I love Montlouis and our house  here by the Loire. I love the beautiful town of Tours, a mini Paris with its incredible architecture. I love the Loire with its wild unpredictability.

…la loire et ses oiseaux…


But my love lies even deeper at Coin Perdu, where the sunsets and clear stars  keep me outdoors early until late… Where I love the roaming cattle with their undisturbed manner, the bells clinging even somewhere at night. Where I love the buses roaming the skies, where I love listening to the the complaints of the owls in the dark of night, crying their dissatisfaction with us taking their barn…I’ve said all these things before. I will say it many more times. They are important things in my life;  the simplicity and honesty of the country side, where life isn’t always easy, but where the  comfort lies in knowing and acknowledging it. There aren’t short cuts in honesty, no shifting of boundaries. There is no playing around with honesty. Taking on a day can’t be played around with…animals can’t wait for their food, hay will be wet tomorrow if not cut today, the birth of a new calf cares not for convenience,  rain boots wait by the door for a good reason…nature dictates and man dances. It gives life its equilibrium. Keeps man humble, with his ear to the ground, his instinct awake. It keeps him alive. It gives him life.

…coin perdu…

I am looking forward to when we can get started on our restoration again and return to our life in the barn which is temporary home until the house is finished.  Read and see more on Coin Perdu, a mountain home, about our country life in Correze.

So,  while I am waiting for March and spring to break through so we can pack and take off to Coin Perdu for the spring and summer months to resume working and restoring our mountain home, I have last year’s photos and many memories to keep me going these next two months.

But still, I can’t wait to…

…start working…

…enjoying evening barbeques…

…enjoying breath taking sunsets…


…delighting in simple, delicious food…


…go for long walks…

…revel in rediscovering nature and animal life…


…paint, paint and paint…


…visiting with angelina et agnes…et billy-jean…

…fiddle in our barn kitchen…




32 thoughts on “Missing Coin Perdu”

  1. I love the way you express yourself in regard to missing Coin Perdu. I remember seeing your photos when you were there…enchanting. What more could a person want? Certainly a place that I would want to be… You value the same things that I am moved by…simple pleasures.

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  2. Such gorgeous images.
    Looks like you are making good use of every moment of your life. Love the rain boots by the door.

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  3. Oh I remember your photos also! I loved them..it’s so nice to peek at even more..what a great barn kitchen!! Do you keep many animals Ronelle?

    It looks like such a romantic adventure this mountain home of yours…

    I will never get enough of either..you can just keep sharing~
    I Googled Montlouis Sur Loire….Tours.. Everything is enchanting of course to me who has fallen in love with Europe.. ..well more precisely France and Italy..as those are the countries we visited albeit minimally..but enough to fall head over heels..en amour.
    Your painting setup takes my breath away..Those are some of my favorite scenes..My mother and you would have been dear friends!!I wish she had kept her paints..easel..etc..

    The 2 watercolors you have chosen to share with us are just lovely also..

    Tout est beau.And comfortable..Ronelle are those olive trees by the hay?

    March will be here before you know it!! I hope you will find time to visit us!

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  5. Oh my goodness, I can FEEL your passion for this place. So very, very beautiful as are your paintings. I love them.

    I feel the same way about our little house in Maine, which is the exact opposite of our California house. The Maine cottage is from 1923 and was a summer camp for poor boys. We have the bunkhouse, which we’ve restored (or are ALWAYS restoring). Our big project last summer was a new fireplace and that entailed ripping out walls, sills, etc., but a fireplace is SO important and we needed it

    I love your writing. Touches my heart. Oh, and I count the days ’til June when we can return to our little seaside retreat

    Love and best wishes,

    Sharon Lovejoy Writes from Sunflower House and a Little Green Island

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  7. Some people have “comfort food” and some of us have blogs that serve the same purpose. Merci, Ronnel 🙂

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  8. Thank you for another wonderful post. I loved to read your thoughts about country life, you wrote so many things that I’ve always thought about but never saw put into words in such a simple, clear and beautiful way.

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  10. Wow, you describe it so amazing that makes me want to move to France Country side right now. I love your paintings I think I said that million times, but I do.

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  11. So pleased to stumble over your delightful blog, via Nina Timm’s My Easy Cooking. Your paintings are inspiring, and I am particularly taken by your watercolours. Also love the South African link.

    Juno

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  12. Yes Lori, I thi nk we sometime get so caught up in life’s rat tace tha we charge past all the small, delightful things. And yes, I’ve seen how you revel in the small things on your lovely blog…it’s great! Best ronelle

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  13. Thanks Kitty! Every moment counts, doesn’t it? And I think we realize it even more the older we get. And the boots – there so many of them by the doors, we constantly trip over them! I still need to come up with a clever idea to store the shoes by the door…any ideas? Best Ronelle

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  14. Thanks Monique! At this stage we don’t have any animals of our own, but other people animals who graze on our land. I’ve given names to them all and low and behold, they come when I call them! He he..romance..sure, why not! No, the trees by the bales of hay are apple trees and further to the back is a walnut tree. There weren’t olive trees, but I planted some…still small. Me too, I hope we can see you!

