Easter 2009, Where? Here? Hmmmm

Easter Sunday. Not raining but cloudy anyway. Time for a drive as,

though we do not partake of the Catholic liturgy find ourselves on the

outside looking in when it comes to religiosity in this largely Catholic

country. Oh we have certainly been in many of the churches throughout the

country as the history of the Church and the populace of France are

forever entertwined...BUT the only service we ever attended here was not

for our benefit but that of our neighbor Eric who lost his young life to

leukemia several years ago. It was a funeral mass with most of the

inhabitants of Lignieres in attendance. It was somber, it was seriously

depressing. His young wife and 7 year old son sat quietly with tears

flowing from everyone elses eyes but theirs, shocked into quiet and

solitude. I cried like a baby, just like everyone else when they put his father's dress fire helmet on the little boy. Whew, what a memory.

Today we left Lignieres with Ted staffing the back seat; off to the

Brenne, a region about 35 miles west of here of swamps, forest lowlands,

many lakes and quaint little villages. We had our plans to walk through

two brocantes (junk sales) held as celebrations of Easter, don't ask me

why or how. Selling junk for Jesus? Anyway it was the usual scene, wine

tent, sausage and fries tent, cotton candy and gummy whatever the mold was

tent and all the rusty broken junk and kids clothing you can imagine plus

large milling crowds. My interest was piqued at a old rusted cqst iron

stove though, fancy in it,s age old design of goo-gahs applied over its

front and top. All there too, even the grates that are often either broken

to pieces or rusted to a ghost of the original. The ceramic lining was in

good shape too. I asked her how much she was asking for it, 200 Euros was

the answer, not full retail but not far off either, another 75 Euros and

you can have a brand new one. We walked on. At the end of the stall

though was an old curly que iron bed that struck Kelly as about the right

size for the spot in her sewing room that had the pipes blocking the

previous beds installation. Sure enough, she measured the thing and it

was about ' inches shorter! A problem solved, another guest has a bed! No

bolts to put it together and no brass balls for the ends of the curly que

thingie in the back, so not all there but close enough. Conbien SVP we

asked...Sixty Euros she said. Tre Cher I said, very expensive, she

dropped to 50, Kelly said 40 to me loud enough that she could here, she

countered with 50 again. We nodded yes as Kelly took out her money and I

went for Ted and the car a block away. The seller,s husband helped us

load the iron monster on top of the trusty Toyota, strapped down we drove

for home. An hour later we stopped at a McDonalds (I know, I know...but it was Easter Sunday and

what in France is OPEN anyhow at 3 pm?) in Chateauroux, had our burgers and fries and

cokes and were on our way across the vast greener than green hills of the Loire Valley

again. Home we unloaded the bed, took it upstairs and jury rigged the bolts I had

(too small) with washers and the new bed fit as Kelly said it would, terrific!