(in English below)
Voilà, j’ai une confession à faire: j’aime ranger et nettoyer ma maison de fond en comble après avoir donné un dîner… Avec une préférence très marquée pour la vaisselle et les sols… J’aime prendre mon temps, prendre note des défauts que je constate (une toile d’araignée derrière le frigo, une tâche sur le bas d’une porte…). J’ai l’impression de reprendre le contrôle de ma maison et de communier avec elle. Elle est là, je prend soin d’elle; elle prend soin de moi. C’est un bon moment pour méditer… a ma façon… Je sais, ça sent le vieux mec avec 15 chats et un fétiche pour les soupes en boite… Suis-je complètement fou? 
Well, I have a confession to make: I like to clean and tidy-up my house from top to bottom the day after I gave a dinner party… My absolute favorites are the dishes and floors… I like to take my time. I take note of the defects that I see in each room (a spider web behind the fridge, a stain on the bottom of a door…). I also think of the memories the dinner I served will create for me and for my guests… I feel like I regain control over my house and, in a weird way, like I communicate with her and whatever power she has. I take care of her, she takes care of me back. WE, TOGETHER, give those parties where people feel welcome, safe and merry… Maybe it is the best and most natural way I have found to meditate… I know, I sound like an old freak… Am I completely nuts?
MY FRENCH HEAVEN 
My grandmother used to say her friend, Myrtle, was ‘crazy clean’. I think you are not there yet! Your kitchen is charming.
Thanks! My kitchen is my favorite room in the house. I’m sure you could tell 😉
I meant “amount” of flair…I was “about” correct:D
You sound very balanced to me…creating oneness with your surroundings and then sharing with guests. I like the red pot on the stove…just the right about of flair and energy.
Thanks brook! The pot is from IKEA. It’s cast iron and it makes the best soups and sauces 🙂
It sounds like you and your house take wonderful care of your guests.
We try our best! I hope I get to welcome you here one day;;; 🙂
I love to clean as well me and my hubby are neat freaks, we don’t like dirt or disorder it all has to flow and beauty is a must… One day I will post my decorating skills I get asked all the time from friends and strangers can I help them. Your kitchen is to die for and I know the rest of your home is as well!! Be blessed my new friend, also would love to hear of some of your recipes!
My kitchen is small, but it’s my favorite room in the house :0) Bless you darling!
“it is the best and most natural way I have found to meditate” EXACTLY. Makes sense to me.
Is that a picture of your kitchen? Do you have two stoves?
Yes and yes. For one, most stoves in France are ridiculously small (narrow) and it is nearly impossible to have two pots on at the same time. The other reason is that I like using two different stoves. One is gas which, to me, is the best for cooking. I like to see my flame. I feel in control. Also the heat is spread more evenly under the pan. The other stove is state of the art induction which is great for everyday cooking as it is super fast and very powerful… If I had to keep only one though, I would choose gas in a heart beat 🙂
Wow. I was so much MORE impressed and amazed that you do all your wonderful cooking in such a small space. Amazing.
Je ne reçois plus de notification par mail de vos nouveaux posts, ça ne fait rien, je viens visiter votre blog régulièrement.
Mince! Je crois que depuis les changements que j’avais fait il y à quelques semaines, il faut se réabonner… Désolé et merci de votre fidélité Dominique!
-cough- Vous etez un peu fou… mais c’est pas mal. 🙂
🙂
I wish I was nuts.
I wish I wasn’t 😉
Hi Stephane–I keep trying to click the links on your two new blog postings (one about olive oil, the other about a new oil), but I am not getting access. It says that there is no link. ?
Hi Janet, so sorry, they were reblogs. I deleted them. I thought reblogging wasn’t in line with the spirit of the blog. I want all the posts to be originals. I will post about olive oil soon though…
Mais non, it is just part of being an entertainer extraordinaire! One day, friend, I will sit at your table and help you clean up!
I hope you will K!
I so totally agree and identify! If you are a freak then I am one too. 🙂
I knew it H!
No. ‘Chop wood…carry water’ is a basic teaching (from somewhere!) about the meditative quality of what some might see as mundane. See! You are in fact, enlightened!
Cool! Call me Lama from now on. The kitchen Lama. What a great title for a book don’t you think?
Or at least a chapter.
My dear Stéphane, if I may call you by your first name, I completely understand you. In fact I sometimes do the same while the dinner is cooked. Mostly in the kitchen where I always find a better place to move something take it from here and place it there and again over there….
J’aime ma maison aussi at je crois que la comunication avec la place où ont vivons est très importante.
Cordialement, Oana
I am glad we’re thinking and feeling the same Oana! It is so important to have strong positive feelings for your home. So much depends on it…
I love cleaning and a clean house. 🙂 No you’re not nuts.
You make me feel better Yasha! 😉
What a lovely perspective. “We” take care of our family and guests, together. “We” meditate together as well! By the way, I am in love with the windows in your kitchen.
I love them too, but they are a nightmare to clean. I have 21 of those throughout the house. Some of them have bigger panes though, thank god!
Oh but remember, you find your “zen” when cleaning 🙂
😉
I too love a clean home, but I just don’t have the energy or the time… You’re welcome over anytime!
😉
Well I wouldn’t call you a freak… but I don’t know that you would find me ever getting excited about cleaning my house. I do it out of necessity and because I can’t stand mess or dirt. Feel free to swing by anytime and lend a hand! 🙂
Any excuse to one day visit your beautiful home!!!
I like your style. And anytime you feel compelled to fold laundry, boy do I have the home for you to visit!
