Glad to Be Back

Pierre and I moved our family to France last month -- to our renovated barn at the foot of Vezenobres, a medieval village in The Gard near Nimes and Uzes.  It's been far too long since I've written on this blog -- maybe once since having our twin boys Oscar and West almost three years ago.  Since our return, Pierre and I have remarked to each other several times "that deserves a post!" -- after both good and bad experiences.  So...here we go...a new category of posts on Chez Stoneman called "Glad to Be Back". 

When I had the time, I loved writing long-form stories about our life in France and the characters we met along the way.  Everything is different now, so expect nothing more than quick glimpses into what it's like to be back -- reminders of why we chose to come back, sarcastic comments about how so much is backwards here, the stunning landscapes, the frustrations and pleasures, of course, the boys -- Oscar and West!

A few early thoughts...

• good cheap wine and the rose goes down like water
• they don't have a service-oriented bone in their bodies here
• i love our butcher -- look up "abateur" -- he raises, kills and prepares his meats, the last of his kind
• no one in our village is on Twitter
• starry skies and bright moon rises are priceless
• lots of insects here in the country!  scorpions, spiders, BIG crickets and beetles, bees and wasp nests...  and night creatures like bats and porcupines
• it's great to be cooking wholesome meals every day - that feels good
• really hard to go from working mom to mom working

Hope to keep writing and sharing here in the days and weeks ahead.  And hope you'll come visit us during your travels.  

Comments

[alex]

Shannon - So happy to hear you are writing again. I will, indeed, be back and look forward to more stories about your adventure! Alex xx

[Tom Latta]

Your Mom says she can't wait to help you fix gorgeous meals in your kitchen. Do O & W help fix the meals?

Dad XXOO

[Diane]

Sounds pretty opposite of how you were living here. And cooking! How wonderful. am happy to see you have time to update your blog between milking the cows, gathering the eggs and making homemade bread. We had Atticus over here last night and were commenting how difficult it would have been if there were twins here-----thinking of you.