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
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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?
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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!”
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And when you’ve toured USA you can join the thousands of grey nomads in Australia. we travelled for 6 months this year to escape the colder southern weather, so many live in their RV, luxuriously may I say. It’s ADDICTIVE! The gypsies are onto something. You live more cheaply.. Doing lots of free camping ..kitted up with solar and deep cell batteries. We have a dish which picks up tv anywhere in oz. shop at farm gates often, and share great camaraderie on the road.
Whoops – ‘bonne chance’ sur la route.
Life is an endless series of “best laid plans” Kristi!
🙂 G
vous aurez un accueil chalereux ici chez nous– et notre petite ferme biologique. Harrisville PA , 10 minutes from route 80 in western Pennsylvania. Silver Wheel Farm LLC Je suis recemment retournee de France ou j’ai fait un stage pour apprendre le panification des pains au levain car je vais ajouter une ‘boulangerie francaise’ ici a la ferme!
I would welcome you, JM and Smokey at my home anytime; but here you will find more wine than garden. But never fear, here in Florida we always have lots of tea, hot, sweetened or straight up.
Kristi, methinks it’s time to join the wwoofers! With your combined skills you could travel across America from one organic farm to the next….
http://wwoof.net/
Hello dear Kristi and Jean-Marc,
Your pictures and insights over the last 4 years have been a blessing and it would be a lovely honor to have you visit us in Ohio, at our century home on the shore of Lake Erie. Include us on your map! I’ve learned so well in the past year that God only gives light for the next step (Psalm 119:105) but it’s okay…walking by faith is full of unexpected blessings. Praying for the best to happen ~
Anne xo
Bonne Idée!
You’re welcome to visit us on Kezar Lake in New Hampshire! We’ve only recently bought the place and just completed an addition so haven’t been able to dig in the garden yet. But I’d love to have your company while I try to see what is growing in the garden in the woods. I know there are peonies there…
(Or we’d absolutely be up for a house swap and could offer a loft in Boston too!)
Best of luck with your decision. I love reading your blog. I can always count on its honesty and vulnerability which is refreshing.
xo
Kristi, I have read all of the wonderful, thoughtful comments written today and it looks like”Plan C” is a clear winner! To travel the US (or any country) from one end to the other would be an adventure unparalleled. Maybe the timing is just right for you and Jean-Marc. I and all of your readers wish the very best for you as you make this important decision. (P.S. Your table decoration with the pumpkins, rosemary and the beautiful plants in the urns is lovely … Smokey in photo,too.)
Hi Kristi and Jean-Marc!
You’re welcome to park your RV in my driveway and check out the many organic gardens in the Niagara Falls, Toronto, Southern Ontario and Western New York areas! (Late spring through early autumn is the best time to visit given the relatively short growing season up here.)
Also, as someone else mentioned, consider Canada–if you find yourselves missing France, Montréal et québec sont merveilleux!
You can most certainly come for a garden dig here…if I can ever reclaim my garden from it’s two years of yoga teaching inspired neglect. And if you’ve ahankering to take a break from the RV, we have a lovely one bedroom apartment above our garage that might be just the thing. Garden touring is what drove me to Francis for the first time four years ago. The book, A Garden Lovers Guide to France was the real culprit. So in addition to visiting readers gardens, perhaps you can plan to visit some public gardens as well. There is at least one fabulous garden in each state that is worthy of the trip.
Kristin and Jean-Marc should definitely take up Tammy Straub’s offer. That part of the southwest is some of the most beautiful destinations in the US.
En attendant de prendre une décision, je vous offre l’usage de ma maison -et jardin- près de Napa, CA. Durant tout Novembre je serai absente. Vous serez bien libres !!! Et plus tard, j’ai une chambre d’amis qui vous tend les bras.
Mes plus belles vacances étaient celles passées en camping-car avec mon époux. Maintenant il n’est plus.
Il y a une place pour le camping-car devant la maison.
La région est belle, Napa, Sonoma, San Francisco, etc.
Votre réponse, vite, je pars dans 7 jours.
Très Bonne Chance, nadine
You are always welcomed to stay with us in D.C. (No garden, but we do have Rock Creek National Park in our backyard!).
Kristi –
Years ago a good friend and I considered traveling across the US in an RV. I suggested we roughly travel the same route that I had done in 1972 with a HS friend in a VW bug. Not long after, my friend died suddenly.
I bring this up only to point out that there is no time like the present! I don’t see the two of you living on the road; as you seem decidedly “rooted” in your garden and vineyard, but a couple of months might be freeing and fun!
No vegetables here in the Pittsburgh suburbs (other than heirloom tomatoes & some herbs) but my wife makes our backyard bloom every summer with a proliferation of flowers. Can’t wait ’til you get here!
