Settling in to Pernes les Fontaines

We have been busy around here. The sky is clear and blue. Temperatures are pretty nice but we do have the Mistral coming around every few days so it gets chilly. I am wearing many layers and sometimes I look a bit like the Michelin man. Here is a shot of Maya getting ready to hit the park and the "manège." She always has some creative ideas for dressing!!!

Notice the painting on the left of the picture...it is a bus which we did during our "painting" session the other day!

We walked over to the park so that Maya could practice more biking tricks. She is a good cycler and knows how to use her brakes on the downhill slopes!

The "manège" we go to is near the Marché de Provence fruit/vegetable store and has some really nice drawings of regional spots on the ceiling...Martine is the lady who runs the "manège" and she is really pleasant to talk with while the kids have a ride.

I found this really interesting Lay's potato chips bag...it is the "winter edition"(!!!) flavor of tartiflette which is a type of flat quiche one finds in Picardy in the north of France. There is bacon flavor in it and really it makes a tasty potato chip! Always gastronomique in France!

Speaking of gastronomie...I created a really delicious Minestrone soup in Emmanuelle's Thermomix machine.(Well...the grownups liked it but Maya was not so sure.) I followed the directions in the book and used only a knife to chop vegetables to medium sized chunks and that was it...all the rest is done in the machine. It weighs everything so you don't even have to use a measuring cup!It sautés and cooks the soup and you can add pasta and it does not grind it up. Is this like the Vitamix machine??? If not I want to figure out how to get this machine in the USA!!!

JC went to Marseille to pick up the car!!! A peugeot something...color "bleu marine!"

We drove over to Pernes to move into our little studio apartment on the Chemin Sanmontane...such a lovely spot!

Here are some photos of the inside of the apartment. Living area...

Kitchen...the door on the left leads to the bedroom and bathroom with a huge shower...

Here are some views from the windows out onto the property with olive trees, almond trees

...and these darling little visitors to the bird feeder!

I'm settled in and having breakfast while I watch the weather forecast...we'll have more wind today!

We are down in that bright orange area that has 70 (which means wind speed).

Have a good day...I'll try to find something interesting to write about for the next post. Now I am off to prepare lunch...risotto in the Thermomix! (I think I am hooked!)