What do you think of when I say garden party?

When I say garden party, I don't usually thinkof a gourmet cold buffet but our garden party cooking workshop was just that.

In the morning Kathryn, Katie and I helped Michele with the prep cooking.

My cousin Katie Lanz is here for 2 weeks and she jumped right in and helped making crepe mille feuilles.

The guests putting together the meal.

The finished buffet, it all looked too good to eat but that didn't seem to stop everyone.

...yeilds fruit in its season

"How blessed is the man who does not walk in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat ot the scornful but is delight is in the law of the Lord and in His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by the rivers of water, which yeilds fruit in its season and it's leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers." Psalm 1:1-3

As summers bounty abound to us from our own and from our neighbors fruit trees and gardens it reminded me of these verses in Psalms about the richous man. How similar are the is an aboundant fruit tree to the the man's life who abounds, and prospers in good deeds.

With my abundent fruit supply I decided to a make a mirabelle plum clafoutis.

I'm still deciding what to do with all the tomates we have been given.

A summer outing

The castle of Rochepot in central Burgundy

Our campsight in mersault. Our current team left to right: Jacob, Jay, Beth (debbie and jay's niece), Debbie, Kathryn, Me

Beautiful Streets in Beaune

Dinner for 19

Yesterday was the last meeting of the walking ladies group for the summer and it was for a dinner at a local restaurant. We had a nice time talking around the table and getting to know one another better. The ladies from Saint Albain I go with are Helen on the far left and Annie her sister 4th from the left.

The great mattress throwdown

In continual cleaning efforts at the chateau we decided to get rid of 30 some moldy mattresses that have been in a closet for many years this is a me throwing them out the window.

A long walk

For the last 7 months Monday nights have been the night where Debbie and I go to the gym of a local junior high for an aerobics-type class, it has been a great chance to get to know some ladies in the community especailly as we carpool each week with 2 sisters, Helen and Annie from Saint Albain.

Now that is is nice out and the days are longer we have been alternating between working out and going hiking through the area. Each time we walk I am so amazed by the beauty and so yesterday I decided to take my camera so that I could share the beauty I so often enjoy.

Here are the ladies walking on a path through a vineyard.

We even found some wild strawberries to snack on as we walked.

Brighten the corner where you are

We have continued with our landscaping work, making new gardens, boarders and planting new flowers.

Here is the newest garden that we just finished Saterday. It is at the entrance to the chateau where we had a patch of weedy grass.

Kathryn, our newest team memeber, and I started a new project today, no not teeter-tottering but sanding down the playground and repainting it. No one said we couldn't use the teeter-totter while we sanded it.