Here in France the weather has been absolutely superb, blue skies with no clouds, warm sunshine, blossom everywhere, bees flitting and cuckoos calling. That can only mean one thing in my house – time to get the cement mixer out! It might be perfect weather for a picnic but chez nous, it’s also ideal for mixing concrete and building walls and painting shutters. 14 years ago, I first set eyes on this unloved old house. Originally a cow barn it was extended over the centuries with walls made of straw and mud, then with concrete blocks. It’s a real mish mash of rooms on different levels as it’s set on a hill. The reasons why I fell so head over heels for it sometimes elude me – especially when I’m working in the cold and the rain. But on weeks like this when the air smells fresh and blossomy and I can see progress right before my eyes, I feel utterly blessed to have found my place.
It’s been a great week for another reason and for that – I have many of you to thank. My book went into the top 25 on Amazon (ebooks) alongside Lee Child and JK Rowling. I tell you I shrieked so loud in my little pigsty where I work, the windows wide open, that the dogs started howling, the cats scarpered and my neighbour Jean-Claude stopped planting potatoes and popped his head over the fence to ask if I was alright! “What ees woohoo?” he asked. “Well, it’s a word we say when we’re really happy!” I told him. He just looked at me like I’m nuts, he is a man who is always happy but doesn’t feel the need to woohoo about it.
To everyone who has bought, borrowed and reviewed my book – a most enormous thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Now I’m going back to mixing the concrete, we’re on the home run this year, at least that’s the intention!
Wishing you a very bon weekend,
Bisous from France,
Janine
Editor
ps photo is of the cows in a field in my village. Yellow is the colour of spring here, bright, happy buttercups growing at the edges of fields, wild lemon coloured primroses in the hedgerows and daffodils in gardens…
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