Stephanie Jane: My Week in Review to the 18th March

I am linking up again today with The Sunday Post hosted by Kimberly at The Caffeinated Reviewer.

I hope everybody celebrating St Patrick's Day had a great time yesterday and I'll type this post quietly for those of you still recovering!

Not only are we on a different campsite for this week's roundup post, but also in a completely different country! Nous sommes en France! This is the explanation for my social media absence this week - two days' driving and a New Home to get to grips with! I've got loads of lovely Comments to catch up on - thank you to everyone who popped over to my posts!

Detouring on our way south last October, we popped into Camping Le Moulin campsite, just on the outskirts of the Deux-Sevres town of Chef Boutonne, where there was 'un Mobil-Home' for sale. We nosed around for half an hour or so before driving on, then a couple of days later made the impulsive decision to buy. Of course we have been in Spain since then so didn't get to find out exactly what we had purchased until now! We arrived on Thursday afternoon with some trepidation, but fortunately are very happy with our continental abode! Hopefully it will live up to its name:

It's distinctly chilly here compared to Spain and has rained most days so far, but with bursts of glorious sunshine too so we've been able to start exploring locally. We have a gorgeous view along the Boutonne river from our sitting room which is just a few yards from its bank. The other bank leads into unkempt woodlands so we hope to spot interesting wildlife there in due course. So far we've seen a few fish in the river, a dark squirrel climbing a tree, blue tits, great tits, pigeons, and a resident (both male) pair of mallard ducks. Dave has heard a woodpecker too. I saw our first cowslip today which is something of a contrast to the blizzard photos sent to us via Facebook from Torquay this morning - whiteout there again!

We plan to stay here for a week or so now, sorting everything out and learning our way around town, before heading back to the UK at the end of March - blizzards permitting! We can then return to Chef Boutonne during the summer months to enjoy the tranquillity here and to use it as a base from which to explore further afield. It's all very exciting!

In the meantime, I am still doing well with both my March reading challenges, IndieAthon and Take Control of Your TBR Pile. You can see the books I've read for each by following those links.
I added a 1930s read to my current Decade Challenge - Collected Stories by Bruno Schulz - and J to my Alphabet Soup Challenge - Just Simple Little Cruelties by Osman Welela.
Non-book, I blogged this month's Top Ten Etsy Finds on Tuesday - they all feature March Hares - and started a new month's Giveaway Linkup on Thursday. Feel welcome to add your own Linkups alongside the giveaways that either I am hosting or that I have spotted elsewhere.

You'll need to be quick to take advantage of today's special offer: Whittard of Chelsea are offering a free St Patrick's Day tea blend with purchases over £25. The chocolatey tea features whiskey flavours which just sounds weird to me! Let me know if you've tried it? Available until midnight tonight (18th March) by using the checkout code SHAMROCK

And here's what you might have missed on my other blogs this week. Click the images to visit the pages ... and don't forget to enter all the Giveaways!