Août

Yoga in the woods. My favorite stream. 

These last few months have been wonderful and hard and wonderful and have flown by. Overall, I am so proud of myself and how I have adapted to this landscape, this life, this culture. I really feel that I have grown into a better person.

Since being here, I have further cultivated the meditation skills which I began back in San Francisco while visiting my brother Kevin. His partner Steven introduced the “Headspace” app to me and it’s been life changing. It’s been a really useful tool and the Headspace app has really helped guide me through the process. Meditation is really grounding and I find it keeps me calm throughout the day. I am still working on being consistent with it, but I already feel the shift in my thinking. I notice my “mind” more so to speak and I am less judgmental about my thoughts. No more “should be” anythings...I just am and things just are. 

I have strengthened my body, my mind, my garden, my creation skills and quite importantly, my voice. I truly have been the speaker, the protector, the champion for myself, making no excuses going after what I want and need, not living for others but for myself and what I need to be a whole person so that I may have good energy to share. I’ve drawn boundaries, learned to say no, safeguarding my heart, taking responsibility for my circumstances and actions, realizing that I can only do so much and a lot at the same time. 

Of course next to yoga and meditation, gardening is my rock here. This season I have to admit I haven't been as on top of everything as I usually like to be, and there are the weeds which keep coming back and which I haven't made time to pull yet, and then the cucumbers have developed this white mold, but then we have enjoyed some fresh cukes and loads of tomatoes, courgette, aubergine, so I can't complain. My short trips away from the farm this summer have made it more difficult to be on top of watering and the dryness in general this season, well, c'est la vie. However, I will say that I have learned to be more present in the garden with my new meditation skills. Watering and weeding for example have become even more therapeutic and relaxing to me. I found myself in moments really just enjoying the garden for itself, not just because we eat healthy food we grow, not because it's just so satisfying to grow your own food, but just because it feels so good to be in it!

Le jardin, mon amour. 

Les tomates délicieuses. 

Une petite courgette qui pousse. 

J'adore les fleurs des cilantro. 

I’ve picked up a good rhythm here, finding a balance between work and play, making time for yoga, hiking, swimming in Nice and having lunches with friends. I’ve learned to be fully myself wherever I am and not edit anything; that has been so liberating. Because really, at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter where you are, you are already there, your mind is always with you, your heart always with you, your joys and pains and confusions, so learning to live with these all together, slowly piecing things and drafting and redrafting, taking action be it however so small or large, that is what makes the difference, that is life.

Villefranche, my new favorite spot of the Mediterranean. 

Daniel, my wonderful neighbor and friend in Villefranche.

I’ve spent good quality time with my neighbor and friend Daniel. He is so kind. Such a man of heart and genuine spirit. He has a light spirit, curious and fun, like a child. I love that about him. He is very wise, and I can tell he knows himself well and does things that are comfortable for him. He and Sylvaine really know how to enjoy life. They take time to have dinner together al fresco and take time to go swimming in the river with friends like us. Daniel drove our wwoofers and I to Nice on a Wednesday a few weeks ago so I could look for earrings for my cousin's wedding in Montpellier and we all went swimming and had an amazing lunch and there was street music, a soproano sax player...it was so lovely, rosé, fried sea bass, I was in heaven. I really felt genuinely happy just being in the moment floating in the Mediterranean Sea with my friends, such a wonderful life I am so lucky to live and experience. 

Ma belle cousine Linh. Auôt 12, 2017. Photo: Nguyen Van Tri

Linh&Stephane <333, Montpellier

It was so fantastic to be a part of Linh's wedding. She's a distant cousin whom I never knew I had until this past April when Mom, Kev and I met her mom Di Phung who is my mom's cousin. Di Phung explained that she has a daughter in France and when I connected with her a few months ago, she invited me to her wedding! And, Di Phung and I got to meet again. It was lovely. 

My artisanal, cold-process, organic soaps at the market in Guillaumes. 

My Wild Carrot Hydrating Face Creams make their debut!

I am so in love w/ wild carrots...wild carrot flower water and essential oil.

