Flashback: my 70's blue jeans

Between my junior and senior years in college, I went to southern France in the summer to live with a family and, ostensibly, study.  I took a pair of jeans.  I don't recall spending too much time studying.  The foreign language "immersion" concept didn't work at all well on me. 

While there, I remember reading Thomas Mann's Magic Mountain. And Village in the Vaucluse (that was much more interesting, and it's also still in print). I recall sitting in a park and inhaling the lavender.  I recall watching the best fireworks I've ever seen on Bastille Day  at the Pont d'Avignon. (Made me feel a little better about missing the Fourth of July). I recall wearing shorts one day and a woman gasped when she saw me. I then spent most of my time in either skirts or my jeans.

I must've been wearing a skirt as I was embroidering the jeans.  I lived with a family in Avignon, in walking distance of the downtown.  (I recall the Mom of the family did hand sewing for clothing made of that lovely traditional Provencal print fabric; I watched her hand sew a skirt zipper in with incredible tiny, perfect, fast stitches.) I went downtown and found embroidery floss, not like the mercerized Coats and Clark, no shine.

I wore the h---  out of them both there and when I got home.    Last week, in an effort to clean out some stuff,  found them.

 

Note the lavender on the right rear pocket.

"Coquelicots" is French for "poppies."

On the subject of plants, that really nice guy who I know cleaned out and dug up my garden yesterday.  We left the eggplant, basil, zinneas and bee balm. (The eggplant are the white teardrop shaped things). Today we consulted Clemson for the South Carolina fall planting guide.  I planted broccoli, lettuce, cucumber seeds, and some onions.  It's getting cooler here...ah, end of summer in South Carolina...planting season.