š«š· 2: Settling into my third French winter
Some stuff that has been happening and things you might like
Hello loves! Iām Lucy from Hype Yourself. I chat about self-promotion and creative living to earn income from your expertise or passion. If you are new to this page, pop your email below to ensure you receive my posts. Notes from France is a sporadic behind-the-scenes update of my midlife relocation to France.
Stuff that has been happening
š» The cofounder of my children left our business. I shut down the agency side, only focusing on writing and workshops.
š°ļø My work routine is I have until 10 am when he starts work to do admin and writing. I am teaching occasional workshops during lunch breaks or evenings. This week, I ran a self-promotion Q&A with The Futur and had the best time.
š October was still surprisingly hot, but November has brought the cold and clouds, and Iām so happy about it.
Maybe itās because the grey skies remind me of England š¤£.
It does mean, though, that I can walk the dog any time of day instead of having to get it done before it is too hot.
š§ We had our first racelette of the season. I have noticed that Iām becoming much more aware of seasonal food and weather. I even have more of an idea of when the full moon is or how the weather affects the lake's ripples.
š£ The third baby has been very healing. With my second child at the same time, we were still in the middle of heart surgery appointments. Reflecting on that journey, there are swathes of things I canāt remember due to the trauma of that situation.
It has been good to unpack that a bit by looking at photos.
I hadnāt realised how hard I had hidden in my work to survive.
Having more time and space in France to unpick and write this has been really cathartic.
āļø I still occasionally find the odd box to unpack. Last week, we had our new neighbours over for tea, and I found my Nanās old tea set. I hadnāt socialised since my second bout of covid, followed by a stomach bug chaser, so I went a bit extra.
š« A quick Google of Masonās Regency informed me that I could also collect the dinner plates or serving dishes, so I will put them on my Christmas wishlist.
š«š· I finally started French lessons at the local library every Tuesday and Thursday with the very cute retiree Jean-Louis.
It is four hours a week for free! Perfect for my self-employed maternity budget.
He is chill about the baby coming, so she rocks up with me. So far, she has been a good player and falls asleep for most of it. We think I might apply for my A2 diploma soon. I need to get to B1 (confusingly next level up) for future residency applications.
šš»āāļøTomorrow is a national holiday, so Hadrien has a day off work today (what is this new employed world), and we are going to go second-hand shopping to see if we can find an old dining table
Things you might like
šŗ Iāve been eyeing up one of these French food map calendars for 2024 by
also makes excellent bespoke maps for birthdays, weddings or other iconic celebrations.š§„ Having left London around a similar time to me and just down the road in Marseille is Frankie-Shop, who rescues French vintage tapestries and upcycles them into jackets, bags and purses. Hadrien modelled mine with my Rosa Bloom sequins for our annual trip to see RuPaulās Drag Race Live Show - this year in Nice to see the French queens.
šØ Iris Apfels collection for Ruggable. If you are into maximalist jazzy washable rugs, can you pick me one up when you are there?
š„ I am obsessed with Vanessa Edwards's AI/colour interior design use. Go and check out her Substack here and then report back to me if you will also try her colour tourism.
š©š¼āš¤ Last but not least, please support my online friend Drag Queen Holly Stars, whose first book (published by Penguin), āMurder in the Dressing Roomā is available for pre-order. (If you have been with me long, we all know how vital those pre-orders are!)
For subscribers, you will hear from me in a few days for our second promotional prompt to help us Hype ourselves on Sunday, all about one-liners.
Keep on hyping šš»āāļø
I LOVE reading about living in France from your perspective. It's fascinating to me who is French but haven't lived there since I was 18 years old so don't know what it's like to be an adult living in France. Thank you for sharing as always!
First of all - congrats on finding free French lessons. Many "mairies" have them as well, they start in September and they have been very helpful at my French beginnings. B1 is "just" nore grammar compared to A2. You can do it!! šŖ
Second thing: THANK YOU SO MUCH for sharing my calendar and my maps! Ahhhh, you made me so happy!