I am also happy with all of the cosmetics I have experimented with too. I've created a Wild Carrot Hydrating Face Cream and a variety of soaps: coffee, sheep milk, calendula. I am pleased that I have sold some at markets and on my etsy page. I mostly love that people appreciate my work and product. Even if I don't sell a lot or this won't continue, I am so grateful for all the knowledge that I have collected and all he wonderful things I have created, all on my own. Not only is it fun and challenging, but I have learned how to harness the healing powers of nature in a respectful and sustainable way to keep myself, my friends, my family, the world, healthy and wildly beautiful. That is powerful and liberating, not to be tired to the commercialism that is so saturated in the cosmetics industry. If I need makeup remover for example, I won't buy the chemical stuff from Lancôme for $30, I'll use coconut oil or sweet almond oil. Pure and real, affordable. 

This Summer has been brimming with dinner parties, date nights, tea parties, a trip to Tortona, Italy to pick up some bee hives...busy, but all in a wonderful way. 

Buckfast bees in Tortona, Italy. 

Buckfast Queen! These bees are less aggressive than black bees. 

Jorris in his element. Tortona, Italy

When in Italy <333 Parmigiano Reggiano

I have cultivated a better sense of independence here, taking the car when I need it and being more firm and demanding about what I need. I feel a new spark in me, and it’s really nice. This Summer, I find myself not as homesick, which is also nice. Nothing to prove to anyone, no real need to be back in CA. I know it’s a choice and not a need. I have the power to choose where I make my life. 

Dolce far niente. Piedmont, Italia Photo: Jorris

Of course, sometimes I get these waves of wanting to go back to CA, to what is familiar there. Like the other night, I really missed my Grandma Ma for some reason and just wanted to be home with her. When I struggle or feel sad here, I think of being there. You always miss the ones you love. 

Dancing amongst the glasses at Linh's wedding. Photo: Nguyen Van Tri

There are so many things I love about living in France, in Europe. It’s beginning to feel more like home. Jorris is beginning to feel more like home too.

*Photos by Tiffanie Ma, unless noted. 

June 19

Quiet time alone up in Villetale Haute is rare, believe it or not. I suppose this is a positive note. I certainly wouldn’t want to be all alone up here, but for a day or two, it’s really refreshing. 

I took advantage of some alone time this weekend by giving myself a bath by the garden! With our sweet wwoofers Margaux and Matthieu having left to continue their journey after two amazing weeks with us, Pedro on his way back to Guatemala earlier in the a.m., Philippe off to Nice for the market and to drop Pedro at the airport and Jorris off to the bees, I found myself alone and loving it.

Our awesomely spectacular wwoofers Margaux et Matthieu! We miss them!

It has always been a dream of mine to take a bath outside in a garden amongst the flowers and vegetables. There is something so relaxing about it, the chirping birds, the warm sun. It reminds me of being a kid again. I’ll settle for being beside the garden rather than in the garden this time, though don’t doubt my gratitude to my strong beekeeper man Jorris who made time Saturday morning before going to work to carry (yes he really carried it over his shoulders!) this bath tub closer to the garden for me.  

A modest bath it may appear; however, it was filled with the best ingredients such as fresh mountain spring water, some lavender hydrolat (lavender water byproduct of distillation for essential oil), and grounded oatmeal, as well as a few drops of essential oil. I first disinfected the tub with tea tree essential oil and vinegar, although it didn’t need much disinfecting since it’s just used as a source of water for the bees or to mix sand and clay for eco-construction projects. In any case, I got it nice and clean, then filled it up with mountain spring water, the same we drink and water the garden with, which comes from a spring source a few miles away from us via a very long hose. Since it was a sunny afternoon, the hose and water were warmed by the sun, so my bath water was perfect.

A bath beside the garden of fresh mountain spring water, warmed by the sun.

Nourishing ingredients: Lavender hydrolat and grounded oatmeal.

