings as you & Jean-Marc about leaving our “forever” home. We bought a house in the AZ Biltmore Estates 14 years ago and lovingly remodeled it. Knowing that we are ready to rest more (called retirement) and learning the value of being close to shopping after years of living in Paris 4-5 months each year, we bought a house in Scottsdale. We took possession in September gutting it for a complete renovation. The first of October we put our Biltmore house on the market so it would be sold by the time the other house was ready. The Biltmore house sold in 3 days! From that moment I’ve had a sadness about leaving our “forever” home that is crushing my heart. I’d secretly hoped it wouldn’t sell and that we’d have to remain there and sell the other house but someone above overruled my thinking. I’m trying to believe that we’ll love the new house and area as much and hope that you all find contentment in the next chapter of your life. Susan
A mon avis, restez en la belle France!
Cordialement
Bonjour Kristi, Living in an RV? Oui, and here is the family you need to contact/friend: http://www.kelloggshow.com/about/ They know everything about living in an RV; they have been doing it with 12 kids! Susie grew up in Virginia across the street from my sister. They are an amazing family, and I think can tell you EVERYTHING you need to know about travelling across American in and RV. They are also on FB: Susie McGrath Kellogg, Dan Kellogg, and the Kellogg Show! Have fun checking them out! They are awesome and so are you!
P.D. Kristi, Here is Susie’s FB address: Be sure to check out the latest photos/adventures on FB https://www.facebook.com/susie.kellogg?fref=ts
Anyone interested in “organic” must come to Vermont, but first see about visiting Eliot Coleman in Maine! He has worked internationally, as you may know, and been inspired by sustainable French gardening methods and I feel sure he would love to meet you.
I do my gardening ”organically’– feeding a garden with compost from chickens fed a mixed organic-non-organic diet disqualifies it as “organic.”
On a side note–do you know what rutabagas taste like and, worse, their texture? What you want are the breed of turnip that is white and violet and never grows larger than a couple of inches.
Come visit. Kate by the lake in Vermont — Lac Champlain
I have a garden and you’re welcome to visit me here in southern NJ along my little river, but my dear, you need roots! I don’t see you being happy without a plot of land of your own. I do hope that the two of you can come to some sort of accommodation that will feed both of your souls! Bisous –
Live fearlessly, Kristin. You will land on your feet. Change is hard, but we were created to explore. We make our nest wherever we roam.
Absolutely you are invited to stop here. Our solar-only house and garden are hand-built, by our hands, in a clearing we cleared in the woods in western Massachusetts. So you see I have marvelled at, and been sympathetic with, the challenges and level of work you do, though we never had a vineyard! It would be such fun to meet you both, so don’t come when I am in France!
hi Kristi
How about coming via UK to visit us on the south coast, near Portsmouth? We are in the same situation, having to sell to repay a loan and leave the house we’ve worked on and called home for 20 years! Lots of garden and veggie plot to inspect and tempt you. Like you we don’t know where to go to – a big wrench for you. We spent seven years in France and I have followed your FWAD for years!
Alice
You are a very lucky man! But, then again, you already knew that. 😊
I know Jean-Marc has been to Asheville NC before, so I’m sure he can find his way back here for another visit. Besides visiting organic gardens, another fun thing would be to make contact with all the French conversation meetup groups. There are at least three of these groups in Asheville, maybe more. One of them meets at MetroWines, a wine store. So you both would feel right at home.
… and you can stop by our home, also in Indiana! Cheers to you and whatever path God leads you! Fun and exciting times ahead.
Kristin, you are welcome here at my place in northern Virginia. I’m 5 miles from interstate 95 so you have access to all along there in a short time as well as some other beautiful parts of the state. You would love Charlottesville and the road that takes you there. Or along 66. Both areas have become wine country. Fertile land, the ocean to the east and the mountains to the west.
Just remembered – there is a site where people trade houses for periods of time. Listings from all over the world. Could be interesting. No garden but you are all welcome to visit as long as necessary to visit with organic gardeners in the area. Yogi and Goldie love golden retriever. Winter is so mild here lots of fresh produce.
Before believing (much less helping to perpetuate) the scare stories on RV or small home bans being irresponsibly peddled around the Internet, it’s worth checking the facts on Snopes, which researches the truth — if any — behind all the Internet rumors and conspiracy theories that circulate endlessly.
Check http://www.snopes.com/hud-tiny-homes-ban/. It’s a long article that quotes the various versions of the false rumor, so here’s the summary in last paragraph:
In short, while a number of confused commenters flooded HUD’s proposal page based on inaccurate rumors, the proposed rules were seen as a net positive by tiny home experts, RV enthusiasts, RV trade groups, and anyone deeply involved with full-time RVing or tiny house living. A handful of blogs broadly misinterpreted the proposed rule changes as HUD “outlawing” tiny homes, despite the fact HUD doesn’t possess the authority to pass such laws. The proposed rule rumored to be a “tiny house ban” was in fact simply a clarification of classifications for RVs and similar dwellings and in no way banned or criminalized tiny home ownership or building.