🙂
Yes you’re nuts!! I love a clean house, just hate the process, especially knowing that in a few short days I’ll have to start over! I’ll cook, you clean!
It’s a deal as long as I get to eat your food!! 😉
done!
That is awesome. So, ah….do you talk to your house while you clean? I question why certain objects are not where they should be. “Why are you here? You sould be there.” We are what makes the world go around. 😉
I talk to her but in my head. There is still hope there 🙂 And you are right, people who are a little nuts are the ones who make this world an interesting place… 😉
Yes, you’re crazy, but very, very clean, 🙂
😉
J’aimerais bien être comme ça, le ménage, c’est toujours un problème pour moi.
Ne vous inquiétez pas! Je crois que vous n’êtes pas la seule 😉
Nous allons donner un dîner ce weekend, êtes-vous bien libre?
Je ne crois pas non 🙂 🙂
On the contrary, you are not crazy (fou) at all! It is cathartic to clean, and as cleanliness is next to Godliness, it honors he who made provision for your parties in the first place, not only that, a clean house just feels good!
It really does. Doesn’t it?
I agree so make me nuts!
I only like people who are a little nuts 😉
I have a confession to make too…I like to give dinner parties because that is the only time my house gets cleaned!
But seriously, if I had a house like yours I would delight in tidying up too.
You are kind Joyce!
Attention and joy for detail tend to make for an attentive and joyful entertainer.
Absolutely right! Everything is in the details 😉
No you’re not! I also like to burn incense and candles, plus its also a great excuse to reorganise things!
Candles are a must for me too! You are right! A great opportunity to reorganise. The cupboards tend to become so messy after a while; especially if, like me, you can’t stop buying new dishes and kitchen tools…
No, you’re not a freak. I’m the exact same way. When I prepare a wonderful meal or throw a big dinner party I want to clean up dish by dish, counter top by counter top, napkin by napkin. It’s satisfying somehow. The only time I’m ever bothered is when house guests leave my kitchen a mess – when I’m not around – yet expect me to clean it up.
Guests like that would never be invited again in my house! On another note, “satisfying” is the perfect word for what cleaning makes me feel. I’ve always been like this. When I was a kid, I was the only one who didn’t mind cleaning the stables. It’s not that I didn’t mind, I actually LOVED it… A freak I tell you! 🙂
My daughters and I fought over cleaning the stables! We all love cleaning the stables! Funny!
😉
No one who lives in a house with a glass door like that is a freak in my book, especially a clean house!
You’re always so sweet! I love those doors. I just wish I could afford to pay someone to clean all of them. Between the kitchen and the prep room, there are over 700 panes to clean…
I would knock myself out cleaning beforehand and then be too exhausted to cook, so guess your way is best and shows good food enjoyed by appreciative family and friends surpasses a bit of dust and a few cobwebs.
Absolutely! Good friends care more about the food and the ambiance than a little bit of dust here and there. The thing is I spend at least as much time cleaning before than I do after 🙂
Even the dishes before you did them are neatly stacked! I am very glad that we have a very clear separation of duties at home. We both like throwing parties, but I do the cooking and Kees cleans up after me 🙂
On a completely different note: I haven’t seen you around on my blog for about a month or so. Did you lose track of me when you changed blogging platforms?
I probably did… I don’t even see you in my reader. I should sign-up again…
Me too… I like things clean and in order, it makes me feel good and in control.
You are right M! It gives you a great sense of control and satisfaction…
In any case you are with (good) company ; )
I knew I wasn’t alone;)
ciao! i can feel your conviviality; your ‘nuts’ warms my heart.
thebestdressup
I’m so glad;)
Your kitchen is Gorgeous! 🙂
Why thank you! It’s small, but it’s my favorite place in the house 😉
A KINDRED SPIRIT!! My absolute favorite way to unwind from a dinner party is to do the dishes by hand. I do not own a dishwasher because they are horrid.:) There’s something very satisfying about neatly stacking each dish into the drainboard. And I feel a sense of victory catching one last glance of my clean kitchen before turning the lights out.
Thanks Leilani! You make me feel better 🙂
I wish I had that Freakitude…
🙂
– Not at all.
– Wow, you’re kitchen gleams! Must get into more spring cleaning to get mine up to scratch. And, when people are coming over that’s when I notice every mark and dent.
🙂 I can do with a few spider webs here and there, but the kitchen always has to be spotless 😉
I am exactly the same way. Guests offer to help me with the dishes and clean up but I always decline. I want to spend the time visiting with them and enjoying our time together. Thankfully, I find cleaning up the next day very therapeutic. The stacks of clean dishes, pots and platters is very satisfying. If you are a freak, then I am too. 😉
Same here. When they offer to help, I ask them not to. I know they’re going to mess everything up… 🙂
I think it’s the very best “nut” to be. You make me want to clean my house 🙂
🙂 When I can’t get started, I watch an episode of “how clean is your house” on youtube. Then I can’t stop for hours 🙂
You’re not a freak – if I’m in the right mood, I feel this way when I’m cleaning my kitchen. Or maybe we’re both freaks… but let’s not go there.
If I’m in the wrong mood… I just don’t clean! 🙂
They say cleanliness is close to godliness, 🙂
Well then, there are times when I’m very far from Deity! 🙂
🙂
Yes….but you’re in luck, I offer friends and family discounts 🙂
Perhaps we can trade time for days at the B&B?
🙂
Funny you should say that, but I find cleaning up after a party very satisfying. So, that makes me a nut too 😉
😉
You can come and neat freak my house anytime!! :0)
😉