These days, natural to me means I can eat it. So much of my self-care ingredients can be found in the pantry. In the kitchen, I prepared the oatmeal. I grounded the same oats we eat in the morning into a fine powder with the coffee grinder. I also sniffed a few different bottles of hydrolats we have lying around the house and found lavender. After adding a few drops of lavender essential oil into a cup of lavender water, I fetched my towel and was out the door. 

I chose these ingredients because they are relaxing and beneficial to one’s skin and nervous system. Lavender is calming to the nervous system and skin, reducing inflammation. Oatmeal also helps with itchy skin caused by bug bites or eczema. Both are extremely nourishing and after 30 mintues of soaking and reading some French cooking recipes and natural living brochures I picked up from the bio store (organic store), I felt the difference on my skin.

Truth is, while all this was very pampering, it was also very necessary in taking care of myself since I have these mosquito and other small but very itch bug bites all over my legs and some on my arms, ear, one on my face...it’s horrible. That is however, the truth of living this kind of life. 

Waterplay in Nice on a sweltering Friday in June. 

Jorris, just to my left at our stand, posing with our jars of sweet gold. 

My section of our stand. 

Jorris and I had set up the market stand Thursday night and worked Friday. Philippe worked it yesterday and today. Since we were in Nice on Thursday night, we decided to have a date night at this delicious Indian restaurant by the port. And since we are on a tight budget and the camper car J9 is out of commission, we camped in the quatre-quatre (4-wheel drive) Mitshubishi. Now, I’ve slept in there before on the lavender fields, but this time was drastically different.

The quatre-quatre had this bad car-chemical smell and maybe it had transported some dirt or something which had those horrible itchy caterpillar hairs which I’ve written about last season, but something was definitely there which bit me all over. And, to top it off, there was this nasty mosquito which buzzed by my ear throughout the night and bit me in a few places. We parked on a remote street, which actually had a nice view of Nice, but the glare of the street light also kept me up. After a night of not sleeping well, it was a day of work at the annual Bionazur organic market in Nice. Jorris and I were tired. He didn’t sleep well either, but with a few coffees and the positive spirit often emitted at an organic market with awesome and kind people both on the selling and buying side, we made it through the day happily. 

I think though whatever kind of life we choose to live, we have to remember to take care of ourselves and to love ourselves. This is something women, who are often the caregivers in a community or household, often forget. We put others first, serve the bigger piece of omelette to someone else and take the smaller broken piece for ourselves. And while I’m a firm believer in giving another the bigger piece of omelette or the not-burned piece of toast, I have to remember that if I don’t give myself time to rejuvinate, to care for myself on days like Saturday, I won’t be able to care for others. Because only when we love ourselves first can we truly love another. It’s totally cliché but totally true. Sometimes we have to say no in order to meet our needs and be better, to ourselves, in turn, to others around us. 

I’m still learning, but Saturday was a great start. While I wanted to go help Jorris with the bees, I knew I was too tired from all the market work and my skin was so itchy and uncomfortable. I had to take care of that and remembered the oatmeal bath my mom gave my brother and I when we were kids with the chicken pox. So, I took an afternoon to do that, and why not add some lavender water in there as well? And why not experiment with a honey-pollen facemask I had read about? 

A honey-pollen face mask is rejuvenating.

That’s one of the “loves” I have in this “love hate” relationship with agriculture. I hate sleeping in the quatre-quatre and get eaten by mosquitos and bugs because we can’t afford a hotel, but I do love that I have amazing ingredients at my disposable like honey and pollen, and a beautiful garden, and bath tub. 

Honey and pollen do wonders for our bodies internally, and I’m finding through different readings that these superfoods also do wonders for our skin. Honey is a humectant meaning that it is a substance which draws water molecules to our skin, leaving it moist and hydrated. It is also anti-bacterial, which is great for people with acne. Pollen, rich in antioxidants, absorbs damaging free radicals (molecules from pollution, cigarette smoke, sun, etc.) on our skin, while nourishing and repairing skin cells. 