I like your C Plan. Do it while you can! Logical me says to sock away enough to buy a small home first but “Il faut que” you watch and read this about living and traveling in an off-the-grid RV so that you aren’t limited to overnights in RV parks: http://gpelectric.com/stories/gone-wynns This couple also manages to help people and earn a little living while traveling.
Your always welcome in Okoboji! I don’t garden but, maybe you can share some of your pointers to start one! Of course you must come in the summer / fall as it’s the best time of the year in our little resort village in the Midwest! PS we have a 1962 Avigon we love to camp in ~ go for it!
Beth ~ Okoboji
Puet-etre nous viendrons de vous voir. Ma femme et moi serions au Montsoreau por Nov, Dec et Jan. C’est possible. Pensez vous?
Come and visit us in North Dakota! We have apple and pear trees, but they grow in spite of me – I have the opposite of a green thumb. But I know lots of farmers and where all the local vineyards are!
Hi Kristi, Central Texas has many vineyards and there are many urban gardens in our city. No problem having a place to stay.
I’ll keep reading to keep aware of what is going on.
Good luck and I know things will work out.
My husband and I recently got the RV bug and have traveled over 10,000 miles in it in less than a year visiting over 20 states. So, yes, it can be done, though ours is a small Sprinter and not full time living friendly. But we do have a neighborhood CSA for you to sink you hands into when you arrive in Ohio. Organic gardening travel sounds like a great plan. Let us know when you will be here.
You and your family are most welcome to our home and gardens in Virginia. We have friends who have taken the plunge and sold everything to travel across the USA. Their journey plan involves always going to places that are warm. When it is hot in Florida where they lived, they go to Maine, for example. Unlike the South of France, many gardens in the US have to be put to bed in the Winter. We spend our Winter planning next years garden, pursuing seed catalogues and drawing new beds. Of course, we continue composting all Winter for the black gold that will nourish the gardens next Spring.
Oh, Kristi, we would love to entertain you, as you did Don and I last year.
Dear Kristi, So much to think of and so much good advice! To me it seems that you are rooted by your heavenly earth! To pull up from that seems wrong for you. Could you buy/rent a smaller place, wherever, so you could garden, be able to see the children and feel connected to loving tasks? In any case we would welcome you to Cape Cod! Bless on on your journey of decision making!
I still advise incorporating the (guest) house and vineyard. Take in investors. Run it as a business And rent or buy a smaller house nearby.
Great article! I’m a long time reader of your blog! Question, or maybe a topic for a future post: how do French children celebrate Halloween? Is there trick-or-treat’ing? Are costume parties common for children and/or adults? Is there any connection to the next day, November 1 – All Souls Day? Curious! Thank you again for all your amazing writing!
This made me smile. 🙂 Jean Marc and Kristi, you are such a wonderful couple!
Dear Kristi, you are being a true possibilitarian! I know how wrenching it is to leave a property where you have invested time, energy and tons of love. We have just sold our home (winter home) in Florida and are suffering some “seller’s remorse”. C’est normal! But we are planning to spend far less time here and it’s the sensible thing to do. Do what makes sense for you and J-M and everything will fall into place. Je t’assure!
HI Kristy! I’m in Texas, too. I think you would love Fredricksburg. And I had an idea that you could speak at garden clubs about your gardening passion. There are SO many garden clubs around the US filled with women who would love to hear your stories.
You will not enjoy life in an RV. I think the place for you is a piece of property south of Portland, Oregon. In a wine producing area, near a nice city. The Pacific Ocean is a day trip away. You can grow a fine garden. The place is very livable. It’s a long day’s drive but you can drive to San Francisco area from there. Politically it’s a very progressive region. Sorry with all the times I’ve spent inTaradeau I never ran into you and Jean-Marc.
What a wonderful idea, Kristi! I think RV living is absolutely feasible, especially for those who are not yet sure where they might want to settle. It creates room for so many possibilities!
As an aside, I wanted to give you the proverbial pat on the back for mentioning that Jean Marc works two part-time jobs on the side. It’s a great reminder that fairy tale lives might only appear glorious to the outsiders who don’t see the long days of hard work that you have invested in the creation of your dream.
