Settling In

We’re beginning to feel settled in our home away from home. Mike’s even mopping the kitchen floor while I type. I got the better end of the deal!


We spent the weekend unpacking and shopping for staples and supplies for the house. It’s funny the things that are difficult to find here – Ziploc bags, dental floss and face cloths, for example. Our first stop on Saturday was at the big market in Brignoles – the closest large town to us. As always, the produce looked so good we bought more than we could eat in a few days – fresh arugula, asparagus, morel mushrooms, goat cheese, parmesan reggiano, olives, and homemade ravioli. And, we’ve eaten well thanks to Mike’s cooking! We also went to the supermarket and got other foods and supplies. Once we got home, we remembered all the things we’d forgotten (paper towels)– of course. I should mention that it’s a 25 minute drive to the supermarket so there’s no running back to the store for last minute items and no Farm Store around the corner.

On Sunday we went to a plant market in Carces. I read about it on a poster during my morning walk. I was pleased that I understood since it’s all in French. We enjoyed picking out some plants and talking with the sellers. Mike bought three types of tomato plants and I bought several geraniums for pots on the patio. The nice man selling the geraniums spoke some English. He helped me understand some of the French words that were new to me. As we talked, Mike told him that I was trying to learn French. He laughed and offered that the best way to learn French was to sleep with a French man! Think I’ll stick with Rosetta Stone.


Today we hit the jackpot. We discovered the French version of Wal-Mart (but at a smaller scale). We were able to get everything (special shampoo and face cleanser for me, a hairdryer with some oomph, a bath mat, and sharp knives for Mike) but face cloths (we’ve since learned that they don’t use face cloths – they use hand mitts). I’ve never been so excited to see a Ziploc bag. The store is entertaining, too. How is it possible to have SO many types of yogurt? Yogurt takes up two aisles, and the cheese case takes another two aisles. Astounding. The meat case has all the usual selection plus 20+ types of foies gras. We were in the shopping center for hours. We discovered a French garden center, and their version of Home Depot. I found a health club that I hoped included a swim center but their pool was too small for laps. The closest lap pool is in Toulon – over an hour away. I’ll just have to swim a jillion laps in our tiny pool. The other issue was that no one spoke English since this commercial area was away from the tourist center. That made it even more entertaining. Try figuring out French cell phone plans using charades!

The weather has not been great, but it doesn’t matter. Today was Monday, it was raining, and we were not at work. I’ll take the rain. It’s also cold and an old French house is not great for warmth. The house has two wood-burning stoves so we searched all afternoon until we found kindling (the garden store). Mike made a toasty warm fire that I’m sitting in front of now.


We moved a small desk from an upstairs bedroom into the salon for my writing. The desk sits in a large window overlooking the view of the valley. It gets good light and is a perfect spot. I’ve already spent two mornings there. Couldn’t be better.

I’ve also had nice long walks the last couple of days. I even ran a mile this morning so maybe I’ll be able to get back into running soon. The mornings have all been beautiful and sunny with clouds and rain arriving in the afternoon. Each morning is a sensory experience. I walk outside to be greeted by the smell of pines and the chiming of bells from the church in town and the monastery on the hill. In town there’s the smell of fresh bread baking. The plants are still coming out. Forsythia is blooming in our yard, wisteria on the hillside is about to bloom, our apricot trees are barely starting and the grape vines are still just branches. I can’t wait to follow along with the seasons. I’m having another type of sensory experience as well – sore muscles. Since Cotignac is built into the side of a cliff, any way you walk is up…..and I mean UP.



Mike and I are getting into a routine. We’ve walked into town each morning for coffee, tea and a croissant for Mike. It’s delightful. This is a very small village (2200 population) but it has three bakeries. Mike has tested each of them! And, one of them bakes gluten free bread. I tried it today and it tastes too good. I’m skeptical but I had another slice with dinner with the best butter on the planet. I understand why Julia Child was inspired by butter. It’s definitely not Bluebonnet.

Friends are asking up how it feels to be living here. For me at least, the answer is still forming. After unpacking on our first day in the house I thought, “What are we going to do with our time?” But it hasn’t been an issue at all, plus, we haven’t turned on the TV yet. Running errands and rearranging things in the house to make it livable for an extended period have helped me start to feel like we’re making ourselves at home. We’re making an effort to do local things. We have a concert on Saturday night, a kids carnival and….get this, a Cowboy Dance next weekend. Those little things begin to make a difference. Still, I’m not yet fully “here.” I don’t think there will be a single moment of clarity but more a gradual meshing of us with this area. More to come on that.

Postscript: Great news! The hair dryer had plenty of power, my shampoo made my hair fluffy (very important), I learned how to work the towel warmer, AND I drove the car up the road and driveway for the first time (picture will follow). Yippee!