sleeping it off in Gascony

My apologies for the radio silence.  Despite my best intentions to get posts ready before getting out of Dodge, nothing is quite done.  I’ve got a queue of half written posts – good ones too – unedited photography and a whole lot of crap to sort through.  I just haven’t gotten to it.  Fact is, I’m in France.  Doing everything and nothing at the same time.

Something happens when I take these long, leisurely vacations.  While visiting a friend’s Wisconsin cabin, I’m often overcome with a wave of sheer exhaustion.  I simply cannot stay awake.  It’s been dubbed “cabin induced narcolepsy” and I will disappear in the drop of a hat, several times a day, to nap.  I fear I’ve been suffering that here as well.

This sudden onset of sleepiness is unusual for me given that I don’t sleep much at home.  After all this blog is built on the premise that I bake when I’m stressed and sleepless.  It probably was a bit of jet lag, sure.  Maybe it’s the quiet, or the cool air, or perhaps the fact that there’s not a streetlight shining in my bedroom window or even that my schedule has done a 180 and I’m not hopelessly over scheduled.  I sleep like the dead.  It’s relaxing and annoying at the same time.  Get it together, man!  But then again, slinking off for a little siesta, is part of the charm of this wonderful place.

I’m back in Gascony, visiting my friend Kate Hill at her wonderful home/hideaway/culinary retreat Camont.  It’s my nirvana and I love everything about it.  Last week was a whirlwind of activity, with people popping in and out, markets to explore, night festivals to dance about, and wondrous food to enjoy.  Oh the wondrous food to enjoy!

This week has been a bit slower now that the first rush of guests have left and we’re dawdling about the property with a seemingly endless list of tasks to complete.  Yet, somehow, the days just dwindle away.  I often look up in surprise that it’s 8pm and I haven’t done a damn thing I intended to do.  Where does the time go?  But it’s Ok.  There’s always tomorrow or the day after.  That’s how it goes in Gascony’s hot, afternoon light.  Somehow it all gets done.  Eventually.

Now that I’m awake and feeling somewhat back to normal, I’ll post on the wonderful adventures I’m having.  In fact, this past weekend Kate had Emmanuel Hadjiandreou here for an amazing bread baking workshop.  If you’re not familiar with Emmanuel, and I’ll admit I should have known more before arriving, well then shame on us both.  He is amazing and conducted a really fantastic workshop in Kate’s kitchen.  I’ll tell you more later but in the meantime, pick up his book.

So for the time being, I’m off to take Kate’s dog Bacon for a walk along the Canal du Midi and try my best to do something productive today.  Think I’m going to give kougin amman a whirl.  Not Gascon but tasty all the same.  Hey, I made carnitas yesterday and those are about as French as I am.  Or maybe I’ll just take an afternoon snooze in the hammock.  I’ll probably do both because that’s what it’s really all about:  doing the things you love.  For me, I do believe that’s cooking and napping.

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