Ron
You are certainly welcome in Massachusetts! I may even put you to work! I currently have a little herb garden (more accurately, a predominately basil garden) but am planning on raised beds (as I once had when I lived in Maine) in the back where the former owners once had an above ground pool. Even if I haven’t gotten to that point yet, you are welcome to share in a big pot of pesto! This year I was at war with the hordes of chipmunks that had proliferated after an unusually mild winter–I think I won! Hopefully next year will be more normal in terms of chippies vs. humans! Bonnes décisions et bon courage à vous deux !
We would happily welcome you here in Carmel. We’re near wineries, vineyards, produce fields and farmers’ markets. Alas, I have no vegetable garden but gardening is a hobby of mine. I take a French class once a week and it’s slow going but we have fun. My class would love meeting you.
Hi Kristi and Jean Marc,
I think everything will work out for you two! An RV trip sounds like a fun vacation and would give you an idea of the possible places you are interested in visiting or possibly living. Sometimes just letting an idea sit for awhile and kind of age like wine in a barrel might be the best idea. Then open it later and let it breathe and you will know if it is still what you want! 🙂
If you are in Wisconsin, you must visit the organic gardens run by Standard Process. It is too cold for a Floridian like myself to live there, but what they do with organic gardening is so impressive, I really was blown away!
Kristi, just wondering about Jackie. I thought she would be moving with you? Perhaps you will get her enrolled in a design school in the US first. then she will board and you will meet up with her every few months? Maybe you & Jean-Marc should contact Chip & Joanna Gaines in Waco, Texas. You may be familiar with their TV show “Fixer Upper”. They live on a 40 acre farm. Who knows? Maybe an RV/organic farming/wine show is in your future. I would watch! Good luck with whatever you two decide.
You are most welcome chez nous in the San Francisco Bay Area. And we can show you around our farming connections in the greater bay area.
So if you decide on this plan…you can count on us. Je t’assure!
I’d be pleased to welcome you to my home whether you traveled by RV, pumpkin, or anything else.
I think the hardest part about an RV would be being crammed into such a small space. Not only have you had acres of “yard” to be in, you’ve, it appears, had spacious houses. Even your current gardens could be larger than the square footage of an RV. Be sure that you can cope with the lack of space – for storage, general moving around, and activities from cooking to washing clothes, or even sleeping. And even if you really winnow your possessions, I doubt an RV would hold them all.
I don’t know much about modern RVs. Years ago I knew a family that had a “camper,” something they towed behind their car that unfolded into a very large tentlike space, complete with a wooden floor. Compared to a house it would be small, but it was easy to walk around in it, and might have had more area than an RV. On the other hand, some RVs might have lots of compartments and collapsible features, so, for example, you could have a bed by day and a couch by night, etc.
May I please send you a book about driving around America in an RV, by a newspaperman (writer) for many years, from Raleigh. He is very funny, and there is a lot of useful info in it. Yes, do be SURE to buy an AAA Motorclub membership, a PLUS membership, if you’re traveling in an RV, once you get to the US. Wait to buy it here. I have no idea how to mail you anything. By the way, I bought five of the lovely French diaries for Christmas presents. Beautiful! Thanks for the idea.
As a retired realtor, i’d love to getmore. Info about your farm and winery. I hate to see you sell it, but we. Do what we need to/have to. Is there a site to look at. My dream for so long has been to live in France.
You have so many wonderful choices to consider; and,combinations of Plans to toss around. So many wonderful invitations and ideas. There certainly would not be a lack of gardens to explore. I like the idea of you both teaching, traveling, visiting your reader friends – but, I also like to see you back at some point in a place called ‘home.’ Still, I’m selfishly partial to the Gite idea or B&B, and you keeping your home in some fashion – but still doing some traveling (maybe with proceeds from selling the vineyard?). Remember, just because a realtor brings prospective buys for both the house and vineyard, it doesn’t mean you have to sell to them! I know your hearts are both tied to the land and this is a major change in your lives. You have a lot on your plate to consider – so many great opportunities, very exciting! I’m wishing you both luck with whatever decisions you make, knowing that some may be interim, some may be more permanent. Bonne chance a vous! Amicalement, Judi
I am a day late in responding but my reply echos all others; with all the lives you’ve touched, you could travel across many countries, visiting each one of us and probably not need to put down roots for years! We would all welcome you with open arms, various gardens and lots and lots of lovely wine! I’m in! I have several small gardens, even growing catnip in case you pick up a stray cat along the way to keep Smokey company! I’m in Cave Creek/Carefree, AZ and you know where that is. You are more than welcome. I would love new friends.
you & jean-marc would be most welcome to visit the beautiful hudson river valley in new york, and to stay in my 1851 farmhouse as you explored the area. it is full of VINEYARDS, FARMS, WINERIES, RESTAURANTS, and beautiful historic CULTURAL SPOTS to experience. it would be an honor to have the two of you visit. should you decide to visit the east coast, put this on your list!!
