Bribe Me!

Thursday afternoon we have French class at Christiane's house. This year it's Eddy, his friend, Bob, and moi struggling to learn vocabulary, conjugation, sentence structure, etc. We usually have a homework assignment to discuss and today, Bob confessed that he had his wife (who speaks very good French) help him with his. That led to a discussion about how he bribed her to help. I asked Christiane what the French word for 'bribe' is. As always, the French have a delightful phrase instead of just one word. A bribe is a pot-de-vin...a pot or jar of wine! I love learning new words and phrases; this is one I won't forget.

Bribe me, please!!

Debroussaillage

Lucie and I didn't get our normal morning walk today, so this afternoon I took her across the road to the river. She can be off the leash there and run as much as she wants. She always takes a little swim and checks out all the dirt mounds left by the numerous moles that live in the small field right below Laury's house. I saw the debroussaillage sign as we crossed the road. Three or four times a year, the department cleans the roadside of weeds, bushes, vines...anything growing on the verge that might impede traffic or obstruct vision. You'd be surprised how much grows in and around the stone walls that line the road in places. The debroussaillage machine even scrapes off the thick moss that grows on top of the stone walls.

I didn't give the sign much thought until I heard the big tractor and mower apparatus coming closer. I looked up and saw this headed right towards us!

This time they were also trimming trees limbs! Lucie and I beat a hasty retreat down to the river and out of harm's way. Sure enough, when we walked back up to the road, our path was littered with tree branches. Which would have been on our heads had we continued!

(In the interest of honest reporting, I did zoom in to get the close-up. We had plenty of time to make our way off the path.)

Dona Nobis Pacem

St. John's Episcopal Church
Boulder, CO

You may have noticed a new 'page' tab at the top of my blog. I've decided to migrate my previous blog, Dona Nobis Pacem, to this one. As Advent begins today, it seems like an auspicious time to renew my practice of occasionally sharing thoughts and insights that bring me deeper into Spirit. This Advent season I am again participating in an online retreat through Abbey of the Arts.I will post reflections from my experiences during the retreat on the Dona Nobis Pacem page. This year's 'Birthing the Holy' retreat focuses on Celtic Christianity. If you are looking for a way to enrich your spiritual experience of the Christmas season, joining this retreat would be an excellent way to do so. Chrisitine Valtners Painter leads marvelous online retreats that are deeply insightful and rich in content.

Not only will this retreat experience enrich me during Advent, but it is also preparation for a pilgrimage adventure that I will embark on late next summer. I will travel to the west coast of Ireland and join a handful of other kindred spirits in exploring early Celtic Christianity. Led by Christine and her husband, John, our group will spend 9 days steeped in such monastic themes as hospitality, service, Sabbath and conversion while visiting Celtic sites in Connemara, the Burren and the Aran Islands. I can hardly wait!

From the Archives: Paris

Paris from the Sacre Coeur

March 2006

St. Paul-de-Vence

After spending most of the morning wandering through the wonderful modern art at the Fondation Maeght, I decided to walk the extra half mile up to the perched village of St. Paul-de-Vence. One of the oldest medieval villages along the Cote d'Azur, it became a favorite stop for many of the early 20th century artists who both lived and painted here. Matisse became seriously ill while living in the village. He was nursed back to health by the Dominican nuns and in his gratitude, designed the interior of a chapel for them, the  Chapelle du Rosaire. Marc Chagall lived here and is buried in the village cemetery. St. Paul is a must-see for tourists visiting the area. In fact as I wandered its narrow, cobbled streets, I ran into a family I knew from my bed and breakfast and my friend, Greg with his sister and sister-in-law. Everyone wants to see St. Paul! Both the cemetery and its collegiate church, the Church of the Conversion of St. Paul reflect the proximity to Italy with loads of Italian names on tombstones and ornate Italian woodworking in the church.

Ornate wood carving in the church

Not so typical, though, is this stone carving of a skull on an 11th century sepulcher....

Face in the Window

Fascinating face in a shop window

St. Paul-de-Vence

Sunday Color: Purple

Wisteria in Provence
Goult 2007