To me, it’s not about staying young forever. And, that’s not what I’m trying to do. I believe in beauty at any age and more or less wrinkles on a face doesn’t determine beautiful or ugly. It’s just about taking care of oneself; and our skin, being the largest organ of our bodies, deserves the same love and care as any other part. Why not improve, protect and repair our skin if we can and feel good about, feel confident in the skin we are in? I am totally for it, and garden baths, even when someone might drive by or hike by because your home is technically on a road. It was totally worth the risk of being caught in my birthday suit. And I’d be delighted to do it again.









*Photos by Tiffanie Ma

Happy 4th Birthday Garden Gallivanter!!!!

We are mid-November and only today did it feel anything like Fall. It actually rained! And, it was cloudy, and you needed a jacket or sweater. It was divine. It sure hasn’t felt like this. The last few months had been nothing but scorching 80-90 F weather.  And with Christmas music already playing on the radio and X-mas trees and decor pouring into stores, it feels like everyone is rushing past Thanksgiving, as usual, and the weather last week had me feeling like it was Christmas in Summer?! I prefer Tim Burton's mix of Christmas and Halloween, at least during Halloween, it's cooler, well, supposedly. 

It's hard to stay connected to the natural rhythms of the earth when you live in Southern CA where it's almost always 70 F and sunny. Ok, so I can't complain. It's really gorgeous and many across the country and world would die to wear slippers and a tank top in November. But, not having real seasons can throw a girl off, especially a farm girl in the city.

But no more complaining, this week it’s going be Thanksgiving! My favorite holiday, not only because it’s my birthday a day before, after or sometimes when I’m lucky, on Thanksgiving, but also because, it is a day that reminds us to be grateful, to be thankful. I am so thankful for all the food I helped grow and cook from the garden to our table this past season! We expanded the garden up the hill and grew corn and lots of squash and beans and potatoes, lots of potatoes this year. 

In April, Philippe helped me prepare the lower garden for planting.

I love how every year you can start on a blank canvas. 

                                        

Jorris took time to help us build a tunnel-greenhouse for the tomatoes. 

I planted 60 or so tomatoes plants.

Growing tomatoes: cherry and coeur de beouf (beef heart)

By June/July, a tall and wild jungle of tomatoes.

Most our seedlings we got from our friends Evelyn and Sophie, and some other local seedling producers. They were so helpful in helping me select plants such as tomatoes which do well in mountain climates. I wish I had a picture of them. I may have one and if/when I find it, I'll share. They are the two kindest women I've met here and work incredibly hard growing seedlings for people to buy at the farmers' markets. In some ways, they are always with gardeners because their product continues to grow in people's backyards, beautifying and nurturing their homes and health.  

I planted these happy lettuce as babies and we had fresh lettuce to eat!

Jorris liked to wander and weed the garden from time to time. 

Cukes growing up a trellis, shading lettuce. 

Philippe taught me many little tricks here and there. Like this one shown above. We built this little trellis so that the les concombres (cukes) had something to grow on and when cukes appeared, they would hang, so we could see them. This way they were also protected from critters below who would munch on them if they were on the ground. And, the lettuce would have some shade. French companion planting at its finest!

Started from scratch in the upper garden. 

A few months later!!

Another trick Philippe taught me was to cover young seedlings with crates. This protected them from extreme weather and critters. I suppose Philippe's favorite vegetable is le courge, squash, or more botanically, the cucurbitaceae family. We planted tons of spaghetti squash and potimarron and les courgettes, which everyone eats here, like Americans eat apples. 

Squash is one of those veggies that just surprise you and hit you with that "wow!!" every time. They start off small and you check on them hoping they are bigger and then when you ignore them BOOM!  There is suddenly a huge le courge ready for harvest. 

Newly planted baby les courgettes and les courses.

Just weeks later...boom!

Corn and Squash growing happily together, the beans were also near by.

Beans in the foreground, squash and corn. 3 sisters!

Calendula flowers which I made Calendula oil with. 

Strawberries growing wild and we re-planted them.

Lots and lots of juicy strawberries!! 