I was just catching up with reading about Plan B when this post on Plan C popped up. I think it would be a great idea to combine both. Rent your place for a year and then travel across the U.S. in an RV during that time to get a feel for a more permanent move. Touring gardens is a great way to guide your journey. You absolutely would have to include the organic farm of Brad’s uncle in Georgia. Check out Elm Street Gardens http://elmstreetgardens.com/ Then you could come to St. Louis because we have one of the best botanical gardens in the world. And you could stay in our guest space on our third floor and poke around in the new garden I’m shaping at our new place. Meanwhile Jean-Marc could visit the wine country just outside of St. Louis.
And I loved your “running errands” joke.
Should you come through the midwest in your RV, you should definitely visit The Toledo Botanical Garden. In fact, taking a tour of US botanical gardens would be a good way to provide a framework for your travels. I’d bet many botanical gardens would construct an event coinciding with your visit (since you have such a following). You could also sell your books. Alternately, a tour of wineries, again coinciding with events could be a good plan.
True. When I drove into AZ on my way to CA from FL, I was stopped at the border and had my trunk checked … for plants, particularly citrus that might bring in disease of a new variety.
Hi Kristi, I have an artist friend who travels throughout the US in a really cool, renovated RV. She enjoys her freedom, loves meeting new people, sells her lovely art and does very, very well. I will share a quote with you that she shared with many years ago — “If it doesn’t open, it’s not your door. What is meant for me will never miss me, and that which misses me was never meant for me. That’s what faith is all about: trusting the process.”
One tip if driving across America … become a member of AAA auto club. Of course, now there is GPS, but when driving cross country I found their up to date info on road detours, and how far the next gas station was!, very helpful. I’m sure there are places on the road where WiFi is sketchy and that info, on paper, might come in handy. 🙂
Bonjour from the coast of Maine. If you’re RVing you must come for lobster and rose on our deck overlooking the Pemaquid River. Talk will be of all things French as we have a vacation home in the Languedoc!
Kristi, i love how your brain is working now — you’ve thrown wide open the windows to new ideas. I can absolutely see you jumping from garden to garden like a bee pollenating ideas — yours and those of others. and what are gardens but growth. it’s all happening very organically. delicious.
Bonjour! Je m’appelle Robert. Ma femme, elle nom est Amber.
You and your husband sound a lot like my wife and I. She loves to read and write and she recently finished writing her first fiction novel. Plus, my boys and I love to make fun of her rural eastern Kentucky accent. That alone should give you a break from being teased about your American accent!
So, let me ask you this: Does Jean-Marc simply need some extra help with the farm or does he truly need a “change of scenery?” If it’s the former, maybe you could offer an immersion opportunity for French language learners at your home in exchange for some help around the farm? If it’s the latter, and you opt for Plan C, then you are most welcome to stay at our home in the Louisville, Kentucky metro area and play in our garden (your experimental garden sounds as though it looks like my wife’s herb garden).
We live only a half mile from the Ohio River and there is a lot to do and enjoy here. Plus, there are several wineries in the area and, of course, the bourbon industry is centered here as well. Last, but not least, we have the KENTUCKY DERBY and all of its festival events including the largest annual fireworks display in north America.
In closing, let me say bonne chance!
I agree, the botanical garden in St. Louis is awesome. Plus, you can take a tour to the top of the Gateway Arch while you are there!
Kristi, I suspect readers who are a bit negative about traveling in an RV have never done so. We ADORE spending weeks or even months in ours traveling around Europe. This type of life allows total freedom and flexibility, no packing and unpacking, and you can take all your stuff with you! In France and Italy there are thousands of farms who welcome RVs onto their land, offering a safe and extremely enjoyable experience for travelers as the family usually loves to chat about their farm and products. Interested readers can check out “France Passion”. But your target is the US, where this type of travel, especially interspersed with some of the intriguing stops your blog friends have suggested, could also be absolutely exhilarating. What have you and JM got to lose? If you keep the house you can return when the time feels right.
…. It made me weep to imagine you there at your lovely home and garden which you both have worked so very hard to create…. having to show it to potential buyers and/or renters. You have created yours and Jean-Marc’s ‘bit of heaven on earth’, and the thought of you having to leave it breaks my heart in two. We once had to leave a place we dreamed of, found, lived in and loved so very much and suddenly after seven years of bliss we had to move. It was heart-wrenching ….. but, we got over it and moved on. The move became one more of life’s challenges we had to meet. Often, in life these changes end up being very positive experiences! We became extremely happy where we ‘landed’ and life is good. I am not a RV person, but know many who love that mode of life and travel! I think with your combined charm and knowledge you both would love traveling across country and ‘learning and growing’ along the way! Renting your home… you would always have a place to come home to. I would suggest hiring an agent to handle the affairs of renting, as you will not want to be bothered with that on Plan C adventure! Love and hugs to all, Judi D. Tallahassee, Fl.