About Me and On My Ugly Table
Oh là là! That's correct; not ooh là là as so many think. Since 1991, I'm an American wife of a French national. We have a terrific son who was born and raised in France. He has an advantage I don't have - dual nationality (not to mention no recognizable accent in either language - which I also don't have). The pair of them make life full and interesting. We enjoy sharing our time between the USA and Europe. With a passion for cooking and baking, the kitchen is my personal happy place. I'm constantly creating delicious meals, baking pastries, bread or decorating whimsical cookies. I recently completed a cook book, "On My Ugly Table", a memoir of my life and home in France (and all things centered around our conversation piece - my ugly table). Our son, after proofreading the book for me numerous times, and living on his own, has taken up cooking. I love when he asks for a recipe or sends me a photo of his dinner or better yet asks to cook together when he's home. I wish it would rub off on my husband as he also proofread for me. Although, if that happened, we'd not go out for dinner. I really enjoy going out for dinner. 
Now about “my ugly table”. No doubt you're wondering why I chose such a title for my blog and my book.
Imagine a small rural French village of about 300 inhabitants and its village square, the place where everyone gathers for communal celebrations, family festivities and good times of all sorts. Now, keep imagining - young and old sitting around the tables sharing a meal, conversations, a game of Belot or Manille, typical French card games. You might be picturing new, modern, clean, polished tables, but you're mistaken. I'm speaking of 10' x 3.5' wooden tables made forty years ago within the surrounding area. That's "my" table (and I've got two).
Why "ugly"?
In addition to the assorted bumps and knocks while returning the tables to the village storage closet, several have carved their initials on them, some left staples in an attempt to spruce them up with paper tablecloths and others have the souvenir of chewing gum underneath. Reminders of the past, we've left the apparent scars on the tables (apart from the gum which we cleaned off).
Our use of the tables goes far beyond mealtime for comfortably seating our family of 14 or our groups of friends.
It's become very convenient for sorting laundry and folding bedlinens following overnight stays. It's also become rather functional for my diverse hobbies and additionally, the inspiration for my culinary passion.
So, there you have it, On My Ugly Table.
It's the one that started it all! A part of me, my family, my friends, my cooking, my baking and is given pride of place in our front garden for all to enjoy.