Of course, I couldn’t have done so without these two. I’m so thankful to have shared another season of hard work on this bee farm in Southern France with the two hardest working men I have ever known. Philippe has been my teacher and Garden Wizard, cleaning a small part of forest growth so we could expand the garden above, and doing some hard earth cultivating in the garden below, helping me prepare the soil for planting.

The 3 Mountaineers of Villetale Haute, on Jorris and Philippe's bday in May.

We are a team that can do anything. They are two people who have taught me so much about nature, about life; they opened the door to another world for me and I see the world from a higher perspective and understanding because of all the people we have come across who have visited Villetale Haute. 

I am so thankful I had the honor of throwing them a birthday party this past May at the farm house where I cooked Deviled Eggs with creme fraiche, Guacamole (avocados from Pedro’s home country of Guatemala and his recipe he shared), vegetarian lasagna with garden veggies and last but certainly Jorris’ favorite, pumpkin pie I had frozen from un potimarron (little French sweet pumpkin) when I had first arrived the month prior. It was a feast, oh and did I mention the amazing company and wine, lots of wine…and champagne, and candle light, and how we talked and dined until midnight…or maybe it was even later...

Setting up the party: freshly picked wildflowers, candles.

Introduced Deviled Eggs with a French twist of creme fraiche to our guests.

It was a beautiful evening. 

It Jorris’ Big 30th birthday on May 27th, and Philippe, well, with his strength, spirit and heart, we could say he turned 30 again. Their birthdays are a week a part so we had joint birthday party. We had our closest neighbors and friends over. And everyone loved the food, so I was thrilled! And we all had a marvelous evening. Jorris was happy and so was Philippe. I was too, of course, luckily everything turned out well and our neighbors and friends Daniel and Sylvaine allowed me to use their big oven to cook the vegetarian lasagna in!

For Philippe's Bday, homemade chocolate brownies, card and wild flowers. 

Cooking the veggie lasagna at Daniel and Syvaine's house. 

Garden fresh salad along and veggie lasagne. 

Our neighbors, friends and guests of the party. 

Sometimes when it gets to be too "city-ish" here, and with only 1 day left until Jorris arrives for the Holidays and our next adventure, I get giddy and look back on pictures of this season, coming to a close with our bees moved to the coast where they will hibernate over the Winter while we take a break. 

We somehow managed to build 2 yurts with the help of the one and only Pedro, while juggling the bee business, garden, hosting wwoofers and building upon a new natural beauty line.

For the past 2 months, Jorris and I have been talking on the phone mostly every day. We finally skyped a few weeks ago when he got a new computer because his old one was damaged from a leak in the yurt. Seeing him after not seeing him for a while made him seem more real, that this story, our story is still alive, despite being an Ocean apart. He looks the same, handsome with a bohemian twist. His hair looks longer and more wild, his beard as well. I love scrolling through pictures of our times in Provence...."working"....we really did work, these pictures captures the moments before or after our work!

Jorris during at one of our date nights.

Provence.....

Not a bad place to be stuck when your car breaks down....

Jorris the chef on our lunch break after working with bees in Provence.

Our camping bed during the few days we would work in Provence.

Le Lac de St. Croix, where we went swimming. 

The sunflowers we stopped to smell on the road to Provence. 

This is heaven.

Time really does fly, more like free falls. This time last year I was still in the French Alps and it was getting cold. I remember the trees were stunningly on fire with leaves of reds, oranges and yellows. You could feel the cold creep up in the air and everything just slowed down a bit. The bees were moved to the coast, the season coming to an end. Fall is a favorite time for farmers I’ve discovered. We can take a moment to breathe, to reflect, to be more present with our loved ones, friends and family. And while I am not with my French friends, I still think and remember them often, and the beautiful Summer we had.

I’ve been keeping myself busy but when I get lonely I like looking back on our accomplishments of the season. These are some of my favorite memories which I am so thankful for…and without which I would not be my 28 year old self in 6 days and without which my blog, my baby, wouldn’t be its 4 year old self today.   

Like those trips to the coast we would make...all the beauty I witnessed. 

