Day of Rest

Sunday, June 8

Today is Sunday...a day to honor our Lord and to rest. I'm doing both today. I 
am giving great thanks to my Savior for such a delightful day, in such a 
beautiful place, surrounded by great people, and His allowance of my "dreams 
come true". 

a day of rest

We are resting today. We've decided to put sightseeing on hold and just enjoy 
the beautiful grounds and the views this farmhouse has to offer. Let me tell you 
about Sous L'Olivier, our home in Provence. 

our room at Sous L'Olivier;

looking in from the garden

There are many common rooms that everyone can use. I've given them titles:  the 
preserves room (where Julien stores his shelf after shelf of homemade 
preserves), the prep room (where the breakfast buffet is set up), the indoor 
dining room (can easily seat 20 people), and the den (a large room with comfy 
furniture, fireplace, and table with board games). Then there's the outside 
areas: the wisteria dining area (again easily seats 20), and the patio (with 
about eight small tables for breakfast enjoyment and an extremely large table 
for 20 + and an outdoor bar). Then there's three pools: a small wading pool, a 
shallow pool (probably 3 feet), and a regular full sized pool. There's about two 
acres of yards with many lounge chairs set about. What a place to rest!!

the preserves room

the outdoor wisteria dining areas

Dining here is such a joy!  The food is fabulous!  Although dining here is an 
option, few of the guests eat elsewhere. We've dined with people from Monaco, 
Holland, Switzerland, and the UK.  So many of these delightful guests have 
entertained us with interesting tales.  One couple was particularly interesting. 
Mike is a retired immigration official for the UK. He and his sweet wife, Em, 
have visited many places in the world. The stories I found most interesting were 
of their stay in Bangladesh. It was supposed to be a three year post, but it 
became too dangerous and she was pregnant so this post was shortened. The 
stories of the caste system there were a bit shocking. And we all enjoyed a good 
laugh listening to bathroom stories in remote areas. 

to the right of John and Jacque are Em and Mike of the UK

the den

It seems Larry is often saying, "It can't get much better than this!"  And yet 
so many evenings are better than the last. We are so blessed!!

another outdoor eating area