❝ “Monsieur Xavier has been fighting me. I don’t understand why“ … ❞
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❝ It was so hot last week, there were pictures of the thermometer in the local newspaper. Rouen, the capital of Normandy, measured the hottest day on record – more than 100 degrees!… ❞
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❝ After acclaiming the newly married pair at the sortie de l’église or wherever the ceremony is held, it’s time to assemble on a lawn, under the shade of tents or tall trees. Naturally, a venue like the Chateau de Courtomer is ideal! Streaming in from the solemnities, guests are ready for cold drinks and champagne. ❞
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❝ Pascal is an anesthesiologist. But Henry didn’t even ask him if he missed his old life in Paris. Pascal was too busy trying to keep a little calf away from its mother’s udder, as he squirted the last drop from her left rear teat into the shiny stainless-steel bucket. When Henry was little, we kept a small herd of Jersey milk cows… ❞
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❝ “That window is off center,” scolded Monsieur Xavier, testily. We were up on the roof of the Chateau, surveying the ongoing replacement… ❞
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❝ Standing on the steps of the Chateau, she struck me as surprisingly small, a diminutive figure in black against the golden stones of the façade. She wore a red beret, bright as a leaf in autumn… ❞
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❝ “A Hoopoe couple have been nesting in the Orangerie wall for several years now,” continued Heather, having dealt firmly with Madame Francine’s cat, who has been creeping along the grass, eyeing a little bird. We are sitting outside the Farmhouse, enjoying the warm air and gentle sun of the late May morning… ❞
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❝ The park and fields of Chateau de Courtomer, like the countryside all around, swell with bright blossoms, greenery, and birdsong… ❞
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❝Autumn turned to winter, progressed to spring and summer, and returned once more before Monsieur Xavier, our faithful guardian and handyman, reluctantly agreed to consider that the Farmhouse might be habitable again.❞
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❝ From the moment he accepted the challenge, our guardian and homme à tout faire (handyman) Monsieur Xavier was smitten. It was as if the restoration of the Farmhouse was the renovation of his own life. He was unabashed by the prospect of turning the moldering -- indeed perilous -- structure into a livable home... ❞
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❝Our challenge, as you may recall, was to preserve and enhance the authentic historic details of the Maison de la Ferme. But to make it comfortable and chic!❞
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It was an ambitious undertaking from the start, testing his ingenuity and building skills, his command of matériel and men. It involved big, load-bearing structural repairs. It drew upon the arts of masonry and plumbing, electricity and carpentry.
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“A chaque âge ses plaisirs! » remarked Madame Francine, approvingly, looking out of her kitchen window as she watered her small forest of African violets. “Every age has its pleasures!”
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Here in the peace of the Normandy countryside, we are “au confinement,” like the millions of our French compatriots. We share our fate with some of our family, including two little girls and their parents who are staying in the Farmhouse. We are the lucky ones, we know…
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The Chateau is quiet. Our guests stay home. And so must we.
Today was the last day for the open-air market in the village. It must close, like those in the nearby towns of Seés and l’Aigle. Our little Carrefour grocery stays open, as do the two boulangeries and the cave à cidre. And, of course, the pharmacy.
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"What do you think of this?" asked Madame Mireille, digging into a cardboard box. She pulled out a handful of "passementerie." Pompoms of rose-colored sink spilled over her fingers with the suppleness of a stream of water.
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The gardener of Chateau de Courtomer.
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“Fruits de mer” to die for.
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Elisabeth de Courtomer offers her expertise on how to plan the perfect destination wedding.
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Photos from the Courtomer schoolhouse, from Gilles who grew up in Courtomer.
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