Staying at Jean Claude's in St. Raphael where Pablo Picasso painted!!

Philippe spots a fox in L'Esterel!

L'esterel is a most magnificent natural park right on to coast. Home to foxes, bees and les sangliers!! Philippe and I were so honored to witness them so closely when we went to harvest rosemary to make rosemary essential oil one Sunday afternoon in May.

Pat follows us to a market in Puget.

Where cute little bunnies are sold as food! :(

And speaking of food, I can't forget to be thankful for all the amazing food I made in the grand company of our many wwoofers.

Ysé and Arnaud with Kan in the back of the J9. 

Just one of Ysé's amazing dishes; this one is very Provencal!

Bread from Cedric and Stephanie!

Just one of many date lunches w/Jorris. Pate avec ceps!

Our fabulous wwoofer Isabelle taught me how to make an Apricot tart!

Tarte d'abricot! Apricot tarte with almond flour crust and lavender flowers.

I love those moments of breathtaking beauty that imprint in my mind, forever.

Just another day in Villetale Haute.

My beeswax candle I made!

Jorris and I in Roua where some of our hives were.

When we hiked to a little church w/Katie, our wonderful wwoofer from Canada.

Daluis

Just glorious views all the time. 

I'll never forget when my beautiful friend Kat came to visit me all the way from LA. We met about 4 years ago at Garden School Foundation where we were interns. This Portland transplant is the one of the most sweetest and most beautiful people I am so lucky to know. And we had a blast!

Kat's first evening in Provence, straight from the airport to the lavender fields! 

Kat is the kind of person who just inspires you to do anything! To live BIG, love BIG, and never fear! She inspired me to make a little video of the glorious drive through the Gorges de Daluis, which was our main "freeway". I wish the quality were better, but this is just a sketch of the gloriousness of this drive.

One afternoon we went swimming down in the Gorge in the Var river!

Isn't she just divine?

Ok, so you are probably wondering why we ate so much pizza in France, but that is because we lived right next to Italy in the south east of France, and so found pizza just as delicious as in Italy.

Pizza at the best pizza place in the world, the Guillaumes campsite.

Pizza and beer after swimming on a Saturday=perfect. 

Philippe joined Kat and I after distilling Lavender oil. 

Philippe, while a little macho some times, respects and believes in the power of women. I've always known this, but this instance really celebrated this quality of his. One day the Laguna got stuck on the side of the road going up to the farm house. And we couldn't get it back on the road. So Philippe asked Kat and I to wake up at 6am to help tow it off the side. It took 3 people, 2 quatre-quatre four wheel drive trucks and some rope. I drove the blue truck, Philippe the white, and Kat was in the Laguna, to steer.

Making our own tow. 

Kat ready to go. 

The laguna fallen to the side of the road and stuck. Kat steers.

With a few revs of the engine, the brake-release trick, a touch of the clutch, then full gas, and 2 tries later, we did it!! Philippe never gave up on us. It all sort of happened all at once and fast, so my writing skills aren't really capturing the fullness of it. But, just know we used lots of horse power to pull this car back onto the road and it took the right timing between the two trucks to pull. It was so exhilarating! Kat was such a trooper. She woke up early and even with the car, literally tilted to the side, she still got in like my great, one-and-only, friend Kat would.

Although last Fall while I was not used to wearing jackets and layers during November back in southern CA, it was a different story in the southern French Alps. A story I still couldn’t put down then. And one I still don’t want to end now.

So I’ll keep writing it, living it. We’ll keep writing it together, Jorris and I. What’s the next chapter you wonder? We’re on the road again, WWOOFing this time through California, discovering the possibilities of a countryside life here. And as someone once said, “when you don’t know what to expect, anything is possible.”

Cheers to all my readers near and far. I am so thankful to have this virtual space to write and share my stories with you. Thank you for all your support and inspiration. I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving!!

Cheers to all my readers!!

Always Your Garden Gallivanter, Chef, Beekeeper,

Tiffanie

*Photos by Tiffanie Ma otherwise stated.