It is hard to believe how quickly time passes living here in France, the end of 2012 disappeared while we were visiting everyone in the UK and when we got back in the new year it was a little nippy to say the least.

Just as well then that we had a good store of firewood already seasoned and ready to burn. Only problem was it was a little large to fit on the fire! But with the help of a couple of friends the wood was quickly adjusted to a more practical size. Well I say a couple of friends, it was actually only one that helped with the wood chopping, the other one just lay down and had a bit of a rest. Billy the goat only came for some company and free grass, but I couldn’t complain because he does help keep the lawn trimmed now and then.

 January and February slipped by in what seemed like a blink of an eye as we were kept busy, giving the gite a bit of a makeover and adding in a few extra features to make the facilities even better than they were before. I know it’s hard to believe we could actually make it better 🙂 , but we think we have and it was not too long before our first guests of the season arrived in March to try out the new features. Judging by their comments we think they approved.

So we are off to a good start for 2013, the first happy guests have been and gone and now we are looking forward to the arrival of our next guests from Australia due to arrive next weekend. A little bit of a coincidence because the first Australian guests we had last year came about the same time.

There is still plenty to do though, it is after all the start of spring and the time of year when everything starts to go a bit mad in the garden. But the mower blades have been sharpened and are ready for the onslaught, just need to do the same for the strimmer and we will be all set for spring. So it won’t be long before the wood chopping duty is replaced by pool maintenance duties and that hot Mediterranean sun is warming us up a little too much sometimes.

It is sunflower year at Le Moulin this year as well and we are expecting the imminent arrival of the local farmer with his tractor and planter in tow to put the seeds in for the September harvest. Which means around the end of July and beginning of August we can expect glorious sunflower displays, just like this one, right in front of the house. They never fail to impress and the variety we get are normally over 6 feet tall with the flower heads as much as 12″ in diameter.

So that is it for the moment, a quick update on Life in the France Lane to let you all know what has been going on. Life has been, as always, very hectic what with all the website designing and ebook publishing activities. This sort of accounts for why I have been a bit remiss on getting more updates posted. But, as the French view it, life should not be all work and no play so time does need to be set aside for a good meal, relaxing and spending time with family to enjoy the place we are so lucky to live in. Not forgetting of course that we are very happy to share this life for a little while with anyone that would like to visit our small piece of paradise in the French countryside.