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  15. Thank you Arlene! It is VERY rustic, but I have to say, it is fun! And it is even more fun to pick apples and do something rustic with them, or walnuts or just rhow together a simple salad with herbs from outside..we are living absolutely by our own rules there and THAT is so great! Best Ronelle

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  16. Thank you Anna Of course, you can always come visit? And thanks for the compliments on my paintings..i appreciate your constant support1 Best Ronelle

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  17. Thanks for this first visit Juno! Nina’s blog is such a delight…and so is she! And yes, the SA link will always be there…he he! Best Ronelle

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  18. Thanks Sharon! Wow, you are really covering ground in the States…in California and then Maine! I think your header is from your window in Maine? It does look so beautiful! Yes, before we know it, the sun will sit high again ! Best Ronelle

    Ronelle Africantapestry Myfrenchkitchen Coin Perdu

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  19. Thank you diane! Fortunately the hips will stay slimmer comforting out on blogs! Best ronelle

    Ronelle Africantapestry Myfrenchkitchen Coin Perdu

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  20. Thanks Ana…YOU live so close to nature I know and you put it into your beautifully detailed botanical drawings and sketches – that is also a way of expressing your thoughts clear and beautiful! Best ronelle

    Ronelle Africantapestry Myfrenchkitchen Coin Perdu

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  22. Oh how I have always wanted to live in the countryside and have some farm animals. My husband tells me I would not like the work – and you describe it well…it can’t wait. But we can dream, can’t we? It does all look and sound so romantic. Your home is lovely, Ronell. Makes me want to move there! What a charmed life you do live!
    Bisous, Dana

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  26. I agree with Diane – some people have comfort food and some of us have comfort blogs. Yours is my comfort blog.

    I love the way you see and respond to things. And, of course, this is reflected in your beautiful paintings, which would make me happy to look at every single day.

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  27. i wish i had a special place like that… when i grew up my parents had a farm house in the country side, dating from 1769 – no running water, no toilet, wood-fired oven… i stayed there to prepare for my finals when i was 18 and had to dig holes outside whenever i had to do business… but it really taough me to appreciate the little things in life although some scared my shitless: like deer staring in my face as i went out in the middle of the night etc
    unfortunately, ours was situated in a little valley and the sun disappeared at 4pm, no sunsets like the ones you get to enjoy! i should pay you a visit on our next tour through europe, i have always loved the region around tours!

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  28. Beautiful post Ronelle – I can see why you long for Coin Perdu! Just one question:

    “the buses roaming the skies”

    ??!

    Is dit nou ‘n nuwe soor bus of wat? 😉

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  29. Hello just read your lovley story about your mountain home and pictures.As I sit miles and miles away from anything romoutly like what you have wrote my inside wants to go there to for the peace the sounds of cow bells and the smell of wonderful food cooking on a fire.
    I thank-you so for these words that get together and tell a story. Iwill be back for more. And even for a moment to take me to a peaceful place across the oceans to a mountain home.
    Linda

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  30. Thanks….your post is beautiful as always…it makes me want to be totally French!!!! ………..my great great grandfather was Edward Francois Barbe born in Paris in 1841 moving to Australia in 1856

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  31. My grandfather was also Edward Francois Barbe b 1841, Paris; came to Forbes, NSW 1856 (m. Mary Jane Beatson). His grandson Francis William Barbe was my grandfather.

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  32. Hi Ranee,

    My great grandfather is William Barbe, my grandfather is Reuben William Barbe and my father was Reuben Barbe Fraser

    MARY JANE PEACOCK (3/95.3)
    born 1/12/1844 at HARTLEY
    married 1863 at FORBES to JOHN BEATSON
    partnered to EDWARD FRANCOIS BARBE
    died 30/10/1905 at BOGABAGIL aged 60
    parents: WILLIAM HENRY PEACOCK and ANNE PEACOCK (nee MORRIS)
    Go to the next generation

    WILLIAM BARBE (4/95.3/4)
    born 30/10/1873 at GRUDGERY
    married 21/7/1896 at FORBES to CATHERINE VICTORIA STANLEY
    died 10/10/1941 at FORBES aged 67
    parents: EDWARD FRANCOIS BARBE and MARY JANE BEATSON (nee PEACOCK)
    children: REUBEN WILLIAM, FRANCIS STANLEY, VIOLET FRANCIS (Mrs BENJAMIN DOALMAN), LESLIE NORMAN, REGINALD, RUBY MARIAN (Mrs CHARLES RICHARD HODGES), ELSIE VERA (Mrs ARTHUR WILLIAM DUKES), LEILA MARY (Mrs FRANK TINDAL BUTTRISS), NELLIE (Mrs LYNDON SYDNEY CHARLES TREANOR), JOYCE (Mrs ALBERT EDWARD JAMES)

    seanfraser@bigpond.com

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