3. Le Camino “The Camino” refers, of course, to the famous pilgrimage trail, walked by countless pilgrims each year, to Santiago de Compostela, close to the Atlantic coast of Northern Spain. It is held to be the burial place of St. James the Apostle. Its distance away from normal paths of life probably helps lend…

4. La Halte du Temps We had moved into our new house in the village of Courances. Our goods from the US had arrived. The house had been painted and a new kitchen put in. My office in one of the out-buildings, soon to follow. Elizabeth’s gardening passion re-commenced. The Angelus rang in our mornings….

6. Ruisseau Montbrun We slept well. When it is so quiet, it almost feels like a sleep blanket has descended. We dressed and headed down for the petit dejeuner. Our appointment at the kennel was for 9.30. The drive would take us 15 minutes to reach her home. Madame bustled about and saw to our…

7. Rue du Petit Paris Elizabeth and I moved to France full-time in late 2015. We married later in life, both of us single and for the first-time. The odds of that are hard to believe. I was mid-fifties, she ten years younger. On the other hand, we had led busy professional lives, were independent,…

8. Pierres d’Histoire We knew that it would take a good six weeks to do all the work on the house. As it turned out, the Chateau was soon to be the home of a business venture associated with Pierres d’Histoire (“stones of history”). They are particularly active in the Isle de France area around…

9. La Serre I think one of the reasons a place like Le Moulin has such a deep, calming resonance is that it is fresh, has nothing familiar about it, is free of the goods of our accumulating lives. Elizabeth, me, three suitcases, the jackets we wore leaving Dallas and anticipating winter in France. The…

10. Noël 2015 We had arrived at our new home in France just before Christmas. How exciting. No duties for me this year! Fire roaring in the fireplace. Elizabeth cozy and happy, living her dream. We are getting to know Patrick and his wife and family who live a stone’s throw away in another Chateau…

11. Sanglier One of the things I did not know about Elizabeth before we got married was that she is an inveterate collector. She had a gorgeous small house in the “M Streets” neighborhood of Dallas, known for arts and crafts bungalows. It was full of French antiques and classy art on the walls and…

12. Soulac Dimanche Along with the occasional hogs, we were struck by the many surprises this region of France presents. Our assistant at the church in Soulac was a well-known personality in the Medoc, earning her the sobriquet “La Reine du Medoc.” A single woman in her early seventies, effervescent, an infectious smile, she had…

13. Our New Home at 7 rue du Petit Paris, le Presbytère The work on our new house moved along steadily. No Peter Mayle anecdotes to share about sloppy or cigarette-smoking laborers, plumbers, joiners, roofers, tile men in the Luberon village of Menerbes. We had a superb Polish team of four and we just let…

14. Thierry May Antiquaire: cheminées, carrelage, elements d’architecture We have been enjoying our time at the Moulin. Exploring the area. Getting to know neighbors in Courances and fellow locataires in Fleury. I am enjoying the hiking trails. We have now bought a car and done the many necessary chores for our new house. Utilities, health…

15. Born in the Year of “M” Wine-colored and taupe collar puppies have now had their shots. Arlette and Elizabeth have had several phone conversations (her accent challenges me and Elizabeth is the Queen of French). We are leaning toward wine-colored. He has a strong head. A big strong saddle of black on his left…

17. Nos Biens Arrivent Our things arrive from the United States. I’d say, at last, but the world of moving is one where you best throw away your watch and your expectations. You’ll just get angry. Movers have you. End of story. Though just one thing. They tried to tie things up at the port…

18. La langue française and la vie a Courances We are now moved in. Marcel is loving his new home and surroundings. Every morning, we rise, and after a coffee, he and I head to the chateau park. We have a big ancient key to the special entry door just down the lane. One of…

19. Tayac-les-Eyzies One of the beautiful things about living in Courances is that Elizabeth has the most spectacular backdrop for French Affaires LLC imaginable. Also, a real plus is, no transatlantic flights from Dallas to Paris and back. So, she is in high cotton. Business is thriving. Our home is guest central. With the Pierres…

20. Marcel dans le Fôret Our pal Marcel comes from one of the finest breeding kennels in France. His nose is bigger than any other organ in his body, I’d wager. Knowing nothing about organs, of course. When we go into the Forest near 7 rue du petit Paris, out the track road to the…

21. le Field Trial When you stop to think about it, much of life resembles a field trial. Entering fields that are strange and confusing, though bright with promise. Mistakes are made. Learning follows. My favorite French expression is c’est en forgeant, on devient forgeron. It is in blacksmithing that one becomes a blacksmith. The…

22. l’Éte en France Over the course of our marriage, prior to moving to France, we visited almost every region. For ourselves, or because Elizabeth was organizing trips for French Affaires. The one region we visited more than others was les Alpilles. Where we first went after meeting for drinks in Dallas, then celebrating Palm…

23. Le Jardin chez nous The FEDEX truck has rung the doorbell, and they are dropping off a dozen big, thin square boxes. Table pliable it says on the outside. Elizabeth is up to something. Her trips to the brocante have yielded lots of goodies, and I have noticed a great deal of—to be sure—very…

24. Les Buveurs d’Air In the second field trial, I asked that Marcel go last. I was still a bit gun-shy after being first in the field at the Berry event. People wanted him to show his best stuff, as I mentioned, and so were happy to comply. We got to watch all the other…

25. La Chasse Le Perche is in the Eure-et-Loire Département. It is an ancient name like Berry or Gâtinais, where Courances is located. M. Bourgeois’s Buveurs d’Air (lit, “air/scent drinkers”) is in the small farm village of Thiron-Gardais, a bit under two hours away by car. We have made arrangements with him by phone. Since…

26. Winter Arrives in Courances Marcel and I would join the local hunters for the season’s start. He is not just a capable dog, but a highly efficient pointer and well-disciplined. We would get light snows from time to time, which made things even more romantic. I can see him by his pile of birds…

Conclusion I have chosen to limit the episodes for this retelling so most of them fit within a single year. That provides a loose framework though I obviously speak of things prior to this calendar year and after it. I have not wanted to follow a chronological line, but rather to move into different regions…

Afterword I want to thank all those who have responded to this series, “A Life Lived Well in France.” It has been a pleasure to hear you share memories of Elizabeth in response to these episodes. She embodied the rare combination of beauty, warmth, intelligence and kindness. And deep Christian faith. Her grave marker reads….