Maison des Mots
La Charité sur Loire - France

An Ethereal Tonic to Quench the Thirst for Tranquillity, Joyeuse Experience, French Cuisine, Nature & History

Have you ‘Come to Grief’ ?   Well then, “Come to Grieve”

Recently, a friend sent a message stating that this house and garden I call Maison des Mots, in La Charité sur Loire, is a place one can comfortably grieve.   Charming La Charité sur Loire - complete with a river running through it.  A village ripe with History; centuries of grief and sorrow from conquerors, wars, revolutions, even an unsatisfactory visit from Joan of Arc.  

La Charité - the charity on the Loire - was here before France held the mandate, when Burgundy was a country of its own.  The Priory Church being on the Papal Road from Rome to Paris.  Indeed Old and Storied, with lots of ghostly ears ready to listen to whatever visitors choose to unburden.

Often folk wonder and ask: What brought you here?  Until now, I was never consciously sure.   In my former life in Vancouver, I had ‘come to grief’.  I had lost many friends, and family members.  The world had changed, and my business could not support me, emotionally or financially. I was working too many hours, and days, and had lost the plot with regards to knowing how to feel life and live comfortably.

This Historic town, plunked into a reserve of nature and farming, had attracted me for years.  The day I discovered this house and garden, I immediately felt I could again, make meaning of my life.

I have been here full-on since February 2020.  I purchased the house 3 years before that.  February 2025 marks 8 years of this enlightened, educational, motivational, cultural, and beautiful experience.   I came grieving, and I spent a lot of time in grievance with artisans and bureaucracy.  Covid left me in a state of shock.  But now this is my place of joy and healing. 

I have made it through a tough period of grief – though I will always mourn for the life I loved in the glory years of my bookshop, the company of good friends that are not able to travel here.  I manage it with the joy of being here, in this dreamy place.    And most recently, angry emotion is inspiring me to sit up straight, be accountable for my actions, and believe that together, we can encourage the world to understand we can individually act with courage, respect, and make meaningful contribution to society. 

So, come to me.  Grieving souls are most welcome.    I offer a restorative home, a pretty chambre, a comfortable bed, good food, satisfactory company.  Also, if you wish, I will listen with a sympathetic ear. There is an old garden full of whispering bees and birds and butterflies.  There is a fireplace to warm the cockles.  There are books to read, and there is wine to drink.   There is much to joy to experience in this region, albeit in a manner of remembrance past.

Come to me in La Charité sur Loire, to my Maison des Mots.
I offer this quote from Oliver Sacks -  “To get a sense of the deep ordering positivity, of Nature and History.    There is a spirit in Nature, which commands my respect and love; and it is this, perhaps most deeply, which serves to ‘explain’ life, give it ‘meaning’. “

Barbara-Jo (with minette cuddling close)

November, 2024