A beautiful FWD!!! What a magnificent idea! You could visit many friends while seeing much of our country (hopefully without a Trump Presidency) — how wonderful it would be if you visited Nancy and me but I understand you have so many others who feel the same way. Avec beaucoup affection.
WHat a great idea to go RV’ing. I purchased a 2003 Mercedes sprinter van with 150,000 miles on it, outfitted it myself (lots of ideas on pinterest and youtube) and have LOVED the freedom to get up and go and see new places with spontaneity that this little home on wheels has provided! I don’t know how to post a photo here or I would….Bonne Chance on your ideas and dreams. There are many ways to live life, and many stages of closing and opening doors for each of us.
Bonjour Kristi:
What an exciting Plan C. We visited you several years ago when you were at Rouge/Bleu and we were staying in Uzes. We have (I think your cousin) Laura in common who used to have a wonderful book store in Seattle where I had a picture framing business on Capitol Hill for 23 years. My husband Stephen and I have a small farm (Chateau Poulet) on Bainbridge Island where we have lived since 2001. We have a garden, chickens, sheep, goat, ducks and two very spoiled indoor cats. You are welcome to visit anytime…it would be a pleasure to see you again. Plenty of room for an RV!!!
Oh, how I am praying for you Kristin and Jean-Marc! I am praying you will get to stay in your beloved France and simply take a sabbatical to RV it across America! If you do meander to the Midwest, you are welcome to hook up at our place in Plano Il about 50 miles from Chicago. Day trips to the city and sleep out under the country stars in Plano!
Kristi ~ you would be more than welcome to stay at our home; it would be a pleasure for us to host you! Maybe you would sit with me by the garden and allow me to practice (slowly and hesitantly) my French. 😉 We live in the foothills above Santa Cruz, California. My husband has a small vineyard that he tends as a hobby. We have fruit trees and a garden. There is plenty of space for an RV, and two guest bedrooms if you want to spread out for awhile. My son is a winemaker in Napa Valley, which is always a lovely day trip, as well.
In addition to touring the U.S. in a citroueille, I think you should stop in all the cities that have a branch of Alliance Francois. You and Jean-Marc would be welcome lecturers, for which you should be compensated. While doing the tour, you could blog about your journey, then publish it as a book when you got to your final destination (California? Mexico?) You are so beloved by so many of us that you would want for very little along the way. We would be happy to host you and your family here in St. Paul, Minnesota. That way, many of us up here in the Northland would get to see you also.
My heart goes out to you and Jean-Marc in this time of difficult decision making. Bon courage!
Hi,
I would suggest that you check out permaculture farms and visit those as well as some WWOOFing sites. Since you already know how to garden, you would be very welcome wherever you went even if you only wanted to stay for a few days. Another organization to look at is SERVAS. We have traveled in Europe and met many wonderful people through SERVAS and have hosted many interesting travelers here at our home in the Columbia Gorge (just east of Portland, Oregon.) A normal stay is 2 nights, but many times, if you hit if off, hosts offer to have you stay longer.
What you have done at your vineyard is not only beautify a piece of the planet, but also learn a lot in the process. You’ll take that and your memories with you wherever you go. Good luck! Theresa
PS If you are out here again, please drop us an email. We would love to have you visit!
Hi Kristi! The RV life sounds tempting – for a while- my husband and I were considering doing that after the kids left. You can campground hop or even try WOOOFING (working on Organic farms in exchange for food & bed). We are currently renovating our garden & you & Jean-Marc are most welcome to stop by in Florida! Come in the winter while the rest of the USA is frozen! Take care!
You can visit me any time! We have a very small organic garden, but we do grow heirloom green chile peppers. And you can say hello to my turtle, and perhaps wave to my scaredy cats from the window. (if you come inside, they will all be hiding in the closet)
Kristi, whatever you and JM decide to do, we would love to have you visit us and play in our organic garden for as long as you’d like. Our city , Gainesville, Florida, has a very nice group of avid organic gardeners and growers. Chez nous c’est chez vous !
Kristin, we live in a 200-year-old house just outside of Nashville, Tn, and would love to have you and Jean-Marc come by! My husband Gary does not grow citrouilles in his vegetable garden, but does grow potirons every summer as they keep well over the winter. I also have a variety of herbs — love lavender, but keep them in pots and bring them inside every fall. We visited France last year for our anniversary and plan to go back, so would love to pick your brain. Come park in our drive, wander the woods, visit Music City, and stay as long as you like!
OK, so this comment is two months late. Guess I was behind in reading your lovely blog. I have twice crossed the USA (and returned) in an RV. It’s a true adventure and would do it a third time. I know you are in the process of buying a new home, but if you ever decide to take that road trip, please come through Virginia: land of Thomas Jefferson, organic farms and gardens, vineyards, mountains, and friendly people. I am a Master Gardener and garden consultant and would love to show you around. And we have a guest suite to give you a break from the RV. So do come, y’all.