A Letter To A Friend

The anticipation of returning to The Farmhouse begins to mount as the days tick away before our allotted channel crossing. We will have been away for two months and we are eager to see the house again and to slot back into our life in France. Since buying the house in 2014 The Farmhouse has been a labour of love and we have enjoyed the changes and improvements that we have made to the property. So we miss it…… and on the journey home we talk of the next project we will do at the house, and the next and the next!

We are happy that there have been lots of wonderful holidays there over the summer, families and friends getting together and we are thankful for the kind messages of appreciation that we have received from our guests and even photos of their happy times at FFQ ( French Farmhouse Quercy).

We use the tunnel to cross to France and on the first day decide to stop at Chartres. The car is laden with things collected during the summer, all so important that they can’t possibly be left behind! With the top box securely fastened and Emmie happily on the back seat with her doggie safety belt on, we set off early from our hotel to begin the final leg to Montaigu de Quercy.

On this day as we approach the South West the grey clouds and drizzle begin to break and moving further south, cotton clouds in blue sky begin to appear. The sun shines and welcomes us home.

We have been back a week now and September has been a continuation of a fabulous summer here in the Lot region, there has been very little rain and we have been told how hot it has been this year. At the house I notice that the farmer has cut the wheat and the straw has gone, the field is ploughed for the next crop. Everywhere is still dry.

The fruit trees have been laden this year and I am delighted to discover my favourite Mirabelle tree still bears fruit. I have now picked almost six kilograms of fruit from that tree and made lots of jars of jam! There are some figs on the fig tree on the big field and a smattering of plums on the trees around the pool. For the first time we have quite a few quinces on our tree so I’ll have to decide what to do with those…..any ideas?

It’s good to be back, to walk the familiar tracks and catch up with friends. We planning our next swathe of improvements. We have lots of ideas and plans, I let you know what we do in October!

Mirabelle tree at FFQ.

Mirabelle confiture, mirabelle crumble …..mirabelle……mirabelle….mirabelle!

Montjoi and what a joy it was to visit this town.

Montjoi

Montjoi - the view down the valley.